I do declare a bronze, sir - The Jewish Chronicle

Well, that’s the Maccabiah done for another four years, and what an unbelievable experience it was once again. "Do you have anything to declare," was the question asked at Luton airport as we went through customs on Wednesday night. "Absolutely,” I replied, proudly showing off my Open cricket bronze medal, making it two pieces of silverware from two Maccabiot. I feel really chuffed about it, although it’s only just starting to sink in. Week two in Israel was pretty hectic, with wins over Canada and Australia putting us in the mix for a place in the final. The competition was evenly-balanced, but we were disappointed to miss out. It was so tight in the end. There was a great buzz around the camp after we won the Jewish equivalent of the Ashes with a convincing win over the Aussies. Their team included three members of the Weiner family, including former Test player Julian, who is still in great shape. After our four-wicket win he said that the GB bowling attack was “the best in the competition,” which was really nice to hear. Even at 52, the great man remains a true competitor and hates losing like the best of them. We were pumped up going into Monday’s bronze medal match against India, and what a game that was. The match had everything; drama, thrilling action, great batting, great bowling and some excellent fielding. But I’ll come back to that. My only regret is that, personally, if I was being hyper-critical, I don’t feel I contributed enough with the bat, although I did receive a couple of interesting decisions. But I’m coming home with a medal, that’s the main thing, and I am more than happy with my overall contribution, on and off the field, which included three catches, especially a crucial one in the second match against India. After the freak injury suffered in the first game against SA, I must thank Team GB Physio Dalia Nessim for patching me up and ensuring I could play in our last three matches. Like Benjamin Lederman, there was no way I was going to limp out of a competition I had worked so hard to get to in the first place and it just goes to show what can be achieved with a bit of positive mental thinking. And I’d like to think that this attitude, from myself and one or two others, including Adam Brand, Mark Bott and Marc Reingold, helped us deliver the goods in the end. As one of the senior statesmen in the squad, I was asked if I would do it all over again. It didn’t take much time to reply: “You betcha!"