Cricket reaches dizzying heights

James Butler keeps wicket as David Kirtley swings into action during the highest game of cricket ever played. Photo / George Powell Agency

Wanted. Men for hazardous journey. Low wages. Bitter cold. Long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in the event of success.

Legendary British adventurer Ernest Shackleton is said to have placed the quote above in an advertisement in London's Times newspaper in 1907 to recruit a crew to explore the Antarctic.

On April 21, 2009, 22 men - including several Kiwis - had similar sacrifices pay dividends when they trekked to just below base camp at Mt Everest, 5165m above sea level, to play a charity game of Twenty20 cricket at the highest altitude ever for a field sport.

Spare a thought for Australian Dave Christie.

A hairy flight into the Himalaya on Yeti Airlines, nine days steadily climbing into the clouds on foot and around £3000 ($7500) of hard-earned money were all required before he strode out to be bowled for a duck in the shadow of the world's highest peak.

That typified the commitment required to create an unforgettable memory in the name of charity for the aptly named teams Hillary and Tenzing.

You might have gathered it wasn't as simple as donning the creams and cabled pullover to amble nonchalantly into world record-breaking history.

The cricketers and their support crew of 'trektators', including doctors, nutritionists and the record-verifying registered umpires, had to build up to the event with a year's physical training.

It was the British version of Rocky - a half-marathon in full batting pads at Bath, hiking in three feet of snow in the hills of Wales and mid-winter jaunts to the indoor nets at the Oval and Lord's in London.

That is what's required if you are embarking on a journey that is literally breathtaking when you get there.

Why the fuss? Well, the body only absorbs around two-thirds the oxygen it does at sea level and your heart rate is at least 30 per cent faster.

With participants as well as porters carrying gear on the ascent, five people ended up on saline drips and two blacked out as part of the drama.

Put simply, it's an environment conducive to leisurely short singles rather than 'turning ones into twos'. And if you can pull any sort of rank, slip is the spot to field.

Charity and sponsorship were other key components. Marketing in the recession must be innovative, compelling and preferably cause-related. Only the most silver-tongued of salesmen could ask someone to pay them to go to the Himalaya and play a solitary game of cricket. Especially in the post-Allen Stanford era.

So it came down to hard graft, dipping into their own pockets and aligning themselves with the likes of the Himalayan Trust and the Lord's Taverners to build a case to pursue such a record.

That's where the British pair of Richard Kirtley and Gareth Wesley came in as expedition leaders.

Their co-ordination helped ensure a coin was tossed in the sunshine beneath what the Sherpa people call Chomolungma, goddess mother of the world.

Kirtley had worked previously in Nepal and came up with the idea after mulling it over with a few mates over a beer. Once decided, they then needed to attract applications from like-minded souls keen on the adventure and the charity aspect.

Four of those who replied - and were accepted - were Kiwis (all from Wellington, coincidentally, and were living in the UK): Glen Lowis, Mike Preston, Chris Beale and Chris Palmer.

Kirtley, 29, was impressed by the standard of the match, which Team Hillary won by 35 runs.

"I thought the altitude would affect us heavily but everyone threw themselves into it," he said. "I think taking extensive medical advice meant we were prepared."

For Wesley, organising the event came with a wider satisfaction.

"Dealing with that many passionate people, some of them most days of the year, can create a claustrophobic environment. Certainly there were moments of cabin fever but then on the mountain, you are able to mix and mingle quite a bit to avoid being with the same people two days running. So it's great to have come through with friendships intact."

Also intact is the £100,000 ($252,000) that has been raised as indicated by the "donate" link on theeveresttest.com official website.

The Lord's Taverners (which got £70,000) invest their portion by helping disabled and disadvantaged children access sport, while The Himalayan Trust (£30,000) preserves the region's traditional way of life and helps provide education and medical facilities.

Sir Edmund Hillary set up the trust after his original Everest climb and it helped build Khumjung School in 1960 for primary and secondary school education.

The cricket expedition stopped there on the outward journey and donated equipment and gear.

Wesley says he was finally able to appreciate all they'd been through once he was at the non-striker's end, taking in the surroundings.

"It was a bit surreal at times - where you reflect on the memory more when you're back home. But, at one stage after I'd completed a run during the match, I suddenly looked up and thought, 'bloody hell! This is such an amazing natural amphitheatre.' You suddenly take in the landscape."

Even the set-up came with its share of grunt work. Gorak Shep, the frozen lake bed venue, wasn't exactly the type of turf, carefully manicured over centuries, which one might find at Lord's.

Rocks had to be removed from the sand-based surface, while pick-axes and shovels came in handy for some of the more stubborn boulders. From there, a portable four-part pitch could be laid and jigsawed together on to compacted sand.

New Zealander Lowis was chosen to captain Team Hillary. The 29-year-old won the toss, was dropped second ball, then went on to make 28 runs in a seven-over opening partnership of 82, as part of their 151 for five total. Team Tenzing were dismissed for 116.

"I decided to bat first to score runs while we still had air left in the lungs and our heads weren't hurting too much. A practice day gave us a feel for how out of breath you can get and our doctors recommended taking drinks breaks every seven overs.

"I actually think the toughest job out there was wicketkeeping. I had a go because our keeper suffered altitude sickness earlier in trip. Crouching down and coming back up every ball had me light-headed."

The playing surface also surprised Lowis.

"We thought it would be a solid base more than anything but gave it a bit of a roll the day before and it was actually quite sandy so I figured the ball would keep low.

"Having said that, the ball ended up going across the ground quite quickly to the boundary."

So in the end Team Hillary edged Team Tenzing, no irony lost there. Naturally there were conflicting emotions of disappointment and euphoria as months of anticipation swept into reality but the group celebrated as one, reflecting on an achievement through mateship.

It might be 102 years since Shackleton's "situations vacant" advertisement but mankind's unquenched thirst for adventure lives on.