As autumn approaches, the end of the cricket season brought some special guests to the university. On Sunday, the cricket team of the British Embassy in Beijing played against the university First XI.

The two sides had met each other, though not on the field of play, at a tournament in Beijing earlier in the year and such had been the impression created by the SAU players that the embassy had no hesitation in accepting an invitation to play in Shenyang.

On a clear, mild, September day the players were welcomed by vice-president Chen Baodong as the stands began to fill with eager spectators, many of who were attending a cricket match for the first time. 

SAU captain, Wang Miao won the toss and invited the embassy to bat first. Two early wickets from opening bowler Liu Jia put the visitors on the back foot, but Mark Hobbs and Dominic Stanton dug in and forged a useful partnership to add fifty for the third wicket. Once this partnership was broken, the embassy struggled to find the boundary and, despite a brief cameo from skipper Scott Strain, finished with 89 for nine from their 20 overs.

SAU batsman Liu Jia shows Eddie Chase a straight bat.

The SAU batsmen started brightly, with a number of boundaries struck first by Zhang Xuefeng and then Jiang Shilei, but neither was able to go on. Meanwhile, at the other end, opener Zhu Hai rode some early luck and patiently accumulated runs. After the fall of the third wicket, Zhu was joined by, overseas player, Jerry Adrian and the pair guided SAU to victory.