Victoria was once again honoured to host the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on their 2012 tour of Canada.
Beacon Hill Park was roundly praised by the tourists for its picturesque setting, although the conditions were marred by a persistent drizzle throughout the first innings. The BC Squad had bowled well from the start with Omer Khan (27/4) having removed both openers cheaply, although control of the ball became increasingly difficult and the MCC pair of Mark Wright (62) and Harry Smallwood (25) were looking as comfortable as could be expected when play was halted after 23.3 overs with the score at 106/2.
With no breeze to move the light cloud away from the ground, the players took an early and extended lunch, and the match was shortened from 50 to 38 overs.
When play resumed, with a fine mist still hanging in the air, the MCC batsman looked to increase their tempo but the returning pair struggled to regain the fluidity shown before the break and both were soon removed. The following batsmen scored quickly, Rajiv Sharma (36) particularly showing his strength with a crashing straight drive that kicked up a rooster-tail of moisture from the grass, and MCC notched up an even 200 by the end of their allocation; a frenzied Duckworth-Lewis calculation in the short innings change period adjusted the BC target to 218.
Some fine bowling from the Flying Scotsman John Gray (24/4) had BC struggling at 42/5 after 13 overs, but as the sun finally broke through the batting became a little less treacherous and Omer Khan (36) and Clayton Bodkyn (58) steadied the innings and kept the chase from getting too far out of reach. With 76 required from the final seven overs the molehill had become a mountain, and despite Ty Holtan's final-ball straight six the hosts finished 31 runs short.

Marylebone CC				R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
1	Reynard, James	Ct Wktkeeper	b Khan, Omer	7	22	19	1		36.84
2	Staunton, Benjamin	C & B	b Khan, Omer	6	14	8	1		75.00
3	Wright, Mark	Bowled	b Bodkyn, Clayton	62	95	59	5	3	105.08
4	Smallwood, Harry	Caught	b Batchelor, Chris	25	102	70	2		35.71
5	Sharma, Rajiv	Caught	b Khan, Omer	36	47	34	2	2	105.88
6	Hanson, William	Ct Wktkeeper	b Khan, Omer	22	38	19	2		115.79
7	Gray, John	Caught	b Sidhu, Kulvir		7	3
8	Harvey, Thomas	Not Out		11	18	8		1	137.50
9	Lammiman, Robert	Not Out		6	17	8			75.00
10	Parsons, Thomas	D.N.B
11	Gallian, Jason *	D.N.B
Extras (b 1,lb 2,w 20,nb 2):				25
Total: (Inns Closed, 38.0 overs)				200
Wkts Fell At: 1-12,2-19,3-111,4-118,5-178,6-178,7-181

BC XI				R	M	B	4s	6s	SR
1	Benning, Adam	Ct Wktkeeper	b Gray, John	1	3	3			33.33
2	Warring, Harrinder	C & B	b Gray, John	18	47	33		1	54.55
3	Batchelor, Chris	Ct Wktkeeper	b Parsons, Thomas	4	19	16			25.00
4	Bawa, Vikram *	Ct Wktkeeper	b Gray, John	6	16	18			33.33
5	Goode, Matthew	Caught	b Gray, John	4	2	2	1		200.00
6	Khan, Omer	Ct Wktkeeper	b Reynard, James	36	62	42	1	3	85.71
7	Bodkyn, Clayton	Bowled	b Sharma, Rajiv	58	98	70	3	1	82.86
8	Sidhu, Kulvir	Caught	b Parsons, Thomas	26	25	28		2	92.86
9	Brussow, Izak	Caught	b Parsons, Thomas		5	2
10	Holtan, Ty	Not Out		15	17	11		1	136.36
11	Mann, Satwant	Not Out		4	4	4			100.00
Extras (b 1,lb 1,w 12):				14
Total: (Inns Closed, 38.0 overs)				186
Wkts Fell At: 1-4,2-20,3-31,4-35,5-42,6-126,7-156,8-159,9-174