KATHMANDU, Nepal — 22 April 2009 — The bowlers achieved speeds of 124mph, the air thin, the yaks bemused. Unlikely as it may seem, a Twenty20 style cricket match was played on the old lake bed near the few lodges which make up Gorak Shep on Tuesday.
Nearby, the tents of the mountaineers scaling Everest, the two teams battled it out on probably the world’s highest cricket pitch.
"The Hillary team won by 35 runs," was the news on Twitter.com from the high altitude match.
The team, which is led by Richard Kirtley set a new world record on Tuesday by playing the match.
"A couple of years ago, I chanced upon a plateau near the Everest Base Camp. I thought to myself, I should get some of the boys up here for a game of cricket one day. Two and a bit years down the line that vision has become a reality," wrote Kirtley on his blog.
Reports from Gorak Shep say that play was interupted by a pitch invasion in the form of a white yak. Gorak Shep at around 5200m in alitude is twice as high as FIFA would allow football matches to be played at.
The match was sponsored by mobile manufacturers, Nokia and the "Man of the Match" was Charlie Campbell.
Leftover cricket equipment is being donated to Khumjung school, though whether the Sherpas will take to cricket as they have mountaineering, remains to be seen.