Lord’s hosts Web giants’ 2007 cricket tournament
What better way to sort out company rivalries than a good old English cricket tournament? Last Friday three Net heavyweights – Yahoo!, Google and Lastminute.com – took part in a one-day competition at Lord’s.
It was the battle of the search engines in the semi-final as Yahoo! faced up to Google for the chance to take on the travel service provider in the final. About 100 employees from both companies lined the terraces, so this was no small knock about.
Despite the opposition’s selection of an ex-county junior player (who subtly kept his secret weapon-status hidden beneath his old county cap) Yahoo! defeated Google 133-120.
By the time the first ball was bowled in the final the Yahoo! crowd had doubled, which was a measure of the support for the company team and nothing to do with the free booze on offer, of course. There was even a Yahoo! bus that blasted out yodelling from a PA whenever the team hit a four or six.
Just like a sentimental sports film, the outcome favoured both teams as the game ended in an honourable draw. And so the internet company battle continues next summer with all three teams seeking ultimate victory.
