Sunday morning June 18th and its game day for PCC and QC Kings. Its the first game away for QC Kings from comfort of their home ground where they had a unbeaten season so far. From just looking at the body language of the team, I can tell, they are riding high with confidence and very much looking forward to secure their first win away from home. Its one and half hour drive to Mossville, Peoria where they will meet formidable PCC team. Its clash between two brand new, entirely different brand of Div-II teams this year. QC Kings, a new dynamic team with lots of confidence in their ability. PCC team with mix of experienced and new players who are playing together to bring some order to their season, win back glory of yester years. Lots of questions in the air; QC Kings a unbeaten team not looking forward for their first loss of the season, and PCC looking forward for a commanding win to set things straight in their quest towards championship. A perfect setting for a great clash! Sukhen Chatterjee, vice captain of QC Kings had requested to start the game at 10 AM in the morning and PCC team obliged his teams request. Sukhen being a past Peoria resident knew the area too well was first to arrive to the ground. Unfortunately his team members have taken a wrong exit and have gone too far in opposite direction. Finally, every one arrived to the ground at around 10:30 AM with high intensity as one of QC Kings team member Raj said "We looking forward for something special'. Match was about to begin and drama was to unfold!
Weather forecast for the day did not sound promising according to weather.com. There was 60% chance of rain through out the day and every one knew and said to each other "This is 'Illinois' weather Man; its here, there and its gone". And, seldom does weather man win their bets in these parts of Midwest. By time QC Kings team arrived, it was slightly drizzling. It was still playable conditions. Both team started their warm up drill and suddenly heavens opened up; It started to down pour. Clouds were thick and there was no sign of rain abetting. Both teams stood under shelter praying to Rain God to stop. Vivek Bhaskar from PCC was entertaining every one by imitating every member on the PCC team. It very nice atmosphere; but my one eye was always on the rain which did not show any signs of stopping. Rain kept on falling nonstop. It was like some one in Heavens forgot to shut off sprinklers for the day. At about 11:30 AM, exact hour half after the schedule start time, down pour changed to slight drizzle with sky clear at the far end. There was slight hope that if clouds above the ground pass, there might good weather coming our way in about hour or so. Dr B and myself inspected the ground and pitch was unplayable with water 'slurping' when you walk on it. Dr. B decided that it was unplayable but said they would hang around Peoria for another couple hours before taking route back to Moline. All hopes were lost at this point for a crucial tie between two exciting teams. Umpire Kiran Vukanti was very gracious enough volunteer to hang out to see if there is possibility of the game in hour or two. But hopes were dim. With nothing to do QC Kings decide to took off on tour de Peoria with Vice captain Sukhen at the helm. Dr B, Captain of QC kings came up to me and said current conditions were not ideal for a game. But he added they would hang around Peoria for couple hours before they take off to Moline. Vice Captain Sukhen dropped off his cell phone number with me and umpire to call him right away if conditions change. And off went entire QC Kings team.
PCC home ground at Midwest Sports Complex, Mossville Peoria, was recently added to list of many grounds that MCC management helped local teams to acquire in bid to expand league and provide better facilities to visiting MCC teams. PCC home is basically a huge soccer field and pitch is built between two existing soccer fields, minus the soccer goal posts. There was lots of convincing done by PCC team management that SFC management (who owns Midwest sports complex) would NOT lose soccer fields by having a cricket ground build there. Basically, pitch was planned in such a way that it is constructed midway (parallel) to least used soccer fields. It was such a scary thought to board of members who could not comprehend that we would be basically digging up 12X80 ft area, put concrete and stick astro on the top of the pitch. But once they saw vision through series of meetings, atlast gave PCC permission to go ahead with project. PCC ground is very picturesque with hills (should say mounds as locals call it!) on west and Illinois river at visible distance in the east on the other side of RT 29. Basically its a river basin and perfect area to play cricket with gentle wind always blowing one end. Since the ground is build for soccer, it is setup with perfect water drainage. Also, there are good rest room facilities and mess hall available for teams to use. (Working on getting a key to the facility; Volunteers open the facility and for couple games for Lucky XI and QC Kings it was not opened until really late in the afternoon. But we do have portable potties at ends of the ground which are 500 yards away) Best part about the out field is water never logs on the ground, but gets quickly absorbed and always dry from the top. This setup suits to cricket much better. Also, astro that MCC management helped PCC acquire is very thin (its not carpet based) and water dries so fast as heat radiated from concrete. Its amazing!
Rain stopped at 12 PM, weather looked perfect with blues skies visible over head. Sun peaked His 'smiley face' little bit and we knew it was only matter of time before we can start the game. Umpire and myself decided it would take an hour to get the pitch dry and immediately called Sukhen Chatterjee that we can start the game at around 1 PM if they are available and acceptable to their team. QC Kings graciously accepted and said team will be there at 1 PM. In the mean team PCC team worked hard to get the ground dried with few old cloths and old new papers. We got it pretty dry by 1 PM and captain Dr. B came up inspected, said it was good enough to play. Myself and Dr B had consultation with umpire and decided to curtail number of overs to 30 and still have 20 over rain rule as is. We immediately went to the toss and started the game at around 1:15 PM. Game was high quality and competitive!
Most striking part about QC Kings right up front was their attitude and indomitable spirit to play cricket at what ever it takes. It was their readiness and eagerness to play the game of cricket even after three hours of stoppage due to rain (game was suppose to start at 10 AM) is what set them apart from other teams I have experienced in the past 10 years of my cricket career with MCC. I personally seen in the past where few team were ready to split points and go home with out even bowling a single ball. They would call from comfort of their to enquire about weather situation and see if they can get out of it by splitting points with out playing. But this new breed of cricket attitude has definitely caught me by surprise that MCC teams are changing their attitude about game of Cricket and are indeed becoming more professional in their approach to their playing away games. What a fantastic gesture it was to us from QC Kings. We worked really hard to the ground ready and we were not looking forward to go home with out playing the game. We love this game and wanted to play it as long conditions were favorable for decent match. Let me assert that good gestures are never forgotten and in fact contagious; I sincerely hope that all teams that are reading this follow the example set by QC Kings. Its not about the points, its about satisfaction of playing fair, competitive game of cricket that matters at the end of the day.
QC Kings and PCC played a fantastic match and what ever the outcome was, it was CRICKET in the end that was WINNER! Kudos to the QC Kings for their sportsmanship and they have just won me as their great FAN! QC Kings 'Wish you very best in your season ahead'.
Written By: Madhu Reddy of Peoria CC
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61 comments:
Good to hear this. Keep up the good work guys.
is mwcc sending a team for the L.A open this year?
LA OPEN!!!huh...Good luck!! Infact thats what we will need a lot out there. MWCC takes it as a joke. Certain buddies are selected regardless if they are 20/20 players. Individuals are called upon a week before the tournament about their availability. Atleast I am happy to know that league is paying for the tournament "OFFICIALLY" unlike past years. I don't blame the players for not performing in this tournament as there is no preparation, strategies or plans. Can somebody from management explain this peculiar behaviour year after year?
Biggest league with amazing talent fails to win one game each year.
so has the team been announced?
how come there is nothing about this anywhewre??? jaggi, do you know anything about this? today is the 20th of june, and the L.A open is on the 4th of July weekend...does anyone know who is going or is it usual croni-ism...
I don't understand the reasoning here?? You don't like what the current administration is doing (this L.A. Open Fiasco is not new to anyone who has been in this league for couple of years) and yet you want them to run this organization. I think we have no one but ourselves to blame when we made the choice on March 31st.
Adnan
Adnan, this is not the place for your election campaign. Which part of "YOU LOST" do you not understand? Khud kuch kaam nahi karte ho, all you do is complain.
Ram
Ram, Dhiru here, I told you that Adnan will try to use this to promote himself. You owe me bro :-)
Hey, take it easy guys. I don't know this Adnan guy too much, but people should be able to bring up issues without being crucified. So what if somebody loses an election, atleast they stood up for what they believe in. As a matter of fact, you seem to be complaining and not doing anything about these squibbles that you have. It doesn't matter who is elected, people have to work together to identify relevant issues and try to fix them.
You are probably a republican aren't you ........... kill the messenger who bears the bad news....
This is what I am talking about. Un educated people with narrow minded thinking who have never played outside the realm of street cricket, trying to escape the issue because it does not concern them. Ram and Dhiru here know very well that they cannot even compete at league level let alone tryout for L.A. Open, therefore it is in their best interest to divert the issue and bring in the personal aspect to sway from the topic. Sad indeed.
Adnan
Ram, Dhiru why do you guys take everything so personally?
I think these are relevant issues and have nothing to do with campining! this is after all a way to communicate for all. why shouldn't people be allowed to ask questions?
I think we have a right to know who will represent our league in the tournament, right?
http://laopen2020.com/ damn check out the teams...only MWCC has no info about the players representing them...
DATE GAME TIME GROUND
Jul 01, 2006 Alescon Comets of Trinidad v PakAmer CC ( New York) 9:00 am Wong
Jul 01, 2006 Chicago Midwest Cricket Confer v Los Angeles - Packers XI 3:30 pm Severn
Jul 01, 2006 Sims Florida All Stars v Los Angeles - Packers XI 12:15 pm Severn
Jul 01, 2006 Sims Florida All Stars v Chicago Midwest Cricket Confer 9:00 am Severn
Jul 01, 2006 Trinidad & Tobago v SCCA - Presidents XI 3:30 pm Wright
Jul 01, 2006 Trinidad & Tobago v California Fooglies 12:15 pm Wright
Jul 01, 2006 California Fooglies v SCCA - Presidents XI 9:00 am Wright
Jul 01, 2006 Air-India v Washington, D.C. Tigers 3:30 pm Marder
Jul 01, 2006 Air-India v Western Terminators 12:15 pm Marder
Jul 01, 2006 Washington, D.C. Tigers v Western Terminators 9:00 am Marder
Jul 01, 2006 Alescon Comets of Trinidad v Punjab Blues 3:30 PM Wong
Jul 01, 2006 PakAmer CC ( New York) v Punjab Blues 12:15 pm Wong
Jul 02, 2006 Alescon Comets of Trinidad v SCCA - Presidents XI 12:15 pm Wong
Jul 02, 2006 Chicago Midwest Cricket Confer v Punjab Blues 9:00 am Severn
Jul 02, 2006 Trinidad & Tobago v Western Terminators 9:00 am Wright
Jul 02, 2006 Sims Florida All Stars v Washington, D.C. Tigers 9:00 am Marder
Jul 02, 2006 PakAmer CC ( New York) v Air-India 9:00 am Wong
Jul 02, 2006 California Fooglies v Los Angeles - Packers XI 12:15 pm Marder
Curtley Ambrose, Franklyn Rose, Cameron Cuffy, Adam Sanford - I dont think many of our Midwest batsmen would be queueing up to face those bowlers! Esp. Ambrose (shudder)!
-Raheel.
wow! it's a veritable who's who...
the guys that are going please bring back some autographs...esp. azharuddin...
Faisal.
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Biggest league with amazing talent fails to win one game each year.
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Anyone who looks at the rosters knows why MCC is not likely to win too much - and I dont mean the MCC roster, but the other teams rosters :-) MCC is maybe the only league that actually sends its own team, with players only from our league - most other teams are trying to win the prize money etc, and are recruiting international stars to play in their sides. I dont think we really want to do that for our side, do we? Do we want to pay people to play for our side just for one weekend?
My prediction is that Punjab Blues will win it again this year, just as they did last year :-) Thats because they will open the batting with Stuart Williams and Leon Garrick (former WI openers, both), with a middle order of Marlon Samuels, Richie Richardson, Carlton Baugh (current WI ODI wicketkeeper) etc. They also have 2-3 USA players in their side, as well as Asela Jayasinghe (a Sri Lankan first-class player who made 270 in a 35-over game in Michigan last year :-) And then, to defend whatever target this terribly weak batting lineup puts up, their bowling side will be..
Cameron Cuffy, Curtly Ambrose, Franklyn Rose and Jermaine Lawson (who, if the WI selectors had sense, would actually be bowling in the 3rd test match against India tomorrow instead of against our MCC all-stars :-)
This year the teams are even better - Air India is putting up a team, for instance, that is basically almost their "normal" office team that plays in club cricket in India. It is a well-balanced and competitive side even in Indian office cricket.
Everyone may not know their names, but they are brilliant cricketers, any of them probably better than any player we have here. Three former internationals (Hirwani, Amre, Dighe), and the rest are very good and very young players (Valtathy, Marathe and Madkaikar are all former India Under-19 players who are currently 20-22 years old; Naik and Bagul are both current Bombay Under-19 stars; Pritam Gandhe is a veteran Ranji star for Vidarbha who is stil playing Ranjis, probably unlucky he never got picked for India).
We have Packers in our group - thats the team with 6 internationals in it, including Azharuddin, plus a couple of US players.
We should of course pick our best players, and put up our best effort. But if an MCC side loses to some of the sides listed above (a bowling lineup of Ambrose, Franklyn Rose, Cameron Cuffy and Jermaine Lawson is better than half the current test teams I think :-)... they dont really deserve to be mocked for it, do they?
Sadiq
Oh, BTW, our first game is against Los-Angeles Packers - with Azhar, Nikhil Chopra, Rohan Gavaskar etc, 6 internationals in all. Our last game is against Punjab Blues - with Ambrose and company.
Someone in LA doesnt like the MCC very much, do they? :-)
Sadiq
It does not matter win or loose, i just don;t think we do enough to give ourselves a chance. Cricket is a game where anything is possible, if kenya can beat WI and bangladesh can beat australia, cannot MWCC beat these OLD jokers...i mean these guys are playing here due to one of the two reasons...a) they are not good enough to represent their international sides.. b)they are old and want to come here and drink booze and try their hand out on the game they once played well.....with no preparation in 2004 we had punjab blues 60/6 with likes of richie richardson, stuart williams, clayton lambart etc etc. in the team...i say anything is possible .Give ur best effort i am sure to see some upsets....hey if shahid goes crazy he is definitely etter then any of these old jokers. GO MWCC!!!!
FYI Shahid is a US player too, he was selected last year for the tour that never happened. And I remember didn't he hit 54 in 12-14 balls or so at LA last year?
On another note, ex-Internationals are def not jokers and the fringe test players are really, really good. I've seen some club / first class players playing in Lahore .. believe me MWCC is nowhere near that level let alone International.
There's no shame in losing though and anything is possible in cricket as stated above.
That was me.
-Raheel.
Folks.. Tariq and Sohail have been working on putting up a team. A bunch of players have been contacted. A lot of players have refused to go due to various other commitments. The team will be annouced shortly. So, please be patient. The players that were contacted will also be informed.
From what I have heard, its a great experience. I wish the team the very best. I do agree that on a given day, any team can be beaten, especially in 20-20.
For next year, I plan to be there. Four beautiful grounds, lots of talented players from all over the world, FREE FOOD :-), what else can one ask for.
Sadiq,
I don't think anyone on this blog is mocking the talent pool MWCC contains. The biggest complaint we have is that we have been going to L.A. Open for about two years now and we are still insistent on doing a half you know what job. Calling potentital candidates two weeks before the tournament is not exactly the way a team should be put together. We all agree on the level of competition that we would face at this tournament, don't you think there should be some preparation to get ready for this tournament? Afterall we pay $1100 as an entrance fees and now it is a fully paid trip. I would like to get something out of the money I spent. The squad should have been put together couple of months in advance.
Adnan
LA Open sounds all good, but, admit it guys, its a flash in the pan. We will get our a.. whooped. If we cant send our best team, then drop it yaar !! The money saved can be better used in our league for run-ups, umpiring training etc.
Pehla, apna Ghar Ka Safai Karo, uske baad baahar ka socho !!
3 Cheers to newsletter team and 1.5 cheers to management.
Kisen
Could not agree with you more. If the intent is not to win, then why spend the money. If it is for exposure only then administration should be rotating the XI every year and pick players from DIVII as well.
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I don't think anyone on this blog is mocking the talent pool MWCC contains. The biggest complaint
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Maybe "mocking" was the wrong word to use, sorry :-) But when someone (annonymous, I know) said the "biggest league and always fails to win a game" thing, it didnt sound right to me. If it is just our league-players against other-leagues-players, and we always lost every game, that would be one thing. But this isnt just an apples-to-apples comparison, is it?
Not that we cant win, of course - as Madhu and Mehul have rightly pointed out, its a 20-20 game, literally anything can happen. I was just pointing out that it wasnt a shame to lose to some of the teams that show up. This year, for example, we have one game that is a true apples-to-apples comparison - the Florida team seems to be a "Florida allstars" without outside recruits, just like our team will be the "Midwest allstars". I would like to see us win that game at least (last year we had 1 similar game, against DC allstars, but ended up losing it, with their opener playing a blinder, apparently).
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we have is that we have been going to L.A. Open for about two years now and we are still insistent on doing a half you know what job. Calling potentital candidates two weeks before the tournament is not exactly the way a team should be put together. We
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I dont know if its a fair statement that the team is being picked only 2 weeks before the tournament - as Jaggi said, a fair few players have been contacted, apparently (and availablility and non-availability of several confirmed). Just because the team hasnt been announced with 2 weeks to go doesnt neccesarily mean that no action has been taken on that front. It may well have been in the works since early June.
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put together couple of months in advance.
Adnan
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Id probably agree that it may have been nice to have an earlier announcement. However, I dont think I agree about the "2 months" part.
Our league started only the 6th of May - that by itself is less than 2 months before the LA Open! Surely early-season form is not entirely irrelevant in selecting a side? We cant (or shouldnt) be going *just* by last year, probably.
In that sense, I think a team selection in mid-June isnt neccesarily a bad thing - you have last year's data already, you can add a little bit for early-season form, make sure everyone is actually playing (and no injuries) etc.
Good luck to whoever represents MCC - and, as Faisal said, bring back some autographs (especially that of Elcon Lynwall Curtly :-)
Sadiq
Mehul was contacted just this week about his availability. Faisal has not been contacted yet. Why don't we find out from those who are going and who have been to the tournament to see when they were asked to go? Since half of United Cricket Club represented MWCC in 2004 L.A. Open (they could not find anyone who was willing to bear their own expense for this trip), I can tell you that I got a call week before the tournament asking me if I can arrange for players and participate. We all know about last year's hoax known as 'L.A. Open trial' and how the privileged ones who were not even present at the trials were picked to go. I still think 2 months is sufficient to put a squad of 14 together and twice a month they play a 20/20 against the rest of MWCC XI to sharpen their skills and to gel with each other. The biggest factor behind a successful XI is the chenmistry between the players.
Adnan
This is how things are suppose to be done.
=================================
SCCA LA Open Team Announced
Jigar Shah
Jun 12, 2006
Adnan.
The SCCA Selection Committee announced the following squad for the LA Open - congratulations gentlemen and good luck!
Abhemanyu Rajp
Abhishek Pawar
Aditya Thyagarajan (Captain)
Ali Shafi
Basit Bargoob
Dionisius Mavrokefalos (Theo)
Easwaran Venkatachalam
Elmore Hutchison
Lee Williams
Mehul Dave
Nikhil Iyer
Peshaan Wedanarachchi
Ritesh Kadu (Wicket Keeper)
Tarun Bhoomireddy
Reserves:
Pruthviraj Panda
Tirthendra Sanyal
Next Practise for LA open is 7:30 a.m. on June 25th. Everybody named in the squad above has to come for that practise. Please note that you have to come to Woodley at 7:30 a.m. even if you have a game that day unless the game is in San Diego. The coach and captain want to have a team meeting a week before LA Open to go over details for the tournament.
If you have any questions please feel free to email me.
Thank you,
Jigar Shah
SCCA Manager - LA OPEN
NOW WE KNOW WHY NASIR MAHMOOD JOINED THE FLAMES. Check out the XI.
Chicago Midwest Cricket Confer
About Us: One of the most dominant leagues in the Midwest. The have more than 53 clubs in the Association and growing strong by the day. Tariq Ahmed is one of the most dynamic President's to lead this league.
Captain: Sohail Alvi
Vice Captain: Shahid Munir
Contact Mail: tariq@midwestcricket.org
Phone:
Current Roster
Afroze Siddiqui Nilesh Patel
Ajit Ramaswamy Shahid Munir
Asif Mehmood Sohail Alvi
Bhavesh Amin Subba Vaddlamuni
Imran Tailor Tehsin Ahmed
Nasir Mahmood Tushar Mehta
Match Schedule
DATE GAME TIME GROUND
Jul 01, 2006 Chicago Midwest Cricket Confer v Los Angeles - Packers XI 3:30 PM Severn
Jul 01, 2006 Sims Florida All Stars v Chicago Midwest Cricket Confer 9:00 AM Severn
Jul 02, 2006 Chicago Midwest Cricket Confer v Punjab Blues 9:00 AM Severn
The purpose of this hate-mail is? Nasir is a very good bowler and very hard to hit in the 20-20 format, who would you rather have? And please state your name at the end of the post.
-Raheel.
What happened to the result of the highly anticipated game between Muslim and Pak Gymkhana? Both teams have not entered summary. Can mgmt contact these teams and ask them to enter scores?
Amit
Also, what is the verdict on the new runups at WP?
Amit
I would guess that faisal was not picked because he would not gell well in the team. Both the brothers are pretty anti-management and not good team players.
Ravi
"Nasir is a very good bowler and very hard to hit in the 20-20 format"
is this what the management found out this year or do you have to be part of certain teams to be eligible for selection. He did not make PAK 11 most of the time last year, and has not done anything extra-ordinary this yr to get recognized. There is nothing against Nasir, I think he is an excellent bowler and I would be very happy if he does well, but something is obvious with these team selection. Mr. Ravi, I really think that you should stop posting stupid comments about individuals you have no clue about. Are you suggesting that to get selected you have to be nodding your head at everything that is done by this management? Adnan and Faisal are excellent TEAM players and your so called "Anti-management" behavior has got you new pitches and excellent ground conditions at washington park this year.
How is this hatemail Raheel? Nasir has been playing in this league for over two years and had no exposure. Now he joined the flames and all of a sudden he is going to L.A.? What was the criteria used for his selection? Word of mouth that he is a good bowler and very hard to hit is not enough. I myself consider Nasir to be the future of MWCC and have tried my best to recruit him, but we need solid data to justify his inclusion. Show me the stats.
ADNAN BAIG
UNITED CRICKET CLUB.
Adnan Bhai, anyone who has played cricket knows stats are not everything - if they were, we don't need a selection committee etc. we could all just go to the top batsmen / top bowlers table in the database and pick out the team. Anyways, I do not want to get involved in the management-opposition battle, I'm just saying that having played with Nasir for a few years and also facing him in practice, I know he is extremely difficult to hit, that's what we require in 20-20. If you want to go by stats, since this is 20-20 format, we should use the stats of last year's night tournament and there should be more players from Pak Gym than just Shahid - e.g. Bakhshi and no one can bowl pinpoint yorkers like Rashid bhai, not even Shahid I might add.
No disrespect to anyone at United CC ... but please when you post something, include your name at the bottom.
-Raheel.
Anyone who has played Cricket knows stats are everything. That is the only way to justify one's inclusion in the XI. Just as you can confidently proclaim that Nasir is extremely hard to hit, I can tell you that Faisal is a hard hitter and a natural add on to the 20/20 format. And if that is the case where Pak Gym's players dominated the 20/20 format last year, then why are we not asking questions to the management about the selection process? How often have you seen Sohail, Suba or Tehsin participating in 20/20? Are you telling me that the reputation of these players should supercede their performance as a 20/20 player? We need young blood and fresh legs for L.A. Open as we will be playing two games in one day. I am asking these tough questions, becasue everyone else is too afraid to, and that is what makes me the bad guy. You know what, if that is what it takes to keep these guys on the toes, then Iam glad to bear the responsibility.
Adnan
"your so called "Anti-management" behavior has got you new pitches"...
Adnan Bhai, aap please explain karo ki aap kyu credit le rahe hain? Aap to nahi they wahan pe. Yeh Aapka idea tha? Aapne Mohammad Bhai ko employ kiya? Are you thinking Tariq Bhai did this out of fear for your comments?
Maaf karo, but Main ground main tha aur Aap apne office/ghar main.
Wasim
"Anyone who has played Cricket knows stats are everything. That is the only way to justify one's inclusion in the XI."
Adnan bhai, I hit 5 sixes off 5 balls last season in St. Louis, should I be crying out for a place on the team as a batsman/hitter? I don't think stats are everything, we can have a poll / show of hands on here who thinks stats are everything?!
-R
I dont think Stats reveal the whole picture. I have been part of games, where the bowler's statistics showed that he went for over 10 runs per over(Night Tournament), but it turned out that there were 4 dropped catches(3-went for boundaries), two top edges that flew and a couple of mis-fieldings which resulted in the bowler's statistics getting all messed up.
Ravi
Night tournament-05,
Team - United
Player - Mehul Shani
Innings - 2
Not Out - 0
Runs - 1
Avg - 1,
Best -1
I say that he is better player than that.
Raj
hahaha...i am sure and i hope i am not selected as a batsman for any team...
Raheel, first off let me tell you that know one is crying for a place on the team, I don't understand what you and Ravi are trying to justify here. the questions are for management and last i checked neither one of you are part of managemnt!!! Ravi do you know me?? how do you come to the conclusion that i am not a good team player or is that pure speculation on your part?
what team do you play for ravi? be a man and identify yourself!!
Its probably best if the MCC appoints a selection panel of non-playing cricketers who have considerable knowledge about cricket and our current players. The two names that come to my mind are Joseph Green and Sadiq Yousuf. I'm not saying that they should be the only one's considered, all I am sayings is that we should probably think around those lines. To compete in a tournament like the LA open, one needs to build a team. Simply putting big name players won't get it done.
Adnan ji, I have been reading all your posts and have also visited your club website and read some of your posts there. I am convinced that your constant badgering of management is not because of any personal reasons but because of you genuine interest in the betterment of the MCC. Yet, you must realize that it is extremely hard to organize and run a league as big as the MCC. You must give management credit for all they have done so far. The only way this league will get better if influential people like yourself will work with management. I am sure that that all the MCC officials will welcome all the help that they can get. Especially if it comes from someone like you.
It is probably too late to do anything about this years LA open, but I am quiet sure that MCC would be really pleased if you come up with a detailed plan for selection and preparation of next years LA open and present it to our MCC officails.
Anyways, I wish all of those playing LA the very best.
peace
Amit
"You know what, if that is what it takes to keep these guys on the toes, then Iam glad to bear the responsibility."
Lovely .. take credit for it. Clap Clap Clap.
"WP-Pitches are amazing and so is the run up", its due to ONLY one guy sitting in the opposition.
"Satha scores 223".. guess who kept him on his toes.
"Pak Beat Muslim".. guess who gets the credit for that.
"United beat Chargers".. all due to who know who(he didnt play the game.. so what?????? he still gets the credit)
I came here to discuss cricket and not listen to one guy whining about what he would have done had he won. When and if you do win, we will see how you run this league.
Who cares what Jigar shaw does for his league, its not an apple-apple comparision. Jigar has people who work and not whine, Jigar has cash and tonnes of it, more importantly Jigar doesnt have a "u know who" mouthing his "who know what" off, instead of helping the league.
Lets play cricket and not dirty politics!!
~Mosin
mosin, how long have you been playing cricket in this league?
have you ever seen promises made and promises kept b4 this year? is that just a strange coincedence that the conditions are improving, we all want this league to florish. i remeber, couple of years back they held a CER torny here in chicago and they laughed at how bad the conditons were here and how it looked like a 3rd world country! we all take pride in playing for the biggest league in the country that is why we want the best things done here. i give big props to everyone this year for improving the grounds at washinton park and now the run up is beatuiful aswell. i praise jaggi for all he is doing and continues to do! but Mosin, these things were promise a long time ago and it took a little scare for them to deliver on these. so don't disrespect if you don't know!
Faisal B.
At the request of Mehul Shani, I have decided to not post anything on this blog from now on.
Adnan
Dear All, I was not bashing anyone - just defending Nasir's inclusion, I think he does deserve a place - thats my opinion and as they say about opinions .. an opinion is like an asshole, everyone's got one ... so shoot off yours! (no pun intended ;) )
-Raheel.
Mehul, I realize that you are primarily a bowler, but not a bad batsmen either. An average of .5 doesnt justify your batting talent. My point is that stats dont tell the whole story.
Raj
Adnan.. You have been one of the strong critics against this management from day one. Its unfortunate that you have decided not to post anything on the blog. I hope its not because you couldnt handle some of the criticism you have received by some of the members. In any case, life goes on !!
Peace
Raj
hmm, I wish Satha were playing hte LA Open....can't believe he scored 223 in the last match. He's seems to just be toying with all the Division II teams.
Farhat bahi hows your fever we heard you got sick during the game and refuse to bat and hows your health now
concern friend.
It's a shame that satha wasn't selected. he is undoubtedly one of the best batsmen in the league.
well, I would think that Satha prolly refused to play. Can't imagine him not being selected.
this is why they should ask people a month in adavance, as oppose to waiting till the last minute, great players like satha can start planning for it.
I really like that idea of an all star game. I know it will be hard to schedule, but it will be a lot of fun to watch all the top players battle it out. To be honest, I really won't care if our team loses the LA open tournament, cos first of all they are going up against international stars and secondly, its TWENTY-TWENTY not Cricket. I can see why some of our top players wouldn't want to play in such a tournament. Its almost as bad as asking someone like Satha to travel 600 miles to play in a tennis ball tournament.
Amit
After reading the posts here, one really wonders whether participation in LA open is worth it. Let me summarize the issues here:
1. It is unlikely we will win one game let alone the tournament. People mentioned that "anything can happen in cricket". Of course this is true. But the question is, do we want to spend so much money simply in the hope of one Bangladesh vs. Australia type miracle?
2. It is a rich experience. Fine. Then we should send different players every year. Why should the same players get experience year after year? If it is only for experience, and we have little hope of winning, and we are all paying same amount of money, then we should all get same amount of experience.
3. It is too early for our season. (Mentioned by Sadiq.) We cannot pick a team a month in advance and train it adequately because one month in advance means June 1st week. We have played only 2-3 games each, and too early to decide who is in form and who is not. In LA, the season begins in February. As Adnan mentioned, they pick their squad a month in advance and put it through rigorous training.
4. It is only a 20-20, i.e., hit-and-giggle cricket. I don't know if it is true, but Amit writes above that some of our top players may not want to go 600 miles for this type of cricket. Also, one wonders how much experience one can get in 20-20. I mean, can anyone actually absorb the technique and temperament of Azharuddin in a 20-overs match? What technique/temperament are there in 20-20?
Given all of the above, one wonders if LA Open is worth it. Are we getting true value for money given the above disadvantages? Are there other tournaments at national-level that we can participate, which are a better fit... Maybe 50-over tournament against more suitable opponents (maybe 1 or 2 but not 11 pros), scheduled so we have preparation time???
-Samarth.
Samarth,
To answer your comments, most of the people who are not going is not because they don't want to travel 600 miles, by the way la is not 600 miles. It's because they have prior engagements.
To answer another of your question about sending same guys over and over, roster is lot different this year than last year.
Tushar
That is what happens when you ask people two weeks before the tournament.
Samarth,
I think the only reason why we participate in the LA open is because we are the MWCC. One of the biggest cricket leagues in the United States. Say for instance our management makes the right decision of not participating at all. Can you imagine how much chaos that would create. Already, it seems that Tariq and company are bombarded with hate mail about things they "should" be doing. This would just make it harder on them.
I do agree with you about the 50 over tournaments. We should definately participate in those. There was a tournament in Minnesota a couple of weeks ago with teams from Michigan, Minnesota and Chicago (I think Adnan's team). But MWCC didn't send a team there. I'd be a lot more excited about that tournament than the one being played in LA.
And Tushar, your right, LA is a lot more than 600 miles from here. For some reason I thought LA was in Florida (plz don't ask me why).
Amit
ps. oh, and by the way...I don't mean to discourage all of our players from playing well in LA. Wish u all the very best. Now go get them boys(and men)!!
--------
1. It is unlikely we will win one game let alone the tournament. People mentioned that "anything can happen in cricket". Of course this is true. But the question is, do we want to spend so much money simply in the hope of one Bangladesh vs. Australia type miracle?
-----
Good news from the Western Front :-) After Day One at the LA Open, MWCC is 1-1!
I had suggested (a long while ago, in a different thread I think) that our best chance of a big win in this tournament would be the first game, when we played Florida All-Stars. It isnt neccesarily "a miracle" to win a game - there are 3 or 4 teams that are completely stacked with internationals/first-class/U19 type players, but some others are just normal "state teams" etc. For example, Florida had no internationals, just people who are the better players in Florida (including, of course, one Faoud Bacchus, former international). SCCA is all the best players in the Southern California League (including Tarunreddy, who was in our league 2 years ago), and so on. But we'll take our chances against a team with just "league players" from any other league - its the international-stacked teams that skew things a little bit. Anyway.
Our first game today was against Florida... and we won! Apparently we were in trouble early, were about 60/6 or so.. and then Bhavneet (from Milwaukee United) hung in excellently, as did the rest of the lower order. In the meantime, the star of the day was Nilesh (of the Challengers) - from 60ish for 6 he carried the team, hitting up an unbeaten 50 all by himself and carrying MWCC to almost 150 in the 20 overs. And then the bowlers all apparently did a great job, most chipping in with a couple of wickets each, as MWCC defended that total and registered a wonderful win. Nilesh bowled well too, a fantastic allround performance, and was easily the consensus pick for Man of the Match (what our Mexican soccer-friends would call the "Jugador
Mas Valioso", a real MVP :-)
The second game against LA Packers started well too (this is the team with "international players", Azharuddin, Raju, Rohan Gavaskar etc). An excellent early partnership between Sohail (St Louis) and Ajit (Wildcats). But then supposedly the spinners were brought on - and these are internatinal level spinners on a track that favours spin, Venkatapathy Raju, Nikil Chopra etc. They did a good job and kept MWCC to about 140 or so. LA Packers lost 4 or 5 wickets, but made it with a couple or so overs to spare I believe.
Tomorrow morning is the biggest test - Punjab Blues, the team that is always stacked with the most stars (supposedly this year with Curtly Ambrose etc). Still, MWCC has won a game already, and thus stands a pretty good chance of advancing to the second-round just on that basis! Already the performance against Florida is a real feather in the cap for our boys - making the next round of the tournament would be a quite brilliant icing on the cake! Good luck to them tomorrow - and hearty congrats on today!
Sadiq
If anyone ever finds out maybe they can let us know why Satha was not selected.
whenever i meet him i will get the low down and pass on. If he was available and not selected I will be one mad cricket loving fan and MCC will sure know how i feel then.
It stinks when ever your best is left behind and you loose.
Cricket lover
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