Sunday at the Park

Three cracking games including one final, a very high probability of great weather ( 70s, sunny), a collection of super star players from both divisions ready to put on a great show, a bunch of spirited volunteers managing the logistics, including chairs, tables, food, music...and last but not the least....another rare chance to watch the Midwest Bradman, Satha Sivapragasam! Now, why would any self respecting local cricket fan be anywhere else?

The Division 1 Finals is expected to start at 9.30 AM with Pak Gym taking on Challengers. Based on the poll on our blog, Pak Gym certainly starts with a slight edge and justifiably so given their outstanding form this season. I'm certainly looking forward to see their highly rated bowling attack led by the other perennial superstar of MWCC, Shahid Munir and with the likes of Farman, Rashid, Bakshi and our very own Raheel ( surely the blogger's favorite!) the heat is going to be on the Challengers batting to stand and deliver. If Daxx's stunning 99 in the Night semis earlier this week is any indication then, Challengers batting will be ready to dish out their own menu. Also, with guys like Tushar, Bhavesh, Nilesh, Sanjay etc.. all matchwinners on their day, this final looks like a very tight contest irrespective of what the polls say. But, my pick for the player to watch out for is a guy who seems to love the big occasion. He made a quite unbeaten 27 in the semis, but those who watched the sensational finals between the Wildcats and Pak Gym last year may not have forgotten this man's superb century that set up the mammoth Pak Gym total. He is Hasan Shah and I say watch out for him!

In Division II we have Capitol taking on Chicago Giants. Capitol as the higher seed obviously goes in as the favorite but I will say that it will be a colossal mistake to underestimate the Giants. This is a team that is on a mission. They played several games earlier this season without their full arsenal, but the second half of the season has seen a revitalized Giants clinically knocking off team after team to reach the semis. Satha is obviously the biggest threat for the Giants, but this Capitol is not just Satha ( part of the reason why they are in the semis). There are guys like Rahul, Vamshi, Madan etc that can turn the game on their own. Satha's presence is going to cast a huge shadow on this game but to me the player to watch out for sits on the Chicago Giants roster. I'm a big fan of his batting and I can assure you that if this guy gets going he can rip apart any attack to shreds. My team has been on the receiving end of his brutality and so from personal experience I will say -- watch out for the explosive Mohammed Yaseen.

The last match up is an absolute cracker of a contest between the alphabet teams, ICC and AAA. Both teams are going to have huge cheering squads and with all the marquee names on either sides this will be a highly interesting game to watch. ICC captain Rupnarine Seenarain will be the biggest name on the field - astute captain, legendary wicket taker, champion bat - he can do it all. With guys like Challenor Jack, Colin Burgins, Simeon Xavier, Aaron Challenger etc, Rup and Co have the firepower to blank out any opponent. But, this is not just any opponent that stands across them. Led by the most unassuming super all rounder Hafez Adam Menk - a guy who can hurt you with the ball and with the bat ( not to speak of his magical ability to win tosses!), this is a team that has a collection of guys who can beat you before you even know what happened. Guys like Imran Taylor, Khalil Dadabhai, Abdul Behrin etc can destroy bowling attacks in no time and then they have the always dangerous Bilal Patel who floats around the batting order and you still have Hafez Adam Menk to deal with. It will be an interesting battle between these two totally different teams. The fact that our friends Rup and Jack have pretty much guaranteed a win on the blog makes this a must follow game for us bloggers. No questions as to who to watch for in this game: All eyes should be on the incomparable Rup...and with the corner of the eye watch out for Hafez A. Menk. One thing is for sure - this sunday will be fun!

We are hoping to have a " Midwest Cricketer" area out in the middle of the Park. Hope to see you there.