Season Champion of Division Two will automatically advance
to Division One at the end of the season (to be joined by
the winner of the playoffs). Given that, the Race for Number
One has assumed immense proportions this regular season.
At the moment, it is neck-and-neck - no less than 4 teams
are tied at 32 points with an 8-1 record! They are Peoria,
Advancers, IIT and QC Kings. The following are their
remaining schedules:
Peoria CC: IIT, Illinois, Warriors, Tigers, Universal
(all games in Mossville)
Advancers: Universal, Collinsville (away), IIT, Arsenal, CCI (away)
IIT: Peoria (away), Lucky, Advancers, Warriors, NoStars
QC Kings: SIUE (away), Arsenal, Raiders, Giants, Collinsville
(last 4 in Moline)
The big game is this weekend, with IIT visiting fellow-Big-Four
team Peoria. After that Peoria takes on the dangerous Illinois.
Advancers have their biggest test playing fellow Big Four IIT
in 3 weeks, and then the dangerous Arsenal. IIT, obviously,
has yet to play both Big Four teams (Peoria and Advancers).
QC Kings seem to be the ones with the easiest schedule, not
playing any of their Big Four brethren - but they do play
four dangerous sides in SIUE, Arsenal, Raiders and Giants,
three of them at home. (Overall, too, it must be said that
the QC Kings probably ended up with the easiest schedule
in retrospect - they will end the regular season without
having played any of Peoria, IIT or the Advancers. Everyone
else has played one of the 4, with IIT having played 2 of
the 4).
Who will emerge from this Race for Number One? Predictions,
analysis etc - especially from teams who have played more
than one of the Big Four this year - would be great to
read! And over the weekends, rapid updates on the games of
any of the Big Four would be greatly appreciated as well...
Written by Sadiq Yusuf
________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at midwestcricket.org
67 comments:
Just a quick update Advancers scored 306 for 3 wickets against Universal CC.
Suresh Paul is highest scorer with 106 n.o.
Srikanth scored 53 n.o.Shakir 37.
Update: QC Kings VS SIUE
QC Kings won the 3rd away match for this season against dangerous SIUE team.
SIUE put into bat scored 169 and QC Kings chased the score comfortably with 5 wickets and 4 overs to spare.
Bowling honours goes to Vivek and in batting Veeru scored 58 n.o. This is an excellent display of team effort to win their 9th match of this season.
With 4 more games to go against all good teams and with Chicago Giants match to be played in Washington park (venue changed at the request of QC Kings) i wish them all the best for an exciting finish to this year.
Regards,
QC fan
This is quite acievement for QC King as they won outside game..
Congratulation QC Kings.
I for one feel, Advancers aint getting any recognition for their awesome season. We keep talking about IIT and Peoria and QC and act like Advancers do not exist.
This is an effort to fix that ! :)
Go Advancers....Except when you guys play us ! Nice work this weekend upping that NRR :).
Who is the best wicketKeeper from Div 1 and who is the best in Div 2 ? Just from a wicketkeeping standpoint.
For me, in DIV II, Shashi Buluswar of the Giants is the best WK. At his age..i mean at his and my age, to do what he does is mind numbing. You not supposed to be diving like he is goal keeping at our ages !
Swetal,
No doubt you are correct in pointing out the Advancers. People forget about them, but they've gone about their business quietly and could end up in Div 1 next year.
What about Madison CC? Does anyone have any thoughts on them? Swetal, since you've played them and umpired there.
I'm not suggesting they'll top Div 2, but they're my old team, and they seem to be doing real well lately.
Adi,
I would say, The Madison team we played against had no shot ! :) Mind you they still beat us but that was Arsenal playing their consistently sucky brand of cricket this season.
That being said, the Madison team I umpired last weekend, has a serious shot. They had 3 more new bats playing last weekend that did not play when we played them.
If Madison fields their strongest team here on out, their batting strength/depth will be in par with that of IIT/PCC/QC/Advancers but it is their bowling that might be lacking. Mind you, they bowl a steady wicket to wicket line but nothing un-playable; they will go for runs.
Bottomline, they play smart and I would not rule them out just yet.
hey Swet bhau wass up kal aarahe ho kya night game dekhne...;-)
Swetal,
Yes, I completely agree, Shashi is the best keeper we have in div II. I still remember when we played them in div II, he reacts and gets in the line of the ball very quickly. As far as Div I, my pick is Mahesh Parikh. Though he doesn't dive like a goal keeping, he's always at his best. :)
One of the best games personally I have played...check it out...
Game Summary IIT Vs PCC @MOssville Aug 5th...
Aug 5th was a fine day and temps were reaching 92 F and very muggy. There were few unexpected showers on the ground in the morning at around 9 AM. Out field was little wet and astro turf too. But temps were almost hitting high 90's, so we knew it was going to dry pretty fast. Opponents came on time, but one their cars came late, which had 5 team members in it. By the time everyone arrived on the field, it was 11:20 or so. We started the game at around 11:40 AM. We went for the toss and they called it correctly. They decided to bat. PCC won toss only once this entire season so far. I guess we got to fix that. PCC knows it was very important game!
Bowling honors were started by Kiran and Maninder. Kiran came back to his original over the wicket attack and was bowling with pace. First over was a maiden. What a start! Maninder came from the other end and was swinging the ball nice and easy into the right handers. Vasudev Gavaskar was at the crease. He freed up little bit and was going for his drives, but wasn't timing the ball well. Kiran was getting disconcerting bounce and pace. Mani on the other hand was making the batsmen play and he got his first wicket in the form of LBW. Peach of a ball that cut in and hit the batsmen nice and low in front of the wicket. Kiran plugged away was very unlucky not to get any wickets. Edges were falling here there where no fielder was stationed. Vasu was was getting more and more confident was pulling the ball now from off stump. He pulled a good length ball out side off of Mani and it didn't make Mani happy. He bowled a nice inswinger that found the edge of Vasu's bat. Two wickets down for a score of around 20 in 6 overs. Ajay Gandhi and Pankaj were at the crease at this point. Both Ajay and Pankaj put their heads down and very slowly, steadily were progressing along. They didn't give any chance of any sort. We had lots of bowling changes, Madhu, Kalyan, Aswin, Santosh every one came in but couldn't get the break through. At 20 overs mark, they were 88 for 2.
After the break, both batsmen decided to break free. They took on Aswin and Vinay, they scored quite a few runs there. We wanted a wicket, and break the parnership; Vinay provide the break through for us. He got Ajay to play a high chip shot to Kalyan at extra cover region. As soon Ajay left at around 140 runs or so IIT innings just collapsed. In next 30 run we got all their 7 wickets. 4 wickets for Madhu and 2 for Kiran. They cleaned the tail before they could do any major damage. There were no boundaries, just edges here and there. One after the other batsmen came and went back. Finally tally was 177 runs in 38.3 overs all out. PCC needs 178 runs in 40 overs. Less than 5 an over. But afternoon temps are pretty high and it was way muggy. It might make the chasing treacherous. But PCC did well to contain dangerous looking IIT to 177 runs on a batting wicket.
Batting honors were started by Maninder and Praveen. Maninder came for this game all the way from Milwaukee. He wanted come and help out the team as much as he could. Strategy was set so that Praveen sticks in and Maninder plays his shots. Maninder pushed the first ball and got 2 runs. Then third ball he faced he unfurled a nice cut shot but point took a nice catch below the knee. First wicket fell for 3 runs on board. Vijay went in to play his trademark innings. He played very well and pulled couple of short balls for maximum in fine leg region. Praveen and Vijay were pluggin' away. Praveen was facing, and yet to open his account. The ball hit him on his pad above knee roll region, he was adjudged LBW. He wasn't too happy. Next man in was Kiran. Kiran and Vijay had a good useful partnership. Vijay at this point was playing very well timing his balls to perfection. He hitting the bowlers at will at this point. He took Raju for special treatment. Raju was not ready to take it. He bowled a ball that suddenly took off and it rose higher than Vijay expected and he wanted to guide to third man region. But it found his edge and was adjudged caugh behind. But Leg umpire didn't think it was high enough for 'No ball' so, Vijay returned. Kalyan went in to replace Vijay. He and Kiran rotated the strike pretty well. Then Kiran tried to drive a ball and took is leading edge, only to find Ajay Gandhi at point, who took awesome catch pretty low to the ground. Madhu went in next. Third ball he faced he tried to guide the ball to fine leg area and ball took the edge hit thigh pad and hit the wicket. He was bowled played on. It was lazy shot with no foot work in place. PCC was under tremendous pressure at this point. Vinay went in. He played pretty well to get his eye in. In mean while on the other end, Kalyan was slowly easing into the form. Suddenly was clean bowled to an in-dipper from Raju. Now PCC is under severe stress! PCC were 54 for 6 wickets. PCC wasn't having any luck on this day. Santosh went with clear instruction to play of first 20 overs and build partnership with Vinay. Both Vinay and Santosh put their heads down played very well. Pushed the ball around for ones and two's. They were satisfied and were no mood to take any chances. Vinay found his timing and drove the ball on the ground all the way to long on boundary. It was fantstic to see him drive on the ground which reached the long on boundary with ease. They played pretty tight keeping the focus to see off the 20 overs. At 20 over mark PCC were 89 for 6. Still lot more work left. Second half strategy for play one's and two's, get to the targe as close as possible.
Second half started very well for PCC. Both Santosh and Vinay easing themselves and are getting runs for PCC at will. Pushing and nudging were tricks of trade under current circumstances. When their partership was beginning to blossom, there was juicy ball from Chakri, and Vinay positioned himself to pull that ball. Suddenly it kept low and evaded Vinay's bat and uprooted his off stump. It was tremendous hard luck for Vinay wjho was just threating to break loose. At this point score was around 96 runs and 82 runs away from the target. Krishna went in to join Santosh. Both Krishna and Santosh stuck in their for a while. Santosh giving into his emotions gave a simple catch at country, having made a well deserved 12 runs of 33 balls. At this point we still need 75 odd runs. Vishal joined Krishna and all hopes were pinned on this partnership. Slow and steady, Krishna, Vishal stuck their, made leeway. Vishal and Krishna played very smart, runnings one's and two's where ever available. There were few over throws which resulted in few extra runs. By the time Opposition realized, PCC needed 54 of 66 balls. Opposition still were in attaking mode and there were no fielders in deep. Vishal made use of this fielding placement to perfection. Now game was on! Slowly Vishal opened up hitting odd boundaries and six of Raju . Now oppostion realized the seriousness of the situation. Needed 36 of 42 balls at this point. Oppostion made their changes now and set their defensive fields. Only 4 in the circles and rest were on at the boundaries. Still Vishal was able to milk ones and two's. Krishna was giving good support to Vishal running those ones for two's.
Krishna and Vishal were playing so well that opponents were feeling the pressure now. Krishna and Vishal tormented the opponents and running those quick singles and converting those ones to two's. Tremendous pressure on the fielders now. Equation looked 26 runs of 32 balls. Vishal hit beautiful boundary on the on-side beating the fielding placed there. It was power and massive hit that fielder didn't have time to react. Slow and steadly PCC was inching towards a nail-biting finish. Spectators were shouting at top o their lungs cheering on the batsmen. Now equation read 17 runs of 25 balls. SInce it was last bowl, Krishna decided to place it on to the onside and run quick single. He played it well, but it was little high and bowler Chakri too a awesome low diving catch to finish of Krishna's innings. It was hard luck! Now IIT was all fired up. They regrouped and discussed their options while our last man Aswin was coming in. Only 17 runs were required of 24 balls. Slowly and steady Vishal played on for ones and two's. IIT was fired up and were throwing themselves at every ball trying to stop those flow of runs. But Aswin and Vishal were playing smart cricket. Vishal was doing a perfect job of placing the ball in gaps. Now equation read 7 runs of 12 balls. Raju came to bowl the penultimate over. First ball was placed on mid-off Vishal got 2 runs for it and fielder was placed on the long-off boundary. Once again Vishal placed ball on mid-off and got 2 more runs again for the same reason. Third ball he played defensively. Now Vasu called the fielders in to stop the singles as only 3 runs required. Now there is mid-off, short covers, extra-cover, short mid-wicket in place to stop singles. Fourth ball Vishal faced, once again placed it perfectly between the mid-off and extra cover fielder and this time it resulted in 3 runs and PCC romped home. A BIG WIN by 1 wickets. It was exciting game and what a finish! A great fighting game for PCC!
Madhu Reddy
PCC
IIT played a great game! It just happened that we WON by whisker. Games like these build character on both sides. Congrats to IIT and wishing them a great season ahead!
Great move by QC kings to move the venue. Nothin like beating a home team in their own backyard...:) Great WIN this weekend..
Congrats Advancers I only wish at this point that PCC had game scheduled with you..Nothin like playing with gr8 teams..
Congrats to all Div-I and Div-II Winners...
Cheers
Madhu Reddy
PCC
naren said...
hey Swet bhau wass up kal aarahe ho kya night game dekhne...;-)
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Dekhne? Narasimha and I have the best seats in town....we Umping that game ! :)
Madhu,
Congrats on the win. Nice summary but then I think you may have just broke all Sadiq's existing records of having the longest post yet :).
How about we have a "This weeks games summaries" thread? Where folks can go and do their thing there.......just a thought...
Entire Advancers congratulate you Jaggi Bhai for becoming father.
May God bring more happiness in your life.
Advancers
Swetal..
Game was so good..I can't tell u..It think it would been at the same level as BOurne "Ultimatum"..U gotta be there..to feel entire game's excitement..These are the game that make you play cricket in the first place...under torrid muggy summer sun..It seems like we pulled one page from Arsenal Book of "How to Win a cricket match with 9th and 10th batsmen":) Yeah man..I wanted to capture ball to ball..as I was leg umpiring at the time...so all was embedded in my memory and I wanted to photocopy it.....Sorry to have broken Sadiq's record..Hope he forgives me for it...I just had the capture the whole essense and it was unavoidable..
I think it will be a good idea..
Cheers
Madhu
Swets, I think it's a good idea too. Will implement from next week onwards.
Madhu, enjoyed the summary. Felt like I was there at the match with you guys. Thanks, and congrats!
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Madew said...
Swetal..
Game was so good..I can't tell u..It think it would been at the same level as BOurne "Ultimatum"..U gotta be there..to feel entire game's excitement..These are the game that make you play cricket in the first place...under torrid muggy it.....Sorry to have broken Sadiq's record..Hope he forgives me for it...I just had the capture the whole essense and it was unavoidable..
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Sheesh. That'll teach me for not listening to Madhu! He had told me to come for this game, and I didnt! Damn!
Thanks for the report, Madhu, very fun to read (and the longer the better :-) I really wanted to come umpire this match, I thought itd be the match of hte year (in terms of importance at least.. and its always a very hard-fought contest, it was a terrific match last year too even though you guys lost eventually). Unfortunately I had to end up in Wisconsin for the Milwaukee United vs AAA game (which was pretty good too, 20 run match win for Milwaukee United in the end, but doesnt sound quite as good as your match). What a terrific close-fought game (IIT must have really rued the absence of Laxmi for this one, especially after such a tight loss!)
This clarifies things a little bit in Div2 - IIT now has 2 losses, while the other 3 remain with only 1 loss each. IIT plays Advancers soon, which will be another huge game (and Peoria vs Illinois will be very big too). QC Kings dont play any of hte Big Four at all... but both Giants and Arsenal will desperately need wins to make the playoffs, and will surely fight very hard.
c8w
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Swetal said...
Adi,
I would say, The Madison team we played against had no shot ! :) Mind you they still beat us but that was Arsenal playing their consistently sucky brand of cricket this season.
That being said, the Madison team I umpired last weekend, has a serious shot. They had 3 more new bats playing last weekend that did not play when we played them.
If Madison fields their strongest team here on out,
--------
Ive umpired Madison 2 or 3 times this season. They are a very good team, but a little schizofrenic I think :-) They are a very good batting lineup, but their 2 losses have been quite horrible, chasing low scores and somehow failing to do it, while they have sometimes chased down 200+ with impunity!
You guys didnt play against their best team, Swetal - they were pretty depleted that day. But thats sort of how Madison is - they are always sort of depleted :-) They have some young guys, some in school and some just out of school... and so they lose players to internships etc all the time. Out of their best 3 or 4 batsmen, from what Ive heard, 2 or 3 are away on internships etc and quite irregular(their opener Shyam, and middle order guys Tausif and Mitesh). Their best player in the last 2 years, of course, was the old Arsenal-player Sudhir... but they say he's doing his PHD right now and so cant find to show up and play either :-)
If they ever do manage to put up a really full-strenght team with everyone around (ie Sudhir, plus those 3 guys above, plus Murari and Aslam and Linu and the rest), then they can be pretty damn good, and even contenders to win the title maybe. But the question is will they ever be able to put that sort of lineup together - guys will probably not travel from internships etc to come and play in the playoffs. And then there is the adjustment factor, going from a spongy astroturf at home to playing in Washington Park for the playoffs.
Even so, I agree with Swetal - they cant be counted out at all. A good team (that could be better than good if at full-strength), and they did have a bit of a playoff run last year as well, upsetting a couple of higher seeds to get to the quarters I think?
c8w
I think I need to attend some Div 2 games too. You guys seem to have so much fun! Unfortunately because of the busy schedules, we dont get to meet that many Div 2 players.
madhu, thats technically not a summary, thats a novel :)
Romeen,
Summary may not as 'Romantic' as in the other thread..where every one is figting for you love :)..but such is the story of PCC this weekend..Just fairty tale ending and new hero was born in PCC...a chanceless unbeaten innings of 63 runs of 61 balls by Vishal Rami coming in at number 8...Where else you get read this story...I am very happy I was there..(Gotcha there Sadiq:) I only hope I made jusctice to the excitement of my team mates...3 of the guys lost voice after shouting so much..:)
Cheers
Madhu Reddy
PCC
Sadiq said:
Even so, I agree with Swetal - they cant be counted out at all. A good team (that could be better than good if at full-strength), and they did have a bit of a playoff run last year as well, upsetting a couple of higher seeds to get to the quarters I think?
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Do you have to open a wound that was allmost closed ?! :)
Swetal.....my memory fails me ....how much did you guys score against Madison last year in the playoffs ? :P
Naval
Madison CC
Naval,
I thought you were a smarty pants and now I know for sure :)
Go dig a hole, crawl in and hibernate.
BTW, Good win last weekend.
-s
thanks man ...all the best for the rest of the season ...make the playoffs and we can have a rematch in September :)(assuming we make it that is)
Naval,
If you guys thinking you ain't making the playoffs, then we got no shot :)
-s
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Swetal said...
Speaking of Allstar teams....My Div II team would be:
1. Collins/Shashi/Vasu - WK Bat
2. Sanjeev K- Arsenal Allrounder-offspin
3. Rup - ICC Allrounder
4. Jack - ICC Allrounder
5. Narasimha - Arsenal Allrounder-leg spin
6. Pawan - Advancers Allrounder -off spin
7. Sakir - Advancers Allrounder
8. Subbu - Eagles Allrounder
9. Hari Kiran - QC Kings Bat
10.Lakshmi - IIT Allrounder
11.Surya - Arsenal Allrounder
Allright fire away :)....and yes, I got 3 of my guys in there, so for sure, go ahead , kick my tail, make my day :)....I think that would be one heck of a team....am sure missing some other studs but its a start.
....
Sadiq: Come on man...do your IMHO ....refine that list.
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Am moving this discussion here, since it seems like more of a Div2 thread in general and wont get lost in BCCI/ICL plus night-game chat :-)
Anyway. All good players listed above, of course - lots of good players around in Div2. But I'll point out, out of the Top Ten rungetters at the moment, you have... 2 of them in your XI :-) And of the Top Ten wickettakers.. you also have 2 of them :-)
Anyway. I dont think people have to be allrounders to be in the XI - its nice if they are (most good players are, at this level), but being in their speciality is more important IMHO. (For example, Id pick Swetal's Kumar in my allstar side before most other guys in his team even - he's a terrific spinner, and you need quality spinners against Div1 who are IMHO a bit weak against spin).
Obviously you left out Madhu and Bola to start with, which you rectified later. But I'll add a couple more - Iam not sure Id have an All-Star lineup take the field for Div2 without people like Ajay Gandhi of IIT, Naser Yemani of Continental (he has scored nearly 400 runs in 5 matches! He is only 70 runs behind the league-leader in runs, who has played 10 matches!), Syed Khadry (probably the best spinner in Div2 - he's the guy who had 4-0-14-2 against the Aussie XI in the LA Open, with 3 international players and half a dozen fc players in the lineup!) Advancers are a terrific team, and have many allstar contenders (not surprising, given that theyre currently leading Div2)... but I think Id pick Khadry first among all of them for an all-star side, probably.
Also, Id probably have Perrin Donieke of Evanston opening the bowling with Jack of ICC (and Rup there too, of course). And, BTW, if you want another pacer, Padmaraju of IIT is pretty damn good too. (It isnt a coincidence that Perrin and Padmaraju are #1 and #2 in economy rates this season, both under 3/over. Khadry is 4th at 3.19/over BTW).
Anyway. This is all hypothetical - there isnt a Div1 vs Div2 allstar game anyway :-) There is probably going to be a "World Cup", which will have very different teams (probably up to 6 teams I suppose.. 2 India, 2 Pakistan, 1 USA, and maybe 1 "Islanders" - WI, SL etc).
c8w
Swetal,
The problem is that we have games against teams much lower in the points table...so far this season ...we dont seem to like beating teams we're expected to steamroll :)...bring on the Arsenals and the Giants anyday :P
Naval
... you need quality spinners against Div1 who are IMHO a bit weak against spin
Sadiq, are you insinuating that Div 1 is weaker than Div 2 at playing spin? You might be right, but just curious to see if that is true. Also, care to disclose any players who you think actually play spin well? Div 1 and 2.
Adi,
Sanjeev K on my team plays Spin very very very well :). I don't have 3 verys cause hes my guy but am serious he be good against spin.
-s
Sadiq,
Good points. I have not seen Syed Khadry bowl yet....we play them week after this...so should be intresting. Pavan (Advancers) is pretty good spinner too.
-s
Naval,
Am hoping you guys take it easy then for the rest of your games :)
-s
Swetal,
Not too many people come to mind in Div 1 that are 3 verys against spin. Athreya is pretty gamn good against spinners. Another person that comes to mind is Prashant Vengala (excuse any spelling mistakes), who plays for Rockers. I'm sure there are more that I'm not aware of.
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Swetal said...
Sadiq,
Good points. I have not seen Syed Khadry bowl yet....we play them week after this...so should be intresting. Pavan (Advancers) is pretty good spinner too.
-s
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So, you saw him yesterday, no? Got any opinions now? :-) He ended up with 1 or 2 wickets didnt he? (Was it 2 for Samarth and 1 for Khadry, eventually?)
c8w
C8w, you didn't answer my question about Div1 players who are good against spin. Also, do you think Div2 players are better against spin?
Khadry b good....he b very good. Should be a fun encounter when we play them next weekend.
I thought Samarth ended up with 2...i forget.
I was totally against implementing this rule of having the Divison 2 Points Leader to advance to Division 1. My reasons below: -
Too much disparity in the quality of opposition you get to play for the 14 games. If your schedule is condusive you have a great shot, if not, you don't. I know the same thing happens for Playoff spots, although, the best teams do get filtered out during the Playoffs process.
Run Rate to playout as a factor and a lot of Administratio has to be done to identify the true leader
Any opinions about the top four teams in Div II this year. We all know PCC (from good old Rivercity days) and IIT is consitently at the top 4 year over year.
How are the other two teams Advancers and QC Kings?
Advancers batting and bowling looks balanced and strong. What about QC Kings any opinions from teams that played them.
Thanks
Shiraz,
Last year, I would have argued against you :)...allways thought if a team was good, they should be able to win most of their games and end up being regular season # 1 and then be awarded by having a free pass in the playoffs.
This season, I am on the fence leanign against the above.....Like you mention, the above would work if all teams play the same all teams., but since we do not do that in Div II, like you said, the schedule has to work for you a bit to be # 1.
-s
Some times change needs to be done.
Of course everyone is looking at the teams that could win the DIV and saying they are not the best.
Getting promoted to Div 1 cause you top Div 2 is the only reward if you get knock out in playoffs.
I think it's woth trying and from next season we will not have this debate is we get 3 divisions.
3 divisions..you play everyone in your Div.
My take
Rup,
But is it confirmed that next year onwards .. there will be three divisions ?? If so, then an announcement should be made atleast by now ... by the Management ...
There is a lot of talk about tough/easy schedule. But if you look at last year performance ... QC kings and Advancers will play only handful of teams who ranked higher than them in 2006 regular season.
But again..QC Kings lost some matches in 2006 against teams who ranked lower overall. Arsenal ranked much higher last year (PCC/QC Kings/Advancers) and is expected to do better in 2007.
Doesn't this mean that there is no clear favourite until the game is Won. Why belittle other teams who are doing better?
well said Rup..Three Divs shoudl take care of the issue...But I do feel scrutinizing this rule after being passed ...feels like little bit of Monday morning 'Quarter backing' ..Ifs and buts..but Top 12 from last yr to this year..you see the shade of difference in competition...Div-II teams have gotten competitive with movements of players...like Syed Quadry to Advancers from MDS..and MDS Syed Hussaini and Naser Yamani moving to Continental..so on and so forth..but rest the consistent teams from last year have remained consistent this year...Their definitely a diparity in schedules..but having said that..Cricket is anybody's game..ask CCI when they beat Giants or Lucky XI when they beat ICC or IIT when lost of PCC...
It does take a little bit of luck (staying off Injury, rain out games etc) and lots of planning (team composition not top 11 are available for all games), energy (playing on hot, torrid day), Consistency & focus (eye on the goal) to top the division. Not a easy thing to do IMHO...But it is a very good incentive..for the teams to top their Div-I and move on to the higher echelons. For instance, IIT is the MOST consistent team in Div-II for almost 3-4 yrs period and yet they are not in Div-I..I having played them, they are ONE whole some team...Very well balanced, batting, bowling and filding departments..Playoffs is sometimes too much of luck and 'One bad day' shouldn't decide the fate of Div-I topper..IIT haven't made it cuz of string of bad lucks in playoffs and they back to square one the year after. Currently there are no less than 3 teams competing for Div-I topper honors and it makes it so interesting...Every game from now is important to every one...Good luck to all the teams who for vying for a playoff spot and ofcourse Div-I honors..
Madhu Reddy
PCC
Alpesh said,
But is it confirmed that next year onwards .. there will be three divisions ?? If so, then an announcement should be made atleast by now ... by the Management ...
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We are supposed to have a Midwest world cup in 3 weeks..No anouncements as yet so i will let you decide how long before we anounce 3 Divs for 2008.
Madhu you are right. this was voted on in the second AGM and majority said yes so i don't know why the gripe.
ICC for example. we put or heart in last year thinking this was the rule. we won the Div coming to find out it was not so and we got knocked out and back to Div 2.
We have the same team but finding it difficult to put the best 11 out every week so now we are fighting to make the playoffs. We are at the point where having fun with our families whilst playing this game we love so much is our # one goal. everything else is secondary.
Trust me Rup..I know what you are saying.. the delicate balance..between family and cricket..If anything swings in one direction more, the other side suffers...all the extra miles u have to walk to keep the family "happy" so you can play night cricket..;) trust I know it all...I am sure..all the married guys with KIDs (Kids is vital part:)will know what u and I are saying here..I know u have been in the league much longer than I have been...Kudos to you..and I only hope you come year after year with same enthusiam no matter the results..U stuck with you team thru the years.and u have a team when players were available and played 8 guys or 9 guys that were avaiable..that sure takes pure guts and passion man..Good luck to u and ICC..!
Cheers
Madhu
PCC
Madhu/Rup:
Cut the family stuff....look who is talking. Both you will do aything for the weekend at the cricket park,counting each point gained from a win.
The "good luck"...is it for next year or is it for ICC/Peoria game?
For the records, guys, I ain't griping about this at all....I was playing a practice match during the second AGM and I missed that but even if i was at that second AGM, we would have voted for Div II topper getting a free pass to Div I 'cause that team should be rewarded.
All am saying it come next year, we would think about this a little more.
If indeed there are going to be 3 divisions, I hope it is not next year as that would be unfair to the bottom rung teams in Div II (as i would think they would get relegated automaticaly).
Maybe we split Div II teams evenly based on the points table of this year and have a DIV III that has a even mix of top teams and bottom teams; everyone plays eveyone in both Divs and then the top 2 in each Div II and III face each other in semis and the 2 teams reaching the Finals between those 4, go to Div I ?
And the top 4 teams as of now in DIV II are the best top 4 that have played an awesome consistent brand of cricket. Period.
This is going to be a fun finish to the end :)
Guys,
A couple of thoughts I wanted to share. Firstly, it makes all regular season games meaningful in Div 2, and so the competition level is kept up, even after making the playoffs. Unfortunately, we do not have the same thing in Div 1, which means that if a team is assured of a playoff spot, they can then take it easy, or give walk-overs (when the -4 point rule wasn't enforced)as they have in the past. This affected the rest of the division including who was relegated to Div 2. Ask the Tigers!
Madhu, Rup,
Remember, whatever happens during this weekend's game, hope you guys remain on talking terms!! Remember, we have a night cricket game 2 days later! :-)
Just kidding, I'm sure it'll be a good game and another good finish.
If I were to select players for All Star Game then I will choose 6 out of these current Top 10 DIV 2 Batsman.
1. Sakhir Ahamed – Advancers – 467 Runs
2. Suresh Paul – Advancers – 437 Runs
3. Ajay Gandhi - IIT – 419 Runs
4. Naser Yamani - Continental – 392 Runs
5. Hanif Patel - Lucky XI – 367 Runs
6. Vajid Shethwala - Chicago Giants – 357 Runs
7. Lakshmikumar Rajaramachandran –
IIT – 343 Runs
8. Faraz Durrani - Chicago Acers – 343 Runs
9. Jim Sajjad - Evanston – 336 Runs
10. Nirav Nayak - Raiders – 310 Runs
I fully understand that everyone likes to support there own team members but all I say that NUMBERS do not lie.
Pick those that are performing then picking rather than those that we hope can perform.
HOPE IS NOT A STRATEGY !!!!!
If I were to select players for All Star Game then I will choose 5 out of these current Top 10 Leading Wicket Takers/Bowlers.
1. Subbu Kuppusami (Eagles) 26 Wkts in 9 games
2. Atif Shaikh (Chicago Giants) 25 Wkts in 10 games
3. Rupnarine Seenarain (Illinois) 22 Wkts in 10 games
4. Perrin Donieke (Evanston) 11 Games 20 Wkts
5. Inderbir Gill (Chicago Cricket Club) 11 Games 20 Wkts
6. Bahvin Patel (Collinsville Club) 9 Games 20 Wkts
7. Sanjiv Patel (Springfield) 8 Games 20 Wkts
8. Sunil Kumar (Tigers) 10 Games 20 wkts
9. Nirav Nayak (Raiders) 9 Games 19 wkts
10. Satish Kodavatiganti (Q.C. Kings) 8 Games 19 Wkts
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Aditya said...
C8w, you didn't answer my question about Div1 players who are good against spin. Also, do you think Div2 players are better against spin?
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Iam not sure Id rate Div2 players *better* against spin per se - but I think too many Div1 players try and hit spin too much too often... and that often can lead to their downfall. Last year especially IMHO Milwaukee United and Purdue were living examples of this - they loaded up their teams with spinners to bowl from overs 13 to 45, and they had a lot of success as a result. (This year I think one pretty big reason - out of many, its true - for MUCC's downfall has been its lack of spinners. Shiv has left and played 1 game all year, Shyam has missed half the season already, and Bunty has not played the last few games either. They have just Javed spinning for them this year - they went from 4 regular spinners to 1, and IMHO thats played a big role in their poor season this year).
As for who plays spin really well in Div1... there are a few I guess, even a few teams in general (I think Challengers in general play spin quite well, for example). Amit of St Louis I thought played spin well, with good footwork etc last year the one time I saw him (St Louis in general also played spin well I thought). Asif of Milwaukee I think bowls spin well, but also plays well against it - he has this lap-shot he plays even to balls from offstump, manufacturing runs, and Ive almost never seen him miss it... and it puts spinners off their line quite effectively. Bunty plays it quite decently, and Satya (last year) handled Asif as well as anyone I saw doing it, I think. These are just some of the guys I think play spin well *without taking too many risks*... of course you have people like Imran and Shahid etc who will hit sixes off spin better than anyone in the league, but there is more risk involved there - I think the above bats are some of the best "milkers" of spin I can think of offhand, if you will.
c8w
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Shiraz said...
I was totally against implementing this rule of having the Divison 2 Points Leader to advance to Division 1. My reasons below: -
Too much disparity in the quality of opposition you get to play for the 14 games. If your schedule is condusive you have a great shot, if not, you don't. I know the same thing happens for Playoff spots, although, the best teams do get filtered out during the Playoffs process.
Run Rate to playout as a factor and a lot of Administratio has to be done to identify the true leader
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BTW, I argued against this for the exact same reasons as Shiraz - its not fair IMHO when you have an unbalanced schedule, with some teams having the luck of the draw of getting far easier opposition.
I think the general idea of having the regular season mean a lot is good - it is vitally important, actually (I think thats the case in Div1 as well as Div2). Thus, the regular-season promotion-relegation is in theory an *excellent* idea... but, IMHO, *only* when the schedule is balanced, not until then. It is only after a balanced schedule that it is fair.
Thus, the biggest and most important change should have, IMHO, come *first* - that is, going to 3 divisions, so that everyone in every division plays everyone else. This is the most vital thing, before any other changes were contemplated IMHO.
Once this happens, *then* the regular season should be made the most important thing for everyone - because, when everyone is playing everyone, consistenly good cricket played should be the most important thing in every champion. Thus, once we are at 3 divisions, I think all promotions and relegations (from Div2 and Div3 too) should be done on the basis of the regular season, not the playoffs. But only *after* the balanced-schedule where everyone plays everyone is achieved.
Also, once everyone is playing everyone... there should be trophies handed out for Regular Season Champ in every division IMHO. The playoff championship remains, but the regular season should have trophies too, in all divisions. This is the best way to make the entire season relevant (and, honestly, a hard-won regular-season title when everyone plays everyone will often be regarded as more worthy, IMHO, than the "playoff title" once this comes about).
BTW, I believe it was already mentioned at the AGM that we would likely be going to 3 divisions next year, wasnt it? I dont think its a surprise as such to anyone. Its already been pushed back too long - I think at the end of this season thats the one thing that *must* be done. Div2 is way too unwieldy at the moment with the huge number of teams IMHO, and there is also too much of a discrepancy in quality between the top and the bottom of Div2 at the moment.
c8w
Are we going to have only 15 teams in Div 1 then ???
C8w,
Thanks for putting your "spin" on my question. :-)
I agree with you through my limited knowledge of players, but I'd like to add Ajit to that list. From what I remember, he can paddle sweep, nudge, and push for singles off spinners quite easily and effectively as well, and then later take them for a stroll outside the park!! I remember last year when we play the Cats, I was very impressed with his play.
Satha is a good player of spinner.
He doesn't have any fancy shots, but just drives and gets his runs...or maybe even hoicks for some big ones..
Having 3rd division is a good idea. But how do you spread the teams between these divisions to keep it balanced ? Some teams might say that they are in tough division if they keep losing.
Best think might be is to keep top 15 teams in DIV II and rest in DIV III. Relegate the bottom 2 teams in DIV II to DIV III and promote top 2 teams from DIV III to DIV II.
This year teams like Warriors, Universal cricket club and West Suburban got clobbered pretty badly and some teams made records. I don't think these teams would enjoy that year over year.
Some serious thinking is required from management to make divisions competetive and balanced.
No offence to anyone.
Sadiq said,
BTW, I believe it was already mentioned at the AGM that we would likely be going to 3 divisions next year, wasnt it? I
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I attended the first one and missed the second one....and I didn't think they announced this in the first one.
Shiraz? Jaggi ? Anyone that attended both the AGMs.......clairify this.
Yep it was discussed briefly and looked positive that we are going to have 3 Div in 2008.
I agree it should have been sent out already so that teams prepare for it.
Here's is how I had said it should be done.
2008
3 teams relegated from 1 to 2
2 Move up from 2 to 1
the 3 division will be
16 div 1
14 div 2
all the rest Div 3 about 15 teams
2009
4 from 1 to 2
2 form 2 to 1
2 from 2 to 3
2 from 3 to 2
div's will look like this for 2009
14 div 1
14 div 2
all the rest in 3
13 games each for all teams. This give us one more week end off to use for special tournaments to delvelop MWCC teams to represent MWCC is respective categories of tours
Rup. That sounds like a pretty fair proposal. But I'd like to see that they keep the same, or increase the amount of cricket each team plays. I'm sure there are plenty of weekends they can find to improve MWCC participation in other tournaments.
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Aditya said...
C8w, you didn't answer my question about Div1 players who are good against spin. Also, do you think Div2 players are better against spin?
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I think one of the best players of spin I have seen is Tarunreddy. We played him a couple of years back and he played some beautiful shots of front and back foot. Sanjeev from my team will definitely remember him!!!!
--Narasimha
Adi,
Same as some teams want to play more cricket some teams want to play less and some want to see psecial events and funs cricket.
So far this league has been only about playing more cricket.
We are not too much focused on promoting Cricket and that why we don't have special events. special events will showcase our talents thus provide the best views in selecting a MWCC team.
I will give up two weeks of regular season to see on a yearly basis.
1)MWCC World cup 20/20 event.
8 teams
2)MWCC 50 over event (Div 1, Div2, (All other Div's, MWCC 11).
3)Invitational tours hosted by MWCC.
I will not play cricket on the holiday week end unless one of these special events is held on that week end and only one holiday week end in the season.
We need to start thinking about how we will keep this game growing in the Midwest rather than how much i want to play.
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