Thursday, July 24, 2008

Predictions and Results for Week 12

Just about a month n half away from regular season end. Still most of the play-offs spots are wide open. Many interesting games coming up this weekend. Lets get on with predictions, discussions and word-wars for Week 12.

123 comments:

Alpesh said...

Started the new thread as the earlier thread had crossed 200 comments ..

Preetam Sir .. Thanks for the information about Azhar ... I still like to see him bat ... He made batting look so easy ..

Unknown said...

Shekhs said...
Atif, just so you know...I'm a left arm orthodox bowler..

Shekhs,
means we'll have to watch out for it this Sunday, specially after the 6pk? :)

Samir_RoyalsCC

Shekhs said...

you betcha Samir..

I'm kinda the wildcard ..will get wilder after the 6 pack..

so you ready for some fun..?
:-)
I guess this is probably the most relaxed game for both the teams..no pressure..no issues..go out and have fun...

Unknown said...

I agree....though this is my 1st year playing with Royals, I had come and watched these two teams playing....it's fun

Ruplo must be all pumped up? :)

Ask him about his creativity about the plastic bag when u meet him :)

Shekhs said...

yeah..Ruplo probably must be thrilled to get back at us.. :-)

I'll definitely check up on the plastic bag..is that what he uses to throw up after drinking..?

Unknown said...

lol :) that's nothing new :)

Unknown said...

so u guys think Tendulkar will pass Lara's record in SL series?

Samir_RoyalsCC

Shekhs said...

The way 3 tons were made...I think its a strong possiblity..
At least a good chunk will be made in this first innings..

I'm all set to watch India bat..

Tonald Drump said...

I have been known to touch balls from both hands.....

Unknown said...

I heard Karthik dropped Mahela twice in Kumble's bowling...must be tough day for his as a keeper

Samir_RoyalsCC

Shekhs said...

Warnapura played clean right..seems like a good bat for SL..

Unknown said...

Here are some funny quotes by Siddhu...(I'm sure u must have heard this b4)

1.Deep Dasgupta is as confused as a child is in a topless bar!

2. Deep Dasgupta is not a Wicket Keeper, he is a goal keeper. He must be given a free transfer to Manchester United.

3. The cat with gloves catches no mice

4. Nobody travels on the road to success without a puncture or two

5. This quote was made after Eddie Nichols, the third umpire, ruled Shivnarine Chanderpaul 'NOT OUT' in the second test at Port of Spain, T&T. "Eddie Nichols is a man who cannot find his own buttocks with his two hands

Shekhs said...

lol Samir...sidhu had too much time on his hands...you just proved that you have more.. :-)

Oh well, we all do..
:-)

Rup said...

Balls..both hands...where is TD going with this..??
Is he chasing after Adeep Southindian??.

then again a man with too much time on his hands should be playing with balls..

Rup said...

Idea just got in...
Bloggers ball.... Can we say.. opposing Captain gets to choose 3 players from the other side who will have to bat and bowl to the oposite of their normal way.. All fun intended

Shekhs said...

I like that idea Rup...

lets get creative and have fun..yeah..

Alpesh said...

Bowling no issues ... but batting could be risky ... batsman may get hurt ..

Rup said...

Alp my friend ..we try'n to make this a fun event..
We can make sure ya wear all the protection available so ya don geh hut??.

Ya can go in look'n like Boycott back in da days facing WI pace.

Shekhs said...

We should give an award for best impersonation - international player impersonation or even our local league impersonation..

Like if someone can bowl like Abdul Qadir..or sohail Tanvir..or Lasith Malinga..

Unglibaba said...

I'll be Lasith Malinga, and Have NJ Deepdas Gupta, in topless Bar.
Make sure to tell him this is Blogger's Cup, so not to take seriously, just have fun, don't paly for any personal achivement.

Unglibaba said...

Since Samir knows Siddhu's language and he hurt his knee, why don't he'll be official Commentator?

Shekhs / Atif can you take this one in consideration?

Tonald Drump said...

My vote will be for Samir and Marghoob Bhai to be the expert commentators - with Sadiq Bhai on sideline like Erin Andrew's in NBA.

NJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
NJ said...

NEWS

http://www.usaca.org/Tournaments/Int/2008/AmericasU15/TeamUSAU-15.pdf

ABHIJIT JOSHI IS LEADING USA UNDER-15

Congrates... MWCC & UCC

Shekhs said...

Awesome news NJ...

We are proud of you Abhijit..keep it real!!!

Great job United..you guys deserve a big pat on the back for bringing up the kid!!

Unknown said...

Tonald Drump said...
My vote will be for Samir and Marghoob Bhai to be the expert commentators


TD,
No problems!! As long as Marghoob Bhai makes me his authentic Paan :)

samir_royalscc

SpeedSensation said...

Speaking of Youngsters are there any other up and coming youngsters like abhijit joshi... I have seen a few in both div 1 and 2...couple of 16 and 17 olds

Alpesh said...

Shameer of Jaguars is a good talent .. looks like he is of the U-19 age group ...

Alpesh said...

Rup ..

As per the current information on the website .. I am the umpire for your game .. But I have requested Marghoob bhai to change this as I have a game on Sat in Moline ... and it will be late by the time I return on Sat .. and don't want to get up early on Sun to drive 1 hr in morning and abt 1.5 hrs in evening ...

Shekhs said...

I know one from Springfield..
Sapan Bhakta..he is 18..and got selected for the under 19 team..

he's pretty good..can bat, bowl and probably one of the best fielders..

used to play baseball..and boy he has an arm..

Rup said...

Yep we got to promote the youngsters of this league...
If we don't we will se 10/10 league soon .. folks will be too old to stand up for 8 hours.

C'mon Alp.. is not like you will be walking to and from Moline.. +.. its a 2 hour drive??.. Can't buy this excuse my friend.

Unknown said...

Chicago Fire CCI---Chicago Fire
Arena Hammond ---Arena
IIT Jolly Rovers---IIT
Madison Springfield---Madison
Q.C. Kings Titans ---Q.C. Kings
Collinsville Hammond --Collinsville
Chicago Eagles --Eagles
Evanston AAA --AAA

Aditya said...

Rup,

Just got an email from Krishna M - VP of Div 1. Our scheduling conflict is resolved.....

ICC vs Lucky XI has been relocated and is going to be held at Riverside, IN.

LOL.

Just thought I'd let you know asap so that you and Lucky are aware at the earliest.

Good luck, and may your unbeaten run to the playoffs start this week. :)

Aditya said...

By the way, in one of the earlier posts I saw a bunch of acronyms from the KOA (king of acronyms) which I don't know. TMT. What is that? I've managed to figure out the following:

BTW, IIRC, IMHO, LOL, OMG, etc. Any others I need to be aware of to decipher the posts from C8W?

Rup said...

thanks for the FYI Adi,

I am realy pissed right now. A lot of you all think Me/ICC are cry babies when we complain but it's becuase of flying shit like this that gets us mad.
Hammond IN, is like a road game for some of my players.. 1 & 1/2 hours to get to this ground. for me it's 1 hour. This is our 4th game achedule/moved at this ground + travel to four cities outside chicago. and when the put me around chicago the say Heritage park, the shittiest ground with duck shit.
I am hosting 8 of the 9 games played around chicago area.Nothing has been done about this although i have mentioned this several times.
Seems like they want to take the fun away that ICC tries to bring to the field on their match day. No WP games, the only place you can have some peaceful fun.
i will like to know how many of you all will put up with this shite before you say it time to do something about it??

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Alpesh said...

Now Rup .. I won't be coming to umpire your game .. It is like 2 hours drive in the evening because of the traffic ... I am in no mood to drive so much to umpire a game after playing a away game on Sat ... I am sorry Rup ..

C Jack said...

I hate that ground... Hammond

NJ said...

RUP be aware,
ADITYA is going to tell you to quit cricket... :)

Talking about young talent, Salman Qureshi if I am not wrong from Bear is a very good bat as is 17.

NJ said...

Can some one put up young gun's list

Abhijit Joshi(UCC)
Salman Qureshi (Bears)
Shameer (Jaguars)
Sapan Bhakta (Springfield)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Fill the spot

Vijay said...

Abhijit Joshi(UCC)
Salman Qureshi (Bears)
Shameer (Jaguars)
Sapan Bhakta (Springfield)
Mihir Mullick (Purdue)
.
.
.
.
.
.

NJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
NJ said...

Mr. Finger,
need your input as you have been umpiring most games.. you would have better idean than all of us here.

Alpesh said...

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/westindies/content/current/story/362508.html

Looks like a big oppurtunity wasted by MWCC players not playing in Texas regionals ... now since USA team will play against Carribean domestic teams .. and will get a good exposure ...

SpeedSensation said...

Abhijit Joshi(UCC)
Salman Qureshi (Bears)
Shameer (Jaguars)
Sapan Bhakta (Springfield)
Mihir Mullick (Purdue)
Fahad Babar (Flames)
Moin Babar (Flames)
Vaibhav Ganesh (Chicago CC)
.
.
.

NJ said...

damn.. young team looks good...
need a keeper and two more to form MWCC under 19...

We need to get a camp going for all this kids... a possible under 19 invitation tournament.. in chicago

UCC can for sure help big on this..

Unknown said...

---------
SpeedSensation said...
Abhijit Joshi(UCC)
Salman Qureshi (Bears)
Shameer (Jaguars)
Sapan Bhakta (Springfield)
Mihir Mullick (Purdue)
Fahad Babar (Flames)
Moin Babar (Flames)
Vaibhav Ganesh (Chicago CC)
-------

The Jaguars have at least 1 other U19 guy - Vidur, freshman at IIT I believe. Purdue may or may not have one more too, also a frosh. CCI has at least Hassan Khan (bowls both leg-spin and medium-pace, and used to open the batting for them last year).. Hassan is only like 16 I think (both his father and brother play for CCI too). Chicago CC may also have one or two more.. is Sunny over 19 now? Rogers Park has an outstanding fielder who is U19 (Usama), but havent umpired him actually playing in the 11 yet I dont think, so havent seen him bat. Milwaukee was saying one of their opening new ball bowlers who played like 4-5 games last year (named Hassan I think) was also U19.. but he wasnt there last week so wasnt able to confirm that, or ask him to contact Sridher/Krishna for the U19 trials etc (did tell MCC to pass on the message to him).


c8w

Unknown said...

-------
Rup said...
thanks for the FYI Adi,
I am realy pissed right now. A lot of you all think Me/ICC are cry babies when we complain but it's becuase of flying shit like this that gets us mad.
Hammond IN, is like a road game for some of my players.. 1 & 1/2 hours to get to this ground. for me it's 1 hour. This is our 4th game achedule/moved at this ground + travel to four cities outside chicago
-------

Rup - I understand your frustration. However, in this one case at least, it appears there was a genuine conflict of schedule.. probably an error made, and 2 games were scheduled to be played on Ground #3 (4 total in WP, when we have only 3 grounds; OTOH, on Sunday only 2 games are scheduled at WP, just a mistake made probably). Both Heritage and Hanover also already had games scheduled. I think they probably were thus stuck - they couldnt easily move the game to a different day (both teams may raise protests).. same day different ground is a better option at such a late date. Hammond was probably the only other ground available (and, like it or not, they may have given priority to a Div1 game to stay at the original ground over a Div2 game - thats probably how it worked).

Hammond is very far for me too, which is why umpiring there is also not much fun - its an additional half an hour beyond Washington Park. However, it should be noted, Hammond is considered a "Chicagoland" game, ie same as WP or Hanover (in the sense that umpires get paid what they would get paid in Chicagoland for Hammond games, not as for an away game.. and they are expected to travel there themselves, as opposed to getting a team to pick them up for an away game). You could argue that that designation (of "home game") for Hammond itself is wrong and should change.. if you did, I wouldnt really argue with you, its very far away for me too, personally :-)

Though, BTW, you'll enjoy batting at Hammond - the one ground in the league where a timed drive along the ground will still go for four. Not good for bowlers, though.

c8w

P.S. And before Alpesh queries why Iam up posting at almost 1am when Iam supposed to umpire tomorrow morning.. I have an 11am start, due to umpiring a game with both away teams, so its all good ;-)

Unknown said...

Saturday results, on a Div2-heavy day:

I umpired the Madison-Springfield game at Heritage (BTW, Heritage really does look a pretty bad ground right now.. apart from the usual un-evenness and geese droppings, the grass is slightly highish in places, and the boundaries are shorter than last year - again! And uneven boundaries too.. bowlign from the far end, for example, the point boundary is about 69 yards from the crease, while the third-man boundary is 57 yards! And there is plenty of room to make the thirdman boundary 5-8 yards longer if neccessary too.. it used to be that long last year. I really dont understand why both Hanover and Heritage have been made into smaller grounds this year by drawing new boundaries when there is room going waste. Anyway).

To the game itself.. Springfield struggled early, were 6/2 and 30/4 and 57/6 (at 20 overs), finally fell to 69 allout. Madison reversed its batting order and chased well, calmly proceeding to 45/2 in the 10th over when the 3rd wicket fell. And then followed an amazingl y stunning collapse (cricket really is a fascinating game :-).. they slid to 53/7! Finally the 8th wicket pair took them home after a couple of alarms in a pretty tense atmosphere (couple inside-edges past the stumps etc).. 70/7 in about 17 overs.

Dropped in to Hanover on the way home, and was told that Jolly Rovers (after being 40/0 or so) fell to 93 allout against IIT (there may have been a hat-trick claimed by someone, not sure who - hopefully one of the IIT guys will let us know). IIT slid to about 10/3 in response, but a 55* or so score from Laxmi carried them to a victory by 6 wickets I believe.

And a weekly-summary update shows that QC Kings apparently won a thriller against Titans.. hopefully Alpesh will provide a match report!

Tomorrow shifts to a Div1-heavy schedule - 3 important games at WP.

c8w

Alpesh said...

QC Kings Vs Titans Summary
________________________________

Yes Sadiq Sir, it was a thriller match ... We lost by 7 runs with still 2 wickets in hand ...

QC Kings started their innings and were 8/3 by the end of the 3rd over ... Then Balaji n Dimpy had a partnership of 50+ runs ... Kings were 20 over 63/3. After the break .. they kept loosing the wickets ... But a good partnership between HariKiran n Pankaj helped them to 153 allout in 37.5 overs.

We-Titans started well but with some wickets falling and Faraz playing his first match after a long hiatus ... we were 20 overs - 61/2. We lost some quick wickets by the 30th over. But a very good partnership between Naveen n Raj almost took us through. We were requiring 24 runs in 4 overs with 5 wickets in hand. But the 37th over bowled by Satish gave Kings 3 wickets giving just 1 run. That over was the turning point of the match. Finally we fell short by 7 runs with still 2 wickets in hands.

The new QC Kings ground is a good one. After the grass on the ground will be cut regularly ... it will turn out to be a good ground.

It was nice to meet the QC Kings team. A bunch of nice guys ... Enjoyed being your guests ...

Alpesh said...

Also in a strange incident during our batting .. our Leg Umpire gave our 1-down batsman caught behind even when the main umpire had denied saying that the ball had brushed the pads on the way and not the bat. I was so shocked ... as I was the non-striker then. The QC team appealed for the caught-behind and for some strange reasons they appealed to the leg umpire even when the main umpire had denied and our leg umpire upheld their appeal.

I asked the main umpire to overturn the decision but he said that it was your umpire who has given the batsman out ... what can he do ... He was right too.

Fyi .. the batsman was notout as me(non-striker) and main umpire were of the same opinion that ball went off the pads ... and also the main umpire never asked the leg umpire for his opinion ...

Alpesh said...

Sadiq Sir ... Now your turn for queries abt why I am posting so late ... :)

Tonald Drump said...

CCI beat Chicago Fire. Mastakilla can shed more light on this game.

Preetam N said...

Eagles beat Chicago at Heritage park.
Batting first Chicago made 121 all out. Eagles made the score losing 5 wickets. Loss of Some wickets early on brought a little pressure but the target was eventually managed.
Heritage park is by far the worst ground. You don't need fielders there to stop the ball. You need them to pick it up and throw it back to the bowler.

Tonald Drump said...

Preetam,

Have you shared your feedback about Heritage Park to MCC's Grounds Committe?

I feel that concerns such as these should be escalated and in your email or vm you should clearly explain what is wrong with the ground and why you feel it is the worst one and what can be done to improve it.

Anonymous said...

Well, I don't quite know (need to revisit the rule book) if this is counted as a hat-trick (refering to IIT vs JR game). There were indeed three wickets in three balls for Sukesh Adhikari. The first couple were genuine wickets (cuaht at short midwicket and then a clean bowled). The third batsman avoided the hat-trick ball which sailed through to the keeper (Sahil) but ever alert Sahil under-flicked the throw on the stumps; the batsman taking his stance out of the crease never made it to the safe zone and was dismissed. Since this happened off a fast bowler, some might be of the opinion that it was a run out (despite beinf affected by the keeper). So well in any case....from 40/0 JR slipped to 40/3 in space of 3 balls !!!!!

Unknown said...

---------
Vasu said...
Well, I don't quite know (need to revisit the rule book) if this is counted as a hat-trick (refering to IIT vs JR game). There were indeed three wickets in three balls for Sukesh Adhikari. The first couple were genuine wickets (cuaht at short midwicket and then a clean bowled). The third batsman avoided the hat-trick ball which sailed through to the keeper (Sahil) but ever alert Sahil under-flicked the throw on the stumps; the batsman taking his stance out of the crease never made it to the safe zone and was dismissed. Since this happened off a fast bowler, some might be of the opinion that it was a run out (despite beinf affected by the keeper). So well in any case....from 40/0 JR slipped to 40/3 in space of 3 balls !!!!!
------

Id say thats very much a hat-trick. Doesnt really matter if its a fast-bowler or a spinner IMHO - if the batsman is outside his crease, misses the ball, the keeper gets the bails off before he comes back into his crease (and especially since the batsman isnt even trying to take a run).. surely that must count as a stumping IMHO.

c8w

Unknown said...

Big Div1 day at WP today.

I umped the Wildcats-Rogers Park game. Turned into a very good game, too. Wildcats were put in and were very solid right from teh start with Romeen and Nikhil, then Swetal and Ajit - 63/0 in 15, 142/2 in 30 etc. Ajit got 30, Satish 28 (with 2 huge straight sixes).. and Romeen got 119, his maiden league hundred! And a terrific and hugely popular ton it was too (the shot that sticks most with me was one beautiful lofted smack for six over cover). Romeen has long been one of the best-liked players in our league, and that was obvious today - not only did all the opposition genuinely applaud the ton (sadly not *that* usual in our league), but there were congratulatory yells from all the neighbouring grounds too (even during the innings :-), from pretty much anyone who found out about it as they walked past - first time Ive seen taht, I think. The Wildcats as a result ended up with 248, a big first-innings total.

Rogers Park, however, chased it, and chased it well. Yawar (who Div2 guys know, star of Universal CC last year) blasted 33 off 28 to begin - including a terrific six off Satish over longon. Kamran hit 68 off 42, a brutally efficient innings that provided momentum and made sure run-rate was never a factor; and Sufian got 40* at the end. But the entire foundation was built on a fantastic innings by Nasir - almost the definition of a captains knock. Coming in at 31/1, he started watchfully, built with singles and twos, graduated to boundaries, and took the attack apart at the end - a chanceless 85* carrying Rogers Park to a famous (and eventually comfortable) victory with 7 wickets in hand and 4 overs to spare. (Actually, I just remembered - I oughta take that back! Nasir gave one chance.. in fact he thought he was runout and was leaving, early in his innings.. but the umpire called him back because it was actually his partner Yawar who was runout and not him! Hadnt even remembered that.. maybe the umpire oughta have demanded more credit at the end of the game ;-)

Next door United won a very important victory against Muslim. They put up 265 in 45 overs apparently, with Faisal getting 84 (dont know how many have noticed, but he's having quite a ridiculously good season this year). Mateen got 46 apparently (even from our ground I saw him hit a couple of beautiful cover-drives for four off the left-arm spinner). Muslim started strongly in reply - they were 63/0 in the first 10 overs, and 70/0 in 11-odd overs when I was there during break (with Kamran already at 50+).. and then, in front of me, a ball was hit to the deep-midwicket boundary, the batting-team yelled for three as Tariq Usmani chased it (yelling, "three, three, he aint got no throw"), and he promptly fielded it at the boundary, turned, and threw a direct-hit on the stumps at the bowlers end for the runout and the first wicket :-) Ridiculous throw, and apparently that turned the entire match.. the United spinners came on and got wickets (3 for Kiran and 2 for Amit I hear), and Muslim faded from 70/0 to 123 allout IIRC.

In the third game, Flames took on Phoenix - Flames batted first and were 100/3 in 20 overs when I first got there. They eventually got 204 IIRC - good knocks from Fahad and Moin, and 40-odd from supposedly a very good new wicketkeeper-bat named Ram. Phoenix were 70/7 in reply when I was there during break.. the tail apparently came back and fought very hard as the game progressed, but Phoenix were allout for 160 or so to lose by almost 50 runs.


Big results today.. a vital win for Rogers Park launching them into the heart of the playoff race, and a very hard loss for the WIldcats (who are now in a familiar position - they once more will have to go on one of their patented playoff runs, a long win-streak to try and make the playoffs again). A big win for United (there is a huge difference between 5-3 and 4-4) in terms of the playoff picture, but a damaging blow for Muslim. Big win for Flames launching them into the playoff picture too, and a significant stumble for Phoenix with the difficult part of their schedule coming up.

c8w

Preetam N said...

As long as the batsman has not attempted a run it IS a stumping.
TD,
I intend to send an email to the grounds committee about the conditions at heritage park. But i don't know how much they can improve because it is, in the first place, an uneven ground with thick stubborn grass and weed enveloping it.
Good knock alpesh. You didnt tell me you scored a 50.

Alpesh said...

Thanks Preetam Sir .. Since it came in a losing cause .. was not much ecstatic about it .. But happy that I managed to score my first 50 in MWCC :)

Shekhs said...

Good knock appu..!
Sorry about the loss..

Good win RP!

Congrats to all the winners!

Good knock rom! sorry bout the loss..

Alpesh said...

Thanks Shekhs Sir .. btw what happened to the Patel Cup ?? Who won yesterday??

The Seeker said...

Can someone comment on the AAA-Evanston game ?

Shekhs said...

Challengers won Appu...

DAX sealed the game in his first 2 overs with some mezmerizing swing bowling...
Royals were 2/4...
An excellent gritty knock from charlie 46..with some partnersips here and took royals to 118.

I reply Challengers started off disastrously losing darshan in rupesh's first over..
But alkesh had other plans..as he blasted off a brilliant 50 odd runs to take challengers to the target in 22 overs..

Challengers did hiccup a bit by losing 6 wickets, as Rupesh was on fire taking the top 4 wickets in his first spell..

it was - Vengeance the Patel!!!

But it was all fun after the game..as you all can imagine..

to royal challengers!!

NJ said...

Few good knock went in vain and congratulation to all who won. Flames is all charged up with a victory against Phoenix (leaders in Div I chart), who have some tough games ahead to stay at the top. Well played Baber brothers. UCC started with inform captain who dismantled Muslim Gym bowlers all around the ground to give an ideal start that UCC has been craving for long. Abhijit was not able to continue his run from Saturday’s 30-30 game were he scored 106 not out and was caught behind for 0. Good luck to him as he is traveling to Bermuda leading USA under 15. In short a perfect game at WP # 4, still heavy for cricket standards, not sure if city has limitation on cutting down the grass.

RUNOUT
“A run-out is when the batters are going for a run or runs and but fall short of the batting crease when the stumps are broken by the fielding team”

STUMPING
A stumping happens when the keeper collects the ball and knocks off the bails before the batter gets their bat or any part of their body grounded behind the batting crease.
Touching the batting crease with the bat or heel of the foot isn't good enough to save the batter.
They must have something in contact with the ground behind the crease.
You can't be stumped off a no-ball, but you can be stumped if the ball is called wide.
You can't be stumped off a no-ball, but you can be stumped if the ball is called wide.

I guess this may help Mr. Finger… & Vasu

Complains about Heritage park or other ground won’t be unheard. An email to MGT won’t hurt a common growth of good cricket. If MGT thinks about changing ground conditions, our young talent may get better ground to perform and bring their cricket level to a standard that are similar to national or international standards.

Unknown said...

Just wanted to say congratulations to Rogers Park for an excellent and well deserved victory.
A brilliant display of some clean hitting by Yawar,Kamran, Sufiyan combined with wonderful sensible batting by Nasir, RP deserved to win.
As for the Wildcats, we'll continue to try our best and hope that we can sneak into the playoffs.

Unknown said...

-------
Preetam N said...
I intend to send an email to the grounds committee about the conditions at heritage park. But i don't know how much they can improve because it is, in the first place, an uneven ground with thick stubborn grass and weed enveloping it.
------

This part is probably true for any of our grounds.. but thats why what gets to me the most is when the grounds are made smaller for no reason. Anyway our grounds are small - international grounds
by ICC rule are supposed to have *minimum* 150 yards square (one side is allowed to be minimum 65 yards.. but if it is, then the rule is that the other side has to be 85 yards to make up for it!)

Sometimes we dont have a choice - CCI plays in a ground where they have trees and ultimate-frisbee surrounding, for example, so they cant make the ground bigger than 55-60 yards. But Hanover and Heritage were both bigger last year - though still not as big as ICC *minimum* regulations. And this year theyve been made smaller, even though there is space for them to be at least 8-10 yards bigger than they currently are. Hanover, for instance - the boundary used to go halfway into the softball infield, now its being cut barely touching the infield. There is no real reason for this IMHO - apart from a few odd rain instances, the infield is fine to be part of the cricket area, and the ground can be at least 8-10 yards bigger all the way around. And even then it would be less than ICC minimum regulations (it would fit into the 65 yards one side, but not 85 other side to make up.. not 150 yards minimum in total).

This is the first easy fix IMHO - all it would take would be to redraw the boundaries a few yards further away the way they used to be. Should be the first thing done at both Hanover and Heritage IMHO.

c8w

Unknown said...

-------
NJ said...
Good luck to him as he is traveling to Bermuda leading USA under 15. In short a perfect game at WP # 4, still heavy for cricket standards, not sure if city has limitation on cutting down the grass.
-------

Yes, good luck to Abhi and the team - there are no test-playing countries with U15 teams during the Bermuda tournament, just other ICC sides, so hopefully we will do very well in it.

I thought WP looked very good yesterday, personally - nothing is ever perfect, but it was very good, much much better than in the old days. I mean, heck, 248 was chased down in 45 overs in the game I umpired, and 267 was scored in 45 overs in the game next door, which is surely indicative of a pretty decent outfield. There was a time when 170 used to be a good score at Washington Park a few years ago - there has been a big change from those days as far as outfields are concerned (if 250 is chasable, then thats good enough really - and quicker outfield than that and its probably unfair to bowlers :-) Its not a perfect low-cut carpet or anything, but given the size of our grounds its really pretty decent IMHO.

------
NJ said:
Touching the batting crease with the bat or heel of the foot isn't good enough to save the batter.
They must have something in contact with the ground behind the crease.
You can't be stumped off a no-ball, but you can be stumped if the ball is called wide.
I guess this may help Mr. Finger… & Vasu
--------

I did actually know that, but thanks :-)

c8w

Aditya said...

cjack - not sure if anyone has told you, but you are playing tonight in the night game vs United. Blue tops, white trousers.

See you tonight.

NJ said...

Sadiq.. you missed some awesome firework from Faizal and Kamran... were pouring six all over... not just them but almost all..

BTW how do you manage inbetween breaks(lunch & drinks) to go and talk to almost eveyone on all three ground,, i have never seen you running from one ground to other. :) i guess you are wearing those nike shoes rite..

Unknown said...

--------
The Seeker said...
Can someone comment on the AAA-Evanston game ?
------

Second the request. Sounds like quite a game - unbeaten, top-of-the-table AAA goes into Evanston, and Perrin takes 6/14 to lead a hard-fought win! One of the better players in the entire league, that guy is - just not enough people seem to know about him.

BTW, it looks almost certain that a team with a losing record will make the Div2 playoffs this year. Not a great state of affairs, IMHO.

c8w

Unknown said...

Boundaries are way too short in WP.


Adnan
www.unitedcricket.org

Unknown said...

-------
NJ said...
Sadiq.. you missed some awesome firework from Faizal and Kamran... were pouring six all over... not just them but almost all..
---------

I saw a couple from a distance (I think while crossing ends once I saw Faisal pull/hook one six.. and I saw 2 Mateen shots over covers off Maaz I think it was, also while crossing over). There was one six hit late that I didnt really see hit, but it came a good 30+ yards into our ground.. was that Rizwan? It was a long way away but it looked like a tall big guy in the middle who wasnt in Kami's headgear, so we figured it was him :-)

-------
NJ said:
BTW how do you manage inbetween breaks(lunch & drinks) to go and talk to almost eveyone on all three ground,, i have never seen you running from one ground to other. :) i guess you are wearing those nike shoes rite..
------

Drinks are 10 minutes, so its barely possible if you hurry(yesterday I only went to the Flames sidelines and got their score, then got a yelled score from Mo about your game - 112/3 in about 25 overs for you guys he said :-).. and then I was back at my game with about a couple mins to spare. Lunch, of course, is easy - 30 minutes, plenty to walk to all grounds, meet up with everyone and get updates, decide which of 6 teams has the best biryani available for consumption before finally going with the carne-asada from the taco stand.. 30 minute is plenty of time for it all :-)

c8w

Unknown said...

--------
Adnan said...
Boundaries are way too short in WP.
-----

It is, however, something about which nothing can be done - two of the grounds have boundaries only about a foot apart from each other, after all. But whichever ground we can actually have a big boundary on, we should, IMHO.

BTW, anyone from the Bears or St Louis on the blog? Would love a match-report if you are.. Bears apparently won by 1 wicket!

c8w

C Jack said...

yes adi I am playing tonite

Asmar said...

Romeen said...
Just wanted to say congratulations to Rogers Park for an excellent and well deserved victory.
A brilliant display of some clean hitting by Yawar,Kamran, Sufiyan combined with wonderful sensible batting by Nasir, RP deserved to win.

---------------------------
Romeen -

Thanks for the kind words. The result aside, it was a good game of cricket, played in the right spirit. It is always a pleasure to play the wildcats because you guys are a great bunch.

I'm blogging after quite some time just so I can point out that there was another fabulous inning played yesterday, and that was your ton! You played fantastic man, great shots and tremendous responsibility! Very rarely do we get to see two captains carry their teams completely in the same game, we saw it yesterday...well played buddy.

Inshallah good luck to you for the upcoming games.

NJ said...

FingerOfDeath
-------------
"Romeen has long been one of the best-liked players in our league, and that was obvious today - not only did all the opposition genuinely applaud the ton (sadly not *that* usual in our league), but there were congratulatory yells from all the neighbouring grounds too (even during the innings :-), from pretty much anyone who found out about it as they walked past - first time Ive seen taht, I think. "

We must see this more often, as much humanly possible. Doing so will give families a good environment when they are present to enjoy the game. On field behavior will spread attracting more families to come and see our games.

Unknown said...

Looks like lot of criticism of Heritage Park, one of my favorite grounds in Chicago. :-) United played two games each in 2006 and 2007 season there. I didn't notice any poop there (Sadiq was umpiring elsewhere). A couple of times we played there it was after heavy rains, so the ground was muddy, but no worse than Chennai after monsoon. Besides, mud wrestling in Heritage Park is the closest some of us will get to Spring Break Cancun. ;-)

The main reason I liked Heritage Park was the size. In spin bowling as in life, size matters. That ground afforded the most luxury to flight the ball. The wicket was also much more equally balanced for bowlers and batsmen than the other astro-turf wicket ie. Hanover Park. (Hanover Park is a lovely ground, but the wicket is lousy for bowlers IMHO.) I played only one game at Hammond. I have good memories of that ground also. I've never played at any ground in Milwaukee except Whitewater ground.

The thing I miss most about Chicago cricket (apart from curse-words from Mehul of course) is the grounds. The grounds here are *way* too small on average. Last weekend I umpired a 40-over game in which the scores were 433-247. And I'm told there's an even smaller ground with even faster outfield in Div 2. Our home ground is decent sized - probably the only one in the entire league - but the outfield is very heavy, so it is not fair to the batsmen.

-Samarth.

Preetam N said...

Congratulations!! Romeen.

Shekhs said...

Adnan/ Adi/ NJ,
Howz the game last nite?
Who won? details please..

Unknown said...

United CC won by 1 run. UCC scored 189 in 20. Phoenix 188 for 9 in 20. Last minute heroics from Adi and Mitul.

Adnan
www.unitedcricket.org

Athreya (Phoenix CC) said...

Quick Synopsis – Last Night’s game United Vs. Blues XI

Let me start of by saying it was a cracker of a 20-20 game…Came down to the wire!!!

Untied scored 189 in 20 over…Good, clean and crisp hitting from Fisal and Kiran. Blues did not capitalize on early opportunities and paid the price. United batted very well and were very much in-sync with their approach to get to 189 runs.

Blues started the chase in great fashion Sameer Khan teeing off in style. It came down to getting 70 odd runs in the last 6 overs, when Mitul got 26 runs of NJ bowling. Adi and Mitul got us to 40 odd runs in 4 overs, when Adi took over and got going –managed the strike and batted very well. We needed 9 runs of the last over coming to 4 runs of the last ball. But, we made only 2 and Adi got run out trying to make the third.
We lost by 1 run…

Overall it was a great game to be part off and it was a whole lot of fun…Just a tad disappointed…

Cheers

Aditya said...

For United, Kiran batted very sensibly, and they had good contributions from Dr. Naveed, Dhiraj, and quite a few others. But as usual, the person who really gave their innings impetus was Faisal. He's batting remarkably well and although he score 30+ or 40+, he really scored quick time with some very clean hitting. He just seems to be in a zone these days.

Good job Fais. Keep it up.

Aditya said...

*although he score 30+ = although he scoredd 30+

Aditya said...

*scoredd = scored

Damn I can't type.

Shekhs said...

Damn!!!
What a game!!!

I missed it totally..

thanks adnan, Athreya and Adi for the report..

Faiz definitely is in a zone...

Good game guys....!!!

Alpesh said...

Yep .. seems to be a cracker of a game ... Upload the scores soon ...

Congratulations on a wonderful 20-20 game ...

NJ said...

Damn.. what a game, down the wire Mitul & Adi.. almost got it through... very good game in all... good luck to Blues... Adi,, last nights trauma is still on you as i can see you are having problem typing.. two games in a row rite..

Aditya said...

:)

You could infer that...

Unknown said...

Congrats to Phoenix CC & United CC......wow!! what a finish!! Good game guys....

Samir_RoyalsCC

Aditya said...

Not Phoenix - Blues XI. Phoenix is not playing the ALNT.

But thanks anyway.

Shekhs said...

are we being very technical here Adi.. :-)

Atif..so how many ppl do we have for the blogger's ball..?
We'll play regardless...

since we have the ground..we'll just go out and have fun..

Aditya said...


are we being very technical here Adi.. :-)


Not quite Shekhs. We have a few non-Phoenix players, diff Skip, etc.

Unknown said...

Adi (Blues XI)
sorry my mistake :)

Samir_Royals

Shekhs said...

FYI Fellas,
There is no night game tonite, as the game between Pak Gym and Rogers Park has been called off, due to a death in the family.

Tonite's game will be rescheduled to another night.

DeepDownWithin said...

why is everybody queit???? dont be shy now

Tonald Drump said...

Shekhs said...

FYI Fellas,
There is no night game tonite, as the game between Pak Gym and Rogers Park has been called off, due to a death in the family.


Sorry to hear. Who is the affected team?

NJ said...

DeepDownWithin you seems to be the most quit person on this blog, check how many times have you posted something... :)You seems to me a good Listener aren't you and than get entertain by what is happening on blog... DDW

DeepDownWithin said...

nj saab, jab aap baat karte hain, toh hume bolne ka hak nahi hai... chup chaap sunte rehte hain. Aapka masaladar baatein hume bahut aanand deta hai. looks like you got roughed up on monday against blues. i wish sadiq was there at the game to give us a detailed report. this game has gone to the wire. why mehlu is not playing these days??????

Shekhs said...

Tonald,
RP's Fahim Malik's Father - In _Law passed away.

Tonald Drump said...

Thanks Shekhs.

DeepDownWithin said...

tonald what is status of bloggers ball??????

Tonald Drump said...

Thanks for asking Deepdownwithin.

BLOGGERS HEADS UP... nothing final yet but its highly likely that MCC Blogger's Night Game may be pushed up by a week to Saturday, August 16th. There are geniuine issues around ground availability and therefore a league game maybe moved to HP on August 9th.

We will know final word by later this week.

NJ said...

DeepDownWithin said...
nj saab, jab aap baat karte hain, toh
---------------------------------
Mehul has family commitments and about Monday game.. Clean slog hitting from Mitul... rough over for me... HP is in a way a grave yard for bowlers like me and several others. It was not my evening. Hope to do better in coming games.

Unknown said...

for those who are Big B fans...

http://blogs.bigadda.com/ab/


sorry little off our topic...my apology...

Samir_RoyalsCC

Shekhs said...

Samir,
We know for sure that you are a huge Big B fan.. :-)
matter of fact, I haven't met anybody who dislikes Big B.
Growing up, we lived on Big B movies right..?

Shekhs said...

hey Masta...
who won the game on tuesday?
Some details please..

DeepDownWithin said...

samir dont be so nice. amitabh was my hero when i grew up. now, I pray he stops acting in silly movies and stupid advertisements. also, I hope his son and wife stop acting. eeeeyuck

DeepDownWithin said...

i mean son and son's wife

Shekhs said...

deep down..I dont mind seeing his son's wife on screen.. :-)

Shekhs said...

Rup, Brutha, where art thou?

Rup said...

Just got back in town...Sheky,

Been to Bolloywood to see Amitabh's daughter-in-law. Missed her though..news says she is touring North America right now...

Back to back losses over the last week and the crazzy schgedule for close of month ain't letting me blog too much.

Rup said...

Ajoy,
how are ya do'n.
We com'n this week end.
Weather looks good and we should have a good game.

By the way.. please make sure you all settle the summary fine if you have to, so we don't come all the way and then see the game crashed out.

DeepDownWithin said...

rup, what fine.. oh for not putting scores on time. I checked website and they have not updated the front page with news from last week. shouldnt the management be fined? question is who makes that money. we should probably get that for our bloggers ball. we are all waiting for tonald to update us on the details of the bloggers ball.

DeepDownWithin said...

sheki, she is fine, minute she starts talking is when i want to throw up

Shekhs said...

lol Rup and Deep down..you guys are cracking me up..

Rup, think of it as the worst case...its gonna get better..

Deep down..I like your idea of fining the management..
:-)

you really pique my curiosity now.....I need some hints man.

Unknown said...

DeepDownWithin said...

I hope his son and wife stop acting.


I agree, the Unforgetable tour is a success due to Big B....

BTW it's fun to read his blogs...

Samir_RoyalsCC

Unknown said...

Shekhs said...

Samir,
We know for sure that you are a huge Big B fan.. :-)



Yes, definately :) It's costing me though....tickets are expensive man!!! :) but hey...no complains...this would be the last opportunity to see him in person.... :)
Samir_RoyalsCC

Rup said...

Deep ,,, I was talk'n about the Fines for late or no summary reports entered.

Sheky, I am trying to but it will take some time to get over the loss by 1 run..

don't no but you guys but i prefer getting my ass whoopied on agiven day rather than loose by a couple runs or 1 wickets.. all the if's come to haunt yah???

Shekhs said...

Rup, I know what you're saying man..cheer up bud..

NJ said...

Thanks to Amit's great final over and NJ running out Adi on last ball.. I was the one who got the game very close and i had to make sure it ended in UCC way.. Rup no problem.. you will have few good games ahead. Good Luck to Blue's

Shekhs said...

hey NJ,
is there a 20/20 game this weekend I can catch?

Aditya said...


Rup said....
Sheky, I am trying to but it will take some time to get over the loss by 1 run..


Sorry Rup, I couldn't pull it off. We had a couple of key lapses at the end. Definitely a tough loss to swallow.

Lets hope we get a rematch. i think it'll be another high-octane encounter.