Friday, May 07, 2010

Season 2010 - Week 2

The 2010 MwCC season kicked off last week due to the leniency of the rain-gods. Fortunately, only 1 game was rained out. We had some wonderful cricket with some close games between Pak Gym and the Chargers, Evanston and Jaguars, Hustler XI and Advancers, and Rogers Park and QC Kings. Some other games were dominated by Arena, Flames, Challengers, Fenders, South Barrington, Titans, and Hammond. There were some very low scoring games totaling under 100 for the day, and high scoring games totaling over 400 for the day. Some of the usual suspects jumped out with an early win, while others struggled a bit. One thing for sure, Cricket is back in the midwest and with a bang! Now it's time for week 2 and things are only going to get tougher. Teams are shaking off the rust, and the competition level is going to be right up there with some big games this week.

In Division 1, Challengers vs United could be a pre-cursor for things to come. Wildcats vs Milwaukee will be another meeting between 2 perennial playoff teams and AAA vs Rovers will give us some insight about how strong AAA is looking.

In Division 2, Rogers Park vs Titans will definitely have implications on the race to (or back to) Division 1 for both teams. Illinois vs Evanston will renew a rivalry between two primarily Caribbean teams whereas Jaguars vs Hammond will also impact the race to Division 1.

In Division 30/30, Chicago Super Kings vs Juggernauts will introduce two new teams to our league, while Rockers vs Nighthowlers will showcase two potential playoff teams competing in a hard-fought game. Fenders have a chance to continue against Devonshire on the back of their big win last weekend.

Good luck to all the teams and get ready for another bruising weekend of competitive cricket - weather permitting!

104 comments:

Unknown said...

Hmm. Second attempt at debuting in the thread... maybe this time :-)

And with everyone picking the Eagles, I shall once again be the contrarian and pick StLouis to beat the Eagles at home.

Some very good games, though - hopefully its not crazily cold tomorrow.

c8w

Swing King said...

Div I

Challengers over United- united looks a little off color...I think theres a major lack of team chemistry there
STL ovr Eagles - STL is the better team
Pak ovr Phoenix - Pak as always is a contender for the chamionship
Chargers over bears- bears dont really have any exciting players
Mil ovr WC - wildcats have way too many issues off the field
AAA over Rovers - Rovers not ready for d1


Div II

RP over Titans- Rogers park is a good team
Jags ovr Hammond - Jags is my pick to win d2 this year
Madison over MR - who is MR?
Arena ovr Giants - whos the left arm quick from arena?
QC ovr Springfield - QC are a perennial team

30-30

Chicago super kings ovr Juggernauts - i dont know both teams
Hawks over cougars- kaleems troups are always practicing in nets
Trailblazers over CCC- Trailblazers always manage to get good players
nighthowlers over rockers- rockers lost to fenders last week pretty badly
Fenders ovr Devonshire - Fenders looking good
SBCC ovr MWCA - no players for MWCA!

Dinesh_Rovers said...

Man, I just read the previous blogs.. Jeez, I have ordered a box of Chill pills for all of you :) Can we please move on from the elections and concentrate what we are here for?? hint, hint Cricket ;)

Anyways, come on guys, one of you pick Rovers over AAA :) 10 bucks for the guy who dares to do that!!

Swing King, you are especially harsh.. we are not ready for Div 1 :(. Just kidding!! I dont think its harsh and all.. am sure every team has our game circled as an easy W. but we will love nothing more than to prove a few teams wrong.We would love to show that we are ready for Div 1 tomorrow..

Good luck to all the teams this weekend!!

Dinesh
Rovers

naren said...

NHowlers defeated Rockers.
Brief scores Rockers 99 all out in ~24 overs. Nipun took 5 wickets.

NHowlers 100/2 in 16 overs.
Amish scored 45* odd and Nipun 30* odd

THIS IS TOO MUCH said...

united scored 207 and challengers are 132/3 in 23 overs...

lets see what happens..........

Swing King said...

sorry Dinesh did not mean to offend you.

naren, are you talking about Nipun Joshi?

United scored 207- who scored? I think challs should have it in the bag pretty easily

Swing King said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rajiv said...

Chicago cricket club beat trailblazers... CCC scored 141 odd and trailblazers lost by 8runs or so...

Aditya said...

Challs beat United by 3 wickets I think. I believe Pres scored a 50, as did Afroze - according to the update I got.

So, Challs off to another fast start in defense of their title. Surprisingly, United has struggled out of the blocks, but they've had 2 of the top teams, so I'm sure they'll come back strong next week.

Swing King said...

I think theres a serious lack of team unity in united..hehe... but seriously..alot of players are not happy is what I feel. from what i hear theres alot of yelling, hypocrites etc on the field and furstratingly bad captaincy...i think so some players will leave.

also there has to be a reason why mehul etc did not come back for this season

Alpesh said...

Titans lost badly to Rogers Park today .. Rogers Park 241/9 and we were allout for 101 only. Schon was lone bright star from our side picking up 4/37.

Shiraz Sir can talk about the match in detail, but hope to come back strong from this loss.

Unknown said...

-------
Aditya said...
Challs beat United by 3 wickets I think. I believe Pres scored a 50, as did Afroze - according to the update I got.
--------

They did, yes - with 4.x overs to spare in the end. And Eagles lost to StLouis, with Sohail getting 108* leading a chase of 214 with 3-4 overs to spare.

I umpired the United/Challengers game - brutal conditions, very very cold and very windy (and even ice-shower for a few mins too!) Challs pace was a little weak today - no Dax, no Sanjay (no Mahesh at keeper either).. United started v strong. Kamran 20 (with 2 sixes - 22/1 in 3), and then Gopi and Faisal batted terrifically. Faisal was dropped a couple times, but they were hard-hit (and v hard to catch in the brutal cold).. but he batted quite brilliantly otherwise. 82 off 68 balls for him, 3 fours and 6 sixes, and quite beautifully hit and very long sixes too. Gopi got a very solid 53. United were 143/1 in the 25th over when Faisal fell. They then slid - they have a talented but very inexperienced middle order, and Bhavesh's 2nd spell was v good, and Nilesh was terrific all day (Nilesh 7-1-26-3, with 1 beautiful straight six hit by Faisal the only real shot hit off him all day; got all 3 wickets clean bowled, near unplayable late, with pacy yorkers and excellent slower balls mixed in).

Challengers chased 207, lost Darshan early, but Ankur got 23 and Sheks batted v well for 53. Chals were 76/1 in 15, 111/3 at break (with Nilesha nd Afroze going strong). Both continued strong post-break, carrying it to 143/3 in 24 overs... before Nilesh fell for 32 (might have gotten a tough LBW from the umpire :-) Challs fell to 153/6 (still 55 needed), and 188/7 (still 20 needed), but Afroze was brilliant at one end, solid, strokeful, running terrifically, rotating strike with Nilesh, upping a gear when Nilesh fell.. ended up 70* at the end, match-winning innings.

Good game overall, but very difficult conditions for everyone all day long.

c8w

Unknown said...

-------
Swing King said...
look like UCC has some new players good ones too and some youngsters in ther team
------

They do, yes - but have a lot of inexperience as well. They introduced a new young guy today from IIT for example, Raghu Kanchikeri, who has played some good age-group cricket in India (former Karnataka U19). Looked a good bat in his short 6-run innings - punchy and straightish.. but its an adjustment playing here (ball doesnt travel when hit all along the ground). Also looked a potentially very good offspinner.. but it was his first-ever game on astroturf, where you get lots less turn than actual turf like in India (and he was also up against Nilesh and Afroze, who play spin very well, and were batting beautifully). Good players adjust - but it takes everyone a little time, thats only to be expected. It'll get better with time and experience for the young players, and hence for the team too. (The Flames struggled with young players 2-3 years ago too, but will IMHO reap the rewards this year as their players have learned and matured). When youre 23 years old, you have time :-)

---------
Swing King said...
also there has to be a reason why mehul etc did not come back for this season
------

There is - Mehul is injured :-) He's been having some shoulder issues. Hopefully will be better soon and return.. not just for United's sake, but the league's as well :-)

c8w

Unknown said...

--------
Swing King said...
Div II
Jags ovr Hammond - Jags is my pick to win d2 this year
Madison over MR - who is MR?
Arena ovr Giants - whos the left arm quick from arena?
------

There isnt one :-) It was a guy named Hansraj, who was v v good (both on his stats, and on what little I saw from outside during the playoffs)... but I hear he's not there anymore, sadly. Arena is still v good though, their bowling attack among the best in Div2 always.. if theyve picked up more batting (as I hear they might have), IMHO theyre strong contenders in Div2 (along with RP. Jaguars.. Id like to see what theyre like with their new players - theyve lost a few I think).

MR=Milwaukee Rangers - quite a few guys mostly new to our league. Milwaukee Panthers are Riaz Butt's new team.. and also include at least 3-4 other former MCC Div1 guys (Rizwan, Usman - the 2 MCC youngish pacers; and Zaman the leggie and hard hitter; also a couple more.. Hasnain I think.. might be a good side, though dont think theyve played a game yet)

c8w

Sikki said...

Kudos FOD. You have a tab over many teams:)

Bw: i am glad we dont have a game this weeeknd. We play Miwaukee next week and hopefully it'll be warmer. Looking forward to that. They seem to be a strong team.

Of what I know, United is a good team as well but little rusty. I think they gonna get stronger with season.

Sikander

Swing King said...

Finger, i think you hit the spot.

flames will definitely reap the rewards of grooming youngsters this year, and I think a couple of teams are moving on this initiative as well. I know United has one, and pheonix picked up a couple this year from what ive heard, as well as wildcats.it will be interesting to see who is the most effective breeder. flames took the right approach by giving opportunity....wildcats are doing the opposite. lets see. as for the new IIT recruit- its alot different here it will be interesting to c how he adapts.

on a completely dif note...im looking to buy a bat. should i buy it online? any suggestions?

Swing King said...

MWCA lost to South Barrington

Preetam N said...

"FingerOfDeath said...
And with everyone picking the Eagles, I shall once again be the contrarian and pick StLouis to beat the Eagles at home."

Not fair Sadiq. You had insider information.
We made 214 with some good batting from Mankesh, new guy Nandan, Vasu and Sahil. Vasu batted exquisitely for a well made 60+ not out.
In return St louis made the required in 35+ overs. Sohail played a beautiful chanceless innings to make 108 NO. He has become our one arch nemesis. We got a few quick wickets in the beginning and nurtured hopes of an upset but as always Sohail proved a thorn on our side.
The fact that four of our regular bowlers had to miss the game didnt help us too.
Looooong journey but well worth it to avoid losing -4.
well played Shekhsy. And the rest.

Shiva Rajagopal said...

Phoenix defeated Pak Gymkhana by 6 wickets.... Aditya played a masterly 61 and with debutant Gurpreet (43) put on more than a useful partnership to steer Phoenix to a win.... Arun, Bharat Patel and Sameer shared the bowling spoils....

Alpesh said...

Wow ... thats a big upset Shiva Sir .. Congrats to the Phoenix team on a brilliant start to the season ...

naren said...

WOW is what i can for Phoenix winning against Pak. Well done team Phoenix..

WC defeated MIL today at Hanover park.
MIL scored 153 in 40 overs and Cats chased it in 34 odd overs.

Unknown said...

AAA beat Rovers

AAA bat first and scored 225 for 8 in 40 overs

Ikram 76* Ibrahim 40* Ashif 28*

Rovers scored 220 for 10 in 39.5 overs

Great game till the end good luck to Rovers for the rest of the season

Unknown said...

Ikram I am watching you brother. This is the second time I noticed you've done damamge. Keep up the good work.

Adnan Baig
United Cricket Club

Swing King said...

Adnan Baig united cricket club!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

please provide some feedback for all the discussions going on about your team

Unknown said...

------
naren said...
WOW is what i can for Phoenix winning against Pak. Well done team Phoenix..
-----

Yes, very good win for Phoenix. PakGym had a decent morning start with the bat, but then lost wickets.. they were 106/5 at the 20-over break. Najmi got a 40 IIRC, and Pak ended up with 180 (spinners got 6 wickets IIRC). Phoenix were 60/1 after 14 overs, then lost 3 wickets... and then Aditya and newcomer Gurpreet took it home with great solidity - 61* for Adi, 43* for Gurpreet IIRC, Adi's was chanceless I think. Saw the last 40+ runs of the chase, it was very professionally and well done - solid, playing on the ground, keeping the runs coming and the wickets in hand.. 34 off 11, eventually won with almost 3 overs to spare IIRC.

Next door, Chargers beat Bears. Chargers batted first, and were 90/4 in 24 overs when I was there during break.. but Kamran had opened and was set and still there, and big brother Guddu was just beginning to fire. They went somewhat beserk after that (even from my game I saw at least 3-4 Guddu sixes, including one monster over cover off Faisal).. Guddu got what must have been a very rapid 87, Kamran ended 109* I think, Chargers got 160 in the last 16 and ended 250! From a distance I saw Qaiser (back in the league this year) hit a couple of very big ones too.. but Bears lost wickets along the way. They needed 50 off 6 overs with 9 down, then Faisal hit a six and a few more shots.. it was 35 off 4 overs.. eventually the wicket fell and Chargers won by about 30 I think it was.

Meanwhile I umped whats always my fave game - except this time it was one-sided (but with all the fun, laughter, and sheer enjoyment that this game always has). Illinois started badly against Evanston, 12/2, and a catch put up.. and it was promptly put down (should have been 12/3, and I thought we might have a low-scoring game). Instead, it was 133/2 at break - Ron and Collins hitting it all over the park. After break Aaron went nuts, playing better than IVe ever seen him - some ridiculous shots in 60-odd. Rup came in at #10, swung and missed a couple.. and then hit 3 consecutive sixes :-) Illinois ended at 297! We then all went off for lunch - where there were awesome rotis, very good rice-and-peas, and spectacular chicken curry.. possibly one of the best cricket-field lunches Ive ever had. We came back, and the ball was swinging all over the place (I dont know about the complaints about the Grade-A balls.. last 2 days theyve been great in both games I umpired, today they were swinging wonderfully for the bowlers). Rup bowled 7 overs on the trot, and got 6 guys clean-bowled! Jack was quick at the other end, also got a couple. Evanston eventually folded up for about 70 I think. Doneike was a little injured and off-color today. Iam already looking forward to the revenge-game return-match in Evanston later in the year :-)


-------
WC defeated MIL today at Hanover park.
MIL scored 153 in 40 overs and Cats chased it in 34 odd overs.
-------

Very good win, Naren! Some details please? Who took the wickets and made the runs etc? Was it comfortable - ie with wickets in hand, in the chase?

c8w

Rajiv said...

Jaguars beat Hammond. We had to play a 35aside game, which sucks - i will talk about that a little later mayb tmr.

Jaguars lost toss, but surprising got to bat first... Posted a mammoth total of 319-8 in 35 overs. Satyam with a classic century (I say classic because he hit 8 6's i think), Shameer 85 runs... unfortunately got runout in the 31st overs or else we would have seen 2 century's in 1 match, a first for jaguars....

hammond regularly lost wkts and were 98-4 in 17 I think... played 34.1 overs and scored 239 all out or so...

more details a little later.

Unknown said...

Hi All.....Does any body remember url of animated Indian dvd making Multimedia company from Rolling Meadows....

We use to have their advertisement on MidwestCricket.org home page but it is not there anymore..........I am looking for DVD's for my kid very badly....

I need help on this....

naren said...

Sadiq,

Milwaukee won the toss and elected to bat first and they did not get to fast start because of some tight bowling from Satish and Nikhil.
Kabir got out to a very good spell of bowling for Satish and a good low catch from Ajit in the slips.
Romesh was soon out at deep 3rd man for 9, they then lost Kashif for 3 and they were down to 35/3 in 9 overs.

Then Asif and Khawar soon followed and Mil was down to 53/5 in 15 overs.
Shakir was joined by Taylor and both made sure that they did not take any risks and were easily getting singles almost at will, thanks to some sloppy piece of fielding from everyone.

Taylor was run out for a well made 21 and then Shakir was out for a well made 33.
In the end Umair hit some much needed runs and he scored 21. Satish took 2 Nikhil took 2 i took 2 wickets, Giri and Shyam took one each.

WC started their chase in a bad way as Sadiq was out caught first ball at Point of what was a bump ball, but the umpire had other ideas.
Romeen was in a zone today and he took Kabir to the cleaners today as he hit him over gully for a Six over Covers for another and over mid off for another massing six.

He got out trying to take Asif on for a well made 37. Ajit joined our new guy Jafer and both were content to bide their time and because of Romeen's cameo we had enough time to let Asif bowl his quota without any risks.

Jafer scored 17, Ajit 24 Nikhil was run out for 16.

Surya and Satish stayed till the end scoring 14 and 18 respectively, and we chased it in 35 overs.

It was a good performance from our team in all departments and we need to get better with our fielding which is becoming our Achilles heel of late.

Ajoy Lal said...

Arena wins over Chicago Giants

Arena 302 in 40 overs with Nikhil getting a century.

Chicago Giants 178

ice_cold said...

Phoenix beat pk gym and Aditya was the highest runner...wow that's like the biggest upset of season. I couldnt believe the scorecard.

Shekhs said...

Anupam,
I think the sponsor you are talking about was "Fables from India".
Hope that helps you.

Thanks
Shekhs

Shekhs said...

Congrats to all the winners!!

some great games over the weekend..

Finger,
Plase umpire all our games....so that I dont have to give a report...hahaha...thanks again..

naren said...

Phoenix has done something which no one predicted, and they have started this season on a good note.
No one expected them to go deep a couple of years back and they did loose the final.. So seems like Team Phoenix has some tricks up their sleeves which they use to beat Pak, they beat Pak last year too so they have a measure of them in some way..

Shiva Rajagopal said...

Anupam

Can you send me an email to shivkay@yahoo.com ? I think I can help you in getting the url of animated Indian dvd making Multimedia company from Rolling Meadows...

Shiva

Shekhs said...

Yeah Naren...you said it...

Phoenix has really lived upto the name....

risen from the ashes..!!

Good start...I picked Pak to win that game...so Shiva and Adi...thanks for proving all of us wrong.

but then everytime I pick you guys, you guys lose....hahaha

Aditya said...

Shekhs,

Thus please stop picking us!! :):):)


Naren,

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Congratulations on your win against Milwaukee. Seems like this win wasn't so close; good to see you guys back on track.


Ice-Cold,

I'm sure there will be bigger upsets for you to marvel at, but I'm glad we were able to provide you something unbelievable so early in the season. I'm sure we'll see plenty more from other teams before this season is done.


Alpesh,

Thanks for the good wishes.

Shiva Rajagopal said...

Naren

Thanks for your kind words... We are doing what we always believe on the field.... just stick to basics.... its actually easier said than done... Aditya / Gurpreet stole the thunder.....

Shekhs

Please don't pick us for any game this season..... lets see how it helps us... Well, talking about batting, what is the secret of your success ? you had a 50 in a pre-season game and followd it up with a couple of 50s in the first two games..... And Vishal is proving himself so well too... Why were Challengers hiding you both last couple of seasons ?

Aditya said...

Ajoy, Rajiv, Shekhs, Naren, Shiraz, Shoaib, Rup - congratulations on the win. And to all the winners.

Congrats to Sohail and St Louis on a good win.

Looks like the Pres is in some form - one n.o. and one 50. Nothing like an election win to get the bat doing the talking, eh?? :):)

Looks like Rogers Park is on a mission. Keep it up guys.

Nighthowlers are looking good too. Congrats to them and I hope they keep up the momentum.

ICC came back big to thrash Evanston! I just kept hearing the celebrations after each 6 hoping it wouldn't happen on our ground. :)

Jags looking good too! Keep it up Rajiv and Co.

Ajoy, looks like Arena PRI's batting can be as dominating as their bowling.

What's up with Guddu this year? What has he been eating/drinking? Share some please!! Great batting.

AAA are at the top of the table in terms of points. Way to go. It's going to be a tough game next weekend against them.

Aditya said...

Recap on the Pak Gym vs Phoenix game yesterday.

Pak Gym won the toss and elected to bat. They started off aggressively as usual with Irfan and Bakshi. They kept the runs flowing for a few overs before Arun bowled a beauty that lifted and hurried Irfan a little. He missed the pull and what looked like a nasty blow to the head (no helmet!) actually ended up just clipping his cap. Something had to give soon and fortunately, Arun got Irfan caught at deep point by Gurpreet. Bakshi then took charge and hit some big shots before Arun came back and bowled him.

After that, Mazhar and Mehmood tried to keep the score ticking, but some good bowling by Manpreet got Mehmood tickling one to the keeper. Mazhar soon spooned a catch to square leg off Sameer and Ashhar skied one off Bharat just when he was looking dangerous. At the 20 over break, Shahid and Najami (sp??) where not out with Pak Gym at a little over 100/5.

After the break, Shahid was LBW to one that kept a little low. Maqsood came in next, and although we spilled one of his catches at deep midwicket, skipper Naveen took an awesome diving catch in the same spot a few balls later. Meanwhile, Najami was batting solidly, and then took off by hitting some big sixes off Shiva. Shiva had the last laugh getting him stumped on one too many attempts, but he made a very well compiled 40+. Arun came back and finished off the last wicket. Pak Gym had put up a respectable 180 all out in just over 36 overs. There were 2 "free-hits" during when we bowled, but both resulted in dot balls to follow - thankfully!

We started our chase poorly with Ganne getting castled to a beauty from Raheel. But Sharath came in and batted beautifully at number 3. He kept the runs flowing and kept the good balls out. His positive play rubbed off on Srijay, the other opener, and he got into the act hitting Rashid for three 4s and one cracking 6 over backward point. But Rashid had the last laugh yorking him just when he was looking good. I went in next and faced a screaming yorker from Rashid first up which I managed to keep out (phew). Meanwhile, Pak Gym fought back hard through Rashid who yorked Sharath with another beauty and Shahid who got Sameer out in the next over. That was the ball of the match which looked exactly like the ball Ishant Sharma got Ponting out on. Quick, angling in, flew between bat and pad (even when there didn't seem to be a gap), and clipped the top of off stump!

Suddenly we went from 60/1 to 68/4 and Pak Gym was bowling with the wind behind their backs. Gurpreet came in next and his judgement outside the off stump was impeccable. He showed wonderful restraint at all times during the match and played a classy knock. Slowly but surely we blunted the bowling attack and went into the break at 100+ / 4.

After that, we put our heads down, ran hard, gave all but 1 chance (tough chance by Gurpreet), and whittled away at the score. Shahid bowled with fire and aggression, Rashid bowled with variety and guile, but we managed to keep them out and stick to our task at hand and carry off an unexpected win.

Pak Gym were wonderful competitors and good opponents. They were aggressive and in our face during the game, but nothing over the top - the kind of aggression you expect from a good team and enjoy as a competitor on the field. Off the field and after the game it was back to the usual camaraderie. We thoroughly enjoyed playing against them, are happy to get a big win, and wish them the best for the rest of the season.

Shekhs said...

Shiva/ Adi...
I will always pick the opposite team except when you play challengers....hahaha

Thanks for the kind words..guess I'm just lucky and its just the beginning of the season...

shiva,
With Bhavesh and Darshan as regular openers, its always hard for me to fill in that slot....we are just trying different things this season....
Vishal was one of the best all rounders in div 2. He also couldn't find a regular spot just like me with challengers having a deep line up.
We are missing some key folks early this year, so both of us are getting some extra playing time...

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

AAA beat Rovers in a thriller
Rovers won the toss and elected to field first since they are really good at chasing runs. AAA was 77 for 4 in 20 over’s when Ibrahim and Ikram were set at the crease. Both men played exceptional cricket scoring ones and twos and developed a 102 run partnership. After the dismissal of Ibrahim, Ikram and Ashif made a quick 50 run partnership and soon after AAA were 225 for 7 in 40 over’s. Scoring 148 runs in the last 20 over’s proved to be vital in AAA winning the match. Rovers had a decent bowling attach but extras and horrible bowling run-ups proved to be a a problem for both teams but favored AAA at the end.
Ravi and Dinesh came out cracking. Rovers were 123 for 2 in 20 over’s with Ravi scoring 20, Dinish scoring 59 and Yogi scoring 38. Rovers only needed 113 runs in 20 over’s but AAA gathered themselves and started to bowl effectively. It came down to 5 over’s 29 runs. Rovers were pushing ones and twos but a brilliant 39th over by Hanif with 3 wickets and 1 run given proved to help AAA win the match. In the final over Rovers had 1 wicket in hand and had to score 10 to tie and 11 to win but couldn’t make it. The last wicket was run out and AAA won the game with one ball left.

The Mosville ground had many flaws which allowed Rovers to score a mammoth 220 runs against a really good AAA bowling attack. No disrespect to the Rovers intended. The run up’s on both end’s were in really bad shape. Having stepping issues, having holes in the ground near the run up, having ditches near the run up were some things that the Peoria area cricket teams need to address. This is a big disadvantage to travelling teams because they are not used to run-ups as the one in Mosville. So please if the Peoria area cricket club can address this issue that would be greater if any Chicago team going to Play rovers or Peoria C.C. please make sure you have lots of spinners and medium pace bowlers since they will be the only ones that will have success.

AAA versus Phoenix will be a great game next week

Shekhs said...

That sounds like an exciting game Shuaib (minus the ground issues).

Congrats on a good win!

Tough luck dinesh...there's no loser in that kinda humdinger...

naren said...

By the way i am not sure how many noticed, but it seems like the boundaries have shrunk quiet a bit at Heritage/Hanover park.

I would think that its not fair for a spinner if the boundary is say 60 yards or so, I don't really know how far they are marked, but just a glance at the boundary does seems like they should be marked at least 65-75 yards.

Alpesh said...

Naren ..

It was my mistake, as I was trying to make sure that it does not interfere with the protective net near the batting cages (which is not there now)... I checked with Humayun Baqai yesterday and he told me about the proper method to mark the boundaries. I will try to make the boundaries longer by the Memorial day weekend at the most.

Unknown said...

----------
Alpesh said...
Naren ..
It was my mistake, as I was trying to make sure that it does not interfere with the protective net near the batting cages (which is not there now)...
--------

I umpired in Hanover this Saturday - and while I agree the boundaries are small, they appeared quite similar to last year to me (which I thought was too small as well - they used to be bigger 2-3 years ago). Didnt affect us that much this weekend actually, because the rain had been heavy Friday-night, the "diamonds" were in terrible condition.. so we had to couldnt really have boundaries including all of that dirt-area, would make fielding impossible.. we still had it into the diamonds, but a bit less than usual.

In general I think we ought to make boundaries as big as we can make them, in our league - we're never going to be able to match the real international-level boundaries anyway (ie Melbourne etc), just because we dont have the room. But as much as is possible to do, we ought to do it. I spoke to Alps last night, and he said the same thing.. hopefully with some leeway from the weather, Alps can get them marked sometime, and have them be very good-sized. (I also think places like Purdue, Madison etc should make them very big - they have the room to do it there, and given that, they should IMHO try to fit ICC-criteria if they can). Anyplace that *can* do it should... some just cannot (ie WP 2 and 4, theyre restricted by location next to each other; CCI, Milwaukee etc, by trees surrounding the ground; those things we can do nothing about anyway).

c8w

naren said...

Thanks Alps aka Alpesh, I was checking to see if anyone noticed that.
Straight boundaries at Hanover are the same but side boundaries have been reduced, and as Alps said he will take care of them.

Hopefully he will fix them before we play Chal :-)

straight_drive said...

Aditya, that was a really good chase by you and the other (new) guy, congratulations. However, you forgot to mention that for about 90% of the inns we had 10 guys on the field ;). It is something with playing Phoenix, last year we had 9, hopefully by next year we can field and maintain an XI vs Phoenix :-P.

Unknown said...

Thanks Sheks but url will be great help...........Shiva I already sent email

Ali-Giants said...

Hey Guys,
Giants are looking for some players as we are short this year and had some people leave. If there are people interested please call me @ 312-925-5648
Ali

Aditya said...

Raheel,

Oops. Must have slipped my mind! :-D

In fact, even you were injured a bit, right? So technically you guys were down to 9.5 players after some time, right?? ;-)

Hope Abid and you are feeling better and back to full fitness by next weekend.

Unknown said...

The Mosville ground had many flaws which allowed Rovers to score a mammoth 220 runs against a really good AAA bowling attack. No disrespect to the Rovers intended. The run up’s on both end’s were in really bad shape. Having stepping issues, having holes in the ground near the run up, having ditches near the run up were some things that the Peoria area cricket teams need to address. This is a big disadvantage to travelling teams because they are not used to run-ups as the one in Mosville. So please if the Peoria area cricket club can address this issue that would be greater if any Chicago team going to Play rovers or Peoria C.C.



Shekhs,

I agree with Shuaib on this issue. Yes, we have to improve our wicket but for that we will need MCC mgmt help.

We can’t just put mulch or soil (it will erode over time or in couple of games), run-up has to be on same level as wicket. Currently, transition from grass to wicket is very close to wicket, often right leg get stuck or get bumped on grass/ground (non even surface). It will be nice if we extend wicket by min 3 to 4 yds on each end for smoother transition. It will cost MCC (I’ve no idea, may be Moe can help us out in estimate) but it will help us in future (potential 20 Div-I games). Carpet itself is really bad shape too. If you would like I can send an official note to current management to initiate formal discussion.

Mankesh seen the wicket in Eagles last game too, he will be best person to comment on too.


Yousaf -
Peoria Cricket Club

Unknown said...

Shekhs/Mgmt.,

I completely agree with Shuaib and Yusufbhai on the run-up issues at the PCC ground. Its a plight to see the condition of one of the best grounds in our league. When Eagles played PCC onn May 1st, the run-ups (on both ends) were horrible, just like Shuaib described in his match report. In addition the astro turf was coming off the concrete. I didn't bring this up immediately after the game since I thought it may have been due to the extremely wet weather we had during that week, but I guess things have not improved over the days anyway.

I think the league has to give some serious thought in rectifying this problem. Perhaps a similar arrangement to Hanover and Heritage Park may be useful, with almost the entire length of the bowlers' run-up also covered with astro. In either case some landscaping is definitely required to smoothen out the "pot-holes" and avoid some inevitable serious injuries.

Swing King said...

you know shekhy if i were u, instead of using the $40,000 in sponsorship money to give everyone like 1-2 hundered dollar discount in fees, i would hvae used it to repair the grounds. after all, the agenda is to improve the quality and standard of cricket right? outfields are slow, pitches are worn out, and run ups are the worst! and the worst hting is, that whenever says something needs to change, you keep saying next year....what is this barack obama preparing for re-election or something? WE WANT CHANGE NOW! shekhy is the right guy to be in the pres seat but i think your priority might be wrong. 30 30 TEAMS STILL HAVENT GOTTEN THE GRADE-A BALLS YET COME ONE SHEKHY

Shekhs said...

thanks yousuf bhai and Vasu for the update.

We'll try to work something out.

Its always hard to fix it during the season, since we need some downtime to fix the issue.

With 2 teams using it as their home ground, it will be hard to get it done during the season.

Swing King,
The discount in fees for all the teams was with respect to the economy and tight budget that we all are facing. Our team felt that everybody needed a break and they got that.
We'll work towards fixing the ground if it needs to be fixed right away.

We'll work with the Peoria teams to get this done.

Thanks
Shekhs

Shekhs said...

Swing King,
We announced one day to pick those balls from Hanover PArk.
Please email me - shekhs@midwestcricket.org or call me to make an arrangement to pick your set of Grade A balls.

Thanks
shekhs

SUCK_IT_UP said...

I do agree with Swing king the promise was to improve the quality of cricket but unfortunately, this new management is not capable of
even matching the standard of what was done by the previous management. So far, the CHANGE MANAGEMENT has brought nothing but crap.

This is just the beginning and the teams are already seeing what they are made off (NOTHING BUT LOUD NOISE).

Let’s recap on what we have seen so far:

1. Lower grades cheap balls.
2. Grounds are not conducive to cricket.
3. Grasses are NOT cut properly.
4. Boundaries are NOT marked properly.
5. Umpires are not showing up on time to start the games. No penalties on umpire or on teams showing up late.
6. Cricket rules on the website are being modified on daily basis without the approval of the teams. (VERY TRANSPARENT, HAHAHA)
7. Games with no Umpire.
8. Misuse of players in 15.2.1 rule in Division II. We are waiting on the ruling from judiciary committee on the violation by the Chairman of the Judiciary committee.
9. Judiciary committee comprised of chairman with no members. If there are members, who are they?

CHANGES WE GOT, BUT ARE THESE THE CHANGES YOU WANTED?

naren said...

Murga I think you are being biased in your opinion.

The balls are decent, you will always find balls which are not good be it old management or new that is part and parcel of manufacturing and defects.
Grounds are pretty conducive for cricket at least in the Chicago area, and about other grounds for example Peoria, was it different to last year, did they have good run ups until last year that they became graveyards in a few weeks?

I played in 3 grounds Hanover/Heritage/Washington parks and all 3 grounds had good level of grass, you can hit a ball on the ground for 4 in Hanover park so that might give you an idea of how well the grass is, boundaries 30 yard circle 15 yard circle are all marked, did this happen in the past 12 years this might have happened in the past 1-2 years but not earlier i suppose. Bowling Crease is also marked which never happened, yea the crease is wide than required but that can be fixed, it might have been a mistake from whoever marked it, the intent is there to improve.

We pretty well know what the past management did when something happened in terms of fights on the ground etc, no response from them.

Umpires were also showing up late previously, Management can only implement the rules if people can abide by them, you are assigned a game to umpire and its your duty to be there on time, if you have a genuine reason to be late that is fine, if not the captain can write it in his report and let the Mgt decide on a fee cut or whatever.

Rest of the issues i am not aware of them so i cannot comment on them, this is just my interpretation of Cricket in MWCC 2010.

Shiraz said...

Hi All Humans and Murgha(s)

Please see an e-mail thread below that was exchanged between Rogers Park and the Management around Moin and Fahad Babar's ability to play for Rogers Park in Division 2 on May 5th. It was clearly communicated in the AGM that the Youth Rule is for all under the age of 21. We have been unable to update the site with this info, but this has been the case, since last year. We will update the website shortly.

This is as transparent as we can get.

As far as the Judiciary Committe is concerned, we are finlaizing our memebers soon. We have confirmation from Rafi Sayyed (chargers) to be part of the committe. We are awaiting confirmation from 5 other memebers. I hope this puts somethings to rest. I love the Nay Sayers though, We have not seen any less rain this year, than in years past, yet we have had almost all games comnpleted in the first 2 weeks. Boundaries are ok, Balls are great (I dont know what is the fuss about). Umpires are at games, grounds are being fixed.. This Management has been incharge for less than 38 days today. I believe we have done a good job of providing all of the MWCC members the level of cricket they are used to. If there have been any miscues, kindly give us some more time, and we will work on improving some of them also.

Sita Naraine = Rup in the thread, Divison 2 VP.. If anyone is interested in looking at the original thread, kindly provide me your e-mail and I will be more than happy to share..

Shiraz Najam to sitanaraine, Shekhs, Management
show details May 5 (5 days ago)

Hi Rup,

Moin and Fahad Babar are interested to play for RPCC in Division 2, when available. Below is the rule I got from the website:

The management is very keen on the development of cricket especially amongst the youth. While the league will strictly enforce the exclusivity rule the league would like to provide maximum opportunities for youngsters to play this game. With that in mind the league would make concessions for players under the age of 19 (as of September 1, of that year) allowing them to play in multiple divisions (Div I and II) in addition to the Division Thirty/30 and Abid Laheri night tournament.

I understand the age limit has been increased to Under 21 as opposed to under 19. Please let me know if they would be eligible to play for us in Divsion 2.

Regards,


--
Shiraz Najam
847-909-5996 (Cell)

Reply Reply to all Forward



Sita Naraine to me, Shekhs, Management
show details May 5 (5 days ago)

If they are under 21 they can play for any MWCC team so I do not see any reasons why they can't play for your team.

Good luck
Rup

Aditya said...

In our game vs Pak Gym, we used the new balls that Shekhs gave us on Wednesday. I think those are the Grade-A balls, but Shekhs, could you confirm?

The ball lasted the entire 40 overs and was in pretty good shape. It swung a bit, but not a lot. That could be because we only used 2 pace bowlers early, and both are not known for their prodigious swing. :)

The ball that Pak Gym used held up very well. In fact, they maintained it so well, Rashid was able to swing it a bit even after 35 overs. I'm not sure however, which ball they used. Raheel can provide more details on the ball they used.

So, all in all, I think the balls we are using this year are as good as the balls used last year. A few years ago, they were terrible, but for the last 2 year at least they have been pretty decent. Of course, this is after 1 game, so I may change my feedback after 4-5 games.

So far so good!

Shekhs said...

Yeah Adi,
The second set of balls we gave away (the ones that have a MWCC logo) are grade A balls.


Just so that everyone knows:

We didnt change the vendor for the balls on purpose to show CHANGE or anything.
After the election, the vendor couldnt commit to an on time delivery and hence we had to approach other folks.
Our new shipment didnt make it on time (it came the day after the AGM) because of the Volcanic Ash flight delays. So, we had to go local and get some balls to start the season with.

This is the situation in a nut shell.

Next year, we'll order the best set of balls upfront, so that we dont have to worry about any of these issues.


Thanks
Shekhs

Aditya said...

MCC_Murgha,

I have to disagree with you on all 9 of your points. The standard has been the same or better this season. Not all of them are better, but none are worse as far as I have seen myself.

I think it's fair to give them at least 2 years before writing them off - given the past management had 12 years. My impression is that the past management did a good job for quite some time, but in the last 4-5 years the level of service deteriorated - at least to a majority of us. I say majority based purely on the election results.

But you are entitled to your opinion, however biased it may be. Or maybe, unfortunately, just you and your team have been getting poor service. Hope that improves for you sometime soon.

From my perspective, this IS THE CHANGE that I wanted to see. It isn't complete, but it's a good start.

ice_cold said...

How about the fact that this management is openly taking respnsibility for their actions, answering critics and justifying their position? Did you ever get that from previous management?

Were your emails, phone calls and concerns immediately addressed as they are now? Can you compare having a whole group of energized individuals eager to work for cricket against a one man show?

Today Asher's page is on front of our home page, a proud moment for our league and for everyone to know. Shahid Munir played USA few years ago, nobody was every told. Our MWCC team performed so well in CER tournament and USA Nationals, was anybody ever told about it?

So be patient and let the new team settle and see what they want to do. At least they are making an effort and if we dont see how this league looks in 2 years, we will for sure have elections.

Unknown said...

Congratulation to Asher Mehdi for his selection in US team.. His Glove work behind the stumps is truly a treat to watch.. so is his batting..
May his debut in US team be similar to his debut in Midwest CC.. :)

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Shiva Rajagopal said...

We must be thankful to people like MC_Murgha who are voicing their concerns over issues..... Lets look at WHAT can be done in a constructive manner from any allegations and turn it into a positive... so ultimately, Midwest Conference Cricketers are the winners....

Unknown said...

I think Sheks is doing a great job and it takes time to improve a league such as MCC. Like President Obama and his staff, change will take time and will show and progress as time goes on. We can't expect the management to change everything over night. Sorry Sheks for bringing up a minor issue that MCC mugagra has chosen to rip you apart. Grounds are looking good, grass has been cut, and the boundary issue is fair for both sides even though it might be set in correctly. We can go back to the old management and pick out the hundreds or even thousands of flaws so mcc mugra you make no sense. It is a free country so you have the right to voice your opinion but you are wrong. Why don't you reveal who you are? Also Sheks I have a few suggestions for the new management on a constructive note.
Organization is key for the MCC to bring tons of success for years to come and I have seen a more organized MCC after you have took over. I suggest you have a ground committee for the Chicago Land Area report to you once a week and every ground that is at least an hour and a half away have a member of the team represent the ground committee for that ground. For example a member of the Peoria or Rovers C.C. can represent the ground committee for their ground and they report to you once a week via phone or email. This can give you an idea of what is going on. The people who are part of the ground committee have to make sure the grass is cut, the pitch is properly marked(crease), make sure the boundaries are marked accurately, and make sure the ground is clean at all times after the game. This will create a sense of responsibility and ensure great grounds in the MCC. As far as the ball issues that is not a major concern. Umpiring concern is major and umpires who do not start the game shall be penalized. Teams playing should write in the umpire comment that the match started late and this creates a sense of responsibility and awareness for the umpire. Docking money should do the job of getting games started on time. I also believe you should be the overall CEO of the MCC and DIV 1, a CEO and VP of DIV 2, and CEO and VP of DIV 3 which will report to you on a week to week basis or maybe even more. This will form a much smoother transition and allow the league to run smoothly. Another issue we see here are costs concerning league activities concerning ground maintenance. I think you should put up the jobs that are necessary to make sure the grounds run smoothly. With the amount of people in the league we might be able to use internal services or maybe find external services through word of mouth that might be cheaper. I might have be repetitive or mentioned things that are in place but these are some of my suggestions. If you need help in any form please let me know and would be able to assist the new management which I believe is doing a great job.

Unknown said...

---------
MCC_MURGHA said...
1. Lower grades cheap balls.
5. Umpires are not showing up on time to start the games. No penalties on umpire or on teams showing up late.
-------
naren said...
The balls are decent,

Umpires were also showing up late previously, Management can only implement the rules if people can abide by them, you are assigned a game to umpire and its your duty to be there on time, if you have a genuine reason to be late that is fine, if not the captain can write it in his report and let the Mgt decide on a fee cut or whatever.
--------

The two issues above - the balls, I too found them quite good this weekend, in both games I umpired. It retained its shape and fair shine thru all 40 overs on Saturday despite overnight rain etc; and on Sunday afternoon, Rup got the new ball to swing enough to get 6 guys clean-bowled in the first 14 overs! Found nothing wrong with the balls at all last weekend - we used "Grade-A" on both days. If this continues, we should consider getting Grade-A next year too (but there's still time to decide that, let them all be good the rest of shipment too :-)

As for umpires... *have* there been umpires who showed up late? If so,please let people on the Umpiring Committee know, guys - people cant be at every ground simuntaneously :-) The last management had already set very good rules in place, and they are being enforced this year - umpires who come late, or umpires who fail to come in uniform (ie not in black/dark-pant,white-shirt) already get a cut in their paycheck, according to the rules. In the first week itself, IIRC 2 umpires got a cut in paycheck for being "not in uniform".. those were the only 2 reports of "not in uniform" received, and there were *no* reports of umpires showing up late in Week One at all.

If you know of any umpire showing up not-in-uniform and/or late to a game, please drop in an email (Murgha, or anyone else, whoever sees it)... even if the email is annonymous, thats fine! (for any report, we'll check with both captains and umpire etc, and then the paycheck will be automatically docked, as it always is). Especially, if happens outside of Chicago, please report it.. there is no way for anyone here to know if a guy showed up to CCI in red t-shirt, or to Springfield at 11:15.. it is reports from team-players and/or captains that have to be relied on..its up to you guys to actually send the reports.

c8w

MastaKilla said...

Hey shuain those are very good ideas that you have proposed for shekhs to take a look at. on a different note i have heard from a few teams in ACC that arre planning on returning to the MWCC next year because the grounds are way better here. I myself plan on returning next year as well. Shekhs you have my number so give me a call or text if i can still be of any help to you on any of these issues.

Shekhs said...

thanks Shuaib, Naren, Masta, ice_cold, adi, shiva and finger...

appreciate the positive feedback and also the suggestions.

We'll take those suggestions and try to work with them.

shiva,
you are right, having a critique like MCC_MURGHA is important to keep us on track with reality...

Alpesh said...

Very disappointed with India's loss today ... The experienced fast bowlers never seem to learn anything, though the debutant bowled well .. I hope they look forward to next International assignments rather than looking forward to IPL 4 .. :)

MastaKilla said...

MCC_MURGHA, i wish people like you would stop criticizing the new management and actually take the time and effort to extend to them a helping hand. I mean instead of sitting on ur lazy butts and saying that they have not done anything and that CHANGE is not happening is not going to help them fix the issues is it? now that the issues have been brought to their attention help them resolve these issues. or at the very least make suggestions on how to fix these issues. Dont just sit there and criticize these guys for trying to improve the level of cricket that we play.

my 2 cents

SUCK_IT_UP said...

understand that you all do not see anything different since your motive changes now and needs more time to get a grip on issues to handle. But these are the minor issues that need to be ironed out at first place with some explanations to the clubs.

Naren - I am surprised that you have not gotten any position in the management yet.

Shiraz - as far as I know, no rule passed in AGM so I am not sure how do you come up with this Barbara Streisand. No communication whatsoever, from the management sent to all the teams regarding youth age changes. (Think Transparency) The youth age should be 19 years not 21 years regardless. I suppose you want to get back to Division I. Try to get in without outside help. Sending email to your own group would not justify your comments.

Finger - this is the reason many of you want to have changed since umpires were coming late in last management, balls were bad, and grounds were not up to the standard and so on. So does this management is doing so far. What is the difference?

Mastakilla – I think I have heard this before de-ja-vu. Keep your 2 cents you may need it later.

Moaz said...

oh come on, you can only make a fair judgement at least midway through the season...

Unknown said...

----------
MCC_MURGHA said...
Finger - this is the reason many of you want to have changed since umpires were coming late in last management, balls were bad, and grounds were not up to the standard and so on. So does this management is doing so far. What is the difference?
--------

I dont know about too many umpires coming late last year either.. and, again, I dont know of *any* who have come late this year so far. Again, please let us know which umpires came late this week, if you know.. if they did come late, their paycheck will be docked, as it should be. Just have not heard of anyone who actually came late so far.

As for grounds being bad... seems like we have had more games on Ground 3 in Washington Park in 2 weekends this season, than we had *all* of last season, no? And its not like it hasnt rained - there were thunderstorms last Friday, but WP3 hosted games on both Saturday and Sunday anyway (I umpired at WP3 on Sunday, and 297 runs were scored in 40 overs... if the ground was bad, I shudder to think what the total would have been if it was "good" :-) The fact is, Moe's guys backfilled the low-lying areas on the grounds, and so far at least water isnt collecting there anymore.. so we've been able to have 4 games on WP3 in the past 2 weeks where (in last years conditions, without the filling), none would have been possible. Nothings ever perfect, of course - but this at least is an improvement from last year.

c8w

krazzy said...

actually........i somewhat agree with murgha, if u look at TA first 2 years he change the league a lot in a good way the old management work their ass off first 3 years and after that he went out of town and things gone south which was why we need change.........but the 2 weeks of new management does not looks good and they got sponsors and some money leftover from the old management.....but still is too early..we have to wait and see......one more thing i wanna add shekhs u need to order some mattings for washigton park we r still using old one's with duck tape on it.

Shekhs said...

krazzy...
We did order new mats. We'll replace the one with duct tapes soon. We have the mats with us.

Thanks for notifying us bud.
Thanks
Shekhs

Dinesh_Rovers said...

Hi Shekhs and Co,

I agree with Shuaib about the conditions of the pitch. I also want to let him know that its not an advantage for the hosts as our players complain about the pitch too. No one wants to bowl from the end where the pitch is even worse.

Anyways, Shekhs, I think if we try, we can get it fixed during the long weekend. Including the long weekend, there are about 10 days when it can get fixed. I think it will cost about 1000 bucks to fix the whole thing (Not including the cost for a new carpet)

Yusuf bhai and some from my team can work on it to fix it, if we have the management support.

Thanks!

Shekhs said...

Dinesh,
Yes, lets get this done.
Please work with yousuf bhai and Co to get this done.
you have our full support.

Please send me an email - shekhs@midwestcricket.org
So that, we'll have an official sign off on that.
Please copy ravi, yousuf bhai and Kiran.

Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks
Shekhs

Anonymous said...

Yaar this place is always on fire...Chill out guys.

I think the New management is working hard to deal with all the issues on running the league.
Nobody is perfect and soon these minor things will go away.

It is nice to see that sheks and his team are available on all type of forums for any comments, questions or concerns.

Good Luck

Big Hitter said...

mcc chik now i think u just clucking around. that awesome. u make blog interesting. none points valid but create lot controvsy.

u make points. ppl show how points wrong. u continyu with points as tho all agree. i love logic. not quite how ppl have convasayshun but who cares. hahahahaha

i c u agree that before mgmt was not good. u no argyu 4 them. at least we agree on that. gud thing they gone and now we blame others. they not do good job. i give B+ for effut but D- for result. hahahaha.

confushus say: if no result after lot of effort, man just tired without coming to pleasure.

THIS IS TOO MUCH said...

Murga- you have some bs opinion about all the issue that you mentioned about this new management. all the problems that you mentioned, they were there for previous management too. where were you for that??????? i didn't see MCC_MURGA bringing any issues or commenting on any topic last year. why suddenly???????

i know its gonna be hard for the new management to work on all the issue this year cause they didn't get much time after the election but as long as i see, they are working their a** off to get things better for the league.

and murga one of the biggest proof is in front of you that atleast shekhs is spending his time to read this blog and trying to atleast solve the all problems. if he can't solve it atleast he explains you why he can't solve the problems.

as long as i know previous managment didn't even like this blog cause people were putting up all the problems on this blog and they didn't want to go through headaches.

Unknown said...

-------
Muhammad said...
I agree with Shuaib on this issue. Yes, we have to improve our wicket but for that we will need MCC mgmt help.
We can’t just put mulch or soil (it will erode over time or in couple of games),
-------

Obviously I havent seen the ground lately, and you guys see it everyday and are much better judges...

But, was wondering.. for a short-term (ie this year) fix.. I know that just putting mulch to level the potholes etc will only work a short time as it will erode. But how about if you put mulch/dirt and level the potholes, level the surface.. and then lay an astro-like carpet over it? ie over the runup? (This is what was done in Hanover and WP after all). That sort of carpet you can get from like Menards and is not very expensive at all.. if its layed over the ground thats been levelled with mulch/dirt, it would prevent the underneath surface from eroding, maybe?

At the very least, its something that could be done right away.. and hopefully would be good enough to hold for this season? Just a thought.

c8w

Shekhs said...

Finger,
I talked to Yousuf bhai and Kiran and Dinesh (over here).
they are all working hard to get this thing fixed.

They are getting a temporary fix for now and planning on something permanent.
So, there is no need for panic folks, it will all be fixed.

Thanks for the tips, suggestions and timely notifications.

thanks
Shekhs

Unknown said...

Sadiq,

Stop copying my idea...lol. Just kidding man. How have you been?

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

-------
MCC_MURGHA said...
5. Umpires are not showing up on time to start the games. No penalties on umpire or on teams showing up late.
7. Games with no Umpire.
------

BTW, dont mean to belabor this point, but..

Spoke with Marghoob-bhai yesterday about this, and he too said that no games have been played without an umpire in the first 2 weeks, that he knows of. And he too has not been told of any umpires showing up late in the first 2 weeks so far.

Again, if any of this actually happened in the first two weeks, please let us know which umpire and game were involved (for lateness or absence of umpires), and action can be taken.

c8w

Unknown said...

wow!!!

Who said this cricket is a Gentleman's game?? They must be wrong..

Guys, I had the privilege of going through the email chains today evening(even though not privileged to be in the emailing list)...

Thanks to krishna it brought lot of clarity

I can think of only two things.

1) There is nobody who clearly understands the rules in the rules committee

2) Or they act as they don't understand it.

The Email from Krishna very clearly states the the Age Rule is changed to 21 for 30/30.

The Issue raised by Titans is that Rogers Park used Moin Babar on Division II.

This is a clear violation of the existing rules. The Guest player rule for Division II is NEVER CHANGED. THE Rule change Email clearly states that the Guest Rule for 30/30 is changed.

My two cents on this.

In this case, wherever is the mistake, there is a VIOLATION by Rogers Park and TITAN should not be punished for this. Apprantely ROGERS PARK won becasue of Moin's great first spell.

Hope the management takes some action on the same and also create a rules committee who can interpret the laws clearly and provide guidance, rather than create confusions.

This will help us in spending our time more constructively in improving MWCC

THIS IS TOO MUCH said...

fake - i don't know if you clearly heard the new president saying in agm meeting that under 21 can go ahead and play cricket in any division anytime but they can't play for two different teams in same division.

i don't know why do you guys have any problem with youngster playing more cricket? the more they play the more they get better at it. that means its gonna look midwest better in the future.

Unknown said...

THIS IS TOO MUCH

I haven't heard anything from the AGM about this.. Again, I am not against younger players playing more. But I guess the defition of young varies.. I am with either U17 or U19 as young not U21.

If I am not mistaken, there is no minutes of the AGM as we speak.

If president feels that way, I am ready to support him all the way. But, that rule should have been in place and communicated to all. And,again we have to live upto our mistakes instead of shifting the blame to the previous Management. Let us all not forget the fact that some of the poeple in the present management were also part of the past management.

All I am saying is, be clear and define it in the rules and live by that.

Rules are defined for a purpose, and people should not take it for granted and twist it the way they wanted. In the end let us all do remember CRICKET IS BIGGER THAN ANY INDIVIDUAL and please DO THE RIGHT THING FOR CRICKET.

The issue here is not about youngsters playing cricket, it is about ROGERS PARK getting undue advantage by violating a rule in place. If people take about fairness, why in the world ROGERS PARK is not ready to play the game again..

Isn't the right thing to do to replay the game... In all fairness to cricket???

Aditya said...

Fake,

RPCC didn't take undue advantage or violate any such rule. They specifically informed the management team and were informed that they can go ahead with utilizing those players. There is no burden of responsibility on RPCC.

I would equate the same IF (completley hypothetical) Pak Gym used a different ball, but a league provided one, in the game from the Grade A ball that their opponents used. Management has clearly stated that any ball is acceptable as long as it was an MwCC provided ball. Now, if people complain and this rule is reviewed, that's fine, but you don't replay the game or blame Pak Gym. PLEASE NOTE, I ONLY USED PAK GYM AS AN EXAMPLE. THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG AND NOONE HAS COMPLAINED. I ONLY USED THIS EXAMPLE AS RAHEEL HAD ASKED ABOUT THIS IN AN EARLIER THREAD.

If anything, it was a decision by the management team, which wasn't entirely incorrect. If there is confusion, it can easily be cleared up, and we can move on having learned our lessons from this incident. The Titans have every right to question this, but I don't think they are asking for a "re-match" either.

I've never heard of a re-match in any form of the game because of such a flimsy reason - are we still talking about cricket?

who_what said...

fake, murgha and the rest of haters.
you guyz are really idiotic about carrying on issues that are not pertinent in any kind of way. fake the rule was past last year by mwca and co. about under 21 playing in ANY div. that would include div2. get over it boys, your boy lost!!! time to move on. Titans, isn't the sec.(alps) on your team? is he not aware, did he raise objection? was this game played under protest? or is it because you boys got hammered and now you go crying to old management to fight for you. pathetic but entertaining to say the least;) let's move on. sheks and co. are doing an admirable job, let them get there sea legs and lets see what happends.

who_what said...

passed, damn it... type too fast.

Shiraz said...

All,

As per the e-mail I quoted, we had written permission from the Management that allowed us to play Moin and Fahad, so RPCC should not be penalized in any way. And for the record, this game was not played under protest.

Having said that, the management has already taken a decison of not allowing Moin Babbar to play for RPCC in the future and the matter is now closed. This ruling has been accpeted by both Titans and RPCC.
Hope this provides some clarity to all.
Winning and Losing is part of the game, while we will do our best and within the allowed rules to win our games, we will not resolve to any unethical conduct to get a 'W'. That is explicitly the reason why we seeked the permission from the management before the game to make a ruling on this. We did not just show up to the ground with the Babar brothers un-infomred and fielded them in our team.
We are playing Division 2 and are having a lot of fun. If we win FAIRLY and make it back to Division 1, that is great. If we don't, it is definitley not the end of the world for us (remember we got relegated, and are one of the few teams to field a unit in Divsion 2). We will still be together as a Team, and play whichever Division or format our team decides at the time.

Guest_rule said...

If anybody care here is the orignial mail sent out last year about rule change which only applies to 30-30 and it clearly states that it pertains only to 30-30..
+++++++++++++++++=
Hi everybody

The league management has made the following change to the 'Guest Player' rule in the Thirty-30 division with immediate effect.

> As part of promoting cricket amongst YOUTH, the league approves the relaxation
> of the "Guest Player" rule for Division Thirty-30. Players under the age
> of 21 years as of September 1, 2009 (Born on or after September 1,
> 1988) will be allowed to play for any Thirty-30 team irrespective of
> whether they play in Division I or Division II without falling under
> the purview of "Guest Player". Accordingly any such U-21 players shall
> not be counted towards the limit of 2 Guest Players allowed to play in
> any match OR towards the 5 Guest player limit in the roster.

The Rules and Regulation section will be updated in the website on Sunday. Meanwhilw teams that intend to play such players in their teams, need to show the print out to the umpire officiating the game. The players U-21 should bring a Drivers License or State ID or School ID as proof of age.

Any queries should be directed to Sridher Jagath

Thanks and have a great day

Regards
Sridher Jagath
630 697 2015

++++++++++++++++

Thanks

Alpesh said...

Yep .. Titans is my team as well our President's ex-team .. :-) Well, the match was played fairly and without any protest .. But after the match, my team checked the rules on the website and hence, lodged a complaint with the Management. Thats it!! My team may be unsatisfied with the final decision but we(Titans) respect the explanation given by the Management ... But then few people started contacting my team members as well as the management and started this movement ... I on Titans behalf appreciate your concern, but I believe that we all should put it behind now. It was a honest mistake on our (Management) part ..

Anyways, it was tough managing the context for me (Titans vs Management) here on the blog as well as during these last few days :-))

Shiraz said...

Just a reminder to all. Last year the rule was not passed, it was communicated. The previous management had communicated this rule, without any consent from the teams and an E-Mail was sent without discussion. While everyone was ok with it being proposed an implemented without participation from the members. And now Sohail Alvi's (Ex VP) e-mail is requesting that the Management consult member teams before updating or modifying ANY RULES. That is really funny to me. Similarly many such rules were crafted and implemented by the previous management, and most of us had no choice but to follow these rules after they were communicated to us, like the League Exclusivity Rule and others. While I agree with the message that Teams should be consulted before any ammendments are made to the Rules in the future, it is just funny to me, how Sohail is demanding things, that the previous management (him and his team) did not provide in 12 years.
That are some Great Expectations from him and just goes to show the motives behind this.

I urge all of you to stay calm. If we are at fault, we will accept any and all consequences for our actions. But please don't let some elements, with underlying motives fuel the fire.

Shank said...

@Aditya:
You could have illustrated that example by using hypothetical team names like 1 vs 2 or A vs B or anything else. LOL. Just saying..

Shekhs said...

atta boy Shanky...

Give it to him...hahaha nice one...

yeah Adi...ssup?

Aditya said...

Shanks,

You do have a valid point. That would have been possible with A vs B too!! hehehehe.

Thanks.

coolman said...

Mind E'one,
It is unfair to pass judgement or criticize this administration on their performance in such a short time. Pl. hold your horses for the time being. Point out the things you want differently and see how the management responds. This is the civilised way in a civilised country. I think the whole schedule of things should be revisited. The Award Ceremony should be done within a month after the finals, the elections should be done in Jan in the year of elections. The AGM should be held early April where any changes in the Laws should be proposed and duely ratified etc. etc..Pl. donot be a retardant in making our league better. A healthy criticism with solutions offered is the right way.

Shank said...

I think MCC_Murgha=Glenn Beck... Doesn't it all make sense now?

Sikki said...

Guys (esp haters)
I dont know how good/bad old mgmt was but the new folks seem pretty responsible. You can tell by their efforts. I think Shekhs responding to every critic says a lot. The league is not even one month into their hands so give it a break. No association can be issue free, even if you give it to professionals to run it. So Dont critisize just for the heck of it. Good ball bad ball. Who cares? Lets just play cricket!

On another topic, What are the predictions for coming weekend?

-Sikander