Relatively sketchy reports at the moment from Division
Two - but a few important results.
Top-of-the-table Illinois took on the Jaguars today,
and collapsed to 110/7 and in big trouble. But as the
old song went, "When it dont look good, who ya gonna
call?"... and the answer has always been, and
remains, R-U-P. We knew something special was happening
when we had to stop our game a couple of times because
the ball was landing halfway into our playing area -
Roop bludgeoned 111* and carried his team to 228 in
their 40 overs. He then came back and took 4 wickets
(with Jack claiming 5), and Illinois coasted home by
140-odd runs.
Second-placed AAA had a similarly easy win - they took
on Collinsville at Hanover Park, and, chasing only 91,
scored 95/5 in 18 overs for the win.
Third-placed Capitol received a walkover from Rockers,
and IIT in 4th place (but sharing the top-of-the-table
in the loss column with Illinois and AAA, with only 1
defeat) squeaked past Deccan Blues by 17 runs (in a
match that started late, maybe shouldnt have started
at all, but finished early).
The really interesting things are happening in the middle
of the table, however. MDS, the darkhorse favourites
who are getting on a roll at precisely the correct
time, put up 229 (aided by the old-firm of Asif & Asif),
and 3 wickets apiece for Naser Yemani and Altaf
Khadry propelled them to a 50-run win over the
playoff-contending Eagles. Suburban, another team that
has gotten on a roll (including beating Illinois a couple
of weeks ago), handily rolled over Jolly Rovers - with
Ram Chandrashekar not playing, Jolly Rovers were bowled
out for 97 and Suburban strolled home with 20+ overs to
spare (increasing their all-important run-rate at the
same time). At this stage of the season in Division
Two, "number of losses" (or lost points) is more relevant
in my opinion than total points, since everyone has played
a different number of games. Given that, MDS and Suburban,
both with 2.5 "losses" each to date, cannot afford any
more if they want to stay in prime playoff position - and
they have been doing the job lately, hitting form at the
right time.
Lucky XI, with 3 losses to date, rolled over the
Warriors; Arsenal (also with 3 losses, all consecutive)
returned to their winning ways over Continental.
Peoria CC, a pre-season title favourite who got themselves
into serious trouble with 4 early losses (and can thus
afford no more than 1 more the rest of the year if they
are to assure themselves of a playoff appearance),
continued their turnaround with a hard-fought victory
over the NoStars (by only 2 wickets, chasing 185). The
Eagles lost their 4th of the year to MDS - but both
remain in playoff position, with the knowledge that they
cant afford too many more slipups.
The last few playoff spots remain up or grabs - Advancers
pulled out a 10-run win over the Raiders today, but at
the time of going to press there is no news on the
Chicago Giants or Madison games (both of which have
major playoff implications); or even of the QC Kings,
who are in solid playoff position, but fighting to
secure a better spot.
written by Sadiq Yusuf
Monday, July 31, 2006
July 29/30: Division 1 Summary by Sadiq Yusuf
Division One featured several vital clashes between
teams fighting for their playoff lives, as well as the
"Game of the Year" - the Top Two in the table clashing
for regular season bragging rights.
On Saturday the much anticipated clash between Milwaukee
United and the Bears fizzled, as MUCC dominated the game.
AJ returned to the side to smash a blistering 98,
Bhavneet chipped in with 40-plus, and opener Sadiq scored
a fifty as MUCC put up a massive 275 at Lincoln Park.
Then, facing that mountainous task, the Bears batting
collapsed to Satya who took a 7-fer. MUCC thus takes over
the #3 spot in the table, while the Bears slip to 4th.
Both, however, remain in very strong playoff position.
Meanwhile 5-4 Phoenix met 5-3 Muslim Gym in a crunch
game (which I got to watch up close). Phoenix went after
the bowling at the start and at the end of the innings
...they were an amazing 44/0 after only 3 overs of the
match, and they scored 53 off their last 5 overs! In
between they consolidated - and with 61 from Omer and
69* from Aditya, they ended with 261/6 in 45 overs.
Muslim chased valiantly - two massive sixes from Imran
set them on their way (one an absolutely gorgeous cover-drive
for six in the very first over of the innings, that
skimmed screaming over the fence - a breathtaking shot),
but for once he fell early. Brother Kamran took over,
however, and hit 4 huge sixes of his own in his
scintillating 62... and at 128/2 in 20 overs, Muslim was
in cruise-control, needing only another 132 to win off
25 overs. However Shiv bowled Kamran with an excellent
straighter one right before break - and Muslim suffered
a slide to the spinners after break, with Fawad, Arbab,
Farhat and Mahmood all falling within the next 10 overs,
3 of them to spin. Another brave push by the lower-order
gave Muslim hope - with Moe going great guns the asking
rate was down to 36 runs off 36 balls with the last 2
wickets in hand - but the pressure of the lack of wickets
told in the end, and Muslim were bowled out 16 runs short
of their target with 7 balls to spare. A terrific game
and a very brave effort from Muslim Gym, but a vital
and establishing win for Phoenix (it would have been very
easy to suffer a let-down after the unexpected upset of
the Challengers the previous week, but Phoenix didnt let
it happen).. This leaves Phoenix at 6-4, vaulting them
over Muslim Gym who are 5-4. Both teams remain in solid
playoff position, but needing to continue winning.
Also on Saturday was the do-or-die battle between the
two teams that played the Finals in 2003 - the Wildcats
and United. United's batting, so brittle under pressure
all season long, cracked yet again against the desperate
defending champions - they folded for 151 despite another
battling 47 from Mehul and 36 from Faisal. The Wildcats
cruised home with 6 wickets in hand and 9 overs to
spare (at the time of going to press there were no
further details available). The loss seriously damages
United's playoff hopes - they are now 4-6, and in
a similar situation to last season, needing to probably
win out to make the playoffs. The Wildcats were already
in that no-wiggle-room situation last week itself... A
Journey of a Thousand Miles starts with a Single Step,
they say, and the defending champions began their long,
uphill, treacherous journey with that most important
first step yesterday.
Sunday saw the much-anticipated top-of-the-table clash
between Challengers and Pak Gym. Few details available
at the time of going to press - but Captain Rashid led
from the front for Pak Gym, claiming 5/23 and reducing
the mighty Challengers batting lineup to 138 allout.
The Challengers battled and claimed 5 wickets, but the
target was never going to be enough, and Pak Gym cruised
home with half their wickets intact with overs to spare.
Thus Pak Gym establishes itself as the team to beat
this season, vaulting to 9-1. The Challengers, unbeaten
until two weeks ago, suffer their second consecutive loss
- but remain solidly in second spot in the table.
Also on Sunday, Royals took on the Chargers (in another
game I watched up-close). Chargers batted first and put
up a not-very-healthy looking 148. They then came charging
out of the gate with the ball, however, especially with an
excellent fiery spell from Rafi - and after only 7 overs
the Royals innings was in tatters at 28/6! At this stage
one would expect most teams to begin a desperate, dour
battle, to fight with their backs to the wall and try and
eke out the runs as they inched towards their distant
destination. They Royals took all of 2 overs to survey
the damage... an old General is once reported to have
said, "My left flank is weak, my centre is collapsing.
Situation Excellent, I shall Attack!" The Royals
responded identically - from the doldrums of 32/6 after
9 overs, Rupesh and Vipul launched a scintillating,
breath-taking, jaw-dropping, counter-attack. Rupesh
bludgeoned 5 sixes and 4 fours in 70*, Vipul clattered
4 sixes and 4 fours in his 50*. It was pure carnage -
and, given the situation, stunning in the audacity of
its conception as well as the excellence of its execution.
Exactly 120 runs were pundered in the next 11.5 overs
(from 32/6!!), and the Royals rolled to a 4-wicket win
with 24 overs to spare! This amazing comeback vaults
the Royals (who started the season 0-4) to 4-5 and right
into the thick of the playoff race, while the Chargers
will have to regroup at 2-7.
written by Sadiq Yusuf
teams fighting for their playoff lives, as well as the
"Game of the Year" - the Top Two in the table clashing
for regular season bragging rights.
On Saturday the much anticipated clash between Milwaukee
United and the Bears fizzled, as MUCC dominated the game.
AJ returned to the side to smash a blistering 98,
Bhavneet chipped in with 40-plus, and opener Sadiq scored
a fifty as MUCC put up a massive 275 at Lincoln Park.
Then, facing that mountainous task, the Bears batting
collapsed to Satya who took a 7-fer. MUCC thus takes over
the #3 spot in the table, while the Bears slip to 4th.
Both, however, remain in very strong playoff position.
Meanwhile 5-4 Phoenix met 5-3 Muslim Gym in a crunch
game (which I got to watch up close). Phoenix went after
the bowling at the start and at the end of the innings
...they were an amazing 44/0 after only 3 overs of the
match, and they scored 53 off their last 5 overs! In
between they consolidated - and with 61 from Omer and
69* from Aditya, they ended with 261/6 in 45 overs.
Muslim chased valiantly - two massive sixes from Imran
set them on their way (one an absolutely gorgeous cover-drive
for six in the very first over of the innings, that
skimmed screaming over the fence - a breathtaking shot),
but for once he fell early. Brother Kamran took over,
however, and hit 4 huge sixes of his own in his
scintillating 62... and at 128/2 in 20 overs, Muslim was
in cruise-control, needing only another 132 to win off
25 overs. However Shiv bowled Kamran with an excellent
straighter one right before break - and Muslim suffered
a slide to the spinners after break, with Fawad, Arbab,
Farhat and Mahmood all falling within the next 10 overs,
3 of them to spin. Another brave push by the lower-order
gave Muslim hope - with Moe going great guns the asking
rate was down to 36 runs off 36 balls with the last 2
wickets in hand - but the pressure of the lack of wickets
told in the end, and Muslim were bowled out 16 runs short
of their target with 7 balls to spare. A terrific game
and a very brave effort from Muslim Gym, but a vital
and establishing win for Phoenix (it would have been very
easy to suffer a let-down after the unexpected upset of
the Challengers the previous week, but Phoenix didnt let
it happen).. This leaves Phoenix at 6-4, vaulting them
over Muslim Gym who are 5-4. Both teams remain in solid
playoff position, but needing to continue winning.
Also on Saturday was the do-or-die battle between the
two teams that played the Finals in 2003 - the Wildcats
and United. United's batting, so brittle under pressure
all season long, cracked yet again against the desperate
defending champions - they folded for 151 despite another
battling 47 from Mehul and 36 from Faisal. The Wildcats
cruised home with 6 wickets in hand and 9 overs to
spare (at the time of going to press there were no
further details available). The loss seriously damages
United's playoff hopes - they are now 4-6, and in
a similar situation to last season, needing to probably
win out to make the playoffs. The Wildcats were already
in that no-wiggle-room situation last week itself... A
Journey of a Thousand Miles starts with a Single Step,
they say, and the defending champions began their long,
uphill, treacherous journey with that most important
first step yesterday.
Sunday saw the much-anticipated top-of-the-table clash
between Challengers and Pak Gym. Few details available
at the time of going to press - but Captain Rashid led
from the front for Pak Gym, claiming 5/23 and reducing
the mighty Challengers batting lineup to 138 allout.
The Challengers battled and claimed 5 wickets, but the
target was never going to be enough, and Pak Gym cruised
home with half their wickets intact with overs to spare.
Thus Pak Gym establishes itself as the team to beat
this season, vaulting to 9-1. The Challengers, unbeaten
until two weeks ago, suffer their second consecutive loss
- but remain solidly in second spot in the table.
Also on Sunday, Royals took on the Chargers (in another
game I watched up-close). Chargers batted first and put
up a not-very-healthy looking 148. They then came charging
out of the gate with the ball, however, especially with an
excellent fiery spell from Rafi - and after only 7 overs
the Royals innings was in tatters at 28/6! At this stage
one would expect most teams to begin a desperate, dour
battle, to fight with their backs to the wall and try and
eke out the runs as they inched towards their distant
destination. They Royals took all of 2 overs to survey
the damage... an old General is once reported to have
said, "My left flank is weak, my centre is collapsing.
Situation Excellent, I shall Attack!" The Royals
responded identically - from the doldrums of 32/6 after
9 overs, Rupesh and Vipul launched a scintillating,
breath-taking, jaw-dropping, counter-attack. Rupesh
bludgeoned 5 sixes and 4 fours in 70*, Vipul clattered
4 sixes and 4 fours in his 50*. It was pure carnage -
and, given the situation, stunning in the audacity of
its conception as well as the excellence of its execution.
Exactly 120 runs were pundered in the next 11.5 overs
(from 32/6!!), and the Royals rolled to a 4-wicket win
with 24 overs to spare! This amazing comeback vaults
the Royals (who started the season 0-4) to 4-5 and right
into the thick of the playoff race, while the Chargers
will have to regroup at 2-7.
written by Sadiq Yusuf
Sunday, July 30, 2006
WANT TO PLAY CRICKET?
Are you a player looking to play cricket in the states of Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana or Missouri?
Here are your options.
1) go to www.midwestcricket.org and see if you can find a team in your area by checking "team profiles" under the drop down menu for the tab "Teams". You can then write to them directly by looking up their email from team contacts. I will also suggest that you check to see if there is an MWCC Ground nearby by going to "About Us" and the "Grounds" tab below that. You can then always go and check out your local team in the weekends when the season is on. Look under "Match Schedule" for Game Details.
2) If you are too lazy to do all that or if you are a superstar looking for glory in the mid-west just leave your contact details with any additional pertinent info in the comments area below.
Note: There are other cricket leagues in these states. The information above is only meant for players interested in playing in the Midwest Cricket Conference League. We suggest that you look at all the leagues and make the choice best suited for your needs. Making sure that anyone who wants to play cricket, gets the opportunity to participate is more important than anything else.
Here are your options.
1) go to www.midwestcricket.org and see if you can find a team in your area by checking "team profiles" under the drop down menu for the tab "Teams". You can then write to them directly by looking up their email from team contacts. I will also suggest that you check to see if there is an MWCC Ground nearby by going to "About Us" and the "Grounds" tab below that. You can then always go and check out your local team in the weekends when the season is on. Look under "Match Schedule" for Game Details.
2) If you are too lazy to do all that or if you are a superstar looking for glory in the mid-west just leave your contact details with any additional pertinent info in the comments area below.
Note: There are other cricket leagues in these states. The information above is only meant for players interested in playing in the Midwest Cricket Conference League. We suggest that you look at all the leagues and make the choice best suited for your needs. Making sure that anyone who wants to play cricket, gets the opportunity to participate is more important than anything else.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Open Thread: July 22/23 Matches
Here is an open thread for anyone to comment about Matches played weekend of July 22/23.
Friday, July 21, 2006
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
CRICKET - LA Open 2006 Awards Presentation Ceremony
| This video was shot with a 5 mega pixel digital camera. For better clarity watch small size. | |
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Photos from LA Open ( Part 3)
Raheel Akhtar with Romesh KaluwitharanaPhoto Courtesy of Raheel Akhtar ( Pak Gym)
Photos from LA Open ( Part 2)
Nasir Mahmood and Shahid Munir
Azharuddin and Nasir
Nasir with Kalu
Nasir and Tushar partying with the SriLankaninternationals Kalu and Dharmasena
Raheel after giving a few tips to Franklyn RosePhotos Courtesy of Raheel Akhtar ( Pak Gym)
Photos from LA Open ( Part 1)
Game in Progress
More of the action
Ambrose lets it rip
Ambrose, Nasir and Rose
Deadly Bowlers (L-R): Shahid Munir, CurtleyAmbrose, Raheel Akhtar
Sunday, July 02, 2006
The News from the Western Front (aka LA Open, Day One)
After Day One at the LA Open, the MCC squad is 1-1.
Game One: Nilesh stars in MCC win
The first match of the tournament on the Severn ground,
this was always going to be MCC's best chance at a win
before they took on teams loaded with international
players. And the boys came through in wonderful fashion.
It didnt start well for MCC, as the top order collapsed
apart from Sohail (St Louis CC). Despite Sohail's
quickfire 23, MCC wobbled to 38/3 and then slid
horribly to 54/7! But the lower order showed great
resilience - both Bhavneet (Milwaukee United CC) and
Nasir (Flames CC) got into double figures and provided
support from one end.
While they were providing solid support, leading the
charge at the other end was Nilesh (Challengers CC) who
played a complete blinder. Cometh the hour, cometh the
man they say - and in MCC's hour of crisis it was Nilesh
who stood up to be counted. He first stabilized the
situation, and then took complete control of the match
- and by the end he had blasted a fantastic 63 not out
off only 36 balls with 6 fours and 3 sixes. Almost
single-handedly Nilesh had turned the game around - he
had piloted MCC from the dire straits of 54/7 to the
relatively safe harbour of 148/8 at the end of 20 overs,
a very competitive score in the conditions.
And he wasnt finished for the game either - after his
batting heroics Nilesh opened the bowling and did
wonderfully well. He clean-bowled the #3 and came
back to dismiss a tailender, to end a fairytale day.
Following Nilesh's example, every MCC bowler chipped
in and the fielders stepped up. Florida's most
dangerous batsman Paul Singh, for example, was runout
by Bhavneet for only 8 - the value of which could be
seen when, in Florida's next game against 3 test-match
spin bowlers, Paul Singh hit 7 sixes in the course of
smashing 71 off 39 balls. Keeper Imran Tailor (AAA CC)
contributed two stumpings off wily left-arm spinner
Subba (St Louis CC), including a quicksilver dismissal
of Florida's most experienced player, former test-batsman
Foud Bacchus. Every bowler contributed - 2 wickets each
for Nasir and Nilesh, 1 each for Shahid (Pak Gym CC)
and Tehsin (St Louis CC), and 3 for Subba. Florida
were dismissed for 128, as MCC won quite comfortably
in the end by 20 runs.
But the clear star of the day was Nilesh Patel - who,
for his 63* off 36 balls and his excellent bowling
spell of 2/22 in 4 overs, was awarded the Man of
the Match in what must surely have been one of the
easiest decisions an adjudicator ever had to make.
Game Two: MCC fall to star-studded Packers
In the second game, MCC took on the international-heavy
Los Angeles Packers, with both teams 1-0 (the Packers,
in the second match at Severn, had already demolished
Florida - Paul Singh's 39-ball 71 had set the Packers
a good 149, but they had made a mockery of the target,
with Azharuddin's 92* and Romesh Kaluwitharna's 52*
leading the Packers to a 9-wicket win with almost 5
overs to spare).
MCC started excellently - facing 2 "normal" (ie non-
international) pacemen, openers Suhail with 21, Ajit
(Wildcats CC) with 26 (including 2 sixes) gave MCC
a fantastic 48-run opening stand. The #3 Afroze
(Bears CC) contributed 21 to extend the good start -
but with former test-match spinners Venkatapathy Raju,
Kumara Dharmasena and Nikhil Chopra coming on, the
match turned in the wrong direction for MCC. A
typically aggressive knock late in the innings from
Shahid Munir (39 off 19 balls with 3 sixes) and a
late flurry from Raheel Akhtar (16 off 9 balls -
both Pak Gym CC) took MCC up to a respectable 147/7
in their 20 overs.
The two Packer stars of the previous game did their part
in the chase - but MCC still fared much better against
them than Florida's All-stars had. Romesh Kaluwitharna
hammered 25 off his first 10 balls, especially going
after Raheel in the second over of the innings - but
Raheel had his revenge by getting the former Sri Lankan
opener in his next over. Azharuddin scored 22, before
Subba claimed the prize wicket of the former Indian
captain. But in the end the international depth of
the Packers would not be denied - Indian
international Rohan Gavaskar with 29* off 19 balls
and Sri Lankan international Kumara Dharmasena with
30* off 18 balls carried the Packers home with 6
wickets to spare.
All in all, despite the loss to the Packers, a wonderful
first day for MCC with that memorable victory against
a strong Floria outfit. With the win, and with a
respectable fight against the Packers, MCC is in
position to possibly advance to the knockout
Quarter-Finals on Day Two. Before that, however, is
a match to look forward to in the morning, against
the defending champions and tournament favourites
Punjab Blues - the team that has 3 international
batsmen in their lineup, and open the bowling with
Adam Sanford and Curtly Ambrose.
-----------
Sadiq
________________________________________________________________
Sent via the WebMail system at midwestcricket.org
Friday, June 30, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
MVP for May, June-2006
For the month of May and June, we had 47 games in Div-1, 86 games in Div-2 and 13 games in Div-30/30. We have 2 centuries in Div-1, 9 centuries(1 double century) in Div-2 and 2 centuries in Div-30/30.
Div-1MVP: Shahid Munir, from Pak Gymkhana
Shahid Munir continues where he left off last season leading the table with 55 points. He has scored 321 runs and taken 12 wickets(including 4 wickets in 4 balls against Milwaukee CC). He has scores of 42, 8, 12, 92, 50, 50, 67.
Shahid is closely followed by Mohammed Bakhshi - Pak Gymkhana with 46 points and Sohail Alvi- St Louis Cricket Club with 33 points.
Div-2MVP: Jack Challenor and Rupnarine Seenarain, both from Illinois Cricket Club
Jack and Rup lead the points table with 50 points.
Jack has scored 191 runs and taken 14 wickets. He started slow with scores of 7,1 and then went on to score 57*, 20*, 72 and 34.
Rup has scored 207 runs and taken 17 wickets. He has scored one century-112 against the warriors and has one 6 wicket haul against Continental.
They are closely followed by the run(century) machine Satha Sivapragasam - Capitol with 49 points and Subbu Kuppuswami- Eagles with 42 points. Satha has incredible scores of 105, 175, 223 and 2.
Div-30/30MVP: Afroze Siddiqui, from Spears
Afroze leads the table with 33 points. He has scored 214 runs and taken 5 wickets. He has scores of 127, 20 and 67.
Afroze is followed by Mitral Shah- Rockers with 20 points and Nadir Hussain-Burhani Cricket Club with 18 points.
How we do it:
We have developed a process that looks at all the games, breaks down the data and awards points based on an algorithm.
For batsmen, points are broken down based on the number of runs scored. For eg, 50 runs fetches 6 points and 100 runs fetches 10 etc. There are bonus points for being not out. If a player has scored 100 runs, thats 10 batting points plus 3 bonus points for being not out. We also award MVP points based on the percentage of runs the batsmen has scored with respect to the team score in a team victory.
For bowlers, a ten wicket haul fetches 15 points, a 5-fer gets you 10 points etc. There was a suggestion to use the bowling average and get some bonus points for the bowler. I will work on it. Any other sugestions are welcome.
PS: MVP's, please send in photographs to jaggi@midwestcricket.org
Div-1MVP: Shahid Munir, from Pak Gymkhana
Shahid Munir continues where he left off last season leading the table with 55 points. He has scored 321 runs and taken 12 wickets(including 4 wickets in 4 balls against Milwaukee CC). He has scores of 42, 8, 12, 92, 50, 50, 67.
Shahid is closely followed by Mohammed Bakhshi - Pak Gymkhana with 46 points and Sohail Alvi- St Louis Cricket Club with 33 points.
Div-2MVP: Jack Challenor and Rupnarine Seenarain, both from Illinois Cricket Club
Jack and Rup lead the points table with 50 points.
Jack has scored 191 runs and taken 14 wickets. He started slow with scores of 7,1 and then went on to score 57*, 20*, 72 and 34.
Rup has scored 207 runs and taken 17 wickets. He has scored one century-112 against the warriors and has one 6 wicket haul against Continental.
They are closely followed by the run(century) machine Satha Sivapragasam - Capitol with 49 points and Subbu Kuppuswami- Eagles with 42 points. Satha has incredible scores of 105, 175, 223 and 2.
Div-30/30MVP: Afroze Siddiqui, from Spears
Afroze leads the table with 33 points. He has scored 214 runs and taken 5 wickets. He has scores of 127, 20 and 67.
Afroze is followed by Mitral Shah- Rockers with 20 points and Nadir Hussain-Burhani Cricket Club with 18 points.
How we do it:
We have developed a process that looks at all the games, breaks down the data and awards points based on an algorithm.
For batsmen, points are broken down based on the number of runs scored. For eg, 50 runs fetches 6 points and 100 runs fetches 10 etc. There are bonus points for being not out. If a player has scored 100 runs, thats 10 batting points plus 3 bonus points for being not out. We also award MVP points based on the percentage of runs the batsmen has scored with respect to the team score in a team victory.
For bowlers, a ten wicket haul fetches 15 points, a 5-fer gets you 10 points etc. There was a suggestion to use the bowling average and get some bonus points for the bowler. I will work on it. Any other sugestions are welcome.
PS: MVP's, please send in photographs to jaggi@midwestcricket.org
Monday, June 19, 2006
Rain God and sportsmanship...
Sunday morning June 18th and its game day for PCC and QC Kings. Its the first game away for QC Kings from comfort of their home ground where they had a unbeaten season so far. From just looking at the body language of the team, I can tell, they are riding high with confidence and very much looking forward to secure their first win away from home. Its one and half hour drive to Mossville, Peoria where they will meet formidable PCC team. Its clash between two brand new, entirely different brand of Div-II teams this year. QC Kings, a new dynamic team with lots of confidence in their ability. PCC team with mix of experienced and new players who are playing together to bring some order to their season, win back glory of yester years. Lots of questions in the air; QC Kings a unbeaten team not looking forward for their first loss of the season, and PCC looking forward for a commanding win to set things straight in their quest towards championship. A perfect setting for a great clash! Sukhen Chatterjee, vice captain of QC Kings had requested to start the game at 10 AM in the morning and PCC team obliged his teams request. Sukhen being a past Peoria resident knew the area too well was first to arrive to the ground. Unfortunately his team members have taken a wrong exit and have gone too far in opposite direction. Finally, every one arrived to the ground at around 10:30 AM with high intensity as one of QC Kings team member Raj said "We looking forward for something special'. Match was about to begin and drama was to unfold!
Weather forecast for the day did not sound promising according to weather.com. There was 60% chance of rain through out the day and every one knew and said to each other "This is 'Illinois' weather Man; its here, there and its gone". And, seldom does weather man win their bets in these parts of Midwest. By time QC Kings team arrived, it was slightly drizzling. It was still playable conditions. Both team started their warm up drill and suddenly heavens opened up; It started to down pour. Clouds were thick and there was no sign of rain abetting. Both teams stood under shelter praying to Rain God to stop. Vivek Bhaskar from PCC was entertaining every one by imitating every member on the PCC team. It very nice atmosphere; but my one eye was always on the rain which did not show any signs of stopping. Rain kept on falling nonstop. It was like some one in Heavens forgot to shut off sprinklers for the day. At about 11:30 AM, exact hour half after the schedule start time, down pour changed to slight drizzle with sky clear at the far end. There was slight hope that if clouds above the ground pass, there might good weather coming our way in about hour or so. Dr B and myself inspected the ground and pitch was unplayable with water 'slurping' when you walk on it. Dr. B decided that it was unplayable but said they would hang around Peoria for another couple hours before taking route back to Moline. All hopes were lost at this point for a crucial tie between two exciting teams. Umpire Kiran Vukanti was very gracious enough volunteer to hang out to see if there is possibility of the game in hour or two. But hopes were dim. With nothing to do QC Kings decide to took off on tour de Peoria with Vice captain Sukhen at the helm. Dr B, Captain of QC kings came up to me and said current conditions were not ideal for a game. But he added they would hang around Peoria for couple hours before they take off to Moline. Vice Captain Sukhen dropped off his cell phone number with me and umpire to call him right away if conditions change. And off went entire QC Kings team.
PCC home ground at Midwest Sports Complex, Mossville Peoria, was recently added to list of many grounds that MCC management helped local teams to acquire in bid to expand league and provide better facilities to visiting MCC teams. PCC home is basically a huge soccer field and pitch is built between two existing soccer fields, minus the soccer goal posts. There was lots of convincing done by PCC team management that SFC management (who owns Midwest sports complex) would NOT lose soccer fields by having a cricket ground build there. Basically, pitch was planned in such a way that it is constructed midway (parallel) to least used soccer fields. It was such a scary thought to board of members who could not comprehend that we would be basically digging up 12X80 ft area, put concrete and stick astro on the top of the pitch. But once they saw vision through series of meetings, atlast gave PCC permission to go ahead with project. PCC ground is very picturesque with hills (should say mounds as locals call it!) on west and Illinois river at visible distance in the east on the other side of RT 29. Basically its a river basin and perfect area to play cricket with gentle wind always blowing one end. Since the ground is build for soccer, it is setup with perfect water drainage. Also, there are good rest room facilities and mess hall available for teams to use. (Working on getting a key to the facility; Volunteers open the facility and for couple games for Lucky XI and QC Kings it was not opened until really late in the afternoon. But we do have portable potties at ends of the ground which are 500 yards away) Best part about the out field is water never logs on the ground, but gets quickly absorbed and always dry from the top. This setup suits to cricket much better. Also, astro that MCC management helped PCC acquire is very thin (its not carpet based) and water dries so fast as heat radiated from concrete. Its amazing!
Rain stopped at 12 PM, weather looked perfect with blues skies visible over head. Sun peaked His 'smiley face' little bit and we knew it was only matter of time before we can start the game. Umpire and myself decided it would take an hour to get the pitch dry and immediately called Sukhen Chatterjee that we can start the game at around 1 PM if they are available and acceptable to their team. QC Kings graciously accepted and said team will be there at 1 PM. In the mean team PCC team worked hard to get the ground dried with few old cloths and old new papers. We got it pretty dry by 1 PM and captain Dr. B came up inspected, said it was good enough to play. Myself and Dr B had consultation with umpire and decided to curtail number of overs to 30 and still have 20 over rain rule as is. We immediately went to the toss and started the game at around 1:15 PM. Game was high quality and competitive!
Most striking part about QC Kings right up front was their attitude and indomitable spirit to play cricket at what ever it takes. It was their readiness and eagerness to play the game of cricket even after three hours of stoppage due to rain (game was suppose to start at 10 AM) is what set them apart from other teams I have experienced in the past 10 years of my cricket career with MCC. I personally seen in the past where few team were ready to split points and go home with out even bowling a single ball. They would call from comfort of their to enquire about weather situation and see if they can get out of it by splitting points with out playing. But this new breed of cricket attitude has definitely caught me by surprise that MCC teams are changing their attitude about game of Cricket and are indeed becoming more professional in their approach to their playing away games. What a fantastic gesture it was to us from QC Kings. We worked really hard to the ground ready and we were not looking forward to go home with out playing the game. We love this game and wanted to play it as long conditions were favorable for decent match. Let me assert that good gestures are never forgotten and in fact contagious; I sincerely hope that all teams that are reading this follow the example set by QC Kings. Its not about the points, its about satisfaction of playing fair, competitive game of cricket that matters at the end of the day.
QC Kings and PCC played a fantastic match and what ever the outcome was, it was CRICKET in the end that was WINNER! Kudos to the QC Kings for their sportsmanship and they have just won me as their great FAN! QC Kings 'Wish you very best in your season ahead'.
Written By: Madhu Reddy of Peoria CC
Weather forecast for the day did not sound promising according to weather.com. There was 60% chance of rain through out the day and every one knew and said to each other "This is 'Illinois' weather Man; its here, there and its gone". And, seldom does weather man win their bets in these parts of Midwest. By time QC Kings team arrived, it was slightly drizzling. It was still playable conditions. Both team started their warm up drill and suddenly heavens opened up; It started to down pour. Clouds were thick and there was no sign of rain abetting. Both teams stood under shelter praying to Rain God to stop. Vivek Bhaskar from PCC was entertaining every one by imitating every member on the PCC team. It very nice atmosphere; but my one eye was always on the rain which did not show any signs of stopping. Rain kept on falling nonstop. It was like some one in Heavens forgot to shut off sprinklers for the day. At about 11:30 AM, exact hour half after the schedule start time, down pour changed to slight drizzle with sky clear at the far end. There was slight hope that if clouds above the ground pass, there might good weather coming our way in about hour or so. Dr B and myself inspected the ground and pitch was unplayable with water 'slurping' when you walk on it. Dr. B decided that it was unplayable but said they would hang around Peoria for another couple hours before taking route back to Moline. All hopes were lost at this point for a crucial tie between two exciting teams. Umpire Kiran Vukanti was very gracious enough volunteer to hang out to see if there is possibility of the game in hour or two. But hopes were dim. With nothing to do QC Kings decide to took off on tour de Peoria with Vice captain Sukhen at the helm. Dr B, Captain of QC kings came up to me and said current conditions were not ideal for a game. But he added they would hang around Peoria for couple hours before they take off to Moline. Vice Captain Sukhen dropped off his cell phone number with me and umpire to call him right away if conditions change. And off went entire QC Kings team.
PCC home ground at Midwest Sports Complex, Mossville Peoria, was recently added to list of many grounds that MCC management helped local teams to acquire in bid to expand league and provide better facilities to visiting MCC teams. PCC home is basically a huge soccer field and pitch is built between two existing soccer fields, minus the soccer goal posts. There was lots of convincing done by PCC team management that SFC management (who owns Midwest sports complex) would NOT lose soccer fields by having a cricket ground build there. Basically, pitch was planned in such a way that it is constructed midway (parallel) to least used soccer fields. It was such a scary thought to board of members who could not comprehend that we would be basically digging up 12X80 ft area, put concrete and stick astro on the top of the pitch. But once they saw vision through series of meetings, atlast gave PCC permission to go ahead with project. PCC ground is very picturesque with hills (should say mounds as locals call it!) on west and Illinois river at visible distance in the east on the other side of RT 29. Basically its a river basin and perfect area to play cricket with gentle wind always blowing one end. Since the ground is build for soccer, it is setup with perfect water drainage. Also, there are good rest room facilities and mess hall available for teams to use. (Working on getting a key to the facility; Volunteers open the facility and for couple games for Lucky XI and QC Kings it was not opened until really late in the afternoon. But we do have portable potties at ends of the ground which are 500 yards away) Best part about the out field is water never logs on the ground, but gets quickly absorbed and always dry from the top. This setup suits to cricket much better. Also, astro that MCC management helped PCC acquire is very thin (its not carpet based) and water dries so fast as heat radiated from concrete. Its amazing!
Rain stopped at 12 PM, weather looked perfect with blues skies visible over head. Sun peaked His 'smiley face' little bit and we knew it was only matter of time before we can start the game. Umpire and myself decided it would take an hour to get the pitch dry and immediately called Sukhen Chatterjee that we can start the game at around 1 PM if they are available and acceptable to their team. QC Kings graciously accepted and said team will be there at 1 PM. In the mean team PCC team worked hard to get the ground dried with few old cloths and old new papers. We got it pretty dry by 1 PM and captain Dr. B came up inspected, said it was good enough to play. Myself and Dr B had consultation with umpire and decided to curtail number of overs to 30 and still have 20 over rain rule as is. We immediately went to the toss and started the game at around 1:15 PM. Game was high quality and competitive!
Most striking part about QC Kings right up front was their attitude and indomitable spirit to play cricket at what ever it takes. It was their readiness and eagerness to play the game of cricket even after three hours of stoppage due to rain (game was suppose to start at 10 AM) is what set them apart from other teams I have experienced in the past 10 years of my cricket career with MCC. I personally seen in the past where few team were ready to split points and go home with out even bowling a single ball. They would call from comfort of their to enquire about weather situation and see if they can get out of it by splitting points with out playing. But this new breed of cricket attitude has definitely caught me by surprise that MCC teams are changing their attitude about game of Cricket and are indeed becoming more professional in their approach to their playing away games. What a fantastic gesture it was to us from QC Kings. We worked really hard to the ground ready and we were not looking forward to go home with out playing the game. We love this game and wanted to play it as long conditions were favorable for decent match. Let me assert that good gestures are never forgotten and in fact contagious; I sincerely hope that all teams that are reading this follow the example set by QC Kings. Its not about the points, its about satisfaction of playing fair, competitive game of cricket that matters at the end of the day.
QC Kings and PCC played a fantastic match and what ever the outcome was, it was CRICKET in the end that was WINNER! Kudos to the QC Kings for their sportsmanship and they have just won me as their great FAN! QC Kings 'Wish you very best in your season ahead'.
Written By: Madhu Reddy of Peoria CC
Thursday, June 15, 2006
The 45-over Conundrum
The British author and historian C. Northcote Parkinson
once wrote (later made famous as "Parkinson's Law")
that "Work expands to fill the time available
for its completion". Meaning as a corollory, one
supposes, that no matter how much more time
you're given, you aint gonna get anything extra
achieved. Our current cricket season seems intent
on once again proving the truth of Parkinson's Law.
When the Powers That Be changed the Division One
format to 45-overs-a-side from the tried-and-trusted
40-overs, the natural assumption of everyone
involved was that scoring would increase. Totals
would go up proportionately (or, some felt, even
disproportionately - since the extra 5 overs
might well translate to an extra "5 slogging
overs" rather than just "building" overs). But
all had reckoned without good old C.Northcote.
So far there have been 34 games played under
the new 45-overs-per-side format; thus, there
have theoretically been 68 opportunities for
a First-Division team to bat 45 overs (but
only theoretically - in actuality, obviously,
it is much closer to only 34 such chances, by the
teams that are batting first only; and
maybe even less, since some games have been
played with a reduced-overs format due to weather).
Even so, the numbers are instructive, not to
stay stunning - the total number of times
45 overs have been actually been batted this
season is... 4!
Those 4 occasions are:
1) Milwaukee United vs United
2) St Louis vs Rivercity
3) Milwaukee United vs Flames
4) Bears vs Purdue
As can be seen, only 3 teams have managed this
feat so far - Milwaukee United has done it
twice. Special mention must be made of
Pak Gym however - who have twice totalled over
270 so far, but without actually batting out
the full 45 overs either time!
Having been present on both occasions when
Milwaukee United achieved this feat, I think there
were a couple of factors in common. Both games
were played on astroturf at Whitewater - a good
batting track. Both times Milwaukee started slow, a
solid start with singles and twos provided by their
openers, keeping wickets in hand for late order
hitting. And both times that late order surge was
provided by some fleet-footed and tireless running
allied with some incandescent strokeplay from their
brilliant late-order duo, Satya and Bhavneet - who
must both surely be among the best allrounders in the
league. (Against United this duo smashed 120 runs in
the last 12 overs - Bhavneet bludgeoning 3 sixes in
his unbeaten 81, and Satya 4 sixes in his unbeaten 48.
Against the Flames they reversed roles to similar
effect - Satya hit 1 six in his 51 while Bhavneet
smacked 3 more in his unbeaten 45, as this time 126
runs came off the last 15 overs of the innings). And
both times, with that frenetic late-inning charge
coming from solid batsmen who were well set,Milwaukee
United still had wickets to spare at the end.
It is interesting to ponder what has led to this flood
of all-outs from Division One batting sides - many of
these same teams, after all, often had wickets in hand
in past years when their alloted 40 overs came to an
end. Could it be that, subconsciously, some teams are
being more aggressive than usual as they think they
need to set higher targets this season... and are
losing wickets more rapidly as a result? Or has the
bowling and fielding improved this year? Or might it
just be an early season statistical anomaly, with
batsmen not yet hitting the proverbial mid-season
form, and with everything due to return to normal
fairly soon?
Each team will obviously have to find its own style to
maximize their 45 overs - Milwaukee United seem to
have found theirs earlier than most, which has led to
their fast 3-0-1 start. There are signs that other
teams are beginning to adjust to the new format too,
though - 3 of the 4 occasions teams batted their full
45 overs came this past weekend. (Before this weekend,
the full 45-overs had been batted one single solitary
time in 26 matches, a quite staggering statistic). 15
out of 18 teams have still never batted their full
45-over quota yet, however, so there is clearly more
adjustment to come.
Once the league as a whole adapts, it will be
fascinating to see if the scores are indeed higher in
45 overs this season, than they were in 40 overs last
season. Or if an old British historian will once again
be proven correct - and it will only be the time
(overs) available that will have increased, with the
actual production (runs) seeing no change whatsoever!
By Sadiq Yusuf
once wrote (later made famous as "Parkinson's Law")
that "Work expands to fill the time available
for its completion". Meaning as a corollory, one
supposes, that no matter how much more time
you're given, you aint gonna get anything extra
achieved. Our current cricket season seems intent
on once again proving the truth of Parkinson's Law.
When the Powers That Be changed the Division One
format to 45-overs-a-side from the tried-and-trusted
40-overs, the natural assumption of everyone
involved was that scoring would increase. Totals
would go up proportionately (or, some felt, even
disproportionately - since the extra 5 overs
might well translate to an extra "5 slogging
overs" rather than just "building" overs). But
all had reckoned without good old C.Northcote.
So far there have been 34 games played under
the new 45-overs-per-side format; thus, there
have theoretically been 68 opportunities for
a First-Division team to bat 45 overs (but
only theoretically - in actuality, obviously,
it is much closer to only 34 such chances, by the
teams that are batting first only; and
maybe even less, since some games have been
played with a reduced-overs format due to weather).
Even so, the numbers are instructive, not to
stay stunning - the total number of times
45 overs have been actually been batted this
season is... 4!
Those 4 occasions are:
1) Milwaukee United vs United
2) St Louis vs Rivercity
3) Milwaukee United vs Flames
4) Bears vs Purdue
As can be seen, only 3 teams have managed this
feat so far - Milwaukee United has done it
twice. Special mention must be made of
Pak Gym however - who have twice totalled over
270 so far, but without actually batting out
the full 45 overs either time!
Having been present on both occasions when
Milwaukee United achieved this feat, I think there
were a couple of factors in common. Both games
were played on astroturf at Whitewater - a good
batting track. Both times Milwaukee started slow, a
solid start with singles and twos provided by their
openers, keeping wickets in hand for late order
hitting. And both times that late order surge was
provided by some fleet-footed and tireless running
allied with some incandescent strokeplay from their
brilliant late-order duo, Satya and Bhavneet - who
must both surely be among the best allrounders in the
league. (Against United this duo smashed 120 runs in
the last 12 overs - Bhavneet bludgeoning 3 sixes in
his unbeaten 81, and Satya 4 sixes in his unbeaten 48.
Against the Flames they reversed roles to similar
effect - Satya hit 1 six in his 51 while Bhavneet
smacked 3 more in his unbeaten 45, as this time 126
runs came off the last 15 overs of the innings). And
both times, with that frenetic late-inning charge
coming from solid batsmen who were well set,Milwaukee
United still had wickets to spare at the end.
It is interesting to ponder what has led to this flood
of all-outs from Division One batting sides - many of
these same teams, after all, often had wickets in hand
in past years when their alloted 40 overs came to an
end. Could it be that, subconsciously, some teams are
being more aggressive than usual as they think they
need to set higher targets this season... and are
losing wickets more rapidly as a result? Or has the
bowling and fielding improved this year? Or might it
just be an early season statistical anomaly, with
batsmen not yet hitting the proverbial mid-season
form, and with everything due to return to normal
fairly soon?
Each team will obviously have to find its own style to
maximize their 45 overs - Milwaukee United seem to
have found theirs earlier than most, which has led to
their fast 3-0-1 start. There are signs that other
teams are beginning to adjust to the new format too,
though - 3 of the 4 occasions teams batted their full
45 overs came this past weekend. (Before this weekend,
the full 45-overs had been batted one single solitary
time in 26 matches, a quite staggering statistic). 15
out of 18 teams have still never batted their full
45-over quota yet, however, so there is clearly more
adjustment to come.
Once the league as a whole adapts, it will be
fascinating to see if the scores are indeed higher in
45 overs this season, than they were in 40 overs last
season. Or if an old British historian will once again
be proven correct - and it will only be the time
(overs) available that will have increased, with the
actual production (runs) seeing no change whatsoever!
By Sadiq Yusuf
Monday, June 12, 2006
Master Blaster Imran Syed
It was a cold, wet, windy day.. temps were in the 50's (is this march or june?). The ball was hit high in the air towards deep long off.. it was now a battle between the fielder and the wind gods. There was a good bit of dancing, both by the cricket ball (caught in the wind) and the fielder trying to catch the ball (the fielder can now audition for "dancing with the stars", except he aint no star). Guess who won.. the wind, ofcourse, and the prize for losing was a broken right thumb. That unfortunate soul trying to catch the ball was me and what hurt more were a bunch of sixes by the same batsmen after that letoff.
That was the only chance that Irfan Syed, from Muslim Gymkhana, playing against the Tigers, offered in what could be described as an exhibition of superb, clinical hitting. He remained unbeaten on 113, scoring 10 mighty sixes and 5 fours. There was not a single cross batted shot. He is tall and uses his height very well to reach out to good length deliveries and smack them high over long on and long off. In the past, Kamran has been our chief tormentor and when he was nailed in front by Ravi, we thought half the battle was won. We were so wrong !! With Irfan, anything that is overpitched can be declared an automatic six. The good length balls were safely negotiated, the bad and not so bad balls were all punished.
The only positive note for us was Vinod's bowling. On a day when everybody went over 8 runs per over, he finished with figures of 6-1-14-0.
After defeating the Wildcats and destroying the Tigers, Muslim Gymkhana is high on confidence and a team to beat. They have Milwaukee United, Pak Gymkhana and StLouis coming up... it will be interesting to see how they move on from here.
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