Match Report :JECC vs USCA @ Far hills - 07/26

Match tied.

Batting first JECC were all out for 140 in 36 overs in the alloted 37 overs - cut short by rain. In reply USCA were reeling at 116/8 with 7 overs to go when rain interrupted play. At that time Usca were not willing to bat as they were marginally ahead even though we dried the areas and the umpire called them out to play. The result was in dispute with the league and they split the points between the teams to rule it as a tied game.


Scorecard : http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=1982

Man of the Match: Suneel & Himanshu.
Suneel for a magnificent return- to -form 50 runs that helped steady our batting and get us to a respectable score. His 50 was studded with 3 towering sixes and four 4's in 59 balls.
Himanshu's 4/29 got us back into the game and his bowling was the game changer for us.

Batting: USCA won the toss and put us in to bat on a wet outfield and impending rain in the afternoon. I opened with Rajesh and got out nought to a tame catch off a full toss. Mital stepped in and steadied the innings with Rajesh cutting loose. His innings of 25 had some big hits but was cut short to a good catch off a checked shot.Les and Mital got out soon after that and it was left to Suneel and Sekhar to repair the damage. Suneel was in good nick middling the ball and hitting some stylish shots. The pulls and drives were back and this made USCA run for cover.

A rain interruption resulted in a reduction of three overs.Sekhar and Amit supported Suneel very well and together took us past 100. With wickets inhand, we were looking for 150+ but the dismissals of Suneel,Amit,Ganadeep got us to playout the overs rather than attack. Preetham played well towards the end but ran out of partners by the 36 th over to finish at 140.

Bowling: 140 on our pitch in 37 overs was defendable and suneel and Mital started off well in the hunt for wickets. They were unfortunate not to get wickets but both bowled a tight line giving nothing away. Himanshu came into the attack and got us the breathrough we were looking for, off a good catch by Sekhar. Preetham from the other end maintained the pressure to get another one - a sharp catch by Rajesh in the slips. Himanshu wasnt finished though and ripped through their batting line up with 4 wickets in his first spell. Ganadeep was in his elements too and nabbed 3/24 with a tight line and some intelligent bowling.
With impending rain, the USCA tailenders chanced their bats around to get some quick runs which tipped the run rate in their favor. A quirk of fate and luck yielded a couple of sixes of Suneel and Mital just when the skies opened and a big thunderstorm fell on the ground pushing the USCA runrate ahead.

Rain: By the time rain came, USCA needed 25 runs off 7 overs (they were ahead by 3 runs!!). But rain stopped after a while and the skies celared up for some sunshine. We cleared up the water around the pitch but USCA werent in any mood to play and argued about everything. Calls to the league left the decision in the umpires hands. After we cleared up the water around the pitch and fit to play, the umpire was satisfied cand called us in to play but the USCA batsmen were trying everything possible to avoid playing.
The batsmen and umpire stepped on the field when I guaranteed a boundary if the ball goes into a puddle near the short fine leg area. This was there all through the game which we agreed as a 'one declared' but a boundary in their batting wasnt enough to get them to play. They provoked us and got me into an argument cauing even more delay leaving the field in a huff.

With all our efforts wasted, the match result in left in dispute as USCA walked off the field when it was fit to play even with the rain interruption.

Verdict: Our batting still needs to click and we should post 150+ to give us a fighting chance.
4 of our batsmen fell to half hearted to shots. Feilding was OK but we dropped a couple of chances, one off the same guy who hit two sixes in the end.

Sorry to the entire team that all the hardwork has been wasted without a result. A proper ending to a cricket match is on the field and had we played atleast two overs, the two tailenders were sure to be taken out. We were the stronger team throughout the day and were sure of winning if the rain gods permitted. The unnecessary arguments and hurled abuses spoilt a good day of cricket. Lets hope we salvage some points out of this.

Match Report: JECC vs Miracle @ Far Hills - 07/19

JECC lost to Miracle by 4 wickets

Batting first JECC scored 125 all out in 39.5 overs. Miracle got to the target in 38 overs losing 6 wickets in the process.

Scorecard:http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=1958

Man of the Match: Amit for scoring 36 not out in a fighting knock to get us to a respectable total. His keeping was brilliant as usual.

Batting: We won the toss and elected to bat first on a hot sunny day. The filed miraculously dried up and a few wet spots were covered with tarps to get the match started on time.

Rajesh and Preetham opened the batting starting off well but found it difficult to judge the left arm swing of their main bowler – Jagannath and got out cheaply. Mital and I stepped in to steady the innings a bit but Mital was soon out to a chipped catch to mid off. Sekhar was run out without facing a ball in bizarre circumstances when he grounded his bat but lifted it as he thought the throw to the keeper was about to hit his head.

Suneel, coming down the order hit a big six but was soon out bowled to a straight ball. Dhanuskha followed him immediately and we were looking down the barrel with six down and plenty of overs to go. Amit and I played out some quiet overs but my resistance of 22 ended with a thin edge to the keeper. Murali (12) put up a good fight with Amit(36*) to get us closer to 100 but was unfortunately out when a edge lobbed up off his head to gully. With Asif being judged out off his shirt, the last wicket of Srinath and Amit were left to play out the overs and pile on the runs.

Amit batted intelligently to farm the strike and got some big hits at the end. He remained not out on 36 but ran out of partners in the penultimate ball of the innings.

Bowling: 125 was fighting if not a winning total on our ground provided we fielded and bowled with discipline.. Suneel got us to a perfect start with a wicket off his first ball with a maiden to follow up. Mital was equally up to the task and bowled with fire and intent. The batsmen were not up to the caliber to even edge the balls and were beaten repeatedly, wasting both of their overs. The batsmen Kunal and Rohan played watchfully too, more than content to leave the balls off Suneel’s bowling and block out Mital..just when Mital got a big inswinger to tip the off stump to get us our second wicket. Both Suneel and Mital were brilliant with the new ball but were very unfortunate not to get many wickets they deserved. Their spells ended at 9 overs and 15 runs with only 2 wickets.

The change of bowling did exactly the opposite of what was required and spoiled the good work by the opening pair. A lot of extras and loose balls were on offer and in a span of 4 overs we leaked almost 30 runs. Change of bowling didn’t get us the wicket we wanted. My overs of spin and faster balls got us the breakthrough of Kunal, but I too proved to be expensive considering the total we were defending. A couple of easy dropped chances didn’t help our cause either.

Dhanu and Preetham were able to restrict the flow of runs but we as a bowling unit couldn’t rip through their batting line up. Wickets weren’t falling regularly enough to our liking and we kept losing ground by the total and a demoralized fielding unit. Suneel and Mital came back to get a couple of wickets , but it just wasn't enough.

With last 10 overs, their batsman Raju launched into Asif’s bowling hitting some big sixes reducing the total and getting to the required 125 with 3 overs to go. He got the winning runs with a mighty six to seal the victory for Miracle.

Verdict: Batting was below average from most of our players. Except for a couple of unplayable deliveries, the rest of them got out due to a lack of concentration and application.

The basics of cricket to occupy the crease and play 40 overs seems like a big ask for us. Miracle’s bowling wasn’t great but was simple and effective. All they had to do was to land the ball and test our patience. Except for Amit, supported by Murali, Srinath and a bit by myself, none of the other batsmen seemed to have the focus.

Its not a question of talent, skill, conditions or form. All the batsmen are proven match winners on their days and it is just to apply themselves and fight as a team, as a unit, which seems to be missing. It was missing all season except that easy wins off big contributions from Les, Rushi and chasing some low totals masked our deficiencies.

We have defended small totals in the past and the key to that is good fielding and catching. Miracle dropped some catches too, but our dropped catches cost us the game.

Suneel’s spell of 8 overs and 5 runs without wides is the way to bowl in any game. Suneel and Mital bowled their heart out and did it believing that they can win the game. The rest of the backup looked lost and bowled as if they had a luxury of 250 runs to defend.

The hard work of the bowling is lost if easy catches are dropped but it happens in cricket and we have to learn to learn from the mistakes.

The points table is looking very crowded at the top with us fighting for a 2^nd place and Crescent and Edison breathing down our neck. There is no option to lose now and we have to win them all. USCA is a tough opponent next week at Far hills, and we have to win it at any cost.

Match Report: JECC vs Warriors @ Mercer County Park - 07/12

JECC lost to Warriors by 58 runs.

Batting first, Warriors scored 193/8 in 40 overs and JECC were all out for 135 in 31 overs.

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=1936

Man of the Match: From Warriors - Durale Forrest for scoring 99 runs getting out in the last over.

He played really well blocking the good balls and scoring runs off anything marginally bad. His batting was the difference between the two teams.

Bowling: It was surprising that the match started on time with the overnight thunderstorms in the area. We won the toss and elected to field first with the moist pitch and heavy outfield. Suneel justified the decision with an excellent first over dismissing Anup for a duck off a brilliant catch in the slips by Les. The ball looped up off the batsman’s glove and was falling short of Les, just when he dived full stretch to catch it in the air. Himanshu from the other end couldn’t get his line and went for a few extras in his first spell. This let off some pressure but runs were still hard to score. Mital came into the attack and immediately got a wicket bringing Dural to the crease.

A couple of boundaries off legside balls got him going and we reverted to spin to keep the scoring in check.Ganadeep and myself bowled some tight overs of spin from both ends with G getting the other opener out LBW. After that ,for a period of almost 12 overs, we couldn’t get any wickets as the batsmen were content to take ones and twos. Of course a couple of appeals and half chances didn’t go our way and bowling changes didn’t work either.

Durale grew in confidence and started to play some big shots with the run rate going around 4 an over. Some run out chances and a drop catch by Suneel were enough for Durale to charge towards a century. Still, we were in an OK position at the 30 over mark with only 130 on board. But with wickets in hand, Warriors scored runs in good measure until Himanshu bowled an excellent last over to dismiss two batsmen off fiery yorkers and getting Durale out for 99 in the process.

Batting: With a loaded batting lineup and a fast outfield, 193 looked manageable provided we got a good start. That just didn’t happen with Suneel and Himanshu (coming in as a pinch hitter) going out for ducks and I followed them soon after. Mital was looking ominous with some big shots but couldn’t make it count for a big score getting out for 22. Les was looking in great touch with silken timing but was unfortunate to be given LBW, a bad umpiring decision, off the lowly bowling of Anup.

Rajesh, coming in the middle order played well with some big shots but got out for 15, chipping a catch to short cover. Preetham and Sekhar played out some slow overs with good running and pleasing shots. Preetham got a good measure of the bowling and hit some delightful boundaries. He was out for a well made 34. Sekhar and Murali put up a fight at the end but it just too late and we folded out for 135 in 31 overs.

Verdict: The Warriors tactics of sledging and painstakingly slow over rate bowled in slow motion worked into the minds of our batsmen. It appeared as if we weren’t scoring runs but the run rate was always good and we were still in the hunt. This didnt look like that on the field as warriors managed 25 overs in 3 hours! The irritant bowling of Anup proved quite a handful coupled with some of the other bowlers that they had. Without a run up, Anup’s bowling was going at almost 10-12 minutes an over! The constant sledging got into most of our heads which also proved to be bad for the chase. It also looked as if we were a bit too complacent with all the earlier wins.

In retrospective, a lot of decisions could have made a change, but whatever I decided just didn’t click that day. A bad day in the office as one would say.

Although the decision of bowling first was collective, it didn’t work as well as they scored much more than we expected. My plans to make bowling changes, juggle the batting order, use a pinch hitter – all of them backfired on one day! Any other day, with a batting line up as we had (Sekhar batting at 10!), 193 at 5 runs an overs is achievable.

Our fielding was also slacking and the energy just wasn’t there. We see that quite often where a partnership gets our fielders to droop the shoulders and gets them into hibernation.

We should make sure we get out of this habit and back up each other, fight as a team.

A loss especially as this one hurts, but we still are at the top of the points table and we should bounce back strongly.

We host Miracle at Far hills next Sunday and I expect everyone to be fired up and show what a good team we are!

Go Eagles!