Match Report
by
Ravi Suri
JECC beat NFCC by 5 wickets.
Batting first, NFCC were all out for 127 in 32.3 overs JECC chased it 129/5 in 24.3 overs.
April
3rd week is that time of year all cricketers living in the US look
forward to. Husbands work on their respective spouses all winter in appeasing
them; dish washing, diaper changes, cleaning up the home any shit for that
matter. All this is done with a single minded purpose of being lovingly allowed
to play the game of cricket which we all so much love. Every player has a
prayer to the weather gods; NOT THIS DAY PLEASE, NO RAIN ON THIS DAY.
Toss:
The
prayers were answered for this season, it was a glorious English summer day.
Bright but chilly, players were shaken but not stirred as BOND would say. Dilip
our captain won the toss and opted to field which was the game plan as our
wicket was to play slow given that it was a newly laid AT.
As we huddled Dilip
laid out the game plan. These huddles can either be boring and clichéd or
extremely motivating and interesting based on what is said. The same old bowl
line and length and don’t bowl wides is cliché whereas what Dilip said to the
bowlers showed game awareness and condition evaluation. On a slow wicket there
is no point bowling too quick as it is counterproductive is what Dilip said the
bowlers. This made so much sense and reminded me of the B’lore test Indian lost
to Pak in 1987 which also happened to be SG’s last test match. The wicket was
turning square and the Pak spinners sought Bishen Bedi’s advice. Bedi as
folklore has it said to them bowl to a spot and don’t impart too much spin. The
wicket is already spinning a mile and if you impart more spin you wicket keeper
is trouble and the batsman will play and miss or get room to cut and pull after
the spin is done. Rest as they say is history. An off spinner from India never
played again as he was turning the ball so much on that wicket that it looked
great but ended up playing in the opponents hands. To cut a long story short; A
captain has a lot on his plate; read the wicket, the conditions, assess your
strengths as much as your weaknesses. Dilip is doing all of these and more.
Bowling:
Venky
opened with the new ball and bowled a dream spell. What a way to kick start the
season. Literally took off from where we let off last season. Last year we
ended up in 4th place and did so well thanks to Venk- Sid new ball
combo, supported by Murali, Chin & Dhanu. Dilip bowled brilliantly in the
later half of the season and thanks to this bowling combo we did as well as we
did last year. It was heartening to see the bowlers led by Venk start off on a
similar or rather better note this season.
To my memory we bowled just 5 wides
in this game which would be a record for us in all games played thus far. Venk
swung the ball prodigiously and clean bowled the top 3. Dhanu chipped in with his control and pace and a
brilliant catch by Bhaskar our newest member accounted for the 4th
scalp. A small partnership took place for the 5th wicket at which
time Dilip came to bowl. He took about an over to hit his line, loop and
length. After which wickets fell in a heap, with Ananth taking a blinder at
slip. Ananth has been outstanding at slip for us for many a year. He has taken
some stunners and every year at least one catch by him is reserved to be etched
in memory. Unanimously the one he took yesterday beats all other stunners as
this one was just beyond words ala McCullum.
8th wicket was giving
us some trouble and Venk was brought back to clean up a stubborn partnership.
At this stage it was 65 for 9. Dilip wanted to try me as I was bowling well
enough in nets and at the practice session we had last week. It was a gamble
worth the risk but not the result. I gave 20 runs in that over, just not my day
as the ball dint quite release well out of the hand. I was frozen for some
reason and felt terrible at letting the team down. It took me an hour to get
out of the hole I dug for myself. During this time the opponent went from 65
for 9 to 127 all out. Things just don’t work and that’s the beauty of cricket.
Finally Dilip got the last man caught very well by Dhanu in the deep and we
were left chasing 128.
Batting:
After
a quick lunch Dhanu and I opened and we needed a good start. We got the team to
19 at which point Dhanu got out caught at cover. Ananth joined me and we
discussed a game plan where Ananth would stay at the wicket and play out about
5 overs before going big. We added 16 runs at which point I was bowled and were
35 for 2. We lost 2 more quick wickets and at 45 for 4 we were in a spot of
bother.
Ananth by then was playing at his best, the cover driven six, a trade
mark shot was played to keep the opposition on their feet and worried. We had
the man of the moment in an unexpected name and form. Bhaskar joined our team
and is the newest eagle. He was calm like a cucumber and played the best
cricket I have seen in a long time. Best cricket need not always mean the best
catch, or super spell of bowling or brilliant batting. Best cricket can also be
playing to the situation and assessing what the team needs and executing the
plan to perfection. Bhaskar made life easy for Ananth.
The good balls were kept
away, the loose ones were punished, the singles were taken and strike rotated.
The Ananth – Bhaskar duo played the perfect chase and were in tune all through.
Ananth was brilliant with the slog sweep, the pull, the hook and the cover
drive. In all he hit 4 sixes and was out with just 11 runs needed. By then the
wind was out of the opponent, Chin joined Bhaskar and looked very good in his
short stay. I saw Chin and Sid timing the ball beautifully in the nets. I have a
strong intuition Sid-Chin will score big this season. With Ananth missing next
game, we need our batsmen to support the good job bowlers are doing.
All in
all a lovely way to start the season; Venky was brilliant with his bowling and
led the way, Dilip showed the value of a spinner in middle overs, Chinmay and
Dhanu played their support roles to perfection. Manoj did a very tidy job in
his 2.5 over spell. Chinmay should have had two fractures yesterday wonder how
he managed to survive. The first was to his left hand; Chin was bowling and
pitched one up, the batsman thumped it back, Chin stuck his hand out we heard a
cracking sound, immediate feel was he broke something, fortunately it was just
a swelling. After a break of about 45 minutes Chin came back to bowl and it was
like action replay, only this time the batsman hit it harder and sound of ball
striking hand was even louder. Chin bore the pain like an ant bit him. I was
stunned and was wondering was it Chin’s hands or were it cement bricks he was
having. Just showed the Eagles Spirit.
RS
