Match Report: JECC vs Piscataway - 05/17/2015 @ Piscataway

Match report by
Ravi Suri

Batting first, Piscataway were all out for 122. JECC chased in 25 overs for 8 wkts.

ScoreCard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=9504

After spending an anxious evening and watching out of the bedroom window every few hours last night hoping to see no rain, the game against Piscataway eventually started on time. The ground did not show any impact of the heavy down pour the previous evening. Dilip lost the toss and PCC opted to bat first.

Bowling:

In Venky we have a tremendous bowler who almost every game of last year and the games this year gives us a quick break. Loss of an opener early dents the confidence of the opponent. Venky bowled a peach of a ball to get Shailesh, ball pitched back of a length cut back in to shatter the middle peg. It moved from outside the off at pace and hit top of middle. It was made for Channel 9 bowling. We see how camera men feast on such balls, they show it from so many views / angles which is a feast for the eye. 

Mandar came in at #3 and as is his mode of play tried to buy time at the wicket. The other opener was just not able to fathom Venky or Sid and between them we kept them to 20 runs by 10^th over. Was great to see Sid getting back his rhythm.  Sid chipped in with the wicket of other opener when he had Dhanu take a catch at mid-off. Venky-Sid combo is a lethal bowling weapon for us, we need them firing together to continue getting early wickets. Dhanu bowled very well against Middlesex and not so well against Indians. Chinmay is yet to hit his bowling best this season. If these two can get their act together like last season we are on for another play-off spot this year. 

From 20 for 2, PCC went to 38 for 2 in a matter of 2 overs. Wides and the odd loose ball cost us. More than lose ball I would say Pako hit 2 brilliant sixes off Dhanu. They were not necessarily bad balls, it was more about terrific batting. Pako and Mandar built a partnership during which more wides were bowled and neither Dhanu nor Chinmay were looking effective. Just as a Deja-vu feeling was setting in Dilip rung in a double spin attack. Against the run of play Ananth got Pako to cut to point and Bhaskar made the catch at point look easy and child’s play. Ananth has been bowling well this season and if we can groom and be patient with him, we will have a very good bowling arm added. Like in batting bowling is also about confidence, in fact it is also about building muscle memory. The more Ananth bowls the more he will build a muscle memory and it will become routine for him. He has a classical off spinner action, has height, good game knowledge and turns the ball. All of these are high qualities of a good bowler. We have been struggling for a spin combo for 2 to 3 seasons. If Ananth-Dilip and Srini who bowled leg spin for us last game can forge a spin combo- Eagles will be a very tough team to beat.

Bhaskar has been a great addition to our team, he stopped a few cut shots at point and took the catch to send Pako back. All of these stops and the catch showed Bhaskar was very cool and calm in the field, you hardly notice him till you see him take a good catch or add crucial runs with the bat. A good cricketer talks less and performs more which is what Bhaskar is doing. Arpit replaced Pako and just out of intuition I asked Dilip that I continue at wide slip as against a deeper gully. My reasoning was Ananth was getting lot of bounce from the wicket and a new batsman will take time to adjust. Ananth has a very high arm delivery point and being as tall as he is, on an Astro turf, he will get bounce if the ball is flighted. That’s exactly what happened, the second ball Arpit faced kicked off a length, Arpit went back to play and edged it to wide slip. The ball was falling short of me, I was anticipating an edge and was able to move forward and took a low one handed catch. 

From 60 for 2 PCC went to 68 for six as there was mayhem and confusion amongst their middle order. Yamunan ran himself out to a brilliant effort from Venky. He swooped on the ball picked and threw in one motion, to hit the wickets again a Channel 9 special. The one odd partnership from there took PCC to 122. Dilip chipped in with 2 wickets, Ananth finished with 4. All in all a terrific bowling effort. The fielding was good, catching was good and we showed Great Spirit during partnerships and broke them at right time.

A word about Naga who kept brilliantly, no byes, no slip ups. When you have a regular keeper like Naga or Vijay or Jairam it makes a huge difference. Need to see how we can have any one of them available for all games. Can Jairam come for games Naga is missing? How is Vijay doing? We need any one of these keepers to be available at all games.

Batting:

Chasing small totals is a captain’s nightmare. He is tempted rather compelled to try new batting combinations to test everyone’s’ mettle. At times he needs to change batting order to provide everyone an equal opportunity. Dhanu and I opened the innings and as has been the case this season, we were unable to provide a base again. Either Dhanu or I are getting out early, this time it was my turn as I  hit a full toss to short mid-wicket, Shailesh took a catch and I later heard dislocated his finger and may not play this season. That ball should have been in the woods at mid-wicket and not in Shailesh’s hands. In any case, we again failed the team and did not provide the required start. 

Pavan replaced me and played a very impressive innings. One shot in particular will be remembered rest of the season, Jatin pitched one short of a length, Pavan rode the bounced and caressed it to the cover boundary. It was sheer brilliance, the opponents too clapped that shot. Dhanu at other end was shifting gears and getting into top drive mode. He drove, pulled and cut well, he was just about getting into his best frame. PCC rang in the change and brought Yamunan their trump card. 

With Yamunan there are 2 ways to play. Either you bash him from ball one and take him out of the frame or you play the Block-Block French cricket. If you are in two minds, he will be all over you like a rash. In a matter of two overs rash it was all over us. We lost Pavan first ball to Yamunan, we lost Dhanu, Ananth, Manoj before we could blink an eyelid. Pako supported Yamunan and there was panic in our camp. 58 for six was looking very bad.

Dilip is a cool cucumber while batting and a cat on hot tin roof at all other times. To keep Dilip calm; give him a bat, put his pads on and send him in a crisis situation. All this mayhem and pressure seemed to have no effect on him. The ideal man joined Dilip, it was Chinmay with the bat. These two played very well together against Middlesex and did it again here. They handled the pressure so well, rebuilt our run chase one run at a time. They added 56 runs, the first 25 of which were singles, doubles and the odd boundary. Once Dilip set his eye in he opened up and one particular pull shot seemed to kiss the top of the trees at mid-wicket. Those familiar with PCC ground would know about the tall trees at mid-wicket, square leg region. The trees are very tall and to hit the top of one of those trees it has to be a huge hit. Dilip and Chinmay almost got us home, with 12 more needed Dilip got out and to make it an action thriller, Bhaskar got out immediately thereafter. Sid joined Chinmay who by then was in total control.

Chinmay has been batting wonderfully this season. As long as Dilip was there Chinmay took singles and soaked the pressure in. He just dint allow the dibly dobly stuff from Yamunan bother him. The winning target on mind, Chinmay smoothly moved towards it. Sid was smart and played out time. Chinmay pounced on some lose stuff from Nainil and brought us home. 12 runs can look like 120 runs with just 2 wickets left. It can look a mountain or a lovely walking trail depending on who is handling the chase. Chinmay and Sid made it look easy and dint let pressure bother them. Chinmay hit the winning runs a boundary to square leg to end the match on a happy note.

Comments: There are two ways to look at this win. One is to say we should have won this with about 7 wickets in hand. Other is to say good thing we experienced a situation of pressure and saw what Dilip, Chinmay etc are capable of. It’s a good thing they went thru this because in bigger chases like the one against Crescent the lower order has a huge role to play and this experience will give the team confidences to handle any situation.

The big plus point for me from this game was emergence of Ananth as a potential spin option. He continues to impress and is a huge gain. Dhanu is getting back to form, is always a big –big plus for us. Chinmay continues to bat brilliantly and doing justice to his batting abilities, I have great confidence in his batting. Sid was showing signs of his bowling rhythm and he is a devastating bowler. PCC guys were telling me they found him very hot and quick. Pavan looked very good and can be very handy batsman. Venky is in tremendous nick, bowling at his best.

Opening batsmen as a unit need to put up a much better show. Dhanu-Chinmay bowling combination is not as effective as it can be.

Continue the good work on our warm up drills, looks and feels good. Go Eagles!!

RS

Match Report by Ravi: JECC vs Indians @ Kawameeh Park, 05/10/15

Batting first, JECC were all out for 167 and Indians chased it in 36 overs.

Scorecard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=9482

Had to dig deep to find motivation to write this report. Was deeply disappointed with the result. We are losing to teams we should be beating. Take a look at Middlesex scorecard for their game on the Sunday gone by, it tells a story. This Indians team we lost to is not in the same league as the one we lost to last season. That was a much stronger and better unit. We lost to teams which were not at their best and that hurts.

Batting:

Dilip won the toss and we opted to bat first, a decision I may have forced a bit on the captain. Not sure what others felt. Dilip and I opened the innings as Dilip wanted Dhanu to get some confidence into his batting. We had a reasonable start, and were looking ok to build when Dilip got an unplayable ball from Manoj. That swung in and then cut out to take the bail out. It was too good for any batsmen. Ananth replaced Dilip coming at his customary # 3 slot. When a man is in form and batting well, cricket becomes easy and child’s play. 

The first ball Ananth faced was cover driven for a six, a majestic shot to announce I am here to play. He built his innings beautifully hardly ever looked troubled. Batting at other end was not as easy as he was making it look. I figured out that my best option was to play a support role and give him strike. We ran well and rotated the strike. Ananth was looking a Million bucks and heading towards a very big score. He cut, drove and defended so well that bowlers were just about giving up. Meantime I got out to a ball which kept low, Sid got out to a full length delivery and sort of yorked himself. Dhanu went in after Sid and was determined to play himself in. He defended stoutly while Ananth continued in his good vein.

A cricketing point we can learn from Indians, when the going is not good as a bowling unit, the best you can do is be disciplined and wait for a turning point. During this phase they kept a tight line, yes they gave some wides but always followed the wides with good line and length deliveries. Ananth got out to an IPL streamer of a catch. Manoj plucked the ball out of thin air, like we see on ESNP baseball games, steal a home run and make it into a catch. Cricket matches turn with such efforts. We were heading towards 200 and suddenly lost our key batsman. Chinmay replaced Ananth. Dhanu and Chin began to rebuild slowly and steadily, Indian bowling was extremely disciplined and kept lot of pressure on the batsmen. NO EASY RUNS and NO PRESSURE RELEASE. 

Dhanu lost his patience and went for a big cover drive and was caught at deep cover. Indians were gunning for Dhanu as they bore his big scoring ability in an earlier game. Moment Dhanu was gone a new spring came into the Indians shoes. Karthik, Kapil bowled very well, simple line and length and no experiments. Pavan came in replacing Dhanu and left soon. Chinmay was losing partners, he lost Srini in the blink of an eye. Bhaskar our most dependable player of the season walked in. But by then Indians were smelling blood. Chinmay and Bhaskar added about 20 runs, after which Chinmay got out stumped to a beautifully flighted ball. Thereafter no one could give company to Bhaskar and we performed the cardinal sin of not playing the allotted 40 overs, falling short by 4.4 overs.

Bowling:

167 was defendable given Indians were not having key players in the X1. Venky bowled a brilliant opening spell. Like Ananth, Venky is playing his best cricket and looking like taking a wicket every ball. The batsmen are unable to fathom his swing and more importantly his pace variation. The big difference between Venky of old and now is the variation in pace. Earlier he was a one dimensional bowler. Now he is varying his pace and his first 3 to 4 overs are devastating. Sid playing his first game of the season was just not switched on. It can happen to a bowler who relies so much on swing. Dhanu replaced Sid and between Venky and Dhanu they were strangling the opponents. Venky caused so much havoc that batsmen were making errors in calling their singles. One such bad call ended in a run out which was as clear as day light for all except the leg umpire who was adamant that the sun rises from the west. End of the day he is the ultimate god on a cricket field. 

Two balls later I dropped a catch at second slip after getting both my hands. No excuses such drops bring the morale down. Next over  things got worse, Karthik their key batsman was put down by Srini. Dropping these catches were very unfair on Venky and literally pulled the air out of his sail. Dhanu kept the pressure up and by 10^th over Indians were 21 for none. But from thereon we let the game slip and slip so badly that we never ever got back in the game. By the 15^th over Indians were 60 for one or two. Five overs cost us 40 runs and totally deflate our journey. Dilip tried every bowler including himself to no avail. Ananth bowled very well, but the rest of our bowlers were far too undisciplined and dint learn the lesson of how Indians bowled during their tough phase. Bowler after bowler gave wides and followed by boundary balls. 

Towards the end Srini came into bowl and we may have found the missing link in our bowling armory. Srini was brilliant with leg spin, the release was as good as it can get for a leg spinner. If this is want Srini is capable of doing we have found a big match winner. Leg spin is tough to play and tough to control. As with Karthik of Indians, if a leg spinner can hit a line and length and be consistent, it’s a huge bowling weapon for a captain. End of the day we lost a game, we were capable of winning.

Comments / Suggestions: It’s all good to write a report to please each other or say good things. If I am a genuine team man, wishing well for Eagles I must point out areas of improvement. I expect us all to take these views in a positive light. A team of X1 cannot have X1 match winners. The match winners are those on whom the team stands, like the pillars of a building. Our match winners are Ananth, Dhanu, with the bat. I say this because to best of my knowledge these are the only two who have big scores from amongst us. Venky with ball, Sid with ball and bat, Chinmay with Ball and bat. Dilip with Ball and bat, Dhanu with ball as well. These match winners have additional responsibility. Does not mean others have no role, rest of us have supporting roles to the key roles match winners play. 

Since we don’t have more than two genuine batsmen who can consistently score 50 plus innings, the all-rounder’s have a key role to play. They need to chip in with their batting, but more importantly be disciplined with their bowling. Take a look at the wides in yesterday’s game. Much as I would like to lay the fault on dropped catches, fact is 30 wides in a score of 167 is just too many. It just eases the pressure. There are only 2 reasons for these wides; one you are trying to bowl faster than needed or swing more than required and the other is you have tired out. Venky is a good example of tiring out. In the game against Middlesex, pure tiresomeness resulted in Venky’s last over of the spell going for as many wides and runs. Chinmay was too tired as I saw in his later half of the spell yesterday. Sid was not wanting to slow down and continued to bowl at same pace. These 3 bowlers are so critical for our season, we will have huge problems if this trend is not arrested immediately. Last year we started winning after we recognized and fixed this problem. I plead with all the bowlers, please put in more thought. 

Venky has set a great example of controlled aggression. He is bowling at his peak and needs support. You guys are capable of bowling teams within 150 if only you control your emotions and aggression. If Srini can bowl as well as he did, I can guarantee immediate success. Let’s be determined to be at our best from next game onwards. We are not playing to our potential and letting weaker team beat us. I agree catching was not good, we can all put in effort and improve. The batting also can do much better. We need more from the openers me included. Ananth is doing a great job, Sid I would suggest you play more aggressively and freely, you need to do what Dhanu is doing and Dhanu should do more of what you are doing, reverse your approach while batting. I have feeling Sid you are batting well within yourself and not letting go. Please try this; come half hour early and have someone throw down and hit the ball as hard as you can. Request a fielder or 2 to stand deep and ask them to help you out. I am willing to do this. I want you to hit the leather out of the ball in the throw downs. This momentum will flow in the game. You are a critical batting component and can add to Dhanu / Ananth list. Chinmay you are batting beautifully don’t change a thing; your bowling can take a leaf out of Venky. Use your slower ones lot more, you have a tremendous one up your sleeve. Bhaskar is doing a tremendous job and doing everything expected out of him. As of now Venky, Bhaskar, Ananth are performing all one can ask of them. Rest of us can certainly contribute lot more.

Murali was great seeing you again. Took the trouble of flying down from Atlanta, did his best in the field. He has not been bowling since last season and it showed. A terrific performer for us last year and many earlier years too. Wish he was still with us in NJ.  Am hoping Naga comes back soon, he will add stability and solve keeping problems, we are badly missing Vijay / Naga.

Team, let’s pull up and show a more determined performance next week. I cannot see such good and talented cricketers like you not performing to your capabilities. I want the Eagles of last year, flying high.

RS

Match Report: JECC vs Middlesex, 05/02/2015 @Weston Rd

Match Report
by
Ravi

JECC lost to Middlesex by 65runs. Middlesex Cricket Club:230/7 in 40.0 Jersey Eagles Cricket Club:165/10 in 37.0

ScoreCard: http://www.dreamcricket.com/clnj/scorecarddisplay.aspx?gameid=9434

Not our day is how I can sum up the 2^nd game of our season. Middlesex won the toss and opted to bat.

Bowling:

We had them in deep trouble at 25 for 3. Venky was outstanding as usual, Dhanu gave great support. Dilip kept wickets for a while and took a very good catch as the edge was climbing. Dhanu had an LBW upheld, Venky had the 3^rd wicket well taken by Manoj. But from thereon we let the game slip to a combination of our old foe the wide’s and good application from Middlesex batsmen. 

In this phase we bowled about 15 wides to let Middlesex reach a safe 80 for 3 at the break. We badly missed Sid because of which the bowling combination had to be juggled. Manoj and Bhaskar did their best but it is not easy to bowl in an odd game and bowl six good deliveries. Manoj was unlucky too as he had an edge drop well short of me at slip. The rub of the green was also going the Middlesex way. 

Ali batted brilliantly and scored a century, one of the best knocks I saw against our bowling. The best part of his batting was his patience and waited till we tired. He capitalized on the wides we bowled as the run rate kept moving well thanks to the extras. In all we bowled at least 30 wides if not more. Dilip bowled reasonably well, he could not afford to flight regularly as runs were leaking from both ends.  All in all not a good bowling day for us, we were left to chase 232.

Batting:

Chasing a huge score is feasible if we get a good start. We could not as we lost Dhanu soon and after a very short partnership I was out too. Avi and Bhaskar stitched a small partnership but both of them got out and we were about 50 for 4. 

Chinmay and Dilip joined and played brilliantly. They ran very well between wickets and kept a run rate of about 6 per over. Chinmay stroked the ball beautifully and as mentioned in my last report, I sense this could be Chinmay’s batting season. If he can build more confidence in his ability and trust his batting more, he can be a huge asset for us this year. Chinmay is timing the ball and playing the best I have seen in him 3 years. Dilip was cool and calculated and hit the loose balls to the boundary and took singles and doubles regularly. 

Middlesex bowling was very disciplined and hardly bowled any wides, they varied the pace very well and used the slower ball to good effect. Chinmay scored 54, Dilip scored 39 and their partnership though dint end up in a winning cause; it bodes well for the season. What it shows is when Ananth and Sid are back, we will have a very strong middle order and if the opening combination can put on a better show we will be a difficult side to beat.

Chinmay and Dilip batting as well as they did will now mean we will have a lower middle order which is in form and close the deal. Chinmay played all the shots in the book; drives, pulls, cuts, deftly placed singles. Dilip was his usual cheeky self, his customary pull shot, and drives to cover region showed he is good touch. The chase was too steep, we could have done it with our full batting force firing.

Comments / Suggestions: Coming to the ground in time is essential and sets the mood and tempo. For one or other reason however justified it may be, coming late to the ground puts too much pressure on the captain. We started the game 20 minutes late. Last game we were able to jog, stretch and set the tempo as such. This game we bowled under time pressure, umpire was strict about completing the 40 overs in time. All of these add to the pressure on the bowlers and captain.  

Don’t we forget at this ground the batting was from both ends which met more time between overs for fielders to move to their positions. It also meant we would get tired by the time our turn to bat came on. Dilip was under pressure of finding 8 members at toss time, for the first time I saw him go to toss and come back uncertain if he won or lost the toss. He would have been under stress of team not showing up in time. If we want to win and be competitive we have to be on the ground no later than 10.15 AM.

As regards the wides we need to get back in control as we did the last game. Wides killed us in most games last year. We just cannot afford that again in the coming games. Good wakeup call early in the season. Boys, let us show we are better than this as the season rolls on.