The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, especially on this occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.
In order to keep some suspense about the 2007 season, when I provide a link to a player's page I shall link to his 2006 stats.
Game 11: WVUCC versus PittsPunters
For a long time, almost a decade, C.S. Manish had been involved with WVUCC, either as a player (mostly as a substitute fielder), or as a manager/coach - a role he shared for many years with Bala Balakrishnan, before Bala moved to New England to raise a family. In 2007, Manish was playing his last season for the 'Eers, and due to circumstances beyond his control, he would have to leave the team before the season ended. When Sohail Chaudhry and the rest of the team were told that the 11th game of the season would be the last he would play with them, the team decided to accord Manish with the highest honor possible - captaining the team.
It was going to be a critical game - against bitter rivals, the PittsPunters - and when Manish lost the toss to Rajanikanth Jayaseelan, his day had not started on a good note. Little did he know that things would get much worse...
Mukesh Patel came out with his guns blazing. WVUCC's policy of spreading the field and denying Mukesh the easy boundaries charged up this PCA titan, and rather than settling for the singles he took on the fielders. Repeatedly jumping out of his crease, Mukesh attacked the straight and cover boundaries, getting away with numerous close calls that fell just out of the reach of the fielders. In no time, the 50 was up on the board but Nishit Banuri came to the fore. In a portent of things to come later in the season, Nishit struck to a wicket-to-wicket line and controlled the aggressive batsmen, eventually castling both openers. Wickets fell at regular intervals, and one statistic shows exactly how true this cliche was. Here are the partnerships for the 10 wickets - 39, 14, 16, 16, 20, 6, 9, 13, 10, 2. Once the first breach had been made by Nishit, the rest of the bowlers chipped in and did not let the pressure slacken. Sohail bowled an inspired spell - 4 overs, 4 wickets for 13 runs, including the important wicket of Ganesh Krishnan (Bada Ganesh to the PCA), out LBW. Bada Ganesh, the heart and soul of the PittsPunters, is a very, very, very good all-rounder but a classic complainer. Belonging to the Martin Crowe-Tim Duncan school of "who-me?" theatrics, Bada Ganesh is eternally convinced that he is never ever out LBW, and should the bowler flatten his stumps, would probably protest that he is not out because his leg-stump is still standing. His dismissal led to some rancor between him and the umpire, and the ill-will soon spilled over to the field of play.
The PittPunters were bowled out for just 145, but an undercurrent of tension was apparent in the air.
For a long time, almost a decade, C.S. Manish had been involved with WVUCC, either as a player (mostly as a substitute fielder), or as a manager/coach - a role he shared for many years with Bala Balakrishnan, before Bala moved to New England to raise a family. In 2007, Manish was playing his last season for the 'Eers, and due to circumstances beyond his control, he would have to leave the team before the season ended. When Sohail Chaudhry and the rest of the team were told that the 11th game of the season would be the last he would play with them, the team decided to accord Manish with the highest honor possible - captaining the team.
It was going to be a critical game - against bitter rivals, the PittsPunters - and when Manish lost the toss to Rajanikanth Jayaseelan, his day had not started on a good note. Little did he know that things would get much worse...
Mukesh Patel came out with his guns blazing. WVUCC's policy of spreading the field and denying Mukesh the easy boundaries charged up this PCA titan, and rather than settling for the singles he took on the fielders. Repeatedly jumping out of his crease, Mukesh attacked the straight and cover boundaries, getting away with numerous close calls that fell just out of the reach of the fielders. In no time, the 50 was up on the board but Nishit Banuri came to the fore. In a portent of things to come later in the season, Nishit struck to a wicket-to-wicket line and controlled the aggressive batsmen, eventually castling both openers. Wickets fell at regular intervals, and one statistic shows exactly how true this cliche was. Here are the partnerships for the 10 wickets - 39, 14, 16, 16, 20, 6, 9, 13, 10, 2. Once the first breach had been made by Nishit, the rest of the bowlers chipped in and did not let the pressure slacken. Sohail bowled an inspired spell - 4 overs, 4 wickets for 13 runs, including the important wicket of Ganesh Krishnan (Bada Ganesh to the PCA), out LBW. Bada Ganesh, the heart and soul of the PittsPunters, is a very, very, very good all-rounder but a classic complainer. Belonging to the Martin Crowe-Tim Duncan school of "who-me?" theatrics, Bada Ganesh is eternally convinced that he is never ever out LBW, and should the bowler flatten his stumps, would probably protest that he is not out because his leg-stump is still standing. His dismissal led to some rancor between him and the umpire, and the ill-will soon spilled over to the field of play.
The PittPunters were bowled out for just 145, but an undercurrent of tension was apparent in the air.
When Manish and Arvind Thiruvengadam came out to bat, they faced the brunt of some incessant chatter. Manish shrugged off a couple of the initial comments, but uncharacteristically (for him) fell for the bait and lost his composure. In an effort to quieten the close-in fielders, Manish aimed an ugly, cross-batted hoick that missed the ball by a fair distance. Amit Rainia did not miss the stumps but blotted the minor victory by giving Manish an abusive send-off. People talk about proverbial straws and camel's backs. The last gesture was it for Manish, who lost all semblance of respect for a couple of the Punters.
WVUCC is one of the teams that is constantly talking on the field, reminding batsmen of potential weaknesses, cheering up their players in the face of a batting or bowling onslaught, but the only team that they have had problems with have been the Punters - who are good at dishing it out, but are very thin-skinned about receiving it in return. The first game of the season between these two teams had been played with a fine sense of friendly banter and competitiveness. The second game was anything but fun.
Once the initial breach had been made, the PittsPunters were fired up and the bowling ripped through the Mountaineer batting line-up. Except for Arvind, no other batsman crossed 5 runs, and the defeat would have been even worse had Arvind not counterpunched his way to 33 runs with 5 boundaries. In the end, the Punters cleaned up the 'Eers for 64 , with Vijay Ramanujan recording brilliant bowling figures - 4.4 overs, 5 wickets for 6 runs (including 1 no-ball and 2 wides!).
More drama erupted during the drinks break when a couple of PittsPunters players attempted to ease the tension by apologizing to Manish. Manish refused to accept the apologies and the two teams parted with bitter memories. For two years Manish had watched some members of the Punters cross certain boundaries of accepted behaviour on the field, only to walk-off the ground and then come around with apologies, as if whatever they said on the field was a lapse and was not meant to be taken seriously. As if! On his last day of the regular season, Manish saw no reason to play along with this charade. If a few of the Punters had been on the WVUCC roster, they would have never played another game for the 'Eers as indiscipline is not regarded lightly by WVUCC.
This defeat and the rude manner in which they, especially their senior-most player, had been treated by some of the PittsPunters, ignited a fire in the 'Eers and they turned their anger towards the remaining games of the season. The last vestiges of self-doubt had been burnt away, and the rest of the league was going to pay the price for the Punters folly.
6 comments:
Cricket in the Burgh is one of the most competitive leagues in the US. The passion with which the players approach the games more than makes up for the lack of adequate number of teams.. It is definitely not a league for the Champion whiners like Manish with a fragile paper thin ego.
It is very natural for some balloon headed people to think that their behaviors on the field which involves saying personal things to batsmen while they are fielding as gentlemanly behavior (please refer to "WVUCC is one of the teams that is constantly talking on the field, reminding batsmen of potential weaknesses, cheering up their players in the face of a batting or bowling onslaught"), it then behooves upon them to take what is dished back to them. Punters as a team have dealt with histrionics from street performers like Manish long before he and his team made the long journey from the Midwest league to the Pittsburgh league.
While Manish is quick to talk about sportsmanship and other terms, it takes a bit of shaking of his gray matter upstairs about the great sportsmanship and sense of discipline that WVUCC displayed when they refused to play a game despite the Umpire's repeated requests to continue with the game as they wanted to deny the bonus points that the Punters would have earned had they continued to play. The excuse "The Bravehearts" gave was that they were afraid that they would twist their delicate hips or ankles if they continued playing for a few more minutes. A game of caroms or rummy perhaps suits their temperament better.
If there was a Punter folly it was that of their nature to believe that this is just a game and people and friendships are more important than a game, to believe that one should play the game with passion on the field and when one leaves the field one just takes the camaraderie and the fond memories with oneself. If the magnanimity shown by the Punters at the end of the game by coming over and talking to the opposition as charades by someone than it just shows the kind of mentality this person is coming to play the game. While such mistakes can be made by 5th graders in school when playing with fellow kids but to expect a college graduated adult who also happens to be "senior most member of the team" to feel the same would suggest that one needs to grow up and I would say quickly for one's benefit.
There could be several reasons why Manish was upset during and after the last game in Pittsburgh. Emotions were running high that this would be his last game in this great league, disappointment that his hopes of scoring a lot of runs in his last game came crashing down like his three wickets, his optimism of winning his last ever game against Punters shattered by the hiding that the Punters handed out.
While Manish may wish that a few of the Punters were in his team to strengthen his side and to fulfill his sadistic fantasies of taking some disciplinary actions against some Punters, he really needs to wake up and stop dreaming. NO PUNTER WILL EVER PLAY IN YOUR TEAM.
I take this opportunity to wish you a very happy new year from the entire Punters team and a very happy recovery from the narcissistic injury that you seem to have incurred while playing Cricket in the burgh. Hope you will get to play your version of the Game wherever you are. Good Luck.
Ah! Thanks for your input. However, it is a bit rich (and intensely ironical) to see you hide behind an anonymous ID in a message that slams my manners and resolve. Put your name where your comments are, if you may. I put down my views and you are welcome to disagree with them. I'll be waiting to see if you come forward with more than just a (mis-spelled) moniker.
To paraphrase Hamlet, "Methinks, the lady doth protest too much."
Dear GOD Manish,
This really made up for some interesting reading and also clearly displayed how badly you wanted to beat us BUT never able to even come close. The reality of the matter is you guys just have one Cricketing player in your team in the form of Sohail and the rest of you are just FILLERS. Just because you follow cricket does not mean you can play cricket too.
As far as sledging & cheating is concerned, you are really close to Ricky Ponting and Co....
I don't have too much time on hand to engage in a really good debate here but all i can say is that i PITY you and ppl in your team who think like you. I don't think the rest of your mates share your thoughts.
For us cricket is only played on the field and we never ever take it off the field.
All the very best to you and all your mates (wherever you are) for a great career.
Blogs are great for ppl like you who moan and groan and can't actually accomplish anything through their actions.
PS: I hate tears Manish (on the lines of "I hate tears Pushpa" - Famous lines from Rajesh Khanna -heheheh)
Take a chill pill and enjoy life dude....
Rgds,
Ganesh Krishnan.
If you have seen other postings in my blog you will know that I feel strongly about cricket, but never ever claim to be an expert at playing it. If anything, it must be more galling to you that a team with just 1 player and 10 "fillers" managed to take the PCA crown so comprehensively this year.
When I started writing about the 2007 PCA season I wanted to be true to my feelings. Much as I wanted to say that I had no regrets, I would have been lying had I said that. I wrote what and how I felt and I don't claim to speak for my teammates nor do I claim that they don't share my feelings.
As far as cricketing skills are concerned - you are one of the best and toughest cricketers I have had the pleasure of playing against. The way you marshalled the Punters team through the playoffs was a lesson to WVUCC and gave us the blueprint for this year's success.
Good luck with your career, too. As they say about life, sometimes - Audi et alteram partem.
I am surprised that a person who goes by the name Jaunty Quicksand is worried about "REAL" names. The name is Avinash.
The moniker was merely used to reflect your thought process.....and thank you teacher for pointing out the Misspelled word. I hope you paid as much attention to the message as you spent on trying to find typos in the response. This also will by my last input on this matter as spending any more time on this would be giving this issue far more importance than is due. I am sure you too are busy and have other things to write about.
Good Luck with the rest of your life.
Avinash Hosanagar
Very interesting exchange of thoughts here. the Pittpunters, to my lay viewpoint, mimic the behavior of the player they are probably named after - Ricky Ponting.
Quit whining, admit you were beaten by the better team, and learn to take verbal backlash if you can serve it up. This is akin to the Aussies scurrying for cover with the match referee when the Indian players were able to dish it out verbally as well as they could.
Anyway, good show, WVUCC - may cricket continue to flourish in the Americas!
- Buck
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