Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 16: Restoring order

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author. However, this report has been prepared with the help of some insider information, eyewitness accounts, and personal interviews. All errors are entirely their fault, not mine.

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 12: WVUCC versus Hurricanes

With the retirement of C.S. Manish, a permanent opening spot had opened up. Ajay Nayak, as always willing to step up for the team, was considered but in the end the thinktank decided to revert to the old pair of Arvind Thiruvengadam and Sohail Chaudhry (who had once put on 152 runs for the first wicket.

Still smarting from the embarrassing loss to the Punters, WVUCC was ready for the rest of the league, and upon winning the toss Sohail opted to strike first. Coming back to his natural spot at the top of the order Sohail revelled, in typical fashion, slashing and carving fours, and running hard otherwise. But the revelation was Arvind. For a long time Arvind has been threatening to put up a big score, only to manufacture ways of getting himself out. Having Sohail at the other end was just the calming influence he needed and the Hurricanes did not know what hit them. Sohail put up impressive numbers in an opening partnership of 112, (42 runs in 32 balls, with 6 fours, and 1 six) but was completely overshadowed by Arvind. Don't let the numbers fool you - this was a very watchful innings by Arvind, carefully crafted to ensure that he did not throw his wicket away. 55 of his runs came in just 11 balls (6 fours and 5 sixes), 10 runs came in the remaining 38!

After Sohail got out, Abishek Muralidharan and Arvind continued in the same vein battering the Hurricane bowlers into submission. With the score on 136, Arvind perished but Abishek marshalled the middle order to ensure that the advantage was not lost. Abishek made an accomplished 53 in just 37 balls, (3 fours and 4 sixes) and WVUCC finished on an imposing 221 for 7 in 25 overs

All Hurricane hopes rested on their captain Naveen Peiris. The WVUCC strategy was to attack the batsmen around Naveen in order to make him feel the pinch of losing partners at the other end. Strategies are all well and good but you need the right personnel to execute them. The loss of Manish in the batting department was compensated by the return of the best left-handed new ball bowler (along with Usman Hashmi) to have ever played for WVUCC - Avinaschander Manivannan. Ajay and Avinash kept the Hurricanes in check and began eating through the top order. In his last over Avinash breached Naveen's defences and the Hurricanes goose was cooked. By the time the 10th over was bowled, the Hurricanes were 52 for 6 and sitting dead in the water.

Some aggressive batting by Vinod Nair and Krish Kalyanaraman made the margin of defeat a little more respectable but there was never any doubt that the Mountaineers were back with a vengeance. Arvind duly completed a good personal day for himself by snaring the last wicket to end the Hurricane innings at 164

WVUCC improved its record to 7-4-1 and was back in second place. Next up were the Lumberjacks and they must not have been too happy to note that Sohail had returned to the opening spot and was finally approaching the top of his game.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 15: Crass will out

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.

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.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 14: Damp squib

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, 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 10: WVUCC versus Gladiators

After the cautious first win of the season against the Gladiators, the Mountaineers were primed to compose a more comprehensive win in the return engagement. However, the best laid plans of mice and men and other similar sentiments came to mind when the match was washed out without a ball being bowled. The Gladiators and the Mountaineers shared two points apiece.

With this tie, the 'Eers record improved to 6-3-1, and next up was an emotionally charged return match-up against the PittsPunters.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 13: Escape to victory

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, 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 9: WVUCC versus Strikers

The first game of the season between the 'Eers and Strikers was over in a jiffy, with the Strikers not even getting a whiff of a chance. In the return game, the proud remnants of the once-powerhouse team promised to not go down without a fight.

After winning the toss they could not have had a more disastrous start, though. Two balls into the innings, Shailesh Bokil was unable to keep down his favourite shot and gave Sumanth Dommaraju, at point, an easy catch in Rajesh Penmetsa's first over on debut. In the next over, Tony Edmonstone, who chose to bat without any helmet, stretched forward and the ball jagged up and smashed into his nose, breaking it. Tony took no further part in the game but the tone for an apprehensive batting performance for the rest of the day was set. Batsman after batsman came to the crease, hesitantly put his front foot forward and paid the price for his timidity. Only Sanjeev Singh, with a composed innings, looked like he was willing to watch the ball, but his partners were in a rush to get out of the way of the bowling, throwing wickets with reckless abandon.

But at 106 for 5, with Sanjeev Singh still at the crease, the Strikers had a chance to put up a decent total. In came Sohail Chaudhry and Arvind Thiruvengadam. A combined spell of 4.1 overs, 1 maiden, 6 wickets for 13 runs scuttled all hopes in sensational fashion! From 106 for 5, the Strikers collapsed to 108 all out.

Sanjeev Singh had watched his batting partners come and go, unwilling to bat it out with him. Unfortunately for the Mountaineer batsmen, he took his anger out on them. In the last year or so, Sanjeev has lost more than a yard or two of pace, becoming a military medium pacer (a la Madan Lal). On this day, he reached back into his heydey and produced a spell of sustained pace bowling that had the top order hopping for cover.

If the Mountaineers thought that the Strikers start to their innings was disastrous, they had no idea what was in store for them, courtesy Sanjeev. The slide started when C.S. Manish was caught plumb in front of the middle stump off the second ball of the innings, the ball hurrying onto his pads before the opener had even brought his bat down. The very next ball cleaned up Abishek Muralidharan, crashing into his stumps even as Abishek was caught at the crease staring at the spot where the ball had bounced. But the biggest fish was yet to be caught. Sanjeev finished off his first over with his third and most important wicket, finding the stumps off Sohail's pads. 2 runs for 3 wickets in 1 over. Trouble was brewing...

Things got worse when Sanjeev charged in, first smashing through Arvind Thiruvengadam's defences (12 for 4), and then Sumanth Dommaraju's (23 for 5). Ashok tried to hit his way out of the jam but in the next over, Dhiraj Raikhelkar joined the party, trapping him palpably in front of the stumps, LBW for 10, inclusive of 2 fours (23 for 6). WVUCC were in dire straits and Sanjeev still had two overs to go!!

Abhijit Bhagavatula and Amol Bhavsar then sensibly played out Sanjeev's remaining overs. Abhijit, flush with confidence from his recent successes, carefully put his front foot well forward and negated any chance of an LBW or clean bowled. At the other end, Amol reined his attacking instincts to play the best innings of his WVUCC career. Sanjeev Singh finished his outstanding spell (5 overs, 11 runs, 5 wickets) to a standing ovation from both teams, but he had been unable to breach the last recognized pair and he knew that the 'Eers may have just slipped from his grasp.

Abhijit and Amol then proceeded to shut the Strikers out of the game with a controlled partnership, not taking any risks whatsoever, and hitting the bad balls when they came by. The fact that the target was not large helped as they had lots of time on their hands. So much so that as the score started building up Sohail signalled to Amol to take a few risks in an attempt to get the bonus point (for reaching the target in less than 20 overs). Amol proceeded to do just that with three fours and a six in the mid-wicket to square-leg area. He perished with the score on 84 for a fantastic 30 in 27 balls (if you remove his boundary hits, he scored 12 runs in 23 balls, just what the doctor ordered, as Ravi Shastri would say).

Harshesh Patel ensured that no further mishaps would occur, keeping Abhijit company while the middle-order hero calmly struck a slew of boundaries to take WVUCC to victory in 18.1 overs. Abhijit remained not out on 28 in 42 balls (4 fours). If you remove his boundary hits, he scored 12 runs in 38 balls, showing remarkable maturity and calmness, especially in the way he blunted Sanjeev's spell.

Even though the Mountaineers got out of jail, the day belonged to Sanjeev Singh. If he had received even a semblance of support from the other end he may have even pulled out the victory, but it was not to be.

With this win, the 'Eers record improved to 6-3 and next up were the Gladiators, a team that WVUCC certainly had the measure of and were hoping to get maximum possible points from.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 12: Justice is served

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, 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 8: WVUCC versus Blitzers

Along with the Steelzags, the Blitzers provide WVUCC with the most enjoyable on-field experiences. There is a great deal of chatter that goes on, friendly banter that brings lots of smiles to everyone. In 2006, the Blitzers were unable to beat the 'Eers, losing close matches both times.

Sohail Chaudhry once again won the toss and elected to bat. C.S. Manish began the match in sensational fashion hooking two of the first three balls bowled by Rajat Grover for sixes, easily clearing the tree by the pavilion with the second one. However, at the other end Ferdinand "Ferdie" Justus exacted revenge by tying down both openers with some sharp seam bowling. Ferdie is an enigma, a smiling, effervescent player with a Shoaib Akhtar-esque penchant for bowling two good overs with a mean streak and then quickly getting tired. But those two overs he bowls are as good as any bowled by the top bowlers in the league. In his second over, he sliced Manish almost in half with a sharp incutter and even as the umpire indicated not out, the batsman walked, indicating that he had nicked to the keeper.

Emboldened by the atypically aggressive start provided by Manish, the rest of the top order came in and attacked the ball from the get-go. The top 6 batsmen all scored at least 13 runs, getting starts, but no one really managed to sustain it for long. The Blitzers, Ferdie excepted, are honest toilers at best, trundling along at medium pace or less with a stump to stump line. On this day, they contained the Mountaineers without threatening to ever run through the line up. Arvind Thiruvengadam survived a few close Ferdie-induced calls to stitch together his highest personal score, falling just short of the half-century mark just when an increase in tempo was required. (Luckily for the 'Eers this innings marked the start of a purple patch even as Abishek Muralidharan and Sohail went into a batting slump of sorts).

A Sumanth Dommaraju cameo towards the close pushed the score past the 150 mark to finish at 167 for 7 in 25 overs - competitive but definitely not nearly enough on this ground.

The Blitzers innings would depend upon the fate of two of their main batsmen - Raj Gopal and Ferdie (yes, the dude can bat, too). Raj Gopal was the most feared Blitzers batsman in the 2006 season, with a pleasing array of straight drives and punches in the off-side. In 2007, he astonishingly regressed, displaying remarkable impatience for a batsman used to making big scores. The book on him is simple; spread the field, cut off his boundaries, leave a huge gap at square-leg and invite him to attempt a cross-batted hoick to the vacant region. Sure enough, a series of balls that did not fetch runs forced Raj to attempt an ugly heave and he only managed to snick it to the keeper. Unfortunately, Raj's attempts to extricate himself from his slump through the rest of the season did not succeed and I only hope that in the off-season he will think about his failings and focus on not throwing his wicket away when the runs do not flow easily. He would do well to watch Sohail or Naveen Peiris bat to learn how to wait for the bad balls to come along.

Before that, Sheeley Rajamony had given Ashok Varadarajan, the keeper, an even easier catch and the Mountaineers sniffed a chance to put the game away. But Ravi Vishwanathan, the grizzled veteran (why he did not open in 2007 for the Blitzers is beyond my comprehension) eased the tension by playing out the tough period, with Elanchezhian Mahendran for company. Slowly, but surely, they began easing the runs and Sohail spread the field to induce a mistake. Sure enough Elan fell in the trap, caught at the square-leg boundary. And when Ravi misread a straighter one from Thilanka Munasinghe the 'Eers were one wicket away from pulling out the game. Standing between them and the wicket was the stocky (ahem) Ferdie. Ferdie then showed Raj (and the others) how it was done. He scored 38 runs in 7 balls (5 sixes and 2 fours) and nudged and pushed for 15 runs in the remaining 31 balls. At the other end, Balaji Kannan, duplicated Ferdie scoring 20 runs (2 sixes, 2 fours) in 4 balls and 6 runs in the remaining 22. Unfortunately for the Blitzers, Balaji got excited with victory in sight and got out trying to hit another six. However, Ferdie ensured no more hiccups occurred along the way calmly finishing the match for his team, remaining unbeaten on a well-made 53.

With this loss, the 'Eers fell to 5-3 and next up were the Strikers...surely an easy win was in the offing against the only winless team in the league, or was it as simple as that?

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 11: Timber!!!

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, 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 7: WVUCC versus Lumberjacks

The Lumberjacks are the other University-based team in the PCA (you can figure out for yourself which University they belong to). Last year they had a horrid time adjusting to the more experienced teams in the league, but soldiered on, nevertheless. They finished the season strongly, winning 3 of their last 4 games. Better things were expected from them for the 2007 season, and though by the end they did come close to a playoff spot, they probably underachieved.

Sohail Chaudhry won the toss and had asked Puneet Khandelwal to ask his team to bowl. For WVUCC, C.S. Manish's hamstring had flared up again and Ajay Nayak stepped into the breach. Arvind Thiruvengadam went quickly, but Ajay found the bowling to his liking. With a propensity to flick strongly off his pads, Ajay regularly peppered the square boundary and grew in confidence (or condifence, as his batting partner Abishek Muralidharan would say). Shrugging off the loss of Arvind, Ajay played his best innings of the season (6 fours and a 6) and was ably assisted by Abishek. Abishek, having unlocked the key to scoring runs, now displayed his penchant for bigger scores by effortlessly rattling up another 50.

Against the Lumberjacks, all the batsmen went in with an aggressive mindset, irrespective of the loss of wickets, so Sohail picked up the baton, passed it along to Sumanth, and when Abishek finally fell, Abhijit stepped into the void. Having discovered that he could bat, and bat well, in this league Abhijit went from strength to strength. Seamlessly mixing the attacking shots with defensive pushes for singles and two's Abhijit ensured that the WVUCC score went from an impressive one to an imposing one. Abhijit remained unbeaten on 43 (5 fours, 2 sixes) off just 30 balls and WVUCC put up 215 for 7 in 25 overs.

Raoul Pinto and Puneet began as if they believed they could overhaul the target and quickly brought up the 50 partnership. However, the old Lumberjacks showed up soon enough. 62 for no loss soon became 69 for 4 and the stuffing had been knocked out for all purposes. With the match well in hand, Sohail took the opportunity to give as many bowlers as possible (8 bowlers in all) a chance to bowl. In doing so he let the later order batsmen put up a few runs; never at a pace fast enough to threaten to take the game away, but nevertheless, delaying the inevitable defeat. Eventually, an umpiring error brought the final score to 172 all out, which was crucial as they needed to get to exactly 172 to prevent WVUCC from gaining a bonus point.

With this win, the 'Eers rose to 5-2 and next up were the Blitzers.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 10: Hey Ram!

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, 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 6: WVUCC versus Steelzags

The regular season powerhouses of the '06-'07 season met for the second time in a match up that featured a lot of friendly banter between the two sides. The Mountaineers enjoy playing against the Steelzags (and the Blitzers) the most in the PCA league, because there is a constant chatter (some may call it sledging) that goes on relentlessly between the two sides but never descends to nastiness (that is a report for another game).

For all their chattering, WVUCC had never defeated the 'Zags in 4 tries and were eager to correct that trend. The day got off to a bad start when C.S. Manish, gimpy leg and all, had to play since the Mountaineers were struggling to get 11 players on the field. To compound matters, Ram Paluri won the toss and promptly decided to test the Mountaineer bowlers.

Venkata Sathi bowled a dream spell (5-1-12-0), tying up Srugun Sreepurum and Verma Sagi. Harshesh Patel was also on line but a little more prodigal with the wides. Srugun began the 2006 season with a 50 but has overwhelmingly underachieved as a batsman since then. He likes to hit the ball through mid-wicket and, if denied those easy runs, gets very itchy-fingered at the crease. He is one of a handful of batsmen in the league who are like that (Mukesh Patel, Ferdinand Justus, Raj Gopal, and Abishek Muralidharan are a few names that quickly come to mind). The book on him is to keep the ball outside the off-stump and wait for him to self-destruct. With the score going nowhere, sure enough he did, lofting Harshesh to mid-on. The wicket calmed Harshesh's nerves and he soon had Swadhin Saurabh caught behind by Ashok, who would have a typically outstanding day behind the stumps. Verma belongs to the Manish school of batting - preserving his wickets while rotating the strike to the other batsmen. He played out Venkat's spell and then relaxed a little when Sohail Chaudhry came on. Big mistake! In his first over, Sohail had Verma snagged by Ashok and the 'Zags were in trouble at 48 for 3.

Srinivas Mandava (MS to all of us) is more of a bowler than a batsman, though you would not know it if you watched him bat. In 2006, he was the first person in the PCA league to take a hat-trick, and the Mountaineers were not exactly worried about his skills with the bat. Sure enough, in the next over, he was caught and bowled by Amol Bhavsar, who followed up the good work with a wicket-maiden. 48 for 4.

Sridhar Lingam and Ram then set about repairing the damage with some enterprising batting. Sridhar looked in ominous touch initially, striking three boundaries to various parts of the leg-side off Amol, who started looking for more pace and lost his line. Sridhar, however, was very smartly run out by Ashok when he took off for a run but could not scamper back in time when sent back by Ram. 75 for 4.

Sumanth Dommaraju came into the attack, and what followed was an incandescent innings by Ram. Scenting a kill, the Mountaineers crowded around the bat and Ram's response was breath-taking. Without slogging or hitting uncultured shots, Ram effortlessly cleared the fence, time after time, with lightning-quick flicks and cover drives. He hit 1 four and 7 sixes, reaching 50 in just 15 balls (but not a PCA record for the fasted 50, mind you), before Suman had the last (very, very belated) laugh having him caught behind by Ashok off an attempted cover drive. 139 for 6.

The rest of the batsmen put together a few runs here and there and WVUCC felt that they had escaped a real leather-hunt when the Steelzags finished at a managable 171 for 8 in 25 overs. If you remove Ram's blitzkrieg, the 'Zags scored 121 runs in about 22 overs - respectable, but definitely under par for Edgebrook Field.

Cliche' time: Cricket is supposed to be a great leveller, and it proved to be just that on this day. In his first game for WVUCC, Abhijit Bhagavatula had taken 4 wickets, conceeding just 1 run in one over, including a hat-trick. In this, his second game, his solitary over went for 28 runs as Ram waded into him in what seemed like a pre-meditated and calculated assault. Abhijit's bowling would never be the same again for the rest of the tournament, but he would go on to display another card of tricks that still made him an integral part of the team...but I am getting ahead of myself.

The old firm of Manish and Arvind (Thiruvengadam) were back at it again, but could not get anything going. In a surprise move, Ram, who in 24 previous regular season games had bowled a total of just 11 overs, shared the new ball with Krishna Konduru. In his very first over, he hurried Arvind into a drive and pulled off a stunning caught and bowled. 2 for 1. Three balls later he had a bigger prize - Sohail. Getting the ball to jag back off the seam, Ram got the ball to cut into Sohail, and crash onto the stumps off his pads. 6 for 2 and deep trouble for the 'Eers.

Abishek and Manish then calmly went about repairing the damage. The 'Zags had decided that Manish's weakness was in being unable to keep a flick down, and so they targeted his legs. In doing so they played into his hands. Manish has probably never scored a run in the point to mid-off region in all his years in the PCA (some would say he'd be lousy at baseball!) and yet the 'Zags fed him on the leg-side. Krishna bowled a horrible first spell and was hit to the boundary multiple times by both Abishek and Manish and the pressure began to ease. Against the grain, however, Ram managed to slip a ball by Manish's patented forward defensive push and rattled the stumps. 47 for 3. One run later, he did the same to Abishek, too. 48 for 4. In the next over, Sumanth overbalanced in trying to flick a wide ball down the leg-side and Verma smartly stumped him. 48 for 5.

This brought Ashok and Abhijit to the crease. The duo then set about taking quick singles and defending anything on the stumps, furstrating the 'Zags. Ashok played a steady hand, increasingly showing a prowess for hitting to the cover region that was heartening to watch (and a portent of big things to come). But the revelation on the day was Abhijit. Those of you that had the pleasure of watching Santhosh Balla bat will have no difficulty in picturing Abhijit's batting style. The similarities are there - the tendency to nudge and push and find the gaps, the ability to quickly step forward and square-drive to cover, or flick to midwicket when the ball is overpitched, the hustle between the stumps, and the internalized aggressive approach to the task at hand. In an impressive performance, Abhijit and Ashok took the score forward with a 50 run partnership without looking like getting out (until, of course, they did).

Ashok's weakness is spin bowling (used to be spin bowling, I should add, now that more time has passed since the day of this match) and the 'Zags kept a spinner at one end until Srugun finally managed to slip one by him and a crucial breakthrough had been made. 98 for 6.

Ajay Nayak and Abhijit continued in the same vein but the asking rate was mounting and something had to give. Quite unexpectedly, it was Abhijit who was trapped in front of the stumps, playing on the backfoot to Krishna, who redeemed himself for a lousy first spell by bowling a brilliant second one. The rest of the batsmen could not keep Ajay company and in the end the Mountaineers were all out for 140, losing by 31 runs. The unfortunate part was that they had another 41 balls to get them in but no batsmen left - a waste of resources that rankled the players for a long time.

Each time the Mountaineers played the 'Zags, they have found them just a little harder to defeat. The baggage is piling up and all the 'Eers can hope for is a chance at redemption in the playoffs.

But first things first, with this defeat the 'Eers fell to 4-2 but next up, to heal the wounds of this match, were the snake-bitten Lumberjacks!

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 9: Strikeout!!

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, in order to keep some suspense about the 2007 season, when I provide a link to a player's page I shall link to the page that shows his 2006 stats.

Game 5: WVUCC versus Strikers

The 2006 Strikers team was an awe-inspiring one. The 2007 edition was not. The team went through a major overhaul, more so than any other team in the league, including the Mountaineers, and came out a pale shadow of the all-conquering (almost) 2005-06 editions. In 2006, the Strikers lost all 3 times to WVUCC. Would 2007 be any different?

Sohail Chaudhry won the toss and opted to bat first, as is his wont. With both regular openers - Arvind T. (gallivanting about in California) and C.S. Manish (torn hamstring) - unable to play Sohail reverted to his normal spot joining Ajay Nayak. Very quickly the duo put on 33 runs before Ajay's high backlift proved to be his undoing, unable to bring his bat down in time, out LBW to Mahesh Nanda.

Abishek Muralidharan and Sohail then took off, seemingly in a race to see who could score faster. Middling the ball from the start, Sohail played his best innings of the season, so far, effortlessly toying with everything the Strikers had to offer. All his trademark shots - the square drive over cover, the pull-flick over square-leg, and his own patented upside-down paddle sweep - were unfurled and he raced past 50 in little time. The bowling was causing no problems when he was adjudged LBW after missing a sweep shot. Normally very undemonstrative when given out, Sohail was extremely upset with this decision.

The other batsmen did not let the pace slacken and gave Abishek company. Ever since his debut in the 2006 season, Abishek has been the king of the 20-30 run cameo. This day, against the Strikers, he made the transition the WVUCC think-tank had been waiting for. Batting within himself (41 of his runs came in just 8 balls, the remaining 24 took 34 balls) he waited for the all-too-frequent easy picking to come along while otherwise biding his time. While batting with Sohail he also set a unique record that will be almost impossible to beat in the small-sized Edgebrook Field - an all-run 5. While completing a second run, an overthrow fetched an additional 2 runs, and a second overthrow took his tally to 5 runs. If Roger Costello had not stopped the ball on the fence with a one-handed grab, Abishek could have had 7 runs off one ball!

Batting serenely (Abishek is one of the most attractive batsmen to watch, especially when he goes on the backfoot to punch into the off-side) he finally perished in trying to increase the scoring rate in the slog overs. Ashok Varadarajan and Amol Bhavsar then finished the job scoring 45 runs between the two of them in just 27 balls to take WVUCC to an imposing 232 for 5 in 25 overs.

The outmatched Strikers had one hope - that Sanjeev Singh could fire with Tony Edmonstone or Mahesh Nanda in tow.

Venkata Sathi and Harshesh Patel, on debut, quickly accounted for the openers but were unable to dislodge Sanjeev or Tony. Batting quite cautiously, Tony and Sanjeev accumulated the runs without ever threatening to tear open the game. Tony looked very compact and looks like a player who could make a lot of noise in the years to come in the PCA.

One sensational piece of fielding turned the Strikers resistance to putty. Tony defended the ball towards Sumanth Dommaraju at cover and took a couple of steps in completing the stroke. Sumanth moved two paces to his left and fired an underarm laser to the keeper that stunned Tony - run out without even attempting a run! Many batsmen have underestimated the fielding prowess of the laconic Sumanth to their own dismay and Tony was no different.

Sumanth then turned his arm over and a desperate swing of the bat by Sanjeev did not connect and he was bowled, and with it the hopes of the Strikers were dealt a death blow. 63 for 2 quickly became 106 for 6 in 17 overs when Sohail decided to give another debutant, Abhijit Bhagavatula, a bowl. Meanwhile, the third debutant, Nishit Banuri, began to get ready to bowl the next over.

Abhijit started well, bowling a dot ball to start off. The next ball fetched him his maiden wicket when Sunny Patel lofted the ball to Abishek at deep long-off. The third ball was deflected for a single but on the fourth ball, Goutam dragged his outside the crease to be smartly stumped by Ashok. Off the fifth ball, Deepak Malhotra mistimed a drive and Amol Bhavsar pouched the simple catch to put Abhijit on a hat-trick. Roger Costello came up to the crease, surrounded by a bunch of jacked-up Mountaineers. His way of dealing with the hat-trick ball was to smash it as hard as he could. Unfortunately all he could do was find Harshesh Patel on the square-leg boundary and the second hat-trick in WVUCC history had been recorded!!! (The first was, naturally, by Sohail against Cleveland CC a few years ago). Abhijit finished with the incredible analysis of 1-0-1-4. Nishit Banuri did not get to bowl or bat on debut!!

WVUCC improved to 4-1 on the season and next up was a showdown with the undefeated Steelzags. With revenge on their minds the Mountaineers looked to put one over the 'Zags. Would they break the hoodoo of never defeating the 2006 regular season champs?

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 8: Serving a cold dish

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, in order to keep some suspense about the 2007 season, when I provide a link to a player's page I shall link to the page that shows his 2006 stats.

Game 4: WVUCC versus PittsPunters

To say that there is little love lost between WVUCC and the PittsPunters is to put it mildly. On an individual basis, there are a few players who get along with each other. But, as a team, all rules of engagement go out the door. PittsPunters won the 2006 title with a frighteningly clutch performance by Sarav in the playoffs. The 2007 Punters squad was hit by the retirement or transfer of some players but it was still a dangerous team. Last year they had the measure of WVUCC, defeating them all 4 times they played, but the Mountaineers were eager to buck that trend.

A few players were unable to attend practice, so WVUCC once again went into the game with just 10 players in the line-up, not the best way to start off against a bitter rival.

Sohail won the toss and opted to bat first. The regular opener, Arvind Thiruvengadam, was in California and Ajay Nayak (as he would do many times in the season) stepped up and offered to open with C.S. Manish. Ajay endured a jittery start, nearly playing on, but was calmed down when reminded that preserving wickets was the credo for the first 5-10 overs. He took his time getting off the mark, and soon accelerated flicking (in Ajit Agarkar-high-backlift style) 3 effortless boundaries. The opening bowlers were easily dispatched, going for 44 runs in their combined 6 overs. Rajanikanth Jayaseelan, the captain, brought himself on and Ajay was suckered into edging one to the keeper. But the score was a healthy 57 for 1 and he had done his job. Sohail started with a first-ball four but looked out of sorts and got out relatively soon (64 for 2). Abishek Muralidharan and Manish were unruffled by any of the bowling and moved along serenely. A few minutes after Abishek joined him, Manish pulled up lame while attempting a sharp single (later diagnosed as a torn hamstring) and Sohail came back as a by-runner.

Abishek hit just 1 six as he and Manish (well, technically Sohail) ran hard converting 1's to 2's and 2's into 3's. Abishek's biggest weakness is a streak of overconfidence that comes into him when the going is good. With the score motoring along to 135 and none of the bowlers looking remotely close to taking his scalp, Abishek did not help himself by trying to clean the long boundary. If he can ever divest himself of this urge to clear the straight fence he'll probably score truckloads of runs in the PCA league (135 for 3).

Sumanth Dommaraju ensured that the damage wasn't severe with another calmly constructed innings, as only he can, flicking a six and running like a hare between the wickets. However, at the other end, with the score on 175, in the 24th over, Manish's long vigil came to an end. A tired hoick did not have enough power to clear the infield and the opener limped off having scored 64 runs in 60 balls with 6 fours and a six. The innings was typical Manish - full of carefully watched dot balls interspersed with the occasional nudge to the fence. The only shots hit in anger were when the bowlers pitched short and he pulled and hooked the majority of his boundaries. With no off-side game to speak of, Manish's score reflects how often the Punters erred by slipping the ball towards the leg stump.

WVUCC finished up at 189 for 5 in 25 overs. Ashok Varadarajan endured the disappointment of being shunted down the order but chipped in with 3 runs. Remember that contribution later....

Makarand Kulkarni (Mack to us) sent shivers down the Mountaineer's spines hitting Sohail for 4 boundaries in the first over - all the shots were from the copybook and the ball raced along the gound to the fence. Vineet Goyal, having suffered the ignominy of being hit for a six by the strokeless wonder (Manish) when he bowled, came out determined to make amends and the Punters score quickly crossed 50. Unlike some other teams in the past (or the football team in the near future), this Mountaineer side remained upbeat through it all. A slice of magic was needed and when Ajay's sharp throw found Vineet short of the crease, the first breakthrough was made. Prashant was greeted by a volley of chatter and was trapped in front, LBW, by Venkata Sathi, who bowled an unbroken 5 over spell from one end. (56 for 2). After the initial flurry, Mack found the going a little harder and got tied down by an impressive Amol Bhavsar. There was an air of inevitability about the way he tried to force the pace and was caught behind by Ashok. (82 for 3).

Rajani and D.S. Dileep came in guns blazing and took Ajay and Amol apart. Attacking at every opportunity, between them they scored 8 fours and 3 sixes, and the Punters crossed the 100 and then the 150 mark in no time. Sumanth had also been hit quite a bit but Sohail, in the absence of other options (remember the Mountaineers were down to 9 players with Manish just limping on the field), persisted with him. Needing just 30-odd runs and plenty of overs in hand the Punters, inexplicably, kept trying to finish the game with a big hit. Two swings of the bat, two misses, and Sumanth found the stumps both times!! Sohail then turned to Nikhil Burri. On debut, Nikhil, who embodies the WVUCC team spirit in the truest sense, did not let his captain down. Stemming the flow of runs into just singles, Nikhil's relentless stump to stump line was too much for Rao, who tried to make room to free his arms and only ended up adding to Ashok's tally behind the stumps. 152 for 3 had turned into 163 for 6 and a hard-fought battle was well and truly on.

In spite of having fewer fielders, the Mountaineers did not let up in the field. The Punters went from an attacking mode to a panicking mode in the twinkling of an eye. To add to their woes, an ill-advised attempt to take on Sumant's arm resulted in D. Joshi being run out by a mile (175 for 7; 14 runs to win).

Sohail brought himself back on and Vyas Sekar greeted him with a calmly struck six to the cover boundary. Trouble was brewing for the 'eers. But in the same over, Amit Raina was trapped flush in front of the stumps by Sohail (not surprisingly, Amit had an extravagant swing of the bat and missed). 184 for 8; 6 runs to win.

The very next ball was hit towards the midwicket boundary by Ravi Vasudevan, but he needlessly chanced a second run. Amol threw a rocket from the fence and Ravi was gone! 185 for 9; 5 runs to win.

N. Chankapure took a single to get Vyas back on strike. 2 balls to go, 3 runs to tie, 4 runs to win. Would Vyas look to save the game first by scoring at least 3 runs or would he look to be the hero? The Mountaineers were hoping he chose the latter option and he did.

Sohail bowled his normal slog over delivery, aimed at hitting the base of middle stump. Vyas cleared his feet and made solid contact with a full swing of the bat. He made one crucial mistake. Instead of trying to clear the shorter cover boundary, he opted for the longer one, towards mid-off. The ball hung in the air for a long time and Abishek charged in more than 25 m from long-off and caught the ball in mid-stride. WVUCC had won! By 3 runs, with 1 ball to spare. Ashok's 3 run contribution was the difference!

Of all the wins in the regular season this was the most rewarding. Beating the Punters is very high on the wish list and the circumstances made it even sweeter. WVUCC was now 3-1 and in 2nd place in the league with this win. Next up - the 2006 runners-up Strikers.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 7: Surviving the storm

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, in order to keep some suspense about the 2007 season, when I provide a link to a player's page I shall link to the page that shows his 2006 stats.

Game 3: WVUCC versus Hurricanes

Unlike some other teams in the PCA, WVUCC think tank does not tolerate indiscipline. Prior to the game against the Hurricanes, many players opted to skip practice. Consequently, when game day rolled around, the Mountaineers followed the "no practice = no play" rule and dressed only 9 players for the all-important match.

The Hurricanes are a team that came into existence in time for the 2007 season. Two players - Naveen Peiris and Anu Chopra were familiar foes, having played for the Strikers in the 2006 season. Of the two, the Mountaineers were vary of Anu, but truly in awe of Naveen. Easily the most feared batsman in the league, Naveen is a left-hander with a lot of patience. His preferred mode of attack is to flick and pull for sixes while driving in the V for singles when the boundaries are not on offer. Last year he scored nearly 700 runs at a strike rate of almost 150. But his best quality is his unflappable temperament and sportsmanship. Before the day was done the Mountaineers got a first-hand account of just that aspect of his.

Naveen won the toss and put WVUCC into bat. C.S. Manish began in his usual, sedate manner while Arvind Thiruvengadam began like a man whose hair was on fire. For the third straight match he hit the first delivery he faced to the fence. Two more boundaries followed in quick succession but he could not temper his aggression and paid the price, holing out to cover.

Sohail Chaudhry came in, flicked a six and square-cut a boundary, before perishing off Ajay Belambe's bowling. The pattern of the innings was beginning to emerge. Batsman after batsman came in, played a cameo, and departed when set. At one end Old Man River was keeping his end of the bargain, inching his way along with his dabs to third man and fine leg. At the other end, Ashok Varadarajan and Amol Bhavsar both began with sixes and then perished in trying to needlessly repeat the strokes. For all their experience, the two have a distinct weakness against spin bowling as they are often caught between pre-determinedly defending the ball or hitting out, with no medium level of aggression.

When Manish departed, pulling a short ball to the deep midwicket fence, the Mountaineers were in trouble at 81 for 5. Stepping into the fray was Sumanth Dommaraju. In 2006, Sumanth impressed the think tank with his sharp fielding and confident batting. With a typical Hyderabadi-style propensity to flick balls on the off-stump to the leg-side, Sumanth is always a candidate for an LBW but when his head is over the ball, it is almost impossible to dismiss him that way. The Hurricanes found this out the hard way. Steadying the ship and teasing along the strike, Sumanth nurtured the Mountaineer innings past the 100 mark and, as he began to run out of partners (remember WVUCC played with just 9 players), he opened up and found the boundaries (5 fours, and 1 six) at opportune moments.

With his bowlers unable to finish the job, Naveen brought himself on and removed the wickets at the other end. WVUCC ended up with a below-par score of 138 for 8 in less than 20 overs. A little more application by any of the top 5 batsman and the remaining 5 overs could have been milked for many more critical runs.

But a score on the board still has to be chased. A splendid spell of new ball bowling by Sohail (3-1-8-0) was just the pressure-building start that was needed. Harshesh Patel, on debut, was a little more wayward and Amol Bhavsar quickly filled the gap with an outstanding display of bowling (4-1-11-2). With just 7 fielders to man the ground, the think tank decided that Ashok's prowess in the outfield was more valuable than his keeping. Sohail reverted back to his primary job - wicketkeeping - after bowling his opening spell. Standing up to the stumps, Sohail cramped the batsmen's foot movement with the ever-present threat of being stumped off a fast bowling looming over them. (This isn't hyperbole, in the 2006 season, Sohail once stumped an opening batsman while standing up to a fast bowler).

The Hurricanes, wisely, did not look to force the issue and at 36 for no loss they were in the driver's seat with Naveen still to come. The Mountaineers were looking for a crack and when Krish Kalyanaraman mis-hit a ball to be caught and bowled by Amol, the floodgates had been temporarily opened. The Mountaineers quickly went about taking the wickets on offer - one eye on the score and one eye on the big guns to follow. At 56 for 3, Anu and Naveen got together and began a very sensible partnership. Without looking to score boundaries they took the singles when available and bided their time. Sohail pushed the field back, looking to see if the batsman would be willing to take singles all the way to victory.

With less than 60 runs required (and 7 wickets in hand), Sohail tried the wildest of wild cards - the faux off-spin of Manish. Naveen and Anu were not taking any risks against the regular bowlers, so the think tank felt that offering a lamb to the slaughter might induce a mistake. The third ball of the over produced just that when Naveen unwisely tried to play against the turn and lofted the ball towards deep mid-wicket. The ball took the outside part of the bat and hung in the air for a long time. Abishek Muralidharan came running in from long-on, reached the ball, and then dropped it!! To add insult to injury, the next ball, a full toss, was smashed over square-leg for a huge six, easily clearing the trees that protect the trail-walkers on the hillside. Manish's first over went for 13 runs, and with the miss, possibly the match, too.

With both batsmen looking rock solid, something special was needed, and in the next over, when Anu unwisely took off for a run that wasn't there, Arvind collected an accurate throw from Sohail and negated Anu's despairing desperate dive back to the crease, a breach was made. All WVUCC had to do was scuttle the ship around Naveen and they could make a match out of it.

The first ball of the next over needs its own paragraph. Manish, the lamb, came back for one last attempt. Naveen danced down the pitch to meet the ball and Manish pushed it wide down the leg-side. Sohail collected the ball and whipped off the bails even as Naveen was turning back to the crease. As the Mountaineers began rejoicing they realized that the square-leg umpire had not given Naveen out!! Incredulous! Naveen turned to Sohail and asked him if he thought he had completed the stumping in time, and when he received an affirmative reply, he walked off the ground. If it was possible for Naveen to rise in our esteem, it went up even further after this classy act of sportsmanship. 105 for 5 after 15 overs, 34 runs to win in 60 balls, 5 wickets to go.

Having obtained the twin breakthrough's he needed, Sohail went on the offensive, bringing in the fielders, and bringing back his best bowlers. With the pressure mounting after every dot ball (the Hurricanes were constantly reminded about the mounting pressure by the vociferous Mountaineer fielders) the Hurricanes began pressing and crashed spectacularly, losing the next 5 wickets for just 23 runs.

An undermanned WVUCC won by 14 runs. In the 2006-07 seasons, WVUCC played no less than 7 games with fewer than 11 players . The Mountaineers won 6 of those contests! There is something about having missing pieces in the field to cover for that brings out the best in every WVUCC player. With no one to back them up, the players are forced to put a price on their abilities - whether batting, bowling, or fielding - resulting in some sterling performances. This win against the Hurricanes was no different.

Coming up next was a grudge match against the 2006 champions - the PittsPunters - who had never lost to the Mountaineers. There is a lot of bad blood between the two teams to make this more than just a game. The match lived up to its billing...but more on that in my next post.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 6: Inching to a big win

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, in order to keep some suspense about the 2007 season, when I provide a link to a player's page I shall link to the page that shows his 2006 stats.

Game 2: WVUCC versus Gladiators

After the loss to the SteelZags in the season opener, the resolve of the Mountaineers was tested. Next up were the Gladiators, led by Zeeshan Babar. The Mountaineers had not-so-fond memories of Zeeshan's prowess from the previous season. Zeeshan is a good fast bowler who tends to get discouraged if he does not get a wicket in his first couple of overs. As a batsman he bats like Shahid Afridi, swinging his bat like there is no tomorrow. The Gladiators are a very experienced team but take some time getting into the swing of things. The strategy against them was simple - when bowling, attack with our best bowlers up front and, when batting, preserve wickets to frustrate the bowlers even if it means the run rate takes a hit.

The Gladiators played into WVUCC's hands by opting to bat upon winning the toss. In the morning the ball does not travel as quickly over the outfield as it is still damp from the dew and the fielders are fresh and able to run harder for longer periods of time. Ahmad Choudhary (Ahmad bhai to everyone at WVUCC) could not get going and was cleaned up by Avinash Manivannan. By the time Avinash and Sohail Chaudhry finished their opening spells, the Gladiators were 24 for 4 in 8 overs. The stage was set for Amol Bhavsar to take charge and he did just that. With his disarming two-step run-up, Amol speared the ball on the good length spot and let his speed and movement (predominantly outswing) do the rest. A spell of 5 overs, 4 for 17 by Amol ensured that the Gladiators were primed for Sohail and Ajay Nayak to come back and dismiss them for 96.

The PCA league adopts a bonus point system. Every win is worth 4 points, a tie or washout worth 2. If the winning team gets to the target in less than 20 overs (the games are 25 overs) or restricts the losing team to less than 80% of its total, then an additional bonus point will be accrued.

97 runs in 25 overs. Step one was to prevent an early collapse, and who better to do the job than C.S. Manish. If you had to pick a batsman in the PCA league to bat for a whole day without scoring a run, most people would blindly pick Manish. The onus of frustrating Zeeshan was placed on him and he did just that, carefully watching out the increasingly frustrated captain while Arvind Thiruvengadam tried to pick off the single's and two's at the other end. The Manish-Arvind opening pair are superb between the wickets and pride themselves on taking two runs with a dab to the square-leg umpire.

After seeing off the opening thrust, Arvind departed with the team score at 28, dismissed by the very impressive left-hander Usman Lone. The stage was set for Sohail to take off. Content in the knowledge that the other end was secure Sohail did what he does best, nonchalantly flicking and square-driving sixes. 35 runs in 15 balls with 1 four and 4 sixes pretty much describes his impact and the march to victory was a mere formality after that. The strategy of holding back paid off and WVUCC got to the target in 19 overs to also secure the all-important bonus point.

After two matches, WVUCC's record was 1-1 and up next was a team that was new to the PCA - the Hurricanes - but was led by the most feared batsman in the league - Naveen Peiris.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 5: And so it begins...

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Also, in order to keep some suspense about the 2007 season, when I provide a link to a player's page I shall link to the page that shows his 2006 stats.

Game 1: WVUCC versus SteelZags

The opening game of the 2007 was a doozy, pitting the two teams that led the league in 2006 - SteelZags and WVUCC.

The SteelZags are led by Ram Paluri, a very correct left-handed batsman who plays in straight lines, except when he gets short-pitched balls that he likes to deposit beyond the brook at midwicket. WVUCC identified this as his one big weakness. The normal good length ball outside the off-stump would not do, as he was classy enough to simply hit through the line and loft it over cover. Instead a trap was set to give him a short ball outside the off-stump and let his cross-batted instincts take over. And take over they did! He predictably went across the line and ended up lofting a catch off the splice to be caught at mid-off and was gone.

The SteelZags bat well as a team - apart from Ram they do not really have a prolific scorer - and focus primarily on stitching together partnerships, chipping away at the opposition's plans. As the innings progressed they batted efficiently, hitting boundaries when the opportunities presented themselves, but mostly content to bide their time and take the extras on offer. Not surprisingly, this being the first game of the season, the bowlers had a tough time controlling the ball, giving up 10 no-balls, 27 wides. (In all fairness, the SteelZags returned the favour when their turn came but the effect of chasing 170 on the board is different from chasing 140).

The SteelZags finished at 169 for 7 in 25 overs. A word about Edgebrook Field (click here for a picture) will put the total into perspective. The ground is basically a soccer field with extended yardage on the longer sides. It is surrounded on the two longer sides by a trail, which marks the boundary. On one side of the trail flows a bubbling brook, on the opposite side is a dense woodlot. The long boundaries on either side are flanked by parking lots. The square boundaries are quite short (about a decent lob wedge distance) and wreck havoc on the bowlers analyses if they err even a little bit.

In general, a score of 150 should be considered par. Anything up to 175-180 is gettable. Beyond 180 the balance shifts towards the bowling side. So 170 was on the cusp. Gettable but still a tough one.

WVUCC began with a bang, taking 16 runs from the first over. Arvind Thiruvengadam hit the first ball of his season handsomely over cover for a 6. Disaster struck in the second over when C.S. Manish overextended after completing a first run and was caught napping, run out at the non-strikers end. 17 for 1 quickly became 40 for 5, until Ashok Varadarajan and Abishek Muralidharan steadied the ship and settled everyone's nerves with a good partnership, bringing up the 100 without being unduly troubled by any of the bowlers. WVUCC reached 135 for 5, needing just 34 runs with 5 wickets left when Krishna Konduru, who gave up those 16 runs in the first over exacted his revenge, scything through the batting. In the proverbial blink of an eye WVUCC was all out for 150, with three overs still left in the bag.

With that loss, WVUCC continued a dismal trend against the SteelZags. This was their 4th game against the 'Zags over the course of two seasons and they had yet to beat them. (Things would only get worse the next time the two teams faced off later in the year).

But the season had begun and WVUCC had something tangible to work on in the practices ahead of the next game against the Gladiators.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 4: Think tank strategies

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Before the season started Sohail, Manish, Ashok, Abishek and Arvind sat down and charted some of the strategies and goals for the season.

The team would always be selected by a consensus opinion of the five. Once the team was decided, all the players would be encouraged to give inputs at any time, but the final on-field decisions on bowling changes, batting orders, and field placement would come from one man - Sohail.

Each player would be told what his role in the team was and practices would be set up such that their roles would be reinforced. Practices would simulate match conditions and at all times all the players would be on the bubble. Of course, missing practices automatically disqualified a player from playing in matches.

By far, the biggest emphasis was on team discipline. Under no circumstances would indiscipline be tolerated. WVUCC would play less than 11 members , but would not compromise on this point.

So, dear friends, if you are still reading these posts, the stage has been set and the 2007 season is about to begin. Sit back and enjoy the ride.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 3: Dramatis personæ

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Before we get to the season, here are some of the major characters we shall be hearing from as the season progresses:

Captain: Sohail Chaudhry
Someone once said that the WVUCC was a "one-man team". We beg to differ - WVUCC is a 3-man team. Sohail is the leading run-scorer, the leading wicket-taker, and his primary skill is actually that of a wicket-keeper. He is the rock of the team and the calmest person in the biggest of storms.

Vice-Captain and opening batsman: C.S. Manish
A stodgy, cautious fellow at the crease (in 2006 he had the lowest strike rate of any batsman who scored at least 100 runs in the PCA at a little over 65 runs per 100 balls), Manish more than makes it up with his mouth. Until the emergence of Arvind, many an opposing team had to endure a constant stream of mindless chatter from him.

Opening batsman: Arvind Thiruvengadam
Thin, wiry and articulate, Arvind likes hitting in the V and the cover region. Fielding at cover-point keeps him really close to the batsman and he does not miss a single opportunity to remind the batsmen of the enormity of the task ahead of him. In addition, he is turning into a very reliable bowler in the death.

Middle-order pillar: Abishek Muralidharan
Tall and upright in his stance, Abishek is one of the best looking batsmen in the league (and he himself is not bad-looking either) but 2006 was a series of Laxman-ish cameos. What he is missing is one long innings to show him what he is capable of. Once that key turns in the lock, the bowlers of the league better watch out.

Wicket-keeper: Ashok Varadarajan
By a far, far, far, margin Ashok is the best fielder I have ever played with, be it close to the wicket or out at the boundary. The safest of catchers, in the 4 years I have seen him play I can count on my fingers the number of catches I have seen him drop. And I am even counting the ones during our practice sessions! With the wicket-keeping spot opening up, Ashok volunteered and took to it as if he was born to do just that.

First change bowler: Amol Bhavsar
Bowling from a 2-step run up, when in song, Amol uses his huge shoulders to rate amongst the fastest bowlers in the league. A very good fielder off his own bowling, he probably holds the WVUCC record for the most caught-and-bowled dismissals. When he puts his head down, he can also be an effective late-order slugger.

Middle-order batsman: Sumanth Dommaraju
The quietest guy in the team, the last time someone officially heard Sumanth say anything on the cricket field, Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India. As an infielder, he gives Ashok a run for his money and possesses a flat throw that is the envy of many a player.

These are some of the players who have already played for the team in the 2006 season. As the 2007 season progresses more players will be introduced to you. As that happens they shall be providing their own descriptions with their deeds.

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 2: Off-season blues

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

Every off-season for WVUCC is filled with apprehension. All the players in the team are students and when they graduate and move on, the team composition changes. Members of the WVUCC committee never know if they will have enough new recruits to start the next season! Old-timers like Sohail Chaudhry, Ashok Varadarajan, Amol Bhavsar, and C.S. Manish, among others, experience this tension every year.

The 2006 edition was one of the strongest bowling WVUCC sides ever assembled (Karthik Venkatasubramianiam and Hari Menon formed the most awesome opening pair) and replacing them was the key to a successful 2007 season. The secondary concern was strengthening the batting order but, with a year or two under their belts, Arvind Thiruvengadam, Abishek Muralidharan, and Ashok were ready to step up to the plate.

A preliminary team meeting was held early in 2007 and with great anticipation St Francis Field was booked. By tapping on the shoulders of former players WVUCC was able to marshall enough money for much-needed equipment purchase. By the end of the season, WVUCC had a very comprehensive kit and eased the perpetual worries of the players.

On the first day of practice, no less than 22 players showed up!

and the 2007 season was well on its way!

Cricket in the 'Burgh - part 1: A new season begins

The opinions expressed in this post are solely that of the author who, on occasion, had an out-of-body experience and was able to watch himself play.

In the 2006 season, West Virginia University Cricket Club (WVUCC) joined the Pittsburgh Cricket Association (PCA) after a many years in the Midwest Cricket League (you can go find the links to that league yourself, if interested!)

Led from the front by Sohail Chaudhry, it did not take long for WVUCC to establish itself in the league as one of the better teams. A total of 7 teams played each other three times (for a total of 18 regular season games). In a quirky season WVUCC finished runners-up in the regular season standings without ever defeating the Steelzags or the PittPunters in three chances each (click here for the 2006 season scoreboards).

Unfortunately, the lack of success against the elite teams in the league caught up to WVUCC in the semi-finals when the PittPunters steamrolled past them, eventually going on to win the championship.

Here are a couple of photographs of the team members during a practice session at St. Francis Field in Morgantown, WV (I blogged about it here last year).

The loss to the PittPunters rankled all off-season and when 2007 began a revamped WVUCC approached the new campaign with a firmer resolve...

Breaking rules

The first cardinal rule of my blog has been to never refer to anyone by their full name in a post. The second rule has been to never show people's faces in photographs.

In the next few days I am going to break those two rules for a specific set of posts that I want to do about the exploits of the West Virginia University Cricket Club, in particular focusing on their 2007 season as a member of the Pittsburgh Cricket Association.

Being prepared is half the battle

On the cricket team I "coached" we had a very good batsman (AM) who had one major flaw. When he was the non-striker he would not take a start. Consequently, he would be in his crease even after the batsman had played a shot and, more often than not, watch where the ball was going before taking off for a run. It took a lot of goading on my part before he changed his ways.

Naturally, towards the end of the season, in a crucial game he was run out when a straight drive by the batsman ricocheted off the bowler's arm onto the stumps with him too far out of the crease! Nevertheless, in exchange for that one freak dismissal, AM was able to score umpteen runs for the team and finished the season as our leading run-scorer.

Chasing after the ball, running quickly even when you pop up an easy catch so in the very least you cross-over, throwing to the keeper every time you get the ball, running after the ball in pairs just in case the first person fumbles, running the first run hard when the ball rolls towards the fielders in the deep - these are all some of the attributes of our team. And it paid huge dividends in our matches. (More on that in the next few days, I promise).

When a team of rank amateurs like us know these fundamental things, why is it so hard for a team of professionals like the Indian cricket team to understand them? Next time you watch the Indian team look out for how often the fielders in the deep wait for the ball to come to them as opposed to charging forward to meet it closer to the 30-yard circle. By charging forward they achieve two things - the tired batsman cannot simply amble across for a single, and the throw the fielder has to make is shortened, therefore he can throw it to either end, if necessary. Another example - Sourav Ganguly at the non-strikers end is a lesson is how not to back up. He stands with his bat inside the crease even after the ball has been delivered. The number of runs he could have scored would have been greater if only he ran with more purpose when the ball is hit because he would have been on strike a lot more.

There are many other similar things that come to mind, but Sambit Bal does a better job of talking about it here, while providing reasons for a 4-2 defeat that could easily have been 3-3, or even 2-4, in India's favour.

Selectorial shenanigans and name games

The only absolute truism in Indian cricket is that your selection to the team depends a lot more on who you know....no, let me rephrase it...it depends on who knows you rather than any on-field talent that you may possess.

Read this fine piece by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan regarding how the teams were selected for the ongoing Challenger series and you will understand what I mean. The absolute kicker for me is that a player with just 2 first-class centuries (yes, just TWO) is a shoe-in for all the prestigious sub-Test teams simply because of who his father is.

Shakespeare probably did not factor in nepotism when he wrote about roses being roses and smelling just as sweet. The stench here is definitely not rosy.

Skipping to glory

Long-time followers of this blog know that one of the greatest pleasures for me is to skip stones on a lake. In the past I have written about some stone skipping stories here and here.

I did not know skipping stones was a serious enterprise - a friend sent me an article that talks about a guy in Pennsylvania who recently set a world record in skipping stones!

Paradigm shift

Here is India's only chance of beating the Aussies - make bowler-friendly wickets.

We will not be able to out-bat the Aussies. The reason is simple - in the current Indian team only Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni are playing without fear of failure. Everyone else has one eye on the scoreboard and the other on their place in the team.

Unless we reduce the Aussie score to a number that does not require multiple batsmen firing on all cylinders, we will not beat them. Simple as that. Here is my prediction for the remaining 4 games of the series. India will not win a game if they do not score more than 325 batting first. And India will not chase a total of more than 240 successfully.

So there.

Just say no

The Indian cricket team is being shellacked by the detemined Aussies in the ODI series. The current team could give the Aussies a run for their money, IF the playing fields were level.

Check out this article that describes the the type of off-field pressure the Indian team has to deal with. A lot of it is of their doing, but I sense this is the norm not the exception. No wonder they appear jaded.

Measured maniac

What I have seen of MS Dhoni has impressed me. He has a reputation of being a slogger, but I have seen that he is not a mindless slogger (I can think of only one occasion when he slogged without heed to the situation). His innings are crafted based upon the situation and he makes up for a lack of a purist's technique by inventing shots of his own.

I think he is right person to lead India in the ODI's and the Twenty20's. (For Tests, I am still hoping VVS Laxman gets chosen as the captain). Right now he is enjoying his honeymoon phase. In the coming weeks he will realize how fickle the media is in their quest for TRP's and sales.

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan describes the man of the moment, and finds attributes that will hold him in good stead when the inevitable storm approaches (pardon the pun). Not to be outdone, Dileep Premachandran has a little to say, too, after MSD led India to the championship.

Speed gun

The fastest bowler in the world is an Indian. No this is not a typo. On top of it, this person is also the recipient of this year's ICC Cricketer of the Year award.

But no parades were arranged, no meetings convened, to celebrate this achievement, lending further credence to my notion that Indian fans are not cricket-crazy, they are Indian men's cricket (when-they-are-doing-well) crazy.

Graceless under pressure

Justin Henin defeated Serena Williams at the US Open. But judging from Serena's response, it would appear that Henin did not have to do anything special to defeat her. For a woman, who appears to depend so much on being in the limelight, she definitely has very poor manners. This is not an aberration. This is a common sight at press conferences after losses. I hope her sponsors pull out of their deals with her. Maybe then she would learn to acknowledge that the opponent across the net may have had something to do with it.

Specifically, this is what she had to say about Justine Henin's performance: "I just think she made a lot of lucky shots."

Contrast her responses with how Novak Djokovic talked about Roger Federer after the men's final, specifically in response to a loaded question where he was asked:

Q. You're talking about you being unlucky. Yesterday Davydenko said of Roger when asked, what's the one thing Roger does best, he said, Lucky. There were a couple of set points of his that the ball literally landed on the line. Were you feeling, Wow, this guy really is lucky?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: As I was saying before, next to all those elements, all the positive strengths you have in your game, in your mind, you need a bit of luck. I cannot say that he is No. 1 player of the world because he's lucky (laughter). You know, that's a bit strange to say. You know, he's a big worker, very talented, a great player. That's why he deserves to be there where he is. But, of course, he is lucky and he gets these lines and lucky shots, I can say, because he's going for them. He's not trying to play safe. He's really being aggressive.

Djokovic is just 20 years old and had just lost in his first Grand Slam final after holding numerous opportunities in a match that he dominated for extended periods of time. Yet, not an ounce of bitterness exuded from him. You can read the entire transcript of his interview here.

Serena should be made to read that interview. Maybe she will learn something from it.

Clean transportation

In San Jose, I came across a Toyota Prius. Nothing great since a hybrid car is more likely to be found there than anywhere else. What was interesting was that it was a taxicab!

It inspires me to go and buy one for myself. If a cabbie can care about the environment, so can I.

Maggi Noodle Review: 3:10 to Yuma

Riding high

After the disappointment that I had last week, I stumbled onto a gem of a movie this week.

I walked into the theatre to watch "3:10 to Yuma" because of the two stars in the movie - Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. And boy, did they deliver?! Ram Gopal Varma should be hogtied and made to watch this movie to learn how to take a very simple story, let the actors talk (yes, the characters talk a lot more than they shoot), and build the tension and excitement.

Crowe plays a wanted bandit, who is captured and has to be transported to a town where he can be put on the train to Yuma, to be tried, and subsequently hung, for his offences. Bale plays a down-on-his-luck rancher, who desperately needs the money he will get for accompanying the men who will help transport Crowe. Lying in wait are Crowe's henchmen, hell-bent on retrieving their boss, regardless of personal loss or consequences.

Along the way Crowe and Bale elevate the movie from a simple shoot-em-up to something more engrossing. In a time where explosions and 3 second shots are supposed to reflect the attention span and intellect of the audience, it is great to see a director pan his camera slowly to catch the action and let the dialogues substitute for thrills.

Don't get me wrong - there is a lot of shooting, features one or two seemingly improbable gun battles, lots of folks die, and in many different ways. But through it all it somehow does not seem contrived. There are genuine moments of tension, anxiety, tenderness, and a whole lot of other emotions that you would not expect.

I'd write a lot more but I shall let the movie do its own talking. I hope this movie manages to do well at the box office. But I fear for its fate in this day and age when teeny-bopper slasher movies are the rage.

It is one of the best Westerns I have ever seen. Watch it and tell me what you think.

Maggi Noodle Review: RGV's Aag

Severely burnt toast

This past weekend I was walking around Manhattan (well, sort of), when I wandered into a movie theatre (check out the "pun"ny name of the theatre) to watch Ram Gopal Varma's ode to Sholay - the grand-daddy of contemporary Indian movies .


His movie is very humbly titled "Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag".

I have seen some bad movies in my life. In my opinion, the worst I had ever seen was Battlefield Earth. I think I have found a competitor.

The star cast is fairly talented - Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal, Ajay Devgan, Sushmita Sen, Rajpal Yadav, Sushant Singh, and (in guest appearances) Urmila Matondkar and Abishek Bachchan. (Don't worry if I just ruined a "surprise" - it is a "blink-and-you-miss-it" cameo).

Just a few years ago RGV made a great adaptation of the Godfather, called Sarkar. While keeping the basic premise of the story he diverged greatly from the script, retained the tautness and the tension, and got great performances from his cast. I thought he'd do something similar with this one. Not so.

The biggest problem with the movie is also its draw card - Amitabh Bachchan. He plays Babban Khan as a growling, brooding, dark, Darth Vader-like character, unfortunately without the corresponding aura. In an attempt to be different from Amjad Khan's portrayal, Amitabh hogs the camera and does not let it go for hours at a time. You can see what he wants to say but the character takes so long you wonder why so many people still work for such a dimwit like him. Not once in the movie does he do anything to inspire fear or awe amongst the people that work for or against him. At least with Gabbar you could see why the other dacoits would want to hang out with him. With Babban Singh, all that his henchmen get for their troubles is an unnaturally dark room, heavy breathing, horse-hooved boots, a dry cough that is actually supposed to be a laugh, and lines that would make the victim kill himself to avoid the agony of listening to him any more. The only time in the movie Babban is menacing is when he leads into the scene that mirrors the "Ye haath mujhe dede, Thakur" scene from Sholay.

Mohanlal is a fine actor. But he is horribly miscast, his distinctly thick South Indian accent working against him. It was absolutely fine in Company where he played a similar role, but here it distracts, especially as he is the character with the most plot-critical dialogues. I have two words for you RGV - Boman Irani.

Ajay Devgan is terrible, sleepwalking through a role that he probably signed on for without looking at a script. Sushmita Sen spends the whole movie either crying or trying to act all serious and gambhir. Did I already use the word miscast?

The two relative newbies are the rickshaw-driver girlfriend of Devgan and Devgan's sidekick Raj. The girl cannot act. I looked at her profile on IMDB.com and was shocked to see that she is appearing or has appeared in 7 RGV connected films, out of the 11 in her career. I'd have thought one screen test would have sifted her out. Apparently not. She must really ace those screen tests. What else could explain RGV's infatuation, I mean admiration, of her acting skills?

As for Devgan's sidekick, he does not have much of a role and no memorable lines. His idea of becoming serious is to frown. Otherwise he has a bland expression - like a guy who has not yet made up his mind, waiting in line to order a pizza.

It all comes down to RGV. His camera work is shoddy. He needs to fire the guy that did the background score. Moreover, he needs to go back and watch his own movies to learn how to use silence as a way of communicating fear. In the first half-hour I thought (sincerely) that the movie was a parody of the original. Later on it gets so heavy with its seriousness that it is clear the director thought he was improving on the original. Yikes!

Oh yes, I think he forgot to pay his electricity bill on time. The whole movie is so dark, I swear it could have been filmed in the prehistoric ages and not a single scene would have changed. If anything, the flickering flames (pun intended) would have probably improved the movie.

Somewhere, Ramesh Sippy is cackling in delight. His movie's legendary reputation has further been enhanced by this abomination.