I have played cricket in some really testing conditions but this was first time that we I played cricket in hailstones. The rain was expected when we started so we decided to play a 25 over game and in the second inning, when were on the field, a slight drizzle very quickly transformed into hailstones. It did not last long though. I guess the heavens were not pleased with us playing on a Easter Sunday, but when we refused to leave the field during the hailstones, the rain god gave in.
I wonder how many have played cricket in hailstones. I remember the Winterthur cricket club staging a match on snow in the Alps. I once played a game for the St. Columbas in Providence in near freezing temperature and wind speed about 20Km/h. But this short spell of hailstones during a match will remain special.
Barely after one practice session, our club administration decided to test the strength of the team and agreed to host the Karlshrue Lions Cricket Club for a practice game.
From the surface, it sounds like a crazy decision given that 1. it was a Easter Sunday at least two key players Rehan and Craig were not available, 2. most of our players havent faced a fast moving ball on the flix pitch for at least six months 3. the decision to play was taken on Saturday evening and some (including myself) did not know of the game until Sunday morning.
So we were under-prepared and under-strength is an understatement. On top it was very chilly and windy.
However, this match gave us a chance to see one of the league teams. We have never played the Karlshrue team. Most other teams in the league are familiar to us. I think the Karlshruhe team was also thinking of testing waters in Freiburg.
We batted first and scored 108 in about 22 overs. Sikander, Fawad and to some extent Raghav did well but we heavily relied on the extras to reach three figure aggregate. The lack of practice in our batting was more than visible. We started off pretty bad while defending, I gave away 8 runs (two fours). Rajesh and I bowled two maidens after that but my third over was utter nonsense, as I gave away 13 runs. We took sometime to realize that slow bowlers could be more effective, as the opposition slower ones were. However, it was too late... Najeeb and Bilal did well, but again consistency was an issue and KLCC were able to maintain a scoring rate of near 7 an over.
Though we lost comprehensively, I think there were lot of positives from the game. I think loses are more important in that sense. When you lose, the head is down, it metaphorically speaking it gives you a chance to reflect on the proceedings of the match, to isolate the limitations of the team and perhaps also a chance to work out strategies to overcome the limitations.
The winning captain left with a thought that our wicket is more suited for slow blowing. So we would expecting more slow bowling from the KLCC. Perhaps other teams would be in the same impression. Also, our batsmen were pretty much incapable of taking advantage of the opposition slow bowlers, who in my opinion were not even average. So we need special drills during practice to let the batsmen train slogging the slow bowlers.
Our slow bowlers were effective but KLCC batsmen still managed to slog them once or twice in an over, which is pretty good overall. So first, we should allow our slow bowlers to train against batsmen who can slog and hit hard and second, should not rely on them heavily during matches. If a slow bowler is smacked for hard a couple of time in one over, it is an indication of things to happen...
Main failure in the match was our fast bowling, particularly myself and Raghav. We both were very inconsistent. I for instance, conceded 21 runs of my my 3 overs. However, it took only 4 scoring shots to get those runs -- three fours and one six, one single and two wides. Similar was the case with Raghav. Rajesh was impressive but did not look like taking wickets but also he was not given much chance after his two overs.
I bowled fast but we were bowling into the wind (sometimes as strong as about 20Km/H). So air drag was high and effective ball speed was considerably reduced, and the ball was coming onto the bat really well. I have to work on how to bowl into the wind on a dead pitch. I think my bowling is becoming monotonous. I have to admit that I also bowled against one the better batsman (of course that is no excuse -- I have to raise my game).
I think we need to rethink how we use our two hours a week of training time. I think the current approach, that we have inherited from previous seasons, of letting one or two batsmen play two different bowlers for six overs, is not going to be effective.
I think we need to two separate nets, one for slow bowlers and one for pace bowlers. We should isolate those who can hit the ball hard and they should initially focus on practicing their shots. Similarly, more technically sound batsmen who are likely to bat higher up, should face pace bowlers. This will, first give more optimal training opportunities and also more players would be able to participate in the main action i.e. bowling and batting.
Another important concern for us is to find a good wicket-keeper. Once again the separate fast and slow bowling nets would provide good conditions to train for the new keeper. I think in our situation we have force someone to take up the keeping gloves...
I hope that things will only get better as we become full-strength and more trained...
right arm over
Arvind
No comments:
Post a Comment