Freiburg Cricket Day 2011

The idea was always there but this year given the motivated players we have, finally we were able to organize a day of cricket in Freiburg. The idea was to invite players from Freiburg and around to play in our ground and enjoy some organized cricket. Another important reason was to showcase cricket as a growing sport in the Freiburg region. So we organized a mini cricket tournament with eight players in each side and each inning limited to eight overs. To make it easy for non-regular players we decided to play with a hard tennis ball making it safer and protection equipments were not needed. Rules were changed a bit to make it easy.

We had four teams. IMTEK Warriors (IW) consisted of largely FNCC players who study engineering at the IMTEK Freiburg. Stusie Super Kings (SSS) consisted of four FNCC players and some other non-regular players from the student housing called 'stusie'. Peshawar Panthers (PP) included a three players from the Pak. Freiburg Cricket Club, four players from Pakistan who do not play regular cricket and one FNCC member (Ajit). And Saghir, collected some players from the villages outside Freiburg and formed the team Ringsheim Champions (RC). 

As per the schedule we decided to play on a round-robin league basis. That meant we had six league games. Vijay introduced a play-off between the second and third team, winner of which was supposed to play the league topper for in the final match. So we had eight matches lined up. 

Ringsheim Champions...The real champions of the tennis ball cricket in Freiburg.

The tournament was supposed to start at 0900hrs but naturally for so many people from Indian sub-continent involved, perhaps time was not the most important fact and the first match started a good one hour late. RC defeated SSS very easily in the tournament opener. The match was made one sided by some terrific hitting from Lucky to scored 28 runs in an over of Nila. In the second match IW defeated PP in a good match which was a bit more close and in fact if not for some strange batting order, PP might have pulled off a victory. In the end the a target of 66 runs was 10 runs too many. In the third match which started with RC being favorites. But PP had learned from their mistakes and came back very strongly. Bilal, Waleed and Prashant never let the RC batting take off. In fact losing Lucky early was a major set back. The target was set to 38 runs which was just not enough. Still, RC fought hard and did not lose many net-run-rate point as the PP won only in the seventh over.

The fourth match was between RC and IW. IW wanted to win to book a place in the finals and RC struggling to remain in the contest. RC bounced back and thrashed IW as they gained more than 8 net-run-rate points, this clearly shows how they dominated the IW team and once again declared themselves as favorites for the tournament. In the fifth match SSS lost again to the PP. That made the sixth match important because the winner was to play in the play-off match against the PP team. IW defeated SSS and qualified for the play-off.

With so many desi people it was a surprise that everything was running smooth. But after the sixth match when we were ready for the play-off match, we showed that only desi people were on the field. PP refused to play the play-off and threatened to leave their campaign mid-way in a thoroughly unfriendly and un-sportsmanly fashion. They cited reasons that they were not aware of the format and such a match was unnecessary, and that they have play in 20+ tournaments and none had that format. We can discuss the relevance of the play-off for example without that match the sixth match would have been without consequence. It was not cricket. Organizers cannot be blamed for a team not reading the rules. And if you have committed to play then you much follow the rules thats what cricket has taught at least to me. PP team could not be convinced to play a single over tie-breaker. So, Pandiyan, who was captaining IW took the initiative and decided to give PP walk-over. It was a great gesture and I would like to thank him and IW team for rescuing the tournament.

So we came to the final with RC taking on PP. And what a match it was. One would have thought that after playing three matches bowlers knew how to bowl on this surface. But first Lucky and later Waleed showed that bowlers had learned nothing. RC batted first and Lucky gave them a blistering start. At one stage they were 45 in three overs. Lucky completed his fifty (first of the tournament) in just 17 balls. They set an imposing target of 109 for the PP team at an asking rate of 12 an over. At the start it looked a difficult target but Waleed did not want to agree and he showed this by scoring a fifty (second of the tournament) in just 15 balls. However, once he was gone there was no one in the PP team to carry on scoring at that high rate. RC won the match by 20+ runs. Obviously they were the deserving champions.

Waleed Butt, the best player of the Freiburg Cricket Cup 2011

This was reflected in as we chose the best bowler (Cheema) and best batsman (Lucky) from RC team. Arpit (IM) was judged as the best fielder. Waleed (RC) was unanimous choice for the Best player.

Vijay who had to play for SSS shared the organization with Rehan and me, which meant preparing the schedule, setting up the rules and regulation and umpiring. but this is unfair that only we three took care of organization. All FNCC members contributed in every possible way. Even non-playing friends of FNCC like Sandeep helped out as he took initiative to cook food and prepare mango lassi and later he was seen taking photos of the match. Special mention for Arpit who was did commentary in hindi. It was very refreshing to hear description of a match in hindi...

The organization started in the middle of lat week when we started to set up the rules and regulation. Buying of food, drinks and refreshment was done on Friday night, and on Saturday. It was amazing how many things we had to bring to the ground. Rehan was very generous to offer his car for the purpose. It was overall a great experience and lot learning and understanding of the process of organizing a tournament. Already some players suggested that such event should become regular feature of the season in Freiburg. We are seeing even beyond and hoping to organize an invitation tournament next season to played with proper cricket ball. So it was more like a rehearsal for us.

Once again thanks to all who contributed to the organization and to all the players who played throughout the day under difficult conditions (35C with 50% humidity and a very bright sun). Also thanks to our muslim friends who were fasting that day and played despite their fast.

Hopefully this event will become regular in FNCC calendar and  besides bringing new players out it will also present cricket in its fullness to the locals who have remained alien to cricket irrespective of the fact that we have playing for 9 years in the same venue and Freiburg has two cricket teams.

Clinical Nomads retain the Rhine cup

FNCC will retain the Rhine cup until next year.
Vijay receives the Rhine cup from Jason, secretary
and a deadly spinner from the Basal CC.

Success tastes sweetest to those who never succeed wrote Wordsworth in his famous poem. But a victory tastes sweetest and counts most when it comes against worthy opponents. It was not a surprise when Nomads shouted three cheers after completing a clinical victory over Basel Cricket Club at their home ground.

In the beautiful settings of the Basel CC ground the match started when the hosts invited us to bat first. Given the unknown nature of the wicket we had decided to bowl first. But Purab and Rehan stood to the challenge of an unknown wicket.  They played out first couple of overs and then started to play their shots. When after 7 overs the score board read 45 without loss another big score was in the sight. But then Purab was hit in his groin as he tried to play across the line. After that Purab seemed out place and was soon LBW.

The winners...

At one point after Purab was gone, FNCC played out 18 deliveries without a run and losing the wickets of Rehan and Pandiyan, both caught in the slips. Then Raghav who had joined Saghir played a lofted shot, the ball rocketed in the sky and FNCC was about to lose one more wicket.  But the catch was dropped and we scored a run after 18 deliveries. Raghav took advantage of his luck and hit two superb sixes over perhaps the longest long-on boundary. But then too got carried away and was out caught in the cover region. Before his wicket Amit Purohit had surprised Saghir who was caught in the slips. With this the responsibility to keep the scoreboard ticking was on Vijay who looked in great touch right from the first delivery he faced. He used this opportunity to show his class as a batsman. He missed a well deserved half century as he got run-out for 46. But he had done his job. He took the score from mid 60s to  140s. In the process, Arpit, Pathubhan and Adnan supported him. Later Nila and I also added some 15 runs for the last wicket. We failed to play our 35 overs but in the 33 overs we scored 165 runs, which was well below our expectations given over start, but it was a very competitive score given the outfield and our bowling.

Among Basel bowlers, Amit Purohit was the clear pick. He used his height and bounce in the wicket and troubled every batsman in his first five overs and took the prized scalps of Pandiyan, Purab, and Saghir. At the other end Neal was teasing the batsmen. Although he took only two wickets but he bowled than his bowling figures show. In general none of the bowler was easy to play on that wicket and 165 was a great effort from FNCC.

That smile... he took four key wickets to win the match for the FNCC.

The Basel CC chase started with a maiden over. After first four over did not yield a wicket, Vijay brought in Arpit, the new found left-arm spinner and who struck right away. In the next over Saghir cleaned up another opener. After that Neal and Zaheer held the Basel CC batting together. Once again Arpit with his left arm spin claimed Neal LBW. After that wickets fell regularly. Arpit added two more to his name. Nila took the prized wicket of Zaheer. Interestingly, couple of over earlier he had dropped Zaheer of the bowling of Saghir. After Zaheer was gone we knew how the match would end. Other batsmen did not stay long enough to cause any serious damage, except perhaps for Rudy who showed very strong resistance. Raghav who came in to the attack rather late showed his class as a bowler and claim two wickets in the two overs. Sunny and Rudy tried to do some rebuilding and took the score to 121.  By that time run rate had climbed to more than 7 an over and there was clear pressure to score runs quickly. At that time Saghir produce an unplayable deliveries and Vijay took a very good catch of Sunny in the gully area, third time he was not lucky. Next over Rudy was caught by Nila off my bowling and Rhine cup was retained for a year.

It was a true wicket, the ball was doing what it was asked to do. It was a treat to bowl on such a wicket. I struggled to get a proper line. Nila and Adnan struggled a bit with their wides. But we have such strong bowling attack that such problems do not become big issues for the team. This time Saghir and Arpit kept things in control. In between Rahul who finally played a game for the FNCC bowled some beautiful deliveries. Nila as always improved with every ball he bowled and his last two overs were class act. This guys seriously needs to work on his stamina.

Overall we were too good for the BCC. But this match once again revealed some cracks in our sides.  We struggled on the bouncing track. Most of our batsmen have developed their game around front foot batting as the ball does not bounce much on our wicket. This was accordingly reflected in the way Pandiyan, Saghir and Rehan were out. Purab was also doing the same mistake. Among us, Rehan and Vijay are the two natural back-foot players and they were very successful.

In bowling we gave too many extras. In fielding we were sloppy on many occasions and brilliant on others. We need to bring consistency in our fielding and bowling.

Nevertheless, this win showed something else of this new fabric of FNCC cricket. Thus far every victory was anchored around one stellar batting performance like one of many half centuries of Saghir, Purab and Parthibhan, or Centuries of Rehan and Pandiyan. Today, there were no such performances except for Vijay's. All the batsmen contributed 10-30 runs. The score of 165 was a team effort. Similarly, certainly Arpit's performance was the corner stone of our victory. But all other bowlers and fielders supported him well.

Good bye Rajesh. Do well as you did when you were part of the FNCC

We finished the game before rain could play a role, this meant we were also able to return to Freiburg and see off Rajesh on the station. He will be dearly missed by the FNCC.

As it stands now, FNCC has won eight of the nine games played this season. Things could have been better and thats what we are aiming for now. It is clear from the attitude that FNCC is not just satisfied with winning, they are now setting up their own standards independent of what opposition they are facing and thats how teams develop.

Basel CC were a great host. The food was delicious as all FNCC player were ready to return to Basel only for food.

Rehan hits his maiden century to win the first match of the Rhine Cup

Basel CC took the initiative to install the 'Rhine Cup' as a rubber between the Basal CC and Freiburg Nomads. Its a great idea that two close neighbors have a defined reason to play cricket regularly.

The weather had earlier abandoned the first match between Basel CC and FNCC. Sunday last again weather threatened to cancel the match. But few weather websites gave us some hope and we decided to play. But as always happens, predictions about cricket and weather dont usually work. The sky remained overcast all through the match, the start was delayed and twice the play was interrupted. With this I wonder if we should name the 'Rhine Cup' as 'Rain Cup'.

The tone of the match was set on the first ball of the second over. Amit overstepped, and Rehan showed his intentions and launched that ball over the head of the bowler for a six, without moving his steps. From that shot on the batsmen grew in confidence and bowler became increasingly defensive. The fact that we did not lose a wicket until the 22nd over says all. 

Rehan is a seasoned player and we are well aware of his potential as a batsman. Often he is unlucky to fall to some superb catches. But today his luck was with him on more than one occasions. And naturally he grew in confidence with every shot he played and went on to score his first hundred, an inning studded with some glorious cover drives, cuts and straight drives. 

Parthibhan was a surprise. He was sent in as a cover to save the main batsmen in otherwise difficult looking batting conditions. His start was a bit cautious but after his first gentle push gave him a double he knew he was in business. It was a great show of temperament from him as he carried on with patience and controlled aggression. He has a very straight bat and powerful arms. When the ball was not bouncing much, it was a perfect technique to score runs. His success once again had added to the problems of Vijay (only in a good way), who will struggle now even more to find a proper batting order. Nearly everyone who has been tried had delivered in a big way.

After such attacking start, it was obvious that few wickets will go cheaply. Pandiyan who came at no. 3 was fresh but Rehan was not and in process of maintaining the run rate of 8 an over, Pandiyan ended up getting himself run out. Saghir was licking his lips when he came to bat as Jason and Saj, two spinners were bowling. His first scoring shot that ended up outside the the mid-on boundary showed his intentions. But he failed to read a low flighted one from Jason and was bowled and he was the most disappointed person in the world at that time.

Arpit and Rahul kept their heads down and supported Rehan and FNCC continued to score at a healthy rate of 6.5+ per over. After Rehan was run-out Vijay and Rajesh took scoring at a different level. Rajesh's smart running between the wicket converted ones into threes. it was great to see Vijay into runs again. He ended with well deserved 30+ not out. In the last over they scored 25+ runs. We finished with 298 on the board. As such we could have scored more. But it was a very satisfying scored. 

All through the innings we scored with at least 6 an over. In the first spell we scored 8+ an over when medium pacers were bowling. Then in 17th over came the smart move of bringing in the slow bowlers. Jason added a new dimension to the bowling, literally. He would toss the ball in the air very high, but with a great control such that the ball would drop sharply near the good length area. It was very difficult to play him. Both Rehan and Parthibhan were batting so well and they were completely tied. Saj supported Jason very well and both reduced the scoring to 6 an over. Only when Saghir launched the two bowlers that the run rate went back to the 'normal' 7.5+ an over.

Basel started off with two boundaries off the first two balls. Zaheer, their star batsman who had scored a double century in the previous game, gave them the first real hope. But it was a false dawn. I took two more balls to adjust my length and then the fifth ball came into kiss the stumps and took the bails along. Two overs later, Saghir bowled a super delivery that again kissed the middle stump and Shubhu was on this way back to the pavilion and it was clear how the match would end. There was a short rain interruption but it did not change the conditions much. After the break, Arpit, who once again bowled orthodox left-arm spin took three wickets at regular interval. He was duly supported by Nila, who had a bad first over, but returned strongly to end up with three wickets.  Rajesh, who is still nursing his knee injury, took the one remaining wicket. There was some resistance by Saj and Rudy but the score was too much and asking rate was too high and confidence too low and wickets too few. 

The rain meant that conditions were not good for cricket. In the end FNCC score indicated that it was a batting wicket but no, it was just the brilliance of Rehan and Parthibhan. The way Basel failed to read the wicket while batting suggests that it was a bowling wicket. But a pitch cannot be friendly to both bowlers and batsmen at the same time.

Basel team had a completely off day. First they struggled to find proper field placements. Earlier in the innings Rehan and Parthibhan and later Vijay and Rajesh completely exposed the poor field placements. Second, they were completely surprised as the ball started to bounce in the second inning. But they have shown all the signs of a good team and this match has no indication of how they will play when they host us next week. If at all they will try to bounce back strongly and the next match of the Rhine Cup would be a much close one. 

For now, Freiburg Nomads are more than happy to keep the Rhine Cup, Rehan and Parthibhan are happy to relish their 100 and 50, respectively. Well done Nomads.

Records

- 298 is the highest score in a 35 over match at the Seepark Freiburg Ground.

- First wicket partnership of about 150 runs is highest for the FNCC

- This is the first time that FNCC did not lose a wicket until 22nd over

- 225 is the highest margin of victory for the FNCC in terms of runs.

- Rehan's 121 is now second highest scored for the FNCC after 128* by Pandiyan.

Cricket survived the scare: Nomads won the onesided affair

The winning Nomads

It was a much awaited match, more than 15 players wanted to play. Our captain Vijay drove from Munich to reach Freiburg past midnight, very likely by cutting short his family trip; Saghir, our top performer over many seasons made himself available in spite of a painfully injured right index finger; Rajesh wanted to play despite his injured knee; Adnan worked through the Saturday so that he can have time to play the game on Sunday; Purab skipped preparations of his birthday party to play. In fact, virtually every player took extra effort to play this game, just because they value their cricket and understand the need to maintain a healthy relationship with Pak. Freiburg Cricket Club (PFCC) on the cricket field and play fair and clean cricket no matter what the opposition wants to do.

Several times during the match a question crossed my thoughts - was it worth the effort our players were making? I do not want to answer the question but let me recollect one instance when this question flashed in my thoughts.

Purab was batting, we were looking comfortable in our chase and I was umpiring. On that particular delivery Purab came across in such a way that I had no view of stumps. He missed the ball and the wicket-keeper appealed, I thought it was for stumping, so I was relaxed that I dont have to make a decision because I had not seen anything that happened around the stumps as Purab had blocked my view. Suddenly I hear Mansoor who was fielding at the short mid-on suggesting that it was a clean bowled. So it was actually my decision. I asked Parthibhan our leg-umpire. He thought that the Zeb's hands hit the stumps and ball was no where close to the stumps.  Our opposition immediately became aggressive and started to blame the umpires for being biased and their conversation suggested that they were on the verge of abandoning the match. For them there was no value of umpire's decision. I did not want the match to close in any undesired manner so I asked Zeb who was the wicket-keeper and main person involved in that incident and also a very respected person by both the teams. I actually asked him to make a decision and he suggested Purab was out. Poor Purab who at that time was all set to lead us to victory was forced out (a new way to get out in cricket) by the opposition.

Overall it seemed that our opposition had entered the field with a prejudice that we will not be fair in our umpiring. They were not even prepared to accept the calls of wides. LBWs decision when turned down are always unacceptable to the bowling team. There was one close shout but in that incident the ball had hit the pad outside of the leg stump, wicket-keeper Zeb knew it and did not appeal. We did not get much chance to see the fairness of the umpiring of the PFCC. We conceded only 6 extras and there were at least two stumpings denied because the guys who was asked to do leg-umpiring was not interested in the game in any form. We did get two LBW decisions against low order batsmen in our favor. 

When the opposition is so biased, questions arise whether it make sense to play, even if for the sake of cricket. So I will not answer the question I asked and leave it to you and move on to the many good things that happened during the course of the match.

First, an excellent half century by Din, who I learned later, was playing his last match as he returns to Pakistan in a week time. It was his innings that held the PFCC batting together. He was the second last wicket to fall, that says a lot. He showed great temperament and virtually scored all his runs in the gulley and slip area with cutting. He was supported by Fawad in beginning, who played brilliantly until he was surprised by a low full-toss of Arpit. Later Din had some temporary support from a left-hander whose name is not known to me. Together they took the score from 90s to 120s.

For the nomdas, the real revelation was Arpit who changed his regular medium fast bowling to slow off-spins and ended up with four wicket, two in one over. Saghir bowled two beautiful deliveries to claim two wickets towards the end of his spell. The one that cleaned up the wickets of the Zeb was simply unplayable, otherwise Zeb is an accomplished batsman. Rajesh showed that even with an inured knee he can surprise the batsmen and claimed two wickets. I also two wickets including that of Din. Raghav then took the final wicket as we were playing 12 a side game. Adnan and Nila were unlucky to go wicket-less. It was not the most important aspect of out bowling that we had bowled out the PFCC for 128 runs. The most important aspect was that until 22 over we did not concede a single extra runs, no wides or no balls or leg byes or byes. In total we gave away 6 or 7 extras. In that sense 128 runs that PFCC scored was a great effort.

Vijay who returned to wicket-keeping after a long time was spot on.  We did have few lapses in the field as a couple of catches were dropped and we could have converted few runs in to run-outs. All and all it was a superb effort and 128 was not a difficult score to chase.

We stared our chase with Rehan and Purab. Rehan apparently just cant hit the ball in the air. Yesterday he was caught just inches above the ground by Fawad, brilliant effort. But Rehan is so unlucky that his catches, however, difficult are never dropped. Raghav was promoted to fill in for Pandiyan. He stared very cautiously, and later he became such a tormentor of the PFCC bowling that I am sure they would not want to bowl to him again, particularly Din who was regularly hit for a six and/or a four in each of his three overs. After the Purab incident Rahul came in and the two left-handers never allowed the opposition bowlers to get to a good line. Runs kept coming until Rahul was given out on a dodgy stumping call. But by that time damage was done. After 17 overs we needed 49 runs. Raghav made it an easy task as he launched flighted deliveries of Din out of the boundary. Adnan wanted to finish and he showed his intentions. He also hit a funny boundary -- his on drive landed just in front of Rizwan as long on but the ball bounced over Rizwan and Adnan had a boundary. In the end Raghav, who had already completed his 50, very fittingly, lofted Mansoor for a six over long-on to finish the match. Later Raghav said that he was motivated by the foul talk of some of the PFCC players. They were talking in Punjabi but they perhaps did not know that Raghav understands Punjabi.

Among the PFCC bowlers the left-hander Lukman was brilliant. He cleaned up Saghir on a nearly perfect delivery which may have kept a bit low according to Saghir's expectations. PFCC struggled with their field placement and of course were not very sharp in the field. In the end 128 was just not enough and FNCC made an easy task of that.

It was very satisfying to win. Now we have six wins out of seven matches we have played. This victory was special because last year loss to the PFCC was responsible for out early exit in the BWCV league. More importantly, despite several attempts from the PFCC, we maintained out cool and finished the match without any visible incident.I dont know if more matches will help in developing a stronger sense of respect for both the teams. 

This is my personal opinion that while nomads were playing to maintain their own high standards, perhaps PFCC were just playing to win. I think goals of a teams should go beyond wins and losses. 

FNCC again showed that they are developing in to a good team. They are not afraid of experimenting as was seen in Arpit turning to off-spin. Everyone who get a chance grabs it with both hands as was seen in promotion to Raghav who scored a brilliant unbeaten 50. This is certainly making it difficult for Vijay, but perhaps only in a good way. Now Raghav and Rahul have been tested at top, I am sure if Fayas is promoted he will also do well, he is clearly a complete and solid batsman. In bowling I dont think Vijay can keep Nila for the old ball. I am very positive that he will be a big success with the new ball. Perhaps it is time to try Nila in the second spell.

Match ball that went to Purab as his Birthday present

I also would like to say something about Vijay. Given the success of virtually every batmen on the top of the order he is not getting enough chance to bat but as a great leader of the team he has never let his personal performance come in the way of leading the team in the best way he can. Part of the success of all the batsmen can be attributed to the fact that they know that in the form of Vijay they have a formidable batsman to fall back on.

Finally, for it was Purab who was given Forced Out, and we were going to Purab's pre-birthday party we decided to dedicate this win to Purab and the match ball was given to him as a birthday gift -- which I am sure will remain a prized possession for him for time to come.

Cricket beyond cricket: Freiburg Nomads to take on the Pak. Freiburg

Let me start with a question. What would you prefer, play the game and have fun or play the game and risk the sanctity of the concept of a cricket match. Which one you will chose will reflect on you and your character. Choosing not to play a match of cricket at the risk of demeaning cricket will suggest that you value things more than your own personal interests and abstract concepts make sense. But sometimes we have to play cricket even when the essence of the game might be at a risk, only for the larger interest of cricket.

Freiburg Nomads faced this conundrum when Pakistan Freiburg team approached us for a 'friendly' fixture.We have played Pak Freiburg team before, mostly even without asking the games were friendly i.e. they finished on very friendly note. So this comes as a surprise that we have to officially term the upcoming match as a 'friendly'.

Two seasons ago there was a massive incident on the field between our then captain Sikandar and the opposition captain Mansoor, which at first led to abandoning of the match midway and then a sequence of arguments which precipitated in the opposition captain making some very serious and offensive comments about a Country and a religion, in addition to the scene it created on the field. It was so embarrassing and humiliating to be a part of that group of players who created such a mess and presented cricket as a game which people from the Indian Subcontinent use to express their personal frustration. In my opinion cricket is not the medium for a display of frustrations, it is a medium to express yourself, your skills and your self-control.

From then on FNCC have played the Pak. Freiburg only once, just because both teams were playing in the BWCV league. In some sense it was good that the two teams did not play each other. Because this meant that many personal relationships between the players of the two teams remained largely unaffected.

When we play in a country where Cricket is not a well known sport, where it is seen as a modified form of baseball, where it is impossible to explain why we wear whites, why one cricket game must last for a day at least, it is our first and foremost responsibility to present the game in its most clean and pious form, not dented by personal problems. With Pak. Freiburg team there is always a small probability that at some point in the course of the game there will incidents that are not 'cricket'. In last seasons we have not allowed such deformed cricket by not playing it. But, not playing cricket is also not 'cricket'.

Cricket must be played and it must be played properly. Now that the two teams have once again agreed to play each other, it is a huge responsibility that we allow proper cricket to happen while playing cricket.

Perhaps FNCC needs to be more responsible because we are known for our clean cricket. Also because the reformed FNCC team looks beyond the transients of winning or losing. Also because half of the current FNCC team is not even aware of the history between the Pak. Freiburg and FNCC, and it can only be good for the game. As cricketers we have to be aware of the history and traditions of the game and not of personal problem which were presented on the cricket field.

This is my request, personally and also as the chairman of the FNCC, to all the players from both teams that lets not play for winning or losing or settling scores but to display what cricket is in its true sense. I think only that kind of cricket can be called 'cricket'.

Good luck to both the teams.

Clinical Freiburg Nomads trounce Strassburg Strollers

Last match between Freiburg Nomads and Strassburg Strollers was a nail-bitter and result hardly proved which was a better team. Of course that match proved that we had better nerves. Today Nomads showed that they are also a better team than the strollers.


The pitch was horribly slow and very difficult to bat on. After nine years of experience with the FLIX pitch we know that the pitch keeps rather low in the first inning and if there is enough sun, in the second inning when the pitch has settled we get a decent bounce. In the match on last Sunday the pitch kept surprisingly low even for a FLIX wicket. It was a good toss to win and we were lucky to be bowling first. 


But I do not want to give all the credit to the pitch, our bowlers did an amazing job to bowl out the Strollers for a mere 58 runs in 25 overs. No matter how bowling friendly a wicket is or whether it is keeping low, bowlers still have to keep their line and length to stay in hunt for the wickets. Raghav summarized the pressure the conditions put on the bowlers as he said even a single in an over was too much to give i.e. he considered giving away a single in an over as an expensive thing. Further, when the ball is not doing what you want to do as a bower it is very frustrating and it is important not to over do things in desperation. So, although we bowled a lot of extras, we did a great job in restricting the opposition for 58 runs. 


Nihar was clear pick of the Strollers' batting. He and Raghav had an interesting dual, which finally went to Raghav's way (of course partially assisted by the pitch). Raghav bowled most of his deliveries of his six over spell to Nihar and finally in his sixth over claimed the well deserved scalp. Besides, Nihar, Sultan showed some resistance but it was not enough. Towards the end, when the pitch had settled I had two very overs in which I took one wicket without giving away any run. After five matches, I started bowling with Rajesh and we finished the first spell with three wickets and after that wickets came regularly, including a stunning runout by Saghir and Adnan and a super catch by Purav. Rehan spent most of his day in depp covers without doing much work and for once when Raghav was brought in there, he took a nice catch... unlucky Rehan. I denied Pandiyan, who had a great day behind the stumps,  a beautiful catch as I did not appeal on my own bowling for a think edge. All bowlers Rajesh, Saghir, Adnan, Raghav, Rahul and myself did their job well and were duly rewarded by wickets. Rahul was special, he bowled four deliveries and took a wicket for a single run.


I would like to note that although the pitch was keeping very low, we claim only two of wickets on balls that kept low. Other wickets were catches or LBW off yorkers or clean bowled when the ball hit in the middle of the stumps.


Our chase did not start well. Sultan gave his team a sensational start as Purab was caught off the very first ball. Pandiyan was undeterred by that and pounded 23 runs in first two overs which included a six and a four plus some extras, courtesy of the left-right batting pair. From then on it was very clear who would win. But Sultan had another sensation up his sleeve. He claimed wickets of Raghav and Rehan on consecutive deliveries. But the target was too small and such blows were not enough, besides, Pandiyan and Feyas were very determined not to lose anymore wickets. Nomads reached home in less than 10 overs with the loss of four wickets.


Saghir led the team in absence of Vijay and he showed how innovative he can be. After loss against the Winterthur cricket club, we were keen on improving and had planned for a lot of changes were store. For a start we decided to save our top order batsmen to boost the lower order batting. As a part of this plan, Rahul was promoted to open and he did very well in his new slot. Later, Raghav came in after Rahul left to keep the bowlers busy in adjusting their line as they were bowling to a left-hand right-hand batsmen. When  we finally chased our target, Parthibhan was padded up to come should another wicket fell. Obviously small target of 59 runs set the perfect stage to do this experiments. Still, Saghir showed the desire to implement these experiments and check the strength of out batting and also to give confidence to players. What is amazing in our current bunch of players is that whoever is given an opportunity, they step up and make most of the chances they get.


Finally, we dedicated the victory to Rajesh who very likely played his last game for the Nomads as a regular player. He is leaving Freiburg to join his job. Its been fantastic to have him in the team. I think Rajesh is the best example of a perfect team player. As a frontline bowler, a lower order batsman and a close in fielder, he contributed tremendously to our success. His passionate appeals for LBWs and accurate stump cracking throws will always be missed. And I had a great time opening bowling with him for more than two seasons. Good luck Rajesh.


Victory should not put cover over our shortcomings. In this match bowler could still have done better had they controlled extras. I think we conceded something like 20 extra runs, and thats an ares for the bowlers to improve upon. Similarly, some indiscipline was visible in the batting presumably because of the small target but we need to improve in that area as well. I think a good team is one that sets it own standards beyond just winning the matches.




PS: Strassburg Strollers played a great host once again and match was played with great spirit. Also I would like to commend their umpiring.

Nomads lose to the Winterthur Cricket Club

The target was not big -- 152 runs in 35 overs on a good batting track. Maybe the slow outfield slightly amplified the target. Still with our batting line up it was a doable task. But all the batsmen chose to have a bad day in the field on the same day. In previous four matches at least one batsman scored 50+ and automatically there were several partnership around and soon we were able to chase three time successfully. This time WCC bowlers kept the FNCC batsmen in check and when the runs dried up, frustration piled up and wickets crumbled. Clearly, WCC bowlers knew how to bowl on their home wicket. Purab looked comfortable in blocking the new ball but runs did not come easy and he was the first to go when he failed to read a slower one. Rehan was very cautious but he tried to assert himself with few boundaries. But he also failed to spend enough time on the pitch. Same was the story of all other main batsmen, Pandiyan, Saghir, Vijay, Adnan, Feyas. Raghav who batted so well against the WCC in the home game was still recovering from a hangover. Saghir fell to a brilliant catch by Pepe on his own bowling. Vijay succumbed to his own over confidence. Rahul showed lot of character in batting and I am sure he will get a nod to go up the order. All the credit to the bowlers, particularly to Rahul and Nazeer who used the new ball to the best. Pepe bowled well and claimed six wickets. Nomads failed to take advantage of four dropped catches early on... so it was more or less inevitable that we fell short of some 45 runs.

The WCC score of 152 although reachable but it was about 30 runs more than the expectation. Last three overs WCC batsmen, Waqar mainly, did some classic limited over cricket slogging and scored nearly 40 runs. In the end that was the main difference. When I started my last over my figures were 6-1-11-2 and I finished with 7-1-30-3. Three sixes in an over... this is what we did not want. Saghir was also also expensive and it was relied when Raghav got Waqar caught by Saghir. For first 32 overs we remained on the top. Everyone bowled well. On a wicket when ball was keeping low, and outfield was slow because of the grass, it was clear that bowling wicket to wicket would be very useful. All bowlers were duely rewarded for that. Nila was great. Adnan was specially brilliant as he took 3 wickets for less than 20 runs in seven overs. I think its after a long time that he bowled to complete his full quota. In between there were patches when WCC batsmen opened up a bit and few boundaries were scored. But with Purab, Vijay and Saghir in point and cover area, and Rehan in sweeper cover, runs were not easy. Feyas saved 10-15 runs in the square leg region. Rahul took a brilliant catch but unfortunately, he was a step outside the boundary and that became the third six of my over.  I would also like to make a special mention of a catch Purab took in Point, superb reflexes.

Nomads should have won it and this loss will raise many questions. Previously I wrote that at some point our victory runs had to end. It has ended now, and we have to get on to a fresh start. Bowlers are doing well, at least we have cut down heavily on the extras, and we are able to bowl out the opposition. However, we need to have a bit more of killer instinct. We are not taking wickets in clusters, to break the momentum. Every bowler and especially I can, improve and we as a bowling unit reduce the job of out batting unit. In terms of our batting, our batsmen need to build some more temperament. In this match we failed mainly because we could not find singles in ground with a slow outfield. Thats now a well defined problem and we should specifically work on this. To some extent we are too much dependent on Saghir as a batsman and it is time that Vijay and Rehan step up to raise their game. The way they are batting they are clearly due for a big score. Coming Friday nomads will join for practice and I am sure there will be few suggestions to improve and get on to the winning mode.

A word for WCC for being a great host and we look forward to have more bilateral matches.

Changing landscape of cricket in Freiburg

I moved to Germany in 2002. Within a month I discovered that some Indian expats  play cricket and with great expectations I went to play with them. In a country full of sports parks and soccer grounds, those Indian expats were playing tennis ball cricket in a car-park, which was largely empty on Sundays. Of course they had to stop for people to cross the car park. They were all very enthusiastic that they had a chance to play cricket irrespective of the fact they were playing in such ridiculous settings. The passerbys did not care a bit for them as they showed no interest to know what we were doing, nor did they make any attempt to walk by faster. I played with them for a couple of times. At the end of the summer those expats left and with them their cricket.

Next season, I found out about the Freiburg Nomads, a club run mostly by English and Australian expats. So naturally it was a far more organized effort, there was full gear, white uniforms, proper cricket bats, leather ball and interestingly, a plastic mat (flix pitch) to function as a cricket pitch in a soccer field. Despite all that, it was still a social affair. We used to host teams from Switzerland and visit them in return on Sundays. Everyone was happy that they could play cricket and no one cared for wins or losses. Every match ended with drinks with the visiting team.

Much has happened since that first season. The first big change can be seen is in the composition of the Freiburg Nomads. In 2002, three Indian students joined and there was one Sri-Lankan in the team. Most members were English or Australians. Next season we had even more diversity, as players from South Africa, Pakistan and New Zealand joined. It was a great place to be, where else one could find such heterogeneous people all brought together by one common passion Cricket.

Now in 2011, essentially all the team is composed of Indian and Pakistani students (Desis) with one South Africa and a German!!. It is still an interesting group of people. Clearly, the average age of the team has decreased at the expanse of increased IQ and competitiveness. Now we win more matches (well, lets leave out last two seasons).

But the matches are less of a social affair. Innocence is lost. Now cricket is more competitive. We play to win not just to make or maintain friendship with the opposition team. Afternoon tea is replaced with a rice and curry based meal. We do not set up a tent in the morning for the kids and families who used to come along with the players. Only rarely a new batsmen in the middle is greeted by the fielding team. We no longer clap off the visiting team at the end of the inning. There are no group photos with the visitors. The fridge from the pavilion is gone, as we no longer share a drink with our teammates or with the visitors. Now a losing a match hurts. Earlier it did not matter who won as we would leave the field in a happy state of mind.

No, I am not moaning about the glories of past. I am just recollecting the changes. There is no better teacher than Loss in a cricket match after a good fight. Winning a hard fought match triumphs all. Independent of its social aspects, Cricket survives on the energy of competition.

This change is not just a Freiburg phenomenon. For some reason in every team in Germany, there is a domination of Desi cricketers and English and Aussies are becoming endangered species on the cricket field. This trend is less visible in Switzerland where teams still have at least 50% crickets from England, Australia and South Africa. Fortunately, in Switzerland there is more organized effort and kids of the expats who are being brought up in Switzerland get an nurturing atmosphere to learn and play cricket. This is not the case for Germany in general, and Freiburg in particular.

The increase in Desi players is directly related to the fact that now more of them are coming to Europe to study. But it is not clear why there is a decrease in the interest of expats from other cricket playing nations. Maybe they do not find the excessive competitive attitude of the Desis at this amateur level appropriate. Maybe because Desis don't like to hang out after the matches to share a drink with the team or with the opposition…

With lack of English players, cricket has become less and less organized. This can be seen in the organizational failure of the Baden Wurtemberg League which moves from one dispute to another.

With all these changes, Many things are still the same. We still play in the same soccer ground next to the lake. We still have the same plastic mat to as a make shift cricket pitch. Despite years of experience it is impossible to bowl a good rising delivery on this wicket.
Like always they are many visitors to the matches, mainly because of lake and locals hang out in that area on weekends. They still don't know what we are doing. Perhaps they show a bit more curiosity now, i.e. what those brown colored people are doing in white clothes in a soccer field. Some stay for few minutes and try to decipher the game. Then they have their epiphany-- Ah, its cricket and then they leave. Some people would compare cricket with baseball and still leave… Few rare ones do take the initiative to come to us and ask about it but still they leave… 

Fortunately, for us, Cricket is here to stay and with all the changes cricket is still a common denominator for many expats and brings those different people together at least once a week.

Five wickets win for the Nomdas and a half century to Saghir

Cricket returned to Freiburg today. After playing three away games we had a home fixture. There was lot of excitement among the player. There was some anxiety as well, because several regular player were away for the long weekend. In fact we did not have an XI and two players Lucky and Pathiban made their debut today.

Also there were expectations, for the first time this season, despite the missing player. After winning three matches in a row, of course there are expectations. So its very satisfying that we won again. This time, even though Saghir was adjudged the man of the match (what a surprise) it was the bowlers who set up the match for us.

Bowlers did a great job when Winterthur (WCC) was restricted to 126 runs in about 32 overs. The pitch was not easy to bat but it was more difficult to bowl. We know that there is little bounce in our wicket but today it kept exceptionally low. Batsmen when they understood it, it no longer remained difficult for them except for staying in. For who are supposed to make things happen it was very difficult to keep the momentum. After the first wicket on the last ball of the first over, WCC kept their heads cool for another 12 overs. Then Adnan started off his amazing spell with a wicket. For a change Adnan conceded only 2 wides in four overs and only one on the leg side. He was a discovery today. His third over set the tone of the match as he claimed two wickets. From then on there were wickets coming on regular intervals. 

Because the WCC were short of a player, we let their not out batsman continue after the 9th wicket. Rohit who had had a great match with until then couldnt add much to the WCC score and fell in attempting to clear the boundary. Given the conditions John, Rahul and Rohit did very well for the WCC, if only other batsmen could support them well enough... but here comes the role of Nomads bowling attack. For once all bowlers worked within their limitations and never allowed the WCC batting a chance to recover after the second wicket partnership. 

After a long time I took three wickets in a match although I was not bowling well. Saghir was also not in a good touch. Later we both thought that our ball was not well suited for our wicket. The ball went rather soft after a couple of over and if you use that on a dead wicket, well... But credit to Raghav and Rajesh who bowled in good areas. Adnan had a great spell... He was clearly the pick of the bowling.

We knew that score was not that big and that we have the ability to chase 126. Still Vijay wanted to be safe and asked his batsmen to play the full 35 overs. Meaning there was no pressure on the batsmen. We introduced yet another opener in this match, Lucky. I saw him yesterday playing with 'tape ball'. Clearly he has the ability to bat and hit quick runs, so we asked Saghir to bring him along as were short of the XI. Both, Lucky and Rehan started very cautiously. WCC bowlers Rahul and Steve were showing us how to bowl on our own wicket. The ball moving and cutting of the wicket also the odd balls bounced. Lucky was unlucky he was run out while attempting to complete a double. Pandiyan als had an off day today he was beaten by the pace. Rehan followed him in the same over. So at one point there was a panic as we had lost three wickets with 23 runs on the board. 

Then started partnership between Raghav and Saghir. Raghav frustrated the bowlers with his dead bat and Saghir attacked them whenever there was a loose delivery. Once Raghav started middling the ball he gain confidence and then runs started to flow at a healthy rate of five per over and we were cruising along at 94/3 in some 20 overs. Then we had a double jolt. Raghav was run out to a beautiful piece of fielding and Vijay to a very good catch. 

For Nomdas until Saghir is there in the middle, there is no panic. Adnan who joined him remained very calm and composed as Saghir continued to mlik the bowling. Saghir completed his second 50 of the season with a six over the log on boundary and then a wide and a single took us to 127. 

Yet another win. There was not much drama in this one. Again everyone chipped in. Because of the holiday season were short of several regular players, so, this win as I said last week, proved our bench strength. FNCC are developing in to a very good team. There is something in the players that we they are entrusted with a responsibility, they step up and show that they are there for the team. Today Raghav and Adnan showed just that. 

Besides this there is a huge dedication among player for cricket and to develop the team. One example of dedication is Vijay who this morning drove from Luzern (3.5 hours drive) just to play the match. He was supposed to be accompanying his parents who are visiting `him' from India for few days. Another example is Saghir, who should have been tending to his two years old son Sabir's injury, was playing and scoring a 50 to win the match for the Nomdas. Later, after the match Saahir told that yesterday evening his son got injured, he stayed in the hospital until 0400hrs in the morning. Very rightly he dedicated his 50 to his son. And we also wish that his son recovers fast.

Our guests were very good. It was a pleasant experience to play with a team that had a balance of players from England, SA, Aus and the Indian subcontinent. Else these days most teams are dominated by players from India and Pakistan. WCC bowlers and three or four batsmen were really quality players and, on a better wicket they will for sure give us a run for our money. The match was played in a very friendly atmosphere.  WCC and FNCC have played cricket for a long time now,  of course many faces have changed but, very important, the friendly spirit and respect for Cricket has remained. I look forward to our visit to Winterthur.

It was funny when the match ended. During the match there were 13 players on the field and two umpires. As soon as the match ended, some 50 footballer swarmed the field like honeybees. These people know that we have the rights to use the ground on selected Sundays till 2000hrs still.... These people just dont understand why we need such a large field when most of the action happens on a 20 meter long strip. Its one of the oddities of the playing cricket in Germany where the whole country breaths football and some mutant foreigners want the fresh air of cricket.

It fourth win in a row, first at home. We can no longer be considered as underdogs. We are a strong team as the record speaks. With that comes a responsibility to carry this mental. Sooner or later we will also loose but for now our job is to play good cricket and play it better than the opponents. Next match will be against one of the strongest teams in this region and if we win that then we can be proud.

An epic inning from Pandiyan: Nomads beat KCC by four wickets

Winning is important but it cannot be a goal in itself. If you give it a thought, you will find that win is only a by product of doing the right things. 

  

That is what Nomads did in the last match in Karlsruhe against the Karlsruhe Cricket Club. When we finished bowling we found that we had conceded at least 100 runs too many and none in their sane mind gave us a chance to chase 259 runs in 35 overs and win. So, Vijay and other senior players decided that we need to play 35 overs, no matter what. It was a right thing to do, this is not just an opinion in retrospect.

In the third match of the season we had our third opening pair. This time it was Arpit and Rehan. Arpit saw off the first over without scoring anything off the bat, but runs came as extras. Rehan failed to read the bounce and was hit on his helmet. But the next shot was a true testament of the positive mindset of the Nomads. On a rising delivery Rehan made room and guided the ball to third man fence. The tone was set... a good chase was on its way.

Rehan fell after a positive start to a lazy shot to a non-bowler (Adeel). That brought in Pandiyan. A couple of over later Arpit also departed to the same non-bowler as he failed to read a slower ball. But runs were coming in the from extras and also from the bat of Pandiyan. Saghir started off in a way only he can. At one point when Sagir and Padiyan were batting we were 75 runs off 10 overs, going well with the asking run rate. Still, at that point there was no hope or expectation of win although there was a glimmer. Soon after that Saghir miscued a ball from the spinner and the non-bowler took an easy catch. So the guys who was not supposed to be a bowler was involved in first three wickets that fell. Next man in was Fayas who was playing cricket after four years and made his debut for the Nomdas, started off very well, but unfortunately couldnt continue with the good start he had. But, he showed that he has the potential to be a strong hold of Nomdas' batting.

Vijay joined Pandiyan who had been dropped once thus far, and immediately the two brought a feeling of calm to the chase. They started playing their shots. Pandiyan grew in confidence. So did Vijay who returned to form after two consecutive ducks. Those two back-to-back boundaries were a proof of his class. Without being aggressive in a visible manner Pandiyan and Vijay continued to take more than seven runs an over. Pandiyan, particularly made sure that he got at least a single as long as the ball touched his bat. But he deserved those, as his powerful shots forced the opposition to protect the boundaries. Despite that, on average, every over brought us a boundary and few wides and couple of singles. 

Virender Sehwag once said that any point in time more than 90% of the field is unguarded and Pandiyan and Vijay showed us what he meant. The KCC was struggling to place field in their own home ground.

At one stage when we needed 106 runs of 13 over and Pandiyan and Vijay were going strong there was first a glimpse of hope. But more important, they both ensured that we were going to bat through the overs. From that point on, with the aid of fast outfield and spread out field we scored nearly 10 runs an over. Vijay contributed 29 runs but when he came out we needed 21 runs off  21 balls. This says how dominating Pandiyan was who by now had completed an amazing hundred. There was celebration but with every ball he was becoming more and more determined and he save his celebration for the end.  
Now the victory was a certainty. Adnan who replaced Vijay, first gave strike to Pandiyan but then he also opened up and took us very close to am amazing win. When Adnan returned we needed just three runs. I got a double of the first ball I faced and in the next over Pandiyan hit a beautiful and powerful drive. Only he was supposed to hit that and then came that roar which should have come at when he reached his 50 or 100 or when he hit that six. But Pandiyan was so committed that only a victory could stop him.

Before all this, we won the toss and elected to bowl first. It was a very deliberate decision taken by Vijay, Saghir, Rehan and myself. We started off very positively. Again Arpit was a bit uneasy with the new ball. He compensated for it in his second coming. Saghir was just brilliant as he started his spell and immediately there was a catch dropped. Nila who was given a longer spell today bowled really well and in fact, his bowling improved with every ball he bowled. Finally, he ended up with two well deserved wickets and the first one, which was also his first for the nomads, was just a beauty. Rahul and Fayas, were a bit expensive but so was everyone else. The ground was oddly shaped and out field was rather fast. Moreover, we were bowing on a true wicket and in general we struggled with out bowling lengths. But credit also to the KCC batsmen who did very well to keep our captain busy with fielding and bowling changes. Irfan, Waqqr, Chopra and Adeel batted well. Two friends of ours, from the Pak Freiburg, Zeb Bhai and Rezwan also played for the KCC as they were short of players. Zeb bhai showed his class as he struck Saghir and me for boundaries. Rizwan was not as successful. In the end Nila and Vijay got two and Saghir and myself ended with one wicket each. We did miss one extra bowler. 258 was a big score. 

In our pre-match discussion we thought to restrict the KCC to 150 or so. Evidently our bowlers could have done better but it was a new ground and pitch, and we struggled with out consistency in finding right length and proper field placements. But I do not mean to say that we made serious fielding error. Everyone, including Nikolaus, who made his debut in the match, was fully committed. Nikolaus later mentioned how the ball surprised him at times in the field. We could have taken a couple of catches but then at this level of cricket such errors are bound to happen. But I am sure everyone learned from this experience and our next effort on that wicket will be more true to our abilities as a bowling unit.

I have to admit that KCC was perhaps not at their best, perhaps their best players were not available. In fact they played with 10 fielder for first 13 overs. Perhaps they also did not take us seriously, maybe because they thought that 258 was too big a total for us...All this maybe true but its not an easy act to chase 259 runs not matter how easy and inexperienced the opposition is. We reached target with 5 wickets and 11 balls remaining, this show how well we played, how Pandiyan dominated the opposition and how winning was not our target but it came to us as a by product of our good game.

In any case it was good to be on the winning side. It for the first time in the history of Nomdas that we have had three consecutive wins in away games. without a doubt, Pandiyan was the hero of our victory but even he will agree that everyone contributed to this win. The spirit are very high and players are happy to each other perform and I think thats what we mean by the word 'Team'.

Despite this record win some cracks have now become more visible in our side and all players are aware of those as was clear in the post-match discussions. So, Nomdas are going from strength to strength. Now they have a home game coming up on the coming Sunday and they are charged up to continue. This will be a test of our bench strength as several players are away due to a long weekend.

I would like to thank KCC for being great hosts and for providing plenty of water on a hot and humid day and excellent food. Its a pity that our vegetarian teammates could not taste that.

Saghir won it for the nomads

Question:In a limited over cricket match if the second highest score is 19, and the third highest score is 3, then what could be the final score in that inning.

Today,against the Strasbourg Strollers (SS), after being put into bat first, our second and third highest scores were 19 and 3, respectively. It was a miracle that we managed to score 122/10 in 31 overs. Saghir made that miracle happen with his inning of shear brilliance. While on the other end our batsmen were struggling and succumbing to the uneven bounce, Saghir stood tall and contributed 62 runs, more than double of what remaining team contributed with bat.

Other than Saghir, Pandiyan showed a lot of character to stay on the wicket and follow the ball until the last millisecond. After making a wonderful 19 runs he also fell LBW to a low delivery. Remaining batsmen only provided temporary support to Saghir. The mini-collapse of our batting in Ketsch, matured into a full blown collapse. The uneven bounce was the main reason for the struggle of our batting but at the same I should give credit to SS bowlers who varied the length very intelligently.

Previously, when we had such dominant solo performances (Once by Saghir and once by Raghav) we as a team failed to capitalize on those amazing performances. So, I took the gamble of reminding the team of this fact. 

When we started our defense, a target of 123 was looking very good. We were confident of a win given the ground and pitch conditions. SS made a smart move and sent their lower order batsmen to open the inning. The ploy was to waste our frontline bowlers. And this ploy worked to  a certain extent. I did not get any wicket in my first spell (1 runs off 3 overs), Arpit managed one wicket. Given the batsmen, we both should have cleaned up the first three wickets in three overs. There was no pressure of run rate, the SS team was happy with their strategy. When we went for drinks after 17 over, SS were around 68 runs for four wickets. 

We were confident because we assumed that two more wickets from that point on would be enough to wrap up the match. Rajesh got us the breakthrough, right after the drinks break, as Purav took an outstanding catch of Nomi, the SS captain. We were hoping for one more wicket to consolidate our advantage. But the new batsmen, Sultan took us for some good runs and at one point SS were moving towards a victory comfortably, as they needed 12 runs with four wickets in hand. At that crucial point Saghir produced a surprise slow delivery to clean up Kamran. From that point on it was a matter of nerves. 

In the next over Arpit took out a wicket at the expense of four runs. I bowled the next one, and I had Sultan, who was looking very dangerous, caught at deep mid-on by Rajesh. On the very next delivery Shakeel launched the bowl directly into Rajesh's hands. Rajesh could not hold the catch but he held his nerves and returned the ball to the non-striker's end and we had a run out.

Saghir was the bowler of the choice when we needed a wicket and SS needed two runs. Two balls later Saghir forced the batsman to cut a short delivery in the hands of Rakesh, who took a great catch. Nomads erupted in joy and celebrations as they had pulled off an amazing victory. In my memory this was the closest match and win for the Freiburg Nomads. And no one deserved it more than Saghir, who did every thing to win the match. 

After Saghir's monologue in batting, it was all team effort. Vijay once again placed fielders in the right areas, coordinated his bowlers pretty intelligently. He himself had an off day, first he got LBW to a ball kept way too low, in the field the ball seemed to be repelling him. We also had three dropped catches, none too expensive, fortunately. Our fielding was good in general, as reflected by the three run-outs. 

Today, on our way to Strasbourg, Purav indicated that we wanted to spend at least 20 overs in the middle. He was unlucky as the ball took a leading edge and he was caught and bowled.  But he still spent a lot of time in the middle as a runner for Saghir -- it was impressive to see his commitment, the way he ran and converted dot balls in single and so on...

There are many areas that we need to improve upon if we want to take on Karlsruhe team. First we still need to work on our wides, in both matches so far our bowlers (every one) have struggled with their line. In addition, it may be a good idea to bring Arpit as a change bowler. He is clearly struggling with the new ball. New bowlers, Nila and Rahul have shown lot of promise in the short spells they have been used. Perhaps its time to give then opportunity a bit early in the match. Today was not a good match as we were struggling to save a rather small total. But, when we are bowing first or defending a large total, we should bring in Nila and Rahul to give them more confidence. KCC has a good pitch and that could be an opportunity for them to step up.

Besides, Saghir, Pandiyan and Purav our batsmen havent done much of note in the last two matches this season. So we need to reinforce our middle order. Although Rehan did not have a good day today, as he fell to a very good catch, it is good to see him on the field. Once Rehan gets into his rhythm we will have another solid batsman in the middle order. Finally, extra work is also needed in taking high catches.

With all that the team is looking good. With so many young players, there is great atmosphere in the team and more than anything, today's match was won in a large extent by the self-belief that every player had. There was, at no point, any panic, everyone wanted to win and knew what exactly they needed to do. And this is a good sign. 

SS team also deserves an applause as they fought very hard and made this match worth a memory that will stay for a long time. Win or loss by one run is not a good measure of the relative strengths of two teams, so the two teams need to play more and I look forward to host the Strasbourg Strollers. In the meantime Nomdas enjoy one more away victory and set your sights on the upcoming challenge.

Nomads start the season with a win: A great team effort

A victory is important to any team. But the importance of a victory, and that too in an away game, can not be overstated for a team in rebuilding phase.

Every end of season for the Freiburg Nomads means that some of the old players will move and new player will come to the fold. This season is not different. However, this season the changes are more apparent than ever. 

In the first match of the season, that too an away game, four player made their debut and our wicket-keeper and one-down batsman was returning to competitive cricket after nearly two years. Having so many new players can go either way, while the new guys dont carry the burdens of the past, inexperience has its own set of problems. 

We tried to remove the inexperience part by having three/four very good practice sessions. This not only helped us work on our cricket but also helped us in bonding well. So we embarked on our journey from Freiburg to Ketsch we were in high spirit and keen to start the season on a winning note.

Vijay lost the toss and we bowled first. The first spell was tight. Arpit, particularly, was spot on, hardly ever the batsmen looked like going for runs. I was pretty ordinary but still runs were not coming easy and we had claimed a run out in the third over. 

Next spell of Saghir and Rajesh was very good for us. First, Rajesh, on not a very good delivery, got a wicket. There was some confusion on who wanted the catch as the ball went very high up in the air. Next Saghir had a very good LBW shout denied. But on the very next delivery he took his revenge. That was perhaps the best ball of the inning. After that until 17th over when we went in for the drinks break we were on the top with Ketsch team struggling with 54 runs in 17 over with five wickets gone. 

After drinks break our debutant bowlers started. Nila, was expensive but found his line pretty quickly. Rahul ended his first over with a wicket, Arpit took a well judged catch at the square leg boundary. Shiva, was a bit more expensive, partly because he was bowling to a rather attacking batsman. But he also ended his over with a wicket. After that the main bowlers returned. Rajesh and Arpit responded with a wicket each. It was a perfect finish by Arpit who got a wicket on the final delivery of an excellent spell. I was better in my second spell and the last over I bowled gave me lot of confidence and a wicket as I closed the batting.The target was 130 runs in 35 overs.

Except for a good partnership for the sixth wicket, Ketsch batsmen never looked comfortable. Bowlers did a very good job and they did it so because they were so very well supported by the fielders who were very well coordinated by Vijay. There was hardly any lapse in the fielding except for a couple of over throws and one dropped catch (a rather difficult one),. 

We started with Purav and Ajit in a very cautious manner. There was no pressure of the required run rate. Purav and Ajit did a very good job of seeing through the new ball bowlers. Their first bowler was very good but other bowlers were not so consistent and score kept moving with the help of extras. Ajit departed in the seventh over. Pandiyan, who had a great day behind the stumps continued his successful match with the bat. Both Purav and Pandiyan nearly took us home with their watchful but still attacking partnership of more than 60 runs. When Purav and Pandiyan got out in the same over we needed less than 30 runs to win. We had a mini-collapse as Arpit (who was promoted), Vijay and Saghir together could only brought us within 17 runs of the win. There was a small panic in our side and the Ketsch teams saw a chance to win. But with wides coming regularly there was no real problem and Rajesh and I saw the team through. 

In pre-match talk Purav said he would score a 50 and he did exactly that. Statistician may discuss how coincidental was that but I saw Purav's inning as I was doing umpiring and I can say that Purav was all along focused and determined to achieve what he had promised. A very good inning with hardly any false shot. Pandiayan was almost like a discovery as a wicketkeeper but he showed how good he can be with the bat. 

Now both Purav and Pandiyan have raised the bar, but I am sure they can do better and so can everybody else in the team. Bowlers conceded too many wides, we had  a mini collapse of the middle order. So there are things to improve but there are a lot of things to enjoy. The new players have looked promising. The older player are slowly coming to their colors. It is rather difficult to predict how the whole season will go, I would like not to build too much on the success in one match, but initial signs are looking very very positive. Moreover, everyone in the team is keen on improving and learning from mistakes.

Last season our campaign in the Baden-Wuerttemberg cricket league ended as we lost to the Ketsch team in the last must win league match. It was very disappointing as we had a good shot at the victory that time. With that in perspective, this victory was really very special and to mark it we recorded short interviews of all the players as we did after the loss last year.

I would like to thank the Ketsch team for being an excellent host.  The food was great. I look forward to return the hospitality. 

In the meantime well done nomads and lets repeat our success in Strasbourg on the coming Sunday.