Saghir made sure that Rhine cup will stay in Freiburg for yet another year

Cricket is played in bursts. There are pauses of 10-30sec. between deliveries and slightly longer between overs. These pauses are interrupted by very sharp and calculated actions at last for about a second. While this pauses and fast activity characterised the state of affair for the batsman and bowler int he middle, there are even longer pauses for the batsmen who have yet to come in and bowlers who are waiting to bowl and fielders who are waiting for the ball to come to them. 

It is these pauses that separate Cricket from other sports and make one of the most cerebral games after Chess. Thinking can lead to proper planning, calculated risks and eventually a victory despite odds. But thinking can also set in the panic and it is very easy to loose even from a winning situation. This is something that happened in Basel last Sunday.


FNCC innings
We posed a modest target. 145 runs in 35 overs on a wicket with true bounce. Our batting struggled to come in terms with the bounce in early overs and spin in the later overs. Except for Vijay and Saghir none of us looked in any shape to score freely. Vijay was very watchful and selective, while Saghir was in a mood to destroy the spinners' confidence to make it easier for the following batsmen. Both had their moment of success. But except for helping each other in the most important partnership of our innings, there was nobody help them. Bala did show some resistance and will to make runs but once again there was not much support for him. 

We expected Adnan, Vibhore and Angelo to fire up the batting. Unfortunately Adnan was hit by a rising delivery on his right thumb. Adnan perhaps learned that hard lesson that defending a PhD thesis (which he did last week) is easier than defending a rising delivery. Now he is out of action for at least three weeks as they had to remove the nail. Vibhore underestimated the abilities of the spinners, particularly Jit Singh, the senior bowler had lot of fun with him. Angelo did not show patience to get the eye in. 

In any case we did well to play the 35 overs. Since the rules were a bit different in this match, we did not get so many wides. A big credit to the Basel bowlers who kept our batsmen guessing, especially the three spinners. Danny on the other hand exploited the new ball. He should have got more wickets for the quality of his bowling. A lot of credit to Zaheer for orchestrating the bowling and fielding. Not at all easy when some senior players are in the team.

Basel Innings
The ball was bouncing and I was enjoying it. But Zaheer was in very defensive mood. Not that he was not going to whack the loose balls but there was no interest in taking risks. Why should he? He knew that if he stayed on 145 runs in 35 overs required no heroics. The score was around 20 runs in 8 overs but the openers were still batting. 

Then came Arpit, and struck on the second ball. That brought in Jit Singh. We expected a quick wickets but then there is something to experience. While Zaheer time and again went for boundaries, Jit was happy to be in the middle without any panic. Vijay tried and so did our bowlers. But except for a couple of half chances Basel were on their way. Slowly the heads of the FNCC were going down.

Bala was given the ball and Zaheer had a lapse of attention and tossed the ball to Shiva. The hope came back. But Danny and Jit were not easy. And took the score to 120s. The run rate remained more or less in the range of four an over. This shows our determination but also the cautious attitude that Basel took. 

The thrilling finish
At some point when the score was hovering around 100 for 2 in 25 overs, I was thinking about the inevitable. But cricket is never over until the last wicket has fallen, last run has been scored or last ball has been bowled. But the realisation of the inevitable pumped new energy. Saghir who was forcing himself to bowl despite a pulled muscle in his back, got Jit out caught by Angelo. This was the key point in the match. 

While panic set in Basel camp, FNCC were pumped with success. But Basel needed 19 runs off four overs and they had six wickets in hand. Nila translated that energy into a wicket. Score was still in 120s and Basel had lost five wickets. Arpit bowled a genius of an over. He claimed two wickets in that over and another one was run out. Sagheer took another wicket and we were really sniffing victory. When I started off the 34 over Basel needed 14 runs off two overs and one wicket in hand. 

At this point two young brothers were at the crease (sons of Jit Singh). I wanted to win but suddenly I lost the drive to bowl. Somehow I did not consider them worthy opponent. But I was so wrong and Anil took just two deleiveries to tell me how wrong I was. First bowl was a loosner on the legs and defended nicely. The second a half-volley out side the off stump, not very fast and was smacked in the covers. Perhaps the best show of the match. This was however, enough to wake me up and the match was over on the next ball...

Arpit finished with 3 wickets, Saghir and Nila got two, Bala and myself took 1 each. And there was one run out. Since we took the match to the 34 over all the bowlers were very economical. I was particularly pleased with my bowling, while I was not effective in taking wickets, I kept Zaheer and Danny (the two who faced most of my bowling) tied up and finished with 6.3-2-12-1. in retrospect it was not a bad strategy on my part to keep the scoring rate low for other bowlers to feel a bit safe in terms of runs.

Once again Cricket was played in the brain and the display on the match only reflected the state of the two teams. While one panicked other took the advantage. We were of course well trained in the last match when we lost a close finish. 

We won
Indeed it was good to win, especially in such a close match. We have to give credit to Basel for putting up a great show and fight. We have to remember that they had fielded a rather inexperienced and perhaps under-trained side. 

So despite the win there is a lot to learn for us. We cannot face the Geneva Srilankan team with such performance. Our bowling was decent. Saghir and I were only economical but not effective in taking wickets. The second line of attack also did not come very effective. And we certainly need someone to back up Arpit in the spin department. However, it is our batting which is more of a concern. 

Saghir is back in batting form which is a great news. With Vijay already in runs, there is some stability in the top order. But the middle order needs to improve their act, desperately. We need runs from Vibhore and Angelo and support for Bala.


Umpiring
It was really nice of Darren Kirby to officiate the match as an umpire. He did a good job. 

There are no rules in cricket. We only have laws and they have to interpreted by the umpires. He came up with a very interesting interpretation of the wide rule. According to his interpretation, if a batsman flashes his bat to reach the ball, the ball couldnt be called wide. He was consistent with both the teams, that part is fine. But I cannot agree with his interpretation and many share my opinion [see also]. I thought that only on LBWs people can have their own opinion and wide was a relatively easy thing. Evidently, Darren needs to rethink his interpretation.

Rhine cup 
This year we decided to play only one match. This victory not only kept our record clean against Basel but also ensured that the Rhine cup will stay in Freiburg for the third year in running. Great work FNCC. The match ball was given to Adnan and Saghir very fittingly was the man of the match.

A special thanks to Jason Ransome to help out with Adnan's injury. It was just when he left the field with Adnan that Basel started to dominate the match. They took some time to return but when they did, FNCC resumed being the dominating team. Well I am not superstitious but I do study, define and detect patterns in my day-job...

right arm over
Arvind

Rhine Cup To Stay in Freiburg for One More Season

At the very core of it, Cricket is a game played in the brain, the show on the ground is a mere manifestation of the tussles going on in the brains of the players. The FNCC and Basel CC encounters have become a perfect illustration of this fact.

Otherwise, how could a team which is currently at the top of the swiss league, has players who boast of amazing individual feats in the ground, continue to lose to FNCC, in most cases, without really putting up a fight.

FNCC has entered in that phase of season when the team is always short of players. But then there are those bravehearts like Feyas who come in to just to field despite his serious leg injury, or the passionate ones like Rajesh, who came to Freiburg to see his 'non-cricketing' friends (I wonder why do people have such friends!!) and ended up bowling his quota of six excellent overs. 

Vijay lost is customary toss to Basel and we bowled first. This is what we had planned anyways. Both Rajesh and Shubhu started cautiously  but firmly. We waited for the first change for the first wicket. Raghav was bowling really good. I started off well but then I pulled-off after two overs. Rajesh was sopt-on. We curtailed runs and wickets fell regularly. At the drinks break agter 15 overs the score was 68 for four wickets. Not too bad. But then after drinks Vijay brought in Rehan who took the Basel CC by surprise and claimed four wickets with his precise and cunning slow bowling. His bowling effort meant that Basel folded for 107 runs with about four overs remaining. Adnan and Nila provided good support to Rehan but were unlucky not to have have picked wickets. Adnan was particularly unluck as he took two wickets of no balls. But I think it must have given him a nice lesson. 

We started positively with Rehan and Raghav. Basel opening bowling was good. Inspired by Rehan's success Sunny started with a slow bowler. And he started the damage right away and Rehan mis-read his slower and straighter delivery. Pandiyan started as if nothing has happened and threw his bat to everything that came on the way and hit some very powerful blow. But his inning was rather erratic and he could have been out multiple times. Finally he was caught at the long on -- but the fielded (the slow bowler who opened the bowling) almost made a mess of it before making it a stunning catch. Raghav continued to grow in confidence (after my error -- read on), very well supported by Vijay and Angelo. Angelo was erratic like Pandiyan but he was a touch more careful. His inning was not pretty but very productive and that is what we needed. Sunny relied too much on his slow bowlers who were very effective but the target was too small to defend and FNCC players are very good on their front foot. We romped home with four wickets in hand. 

Yes, we could have done better, but the victory was very sweet as this meant we will retain the Rhine cup until the next season. Congratulations Nomads. 

I guess now Basel CC will have some time to reflect on the games and break the shackles that lie only in their brain. Good luck Basel CC for your remaining season. We are very lucky to have to you as our friends and we hope to continue our good relationship.

This victory should not go into our heads. The challenges ahead are tough. We have a strong opposition (the Winterthur team) visiting on 2nd Sept. After that we go to Geneva for a weekend trip to play two unknown teams in unknown grounds. We understand the game of Basel CC so we sometime get away with our mistakes. Clearly, FNCC is capable but they will have to work hard to maintain a clean record for the remaining season. 

----
I made an umpiring error early on when I failed to judge whether Raghav's bat touched the ball or not, at least I did not hear anything, neither the leg-umpire objected. Our visitors behaved as perfect gentlemen and the match went on. Since Raghav was our makeshift opener in that I do not think that the end result was influenced by him but I know that wickets in quick succession can change the tempo of the game. Moreover, Raghav carried his bat, so maybe my reprieve to him did play a role... my sincere apologies to the Basel team.

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.