Yousaf brothers' show: FNCC beat Zug CC

After the massive defeat against Zurich Nomads FNCC were very determined to right the wrong and give Rehan a much deserved win as a captain. Because of the cancellation on 25th May we got a full day of intense training. The match got delayed and in fact there was a fear that the ground was double booked but the end we started the game at 1200hrs. 

FNCC InningsRehan opened the innings with Fayas. It was the third opening pair we were trying this season in as many games. But they gave us a great start. The run rate was steady 5+ and both batsmen were freely playing there shots. Fayas was especially spectacular after getting a life in the first over. Rehan was riding on his luck. Once again the slow bowlers, especially Saman, started to turn things and between 10th and 15th over both Fayas, Vishv and Saghir got out and there was a little hiccup in our progress. 

That brought Adnan to the wicket. A typical FNCC style middle order collapse seemed imminent when Adnan looked to get in to his ultra defensive mode. But this was not to happen on that day. As Adnan found his feet and Rehan continued to get the dropped by Zug CC a much needed partnership developed. Adnan for the the first showed what he maybe capable of. Both brother slowly accelerated the run rate. When Adnan returned after scoring a marvellous 41 (or 43) we were all set to set a big target. Bala again failed to get going but Angelo was there to see that we do not squander the advantage. 

Last time we played Zug CC in 2013, Rehan missed out his century by nine runs. This time Zug CC were all set to reward him with one. As far as my count goes he was dropped at least seven times. Roshan from Zug CC told me it was more than nine times. In any case it was still Rehan who had to stay in keep scoring those runs and irrespective of the dropped catches he deserved that century. Congratulations Rehan !! And he carried his bat...

Finally we set a target of 226 in 30 overs. A very difficult target on any day on our pitch. 

Zug CC Innings
With such a score under the belt, were very confident. Like our opening batting we tried the thirs opening attack. This time it was Balaji. But he could not hold his nerves and wasted an opportunity. We got our first breakthrough in the third over. It could have been two in that over but Saghir failed to hold on to a catch but it was a horrible low full toss and the delivery did not deserve a wicket anyhow. But after that Roshan and Lakmal set their eyes in and aptly countered out second line of attack. While they did not lose their wicket, the required run rate kept climbing.  Saghir, Nila, Sharath were shuffled quickly in search of a wicket. But real breakthrough started to come when Rehan brought in himself and Adnan. 

Again both brothers exploited the conditions well. Our wicket as we are discovering really suits smart slow bowling, especially when batsmen are under pressure to score. Adnan and Rehan claimed three wickets between themselves and essentially broke the middle order of Zug CC. Rehan was a bit expensive but Adnan was there to keep the score in check, moreover, with a required run rate in excess of 8 an over we could afford few expensive over. 

After Lakmal and Roshan there was essentially no one in Zug CC to provide them stability and score both at the same time. So our all our bowlers took wickets. Sharat was unlucky to miss out on this time but he bowled really well.

The After Math
It was a show of the two Yousaf brothers. Rehan scored a century and took a wicket and led us from the front to secure his first win as a stand in captain. His younger brother, Adnan played an even better innings and bowled even better to wreck the Zug middle order. It was a great sight to see these two in the middle winning it for the FNCC.

We won by more than 90 runs. We had defeated Zug last year with similar margin. We were especially happy with the way Fayas and Adnan batted. It was a bit worrisome to see Saghir fall without much on the board. But we know that he is a quality player and knows his mistakes. In bowling department, we need to use the pace attack more creatively. The ball gets old rather quick on our wicket, so I think we should use that time for pace and then switch to slow bowling. 

A very important thing to keep in mind is that the Zug team we played was a very much depleted of its important players, who could not come to Germany to play. With them in the team they would have been a very competitive side. Even with this team if they had held the catches we could have been in trouble. So we should keep our feet on the ground and realize that there is still along way to go between our potential and performance. A massive win like this should not obscure our own reality. The return game agains ZUg would be a different affair.

Amateur Cricket Leagues: To join or not

In last few years another serious question has become a key part of the season planning -- whether we want to play in a league or not. League fixtures often are a sore experience given the unprofessional attitude of the players and league leadership in view of the exaggerated competitiveness of the matches. Together with this, the financial burden (usually 300-400 Euros) more than often discourages young students from joining clubs. So most teams in big cities reach a state of stagnancy and teams in smaller city remain deprived of the new talent so necessary for them to remain competitive. All in all it seems that the amateur cricket leagues they way they are run currently, are not really doing any good for the development of cricket at the club level in the south Germany. 

After a long slumber, FNCC is slowly waking up. For a small club like ours based in a small (but really beautiful) town like Freiburg, every season brings predictable challenges. For instance, every season starts with the news of player who had already left or will leave Freiburg soon. Sadly it has never happened the other way that there is a list of new players who are lining up. We usually rely on hope to get the season going. Other challenges are more manageable such as raising money for equipments, buying equipments, securing the ground contract and getting the practice going. 

In last few years another serious question has become a key part of the season planning -- whether we want to play in a league or not. 

In 2010 an amateur cricket league was floated in the state of Baden-Wuertumberg. It was supported by the German Cricket Board. There was a lot of excitement about it, perhaps being a new thing or because we were hoping for more organized and competitive games.

That season FNCC did not do too well. Still we bounced back after a disastrous start and ended up on the Vth place. In the T20 league we lost in the semifinal. We were for sure better than that. 

But we decided not to participate in the league in 2011. It was decision taken based on the way the league was being organized. First, in the name of competitiveness most teams were very hostile to each other. There was no mutual respect and winning was the sole aim as if their life depended on that. Combine this with the complete unprofessional attitude of the league leadership and untrained and unqualified umpires. Overall we thought that we play cricket more for the fun of it and love for the game and winning/losing is something that is just a part of the game. Essentially FNCC players wanted to leave the ground with a good feeling not filled with animosity towards the opposition.

Once we sat down and did the math, we found that we paid some 200+Euros to get 8/9 fixtures and in return we also lost the peace of mind that comes with playing cricket. So we decided to step out of the league. 

In 2011 we went solo and arranged out fixtures as we did without the league setup. We travelled a bit too much and played in total 12 games and lost just once. Perhaps the best season for the FNCC. It was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed their cricket. So we decided to continue with the same experiment in the 2012 season.

This time around it was a bit sore experience. This was primarily because we could not arrange many fixtures. We had a great season going by cricket, but we mainly played Basel CC (multiple times -- in process forging a great relationship with them).

We noticed that most of the teams in our neighborhood in Germany and Switzerland were part of their respective league. Typically the league schedule is full and there is little space to have the so called friendly fixtures. This awareness was very disappointing and depressing. There was only one way out of this. 

But we were sure that the leadership of the Baden-Wuertemberg leagues was practically the same with different faces and therefore that league was not an option. So we decided to go with our friends in Basel and participated in the Swiss League, which we later learned was one of the two leagues currently in a legal battle over their claims to be 'the swiss cricket league'.

It started out to be a good experience, although a bit expensive in terms of money. However, the way we were treated in the semi-final of the league has completely destroyed our faith in these cricket leagues runs by amateurs and people with vested interests which most of the times lie way outside the cricket field. 

So we are back in the state to decide whether to go solo or become part of the sham some people consider a league. 

I do not want to appear a capitalistic person here. But if we do the math we find out that the participation in any league costs something in the range of 300 Euros and costs for 'Neutral Umpires' which in my view usually are the most undesirable players of their teams. In addition we have buy the so called league balls. So all in all we get to pay something in the range of 600 Euros. The 'other' swiss leagues costs go as far as 800 euros. 

In return what do we get? Guaranteed fixtures in the range of 6-10 matches depending on number of teams and how far we proceed in the league. There is not real prize money for the clubs who win or reach to the semifinals. Clubs like ours are always strapped for money and increasing membership fees only dissuades new players from joining. Moreover, many players just do not turn up because they find the hostility that comes in the name of competitiveness very very discouraging. So I wonder how do these leagues help the development of the game and teams. 

More important I wonder where does the league membership money go? It is certainly not spent in terms of subsidising the club expenses or any other facilities -- at least FNCC has yet to enjoy the benefit of this membership fees. 

Typically the leagues are run by people who are not there for the development of cricket but to exert their authority and in most cases completely unjust authority. Players who play in these leagues try to use cricket a way to boost their ego and if they are being hampered by others in reaching this goal, either by better play or by the laws of the games, the do not stop from breaching the whole essence of cricket. 

By contrast, the non-league based matches are far more fun. People act like guests and hosts as opposed to two teams with sole goal to defeat the other team. In most cases irrespective of the result of the game, players from the opposition sit together share a drink and discuss the game. The short talks which often mature into long terms friendships. 

With the financial burden (membership fees are raised from the players) and unfriendly nature of matches in many ways discourages new players to come in the fold. This leaves teams in big cities stagnant because people do not move so much, and are in a position to bear the financial costs. In the smaller cities there are more consequences -- if new players cannot afford to play then the cricket is greatly reduced in the places as teams in smaller cities are usually composed of students who come to the University for a short duration (one or two seasons).

So I wonder how these amateur cricket leagues are run and more importantly the higher organizations like German Cricket Board and Swiss Cricket Board must review their policies to better run the club cricket. What is important is that there is space for teams who do not want to play in any leagues to find fixtures. That is, the league schedule should have enough free days to accommodate friendly games. Second, it would help if the leagues fees could be reduced if not completely removed and teams are informed how the money is being used.

More suggestions are of course welcome.

The conundrums will continue throughout the season but I am positive that we will find a way to maximize the Cricket and Fun factors, despite the increasing complexity of the problem.

right arm over
Arvind

FNCC held their nerves to defeat Geneva Srilankans in the Swiss cricket league

It is remarkable that we have managed to win four games in a row despite continued failure of the middle order in last three matches. We lost five middle order wickets in space of 30 runs and about five overs. But it was an important game and we are very very happy to have defeated one of the strongest teams in the league. There were talks of revenge victory after the game but come on, there is no such thing in cricket. Every match is a new one played in different conditions and mostly with different teams. 

SLCC innings
On a relatively unknown wicket GSLCC decided to bat first. It made sense because they are a better bowling side. Their openers played to their strength, while the scoring rate was slow (around 4) they remained on the wicket until the 26th overs. FNCC has never toiled that long for a wicket. We expected that they will accelerate after the drinks break but for some reason they were happy with the scoring rate. We knowing our pitch, outfield and batting, knew that it was not going to enough. So in the expectation of some attacking batting we kept going with the defensive approach. 

In the 26th over first wicket fell to Saghir and then for some reason we thought that we could even bowl them out. I was not that optimistic because we had only 9 overs remaining. But Saghir is always very confident. So we again turned to Arpit who continued to take 3 wickets per match. After a long time I took a caught and bowled wicket. And GSLCC lost 8 wickets in the space of 20 runs and nine overs. 

Our bowling as really great. Everybody bowled superbly. It was just a coincidence that Arpit, Saghir and I got the chance to bowl in the death overs and claimed wickets. Any other bowler from our side could have gotten wickets in that stage. I guess that GSLCC were waiting for some second string bowling but in this current FNCC side there is no such thing, each bowler is highly skilled and capable. 

We struggled a bit in the field. I was especially guilty -- mis-judged a catch that became a six (sorry Arpit) and mis-fielded twice to give away boundaries. It was one of those rare days when even Saghir mis-fielded. 

FNCC innings
Chasing 147 in 35 overs was doable but a certain degree of commitment was needed. With Arpit's batting form, it was decided to open with Raghav and Vijay. Raghav returned to cricket after a long break and was playing his first match of the season. And he grabbed the opportunity by both hands and with a solid batting. Together with Vijay he gave us a cracking start. At one point score was 32 in five overs. At that score Vijay was brilliantly caught at square-leg. He was looking in ominous touch. Perhaps Basel will have to pay the price that catch in the next match. 

But Raghav kept the score ticking and at a healthy rate such that other batsmen had no pressure of scoring. It was specially good for Feyas who was also playing his first match of the league. Feyas struggled a bit and clearly he needs to be quick on getting to the ball. It was remarkable how easy it was for Raghav to bat that Saghir took the back seat for a while. 

When Raghav got out after a brilliant fifty we needed 30 something runs and we made a mess of the situation. Angelo, Balaji and Bala failed to make any serious contribution. In second consecutive match I got to bat. When I went in we needed nine runs and Saghir was on the other end, so that was enough to give me confidence. But while going in I was again remembering the my mis0fielding that gave the GSLCC as many as 10 extra runs and I did not want to lose. So we did not. 

It was just a great feeling to defeat a good team. But the whole atmosphere was a bit sore as our guests did not agree with the umpiring decisions. It was indeed a shame that they felt compelled to question the umpires -- this is not our style and neither could appreciate GSLCC's behavior. 

Irrespective of this, in my opinion it was a very good match. While on our side Raghav and Saghir took the anchoring of batting, supported by a great bowling performance, on the GSLCC side their openers Sachin and Hasan showed great determination to give their team a solid base. Hasan later bowled superbly. Only during his bowling I learned he was observing a fast as it is the holy month of Ramadan. By his performance it was clear that his gods were on his side.

FNCC still needs to improve
I often think that the best way to judge the strength of a team is to see it in terms of how often lower order batsmen get to bat. I recall in their pomp, Glenn McGrath rarely batted for Australia. In fact, he batted only once/twice in world cup matches despite playing in four of them and winning three. 

The fact that Nila and me are getting a chance to bat clearly shows that we are not a strong team. Our middle order is failing us again and again. There is no amount of urging from Vijay seems sufficient. In name of their natural game, we are bringing the team to the brink of loosing. This is something where we need to work and it is the players who bat between 5-8 places have to rethink their job for the team and accordingly shape their innings. They can do it and we have to make sure that they get a chance to do it in the practice. Another area we have reinforce ourselves is fielding.  In any case overall the team is looking good. 

On the umpiring, cricket and its spirit
We expected a very pleasant match -- an opinion we formed after our visit to GSLCC last season. Alas it was not to be...

Sports do not make characters they reveal it by providing certain very specific situations of your character. How do you behave when you are dominating, when you are down and struggling to keep your head up, when you win or when you loose, when conditions are favorable or the tide is against you and so. I do not know if there is any other human activity that can test you in so many different situations. 

GSLCC appeared a different team when we saw them last year and earlier in the T20 tournament. On those occasions they were the winning side in conditions that suited them. Sunday last they were in somewhat unfamiliar situation and dominated by the FNCC. Their behavior was hardly respectable and justified and certainly unacceptable from a team of their calibre. 

Why is that when FNCC defeats GSLCC (who in their opinion could be a weaker team) that pitch and poor umpiring become the cause and when they defeated in their home territory that was just that they were a better team. 

It just cannot be that our umpires made a wrong decision every time and their umpire was fair just because we do not like to question umpires' decisions to the extent that we do not even discuss that. Human error is always their -- professional and highly rated umpires make error. But one thing is very clear that umpire is always in the in best position to judge the validity of a ball and LBWs and we have accept this fact. This is in my opinion umpires are held at such level and their decisions are respected because despite their falliability they remain in the best position to make a decision.

The pitch
Since the pitch was heavily criticised by GSLCC I am forced to add this. 
I admit we play on a strange wicket. It is difficult (but no impossible) to get a good bounce in the flicx wicket. In any case the bounce remains consistent (on the lower side). A large part of the cricket is about mastering different wickets. Just because one is unfamiliar with a certain wicket does not outrightly renders that wicket unacceptable. We could as complain that the wickets in Geneva was too bouncy!! But we do not, we accept it as a part of Cricket. 

We have one of the best outfields and if only you can control your game, there are enough runs in the wicket. We have been using the flicx wicket for over 10 years and we have hosted many teams. 

So if GSLCC is still blaming the pitch and umpiring for their loss they need to rethink their cricket.


right arm over
Arvind

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

So near yet so far: Zurich Nomads prevail in the tight finish

How close a cricket match can go? Of course a tie is very thrilling and entertaining. Besides that single run can decide the winner. Likewise single wicket -- but with that it is a bit difficult to judge the closeness of the match. Today is a story of a match which was won and lost by one wicket.

We batted first. Arpit and Vijay gave us a quite but solid start. Arpit was strangely sedated today. Vijay in the other hand was in a good nick and scored 34 runs. They very well braced the challenge of neutralizing some very good and controlled swing bowling first from  Faheem and later from Vickey. Balaji came in to replace Arpit in 10th over. He looked good enough to take on the bowling. After Vijay got out we had a little middle order collaps. Saghir was again unlucky. 

I did not see the best part of Vibhore and Adnan's batting but they kept the score going at a healthy rate of 4-4.5 runs oer over. Adnan score 14 runs with only one boundary -- meaning he is getting his confidence. He I am told was adjudged LBW on an inside edge -- very unfortunate but such decisions happen and we cant do much.

But the row Zurich Nomads created on that decision does not suit their team and certainly does not reflect the quality of cricket that was played today.

Vibhore (who celebrated his birthday yesterday) looked to mix attack and defence. While they did score runs, they missed out on some single -- which could have made a difference.

Then came a cameo from Bala who hit some powerful blows and tried to accelerate the innings. Against a very good frontline bowling attack and average follow up 161 runs was a decent score. We would have wanted to few more. In fact the result left us asking of just a few more but thats always the case in tight matches. 

Saghir and Rahul started our defence. The Zurich nomads batsmen looked quite but comfortable. I quickly replaced Rahul but leaked out too many runs in my first over. Actually me and Nila were not supposed bowl and I was really struggling to find my rhythm. In my third over two wickets fell to raise the confidence of our side. 

Arpit topped it up with his peculiar start -- by claiming a wicket on his first ball. This was followed by a run out. But from here on we lost the grip over the match. Vickey steadily raised the score. Fifth wicket partnership was in range of 60+runs. He miscued a full-toss from Arpit to Shiva. Once again few wickets fell in that bursts. But again the eight wicket partnership was extended for too long. This was partly because of the some elegant batting from Faheem. He was also tossed one of Arpit's fulltoss to Nila. Thats the first time we smelled a victory.

Faheem was the difference today between the two sides, duely supported by Vickey. These two guys bowled well and them batted even better -- unfortunately (and fortunately for us) both fell to full-toss deliveries of Arpit. While fall of Vickey was a respite for the FNCC, it was Faheem's departure that gave use real hope. We needed to take 2 wicket and they needed 18 runs to win. Alas some  poor fielding, indiscipline in the bowling and stubbornness of Sangam's batting the ninth wicket fell (a run out) when they needed three runs. Saghir tried his best to stretch the game but on the fourth bowl of the last over it was all over. 

I talked about how every match is revealing new aspects of the FNCC character. It takes a great deal to accept the defeat gracefully. When the finish is so close as today's it is difficult judge who actually is the winner -- indeed the victory in such matches is largely a statistical fluctuation. We for instance won such a thriller against Strasbourgh in 2010. Nevertheless the margin of victory aptly describes the difference in the two teams in such matches.

This was not the first time that one/two batsmen took the game away from us. Almost a similar match was played against Winterthur last year. We lost that time in an attempt to defend 159 just because one batsman stayed for a bit too long and took the game away from us. We certainly needed to spot this trend and work to correct this. First we let Faheem settle and then gave him a field that he could score runs freely. I do not want to take anything away from him, he played a superb innings. But this is an area we need to work hard.

There were several positives of the match. This being a non-league game we experimented with out batting. We for the first time got to see Vibhore (who debuted) and Rahul's batting potential. Likewise Bala repeated his succeses of Uster game here as well with some towering sixes. Balaji showed some potential to bat at the top of the order. And very importantly Adnan reached to double figures after a long time. This positives when added can only signal the strength of our batting. Yes, Arpit and Saghir needs to lift their game. Saghir's bad luck continued and I hope that the law of averages will come in play for him. He cant stay away from real action for too long.

Bowling was ok today -- we almost defended 161 runs. But we are not effective against left-hand batsmen. Extras are still leaking -- today we gave away 24 runs as extras.

Fielding was excellent in patches. When runs started to flow we somehow became excessively defensive and accordingly the bowling. Guru needs to get his basics right for wicket-keeping. He does not talk and very importantly rarely appeals. With his appeal we can only dream of getting LBWs. But he has reflexes to develop in to a good wicket-keeper.

In any case, with this match we have known  our limits. And now the challenge is to further extend them. Despite defeat I could the feeling of self-discovery on many faces and thats what we gained from this defeat (a defeat never leave uneducated).

right arm over
Arvind

PS: It was FNCC debute of Vibhore (who scored 33), Shiva (a first ball duck -- actually first ball ever he faced on the flix wicket), Eldho (How much did he score?). and Guru. Welcome to the club guys.

FNCC won in style: Cricket returned to Freiburg

Cricket returned to Freiburg after a gap of 10 months when we went down fighting against Winterthur Cricket Club. Our last victory in a home game came against Basel in Aug, 2012. 

Consistency is important. As I always say winning one odd match can happen even by chance. Before the start of the game, including the last season's matches our record read as WLLLW. Three losses in a row. So we were very eager to keep the momentum going and win at home turf. 

The day was just beautiful. It was a bright sunny day and the forecast was for a very hot afternoon. As the wicket stayed in the sun for some time, it had flattened under its own weight and solar energy. So we knew that there will be bounce. 

Eagle CC decided to bat first on an unknown pitch. Right from the first delivery I knew that there was pace and bounce. Real surprise was the swing that we started to get right away. The first wicket came on the first delivery (third of the match) aimed at stumps. By the time the first spell of me and Saghir ended the score card read 14 for 4 in six overs. 

Vijay bring in Arpit and Pranjal. The wickets kept tumbling and in next eight overs both of them had three wickets each. Eagle CC has folded for 25 runs. Saghir and I thought we were very economical (6 overs for 14 runs) but Arpit and Pranjal bowled 8 or 9 overs for 9 runs. It was just a brilliant combination of medium pace of Pranjal and slow left arm spin of Arpit that our guests had not clue what was going on. 

Also I must say that Eagle CC did not show any commitment. There was one run out but the remaining nine wickets fell as clean bowled. Yes, a couple of catches could have been held in the slips but that would not any qualitative difference. 

Under normal circumstances we would have eased out after seeing the scores at the end of four overs. But that being a league game we remained ruthless. Partly it was because it was a league game and every point mattered, partly because we were not informed about the quality of Eagle CC batting/bowling. This is what league bring to you...

Our chase was expected to be quick but we were surprised by a sharp catch which costed us Rehan's wicket. But Vijay and Arpit made sure that we chased the target in little less than five overs without any further surprises. Since their batting imploded there was not much left for the Eagle CC bowlers, which was a pity because thought their bowling could have created a contest if only there was some score on the borad to defend.

As such I think that no serious team is worth getting out for 25 runs, that is any team should be capable of making more runs and in fact, we have seen Eagle CC score more. I study stochastic processes so I know one can show that perhaps the massive success of our bowling was just a chance. But one ought to have seen the quality of our bowling that day before reaching any conclusions. We were just superb and if not for 25 we could have reduced them to something more reasonable (60+) score. In fact, on such a beautiful sunny day when all our bowlers were in rhythm we could have decimated any opposition. I am sure that Eagle Cricket Club can put this behind... but only if they show some commitment and value their wicket.

It was a home fixture so FNCC players had a lot to organize. The field organisation and other logistics went well but can be improved and will be improved. Real surprise in the  lunch was 'helva' that Arpit brought. 

From now on there are only tough fixtures for us. These previous two games have revealed some important aspects of the FNCC character. But I am sure there is more to FNCC and we can do better. Our fragile middle order remains a worry and the last match did not give us any chance... there are always avenues for improvement and thats what FNCC is all about....

right arm over
Arvind

FNCC makes an emphatic debut in the Swiss league

Nomads could not have asked for a better start---99 run victory after scoring 255 runs in little less than 35 overs. More important was the general feeling that we could have scored more run and could have bowled out the opposition for lesser runs....every thing seemed possible on that day.

There were three players who showed what they are capable of. Nila among the bowlers, and Vijay and Rehan among the batsmen. Other still have to make their mark.

Arpit and Rehan gave us a confident start. The real magic started when Vijay joined Rehan. Runs started to come easy on a rather dodgy wicket. It was difficult to play (see below) but very quickly Rehan and Vijay found the range of their shots. Rehan more than often switched between dead bat and areal route. Vijay chose to play a second fiddle to Rehan but played some very beautiful shots. The second wicket partnership was worth 131 runs. At one point they scored 50 runs in five over. 

Once Vijay fell to a rather rash shot after scoring 55 runs, the famous FNCC collapse started. At one point we were looking to score 300 runs and soon we were hoping not to get out within 35 overs. Rehan scored 91 runs. He looked all set to score a 100 but ...

Saghir was unlucky again, Angelo was a undone by the strange bounce and Adnan fell victim to his over cautious play. Bala lifted the game with some tentative defence and soaring sixes. In the end we were bowled out for 255 runs.

Zug CC had some good bowler and some under par ones. Suggi and Nesson were pretty handy and troubled the batsmen more than often. But once a batsmen is set, bowlers have to wait for the mistake and Rehan and Vijay took a lot of time to commit there mistakes. We were not sure it 255 runs were going to be enough given the outfield and unfamiliarity with the opposition.

We started in our regular economical way. I was struggling with my rhythm. Saghir was however, channeling is batting failure in to an aggressive opening spell. Nila however was the pick of this spell. From mid-on when nobody expect he gave us the first breakthrough in the form of a runout. In my third over I went for 14 runs. Even though the required run rate was more than 7 an over in that ground it was doable and we were wary that few such loose overs to could undo the hard work of Rehan and Vijay. So Saghir correct my mistake as one of his yorker hit the stumps. 

Arpit and Nila then tied up the batsmen. One of Arpit's over also costed him 13 runs but overall the second spell pretty much closed the doors for the Zug CC as the required runs rate increases slowly to nine an over. Such run rate can be maintain for few over but only rarely for 20 overs.

Nila bowled beautiful. He had the perfect length for that wicket and he was duely rewarded with maiden overs and wickets. Arpit was unlucky that he didnt pick a wicket... Pranjal was spot on... when he came in there was a pressure to consolidate the advantage Nila and Arpit brought to us and he did that job excellently. 

Vijay changed his bowler regularly and gave Zug CC batsmen no chance to pick any bowler. With run rate climbing it was clear that batsmen will go for big shots but proper field placement and bowling length meant that we did not leak too many runs. 

After drinks break it was more a matter of victory margin. I returned after drinks, still struggling for rhythm but was lucky to pick up two wickets credit however should go to Saghir who took quickly amending his rare lapse  in fielding and Pranjal who judged the catch in cover very well. 

But again it was Nila who stole the show. At one point he took two wickets in two balls -- Saghir intercepted a very good shot and I took a skier. He ended up with four wickets as Vijay wanted to try out Adnan, Bala and Bala. The small Bala (a very colorful character) was successful in claiming a wicket and FNCC was celebrating a victory after 10 months... It was a great feeling....

From Zug CC, Roshan and one of the opener were very good. I thought that Rishan came a bit too late. But overall I think more than our bowling they crumbled under the weight of runs they were supposed to score.

But it was not all that great. We were good in the field but should have held few more catches. Vijay needs some more practice behind the wicket. Bowling was superb but I really need to work on my bowling rhythm. Batting showed our depth and shallowness at the same time. The collaps of middle order cannot be acceptable and we cannot hope to go further just based on one big partnership. This match clearly showed that if our middle order clicks what we are capable of ... what is important is that we convert this potential to reality. 

Man of the match: I am bowler and I biased when I think Nila should be the MoM. But truely it was Rehan's batting that helped us put up that huge score. It is only a shame that he missed out on his well deserved  century. But there are going to be many more opportunities.... Thank you Rehan. Of course Rehan's effort would not have been enough without Vijay and Nila. 

The wicket

In the main land Europe nothing surprises you more than the cricket wicket. For instance, we play on plastic wicket in football field where we cannot even nail the plastic thing. From a cement wicket with artifical turf to jute and plastic mats you will find every variety except for the real wicket. Talk about cultural schock...There are many more innovative and creative wickets that can test your abilities. In Zug we were told that the wicket was a surprise even to the home side. We of course played in football field with turf i.e. the outfield was lightening fast. There was a real chance at the boundary the ball may bounce over the fielders. 
The wicket in such field was a mere carpet which was tapped to the ground and the other end which just extended to the half of the pitch. Usually the carpet was stretched at the start of the over and for subsequent deleveries the accumulated wrinkles which invariable led to unpredictable bounce and speed.  This is real cultural shock....

The hosts
It was great to play at the ground of Zug Cricket club. Very good hosts... made it an every bit an enjoyable atmosphere. Thank you guys for beging so nice and kind off the field and competitive on the field.

It is of course only a start... It is easier to win one or two odd games and it is completely different to maintain a consistence particularly when wicket is part of the cultural shocks and most oppositions are unfamiliar  It is beginning of a long journey for the FNCC... the nice things that there are many young and enthusiastic players who are showing every promise to take us through.

right arm over

Arvind

The new Freiburg Nomads: rebuilding starts for the new season

In late 1990's some British and Australian expats started the Freiburg Nomads Cricket Club. Over the years FNCC has transformed from a largely social club to a highly competitive cricket team. This change has also come with a change in the demographics of FNCC (see a previous blog entry -- changing landscape of FNCC). I now tend to believe that this also reflects the expats demographics in Freiburg. 

Despite the changing style of cricket and demographics one thing that has remained constant is that every season there is a massive change in the players. Freiburg being a relatively small University town does not offer many job prospects so we usually get young students who leave after playing for a couple of seasons -- around the time they really learn their cricket. But we have to pay this price if want to keep a high IQ for the FNCC. 

I have been part of FNCC since 2003 when we moved to the current ground at the seapark. So this is my 8th full season but I did play some matches in 2006, and 2008 as well. With such long association with the club I tend to be philosophical and metaphorical about the change that I see every season.

The best metaphor that comes to my brain is that of a river. The water that constitutes the river is always changing but still it remains the same river. This is largely because the river banks change rather slowly over time. 

So is with the FNCC. The players change but the club fundamentals have been passed form one set of players to other. The key to be a FNCC player and FNCC spirit has been to play cricket hard but fair and respect the opponents -- the way cricket should be played. Freiburg Nomads have played cricket for the sake of cricket and winning etc. have just followed. 

FNCC 2013: I am behind the camera.

We have been fortunate that every season we find some new talented and motivated players to take up the FNCC mental and help maintain the FNCC its character. So far we have been very successful in instilling the FNCC spirit in the new members that why the club has retained it character that was essentially set at its start. 

Players like Saghir Butt (since 2004), Rehan Yousaf (since 2005) and Vijay (since 2007) have remained instrumental in every success of the FNCC. A number of players besides these three largely from the class of 2011 have gone out of their way to shape FNCC's evolution in to a very good cricketting side.


This year reminds me of the year 2011, when a number of players joined us and we ended up with an amazing season. I hope that the new one who are going to be called the Freiburg Nomads i.e.

• Bala (he comes from Offenburg to play)
• Balaji
• Ehsan Bhai (he comes from Basel to play)
• Eldho
• Farookh
• Guru
• Pranjal Srivastava
• Sreedhar



FNCC 2013 -- Our captain Vijay is behind the camera.

• Vibhore Rastagi

will follow the traditions while giving FNCC a new identity and new set of successes and memories. Welcome guys. 

Also Arpit and Rahul -- welcome back after a break of one season.

The loss against GSLCC has ignited a lot of interest and highlighted the importance of the practice. The new ones are taking it very seriously. I was so pleased to see that 18 guys showed up for practice in Friday last. If this passion continues I am sure we can better the success of 2011.

With this the FNCC Future may be tense, it might also be imperfect, but it certainly looks continuous and the river called FNCC will continue...

right arm over
Arvind

Geneva weekend: Two losses and lot to reflect upon

The first cricket test match I watched was the India tour of West Indies in 1989. Those were still the hay days of West Indies cricket. It was that time I dreamed of being a fast bowler when I saw how the West Indies fast bowlers tormented the Indian batsmen. I wanted to do the same. But one thing that bothered me was why Indian were not able to play those bouncing deliveries. The commentators and newspapers told that because in India there were no bouncy tracks, Indians just did not know how to play. I was surprised and something did not make sense... But still it was clear that I wanted to bowl fast bouncing deliveries.

In Geneva on the weekend of 8-9th sept. we found ourselves in similar situation as teams often found themselves in West Indies and Australia in 80s, 90s. 

On the 8th, we started off at 0700hrs from Freiburg. We made it to the ground in time and match started off already 1230hrs. The ground was looking small and the pitch was laid at an odd angle. But the the pitcth looked good. It was an artificial turf laid on a rock solid concerete, so a lot of bounce was expected. They told us that 250+ will be a fighting score on that wicket, given the pitch and ground. 

We were put into bowling. I started off with two loose and very short balls, both were sent to boundary. But that was it for me. I found my line and length and no one can score when the ball is coming to your throat. Once I found my rhythm and I was living my dream. We dearly missed Saghir's bowling. The injury he incurred in the previous match was still hurting. Other bowlers were trying to find their feet on the wicket. They bowled good but only in patches and this was visible in the fact that every wicket ended in more than 10 runs in that same over. Nila was particularly good but he lacked experience. 

Of course the bowling quality was overshadowed to a great extent because of we were only 9 fielders. Moreover, on such wickets it is important to control the length, if you dont have enough pace. Thats where we conceded a lot of runs. But in the end it was not too bad as we restricted the opposition to 170 and bowled them out within 35 overs. I ended up with five wickets, four of them caught by Pandiyan behind the wickets. He in total claim five catches and this is enough to show how good we bowled but again in patches. 

Batting was not that good. On a day when we could bowl to our our average potential, we can restrict that team to a rather modest total. Except for Aamir none from there stayed long enough on the wicket and he too had his share of luck. 

For those who know how to play on such wickets 170 was an easy target. But we found out that our batsmen just do not know how to play the fast bouncing tracks. The opposition fast bowlers created havoc and they were unlucky that they got only one wicket. Still runs were not coming. The second spell brought some ease. Saghir looked in control as was expected. At one point we were 92 for four wickets and need 80 runs in in about 18 overs. Everything looked all set. But then the famous FNCC collapse happened. And we folded a the score of 121. Vijay perhaps delayed going to bat because he was looking the most comfortable. But besides him and Saghir none of us knew how to play good fast bowling in a good wicket. Most of us edged rising deliveries. 

Still we were happy to score whatever we did and all admitted to their flaws. We did put a serious effort. Scared the opposition albeit for a too short duration. We were upset but we accepted the loss in good spirit and promised to return stronger next day. Evening was spent wondering about how to play the bouncing ball. But, thinking alone does not help when you have never practiced...

Next day the Sri-Lankan teams put us in bat. They hoped to bowl us out cheaply. We were more than prepared to face the bouncing ball. But Sri Lankan players perhaps had seen that quality good bowling with bounce is a waste on us. They taught us even more harsh lesson. On that bouncing wicket, the bowled full and hit the wickets. Most of us were bowled out this time. The cause -- good controlled swing bowling. The ball that took Vijay out was just a pure beauty. The bowler had set him up so nice and he was by far our best batsmen against that bowling. We scored runs but lost wickets quite regularly including to run outs. The came the surprise of the trip.

Angelo was frustrated by the bounce so he decided that he would step out and will not let the ball bounce and he did that with great control and together with Nila they took the score to 140 with the last wicket adding nearly 40 runs. It was just too bad that he did not get a well deserved 50.

In the process of getting myself run out I had exposed some injury in my legs and for nearly an hour I was unable to stand on my feet. But when we started our defense I thought I was feeling good. When I started my first over I in full control and confidence. Already the third ball fetched an edge to Adnan. But this was the end for me. My injury became worse and I could not run or even stand up. So I left the field. 

Others bowlers again were coming in terms with the pitch. This time though Rehan provided a great option. Unlucky that he did not get his five wicket haul. He bowled beautifully, though a bit expensive, he was clear pick of our bowling. Saghir managed to bowl that day but it was too late and too little. Perhaps the wicket of the left-hander could have opened the game but .... such things only make sense in the retrospect. We lost by five wickets. Looks pretty onesided loss but there was tension at one point... we did create a scare and who know what it might have been if Saghir and I had bowled in tendem...

While outside the field agonized by the pain I was wondering what was worse, the pain or the fact that I was seeing my team from the sidelines... the later is worse... believe me. If I had a slight bit of strength I would have bowled.

Lot to learn from the losses. Cricket is about mastering the conditions and we lost because we failed to do so and we failed to do because we had never been exposed to such pitch and bowling attack. Our lack of skills was exposed. Still it was a great experience... 

After a long time I had conditions that suit me and I thoroughly enjoyed that. With Saghir on the other end we could have had a different story, with a full fielding side we could have restricted the Pak team to some 140... there were may what ifs... but the truth always catches up. 

When the team loses individual efforts start to come up to give solace to the tormented souls. Rehans four wickets, Pandiyan's wicket keeping effort (more that 6 victims), Angelo's 40+ score, Nila's batting while supporting Angelo and so on....at least there was something to remember and something to return to and accomplish....

The trip explained to me why Indians struggled so badly in West Indies when that land was still blessed with good fast bowlers. It also explained what it needs to created a competition between the bat and the ball and personally it explained to me the importance of fitness...

--------

I would like to thank our hosts. Both the teams were great hosts. There was amazing food on both days. The Sri-Lankan teams was particularly generous. I had never had such amazing and multi-course lunch at a cricket ground. Both teams provided us with players to make up for the missing players in our side. Only that the Pak. Cricket club kind of created a situation where the borrowed player was of no practical use. On the other hand, the Aamir who played for us against the Sri-Lankan teams was pretty handy. 

These two teams have raised the bar in hospitality. I hope we get to return the favor when they visit us in Freiburg. Maybe they will get to see the other extreme of cricket pitch.

The season ended this with the Geneva trip. This season was not as spectacular as the last one. Strangely we played so few games this year. If we exclude Basel and Pak Freiburg, we played three Swiss teams and lost to all of them. There were more sad memories than happy ones. But that was expected. Perhaps more regular cricket could have helped... There is lot to reflect upon the season gone by, but maybe some other time. Right now, it is time to be thankful that we got to play cricket, in whatever amount, and feel proud that we played it clean despite victories or losses.

Nomads go down fighting in a thriller

On the surface cricket is a contest between bat and the ball. Every now and then there are matches that go beyond this simple version. In my opinion the match last Sunday was about tactics, field settings, deep nuances of the game -- what do you do when you need 30 runs at an asking rate of about 4.5, three lower order wickets in hand - do you go for big shots, do play for the singles. Same conundrum is for the fielding captain -- should he set a field to cut the singles, or cut boundaries. What should a bowler do -- go for wickets, go for dot balls... Choice seems easier that go for wickets but some lower order batsmen at times are very stubborn and wickets may not come easy...

The real pleasure is to watch the fielding captain marshaling his fielders, consulting with the bowlers... and then things do not work out as expected and one more round of consultation starts... a wickets fall and suddenly everything seems to be in place but then few deliveries later you find out that it was a false dawn and the new batsman is more than handy. Suddenly the physical act of playing become more of a mental exercise. its like playing chess when your body is drained out of power and your brain is gasping for more blood to think. The players who win the contest are rewarded by endorphins and their strength returns but the poor souls who end on the losing side, are drained further...only a victory in another contest can return them their strength...

On Sunday last we hosted Winterthur CC and what a game it turned out to be. It was more of a endgame in chess. We lost it in the 40th over but it was a perfect example of how exciting cricket can be when the two teams are nicely balanced.

FNCC won the toss and elected to bat in overcast conditions. The recent batting collapses were in the memories when Vijay decided to bat first and we agreed that bowling is our main strength in home conditions. Since we were playing a 40 over match, caution was in the thoughts when Raghav and Rehan started. Runs were not coming easy, fielding was tight, bowling was disciplined. Rehan was first to perish. Pandiyan was looking good and he was all too determined to play a long inning. But is over-cautious approach converted a nice shot into a easy catch at mid-off. Raghav and Saghir tried to stabilize the inning. But once again the patience was the missing ingredient. Raghav tossed an easy catch over extra cover region. Saghir could not control his aggression. As long as the two batted we were looking good despite the slow run rate. At drinks break were 78/4. A modest score. But we were confident that it was a decent score. But the real horror started when Vijay was out on the very first ball. Suddenly there was panic. Adnan and mainly Angelo did the repair work. Angelo played a very good and useful innings but problem with him is that he never gives confidence to those who are watching him. I got to bat just second time this season, I survived a close LBW shout but then together with Prateek who was playing his first game for us, we added 35 runs and we were happy to set a target of 159. It was not a great total but we were very confident to defend it.

We started positively. Nila opened the bowling with me. I took a wicket in my second over. The first spell was good and we looked on track. But there were signs that we failed to pick. The second spell was sub-optimal. Saghir was not in good rhythm. Raghav, Adnan tried too hard and conceded lots of extras. We expected a lot from Rehan after his success against the Basal CC. It was ok that he was not taking wickets but the big problem was that he failed to cut the extras. The problem was exacerbated by the slow fielding in the point regions. They scored so many cut shot and we just failed to realize that runs were being scored in that area only. At the drinks break the scores were same but Winterthur CC has lost only two wickets.

The team talk at the drinks was very important to inspire the team. Vijay did that in an excellent manner. We claimed 7 wickets in the next 20 over and conceded the same amount of runs. The match see-sawed with the fall of every wicket. When the 11th batsman came in they needed 16 runs of about 4 overs. With pressure building we made some fielding lapses and in the last over they just needed 3 runs. The highlight of the Winterthur batting was John, we really 'milked' our bowling. He played a highly controlled innings and held his team together. Others provided good support. The team showed a great discipline in the chase, since the asking rate was not high, they stuck to the basics and took runs in the form of singles/doubles.

If only we had taken one more wicket. Everybody held their act together, we fielded better but we just failed to cut on the wides. Towards the end of the match unfortunately, Saghir got himself injured while fielding and that had a big effect as he is a true champion player and result could have been different with him being fit to bowl in the end. 

But while defending 159 we gave away 48 extras. Honestly we did not deserve to win with such a bowling act. Later we thought if we had few more runs on the board. I think nothing would have happened unless we had scored enough to bring the asking run rate above 5 right from the beginning, i.e. if only we had scored in excess of 200 runs...

I think the big problem in the match was that we failed to get the big picture. While batting our batsmen did not know what was required of them, what would be a good total, are they scoring according to the quality of bowling. Batsmen were happy to save their wickets, they showed no urgency to convert singles into doubles and so on... Similarly, while bowling although it was easy but with every wicket there was a sense of calmness in the team instead of really seizing the opportunity. We took really a long to time to realize that runs were coming from the point regions. Since the ball does not bounce much, with a fast outfield it would have been better to keep the fielder deep. Again it was an issue of saving boundaries versus saving singles. Bowling fast bowlers versus slow ones and so on...

Losing teaches you how to win and victories make you stronger. Now we have had a lesson from the last game and I hope we now know how to win, so hopefully we will regain the strengths and win the two weekend games in Geneva.

It was also a nice gesture from Andy Holton a former nomad and John to stand in as umpires. The match was a perfect example of how friendly matches should be played and how cricket can be exciting without being a unnecessary run feast as some of the international cricket is becoming.

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.