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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Saghir won it for the nomads

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The one man show was not enough

There has to be a noble reason to win. In my opinion the best reason to win is that "we are better than our opponents". Shorter term or lesser reasons such as -- because we want to defeat them or because we want to ensure a place in the next round, usually fails to motivate the team and perhaps does harm by creating a fear of loss.

I think that is what happened. Long before the match was due we were made slowly aware of the strength of the opposition, but not necessarily as to better prepare us for them.

There is a bit of background to this match. Incidentally, I  have not updated my blog since Kaiserslautern University Cricket Club (KCC) team visited and the StadtVerwaltung Freiburg double booked the ground to preclude any form of cricket. The league administration did very well to reschedule the game.

So we reached the ground with a bit of aura of the opponents and a lot of strong motivation to win.

And it was well reflected in the way we started bowling. We bowled, arguably the most successful batting team in the league, for a mere 135.

Among all of us Raghav was the clear pick of the bowlers. He very well exploited the conditions, i.e. the pitch and the heavy weather. After a long time we were playing on a good wicket where bowlers could see the ball bouncing up to chest height without much effort. While I ended up relishing the bounce, Raghav just stuck the basics, i.e. aim the top of the off stump and rest just followed for him -- I mean the seven wickets. 

Sagir, Arpit, Adnan and Rajesh contributed their share. In process of relishing the bounce I leaked out lot of runs in the my second spell (mostly in boundaries) but I was happy with my bowling, it was a bit selfish effort but when Raghav was bowling so well, our team could afford that. Except for some lapses in the wicket-keeping we were just superb on the field and it was great to see the strongest opposition of the league fold with 135 on board.

On that good wicket where both disciplined bowlers and batsmen could be successful, the target was not difficult but still we were chasing at the home ground of the bowling team. Besides, as I said earlier, perhaps we could not believe that we were just chasing 136.

Our chase started with rain interruption. From then on the rain played hide and seek but the ground was good and the field dried out faster than expected and we managed to finish the full game despite multiple breaks. 

We started well and managed to maintain a good run rate.  But our wickets kept falling, occasionally to the brilliance of the bowlers and mostly due to the lapse of concentration of the batsmen. Everyone of our batsmen started looking very confident but not converting the starts. All we needed one big partnership and that just did not come. At one stage we had lost 7 wickets for 60 runs. Then came a short partnership. However, when I entered, we needed 31 runs one wicket remaining and plenty of balls left. I started off well but then fell to the temptation of hitting a big shot. I know I cant cross boundary, only rarely I have, but still, I tried and failed.

We lost a game we should have won. We all were unhappy and the saddest among us was Raghav, who really deserved to win and did all that in control of a bowler.

Well, now Raghav can pride himself that for matching a feat achieved by the great Imran Khan. Imran holds the record of best bowling (6-14) in a 50 over game in a losing cause. Sunday, last Raghav took 7 wickets and very sadly, ended up on the losing side.

Raghav was perhaps at his best and he will have to work extra hard to emulate his own standards from now on. It just a pleasure to be on the field and watch him sort out the batsmen.

I often see cricket as a team game played by individuals and thus, single performance can change the course of the match. However, in this case rest of our team fell so far behind that we just could cash in the great opportunity Raghav created.

This failure initiated that we are a better bowling side. Few games earlier when we almost chased down 295 runs, we were cursing our bowlers and batting was our stronghold. It will change again if lose to bowling errors. Loses always teach something. With victories we tend to overlook our limitations.

I should also congratulate the Kaiserslautern team for the victory. They are really good unit and held their nerves and showed why they have remained undefeated so far. And they brought good food for lunch.

Arvind

PS: This blog is way too delayed and should have been written two weeks ago. The match was played July 4, 2010.

PS: This blog was written while listening to the great Imran Khan delivering the Cowdrey Lecture 2010 at the Lords.

What rain could not do this time, Stadt Verwaltung Freiburg did: And did it even better

There is something fundamentally wrong this season. We are in the month of June and so far not a single match has been played without rain threats. And today when German Rain Gods were on our side (at least it appeared so), and we were hoping for a full match under the blue sky, it turned out that the German Rain Gods had outsourced their job of hating cricket to the soccer gods and those who are responsible for creating a chaos in German organization.

Otherwise, how likely it is that a German mixes up his/her calender, that too, a German bureaucrat? That is what happened on Sunday last. The officer responsible for assignment of the ground at the seepark double booked the ground and before we could start our proceedings there were more than 16 teams competing for a strange version of a soccer tournament.

We, the people of the sub-continent, are not known for our managerial abilities to handle organizational problems. We had a living proof of that on the field today.

As soon as we arrived at the ground we knew that cricket would be impossible. The soccer people had occupied the ground before us. There was no way we could take off nearly 100 people off the field. And it was not their fault as well that the ground was double booked. 

But we tried anyways. With same arguments again and again. It is obvious that if an argument does not work once, it wont work again, if the situation has not changed.

The visiting team was another bunch of people who just wanted to just take advantage of the situation and go home with the points, without playing the game. 

Common sense suggests that today it was due to some factors not in any way in our direct control, that the ground was not available for cricket. This to me is similar to a whole day of rain scenario. I understand that if it rains whole day without any ball bowled, the points would be split. It did not rain today but the ground was not available for uncontrollable factors, with no fault of ours. It would have been our fault if our teams was not prepared, in any form, to host the opposition.

So common sense says that the points should be split.

The opposition and some strange person acting as an umpire, just could not even follow a common sense argument. How can one argue with such bunch on logical grounds.

After much deliberation as was expected, both teams made written statements to be sent to league administration.

From our side, we offered a shorter match (25 overs) which the visitors declined. With that option out, we argued for declaring the match abandoned. The opposition, while refusing to play a shorter game, maintained that the match should be awarded to them.

The  league administration that will look into our statements, is a joke to begin with. Every new situation is reinforcing this impression.

There are no proper rules for adjusting scores for rain affected matches. There are no rules to account for situation like that of Sunday last, when a game is to be abandoned for factor not in direct control. The formula used to calculate the net run rate makes no sense. And so on... I wonder if there is a human who really knows the exact set of rules and regulations of the league. I am sure we will keep discovering new shortcomings of the league with every match.

It is time some really concerned people get involved in the organization of the league. When the chief coordinator refuses to take any calls on Sundays and still want every decision to be made via him, you can just imagine.

All and all not a good day of cricket.


Arvind
PS: Raghav suggested the title of the blog. Thanks Raghav.

When cricket went onesided

The match (or the mis-match) lasted 12 overs. We took 8 overs to take 9 wickets of the opposition and conceded 31 runs, of those at least 9 were from wides. Then chased the score in 3.5 overs with the help of 9 extras.

The visitors from Leonberg were not at all ready to play a match. They were short of one player. Their team was under-prepared and understrength. It is very likely that they failed to raise a full strength team for an away fixture on a Thursday (although a holiday in south Germany).

We have, in past played against much more ill-prepared teams than the Leonberg team. In all those attempts, having accessed the strength of the opposition we invariably reduced the intensity and tried to create a match out of a mismatch. I recall reducing a team to 11-6 and then Matt and myself were taken off the attack and multiple similar instances.

Not in this case. The reason -- well, we wanted to get our points for the Twenty20 league and on top wanted to make sure that we improve our average. So in this process we just ignored cricket and focused on mere numbers. 

Did we do wrong? No, everybody in that situation would have done the same. 

But are numbers greater than Cricket. My answer is that no. The competition in the league forced us to take on such ruthless approach which was clearly not within the spirit of Cricket. In being ruthless and clinical in our victory we just respected the league system. 

At same time I would like to add that Leonberg did not act properly when they fielded such a team. It cannot be said that they had a bad day. They were just understrength. Except for a couple of player none of the opposition deserved their place. Teams that are part of the league should act in more responsibility and respect the fact that the league is in place to increase competition.

We did realize that our clinical attitude was perhaps not in the right spirit, so we did well to play a practice game with the guests.

It is difficult to find out what went good and not so good when we play such an opposition.

Tomorrow is a far more important game. We have only won one game out three for the 40 over matches league. The opposition is orders of magnitude better than the one we played on Thursday last, if rumors and score sheets have to be believed. So we really have to switch gears and secure a win tomorrow to remain in the hunt for the championship.