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MCC, MPL

MPL Tournament Format, and Playing Conditions

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MPL Tournament Format

Round-Robin Stage

  • 1.0: Each of the six five seven teams will play a total of 8 OR 10 matches in the round-robin stage.
  • 1.1: Each team will play once against each of the other six teams – this makes up six matches for each team.
  • 1.2:  Each team will then play two//four of the other six teams a second time  which will be randomly chosen.
  • 1.3: We are making certain assumptions about the ground permits for Ashland Field, and Sargent Field – that we will have it for the days that matches are scheduled.
  • 1.3.1: If changes are required to the schedule, after we receive the field permit, we will update the schedule accordingly, which in turn could impact i.e. reduce the number of matches played by each team in the round-robin stage and/or change the dates and venue of matches.
  • 1.3.2:  We expect to publish the entire schedule for MPL XI by June 10th.
  • 1.4: All stakeholders in MPL will be notified of any changes on this subject as soon as possible.
  • 1.5: We will do our best to ensure all teams get as close to equal number of matches at Ashland Field and YMCA-MathWorks Field.
  • 1.6: There will be a total of 25 matches in the round-robin stage and two matches in the Playoffs, for a total of 27 matches.
  • 1.7: All matches that are washed-out during the round-robin stages will result in the teams splitting points.
  • 1.8.1: Each win is worth six points.
  • 1.8.2: A wash out is worth three points for each team.
  • 1.8.3: A match ending in tie at the end of regulation earns four points for each team.

Playoff’s

  • 1.0: With six or more teams, MPL will have the top four teams entering the Playoff’s, with the teams ranked on Points, then Wins, then Net Run Rate to identify each team’s position in the standings.
  • 1.1.0: With four teams entering the Playoffs, the “IPL Playoff Format” will be followed.
  • 1.1.1: Team Ranked #2 will host Team Ranked #1 in ‘Qualifier #1’.
  • 1.1.2: Team Ranked #4 will host Team Ranked #3 in ‘Only Eliminator’.
  • 1.1.3: Winner of ‘Only Eliminator’ will host the team that loses ‘Qualifier #1’ in ‘Qualifier #2’.
  • 1.1.4: Winner of ‘Qualifier #2’ will host the winner of ‘Qualifier #1’.
  • 2.0: All Playoff matches will have a coin-toss.
  • 2.0.1: The lower ranked team, as described above will be the designate home team and will toss the coin.
  • 2.0.2: The higher ranked team, as described above will be the designate away team and will call either heads or tails.
  • 3.0: During Playoffs, it will be the responsibility of both MPL teams to setup and clear out the field, to be coordinated by the  two Captain’s for the day’s match.

Playing Conditions

  • 1.0: All MPL matches will start with the number of overs specified beforehand.
    • 1.0.1: By default all MPL matches will be 14-overs a side.
    • 1.0.2: Captains have the prerogative to curtail/adjust the number of overs prior to the game beginning.
    • 1.0.3: Once a match starts, there will be no curtailing of overs.
    • 1.0.4: Two bowlers are allowed a maximum of three overs while four other bowlers are allowed a maximum of two overs each. Thus a minimum of six bowlers are required.
  • 1.1: If rain prevents a match from being completed, then the match is considered a wash-out. The stats for the game will be counted for personal milestones, but not for Net Run Rate.
    • 1.1.1: Owing to the increase in the number of matches, we will not be able to reschedule washed out matches during the round-robin stage.
  • 1.2: All matches washed out during the round-robin stage will result in the two teams splitting points.
  • 1.3: All Playoff matches that are washed out will be rescheduled – provided field availability
  • 2.0: If a round-robin stage match ends with the scores tied at the end of the stipulated time, there will NOT be a Super Over.
    • 2.0.1: The two teams will each earn four points.
    • 2.0.2: A match ending in a tie is NOT equivalent to a match washed out.
  • 2.1: All playoff matches will be deemed to have a winner.
  • 2.2: If playoff match is tied at the end of the stipulated time, we will play a Super Over.
    • 2.2.1: If at the end of the Super Over, the scores are still tied, then the team that lost fewer wickets in the actual match wins.
    • 2.2.2: If that is also tied then the team played out the fewest dot balls in the actual match wins.
    • 2.2.3: If 2.2.2 cannot break the tie, we will have a Super Toss to decide the winner. The designated away-team captain will call the toss. The captain who wins the toss will be awarded the points.
    • 2.2.4: If the umpires deem that the Super Over cannot be held or finished owing to either safety (light/dampness/rain) or ground permit restrictions, then conditions 2.2.1, 2.2.2, and 2.2.3 will apply.
  • 3.0: All matches will have power play overs as stipulated below.
    • 3.0.1: For the standard 14 over game, overs 1-2 are the ‘mandatory power play’ overs.
    • 3.0.2: There will be an additional ‘batting power play’ of three overs.
    • 3.0.3: The batting team can take this power play anytime starting from the start of the fifth over to the start of the ninth over. If the batting power play is not taken, it will automatically commence and apply for the 10th, 11th and 12th overs of the inning.
    • 3.0.4: The Super Over is not a power play over.
  • 3.1: An inner-circle (oval) to be drawn as follows: 25-yards (75 feet) square of the middle stump at each end of the wicket and 20-yards (60 feet) straight behind the middle stump at each of the wicket.
    • 3.1.1: The home-team will place the orange discs from the kit-bag, along the so-called inner circle.
  • 3.2: The boundary will be an oval to be drawn as follows: 55-yards (165 feet) square of the  middle-stumps at each end of the wicket and 42-yards (126 feet) straight behind the middle stump at each of the wicket.
    • 3.2.1: The home-team will place the flags/cones from the kit-bag, to indicate the boundary.
  • 3.3: Power Play condition 1: During the ‘mandatory power play’, a minimum of zero and maximum of two fielders can be placed outside the inner circle. The fielding team can place the fielders anywhere outside the circle, with no restrictions.
  • 3.4: Power Play condition 2: During the ‘batting power play’, a minimum of zero and maximum of two fielders can be placed outside the inner circle. The fielding team can place the fielders anywhere outside the circle, with no restrictions.
  • 3.5: Non-Power Play condition
  • 3.5.1: During the non power play period of the game, a maximum of six five fielders can be placed outside the inner circle.
  • 3.5.2: The fielding team can place these six five fielders anywhere, with no restrictions.
  • 3.5.3: A maximum of five fielders are allowed on the leg-side
  • 3.6: At any given point in the game, the fielding team can place all fielders within the inner circle.
  • 4.0: There are no declared runs without batsmen crossing. 1-D still means that batsmen have to exchange strike.
  • 5.0: Set up time penalties. There will be runs penalty for the home team for delays in setting up the match.
  • 5.1: Team listed first on the schedule is the home team.
    • 5.1.0: The home team is responsible for ground setup and this includes retrieving the kit, boundary lines, crease markings and stumps.
    • 5.1.1: The home team wins the toss by default and can choose between either batting first or bowling first.
      • 5.1.1.0: This will only apply during the round-robin stage.
      • 5.1.1.1: The conventional coin toss returns during the Playoffs, with the lower seeded team as the designated home team.
      • 5.1.1.0: Reasons: All teams play on the same fields. Thus in the absence of a true home-field advantage, the home field is taxed with setting up the field.
      • 5.1.1.1: Thus winning the toss by default is to “try out something new that makes sense” and to provide aa strategic edge to the home team.
      • 5.1.1.2: All teams subsequently are allocated the same number of home and away matches.
  • 5.2: Bails are required on the stumps at both ends of the wicket, at the start of every match. Umpires may chose to remove the bails for a period of time during a match, if windy conditions result in the bails repeatedly falling off the stumps.
  • 5.3: If the bails are removed for a period of time owing to windy conditions, they must be placed back on the stumps after the winds calm down.
  • 5.4: Matches at Ashland Field, and YMCA-MathWorks Field must start at or by 6:05 PM, with the ground being ready by 6 PM.
  • 5.5: Teams will be penalized two runs for every delay of four minutes after scheduled start time.
    • 5.5.1: This decision will be made by the umpires, in consultation with MPL Committee.
  • 6.0: Innings Delay Penalties. There will be penalties for both sides if they are delays in completion of the bowling quota.
  • 6.1: For 14 over matches, each team is allotted one hour to complete their overs. Bowling team will be penalized two runs for every four minutes over the hour.
    • 6.1.1: This decision will be made by the umpires, in consultation with MPL Committee.
  • 7.0: Apart from LBWs and leg-byes, all rules of cricket (that have not been specified explicitly above) will be adhered to. This includes NBs, free hits etc.
  • 7.1: For a ball to be called a no-ball owing to height, the batsman need not be within his crease.
    • 7.1.1: In the event that a batsman is outside the crease at the point of making contact with the ball, the umpires must decide if the same delivery would have met the criteria for being deemed a no-ball, as if the batsman was within the crease at the point of making contact with the same delivery.
    • 7.1.2: As always for a no-ball call owing to height, the ball must either be a full-toss above waist level or on the bounce over ear level.
  • 8.0: All MPL matches will be 11 vs 11 players affair. In case of a team having less than 11 players for a match, they can field as many as they can.
  • 8.1: Since all matches are 11 vs 11 in the books, there is no last man (no exceptions). (Done away in 2023)
  • (Re-done for 2023) 8.1: If a team is playing with less than 11 players, then last batter batting is allowed.
    • 8.1.1: Ensure you select one of the absent players into your squad
    • 8.1.2: The missing player will be the last batter in
    • 8.1.3: Please ensure the absent batter does not face a single ball – swapping strikers on the MPL app as needed
  • 8.2: There are no substitute runners in MPL (no exceptions).
  • 8.3: Substitute fielders are allowed in MPL.
  • 8.4: The batting team will provide the necessary fielders to the fielding team, to ensure that the fielding team has 11 players on the field.
  • 8.5: This will apply while the fielding team is waiting for players to arrive.
  • 8.6: This will also apply when the fielding team does not have a team of 11 players for a  given match
    • 8.6.1: For example, in the event of a nine or 10 players vs. 11 players, the team with 11 players will provide either two or one fielder(s), for the duration of the inning.
    • 8.6.2: For example, in the event of a nine players vs. nine players, the batting team during each inning will provide two fielders, for the duration of the inning.
  • 9.0: All batting teams are responsible for scoring with the MPL App. Failure to score with the App will result in points penalty (at the discretion of the MPL Committee).
  • 10.0: Players arriving late, may participate in the game from the start of the following over.
  • 10.1: A player who arrives after the match has started, and during a given over can start to field, bowl, and/or bat at the start of the following over.
  • 10.2: A player who arrives late, will thus only be required to wait out till the end of the over – a minimum of one, and a maximum of six balls.
  • 10.3: The only situation where a player arriving late may participate immediately, is if his team is batting, and he is the last batsman to join the only other not-out batsman.

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MCC-2, NECA 2012

Bowling and fielding lead the way for a comfortable win

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Summary:
Franklin Cricket Club: 31/10 in 13.4 overs, lost to
MCC-2: 32/5 in 12 overs.
Played on 16 June 2012 @ Ashland Middle School, Ashland.

Match Report:
The cumulative talent of our group isn’t an issue. It’s our temperament that at times lets us down. As a bowling unit, we have more than enough to keep the opposition honest, but expecting us to run through batting line-up’s might be asking too much. Today though we put on a display like no other before. Talent, temperament, and effort all came together and the results speak for themselves.

Our bowling unit clicked like clockwork, and the fielders backed up the bowlers like a dream. It was a clinical exhibition of bowling and fielding, which ensured that FCC, following up on their disastrous 27 all out total from 2011, were bundled out for a meagre 31 in the 14th over. Our batting stuttered along, making it unnecessarily interesting, but we held on for a comfortable five wicket win at the end.

I won the toss – called tails correctly – and chose to field. It was a pitch that we hadn’t played on; the first time we were playing on this field. Having not played much for close to three weeks, I figured that it would be smarter to put the pressure on FCC to set a target for us to chase.

Kunal and Phani were running late, and we seemed to be two players short at the start. Swarooph, luckily for us, was at the ground, and joined us as the twelfth man – we drafted him into the playing 11 at the end of the fifth over as Phani hadn’t arrived. Kunal got to the ground mid-way through the first over, and joined us on the field at the end of it.

Krishna and Sachin opened the bowling and were on song from the word go. They bowled the first four overs of the innings; the scoreboard read 4/3 after four. We’d priced out a wicket in each of the first three overs – with the scoreboard reading 1/1 after 1, 2/2 after 2, and 3/3 after 3.

FCC had a number of new players in their mix, but there were some familiar faces as well. Santosh in particular is one of the more familiar faces, for he has burned us repeatedly in the past. He came in at the fall of the first wicket to steady their batting, and perhaps to counter-attack the bowling. Today however wasn’t his day, as he was caught by Swarooph at point, off the bowling of Sachin – Sachin’s third delivery, the second over of the match. Santosh was out for a duck, and we had out tail up.

Krishna, got their opening batsman, Nishanth, in the first over for a duck, caught by Sreeram at square-leg, and followed that up by getting Nikhil, their two-down batsman, caught and bowled, for the third duck of the inning, in his second over. FCC were slipping quickly and we were over-joyed.

Sashi, the other opening batsman for FCC, had done reasonably well, considering the mayhem around, to stand tall for his team, and score a few runs. Kunal came on to bowl the fifth over, and knocked Sashi over with his third delivery. Kunal pitched the ball up, which in turn dragged the batsman forward. To Kunal and me (at deep mid-on) it seemed like a play and a miss, as we both ooh’d and aah’d from our positions – we figured that the ball had just missed the stumps. However, Chirag, our wicket-keeper, and others around him were celebrating – the ball had clipped the off-stump and dislodged the bails. Chirag, and a few others saw it for what it was, and most importantly, so did the umpire. Their opening batsman, Sashi, after keeping Krishna and Sachin at bay, had been knocked over by Kunal.

Vikas, their captain, came to the middle and hit the straps right-away. He managed to disrupt Kunal’s rhythm and he conceded a few extras that over. However, the damage was already done. FCC were 4 down for about 12 runs after five overs.

Sachin bowled a third consecutive over, and kept things tight. Although there were a few wides in the over, the pressure was squarely on the FCC batsmen.

Aravind came in to bowl the seventh over, and managed to pluck out two wickets. Sachin, at mid-on, held on to a good catch – the ball dying on him, as he took it close to ankle high. Amol got into the action as well, as he took the catch at midwicket. With around 16 runs on the board, FCC had lost 6 wickets. Chirag reminded us, while ensuring that all of FCC heard him as well, about our (MCC) match against them from a year ago, when we’d dismissed them for 27.

Amol came on to bowl, and got a share of the spoils for himself. After toying and out-foxing the batsmen with loop, flight and turn, he sent down an arm ball – the faster one. The batsman charged down the pitch, pre-determined – likely tempted by the slowness and flight off the previous deliveries, looking to slog the ball to nowhere in particular. He got his wish, as all he managed was to nick it through to Chirag, who was fabulous behind the stumps. Just to play it safe, in case the catch isn’t given, Chirag dislodged the  bails as well, for the batsman was well out of his ground. However, the catch was given and FCC were looking down the barrel.

The next two overs didn’t get us any wickets, as FCC looked to steady a quick sinking ship – Aravind and Amol continued to play the song started by Krishna and Sachin, and there was no letup in the pressure on FCC. At the 10 over break, FCC had lost 7 wickets, with just around 22 on the board (due to the lack of a well kept scorecard, I can’t provide accurate numbers).

Chirag finally came on for a bowl in the 11th over of the inning, bowling off-spinners today. He kept the pressure on the batsman, although they managed to eek out five runs off his solitary over. Amol came back to bowl the twelfth over and bagged another wicket – Prasoon was caught (either by Malolan or Sreeram).

Amidst all of this, I’d felt a little left out, with the ball hardly making its way to mid-on. Liaqat, the FCC number 10, must have read my mind, as he hit the ball towards me and called Vikas through for a tight single. I attacked the ball and scored a direct hit at the non-striker’s end – FCC were 9 down in the 12th over.

Swarooph bowled the 13th over, and bowled with good flight. He managed to purchase some turn from the pitch as well. He managed to get an edge through to Malolan, which wasn’t taken – that however was the only down-side to an almost perfect day in the field.

Amol came back to bowl his fourth over, and got the big-fish – the FCC captain, Vikas, caught by Kunal at square-leg – as FCC folded for 31.

Chirag and Sreeram opened the batting for us. Chirag seemed to get off to a brisk start – two two’s in the first four deliveries, pulling them to the vacant area between square-leg and long-leg. However, he was out off the fifth ball, as the ball stopped on him while he was looking to flick it to the leg-side.

Nachiketh joined Sreeram and they started to build a partnership. The score had moved to 15 (or so) when Nachiketh hit a short ball, outside the off, straight to the guy at cover. I joined Sreeram, but was out soon – too early into the shot and the ball gripped the surface – for a straightforward catch to the guy at straight-short-extra-cover.

Malolan came to the middle to steady a rocking boat. Although he seemed to struggle, he refused to give up his wicket. Sreeram, who’d been in decent nick so far, fell to another catch. The stutter was on, and the match was getting unnecessarily interesting.

Amol joined Malolan, but was out for 1. We were just shy of 20 and lost half the side. The pressure was squarely on us. Sachin joined Malolan, and they held on for the next couple of overs. We went into the 10-over break at 22/5.

The break certainly helped us re-group as Malolan and Sachin went back to the middle, and kept their focus on the task ahead. After a few overs without any wickets, and as the runs trickled along, the pressure evened out. FCC had us in a spot of bother, but they didn’t have enough runs on the board.

We were entering the home-stretch and FCC couldn’t hang on. Amidst a few full-tosses, their opening bowler – Rahiq – bowling his third over, also bowled a couple of wides down the leg-side. Malolan capitalized on these by hitting the next two deliveries into the same area as Chirag had at the start of the innings, which got us within striking distance. Sachin got the final run, as we secured the win in exactly 12 overs.

Malolan and Sachin held on at the end. Our batting stuttered, and stronger opposition will certainly capitalize on this. Today however, we deserved the win for the bowling and fielding display that we put on. It was perhaps poetic that Sachin, one of the bowlers to have started this all in the first overs of the match, put the icing on the cake.

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2012 Pre-Season, The Moments

Hook, Line and Sinker

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One of the many attractions of test match cricket is watching the contest between bat and ball. However, it isn’t frequent that you see a batsmen, of the quality of a Ponting or a Tendulkar fighting hard for survival, with the thought of scoring runs far away.

Cometh the ODI and T20 formats, the contest is tilted towards the batsmen, who play the boss, and bowlers at times are simply minions. Pitches are tailor made for batsmen to plonk their front-foot down the pitch, and make the bowler pay for even the smallest of mistakes.

Cometh the hard-tennis-ball cricket that we play, pitches aren’t maintained, they certainly are not tailor made. They aren’t as bad as the ‘uncovered pitched’ of the 1930’s or so; the contest between bat and ball is more even. Scoring at four runs to the over can be challenging; scoring at five or more will certainly win you more matches than you lose. Bowlers and batsmen are always in the game. The age old adage, one ball is all it takes to dismiss a batsmen, rules aplomb.

That being said, it’s still rare to see a quality batsman, getting worked over for five out of the six deliveries of an over, and put out of his misery off the final delivery of the same over. As rare as it is, that is exactly what happened at the start of the season to Ankit, courtesy of Kaushik. The entire over was filled with ooh’s and aah’s, with Ankit at his usual, applauding the bowler with due sincerity, after being beaten clean, ball after ball after ball, with the final ball of the over spraying Ankit’s stumps. Ankit appreciated Kaushik’s bowling, as all of us stood by in amazement at the bowling, and bewilderment at Ankit’s gestures. We’d witnessed one of the best spells of fast bowling, and neither did we travel far, nor pay through the nose, to be a part of it.

Kaushik apparently, as we found out much later, is a middle-order batsmen, and only bowls occasionally, albeit in the dearth overs. This we learned via a monstrous 65 off just 33 deliveries, including 11 boundary hits, and one six, in a successful chase of 91, achieved in 14.3 overs.

MPL-1, circa 2009, surprisingly revealed Adai the fast-bowler, to go with Adai the batsman that we knew off. What’s with player’s not being upfront about their skills? Jeez!

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2012 Pre-Season, The Moments

Murphy’s law has a field day

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It was a tough first day for Mayank, and it all started as soon as he came on for a bowl. Rafeeq, his captain, dropped a sitter off Mayank’s first delivery of the season. Rafeeq then moved a few steps to his right, probably hoping to be better placed to field and catch the next one that comes his way.

Stupendously, another catch came Rafeeq’s way, off the very next ball, and some may call this a sitter too. However, the ball and Rafeeq appeared to be in different zip-code’s, courtesy of Rafeeq’s pro-active (or was it reactive?) move a minute back. Of course, given that he’d just dropped a sitter off the previous ball, there were no guarantees that he’d have taken the second catch anyway!

The batsmen were able to amble through for an easy single on this occasion, which very likely pricked Mayank. As if that weren’t enough, the fielder towards whom the ball went, tried to hit the stumps on the full for no apparent reason – the batsmen had already completed the single. To rub salt into a growing wound, there were two over-throws.

Mayank’s spell of three overs went for more than 20 runs. Things certainly weren’t going Mayank’s way!

If Mayank thought that the day couldn’t get any worse, he was in for a seriously rude shock – Rafeeq, having dropped two catches, had the audacity to compare Mayank’s bowling to mine (Raghuvir) – really? I wonder if that was a sledge aimed at Mayank, or a compliment passed my way!

At times, you just have to go through the motions, and hope a new day starts soon. When it came to batting, Mayank scratched around for a 6th ball duck – off the bowling of Adai, and caught by me!

To cap off a really ugly day, Pune Warriors, lead by Sourav ‘Dada’ Ganguly, beat the Chennai Super Kings. Certainly an inauspicious start to the season! Hopefully, just Murphy’s law toying with Mayank.

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2012 Pre-Season

Lessons from a failure

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We played the first, of many, one-off T20’s of the 2012 season. This one was against the Grafton Tigers (Grafton Cricket Club). The match was scheduled for an 8 AM, but our kit arrived a few minutes late. That resulted in a reduced 18 overs a side affair.

We posted 71/7 in our 18 overs, with Yashwanth top scoring with 34. The Grafton Tigers chased down their target of 72 in just under 16 overs, losing about 3-4 wickets in the process. Scorecards don’t reveal the entire story, and this is one of those occasions. The match was much tighter and the scorecard doesn’t throw light on the drama.

It was the first practice match of the season, and I had the honor of captaining the team. The loss hurts, but the lessons it taught are priceless. It was, after all, the first practice match of the season. I hope we apply the lessons learned towards our success in the upcoming season – MPL and NECA

1) Field placements.
I couldn’t get the field placements right for each bowler. I felt that two to three fielders at times were placed in positions where the ball was never hit to, or would never make it. Two to three out of nine fielders, bowler and wicket-keeper apart of course, is a significant number. Getting the field placements right is crucial and must change for each bowler, based on his style of bowling, his line and lengths, his strengths and weaknesses. Getting this right could result in saving 10-15 runs. Most bowlers tend to stick with the field that was in place for the previous over. Each bowler, should make the necessary adjustments in the field. The captain must ensure of this by talking to the bowler at the start of the over or spell. The hard-tennis-ball that we play with is a unique thing. It doesn’t quite travel the same way, and in the same angles, as the leather ball does.

2) End of the innings bowlers.
Captains need to know their bowlers well. Some bowlers prefer to bowl out in the first 10-15 overs out of the 20, while some others are just at home while bowling at the end. A team needs two to three bowlers who can bowl towards the end of the innings, or in a pressure situation. Building pressure, at the start of the inning, while bowling, is easier as compared to maintaining the pressure. A captain needs to preserve overs of specific bowlers not just for the end of the inning, but also for specific batsmen in the opposition.

3) Batting
While batting, be it setting a target, or chasing, it is crucial and critical to pace the inning. An ideal target to set when batting first, in a T20 match, is around 100. A sub-85 score needs a tight bowling display, combined with good fielding. A target in excess of 95 certainly puts the pressure on the team chasing.
Posting a 100 runs inside the 20 overs needs a plan. The plan calls for a well-paced inning. You need to get to around 45 in the first 10 – for no more than the loss of three wickets – which in turn means a start of around 20 in 5 overs.  This doesn’t require sending a pinch-hitter to open – we need batsmen who won’t take long to get set, will lay a good foundation for rest of the inning.
The knowledge on which batsmen are good at rotating the strike, at scoring the big shots, have temperament to keep a cool head when the match gets tight, are all important factors. A successful captain stays on top of this. Talent alone doesn’t guarantee a win.

4) The tennis ball we play with doesn’t travel on the lush fields that we play on. You may get a few two’s if the ball is hit into the gap, but singles are the easiest, and most frequent scoring options. Keep in mind that the ball is difficult to pick up in the thick lush grass. It isn’t an easy task for a quick, clean, pick-up and throw. Many tight singles that we don’t take are actually run scoring opportunities wasted/lost. Hit the gym, get in shape, sprint.
Rotate the strike, rotate the strike, rotate the strike. Target getting 4 singles an over. Manage that and the lose balls will follow. Dispatch the lose balls and the pressure is squarely on the opposition.

5) Lastly, I have to bring up what has been our achilles heel. We need to get a hold on extras. We concede anywhere between 15-20 extras an inning. We’ve got to cut down on this. No freebies, enough of the generosity. Atiti devo bava doesn’t apply in this case.

And one final lesson for me – no more scheduling matches @ 8 AM on Sunday’s, when the required travel to the venue is close to 45 minutes, requiring players to wake up at 6 AM. Spoilt by the amount of cricket on offer, some are beginning to complain about the early starts, eh Sistla?

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2012 Pre-Season

2012 Cricket Season Kick Starts

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At long last, grumpy winter left town, allowing us to welcome the more pleasant spring weather. Fun in the sun was the theme, which meant cricket for some, and photography for Ono!

We quietly started the 2012 cricket season on the 7th of April, good two-three weeks earlier than usual. A little windy, but on a crisp spring morning.

A gathering of just over 15 of us who preferred playing some cricket over watching the IPL and/or other less useful things. Some new faces mixed with some returning characters. It made for some good fun.

Judging by all the talk going around, those of you who didn’t make it, sure are keen to know how the first day of the season was. The new talent on display are sure to push us for spots in the NECA team, while making the MPL teams stronger, and the player auction more exciting.

So here goes, more of a summary, than a match/day report from our opening day.

Merwan had the horror, err honor (or is it horror?) of being out to the first ball delivered in the 2012 season, bowled of a full-toss (off of Dipesh I think). He’d brought a friend along – Ram. Didn’t get enough of a look at Ram’s batting. Merwan and Ram left after the first match (we played two pick-up matches); they’ll have to wait their turn to impress us, and drive-up their MPL auction price.

Ram apart, among the new faces were Amol, Rohith, Koundi and Srikanth P.

Amol, a left-arm-spinner and right-hand-bat – it’s not Rafeeq in disguise (or was it?) – made an impressive debut. He flighted the ball more, and seems to have a very-brief halt in his action, just prior to delivering the ball – kind of like Ajmal. A strong and powerful batsman as well, adding to the ever growing list of all-rounders that we have. Rafeeq, what does this mean to your stock value?

Rohith is a right-arm-medium-pacer, but with a tendency to hurry the ball on. He is a pretty good batsman as well. Played both matches and was impressive.

Koundi is a right-arm-medium-pacer, with a smooth flowing action; something similar to Mukesh’s, for those of us who remember that kid. Bowled well in both matches. We didn’t mark out the side-lines at the bowling end – first day and all. Koundi however, took this as an open invitation to extend the popping crease as wide as he possibly could – bowling from close to 10 ft. wide off the stumps! Was he trying to trouble the batsmen with the angle or just plain confuse everyone? A useful lower order bat and a budding character!

Srikanth P, a right-arm-medium-pacer with an extra yard of pace thrown in there, was impressive too. Getting Ankit out, after a lot of back-and-forth between the two, marks a memorable start to the season for both! An intern previously, he wasn’t around for MPL 2011 – but is now here for good. Preferred to bowl round the stumps to all batsmen. What’s his strategy behind that?

The other regular characters that showed up included Dipesh, Krishna, Srikanth S, Ankit, Ono, Abhishek, Yashwanth, Swarooph, mE (Raghuvir), and a few others that apparently didn’t leave an impression on me!

Dipesh was as impressive as always, which was odd given that it was the first day of the season. He bowled yorkers at will – his three overs in the second match went something like 1/1, 7/0, 0/3 (three wickets for zero runs, which included a run-out) – with his last over being the penultimate of the inning, with the opposition requiring 15 for no loss. Did you hear about the numerous straight four’s he hit? Oh yeah, this kid is ready!

Ono and Abhishek renewed their tussle for the best keeper tag, although I think its time to change the keeper. They weren’t impressive enough, if you ask me – fumbling the ball too much for my liking. Or was it to my liking?

When it came to batting, Abhi played it smart, trying to ease into the season after a long time away from the field.

Ono though found a higher gear and went about smashing the ball for fours and sixes – the one over square leg, especially was impressive. He is contemplating not playing till the MPL auction, hoping he has done enough to secure a good price at the auction. Is he aware of the reality that he will not see a single penny that he is bought for!

Srikanth S was, well, Srikanth S – bowled well on his day, batted well on his day. Abhishek certainly was happy with his performance on the field, although I wasn’t too impressed – Srikanth S, you are in our group as a character first, and cricketing skills second. You didn’t really put up a show! Common man!

Krishna was as usual – fast, furious, and wide. Well more wide and then furious at himself. Probably compensated a bit for Rahul’s absence (tongue-in-cheek)!

Ankit, was off to a great start – chatting with everyone on the field. Teammate or not, doesn’t make a difference to this guy. That apart, his cricketing skills were also on display. Took his time to get his eye in, but then settled in for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, to deny me batting in the second match. Bowled well too. ‘Mouth of the Year’ for a second year running, and ‘MPL 2011 Final MVP’, surely well deserved.

Swarooph had a good first day as well. Bowled well in both matches, although he is probably still fuming at being run-out in the first match, without facing a single delivery.

Yashwanth bowled in the first match and seemed to pull a muscle and didn’t return to bowl in the second match. A steady start with the bat, I think, although I don’t remember clearly, given that its now close to a week since the day.

I, meanwhile, spent a lot of time in the middle – a little as a batsman trying to get his eye in after the winter hibernation, but most of it, as an umpire, waiting for Ono or Ankit to get out! Guys, you don’t have to bat so well on the first day of the season, and deny others a chance.

Some of the big guns – Ganesh, Priyank, and Aravind to name a few – stayed away, as they had to tend to ‘more important issues‘. Do ask them what these issues could be!

One of the only large guns, Sidhu, stayed away as well. When quizzed on his mysterious non-appearance, he is believed to have said that the temperature reading wasn’t large enough enough for his liking.

Wonder what colors the 2012 season will display.

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2009 Season, MCC

Match Report: MCC @ Worcester CC 11/11/2009

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MCC wins a thriller against Worcester Cricket Club

One-off T20 Match played on:  Sunday, October 11th 2009 9:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M. @ Greenwood Park, Worcester.

MCC Playing XI : Priyank (c) , Mayank (vc) , Sidhu (wk) , Mukesh, Anish, Ankit, Adai, Sandeep, Hari, Ashish and Ramesh

Worcester team won the toss and opted to Bat first and the game started at 9:30 A.M.

Mukesh and Hari started the bowling for our team and bowled an excellent opening spell. After 4 overs Worcester team were 3 wickets down with 8 runs on scoreboard. We got 2 run outs early in the inning and of the run out was amazing as Adai picked the ball one handed and shattered the stumps with a direct throw. At one time their team was 16/4 in some 7 overs and it looked like we will be able to get them all out under a score of 50 runs.

As the match progressed we dropped at least 3 catches before the 10th over and their team was placed at 28/5 after 10 overs. Worcester cricket team had a very good partnership with the help of us as we kept dropping catches and interestingly the guy named Ali got around 5 chances which were all dropped catches. I wished Raghu was there who could have applied some glue to our hands. Mayank bowled very well and he invented the parabola flight delivery which looped so much in the air that their batsman got bamboozled and were not sure how to handle that. Anish was in great form and bowled a really good spell of 4 overs. At the end of 20 overs they scored 70 runs with the loss of 9 wickets as we took 4 catches in the next half of their inning.

With a small ground  and strong batting line up we fancied our chances, although the pitch had variable pace and bounce. Our team’s strategy was to preserve the wickets and pounce on the loose deliveries. Adai and Ashish opened the innings and they played cautiously the first 4 overs as Worcester opening bowlers bowled a fiery spell. We scored  6 runs in first 4 overs. Ashish with his flamboyant style of batting tried to break the shackles but could not connect the ball and was caught on the leg side boundary.

Sandeep, a natural striker of the ball, was sent next to increase the run rate. He started well by hitting a six a short pitched ball and was looking good. Unfortunately, Sandeep’s knock came to end soon as he was run out with a direct throw. Mayank joined Adai on the pitch and they slowly moved the score and at that time Worcester bowlers were suffocating us as were 18 runs at the end of 7 or 8 overs.

Adai hit a six in the 9th over and with that we moved forward and were placed at 32/2 at the end of 10 overs. Adai looked all set to take our team to the victory target. Again unexpected happened and Adai was out in the 11th over the inning when the ball bounced unevenly and hit the top handle of the bat and then looped in the air. It was an amazing catch by their captain.

With 3 wickets down I joined Mayank and we kept rotating the strike to get 3 or 4 runs per over. Mayank was lucky to get a dropped catch chance in the 14th over. Slowly but steadily we reached to a point where we needed 13 runs of 24 balls with 7 wickets. At this point we were about to win the game easily and comprehensibly. But there was a big twist to the match at this point of time. Mayank played a great knock and got out clean bowled while trying to hit a off drive.

Mukesh joined me and we needed 10 runs from 18 balls. I made a blunder by calling Mukesh to run when the run was nonexistent. So we were 61 for 5 and needed 10 runs in 15 balls. I was on strike and was trying to remain calm and not think about the run out. As I faced the next ball I tried to place the ball to long off but instead of that gave a simple catch to the bowler and was out. Scorecard read 61/6 and 10 runs were needed in 13 balls.

18th over (maiden with 1 run out and 1 wicket) was an excellent over from the Worcester’s team point of view; it brought them back into the game. So we need 10 runs of 12 balls. Ankit tried to hit the ball for a four but was caught and it looked as if we were giving the match to Worcester team as a Diwali gift.

But, Anish had different plans he rotated the strike for few runs with Sidhu and then hit a great shot for 4 which left us needing 4 runs of 6 balls. Sidhu was on strike in the last over, he got a heck of a delivery which just passed below his nose and he was in total surprise (4 needed  of 5 balls). Sidhu took a single and then Anish did the same thing to make it 2 needed of 3 balls. Sidhu got a great yorker to damage the woodwork behind him and we were 69 for 8 with 2 runs needed of 2 balls.

Hari was sent next and thinking it was a wide ball on the off side he left the ball with arms high and bat nowhere near the ball which is exactly the way it is written in text book. We needed 2 runs of last ball to with the game. There was pin drop silence in the MCC pavilion as everyone was focused to watch the last ball.  Hari hit the last ball in air on the off side and it went few inches above the fielders hand and Hari and Anish just kept running to even take 3 runs although only 2 runs were needed.

It was a great game of cricket. Overall, Good Job team for putting more than 100% on the field.

Few things which we did well  :

  • Great bowling by all the bowlers
  • Good Sensible batting at the start and in the middle overs.
  • Good ground fielding
  • Kept our cool towards the end to win the match.

Things which we should improve and learn from the match :

  • Catching should improve as catches win the matches.
  • Do not lose/throw away wickets although if we are very near the target.
  • Need to improve on running between wickets

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Archives

The PG Wars

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History

Ganesh and Sachin – the captain and vice-captain of the MCC team – made themselves unavailable for the big match vs. Grafton Cricket Club. Priyank expressed desire to lead the MCC team vs GCC, and found favor with Raghuvir, aka the manager & vice-captain. The rest of the team also supported him wholeheartedly.

Ganesh aka ’Captain G’ challenged Priyank aka ’Captain P’ on August 26th 2009, to determine what works better – experience or enthusiasm! The first match was tied, but Captain P pulled out a spectacular win in the second match to lead his team front. Captain P continued his winning ways, by showing off his ’Midas touch’ against Grafton – his team winning it by 7 wickets.

Unable to take this hit, Captain G arranged for another show-off with Captain P, leading to the birth of the ’PG Wars’. Thus, every Wednesday, the two stalwarts lead their formidable teams to battle to show-off their skills and to gain bragging rights.

The battle for equality

While Captain P was looking to further improve his perfect record, Captain G managed to run those plans aground – he leveled the scores on Wednesday 09-02-09, winning by 15 runs in a match with a lot of drama. It must be noted that many players from Captain G’s team did not show up – were they intimidated by Captain P? – forcing Captain G to pressure (all inning long) an injured Adai to play – who eventually batted with a runner and did not field after that; was he concerned about a reprisal against him? – and borrow players from Captain P’s team – did he have a plan to break up a winning team and destroy team morale? Is this also a new chapter on ’sledging’?

Measuring scale 

Captain G has a record of 1 win and 3 loses against Grafton. Captain P has a perfect record against Grafton – 1 win and 0 losses!

So who’s better? Stay tuned till the next battle in the ’PG Wars’ unfolds.

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2009 Season, Archives, NECA

SCC @ MCC (NECA 2009) – Stuff of legends

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Summary:
Shrewsbury Cricket Club 95/8 in 20 overs, lost to MCC 96/8 in 19.5 overs.
Played on 25 July 2009 @ Mary Dennison Playground, Framingham.

Scorecard

Match Report
Some matches stay with us forever – this was one of those! Certain matches we remember with fondness for the way a team played, the way a team fought to come out on top, to come out triumphant – this was one of thos! It could be the 2 run win for England in the 2005 Ashes. It could be the 2002 NatWest final where India won over England via Yuvraj Singh and Mohd. Kaif. It could also be any one of the 1999 World Cup matches between Australia and South Africa – the one where Gibbs ‘dropped the World Cup’, allowing Steve Waugh to engineer a dramatic and famous win or the WC semi-final where SA were so close, yet so far (the infamous Donald run-out)! It could also be the Srinath, Kumble special at Bangalore vs. Australia in the Titan Cup in 1996.

Continue reading SCC @ MCC (NECA 2009) – Stuff of legends →

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