Although we lost, it was a great game of cricket!

Man! What a day it was for cricket! Perfect weather and awesome environment. The only thing that was a little irritating was the excessive wind blowing across the field.

We lost the toss and were put to bat first. We had a decent start and put up a score of 255 in 35 overs. We went in confident with our chin up with the intention of a getting a definite win. We made a lotta mistakes on the field in terms of catching and fielding (AGAIN!!) which eventually cost us the match. No doubt, CVCC played really well and earned their win but it goes without saying that we put up a tough fight. The match was decided in the last over with 3 balls left.

Our heartfelt thanks to CVCC for the Subway lunch and the competitive spirit on the ground. It was an intense and amazing game of cricket overall.

Match against CVCC: Preview

The team is gearing up for our next match against CVCC on Sunday May 9, 2010. Surprisingly the weather forecast says that it will be chilly, about 18 degrees centigrade at most! Fortunately it has not rained this week, and according to www.weather.com it will not rain before or during the game. Sun and cold breeze sounds like the perfect weather for cricket. Lack of rain may cause the pitch to crack up and become powdery, which may result in low and odd bounces. Batsmen have to watch out for those odd bounces and play sensible cricket. Bright side is that the outfield will be dry and quick if the grass is cut short.

The players are looking forward to clash with CVCC and register their maiden victory in the MACC. Omair Uddin will debut and may possibly open the bowling attack for MBCC. The bowling looks strong with five pacers: Anup, Omair, Noman bhai, Anurag, and Yasir bhai; and three spinners: Neel, Vamshi, and Asim bhai. Need be Bhushan and I (Muhaimein) can also bowl a few middle or slog overs. After the experience from the first match, the team has decided to play spinners more. Vamshi and Neel looked good in practice with their consistent line-length and spinning ability. This could well be the deciding factor of the match. I (Muhaimein) have been working on my keeping. Hopefully our spirited pace attack, the spin bowling and a good fielding display will create a scope for an after match celebration of victory.

However, the team understands that our batting was a let down in the previous match as we did not bat the full 35 overs. The goal will be to play out the overs and score at least around 250 to win on our small ground in Darden Towe Park. The stars of the batting line-up are Anup (scored 72 in the last match) and Noman bhai (has a century in the league); team will be expecting them to sail our innings to a score outside CVCC's reach. In the opening me(Muhaimein) and Asim bhai are looking to occupy the crease at least for the first 10 overs. The openers are also considering to be aggressive and play their shots. Openers are allowed this freedom of aggression because in the middle order we have Vamshi, Anurag, Neel, Ali, Yasir bhai, and Bhushan who are well acquainted with willow-lore.

In paper we have a strong and enthusiastic team, but our enthusiasm and skills need to click on the match day for us to register a victory against any opponent. Players are eager to perform and are awaiting the arrival of the match day. Only time will tell how things will look Sunday evening.

MORE EXAMS=LESS PRACTICE

Man! Its been a hectic two week period. With the final exams going on, practice for most of our guys has been very difficult. However, there were atleast 7-8 guys who showed up and had some good practice playing the new ball. We should be set once the exams are done.

Dawn of spin bowling:

MBCC for quite some time had only fast bowlers ripping the mat. With TACC smashing our bowlers towards the end of the overs, we figured fast bowlers are easily playable and we needed some slow bowlers as well. We had a couple of people try out spin bowling effectively the other day which they are likely to implement in the next match against CVCC. Hopefully that works out.

That's all for now, let me get back to my final exam... ;)

TACC Vs. MBCC

Our first match of the season started off with a lot of excitement and expectation. It was a home game where our visitors, TACC, were from Virginia Beach. The weather was kind and it turned out to be a perfect day for cricket.

We fought a good battle but it so happened that it just wasn't our day. Nothing was going right in terms of fielding and I should say, TACC played extremely well. Although we scored 206 in 27 overs (with 8 overs to spare), they chased our score successfully in 32 overs having about 4 wickets to spare.

THE GAME

GOOD GAME! TOUGH LUCK! We'll be back with a bang though! :)

Invaders from the North...

MBCC, in the recent past forged an alliance with the invaders of the north to become allies and eventually join the team.

Ali (the monster): The 17 year old line back who still is in high school makes us looks like midgets. His ability to hit the ball out of the park and amazing fielding capability was definitely an asset.

Omair (the bamboo): A first look at this guy will make you think he's an ace basketball player standing tall at 6'5. Once this guy starts bowling, he rips through out batsmen like rock on water.

Muheiman (uh...he's normal): With his experience in the DC leagues and meticulous batting skill, this undergrad spear heads the batting attack.

Last but not the least,

Yasir (Bhai!): Bringing life to the outfield with constant encouragement and outstanding commitment, Yasir takes it to the max everytime!

The Prep...

The team is shaping up. From its last successful victory in the Power10 tournament match, the new team adjusted easily to play the leather ball. Considering the fact that almost 60% of the team have never played with the cricket ball before, this is definitely a feat. Our spearheads, namely Gaurang and Anurag have been consistent with their line and length and also have developed their ability to move the ball both ways. Anup on the other hand, has been working on variation in his pace and movement. The captain of the team, Neel, has been doing a tremendous job in bringing the team together on the field and handled every player in the roster on a personal level. With the likes of Noman, Asim, Yasir and Zope, we couldn't wait to put ourselves to the test. Our first match was with TACC, a team from Virginia Beach who have been playing in this league for over 4 years now. The only thing that we lacked when compared to them was experience.

Although new in the hood, we can't wait to get some action on the field. With April 18 around the corner, the team was all pumped up and ready to explode.

The rise of MBCC

The word cricket is more a religion than a mere sport among Indians. Having come a long way in search of education, employment and freedom, most desi Cavaliers in Charlottesville consider cricket to be a part and parcel of their everyday life.

The story goes that all cricket playing youngsters (?) in C'ville were playing under one brand name, CVCC (Charlottesville Cricket Club). The pioneers of the new team, yet to be formed then, Indraneel (our Dada), Gaurang (G-man) and Anirban (uh...Anirban) were an integral part of team. With the increasing number of hard core cricket fans and eager students, they broke off and formed a new team known as Cavalier Cricket Club. Enthusiastic as they were, they took their time to form their team and test themselves. In their first Power10 cricket tournament, things didn't start off too well and they lost the first two games getting hit pretty bad. It wasn't much later that they pulled up their socks, gathered new players, practiced everyday and formed the TEAM.

Rhinos Vs. Cavaliers:

On August 22, 2009 they put themselves to the test. Their third and final chance of getting into the playoffs. The net run rate requirement was really high and it was almost impossible to get through. They did not lose hope. Having won the toss, the Cavaliers chose to bat first. With a very slow wicket and out-field, they scored 41 runs in 10 overs, which was not much for a 10 over tournament. Pumped up and ready to bowl, G-man and Anurag tore open the opening line up in their first 4 overs together making the opposition team vulnerable. Failing to recuperate, the Rhinos succumbed to the Cavaliers with a difference of about 20 runs. Although this was a big win, unfortunately the Cavaliers did not qualify for the playoffs. Yet, they walked out champions in their minds and hearts waiting for the next chance to come back with a bang.

With the MACC season around the corner, the team was all set to get in and play their the big league. The first talk of getting into MACC was done in the Montibello house thus naming the team for MACC, the Montibello Cricket Club (MBCC).