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.