April 27, 2007. Lost It !!!

Well the dream run of winning two in a row is over and we lost this one. This time we faced a better all round team and beating them would have tasted more sweeter then the previous two wins. And we did a good job of pushing them and had only ourselves and our fielding to blame for losing the match.

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These were a few words from our new sports correspondant. Mr. Noor Ud Din, who is comtemplating the fact that where would we be once our fielding improves.

We had the honor of fielding in the heat which took some energy out of us. The batsmen started attacking Wicky and Anees from the start but Waqar bowled well and only gave away runs because of sloppy wicket keeping from our new but usually reliable keeper Rizwan. Anees went for a flurry of boundaries in only his second over and was not able to maintain good line and length so necessary from the strike bowlers.

Even in the face of such sloppy fielding we never let the game get out of hand. Some tight bowling from Sameer and me stemmed the run flow and we were back in the match. The good thing about their batsmen and what we can learn from them, is that they kept on taking calculated risks. And they played a few airy shots but they only fell in vacant areas. Sure they edged a few, missed a few here and there, but the flow of runs never completely stopped.

There was a Guest appearance by Manoj who bowled full and had a clean bowled on his first ball. But too bad he couldn't continue because of shoulder pain.

Finally in the end Rizwan had a chance for two lovely stumpings which showed that he is fast improving which is quite encouraging for us. In the end they scored 180+ runs because of poor fielding and poor bowling at the death. Otherwise we would have easily restricted them within 150-160 runs.

Our batting started off confidently, this time Wicky's trust in Nisar paid off and we had the treat of watching some delightful boundaries. A flick off his pads for a boundary, ensured that he has improved his shots on the middle and leg. He was going good with some beautiful boundaries, running between the wickets and also a six over long on. Probably a little too early to say form is temporary and class is permanent, but we do hope to see him flourish and keep the runs coming for us at the top order.

He fell to a slower ball and skied one in the air, it was a bit far from the fielder and he ran in and took a wonderful catch making me wish that we could have a few boundary fielders like him.

Run rate was very good in the first five overs since after Nisar Wicky came in and had a nice little partnership with Bilal and in the first five overs we had fifty runs. But the bowling team kept changing bowlers in order to find the two right bowlers for the occassion. Which they did and the two started bowling a very tight line and length. Our batsmen were pushed in a shell because of that and in that passage of 3-4 overs we lost the match by having too many runs for our middle and lower order to score off the remaining overs.

Wicky in order to push the fielders got too cheeky in the end and was run out after trying to take a single with the ball in the keeper's hands. That wicket was crucial for us, since today we were without the services of Ahmed and therefore we needed someone for scoring quick runs. Bilal played a good anchor innings but wasn't able to cut lose and didn't have any partners with him who could do that for him. In the end 30 from 32 balls were good but not match winning.

Sameer Bhai came in at number 4 with some high hopes from us and showed us a few delightful strokes in the gaps. But in the end it was too much to get for him and with Rizwan at the other end who is very good at rotating strike, there was too much to get for him, single handedly. If Amir would have come up the order he and Sameer might have found the extra 17 runs somewhere in between to win the match for us.

Good Things...
1. Nisar's coming into form.
2. Rizwan's Stumping.

Bad Things...
1. Fielding. We need to work on taking catches on the boundary and also stop the boundaries. One poor thing about our boundary fielding was that the fielders there were not sure whether to come forward to take the catch or stay back to stop the boundary. A few times, they started to go for the catch but stopped mid way because of which they were not able to either come forward enough to attempt the catch or stay back enough to stop the boundary. We gave away a few boundaries because of this.
2. Scoring from the top order. We are still not breaking the 100 runs mark in the first ten overs and not even coming close to it. We shuffled our top order because of this goal and this strategy is not working out uptil now.

3. No wickets still from our attack. We need to have some wicket taking bowling, field placing and most of fielding in order to get the openers out cheaply.

Incident
The other team, before their fielding started, collected together on the pitch and prayed for the match. Looked very good that they not only had the faith but also the courage to show it.

Shape up guys we need to win this match to make it to the second round.

One More Win - 20th April 2007

A rear gaurd innings of 51 from 25 balls from Sameer, pushed the score in the comfort zone and enabled us to get one more win in our bag. The innings was started from our regular and charismatic opening pair of Nisar and Bilal. They were not able to score freely but still managed to score 7 an over. The opening partnership was of 29 runs. Although were not able to convince many but the opening pair managed to see off the new ball while maintaining a respectable scoring rate.

In a brotherhood mood both left the pitch in the same over, bringing the pressure on the next batsmen. But with a good run rate already there, Wicky and Ahmed had the required foundation to score freely rather than worry about wickets in hand and made some quick runs and in the next 6 overs 53 runs at just about 9 an over, were scored pushing the score to 82 in the first ten overs. Waqar scored 34 off 25 balls and Ahmed with one wonderful 6 over long off boundary beside a few boundaries scored 26 off 15 balls.

Rizwan came in but with the field brought in and a little injury in the ankles suffered before the match, was not able to reproduce his style of initially scoring runs though quick singles and doubles. He scored 6 runs off 7 balls and was run out because of a bad call from Waqar. Amir started off confidently but couldn't score and managed 9 off 7 balls. Waqar too left the crease after a good catch in the covers.

Lower down the order Sameer and Zeyad (15 off 9 balls) managed to push the score to 187, meaning we scored 105 in the last 10 overs. A complete reverse from what we had planned, which was above 100 in the first ten and at least 80 in the last ten.

Bowling started confidently but we suffered once again from very very poor fielding. We at least gave away 30 extra runs. The opening pair bowled well and the batting team was able to score 42 runs from 6 overs at 7 runs an over. Since we didn't manage to take early wickets therefore we were not able to bowl Junaid as first change. Ahmed bowled the first change but gave away 12 runs in his first over. Which immediately brought spin in action through Sameer.

Sameer started off well but was victim of some very poor fielding all around and gave away 21 runs in his first 2 overs. Bilal also came to bowl in tandem with Sameer but gave away 17 runs in his first over and hence was removed. The batsmen thanks to our poor fielding were scoring freely. I came to bowl in at that time with Sameer Bhai and managed to stop the run flow. We knew that one or two good economical overs would push the pressure back on the batting team. Sameer kept on his merry ways and managed to take wickets and that continued the pressure on the batting team. In the end Sameer stats were 4 overs 40 runs and 3 wickets.

Waqar and Anees came back to bowl and pushed the batting team further backwards. In the last 2 overs 36 runs were required. We brought in Ahmed since at that time, wicket to wicket fast bowling was required. We were hopeful that if Ahmed is able to bowl a good economical over we would be able to bowl in Junaid for the last over. But that was not to be. He gave away 16 runs and the batting team required 20 runs from the last over. At that time the ball was toosed to Bilal who was confident as well. He gave away only 6 runs and took a wicket on the last ball.

What Went Wrong

Winning usually hides the weaknesses in a performance. But a good team is the one which, win or lose, continues to learn from their mistakes.

1. Opening pair weakness of playing balls on middle and leg were exposed.
2. Pathetic fielding display. With 4-5 dropped chances and one missed stumping (run out) as well.
3. Bilal needs to work on his bowling a little bit more and bring in some variety such as faster ones alongwith his loopy stuff.
4. Nisar needs to work on his middle and leg. He is superb on off side but he must work hard to remove this gray area from his batting.
5. A good batting performance from Amir Bhai is due and expected now. We are sure that he would pull through, just need to get going.

The Positives

A good team not only takes its weaknesses but also its strengths in the next match. Here are some good things to take in the next match.

1. We have improved our running between the wickets and some urgency is there to run the first one hard and look for a possible second run.

2. The batting order is taking shape now and looks settled and after a team evaluation meeting, there might only be a few changes in it. I for one believe that Sameer can now open the innings with Bilal since he is middling the ball well and should get more balls to face, so that we have more runs in the kitty.

About Me

My fielding was okay today, but I was very very disappointed on the two boundaries (one hard and one very simple) that went through me. The simple one was on Sameer Bhai and the triple 'F***' words from him were little in comparison with the disappointment in myself.

Before coming into the match I was thinking about attacking wicket taking bowling today. But the situation in which I was brought demanded a defensive strategy. So keeping that in mind I started the bowling and managed to curb the run flow. Still disappointed that I didn't take any wickets. I also need to work on my length since usually my balls is on or below the knee level of the batsmen. Poor fielding and dropped chances on my bowling increased my runs per over :( and my stats in the end were 38 runs in 4 overs and no wickets.

And oh yes wonderful 'padding' as well from me. Which ensured that I didn't get a chance to go in the middle although I was padded up to do that. Which was good since at that time Sameer and Zeyad were playing wonderfully well.

Future Strategy
It depends upon the captain to decide what he wants from the openers. If he wants them to see off the new ball and score at around 7-8 an over, then Bilal and Nisar are doing a good job. And they can be continued as the opening pair and would just need to work on their middle and leg deficiencies. In the middle order Sameer can come at number 4 to ensure that he has more balls to face and hence more runs to score for the team. Number 3 can be a switch between Rizwan, Ahmed and Waqar, depending upon the situation and form of the three.

But if the captain wants more runs from the opening pair and doesn't consider the new ball a threat, then Sameer or Waqar can open the innings with Bilal, and Nisar can come in Sameer's current position i.e. 5 or 6.

One thing is for sure though and that is Sameer should be pushed up the order now since he is in good form and must be utilized properly so that he has more balls to face.

Incident
No such incidents as such except for a appeal from the bowling on a 'Bold'.

Tournament Status
The tournament is alive for us and we need to at least win 1 match from the next 2 matches. But one is never sure in tournaments until the results from all the matches are in. Therefore we have to give our all in the next match.

In the end guys, this is just my perspective of the match, so if you have any changes/comments, feel free to comment on the blog, so that they come on record as well. Also team evaluation is complete and would soon be appearing on the blog.

Below are some stats but guys don't go by the bowling stats, there are quite a lot of discrepancies in it since the total of bowling runs is coming to 185! And the batting team only scored 173. But the bottom line is that the bowling was good and fielding very poor.

29 runs from 4 overs opening partnership
First 10 overs 82
Last 10 overs 105
Total 187

Bowling

Waqar: 6,6,8,7 (1 wicket) (27)
Anees: 5,6,11,7 (0 wicket) (29)
Ahmed: 12, 16 (0 wickets) (28)
Sameer: 11,10,9,10 (3 wickets) (40)
Bilal: 17,6 1 wicket (23)
Amad 3,15,10,10 0 wickets (38)

Bilal 13(15)
Nisar 6(9)
Wicky 34(25)
Ahmed 26(15)
Rizwan 6(7)
Amir 9(7)
Sameer 51(25)
Zeyad 15(9)

Our First Win

Friday 13th April 2007.

We finally won our first match. The other team was not that good, but initial bowling was good from Anees and Waqar, and the other team was on back foot from the start. Finally Anees got the first break through, by a clean bold. Their bowling was not very good but still our top order failed this time. And Bilal, Nisar and Waqar came back without impressing anyone! Ahmed played well and scored some quick runs. But star of the show was Rizwan and Sameer whose partnership won the match for us. Sameer after taking some time to get set in which Rizwan made him run hard to keep the require rate in check. But after he was set, he delighted all of us, with some wonderful stroke play. And took the match from a neck to neck situation to completely bringing it in our control. In the end Zeyad also managed to show some good shots and we won the match.

Man of the match in my books was of course Rizwan for yet another 50.

Some areas where we erred were

1. When we knew that their middle and lower order bastmen were not a threat we should have brought back our faster bowlers and attacked them with wicket to wicket fast bowling.

2. Our front line batsmen failed except for Ahmed therefore our current strategy was saved from complete failure by Ahmed. But the second part of the strategy that Rizwan, Sameer and Zeyad will steady the ship succeeded. Our front line batsmen must learn and work hard in the next match.

3. The fielding was good but 2 dropped chances from Amir, boundary let offs from Sameer and Zeyad were a 'kalank' on the whole fielding effort!

4. Although Rizwan's keeping is very good, in a short time he has learned a lot. He must work on his stumping and run outs. Against better teams we must cash on every opportunity that we get.

Encouraging Points

1. The field placing was good and the bowlers now seem to know where they have to bowl and what field they require.

2. Fielding is improving day by day and now we are giving lesser runs by mis fielding.

3. A good fielding effort by Waqar resulted in a run out.

4. We have realized that its a 20 over match and its not over till the last ball. Last week when our initial overs cost some runs, we still worked hard and managed to save crucial runs in the last 10 overs, and this week our batting showed that no matter even if the first few wickets fell cheaply we still can push the score and take us to the target.

5. Rizwan's wicket keeping on faster bowlers.

Incident
No cricket match is complete without an incident. Hence we have drama, debate, thrill, fight, comedy and exercise all in a 20 overs match. What happened was when Ahmed took his first and only wicket. Bilal took a very good catch and then as expected from the style bhai, he threw the ball outside the ground in jubilation. The fielding team calimed a boundary much to our astonishment. A small battle ensued, but not on the pitch but off it. Intense debating competition started and everyone was trying to explain his point of view in one go. Finally common sense prevailed and the batsman was given out. Who says that cricket is all about batting, bowling and fielding.

Me
The ball was a bit smaller and I enjoyed bowling with it. Although I am disappointed about the wides and nos. But I have worked on my run up and now I think with better practice I can bowl a little fast. My strategy today was to bowl fast wicket to wicket bowling. Line good length and on offstump, movement primarily inside the batsman with occasional out swingers/leg cutters and length on the wickets. But I have to develop a slower ball and also work on length of the bowl with occasional balls above the waist of the batsman. Fielding was good as I didn't leave off any boundary. A disappointment was to miss a very difficult catch of Bilal's bowling and had it been just a few inches closer to me, I would have managed to get a hand on it. Didn't get a chance to bat, but I had decided that if the ball is on the leg stump I will pull it and off stump I will try to drive it. Thank God I didn't get a chance to bat and we won the match before it. That was important.

Team Spirit
Lastly a few words about Team Spirit. We have an exceptional team spirit going on, and it doesn't matter whether you are batting, bowling or just fielding. Everyone wants to pitch in and play for the team. Everybody wants the team to win. Prime examples are Junaid and Khurram, who have not been given enough opportunities but still they are completely involved with the team and whatever is required of them they do it to the fullest. As the team grows we will be giving more chances to all the players and won't be that rigid with our batting and bowling line ups.

I think with this Team Spirt and some more experience, Agility Panthers can be one of the best teams in Kuwait. Well done guys, winning is always sweet and losing always bitter. Now we have the whole week to feel sweet.

And come to think of it, we won on Friday the 13th ;) Who says its bad luck. Allah makes the good and bad luck and it can fall on any day.