A very strange thing happened to me while bowling against Acasia in the Lawson Trophy match of 7th December 2007. The first ball that I was about to bowl, I went in with the intention of bowling my regular legcutter delivery in which I pitch the ball on the middle and leg and let the ball rip from my fingers with seam upright. But I had bowled against the batsman who was facing me and knew that he was good at hitting on the leg side, so I thought that I should use the crease and bowl a little wider so that the ball pitches a little outside off and moves away from the batsman.
I came to the crease, bowled from a little wide of the crease, the ball pitched as per plan but instead of moving away it came in !
The North Nazimabad ball always is fun to ball with since it will move and bounce if you want it to. I was happy to repeat the action and delivery style and kept on getting incutters to some good affect. Although I didn't get any wickets but it was a pleasure to watch. I did feel a little guilty about it since except for the line and length I was not controlling much.
But I guess this is a normal thing in cricket, since I just read about Muralitharan telling about his record breaking wicket, in which he expected the ball to go to the opposite direction. Also Wasim Akram often told about his bowling in the initial overs when he ensured that the ball falls on the seam, because if it does then it would move as per its own will. So he used to say, when even I didn't know which way the ball will go how can the batsman know.
So in the next matches I will try to keep the seam up, rip it from my fingers, control my line and length and let the ball do the talking. At least initially I will do that especially with the North Nazimabad ball.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Agility VS Acasia - Lawson Trophy
7th December 2007
The importance of first 10 overs, whether you are bowling or batting, was quite evident in today's match. Also I am sure that the satisfaction levels would be quite high since it was one of those rare occassions when we won by ourselves and not because of our guest players.
Nisar, captaining the side in Wicky's absence, won the toss and decided to bat first. Nisar and Rizwan opened the innings and with a mixture of good batting, 9 fielders and some very helpful extras, they managed to keep the run rate at above 10 runs an over. The highlight of their opening stand was that they showed responsibility realizing not only the thinness of our batting order today but also the fact that they have to score at 9 runs per over. In the first 10 overs we were 92/2, with an opening partnership of 73 runs.
Rizwan was the first to go as he tried to flick a ball on the middle stump, missed it and was adjudged LBW. Samir Bhai went in next but couldn't last long as his flick to a ball down the leg side, produced a splendid diving effort from the wicket keeper. At that time we were facing an early exposition of our tail and required someone to block an end for a few overs. Adnan was ideal in this situation. Nisar batted brilliantly as he kept up the momentum and didn't allow the run rate to fall below 9 even when two successive wickets fell and Adnan took some time settling in and trying desperately to connect his flicks.
Nisar was stumped at a vital phase and cost us to forget about a 200+ score. In the end he batted responsibly scoring 55 runs off 32 balls with 7 boundaries.
Ahmed went in next with the mission to prove his critics (including me) wrong that he can bat for more than 3 overs without a runner :) He started off confidently, hitting boundaries at will. His towering six was a splendid sight. In the end he scored 34 runs with 4 boundaries and a six. Incidently from 20 balls which is roughly 3.2 overs ;) Anyways, if it wasn't for the confusion that resulted in his run out, I am sure he would have batted till the end.
Amir Bhai joined Ahmed as Adnan got out after scoring 23 runs off 27 balls having completed the crucial job of preserving an end to prevent wickets tumbling like a pack of cards.
Soon after Adnan departed Amir Bhai got involved in a mix up with Ahmed and came back in order to give Ahmed a chance to stay longer. The fielding team protested that Ahmed was run out instead of Amir Bhai and the umpires agreed and Amir Bhai was called back. Anyways Amir Bhai didn't hang about as well and much to the dismay of the fielding team scored 21 runs off 11 balls with 2 boundaries. Anees Bhai joined Amir Bhai after Ahmed departed and didn't manage to reach the high standards which he has set for the all the batsmen on the planet. He got out bowled after scoring 1 run from 2 balls.
I joined Amir Bhai and realized the importance of having not only a flick in one's batting armory but also loads of stamina. Running 2 runs creeps the energy out of you and when having to run 3 of those in a row you would wish to be in pavilion rather than being in the middle. But stamina it seems is not the absence of weakness but rather the realization of the fact that there is something more important than weakness. Ha ha ha don't raise your eye brows, I read it somewhere about courage and fear and made some minor changes.
In the end delaying tactics by the fielding team helped them as the match was reduced to 22 overs.
The score was 195 in 22 overs, which showed responsibility on the part of our batsmen and to some extent benefit derived from extras.
Anees Bhai and I started off the bowling. The attack burst was quite good as we didn't allow them to go above 5 runs per over. Bowling with the Pakistani ball is always great as the seams stays up and you are able to apply greater number of revolutions on the ball which are necessary for seam movement and bounce. Anees Bhai was unlucky as a straight forward caught behind was not given by the umpire. But he did manage to perform his role of an attacking fast bowler by not giving any boundaries. With some good keeping from Rizwan we ensured that no freebies were given to the batsmen. We did manage a run out in my over though. All in all the attack of the first 6 overs was quite important in keeping the opposition in check and not letting their batting get away with a flying start.
Nisar and Ahmed were the next change and they kept up the pressure on the batting team by taking wickets and not giving any free hits, though Ahmed's 3rd over was a bit expensive. Nisar took a wicket in his first over as Rizwan took a very good catch. In the first 10 overs we restricted them to 50/4
An interesting thing to share with you guys. Last time we faced this team, one of their batsmen got run out which he claimed was not out and another claim of his (it seemed that he had a claim bazaar) that if he was still in the crease he would have finished the match by now. I was amazed and asked him that would he have ran out his whole team to finish the match so quickly? He said that he would have chased 260 runs in 23 overs! Well today when he came to the crease and hit a long boundary off Nisar's bowling, he did look a bit dangerous since we didn't have the comfort of 260 runs. A boundary off Ahmed's bowling (after a dropped catch though) was alarming as well, but the way he was playing I knew he couldn't last long. Ahmed ensured that and in the very next ball he clean bowled him. A whole essay full of sledging material came to my mind but I saved it up from some other day.
Some very good bowling changes from Nisar ensured that the pressure remained on their batting and their bid for launching an onslaught, which might have been successful given that their opening batsman was still on the crease, was made more difficult.
In the end Samir Bhai, Shiva, Khurram and Imran bowled a few overs. Samir Bhai was his usual threatening self, while Shiva was a bit way ward in his line and gave away some extras by throwing wides down the leg side. Khurram was very unlucky as 2 chances were dropped off his bowling. Him and Junaid have yet to open their account of wickets mainly because of dropped catches.
Which brings me to the subject of dropped catches. In all there were around 9-11 dropped catches. The dropped catches were a mixture of various errors which we committed, which included most prominently,
1. Not looking at the ball till the last moment.
2. Not closing our hands when the ball hits the palm. (I did this and that too off my own bowling).
3. Being scared of the ball and moving back.
The ground fielding was good and we managed about 2 run outs and stopped some boundaries. But over throws were inexcuseable. Over throws usually result when there is no proper backing up. The fielder responsible for backing up should immediately align himself with the throw as if there is no keeper or bowler standing.
In the end it was a well deserved win as we played intelligently and most importantly things went as per plan. A round of applause for Nisar for a win in his first match as captain. Hopefully we would keep the intensity and the attendance :) to win this cup.
Batting ScoreCard
Nisar: 55(32) 7x4 0x6
Rizwan 15(11) 1x4 0x6
Samir: 1(2) 0x4 0x6
Adnan 23(27) 0x4 0x6
Ahmed: 34(2) 4x4 1x6
Amir: 21(11) 2x4 0x6
Anees: 1(2) 0x4 0x6
Amad: 4(?) 0x4 0x6
Bowling ScoreCard (unofficial)
Anees 0 Wickets
Amad 1 Wicket
Nisar 2 Wicket
Ahmed 1 Wicket
Samir 1 Wicket
Shiva 0 Wicket
Khurram 0 Wickets
Imran 0 Wickets
Kindly correct the bowling since I am sure I might have missed out a few here and there.
Nisar, captaining the side in Wicky's absence, won the toss and decided to bat first. Nisar and Rizwan opened the innings and with a mixture of good batting, 9 fielders and some very helpful extras, they managed to keep the run rate at above 10 runs an over. The highlight of their opening stand was that they showed responsibility realizing not only the thinness of our batting order today but also the fact that they have to score at 9 runs per over. In the first 10 overs we were 92/2, with an opening partnership of 73 runs.
Rizwan was the first to go as he tried to flick a ball on the middle stump, missed it and was adjudged LBW. Samir Bhai went in next but couldn't last long as his flick to a ball down the leg side, produced a splendid diving effort from the wicket keeper. At that time we were facing an early exposition of our tail and required someone to block an end for a few overs. Adnan was ideal in this situation. Nisar batted brilliantly as he kept up the momentum and didn't allow the run rate to fall below 9 even when two successive wickets fell and Adnan took some time settling in and trying desperately to connect his flicks.
Nisar was stumped at a vital phase and cost us to forget about a 200+ score. In the end he batted responsibly scoring 55 runs off 32 balls with 7 boundaries.
Ahmed went in next with the mission to prove his critics (including me) wrong that he can bat for more than 3 overs without a runner :) He started off confidently, hitting boundaries at will. His towering six was a splendid sight. In the end he scored 34 runs with 4 boundaries and a six. Incidently from 20 balls which is roughly 3.2 overs ;) Anyways, if it wasn't for the confusion that resulted in his run out, I am sure he would have batted till the end.
Amir Bhai joined Ahmed as Adnan got out after scoring 23 runs off 27 balls having completed the crucial job of preserving an end to prevent wickets tumbling like a pack of cards.
Soon after Adnan departed Amir Bhai got involved in a mix up with Ahmed and came back in order to give Ahmed a chance to stay longer. The fielding team protested that Ahmed was run out instead of Amir Bhai and the umpires agreed and Amir Bhai was called back. Anyways Amir Bhai didn't hang about as well and much to the dismay of the fielding team scored 21 runs off 11 balls with 2 boundaries. Anees Bhai joined Amir Bhai after Ahmed departed and didn't manage to reach the high standards which he has set for the all the batsmen on the planet. He got out bowled after scoring 1 run from 2 balls.
I joined Amir Bhai and realized the importance of having not only a flick in one's batting armory but also loads of stamina. Running 2 runs creeps the energy out of you and when having to run 3 of those in a row you would wish to be in pavilion rather than being in the middle. But stamina it seems is not the absence of weakness but rather the realization of the fact that there is something more important than weakness. Ha ha ha don't raise your eye brows, I read it somewhere about courage and fear and made some minor changes.
In the end delaying tactics by the fielding team helped them as the match was reduced to 22 overs.
The score was 195 in 22 overs, which showed responsibility on the part of our batsmen and to some extent benefit derived from extras.
Anees Bhai and I started off the bowling. The attack burst was quite good as we didn't allow them to go above 5 runs per over. Bowling with the Pakistani ball is always great as the seams stays up and you are able to apply greater number of revolutions on the ball which are necessary for seam movement and bounce. Anees Bhai was unlucky as a straight forward caught behind was not given by the umpire. But he did manage to perform his role of an attacking fast bowler by not giving any boundaries. With some good keeping from Rizwan we ensured that no freebies were given to the batsmen. We did manage a run out in my over though. All in all the attack of the first 6 overs was quite important in keeping the opposition in check and not letting their batting get away with a flying start.
Nisar and Ahmed were the next change and they kept up the pressure on the batting team by taking wickets and not giving any free hits, though Ahmed's 3rd over was a bit expensive. Nisar took a wicket in his first over as Rizwan took a very good catch. In the first 10 overs we restricted them to 50/4
An interesting thing to share with you guys. Last time we faced this team, one of their batsmen got run out which he claimed was not out and another claim of his (it seemed that he had a claim bazaar) that if he was still in the crease he would have finished the match by now. I was amazed and asked him that would he have ran out his whole team to finish the match so quickly? He said that he would have chased 260 runs in 23 overs! Well today when he came to the crease and hit a long boundary off Nisar's bowling, he did look a bit dangerous since we didn't have the comfort of 260 runs. A boundary off Ahmed's bowling (after a dropped catch though) was alarming as well, but the way he was playing I knew he couldn't last long. Ahmed ensured that and in the very next ball he clean bowled him. A whole essay full of sledging material came to my mind but I saved it up from some other day.
Some very good bowling changes from Nisar ensured that the pressure remained on their batting and their bid for launching an onslaught, which might have been successful given that their opening batsman was still on the crease, was made more difficult.
In the end Samir Bhai, Shiva, Khurram and Imran bowled a few overs. Samir Bhai was his usual threatening self, while Shiva was a bit way ward in his line and gave away some extras by throwing wides down the leg side. Khurram was very unlucky as 2 chances were dropped off his bowling. Him and Junaid have yet to open their account of wickets mainly because of dropped catches.
Which brings me to the subject of dropped catches. In all there were around 9-11 dropped catches. The dropped catches were a mixture of various errors which we committed, which included most prominently,
1. Not looking at the ball till the last moment.
2. Not closing our hands when the ball hits the palm. (I did this and that too off my own bowling).
3. Being scared of the ball and moving back.
The ground fielding was good and we managed about 2 run outs and stopped some boundaries. But over throws were inexcuseable. Over throws usually result when there is no proper backing up. The fielder responsible for backing up should immediately align himself with the throw as if there is no keeper or bowler standing.
In the end it was a well deserved win as we played intelligently and most importantly things went as per plan. A round of applause for Nisar for a win in his first match as captain. Hopefully we would keep the intensity and the attendance :) to win this cup.
Batting ScoreCard
Nisar: 55(32) 7x4 0x6
Rizwan 15(11) 1x4 0x6
Samir: 1(2) 0x4 0x6
Adnan 23(27) 0x4 0x6
Ahmed: 34(2) 4x4 1x6
Amir: 21(11) 2x4 0x6
Anees: 1(2) 0x4 0x6
Amad: 4(?) 0x4 0x6
Bowling ScoreCard (unofficial)
Anees 0 Wickets
Amad 1 Wicket
Nisar 2 Wicket
Ahmed 1 Wicket
Samir 1 Wicket
Shiva 0 Wicket
Khurram 0 Wickets
Imran 0 Wickets
Kindly correct the bowling since I am sure I might have missed out a few here and there.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Almost Lost It!!!
Serious thinking would be required to find out why we came so close to lose a match in which the required run rate for our opponents was more than 10 runs per over.
The tournament was out of our hands so the Captain Wicky made a strategy on popular demand, to give proper chances to everyone. Rizwan, Adnan and Bilal are to be tried up the order. And Ahmed, Amir Bhai and Junaid Bhai will be tried out in bowling more regularly. More over Bilal would be tried in Wicket Keeping, which was not to be in the current match.
Since the tournament committee didn't arrive therefore, we started a friendly match of 16 overs with our opponents. We were to bat first, therefore Rizwan and Nisar opened the batting. Rizwan got out early while trying to drag a ball from outside his off stump towards leg side, only to put the ball up in the air for an easy catch on the on side. Adnan failed to impress while trying to clear the inner field. Bilal went in next and place a few balls for singles but missed a straight yorker and was out bowled. Sameer Bhai went in next and alongwith Nisar built a match saving partnership. Both batsmen scored their 50s in good time. Aided by sometimes lose deliveries, they maintained a healthy scoring rate of 8-9 runs per over.
The bowling team also lacked penetration as they kept on experimenting with slow spinners, which was ideal for Sameer Bhai especially, as he cut and pulled for boundaries and also a huge six between long on and square leg. A little late but a welcome change for the bowling team was when they brought in a fast medium bowler who saw 2 wickets in his first 2 deliveries and he got the wickets of both Sameer Bhai and Nisar.
This was the ideal platform for Wicky and Ahmed to go in and start hitting boundaries from the word go. Ahmed couldn't last long, but Wicky kept up the good work, with not only strong shots but also hard running between the wickets.
We set a target of 171 runs in 16 overs for our opponents, which was a very good target. The highlights of our batting were responsible innings from three of our main batsmen Nisar, Sameer Bhai and Waqar.
Our bowling started with Anees Bhai and Waqar, who bowled well but only too rarely. Some shabby keeping from Rizwan didn't help either. The batting team kept on scoring at a comfortable rate of 10 or more runs per over, without giving any chances. Amir Bhai was the first change and he bowled a good first over. Sameer Bhai came in from the other end and tried to control the scoring rate, but both were not able to find wickets.
By the 8th over the opening batsmen were so set that they were pulling almost every ball quite effectively. Almost all the bowlers tried after that, were hit for a considerable amount of runs. Till Bilal was brought in, in the 13th over. He bowled his slow loopy deliveries not giving any speed to utilize. The batsmen had to find the power within to hit boundaries and by the 13th over, they were so tired that they didn't have any power whatsoever. Hence they gave the first chance on Bilal's bowling as a catch went straight to Anees Bhai, but was dropped.
The things proceeded with some hard shots from the batsmen and good fielding from us on the boundaries under trying conditions. Then came the last over with 9 runs required from it. A gettable score seeing that the openers were still playing. After a little discussion, the ball was tossed to Nisar to keep it as slow as possible. Well due to five slow loopy deliveries and some excellent and presence of mind kind of work from both Nisar and Rizwan, they lost 4 wickets and required 5 runs from the last ball.
The match was definitely not over.
The Last Ball
Nisar comes in, bowls a slow loopy delivery outside the off stump, the batsman smashes it over the covers, the ball is going straight to Amir Bhai, every one has their hearts in their mouths, ooo he drops the catch, the batsmen are running, they need 4 runs to tie the match, the ball is going towards the boundary, Amir Bhai fields the ball and throws it straight to the bowler, the batsmen are completing the 3rd run, there is a fumble, the batsmen are running for the 4th now. Rizwan gathers the ball and crashes it into the wickets. And there is huge cry of achievement from Rizwan, announcing that we have won the match.
We win, we win by 1 run.
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly
The good was keeping our nerves under control and fighting till the end. Sameer Bhai who scored a 50 and bowled 4 cheap overs. Nisar who scored a 50 and bowled a good last over.
The bad was a mini top order collapse and Rizwan's keeping from which he recovered quite well and just in time.
The ugly, this was not a tournament match and hence would have been ideal to improve our tournament record.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Resilience Gives Us a Memorable Win
The tournament becomes open for us as we get our first win in the tournament.
Under the absence of our 3 main players Nisar, Amir Bhai and most importantly our captain Waqar, we knew we had to produce something out of our skins (both on and off the field) to keep ourselves in the tournament. Still trying to find our winning 11 after the going away of Sajid and Qadeer, we were hit by the vacation plans of Nisar and Waqar and injury of Amir bhai. Moreover towards the end of the weekend we found out that Abdullah was also not available because of his professional committments. Therefore we were short of 4 of our main players.
The first game of the tournament was not good for us as we lost with 7-8 overs remaining in the presence of our full 11. Therefore we knew that we had to find suitable replacements and the last 2 weeks saw frantic efforts from Bilal and me to create a solid line up. All efforts seemed to be failiing when finally Bilal with his brilliant PR skills (batting main bad patch hua to kya hua), managed to find 2 replacements. All thanks to Bilal and Abdullah for arranging for us two of his team mates in the senior league. Adnan, Khurram and Manoj came in to complete the 11.
The absence of Wicky meant that I was going to captain and hence felt the best way to go about in the current scenario is to attack with both bat and ball. We won the toss and decided to bat first.
Bilal was sent in because of experience as an opener alongwith Ahmed to utilize the 6 overs fielding restrictions. Bilal started confidently with a solid back foot defensive shot a little wide of point, but didn't follow up his solid shot with solid running. The fielder realizing his slackness threw to his 'non danger' end and got a direct hit to get him run out on the first ball. This put pressure on us from the word go since we anticipated Bilal to give a solid foundation while Ahmed took some chances. Anyways doing nothing for 19.5 overs is enough punishment, and hopefully he would make up for his missed chance, in the coming games.
Second in was our first guest player Mithun, who delighted all of us with his brilliant strokes taking maximum advantage of the fielding restrictions. Meanwhile Ahmed gave him a good hand and never wasted an opportunity to score. They both maintained a run rate of 9-10 runs per over, which was exactly what was required in the scenario.
Seeing Ahmed and Mithun's expertise in handling the quicker bowlers, the captain decided to bring in spinners. This was a good change for them since Mithun fell. Sameer bhai went in next and couldn't utilize his potential with the bat to the fullest. The idea was right to play over the fielders, and to some extent it succeeded as well but for the brilliant running back catch. Next in was Rizwan who showed his good placement skills for a boundary to the third man. But he couldn't last long as well, since on the next ball he tried to place the ball on the leg but couldn't put bat to ball and was found LBW. We were really reeling with these sudden fall of wickets. Adnan was next in to try and halt our descent into the dark abyss, and give Ahmed the much needed space to free up his arms. But Adnan couldn't manage it, as he played on.
This completed our middle order collapse and we had lost half of our team for something around 80. Ahmed was playing brilliantly at the other end and digging deep into his stamina reserves, but wasn't able to find a reliable partner. Defeat was staring us in our faces and I was already seeing the helpless side of captaincy. The plan from there onwards was to get maximum runs. Raju our second guest player was sent in, whom I thought was a lower order batsman. But his batting suggested otherwise.
A good partnership till the 15th over, resulted between him and Ahmed and both started scoring freely. Moreso Raju started hitting sixes at his leisure. He was confident enough to state that we will get 50 runs from the last 4 overs. He utilized his height to the fullest and stood tall to hit large elegant sixes to achieve his target.
This continued till around the 15th over. Ahmed, realizing the safety zone that the team was in at the moment, started taking a few risks for the team and played his first rash stroke by jumping out of the crease. He missed the line of the ball and was out stumped.
This brought us to the lower order. Amongst the lower order Anees Bhai played brilliantly and gave able support to Raju.
We did get 50 from the last 4 overs, infact more than 50 as the score was pushed near the comforts of 200. 200 would have been impossible had it not been for the 9th wicket partnership of Anees Bhai and Khurram. Anees Bhai tried to spank the bowlers and whenever he did get contact, it landed out of or close to the boundary line. Khurram also got around 11-12 runs for the team. First, by 'deliberately' missing the ball, which the keeper missed as well and it hit the keeper's helmet, getting us 5 runs. And second, by placing (err edging) the ball to the third man boundary. As they say, at this point time, you take runs as they come.
In the end we set a stiff but chaseable target of 211 runs to Star 11.
The horrors of the first tournament match was still in my mind when our opponents got 180 in around 12 overs. And hence our top priority was to attack and try and get wickets.
Anees Bhai and Mithun bowled the first overs. Few chances went down in the attack burst and the most to suffer was Mithun. Bilal dropped a sky high catch off Anees Bhai's bowling. These catches are never easy since the higher they go, the more succumb they become to winds. Raju dropped a sitter as well, probably not realizing the speed of the ball. Finally we got our first wicket with a catch in covers off the bowling of Mithun. Anees Bhai proved expensive in his second over with around 18 runs coming off it. Their batting was looking confident enough to get to the target.
We decided to change bowlers and I set the criteria to rest a bowler whenever he went for a few runs. A partnership developed between their opener and 1 down, and they started getting runs almost at leisure. The fielding restrictions were over but they still were managing to find a boundary or two. As per Bilal's timely suggestion, we introduced spin of Sameer Bhai, to try and unsettle them. Unsettled they did become, as Sameer Bhai bowled a tight line and didn't give any freebies. Raju got the important wicket for us in the very next over, with a great catch from Khurram in the slips. The ball was not travelling fast, but one has to control his fits when an important catch is coming towards him. Khurram controlled that magnificiently and took the catch tumbling down.
The next batsman didn't look convincing enough to me, so we decided to bring back Mithun in place of Sameer Bhai to try and unsettle him and get his wicket. Mithun responded magnificiently by getting us more than we expected i.e. the wicket of the set batsman.
Star 11, was down but not out, and hence we didn't want to give them any breathing space. In the next overs few bowlers were rotated, so that they are not given any chance to get a revival. Sameer Bhai responded magnificiently and took 3 wickets for us. In his last overs the bastmen did find runs from him behind the wicket and I am sure he would include that in his data bank, next time he comes in to bowl. Anees Bhai took a wicket as well in his second spell, shunning down the chances of any resistance.
Some lessons that we learned are
1. We have to improve our running between the wickets and must practice the standards of calling, relying on our partner if its his call and relaxing only after we complete our run.
2. Not to underestimate the benefits of nets and if possible arrange one every week. This would give us the chance of developing new deliveries and practice shots on which we got out. Also this keeps our lower batting order especially of Anees Bhai and me, to get a chance of middling the ball and hence contribute with the bat whenever the situation demands it.
3. Our keeper should close hands after the ball is in his gloves :)
4. We must control our emotions on the field. Offering a suggestion while pointing the mistake or just a suggestion without pointing the mistake can result in a much more improved performance.
5. Every bowler should know the areas where he can get scored off and where catches can land. He should place fielders accordingly as per their skill levels.
6. Plan and Utilize the first 6 overs.
7. Everyone should concentrate on their individual games and how to improve their skills with each match.
8. One must respect the senior players and learn from their experience, even if they are scolding or critical of you.
In the end I would like to thank Manoj for coming and would like to tell him that whenever I thought about giving him the next over, we went for plenty of runs in the current over. So I had to bring someone who can reverse the tide for us.
Finally I would like thank everyone for putting up with me for this match and responding positively and giving me their 100%. The tournament is open for us. We have to learn from our mistakes, respond to our captain Wicky's game plan and take our games to the next level. We have to win this tournament.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Winning is sweet but Revenge is Sweeter!
Our day started, this time, on the field trying to open our arms, practicing catch, warming up and middling. On seeing the team whom we were pitted against, our motivation to win increased further. It was the same team who had hit us a score of 300+ runs when the odds were heavily in their favor. This time the battle was even steven and we wanted to show them who they playing against.
We batted first and Nisar alongwith our guest player Amir, gave us a good start, with both batsmen taking chances and hitting boundaries in each over. Nisar was given a life and this time decided to make most out of it by scoring his and the team's highest score. Too bad he missed the century by 12 runs. At the other end Amir made the most of his height and pulled fericiously for boundaries and sixes. His boundaries at long on were a treat as well. Nisar was the first to cross 50 and Amir followed soon. Amir was the first to go, with a catch on the boundary, which was rather a lesson on how to catch a fly.
Wicky joined Nisar and didn't want to spoil the good work started by the openers and tried to force the pace.He couldn't last long and was out caught on the boundary. Nisar at that time would have been finding batting real hard and standing in the crease real difficult, but the good thing was that he didn't throw his wicket away and managed to find boundaries almost at will. Qadeer Bhai came in and initially didn't manage to find the middle of his bat a lesson for all the batsmen to practice on middling before every match. But a good bat that he is, he did manage to find it eventually and hit some good boundaries as well. Nisar while trying to keep the score flowing, was caught on the boundary and Ahmed went in next. He did hit a boundary but then was run out in the most strangest of circumstances. He was either trying to save himself from the throw (his version) or wasn't able to balance himself and was out of the crease (other's version). Bilal went in next and hit a boundary on the first ball, he looks good batting lower down the order, with the ball not swinging that much. Eventually we reached a formidable score of around 240 runs.
Anees Bhai and Sajjad Bhai started the bowling, with Anees Bhai keeping it tight. Sajjad Bhai was good as well but the batsmen did manage to find boundaries here and there. Anees Bhai took the first wicket with a good high catch from Nisar fielding at Mid Off. The 7 over attack by both of them, kept the run rate at around 6-7 which was just what was required. Amir bowled the first change and due to his height found bounce from the word go, which was a bit scary for both the keeper and the batsman. He kept the batsmen in check and took 2 wickets in his last over.
Amir Bhai came in the end as well and took a wicket off a good catch from Qadeer Bhai.
In the end the score was too high and with the good attack burst, the match was out of their hand. In the end it was just about keeping the pressure on the batsmen and raising their margin of defeat.
One last note, the captain did the wicket keeping for the first 10 or so overs. And did a good job at it. Since particularly Amir's rising deliveries were quite difficult to keep on. But he didn't keep on spinners so can't rate his keeping too high at this point in time. Since that would be the ultimate test.
We batted first and Nisar alongwith our guest player Amir, gave us a good start, with both batsmen taking chances and hitting boundaries in each over. Nisar was given a life and this time decided to make most out of it by scoring his and the team's highest score. Too bad he missed the century by 12 runs. At the other end Amir made the most of his height and pulled fericiously for boundaries and sixes. His boundaries at long on were a treat as well. Nisar was the first to cross 50 and Amir followed soon. Amir was the first to go, with a catch on the boundary, which was rather a lesson on how to catch a fly.
Wicky joined Nisar and didn't want to spoil the good work started by the openers and tried to force the pace.He couldn't last long and was out caught on the boundary. Nisar at that time would have been finding batting real hard and standing in the crease real difficult, but the good thing was that he didn't throw his wicket away and managed to find boundaries almost at will. Qadeer Bhai came in and initially didn't manage to find the middle of his bat a lesson for all the batsmen to practice on middling before every match. But a good bat that he is, he did manage to find it eventually and hit some good boundaries as well. Nisar while trying to keep the score flowing, was caught on the boundary and Ahmed went in next. He did hit a boundary but then was run out in the most strangest of circumstances. He was either trying to save himself from the throw (his version) or wasn't able to balance himself and was out of the crease (other's version). Bilal went in next and hit a boundary on the first ball, he looks good batting lower down the order, with the ball not swinging that much. Eventually we reached a formidable score of around 240 runs.
Anees Bhai and Sajjad Bhai started the bowling, with Anees Bhai keeping it tight. Sajjad Bhai was good as well but the batsmen did manage to find boundaries here and there. Anees Bhai took the first wicket with a good high catch from Nisar fielding at Mid Off. The 7 over attack by both of them, kept the run rate at around 6-7 which was just what was required. Amir bowled the first change and due to his height found bounce from the word go, which was a bit scary for both the keeper and the batsman. He kept the batsmen in check and took 2 wickets in his last over.
Amir Bhai came in the end as well and took a wicket off a good catch from Qadeer Bhai.
In the end the score was too high and with the good attack burst, the match was out of their hand. In the end it was just about keeping the pressure on the batsmen and raising their margin of defeat.
One last note, the captain did the wicket keeping for the first 10 or so overs. And did a good job at it. Since particularly Amir's rising deliveries were quite difficult to keep on. But he didn't keep on spinners so can't rate his keeping too high at this point in time. Since that would be the ultimate test.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Disgraceful Beginning and a Disgraceful End
I was thinking that instead of writing a match report, I should be writing a get together party report, since that would be most appropriate. ;)
Our typical day starts with half of our team in Jaguar Beauty parlour applying creams on their faces, rather than warming up and practicing. If things keep on going like this, I believe that very soon some padicure, manicure and facial services will be launched as well. Its quite ironic that instead of batting and bowling averages we worry more about maintaining the color of our face and instead of trying concentrating on the ball during fielding we concentrate on how to save our nails!
The match was played with Casuals whom we defeated by 70 runs last time. I think over confidence might have been our undoing this time as Casuals, taking the benefit of our 'casual' approach to the match, defeated us by 9 wickets with 8 overs to spare!
Nisar and Wicky opened the innings for us and Wicky started off confidently with a powerful pull to get him his first boundary. He seems to have all the shots in the book and one waits for a big innings. He couldn't last long as an opener since he edged a delivery and it went straight to his face probably scratching his nose. The impact would have been much worse then it looked since he wasn't able to continue and decided to send in Bilal. Nisar was not his usual self as well. He was not able to time his favourite cut shot and was dropped in the covers. He was not able to cash on the life given to him, and was bowled in the same over.
Our typical day starts with half of our team in Jaguar Beauty parlour applying creams on their faces, rather than warming up and practicing. If things keep on going like this, I believe that very soon some padicure, manicure and facial services will be launched as well. Its quite ironic that instead of batting and bowling averages we worry more about maintaining the color of our face and instead of trying concentrating on the ball during fielding we concentrate on how to save our nails!
The match was played with Casuals whom we defeated by 70 runs last time. I think over confidence might have been our undoing this time as Casuals, taking the benefit of our 'casual' approach to the match, defeated us by 9 wickets with 8 overs to spare!
Nisar and Wicky opened the innings for us and Wicky started off confidently with a powerful pull to get him his first boundary. He seems to have all the shots in the book and one waits for a big innings. He couldn't last long as an opener since he edged a delivery and it went straight to his face probably scratching his nose. The impact would have been much worse then it looked since he wasn't able to continue and decided to send in Bilal. Nisar was not his usual self as well. He was not able to time his favourite cut shot and was dropped in the covers. He was not able to cash on the life given to him, and was bowled in the same over.
Sameer Bhai came in next and together with Bilal tried to build a innings. Bilal looked scratchy to say the least and fidgeted around in the crease with minimum impact. Sameer Bhai was slower than usual as well and their partnership was sucidal for us. In the first 8 overs we only had around 40 runs on the board. Bilal tried to up the run rate but of the first aggressive shot he played he was out caught 15 meters inside the boundary. Qadeer Bhai went in next and initited his classy shots from the word go. He hit 4 boundaries in the first over he faced. Sameer Bhai took a leaf from his book and hit splendid boundaries as well. In those 3 overs we had 43 runs.
Incidently due to the slow start it was now clear that we needed a run rate of 15 runs per over to reach the fighting total of 200 runs.
As usually is the case in such a scenario wickets started to tumble. Qadeer Bhai went after a splendid catch on the boundary. Sameer Bhai, Wicky, Amir Bhai, Ahmed and Rizwan all went quickly with few boundaries here and there. In the end Sajjad Bhai provided a bit of resistance and we dragged our way to 160.
If we had a chance of defending this score we needed top class bowling and fielding right from the first ball. Anees Bhai bowled the first over and kept the runs under 8. Wicky took the new ball to utilize his experience of playing with Casuals. But the benefit was mutual and their batsmen hit him freely. Anees Bhai's next over saw 3 boundaries and a very easy chance was dropped on the boundary by Ahmed. He either misjudged, was quite lethargic to come forward and take the catch or wasn't expecting the catch at all.
I guess the only solution to this is that we all must keep on watching the batsman right from the time the bowler starts his runup. This I believe could resolve almost all of our judgement problems.
Almost all bowlers were tried, Nisar was brought in early as well, but none seemed to make any difference. The shabby fielding display didn't help either and as many as 4 chances went down including a stumping. In the end they raced to the target of 160 in 12 overs.
Its one all with Casuals now. And we need our best performance next time we face them. We also need a bit of practice before we go in so that some of our out of form batsmen regain their form.
Monday, July 2, 2007
Came close and ...
... went through.
Man I waited so long to write the second line :)
Losing without a fight is like a punch on your face, losing by coming close creates a bit more discontent by the multitude of 'if-onlys' travelling in your nerves and making your 'Bhaija Fry'. While Winning because of an individual is good for the individual himself its winning as a team which has the greatest feeling of all. Everyone showing committment no matter what his skill level might be, backing each other up, sharing what to dos and how to dos, enjoying each other's success, giving a lending hand when someone is down and in the end enjoying the win together and relishing the moments and possibilities to come. Its probably today that we have realized to the fullest that a good team is the one, which is a team. Because we won as a team.
This time we batted first.
Batting
Although we lost a wicket a early and Bilal, our next man in, took some time to find his groove, but because of Nisar's splendid batting, the rot started (for the other team, which is a welcome new development) right from the start. In this match Nisar and Sameer Bhai opened the innings. Sameer Bhai went early as he played the ball a little early only to find a edge to the keeper. He faced 2 balls and scored 1 run. Bilal went in at number 3, his highest position after such a long time. While walking in he must have known that in a team with such a long batting line up nobody likes a show stopper. Thus he not only had to get in quickly but also had to fight the worst demon of all which goes by the name 'What if I fail'. Although he was not able to fire all cylinders from the word go but he did manage to keep giving the strike back to Nisar, who went about his business as usual. Nisar started from where he left off in the last match and scored another fifty for us, more importantly giving us a very solid start. His powerful cut shots three of which went for sixes, looked like he is slashing a sword rather than a bat. I am sure the bowlers who suffered at his hands, would have thought the same. He made 53 off 29 deliveries with three sixes and 4 boundaries.
At the other end Bilal took a few pages off Nisar's book and seemed to be finding his rhythm. But as is usually the case with him, he got too confident and tried to mimic Inzamam, when he came down the pitch on the first ball he faced from the spinner. Inzamam usually hits it for a six while Bilal got out stumped. He made 13 off 11 balls with 2 boundaries. Qadeer Bhai our guest player for today, went in next and made batting look so easy that even I thought that I can score a 25 ball 50! He made 68 off 31 deliveries with 3 towering sixes and five boundaries. He got a few chances but in the end he made the most of them.
Rizwan came in after Nisar got out and his weakness of spin deliveries was exposed. But with Qadeer Bhai playing so well at the other end, he had time to settle in. I think Rizwan can do well to realize that on cement pitches he won't be finding big spinners. This allows the batsmen to safely hit through the line or even across the line, as if the ball is just a slow straight delivery.
Knowing well that there was still plenty of batting to come and playing for the team, he decided that he can take a few risks and took a back lift to hit a lovely boundary off his legs. He didn't last long after that as he got run out while trying to steal a single right under the bowler's nose. He made 15 runs off 16 deliveries with 1 boundary. Wicky came in next after Qadeer Bhai and Ahmed came in after Rizwan. Both came almost together to the crease. Ahmed and Wicky's partnership is something which we all enjoy not only in anticipation of the free hitting which both are capable of, but also of the gimmicks going on in the centre. Ahmed trying his best to convince his Captain with his shots, while Captain trying his best to make Ahmed run as fast as he can and as often as he can.
Our last three batsmen, Wicky, Ahmed and Sajjad Bhai gave a splendid batting display by taking the match well into the comfort zone for us. They scored 55 runs off 27 balls with 1 six and 6 boundaries, and a whole lot of fast running ;)
Bowling
The score was a huge one for any team and we had comfort in the knowledge that just a few good overs can secure the match for us. Once we came in the field we did realize that due to the size of the ground there were a lot of huge gaps for the batsmen and we just had an advantage of maximum 20 runs.
Man I waited so long to write the second line :)
Losing without a fight is like a punch on your face, losing by coming close creates a bit more discontent by the multitude of 'if-onlys' travelling in your nerves and making your 'Bhaija Fry'. While Winning because of an individual is good for the individual himself its winning as a team which has the greatest feeling of all. Everyone showing committment no matter what his skill level might be, backing each other up, sharing what to dos and how to dos, enjoying each other's success, giving a lending hand when someone is down and in the end enjoying the win together and relishing the moments and possibilities to come. Its probably today that we have realized to the fullest that a good team is the one, which is a team. Because we won as a team.
This time we batted first.
Batting
Although we lost a wicket a early and Bilal, our next man in, took some time to find his groove, but because of Nisar's splendid batting, the rot started (for the other team, which is a welcome new development) right from the start. In this match Nisar and Sameer Bhai opened the innings. Sameer Bhai went early as he played the ball a little early only to find a edge to the keeper. He faced 2 balls and scored 1 run. Bilal went in at number 3, his highest position after such a long time. While walking in he must have known that in a team with such a long batting line up nobody likes a show stopper. Thus he not only had to get in quickly but also had to fight the worst demon of all which goes by the name 'What if I fail'. Although he was not able to fire all cylinders from the word go but he did manage to keep giving the strike back to Nisar, who went about his business as usual. Nisar started from where he left off in the last match and scored another fifty for us, more importantly giving us a very solid start. His powerful cut shots three of which went for sixes, looked like he is slashing a sword rather than a bat. I am sure the bowlers who suffered at his hands, would have thought the same. He made 53 off 29 deliveries with three sixes and 4 boundaries.
At the other end Bilal took a few pages off Nisar's book and seemed to be finding his rhythm. But as is usually the case with him, he got too confident and tried to mimic Inzamam, when he came down the pitch on the first ball he faced from the spinner. Inzamam usually hits it for a six while Bilal got out stumped. He made 13 off 11 balls with 2 boundaries. Qadeer Bhai our guest player for today, went in next and made batting look so easy that even I thought that I can score a 25 ball 50! He made 68 off 31 deliveries with 3 towering sixes and five boundaries. He got a few chances but in the end he made the most of them.
Rizwan came in after Nisar got out and his weakness of spin deliveries was exposed. But with Qadeer Bhai playing so well at the other end, he had time to settle in. I think Rizwan can do well to realize that on cement pitches he won't be finding big spinners. This allows the batsmen to safely hit through the line or even across the line, as if the ball is just a slow straight delivery.
Knowing well that there was still plenty of batting to come and playing for the team, he decided that he can take a few risks and took a back lift to hit a lovely boundary off his legs. He didn't last long after that as he got run out while trying to steal a single right under the bowler's nose. He made 15 runs off 16 deliveries with 1 boundary. Wicky came in next after Qadeer Bhai and Ahmed came in after Rizwan. Both came almost together to the crease. Ahmed and Wicky's partnership is something which we all enjoy not only in anticipation of the free hitting which both are capable of, but also of the gimmicks going on in the centre. Ahmed trying his best to convince his Captain with his shots, while Captain trying his best to make Ahmed run as fast as he can and as often as he can.
Our last three batsmen, Wicky, Ahmed and Sajjad Bhai gave a splendid batting display by taking the match well into the comfort zone for us. They scored 55 runs off 27 balls with 1 six and 6 boundaries, and a whole lot of fast running ;)
Bowling
The score was a huge one for any team and we had comfort in the knowledge that just a few good overs can secure the match for us. Once we came in the field we did realize that due to the size of the ground there were a lot of huge gaps for the batsmen and we just had an advantage of maximum 20 runs.
A good start was provided by both Anees Bhai and Sajjad Bhai. Sajjad Bhai was a little expensive early on, but soon was able to find the weak spots of the batsmen and exploited it to the fullest. In his 4th over he just gave a single run off the bat. In the end both Anees Bhai and Sajjad Bhai bowled 4 overs each on the trot and gave away only 64 runs. Amad and Wicky took over the affairs of bowling and soon found out that with the ball getting old and the batsmen pretty well set it was not very easy. In the next 2 overs 27 runs were given, with the batting almost near to their required rate of 11.5 runs per over. Wicky, probably seeing the batsmen well set, wisely started switching the bowlers quickly.
In his next over he took 2 wickets on consecutive deliveries with one of the openers and the other, whom he said was pretty dangerous and was capable of taking the match away from us. That nailed the match for us and the remaining overs were just normal proceedings. Amad took 1 wicket as well off a good well judged catch by Nisar.
Of the batting team, one of their openers showed tremendous fittness and little technique to bat out all 20 overs. We tried our level best to unsettle him in whatever means possible, but were not able to get him out till the last ball. It was good that we pinpointed and exploited his weakness and neutralized his threat completely.
Junaid Bhai bowled the last over and impressed everyone with his speed. He is developing into a good bowler and hopefully very soon can be a reliable asset for us in the bowling department.
Fielding
The ground was huge and required awareness and hardwork from everyone in the field, which was duly provided by our team today. Although a few catches were dropped initially but we didn't give away any free runs today. Also we realized, first hand, why everyone says that 'catches win matches'. At a time when the match might have gone out of our hands we took two important catches in one over and almost nailed the other team to the ground. Rest was pretty easy.
Our normally safe keeper also dropped two half chances. I am sure he would work out his mistakes and realize that in a close encounter these catches might have been the only thing between winning and losing. But sometimes good deeds of some can wash the sins of few.
Although there is nothing bad about winning but there is a danger of over confidence and cockiness and also inability to work on our weaknesses. But let us all give the philosophical thoughts a rest and enjoy the 60 runs win as I am sure that over confidence won't be the case for us. It was a good day for us and was a day when we not only came close but went through ;) Enjoy Team Agility.
Of the batting team, one of their openers showed tremendous fittness and little technique to bat out all 20 overs. We tried our level best to unsettle him in whatever means possible, but were not able to get him out till the last ball. It was good that we pinpointed and exploited his weakness and neutralized his threat completely.
Junaid Bhai bowled the last over and impressed everyone with his speed. He is developing into a good bowler and hopefully very soon can be a reliable asset for us in the bowling department.
Fielding
The ground was huge and required awareness and hardwork from everyone in the field, which was duly provided by our team today. Although a few catches were dropped initially but we didn't give away any free runs today. Also we realized, first hand, why everyone says that 'catches win matches'. At a time when the match might have gone out of our hands we took two important catches in one over and almost nailed the other team to the ground. Rest was pretty easy.
Our normally safe keeper also dropped two half chances. I am sure he would work out his mistakes and realize that in a close encounter these catches might have been the only thing between winning and losing. But sometimes good deeds of some can wash the sins of few.
Although there is nothing bad about winning but there is a danger of over confidence and cockiness and also inability to work on our weaknesses. But let us all give the philosophical thoughts a rest and enjoy the 60 runs win as I am sure that over confidence won't be the case for us. It was a good day for us and was a day when we not only came close but went through ;) Enjoy Team Agility.
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