Smelled Victory but could not taste it...

The title does say it all except for the marvellous chasing done by our batting. They should guts, determination and a little bit of maverickness. The bowling side was not weak and was continuously trying to exploit our weaker areas and most of the time, till the last 2 overs actually, we had answers to all their questions.

The match this time was played in Salmiya ground opposite City Centre. The only thing good about this ground was the view though. We decided to field first and this time Wicky showed a bit of innovation by asking Nisar to bowl the first over. Nisar took the challenge well and went for only 3 runs in the first over. Amad started bowling with Nisar. Nisar's second over was a bit expensive with him getting hit for a six twice. Amad bowled a total of 4 overs with the ball crossing the boundary 4 times and him taking a wicket.

Wicky came in the middle and bowled his heart out and with some good pace. I think he looks more threatening bowling fast and for variation he can work on movement and length. His clean bowled with the middle stump uprooted out of the ground was just simply classic. About 2-3 chances were created in his over, each with a degree of complexity though, and discussed in detail in the fielding section. In the end he took 2 wickets.

Abdullah bowled 4 overs in the middle and was hit at least for 2 boundaries /sixes in each over. He didn't manage to find line, length and/or rhythym.

Sajjad, our guest player for the match, bowled 3 overs and bowled well but again was not able to control the boundaries. Ahmed came to bowl in the end and took 2 wickets with the help of good catches from Nisar and Abdullah and long off and long on boundaries, respectively.

Finally Sameer Bhai bowled the last over rather safely. In the end we went for 203 runs. In the hind sight rotation of bowlers in the middle might have prevented the score from crossing the 200 mark as Abdullah's 4 overs proved the most costly of all the bowlers.

Fielding
Ground fielding was much better this time with no free runs being given to the batsmen. Catching was a bit of both the worlds since there were 4 taken and 5 dropped. The dropped, though, all had a degree of complexity in them and with analysis and a solution for each I am sure we can prevent from this happening in the future.

The first catch went towards Bilal at point and was a bit high. Catches at point are never easy mainly because of their speed and angle. Its very difficult to decide from the word go where your hands should be to pocket the catch. It requires reflexes and agility. I think we should identify a permanent member of our team for this position and let him develop expertise required to field in this position. I think Bilal can be the ideal person for this position. Other options can be Abu Bakar, Wicky and Ahmed.

Second catch which went down went so high in the air that it was almost scary. Rizwan came a bit late to take it, since he was in 2 minds whether he or the bowler should go for it. I think the keeper should always go for such catches, since he has the safest and biggest pouch in the whole field. Obviously this requires a bit of practice for the keeper and Rizwan should keep this in mind next time we go for fielding practice and ask someone to help him with it.

Third catch fell between the bowler and long boundary. I was there at the boundary and at first was in doubt whether to go for the catch or stay back to stop the boundary. Finally my natural instinct took me to the ball and in the end it fell short. So it turned out to be the usual result of such confusion, I wasn't able to either catch the ball or stop the boundary. This is one of the usual cases that our fielders on the boundary are faced with. My solution would be to train 3-4 fielders on the boundary line and they should pratice accordingly. The ground rule during matches and pratice should be that one who is nearest to the ball must go for the catch and the one who is near to him should back him up in order to stop the boundary. The philosophy being, attack is the best defence. I think that me, Abdullah, Nisar, Ahmed and Sameer Bhai can all be tried and reserved for boundary fielding. The thing to remember for boundary fielders is backing up. Since anything can happen in an uneven ground with lot of stones.

The last catch which I wanted to discuss was a flat and powerful shot which went directly to Sameer Bhai's chest. And the faster it went in the faster it came out. Since these catches are at eye level, therefore it is very difficult to judge their speed, and second issue in these catches is whether to take the catch fingers up or fingers down? We need practice for these type of catches as well.

There was a missed stumping as well off Abdullah's bowling and I think Rizwan would know better the mistake he made there, and we all are confident that he would learn from his mistake and not repeat such a mistake.

Incidently the batsman who was their highest scorer, got the most breaks. In the end he got 4 chances and if just one would have been taken, then outcome of the match would definitely have been different.

I think if we can arrange a one hour fielding session once every 15-20 days then it would do us a world of good. Groups of 2 can be made for the first half and they can practice as per their particular role in the field during matches and work on their weaknesses. Roles of each can be identified by the Captain. In the second half everyone can practice together as in a match situation.

Batting
Highlight of the match was our batting though, which went against all odds and almost chased down the score. Nisar batted wonderfully once again showing his mettle and why we rely him to score big and give us a solid start everytime.

The batting was opened by Abdullah and Nisar and they got us off to a flier, which was required if we had to come close to the target. We were scoring at almost 12 runs per over, till their bowling decided to test us with some spin and short pitch stuff. Abdullah was the first to go while trying to run the ball to the third man. Sameer Bhai went in and started a good partnership with Nisar. He hit one six off a spinner which was wonderful to watch, it seemed so effort less that it almost looked like he was blocking the ball. Too bad he couldn't continue since he too fell to a short delivery.

Nisar, who was joined in with Wicky, then showed brilliant skill of adaptation to the new line and specially the length which the bowlers were bowling. Wicky was at the other end and both had decided how to go about maintaining the required rate. While not trying to hit the ball hard they caressed and showed the bat to the ball to hit it for boundaries and sixes. At that time after finding and executing the solution to their strategy we were confident of winning the match since the required run rate was in check and plenty of batting was to follow.

But we suffered from the twin disaster of almost back to back dismissals of Wicky and Nisar. Which put us on the back foot. Still the target was achievable. Ahmed and Sajjad came in and did well initially to make the required 10 or more runs per over. But towards the last overs Ahmed couldn't find an answer to the short pitched ball above his stomach height and thus was unable to find either boundaries or doubles which were required at that point in time. In the end both he and Sajjad got out and there was too much to finish for Bilal and Abu Bakar.

Anyways the team played really well and apart from a few dropped half chances, we were always fighting hard and giving the oponents a tough time. Hopefully with the development of safe catching we would be able to win matches more consistently.

Me and the June 15th Match.

Awwwww. I had a wonderful time bowling. My run up, action and grip all went well. I had earlier researched (and posted on this blog as well), that while bowling my head should be on the left of my left arm, my wrist should remain cocked up (and no jerking) and after the jump my left hand should come down as fast as possible. The run up if its fast will result in a faster delivery.

This time I also didn't try to complicate things by trying varieties and only bowled out swingers at good speed. The wind was to my aid as well and I think I found movement both in the air and off the wicket as well. In the 24 balls I bowled I brought only 2 inside the batsman. Bowling with a new ball is always fun since it gets me movement both in the air and off the wicket. I think I would continue to bowl in the same manner next week as well and only after that I will try to work on bringing the ball inside the batsmen. But would want to work on that during practice.

There were two dropped chances off my bowling and the one which wicky dropped I was really pissed off seeing that since I expected that simple catch to be taken, especially from the captain.

The batsmen were very good as well. And it was hard not to be impressed by them. As per Amir Bhai's indication and my own analysis I was bowling full to one and good length to the other. The one that I was bowling full to, I bowled just one on the good length and on the leg and he hit me for a huge six. I never knew that this ball can be hit for a six. But then I learned my lesson and kept on bowling full to him.

Didn't get a chance to bat so nothing to write home about.

Captain's Match Report

Agility Panthers managed to be on the field on Friday for an early start, however the umpires were not :) . The match however started at 6:15 am with a nice breeze and all the team members in good happy mood.

We who won the toss, decided to bowl first considering the fact that the team we were playing were known for good batting. The innings started in the most amazing way with their opener going after the very first ball bowled by Anees, however considering we have been playing cricket for a long time a relatively simple catch dropped on the first ball gave the indication to the other team how high our fielding standards were.

First over cost us around 14 runs or so and Amad was given the second over and bowled with a lot of determination to have the opener out who he had dropped on the first ball, bowled an excellent first over, however the openers intentions were very clear from the word go and our catching kept getting worse and worse. We managed to drop 5 catches which was not acceptable and at the end made the difference.

Overall, we managed to keep the scoring under control considering the start they were off to, they managed to score 198 runs in 20 overs, which I feel was 30 runs over what they should have. As the saying goes “Catches win matches”….

We came into bat with different opening pair, Nisar and Adnan started cautiously and never really got us off to a start we wanted. Nisar got out playing the usual aerial shot and unfortunately added to the rest. Ahmed was sent 1 down to go after the bowling and my word he did really made us proud with some excellent hitting. Due to a poor batting start that we got, I had decided to come in myself when the second wicket fell but didn’t bother the scorers much and got out cheap. However, I felt that I was still batting since I had to run for Ahmed till pretty much the end of the innings. Sameer Bhai played very well and ran extremely well with me, we managed to convert singles to doubles and tried our best but unfortunately nothing seemed enough. At the end we lost by 18 runs and we faced a very disappointing result.

As a captain I feel it is important to highlight a few things that our team has to improve on, no one like loosing but we need to give it our best shot.

Fielding - Continuously lets us down ground fielding seems like we are jogging after the ball, we keep pointing to each other and the ball wins. Fielding is simple but needs an active mind and concentration that’s it. All we have to do make sure the ball lands in our hands and our body is behind it so in case we have holes our body blocks it.

Catching – All of us need a catching session before the match, we don’t need to do any batting or bowling sessions but just fielding/catching sessions. We practice and we get better that’s the key.

Running – That’s the most simplest thing ever to do, come on guys we have been doing this ever since we were 2 or something. I hate to take names but there is one player I want to take this seriously – Ahmed I don’t know mate if you still m$%#$%@# or what but unless you are seriously injured don’t expect anyone to run for you. And if you are batting don’t ask the other batsman not to make you run cause a cricket game cannot only be won off boundaries but running makes a lot of difference so you need to work on it while batting and fielding.

Batting – A good start matters the most and whoever plays at the top needs to play with responsibility. Its much easier scoring runs off a new ball and we need to start doing that but that doesn’t mean we don’t play sensibly. Yes, we do need to take calculated risks, but if one has worked in the over use your batting skills to score singles, doubles or hit a boundary. Batting at the top needs improvement

Bowling – I feel we can bowl well if supported with good fielding however, I feel we do experiment a lot in what sort of deliveries we should bowl. One important thing to remember when playing on cement pitches is that we don’t aim to bowl a batsman out but we should aim to bowl within line and make the batsman take risks. We cannot simply just sit back giving away almost 200 runs and leave it to the batsmen we need to work on our bowling to stop teams from scoring at this rate.

I must share this with you, GCC’s captain came up to me this Friday and he said this to me.

“Waqar you have an excellent batting and bowling side, and you guys can beat any team that play in Kuwait. With that you are one of the worst fielding side and that is the only factor that stops you guys. I want to take your team for regular fielding practice.”

Can you imagine such words from another team? So guys, we know we can play cricket come on its in our blood lets just back each other up and improve on things highlighted and I am sure we will do well. I hope we give it our best shot this Friday where the venue changes and there are going to be new things tried in the match so be ready :)

Came close but not close enough

As this tournament progresses our losing streak continues. This time we came close but not close enough.

The match was with a team which was a mixture of players from here and there both young and old especially their batting which can be labelled as the 'Daddy Army' i.e. old but fit.

It was good that Sameer Bhai and Amir Bhai had played with them and knew their capabilities and had advised our bowlers much earlier on where to keep the ball.

Our Bowling
This time Anees Bhai and Amad started the bowling but couldn't find a wicket mainly because of dropped catches some of which were simple enough for my grand mother. During the attack burst we saw 4 dropped chances, which could have turned the match in our favor. Good work from the bowlers though for creating those chances. Anees Bhai bowled 3 overs on the trot and gave away 35 runs at more than 11 runs per over. Amad bowled 4 overs on the trot and gave away 30 runs at more than 7 runs per over.

Wicky took over from Anees Bhai and bowled one over but couldn't find a wicket early on and therefore brought in the spinners Nisar and Abdullah. The openers seemed to play the spinners well and Nisar got hit off a HUGE six over long on as well. But he came back and got us the first wicket through a spectacular catch from Rizwan.

Abdullah got the second wicket from a good high catch off his own bowling. Bowling in the middle by Nisar and Abdullah was quite good but our opponents knew how to keep the scoreboard ticking. They took their chances knowing well that they would be succeeded by batsmen who were capable enough of maintaining the scoring rate. Overall they maintainaed a run rate of 10 runs in each over without botheration. This happened sometimes through their experience and sometimes due to misfieldings from Rizwan, Ahmed and Amir Bhai. Abdullah bowled 4 overs on the trot and gave away 36 runs at 9 runs per over with 2 wickets. whereas Nisar bowled 4 overs on the trot and gave away 37 runs at about 9 runs per over with 1 wicket.

For the last 4 overs Wicky brought himself back into the attack alongwith Bilal. He found a wicket on a bad ball but a wonderful catch from Abdullah. Overall he bowled 3 overs for 36 runs at 12 runs per over and took 1 wicket. The batsmen played Bilal's loopy spin quite well and got 22 runs from his 2 overs at 11 runs per over. A batsman got out in Bilal's over as well when Bilal foxed the batsman to charge out from his crease and missed it completely. Rizwan was quick enough to collect and throw the ball in the wicket. Although it looked like a run out to me, but I am sure that both the bowler and the keeper would disagree.

In the end we were given a target of 200 runs.

Fielding
Overall the ground fielding was good with very few lapses. Rizwan's wicket keeping was like Pakistan's international cricket team i.e. sometimes ordinary and sometimes exceptional. His catch off Nisar's bowling and a few takes down the leg side were quite good. Standing up on spinners and taking catches is never simple and requires technique and mental presence. But he wasn't able to continue the good work and missed a few straight forward takes and also some close stumping chances.

Rather than the ground fielding our catching was found wanting this time. During our first 6 overs there were a total of 4 dropped chances out of which two were the most simple. One was dropped by the usually reliable Abdullah at Long On and the other one from Wicky. Wicky, if my memory serves me right, has yet to open his catching account with this team. Anyways both the catches were so simple that one can wonder that how on earth can these be dropped.

But overall the ground fielding effort by all the 11 players was quite good and I didn't see the other team breaking free because of our misfielding. The dropped chances were disheartening though.

Batting
We were set a target of 200 runs in 20 overs and going by expert opinion we did well to restrict their batting to 200. But still for our batting the target was way beyond the comfort zone. And what was required was a good start and exceptional innings from at least 3 of our 8 main batsmen which was not to be today.

In order to get off to a good start and get maximum runs from both ends, Wicky sent in Adnan with Nisar. A target of 100 runs was given to them in the first 10 overs.

Although Nisar showed urgency in his batting and didn't waste time or balls, Adnan didn't manage to find his groove and his usual blocking the ball only resulted in increasing our blood pressures. Nisar was the first one to go when he, while trying to meet the 10 runs per over target, took a risk too many and got out. He made 9 runs from 10 balls.

Ahmed went in next and started doing what he does best and that is to hit the ball hard. But this time there was a welcome change in his style. He did the hit the ball hard but kept it on the ground early on, which minimized the risk of him getting out. Another pleasant change was his shot selection and we got the pleasure of seeing some deft touches from him as well. Finally he has realized that long off and long on are not the only places in a cricket field. In the end he made 80 runs from 47 balls and was the only batsman who made more than 10 runs per over, which was our required run rate.

After Nisar Adnan was the next wicket to fall. He tried to hit and force his way and eventually got out bold. He made 22 runs from 26 balls.

Wicky came in next and tried to do what was required, but failed once again in his quest. He made 3 runs from 4 balls. His batting has yet to win a match for us. At that point in time around 12-13 runs per over were required and with tight line and length bowling from our opponents our batting was found wanting. Sameer Bhai, who went in after Wicky, made 29 off 19 and Abdullah 11 from 6. Both had too few balls to face and too many runs to make. Bilal came in the end but at that time around 40 runs were required from 2 overs. He made 7 off 5 balls.

At the end if we are to pinpoint the main reasons for our failure then it would be our poor start in the batting and our dropped catches. I think in the next match, Abdullah can be tried in the opening slot with Nisar. Sameer Bhai and Wicky can follow with Ahmed going in whenever some quick runs are required. My choice is based on the fact that these are the players who don't block un-necessarily, run fast between the wickets, hit boundaries if there is a bad ball and take calculated risks.

Non Cricketing Stuff
I had the pleasure of fielding near Sameer Bhai and had the chance of hearing his 'F*#$ Louise' statement whenever something didn't go to our benefit. My full sympathies to Louise while I wonder what she did to deserve such rememberance ;)

Also Bilal's bat was stolen today, but he seemed to bat well without it though. But this is a lesson for all of us to take care of our stuff ourselves.

Anees Bhai's tang, although a bit strong, is very refreshing and keeps all of us on our feet throughout the match. One day when we field second I am sure then we are going to realize its immense benefit.

But every rose has its thorn and Bilal can blame the tang for his bat being stolen, since the suspects came to drink Tang and went away with his bat.

How To Increase Bowling Speed

1. Ensuring That Hips and Shoulders Are In Line: In order to get the highest speed possible, we need to make sure that all parts of our body are working in the same direction. if you imagine two lines running through your body, one through the hips and one through the shoulders, when these are parallel with one another, then everything's pointing in just about the same direction. In order to make sure that everything is in line, work on where you look with respect to your front arm (your left arm if you're a right-handed bowler, and vice versa). A side-on bowler ought to look, as is traditionally emphasised, behind it (to the left of it for the right hander)
   
2. Non Bowling Arm and Back Leg: Two of the simpler ways that can often increase force where it's lacking are to increase the effort placed into both driving the front arm down as you bring the bowling arm up, and doing the same to the back leg (the same side as your bowling arm) as you follow through.
   
3. Run Up: The run-up needs to be long enough to allow a bowler to reach the fastest speed where he's comfortable delivering the ball - if it's too short, then the bowler won't bowl as quickly as he potentially could, while an overly-long run-up is just a waste of energy.
   
4. Seam Position: The basic grip used by a quick bowler - or 'seamer' - is to hold the seam of the ball between his index and middle fingers at the top of the ball, with the thumb resting upon the seam at the bottom. All the different types of bowling at speed use this as their base, with slight variations depending on the intended outcome. For an out-swinger the seam would point towards the slip cordon, with the side of the thumb on the seam at the bottom of the ball. The seam on an in-swinger would aim towards fine leg - this time, the bottom of the thumb would lie along the seam at the bottom of the ball.
   
5. Wrist Position: To keep the seam straight, the wrist needs to be kept straight as the ball is delivered. It can also help if the wrist is 'cocked' - or bent backwards - slightly before release; this helps to attain rotations on the ball which in turn, as they cause the ball to rotate forwards over itself, reduce any sideways spin that disrupts the seam position.
   
6. Slower Delivery: This slower ball, also known as the back-of-the-hand ball, involves twisting the wrist at the point of release so that the back of the hand faces the batsman, slowing down the release and hence the speed of the delivery to great effect
   

Measuring Bowling Speed

Source: http://www.cricketweb.net/coaching/bowlingaction.php

So how fast do you actually bowl? Naturally, the best thing possible to use would be a radar gun - however they're not generally widely available to clubs and schools - but there is a simple way that needs just a stopwatch and a calculator (or maths geek) to provide approximate results. Start the stopwatch when the ball is released, and then stop it again when either the batsman hits (or misses) it, then divide 45 (or 72) by your answer to get your answer in miles per hour (or kilometres). For example, a delivery timed at 1 second has travelled at about 45mph (72kph). To break the magical 100mph (160kph) barrier, the clock must register at 0.45 seconds. Once you get used to working the timer, you will get surprisingly consistent results. I've found that standing at the back of the net, either directly behind or just to the side, gets the best results.

Fielding

Taking A High Catch
Source: http://www.cricketweb.net/coaching/catching.php

For a high catch, use the "reverse cup" method. Attempt to catch at eye-level and keep your hand high. Watch the ball the whole time until it hits your hands. The correct technique is shown below.

Ground Fielding
The key point I will stress with out-fielding is to attack the ball. By "attacking" the ball I mean you come towards the ball if it is hit to you, rather than standing still and waiting for it.

The main technique used to stop balls along the ground is called the "long barrier". This occurs when your body forms a "barrier" behind the ball, giving the fieldsman the best chance of stopping the ball. Make sure you keep your eye on the ball right up until the point it reaches you, as it could be costly. It is demonstrated below.

When throwing, it is important to transfer your weight from the back to the front foot, much like a javelin thrower. Use your non-throwing arm for aiming (and to steady yourself) and your front foot in the direction of the target. Swivel from your back to your front foot.

Fielding Drills
Source: http://www.cricketweb.net/coaching/drills.php

Split your team into two groups, even numbers on each side. Have your wicketkeeper, a single wicket and someone who can hit well with a bat about 40+ metres from the fielders.

The aim of this drill is to work in pairs, practice loud calling and backing up each other. The batsman hits a ball either along the ground, softly or powerful (mixing it up is a good idea). One of the fieldsmen calls for it if it's a catch, the other stays close in case he misjudges it. Whoever catches it passes it to the other fielder, who throws it in the wicketkeeper. Aim to return it over the bails.

With ground fielding, this is where backing up becomes important. One attacks the ball and aims to gather and return it to the wicketkeeper. The other backs up behind him, in case the first fieldsman makes a mistake. Misfields can happen often, so be alert!