Match Report: THCC1 v Hannover, 10.5.2015

THCC 187 (Steve 47, Raj 5/63, Gaurav 3/37) lost to Hannover 6/351 (Israr 150, Vigneshwar 60*, Sandeep 3/41)

The toss of a coin seems an innocuous thing. In cricket, it can sometimes determine the course of a match. THCC loss the toss and it was a bad toss to lose. Hannover wisely chose to bat on a beautiful soft deck that often placed the ball on a silver platter for the batsmen.

Through 50 overs of poor bowling and fielding, the Hannover batsmen plundered the THCC bowlers, with Cam (0/87 and a smashed Range Rover) and Shane (0/64 and several lost balls in the trees) bearing the brunt of the attack. Sandeep toiled hard to finish with 3/41. Hannover big man Israr amassed an impressive 150, only to be bowled on the very last ball of the innings by Safiullah, while Hannover captain Vigneshwar hit a quick 60 not-out with utter ease.

Things went from bad to worse as the run chase started. 352 was certainly gettable on the spongy mat, but in-form opener Dom was caught at square leg, from what appeared to be a bump-ball and THCC never recovered from there. Two farcical umpiring decisions, two rash shots, an unnecessary run-out and some effective off-spin saw THCC tumble to 6/86. Steve hit 47 to add some respectability to the score, assisted by Raman who made 24, but THCC were never in the chase and were all out for 187.

Hats off to Hannover, who were deserved winners by 164 runs. They put on an excellent display of cricket, playing in a fine spirit and showing the kind of strong middle-order batting that THCC lacks. It will take quite a turn-around if THCC want to square the series next Sunday in Hannover and get back to winning form.

Thanks to Vigneshwar and the Hannover players for a challenging day of cricket. Well done to Israr for making 150 and to Raj for taking five wickets. And thanks again to Tina for scoring (there’ll be coloured pencils next time, and that’s a promise).