Cricket Hamburg (DE) » Seasons

U17 vs. Göttingen

THCC Rot-Gelb U17 61 a.o. in 12 overs
CY Göttingen U17 63/2 in 6.4 overs

Frankfurt tour 2015

Having moved to Koblenz and playing his cricket in Frankfurt, former THCC member Satya helped organise a tour to the city on the Main for a weekend of matches against Frankfurt CC.

The THCC convoy started from Hamburg at dawn on Saturday morning, with Sandeep, Silva, Hardeep, Ali and Kamal in one car, and Steve, Emil, Raman, Dom and Shane in the second car. Cam was working in Cologne and took the train from there.

Frankfurt tour des THCC 1 The team arrived early enough to see the second innings of a cracking intra-club contest, which featured some strong batting and a couple of very good catches. The FCC field in the Bockenheim district is very large (rabbit holes included), with an astro pitch placed on concrete. It’s a bouncy wicket, very good for batting, and big scores are regularly posted here. The only downside being that fielding can be a little dangerous.

THCC’s first match was a T20 against the FCC Old Boys, and it was fun and light-hearted affair. The Old Boys were a fantastic bunch, and the one hour rain delay was really no problem, as it meant standing under the tent with the Old Boys, chatting and sharing a laugh. When play resumed, THCC comfortably won the match.

Afterwards, FCC put on a fabulous barbecue, replete with a round of drinks on the house. From there, the THCC players decided to take in some of the city, walking to the Römer and then crossing the Main for a few (quiet) drinks in Alt-Sachsenhausen.

The Sunday match was played against a strong FCC team. Sandeep won the toss and decided to bat. Dom and Cam made a promising start, with Dom making a half century. Some strong hitting from Silva and Steve helped THCC reach 216 off the allotted 30 overs.

This seemed like a solid total to defend, but the FCC openers were both experienced batsmen, and they pushed and smashed the ball all over the ground. The THCC bowlers tried hard, but couldn’t make any inroads into the openers, who got to about 170 before Sandeep finally broke through. It got down to the last over, but FCC made the runs with three balls and eight wickets to spare, and were worthy winners.

“We played at our highest level, something we should all be proud of,” Sandeep said. “Even the Frankfurt team agreed that on another day we could have won it. All in all, it was a fantastic match which finished in 59.3 overs of intense cricket.”

Frankfurt tour des THCC 2 The Frankfurt Cricket Club shall be commended for being such welcoming and generous hosts, putting on a great lunch during the Sunday game and presenting the THCC players with special tour t-shirts.

“Frankfurt has been an amazing host and we owe them a very big thank you,” Sandeep said. “They were in constant touch with me checking about our hostel reservations and travel plans, and then providing awesome food throughout our stay. And finally the presentation ceremony which had mementos for all of the visiting team which is amazing. They indeed set a very high standard of hospitality.”

T20-Vorrunde THCC1

NDCV-T20-Cup, Gruppe D

10:00-12:55 THCC1 vs. HCH
13:00-15:55 HSV2 vs. HCH
16:00-18:55 THCC1 vs. HSV2

T20-Vorrunde THCC 2

NDCV-T20-Cup, Gruppe B

10:00-12:55 HICC vs. HSV3
13:00-15:55 HSV3 vs. THCC2
16:00-18:55 HICC vs. THCC2

THCC 1st XI vs. Hannover

Match Report: THCC1 v Hannover, 17.5.2015

THCC 9/318 (Extras 71, Israfeel 67*, Sandeep 57, Suraj 3/52, Raj 2/29) beat Hannover 111 (Prashant 48, Gaurav 20*, Safiullah 3/23, Jatin 2/8)

In cricket, like in all sports, you’re never far away from a cliché. “We’re going to turn the tables,” or “we’re giving 110%,” or “we’ve got our backs against the wall,” or something like that. The cliché best describing the May 17 match against Hannover: “A week is a long time in cricket.”

Seven days prior, Hannover had taken the long handle to THCC, on their home ground, piling up 352 runs and winning comfortably. Could THCC, with their backs against the wall, give 110% and turn the tables?

Again, the toss would prove pivotal. THCC won and chose to bat on a firmly rolled deck with coconut matting on top. It was a bouncy wicket, and the ball was moving in the air. The third ball of the innings leapt off the pitch, took an edge off the shoulder of Dom’s bat, and the keeper held a good catch.

Not a good start. 1/0.

Sandeep joined Cam at the crease and the two set about stabilising the innings. Cam again showed promise, moving quickly to 24 only to be out LBW on a ball the Hannover team barely appealled on. Trived played a couple of fine shots before also falling victim to an LBW decision. At the other end, Sandeep was resolute and in form, but he needed someone to go with him. In Raman, he found a willing partner, and together they put on 81 to move THCC into the strong position of 3/162 off 26 overs.

Given the circumstances, Sandeep’s 57 was an excellent innings. He was eventually out LBW, and Raman was caught, but they had done the hard work to provide the platform for Israfeel’s strong hitting in the second half of the innings. Israfeel would make a wonderful 67 not-out, putting on 101 with Imran (28) for the eighth wicket, while last man Shane would finish with the maximum strike rate of 12 off two balls.

Raj was again the pick of the Hannover bowlers, with 2/29 off his ten. Suraj took three wickets, including the pearler that dismissed Dom, but he let himself down with wides. In the end, Hannover gave up 60 free runs in wides, and a couple of hot chances went down. Things could have been very different for THCC had those catches been held.

9/318 was a solid score, yet it was certainly getable, given the smallish Hannover ground and the fact the team had scored 352 the week before.

But a week is a long time in cricket. Israfeel took a great catch off his own bowling and Dom showed impressive athleticism to run-out Arun, together with Trived’s quick hands behind the stumps. And when Israr was bowled by Bipin, Hannover were on the back-foot at 3/35. Opener Prashant showed stoic resistance, hitting some good shots to make 48. It took a sensational catch by Israfeel at second slip, off Safi’s bowling, to dismiss him.

That catch really set the tone for the rest of the innings, as it gave Safi the confidence to take two more wickets on his way to team-best figures of 3/23, and the fielders also lifted, with Raman and Bipin both taking good catches. Jatin made a welcome return to the team, taking two wickets, while Sandeep bowled a superb five-over spell that yielded 1/13.

THCC were winners by 207 runs. It was just fantastic to see the players respond to the loss of last week and deliver such a complete performance, in what amounted to a 371-run turnaround. Well done, lads. And big thanks to Aman for scoring.

Many thanks to Gaurav, Jay and the Hannover team for being such warm and welcoming hosts. You have a strong team, made up of a really good bunch of guys, and you play the game in the right spirit. You’ll certainly get back to winning form against HICC in two weeks. If a week is a long time in cricket, two weeks is even longer – time enough to turn things around.

Husum CC vs. THCC 1st XI

Match Report: THCC1 v Husum CC, 3.5.2015

THCC 10/201 (Dominique 47, Trived 38, Cam 25, F. Kleise 3/42, J. Wiese 2/40) lost to Husum 9/212 (G. Müller 71, L. Boldt 28, F. Gerckens 25, Israfeel 2/27, Bipin 2/31, Cam 2/47)

On a windy day in May, THCC gladly obliged Husum CC and drove up to play on their outstanding field (sightscreens! long boundaries!) just north of Husum. It was a fantastic day of cricket, played at a very high level and in a wonderful spirit, with THCC proving more than up to the standards of a team which plays in the elite Danish league.

In fact, we probably should have won. Chasing 212, THCC needed 57 runs from nine overs and had seven wickets in hand.

Trived on strike with silva at the other end.

But let’s back-track a little, because 25 overs into the match, THCC were barely in the contest at all. Husum had cruised to 3/140, with opener Gerrit Müller striking the ball sweetly, and were looking set to post upwards of 250 from the allotted 40 overs. But Israfeel bowled a wonderful second spell, working in tandem with Cam to take 4/27 in an eight-over stretch that swung the momentum THCC’s way. It’s worth adding that on top of the four wickets, both bowlers generated chances, with inside edges, dropped catches and lofted balls just out of reach of fielders. A little luck and better fielding may have seen Husum dismissed for 170 or 180.

Instead, Husum showed impressive mettle to hold firm and reach 9/212. THCC’s bowling was much improved on previous weeks, with just 8 wides. Disappointing was that the fielding didn’t quite match the efforts of the bowlers.

Looking at a bit more than five an over, Dominique and Cam got the run chase off to an excellent start, seeing off the opening bowlers and getting the score up to 54 off 12, before a surprising ball cut back on Cam and cut him half, bowled between bat and pad. Dom was a diligent as ever, and he and Raman put on 46. Trived also hit some solid shots for a quick-fire 38 that moved THCC into a seemingly winning position, with the top four combining for 132 runs.

But Dom, Raman and Trived all got out to miss-hit shots, as did Silva, skying the ball and the quality Husum fielders held the catches. Still, 52 from seven overs with five wickets in hand, was certainly doable. Husum had a defensive field set, and all the batsmen need to do was push the ball into the gaps.

Israfeel showed promise, hitting a big six, but was somewhat unfortunate to be given out LBW (this was a friendly match after-all). Bipin and Steve batted intelligently, running hard for ones and twos, until Bipin was run-out from a direct hit. Poor calling led to two more run-outs and tight bowling at the death meant Husum held on. Kamal hit a six and a four from the last two balls, resulting in Husum winning by just 11 runs.

Husum were worthy winners, displaying the experience and composure to take control of the match when it mattered. From that, there are some good lessons for THCC: the importance of being switched on and concentrated for the full innings, understanding the state of the match and playing accordingly, keeping calm when the match gets tight, taking your game to another level when required, and of course, that catches win matches.

Many thanks to Husum CC for a great day of cricket. Husum are a strong cricket team and we wish them the best of success this year in the Danish League. And we certainly hope for a re-match in the very near future.

Thanks to Jörg Krüger (Husum CC) and Mark Richardson (THCC) for organising the match, and thanks to Mark for scoring.

For more images visit Husum CC’s website.