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.
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.”
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.”
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.
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.
Match Report: THCC1 v HICC, 05.07.2015
THCC 6/108 (Trived 30, Israfeel 18*, Kartar 2/31, Sanjay 2/33) beat HICC 106 (Updesh 23, Herry 20*, Cam 3/10, Jatin 2/9)
A cricket ball weighs about 160 grams. That doesn’t sound like much (it’s about the same as an apple), but the combination of cork, leather and stitching can certainly do some damage, especially when moving at speed. Just ask skipper Cam, who took a fully struck cover drive right in the bread basket (he dropped the catch, but managed to stay on his feet), and short leg Raman, who wore one on the left shoulder.
Make no mistake: the THCC players do everything they can to catch and stop the ball. There were some great catches held today, with Aman and Israfeel catching bullets, Jatin and Cam holding pop-flies for caught-and-bowled, Trived taking a good one in the gully and Steve nabbing a fine caught-behind off Jatin’s bowling. Then was the excellent ground fielding, exemplified by Bipin’s run-out of HICC captain Sanjay.
HICC, after winning the toss and electing to bat, made a promising start on a hot and sticky day, with the temperature well over 30 degrees. They moved quickly to 1/42 in eight overs, before Bipin removed the dangerous Kiran, with Cam taking the catch at short cover. From there, the steady stream of wickets meant HICC were all out for 106, with only Herry offering resistance to finish 20*.
Because of the heat, the bowlers were rotated regularly, with excellent spells from Sandeep (1/23 off 8), Kamal (1/8 off 4), Jatin (2/9 off 4) and Cam (3/10 off 4). With the bowlers being backed up by strong fielding, runs were very hard to get for HICC. The bowlers tied the batsmen down, while the fielders held their catches and put their bodies (including stomachs and shoulders) on the line to stop the ball.
And this is exactly the team that THCC has become during the course of the season: a team that is very hard to score runs against. Taking away the two losses, including the 6/350 that Hannover scored (on the batsman’s paradise mat), and the 5/116 scored by HSV in the “damp sponge game”, THCC has bowled out teams for 164, 84, 111, 105, 138, 132, 168 and 106. This is a very satisfying result, as the team set the goal at the start of the season to keep opposition teams under 150. Through 10 matches, THCC gave up 1475 runs in total, for an average of 147.5 runs per game, and took 91 wickets.
Israfeel and Safiullah batting THCC to victiory
The run chase was academic. Trived batted very well to make 30, but joined Cam in the “wrong LBW decision” support group, given out to a ball going way down leg-side, while Cam was given out with an inside edge and going down leg. Six wickets fell, but THCC got the runs easily in the end, with Sandeep (15), Aman (16), Extras (18) and Israfeel (18*) all chipping in to boost the score. Safiullah hit the winning runs, with a solid four through mid-wicket.
Many thanks to Sanjay and the HICC players for an enjoyable day of cricket. Big thanks to Tina for scoring once again, to 12th man Shane, and to Henrik for bringing lunch for everyone (what a great surprise!). Very much appreciate all your efforts.
This last game of the season was another great win, and in tough conditions. It means THCC won 8 matches out of 10, with the ladder position pending the result between Hannover and Findorff (THCC are behind Findorff on net run-rate, despite beating them twice). Regardless, it was a fantastic season and the THCC players shall be very proud of what they collectively achieved in the 2015 NDCV Bundesliga. Well done!
Match Report: THCC1 v HSV, 28.6.2015
THCC 9/169 (Raman 46, Israfeel 27*, Aman 24, Gurwinder 3/13, Barkat 2/28) beat HSV 168 (Barkat 86, Dushant 38, Israfeel 3/28, Cam 2/42)
It wasn’t quite like the Boston Red Sox breaking the “Curse of the Bambino” when winning the World Series in 2004 (for their first win since 1918), but it was still pretty good.
In the annals of north Germany cricket, HSV has always been something of a bogey team for THCC. And with wickets falling during THCC’s run chase, it was looking like the HSV hoodoo was about to hit again.
But THCC held on at the end, thanks to some great batting by Israfeel, supported by tailenders Jatin, Bipin and Kamal. The HSV hoodoo has been broken, and a new precedent has been set. With two stunning wins against league leaders Findorff, and two exciting wins right at the death (against HICC last week and HSV this week), THCC is showing just how mentally strong the team is.
And we played some pretty good cricket too.
Jatin on Strike.
HSV won the toss and elected to bat on a grassy wicket under glorious sunshine. Like last week, opening bowlers Israfeel and Bipin started strongly, reducing HSV to 3/15, with the help of great catches by Raman (helmeted at short leg) and Dom (helmeted at short cover). Dushant, HSV’s talented young opener, was striking the ball well, but was dropped several times. It took a bowling change and a superb catch by Aman to remove him.
But HSV’s captain Barkat, coming in with the score at 5/36, launched an impressive counterattack, smashing 86 off 46 balls. Despite plundering the bowling, he was fast running out of partners. With HSV reduced to 9/106, it looked like THCC would chase a low target. However, number 11 Iqbal hung around long enough for Barkat to continue his fireworks, and they put on 62 for the last wicket, pushing the score up to a very defendable 168, until Barkat was bowled by Jatin’s first ball.
The chase started poorly. Dom was bowled by a ball that cut back mile off the pitch, Cam was given out caught behind when he hit his pad with his bat, and Sandeep was also out caught behind, as Barkat continued his fine match by opening the bowling and taking two wickets.
At 3/41, Raman and Aman steadied the ship, with an important partnership of 58 until Aman was stumped off leg-spinner Imran. Steve let one too many balls go, with the last taking out off stump, Raman was out for a solid 46, and Safi was out LBW. At 7/119, things started to get tense, with the HSV hoodoo lurking in the shadows.
Israfeel started tentatively, swinging and missing. Jatin was hitting the ball well, but in the air, and he was eventually caught, with the score at 8/131. Bipin hit some huge shots, putting on 27 with Israfeel, who was also starting to find the middle. It was 9/158 when Bipin was out caught behind.
Now things were seriously tense. Kamal defended a few balls and left it to Israfeel to hit the winning runs, getting THCC home by a solitary wicket and breaking the HSV hoodoo.
Many thanks again to Barkat and the HSV players for another challenging and exciting game of cricket. Big thanks to Tina and Dave for scoring once again. And also thanks to all the supporters who came to the game and helped cheer THCC to a well-deserved victory.
Match Report: THCC1 v HICC, 21.6.2015
THCC 8/134 (Extras 34, Steve 28, Aman 25*, Kartar 3/32, Sanjay 2/38) beat HICC 132 (Sanjay 60, Herry 23, Bipin 4/38, Israfeel 3/27)
The score is 8/119, with THCC needing 14 runs to win. Kartar is bowling to Safi. The left-arm spinner has taken three important wickets, including Sandeep, Raman and Israfeel.
The atmosphere is unbearably tense, and has been ever since THCC, chasing 132, had lost 4/2 to move from the comfortable position of 0/36 to 4/38. Despite some smart batting by Raman and Steve, runs are becoming increasingly harder to get and wickets continue to fall. Safi joined Aman at the crease with the score on 8/102.
Kartar jogs into bowl. There’s silence on the field.
Aman at the crease. Thanks to Bianca for the photo .
THCC shouldn’t really have been chasing 132. Some great opening bowling by Israfeel and Bipin saw HICC plunge to 5/10. But some strong hitting by captain Sanjay (60), supported by Herry (23), saw HICC put up a defendable target. There was plenty in the wicket for the bowlers, and it was impressive how HICC fought back hard. Sanjay bowled well and held two excellent catches, while Kartar was proving difficult to play. They were well-supported by good fielding by the HICC players.
Kartar, wanting a wicket, gives the ball a bit more flight. Safi doesn’t quite get to the pitch of it, and the ball bounces up on the grass wicket. It hits the fall face of the bat and lobs in the direction of Kartar.
At this point in match, there are quite a few spectators, including passersby who have picked up on the tense state of play and have stopped to watch. Each run has been wildly applauded, as the runs required are counted down. Aman is batting with smarts and flair, using his stand-and-deliver batting stance to hit some wonderful shots to the boundary. Safi is watchful, keeping his wicket and supporting Aman. It’s fantastic to see these two young players rising to the challenge of this tense moment in the match. Can they bat THCC to victory?
Kartar has other ideas. He raises his hands to nab the simple catch Safi has lobbed to him. The wicket will bring in last man Bipin for what would surely be a seriously tense final wicket partnership.
But Kartar, who has already taken one excellent caught-and-bowled, somehow bobbles the catch. The ball hits the ground. Safi survives. He prods at a few more balls from Kartar and gets through the over.
At the other end, Aman continues to bat with smarts and flair, hitting a four and sneaking a single to retain the strike. In the following over, he hits Sanjay for two boundaries and THCC sneak home, winners by two wickets.
And everyone breathes a sigh of relief. What a great game it was. And how impressive it was that HICC fought back so hard to push for an unlikely win. And how satisfying it was to see two of THCC’s young players batting the team to victory.
Many thanks to Sanjay and the HICC players for a fantastic and exciting game of cricket. Big thanks to Tina and Dave for scoring once again (love the double Technicolor scoresheets).
Match Report: THCC1 v HSV, 14.6.2015
THCC 115 (Sandeep 37, Aman 21, Omer 3/13, Umar 2/16) lost to HSV 5/116 (Omair 24, Malith 23, Sandeep 2/20)
It has to be a dark, miserable day of cricket if the best that can be reported is that the umpiring was very good. But it was good, the best we’ve had so far this season.
The match itself was indeed a dark, miserable day of cricket, which went wrong from the moment THCC lost the toss. Heavy rain the previous day, and through the night, had left the spongy astro-pitch in Mümmelmannsberg highly suitable for ducks.
HSV correctly chose to bowl, and proceeded to bowl right through THCC. There were four ducks in all, and six of the batsmen were bowled, signifying how difficult the damp pitch was to play, as balls that pitched half-way didn’t bounce at all while balls on a decent length reared up to the left or right, sometimes going clear over the batsman’s head.
Only Sandeep managed to weather the storm, holding firm to make 37 while wickets tumbled around him. Steve offered some support, joining Sandeep when the score was 5/29. Some solid batting by Aman and Safiullah lifted the score up to 115, which at the very least, was something to bowl at.
HSV came out swinging. The pitch had dried out a little and the bounce was more consistent. But Israfeel and Bipin struggled to find the right line and length, and the runs were ticking over quickly, at around 6 or 7 an over. Bipin took a good catch to remove Dushant, who was looking dangerous, and Sandeep bowled well to finish with 2/20. Israfeel and Safiullah both held excellent high catches.
But THCC hadn’t put enough runs on the board, and HSV reached the target with five wickets and 32 overs to spare.
A disappointing loss, but it was good to see THCC show some fight in difficult conditions. No doubt the team will be keen to bounce back against HICC at home next Sunday.
Many thanks to Barkat and the HSV for a challenging game of cricket. Big thanks to Tina for scoring once again (love the Technicolor scoresheet).
Match Report: THCC1 v SG Findorff, 7.6.2015
THCC 210 (Dom 92, Raman 34, Fakhar 3/11, Rashad 2/34) beat SG Findorff 138 (Aziz 28, Rashad 19, Sandeep 4/16, Cam 3/4)
Whoever wrote the Wikipedia entry on LBW really knows his/her stuff. It turns out that the acronym stands for “leg before wicket.” Playing in Germany, you could be excused for thinking it stood for “loser before wicket”; you were a loser as a batsman for letting the ball hit you on the pad, because anything that hits the pad is given out.
In the return match between THCC and SG Findorff, played this time on a grass wicket in glorious sunshine, both teams felt the rub of some interesting LBW adjudications (four each). The shame about that being it cast a dark cloud over what was a high-quality match played between two very good cricket teams.
To quote Wikipedia: “Owing to the difficulty of its interpretation, LBW is regarded by critics as the most controversial of the laws but also a yardstick by which an umpire’s abilities are judged.” A good start would be for said umpires to learn and understand the rule, and to keep this in mind: when in doubt, it’s not out. Players should learn the rule as well.
Okay, okay, enough already. Let’s get to the match. Findorff won the toss, wisely electing to bowl on a grassy deck that promised a lot for the bowlers. In the early overs, the ball was moving off the pitch, with openers Hamid and Rashad both getting away movement. Left-armer Hamid was especially difficult to play. He beat the bat countless times and removed Cam (you guessed it: LBW).
Sandeep and Dom batted well to put on 52 and stabilise the innings. It took a good piece of fielding by Iftikhar to catch Sandeep short of his ground, run-out. Guru (LBW) and Israfeel (LBW) also fell cheaply. Only Dom showed the aptitude and verve to slice the ball through the field, on his way to making a wonderful 92 before he too was out (LBW).
Some good batting by Raman (34) and Trived bolstered the score, but Findorff responded well in the second half of the innings. THCC were 4/141 after 25 overs, but were all out for 210 in the 40th over. Again, Iftikhar bowled well (2/37), while Fakhar took off the keeper’s gloves to nab 3/11 in four overs, and the fielders held some good catches.
Chasing 211, Findorff made a promising start. Opener Shafqat hit some splendid shots before he was out (LBW), followed not long after by Abdullah (LBW), with Israfeel taking both wickets. But with Aziz and Hamid at the crease, Findorff looked to be in good shape at 2/88 after 14 overs.
That was when Sandeep came on to bowl from the clubhouse end. His first over was a double-wicket maiden that included clean-bowling Hamid, the league’s top batsman, and getting Ammar caught behind. A few overs later, his dislodged the dangerous Aziz, well caught by Guru in the gully.
From there, Findorff never quite got back into the run chase. Sandeep’s match-winning spell of 4/16 off eight overs was well-supported by spinners Jatin and Cam, with the latter taking 3/4 off 5.3 overs. Safiullah chimed in to take the wicket of Farzan, brilliantly caught by Sandeep diving forward at second slip. From 2/88, Findorff lost 8/50 in 21 overs, to be all out for 138.
The win takes THCC to the top of the Bundesliga Nord table, with four matches to play.
Many thanks to Rashad, Iftikhar and the SG Findorff team for another high-quality, competitive game of cricket. Big thanks to Dave for scoring, and to Shane for being 12th man.
Match Report: THCC1 v SG Findorff, 31.5.2015
THCC 6/107 (Extras 32, Dom 27, Israfeel 18, Iftikhar 4/53) beat SG Findorff 105 (Extras 26, Rashad 15*, Israfeel 6/36, Kamal 2/27)
At 10:26am, beneath a blanket of grey clouds, Steve, Israfeel and Cam had a conversation at the centre of SG Findorff’s immaculate new wicket. The topic: to bat or not to bat.
It was all rather Shakespearean really, and quite fitting that it would be the nobler mind of Steve “Drama” Aplin to make the bold declaration that came true through the course of the match. Israfeel wanted to bat. Drama said we should bowl, because he believed the slings and arrows of outrageous Israfeel would rip through Findorff. Cam (and we’ll refrain from calling him Camlet) was unsure, but in the end didn’t have to decide, as fate handed Findorff the toss and they chose to bat.
Israfeel ripped through them, taking 6/36.
That was looking far from likely after he went for ten in his first over. Opener Hamid, the league’s top batsman through four games, was looking organised and confident, right up until Israfeel knocked over his leg stump in the game’s third over. With Israfeel in the groove and Kamal bowling his miserly line, Findorff were suddenly on the back foot. THCC had the momentum and wouldn’t let it go.
The bowling, including Aman’s very tight nine overs, was brilliantly supported in the field. Raman was particularly impressive at short leg, instigating a remarkable run-out with Steve and also taking a sharp catch. Dom also took a good catch at short cover while Cam nabbed two lollipops at mid-off. But more, it was the pressure fielding, stopping fast balls and chasing hard in the field, that made runs seem so hard to get.
Wickets continued to fall at regular intervals. Ammar showed some capability, hitting a six just about into Lower Saxony, but even he didn’t last long. Only Findorff captain Rashad showed any resistance, batting sensibly for almost an hour to finish 15 not-out and give his team something to bowl at.
Chasing 105 may not seem much of a task, but Findorff are a strong bowling team and the ball was moving all over the place in the damp conditions. Importantly, Cam and Dom made a solid start, pushing the score to 32 before Cam was bowled by a good ball from Iftikhar, with the same happening to Guru in Iftikhar’s following over.
With Rashad suffering from cramp, it was left to Hamid (also the league’s leading bowler) and Iftikhar to pound away, with both generating movement and pace. When Dom was caught, the score was 3/62 and there was more than a bit of nervous tension in the air. That nervousness may go some way towards explaining the somewhat excessive appealing (which included fielders marching towards the batsmen a few times, something that’s not the best thing to see in cricket).
But Findorff are a good team and they were pressing hard, understandably desperate for the wickets that would win them the match. They were aided by good bowling and some interesting interpretations of the LBW rule, but were slightly undone by poor fielding and a wide count that amounted to over a quarter of the required 106 runs.
As a few more wickets fell, runs were becoming hard to get. It took some smart batting from Jatin and Nabeel to get THCC over the line, winners by four wickets.
The exclamation point on the day was Israfeel’s bowling, but this was without a doubt a team victory, and one made all the more satisfying given the absence of key players Sandeep, Bipin and Trived, and that Findorff were undefeated coming into this match.
So, this time, it was a great toss to lose. And this time, Drama was right. Brilliant effort, lads.
Many thanks to Rashad, Iftikhar and the SG Findorff team for being such great hosts and for giving us a high quality, competitive game of cricket. Thanks again to Tina the scorer, who received plaudits from Findorff for the beautifully completed scoresheets. (It’ll be sharpened coloured pencils next time, and that’s a promise.)
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).
