Cricket News.....

Our Cricket season came to an end about three weeks ago when we lost to OSU Alumni team in Columbus. I will put up the reports abt the matches later (may be!!!!!!). WE had a double header which was just a formality as we were out of contention for the playoff's.

The final four games of the season were not good ones for us....we lost three and won only one. We lost to WVU by one-run !!!!!!! Lost to Cleveland by 5 wickets .... that loss put us out of the tournament. Then we beat Cleveland2 in an inconsequential game....but that game recorded the first century with which AkronCC was involved (though it was scored against us). The last game of the season was with OSU and we lost that in the last over. It was a good game which turned kind of rough towards the end of the game when some of their players started taunting us and vice-versa.

The only positive abt the last 4 games is the emergence of Kiran as an attacking opener...his scores in the three games that he opened were...24,66,84 !!!!!!!! Thats a great string of scores and with that unbelievable performance at the end of the season he tied for the batting honors for AkronCC with Hari, both of them finished with 222 runs. The other bright spot is the 5-wicket haul of Adi in the last game....he finished the season with 16 wickets and he stood 8th in the overall standings for the Mid-west tournament. Phani tooo scored a fifty in the game against cleveland2. I had a decent finish to the season with the scores of 17(not out),23,7,19 (not out). This season I had a decent showing with the ball, bat and on the field. I fiinished with 155 runs (5th on the team), 11 wickets (2nd on the team), 7 catches and 2 runouts (1st on the team and 7th in the Midwest tournament). The complete stats for the AkronCC team for the 2003 season have been posted on the web, Stats on the midwest site. Both the stats differ due to the incorrect or incomplete scorecards and the washed out games.

We had the all-star game in Columbus. Four members from AkronCC were selected to represent Group B in the all-star games. Adi, Hari, Kiran (based on his brilliant battting in the end) and myself. The chief guests for the all-star games were Faoud Bacchus and Larry Gomes. Both of them as most of you know represented the Westindian team of the 70's and 80's. They were a part of probably the best all-time test team. we had the privilege of playing with them. Actually Adi and I have had some memorable moments tooo.....

I had the privilege of bowling to Bacchus (250 Highest test score !!!) the first ball was dispatched for a four, the next ball was a wide....I thought "Gaya....meri tho abhi band bajegi". But fortunately.....I found my rythm sooon and I started bowling my usual wicket to wicket stuff. I bowled 4 dot balls in a row!!!!!!!!! i couldnt believe it. Then the next ball is the ball I will remember for the rest of my life......... I bowled my slower delivery that deceived Bacchus and induced an Outside edge which the wicket-keeper collected safely. I was very confident that he would walk or that the Umpire would give him out.....but to my disappointment he was given not-out. Everyone on the field heard the edge. But I was later informed by one of my team-mates that they had decided not to give bacchus out in the first 7-8 overs....and I bowled the 6th !!!!!!!!!! I was very very delighted and now I have some memories to last for a long time.....but my joy was short lived as I was spanked for 16 runs in my next over!!!!!! That was the end of my participation in the all-star game. I had one more positive thing.....I was not out on 10 at the end of out batting when all the other all-stars on our team struggled to get runs. I was in there for 4-5 overs and must have run 25-30 runs easily.

Now to Adi's memory.....Adi bowled a maiden over to Larry Gomes (the west-indian Mr.Dependable)....bowling a maiden over to a world-class batsman in a limited overs match is not a small achievement!!!!!!!! Its a memory to cherish for a lifetime. I mean.....how many times do we get to play on the same stage as the international superstars in our lifetime???? and in that how many times can u get them out or bowl a maiden to them???? thats what I was talking abt. I wasnt there for the game so cannot write anything abt the over else I would have given a ball-to-ball description.

Kiran and Hari had a good outing too. though Hari was disappointed for not being able to bat much.....he selflessly gave-up his wicket in an attempt to increase the scoring when the others to follow took their own time to get their runs!!!!!!! Kiran on the other hand had a good day with the bat. he scored well in both his knocks. he scored 44 in his first game and 35 in the second. He was simply amazing to watch.... I mean his strokes were breath-taking. So good were his strokes to watch...that even Bacchus acknowledged him in his speech at the dinnner later that night.

Group B lost to Group A in the first game, Group C beat group A in the second match and Group B massacered Group C in the third......Groups A and B played the all star final in which Group A beat Group B comfortably.

We wanted to watch the big scorring Hammad mallik and Hammad Bhokari in action....but we were very very disappointed to see that they were very very unsportsmanly and played with little sportsman spirit. They were sooo bad that later I was told that when Kiran hit Hammad mallik for a six the whole team of Group C was very very happy (Group C was the group for whom mallik was playing or rather captaining).

One more thing abt the all star game........The Legend of DK....the last couple of years the players of AkronCC must have heard abt the legend of DK a lot from the veterans on the team. It goes like this....DK, an Akron Alumni....a stylish batsman....used to open for akron and had only one significant knock (in the one year that I played with him). He used to play himself in and get a measure of the bowling ....standard procedure for a good batsman...then play a brilliant shot ...which will be applauded even by the opposition....infact only the opposition applauds as his team mates knew what was coming next....he used play a stupid shot outside offstump and get caught either in the slips or by the keeper.......this was a usual thing to happen. He is very famous in Akron for his standard 15 min stay at the wicket. The all stars from Akron got to see him in action and he did exactly what he was famous for......the standard DK time in the middle and got out caught behind!!!!!!!! Kiran and I had already mentioned to Hari and Adi what Adi would do but they werent too sure abt that.......but the man, DK, himself wrote the whole script to convince them......convinced they are!!!!!!!!