Stars eclipse the Commonwealth

(By: Nafis Ahmed, Commonwealth C.C)

Date: June 12^th, 2004

Venue: Franklin Field I, Dorchester, MA

It was a beautiful Saturday in Boston. The sun was shinning, the breeze was blowing, and the temperature, just right to play a game of cricket. Assembled on Franklin Field I, were two teams in whites, eager to make the best of the elements.

Star CC is a new entity in the first division of the MSCL. They almost won the second division last year, and are a good and upcoming side. Their enthusiasm was evident in their pre-match practice drills, and uniquely, their uniforms and caps, that had team insignia in the front and the player number and name at the back. The latter was quite useful, as we knew only a handful of their players beforehand.

The Commonwealth assembly was less than perfect – at the time of the toss, we fielded only nine regulars, with Johnny Wright, Mark’s athletic pre-teener filling in the tenth spot. We were still hopeful to make eleven before finishing the first innings; the promise was fulfilled only in the case of Tariq Butt, who joined us in the 10^th over of the first innings. Unfortunately, Fazal was stuck at work and was pushing to make it before the first innings was over. He eventually did not make it.

Star’s captain, Himanshu Patel, won the toss and after witnessing the state of affairs on the other side, wisely elected to bat. We took the field with nine plus Johnny. Star CC started well and tackled our part time pace attack of Ghazanfer Baig and David Hoyle with ease. Our bowling side was lacking both of its regular opening bowlers, and in the circumstance both Ghazanfer and Dave did fine, by not allowing too many runs. However, we were not able to attack the batting for the same stated reasons. Star CC lost their first opener, Piyush (5) to a well-judged catch by Ghazanfer, off a misdirected leg side full toss from Dave. The second wicket partnership of 53 runs put some structure to their innings with Vikram (22) and Soumitra (31) looking good. Ali brought himself on right after the field restrictions were over. It was a wise move and he had both batsmen in check. Stopping the flow of runs, resulted in some irregular strokeplay and the well set Vikram lost his wicket to Ali, when he drove one into the hands of Tariq at midoff. Things proceeded in the favor of the bowling side, in the way of containment and at the half way mark (20 overs) the score was 69 for three.

After drinks Commonwealth let the initiative slipped from their hands due to some inaccurate bowling, sloppy fielding and dropped catches. Star CC capitalized upon the number of wickets they had at hand. Several middle order batsmen opened their arms and helped themselves to some easy boundaries. No single batsman dominated the innings, but several chipped in with decent individual contributions. Shiven (29), Tushar (33) and Sandeep (32) took Star CC to a very respectable total of 199 for 7 in 40 overs.

All the pre-match reservations and apprehensions of Star CC evaporated. They could now sense that they could win this game if they applied themselves with as much discipline as they showed in their batting. And this was precisely what they did, by keeping a good line and length, and bowling and fielding aggressively, they soon had Commonwealth 5 for 37. Ghazanfer (18) hung on for a bit and had several lives but couldn’t capitalize on his chances and departed soon. Nafis and Dave (10) steadied the ship but the latter lost his concentration and his wicket on a tossed up delivery. Himanshu bowled his characteristic accurate left arm spinners, and was thenceforth played cautiously by Nafis and Abhijit. The two new dads batted responsibly, as if showcasing their new stature as new proud parents.

In a complete contrast to Star CC’s innings, Commonwealth lost early wickets and spent the rest of the innings repairing the early damage. The lower order batted well and brought some respectability to the innings by putting up a fight. Abhijit scored a refreshing 30 in 34 balls with some good boundaries (welcome back Abhi, this being his first game since last September, and of course as a parent). Nafis ended up with 55 to his name and was the ninth and the last wicket to fall before handing over a well-deserved victory to Star CC. Commonwealth finished at 155 for nine in 37.3 overs.

Post-mortem, it should be said that although Commonwealth fielded a depleted side, it was still a winnable game. We should have restricted them to a score around 150, especially after the tight first 20 overs. The fielding and catching left a lot to be desired. The real culprit, however, was batting, since it was a wicket that played true throughout the day, and an outfield with a lot less inertial friction then a usual MSCL venue; 199 was certainly a gettable target, for a batting-rich side like Commonwealth. Early batting collapse that was largely self-induced, left us 37 for 5, at which point, it usually requires a miracle to recover and win. Commonwealth, certainly, was out of miracles that day!!!