(By: Nafis Ahmad, Commonwealth
Cricket Club)
Sunday, September 26, 2004, marks the day when Commonwealth Cricket Club (CCC) assumed the mantle of the best cricket team in Massachusetts, by defeating the reigning champions, Conway Cricket Club. A victory in just one match does not define a team to be the best in its class; what made it an assertion of truth is the comprehensiveness with which CCC defeated their archrivals in the finals. Conway was outclassed in all departments of the game; the margin of victory, quite large.
The day began in a lackadaisical manner, with the ground being worked upon and the pitch being prepared even after the scheduled start time. Fazal lost the toss and Conway elected to bat in true MSCL tradition. The last encounter between the sides was a high scoring game. But this was Roberts Field, where runs do not flow as readily as they do in Franklin Field I. CCC set themselves a target to keep the Conway score under 200.
The left-right combination of Williams and Ramas opened the innings for Conway. Sai Vajha started the bowling for CCC and was met with immediate success, as he swung the ball into the exposed stumps of Williams while he tried to cut a ball that came back sharply. Conway was one down with 2 runs on the board, and Joseph Buffong joined Ramas. Sameer bowled from the other end and had a genuine zest in his delivery. However, the second wicket fell to Sai again, as he swung the ball late and away from the big bat of Buffong, inducing an edge to be smartly and easily caught by Dave Hoyle in the second slip. Wildman joined Ramas as he was anxiously watching the events from the other end. But anxiety got the better of him, and he overplayed a Sai delivery and was bowled for 10 leaving Conway at 3 for 30. Lawson joined Wildman and thus began a productive 56-run partnership that provided some stability to Conway. Both opening bowlers bowled out their quota with Sai recording exceptional figures of (8-1-33-3) and was ably supported by Sameer (8-1-27-0).
Fazal employed his spinners, and after settling down, Qasim started to bowl a very good line. He had Wildman plumb in front of the wicket on a ball that drifted instead of turning. Wildman scored a dogged 41 and was the fourth batsman to be dismissed at the score of 86. Qasim continued to trouble the batsmen and almost had the well-set Lawson caught in the covers, save for a fielding mishap. He did however remove the dangerous Andre (10) clean bowling him on a leg-spinner. Captain Maurice joined Lawson (40) and tried to save the sinking ship but lost his well-set partner, bowled by Ali. There were some small contributions from the remaining batsmen, and an athletic 17 not out from Denovan Blake, that saw Conway reach 190 for 9 in the allotted 40 overs. Ali Rana bowled exceptionally well in the death-overs, not giving away many runs and ended up with good figures of (8-0-32-1). Fazal also captured 3 wickets.
Many of the MSCL teams would balk at the thought of chasing 190 runs, but the depth of batting in the CCC lineup, meant that the score was well within reach, even considering the strong bowling lineup of Conway. However, a good start was important for CCC to chase the total against a good bowling side. The left-right combination of Basu and Qasim took on the USA pacer, Denovan Blake, but it was the mild-mannered Stephens who captured the wicket of Basu, as he drove in the air to be caught by Wildman at cover-point, when the score was only 11. Natraj joined Qasim, who was stroking the ball very nicely and was scoring swiftly and comfortably. Natraj took his time to settle down but was not able to capitalize as he lost his wicket to the left-arm spin of Maurice Blake after scoring 9 on 30 balls, with CCC at 57 for 2. Fazal joined the well-set Qasim, and very shrewdly, the Conway skipper reverted back to the guile and experience of his brother Denovan. Conway achieved their goal, as Denovan induced Fazal to play a silly stroke, and smashed his wicket, dealing a powerful blow to the CCC camp. CCC was suddenly 60 for 3 and their most powerful batsmen and leader back in the pavilion after scoring 3 runs.
The CCC camp was crestfallen, but their vice-captain had other plans that day. Ali Rana joined the other Lahorite, and both of them started to bat like they were playing a friendly in Model Town (Lahore). There was neither fluster nor bravado – each batman holding his nerve, and instead of big shots, relied on placing and running the singles and doubles. The occasional bad balls were punished for boundaries, especially from the well-set Qasim, who played many a trademark one-handed strokes, powerful enough to carry to the boundary. The one-handed bandit continued to plunder the helpless Conway attack, and his well-composed partner kept milking the bowling for ever-more runs. It was a magnificent display of batting and it quickly saw CCC out of danger and into the land of comfort.
Qasim was by now exhausted and was barely making his crease while running between the wickets. After crossing 75 he fell to the ground and was basically unable to move due to fatigue and cramps. Some Gatorade revived him and he was able to continue his innings with the help of a substitute runner (Fazal), and resumed his good work. The re-introduction of Donovan into the attack did not bring any changes to the fortunes of Conway. Qasim finished his magnificent century with the aid of his runner and Ali also finished his well-made half-century. Soon thereafter, Ali hit the winning runs and CCC won the game with 7 wickets at hand. Both Ali and Qasim remained unbeaten on 55 and 104 respectively.
CCC showed great spirit and temperament in the field. The penetrative bowling attack made life for Conway quite difficult as wickets kept falling at regular intervals, and the run-rate was held in check at all times. CCC fielding was up to the mark as very few lapses were noted. CCC run-chase was an exceptional effort, as it was well paced, and there was never a need to slog. Qasim played the innings of his life (in Massachusetts) and chose the best possible occasion (the MSCL final) to post a brilliant, unbeaten century, against his former team. Ali displayed the cool head that he is famous for, and played a structured knock when his team needed it the most. It was a scintillating performance from CCC - Conway was out-bowled, out-fielded and out-batted that day.
We had some support on the ground as Aditya (our number one supporter) and several CCC club members showed up to support their club. The non-playing members, Ashish Sagar and Ghazanfer were there to help and support their team. Ashish fielded for the injured Dave Hoyle and took a beautiful catch in the deep.
The game itself was played in the best of spirits, and Conway were gracious in defeat. They shook our hands, and congratulated CCC on their victory. The extent of their graciousness is possibly displayed in the post-game remark of Donovan Blake: “I am not unhappy that we lost to you guys; I would have been, if it was some other (mediocre) team.” An acknowledgement of your strength from one of your peers, and that too from a fair and competitive sportsman like Donovan, is enough proof of the comprehensiveness with which CCC won this years’ championship.
It was a great end to a fantastic season. We saw many magnificent performances with bat and ball. But the main thing was that everyone chipped in with useful performances at different times and in different games. CCC played as a unit, and destroyed most oppositions. This championship win was a nice finish to a great season and would readily serve as a harbinger of the forces of change in Massachusetts Cricket.
On a personal note, it was a very gratifying season, and its culmination could not have been scripted better. On my way to the finals I was playing aloud the famous U2 number, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” Noticeably, while driving back, I was not playing that song!!