TCC Practice Game

Date - 04/17/2010
Location - Shiloh

A hastily arranged game... Everyone's cell phones buzzed at around 4.30 pm on Thursday when Mahesh "fixed" a game with TCC for Saturday afternoon... Soon he had 6 "Aye" and the game was a go... Slowly but surely, there were 11 ready for game... For that matter, before the game kicked off, there were 12 people on the ground ready to play for DCC... and if that was not enough, a realtor mysteriously appeared on the ground mid-game with his pads on and not just batted, but even graced the most coveted position on the field -- Main Umpire -- for most of DCC batting innings... 

Yes folks, this is the story for the DCC's practice game against TCC held on Saturday 04/17 at the cricketing paradise of Shiloh... DCC twitched their palms anxiously on the sidelines while they watched Anzacs and KMCC slug it out in the middle... While Faraz failed to take KMCC to safety, Neeraj was making plans in his mind about how to tackle a new look TCC... 

DCC won the toss and decided to bowl... The logic behind the decision was that we had failed setting up a good score, so lets put more pressure on us by chasing a big total and see how we perform... For geniuses, this might not make sense, but if DCC was made up of geniuses, we would have been working on patents and acquisition deals instead of match reports at 11 pm on a Monday night.... 

DCC started bowling with Niranjan and Trip while TCC opened with Arvind and Samir Tikare... Niranjan was bowling very well with his classic banana swingers and actually found a spot on the pitch where the ball bounced alarmingly... Shrini was competent behind the stumps against the pace of Niranjan but had some anxious moments keeping to the spin from Trip... First slip fielder Nikhil does not like his new fielding position and dropped another "almost held it" catch... Luckily this one did not cost a lost like the previous one... In the next over from Trip, Niranjan held a steepler from Samir off the bowling of Trip... 

Newcomer Taran was tried at 1 down and had a few nervy moments... Soon Mahesh made it all cosy for him when his first ball was edged behind for Shrini to hold a good catch... Muki came down at #4 and by this time Arvind was very comfortable... He smacked a couple of sixes and a few fours... This partnership actually threatened to take the game away from DCC when the umpire came to rescue... He gave Arvind out with a dubious high delivery... everyone including the batsman, bowler, fielders and the keeper were surprised, but accepted it with glee... 

Vijay joined Muki but this time Muki had to go when a outswinger from Nikhil took the leading edge and looped all the way to mid off where Rishabh judged it perfectly... Rajesh came in now and hoped to forge an alliance with Vijay... But Neal had other ideas... Though he was struggling with his line, he got one to uproot the sticks behind Vijay... 

Suddenly a big chunk of TCC batters were resting in the shade and the other chunk got equally lucky... Kranthi (newcomer) had one edge of Nikhil go abegging while a few catches were lost in the sunshine... However ugly it looked, it worked... Finally Rishi did a Rahul and run Rajesh out off his own bowling... A very commendable athletic effort... 

The rest of the batting story can be described in 4 words -- swish, connect, runs, wickets... Sid got one banana swinger to go around Bhavik's legs and hit the middle... There were a couple of smart runouts and TCC ended their innings on the last ball of the 18th over for 150 all out... 

The mystic realtor wanted to open the innings with Prasad but cunning captain had some other plans... so Ravi was made the main umpire and he gave some wonderful explanations for denied LBWs... Mahesh and Prasad opened the innings in their trademark slow and steady fashion... Mahesh was out attempting a cute shot off his legs and was welcomed with the choicest words of wisdom in the pavilion... From that point onward, the PDA was Mahesh's best friend... 

Shrini and Prasad continued the good work until Ravi had enough of being the good umpire and gave a questionable one... Prasad was not happy with the catch taken at covers, but probably Ravi thought that it was his turn to bat... That was not to be and Neal was sent instead... 

This was the most exciting phase of DCC batting... Every bowler was carefully dismantled, some with clinical precision and other with brute power... They had a partnership of 60 in 6 overs when Shrini was bowled off Shantan's faster one... Nikhil went in, took one on the gloves and thought thats enough for the day... He swung wildly at the next one and Samir took a steepler ("Upar Ka Chakka" in DCC terminology) to send him back... 

Neal came back soon after a well made 50 and Ravi finally had the opportunity to even the scores... He is still in Happy Diwali mode -- 1 boundary, 1 single and caught at the boundary... Suddenly, the wheels had come off the chase and DCC needed 32 of 18 balls with only Rishi, Divesh and Neeraj being the recognized batsmen remaining... 

But this time, the tough got going when the going got tough... Rishi smacked one wonderful pull and Divesh got a four to calm the nerves... Rishi got sent back with a tricky caught behind when the ball was no way close to the bat but captain cool was still there... He gave a piece of his mind to Nikhil when the latter threw his wicket and now he walked the talk... Practicing what he preached, Neeraj was there till the end smacking 2 high pressure boundaries and getting the game done and dusted with 4 balls to spare... 

Finally, DCC experiences the sweet smell of victory, albeit in a practice game... The timing could not be any better with a must-win game coming up this Sunday... 

The bowling was good -- everyone was adequate and Rishi was fast... Fielding could have been better, especially the catches... Bowling at the death can be more clinical... The batting undid most of the mistakes done in the past games but this one should have been scaled without any hiccups... We need to learn not to throw it away especially when things are going our way... 

Neeraj was admirable in his leadership and cleared any doubts that lingered in anyone's mind abt his captaincy qualities... He was clear in his instructions, unflustered on the field and had enough flexibility to cater to game situations... The fact that he had a lot of bowling options helped to one extent... Yet, he was impartial enough to give every bowler atleast 2 overs to bowl and selfless enough to to not bowl himself... In batting, he had a role for everyone to play and was there till the end to finish the game... And what more, he did what no other DCC captain has been able to do -- make Ravi the umpire... All in all, a very well executed job... 

Having said that, alls well that ends well... And this one did end well... We have the first victory of the season... And if we do everything that we did right this game, there is no reason why the game on this Sunday will not end the same way... 

So good luck DCC, lets even the parity this weekend... Its high time we turn it around... 

GAME 1 -- CCC

Date - 04/03/2010
Location - Shiloh
Link to the scorecard

Finally, the day envisioned by Rajesh U dawned... The first official game of the newly formed TCL kicked off between DCC and CCC at Shiloh... 

Home Minister Employment Services decided to allocate an additional resource to the Daddy Day Care project which has already consumed Ivan for the first 5 games of the season... Sanjeewa's wife decided to take a day off which meant Sanjeewa had to pull out at the last moment and take care of the future wicket keeper of Team USA... This led to a lot of rehashing within the lineup... Nikhil had to step into the 11 and Ravi had to don the keeping gloves... Along with these 2 absences, with Pratik nursing an injury, Faraz changing teams and Neal busy elsewhere, Team DCC had a new look... 

In one way, this took DCC to the other end of the spectrum from its last game... In the PACC playoff game last year, DCC played with 10 batsmen and 1 bowler whereas today's game, we played with 8 bowlers in the playing 11... Divesh, Prasad and Shrini were the only ones who were not qualified bowlers... That also meant that out batting was really thin for the day...

The game started with Mahesh and Divesh opening for DCC against the canny inswing of Pinku and the gentle outswing of Vijay... Mahesh was looking to be positive but the running was circumspect... Divesh was aiming to survive the new ball... Mahesh eventually mistimed a gentle outswinger from Vijay to be caught at point... 

Prasad went in with a motive to consolidate... He batted with responsibility, curbed his natural instincts and played solidly... Divesh and Prasad took the team to the first drinks break without any further damage but at the cost of run rate... At 12 overs point, we were about 25 odd for 1... 

Both started opening up after the break... Runs started trickling in but Prasad was out in a weird scenario... CCC appealed for caught behind which Ron Knight did not agree... When Prasad mentioned that the ball went of the pad and not of the bat, Ron gave him out LBW instead... 

Ravi was sent to bump up the run rate and his bat started doing the talking from the first ball itself... First one went for a DLF maximum and the second one for a boundary in the same location... But, it turned out to be a blink-and-you-miss inning... The third ball was mistimed and gently settled in the lap of deep point fielder... And Ravi promised a lot and delivered little... But those two shots brought the chirp back into the batting camp... 

Niranjan decided to promote himself and take things in his hand now... He came in and suddenly the game looked entirely different... He hit a boundary and ran aggressively between the wickets... It rubbed on to Divesh and he smacked a sixer at deep midwicket out of nowhere... But just when we thought that our innings was being mended, Niranjan attempted a risky double and caught short of the crease... 

Trip was sent in to consolidate... He and Divesh started to get things moving but Divesh lost his wicket as well... Trip was batting well but he tried to clear the infield without much timing and was caught at mid-off... Rishi soon lost his wicket when a ball bounced more than he anticipated and ended at first slip... We were at 96/8 at this time...

Then came the most exciting phase of the game... Neeraj came to the crease as if he was practicing for the last hour in the IPL nets and hit 2 sixers and 2 boundaries... All of a sudden, CCC was on the backfoot... Nikhil and Neeraj ran quickly between the wickets... Neeraj was striking it cleanly and the partnership was 30 runs before anyone realized what happened... 

The aim was to go all the way till the 35th over without any risks... But an inswinger got Neeraj and like the proverbial London bus, the second one followed immediately... Sid could not get his bat down in time and was castled... The innings ended at 126 in the 30th over... 

After a 30 minute break, DCC came on the field determined to defend 127... Niranjan started very well at one end and Mahesh attacked at the other end... Mahesh was not very lucky to be rewarded for his hard work but Niranjan got true rewards for his... He bowled 7 overs on the trot and got all the 3 wickets when the batsmen were playing solid defence... The one to take out Vishwas Putta was a gem... Vishy knew that Niranjan was bringing the odd one in and was playing safe, but he could not even realize what was going on when an inswinger got the top of the off stump... To sum it up, he led brilliantly from the front... 

Rishi took over from one end and Mahesh came back from the other end... Rishi was bowling well within the circumstances of the game and keeping it tight and interesting where Mahesh was giving a display of attacking bowling against 2 aggressive batsmen -- Keyur and Vinay... Finally he was rewarded when he hit the sticks of Vinay... At this point, CCC was abt 70 odd for 4 and still needed 50+ runs and anything could have happened... 

Sid took over from Mahesh and took the wicket of Pinku with his first valid delivery.... But he had real trouble controlling the swing... At the other end, spin in the form of Trip and Neeraj was tantalizing though not threatening... With the asking run rate dipping with every hit, we need some attacking option... Sadly, all the bowlers on show were not attacking enough... CCC won with 5 wickets and a lot of overs to spare... 

Not the best way to start the season, especially without important players... But, we can not change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand... And today we did not play our hand very well... A lot left to be desired... 

Stay on the wicket as long as possible WITH an intent to score... Try scoring the runs and they will come... No bowler is threatening enough to dish out maiden after maiden and we should not make anyone look so threatening... Follow the basics and the results will show... 

On an optimistic note, even though the team was weak and the batting was wafer-thin, the way the team fought was commendable... Neeraj impressed with his attitude while batting whereas Niranjan and Mahesh valiantly made it a close affair... Fielding was good with a few direct hits being really tight... Ravi stepped in the keeper role and performed well... 

Points of improvement -- Just because the big players are not playing, does not mean that we should give up without a fight... Not playing 35 overs is a crime... Throwing away the wicket after getting set is a big mistake and we are doing it in bunches every single game... 

While Mahesh fixes the next match against NCSU (fixing the availability of the field), lets do all the basics right... Next time when I write the match report, let it be a winning one... 

SECOND PRACTICE GAME

Date -- 03/27/2010Location  -- Shiloh

On a sub 50 day, DCC and KMCC started the game at 10.15 or so. Everyone, except a realtor who was sacrificing his business, were happy with the late start. Ex-DCCian Faraz was playing from KMCC and had a few uncomfortable moments off the field meeting his old mates. Captain Niranjan won the toss again and chose to bat first.

Prasad and Mahesh were chosen to do the honors this time. Mahesh was bowled by a cracker of an outswinger in the first over. The unhappy realtor was given an opportunity to display the timing of his new bat. The next few overs were a sight to behold. Ravi displayed the timing which we always see in practice and Prasad was giving lessons on classical batting. They played so well that we reached 56 odd in 7 overs. It was sheer timing and good cricket, with one cover drive by Prasad and one flick by Ravi standing out. The chirping KMCC was silenced.

But as good things have to come to and end, Ravi threw away his wicket to an innocuous looking bowler. Prasad was then joined by Trip. Their roles were clearly defined but Prasad threw away his good start and gave KMCC another entry into the game. Neal was sent in now. Both Neal and Trip started slowly grabbing the initiative back. Neal with his flicks and Trip with his clever rotation of strike brought DCC back into the leading position. Trip threw away his wicket when the game demanded more patience. But Neal darted to reach his fifty. He got out soon after that, but he had given what the team needed - quick runs to set up a decent target.

After Neal's exit, Shrini took over and smartly hit the big ones along with the cheeky singles. Niranjan, Shrini and Nikhil perished run out in the last over going for aggressive runs and DCC ended at a well above par 161. Well executed batting performance except that set batsmen went out when they should have continued to build on the hard work.

The batting scorecard is attached here for anyone who is interested in the statistical details of the batting inning -- 

With a target of 162, KMCC needed a good start. DCC continued the tradition of generosity when Nikhil dropped Fahad in the first slip on 0. He went on to hurt DCC with a punishing 50. On the other side, Mahesh settled his account by sending Shahid Alam back with a jaffa in his first over. The look on Shahid's face when the middle stump was flattened was priceless. Cashif was sent at one - down and they began punishing DCC bowling. Niranjan was first on the receiving end of Cashif's bat (borrowed from none else that Rao Bond). He hit a few big ones. Then Fahad started swinging his bat and making us pay for the dropped catch. None of the bowlers were effective. Nikhil, Neal, Trip - everyone was taken to the cleaners and the game was drifting away from DCC very fast. Before anyone knew, the scorecard read 81 for 1 after 9 overs.

DCC has to regroup at any cost. Neeraj and Sid started bowling in tandem and Sid got Cashif castled. This got DCC back into the game. On the other end Neeraj started bowling like the Neeraj of last year - flight and loop. He almost got Fahad stumped, but Ravi could not gather the ball cleanly. But soon, smart bowling got Neeraj the wicket of the two down batsman - Mahesh judged the catch very well. Sid got Fahad out when Ravi held the nick cleanly.

It was Suhail and Faraz chasing the score now. DCC then started fighting hard and making things difficult for KMCC. 44 of 36 to win --> 36 of 30 to win --> 19 of 18 to win. Then Mahesh bowled and excellent over to give only 7. 12 of 12 needed. Captain Niranjan bowled another peach of an over to give only 4 runs and take the wicket of Faraz. Shrinivas judged the steepler on the boundary to perfection.

Last over, 8 runs to win. Mahesh gave 2 singles and then Salman Moghul hit a sixer just out of the reach of Trip at sweeper cover to finish the game with 3 balls to spare.

It was a game which we lost between the 5th and the 10th over when we probably leaked 60 odd runs. Our fielding was not up to the mark, especially when a batsman is given a life at 0 and ends up playing a winning 50. Holiday season is over long back and we should not give any freebies to the opposition. Batting seems to be in order right now but bowling and fielding need more discipline. Captain is winning the toss, and leads by example with his bowling.

Its all going to start in a matter of a week. Next saturday, this time, I will be writing a match report of DCC - CCC season opener. Watch this space, more good news and great news to follow this season!!!

FIRST PRACTICE GAME

Date -- 03/20/2010
Location -- Shiloh

The first practice game of the season took place today at Shiloh against CCC.

Newly crowned captain Niranjan won the toss and decided to bat first. Prasad and Sanjeewa started on a cautious note. In the fourth over, Pinku got through Prasad's solid defense. Shrinivas went in at 1-down but was quickly sent back trapped leg before wicket by the canny inswing of Pinku. Two wickets in the same over.

Nikhil went into to give support to Sanjeewa and got things moving. Sanjeewa pressed the gas pedal greeting Shankar for 2 DLF maximum and 1 boundary in his first over. Next over, he hit another max and a boundary. Nikhil on the other side was rotating strike. Sanjeewa lost his wicket to Shankar eventually when 1 ball did not hit the middle of the bat and was caught by Vinay on the boundary.

In came newcomer Yogesh and he was struggling a bit with the new environment. Nikhil then took over from Sanjeewa and hit 3 boundaries to John and Rajesh. In the 16th over, Yogesh got out and in came Neal. From that point onwards, it was slogging to get over that elusive 3 figure mark. Amid wickets, Rishi from UNC impressed with his temperament and Niranjan impressed with his running. DCC innings ended at 109.

Chasing 110 for victory, CCC started on a silent note with Niranjan and Neal giving only 6 runs in the first 3 overs. Nikhil started the 4th with 10 runs but came back in his next over with a wicket maiden sending Vishwas Putta back. In the very next over, smart fielding from Rishi had the other opener Karthik back in the pavilion. Sanjeewa collected his throw and effected a clean runout.

At this point, CCC were 48/2 in 10 overs and needed 62 in the next 10 overs. With Vinay and Keyur batting, spinners were tried. On one end, Sid was having trouble controlling his front foot no ball and at the other end, Neeraj got a grand opening to his season with 2 fours and 1 six. Nikhil came back and was greeted with a pair of boundaries and a six as well.

Rishi was given a chance to bowl and impressed with the ball as well. He got Vinay clean bowled. The match ended with another sixer.

In the aftermath of the massacre, Niranjan immediately booked Rishi for the season, the signing bonus being an interview at Quintiles. Neeraj asked Nikhil to practice leg spin instead of slow medium pace. Shrinivas is thinking of not going to Jakarta just to bolster the batting and Sid is planning to visit MRF Pace Academy provided they open a branch in Chapel Hill.

There will be post mortem today evening on a conf call between Mahesh, Neeraj, Niranjan and Murali. Ravi has offered free tips without his commission and Shankar has been hired as the scribe. Watch this space!!!

MEET THE FAMILY!!!

Meet the DCC Family -- 


Captain -- Niranjan Thakur


Leads by example, whether it be in bowling, scoring a few quick runs or commitment in the field... For him, age is just a number... 


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Vice Captain -- Neeraj Rohilla


The Phoenix of DCC... Personified a never say die spirit... Better fitness levels and the prospects of leading the team for half the season has motivated him like never before... 

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Ivan Blackman

Master Blaster at the top of the order... Terror for the bowlers... Known for nonchalant sixers and broken bats alike... 

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Sanjeewa Naranpanawe

Elegance in front of the stumps and behind as well... Class personified... Just needs some sledging lessons... 

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Pratik Phadke

Batting maestro who can light the game with his fireworks... Equally canny bowler and a fighter to the core... 

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Prasad Ozarkar

Opener, shows how it can be done gracefully... 

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Shrinivas Joshi

They say big things come in small packets... Well this packet is way bigger than its size... See him bat and you will believe... 

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Mahesh Tomar

Learn multi tasking from this one... Fast bowler, Safe opener, Aggressive batting lower down the order and poetry -- all bundled into one... Just do not ask me to take easy dolly catches... 

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Ravi Bheemarao

Hit the big ones, keep wickets, spin it or catch it... Can do it all, just listen to me baby!!!

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Sid Puri

So what if I can not bat, I can make you dance when I bowl... And if the ball does not do enough damage, my pen is lethal enough... 

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Rishabh Kirpalani

The cub of the team... Beware of the lethal yorkers and the stinging bouncers... 

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Divesh Gidwani

Elegance in batting and safety in fielding... 

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Trip Sinha

Accurate with the ball and assuring with the bat... 

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Nikhil Raikar

Swing the ball and the bat... Safe in the field... Busy enough to not update the website but create this blog... 

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EX-PLAYERS

GET TO KNOW US

Welcome to the world of Durham Cricket Club... The most happening cricket club in the Triangle area... 

Are you are serious about cricket? Do you play to win every match and is winning is more important that anything? Then DCC is the club for you!!!

Do you believe that one should have fun while playing the game, irrespective of whether you win the game or not? Do you think that lunch during the game is as important as line and length? Is your aggression limited to sledging only your team mates? Then DCC is the club for you!!!

Do you hate the team that kicked your butt last weekend so much that you would play them next weekend and  even the score? Even though you know that the chances of you returning home again with a sore behind are pretty strong?


Then DCC is THE CLUB for you!!!


Thats what we are guys!!! A bunch of everyday blokes who get together every Wednesday 5.30 pm to practice and almost every weekend to play a game against our local rivals!!!


We love the spirit of the game but play hard enough to be crowned the T20 champions for 2008 and 2009. Our team has players from India, Pakistan, West Indies and Sri lanka.


We love the game of cricket but we love the team even more!!! This is an extended family and we would love to make you a part of us!!!


So drop an email or just show up here any Wednesday at 5.30 pm and look out for a crazy team practicing on the field.