Irvine Willows

I experienced a very surreal moment this past Sunday while driving to the ground. As you know it was quite foggy. Entering my car I cranked up the radio and was immediately treated to an Elton John rendition of ‘I guess that’s why they call it the blues’. All I needed now was a cup of hot coffee, with the windows rolled down and fresh morning air splashing across my face I would have been teleported to a different world. It was quite amazing … well maybe I am exaggerating a bit … but you get the idea. It felt awesome to drive down a near empty Culver Drive (which is a mini feat in itself) with fog covering the horizon and lights from the lamppost trying to burrow their way through the water laden air. Needless to say it was an ideal day for a game of cricket. Two Sundays in a row we are being treated to  some fabulous weather.  Team A: Rajesh, Dharmendra, Partha, Abhijeet and Ramesh Team B: Chandru, Pankaj, Amit, Rohin and Anand Siddharth was the common player in first

Everytime I write this paragraph I think how the weather will be next time, will it be better than what we experienced today? You can be rest assured that the weather that we had  this past Sunday’s was amazing. It just cannot be beat. The sun came out exactly at 9:30 AM when we started the second game. The sky was gray with no trace of white and the sun was nowhere to be seen. It was slightly nippy, but perfect for a game of cricket. We could just keep on bowling and running and yet not have a bead of sweat run down our forehead. I guess this is how it must feel at Lords playing in the English weather  (I have been rehearsing this line since I left the ground on Sunday … I had to say it!). The weather wasn’t overshadowed without a reason, for we had a dispute in the first match, where the result came under much scrutiny. The cloud cover suddenly moved from above into within and that’s a pity because it was an absolute cracker of a match where both the sides played some fabulou

The Rohin Effect! After a break of 3-4 weeks Rohin was back and the impact was pretty visible on the field. Standing at Mid-wicket he was instrumental in cutting-off the quick singles that helped Team B put pressure on Team A.  The Dharmendra "a.k.a" McGrath Effect! We all have spoken about his control - but coming back on the field after 3-4 weeks people would have expected a bit of rustiness. However 3 wickets - two of them were Venki & Siddharth (both bowled) confirms how well he bowled. The Opener - Pratik! For the record books of Irvine Cricket Club - Pratik got the dual record when he opened the innings for Team A while batting & bowling. Pretty near to getting the "Sir" title. Kudos to Irvine Cricket Club! Imagine - 12 balls & 12 runs to get. Pankaj & Dharmendra going strong in the chase. Batting Team decides that all the team members need a chance to bat - out goes Pankaj and in comes Chandru.  It’s hard to believe but

The weather was just perfect. Like last week, it was slightly chilly when we started, but within half an hour it warmed up, maybe it was a result of all the running and stretching that w were doing. There was no cloud cover, but it didn’t matter as the sun was not beating down on us. It was just up there enjoying itself. There was slight glare but it wasn’t too bad. As if to honor the cricket gods who had bestowed such marvelous weather we had a great turnout and befittingly was followed by a cracker of a game. Team A: Rajesh, Venki, Siddharth, Pratik, Gunjan, Amit, Partha and Ram Team B: Arvind, Abhijeet, Pankaj, Senthil, Dharmendra, Chandru, Rohin and Anand We had a near-full house which implied we could play only one game and this meant we all had to come up with our A-game as there would be no second chances. Team A won the toss and elected to bat. The start was a bit slow and it was more a result of some fine bowling than lack of intentions from the batsmen. Th

Boom Boom Time ! In the first match Team B had lost the momentum after a good start, chasing the score.  Rajesh was run-out on the first ball of the the over, Anand was at the crease - he had informed us about his wish of playing more than 3 balls in an innings.  However the first 3 balls he faced reminded everybody of Afridi.  All the 3 balls were dispatched for 3 boundaries. This made it for a hat-trick of boundaries in a long time. Boom Boom Time 2 !  In the second match Team A started off well chasing.  Partha decided to up the tempo & got for 4, 4 & 6 in 3 deliveries.  The stage was set for Team A from there.  Come on, Catch my Catch !  Rajesh had taken 2 catches to dismiss Anand in both the matches.  During the second chase, Anand was bowling & the batsman hit lofted shot towards Rajesh.  However it dropped a bit short but Anand was a bit furious & assuming Rajesh was from batting team gave the fielder "mera do pakda tu

Hi, Getting into the car I was kicking myself for not wearing something warmer, such was the chill in the morning. As the day progressed the chill started to fade and the sun was out in its full glory, but it still wasn't breathing down our necks.  The weather was amazing, couldn’t ask for a better start. We had a decent turnout promising couple of entertaining games … what else can you possibly ask for on a Sunday morning (I can think of only one combination ... 'chai' and Glucose biscuit) Team A: Senthil, Pankaj, Amit, Partha and Vivek Team B: Rajesh, Venki, Abhijeet J, Chandru and Anand Common man: Arvind Believe me, I haven’t had so much fun in a long time. Last Sunday we had a full house and there was some live entertainment on the side, but this Sunday’s game was awesome. It had all the ingredients … amazing batting performances, jaw-dropping comebacks, logic-defying fielding. All I can say is, I am glad I was there to witness the awesome reverse sweep