A Scathing Review ... Desperate Need For Some Introspection

It was really cold when I woke up in the morning, I quickly checked the thermostat and it read 67. Normally it tends to be colder inside the house during the day, so I was hoping that it would be warmer outside. Still not to take a chance and ruin a day’s worth of play spent shivering in the cold I threw a track pant in the back seat and headed to the park. When I got there I couldn't have been more pleased, it was warm and sunny. Chandru and Dharmendra were already there and by the time we got the kit to the ground more followed. I wanted to see how we performed today especially after last Sunday's near perfect performance and dare I say.... I was slightly (nah ... thoroughly) disappointed. I gave it a lot of thought whether I should be critical or just be facile about the whole affair, but I felt so dejected after the second match that I just had to put it out there. If we continue to perform the way Team B played in the second match and Team A in the first match, we can kiss our winning streak a permanent good-bye. Some of you might say I shouldn't take these games so seriously, but my thought is after playing for more than 2 years we owe it ourselves. As with everything else there was a silver lining and Team A’s performance in the second match and Partha and Chandru’s opening and concluding stand in the first match was something to cheer about. In any case we had 2 wonderful games and with 11 players we knew we had a near full house which meant we could play without any restrictions. With that as the background let’s see what happened this past Sunday and I will let you be the judge.

Team A: Rajesh, Pankaj, Amit, Gour and AbhijeetTeam B: Senthil, Dharmendra, Chandru, Partha and AnandCommon player: Sumeet

Team B won the toss and elected to bat. Partha opened the innings with Chandru. The opening pair played really well and gave Team B the dream start they were looking for. They did not go for any big shots, they just concentrated on getting singles and twos and keep the score board ticking, which in hindsight was a great strategy because this is what helped them lay a strong foundation (and not doing this landed Team B in trouble in the second innings). Neither of them got out, they retired after playing 2-3 overs. Senthil came in as first replacement followed by Dharnendra. In his usual style the former started hitting and accelerated the score a bit. Dharmendra concentrated on placing the ball. The two couldn't have been more different. There was one particular hit by Senthil which went straight down the wicket bisecting Abhijeet and me. It was a very good shot. More such shots followed and Team B slowly started piling the runs. Senthil was the first one to depart and I went in as his replacement. I couldn't contribute much as my campaign was brutally cut short on the third ball that I faced. It was good length delivery, maybe even a yorker. It was a straight one and I thought I got it, but was thoroughly beaten by the pace. My bat couldn’t come down soon enough and I literally saw the ball pass from under my bat and I said to myself ... 'Crap!' The ‘culprit’ was Pankaj who went on to claim Sumeet’s wicket too in a similar fashion after 2 deliveries. Standing at square leg I could see that it was a similar ball. This meant the opening pair of Partha and Chandru had to return to see the team through. They did a great job again and added valuable runs to take the score to shot 60 runs (I am pretty sure it was 60).

Team A started with a bang and scored 12 runs in the first over. These 12 runs included a boundary by Rajesh followed by a huge six by Pankaj. Team A knew, they had to do something drastic if they had to overhaul the total and they set about doing that in a grand fashion. Pankaj persisted with his form and continued to score in the following over too. But as abruptly as he started his run flow he paused it and declared his innings to let one of his team-mates, Gour a chance to bat. This proved to be a boon for Team B, because from this point on they were able to slowly parch Team A of runs. Senthil successfully managed his bowlers who (Senthil included) did a great job for him. After the initial outburst there were really no big hits later on in the innings. The runs came solely through singles and twos. I think Rajesh was the first one to depart when Sumeet took his bails off in a  flash. Playing after a long gap Sumeet still displayed his skills behind the wickets. As he explained to Rajesh after getting him out, the latter inadvertently dragged his backfoot while trying to play the slower ball on the off and failed to retract. He did not realize that he wasn’t inside the crease (something for him to work on in the coming days). Gour was taken down by Partha when he cleaned his stumps. I remember all of us were cautious and advised each other (Dharmendra whispered in my ear and in turn passed it on to Sumeet) not to give Gour any room on the off. Standing at point I was wondering how Partha would bowl. He succeeded where we failed. Abhijeet resisted the attack and was scoring well, but his stint came to an end when he got a top edge and the fielder at the square leg took the catch. I am not sure when Amit came in to bat, he appeared slightly tentative but was able to hang on. Finally when everybody got out Pankaj returned. Unfortunately for him things weren’t looking too good and the required run rate was just too high. I think some 30 odd runs were needed in the last 3 overs. To add to his woes the brief hiatus broke his concentration and he found it difficult to find his rhythm. He did not get out, but was not able to score fluently as he did at the start of the innings. Team B’s total finally proved unassailable and they won the match hands down and everybody was left wondering … what if Pankaj hadn’t declared and continued to play … maybe, just maybe things would have been different. But Team B wasn’t going to let this thought put them down, they were happy with their performance. They had outplayed Team A in all the departments.

Senthil and Rajesh tossed the coin for the second time in the air and this time I think Rajesh won as Team A decided to bat. Unlike previous innings they didn’t get a dream start this time. In fact they lost Pankaj rather early when one of Partha’s slower deliveries breached his defence and hit the stumps’ base. If I am not mistaken Rajesh again nearly got out in a similar fashion. I say nearly because I remember Sumeet appealing, but I am not sure what happened thereafter. In any case Team A wasn’t looking too good and at one point of time I remember talking to Senthil and wondering if all the players of Team B would get to bat. But things started to change a bit mid-way through the innings. Team A finally started putting pressure on Team A’s fielders and were able to use the over throws to score extra runs. The cherry on the cake came in the final over when they scored 9 runs mostly in the form of over throws to take their total to 40. As Sumeet later said, it was nothing but comedy of errors, where fielders kept missing the ball and despite calling out to the fielders asking them to take a shot at the stumps failed to back-up. But credit should be given to Abhijeet Gour and Ami, they were running the moment the ball slipped through the wicket-keeper’s gloves or the moment they saw the fielder fumble. They took cheeky singles and converted singles into twos. They really turned things around towards the end. Team B’s work was cut out, they had to do what they did in the first innings and what Team A displayed in their just concluded innings. They had to take singles and not become complacent. Partha opened the innings and did well to stay at the cease till 4^th over. The first 2 overs yielded 10 runs. They were doing good and were on track. The third over was bowled by Sumeet which did not yield the 5 runs they were looking for. But that was fine, they had 5 more overs to go and all the wickets in hand. I am not sure what happened in the middle overs, when I say I am not sure … what I really mean is I am at a loss and cannot wrap my brain around at what happened in the last few overs. The runs just dried up and the required run rate was piling. I remember Rajesh saying that he had saved Pankaj and Gour for Senthl, knowing that he can hit. This worked as Senthil got out soon. Dharmendra and Chandru weren’t able to break free the shackles. If I am not mistaken at the end of 5 overs the score was 18 runs and then after 6 it was 23. I think the 7^th over also yielded about 5-6 runs which meant in the last over they needed 13 runs. It was not impossible but some application was needed. In addition to trying to hit over the head, Team B had to show good running between the wickets. They had to take chances. They had wickets in hand, so they very well could. But for some reason they still did not take chances and then collapsed like a pack of cards awarding Rajesh a hat-trick. Chandru, Dharmendra and I got out on last 3 balls while trying to hit over the heads of the fielders. Team B lost by 9 runs.On the flip side Team A did a wonderful job of keeping the pressure on till the last minute and not letting Team B any room and stifling any chance of resurrection. Bravo Team A ... job well done!! Awesome work.

I may be overreacting a bit over here and please pardon me for that, but I was left aghast at what just happened. Team A did the same in the first match and now in the second match Team B repeated the misdeeds. Despite getting good starts (Team A scoring 12 runs in first over and Team B 10 runs in first two overs) neither was able to convert those good starts into wins. I am saving harshest criticism for Team B because in their case they literally had wickets in their hand (till the last over only one wicket had fallen). They still refused to put that pressure on the fielders in the last 2 overs. They had maybe just 2 bad overs, but those 2 overs were enough to dent their will to win. They were not able to take charge and succumbed under pressure and this is what scares me … what if this would have been an actual match … we really need to improve our chasing skills. We lost 6 wickets in our match against Woodbury East when all the 6 batsmen hit not only in the same region but to the same fielder. In our last match with ‘Real OC Stars’, even though we batted first, we had a mini collapse towards the end and in our earlier matches too our track record hasn’t been great. When the going got a bit tough instead of putting our heads down and fighting it out we have either chosen to hit out and get out or just plain freeze. This past Sunday too neither Team A nor B was able to take charge. I am sorry for being so critical, but if we plan to go out and play with other teams we need to improve this aspect of our game. I know we have the skill, we just need to apply ourselves. I know we can do better!

There were few bright spots though. Sumeet, who despite coming after a gap continued where he had left off and didn't miss a step while keeping the wickets. He even scored a direct hit on one occasion and took the bails off on two. His batting seemed a bit rusty but the promise that he mas made to Senthil and me should see him turn things around. Pankaj was very aggressive in the first match and Abhijeet, Gour and Amit displayed great running between the wickets in the second match. Dharmendra as usual bowled very well. Gour was experimenting, trying off-spin which worked wonders, because it kept the batsmen guessing whether the ball would continue its line and go wide of the off-stumps or cut in sharply. They decided to let the ball go only to see it come in sharply. Pankaj produced two gems in the first match which were right there in the block hole. Still recovering from the cramps from last week Partha appeared very cautious, but still agile on the field. Along with Chandru, they both played a fine knock in the first innings.

I hope to see you guys next week where we will discuss our prospective match with SoCal Knights in a few weeks. You guys take care and have a nice week ahead

Talk to you later.

Bye.

Anand