Match report - away game vs. Queensbury CC - 29 May 2010

It couldn't have been a more miserable start to the season from a weather standpoint. Continuous rain coupled with a big match at Wembley ensured that most team members arrived more than 30 minutes behind schedule and were staring at the possibility of no play at all. It was a miracle under these circumstances that we even got a 30-over game underway and completed - possibly a testament to the players' keenness to get on with the season.

On compassionate grounds owing to the presence of only 5 players by the start of play (!), MSCC were put in to bat by QCC. Uzair and Ravi R got the team off to a watchful and steady start, taking their partnership up to the 8th over at between 3 and 4 runs an over.

Then followed a sight quite familiar to to the MSCC folks - a steady middle order collapse spread - where we went from 2 wickets down to 8 wickets down in the space of 14 overs. That batting was not easy on the sticky wicket was seen in the fact that MSCC had no boundaries scored until this stage.

Meanwhile, Kunal made sure that he was hanging around, having gone in at no.6. and run hard for each one of his runs. Vijay joined Kunal at the fall of 8 wickets with more than 8 overs to spare and the score in the low 80s. With the objective of playing out all 8 overs, the partnership began with watchful singles, gradually picking up to converting 1s to 2s, and eventually resulting in a flurry of hits, including 3 boundaries, by Vijay in the last 2 overs. The pair finished with an unbeaten 50-run partnership, with Kunal ending on 31 not out and Vijay on 30 not out. The target was set at 137 in 30 overs.

Vijay and Abhishek opened the bowling for MSCC. Abhishek got the first breakthrough in the 5th over with a well directed yorker - bowled. Vijay followed it up in the following over by inducing an edge, and both openers were duly removed with the score less than 20. Sandeep and Matt took up bowling duties as first change, and continued with the good work with Sandeep picking up 2 wickets - both catches by Matt - and restricting the scoring rate to less than 3 an over. By the end of the first two spells, QCC were 45 for 4 off 16 overs.

Kunal and Shyam took up spin duties, and started off well. Shyam picked up 2 wickets, one of which was a typical catch at the boundary that one has come to expect of Shyam's bowling - a great effort by Ravi R at long off, which was not only admired by his 9-year old son Yuvraj fielding at fine leg, but the rest of the players too. The hosts were on 48 off 18 overs for the loss of 6 wickets.

Then the heavens opened up with a sharp continuous drizzle, and with it the floodgates for runs. The ball became harder to grip and fielding difficult under bad light. The 2 batsmen rapidly grew in confidence and piled on runs at about 9 an over for the remaining 10 overs to take QCC to the finishing line with more than an over to spare. None of the good bowling from Matt, Sandeep, Abhishek, or Vijay was of any avail in their respective second spells. While boundaries seemed extraordinarily hard to get while MSCC were batting, it seemed to be the norm to score 4s, and even 6s, when this last QCC pair put on their show for nearly 10 overs.

Overall, a very enjoyable match, a particularly competitive one for the start of the season, but in the end MSCC had to swallow the bitter pill - yet another one given the number of similar instances from the previous season. MSCC will seek to show more backbone in the middle order and tighten its field sets to limit the run leak.

To end on a positive note, the GOSH charity appeal was very well-received by the team members. Collections included £15 from Matt Daly who challenged Vijay to score boundaries for which he would contribute £5 for each hit. Follow the collections progress on www.virginmoneygiving.com/team/malgudishirecc .

Next match on Sun, 6 June 2010 vs. Old Colfeians. MSCC had a very competitive game against this team last year - MSCC lost by 3 runs while chasing a 240+ score in 40 overs - but will seek to turn the results around this year.