A 12th man's summary....
A Sonics Cricket Club Column - Sonics Vs Warriors
It is the practice in our team, for each player to 'sit down' for a match, so as to give everybody else a chance to play. Most of the players in our team, work, and have families, so they 'sit down' for more than a match. I, on the other hand, neither work, nor am I married, have been enjoying a continuous streak of matches right from the time the season started, (despite my woeful form with the bat !!). This match, I wasnt so lucky, and hence, had to stay back.
Since I wasnt playing, I decided to be the team's 12th man . Not that anybody asked, but what the heck, instead of spending a depressing sunday at home, why not go with my guys and watch the match. Considering we have a few 'senior citizens' [ ;) ] playing for us, I was sure I'd get a chance on the field.
Having said that, I should strongly protest the abuse of the 12th man (read, me). A 12th man's role, is strictly to bring water to the players, and take the field in case somebody's hurt, or to provide bats and stumps to a playing 11 player like Inzamam Ul Haq to beat up a spectator who calls him Aloo, Tamatar or whatsoever. But today, man, I was asked to roll out the mat, help carry lunch, and also act as a leg umpire !! Pure sacrilege, a 12th man undergoing such rigors on a day off? Tsk Tsk. What has Sonics come to?
After initial apprehensions over the state of the mat, and also the pitch itself, both teams decided to bat just on one end. The same end, where we at Sonics created a Midwest Cricket Conference record.
We won the toss, and elected to field first.
Atif, who the team missed for quite a few matches, not just as a player, but also as a friend, decided to play the last two matches. And since he was coming late, I took the field on his behalf and stood at my now, customary position - point.
Hasan started the first over, and slipped just after he delivered the first ball. It appeared quite bad, as he was down on the pitch clutching his knee. The overnight rain, had seeped through the unprotected mat, and his foot slipped on the wet mat, as he was delivering the ball.
Watching Hasan writhing in pain, I grew a set of horns on my head, and a tail as well, the incarnation of the Devil. And a small dialogue ensued between the Devil and Me...
Devil - "I hope his knee doesnt recover today, maybe tomorrow. You get a chance to play"
Me - "No way, he bowled a ball, there's absolutely no way the umpire will let me play in the team."
Devil - "You Sure?"
Me - "Positive"
Devil - "Aw Shucks"
Me - "Yea, Shucks alright. But I hope his knee recovers quickly, he's too good a player to be missed"
And poof the Devil disappeared. Good triumphed over Evil.
But anyway, being out there in the middle as a 12th man is far better than sitting outside the boundary, and keeping scores. So no complaints there. I was infact hoping, Atif would come very late, so I can continue to be in the field.
Hasan, with great difficulty completed his first over, on a shortened run up, and limped off the field. Kush shared the new ball with Adnan, who had a great day. On a cloudy and windy day, Adnan generated great swing, and had the opposition openers Asif Rangoonwala (who I must mention, was kind enough to tie a great bandage over a deep gash on my arm last season, when I cut my arm over a piece of glass, on this very ground - Ground 4 at Washington Park) and Zafeer.
Kush unlucky again in this match, kept the pressure up from one end (actually the same end!), and Adnan, was on the prowl. Zafeer was the first to go, playing a straight drive too early, and giving Adnan a good return catch. Asif followed soon after, clean bowled by Adnan again.
This match, we attacked the ball relentlessly on the field (imagine if Shakeir stopped the ball twice !!), and took some great catches. The running catches of Vinay and Naseer, would have made Kapil Dev proud, and Naseer effected a great run out, with only one stump for a view.
Fortunately for us, Warriors couldnt sustain a good partnership. Sachin looked promising with some nice meaty shots, but he just couldnt get far. The only substantial partnership for them was between Ritesh and Zeeshan.
Atif, coming back from a long break, was bowling as if he was never on one. And Hasan came back into the field (much to my disappointment sometime before the 25th over). He completed his quota on a shortened run up, and picked up two useful wickets. Kush, remained unlucky and got just 1 wicket for his efforts.
We bundled Warriors out for 92 in 33 overs, and though it was a relatively low score, there was no way we could underestimate Warriors, and ofcourse, there was always the fear of our infamous batting collapse. We had to be cautious in our chase.
Our chase of the total started with Mad Max Muni and Vinay opening the bowling, and me, opening the leg umpiring !! Faisal, was bowling a fine opening spell. Muni was the first to go, out to a ball that in his words, kept straight. Vinay was joined by our version of Rahul Dravid for his technique - Naseer. Vinay, though tentative at first, was beginning to look comfortable, when he was out lbw, to Faisal again. In all this while, there was this dude at point, who was on a constant chatter, and sledging non stop. He was beginning to get under my skin, and I was ruing not batting out there. I would have matched him word for word, and made him shut up. (Ofcourse, this is, if I was there long enough, considering my recent form !!)
Finally the umpire did something about that bloke, and warned Sachin, their captain, about his constant chatter. It finally shut him up. But then again, thats how I like to play my game as well, for every sledge you get, give one back. Sadly, everybody else in my team are too nice - they just dont talk back. Spoilsports.
Naseer was then joined by Qadeer at the crease. Qadeer knocked around a few balls, before he thick edged one to Asif, the keeper, off Junaid's bowling. And then came Muzaffar.
This time, Muzaffar, made it a point to stay, and he played a captain's knock. We were on the backfoot, having lost 3 quick wickets, and in his inimitable style, started a counter attack. Anything short was punished to the fence. And anything that was full, was safely negotiated, which more often than not, resulted in a run or two. Sadly for the Warriors, they failed to pick on Muzaffar's tendency to pull the short balls, and their mid wicket wasnt deep enough, resulting in some useful boundaries. The shots he played are seen to be believed. With hardly any effort, a combination of timing and power, the ball was dispatched to the fence.
To cut a long story short, the first half century for our team came from the man, we all knew had the potential to score one. It was just a question of time.
In the midst of Muzaffar's patient and robust innings, was a small fracas. Naseer was stumped by Asif, and he was so quick in knocking the bails off, that I was caught napping as a leg umpire. I wasnt entirely sure if Naseer's foot was in the air, or if he his toe made the ground. And I had to give the benefit of doubt to the batsman. The Warriors guys were pissed, but they didnt make a nasty scene of it. Bunch of nice blokes. Anyway, the umpire, who was also dozing at that moment, asked someone to replace me as the leg umpire, and I gladly left. It was boring to stand in the same position (Remember, we were playing only at one end).
Finally, Naseer was out LBW with a useful 15 runs. By now, we were almost there. Atif, joined Muzzie, and pulled a full toss to the deep mid wicket boundary. And then he came back, holing out next ball to short mid off I think.
By now, we needed 8 runs, and Muzzie needed 2 for his 50. A couple of runs later, he earned his well deserved 50 and the first 50 of Sonics. After another couple of runs, he pulled a short ball to the mid wicket fence for 4, winning the match in style.
It was a great match, lots of fun, good competition from the opposition, good fielding on our part, and some excellent batting from Muzzie, saw us win our second last match of this season.
Man of the Match? - Its a no brainer, the 12th man ofcourse.
It is the practice in our team, for each player to 'sit down' for a match, so as to give everybody else a chance to play. Most of the players in our team, work, and have families, so they 'sit down' for more than a match. I, on the other hand, neither work, nor am I married, have been enjoying a continuous streak of matches right from the time the season started, (despite my woeful form with the bat !!). This match, I wasnt so lucky, and hence, had to stay back.
Since I wasnt playing, I decided to be the team's 12th man . Not that anybody asked, but what the heck, instead of spending a depressing sunday at home, why not go with my guys and watch the match. Considering we have a few 'senior citizens' [ ;) ] playing for us, I was sure I'd get a chance on the field.
Having said that, I should strongly protest the abuse of the 12th man (read, me). A 12th man's role, is strictly to bring water to the players, and take the field in case somebody's hurt, or to provide bats and stumps to a playing 11 player like Inzamam Ul Haq to beat up a spectator who calls him Aloo, Tamatar or whatsoever. But today, man, I was asked to roll out the mat, help carry lunch, and also act as a leg umpire !! Pure sacrilege, a 12th man undergoing such rigors on a day off? Tsk Tsk. What has Sonics come to?
After initial apprehensions over the state of the mat, and also the pitch itself, both teams decided to bat just on one end. The same end, where we at Sonics created a Midwest Cricket Conference record.
We won the toss, and elected to field first.
Atif, who the team missed for quite a few matches, not just as a player, but also as a friend, decided to play the last two matches. And since he was coming late, I took the field on his behalf and stood at my now, customary position - point.
Hasan started the first over, and slipped just after he delivered the first ball. It appeared quite bad, as he was down on the pitch clutching his knee. The overnight rain, had seeped through the unprotected mat, and his foot slipped on the wet mat, as he was delivering the ball.
Watching Hasan writhing in pain, I grew a set of horns on my head, and a tail as well, the incarnation of the Devil. And a small dialogue ensued between the Devil and Me...
Devil - "I hope his knee doesnt recover today, maybe tomorrow. You get a chance to play"
Me - "No way, he bowled a ball, there's absolutely no way the umpire will let me play in the team."
Devil - "You Sure?"
Me - "Positive"
Devil - "Aw Shucks"
Me - "Yea, Shucks alright. But I hope his knee recovers quickly, he's too good a player to be missed"
And poof the Devil disappeared. Good triumphed over Evil.
But anyway, being out there in the middle as a 12th man is far better than sitting outside the boundary, and keeping scores. So no complaints there. I was infact hoping, Atif would come very late, so I can continue to be in the field.
Hasan, with great difficulty completed his first over, on a shortened run up, and limped off the field. Kush shared the new ball with Adnan, who had a great day. On a cloudy and windy day, Adnan generated great swing, and had the opposition openers Asif Rangoonwala (who I must mention, was kind enough to tie a great bandage over a deep gash on my arm last season, when I cut my arm over a piece of glass, on this very ground - Ground 4 at Washington Park) and Zafeer.
Kush unlucky again in this match, kept the pressure up from one end (actually the same end!), and Adnan, was on the prowl. Zafeer was the first to go, playing a straight drive too early, and giving Adnan a good return catch. Asif followed soon after, clean bowled by Adnan again.
This match, we attacked the ball relentlessly on the field (imagine if Shakeir stopped the ball twice !!), and took some great catches. The running catches of Vinay and Naseer, would have made Kapil Dev proud, and Naseer effected a great run out, with only one stump for a view.
Fortunately for us, Warriors couldnt sustain a good partnership. Sachin looked promising with some nice meaty shots, but he just couldnt get far. The only substantial partnership for them was between Ritesh and Zeeshan.
Atif, coming back from a long break, was bowling as if he was never on one. And Hasan came back into the field (much to my disappointment sometime before the 25th over). He completed his quota on a shortened run up, and picked up two useful wickets. Kush, remained unlucky and got just 1 wicket for his efforts.
We bundled Warriors out for 92 in 33 overs, and though it was a relatively low score, there was no way we could underestimate Warriors, and ofcourse, there was always the fear of our infamous batting collapse. We had to be cautious in our chase.
Our chase of the total started with Mad Max Muni and Vinay opening the bowling, and me, opening the leg umpiring !! Faisal, was bowling a fine opening spell. Muni was the first to go, out to a ball that in his words, kept straight. Vinay was joined by our version of Rahul Dravid for his technique - Naseer. Vinay, though tentative at first, was beginning to look comfortable, when he was out lbw, to Faisal again. In all this while, there was this dude at point, who was on a constant chatter, and sledging non stop. He was beginning to get under my skin, and I was ruing not batting out there. I would have matched him word for word, and made him shut up. (Ofcourse, this is, if I was there long enough, considering my recent form !!)
Finally the umpire did something about that bloke, and warned Sachin, their captain, about his constant chatter. It finally shut him up. But then again, thats how I like to play my game as well, for every sledge you get, give one back. Sadly, everybody else in my team are too nice - they just dont talk back. Spoilsports.
Naseer was then joined by Qadeer at the crease. Qadeer knocked around a few balls, before he thick edged one to Asif, the keeper, off Junaid's bowling. And then came Muzaffar.
This time, Muzaffar, made it a point to stay, and he played a captain's knock. We were on the backfoot, having lost 3 quick wickets, and in his inimitable style, started a counter attack. Anything short was punished to the fence. And anything that was full, was safely negotiated, which more often than not, resulted in a run or two. Sadly for the Warriors, they failed to pick on Muzaffar's tendency to pull the short balls, and their mid wicket wasnt deep enough, resulting in some useful boundaries. The shots he played are seen to be believed. With hardly any effort, a combination of timing and power, the ball was dispatched to the fence.
To cut a long story short, the first half century for our team came from the man, we all knew had the potential to score one. It was just a question of time.
In the midst of Muzaffar's patient and robust innings, was a small fracas. Naseer was stumped by Asif, and he was so quick in knocking the bails off, that I was caught napping as a leg umpire. I wasnt entirely sure if Naseer's foot was in the air, or if he his toe made the ground. And I had to give the benefit of doubt to the batsman. The Warriors guys were pissed, but they didnt make a nasty scene of it. Bunch of nice blokes. Anyway, the umpire, who was also dozing at that moment, asked someone to replace me as the leg umpire, and I gladly left. It was boring to stand in the same position (Remember, we were playing only at one end).
Finally, Naseer was out LBW with a useful 15 runs. By now, we were almost there. Atif, joined Muzzie, and pulled a full toss to the deep mid wicket boundary. And then he came back, holing out next ball to short mid off I think.
By now, we needed 8 runs, and Muzzie needed 2 for his 50. A couple of runs later, he earned his well deserved 50 and the first 50 of Sonics. After another couple of runs, he pulled a short ball to the mid wicket fence for 4, winning the match in style.
It was a great match, lots of fun, good competition from the opposition, good fielding on our part, and some excellent batting from Muzzie, saw us win our second last match of this season.
Man of the Match? - Its a no brainer, the 12th man ofcourse.
posted by Hifzur at
11:35 PM
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