ANZACs at HPCC
The new look Anzacs took on the
(unfortunately) old look HPCC in a practice
game this Sunday at the magnificient High Point cricket fields. Skipper
Shekhar won the toss and instead of opting to go back to Raleigh, decided to
field first. Lacking the big guns, the Anzacs reversed strategy and paired
the slightly built Nagi (Cobra) with the mercurial Sri Lankan Shaluka
(Chuck. Good name, no?). Clearly uncomfortable with the new 15 degree
flexion rule that suddenly made his action legal, Chuck started well, but
the wayward deliveries were promptly dispatched. Cobra on the other hand
shocked the batsman with his lack of pace and left them groping with his
gentle inswinging, outcutting deliveries.
The first wicket came off one such delivery when the batsman edged it off
the keeper, past slip and towards Tarun (Bambi). Mark, the non striker
clearly thought there was a run while Kaiser the batsman decided that
running wasn't his style. While Mark and Kaiser were practically discussing
this unfortunate turn of events at the same end, Bambi had a moment of
sudden alertness and threw the ball at the bowler's end where Cobra swiftly
took the bails off. Anirudh (Tack) replaced Chuck and struck in the same
over as Billal mishit the ball towards Chuck who pouched it. After 7 overs,
High Point were going at under 5 an over and the Anzacs were harboring
visions of chasing a total under 150.
Such visions were quickly forgotten as Kaiser and Shami took on the attack
with abundant success, despite a few close shaves. Vik (Slick) came on and
went off in a hurry to ponder a punishing stint at practice. Salman (no
nickname yet) replaced Slick and decided to exploit the legside edge of the
concrete pitch, giving plenty of diving practice to the keeper Sudeep (Hal).
One such delivery did the trick as Kaiser tried to hit a ball that was
approximately 20 feet wide of the leg stump. Having chased the delivery
down, Kaiser couldn't get his bat down in time and the ball went off the pad
and somehow hit the stumps. Deciding to stick with shock therapy, the Anzacs
then brought on Kam (Tiny) and the strategy appeared to work, till Tiny
bowled his first ball, that is. Long story short, Shami was scoring freely,
but the batsman at the other end was tied down and once again the Anzacs
were harboring visions of containment.
Then Bambi did the unthinkable and got the struggling batsman out which
brought Ghias out to the middle. He was in bad form, we were told. No
worries, we were assured. Well one fluffed stumping later, Ghias was to go
on to mercilessly plunder the attack. By the end of the innings, Ghias got
his fifty, Shami got his hundred, and the Anzacs got a thorough whooping.
The lack of penetration really showed, and once the batsmen learnt to wait
an extra 40 seconds or so before playing the ball, the bowlers were unable
to contain them.
A target of 270 was always going to be a tall order, and with batting
practice in mind, the Anzacs never really went for the target. Shekhar and
Tiny opened the batting with reasonable success. While Shekhar (with a name
like Shekhar, who needs a nickname?) played orthodox cricket, even lifting
Ghias over his head for a six, and Tiny infuriated the bowling with
deliberate dabs over the slip fielders. The two put on 30 in 6 overs looking
largely untroubled, and then Tiny decided to take on the bowling attack. One
ball later, Bambi was taking strike. Lucky to survive the first ball, Bambi
went on to play quite well, keeping the scoreboard ticking over. Shekhar
fell around the 13th over and the Anzacs went to drinks at the halfway mark
a respectable 60 for 2.
Then inexplicably, the decision was made to go for the runs and what
followed was a collapse of massive proportions. Before you knew it we were
all out for 105 in 25 overs, with batsmen finding all sorts of ways to get
themselves out.
All in all, a pretty disappointing day, but we can take heart from the way
we fought, given the lack of resources. There was never a lack of enthusiasm
on the field, though the fielding needs work in all departments. With the
return of some of our key bowlers, we should definitely be able to contain
the opposition, and better application by the batsmen should see us have a
good season. The game wasn't a total loss as it gave us a fair indication of
what we need to work on.
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