Adi's Club Cricket Blog

[andy]

we have the return trainer at our club, very useful when you want to pratice fielding alone!

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Yes, i will be the one who will use that most in our club.

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Listening to Saurav and Geoff on the discussion show was a learning experience. It's like having the international coach sitting at your home. It would be nice to follow some of their insightful views when i bat next time in the nets.

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Last week i had a chance to feature in a cricket documentary. About 20 club cricketers from our club were required to do acting for the film, but due to office i couldn't make it. Will have to wait for next such opportunity.

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Nice nets today as well. Some new warmup exercises. I liked it. While doing the warmup coach asked me to pad up. Got to bat against 6 bowlers (3 pacers and 3 spinners) , giving hardly two seconds between deliveries. Played strokes as well as defended wicket. Got bowled once by a rightie pacer, who fired one and managed to get it through bat and pad. However, it was a good nets for me. It was good that the ball was hitting middle of the bat apart from one or two strokes. As usual the good length balls were the ones which deserved respect. Didn't get the length to drive through covers from spinners. Maybe it was one ball from pacer who allowed that and i edged it probably to first slip, had he been there. After the batting at nets, i took out the return trainer and practiced close catching for about 10 minutes. Soon other clubmate joined me and that was five more minutes of catching.

We had a 40 over match today after the nets, but i decided not to play because i wanted to be more sure about recovery from injury as well as some other personal work. Tomorrow i am playing my first 40 overs match since comeback. I am very keen. Reporting time is 8:30 A.M.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Good luck Adi. Hope the injury holds up.

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Thanks Arthur, I hope that as well regarding injury. Outfield is uneven at some spots. Just need luck that the ankle won't twist and i am sure that will take me through the 40 overs.

[andy]

good luck adi, hope the injury holds up well

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Thanks, CF.

[braveneutral]

Good luck Adi! Just had a read through this and seems that you are having real fun after all this time!

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Thanks, Brave.

40 over Match Report

Our captain won the toss and elected to bat. No surprise there given the match in India (Mumbai) starting at 9:30 A.M. Being my first match at club , I was asked by my captain that which position I bat at. I said i have always batted at 4 last decade and he said , Okay. He further asked me that whether i bowl. I told him that i can bowl off spin, but i am not that keen to bowl.

After 10 overs we were 34 for no loss. The openers ahd negotiated the pace and some bounce on a wicket which had lot of grass in good length area. One opener started very slowly, but covered off with two boundaries at long on to get his innings to almost ball to run equal. We knew runs would come later on. However, we were about 60 odd for two and i went to bat at my usual two down position. I had scored 1 run in 3 balls. When at non striker there happened to be some confusion in spite of calling and i got run out at non striker as the throw came from short fine leg (misfield) to bowlers end. Run out by about 4 metres. I was angry, very angry . Walked with face down and grumped about gifting my specialist batters wicket by means of run out. We were soon 60 odd for four. Rahim who had been promoted to one down, was set on the wicket and he scored 46. It was a very nice innings although he was the one who was involved in run out with me. His cover drivers were just superb on a slow outfiled on the off side. Shantanu, the opening pace bowler added 30 quick runs. So did Devesh who hit 27 quick runs by big strokes. We had posted 204 for 10.

That followed an innings break of 45 minutes. I rushed with a clubmate (Opener) to a restuarant. Had Mysore Masala Dosa and reached back on time. We both discussed how the batting innings progressed. When we were back on field and everyone assembled after lunch, we were of the opinion that the wicket would sklow down and it was a winning total as it was tough to score off spinners.

I was posted at square leg to stop singles. Shantanu and Devesh opened the bowling. Their openers Mansingh and Raja started well and they had posted a partnership of 100 runs taking advantage of two dropped catches. Raja was dropped in second over iirc. He made good use of the opportunity. Drinks were called at 13th over. Captain said that we should be more involved in the game now and we should look to put on a better effort with the bowl. I told him that we need to improve fielding and we dispersed. Soon after, i made a diving effort after chasing the ball to boundary at DSL, but alas the ball went for four. Some scratches on the elbow which wasnt protected with the elbow cover. I had decided to cover my early run out by saving runs on field. Soon again i dived at SL and saved a sure single, followed by a dive after chasing the ball to DBSL, and saving two runs. The dive was superb given that 2 runs were saved. My chin was bleeding as the uneven surface resulted in the bumpy portion of ground hitting the chin. It started to bleed and i called 12th man in to field for me. The players in the tent were saying that i should not dive on such abrasive surfaces. Others shared the same opinion. Only one clubmate who was not playing the match said its nice to play with such committment. The others were feared as they saw blood on my whites, my face and my elbow. However, we have to improve our fielding. Diving seems to be a stupid thing and a reason for inviting injury, rather than saving runs or taking diving catches. The story is still the same after a decade. I am disappointed with that approach in most clubmates having same approach. They were even pursuading me not to dive . Yes, they don't want to see blood on me but how can one be effective in modern day cricket without diving. Luckily, the opponents to have same view and it does not makes difference in the overall scenario. I sensed it was a good opportunity to have some water as well. After two overs i went back into the field. Leftie spinner came on to bowl round the wicket and there was the first wicket. Other followed soon and the opponents were 4 down in about half hour since the fall of first wicket. Rahim had taken a good catch at cows corner. Shantanu took two good catches at long off. The equation was 72 balls 74 runs, thanks to the spinner. It came down to 30 balls 35 runs required with 4 wickets intact. Then it was 1 over 19 runs. We had folded them for 189 and won the amtch. Shantanu the pacer had figure of 5 overs 37 runs for two wickets. Ajay had picked 3 wickets at a good economy. The lfetie pacer too contributed with tight spells and his line and length were impeccable.

A couple of clubmates who i played with 10 years before at the same club, congratulated me that i won the first comeback match, even though i got run out for 1. I am really happy for the team. It was nice team work. Runs will flow from me , but i have to ensure that run out gift is not given atleast as gift. Certainly this gift is not what a specialist batsman should give. However, i committed and tried to cover my contribution with bat with a very good fielding intensity throughout the match.

Applied Tumeric on my bleeding chin and bruised elbow as soon as i reached home. The elbow is paining but from past experience with diving , it will get well in two days or so. Can't shave face though for couple of days, no way. Glad the ankle injury held up and i did not twist it today inspite of dives etc.
I was wearing a clothed anklet though to reduce chances of another ankle strain on right foot.

The match was important. I was skeptical if i could still last for 40 overs after a decade. I am glad i did. I am more confident that i can even play 50 overs game. Good match, good win. The Sunday under the hot sun was immensely fruitful . Thanks all over here for your wishes.

[Arthur Crabtree]

I used to dive on concrete. You either have that mentality or you don't. Probably the others thought I was a nutter...

You must have have a bit of a reputation Adi to roll up, say you bat a four, and then bat there.

Must have been some reverse swing on such a playing field?

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Well, i played in three clubs and about 98% of these clubmates don't know me. There are few clubmates who have stayed with the club for 20 years. They know me. If at all there is reputation then it is amongst them but most of them were not playing today as they had umpiring or other matches. But one clubmate, who was Rohit sharma's coach at one point of time, knows me very well from street cricket as well as club cricket. He stays in same locality. He knows i dive like crazy. He is aware of my batting competencies with the hard as well as soft cricket ball. It was he who got suggested me to get into club cricket after knowing me as street cricketer. Well, i have always been looked as a specialist batsman by all three coaches that i have had. They never ever gave me a single over to bowl in proper cricket , although i was one of the top bowler at street cricket. I think they are correct if they think i am more specialist batsman than a specialist bowler. The requirements and dynamics changes wrt to soft and hard cricket ball etc. So I batted at 4 usually, unless captain had flexible plans for specific situations. One coach was very impressed with my ability to pace innings and that match in which he umpired, was start of my fixed position at 4. The captain today asked me that whether i had played club cricket before. I said i played at the very same club as well as other two clubs 10 years back and i used to bat at 4. So he went on my confidence because he is not aware of my past. Instead he was getting an idea. From the discussion he felt what i said can be considered. However, some other clubmates who played with me know about my batting skills. They would push me directly to 4 or any other specialist batsman position. The other coach was impressed in my first nets session as well. But he was not there today. However, i think he won't mind me batting at my position of choice or any specialist batters position having observed me closely in first nets this season.

I heard someone say today that he saw one or two bowls from a particular bowler get reverse swing.

I played on concrete wicket at one club, but the outfield was sand so no experience. Having said that i practiced a lot at home on hard floors. However, i doubt i would dive on a concrete outfield. Wow, that's just great. Well played, extremely committed and courageous

So we have a good list of fearless divers and there are similar type of cricketers. Alviro dives as well, i have read that in his posts. I think CF divers as well. Not aware if any other posters who played club cricket did that as well. It always nice to have same type cricketers to make discussion more interesting in specific aspects.

So my few questions to you:
(1) Did you played club cricket in your days. What formats were you involved in.
(2)Did you analyze any international cricketers field position, the start, the diving method etc or you just did it with your own devised diving technique.
(3)What do you think about the general shift of the traditional knee bent parallel to the ground approach to a bent pickup of the ball considering the aspects such as batsmen putting more pressure on the fielder in modern era, the drawbacks of later approach that we are seeing especially at boundaries. I have thought about it a lot and think the fielders have to improvise and be more versatile and use either of the technique as per the situation, the batsman etc etc. What are your thoughts (advantages and disadvantages of these two approaches). Would be nice to read the views of anyone else as well regarding the 2nd and third point.

[andy]

top work adi, unlucky with the run-out, but you'l get another go

well done on winning the game

[Arthur Crabtree]

I was just in the school team, Adi! Though played many years afterwards in the parks, or climbing over the fences of the school playing fields. Which have all been built on now. Never could bat either.

Regarding fielding positions, with remarkable variable bounce at times in this series in India, why is it so rare to have a fast bowler given a short leg?