Apparently there was a press release about my 2009 cricket for Charity appearence.
It talks about the last ball catch i took to help my team win the Trophy. Even though its been a year, This little one day outing somehow ended up as good memories of recent times.
I havent played cricket in a long time. I wanted to play this season. Early May i went to participate in my teams practice session. I bowled a few overs and batted a bit and looked good. Clearly tennis game has impacted my cricket game and it was more evident in my batting when i tried to hit every ball after it bounced [in the past i used to quick step to the ball and take it on the rise, especially against slow/spin bowlers]. I thought i would play more cricket but injuries and other commitments kept me away.
Coming back to this 2009 episode, I wasnt sure if i would figure in the Hunts county team (this isnt my regular cricket team but teamed up with a few colleagues ). with 30 people in each team (only 11 get to play), Team management decided that they would alternate players so that every one would get atleast one match to play [teams are guaranteed two matches so they can accomodate 22 players overall].
I didnt get to play the first match for our team. I played in the second match. I got to bowl 1 over and i guess i made the most of it. I didnt give any runs but got 2 (or may be 3) wickets. One of them included a senior executive of our company. I wasnt trying to get him out as i knew he wasnt a cricket regular like me. I was spinning the ball in so that he can get a bat.
I guess that performance convinced teams management to put me in their eleven for the final.I never got to bowl though i would have loved to bowl especially during the later overs. When the game is tightly poised , cricket offers a nail biter excitement far beyond tennis. I enjoy those conditions. primarily becuase such situations require precise execution of game plan. Ie, if bowling during those situations, one's got to keep a tight line and length and try to have the batsmen in check. One loose ball and batsmen can crack a 4 or a 6 and the game can turn on a dime. I have been through several such situations and came out successfully more often.
The game got so tight to the last over (6 balls remaining). finally they needed 2 runs to win off the last ball. All through the match, i was fielding at the point (square of the batsmen) but used to vary where i stand based on what i percieved batsmen was doing. For that last ball, i deliberately moved to my right by about 10 feet. This is strictly gut feel but i also knew that this batsmen is more likely to hit to where i was standing than to my left based on his batting stance.
The ball was bowled, batsmen tried to go square and ball was in the air, i was already running for the catch . The real question at that time was if i fumble the catch. At stake was , batting team making a single run and tie the scores. In case of a tie, batting team would have won based on their net wicket loss. I took the catch fairly comfortably and my team erupted in joy.
The captain needs to be credited as apparently there was a discussion to move my fielding position to opposite side but he persisted anywayz.
I took home the ball that i caught as a souveneir. That game definitely rekindled my interest in cricket and brought back some great memories. The most dominant MCC cricket team that i was part of during early 2000's here in USA, my victorious college team and school teams from the days as a teenager back home.
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