Corridor of Uncertain Tea - WGCC vs TGCC (7th March 2015)

2015. New league season. New Captain. New Energy. But the result against TGCC was nothing different than the last 5 years. We won and did it with aplomb.
It was a day where the sun was shining upon us and it would be considered a beautiful day given the recent temperatures drop.
The league was back to the traditional red cherry with whites spread across the field. Ah, the sight of a test match.
The game was scheduled to start at 1 30 and we reached there with enough time for getting our rust off.
Now, I always wanted to experience how it would be to play cricket in an island, a small strip for the pitch surrounded by water all around.
Little did I know that I will get that chance today, playing at the TGCC ground, which was close to being submerged in water literally all around (okay may be I am exaggerating a bit, but you get the gist).
We won the toss and after a thought or two, decided to bat first. The roles and strategy was clearly communicated by the captain before the start of our innings.
That decision started to look pretty bad when both the openers, Amar and Phani were back in the pavilion within the first 5 overs and just under 15 runs on the board; Amar got out to an innocent delivery, done in by his indecisiveness on the shot while Phani got a tough decision from the umpire when he got hit on the thigh. To make matters worse, Tarun and Dipen followed soon and the scorecard read 29/4 in the first 8 overs.
Zeeshan; playing as a batsman today; steadied the innings with Ashish, who is soon becoming the go-to-guy for the team with the ball or the bat (don't go to him for fielding though).
They started to rebuild and set the base for a respectable score for the team. Zeeshan cleared the boundary rope by taking the aerial route a few times on his way to 49 before holing out in the deep, while Ashish sensibly rotated the strike before retiring hurt. Biv and Zaid; or 'Zaidi' as Biv would call him all day, only to be corrected by Zeeshan at the end of the day; provided some acceleration at the end by making merry and launching a few sixes square of the wicket and straight down the ground, but the highlight of the ending was a 4 run marathon they both took on a ground which would make a 2 run look like excellent running between the wickets. The slow arms and even slower reflections of the opponents in stopping the ball helped of course.
WGCC ended up with 144/5 on the board and enough confidence to defend it.
That confidence soared even high when we got the first wicket on the second ball, courtesy a lovely out swinger by Biv which was safely pouched by Piyush at 1st slip, after Jassi failed to latch on a difficult low chance at gully on the very first ball of the innings.
Piyush started the proceedings along with Biv on the other end (which was technically the same end since we were playing from just one end; you are welcome) and immediately found his line and length to go with the pace which made it difficult for the batsmen to play him.
TGCC never cut loose during the power play but still ended up with 6 an over in the first 6, while we had Biv, Piyush, Ashish and Zaid sharing the cherry in the power play.
Just when things started to sway towards TGCC, Ashish provided the next breakthrough when Tarun took a good catch in the deep midwicket area; which also concluded Tarun's participation in the game as he immediately had to leave the field to attend to his bleeding pinky finger. The latest news is that he is fine and got a few stitches, which may keep him off the field for a few weeks.
The next few overs were quiet and Ashish took out another one when Jassi held on to a great low catch in the mid-wicket area, more than making up for his spilled chance earlier. Ashish finally capped up a good all round day for himself by picking one more and finishing his spell of 4 miserly overs. The introduction of Neal saw some excellent spin bowling with beautiful flight and drift applied to it. We couldn't be more proud seeing Neal converting all his hard work in the nets by applying it successfully in the game. There was a wrong one too, which foxed the batsman and even our keeper.
The introduction of Jassi continued with our plans of giving a meaningful role to everyone in the game and he played his part to perfection with his 3 pretty tight overs (ok not so tight, with a few wides here and there and an expensive 3rd one), but he did bowl some rippers.
Piyush and Zaid picked a few wickets in their second spell and TGCC ended up falling 20 runs short of the target, giving us our first win for the T20 league season.

This should help us brush aside all the rustiness and we should be back next weekend, with more determination and focus.

Go WGCC!

Cheers,

Amar

Weekend Roundoff

The weekend started off surprisingly early for me today, at 7 am. I was volunteering for lending a helping hand for 'Adopt-a-highway' program for Kendale road, organized by one of our community neighbors. Got a chance to meet with few of the neighbors and it was a good 90 mins spent on doing something meaningful. Really put me into a good mood, and the feelings accentuated after a hot cup of coffee accompanied by rock music, while on my way to my next stop, which was at my friends place who was moving places and needed help with the move. After spending a good couple of hours moving all the packed (and some empty boxes which they had kept as a memorabilia for all the items purchased since time eternity!)  to his new place, I headed out to our scheduled cricket practice at our ground around 1 PM. The weather was a bit cold and windy but it did not fade our enthusiasm towards the sport. We had our team members driving all the way from Raleigh (which is 90 mins away) to  practice since the season is close to its start.
After a grueling 2 1/2 hours of session giving us enough time to work on batting and bowling equally, we all headed to our homes. I came home to the delicious food prepared by wifey and I eat with aplomb since I was famished. 

Quick Bites

With a few snow showers in the last two weeks, Greensboro is basking under the white glory and the view is just spectacular. I guess we still have it easy when compared to our Northern fellow countrymen, who have to endure snow on a regular basis and still go about their daily life in a nonchalant manner.
The Cricket World Cup is on and India has been showing an upward trend in their form and hopefully they will carry it all the way to the tournament's final.
Our own cricket season starts next week, with the T20 leg first. It is mostly treated as a practice for our regular 35 overs season which starts mid-April.
Been busy at work, with a few travels coming up. Things are looking up on that front.
The plan for the weekend is to just laze around, and may be get a practice session for an hour or so to get ready for the cricket season.

You all enjoy a nice weekend too!

Cheers,
Amar

Reboot

It's been a while that I have picked up the pen and poured out my thoughts on the observations for a normal day-to-day life. 

Flying the last leg of the journey back to Greensboro after a successful work week in Sweden gives me some time to kill (and also the fact that I am done with the books that I carried for my leisure reading. By the way, 'The Innocent' from David Baldachi, a very nice read). 

The weather in Sweden this time of the year could be best described as wet, cold and dark; so really looking forward to be back in Greensboro. 

Cricket season is around the corner and I haven't had the time to sweat it out in a real practice session for a while. Working on a few things for my batting in house, to strengthen my drives and also a better straight bat technique. Hope it brings in more runs for the next season, but more importantly helps me win more games for my club. On the bowling front, really keen on upping the pace a few yards so have been working hard on my back and shoulder. 
With Veer (my almost 2 year old son) growing up fast, he keeps me occupied outside work and I am not complaining either! He is our little bundle of joy. I guess having a child gives you a different perspective on life and also helps you grow as a person, for better. I individually feel I have grown more calmer and patient, but then I guess I have always tried to grow as a person learning from people around me, professionally and personally. Well in the past few years though, have learnt 'what not to do' from few friends and well wishers actually, but at the end of the day it really doesn't matter, as I haven't really cared about what people think about me. The only person that matters is the one I share my life with, and she staunchly supports my beliefs. Couldn't have found a better life partner if truth be told.

Really looking forward to the visit from my parents in March and taking them around. I guess that will be my main focus during the summer this year. In the previous years, have been too invested in cricket and intentionally/unintentionally have ended up spending too much energy on discussions which are too trivial in the bigger scheme of things. Feels like I am ready to take a break from the off-field activities with anyone and everyone and just concentrate strictly on my personal game for improvement.

So as I sip off my diet coke and search for city lights looking down midst the clouds, I sign off as of now but will try and write more frequently and on more specific observations!

WGCC 2013 - Cricket, As we know it!

It was 2010. A Group of friends were starting afresh with a shared vision from across the Winston and Greensboro region, a vision to start a cricket club - where only cricket mattered and nothing else; and dream for it to be turned into a culture, a culture that each one of us have individually lived for so long – a culture of eating, drinking and sleeping cricket; some drinking more than others and it wasn't cricket at times. It was blessed as Winston Greensboro Cricket Club or WGCC as we all commonly address it. Over the years, this name has become synonymous with unity, camaraderie and fun; with the addition of more and more cricket lovers. Three years on, and with the fourth cricket season just around the corner for our club, life seems to have come full circle for more reasons than one for WGCC. Over the last three seasons, there have been many memorable games; boasting of many individual brilliance's – be it Rahul’s magnificent knock of 150 against ACC on his birthday, or Mayur’s high on emotions innings of 97* against arch-rivals TGCC, and innumerable excellent team work – be it defending a paltry 137 against SPCC or chasing a mammoth score against PACC. When we started playing in CCL, WGCC was considered as sort of nuisance by the league for all the wrong reasons, but now we have become the big boys of the Carolina league and it is mostly due to the performance of our cricket team. While the team structure and culture itself has been slowly evolving, our on field success has been primarily driven by the sheer talent and spirit of the uniquely talented players discovered in recent times. These three years have introduced us to many talented players and affable characters off the field-be it KANWARDEEP BURA’s obsession with his long hairs and his not-so-perfect bouncers, or as say they good things come in small packages- PRADY’s transformation from a wannabe batsman to a key off spinner and his brilliant talent in photography, or that one man who is the epitome of righteousness and it is a common knowledge that we don’t deserve him – SITTA, or DIPEN’s amazing shots with wrong batting grip and his love for lil wayne, or SINU’s unflinching commitment to the club and his brilliant work behind the stumps, and many many more. Apologies for not listing everyone's name but each member of the club has had a significant impact in the growth of WGCC. Then there is the backbone of club; the core players in PRASHANT DIXIT, MAYUR CHOUDHARY, RAHUL MANDEWALKER, SUNNY KRIPLANI, ASHISH GABA - and I am proud to be a part of this group. Lots have changed over the past three years, but one thing that still remains is the love for cricket and the hunger for that elusive title – the Title of Champions in the league. Granted that there have been triumphs in the Duke cups, Weston cups over the years, but the shelf still awaits the biggest of them all. So as the season comes closer, as we await the sight of the red cherry on the ground; let us all make a commitment to the club – to give it all, to play and beat the best there is. Let us be individuals from different backgrounds; each fiercely proud of his own individuality and yet united not just as a team but as a family. Go WGCC!

Corridor of Uncertain Tea - WGCC vs TLCC (Nov 20th) - Practice Game

It was a good day for cricket; warm but with a cool breeze flowing in. We were going to miss the nincompooparies of Prady; the usual sweet nothings that Gaba would yell at the opponents; the witty one liners from Mo; and the exotic ‘Sinu Stance’, a print of which has found its way into lots of people’s loo (not mine though!)….but that did not stop us from doing what we do best.... before some of you answer it as “Losing from a comfortable position, or snatching a defeat from the jaws of victory..”, let me put an end to it by saying that it was a good game and we won!

We lost the toss, and the opponents taking mercy on the fact that we were 6 players short; allowed us to bat first and at that point all the teammates came running from behind the trees and the cars congratulating each other on a plan well executed. We set forth for a roller coaster ride that was to ensue. Mayur founded an unlikely but able partner in Suresh to see off the new ball. Mayur in particular was very severe on TLCC’s bowlers with 3 brutal sixes finding its way over the ropes; and before Suresh could open his account, Mayur raised his bat to celebrate a well-made fifty (ok, ok..i am exaggerating a bit here….Suresh was on 1 from 25 balls he faced). Suresh finally succumbed under pressure to match Mayur stroke by stroke and was out for a career high score of 14. Chinmay was sent in next, and Mayur was made to retire soon after to make way for the Captain. The plan did not work as expected and the captain was out for a paltry score of 1. This brought the awesomeness of AMAR to the crease…..who took a cue from Mayur (and the advantage of short boundaries) to hit a few (3!) sixes of his own. While the opponents were awe-struck, our captain wasn’t that impressed and I was made to retire at yet another career high score of 42..Oh meanwhile, Chinmay (25 n.o.) was forced to go off as well, since Sunny started threatening that he will go home if not sent for batting soon. He did not last long (ahh, the tragedy of getting old..pun intended)…and that brought another awesomeness to the crease..in the form of Kanwar who was in terrific touch and delicately picked up a few boundaries to help the team built a healthy total of 212 in our quota of 25 overs.

We started off well while defending a big total, and I drew the first blood in the very first over by castling the only left hander in the opponents camp, thus sparing us the horror of changing the field every time. Sunny then followed it up with a brilliant maiden over. TLCC still managed to go around 8-9 runs an over and just when it looked like one of their batsman was in for a long haul, Kanwar got him out to a cut in the deep point region. Mayur was quick to point out that it was due to Kanwar’s lack of pace that the ball remained within the boundary and nothing else. Quick glances were exchanged and Kanwar was taken out of the attack, never to be brought back again in the match. The next breakthrough came in the form of our Captain uprooting the stumps with a deceiving arm-ball, after bowling a barrage of wides; almost giving competition to the reigning King Suresh in the process. Sunny earned himself a second spell by continuously cheering up the Captain throughout his bowling spell; he also got a wicket by getting a batsman trapped just outside the leg stump. Mayur was finally given a chance to bowl due to a situation where the Captain now wanted to keep the wickets. The match went down to the wires where TLCC needed 30 runs in the last 3 overs. Mayur and I bowled 2 of these; chocking runs and I getting another 2 wickets in the process. So, 18 runs required from the last over; and suddenly the Captain has a moral epiphany and decides to hand over the bowl to Suresh. Amongst the ahhs and the ohhs..Suresh comes in to bowl. The team awaits the fate of the match, which lies in the hands of one bowler who has been ridiculed for bowling more number of wides than the whole team put together in the last two seasons. It’s a make-or-break moment in the history of WGCC. 1st ball is a scorching Yorker which the batsman just manages to dig out for a single. The skeptics are still around and wait for the next ball. 2nd ball is in the corridor of uncertainty and fetches a feeble single again. The confidence is starting to show in the bowler’s body language, and the pace is increasing; but the line and the length are still intact. Before you know it, Suresh bowls the last ball for a single again, leaving the opponents 12 runs short of the target.

A mental victory is achieved and the Captain is a relieved man and he enjoys the fact that he will have more options in the bowling department from the next match. Beware Bowlers!

Go WGCC!

Corridor of Uncertain Tea - WGCC vc TGCC (10th July 2010)

There are a few clashes that always gets sports fan across the globe excited in the cricket world – India vs. Pakistan, Australia vs. England in Ashes; to name a few.
But if you ask the core members of the WGCC club to name the best clash they would give an arm for, it would be the battle between WGCC vs. TGCC. Period.
One may ask innocently what makes this clash so exciting. Why such hip hoopla about it?
Well, let me generalize it and answer philosophically that any clash is only exciting if it has some history behind it.
And by now, it is a common knowledge around the Piedmont area that WGCC and TGCC guys doesn’t share the brothers-in-arms type camaraderie.
Now, divulging in the details about the history between these two clubs is worthy of separate blog space, so we will leave it there and will concentrate on the match details.
Picking the playing X I for the match was easy, as the nature of the match automatically picked the players who so badly wanted to settle their own personal score in some way or the other against TGCC, and we all agreed that the best way to do it was by performing to the best of their ability and let our play do the talking.
Both the teams arrived at the ground by 10 am and amongst some cold stares and casual hellos the pitch was ready by 10 30 for the match to start. The umpires called for both the skipper for the toss. I was representing my team for the same, and Mayuresh walked in from the other side, after a serious brainstorming with his team to decide whether to call heads or tails during the toss. Halfway into the ground, the umpires mentioned that the coin being used for the toss had Yes/No on either side to be called. Chaos ensued and a panicked Mayuresh frantically called in for Sanjay to ask what to call during the toss now, as I disbelievingly looked on, while controlling my laughter all along.
A flip of the coin and I won the toss, and immediately letting the umpires know that WGCC would bowl first.
A pumped up, raring to go WGCC team took on the field, and Biv started the proceedings for us. He flew in from Kansas City for this match, as it was impossible to imagine him missing this match for anything.
The first ball from Biv was dispatched to the point boundary and the opposite camp immediately erupted into cheers, as if they thought those were the winning runs for their side. They immediately started with some sledging and banter until the 5th ball, when WGCC picked their first wicket. Satish was the first victim. The following batsman came in and immediately counter-attacked by hitting Kanwar for a few boundaries in the next over, and all this while the cheers from the opposition camp getting louder and louder.
Biv’s next over was very eventful where being hit for a boundary off the very first ball with a mindless slog from the batsman, Biv unleashed a fury of bouncers over the batsman who succumbed to it and lofted one high over the mid –off region; a moment of anxiety for WGCC, deep silence and a determined Amar holding on the a difficult catch to get rid of the 2nd wicket. Enough emotions were shown and that put us in top gear for the rest of the match. Anirudh from other end still kept going hammers and tonks before I came in and took him out on the very first ball of my spell, with Mayur completing a regulation catch behind the stumps.
It was a sweet revenge for us and ironic in a way that the first three wickets for WGCC involved Biv, Mayur and Amar in some way or the other; all very important catalysts in the history between TGCC and us.
Mayuresh was the next one to follow and as Satya put it very rightly in his mail; the way Sunny celebrated after picking him up would put Sreesanth to shame.
Rohan and Sanjay came in next and did what they are best known for; stalling the match and drying up the runs. This time it was sweeter as we were not playing with them; but against them. Watching Sanjay bat would put the cricket’s inventor to shame and we fully exploited his inability to pick runs. Rohan was clueless (as always!) against our bowling and was soon picked by Mo; which he mentioned was the only wicket he wanted. Shamshuddin came and played a little cameo briefly; but soon fell putting TGCC further into a hole.
We bundled them for 169 in 28 odd overs, boosted by 35 extras that we conceded during our bowling.
During our innings break we celebrated Kanwar’s bday by cutting a cake and feasted on the salt less biryani (I personally liked it :P) cooked by Mayur and Kanwar.
Now the time was to hunt the target, and chasing 170 is always tricky as it is not a small target to be relaxed, nor a big one to go all guns blazing at once.
Rahul and Mayur opened the innings for us, and Rahul fell soon in the second over.
Gaurav and Mo also fell in quick succession leaving us for 47/3 in 10 overs.
This brought Ramanji on the crease and he immediately started rotating the strike and taking pressure off Mayur. There was a initial caution mixed with aggression as they picked the odd boundaries and we were 87/3 during drinks break after 15 overs.
Soon after the break, Raman and Mayur looted Rohan for aplenty by hitting a six each in the same over; with Mayur’s hit falling way over the tennis court. Nothing could better that site for us for a long long time to come. Kiran, their “magic man” and Shamshuddin, their “best bowler” also struggled to control the runs. Soon Mayur completed his half century which was quickly followed by Ramanji’s 50 runs; which also brought their 100 run partnership. By this time, the opposition were tired and slient with their shoulders stooped and a demeanor suggesting surrender.
We won comfortably and convincingly with almost 5 overs to spare and nothing could have been a better answer to all the bickering and nincompoopery that TGCC has shown in the past. This also establishes our supremacy in the cricket field against them and we are sure to cherish this win for a long long time to come.

Let me sum up by saying that the only good thing that has come out of having differences with TGCC is the inception of WGCC; which has brought a bunch of great guys together and I am sure that in the years to come, we will develop a culture instead of only a cricket club and would fondly and proudly call ourselves WGCCian.

Go Team!

Corridor of Uncertain Tea - WGCC vc ACC (15th May 2010)

Guys, I am back after a brief hiatus!!..I felt like writing the blog again, after a wonderful performance by our team today!..
So, here you go...the match blog...

The occasion was our 3rd league match against ACC at their home ground. We were in high spirits after our thrilling win against PACC last week, and were eagerly waiting for this match. Now, before I fill you in with the match details, let me brief you regarding the ground tht we played on.
Reddy Creek Park..a joke of a cricket ground with the boundaries on either side just a silly distance away. So silly tht if you just punch the ball with no effort at all, it will still find the other end of the rope in no time.
Having said tht, you still have to score or chase sensibly to put a challenging total. It would have been easy for our batsmen to get excited about the short boundaries, just the same way a teenager would be excited about watching his first porn movie. But full credit to our guys, who played with such ease and class tht made us proud.
After losing the toss, we were put to field first by the opposition. With Sunny, Kanwer and Santosh not playing in this match (all of them very competent opening bowlers), I shared the red cherry with Prashant and we provided a decent start to the team picking a wicket each in our 3 overs spell. The scorecard read 39/2 after 6 overs which was very economical given the unforgiving circumstances for the bowlers in reddy creek. Prashant especially was awesome. This guy is one of the best we have in the team and when he bowls like he did today, there is no stopping him. Rahul, the birthday boy, was brought in as first change and he immediately picked a wicket in his first over courtesy a stunner of a catch tht Parth took over the long off boundary. That however didnot dampen the opposition batsmen spirits and they non-chalantly upped the ante over after over and looted most of the bowlers for plenty, especially their captain who eventually played a not-out innings of 150+ to take his team to a competitive total of 273 runs after 30 overs. Ashish, Arun and Mo bowled short spells with occasional burst of excellence. On the way, we dropped 3-4 chances to get their skipper out, as suddenly it felt tht all our fielders had two left hands. Mayur's leg spin was also ineffective today as the short boundaries really worked against his flighted deliveries. I and Mayur managed to pick a couple of wickets for ourselves, while Prashant, Rahul and Ashish picked one wicket each.
So there we were; chasing a total of 274 in 30 overs; something tht we hadnt done previously; but we were optimistic given our batting depth and a small ground.
Mayur and Raman planned to start watchfully to give us a good chance for a successful chase, with just 2 runs coming out of the first over; Raman playing 4 deliveries and Mayur getting a couple of balls. At this point, our captain decided tht he has been watchful Enough and cracked 2 consecutive sixes off the first 2 deliveries of the 2nd over, and then there was no looking back. There were many more short balls from the opposition bowlers which met the middle of Mayur's bat everytime. We lost Ramanji soon after he hit a six, and tht brought the hero of the match into action. When Rahul Mandewalker walked into the middle, little did the opposition know tht it was going to just kill any excitement and thrill tht is generally associated with a high chase, as Rahul decided to play the best innings in the league on his birthday today. He batted like a man possessed, churning sixes at will. It was a flawless effort, which continued even after Mayur's blazing innings of 67 came to an end. Dipen played a perfect supporting role to Rahul with this level headed shots and keeping the momentum always with us. He found his confidence back, and we found our Dravid....although a Gujju but nevertheless equally effective; both behind and in front of the stumps.
There was not a single moment of panic in the dug-out, as we always believed tht we could do it. The approach was always positive even when Dipen got out, Fawaz went in and smacked two deliveries right over bowlers head; one all the way over the rope.
At the end, WGCC got home with 9 balls to spare with Rahul fittingly hitting the winning runs with a massive six and deservingly bringing his 150 off it. He will not forget this birthday for a very very long time and neither would we!!!

GO WGCC!!!!