League Cricket is no child's play

Awesome game guys

I would like to thank the entire team for playing their hearts out to win this first and very important game of the TCA league.

Although we won the game, we all realize it was a very narrow victory against one of the low ranked opposition in the league. The margin of victory tells me that playing in league format is no child's play and serious business.

We went into the game today with the best available 11 and won it. There is no room for emotion when it comes to team selection for the future games. I know our team is formed amongst a group friends who play cricket for recreation during the weekend. However, only the best performing, deserving players have to earn a place in the playing 11 for future league games for rest of this season. Although, I have a say in the team selection, I request for the formation of a separate team selection panel comprising of our own cheetahs players to review player performance after each game and also practice/warm ups on Sundays and provide their unbiased feedback to me prior to the team selection for upcoming games. I can do this myself, but would like to eliminate any possible bias by going for a panel based selection.

With the above mentioned approach, we can make sure the same player does not have to sit out each game and also make sure we have a good team of 11 players to compete at the highest level. A player who performs consistently bad for 3 games in succession does not merit a chance in the playing 11 at the expense of a more deserving 12th/13th man in our group. This includes every single individual in the team including the team captain myself. I hope we all agree on the rationale behind this approach and commit to delivering the best effort with a single-minded devotion to succeed by winning.

We have ventured in this league in a hurried fashion without proper consensus on an objective. Having set our foot in, there can be only one way going forward, perform to win or perish with humiliation.

I have a better picture about the league intensity after being run close by a low ranked team. It is only going to be tougher as we progress through the next few games and there is clearly no room for fun factor. There is nothing wrong in having fun by winning games. However, we cannot afford to look funny by getting trashed by other league teams.

When I saw the players in our dug out during the tense last over of the game, I could read only one thing in everyone of our eyes and minds, win the game!

We are all mature group of individuals who are professionals and good friends. This is the same group (a majority) that delivered an awesome stage show performance via SWARAM.

Why did we not ask each and everyone of our friends to go on the stage and sing a song, during the performance? We knew very well who could get the job done for us. On the same lines, we need to take pride in winning these league games, as a team. Whether we are part of the playing 11 or not. I personally take immense pride in watching our team win, even if I am not playing a particular game and watching from the sidelines. Thats because I want our near and dear friends who formed this team to be part of the winning team and not get beaten by a group some strangers. During todays game, we not only had the signed up players in the Cheetahs dug out, but we also had spouses of some players and other members of our group who have not signed up for the league, showing great enthusiasm by volunteering to perform scoring duties and cheering the team.

At the end of this league season, I would like to see only one thing. Cheetahs walk out proud with chest high and not bogged down being humiliated. In order for that to happen, we all need to understand our roles and responsibilities very clearly and contribute to the team's success.

Lets be clear. There should be clear demarcation between league cricket and our weekend cricket for recreation. We should all pledge to continue our recreation cricket in the right spirit along with the fun element, no matter what the events and outcome of the league are. If some of my dear friends/players drop out of playing cricket altogether because of some tough decisions on certain occasions, I will think of it as an unfortunate outcome of this league sign up. But it is we who asked for it.

PS: If any of you disagree with my viewpoints, do not hesitate to contact me via email. I don't mind talk to you over the phone to clarify my thought process behind this content.

Winning Formula

Only three weeks since we first aired our aspirations to play in the league cricket format and here it comes, Chennai Cheetahs are now part of TCA league (Tennis ball Cricket Association - Bay Area chapter).

Convincing a group of players who play recreational cricket during the weekends to participate in the league format itself is an accomplishment. However, that should not end up as our only accomplishment by the end of the league season. I am sure Cheetahs can go a long way in the league cricket format. A few key factors that go in favor of the Cheetahs right at the outset are:

1. A well knit group of friends, with lots of familiarity
2. Will to succeed
3. Attitude to accept feedback in the right spirit
4. No politics (Hopefully it will stay this way)

Excellent team camaraderie alone cannot produce winning results. Having observed our players play over an year time period, I feel we have players with decent cricketing skills to pull off a victory, coming together as a team.

Having skilled players alone does not guarantee a victory to any team. We all know that our own Indian team with Fab 4 or Fab 5 lost to a team like Bangladesh in a crucial world cup tie, costing us the tournament. Cricket, is a game where you can lose before you enter the field by not going in the right state of mind. Australians have preyed on mentally weak opponents, using trash talk and intimidation tactics.

Fearless attitude is key to victory in any sport. One should not worry about the results and strive to produce high quality performance in the field all the time. Results will follow automatically. Our team has decent batting, a good bowling unit and some really good, sharp fielders. The only thing, we lack is experience playing in big league games. Personally, I have played a lot of cricket during my childhood days. Opened bowling for my school. Got hit for a 6 followed by a boundary by a national level U-15 player during the first 2 balls of the finals game in a district inter school tournament. That incident did not stop me from playing cricket. I have progressively learnt a lot of things, by playing game with the right frame of mind. Each of us can have bad days, but the remaining members should compensate realizing the situation and make sure non performance by one player on a particular day does not really impact the result of the game.

I would like to share a few tips to play good quality cricket. Not all games will necessarily produce a winning result. At the same time, we will never go down without a fight. We need to stick to some very basic discipline in all the departments of the game.

Batting:

• Our players have the tendency to throw away wickets. We all need to value our wicket as much as the runs we score. If a handful of us make the same mistake, we have a collapse on hand.
• 2 or 3 quick wickets to bad bowling can make even a bad bowling unit look good and boost them with confidence and put more pressure on the next batsman in line.
• Bad balls should be punished, even if it is the first ball of the match.
• Try to play by getting behind the line of the ball all the time. Stay away from cross batted shots, unless we are into the slog overs or we have a specific fielding area to target.
• Never go for a premeditated shot. Play each and every ball to its merit. Never decide to slog on the leg side before the bowler starts his run up!
• If you are a well set batsman, try to capitalize on the time spent at the crease and extend the innings as much as possible. Not all the 11 players need to bat during the game :)
• It is OK to leave balls that are too wide outside the off stump, unless they are short pitched and within striking range. Avoid slashing at wide deliveries away from your body and get caught in the slips or point region. You don't want to get out to a wide delivery. We not only lose a wicket, but the extra run too!
• Rotate the strike. It is not always easy to get in the grove right after we get to the crease. Rotating the strike relieves the pressure on the slow scoring batsman and also provides opportunity for the non-striker. In case of left right combination, this should be mandatory as it disrupts bowlers rhythm.
• 1s and 2s are also runs! not all hits have to reach the boundary. Slog only the really bad balls and if the ball is in the slot to be hit.

Running between wickets:

• Run outs are costly. We should look forward to having 0 run outs in every game.
• Never predetermine the number of runs after hitting the ball. Run according to the situation. Always try to face the fielder while completing the run. GROUND your bat.
• Always look at the fielder and the ball position prior to calling for the run. Starting for a run when the ball is in the fielders hands always ends in a disaster.
• Never try to put pressure on the fielder by running when the ball is in the fielders hands. This only puts pressure on the batsman or non-striker!
• Call it loud. If the ball is behind you, have the non striker call it.
• It is OK to run when the ball is hit a few yards away from the fielder in the gap, and the fielder is getting to it.

Bowling:

• Never think about the reputation of a batsman. People may say, the batsman is the Tendulkar of the bay area. Even Tendulkar respects a good ball. Why not bowl a good ball with a decent line and length?
• Decide on line and length of the delivery prior to starting the run up. Never make a decision about the delivery while you are on the run, clarity of mind is very important to land the delivery in the right area.
• Pace does not intimidate batsmen in tennis ball cricket. Use your energy wisely!
• Just short of length deliveries are fine if you have fielders in catching positions.
• Try to bowl full and straight during the slog overs. Sloggers are bound to get bowled with such deliveries
• Stick to an off side line slightly outside the off stump in the good length area. Easier said than done. However, try to get it there.
• Bowl to the field. Have a say on the field placements. You know where you are going to bowl!

Fielding:

• Be alert. Anticipate the shot from the batsman. That way you have a yard or 2 advantage over the batsman.
• Walk towards the batsman, never worry about misfield while making a rush for pick and throw. Most of the time the batsman think the ball is in your hand and don't make a run!
• Back up the throw on the other side of the wicket keeper or bowler. Without proper back up, fielders cannot be confident with quick throw at the stumps for run outs.
• Dropping catches are OK. It is not a crime. However, try not to stare and gaze at the rest of fielders to look at their reaction. Quickly pick up the dropped ball and throw it to the keeper or bowler, you can always effect a run out if the batsman was watching you drop the ball while the non-striker went for the run!
• It is OK to bowl a wide to effect a stumping, in case a batsman walks out to hit you!

Wicket keeper:

• Keeper should expect the throw at hip height from fielders if he has a major role in a run out.
• Keeper can provide tips to the bowler. Point crease position of the batsman to the bowler and advise on field placements.
• More tips needed here...

Overall:

• No target is too low for a quick win or too high beyond our reach.
• Lets approach each game with a positive frame of mind.

As simple as these instructions may sound, sticking to some these basics, could very well make the difference between our team ending up on the winning or losing side.

Wish you all the best for a very good cricketing season!

P.S. Please do not hesitate to point any errors in the instructions, or add some I may have missed. Lets do this as a team!

Cheetah's in resounding win

Cheetah's produced a near perfect performance in their first friendly game of the season against a local team last weekend.

Phone buzzed at 7 am on Saturday morning with confirmation for the game, as no one was sure if play was possible with rain lasting for a few days prior to the game day and more overnight rain the previous night. Despite some puddles in the outfield, pitch was considered playable and game started ON time at 8.30 am. Cheetah's went into the game with full strength squad with just one import (Karthik). Cheetah's lost the toss, after Guruji called it incorrectly, and were asked to bowl first. Although players were concerned about the wet conditions in the outfield, it did not deter them from producing a good fielding performance. There were only 2 dropped catches in the game, which is about 5-6 less than the Cheetah's running average for dropped catches:)

Guruji and Ram opened the bowling and a couple of short deliveries were dispatched to deep fine leg area for 4-6 runs. Praveen, Mica, Selva, and Karthik bowled remaining overs till the 10th over break. Cheetah's had leaked 42 runs during the first 10 overs. Some questionable field tactics with exposed leg side field during the first 3-4 overs of the game cost an extra 10 runs during the first 10 overs. Karthik produced a tidy spell and good bowling at death by remaining bowlers meant Sunnyvale team could only set a target of 78 from 20 overs.

Cheetah's could not take the target lightly, as they are known for batting collapses in the past. However, a good stable top order line up ensured only 2 wickets were lost in the first 10 overs, even though only 35 runs were scored by then. A good game plan was in place with incremental targets set for 13th, 15th and the 17th over. Mica produced a well paced innings along with Praveen to take Cheetah's closer to the finish line.

Arvi got out trying to hit out a short delivery on the off side, however the ball stopped on him resulting in a simple catch to mid off. Ram and Selva rotated the strike beautifully to make sure no particular end got stagnated, despite a relatively low run rate of 3-4/over. Defending some short deliveries for the sake of preserving wickets, was the only questionable tactic from a batting stand point. Risky runs to rotate the strike meant, there was a high probability for Ram's dismissal as 'Run out' and it did. Mica and Praveen got in and accelerated the score steadily; Karthik walked in after Mica's run out and all he had to do was score a few boundaries to take Cheetah's almost to the finishing line and got out trying one too many big shots. Ben tried to go for a heroic shot to bring a fancy finish to the game, however, he was bowled the swinging across a straight delivery. Losing some unwanted wickets is another area Cheetah's need to think about for future games. Running between the wickets need some improvement as well.

Target was reached in the 18th over and Cheetah's went home victorious.

Some notable fielding performance by Cheetah's: Ben's quick throw from fine leg area resulting in Vijay's run out was a crucial. Vijay could have stayed a little longer and taken their score past 90. Nikhil, Guruji, and Karthik grabbed any lobbed opportunity presented to them. Sreejan's keeping performance was good, despite a few dropped catches. If Cheetah's had batted first, they would have sent a pinch hitter like Ben, Satish, or Nikhil up the order to take the score past 100.

Having beaten, not exactly a Minnow, but one of the lesser known teams in the bay area, Cheetah's cannot fly high with this victory and definitely have room for improvement in respective departments. Cheetah's have to play against better bowling attacks to test their true batting strength. This victory is however a good morale booster to this highly enthusiastic and deserving group of players.

Hope to have another friendly in the next few weeks. Go Cheetah's Go!

Rain or Shine..the play continues...

Following Saturday's practice, the weather gods were not really interested in letting the Cheetah's have two consecutive playing days. However, the spirit displayed by Cheetah's helped defy the odds and play 2 games spanning 3 hours today.

If players continue to show the same interest levels, I do not see a reason why Cheetah's cannot challenge the best cricketing teams in the bay area.

Let us take a moment to congratulate Arvi for volunteering to be the treasurer for Cheetah's. Not bad, he has already banked $50 in the team account! Bad weather brought 3 additional league players from the Packers to our practice games today. Those 3 players showed a lot of discipline in all 3 departments of the game. Our players sure can pick up a few tips watching them play today.

Bulletin on today's game:

Guruji's team batted first in the first game and set a target of 62 runs in 12 overs. Disciplined batting from Mica, Selva, Guruji, and one of the Packers players helped set a decent target. Ben's team started slowly during the chase, but started accelerating the run rate after 5 overs. Satish (Packers player), batted beautifully along with Ben, and at one point the target of 62 seemed too low for Ben's team. However, a few wickets towards the end of the game, a quick reflex catch by Guruji resulted in the dismissal of Satish; a direct hit from Karthik caught Ben a few yards short of the wicket for his run out, triggering a collapse. Ben's team batted first during the second game and set a similar target of 62 runs, however this time, only from 8 overs. Surya (Packers player) took the game single handedly away from Ben's team by scoring 18 runs of one over from Ranjith. Steady support from Mica, Selva helped Guruji's team chase the required runs in just 7 overs and 2 balls.

Player Feedback:

Arvi - batted beautifully during the first game. Some of his ground strokes were pleasing to the eye. He also filled in as a secondary wicket keeper when Sudar injured his finger. Playing a cross batted shot in the second game, he could not negate the uneven bounce of the pitch, resulting in his wicket.

He can continue to focus on scoring runs down the ground and should play with straight bat as much as possible.

Practice recommendations - Drills for short pitched batting, driving the ball when it gets full.

Ben - batted some audacious shots yielding a lot of runs. Ben can continue to play his natural game with a little more patience. He can play a key role of a middle order batsmen who can come and accelerate the score towards the end of the innings.

Ben can improve running between the wickets and running in general. Instead of waiting for the ball to reach the boundary, he can start running singles and twos. The last thing the team wants is Ben getting run out.

Practice recommendations - Drills for running between the wickets. Batting drills for full length deliveries, play slow balls with better timing.

Guruji

Will let someone else use the comment section for my feedback.

I felt my batting was good considering I did not lose my wicket and scored steadily without wasting many deliveries. However, could not stick to consistent off side bowling line due to shoulder pain. I should continue to play with straight bat and not across the line.

Practice recommendations - Drills for short pitched batting, pull shots. Bowling drills to bowl in good length corridor to make the batsmen commit mistakes.

Mica - batted with straight bat. His batting looks elegant when he plays straight batted shots and plays the flick on the leg side. Some of his late deft touches to the slip area were again pleasing to the eye. He can improve his stroke repository by including some shots square of the wickets.

His bowling was not up to the mark today. He had to bowl with sore shoulder and could not stick to consistent line.

Practice recommendations - Drills for off drive shots. Same bowling drills as Guruji.

Ram - bowled a decent spell during the first game. Again he can develop more consistency in bowling the off side line and bowling to the field. He has a good jumping action.

Practice recommendations - Drills to bowl in the good length corridor and off side line.

Ranjith - one single over from him turned the game to his opponents favor. He batted to his ability. Displayed some nice strokes down the ground. Needs to get some mental strength when bowling to a batsman outside of our Cheetah's group. He has a highly stressful bowling action and needs to relax a bit and bowl to his strengths (medium pace and land the delivery in good length).

Practice recommendations - Drills for bowling in the good length. More importantly, needs to bring skills developed in practice to good use in match situations. Should just stick to a good line and length without worrying who is on strike.

Selva - batted nicely during both the games. His strength is playing in the off side. He can continue to play straight batted shots and avoid going for premeditated shots. Selva and premeditated shots, don't go well. It is sure a recipe for disaster.

Practice recommendations - Drills to play of the backfoot. Not commit to front foot when the delivery is a little short of good length.

Sudar - He took 2 catches and effected a stumping, resulting in 3 good dismissals today. Although this is his first week as a keeper, since he took his role last week, his performance calls for some coaching and can pick up some basic keeping technique by watching expert videos and tips from other seasoned wicket keepers.

Practice recommendations - Wicket keeping drills. This should be his one and only focus. Not get distracted with other roles for the time being.

Suresh - bowled beautifully during the first game. Did not have much opportunity to bat. But I did notice him play a cross batted shot during his relatively short innings. He can surely launch his shots on short pitched deliveries. But needs to pick the right deliveries for his big hits. Including some defense along with his usual strokes can sure help him prolong his innings.

Practice recommendations - Drills to bowl consistent off side line. Bowl in good length corridor.

Improve defensive technique in batting by curbing the bat swing.

PS: I could not spend much time proof reading this post. Hope you pardon the unprofessional nature of this post.

Readers (especially Cheetah's players), please post comments after you read this post. Comments encourage me to come up with regular posts and also helps share feedback to the rest of our players.

Team Cheetah

Finally, more than 10 guys showed up for Cheetah's practice session this morning. As planned, first 10 - 15 mins of today's practice was devoted to formation of the team batting line up and bowlers for friendly games with other teams, including league teams.

There was consensus among team members for a need for the top order to keep the scoreboard ticking steadily in the starting overs. An overly defensive approach adopted during the last friendly game, backfired, with too much pressure on the batsmen who followed. Also without proper line up in place, players were sent to the middle by random card draw approach. Cheetah's have an interesting mix of players. Top order comprises of the following players:

• Selva Santhanam
• Praveen Mahure
• Arvind Raghu
• Mahesh (Mica)
• Ram Annasami
• Ram Suryanarayanan
• Parag Desai

All the above players can play steady innings, but not score more than run a ball. However, the need of the hour for Cheetahs is to have top order hold the wicket and not crumble exposing the middle order. Not all the players can show up for every single game. Hence having a pool of 5 to 6 players designated for the top provides the team with flexibility to position players according to the match situation. Game plan is to have the top order play for 7-8 overs (in a 20 over game) at about run a ball, mainly through singles and twos. After this period, top order has the license to go for bigger shots and score at a rapid rate without worrying about losing their wickets. Ideally, middle order should have a go at the bowlers from overs 14 - 20. Now speaking about middle order, the following players form the pool for middle order:

• Ben Thomas
• Guruji (Raja)
• Satish
• Nikhil (if he ever shows up again!)
• Sreejan (same as Naveen)
• Ranjith
• Manish Desai
• Nirav

This leaves the rest to come towards the end and have a free swing from the word 'GO'. These free birds towards the end of the innings are:

• Suresh
• Sreedhar
• Sudar

Bowling pool includes the following players:

• Ram Suryanarayanan
• Praveen
• Suresh
• Guruji
• Mica
• Selva
• Ram Annasami
• Ranjith
• Manish
• Nirav
• Parag
• Sreedhar

By the way, during the next practice, please take a moment to congratulate Sudar for taking up the wicket keeper duty for the team. Sudar would be thinking twice about taking this new role, with everyone expecting a Dujon or Kiran More out of him rather than a Kamran Akmal! With practice, I think Sudar would make a good keeper, as he can stop pretty much any ball either by catching or falling over it :)

Practice drills, for batting, bowling, fielding, and wicket keeping are required prior to the start of games every week. This can be done between 8.30 - 9.00 am. For those, who think they can perform at the expected levels, without practice, good luck! try to match those guys who gain better skills through practice.

A quick bulletin on today's game. During the first game, Basher Ben took the score to a daunting 62 of 10 overs against Arvi's team by scoring a few boundaries on either side of the wicket. Guruji's bowling was not up to the mark, as he had to bowl with sore shoulder picked up from his badminton game on Saturday. In response, Selva and Arvi started scoring steadily and kept the run rate around 4 for the first 4 overs. Once Arvi fell, slashing a wide delivery outside the off stump, Mica got in and made full use of the 1G rule behind the wicket and played some beautiful deliberate cuts through the slip area. Sudar was not able to dive to slip position every other ball, as expected by Ben and had to switch roles with Ben! Ben wanted to have someone trash talk behind the wickets too. Hope Sudar can get some trash talk coaching from Ben! On the bowling front, Suresh exhibited excellent control during the first game by compromising on the speed for better line and length. Praveens' tempting line with a looping delivery can deceive even the best in business. Ranjith tried a little hard to avoid short deliveries, however, a few short ones were promptly dispatched to the mid wicket fence by Selva and Guruji. With 23 to win of 18 deliveries, Guruji sensed victory. However, a brain fart (as crisply put by Mica), made Guruji run for a non-existing single resulting in a disastrous run out to hand victory to Ben's team.

In the second game, with notable contributions from Selva and Guruji, Arvi's team scored a good 38 runs from the alloted 6 overs. However, Ranjith's focused innings carried Ben's team across the finish line without much fuss during the last over of their innings. What went wrong with Arvi's team? May be poor bowling at death and a few crucial dropped catches. Although the scoreline read 2-0, the intensity of today's game was on par with any game in the TCA league. Ground fielding was at its best in both the games today. Hope to have full strength practice during the next few weeks and get ready for another friendly game with one of the bay area teams.

With this level of practice, Cheetah's can finally roar with pride instead of a meek meow!

PS: Feel free to post team strategy and line up opinions in the comments section. Also, in case I have missed any of our players, please mention their names as well. I can add their names to the post. Can't afford to miss any of you!

Off-Side

Cheetah's winter practice session kicked off after a month long hiatus this weekend. Only 6 players showed up for practice, even though the team manager Ranjith hoped for at least 10.

Wet conditions delayed the start and practice eventually began around 9.45 am. After some serious Ghaji sessions, teams of 3 were formed for 6 overs game. More than the game, players were excited about the new kit, bats and accessories recently brought by Ranjith.

Team 1 comprised of Guruji(Raja), Ram, and Ranjith. As you may recall from the press conference the previous evening, Ram, Team 1 captain had stated, any team playing against him had to go and get their basics right before the game! Team 2 with Ben, Sreedhar, and PC wanted to prove this wrong and displayed a lot of aggression in the field.

Ram's batting was a gritty 32 from 3 games while Guruji's batting performance was as disappointing as Maninder Singh of the 80's. Guruji's nemesis Sreedhar accounted for his downfall on 2 occasions. Guruji was clean bowled by Sreedhar's yorker in the second game and played on during the third to the same bowler. Ranjith's only catch during the game accounted for Guruji's wicket during the first game. Guruji attributed his failures to the unseasoned new bat purchased from India. However, Sreedhar had a different opinion, he said, "Guruji's rock bottom bargaining incurred the wrath of the bat seller !"

Ranjith's agility and athleticism in the field were much improved since his last game, back in December. He attributes his improved skills to renowned fielding coach, Paal-Tea Bose from Kerala!

After a thrilling tie in the first game. Ram's team breezed past Ben's team in the second.

Basher Ben scored 30 of the 32 runs required in the last game to square the series 1-1. Ben's usual strokeplay was curtailed with off-side only field restrictions. However, Ben proved his critics wrong with wonderful display of off-side strokes. In the post match conference, Ben said, "I saw the bowlers pitching in full. So I got my left leg out of the way and pierced the off-side field for singles and twos". Ram questioned umpires decision on Ben's wicket during the last and decisive game. When asked about this, Ben responded, "This happens all the time in a game of cricket. I had to go by the umpires decision. At the end of the day we won and squared the series, and are happy about our performance after a month long break"

All the players showed a lot of energy and enthusiasm in the field. Hope during the next session, the number of players outnumber the bats lying in the kit!