MCA XI Lose by Nine Wickets to New York in Florida Tournament

A depleted MCA XI lost to New York,  coached by ex-West-Indies wicket keeper Milton Pydanna, by nine wickets in a shortened match on the opening day of the Florida Cricket Academy tournament on Friday.  Already a man down because MCA regular Ani Mayasandra could not leave Michigan until Friday evening, the team was reduced to eight men at the scheduled start time at Miramar Regional Park, with Akhil and Arnav Sridher held up in Chicago due to weather-induced flight cancellations. When the Sridhers arrived it was decided to play a thirty-over match.  The Midwesterners won the toss and elected to bat, but struggled from the start against New York’s accurate bowling attack (Trinson Carmichael, who took the new ball, gave up only eight runs in six overs, while fellow opening bowler Anwar Khan was almost as economical, conceding ten runs in five overs). MCA opening batsman Vaibhav Ganesh got to 11 before falling; Ganesh’s opening partner Gordon Makin took some ten overs to score his five runs, before he was stumped attempting to push the score along against New York’s effective leg spinner Syed Hussain (3/12), and a succession of wickets followed quickly, as the rusty Midwestern batsmen failed to come to terms with the New York attack; of the nine wickets to fall, two were stumpings and three run-outs. All out for 62, with only Ganesh and “keeper Akhil Sridher (14) getting into double figures, the MCA XI needed a miracle in the field, but none was forthcoming. The only wicket to fall in the New York run chase was that of star fifteen-year-old Randall Wilson, caught in the slips for ten by a diving Makin off the bowling of Monit Khandwala; fellow New York opening batsman Trever Singh was 40 not out as New York overtook MCA’s modest score in under eleven overs. The speedy conclusion to the match had one plus for the MCA XI: there was time for some much needed practice out in the middle before dinner. In Saturday’s match the MCA XI face the host team, led by USA cricketer of the year Steven Taylor.

Scorecard, courtesy of FCA