MCA Cricket Demonstration at Toledo Country Club

MCA ran a cricket demonstration for participants in the Toledo Country Club summer camp on Monday, as part of the camp’s International Week. The visit, suggested by Avinash Kommireddy of the Michigan Cricket Association Youth Committee, was hosted by Becca Gorman of TCC and camp teacher Michelle Kronmann, who both welcomed Gordon Makin of MCA, his father Michael, and his youngest brother Nigel to the stately Club (founded 1897), on the banks of the Maumee River in the southern part of the city of Toledo. The MCA visitors enjoyed lunch in the Club’s elegant dining room before the demonstration, at which a dozen young campers, ranging in age from four to ten, watched Gordon and his father explain the game and illustrate some basic cricketing skills in the Club parking lot. The campers then took turns to bat and bowl themselves. Several young novices proved themselves precociously skilled with bat and ball, and all were intrigued by the sport, as the pictures below may well indicate.

Gordon on strike, with Becca Gorman filming it all.

Gordon fears a bouncer might be coming.

Bowling basics.

Film analysis of the bowler’s action is being prepared.

MCA’s 142 not enough against Saginaw

MCA lost by three wickets to Saginaw at Lyon Oaks on Saturday, despite setting a target of 142. MCA, with the core squad reduced by injuries and absences, called upon two new guest players – Motown’s Vijay Patel and Sumit Garg – and welcomed MCA’s own Jai Sura to the lineup for the first time. Saginaw, too, had found it hard to field a team, and arrived at Lyon Oaks with only seven men. Vasanth Krishnaswami (MCA Joint-Head Coach, and T20 Captain in the absence of Shyam Mayasandra) and Saginaw’s Captain Shami agreed that, with the outcome of the match irrelevant to standings for the Super Sixes, MCA would loan Saginaw three fielders, but bat first. Vijay Patel and Neill Quinlan opened for MCA, and put on 57 for the first wicket, before Neill fell for 16 to Shami in the tenth over, trying to pull a ball off the stumps as MCA attempted to accelerate; Vijay, short of match practice this season, batted himself into form with 42, before mistiming a big shot, while Sumit shortened his own time at the crease by ambling a second run to MCA’s Pawan Canchi, fielding for Saginaw – Pawan ran him out for 15. Gordon Makin made 13 nice runs before Salman took a good catch in the gully off Gordon’s cut. Anurag Yerabati’s speedy 18 included two boundaries, while Ani Mayasandra hit the second six of MCA’s innings (Vijay had the other) in his rapid and powerful 12 n.o., and Jai ended his first MichCA innings 1 n.o., facing just a few balls in the final overs. Every MCA batsman who faced more than a couple of balls hit boundaries, taking advantage of a speedier Lyon Oaks outfield, and the Academy had reason to be confident that 142 was a solid total against an opponent with only six wickets to give. The Academy felt even more confident when Anurag bowled opener Fahad for 0 in the second over; and when Vasanth took a good catch on the long-on boundary to remove the energetic Shahid for 22 off Pawan, in the 12^th, MCA was still very much in the match; two overs later Salil fell to a catch at short midwicket by Gordon, also off Pawan, but , despite excellent quick bowling from opener Anurag (4-0-12-1) and later equally good off spin from Pawan (4-0-27-2), as well as very solid contributions from Ani, débutant Jai, and Ryan Quinlan, MCA could not dislodge Vishal, whose 45 n.o. was the key knock. Late in the innings brothers Gordon and Neil Makin bowled three rather chastening overs in tandem to set batsmen Vishal and Shami (although at least one chance went down in their expensive spells), and when Anurag returned in the eighteenth over, Saginaw needed only ten to win. Four leg byes helped, and the winning run came off the first ball of the nineteenth over, bowled by Ani.

Although the loss was disappointing, it will have no impact on MCA’s place in the second round, and MCA felt they had set a sporting example by providing their opponent with extra fielders, without whom the visitors would probably have faced a more demanding target when they batted.

Vasanth Krishnaswami had no hesitation in naming Anurag Yerabati Youth Man-of-the-Match for his outstanding all-round contribution.

MCA’s last match of the first round of T20 matches is on Sunday, 18 July, at Bloomer Park, against Oakland University.

Final, All-State U-19 Trials for CER Team, Belle Isle, 6pm Monday 5 July

Details of the final, all-state U-19 CER trials have just been announced.  They will take place today, Monday, 5 July.  They will be at Belle Isle, after the CER Tournament final match, starting at 6pm.  Candidates are asked to bring their documentation (copies of opening pages of passport, birth certificates, etc).  Attached is a copy of the USACA registration form, which might be a useful addition to those copies.

CER-Reg-2010

All-State Try-outs for CER U-19 Team Planned for 5 July

It is anticipated that a final, all-Michigan, tryout for the CER U-19 team will take place on Monday, 5 July.  All interested MCA players should anticipate further announcements this weekend.

Weekend of 4 July — no MCA Fixture, Practice; Two Major Tournaments on Local Grounds

There will be no MCA practice over the long weekend of 4 July, and the MCA T20 team does not have a fixture.  However, one of the area’s major tournaments, the Diversity Cup, is taking place at Lyon Oaks and Bloomer Parks on Saturday and Sunday, with several MCA players involved.  More details on the Global Sports Web Site.  Meanwhile, over all three days of the long weekend, the Central East Regional Tournament is also taking place at local grounds.  It is anticipated that a series of fifty-over matches will be played by teams representing the leagues of the Central East Region.  MichCA’s squad of twenty two, announced yesterday (see attachment below), includes three senior cricketers who have played for MCA this season: Kashif Akhtar, Mani Ramprasad, and Murali Venkatapathy.  MCA wishes them and the rest of the MichCA team, plus all other friends and members of the Academy playing this weekend, the very best of luck.

MichCA Squad for Central East Regional Tournament, 2010

MCA Skittled Out for 69 against Toledo

Saturday’s fixture, re-arranged for 9.30 a.m. at Bloomer Park (to avoid a clash with Motown C.C.’s match against Greater Detroit C. C. – with the two clubs sharing so many players this year, a fixture clash might have meant forfeits for both clubs) saw MCA overwhelmed for only the second time in the season, with an eight-wicket loss to a proficient Toledo team. MCA had hopes for this match, having five senior men in the lineup, but the need to score runs quickly, with MCA batting first in a match shortened to eighteen overs, seemed to play on the minds of the Academy’s batsmen, four of whom “failed to trouble the scorer”. Coach Shyam Mayasandra, making a cameo appearance at the top of the order before disappearing to fulfill family obligations, scored nine quick runs before holing out, but by that time his fellow-opener, Gordon Makin, had already fallen – bowled unluckily off pad and elbow, with Gordon unable to find the ball as it trickled towards his stumps and then dislodged the bails. Kashif Akhtar hit a quick four before being bowled by one of several balls that kept low and that was slower than he had anticipated. Coach and Captain Vasanth Krishnaswami scored a patient 13, and while he was together with Murali Venkatapathy (top scorer with 20), things were looking up for the Academy, but when Murali fell, quickly followed by Anurag Yerabati, MCA were 55/5 off 12 overs, and there was no way back. Big-hitting Satish Thandapani and Chamila Kannangara were the last hopes for serious runs, but they both fell cheaply. MCA’s long tail wagged a bit, but not enough, although Pawan Canchi and Ryan Quinlan both battled, and when Neil Makin fell lbw in the eighteenth over to Rachit Singh, badly misreading the big man’s swing, MCA were all out for a very modest total, and Rachit was celebrating figures of 6/5 in less than four overs. MCA began to hope as Toledo failed to score at the required run rate off opening bowlers Chamila and Murali (4-2-6-1), but although Satish, Kashif, Gordon, and Pawan all bowled well, there were never enough runs to defend, and Toledo knocked off the required total in 13 overs, with only Murali’s dismissal of Utpal Patel lbw and Ryan’s run-out of Azmat Khan to console the Academy.

For the seven MCA players (Kashif, Vasanth, , Satish, Murali, Chamila, Gordon, and Neil) who stayed at Bloomer to play for Motown in the following forty-overs match, there was, however, some rapid consolation, as Motown, led by Kashif (67 and 3/23) defeated GDCC by 3 runs in a very tight match, to stay in the running for a place in the Super Sixes. MCA’s own final two fixtures of the first round of T20 matches are against Saginaw on Saturday, 10 July (Lyon Oaks), and Oakland University, on Sunday, 18 July (Bloomer Park).

Scorecard.

Urgent: MCA T20 Match Re-scheduled for Saturday, 26 June

Urgent!  Our fixture against Toledo has been rescheduled: it will now take place at Bloomer Park, on Saturday, 26 June, starting at 9 a.m.  The clashing Motown fixture will then take place at the same ground immediately after the conclusion of our match.  Please let MCA know of your availability (or otherwise) for our match as soon as possible.

MCA Fights Hard against GDCC

No one plays sport to lose, and no one enjoys losing, but MCA Joint Head Coach and T20 team captain Shyam Mayasandra and MCA regular guest player and Motown C.C. captain Kashif Akhtar both left Lyon Oaks on Sunday in good spirits after the Academy’s sixteen-run defeat to Greater Detroit C. C. Their good spirits were the result of another strong performance by the young team, in which every player made solid contributions (with Ani Mayasandra chosen as youth Man-of-the-Match for his 18 not out, two economical overs, and an excellent catch running in from deep mid-off), and in which one of the league’s stronger teams was pushed hard. Coach Shyam expressed his pleasure at the continued development of the team and the signs of growing maturity.

GDCC won the toss and elected to bat, with Chamila Kannangara and Anurag Yerabati taking the new ball for MCA. Both bowled economically (MCA gave up significantly fewer extras than their opponent), and when Chamila had GDCC opener Faisal Sultan caught behind for seven by Gordon Makin, diving well to his right, in the third over, the Academy applied the brakes to GDCC’s quick start. However, despite good spells from Rohit Mogalayapalli, Ani Mayasandra, and Deepak Chilla, a couple of dropped catches allowed Abinhav Verma and Rohan Wanchoo to build a one-hundred-run partnership before Kashif Akhtar dismissed them both in his second over (good catches by Rohit Mogalayapalli and Ani Mayasandra). Amir Masood and Hamza Ansari added useful runs at the end, aided by two dropped catches in the last over, after Irfan Mahmood had been stumped by Anurag Yerabati, unwisely charging Pawan Canchi, who bowled an excellent first over.

A target of 146 was within MCA’s reach, but, as ever, required at least one of the senior men to score big. Shyam Mayasandra and Gordon Makin opened for MCA, facing Rohan Wanchoo and GDCC captain Nasir Mumtaz. Both bowled very well (Gordon subsequently described Rohan, who was swinging the ball both ways, as the best quick bowler he had ever faced), but MCA’s openers survived the first four overs, albeit with only 12 on the board. GDCC’s first- and second-change men were not as tight as their opening bowlers, and MCA’s opening batsmen profited, taking the score to 34 without loss after six overs. At that point, Shyam Mayasandra called for his more powerful bat, while a mid-wicket conference between the two openers led to his junior partner telling the MCA captain (according to reports): “Coach Shyam, if you stay in, we can win this match”. Unfortunately, the MCA captain fell on the very next ball, attempting to lift the returning Rohan back over his head, but succeeding only in giving an edge to keeper Amir. MCA’s scoring rate again slowed down, and when Gordon fell to Haris Ahmed, in the ninth over for nine (his half-hearted pull lobbed to square leg), MCA had only 42 on the board. Anurag Yerabati and Kashif Akhtar began to speed things up with some aggressive hitting, before Anurag went for six, and then Chamila Kannangara and Kashif Akhtar made nice contributions, hitting hard, before both were run out trying to challenge the field and accelerate the run rate. Ani Mayasandra came in, showed some caution, and then started to hit out very effectively, aided briefly by Rohit Mogalayapalli and Neil Quinlan. As the final overs arrived, it seemed unlikely that MCA could chase down the total, but late aggression from Ani, supported at the end by good running from Ryan Quinlan, lifted MCA almost within reach of the GDCC score.

As in other defeats this season, MCA had come close to surprising an opponent who had probably not expected to be challenged by such a young team (Shyam Mayasandra, Kashif Akhtar, and Neill Quinlan were the only senior players). With three matches left in the first round (against Toledo, Saginaw, and Oakland University), there is still all to play for.

Scorecard

MCA Player under Consideration for League Team

MCA fast bowler Chamila Kannangara is on the MichCA “first draft” list of fifty players under consideration for the team to represent the league in the Central East Region Tournament.  Details from the MichCA email are below, the preliminary list is in the attached document.  Many congratulations to Chamila, and good luck to him and to MCA’s T20 guest players who are also on the list (Kashif Akhtar, Maniramprasad Ravikumar, and Muralidharan Venkatapathy).   

MichCA writes: “This list has been compiled based on (1) nominations sent by various Teams/Clubs and (2) Top-10 performers in 2010 season as shown in the ResultsVault. Please note that these Try-Outs are also open for all members of MichCA. All those Teams/Clubs that have not yet contributed to this list are hereby invited to send their top players to the TryOuts. These Try-Outs are mandatory and therefore we want all players to come prepared along with their cricket-gear (if available with them).   

Date:                    06-24-2010 (Thursday)
Time:                    6:00pm – 8:30pm
Location:               Lyon Oaks Park, 52251 Pontiac Trail, Wixom, MI 48393
Primary Contact:    Philip Allen will represent MichCA GB during the tryouts. Feel free to contact him at the ground in case you have any questions.   

The Selection Panel will consist of three well-known cricket personalities of Michigan- Dr Abdul Hai, Shekar Kadur and Banfield Mark. They will select a FINAL LIST of 20 players [14 members of the team and 6 reserves] based on their assessment of the unique skills of players in terms of strength in batting, bowling and fielding (incl. general fitness) and player’s present form in terms of current season performances.”  

 CERTFirstDraft2010  

     

 

MCA Players Help Inaugurate Canton Ground

Canton Cricket Club’s ground in Heritage Park, in use since the beginning of the season, was officially inaugurated on Thursday, at the beginning of Canton’s annual Liberty Fest. Canton Township Supervisor Phil Lajoy presided over the inauguration, introducing his fellow Township Trustees, among whom Dr Syed Taj had played a particularly significant role in the planning and creation of the new cricket ground. MichCA Chairman Shahid Ahmed praised the efforts of everyone who had contributed to the campaign for a home ground for the local club, and spoke of the growth of cricket in Michigan, noting in particular the efforts of Michigan Cricket Academy to develop youth players. Some fifty local residents,  as well as Canton C.C. and other Michigan cricketers, attended the inauguration, and heard an explanation of the basic rules and principles of the game, before the ground was inaugurated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.  The speeches were followed by a short demonstration, supervized by distinguished former first-class cricketer, coach, and umpire Dr V. V. Giri, who called upon MCA’s Gordon Makin to bowl the first delivery to one of a pair of Canton batsman who had padded up for the occasion.  MCA is glad to report that the first ball at the inauguration beat the bat (an omen for the future of the ground?), although a few subsequent deliveries also beat MCA player Neil Makin, called upon to keep to his brother and other bowlers. After the demonstration a group of enthusiastic young novices played on the pitch, coached and encouraged by MichCA and MCA players.

The Canton pitch is officially inaugurated

Gordon Makin bowls the first ball at the inauguration.