MCC-1s v SV Kirchanschöring
On a cold and wet April day, with temperatures struggling to hit 8 degrees, Munich Cricket
Club took on their opponents Kirschenshoring SV in what promised to be a thrilling
encounter. With the Kirschenschoring players dressed as if they were expecting it to snow any
second, MCC lost the toss and were asked to bat first.
Despite the tough April batting conditions, Vishv and Altmann got off to a flying start, thanks
partly to Kirschenschoring deciding to bowl even though they only had 7 players for the first
5 overs. When Vish fell the score was on 49 after 5.1 overs. Altmann continued the charge,
finishing on 65 off 43 deliveries. Xtras chipped in with a useful contribution of 26, while
Faizan added a quick-fire 21 at the end of the innings, off just 9 balls, to give the MCC a very
competitive total of 150/5 from their allotted 20 overs.
In response, the opposing team struggled to get going, losing wickets at regular intervals.
MCC’s bowlers, bowling tight lines and picking up crucial wickets at vital moments to restrict
the opposition to just 103/10 from 17.4 overs. Waqas finished with figures of 2/17, while
Altmann also picked up 2 wickets for 19 runs. Faizan and Anirudh “Rudy” also impressed on their
debuts, picking up wickets to complement the good fielding effort all around. Phil and
Shivam chipped in with crucial run-outs to complete a dominant performance from MCC.
Overall, it was an excellent team effort from Munich Cricket Club, who played well in
difficult conditions to register a comfortable victory. With this win, MCC went in confidently
to the second match.
After winning the toss for the second match of the day, Captain Altmann decided to bat first
again and give the fielders a chance to warm up, after a freezing 20 overs in the field.
Unfortunately, things did not start well for MCC as they lost wickets early on and were in
trouble at 5-50 after 10 overs. But, the dynamic duo of Suchit and Shivam stepped up and
steadied the ship with a crucial partnership. Shivam played well but fell for 14 off 19 balls
with 2 overs left in the innings, leaving Suchit to carry on the hard work on an ever more
difficult pitch to bat on. Such remained not out with 32 off 31 balls, guiding MCC to a total of
8/109 after 20 overs.
When it was time to defend the small total, MCC’s bowlers started off well with excellent
performances from Waqas and Mucca. Aniruhd and Faizan also bowled tight lines and took
wickets at crucial moments through the middle overs, keeping Kirschenshoring below the
require run-rate with the drizzling rain slowly becoming heavier.
With 15 runs needed off the last over, all eyes were on Mucca to defend the score. He bowled
the last over brilliantly, giving the batsmen nothing to hit, only conceding 4 runs despite the
Kirschenschoring batsman trying to put him into the Eisbach. MCC won the match by 10
runs, with KCC finishing on 7/99 after 20 overs.
It was an excellent performance from Suchit Desai with the bat, when the team needed it
most. MCC finished the day with 2 well deserved victories and off to the perfect start in the
T20 Pokal for 2023.
Full scorecard
Johann Oldman
