MCC’s extraordinary bowling fiasco
As the sun beamed down, little did anyone know that this clash would become synonymous with the extraordinary number of extras bowled by the Munich Cricket Club, probably the highest ever in 40 overs.
The Munich Cricket Club was offered to bat first, and Mucca and Prbal gave a great start to the innings by adding 95 runs for the opening partnership in 20 overs. Macca retired after scoring 50 (61), and Prabal fell for a well-batted 32 (66). After this, Rahul and Amol fell in quick succession, with Amol registering himself in the duck race for the season. Simrat played a fine knock of 24 (29). Pranav Atmo, playing his debut game, managed to open his score with 1(5). Another debutant, Christian Haack, scored a good knock of 20(34). Debutant Richard Bolan scored 17*(25), and Edward scored 6* (4) to reach a good total of 195 for 7 after 40 overs. Serendib gave away 32 extras out of this total.
MCC was confident of defending the above-par target of 196. Alas, from the very first delivery, it became evident that the Munich Cricket Club’s bowlers had taken the concept of “extra” to a whole new level. Wide balls flew past the batsmen like mischievous birds, while no-balls sailed over the batsmen’s heads as if defying gravity itself. The umpires’ fingers seemed permanently raised, as if they were participating in an elaborate game of charades, trying to interpret the chaos unfolding before them.
The Munich Cricket Club’s bowlers got wickets in between this wide riot. Keshav bowled well to get 2-34 in 6 overs. Amol also bowled well to get 2-21 in 5 overs. As the match progressed, the count of extras bowled by the Munich Cricket Club climbed to unprecedented heights. Wide balls whizzed past the wicketkeeper, leaving him in desperate pursuit, while no-balls seemed to test the limits of the cricket ground’s boundaries. The scorecard resembled a comedy script, with the extras column becoming the star of the show.
As the match reached its climax, the Munich Cricket Club’s bowlers redoubled their efforts to strike a balance between entertainment and precision. Mucca was introduced late into the attack to take the remaining 2 wickets to win the match. Rahul Singh, introduced into the attack as a last choice, got the wicket of the first ball caught by Keeper Amol. A brilliant catch left Serendib 9 down. Mucca was unlucky not to get a wicket, and Serendib won the match in the 34th over. MCC bowlers gave away a total of 65 wides and 26 no balls.
Though the Munich Cricket Club may have lost the match, their extraordinary display of extras will be etched in cricketing folklore.
Breaking this record will prove to be quite challenging, serving as a constant reminder of the importance of avoiding wides.
Here is the link to the scorecard for a forever reminder:
https://www.crichq.com/matches/1096389/1st_innings?fbclid=IwAR3jlxdD_cQm6DmrJa0cffVK-RazWJKCCiZndIEQCVp2XDcmJuUFtmStPNo
Signing off ChatSimCT on tour to Munich city to witness all these wides.
