1st XI vs KSCC 18/05/2024 – T20
Game 1 won by MCC, Game 2 won by KSCC
Our fantastic photographer – Edmund – also took some stunning shots of the day and they can all be found here (including these beauties): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-nCyU3C5Rh8gH54lPYeKEZOSijCdHa8c
Hans Oldman reporting:
A glorious sunny day greeted both teams at the Hirsch for the first weekend of T20 cricket in 2024. Everyone arrived early, except for one person. Unfortunately, that person had the keys. Luckily, one of the Kirchanshöring managed to work some magic on the lock, allowing everyone to enter the ground. Final ground preparations got underway with the Flicx stretched out, albeit with a bit of a bend, and the 30-yard circle put in place.
The captain of the day, Deep, strolled out to the middle for the toss, and MCC were sent into the field. It was great to have Waqas back for his first match of the season, opening the bowling with his fellow left-arm quick, Saba. The pair started strongly, bowling tight lines and lengths on a surprisingly bouncy Flicx. Waqas’s first over of the year was a maiden, and it was fantastic to have him steaming in again, bowling his often unplayable in-swingers.
After 4 overs, SKCC were struggling at 11/1. Saba bowled out his 4 overs at the start of the innings, finishing with 3/28, including 11 extras, and after 8 overs, SKCC were in big trouble at 36/4. With the run rate stuttering, the SKCC batters threw caution to the wind in search of runs. Hrishikesh continued where the openers left off, taking 2 wickets for 12 runs from his 4 overs. Mucca also picked up 2 wickets, and Sandy took 1. The innings was finally closed out by Altmann, who snagged 2 wickets in 2 balls, finishing the innings on a hat-trick.
MCC’s target was 104 to win.
The chase started strongly with Panchal and Altmann opening up. Altmann was the first to fall, timidly hitting a full toss to cover for 26, leaving MCC at 41/1 after 6.5 overs. Three balls later, Panchal was also back in the sheds, followed next ball by Captain Kotru. An MCC collapse seemed imminent with 3 wickets lost for 0 runs.
Thankfully, Hrishikesh and Faizan steadied the ship, putting together a mature partnership with controlled hitting and smart running between the wickets. When Hrishikesh finally played a false shot, the pair had put on 54 runs, and MCC were just 9 runs away from the target. Mucca came in and closed out the innings with two 4s, with Faizan at the other end, 34 not out off 24 balls.
MCC secured a solid victory, winning the first match of the day by 6 wickets.
After a quick break between matches, Kotru lost the toss again, and MCC were asked to field first once more.
Waqas started the innings the same way as the first match, bowling another well-directed maiden. Saba opened from the other end again, but the SKCC batters seemed determined to attack, swinging wildly at everything. Luck was on SKCC’s side as they made the most of the pace on the ball, swatting both opening bowlers all around the ground. Things were getting out of hand with SKCC racing to 38/0 after the first 4 overs.
Sandy replaced Waqas from the Playground end, picking up a wicket with his first ball, providing some hope to the tiring MCC. Toby came on to bowl from the other end, with SKCC still swinging hard. Sandy’s second over was a wicket maiden, and momentum started to shift MCC’s way. After 7 overs, SKCC were now 51/2. Toby picked up his first wicket of the day in the next over, the brakes had been applied and SKCC were now 56/3.SKCC opener Ranjet continued to cause problems for the MCC bowlers, making the most of the shorter boundary and punishing any short-pitched bowling. When Ranjet finally hauled out for 51 off just 38 balls to Kontru, the score was 84/4 after 12.1 overs. Altmann came into the attack and completed the hat-trick thanks to the safe hands of Hrishikesh at point. Two balls later, he got another wicket, this time caught by Toby on the boundary, bringing up his 100th wicket for the club.
Faizan picked up another wicket in the next over, leaving SKCC at 102/7 after 15.1 overs. However, SKCC continued to bat aggressively, putting their backs into every shot. Faizan and Altmann were also belted around the park, with top edges falling safely and boundaries coming regularly. No more wickets fell, and SKCC finished their innings at 140/7 off 20 overs. MCC needed a solid performance with the bat to chase the large total on the Flicx.
The chase didn’t start well, with opener Panchal and Altmann both gone after 2.4 overs, leaving the score at 16/2.
It was up to Hrishikesh and Faizan to help stabilize the innings. Unfortunately, this time it wasn’t to be, and after 8.4 overs, both batsmen had fallen to catches, with the score only at 54. Deep managed to avoid the King Pair but fell 6 balls later without troubling the scorers, quickly followed by Abhi 2 balls later. MCC were in big trouble at 61/6 with only 9 overs left.
It’s a shame that the “Grand Opening” of the new bowling machine was cancelled the night before, as it was deemed too much effort to set up. The extra practice could have come in handy as the MCC batsmen lacked the firepower or hitting ability against the SKCC bowling attack.
The wickets continued to fall, with Mucca being the last to go. MCC were bowled out for 72/9, with Waqas unable to bat due to a potentially broken hand after dropping a catch earlier in the match. MCC ended up losing by 68 runs.
Honors were shared for the day with one win for MCC and one win for SKCC on the first T20 weekend of the year. Very few of the MCC players stayed around for beer after the game, but those who did enjoyed some long distance frisbeeing until Toby launched it high into a tree that overhangs the ground.
After another hour of launching cricket balls to try and dislodge the stuck frisbee, including one throw from Sandy that somehow went through the hole but missed the actual frisbee, the lads called it a day. MCC may have walked away feeling a little disappointed to only get one win, but there were lessons to be learned, and the T20 season is long. Hopefully, this week against CCB 2nd XI, the boys can bounce back and make it 2 from 2.
Thanks for reading.
Match 1
KSCC – 103/10 Sabawoon 3/28
MCC – 106/4 Faizan 34*
MOM: Faizan Bhojani
https://cricclubs.com/BayerischerCricketVerbandeV/viewScorecard.do?matchId=5869&clubId=40958
Match 2
KSCC –140/7
MCC – 72/9
MOM: Sundeep Machado
https://cricclubs.com/BayerischerCricketVerbandeV/viewScorecard.do?matchId=5874&clubId=40958
