Volume 1

July 15, 2011

Issue 28

ITS UDRS FOR WEEKEND CRICKET!!!

EDITORIAL WEEKEND CRICKET MAGAZINE! OH! MY LORDS! DHONIS CAPTAINCY EXPOSED! UMPIRES EYE-OPENER! SCCA LEAGUE 2011! OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS!

EDITORIAL

WEEKEND CRICKET MAGAZINE!!!

The Management of Weekend Cricket web magazine announces the discontinuance of the publication, after this issue. This decision was taken after a prolonged deliberation. The Management saw that it is not achieving the goals that prompted them to publish this magazine. As was discussed in the last editorial, no improvement was seen in the local cricket and its administration. The Editor of this magazine has been playing cricket in Southern California since 1972 and over the years, has not seen any improvement in taking the game to the local (American) kids and not even to the kids of immigrants. One can argue that the number of clubs playing cricket in and around Southern California has increased over the years. This is not because of any efforts the local cricket administration has ever made, but because of influx of immigrants from cricket-playing countries. Thanks to U.S. Immigration policy in this regard. The other day the Editor was walking around Woodley Park watching a game of cricket and one of the senior members (former Vice-President of SCCA in 1972) commented that he has seen the local cricket administration deteriorating, year by year. Being an eye witness, I agree with him more than one hundred percent. Lets look at todays picture. Despite or in spite of having so many clubs, we do not have a representative in USAs T-20 National Team. Surely, the present administration will be quick to point finger at the selection committee, the scheduling and the condition of the wickets where the matches were played to select the National Team. These are sour grapes. I would ask the administration as to what they have done to move with the changing times, change in world cricket, etc. SCCA conducts the league, as usual. In fact, these league games have been reduced to 45-over and 40-over games. ICC tournaments are 5-Day Tests, ODIs (50-over games) and T-20 (20-over games). SCCA league does not fit in anywhere. What has SCCA done to train and/or expose our players to fit into cricket norm? None, whatsoever. Barring So.Calif.Winter League tournament conducted by Chandra Roy, there is no T-20 league or knock out tournament for players to play in this format. But, when it comes to the National T-20, one expects our players to get selected for the National Team.

SCCA has not even bothered to provide a decent net practice facility. League matches played are the only practice players get. Not that our players lack the talent to compete for a place in the National team but they are not provided necessary match practice in such formats. SCCA administration spends most of their time in internal politics and therefore do not have time to perform the job for which they are elected to. It is unfortunate that the President, SCCA moved out of the State immediately after his elections but is still holding on to the position. It is high time he resigns as he cannot efficiently perform his fiduciary duties as President from out of State. This will be a great service from him to local cricket. Cricket will not catch on in USA, at least in Southern California, as long as they do business, as usual. Drastic changes have to be made, such as fund-raising (sponsorship), outreach and recruitment from local schools, colleges, major employers major companies have their basketball, baseball teams and publicity at every level. Additionally, to improve US National teams performance, we have to training our players to play longer version of the game. As one of the former USACA coach once said to me that players who are used to playing one-day cricket lack the stamina to play matches for two or three days consecutively. When playing ICC Tournament for affiliated countries, each team is called upon to play every day and in, some case, every other day. To prepare our players for this type of tournaments, we should re-structure our league. It is recommended that SCCA should from 2012 season play Division-I league for two-days (Saturday and Sunday) and the decision is made on 1st innings lead. This is not a limited over cricket with restrictions on fielding, bowling, etc. Captain will get to use his skills. He will plan to get the other team out by bringing in bowling changes, appropriate field placements and should know when to declare an innings and when to go for a draw. All Division II games will be 50-over games. These will be fully governed by ICCs ODI regulations. Top four teams of the league will meet in play-off. This play-off will be a two-day game without any restrictions, results being decided on 1st innings lead. This way, Division II teams get exposed to longer version of the games when they go to Division I. Divisions III, IV, V and VI could be 40-over games.

Additionally, there should be a T 20 tournament, within each division, if possible. If T-20 not, one tournament for all Divisions. This would make the games interesting for the players as they have something to look forward to. Editor, K.C.S. Rao, takes this opportunity to thank his Management Team (Dr. V.V. Giri (Michigan), Prakash Krishnagiri (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), and Satish Michigan), Krishnagiri Arabia Nagarajan, Technical Director (Chennai) for their cooperation and assistance in publishing Weekend Cricket regularly.

Editor: K.C.S. Rao

Prakash Krishnagiri

Dr. V.V. Giri

Satish Nagarajan

OH MY LORDS!
By Dr. V.V. Giri With nine wickets in hand on the Day 5 of a Test, you expect the World No. 1 to either win it or draw it. Spirit was willing but the flesh was weak. Perhaps it sounds biblical, but there can't be a better way to abridge India's status during the five days at Lord's that got construed as the 2000th Test in the history of cricket, which India lost. England outplayed India in all departments and became a true winner. The fact will be that India fought not one but many adversaries in their 100th Test against the colonial cousins. And they came in all sizes ranging from towering England bowlers to a microscopic virus. But before those two hit Team India, one of the most senior hamstrings decided to pull up and render India's bowling impotent. But these are things you can't anticipate. What you can do is prepare intently for a series as important as this one. That's where probably Team India came second in the contest at Lord's. Indian players came to England from all directions. Barring those who played on the whole of West Indies tour, the others returned carrying bandages in their baggage to promptly attend to in the event of their IPL-caused injuries flared up. This meant that the England unit was better prepared in terms of coordination, which comes with playing together consistently. Consider this. Had the likes of Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar skipped the IPL, they would have toured the Caribbean and hence India would have been better prepared as a team to face a much tough English side on their own soil. England certainly looked in the swing of things and it showed. With every passing day, Harbhajan Singh is making it hard to not believe that he has lost his teeth after Anil Kumble's retirement. Once Zaheer got injured within the first 50 overs of the Test, India had no one to lead the attack even with a 400-plus wicket-taker on the field. It is not clear for how long will India field Bhajji based on reputation only, and allow a more menacing R Ashwin gather rust back home? Bhajji was the biggest culprit in this test. The same can also be said about Indian skipper MS Dhoni. True that he is currently irreplaceable as a captain but Dhoni seems to be refusing to admit that playing strokes, and not blocking, is his forte. In both the innings at Lords, Dhoni gave a bit too much respect to the overhead conditions, a fact that comes to light knowing that he faced 103 balls for his 28 runs in the first innings. In the second innings as well, when Suresh Raina showed that mixing caution with aggression was working, Dhoni acted like a stubborn child refusing to pay heed. The Indian bowling was on one leg throughout the Test, owing to Zaheers hamstring. Opting to bowl in overcast conditions, Dhoni was left with no option but to hand over his gloves to Rahul Dravid and fill in for Zaheer. That allowed Kevin Pietersen to get set and score a double century that put England in command. To say that the World Number 1 team is depending on just one bowler - It is atrocious! What followed was even worse. Sachin went down with a viral infection and didn't field for most part of England's second innings, which meant he couldn't bat at his customary No. 4 position. More than that, it was a

less than 100 per cent Tendulkar that cost India dearly. (Strangely, but sadly, no one expected Sachin to score in the fourth innings and save India!) Gambhir became the third victim when a Matt Prior sweep hit him flush on the elbow. Though it turned out to be only a bruise, he couldnt open India's second innings, forcing the the one and only perfect team man Dravid out of his prolific No. 3 slot to accompany Abhinav Mukund. It also required VVS Laxman to bat at No.3. India never recovered from this mess, which was evident in their second innings that folded up for 261, allowing England to go 1-0 up in the four-Test series. On the fifth day, victory was highly unlikely, but it didn't mean that free-flowing batsmen like Dhoni, Gambhir and Tendulkar had to play like Geoffrey Boycott or Chris Tavare. Tendulkar had done this time and again going in to his shell unnecessarily. Only he and God know the reasons. Laxman (56) and Raina (78) put up a fight, staying at the crease by playing their strokes but none of the other Indian batters took a cue, and, instead, buckled under pressure. Yes, it's difficult to play with eight fit men but then India is not No. 1 for nothing. For your kind information, these three players were unfit even before the tour. With nine wickets in hand on the final day of a Test, you expect the No. 1 to either win it or draw it, but certainly not lose it. A meek surrender!!

About the Author: "Dr. V.V. Giri, a Michigan based Cricket Player, Coach & Journalist, is an avid follower and servant of the Game of Cricket. He is a highly talented off-spin bowler and an opening batsman. Dr. Giri was in the state squad for Tamil Nadu and has played Senior Division League in Chennai for a record number of years. He was the Cricket Secretary for the famous "Madras Cricket Club" in Chennai. Prior to settling down in U.S.A., he has played cricket in U.K. and Australia. He also toured several countries - U.S.A., Canada and many Far East countries with Teams from India to foster the game of cricket. Dr. Giri has a Ph. D in Pharmaceutical Technology and has been involved in Research and Development of Drugs for many years. He is also a visiting faculty in many Universities in India. Dr. Giri is a great articulator."

DHONIS CAPTAINCY EXPOSED!

By Staff Reporter Much talked about, World No. 1, Indian Cricket Team Captain Mahendra Singh Dhonis skills as a captain is exposed during the recently concluded tour of West Indies and in their loss to England in their First Test match at Lords. No doubt, he was a lucky captain, to survive all these days. Whatever he did worked well for him till recently. He came into the Indian team as a hard-hitting batsman and a wicket-keeper. His skills as a wicket-keeper always left a question mark in the minds of purists. His batting prowess overshadowed his deficiency in wicket-keeping skills. Of late, he has been failing more times than not, as a batsman. He has changed his batting style from aggression to defense. He prefers to nudge here and there and rely mostly on singles and twos, and in the process gets out quickly. Ones captaincy skills are tested when one faces the challenges and not when everything is going smooth. This challenge he faced in the recently concluded tour of West Indies. West Indies was a depleted side without the services of their match-winning and dangerous batsman Chris Gayle. On the other hand, India has been the World No. 1 team as far as Tests are concerned. West Indies challenged Team India, in the third Test by declaring their innings. Team India should have gone for an outright win in the third Test, if not for a draw. They actually called off the game when Team India needed 80-plus runs in 90-plus balls with seven wickets remaining. Sure, Dhoni tried to go for a win by sending in Suresh Raina to push the score and Suresh failed. Dhoni then sent in V.V.S. Laxman to join Rahul Dravid and played safe. Dhoni should have gone for the kill by promoting himself in the batting order and sending in other quick-scorers and kept V.V.S. Laxman for a rearguard action. It is not clear what Dhoni was thinking by sending in VVS Laxman at that stage. Was he thinking the World No.1 Test side cannot play the 90-plus balls and lose the game to share the series? If he did, he is unfit to be a captain of World No. 1 team. In the event of India losing a few more wickets, he could have sent in experienced Laxman to save the game or, at that stage, called off the game. In the Lords Test, he did not have much of an option in deciding the batting order in the second innings due to the non-availability of Gambhir and Sachin in their regular positions. The blunder Dhoni committed was not bringing on Ishant Sharma immediately after the lunch break. Sharma bowled well prior to the break and got wickets. Another blunder he committed was not adequately trying Suresh Raina (who has always come to the rescue of Dhoni with the ball, when wickets are not falling at regular intervals) on the first day, and, again, till the end on the second day. Pieterson was allowed to have his day in the absence of the left hander Zaheer Khan. It looks Dhoni could not overcome the shock of Zaheers absence for the rest of the game. In the absence of a regular bowler (Zaheer) Dhoni should have discussed with senior players like, Rahul, Laxman, Tendulkar, Harbajhan and Zaheer and come up with a strategy. Since Dhonis wicket-keeping leaves much to be desired, it would have made no difference if he had handed over the gloves to Rahul Dravid (Rahul has had experience in keeping wickets in ODIs and Tests for India) . Dhoni could have been a surprise bowler to everyone in England side. Pieterson, being a settled batsman, handled him. Others would not have. It is also not clear why Dhoni did not try Sachin as a bowler when no wickets were falling. After all, this is a Test match

and there is no restriction in field setting. Team India did not have a leg spinner in their XI and Sachin, with leg spinners could have no only provided the variety and the break through. It appears Dhoni has a few favorites and he relies too much on such individuals irrespective of their current form. One such player is Harbhajan Singh. Of late, he has been a failure. He is afraid to give air to the ball and purchase a wicket. He tends to bowl negative to keep his economy rate. He failed miserably in West Indies tour just prior to this series. It is a surprise that the National Selection Committee is selecting him based on the past performances. R. Ashwin has been a successful bowler and it is shocking to see him being overlooked to provide a place of Harbhajan Singh. It is high time Dhoni stops depending on Harbhajan Singh and starts performing Hari Bhajan(!) (A form of worship in a group setting) He should be on the lookout for youngsters knocking on the door to cement their place in Team India. It would have been a blessing in disguise for Team India if Dhoni was suspended for the next game for slow over-rate. He is a lucky captain, no doubt. He got away this time because of certain factors playing a role in this decision. Dhoni has to go back to the drawing board to polish up on his wicket-keeping skills. He is quick in his movements to the left and right, but weak in catching the ball coming up to him. Since the Captain has a say in the selection of the Team, he should have argued for the exclusion of Zaheer Khan from the playing XI for the Five-Day Test unless he was more than one hundred percent fit. Injuries during the game are unavoidable but going into the Test match without being fully fit to last the five days is a serious crime! It is inexplicable why Team India opted to field first in both the Tests against England, despite winning the toss. Team India which is loaded with batsmen (6 batsmen and 4 bowlers) did not opt to bat first. Was Dhoni afraid of putting World Class batsmen of India to face the English attack first? Was his fear responsible to make India bat the fourth innings in both the tests? Hope Team India and the National Selection Committee learn a lesson or two out of this!

UMPIRES EYE-OPENER!
Courtesy Thilak Wijedasa 1 A batsman attempting a sweep shot, gets a top edge, and, seeing the ball is going to fall on his stumps, knocks it away with his bat. The fielding side appeal for 'Hit the ball twice ' What is your decision? Not out. A batsman defending his wicket can legally knock the ball away with his bat or any part of his body, except the hand that is not holding the bat. However if, in knocking the ball away, he prevents a catch being taken, he will be given out, on appeal, for obstruction.

2. You signal a wide, but the wicket-keeper, still able to collect the ball, stumps the batsman while he is out of the crease and appeals. The batsman does not move, insisting you cannot be stumped off a wide. What is your decision? Give the batsman out. Law 25 states you can be stumped off a wide.

3. An injured fielder is replaced by a twelfth man who excels in fielding at cover point. When he adopts this position in the field, both batsmen object and insist he fields further away from the bat, preferably at third man. What is your decision? The batting side has no power to object to where a substitute fields. But under the Laws of cricket 2000 code he cannot keep wickets.

4. A fast bowler has his shirt unbuttoned a long way down. The batsman claims his shirt collar is flapping as he bowls and is distracting him . He demands the bowler button it up. What is your decision? Tell the bowler to button it up.

5. A batsman appears to edge the ball. The keeper takes and appeals for a catch, then to make sure, whips the bails off too and appeals for a stumping You refuse the appeal for catch and call it a 'over'. But a second later your colleague gives the batsman out stumped. Is the batsman, out ? Yes he is out. The appeal 'Hows that'? covers all dismissals. The fact that 'over' had been called does not prevent the out given by the colleague.

SCCA LEAGUE 2011!

Staff Reporter WEEKEND OF JULY 9-10:

SPORTIVE GESTURE BY SOHAIL KHAN

Sohail Khan, Captain of Britamer CC, helped to rectify the inadvertent mistake made by Umpire when he gave a LBW decision against a well settled United CC Batsman. Umpire, apparently did not notice that the batsman had played the ball. Wicket-keeper of Britamer and the close-in fielders observed this and brought it to the attention of their skipper. Meanwhile, the batsman started walking as he was given out. Sohail Khan, Britamer skipper rightly called the batsman back and allowed him to continue. Human errors are common and umpires from time to time tend to make such mistakes. That is a part of the game. But, the Captain of the fielding side calling back the batsman is a sportive gesture and should be commended. Hope other captains emulate this!

PINAK PATELS CENTURY HELPS UNITED BEAT BRITAMER

Batting first United scored 270 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. Thanks to a fine century (105) by Pinak Patel who is in good form this season. Others who scored for United were Praveen Chava 49, Pranav Parekh 47 and Shanker Sukumar 36. Sohail Khan was the only successful bowler for Britamer with his 2 for 52. In reply, Britamer was all out for 222 runs. Saifullah Solangi 20, Noman Ghazali 36, Ahmed Razi 47 and Sohail Khan 23 scored for Britamer. Shanker Sukumar was the most successful bowler for United CC. He was ably assisted by Pranav Parekh 2 for 38 and Babar Hashim 2 for 53.

PINAK PATEL

FOR OTHER SCORES OF MATCHES DURING THIS WEEKEND, PLEASE SEE THE LINK WWW.SCCACRICKET.ORG

WEEKEND OF JULY 16-17:

ALI MUKADAMS CENTURY AND HASAN IMAMS DEADLY BOWLING HELP COSMOS SET NEW SCCA RECORDS!
ALI MUKADAM

Batting first, Cosmos CC scored 409 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in 45 overs. This is a new record for SCCA in Division I. Hitherto, SCCA used to play 50-over

league games. Since switching over to 45-over league games, this is the highest total scored by a Division I team. Thanks to a fine century by Ali Mukadam. Others who contributed to this record were Abhimanyu Rajp 27, Randeep Singh 63, Fazal Shahnawaz 57 and 58 not out by Abhisek Pawar. Eddie Malhar 2 for 66, Arjun Singh 2 for 90 and Pranav Mulani 2 for 83 were the successful bowlers for Pasadena-1.
Hasan Imam When it came Pasadena-1 turn to bat, they failed miserably. Deadly bowling by Hasan Imam, who bowled 5 overs, conceded 6 runs and captured 6 wickets. He was ably supported in this effort by Jafar Naqvi 2 for 8 and M.U. Shani Rehman 2 for 6. Pasadena-1 was skittled out for a 23 runs, of which 12 were extras. This is the lowest total scored by a Division I team in the league. Yet, another new record!

FOR RESULTS AND SCORES OF OTHER GAMES PLAYED DURING THIS WEEKEND AND THE WEEKEND THAT FOLLOWED, PLEASE LOG ON TO THE LINK WWW.SCCACRICKET.ORG

OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS!
NAMES OF CENTURIANS AND BOWLERS WHO HAD TAKEN 5 OR MORE WICKETS IN A GAME DURING THE PAST THREE WEEKENDS AND SOME FINE ALL-ROUNDERS. DETAILS OF THE SCORES ARE AVAILABLE AT WWW.SCCACRICKET.ORG

BATSMEN:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Nazim Shirazi, Pegasus CC Ali Mukadam, Cosmos CC Mark Punshon, Corinthian CC Pinak Patel, United CC Kenneth Bennett, Cougars CC (114*) Kenneth Bennett, Cougars CC (141)

BOWLERS:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Hasan Imam, Cosmos CC (6 for 6) Mohabir Mohammad, Friends CC Nikesh Ahir, Kabir CC Ravi Singh, CSUF (6 for 27) Neville Brown, Caribbean CC (6 for 43) Elmore Hutchinson, Pegasus CC David Pieters, Corinthian CC Salman Ahmed, Youth Tyrone Peter, BnB CC (6 for 23)

ALL-ROUNDERS:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Sujesh Pulikkal, Hollywood CC-1 Marcus Stewart, Caribbean CC Shanker Sukumar, United CC Gopinath Warriar, Casuals CC Randeep Singh Timil Patel, Vijayta CC

Note: Editor regrets he could not publish the pictures of all the outstanding performers as he does not have these on file. This is where the clubs failed to acknowledge the achievement of their players and send the picture(s) to weekend cricket for publication.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMERS!
Batsmen, Bowlers and All-Rounders

Nazim Shiraji, Pegasus CC-1

Mark Punshon, Corinthian CC

Pramukh Subramanian, Corinthian CC

David Pieters, Corianthian CC

Salman Ahmed, Youth

Sujesh Pulikkal, HCC-1

Marcus Stewart, Caribbean CC

Gopinath Warriar

Timil Patel, Vijayta CC