Category: 2015

Tours organiser Konchada set up a friendly against the Pak Orient away as they needed preparation for their T20 match against the Baden Wurttemberg champions on Sunday 13^th. We should have played at the Hirschanger but Pak Orient wanted practice on their ground. We managed to get a full team with the help of a ringer from MIC and Anit Rai a friend of Toke.

The usual culprits sent SMS messages that they would be late due to bubonic plague in Upper Volta, the house being on fire etc. but, only 20 minutes late and after some rather erotic swapping of white trousers, the game began.

Skipper for the day Bowes, who had been on his back ill all week lost the toss and we were asked to field. Actually fielding is rather a misnomer for what we did and it has to be among the top performances for dropped catches, balls passing through spread legs and going for four and so on. Still no-one is perfect.

The Pak Orient openers Matheen and Murtaza faced MCC opening bowlers Qureshi and Sestan. They, like the first seven MCC bowlers, opened their spell with delightful boundary balls, in fact the first spell balls of these seven bowlers went for 36 runs. Only Gattinger and Langwadt were different, Gattinger bowled a wide and then a six whereas Langwadt four wides and two no-balls before his first legal ball was hit for a single – well done Marco. After four overs they were 52 for 0 and this run rate or thereabouts was maintained throughout their innings. The first wicket fell on 117, Murtaza rather hilariously run out with both batmen at the same end. Matheen retired with the score on 166 in the 15^th over when drinks were taken. With the score on 201 Rahim, their teenage prodigy, was superbly stumped by iron gloves Bowes off Toke’s bowling. The next two batsmen, Basit and Zubair retired out with the score on 256 in the 23^rd over. Ali, their captain was run out for the second consecutive time against MCC in the 26^th over and Khalid rather amusingly was out hit wicket – he did a Warnie from Edgbaston 2005 and trod on the stumps. Waleed Junior retired, Sarfaraz was bowled by ringer Mudassir from the MICs and they finished on 340 all out 29.5 overs.

After the tea break and a tactical discussion as to how 341 in 30 overs was a cake walk MCC opened with Toke’s mate Anil Rai and Chakrabarty (without an “h”). The first ball was a wide and Chakrabarty was run out on the first legal ball. Six runs later Toke had had enough and two runs after that new boy on the block Anil went. Sestan, who was looking very good and Konchada put on a magnificent six runs for the fourth before Konchada departed. Four runs later we were 19 for four down after Sestan omitted to run his bat in, basics Igor, basics. Now, in the context of the innings, Qureshi and Bowes put on a superb 58 for the fifth wicket, Qureshi finally being bowled by Zubair for 40, the highest score of the innings. Bowes and Mudassir put on 33 for the sixth until Mudassir was run out with the score on a fairly respectable 110. Gattinger played his trade mark cross bat and was bowled for 2, six runs later Bowes capitulated with the score on 121 but then Hashimi, who was given a chance when he wandered out of his crease, was stumped but the opposition withdrew their appeal, and Langwadt put on 24 for the last wicket. It was Marco`s first ever runs for MCC and included a boundary four so congratulations Marco.

The batting performance in the end turned a pretty disastrous day into something slightly enjoyable so we look forward to the next friendly at the Hirschanger on 12^th September against the MICs.

Rai, 3, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 39 runs, 0 wkts

Chakrabarty, 0, run out,

Toke, 4, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 35 runs, 1 wkt

Sestan, 4, run out, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 37 runs, 0 wkts

Konchada, 2, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 19 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Qureshi, 40, bowled, 6 overs, 0 mdns, 52 runs, 0 wkts

Bowes, 31, caught, 1 stumping

Mudassir, 17, run out, 4.5 overs, 0 mdns, 39 runs, 2 wkts

Gattinger, 2, bowled, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 37 runs, 0 wkts

Hashimi, 14, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 56 runs, 1 wkt

Langwadt, 5*, 1 over, 0 mdns, 20 runs, 0 wkts.

MCC, 145 for 10 in 29.2 overs, lost to Pak orient,340 for 10 in 30 overs by 195 runs

MCC MOM: Bowes

 

A glorious late summer’s day at the Hirschanger, blue skies and 22°C saw a friendly MCC side take on the might of the MICs in a 35 over fixture. The Gore was playing so the contents of the fridge were checked well before the start and three able bodied members dispatched to fetch two crates of cool fresh. Quereshi turned up 5 minutes after the scheduled start with the reasonable excuse that he had overslept which was really more believable than his usual excuses.

Captain Sarma won the toss and decided to bat opening with Algar and Gattinger. A quick fire 12 off 13 balls from Algar ended when he was caught with the score on 14 for two down – Gattinger had had an even more quick fire duck from two balls. Iron gloves Bowes and test match paced Parlour put on 33 for the third wicket before Iron Gloves was out caught for 18. Toke was run out for seven while the scorer’s attention was diverted making a presentation of two bats to the Katholische Diakonische Hilfwerk for use by the refugees in a registration area in Tübingerstrasse. With the score on 61 Qureshi was bowled by Karthik, this time being late on the shot rather than late getting to the ground. In came the Gore, keen as mustard after last week’s thrashing and took part in a partnership of 15 with Parlour. After he went for two captain Sarma came to the crease and the run rate improved significantly but, with the score on 102, Parlour was run out for 40. Arunachalam joined the duck race as did Konchada and we were 106 for nine down. In came Blades raring to go after two weeks getting half a sun tan in Italy – just see Algar’s photograph. He and Sama put on 49 for the 10^th wicket leaving us on 155 all out and a least a score that could be defended if we chose.

After teas provided by Sestan MCC opened with bowlers Arunachalam and Sarma who bowled very tightly and after their respective three overs the score was 16 for nought. Blades and Qureshi replaced them and after their respective three overs the score was 43 for one down – MCC had been 46 for two down. Michahelles and Konchada had two overs each, Michahelles getting his regular one wicket by bowling Gezo George. Algar and Sestan now came on and the run rate increased somewhat but then Algar bowled a wicket maiden, a wicket for two over and a maiden. His second wicket brought Stefan of MICs to the crease. He faced 16 balls without scoring plus another five wide balls before he was instructed to retire out. Beforehand he had been given out (sort of) caught by a ball which came off his forearm. MCC were very insistent that the appeal be withdrawn as he was sucking up balls so he stayed until his enforced retirement. Gattinger and Toke bowled the remaining overs to allow MIC to reach 157 for six down allowing more than enough time to sample the cool fresh before the party split into three, one going to Harry’s pit to watch Man U vs Liverpool, Garner heading for Espana to impress an even prettier bird and the remainder heading for the Sitar for a Darren Bakerson. It had been a wonderful day, captain Sarma was very friendly in his batting and bowling orders and the MICs also agreed to have another friendly at the Hirschanger on Saturday 28^th September.

Algar, 12, caught, 5 overs, 2 mdns, 18 runs, 2 wkts

Gattinger, 0, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 10 runs, 0 wkts

Bowes, 18, caught

Parlour, 40, run out

Toke, 7, run out, 2.1 overs, 0 mdns, 13 runs, 0 wkts

Qureshi, 6, bowled, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 15 runs, 1 wkt

Sestan, 2, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 24 runs, 0 wkts

Sarma, 42, caught, 3 overs, 1 mdn, 5 runs, 0 wkts

Arunachalam, 0, caught, 3 overs, 0o mdns, 11 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Konchada, 0, LBW, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 19 runs, 0 wkts

Blades, 9*, 5 overs, 0 mdns, 25 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Michahelles, DNB, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 12 runs, 1 wkt

MCC, 155 for 10 in 34.3overs lost to MIC, 157 for 6 in 31.1 overs by 4 wkts

MCC MOM: Algar (who now moves to the top of the bowling stats)

 

Next match is Saturday 19^th September, the Curry cup against Serendib

On the day when in 1882 Australia beat England by seven runs causing the death of English cricket and thus the birth of the Ashes, when in 1925 Babe Ruth after a night on the town turned up late for batting practice and was fined $5,000.00 thereby setting a precedent for future MCC behaviour for Friday nets and in 1896 in New York the Chinese ambassador Li Hung Chang invented chop suey, Manev Alagh made a curry for the tea break.

The friendly had been set up with both teams having eleven players on the Wednesday. On Saturday three Tegenseers bailed and for MCC Gattinger called in with man flu. Skipper Weston won the toss and chose to bat and we supplied a couple of extra fielders for the opposition. After a while Stefan of MIC turned up carrying his whites as usual and joined the Tegernsee squad so they had a full complement of fielders.

Veser and Toke opened and put on 14 before Veser was run out by sub Konchada to be replaced by Sarma, he of small stature as per the Süddeutsche Zeitung. Two runs later Toke went and made way for Bowes who put on 24 with Sarma for the fourth but was out LBW much to his disapproval. In came Captain Weston to join his vice in the middle for 25 runs before Sarma left to be replaced by Michahelles. George didn`t last long, nor did the curry cook Alagh who took his place. In fact MCC were now 81 for 6 down after 15.2 overs. Arunachalam stayed with Weston for a 56 run partnership before Weston retired on 53. Konchada went for five and Hashimi was stranded on four, just short of his maiden fifty when Arunachalam was out for 36 and the total on 168 all out.

Then came the teas, a superb curry and so plentiful we were able to provision the opposition too. C C Alagh has certainly staked his claim for permanent tea making which, of course, is a clever way of getting selected.

Tegernsee opened with Caspari and Sharma to face MCC opening bowlers Hashimi and Arunachalam. Caspari went with the score on 20, Sharma with the score on 22, Amit with the score on 22, Eliah, a 13 year old who had bowled superbly taking three wickets – it would have been four had his dad not dropped a dolly – also went with the score on 22. Khan went for a duck and they were 28 for five down. Chakrit and Charles showed that alliteration in C works and put on a splendid 104 for the sixth before Chakrit was run out. Michahelles got his customary one wicket by getting Charles LBW and they were all out for 135.

It had been a super day, 30°, very friendly, and superb teas. After the match CC Alagh surprised us by producing a bottle of Jägermeister to celebrate his engagement to a young Indian maid (not called Redwing) whom he will marry in November in Delhi. There was no cool fresh in the fridge and without the Gore no-one thought to buy a crate earlier so we retired to Fräulein Grüneis and then to the Bombay Tandoori to see the ghost of Bakerson flitting around.

Veser, 8, run out

Toke, 1, bowled, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 20 runs, 0 wkts

Sarma, 20, caught, 3 overs, 1 mdn, 6 runs, 2 wkts

Bowes, 4, LBW, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 28 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Weston, 53*, 1 over, 0 mdns, 6 runs, 0 wkts

Michahelles, 1, bowled, 2.3 overs, 0 mdns, 20 runs, 1 wkt

Alagh, 1, caught,3 overs, 0 mdns, 11 runs, 0 wkts

Arunachalam, 36 caught, 5 overs, 0 mdns, 12 runs, 1 wkt

Konchada, 5, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 5 runs, 0 wkts

Hashimi, 4*, 6 overs, 2 mdns, 18 runs, 2 wkts

MCC, 169 for 9, beat Tegernsee, 135 for 7 by 34 runs.

MCC MOM: Arunachalam

 

Tours organiser Konchada set up a friendly against the Pak Orient away and they needed a strong team to play against as preparation for their T20 final against MIC on Sunday 30^th. Everything was set up, we had a reasonably strong team and even some volunteers from Tegernsee if we were short.

But as Robbie Burns was wont to say “the best laid schemes o’ mice an men gang aft-agley”. Sunday morning there were three bailages – Weston had picked up the dreaded lurgi in France (otherwise known as the squirts), Mitchell got pissed on Saturday night and fell off his bicycle for the umpteenth time and Bhamare had a wife with the tummy ache. Never fear though, we had the three Tegernsee volunteers and also Waseem Balloch had agreed to turn out for us. Unfortunately for me this meant the leisurely Sunday morning I had planned was ruined as I had to get to the Hirschanger by 11:30 to pick up the kit – no keys of course as Bowes decided to take them to England with him, no scorebook as Sarma decided to leave it in his office while’st he went to the Oval test match. Still the organiser has a second set of keys so some progress was made. Someone has decided that the kit box or kit bag is not the place to keep new match balls nor the 30 or so used balls we have. They are all gone. What genius of a pillock did this I wonder? There was one very battered and scratched ball in the kit bag so we took that.

While we were driving to the ground Aranachalam sent his usual SMS to say he would be late – is he ever on time? Toke also decided a 12:30 start was not for him and texted that he too would be late. At the appointed time for the toss we had five players there one of them Veser and were asked to field first as soon as we had a team. This was where the organiser had a stroke of genius, he had told the three Tegernsee lads that the game was to be played in Ungererstrasse, the Pak Orient’s business address and so they rang to say they couldn´t find the ground. Some 40 minutes later they arrived at the real ground and by borrowing 3 subs and a match ball from Pak Orient we were able to start at 13:17, almost an hour late. Eventually Arunachalam and Toke arrived and finally at 13:45 Balloch, who had gone to play at the Hirschanger, turned up just one and a quarter hours late.

MCC opening bowlers, Yash and Qureshi obviously enjoyed the conditions with a hard bouncy wicket. Yash took the first wicket in his third over, a splendid catch by Habib, the only Pak Orient sub still on the field. He paid it back though by taking 4  wickets when we were batting. In his 4^th over Yash got the magnificently named Sher Khan LBW and they were 33 for 2 down. A strong 55 run partnership between Anwar and Basit was broken when Basit was well caught by Chakrit off Hashimi’s bowling. Pak Orient captain Ali was run our for 0 by a super direct hit from Rahil, another Tegernsee ringer, much to Ali’s displeasure so, after 18 overs, they were 101 for 4 down. Next to go was Anwar, bowled Rahil for 70 off 62 balls followed quickly by Inzer, caught Chakrit bowled Toke. Rahil struck again to get Khuram LBW and they were 149 for 7 down in the 26^th over. Veser made a superb stumping off a wide from Konchada to take them to 162 for 8 down. Yash came back on to bowl a few wides and then bowl Rahim who was replaced by Waqar who did his usual trying to hit the moon and was well caught by Konchada off Rahil. Pak Orient finished on187 all out from 32.2 overs leaving MCC needing only slightly over 5 runs per over to win.

After teas MCC opened with Veser and Sharma to face Habib and Inzer. They put on 26 before Veser was caught for 18, one of them an astonishing six which went horizontally to the boundary trees some eight feet above the ground. Sharma followed him two runs later and Toke did the same one run later. Chakrit went without troubling the scorers as they say and Arunachalam went for 4 leaving us at 34 for 5 down after 6 overs. Our batters seem to have caught the same bug as was apparent in the Ashes and tried to finish the match in one over rather than blocking and waiting for the inevitable bad ball. Balloch went also without troubling the scorers although he did block nine balls before missing a straight one. Qureshi hit some splendid boundaries which helped to put on 25 for the next wicket which came to an end when Yash lobbed up a dolly to Umpire Coordinator Khan at mid-on. Konchada went for one, Hashimi joined the duck race and Rahil was run out leaving Qureshi not out on 27. MCC were all out for 70 in 13.3 overs but had exceeded the required run rate (moving ahead and looking for positives you see).

+Veser, 18, caught, 1 stumping

Sharma**, 5,bowled, 22 overs, 0 mdns, 26 runs, 0 wkts

Toke, 1, caught, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 18 runs, 1 wkt

Arunachalam, 4, bowled, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 22 runs. 0 wkts

Chakrit, 0, bowled, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 12 runs, 0 wkts, 2 catches

Balloch, 0, bowled

Qureshi, 27*, 5 overs, 1 mdn, 26 runs, 0 wkts

Yash** 3, caught, 7 overs, 0 mdns, 30 runs. 3 wkts

*Konchada. 1, LBW, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 16 runs, 1 wkt, 1 catch

Hashimi, 0 bowled, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 26 runs, 1 wkt

Rahil, 2, run out, 3.2 overs, 0 mdns, 10 runs, 3 wkts

MCC, 70 for 10 in 13.3 overs lost to Pak Orient, 187 for 10 in 32.2 overs by 112 runs.

MCC ‘MOM: Rahit**

** denotes Tegernsee ringer

This week’s match report begins with gratitude to a great club man who has decided to take his next step and move on to pastures new. Rich Clare – 9 Seasons, 2258 Runs, 144 Wickets, 63 catches. ‘Flix is a surface I have always loved, The Hirsch is a ground I have always loved’ – A quote from Rich Clare (originally by Steffi Graf and doctored for MCC) The weekend began with a Friday night curry which was enjoyed by over 30 members of MCC who turned up to wave off Rich Clare in what was a lovely evening (including a one day break) to celebrate the final weekend of cricket MCC will see this year.

Beers were had, curries were eaten and Dark and Stormies were consumed. After the hangover and a further sleep we arrived at the MIC ground to witness them rolling out the pitch in the most peculiar fashion (basically it wasn’t straight). As to whether they felt this was advantageous to their style of cricket is still beyond the majority of us, although they claim its so that nobody will hit a 6 into the children’s playground over 300 yards away…

We were also greeted by the travelling family of Westy, whose parents came along to cheer us on! We were also graced by a special guest appearance of Igor Sestan who, although he clearly came for a beer and an afternoon of chatter in the sun, actually ended up standing in as square leg umpire for the entire game – many thanks Igor!! MIC’s Kashif won the toss and decided to bat first on what can only be described as a flat plastic pitch! The majority of the MIC team were familiar to us and so we knew what we had to do!

The game started punctually at 13.11 and began with a maiden over from Naveen! After 8 great opening overs from Naveen and the Great Dane, MIC looked to be struggling with the opening pair both out in the low 10’s and MCC were on top. A chance in the bowling then brought Nirmal and Carrie into the action and unfortunately they were bowling to what seemed to be a very in form Kashif who rather courteously decided to start hitting the ball over the trees at a comfortable rate.

The attack then was remastered by Captain Weston who brought off Nirmal after his first over and introduced Amith whose second over then involved a 4, a 5 and 6 (the 5 coming from the ball hitting the helmet after an out swinger baffled the batsmen and wicket keeper! Nirmal was then reintroduced from the pavilion with Dan Garner getting his fist over from the Kinderspielplatz End. Both of them bowled with good success, Garner with particularly good figures of 2-6 off two. The MIC innings finished with Kashif 64 no. and MCC being left to chase 167 at just over 8 an over.

MCC started brightly with Westy clipping a lovely 4 and Manny clearing the trees. Unfortunately we lost the vital wicket of Westy for 8 as he was bowled trying to hit the ball back to the Hirsch. Amith and Manny then settled the ship with some great shot play and managed a partnership of 60. Amith then hit the ball in the air attempting his favoured leg clip, bringing Chris Carrie to the wicket. 3 balls later Chris was on his way back to the pavilion having chipped the ball to the leg side after a rather sprightly run 2.

Then, in classic MCC fashion the wickets began falling. Darren, also in his last MCC game, was already half way down the wicket before being sent back and was run out for 1. Moments later, after a glorious outside edge from Tom M, Manny was the next to fall after a well struck 53 off 46 balls. Naveen fell quickly too after trying to fend away some chin music and gloving behind. The two Toms then seemed to be settling in and keeping up with the run rate before Tom M (cant remember how he got out) and was quickly followed to the ant infested changing steps by Shazhad, who continued his form of either hitting 20 quickly or getting out on his 3rd ball (in this case the latter). Up stepped Garner with 35 still needed to win and although his dancing antics were enough to gain a few extra partnership runs from the wides he then was bowled as he attempted his ‘run across all the stumps and swing’ shot. Nirmal then faced a ball before missing one to the keeper and deciding not to make up his ground and getting himself rather comically run out. MCC ended up losing by 16 runs in the last over but as their scorer remarked ‘we have a great bowling attack’ (enter quote about where we and they finished in the league).

All in all it was a rather nice day which ended up in Rosenpark Biergarten. I don’t have the scorebook so I can’t give exact scores. Phil

Keeper Daniel Weston removes the opposition’s top batters with three excellent catches.

 

After the painful business of making the travel arrangements nine tourists gathered at the Hirschanger at 9am on Sunday morning, the other four meeting at various times at Freising railway station. The trip to Nuremberg was uneventful, little traffic with no queues and all, even the Freising contingent, arrived in time for the 12 noon start.

Captain Weston won the toss and chose to bat although their stand-in captain then argued the toss claiming the head on the coin was actually a tail. He was a stand-in captain because the real captain didn`t turn up until five overs had been bowled and, rather annoyingly, the umpire allowed a substitute fielder during this time. Such village behaviour is very annoying. Also that the home side did not have a scorer and offered no help in identifying their bowlers – as they only bowl from one end and all the scorer sees is the back of the bowler with no identifying numbers you can understand the difficulty.

The pitch has been modified since our visit last year and is not as scarily bouncy and fast but still fast enough .After ten overs, Weston and O’Meagher had put on a steady 34 with only one boundary four Unfortunately Weston went for 14 in the next over and was replaced by the cheer leader favourite Sarma. He appeared completely at ease at the wicket and put on 60 with O’Meagher for the second wicket before falling for 38 in the 20^th over. Drinks were taken – the longest drinks break you will ever experience, the opposition began sampling the Eid barbecue – and Mitchell replaced Sarma to put on a useful partnership of 21until O’Meagher was bowled for 43 in the 24^th, the highest score of the innings. In the next over Baker continued his torrid form in league matches and hit one straight to a sub fielder – this time genuine as a player suffered a severe pulled hammy. Ishtiak joined the duck race very quickly as did Clare who followed him. However as Ishy leaves this week and Clare in a couple of weeks, Sestan need have no fears of his position at the top of the pile. MCC had gone from 115 for 3 to 123 for 6 when Nielsen came in. His sojourn was also short but he did score 8 runs including an impressive boundary 6. Then Mitchell was guilty of terrible village, walking down the pitch for an easy one and being run out (sauntered out) by a direct throw from the keeper at the non-strikers end. Before that he and Konchada had rescued our total somewhat with a useful 36 partnership but it could have been that much better. MCC were now 8 down for 171 in the 37^th over. Coulter came to join the duck race and Qureshi scored 1 not out, Konchada going for 15 in the 38^th over.

Lunch was a splendid barbecue provided by the opposition consisting of grilled chicken, a tasty salad, curried lamb with rice and grilled kebabs. The last time I recall such a spread was back in the eighties when we toured Basel and the curry rice just about killed us for a long afternoon in the field then.

MCC opening bowlers Coulter and Clare spread wides and no-balls around very liberally – after four overs there were already ten extras. They tightened up somewhat and only gave two more wides in the next four overs. Thereafter Coulter was replaced by O’Meagher who kept up the good work bowling five wides and getting one wicket in his first over. Nuremberg were now 50 for 1 and far ahead of the required run rate. Coulter now continued and bowled a much better spell going for only 11 runs in four overs but still including 8 wides or no-balls. O’Meagher was replaced by Qureshi after his second wicket in his third over and his first over was a wicket maiden so Nuremberg were now 83 for 3 down in the 15^th over. Thirty nine runs later the fourth wicket fell, caught Coulter, bowled Konchada and they were 122 for 4 in the 22^nd. One run later it was 5 down, Nielsen getting the only LBW of the match. Seven runs later they were six, down Nassery going for 30 caught Mitchell bowled Nielsen, 18 of those runs coming after Qureshi dropped an absolute four seasons of a catch. He was, unfortunately, not alone, four catches in total were put down, one of them by a Ray Charles impresario wearing dark shades on an overcast day and not seeing the bl**#y ball. Still MCC plugged on and when keeper/captain Weston took his third catch the opposition were 137 for seven down in the 28^th over and we had a chance. A twenty nine run partnership for the eighth wicket took them to 166 in the 33^rd and needing only seven runs to win. Sarma came on for the unenviable task of bowling his first over and the winning runs came off a boundary four

Once again MCC lost a match we should have won, poor catching, village running between the wickets and a predilection for wides and no-balls all contributed to yet another defeat. A special mention for Phil Bowes who travelled there as 12^th man and fielded the whole of the Nuremberg innings because of an injury to Darren Baker. To round off a disappointing day for some of us, captain Weston seemed to take great pleasure in broadcasting the result of the second test at Lords.

 

Weston, 14, bowled, 3 catches

O’Meagher, 43, bowled, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 32 runs, 2 wkts

Sarma, 38, caught, 1 over, 0 mdns, 9 runs, 0 wkts

Mitchell, 21, run out, 1 catch

Baker, 1, caught

Ishtiak, 0, bowled, 1 catch

Clare, 0, caught, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 16 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Nielsen, 8, bowled, 6 overs, 2 mdns, 17 runs, 2 wkts

Konchada, 15, caught, 8 overs, 0 mdns, 52 runs, 2 wkts

Coulter, 0, bowled, 8 overs, 1 mdn, 36 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Qureshi, 1*,4 overs, 1 mdn, 10 runs, 1 wkt

 

MCC, 172 – 10, lost to Nuremberg, 175 – 8 by 2 wickets

MCC MOM: O’Meagher

 

A fine day around 26°C saw MCC travel to the bone-hard ground at Züricherstrasse for a must win league match against CCB. Bone-hard referred to the pitch and the outfield, not the running track and the tarmac strip on the leg side.

Captain Weston used Maria Teresa to win the toss and chose to bat, opening himself with Veser who hung around for only five balls before hitting one straight to point and we were one down for two runs on the board. In came Sarma of cheer leader fame and the captain and vice-captain put on 72 for the second wicket before Weston got a bummer, probably partly because of the extremely aggressive appealing by the CCB fielders. Baker came and went after facing nine balls when he hit one straight.to square leg. Archer was a definite LBW after he had faced 12 balls and MCC had reached a somewhat disappointing 105 for four down after 12 overs. In came Arunachalam to put on 76 with Sarma for the fifth wicket, Sarma also getting a bummer of an LBW decision and departing for 49. Nielsen shared a partnership of 77 before falling for 14 in the 28^th over. Konchada continued the good work until he went for some iced melon in the 38^th over having scored 25 and overseen Arunachalam get his first hundred for the club which he scored off 104 balls. Qureshi came in and went ballistic hitting three sixes in his 8 ball innings, he and Arunachalam putting on 25 for the eighth. Arunachalam fell in the 40^th over going for runs rather than defend his not out score leaving Bowes to face one ball for a nought, not out.

During the tea break Aaron Kettle came along to wish us luck and say goodbye as he returns to England to complete his studies now. Thanks for coming Aaron, you will always be welcome. We also had a visit from old MCC member Waseem Baloch, now returned to Munich and looking for a few games.

After teas, including iced melon, CCB went out to face Blades and Sarma, our opening bowlers. Immediately it was seen that the pitch and outfield were very hard making runs easier to score than is usual in Munich. After seven overs they were 62 for nought and we had already tried three bowlers. In the eighth over Nielsen came on and the first wicket fell with the score on 62. Getting their second wicket proved nigh impossible until the 24^th over when captain Weston finally got a breakthrough with the score on 212 – a partnership of 150 exactly. The next wicket, their captain McIntosh, came in the 29^th after he had scored 36 from 20 balls with the score on 259. Things were beginning to look tight for MCC up until then but now centurion Arunachalam came into his own taking three wickets in one over, including their opener Appavu who scored 104 off 87 balls. Thereafter it was only a question of time and MCC rolled them over in the 34^th over to win by 84 runs.

Weston, 40, caught, 7.3 over, 0 mdns, 55 runs, 4 wkts

Veser, 1, caught

Sarma, 49, LBW, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 19 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Baker, 5, caught

Archer, 6, LBW, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 31 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Arunachalam, 136, caught, 8 overs, 0 mdns, 48 runs, 4 wkts

Nielsen, 14, bowled, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 37 runs, 1 wkt

Konchada, 25, bowled, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 37 runs, 0 wkts

Qureshi, 19*, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 16 runs, 0 wkts

Bowes, 0*

Blades DNB. 4 overs, 0 mdns, 36 runs, 0 wkts

 

MCC, 369 for 8, beat CCB 285 for 9 (11^th batter disappeared) by 84 runs

MCC MOM: Arunachalam

 

 

A glorious summer day with temperatures around 35°C and the fridge stocked with lots of cool fresh saw MCC turn up on time to prepare the ground ready for the 12:30 start. Captain Sarma – Smarmy Sarmy who gets the cheer leaders while I get the fireworks – used Maria Teresa to lose the toss and MCC were asked to bowl. There had been a lively discussion on Facebook during the week about the number of wides we tend to bowl and obviously this was taken to heart for we bowled only two wides and two no-balls in the twenty overs. Unfortunately the new fashion was leg side full tosses to be powered away for six or sometimes four runs. Khalid Butt, the ex-Pak 0rient member now playing for Lufthansa hit 11 fours and 6 sixes in his 114 from 67 balls. We knew Lufthansa had only three batsmen. Khalid, Peter and Roshan and once they were out the rest were expected to crumble. This is what happened but, unfortunately, the third of the gang of three, fell only in the 19^th over and Lufthansa finished on 177 for 6, which included five penalty runs for the ball hitting a helmet placed behind the keeper.

After the tea break MCC started sedately at around five per over, the rate gradually increasing and at the drinks we were 75 for 1 down, the single wicket being Baker who was run out somewhat handicapped after being hit full on the foot earlier. He had been replaced by Skipper Sarma who demonstrated how the excursions with the Alpine Tigers had improved his play with very aggressive running and batting. He went for 56 and his place was taken by Ishtiak who continued the good work as did Clare when he came in for Veser in the 16^th over with the score on 121. The 51 for the fourth wicket took us to 171 in the 19^th over which finished on an assinine run out leaving us five down and needing seven runs to win from six balls These six balls were a dot, a wide, three wides, a dot, a dot, a wicket, an assinine run out and a one with a run out from the last possible ball meaning we did not get a tie which would have led to a super over bowl out.

It had been an exciting match but all the joy disappeared when it was discovered that the Gore had committed a cardinal sin and exchanged all our cool fresh with Lufthansa leaving us with only luke warm beer to drown our sorrows in. Despite his baking for our teas on a regular basis one must wonder if he is really the right man for the job.  Nevertheless we drowned our sorrows most famously first at the Hirschanger, then the Chinese tower and finally, on the way to Roosevelts, at Fräulein Grüneises kiosk.

Veser, 28, stumped

Baker, 15, run out

*Sarma, 56, bowled, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 35 runs, 0 wkts

Ishtiak, 24, run out,

Clare, 26, LBW, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 37 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Arunachalam, 0, run out, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 24 runs, 2 wkts

Garner, 0, run out, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 26 runs, 1 wkts, 1 catch

+Furlonger, 0, bowled,

Konchada, 1*, 1 over, 0 mdns, 18 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Blades, DNB, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 29 runs, 1 wkt

Kantor, DNB

 

MCC, 176 for 8, lost to Lufthans, 177 for 6 by 1 run

MCC MOM: Sarma of cheer leader fame

Following some overnight rain on Friday and a little light drizzle at 12 noon, MCC arrived on time after having had the riot act read because of sauntering in just before the start the previous week and the ground was laid out ready to start at the appointed time. Getting there on time proved to be too strenuous for some as the running between the wickets left much to be desired. Nevertheless with the opposition all observing Ramadan and not eating or drinking we reckoned we had a good chance of winning. Captain Weston won the toss and chose to field presumably because of the heavy thunderstorms forecast for late afternoon and evening and chasing a 20 over score would probably be easier. As it happened the threatened storms failed to show up and the 80 overs were completed with no interruptions.

MCC opened the bowling with Clare and a very wayward Coulter, alliteration in C really not wanting to work here. After two overs the score was 27 for 0 and Pak Orient were cruising. At the drinks they were 112 for 4 down, thanks to a Blades three-for and good support from Dennett. The five and a half run rate was maintained during their innings and they finished on 228 for nine down.

During teas provided by Mitchell we had visits from family O’Meagher whose son hasn’t yet decided if he will be a left hand or right hand bowler or maybe ambidextrous. Part of the Archer family and the Dennett family were also supporting as well as elder statesman Giles. We also had a visit from the Lichtenhein family – Mark played for us from 1985 to 1994 scoring 384 runs and taking 103 wickets at 9.6. He also assumed the rather presumptuous title of director of overseas operations meaning he organised a tour to Bologna

Weston and Carrie opened for MCC and put on their usual 50 partnership before Carrie went for 21 in the 11^th over. MCC kept up the required run rate until drinks when we were 108 for two down. Mitchell fell to the Old Man of the Mountain Mansoor the first ball after drinks and thereafter the run rate sank, MCC scoring only 33 runs in the next 10 overs. It was necessary to push for singles, twos and threes but this really didn`t happen until Nielsen came to the wicket in the 34^th over. By then it was too late, the run rate soared and MCC managed only 199 all out in 38.4 overs.

It was another game we could have, should have, won

*+Weston. 29. Bowled

Carrie, 21, bowled, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 26 runs, 1 wkt

Baker, 29, caught, 1 catch

Mitchell, 26, caught

Dennet, 10, caught, 7 overs, 0 mdns, 37 runs, 2 wkts

Archer, 17, bowled,

Konchada, 4, caught, 8 overs, 0 mdns, 42 runs, 2 wkts

Nielsen, 23*, 8 overs, 0 mdns, 33 runs, 1 wkt

Clare, 8, caught, 7 overs, 0 mdns, 36 runs, 0 wkts

Coulter, 10, runout, 1 over, 0 mdns, 23 runs, 0 wkts

Blades, 1, run out, 8 overs, 0 mdns, 31 runs, 3 wkts, 1 catch

MCC, 199 for 10, lost to Pak orient, 228 for 9 by 30 runs

MCC MOM: shared by Blades and Nielsen.

 

 

 

The new scorebook was looking forward to its first T20 cup match against CC Bavaria knowing that if we won the path through to the final meant all matches would be at home in the Hirschanger. Early morning rain had made us a little nervous about being able to get a full game in, so nervous that the majority of those selected didn’t think it necessary to arrive on time and prepare the ground for the match. Not so Phil Bowes, who, although not selected, was there at 12 noon when the gates opened and helped to prepare before and clear away after the game.

Captain Weston used Maria Theresa to lose the toss and be asked to bat and we opened with him and Nielsen. They went at a furious pace, Weston in particular until he fell having scored 30 from 17 balls in the 5^th over with the score on 40. Next to go was vice captain Sarma, holidaying at the Hirschanger after his exploits with the Alpine Tigers, and, a few balls later Nielsen, then Ishtiak and we were 57 for 4 in the 6^th over. Arunachalam and the hung-over Konchada put on a very useful 36 for the fifth wicket, Konchada going for 13 in the 14^th over. Clare decided to run threes rather than hit boundaries and was next to go with the score on 99, followed shortly after by Arunachalam. Big Bird Garner was hovering over the pitch fresh from his Zuoz adventure and saw Qureshi run out before Gaikwad tangoed to the wicket to put on a partnership of 21 with our feathered friend for the ninth. Blades and Garner saw out the final over leaving MCC on a defendable 141 for nine after 20 overs.

After sampling the massive teas including two boxes of delicious cocktail tomatoes provided by Qureshi – no pickled onions though – Arunachalam and Clare opened the bowling against CCB’s captain and president. They bowled very tightly and after six overs CCB were 25 for 0 as opposed to MCC’s 48 for 3. Arunachalam got their captain in the next over and in the seventh Konchada got their president with a wicket maiden. CCB were now 31 for 2 down after 8 overs and most telling, not a single boundary scored. Thereafter no-one apart from Giri reached double figures and our bowlers, including Blades who hates T20 because the bowlers always get tonked, had a field day, CCB being left on 62 for 9 after 20 overs.

The game finished before 4pm just before the heavens opened leaving plenty of time for Helmut’s cool fresh followed by a move to Harrit’s pit to see the end of the 5^th ODI between England and New Zealand and, finally, to the Sitar for a spicy Ruby.

Weston, 30, bowled, 1 catch

Nielsen, 10, bowled, 1 catch

Sarma, 4, bowled, 2 overs, 0 mdns, 8 runs, 0 wkts, 1 catch

Ishtiak, 4, caught,

Arunachalam, 23, bowled, 4 overs, 0 mdns, 17 runs, 1 wkt

Konchada, 13, caught, 4 overs, 1 mdn, 10 runs, 2 wkts, 1 catch

Clare, 7, bowled, 3 overs, 0 mdns, 14 runs, 0 wkts

Garner, 25*, 1 catch

Qureshi, 1, run out, 3 overs, 1 mdn, 2 runs, 2 wkts

Gaikwad, 6, bowled

Blades, 1*, 4 overs, 1 mdn, 11 runs, 3 wkts.

 

MCC, 141 for 9, beat CC Bavaria, 62 for 9 by 79 runs.

MCC MOM: difficult, with so many excellent performances to choose from, but given to Blades.