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Brief match report BICC vs Sant Andreu CC October 18th: Looking to follow up our win against Gracia CC, Alex won the toss and elected to bat. We know by now that teams here don't like to chase any half decent score and once again we got off to a healthy start with Umer (25/39)and Sid (25/26) putting on a good opening stand (with not many chances this time round.) Then Alex came in and batted fluently to top score (38/25) with brief cameos from Rob (16/13) and Nadim (17/12). 158 on the board felt like enough, but these boys were runners up in the league last year so we still had to bowl well. After an expensive first over the bowlers tightened things up really well. Sid claimed a wicket in each of his first two overs and Mohsin got the danger man in his third. Harshad bowled accurately and fast from his first delivery and showed what a good addition he is to the bowling attack with a wicket with his 4th bal (the first three being dots.) Their batting line up was diminished slightly from their normal XI and their innings never got going. Umar, Hiro and Rob each got a wicket and Harry impressed with 2 in one over. Sant Andreu CC were eventually all out for 86. So, back to back wins and a real sense of momentum. BICC on the up and up! Rob Paterson
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In the last 12 months BICC have played Gracia 6 times and, despite us taking a 3-1 lead, they clawed back to draw it 3-3 (mainly through very disciplined bowling.) A win this Saturday would not only be a great start to the season but also go some way to restoring order. Alex won the toss and put them in to bat, showing a belief in his bowlers that was totally soon justified. Mohsin and Sid started well and when Sid bowled a maiden in his 2nd over the pressure proved too much and the wickets began to fall. In Mosh's 3rd over he had their good opener plumb lbw and the very next ball had another - finding an edge that looped (at lightening speed) to the ever safe (ish) hands of Rob at slip. His hatrick ball missed the edge by a whisker but the next one had their number 5 playing on to his stumps. They were suddenly 24 for 3. Umer, in the wickets once again, got the next two lbw but there was a bit of a rearguard fight from the visitors and keeping them to under 100 became our aim. Thanks to outstanding fielding all round (special mentions to Alex, Rollo, Ted and Mosh) we kept their scoring chances to a lean minimum. Harshad, after a few looseners, found his radar and his pace (along with the odd mystery ball full toss!) were too much for the opposition and the three wickets he claimed in his maiden BICC match were all played on. Hiro came on and bowled well, round the wicket providing a different angle for the batsmen to contend with and getting the 8th wicket with a good yorker length delivery. The last wicket fell to a similar delivery from Sid whose accuracy and clever change of pace make him the best bet to be most economic bowler two seasons running. The total was 93 all out after 16 overs and confidence in the BICC camp was palpable. Gracia CC were ever graceful not only in their umpiring but also in clapping us in. So expectations were high as Sid And Umer went in to open and their composed stand of 50 was potentially the last nail in the coffin for any chance of a Gracia win. There will always be chances early on, especially batting on our pitch, but they both batted very well and timed some classy front foot drives through the covers. However, being a team that likes to entertain - once Sid fell for 20ish - the BICC top order decided to make things interesting. Last season's top scorer Alex fell to a good full one first ball and two balls later Ash (BICC 's all time top scorer and Spain International) fell to a weird one that somehow dribbled off his pads and onto the stumps. Three wickets in four deliveries - just like the opposition - but thankfully with double the runs on the board. Rob came in and doggedly defended, occasionally scoring off his legs (the sides of.) Meanwhile Umer continued to look untroubled and a stand of 20 odd runs (in both senses of the word) restored some calm. When Rob fell lbw to Mohsin the score was 73 for 4 and just 21 were needed to win. Hiro fell early but Rollo dug in and Man of The Match Moshin struck two consecutive maximums to seal an excellent victory. So, a very good start to the season. As Ash said, one of the best fielding performances in a long time and - despite a wobble - when your top 5 get 80% of the runs required you're in good shape, especially as BICC bat increasingly deep. Rob Paterson See scorecard here
Once again the toss was avoided as the tourists elected to bat first. Mohsin Nawaz was up once again and bowled a great line from ball one. Enzo Balke came on a the other end and also bowled beautifully not giving away an inch and bowling the bowl right on the spot. The first breakthrough came in Enzo's second over and he rattled the stumps of the opening batsman leaving them 1/10. Mosh picked up the second wicket in his third over cleaning up their other opener and they were 2 /15. Mosh and Enzo were given a rest in the heat after a great spell by both and Paolo Toffolo and Siddhartha Tewari took the reigns and also gave away nothing. Sid got a wicket in his first over, bowled, and the tourists were 3/33. Tidy bowling all round meant Moreton never had an easy shot and the run rate was kept quite low. Sid grabbed another in his third over bowled and they were 4/48 with their best bat, and captain, heading back to the pavillion. Umer Razi took over from Paolo and was immediately rewarded with a wicket with his first ball as Paolo picked up a catch. But Sid wasn't finished yet. He got two more, one caught by me and the other bowled as he collected four wickets for the match. Umer bowled another batsman and then again shortly after (which we called a no ball and brought the batsman back) Shayne Rotte got in on the action and grabbed a stumping with the help of Nadim Aseq A Arman and as I ran off to the loo Ted Richards snuck in for an over which left them with a total of 64. Umer and Aamir Naseer opened the batting. The first to fall was Aamir and we were 1/6. Controversially Sid was promoted to number 3 he and Umer put on 20 more before Umer, after hitting a nice six, was bowled 11(7). That brought Rob Paterson to the crease. The battle for highest run scorer is hot and as Alex Wollauz waited patiently for his chance to push his total further ahead but was denied as no other wicket came. Sid and Rob collected the rest of the runs in 14.3 overs leaving Sid 26*(33) and Rob 38*(39) and that was that. We finished up with the usual banter and speeches and we have now three consecutive wins and momentum coming to the mid season break. Damien McMullen See scorecard here
We lost the toss and were put into bowl. With started with Mohsin Nawaz and Enzo Balke who both applied the pressure from the get go. Enzo picked up the first wicket caught by the safe hands of Sid Tewari in the deep. In Mohsin's third over he was on the verge of another hatrick, bowling the other opener and following it with an LBW but they managed to defend out the rest of the over. Amair Naseer took the reigns from Enzo and Sid took over from Mosh. Sid bowled really tight and built up the pressure and in his 2nd over was rewarded picking the danger man who was looking settled bowled! Mosh picked up a run out and we had five wickets down. Umer Razi came in and although despite going for 16 in his first over grabbed a wicket providing Mosh with a catch. Sid then picked up the other danger man enticing him down the pitch to the eagerly awaiting Alex Wollauz who removed the stumps. Umer then snatched two more in his 3rd over. First bowled and the second caught and bowled. Ahmad Bilal had just one over before Umer picked up his 4th and final wicket of the game for a chasable total of 127. A great all round fielding performance as they had 88 for not many after 10 overs. After bowling so well Umer needed a breather and passed the buck to Aamir with great results.Sid faced nine deliveries before being bowled for 5. The opposition were bowling well. But that didn't stop Aamir and Alex putting on 35 run partnership before Alex got a corker of a delivery and was bowled 16(16). Umer came in and he and Aamir put on another 44 with Aamir really enjoying his time at the crease and playing some nice, and sometimes interesting shots around the ground. Umer was then stumped 11(18). I came in and we put on 22 more before I too was bowled 10(16). Ahmad came in and whacked a 2 and two fours before being bowled 10(4). Aamir's luck finally run out just short of his 50. 43 off 30 balls. We needed about ten more runs with a few overs remaining. Shayne Rotte managed 2(9) of them before being bowled and Sunny also adding 2(2) and the nerves seemed to be creeping in. Mosh and Enzo battled away. It came down to the last over, Ted Richards sat anxiously waiting, as he waited to see if the others could muster the last four runs required. Enzo 2(4*) grabbed a quick single and then our hero came in the form of the match winning shot from Mosh 5(4*) as he "placed" the ball, which was dropped the by the slip, over the boundary for four GAME OVER!!!!!! It was a really great match. I must comment on the sportsmanship of both sides. It really reminded me what cricket is all about and why we all spend our time to come down and play. Damien McMullen See scorecard here
* Touring side led by Phil Tompkins (of Moseley Ashfield CC, Birmingham), but just a scratch XI of friends. The day was a little wet and humid and we skipped the toss as the opposition opted to bowl first and we opened with the sturdy duo of Umer Razi and Siddhartha Tewari who put on a 46 run opening stand before was out caught for a quickfire 24(16) which brought Alex to the crease. He and Sid then put on another 42 before Sid was caught behind for a solid 21(33). Meanwhile Alex was playing textbook cover drives and all sorts of good, aggressive shots. Ted Richards came in but wasn't lucky and was bowled for 2(3) Rollo Bennett added one more to the total before he too to was bowled.Rob's mate Abe then jumped in after a few years without a bat and Alex pulled up another 50 to put himself well in contention for highest run scorer this year. Abe managed some good shots until he was finally caught and bowled 20(22), by our very own Mohsin Ahmed Nawaz who had decided to play the villain for the day. Nirjon Hasan came in and then Alex was finally dismissed (Mosh again!) for a very healthy 54 (36). Rob Paterson hit a four and then the overs were up for our good total of 164. We opened with Nirjon and Alex. Alex struck first luring the batsmen down the pitch to be stumped by the nimble Nadim Aseq A Arman. Sai Raja Gopal playing his last match bowled really well and gave nothing away. Rollo picked up their number three batsmen cleaned bowled. Sidd chipped in to remove the other opener and their top run maker also bowled. Ted got a rattle too and Sid got another with a catch from Umer. There were two runouts one by Umer and the other by Sid. I gave myself a bowl and snuck in two wickets in a row to clean up the tail. And that was that we bowled them over for 122. 42 runs short. All in all a good game, a good laugh, and a good bunch of chaps. We sat down for our usual chinwag. Damien McMullen See scorecard here
So we lost the toss and they elected to bat on a rather wet and skiddy style of day which had us licking our lips in anticipation. Nirjon opened the bowling with Siddhartha and although lightning quick he had a bit of difficulty finding his line. Sidd bowled beautifully. Nirjon picked up the first wicket with a great yorker which cleaned up the opening batsman and first blood was drawn. Sidd picked up a caught and bowled from the opposition captain and after a rather interesting send off (not condoned by BICC) we had two in the bag and the ball rolling. Sai took over from Nirjon and bowled superbly maintaining the pressure and not let the batsmen escape. Our fielding was outstanding on all accounts and just to prove it so, our very our South African VC, in pure Jonty Rhodes style, picked up a run out as the batsman foolishly tried out Alex's arm and was came off second best and he was on his was back to the pavillion. Mohsin after getting lost in the wilderness finally strolled in and took the ball. The effect was immediate. He grabbed a quick caught behind with Nadim and then came time for the Umer show! In our very first (at least to my knowledge) Hattrick (should have been a double but you know how it goes) in BICC Umer snatched the following wickets. 1st an LBW, 2nd a catch at slip by the Prez Rob and the 3rd clean bowled which was followed by a lot of slapping and cheering. He almost had the 4th but the appeal was answered with a shake of the head from the umpire. Ted was brilliant in the outfield and allowed nothing to get past and Nirjon was firing the ball in like a NY yankees pitcher. Umer grabbed a 4th caught by Shayne and I also got a catch from Umer who had 5 and just to rub it in picked up a 6th as he cleaned up the last wicket for startling figures of 6/19 off 4. Our fielding backed up our bowling and we had a meager target of 109 to chase which looked within our grasp or so we thought.......... So we set to the task of chasing down the total with Umer and Sidd at the helm. In a bit of role reversal with Sidd the anchor Umer, still suffering from shock, was dismissed caught behind 7(13). Alex came in and, as always, was looking the goods before being bowled 2 (6) which brought in Rob who got our second highest score of 8(10) as he was bowled on a low bouncing wicket. Sid went about his/Umers game calling some interesting calls. I came in and managed 7(7) before also being cleaned up. Nadim was caught for 1 (13) and Shayne managed 4(7) and was dismissed caught behind. Mohsin 6(9), Nirjon 2(2) and Ted 0(2) fell leaving Sai 0(4) last man standing for a total of 76 only one batsman managing to get to double figures. and that was that! So our batting left something to be desired and unfortunately couldn't back up our bowling and fielding effort. Credit where credit is due so hats off to Umer and also a big congrats to Nadim for his big news and a thank you to Sunny for being twelth man and helping out in the field and with the scorebook. Also good to not see a single dropped catch in the field! Keep working on it boys well get 'em next time. Over and out! Damien McMullen See scorecard here
So we won the toss and elected to bat with a little role reversal in mind, a switched batting line up. We started with the all Irish opening pair of Ted and Shayne. Ted was given a life early to some sharp, youthful quick bowling. They put on 10 before Ted was given out LBW Ahmad hit a four off of the first ball but was bowled three balls later 4 (4) and we were 2/24 Shanye and newbie, Sunny put on 22 more before Sunny was caught 7 (24). Shayne followed shortly after 11(26) and we were 4/46 off nine. Myself and Waqar came in and put on 22 more (with whispers of Boom Boom in my ear!), in which I managed to get 5 (10) before being caught. Sai came in and was looking good before a bit of confusion in the running left him stranded Umer not involved!) and Sai was back in the pavillion 3 (3). Nadim came strolling in and batted superbly!! Knocking some beautiful cut shots. Waqar was bowled for a top score (on debut) of 35(25) and in came Mohsin, ready to roll. Unfortunately Siddhartha had other ideas! And ,in possibly his first LBW decision in cricketing history, sent Mosh packing with a look of disbelief! Nadim was bowled for 25(15) And Sid got a golden leaving Umer Razi stranded on 2(2) all out for for a total of 133. The bowling kicked off with Mohsin and Sidd. A few extras went through at the beginning bit in the 3rd over Mosh bowled a great delivery and the ball climbed on the batsmen who tried to drive the ball and skied it to the waiting hands of Umer at cover. In the 4th Sidd fished out a skier and Ahmad juggled the around a bit before tightening his clasp, with Waqar waiting in the background, and the openers were gone. In the same over Sidd fished out another one and the batsman who looped one up to a well taken catch by Sai and Sidd had two.There was some great fielding by Shayne and Waqar, rocketing the ball back to the keeper . By this satge the Prez Rob and VC Alex Were getting rowdy/messy in the stands. Ahmad and Umer took over from Mosh and Sidd who had bowled well. Ahmad managed to get the captain out, rattling his stumps with a great cutter> two catches were put down before Ahmad got his 2nd in the form of an LBW and we were getting into the tail. A frustrated Umer bowled their number 7 with 12 runs remaining. Ahmad finished his spell and Waqar had his first bowl for BICC and picked up a stumping from a quick handed Nadim. Unfortunately we needed a few more runs on the board as they reached our total with 3 wickets left in hand. The youngins were over the moon and went ducked off for our usual beverage and a chinwag on glories from the past and future endeavours. A big thankyou to Rob and Alex who sacrified their spot to allow a few others the opportunity to play in this team of ours! And a thankyou to all who helped with the nets sanding and bringing in and out the mats and equipment! Ever little bit counts and thats what makes us BICC! (Bleed whatever colour we are!) Damien McMullen See scorecard here
This was it, the first time we'd played old friends and ground sharing rivals - Poble Sec - since the Friendship Cup Round Robin match in September 2013. Then, Poble Sec (Whom will be known as PSCC from here on in) triumphed by 6 runs, and now was time to set the record straight. Still without the injured Ash(Get well soon mate) and with current Skipper Damian unavailable, Alex and Mohsin stepped up to the plate as Captain and Vice-Captain respectively, with the "Mohchine" sporting a moustache that shouts out to be twirled in a "dastardly" manner. With the important tasks sorted out, such as picking the team and showing up on time - for once - we were ready for a day’s cricket at the BICC ground on the sunny slopes of Montjuic (Affectionately known as the Coca-Cola Arena thanks to a large Advertising board down behind square leg) Alex won the toss (I think), or he might have lost it, but either way we were put into bat. Sid and Umer both made the short walk to the wicket, and then proceeded to build a solid platform, scoring a hatful of runs in the first four overs. Things were looking good for a strong opening partnership before a mix-up and some interesting calling (yes-No-No-maybe-I’m not sure-Yes-NO!!!) led to Sid being run out while standing next to a slightly abashed looking Umer in the strikers end (India have a 100% record in World Cup Finals, did you know that?) This, Umers second runout in as many games (highlights of which can be seen here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQh70VV-RaY#t=46), brought stand-in Skipper Alex to the crease. Alex started slowly; content to let Umer make amends for his earlier mistake. After a couple of overs watching Umer make amends though, Alex obviously decided he wanted in on the action, and proceeded to play some magnificent shots to every corner of the ground, Chris Gayle'ing the ball over Cow corner one minute, playing a textbook cover drive the next. After ten overs the pair had brought the score up to 78/1. Umer survived a couple of LBW appeals and a nasty graze on his elbow before running himself out after scoring 33, with the score on 93 for 1 after 13 overs. Umer's failure to make his ground using the flat of the bat brought "El Presidente", Rob, to the crease. Rob had, last week, promised a bottle of Cava to the first player to hit a half century this season. Realising that Alex was closing in on that prize, he decided to try and race him to the target, and thereby started to up the run-rate to such an extent that he very nearly won the race, earning the nickname "Boom Boom Rob” from his awestruck colleagues watching on in the stands. As it was, Alex got over the line first, bringing up his half century in style, hitting the ball over long on for a maximum. After a rousing and well deserved standing ovation was provided, Rob followed suit a few balls later, and the action was duly repeated in the stands. In between both 50's Alex (54) was bowled, bringing Rollo out to face a few (with the deflection off the stumps almost resulting in a face-full of ball for Max, whose youthful agility meant he managed to avoid such a result), and shepherd Rob to his final score of 56 (not sixty-odd Rob, not sixty-odd), before Rob was bowled by the one misbehaving, and last, ball of the innings, which skirted under his bat off a short length. We closed on an extremely competitive 188/4 off our allotted twenty overs. The visitors reply started off slowly, with openers Mohsin and Sid restricting the batsmen to keep them under the required rate, Sid taking his wicket with a beautifully flighted delivery. Their first three wickets fell quickly, leaving them struggling, and when their main man, Umair, fell for a golden duck, things looked bleak for PSCC. However, by this stage Tanzeer had arrived at the crease, and he consolidated their innings with a fine knock of 82*, clipping our bowlers over mid wicket for a maximum on more than one occasion, meaning poor old Ted (making a long awaited comeback from a back injury) spent quite a bit of time in the trees down by the Coca Cola board with Ahmad, retrieving the ball. A slow over rate by PSCC when fielding meant that we were forced to rush through our overs to try and finish the game and bowl out our 20, as we had to vacate the field by 3:30 pm. Our bowlers, however, performed admirably, considering the need to just bowl through their overs as fast as possible, without giving much thought to tactics or variations. Umer distinguished himself again, proving that his style of "Sexy" (thank you Nadim, for that) bowling is better than his ability to call when batting. Sid and Mohsin showed that they are a strong partnership in opening the bowling, and Sai & Rob both did the job in rushed circumstances. In the end we only managed to bowl 15 of our allotted 20 overs before time ran out, leaving PSCC on 145 for 5, meaning the only result that could be considered was an honourable draw, as the match showcased power hitting, classic shots, tidy bowling, and everything that is good about this game called cricket. After the match, we retired to our customary seats to dissect the game, have a few bevvies, and listen to Sid tell us, not for the first time that day, that India were in the World Cup T20 Final*. Did you know that, by any chance? * This report was written up before the T20 WC Final, but was not posted before today due to a delay in receiving the actual scores. Commiserations to Sid and India, well played Sri Lanka. Shayne Rotte See scorecard here
Alex won the toss for us and put us into bat. We opened with the sturdy duo of Siddhartha and Umer. The first wicket fell after a 15 run partnership when Sid was bowled for 4 (10) and in strolled Alex. He and Umer once again built up a great partnership, really taking it to the bowlers. They put on 54 before Alex was caught making a quickfire 23 (24). I came in next and was soon back in the pavilion for my third consecutive duck 0 (2) and Rob was in next. Rob looked at three balls then scooped a great 6 and was looking good until there was a mix up and he found himself stranded, run out for 7 (5). Rollo copped a nasty delivery and was bowled for 0 (1). Shayne was up next. Umer was finally caught out for 32 (43) once again the top scorer. Enzo got 3 (4) but was bowled and Graeme also got a nasty ball ball and was dismissed 0 (2). Sai and Shayne remained Not Out 4 (12) and 13 (21) respectively. The total was 114. We opened, as per usual with the ever reliable Mohsin and Enzo. I must admit I'm glad Mohsin is our side as his bowling is getting better and better every week. He terrorised the openers and his four overs were lightning quick, on the money and they only managed to get 10 runs off of them. Enzo was bowling well but was replaced by Sai after 3 who struggled a little to find his line. Sid took over from Mohsin and although his first over went for 11, he managed to reign it back in and the last three were great. Umer replaced Sai and picked up the first wicket in the form of an LBW. Sid got the next one as he lured the batsmen out of his crease and Alex whipped off the bails to send him packing. The third wicket I got a caught out at long off off the bowling of Sid. The next wicket was a screamer. Mohsin took a left handed blinder off Umer and the batsmen were starting to crumble. Rob came in and picked up a wicket with his first and third balls. The first saw Alex get his 2nd stumping and the second was an LBW. But in the 19th over the chased down the total, we needed an extra thirty runs or so and I think the game would have been in the bag. The great thing is we never gave up and the game could have gone either way. Once again a great effort by all. Shayne Rotte See scorecard here
Well we finally won the toss on another bright and beautifully sunny day in Barna and opted to take the bat. We had a very solid opening start with Siddhartha and Umer putting on 31 before the loss of Sid who was caught for a total of 13. Next in line was Alex who came in with a determined look on his face and really took on the bowlers. He and Umer put on a brilliant partnership of 83 which had the opposition gobsmacked. Some great shots were played and it was a pleasure to watch. Umer then fell for a healthy and top score of 34. I came and went again to collect my second duck in a row and in came Rob who didn't seem much in the mood to run as he smacked five boundaries. Alex was bowled on 27 but the damage had already been done. Ahmad added 9 more to the score and he and Rob (23*) were not out at the end leaving a total of a very healthy 175 to chase. Mohsin took the new ball and terrorised the opening batsman with it and had them on the back foot from the get go. Sai opened with him and bowled very well to dry up the runs. The first breakthrough came in the form of an LBW from a beautifully pitched delivery from Sai that had the batsman caught on the back foot and plumb! The second wicket followed soon after as Graham took a good catch and Sai picked up a second. Ahmad took over from Sai and got the third wicket with a nice catch taken at square by Alex. Sid also came in and bowled superbly. Sid's first wicket came from an LBW and then he took a catch in close off the bowling of Ahmad to pick up his second wicket. Nadim showed us his reflexes when he whipped off the bails for a great stumping off Sid and then Sid picked up another LBW. The final wicket was a cracker as the batsmen decided to leave a ball which darted back in on him and took his off stump and that was the last of the batsmen. They reached 130 in 15 overs but were left wanting. BOWLING FIGURES OVERS WICKETS RUNS MOHSIN 4 0 32 SAI 3 2 37 AHMAD 2 2 23 SID 3.4 3 12 UMER 2 0 20 All round a great performance by all so give yourselves a pat the back gents it was great to watch. Also, in all seriousness, a big thankyou to Mohsin as the scorebook was excellent this week and it really helps me write this (especially late) more or less accurately. Until next time and COME ON BICC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Damien McMullen |
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