Nitin

2^nd Faculty Medics vs LF1 MedSoc Preview

Well they do not come bigger than this and i’m not talking about the India Pakistan World Cup 2011 semi final next Wednesday. This is the one on the cusps of every lip in both faculties, the inaugural interfaculty match. Rhys’ men line up against Dev’s giants, and aside from all the internal politics and banter, the game is shaping up to fulfil the expected hype.

LF1 MedSoc

Led by inspirational skipper, Rhys Osbourne, they are hard drilled unit, full of the vibrance and the combative spirit of youth, and the edgy nous of older stalwarts.

Unfortunately, they finished 5^th in the Players league of the CMKS indoor tournament, which means that they will be playing exclusively for pride.

Current form: WWWLL

Player Profiles

Rhys O

Arguably, LF1 MedSoc’s best player, very technically gifted, with a huge array of shots in his armoury. As captain, has very astute field placings.

Opening bat    (RHB)

Off spinner      (OB)

Strengths         Good temperament

Weakness        Has injured his shoulder, so won’t be playing

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Vanilla-  Reliable, never can go wrong

Hassan Bhojani

Unorthodox player, has been known to throw games for personal benefit. Bowling action has been referred to the ICC for dubious nature.

Opening bat (RHB)

Off spinner (OB)

Strengths                                             Slogging

Nighat

Weakness                                            Cannot call loud enough when running between wickets

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Pistachio- green says it all

Hasan Abu Baker

Steady stalwart, has seen it all. No situation can phase him.

Middle order (RHB)

Seamer (MF)

Strengths         Height

Weakness        Wearing brothers cricket whites may lead to dysfunctional sperms

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Chocolate- always a winner

Shacheesh Sinha

Vice captain of the squad. Capable of making tough decisions in a heart- beat. Good batsmen and zippy bowler

Middle order (RHB)

Seamer (FM)

Strengths         Roti making

Weakness        Too much attention to fine detail

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Screwball

Govind Sharma

Punjabi by name; Punjabi by nature; British by paper, but this Sher thinks he’s Hard Kaur. Useful player, more than capable with the ball and bat.

Middle order (RHB)

Seamer (MF)

Strengths         Fiery temperament

Weakness        Height

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Mango- thinks it’s exotic but it’s found pretty much in every shop

Harpal Singh

Loopy spinner. Could be potentially lethal on the right surface.

Middle order (RHB)

Off spinner (OB)

Strengths         super slow bowling

Weakness        Certain Panjabi girls… or just the one!

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Protein shake flavoured- low on carbs

Probable line up:

S Sinha; R Patel; H Baker; H Bhojani; K Dasan; H Singh

2^nd Fac Medics

Led by the old timer Dev Patel, they are a more than useful group, packed with a variety in bowling and classical, technical batsmen and straight out and out batterers.

They finished top of the Gentlemen’s league, unbeaten. Although, they are far from the finished article they are well formed and can be deadly on their day

Current form: WWWWW

Player profiles

Dev Patel

Probably the worst player in both divisions. Lord, knows how he made it this far. Useless tosser, can’t buy a run, and let’s not get into the fielding and bowling. Mean guy in a nice persons body.

Opening bat (RHB)

Off spinner (OB)

Strengths         none

Weakness        mostly in the knees, and some other joints, especially in winter

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Mint choc chip- refreshing with an element of surprise

Mobeen Ellahi

Pacy opening bowler and good lower order batter. More than useful in the field.

Lower order (RHB)

Seamer (FM)

Strengths         Awesome cook

Weakness        Spanish girls/ BBM

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Caramel- sweet and smooth

Kamar Subhani

Firey bowler, classy nudger and nudler. Fairly good in the field.

Lower order (RHB)

Seamer (FM)

Strengths         can bench 120 kg

Weakness        a mirror

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Strawberry- chap stick is everything

Firas Raheman

Most technically gifted batsmen in the squad. Useful bowler and capable fielder.

Opening bat (RHB)

Seamer (FM)

Strengths         Well educated

Weakness        looses concentration too easily

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Coconut

Waseem Karsan

The joker in the pack. Always with a smile and a story.

Middle order (RHB)

Leg spinner (LS)

Strengths         can talk to anyone about anything

Weakness        can talk to anyone about anything

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Bubble gum- everyone needs a bit of hubba buuba in their lives

Ajinkya Metha

The wicket keeper. Quick hands and cat like reflexes.

Middle order (RHB)

Wicket keeper

Strengths         hair

Weakness        hairband

If he were an ice cream flavour:         Tutti Frutti

Probable line up:

D Patel; M Ellahi; W Karsan; S Reddy; A Metha; U Sreedaran

The game promises to be a good one, with a fair supportive turnout from both faculties. What twists and turns will eventuate over the course of 30 overs, who knows. To Sunday then, in the words of Andy Gray “it promises to be a cracker”

Chudree Udree

AIMS Sports Correspondent

Lesser Lights Shine Brightly

Another game; another win. Nothing changes, but sometimes everything does. In a tournament that so far has seen the powerhouses of the Second Faculty Medic Cricket team: Kamar “HCB” Subhani, Mo “I like ‘em chunky” Ellahi and Firas “Private School” Raheman, steamroller the opposition into submission, whether it be their pace bowling or their masterful strokeplay, they have been the mainstay of the team and one of the reasons that this team is unbeaten. But, a question I pose to you is, what happens when these three are far from form, or injured on the day?

The sixth match of the CMKS indoor cricket league after the short mid winter break; against Dejvice Cosmos, showed the world that this is far from a three man team.

Captain Patel was forced to make some changes, Firas still suffering from a shoulder injury, drafting in Sanjyoth and a last minute addition, Ashann, as newbie Erfan Kamal requested compassionate leave following the birth of his daughter. The day got off to a good start with skipper winning the toss and electing to set a total. Sanjyoth and Dev set underway and although the pair failed to make the boundaries they had 41 runs after their allotted five overs. It was a good and steady start. The next pair Ashann and Waz began watchfully, before the latter started unfurling a spectacular array of shots, from cover drives to inside out chip shots over mid on. The pair added a 57 without too much ado. The final pair, Kamar and Mo, usually so sturdy and astute, and dead on bankers to score heavily, faltered. Kamikaze running and errors in judgement led to too many wickets being lost between the two. The pair ended in 39. A total of 137, perhaps 20-30 runs lighter of what should’ve been expected.

To the bowling effort then; and by the way the opener’s bowlers, it looked like effort. Mo started off disciplined but it was all downhill from there. Waz and Sanjyoth were taken to the cleaners and the pair easily leaked a large amount of runs. 49 runs were scored from the first five and the medics were cutting forlorn figures across the playing arena. If they continued to bowl as poorly as this, they knew they’d be looking down the barrel of their first defeat.

Sometimes, you have to look for leadership, someone to turn to, inspiration. Dev brought himself on to bowl his loopy offspin. His first delivery dipped quickly on the batsmen, who had decided to go for an over elaborate shot, completely misread the spin and Dev knocked over his furniture. It was just what the medics needed. Dev had the batsmen in trouble throughout his first over, the loop and bounce not being read at all by the batsmen. With the control being exerted by Dev, the rest of the bowlers were able to work around him and offer tidy support. Only 12 runs were scored from the next 5 overs. The following five overs, bowled by Mo and Kamar, went for 28, with Kamar not being his usually lethal self. Dejvice, finished far from the score set by the Medics, on 89, a comprehensive enough victory, mostly thanks to the batting feats of Waz and bowling antics of Dev.

Speaking with Mo after the game he told me of this off day and he looked to the big games to come. “Yeah, well why aii, we were a bit rusty with the bowling perhaps because of the winter break, but again, that’s no excuse, we are professionals. We are playing for the pride of 2^nd Fac and some of the boys, including me, let the side down. It could have cost us if it wasn’t for Waz and Skips [Dev]. Waz has been working hard on his batting and is getting into some sort of form for the finals which is sound. Mathematically, we have now qualified top of the group with one game to go which is always an achievement. We’re not looking to ease of the gas; we have English College up next. Then the finals day.”

Elsewhere in the league, Joshiley Dragons picked up points against Vinorhady, to cement their place in second. PCC will most likely come third in the league. As for the Medics opposition in the semi- final, that remains unclear. Depending on how results unfold, it could be any one of three teams, English College, Dejvice Cosmos, or Barbarians.

Chudree Udree

AIMS Sports Correspondent