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News Archive
Check out News and Reports for this season.
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BULUSU BAGS 5 SAI WAN WICKETS (21.11.2000)
In only his second match for Vags, wily spinner Mark Bulusu bagged 5 for 56 off 15 mesmerising overs and took a fantastic catch at gully to take the first Vags 'Man of the Match' title of the season as we came within a whisker of beating last years Sunday League Champions Little Sai Wan on Sunday. Details of the match can be found on the HKCA website www.hkca.cricket.org
CAPTAIN'S RANT, 20th November 2000
Dear all,
Wow, that was some game on Sunday vs Little Sai Wan! I thought we had just done enough to snatch the game when they sent down another yorker ball to send poor Asif's stumps flying (it was his first game for the club. In at the deep end needing 8 to win with 1 wicket remaining and the opening bowlers back on!).
Our bowling was nothing short of fantastic, especially Mark Bulusu's long spell which netted him 5 victims, and definitely Man of the Match in my opinion. We did almost everything right, putting the batsmen under pressure, bowling very tight lines and forcing the errors. Its a pity we couldn't hold onto those 2 early catches of the openers, remember the old saying ...
More concentration required from our batsmen, especially at crucial times. The longer the bowling team don't get a wicket the better. We really need to think, think, THINK (!!!) about every ball. Value your wicket, you only get one go a week! If you think you're going to smack the next ball out of the ground then take a deep breath, block it and STAY IN!!!! Well done anyway to Chris Coombes on his 37 and to M. Shabbir's BIG shots which got us within striking distance of the target.
A lot of positives, again, that we can draw from this match. We are getting better with every run out. The fielding aspect of the game is giving us the chance to win matches. But, as we all know, "its a game of two halves" so now the fielding side of things has improved to a reasonable standard lets keep it that way, and step up and do the business with the bat. Let's get that first win that we're due for. And if we field the way we did yesterday then we have a fighting chance against ANY team in the league.
There'll be an availability email going out tonight for Sunday's match.
End of Rant. See you Sunday!
Cheers,
Monty
MATCH REPORT
VAGS VS TEMPLARS 26.12.00 (MR)
VAGS RECORD FIRST WIN OF SEASON!
We all knew it was coming soon, and so it proved on
Sunday as we recorded our first win of the season,
over KCC Templars. Winning the toss we opted to field and from the first ball it was clear that Templars would be in trouble with the bat as our bowlers bowled tightly and aggressively, giving the batsmen little room for manouevre, forcing them to play false shots.
Shabbir's first ball of the innings was a gem of
a short ball which unfortunately struck batsmen
Anoop on the wrist and forced him to leave the field. Two KCC wickets fell in quick succession, one cleaned out by Chris Frankcombe, the other to Shabbir, until Templars captain TR and Anoop (who had returned) came to steady their ship. Our bowling remained pretty tight but the runs were coming mainly from boundaries, mostly from TR. TR went to a good catch on the boundary from Phil off Vicky, as we started to sniff blood. Marzook played some great shots but it was only a matter of time before he was out, Mark Bulusu bowling him beautifully. Shabbir removed a slow scoring Anoop caught behind and we were into the tail.
Whilst Mark Bulusu was tweaking away at one end, keeping the batsmen completely tied up, Nasir stepped up and ripped through the Templars tail removing their last 5 wickets in a devastating spell of 5 for 13 off only 5 overs. Templars still managed to scrape 215 runs together though, which is something we must all seek to improve on ie giving away careless runs. We just can't afford to do this against other, better, teams. We got away with it this week with some very concentrated batting, and the fact that they were a bowler short. Don't forget we lost to Sai Wan by
only 3 runs; every run counts. Nevertheless bowling out sides two weeks in a row is very encouraging.
Onto the batting which showed a tremendous
improvement with some great application from our batsmen. We scored 35 without loss in 7 overs before lunch was taken, giving us a healthy start.
Soon after lunch I was caught behind but Chris Coombes was again scoring steadily at the other end. Vicky was out on 16 to a very part time bowler who sent down 3 no bounce no balls before inexplicably sending down a yorker which surprised unlucky Vicky who was bowled. Chris Frankcombe then contributed 16 quick runs. Meanwhile Chris Coombes had been caught and bowled by a very ordinary spinner after doing all the hard work (!!!) making a steady 37. M. Shabbir, in his own entertaining style, contributed 16 quick runs before being bowled.
Phil and Nasir were then at the crease, both making
very intelligent and patient innings, taking good
singles and striking bad balls to the boundary, and
allowing us to cruise to victory. Phil was unlucky to be dismissed caught at cover for a well crafted 44 with the match nearly over. Ted joined Nasir at the crease with Nasir smashing the winning runs (a 6 off Shiroy's first ball) to finish on 48 not out as Vags deservedly claimed our first win of the season with 5 overs and 4 wickets to spare.
It was a good display of cricket from us against
a reasonable team. We were in control for virtually
all of the match, and didn't allow them to play. This is very promising and its a great feeling to win isn't it?!
We will have to tighten up even more in the field
and not give away runs carelessly. But I feel we are now competitive, and need be scared of no team in the League. We are not going to win every match
remaining of the season, let`s be realistic. But based on Sunday's performance other teams will have to go out and beat us, not just turn up to win. Good cricket fellas, lets keep getting better !
Without question this weeks Man of the Match was Nasir! (iMail seemed to think so too!)
- Mark
MATCH REPORT
VAGS VS PAKISTAN ASSOC 3.12.00 (MR)
Well, after our first win of the season last week over Templars it was always going to be tough against top of the League Pakistan Association, but we had them worried!
Losing the toss we were sent into the dry DBS field on an overcast morning. The pinch-hitting Pak Assoc captain Sada struggled to get anything away after sending the first ball of the innings to the boundary. He was dropped at square before Shabbir made amends by trapping him LBW as frustration got the better of him. Our bowling remained tight throughout the first session, though chances were few. We waited patiently until Pak Assoc Nasir was tempted to fish at a Vags Nasir tweaker and was caught behind for 37. Though the stand was 108 for their wicket we were keeping the run rate managable. Soon the other opener Gul was prized open and bowled by Mark Bulusu coming on for his second spell. Malik and Hashmi soon returned to the pavilion: Malik stumped sharply by new Vags keeper Ravi off economic Nasir, and Mark B. bamboozling then bowling Hashmi. Pak Assoc 181 for 5 off 40 overs. Waseem proved difficult to remove however and was punishing anything slightly wide or short until he skied one off my bowling for Shabbir to take a great running catch at long on. We soon removed the next three batsmen, but they still made it to 257 for 9 at the end of 50 overs. Again we put in a tight fielding performance, taking wickets at important times, keeping the pressure on the batsmen to earn their runs. It was a solid fielding session against dangerous opponents, giving us a chance with the bat to cause an upset.
In bright sunshine, Vicky and Phil set about their task with a vengeance as they launched an attack on the Pakistan Assoc openers sending the ball flying to all corners of the ground with some superb strokeplay as we ran up 50 runs in just 6 overs. But Khalid managed to find a yorker that would have got through just about any batsmen that shattered Phil's middle stump into pieces. A replacement stump was found and a new batsmen stepped up (not interchangable phrases...), me. Left arm spinner Najeeb came on at one end and with his second ball took Vicky's wicket, caught at deep mid wicket. From 50 for no loss off 6 we had suddenly become 52 for 2 off 8. Munir replaced Khalid and bowled me in his first over for 10. Then Najeeb bowled Nasir who'd been looking solid and Mark B was caught at slip slogging. We were slipping badly through poor shot selection; but more of that later. New batsmen Ted and Shabbir came to the crease and batted with purpose, keeping our hopes of a win alive before Ted became another 'bowled' in the book after putting a stand of 34 together with Shabbir. Chris F. soon followed, same by-line, before there was an excellent stand between the two Shabbirs, with Shabbir Ahmed taking the leading role, batting intelligently and taking few chances at the same time as hitting some monster sixes towards the school entrance. Their stand of 30 helped us get to 160 runs and 1 batting point, a great effort. M.Shabbir tickled a Munir away swinger to be caught behind and shortly later a Najeeb fizzer got through Shabbir's defences to bowl him for a top-scoring 44, stranding Asif at the other end who didn't face a ball, and leaving us all out for 166.
On the down side our batting, or more particularly our shot selection let us down on the day. Our batsmen need to think carefully about the match situation before playing their shots. Getting out to slog shots when there is a new batsmen at the other end is poor cricket, and cost us a chance of winning the match yesterday. After such a good start with the pressure growing on the other team we gave away a number of wickets to put the pressure on ourselves. At no time (after the good start) were we behind the run rate and we were all out with 20 overs remaining and only 91 to win; poor cricket.
On the positive side, and it's a big positive: we gave ourselves a chance to win against the best team in the League. With a little more thought in batting we could have beaten them. That's a world away from most of our matches over the last 2 years, and a real bench mark for every game from now on. As with the last two matches we took a lot of wickets, needing only 1 more to get them all out this time. If we can do this against the top team in the League we can do it against any team.
Phil and Vicky's opening partnership was excellent, especially against the quickest bowler in the League. Ravi looked sharp in his first match behind the stumps for Vags. Mark Bulusu's second bowling spell was fantastic (2 for 27 off 6). Shabbir's batting was just what we needed as well. And for that 44 runs (top score), his catch in the deep and his very economical opening spell of 1 for 20 off 7 overs Shabbir Ahmed is this week's Vags Man of the Match!
- Mark
MATCH REPORT
VAGS VS SCORPIONS, 14.1.01, DBS
Well, we're now halfway to the target of 4 wins in the season with 3 games still to play, after the gritty Vags performance and some brilliance from Hussain and Nasir helped to down a confident Scorpions team on Sunday.
Losing the toss, but happily being sent into bat on a flat track with a quick outfield, Chris C and Hussain started cautiously against a steady opening spell of bowling, with the target of 70 from the first session looking some way off. Gradually the runs started to come before Chris departed bowled for 9 bringing Mark to the crease. Some patient batting followed punctuated by the ball occasionally being crashed to the boundary as Hussain started to find his rhythmn, and we were up to 70/1 from 17; on course. The first several overs of the second session saw the Vags total race upwards as Hussain crashed the bowling around the park with some magnificent straight hits and some intelligent defensive shots against the Scorps slower bowlers. Mark went for 23 caught at mid on off Smith after putting on 126 for the second wicket as Vags position was looking strong.
A number of quick wickets followed however with Nasir LBW offering no shot to Smith and Vicky bowled soon after by the Aussie former first grader. Hussain though was still going great guns at the other end with anything other than a good ball being dispatched to the boundary as he notched the first Vags century of the season before he was caught at cover for a fantastic 118.
Phil and Ted accumulated runs sensibly until Ted was unluckily out LBW probably due to the volume of the appeal than anything else. Master Blaster Mohammed Shabir then took on the bowlers in his own 'restrained' (not) manner to make a very valuable 28 in short time. Phil contributed 17 runs, Adam a brisk 9 , new player Daryl a workman-like 9 not out and Asif 1 not out for Vags to finish the innings with a defendable 249/9, Smith being the pick of the bowlers with 5/52.
Part two began superbly for Vags with Vicky taking two quick wickets to leave Scorps realing at 31 for 2 with Hussain beginning to pick up pace. Mallinson and Stiller shut up shop taking no risks before Nasir tempted Stiller to drive to M. Shabir to take a good catch at mid off. With Hussain bowling flat out pace at one end, Nasir was tweaking away and varying his pace at the other as the run rate crept up and up. Nasir's bowling was excellent, very economical, and he took wickets regularly. As Hussain rested Phil stepped up and bowled 6 economical overs, taking a wicket just before second drinks as the match drifted away from Scorps. Mallo was still battling away steadily however, and was clearly the danger man. Nasir kept bowling tight and took another three cheap wickets with Hussain now keeping the runs down at the other end leaving Scorps needing 13 per over to win with 1 wicket and 4 overs left.
Vicky bowled a tidy over and then Mark's first two balls were sent over the boundary by Mallo for straight sixes. A dot ball followed with the fourth sent straight down Phil's throat at long on as Mallo holed out having to attack, and Vags won the match by 48 runs with Scorps 201 all out !
It was again a good team effort by everyone with exceptional performances from Hussain (118 and 15 overs for 42) and Nasir (6/45 from 15). It needs at least one batsman to perform to win a game, which we got, and then a solid performance in the field which we also got with everyone giving 100% effort to keep the runs down and get the run rate up. We still need to work on getting the number of extras down (47 in this match). We've also now got a large squad of players (well done to Shabbir Ahmed for performing his 12th man duties, especially when Chris just managed to get his nose out of the way of a Hussain snorter!) which will take some managing especially when players are performing well.
Man of the Match: Hussain Butt for his magnificent batting display (118) and controlled aggression with the ball.
Match Report
Vags vs LSW, Mission Rd (18.2.2001)
Now we lost to these guys by a mere 3 runs in our first encounter (see previous match report); but this became a match of role reversal in more ways than one.
Losing the toss on a sunny morning at Mission Rd, LSW decided to bat against a Vags team brimming with confidence after 2 wins in a row for the first time in living memory. And they set about their task slowly, despite some very tidy Vags bowling from Shabbir who went for only 36 off his first 9 overs, and Vicky 12 from 5. Despite Hussain and Nasir coming into the attack both Dar and Arif batted with deserved respect for our bowlers. Hussain was however 'unlucky' on two occasions with LBW appeals against Dar (who went on to make 94) one of which was low enough to 'have gone under the wickets'. Despite the lack of wickets Vags were containing the batsmen well with tight, economical bowling, so it was only a matter of time before frustration created chances. Arif was the first to go caught superbly behind by Chris 'teflon king' Coombes to a very sharp chance off Hussain in the 29th over. They come through quick from the big man! Afzal went shortly after caught by Shabir off Hussain who was bowling a very controlled line and length. Zubes and Dar put on a reasonable stand before Vicky removed Dar ct at point for his first catch for Vags by Ram. M. Jamshaid, who likes putting the ball into orbit, got hold of a few before Vicky sent him back to the shed, caught Hussain in the deep. Hussain then non-chalantly picked a full blooded drive from Zubes out of the air for a breath-taking C&B wicket, and LSW were 238 for 5. Vicky and Hussain proceeded to rip thru the rest of the batting order, Ted predictably snaffling up a couple of catches to keep him on course for the Most Catches award. Shabbir wrapped things up in the 50th removing their diminuative 11th man with the last 5 wickets going down for only 36 runs leaving Sai Wan to defend 274, a not unreasonable score. Pick of our bowling were Vicky who finished with 4 for 44 from 12 and Hussain who took 5 for 74 from 15.
A defendable total surely. Shurely shome mishtake! LSW predictably, with 3 HK bowlers in the side, opened up sharply and tightly, with Chris Coombes and Hussain finding runs tough to come by. Chris went for 7 with the score on 35, and in strolled Vicky itching and due for a good knock. He got it too. Hussain went out to a big shot (how did you guess) for 33, managing to find the only man in the deep with the score on 68 . Vicky and Phil put on 62 for the third wicket before Phil went for 21 caught by Zubes. Now, as we've not made over 200 runs too many times this season, there were a few anxious looks now doing the rounds from the Vags bench. This lack of confidence is completely misplaced as we bat literally all the way down, which is what happened. A series of quick wickets followed to some more than ordinary batting, and very poor shot selection. Vicky made his half century before playing araound a straight one that removed his middle stump; Ted was looking in good form - his first ball being sent like a bullet to the boundary past point - before he was caught behind off a suspiciously high ball; Ram contributed a useful-looking 17 until he was bowled by Zubair (it happens!) and looked the part in his first match for Vags; Nasir popped one back to the bowler the run rate probably playing on his mind, so Vags were reeling a bit (!) at 179 for 7. Just under a hundred required at about 8 an over with 3 wickets remaining and Zubair and Jamshaid preparing to get into the attack. Hmmn! The crowd had started to drift away, and most of those left wouldn't have taken odds. But you gotta have faith! There were still 15 overs left, so Shabbir and Mark who were now at the crease, did the sensible thing for a change and dug in. There followed a match winning partnership of 65, full of hair-raising (and lung bursting) quick singles and two's and the occasionally boundary, as the score crept up and the overs ticked by. With 7 overs (42 balls) left we needed 50 to win, we were in striking distance. Unfortunately for Shabbir, Jamshaid had other ideas and sent his stumps flying with the score on 244, Shabbir having made 25 very useful runs. Thirty-one to win, two wickets and four overs left. Tense? Oh yes.
M Shabir and Mark continued to steal naughty runs until Shabir was caught behind on the first ball of the last over being bowled by Hong Kong's opening bowler Mohammed Zubair. Vags needed 8 to win from 5 balls with 1 wicket remaining. In strode Parvez Akhtar who proceeded to take guard and stance in his own, some would say unorthodox, style. "Single Parvez, single" Mark requested, "OK". In runs Zubair, useful ball short of a length on middle - smack FOUR over mid-wicket leaving 4 to win! We scrape singles from the next two balls leaving 2 to win from two balls, Parvez facing. "Its in the lap of the Gods now" muttered Phil as Parvez took guard outside off stick. There was hush from the intermittently animated boundary, and Kim's pencil must have been shaking like a leaf in a hurricane. Zubair runs in and sends one fizzing towards Parvez's off stick. Smack - FOUR over cover and its all over! Parvez is rightfully the hero, someone is thrown onto someone else's shoulders as the pitch is invaded past the dejected Sai Wan fielders trudging back to the pavilion as Vags win with one ball to spare!
Now THAT was a cricket match!! Lesson to be learned - you can score runs if you're still in!
There were several exceptional performances on the day, not least of which were Shabbir's innings of 25 invaluable runs and some very tidy bowling; Hussain also took what we hope will be the first of many 5 wicket hauls for Vags. But Man of the Match for this great game goes to Vicky Niaz for his 4 for 44 and half century.
Now, how to top that? Winning the Cup springs to mind. It'll be tough, but so was chasing 275 to win....
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