CCC2 outplayed by Columbus Cricket Club

Mike Taylor

On June 22, the Cleveland 2 side ventured down to Columbus on their inaugural road trip. The opposition side the Columbus Cricket Club is held in high regard by those in the know at the Cleveland Cricket Club, as a result the opportunity to ply our craft against quality opposition was something that the young(ish) Cleveland side was eagerly anticipating.

What greeted us in Columbus was something completely foreign. A smooth outfield without puddles, blue sky and an even pitch, with all that comes one more thing...no excuses. We lost the toss AGAIN and were sent into the field.

As usual Sameer and Kiran took the new ball and despite some erratic deliveries managed to obtain some early breakthroughs. Both openers were back in the pavilion before the end of the fourth opener as was Abhi the first drop. Despite the wides we were in a strong position of 3 for 20 after five overs. Being in such a position would usually bring joy to the hearts of any fielding side, indeed at this stage of the game Cleveland 2 was no exception. However these early wickets were a cruel blessing in disguise as it bought the talented Bharath to the wicket. He along with Majonath took their time in getting their eye in against the Cleveland 2 attack but took it upon themselves to lift the run rate to another level. It was the fourteenth over of the innings when Shiva hurled down a delivery that was ever so slightly short of a length that bought about a reply of stunning proportions as Bharath. Smacking the ball clean over long on for six stunned a good deal of the Cleveland 2 side and when he did the same five balls later off a similar delivery, that to be honest was not too far off the mark, we knew we had to get this guy and FAST. What continued from that over was one unforgettable batting exhibition as Bhrath hit the Cleveland attack to literally all corners of the ground. The array of shot making was impressive, clearing the fence on both long and short boundaries. Up the other end Majonath was playing the sheet anchor role to perfection. Often blocking out overs in order to stem the early tide of wickets his contribution to the Columbus cause cannot be sold short.
As brilliant as the Columbus batting display was it was aided considerably by the Cleveland side disintegrating in the field. Yes the bowling was not up to standard but the fielding was by our own admission appalling. Nearly everyone in the line up put down catchable chances, most against the cat like Bharath. Catlike not because of his running between wickets but because he had nine lives.
In order to stem the flow Rajan tried everything but to no avail it seemed as though nothing could stop the juggernaut as a score in excess of 250 seemed certain. Sameer, who had been in the field throughout the onslaught came back on to bowl and finally removed Bharath in thirty-first over. We got our man, the only problem was that he had scored 126 which included 9 dazzling sixes. Up the other end Majonath who had began to show his strokemaking prowess was removed three short of his half century by Shiva who was coming back well after copping some stick in his early spell. In the remaining couple of overs there were a couple more dismissals and a couple more boundaries as the typical hit and hope tactic settled in. At the end of the allotted 35 overs Columbus had amassed 7/262 largely thanks to the 200 plus run partnership between Majonath and Bharath earlier in the day.
The bowling figures were not pretty. Sameer managed a credible haul of three wickets for the day as did Shiva but a special mention deserved to go the ever reliable Murali whose consistent line at least made Bharath think twice before taking on the boundary perimeter. Countless dropped catches combined with a staggering 59 extras doesn't exactly reflects what kind of a day it was in the field.

In reply Rajan and Lokesh strolled out to the wicket. Requiring a run rate close to 9 an over to win the game the task was never going to be easy. Both Rajan and Lokesh took had a good look at the very solid Columbus line up which was sticking to a very good line and length. On one of the rare deliveries that did stray Lokesh latched onto, middling a pull shot, only to be caught at square leg thanks to a sensational one handed diving effort off the bowling of Avanish. Rajan seemed to have his eye in after hitting a six but went out the next ball whilst Nikhil who was cramping fell victim to Sean's tight bowling, spooning a simple catch to short midwicket. Sean began screaming from the rafters when he took the wicket off shiva caught at leg slip first ball. Sean's prodigious swinging of the ball into the right handers was causing considerable difficulty amongst the Cleveland batsmen and it was with this warning that Sai strode to the wicket, facing a hatrick. Shrewdly Sean came up with a straight delivery but with no success Sai survived. The same could not be said by the trouble prone Michael who twisted his ankle whilst taking a routine single and needed to be helped off the ground, bringing Sameer to the wicket. By this stage the problems were obvious, not enough runs and we had lost too many wickets. A victory seemed impossible at break with the score at 4/86.
Indeed after the break the likelihood of victory did evaporate but there was considerable character shown. Sai who continues to improve got into the teens. Romy showing the benefit of getting his eye in before going for his trademark heaves over midwicket compiled a very well put together 27 before being unfortunately run out. Whilst Sameer displayed considerable strokemaking talent in his top scoring effort of 36. Michael returned to bat at 10 with the assistance of a runner and it was his dismissal for twenty that bought the innings to a close after 30.2 overs with the score at 155 a full 108 short of the target. The Columbus attack was steady and resolute throughout. Whilst not containing any bowling talent that could match the batting prowess of Bharath they bowled with ceaseless accuracy and stuck to their task very well.
Bharat's sensational performance saw him awarded that Man of the Match honours and it was this man who gave the Clevelanders endless headaches throughout the afternoon. Bharats score as well as that of the Columbus Cricket Club may have been alot less if some of those chances were taken, but the brutal fact of the matter was that we did not take any of the catches offered, they made a truckload of runs and we were beaten by a very talented side that will perform very well in this tournament. As skilled as they are at the game of cricket they also conducted themselves in a very sportsman like manner on and off the field, a shinning example to all sides in the competition. We wish them the best for the rest of the season. Much soul searching was done at the end of the game at the restaurant as well as on the long trip home to Cleveland. Plenty of room for improvement, but at the same time plenty of time left in the season to achieve it. The big CLEVELAND DERBY is the next encounter and things can only get better.....