Greenfield Cricket Club
 
You are here: Home > Fixtures > Score Cards 2000 > Vs. Gujarat A
GCC-ODI, Game # 15, 2000
Edmonton and District Cricket League
Howe Cup Knock-Out Tournament - Finals
Greenfield v Gujarat A Cricket Club
Victoria Park, Edmonton
Sunday, October 08, 2000 (45-over match)

Result : Gujarat A won by 5 wickets.

Toss : Greenfield
Umpires : Gordon La Guerre & Eric Mahabir
Greenfield MoM : Arees Rauf

Greenfield Innings How Out Bowler Runs 4's 6's
V Subramanian lbw b L Downs 1 0 0
V Muttoo b L Downs 18 2 0
+R Nair c +O Nethersole b L Downs 14 0 0
S Barran b Hemant Patel 15 0 0
C Green run out   3 0 0
P Arumugam c *K Patel b J Patel 26 0 0
*A Rauf lbw b J Patel 22 1 0
S Choudhary b *K Patel 35 0 2
Z Marikar b J Patel 0 0 0
R Maikala not out   2 0 0
H Kumar run out   2 0 0
EXTRAS : b 7, lb 8, w 16, nb 0 31
TOTAL : (all out, in 42.4 overs) 169 RR: 3.93
 
Bowler O M R W wd nb
Hemant Patel 9 0 21 1 2 0
Lincon Downs 9 0 42 3 2 0
Roy Thomas 7 0 22 0 4 0
Jeevan Patel 8 1 21 3 1 0
Amit Anand 5 0 33 0 4 0
*Kamlesh Patel 4.4 0 15 1 3 0


Gujarat Innings How Out Bowler Runs 4's 6's
Harish Patel c +R Nair b V Muttoo 8 1 0
A Anand not out   53 7 1
L Downs lbw b *A Rauf 9 0 0
+O Nethersole b *A Rauf 25 3 0
P Patel st. +R Nair b *A Rauf 0 0 0
J Ramkelewan not out   20 1 0
*K Patel c P Arumugam b V Muttoo 31 5 1
EXTRAS : b 7, lb 4, w 13, nb 2 26
TOTAL : (for 5 wickets, in 32.3 overs) 172 RR: 5.29
 
Bowler O M R W wd nb
Vijay Muttoo 9 0 44 2 4 1
Prashan Arumugam 2 0 13 0 3 0
Sunil Barran 4 0 26 0 3 0
*Arees Rauf 9 3 25 3 1 1
Charlie Green 4 0 18 0 2 0
Ram Maikala 4 0 22 0 0 0
Hemant Kumar 0.3 0 13 0 0 0
             
Match Report by Rajeev Nair:

Anyone who has experienced the weather patterns in Edmonton would still be wondering what kind of cricket is going on there at this time of the year. Well, the weather Gods were certainly benign this Thanksgiving Sunday, setting a perfect stage for the Howe Cup finals between Greenfield Cricket Club and Gujarat "A" Cricket Club. Both teams, I think, approached the game with some degree of caution and understandably, so as this was the first time the two teams were meeting each other this season. Greenfield CC were looking upon to improve upon their excellent season record of 16 wins and 2 losses and to finish the season on a winning note. Unfortunately, it was not to be their day as they succumbed to a steady batting performance by the Gujarat "A" team loosing a closely fought game by 5 wickets.

Having won the toss for the third consecutive time in Howe Cup, Greenfield elected to bat first, hoping to post a winning total as they did in the semi-finals. Greenfield had made two changes from the last game with Salman Choudhary and Prashan Arumugam coming in place of Johann Jeppe and Erik Hanoman. Greenfield certainly didn't get the start they were hoping for when Venkat played and missed an innocuous full toss and was adjudged leg before. It was consolidation time then for Greenfield with Vijay and Rajeev slowly breaking the shackles set by the Gujarat fielders. It was looking as though they were inching towards a comfortable score when Vijay chose to swing across to a straight ball and was bowled. Greenfield lost a few quick wickets (Rajeev, Sunil and Charlie) soon after and it looked as if it would be hard to post a respectable total. Prashan and Arees came to the rescue of the team and played sensibly to take the score past hundred. A rather dubious LBW decision against Arees put the team back in a hot seat and it was up to Prashan and Salman to salvage some pride. Salman played a patient and sometimes aggressive knock and helped in making a total of 169, which looked a little shy of a winning total, considering the strong batting line up that Gujarat had. The rest of the batsmen were not able to force the issue and a few doubtful umpiring decisions didn't help their cause either.

Despite the modest total Greenfield had on the board, the players were in good spirits in the dressing room and everyone believed that a good bowling and fielding performance could turn the tide in our favor. Gujarat started batting cautiously but maintained a steady run rate of around 4 runs an over despite a fiery spell by Vijay. Greenfield soon got their first break when Harish Patel hung his bat at an outswinger from Vijay and was caught behind by reliable sensational keeper Rajeev Nair. Gujarat consolidated their position with Amit and Lincon accumulating runs at a pace far too uncomfortable for Greenfield. Things changed a little bit when Amit, trying to hook a bouncer from Vijay, was hit on the face and had to retire to the dressing room for repairs. Arees brought himself onto the attack and captured two wickets in the same over when he trapped Lincon plumb in front of the wicket and a ball later managed to slip one past the new batsman Paresh to have him brilliantly stumped by Rajeev. At this point, it looked like the pendulum was swinging in favor of Greenfield. However, Jacob and Ossie managed to weather some fine bowling by the Greenfield bowlers and slowly inched the total to a comfortable position. Arees provided the breakthrough again for Greenfield when he had Ossie, who was playing a guessing game to figure out which way the ball was turning, bowled. This wicket raised the hopes of Greenfield once again. But the new batsman Kamlesh played some big strokes and took Gujarat to within a few runs of victory before being caught by Prashan off the bowling of Vijay. Amit strolled back to the middle with the hope of finishing up the innings and his fifty. He was caught behind off a fine piece of bowling by Hemant, although some confusion arising from a poor judgment by the umpire (who thought the ball was wide) saw the Greenfield captain recalling Amit to the crease. Amit finished the innings by completing a fifty.

It is time to reflect upon the performance of the team during this season and I would do so as I see it from the point of view of a player who was fortunate to play all the games this season. It was a commendable effort from the members of the Green and Gold to fight till the last run was scored. Although, we couldn't finish the season with a win it does not take away any shine from the glorious season we have had. The fact that the team survived to play the last game of the season is a tribute to the players who worked hard on and off the field. I am very much happy for the progress we made as a team. We fielded a revamped team for the season and each and every player contributed in so many ways at different stages of the team. We were a team without Superstars and yet a team that believed in working together to stardom. If we look back there is one thing that we should be aware and proud of and that is that "we played as a team and we learned to win and lose gracefully". That in essence is what cricket is all about. We are the runners up for the B division league, the six-a-side tournament, and the Howe Cup. It is truly a feat that each one of us should be proud of and, it is a platform from, which we can start the next season.

Our thanks to the following guest players who played with us - Salman Choudhary, David Redoy, Fahad Choudhary, Charlie Green, Saleem Qureshi, and Eric Hanoman.

We, the players, were very fortunate to have the cheers and support of a lot of people from the family and friends of the executives and the players. I don't know if you realize this, but every cheer we heard from the sides put some extra energy into our legs and mind. And thanks for arranging all the refreshments to make sure we were "up and running". Mahasri, Chitra, Nuhad, Priyani, Hifli, Gene, Rehana, Merentia, Miyoung, Sohail, Sameera, Rashmi Ganesh - you guys are the real Gold in this Green and Gold team. Hats off to you guys for the selfless support you have shown.
 
Wish you all good luck in your future endeavors and hope to see you all back next season (should I add "to kick some butt"?). Stay warm during the winter. Cheers.