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GCC-ODI, Game # 8, 2001
Edmonton and District Cricket League - Premier Division
Greenfield v Scona Cricket Club
Victoria Park, Edmonton
Saturday, June 23, 2001 (45-over match)

Result : Greenfield won by 2 runs.

Toss : Scona
Umpire : David Charles
Greenfield MoM : Venkat Subramanian
Scorer: Chitra Marikar

Greenfield Innings	How Out	Bowler	Runs	4's	6's
V Subramanian		b J Ramkhelawan	145	13	0
*A Rauf	c +R Persaud	b O Smith	0	0	0
+R Nair	lbw	b C Mallette	30	2	0
H Cespedes	st +R Persaud	b L Ramkhelawan	2	0	0
S Barran	c L Ramkhelawan	b D Hall	26	2	0
S Turner		b J Ramkhelawan	29	3	0
Z Marikar		b J Ramkhelawan	0	0	0
A Prasad	not out		0	0	0
P Arumugam	not out		2	0	0
EXTRAS : b 5, lb 3, w 6, nb 0			14
TOTAL : (for 7 wickets, in 45 overs)			248	RR: 5.51

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
*Desmond Hall	9	3	27	1	0	0
O'Neil Smith	6	0	22	1	2	0
Charlie Mallete	9	0	47	1	0	0
Lenny Ramkhelawan	7	0	54	1	1	0
Jacob Ramkhelawan	8	0	36	3	2	0
Leon Persaud	6	0	54	0	1	0

(41 Overs - Target 178 runs)
Scona Innings	How Out	Bowler	Runs	4's	6's
L Persaud		b S Barran	12	1	0
J Ramkhelawan	c +R Nair	b P Arumugam	80	7	2
R Mellow	lbw	b S Barran	3	0	0
L Ramkhelawan	run out	(Venkat, +Rajeev)	29	5	0
*D Hall	run out	(+Rajeev, Venkat)	12	0	0
D Goberdhan	c *A Rauf	b V Subramanian	0	0	0
M Davidson	not out		12	0	0
C Mallete		b P Arumugam	3	0	0
EXTRAS : b 9, lb 5, w 11, nb 0			25
TOTAL : (for 7 wickets, in 41 overs)			176	RR: 4.29

Bowler	O	M	R	W	wd	nb
Sunil Barran	9	1	33	2	0	0
Howard Cespedes	6	1	11	0	2	0
Arvind Prasad	5	0	29	0	1	0
Hemant Kumar	1	0	6	0	0	0
*Arees Rauf	2	0	9	0	2	0
Prashan Arumugam	8	0	34	2	1	0
Venkat Subramanian	9	2	24	1	1	0
Rajeev Nair	2	0	16	0	4	0

Match Report by Arvind Prasad: The Saturday morning clash was between archrivals Greenfield and Scona. It was bright and sunny and the weather forecast, as usual, had 60 % chances of showers. Scona had lost heavily against ECC the previous week and were looking to redeem themselves. They had so far only one win in the league, coming against Greenfield, which in retrospect, Greenfield had lost rather than Scona winning it. For the same reason, GCC was motivated to win this game and set the records straight. On the other hand Scona was confident of beating GCC after their continued success against this team since last season. GCC went into the game with Mike making his debut this season in the absence of Ram and Scona was without the services of David Redoy. Greenfield captain Arees lost the toss and Scona, having lost badly the previous week while batting first, sent GCC into bat first. GCC started disastrously when they lost Arees in the very second over trying an ambitious shot a bit too early in the innings, without any runs on the board. Rajeev joined Venkat and they set their minds to building the innings. They played with mix of caution and aggression with Venkat's cover-drive off Desmond being the shot of the day. After 10 overs the score read 37 for 1. A good score considering the fact that GCC had lost their first wicket with no score. The spinners were introduced from both ends after 12 overs of play and both batsmen cut lose, particularly Venkat. They scored at will and the run-rate steadily went up. At the end of 20, the score was 92, and still 9 wickets remained. GCC was well on top at this point. At the score of 97, Rajeev was unluckily given LBW, playing two strides down the pitch to the spinner. He scored a brilliant 31. Batsman # 4 Howard soon departed trying to slog the spinners. Two quick wickets and Scona got a window of opportunity to creep back into the game, but Venkat and the new batsman Sunil, denied them any further success. At the end of 25 overs GCC was 117 for 3, with Venkat still batting with his second 50 of the season. After the water break, Venkat continued his onslaught on the Scona bowlers, lofting and cutting and driving with ease. Sunil gave him able support with his power strokes and wristy flicks. Seeing the ineffectiveness of his spinners, Desmond brought himself into the attack and in his second over of his second spell got Sunil, trying to dispatch him out of the ground. The score read 158 for 4 in the 32nd over. A very good score by any standards. Steve walked in to join Venkat, who was nearing his maiden century. Venkat got to his ton when he late-cut Leon for a couple to a standing ovation from everyone on the ground. Venkat and Steve continued their good work and at the end of 40, the score was well beyond 200. The two batsmen continued to bat with authority, and at the end of 44th over, the score was a mammoth 242 for 4. Jacob bowling the last over, finally got rid of Venkat, trying to hit yet another boundary. He was finally out for 145 studded with 13 boundaries. He was unlucky to have missed out on a couple of chances to hit sixes, with the ball landing inches inside the ropes. Jacob got the wickets of Zaufar and Steve in the over and GCC finished with 248 for 7. A brilliant batting performance, which only a few teams could match. The GCC batsmen had set a match-winning total for their bowlers. But it was important that the bowlers did not get too relaxed, for cricket is a funny game. A superlative performance by one member can inspire the entire team to dazzle. Sunil and Howard did the role-model job of keeping the Scona openers under tight leash. At 28 in the 9th over, Sunil yorked Leon and in his very next over got Mellow LBW with another yorker. At 32 for 2 off 11 overs, and the asking rate already beyond 6 an over, Scona was in deep trouble. The Ramkhelawan uncle-nephew combination played good cricket at this point with purpose and focus, being severe on lose deliveries. When they looked set, Lenny Ramkhelawan was run-out by a brilliant piece of fielding from Venkat, executing an accurate throw from mid-wicket as they tried to steal a single. Their captain Desmond joined Jacob and they continued to build the innings. At the end of 25, they were 110 for 3, with Jacob lucky to have survived a stump out decision. A good run-chase in any case, helped by some poor bowling from the GCC team. Clouds rolled in at this point threatening further play and the play had to be stopped for 10 minutes. The playing overs were reduced to 43 and the target was reduced by 17 runs. A strange rule once again, and interestingly it was going against GCC yet again! The play resumed and Venkat and Prashan bowled well and runs were hard to come by. Scona lost wickets in the process of getting runs as the asking rate climbed up to 8 runs an over. At the end of 40 their score was 168 for 6, with Prashan and Venkat getting a wicket apiece and Venkat affecting another run out to get rid of Desmond. At the end of 41st over, their score was 172 for 7, with Prashan getting yet another wicket. At this point, the umpire called off the game since according to his watch the match time was over. No consideration was given to the time wasting tactics of the batsmen and GCC was penalized 2 overs. According to the rules, GCC score at 37 overs (twice the number of overs that were bowled less) was compared to the Scona score at 41 overs and GCC still came out winners with 2 runs. It was a very comprehensive victory for GCC although the strange rules made it look like a close game. A brilliant batting performance in the morning was followed by a matching bowling performance. The GCC jinx against Scona was finally broken. Man of the Match, Venkat Subramanian was the obvious choice with his magnificent hundred, two run-outs and a wicket. A dream-come-true match for any player. In the process he broke the GCC record of the number of runs scored by a player in a single innings. He single handedly took the game away from Scona’s hands. A great performance, which should motivate all the GCC players. Thoughts and comments: Scona played into the hands of GCC when they asked them to bat. GCC’s strength lies in putting up a good score and defending with a good bowling attack that they have. The three last-over games lost by GCC could have gone either way. Scona should have kept that in mind. Last over matches did’nt mean GCC cannot defend their score, it just meant lack of concentration for a couple of overs that lost the match for GCC. With poor Scona fielding, with as many as 11 catches being dropped, they never looked to be in the game at any point. GCC played good cricket, and have been playing solid in the past several games. Three good partnerships set the foundation for an easy win. The bowlers, especially the fast bowlers and the medium pacers, did a great job in not giving Scona batsmen any liberty. Even when GCC should be commended for their superlative performance, there are always lessons to be learnt and GCC batsmen should learn that lofted shots are not the only way to score runs, especially when the field is spread out. An aerial ball going straight into the hands of a fielder fetches only a single or sometimes a couple, and that too only if dropped! The same single can be scored by playing a ground shot to the same player in the deep! Better said than done, true, but an irresponsible shot can spoil all the hard work done in the past overs and gives the opponent a chance to breathe. Hope GCC batsmen continue their form and entertain the E&DCL!