California Cup One-day Series

Game 1: Game Summary :: Scorecard :: Rules :: Accommodation :: Team :: Match Report

Game 2: Game Summary :: Scorecard :: Rules :: Accommodation :: Team :: Match Report

Game 3: Game Summary :: Scorecard :: Rules :: Accommodation :: Team :: Match Report

NCCA capture California Cup
by Alan Weedy

The Northern California cricket association pulled off a surprising upset by sweeping a double header at Woodley Park, Los Angeles over the Memorial Day weekend (May 29th and 30th) to win the inaugural series and take home the California Cup.

NCCA hadn’t beaten SCCA since 1997 so to come from behind and win the series by two games to one would have to be considered a major upset. Earlier in the summer the SCCA had beaten their Northern rivals fairly convincingly but the tables were turned this time.

Saturday May 29 was a gorgeous sunny day with a slight breeze, which made for ideal cricket conditions.

SCCA won the toss and decided to bat and proceeded cautiously to 24, aided by a few too many wides. The North’s Kiwi debutante, Gavin Picken, then struck by removing Devraj Patel, (8) aided by a fine catch by Amit Dehra. Tarun Reddy (21) and skipper Abishek Powar (17) produced a few stylish shots and the score mounted steadily. Kevin Ogley and Ganesh Seetharaman were then introduced in tandem and soon the tide began to turn. When the score was 69 Kevin induced a catch from Abishek to the wicket keeper and the Yorkshire terrier (Or should I say bulldog) claimed the first of his six victims. Tarun followed shortly thanks to a fine catch by skipper Nana. At this point the score was 78 for 3 and probably a quarter of the total was accounted for by wides. The veteran Rashid Zia took root for a while but he didn’t look like the same dangerous player who had caused NCCA so much trouble in previous years. He and his partner Aditya Thyagarajan, another prolific scorer, were well contained and it was no surprise when Ganesh produced a classic inswinger and trapped Aditya Leg before, plum in front of the middle stump. (104 for 4) Kevin took a break but the tension did not ease as Nirosh de Silva maintained a tight line and length. Another newcomer, Southpaw Ali Shafi (25) produced a few pleasing shots and when Ganesh completed his excellent spell (10-2-29-1) skipper Nana pulled a rabbit out of the hat and introduced Raj Codavalli. Raj who had been called into the squad at the last minute fully justified his captain’s confidence and dismissed the dangerous Rashid with the aid of wicket keeper Nauman Mustafa. Enter Inder Bir Singh, (29) last year’s MVP and he quickly increased the tempo with a few lusty blows but this simply prompted Ozair to recall Kevin to the attack. The gritty Yorkshireman immediately dismissed Ali (25) and John Zinto (4) in quick succession and, aided by Nirosh and Raj, the tail capitulated. Ogley’s figures of 10-0-35-6 were the best by a Northern bowler in Los Angeles since 1978. Wicket keeper Nauman Mustafa held 4 catches and the innings wrapped at 206 all out in the 50th over.

NCCA’s batting tactics quickly caused consternation in the Southern camp as pinch hitter Sunny Singh’s unorthodox style put the cat among the pigeons. Fourteen off danger man Inder Bir Singh’s first over set the tone and prompted skipper Abishek to try a spin bowler at the other end. This simply meant the new ball was wasted and despite Nirosh running himself out foolishly the early arrival of Carmo Rodrigues (38) ensured that the fast pace would continue. The hard hitting Punjabi plundered a quick 23 and he was then replaced by the technically correct Amit Dehra. He and the swashbuckling Rodrigigues took the score rapidly to 80 when Carmo was finally caught in the deep. A slight lull followed and the South probably thought they were back in the game when Ganesh (8) didn’t last long (100 for 4) but skipper Nana had other plans. He and Amit put up the shutters and ground out a succession of ones and twos for the next hour or so and although slow bowlers Joy Zinto and Rashid Zia bowled a tidy line and length they never looked too dangerous. Once Amit began to feel comfortable he produced some beautiful shots from the top drawer. His cover driving was a treat to behold and the longer that he and Ozair batted the more confident they both became. Around the 40th over they both stepped up the tempo and a flurry of boundaries from both batsmen saw the victory home in the 47th over.

Sunday, MAY 30 proved to be much hotter and the North probably welcomed the opportunity to bat first. The South made two changes from the previous day and introduced batsman Raiyan Mainuddin and fast bowler Francis Sutherland. Again the blitzkrieg tactics were adopted and Sunny whacked Inder’s first two balls to the boundary in characteristic style.

On this day, however, South didn’t take the bate and the 6’ 6” Francis Sutherland, known locally as Tall Boy, produced a nasty lifter to dismiss Sunny for 15. Nirosh and Nauman quickly followed but again Carmo and Amit batted nicely and stopped the rot. Amit (23) if anything, was looking even more comfortable than the day before and unleashed some gorgeous drives before mistiming a full toss from Shafi Ali, which Inder Bir clung on to, and the South breathed a sigh of relief.

Ganesh (39) took up the challenge and despite Carmo (23) departing soon after Amit, Ganu and Ozair, (26) who again played a fine captain’s knock, took the score to 150. The heat finally took its toll and they both departed around the 45th over but a wonderful cameo knock of 23* from rookie Codavalli ensured that we saw off the 50 overs and built a respectable score of 196 for 9. The SCCA probably reckoned that this would be an easy task when they learned that Kevin had pulled a muscle in his final over on the previous day. They probably underestimated the effect of the very hot weather and the fighting spirit of the lads from the North though and despite a decent effort by opener Tarun (29) they never looked likely to reach the target. Again Gavin played a very important role with the new ball and he quickly dismissed Patel and Raiyan. Even though Kevin was unable to bowl with his usual venom he still managed to put in a very tidy 5 over spell, off a short run, which yielded only 15 runs. The hero this day was NCCA’s favourite Punjabi, the one and only Sunny Singh., who produced the excellent figures of 10-0-32-4. Once again the man from Trichy, Ganesh Seetharaman, proved to be very difficult to score off at the other end and he deservedly won the Man of the tournament with Sunny clinching the Man of the.match trophy.

Finally I can’t end this report without mentioning one of the most remarkable catches I have ever witnessed in my over 50 years of playing and watching cricket. SCCA’s last chance was Aditya who had failed the previous day but was beginning to show ominous signs of a return to form on Sunday. He chased a ball that was close to a wide from Sunny and got a hard outside edge. The ball soared dramatically, high into the air, and began to curve away from where Nirosh de Silva was fielding on the extra cover boundary. The irrepressible Niro set off like a bat out of hell and raced at least 20 yards with the speed of a cheetah. Finally flinging himself to the ground and plucking the ball from the air inches before it hit the ground. A large crowd rose to acclaim one of the most amazing catches any of them will ever see.

Congratulations to NCCA and the award winners of the series -
Man of the Match (game 1): Aijaz Ali & Ricky Singh (SCCA)
Man of the Match (game 2): Kevin Ogley (NCCA)
Man of the Match (game 3): Sunny Singh (NCCA)
Man of the Series: Ganesh Seetharaman (NCCA)
Best batsman of the Series : Amit Dehra (NCCA)
Best bowler of the Series : Kevin Ogley (NCCA)

The NCCA and the SCCA are the two largest and most competitive cricket leagues in the State of California and have each existed for over 50 years. Together they manage more than 70 cricket teams in seven hierarchical organized divisions. Players from practically every cricket playing country are represented in these two associations. Games in both leagues are scheduled on weekends across more than 30 cricket grounds spread across the state. All games are played in accordance with the ICC’s One Day International (ODI) rules. The California Cup series was sponsored by Dish Network, eGrabber Inc. and The Platinum Financial Group.