Tamil Christians hold nerve to retain the Friends of Cricket Trophy
The oldest community cricket tournament lived upto its reputation of going to the wire for the 13th time. The finals between Muthamil Sangham(MTS) and Tamil Christians (TC) was a very close affair and TC came up trumps for the second year in a row at the Ti Rakau park ground.
TC having had an unbeaten run to the semi-finals that the hurdle of beating Probasee Bengali in the first semi-finals. Batting first they scored a healthy 170+ to make the target tough for Probasee. The Bengalees fought hard, but the target was always going to be tough for them and they eventually folded out for 109 giving TC a thumping victory. The other semi-final saw MTS against Indian 30+. MTS batting first started slowly, as the bowlers of Indian 30+ tightened the screw.
However, from over 24, MTS batsmen shifted gears and hammered the bowlers all over the park giving them a total of 174 in their allotted 30 overs. Indian 30+ started on a positive note and was on target till wickets started falling at regular intervals. For the first time in the tournament, MTS bowlers waivered in line an length and gave away too many extras, but 175 was always going to be hard for Indian 30+. Despite some superb batting by the ever reliable Vamsee and Kanishk, they could only manage 139 giving MTS a victory by 35 runs.
The final day saw the 3rd place match between Probasee and Indian 30+ which the Indian 30+ won to take home the 3rd position. MTS and TC were battling for the top prize. MTS won the toss and elected to bat on a clear sunny day but were soon in trouble with some extremely tight bowling by TC from both ends. Ram was bowling with pace and Jarrod knocked the stumps of top 2 batsmen. MTS were struggling to score runs and Ranjith, Vivek and Jeevan all piled pressure. Captain Wells and Ashok tried to revive the innings but crucial wickets at important stages of the game and some silly runouts didn’t help the cause of MTS as they were bundled out for 83.
The matches between TC and MTS have been very close affairs and this one was no different. Despite the target being 84 TC kept loosing wickets at regular intervals and some sharp catching saw the fortunes fluctuating. But once again the waivered length of MTS was to blame as they conceded 25 wides. In a low scoring match this was always going to haunt them as TC scored the winning runs after losing 8 wickets. A cliff hanger till the end! Kudos to TC for retaining the trophy.
The tournament saw some excellent performances and the organisation by Tamil Christians courtesy Raj Dawson was excellent. Behind the scene work by Javis, Allen must also be mentioned. MTS brought in the sponsorship through the ever influential Ilango and it was wonderful to see so many families present in numbers on the semi-final and final day. A great day indeed for the “Spirit of Cricket” tournament. Vamsee (Indian 30+) won the “best batsmen” and “Player of the tournament” trophies while the “best bowler” trophy was picked up by Pawan (NZ Kannada Koota). The “Fair play” trophy was won by the popular TUFXI team.
The presentation ceremony was well organised by MTS . Keep a watch for the tournaments next edition later in the year!
The oldest community cricket tournament lived upto its reputation of going to the wire for the 13th time. The finals between Muthamil Sangham(MTS) and Tamil Christians (TC) was a very close affair and TC came up trumps for the second year in a row at the Ti Rakau park ground.
TC having had an...
The oldest community cricket tournament lived upto its reputation of going to the wire for the 13th time. The finals between Muthamil Sangham(MTS) and Tamil Christians (TC) was a very close affair and TC came up trumps for the second year in a row at the Ti Rakau park ground.
TC having had an unbeaten run to the semi-finals that the hurdle of beating Probasee Bengali in the first semi-finals. Batting first they scored a healthy 170+ to make the target tough for Probasee. The Bengalees fought hard, but the target was always going to be tough for them and they eventually folded out for 109 giving TC a thumping victory. The other semi-final saw MTS against Indian 30+. MTS batting first started slowly, as the bowlers of Indian 30+ tightened the screw.
However, from over 24, MTS batsmen shifted gears and hammered the bowlers all over the park giving them a total of 174 in their allotted 30 overs. Indian 30+ started on a positive note and was on target till wickets started falling at regular intervals. For the first time in the tournament, MTS bowlers waivered in line an length and gave away too many extras, but 175 was always going to be hard for Indian 30+. Despite some superb batting by the ever reliable Vamsee and Kanishk, they could only manage 139 giving MTS a victory by 35 runs.
The final day saw the 3rd place match between Probasee and Indian 30+ which the Indian 30+ won to take home the 3rd position. MTS and TC were battling for the top prize. MTS won the toss and elected to bat on a clear sunny day but were soon in trouble with some extremely tight bowling by TC from both ends. Ram was bowling with pace and Jarrod knocked the stumps of top 2 batsmen. MTS were struggling to score runs and Ranjith, Vivek and Jeevan all piled pressure. Captain Wells and Ashok tried to revive the innings but crucial wickets at important stages of the game and some silly runouts didn’t help the cause of MTS as they were bundled out for 83.
The matches between TC and MTS have been very close affairs and this one was no different. Despite the target being 84 TC kept loosing wickets at regular intervals and some sharp catching saw the fortunes fluctuating. But once again the waivered length of MTS was to blame as they conceded 25 wides. In a low scoring match this was always going to haunt them as TC scored the winning runs after losing 8 wickets. A cliff hanger till the end! Kudos to TC for retaining the trophy.
The tournament saw some excellent performances and the organisation by Tamil Christians courtesy Raj Dawson was excellent. Behind the scene work by Javis, Allen must also be mentioned. MTS brought in the sponsorship through the ever influential Ilango and it was wonderful to see so many families present in numbers on the semi-final and final day. A great day indeed for the “Spirit of Cricket” tournament. Vamsee (Indian 30+) won the “best batsmen” and “Player of the tournament” trophies while the “best bowler” trophy was picked up by Pawan (NZ Kannada Koota). The “Fair play” trophy was won by the popular TUFXI team.
The presentation ceremony was well organised by MTS . Keep a watch for the tournaments next edition later in the year!
Leave a Comment