It was ideal conditions at HKCC for the final, and there was a lot of support for both sides. After winning the important toss Tartars batted first again on a beautiful batting turf and had a very good start with both openers Afzaal Haider & Anoop Nainani playing positive with confidence. They took the team to 50 in the 8th over by playing some very intelligent cricketing shots around the park. Afzaal Haider was the first to go when he edged an in-swinging ball of Ehsan Nawaz onto his stumps for 37. Anoop Nainani scored 18 runs and the rest of the Tartars played some poor shorts to get them out including Kinchit Shah (4), Usman Manj (17), Farooq Saeed (12), Muhammad Khan (8), Ghulam Mustafa (5), Devang Shah (6), Suhaib Ahmed (0) & Ninad Shah (3). In short, the whole team was bundled out for 120 runs by the 25th over. The great start that Tartars had had was gone and wasted as the original plan was to play 35 overs and put maximum runs on the board. But we had failed in plan A and now it was time to play plan B by bowling tight and one-side of the wicket as we all still had confidence in our bowling attack.
Tartars’ bowling was quite disciplined and attacking and troubled LSW straightaway. The energy was quite high in the field and we were playing the game with great intensity and courage. Bowlers were creating opportunities for run-outs and catches. It looked like we were back in the game at one stage when LSW were 6 down for 78; our bowlers had given us the full opportunity of winning the match. It was all up to the fielders now to take the game away from the opposition, but unfortunately we missed a few run-outs and catches were dropped in the slips and by the wicket-keeper, who had had a great season by taking the highest number of dismissals. We still had three run-outs in their 7 wickets but Tartars lost by 3 wickets in the end, in a match that they could have won. Afzaal Haider took 2 for 38 & Suhaib Ahmed 2 for 15, and he remains the highest wicket-taker for Tartars this season. He was greatly helped by his fellow bowlers, Daood Ashfaq, Ninad Shah, Ansh Lulla, Ghulam Mustafa and Devang Shah.
Congratulations to all teammates for a great season in and outside the ground by playing hard cricket with fun and joy. A great season for a very young side that have beaten some very strong sides during the long season with great support from their seniors, Anoop, Devang, Farooq, Ravi & Rahul, who all chipped in whenever they were free from their work and family commitments. A very big thanks to UMESH BHASSIN & Maheen Haider who scored for the whole season and won us a bonus point too by having a scorer at every match.
Submitted by Afzaal Haider
KCC Tartars captain Afzaal Haider won the toss and elected to bat first since it had been the team tradition throughout the season. It was again a beautiful batting wicket but heavy rain during the week had made it a bit lively for the better bowlers. Tartars lost both their openers, Afzaal Haider & Anoop Nainani, in the early overs. Usman Manj played with his usual aggressive style and scored a quick 50 by the 13th over but threw his wicket away straight after that. The Great Rahul Sharma took charge from there and made sure the team played their allotted 35 overs; he was there at the end, not-out, having scored 41 very valuable runs. He showed the class, confidence and technique of a good batsman in front of all our junior Tartars’ players. Kinchit Shah scored 19 & Muhammad Khan 16 runs at the end, and the team had 166 runs on the board for the loss of 9 wickets.
In reply, Nomads lost their opener Trevor Smithson for a duck but then played very smartly and conscientiously with singles and odd boundaries off bad over-pitched balls. Afzaal Haider kept on changing his bowlers and field positions to get some wickets and spinners Daood Ashfaq and Devang Shah started giving the opposition a tough time; they were soon rewarded as they grabbed a few wickets. Tartars were fielding very aggressively, creating some run-out chances, but it still looked like Nomads would take the game away from us.
Afzaal came back for his 3rd spell when the match looked like an almost one-sided affair by that time as Nomads needed just 10 runs in 3 overs with 6 wickets in hand, with both set-batsman at the crease. Every single person in the ground was 200% sure of a Nomads victory when the Tartars captain called a quick team meeting and asked everyone to try to take the game to the 35th over and then see what would happen. Technically, we had no chance but still wanted to try. Suhaib Ahmed bowled a brilliant over by giving away only 2 runs in the 34th over and left 2 runs for his skipper in the 35th over.
Nomads needed 3 runs to win off the last 6 balls with 6 wickets in hand when Afzaal Haider set a very attacking field and started bowling from the Hill Side which had been his favourite since he had arrived in HK. He got a wicket with the first ball of the over as Nomads’ most experienced and set-batsman was caught trying to hit a boundary and finish the match on the first ball. His other set-partner had crossed him in the process and faced the next delivery and managed an easy single to mid-off. 4 balls, 2 to win, 1 run to tie, a new batsman at the crease and the HKCC camp had gone completely silent. This was the first time in the innings when I had the feeling that we could win and I used all my experience by balling 4 dot balls; all were quick, firm & spot-on edging outside the off-stump and the batsman. JO Orders had no clue what to do and Tartars went through to the Final, beating Nomads in back-to-back matches. Yee Haa!!!!!
The moment was thrilling, enjoyable, unforgettable and very memorable for us and tough for Nomads. Exactly after 15 minutes the whole HKCC management came down to the ground, including their General Manger Nigel Stearns, Recreation Manager Mark Eames, Coach Mark Wright, Nomads Captain Andrew Swan and many others and congratulated us warmly and showed that they are the best opposition when it comes to competition, the best when it comes to celebrating their success and the best when it comes to congratulating the opposition after a loss.
It was one of the best results ever for all 12 Tartars’ players and one of the best Saturday League match in terms of playing the match within the spirit of the game and competitiveness without any sledging. I was so proud of my team and congratulations to all of them for their hard work throughout the season; they deserved to be the winners here. People will learn so much from this match and I am sure my team will always fight until the end from now on.
Nomads’ Captain Andrew elected to bat first after winning the toss on a beautiful-wicket at the beautiful batting paradise of “Hong Kong Cricket Club” at noon on 31st March 2012. Ghulam Mustafa & Ninad Shah started the bowling for Tartars and had good success, taking 2 early wickets. But as soon as the ball lost its shine the batters began to have some fun with it and started batting very well. They scored 178 runs and were finally all out in the 35th over with our spinners having a very good day with Daood Ashfaq (4 for 38) and Devang Shah (1 for 12) taking wickets. They were supported by Afzaal Haider (2 for 28) and by Suhaib Ahmed, Ninad Shah & Ghulam Mustafa who each shared one wicket each.
It was a good target to chase for Tartars and Kinchit Shah took full responsibility of the batting and stood there until the end, ending up not-out on 64 with Tartars beating their arch rivals by 3 wickets. This victory in the last match of the preliminary rounds of the league meant that Tartars qualified for the semi-finals and set themselves up against Nomads in the semis at HKCC. Wicket-Keeper Muhammad Khan scored an excellent 45 runs; Miten Khatri scored a solid 21 runs and Ghulam Mustafa hit a responsible 18 runs to help Kinchit win the match in the end.
KCC Tartars have so far topped the HKCA Saturday Champion League Division 1
KCC Tartars are top with 36 points. Tartars have played 10 matches, won 8, lost 2 with 3 more matches to go. The momentum the team is having this season does mean that we have a great chance of winning the league; but that all depends on the continuity of consistent performances and playing good cricket.
KCC TARTARS VS LSW INU
1st Match of the season was played at KCC’s beautiful lush green ground on 17th September 2011 against LSW Indian United. KCC Tartars captain Afzaal Haider won the toss and elected to bat first and the team scored 232 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in 35 overs. Kinchit Shah’s 86 impressive runs helped to start the season in style, while Usman Manjh 28, Farooq Saeed 23 & Babar Hayat 22 also made notable contributions.
In reply Little Sai Wan was bundled out for 129 runs in 21 overs as the SHAHs had a great day with bat and bowl; first the older son scored runs and now dad (Devang Shah) took 5 wickets for 32 runs and the 3rd Shah (Ninad Shah) 2 for 18.
Tartars won the match by 103 runs with a bonus point
Man of the Match: Kinchit Shah
KCC TARTARS VS C.C.C
The second match of the season was played at HKU’s ground on 24th September 2011 in hot and steamy conditions, where Tartars batted first again after losing the toss and managed to score a massive 319 runs in their allotted 35 overs. Babar Hayat was the hero of the game with Kinchit Shah scoring a quick 66 runs with some hefty sixes. Babar Hayat scored his maiden hundred for KCC and was not out on 133 runs with at least 12 sixes. Opening batsman Ravi Lulla scored an important 32 runs & Afzaal Haider scored 22 runs not out. CCC team started very well but couldn’t get even close to the massive target and so lost the match. Suhaib Ahmed 2 for 61, Kinchit Shah 2 for 36 & Ansh Lulla 1 for 61 were the key wicket-takers.
Tartars won the match by 82 runs with a bonus point.
Man of the Match: Babar Hayat
KCC TATARS VS HKU
The third match of the season was played again at HKU’s ground on 5th November 2011. Tartars captain Afzaal Haider won the toss, batted first and scored 282 in 35 overs for the loss of 7 wickets. Kinchit Shah was the highest scorer with 81 runs including 7 sixes and his father Devang Shah scored a valuable 78 runs very quickly with his inimitable style in the middle order. Ghulam Mustafa also scored 37 runs, while opener Hersh Khatri scored 29 runs & Usman Manj scored 24 runs. In reply HKU was bundled out for a mere 119 runs in 25.5 overs. Ansh Lulla 3 for 30, Devang Shah 2 for 24 & Suhaib Ahmed 2 for 14 were the key wicket-takers.
It was the SHAH’s show again as Tartars won the match by 163 runs with a bonus point.
Man of the Match: Kinchit Shah
KCC TARTARS VS KCC SARACENS (CLUB DERBY)
4th Match of the season was a club derby played at the home of HK Cricket in KCC on 12th November 2011. Tartars captain Afzaal Haider won the toss again and batted first but it turned out to be a bad day for us and a great day for Saracens as they outclassed Tartars in both batting and bowling and the whole team was bundled out for 68 runs. It was a very poor performance from us in the most important game of the season and Saracens won the match by 8 wickets in the 9th over. Afzaal Haider & Suhaib Ahmed shared one wicket each. Earlier Saracens’ bowlers Kunal Parwani, Tim Parkinson, Azeem Ebrahim, Robbie Bacon & Nigel Shroff all shared two wickets each and from Tartars, Kinchit Shah was the highest scorer with 20 and Afzaal Haider contributed 17 runs only.
KCC TARTARS v/s LSW SARJAN
5th Match of the season was played again at KCC on 10th December 2011. Tartars Captain Afzaal Haider won the toss again and batted first and scored 183 runs for 5 wickets in 35 overs with a great knock form Muhammad Khan Nido who played magnificently and scored 83 runs. Ghulam Mustafa scored 49 runs & opener Hersh Khatri scored 28 runs. Tartars struggled to score massively because both super stars Babar Hayat & Kinchit Shah were away on National duty with Hong Kong participating in the ACC T20 in Nepal. Tartars had an opportunity to win this match at one stage but a lack of quality bowling and some dropped catches cost them heavily and they lost the match in the 34th over by 6 wickets. Left arm upcoming young talented seamer Harsh Shah took 2 for 16, Ansh Lulla 1 for 28 & Ghulam Mustafa 1 for 22.
KCC TARTARS VS MILLENNIUM C.C
6th Match, and after two losing two matches in a row Tartars had to make a big come back at the PKVR stadium and start the New Year with better luck. On 7th January 2012, Afzaal Haider won the toss again and batted first and Tartars were all out for 127 runs in 33 overs. Only opener Anoop Nainani had some technique to play on the bouncy artificial Astro track as he scored 38 runs with some lovely cover drives and cut shots. In reply Tartars came back strongly and bowled on a very tight consistent line and length and allow Millennium to score only 109 runs in 35 overs. Afzaal Haider took 3 wickets for 19 in 8 overs with 4 maiden overs and Ansh Lulla bowled his quota of 8 overs for 25 runs and grabbed 2 important wickets and Babar Hayat also took 2 wickets for 24 runs.
KCC Tartars won the match by 18 runs.
Man of the match: Afzaal Haider
KCC TARTARS VS AMSUA PAKISTAN ASSOCIATION C.C
7th Match, and it was lovely day for cricket with the sun shining and conditions a little chilly on 14th January 2012 at KCC’s beautiful grass top turf. Afzaal Haider won the toss again and batted first. Tartars’ batsman struggled on a green top wicket and kept losing wickets on a regular basis as Pakistan Association bowlers bowled very tight and accurately. Except for Afzaal Haider, who scored a valuable 40 runs with 2 sixes & 3 fours, no one else stayed at the crease long enough. Openers Anoop Nainani 16 & Ravi Lulla 13 runs were other contributors. Tartars were defending only 114 runs and it was big challenge for a young side against a strong opposition. In Reply, Tartars bowled even better then Pakistan Association and created problems for the opposition batsmen. The bowlers bowled more purposefully and attacked the stumps frequently and didn’t allowe them to stay at the crease longer. The whole Pakistan Association team were bundled out for 91 runs only. Afzaal Haider with 3 for 15, Suhaib Ahmed 3 for 23, Ghulam Mustafa 2 for 26, Devang Shah 1 for 8 & Babar Hayat 1 for 14 runs were the wicket-takers. Wicket Keeper Muhammad Khan Nido took 4 catches behind the stumps including 2 stumpings.
What a FANTASTIC victory as Tartars won the match by 23 runs.
Man of the Match: Afzaal Haider
KCC TARTARS VS KAI TAK CRICKET CLUB
8th Match and Tartars was playing against the number 1 team in Division 1 - Kai Tak - with the home advantage at KCC. On 28th January 2012, Afzaal Haider won the toss again and elected to bat first as usual with his belief that the Tartars’ bowling could defend any total. With both openers missing, Afzaal Haider opened the batting and looked good as he scored 44 runs until Babar Hayat took charge of destroying the Kai Tak bowling attack. Babar looked a class apart and played very attacking cricket with 93 runs and miss his second hundred by only 7 runs. Ninad Shah & Kinchit Shah were the only other batsmen who went into double figures. Tartars had 204 runs on the board which was more than enough to defend with our bowling, as Ninad Shah and Ghulam Mustafa opened the bowling and looked comfortable with line and length. But it was the spinners on that day who made it hard for the opposition to hit the ball freely around the park and they only managed to score 144 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in 35 overs. The most experienced KCC player and ex-Hong Kong Captain Rahul Sharma took 4 wickets for 29 runs, Ninad Shah 2 for 30 runs, Daood Ashfaq 1 for 26 & Suhaib Ahmed 1 for 24.
Tartars won the match by 60 runs and obtained an important bonus point too.
Man of the Match: Babar Hayat
KCC TARTARS VS C.C.C
The 9th Match of the Saturday Division 1 League was played at Kai Tak Ground on 11th February 2012. Afzaal Haider won the toss again and elected to bat first again and Tartars scored 200 runs for 8 wickets in 35 overs. It was a superb performance from Tartars young wicket-keeper batsman Muhammad Khan Nido who played one heck of an important innings, as we had fielded the youngest ever KCC team on that day. All the senior players including Anoop Nainani, Farooq Saeed, Babar Hayat, Kinchit Shah, Devang Shah & Rahul Sharma were not available to play. Congratulations to Muhammad Khan for his splendid 97 not out. Usman Manjh's supportive 22, Afzaal Haider 17, Apurv Sharma 17 & Ninad Shah 16 also batted well. In reply CCC only scored 146 runs in 30.3 overs for 9 wickets as their last player was injured and couldn’t make it to the crease to bat. Daood Ashfaq 4 for 46, Suhaib Ahmed 2 for 13, Ansh Lulla 1 for 28, Ninad Shah 1 for 30 & Afzaal Haider 1 for 6 runs for the among the wicket-takers.
KCC Tartars won the match by 54 runs with 1 bonus point.
Man of the Match: Muhammad Khan Nido
KCC TARTARS VS LSW INDIAN UNITED
10th Match and the conditions were overcast after overnight showers and constant drizzling since morning. On the 25th February 2012, Afzaal Haider won the toss, for the ninth time out of ten, and batted first on KCC’s beautiful batting turf. Afzaal Haider & Anoop Nainani opened the batting and the first wicket fell at 47 in the 6th over when the skipper was run out in a “yes or no” situation. Anoop carried on from there and scored 69 runs with confidence and class. Babar Hayat 74 & Kinchit Shah 54 ruined the LSW bowling attack with sixes and fours raining all around the ground. Tartars scored 285 runs in 35 overs, which was more than enough with our bowling attack. In reply LWS was bundled out for 125 runs with superb bowling from opening bowlers Suhaib Ahmed & Ninad Shah. Suhaib Ahmed 3 for 40, Ghulam Mustafa 2 for 27 & Daood Ashfaq 3 for 19 in his 8 overs were among the wicker-takers.
KCC Tartars won the match by a massive 160 runs with 8 overs to spare and again collected a bonus point in the kitty.
Man of the Match: Babar Hayat
Well Done Boys!
Prepared by Tartars Captain Afzaal Haider
Another day, another match, unfortunately similar pattern, fortunately same result.
Second game of the season, and we were greeted with a cloudy humid day but thankfully no rain. Toss done and lost, but strangely the opposition captain did not know whether he wants to bat or bowl. So of he went to check with his team mates and eventually decided to bowl first.
We started off well with Usman and Miten opening the batting for us. The ball was seaming big time, but that is expected on such a humid day, so the start was cautious. After batting watchfully for a few overs, Miten shouldered arms to one way outside off stump, only to see it seam in and knock back his stumps. We knew already this was going to be a day to bat with common sense. Batsmen after batsmen followed, played themselves in, but no one managed to stay in for a long innings. Usman though, thankfully held one end up, getting out for a very well made 48 in the 23rd over. Affy then played a gem of an innings, starting slowly, before opening up and hitting a couple of sixes and fours. Unfortunately for him, none of the other batsmen were prepared to support him and we finished our inning ALL OUT in the 32nd over for 166 with Affy stranded on 33. For a team which bats right down to no 11, this was a poor effort, a day when common sense and application was needed, but was in short supply.
Affy opened the bowling and went for a few in the 1st over. Mushy, his partner in crime, started off with a good over and kept the Taipan openers in check. Affy’s 2nd over then got us the much needed breakthrough with the Taipan opener playing as if they were chasing 266 and not 166. Mushy not to be outdone, got one to nip in, appealed and the finger went up. We were in business. Taipan lost wickets in heaps and looked down and out at 40 odd for 7 and we were hoping for an early finish. That wasn’t to be and their no 8 & 9 batted sensibly to put together a partnership of 50 odd before a tight spell from Shamal (finished with 5.1 overs, 13 runs , 1 wicket) got us the much needed breakthrough. Next couple of overs was all that was needed and Taipan were all out 116, losing by 50 runs.
Important to add are the 2 highlights from our bowling. The 1st is when Affy got one to away swing, just enough to beat the defensive prod of the batsmen, and kiss the off stump on its way to Miten who did well to catch the ball half way through his celebration. The 2nd one was from Ninad, who in his very first over hit the top of the stumps, with the bails flying half way to the boundary with one of them breaking into 2 (I understand this bail is now with him as a souvenir)
Admittedly, batting conditions were tough, but better application should have seen us post a better total. Thankfully our bowling has been top notch, but it’s time the batsmen make their presence felt. Not much time though, our next game is in 2 days.
Match highlights
Usman 48
Affy 4-1-12-3
Ateeq 6-0-32-2
Ravi Lulla
The long wait over, there we were, getting all warmed up (pun intended) for our 1st game of the Saturday league 2010-2011 season on a super hot day. The prospects of a game against a HKCC team always gets the adrenalin flowing and tends to keep one well focused on the immediate task on hand, so any thoughts of weather, pitch conditions etc. etc. don’t exactly merit any attention. Traffic conditions outside KCC meant the HKCC Nomads arrived later than expected, resulting in the toss and match being delayed by about 10 minutes. I called correctly and promptly decided to bat ignoring any warnings by my senior teammates who thought batting first in our first game might not be sensible. Shivang and Miten got us of to a fairly quick start with Shivang hitting a magnificent six over cover point, only to fall the very next ball trying to pull a bouncer. The ball hit his glove and looped up high to the keeper. The Nomads were ecstatic. The floodgates opened and within a few overs, we went from 30 for no wicket to 41 for 6. The advice to not bat first now seemed prophetic. Situation desperate, and Farooq and me decided to bat out a few overs playing low risk shots and keep the score board ticking with singles or doubles (stamina permitting). We batted together until the 26th over until which time the heat was simply too much for me and I managed to get out with the score on a somewhat respectable 130. It’s worth mentioning, although due to the heat and fatigue, it was all blurry, I think at that point I had scored more runs than Farooq, something which might never happen again in our lifetime.
Shamal went in, batted for a bit, only to be given out to a poor LBW decision, the ball hitting him fairly high and would have certainly gone few inches over the stumps. Ninad walked in at number 10 and not only did he support Farooq, but hit a few smart shots of his own showing maturity and skill well beyond his years. Good lad. Farroq then holed out to long on in the 34th over falling 4 short of a well-deserved 50. We finished our innings at a very respectable 172/9 with Ninad and Ateeq the not out batsmen, and we were in with a serious chance.
Afzaal and Ninad opened the bowling for us and kept it absolutely tight. The pressure was back on the Nomads and Ninad got his 1st wicket of the season with the ball being smartly pouched by Miten (wk) – 2 young boys combining well to get us the first breakthrough. Afzaal not to be outdone, got one to move with the resulting edge once again carrying to Miten. The next one was a classical dismissal with Shamal flightling and dipping one, the batsmen dancing out of his crease only to be deceived by the flight and Miten whipped of the bails in a flash. What a time he was having. The Nomads then started building partnerships, but we kept getting wickets regularly to keep them under check. Shamal picked a great catch at the midwicket boundary just managing to stay inside, and when Ateeq bowled the last man with a slow incutter, the game was over with the Nomads falling short by 17 runs. Afzaal finished with 4 for 18, Ateeq with 3 for 34 and Ninad and Shamal both getting one wicket each. Perfect start to the season and playing to our potential should bring positive results in next rounds as well.
As I write this report, Typhoon Fanapi is making its presence felt but hopefully will pass soon enough to allow the cricket to continue uninterrupted.
Ravi Lulla
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