Bedok Kings Cricket: Week 1 bulletin

Just the first week and already some dramatic matches for BK.. two contrasting matches and results. Here’s a synopsis from a source whose secrecy is only exceeded by the secrecy behind Andrew Symonds vs Harbhajan Singh!

Game 1: BK1  vs 1 hand 1 bounce who were a bunch of newbies (to indoor cricket that is) was anything but a cakewalk..but for the clinical performance by BK1. When BK opted to field first and began bowling first it looked like we were in for thumping victory aided by clueless  running and plan-less batting ..but it just took a couple of overs of sighting and 1 hand 1 bounce proved they were quick enough to learn the art..and once they sorted out some of the nuances they looked threatening enough to post a biggie on the scoreboard. Just when the signs were ominous BK pulled the rate back and held them to ~ 90..which I still think was commendable of the other team after the way they were looking suicidal in the initial overs. But what emerged in BK’s innings to chase it down was the well planned out batting strategy. Gordo showed exactly how risk free indoor batting is done and by the time the three batting pairs were done the opposition score was mauled over by a good 20+ runs margin as we ended up with 116 courtesy of BK batters drilling the opponent bowlers almost effortlessly and giving the first timers a good indoor batting 101 session. On the job is where you learn the best. Well done BK1 and must mention 1 hand 1 bounce is a good solid team to watch out for as the season progresses..especially strong on bowling as they seem. As for BK..the way they played reminds one of the pre match quote from once legendary (son of a bitch) cricketer turned ace match fixer Mohd. Azharuddin who when once asked during his tenure as Indian skipper, “what his strategy for the match was?” had replied “bat well, bowl well and field well”; he sure had his way with words and that strategy just couldn’t go wrong if executed which is what BK1 did with panache!

Game 2: BK2 vs Octopus was a classic  “champ” vs “under dogs” to start with. Clearly we were up against a team which  has been super consistent over past few seasons..winning the last 2 seasons almost without breaking a sweat..and haven’t dropped more than a game or two of the last 20 odd matches they have played. So the task was cut out for BK2..but not a deterrent; if anything it was incentive enough to spur the team up knowing that if we beat them right at the start of the season..we virtually owned the season. On that note we were all set for a game which we already knew could be a solid contest if we played to our potential and indeed, what followed was a humdinger of a match..but at the same time heart breaking and gut wrenching for BK2 as we lost by a margin as narrow as it gets in the history of seasoned pro indoor cricket. After Skipper smokey-smoker won the toss and elected to field first, almost everything went right for the kings. Left armer Simon Yock struck in his first over  picking a couple of wickets, one of which was aided by a sparkling catch by smokey-smoker diving in front to hold on to a blinder. That dive forward of course experts reckon was aided by the protruding belly and its gravitational interaction with the ground.  Nevertheless, every player on the field had his tail up and raring to go after the batsmen with aggressive bowling and fielding. Though Octopus is one of the most consistent sides when it comes to batting they struggled against some disciplined bowling by BK2 supplemented by water tight fielding. While Simon Yock and Jorgo kept a tight lid on Octopus batsmen with tight stuff Simon Lang came on for the middle overs and highlighted octopus’ woes against left arm bowlers. Lalith mixed it up well to fox the batsmen, Jorgo was on like a mean bowling machine in his second over, Gordo continued his form from the first match and all of that meant the last 4 overs was death bowling at its best and BK2 had won themselves the first round by restricting Octopus to a meager 76. With about 25 runs per batting pair there was no need to panic or to go for the booming shots..and that’s exactly what happened in the first 8 overs of BK’s batting innings. 65 at the end of two batting pairs meant only 12 required of the last batting pair to seal of a comprehensive victory over the reigning champions. No dramas were to be expected, however that’s where for the first time BK2 was looking wanting..some mixed nerves and sharp bowling by octopus led to a couple of run outs that shouldn’t have been..and all of sudden the balance started to swing away from BK2 until they recovered and brought the game back to parity with 2 needed of the last ball..it was always going to be a nerve-wracking moment for any of the 8 players on the field; batsmen hoping bowler makes that one mistake, bowler hoping for batsman to lose his nerve..fielders praying the ball doesn’t come their way..it was all happening and amidst the noise, last ball was delivered..faintest of the edges  and rub of the green went Octopus way. 

1 Hand 1 Bounce vs Bedok Kings 1
Bowlers	Wickets		Runs
Aaron	3		-5
Andrew ER	1		25
Gordon Falconer	3		-4
Lalith Silva	1		21
Micheal Ocego	2		7
Simon yock	1		16
Batsmen	Runs
Lalith Silva	13
Andrew ER	16
Gordon Falconer	19
Aaron Marshe	16
Simon yock	19
Micheal Ocego	12
Octopus vs Bedok Kings 2
Bowlers		Wickets		Runs
Adam  Jorgenson		2		12
Gordon Falconer		0		27
Lalith Silva		2		3
Mani		2		12
Simon Lang		1		14
Simon yock		2		6
Batsmen		Runs
Simon yock		13
Adam Yorgenson		16
Gordon Falconer		15
Simon Lang		17
Lalith Silva		6
Mani		-1