Omaha Cricket Club

Published Tuesday August 17, 2010

http://www.omaha.com/article/20100817/SPORTS/100819732

Cricket: Omaha to host regional tourney

WORLD-HERALD PRESS SERVICES

The Omaha Cricket Club will host the 2010 OCC Challenger Series on Saturday and Sunday and Aug. 28 and 29. The two-weekend tournament will be held at N.P. Dodge Park and Levi Carter Park in Omaha, and at Lincoln Municipal Airpark cricket grounds.

The Omaha Cricket Club, organized in 1991, was formed to grow, develop and play the game of cricket in the Midwest. In 2001, the Lincoln Cricket Club was generated and soon formed a partnership with the OCC.

By 2010, the league had expanded from the two original Nebraska teams to 13 Midwest region teams, including squads from Iowa, North Dakota and Kansas. The number of players has grown from 10 or 15 to 150, OCC President Bhaskar Krishna said.

“The growing popularity of the game brings many international students, as well as Information Technology professionals to the Omaha area,’’ he said. “Because of the worldwide interest in cricket by many coming to the U.S., the economy in the region benefits greatly.”

To show support for the cricket club, the OCC will hold its annual banquet Saturday at 7 p.m. at Kiewit Middle School, 15650 Howard St. 

The banquet features a variety of Indian foods and provides information to the public about cricket. Cost for non-members of the organization is $5 per person.

OCC Challenger Series 2010

Schedules and Regulations

RULES & REGULATIONS FOR OCC CHALLENGER SERIES 2010:

AUGUST 21ST, 22ND ,28TH

ALL PLAYERS SHOULD WEAR WHITES OR THEIR TEAM ATTIRE. THIS IS MANDATORY. NO EXCEPTIONS.

1)      TEAMS THAT ARE PARTICIPATING IN OCC CHALLENGER SERIES ’10 ARE

• UMKC BLUES- KANSAS CITY
• KCC PREMIERS- KANSAS CITY
• NDSU- NORTH DAKOTA
• OMAHA CHARGERS
• OMAHA HUNTERS
• OMAHA RED DEVILS
• LINCOLN CC
• CEDAR RAPIDS KINGS - IA

2)      TEAMS ARE PLACED IN 2 POOLS.

3)      LEAGUE PHASE MATCHES OF EACH POOL FOLLOWED BY SEMIFINALS & FINALS WILL DECIDE THE WINNER OF OCC CHALLENGER SERIES 2010.

LEAGUE PHASE:

Day1: SATURDAY 08/21/2010:

Day2: Sunday: 08/22/2010

4)      EACH INNINGS IN THE LEAGUE PHASE IS OF 20 OVERS. AN INNINGS BREAK OF 15 MINUTES IS PROVIDED FOR EVERY MATCH. 20 OVERS SHOULD BE COMPLETED BY TEAM BOWLING IN EXACTLY 105 MINUTES. NOT MORE THAN 105 MINUTES IS PROVIDED TO FINISH THE QUOTA OF 20 OVERS.

5)      EACH BOWLER HAS A MAXIMUN QUOTA OF 4 OVERS IN THE LEAGUE PHASE MATCHES.

6)      EACH TEAM CAN HAVE A MAXIMUM OF 2 FIELDERS OUTSIDE THE INNER CIRCLE IN THE FIRST 6 OVERS OF MATCH.

7)      IF TEAM BOWLING FIRST CONSUMES MORE THAN 105 MINUTES TO FINISH THEIR ALLOTED QUOTA OF 20 OVERS, DELAYED TIME IS COMPENSATED BY REDUCING THE NUMBER OF OVERS IN THE 2^ND INNINGS TO THE EXTENT OF DELAYED TIME AT THE RATE OF 5 MINUTES PER OVER TO A MAXIMUM OF 5 OVERS.

8)      TEAM BATTING FIRST SHOULD MAKE SURE THAT THEIR NEXT BATSMEN IN LINEUP SHOULD ARRIVE AT THE CREASE IN NOT MORE THAN 2 MINUTES. IF THE NEXT BATSMEN CONSUMES MORE THAN 2 MINUTES, CAPTAIN OF BOWLING TEAM CAN APPEAL TO UMPIRE FOR AN “OUT”. 

9)      ALL MATCHES WILL HAVE A REWARD OF MAN-OF-THE MATCH. MAN OF SERIES, BEST BATSMAN AND BEST BOWLER WILL BE CONSIDERED FROM THE WHOLE TOURNAMENT.

10)  EACH WIN GAINS 4 POINTS WHILE A LOSS GAINS NO POINTS WITH A TIE SECURING 1 POINT EACH TO THE TIED TEAMS.

11)  THE TOP TWO TEAMS THAT HAVE MAXIMUM POINTS FROM EACH POOL WILL GO ON TO PLAY SEMI FINALS.

12)  IF ALL THE TEAMS HAVE EQUAL NUMBER OF POINTS IN THEIR RESPECTIVE POOLS, THE TEAMS THAT WILL PLAY SEMI-FINALS WILL BE DECIDED BASED ON EFFECTIVE NET RUN RATE.

In the event of teams finishing on equal points in either Group, the right to play in the Semi Final will be decided in the following order of priority:

• The most wins in the group matches.

• If any teams have equal points and equal wins, the team with the higher net run rate in the group matches will be placed in the higher position.

• If still equal, the team with the higher number of wickets taken per balls bowled in the Group Matches in which results were achieved will be placed in the higher position.

• In the highly unlikely event that teams cannot be separated by the above this will be done by drawing lots.

To explain better, consider the example below,

Teams A, B and C all finish equal on points.  All have the same number of wins.
All have the same number of wins in the matches between each other, A having beaten C, B having beaten A and C having beaten B. Team A has the highest net run rate, followed by B and C.

In this scenario, net run rate will be the factor which determines the placing of all three. A would accordingly finish first, B second and C third.

13)       FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE GROUP STAGE, A TEAM'S NET RUN RATE IS  CALCULATED BY DEDUCTING FROM THE AVERAGE RUNS PER OVER  SCORED BY THAT TEAM THROUGHOUT THE GROUP MATCHES, THE  AVERAGE RUNS PER OVER SCORED AGAINST THAT TEAM THROUGHOUT THE GROUP MATCHES.

 IN THE EVENT OF A TEAM BEING ALL OUT IN LESS THAN ITS FULL QUOTA OF OVERS,  THE CALCULATION OF ITS NET RUN RATE SHALL BE BASED ON THE FULL QUOTA OF  OVERS TO WHICH IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ENTITLED AND NOT ON THE NUMBER OF  OVERS IN WHICH THE TEAM WAS DISMISSED.

14)  FOR RAIN INTERRUPTED MATCHES:

1. The match will be considered only if 75% of the second innings has been completed. The result will be decided on the current run rate of the match. For example of if team A scores 100 runs in 20 overs and Team B plays 17 overs before the interruption and scores 90 runs then Team B will be declared as the winner with 90/17=5.3 as run rate compared to Team A’s run rate which is 5.0 
2. If less than 75% of the match is completed, the outcome of the match would be a draw with 1 point to each side irrespective of the situation.

15)  FOR DEW INTERRUPTION:

SEMI-FINALS:

16)  BOTH SEMI-FINALS WILL BE OF 25 OVERS (CAN BE 20 IF CAPS DECIDED TO PLAY 20) EACH AND ALL THE LEAGUE PHASE RULES WILL APPLY TO SEMI-FINALS.

17)  IN CASE THE SEMI-FINALS IS A TIED MATCH THE NET RUN RATE WILL DECIDE THE WINNER HERE TOO.

18)  EACH BOWLER HAS A MAXIMUM QUOTA OF 5 OVERS IN SEMI-FINALS, IF IT IS 25 OVER GAME.

19)  EACH TEAM CAN HAVE A MAXIMUM OF 2 FIELDERS OUTSIDE THE INNER  CIRCLE IN THE FIRST 8 OVERS OF MATCH, IF IT IS A 25 OVER GAME.

Day3: SATURDAY 08/28/2010 ( SEMI FINALS)

FINALS:

20)  FINALS WILL BE OF 25 OVERS (BUT CAN BE 20 IF CAPS WANTED TO PLAY TWENTY 20) WHICH WILL BE PLAYED IN OMAHA.

21)  EACH BOWLER HAS A MAXIMUM QUOTA OF 5 OVERS IN FINALS IF IT IS 25 OVER MATCH.

22)  EACH TEAM SHOULD ONLY FIELD 2 FIELDERS OUTSIDE THE INNER CIRCLE IN THE FIRST 8 OVERS OF THE MATCH IF IT IS 25 OVER MATCH.

OCC CHALLENGER SERIES TROPHY PRESENTATION CEROMONY AT 6:00 PM ON SATURDAY 08/28/10.

Special Report on T-16 Summer Blast Finals..

Reporting from N.P. Dodge Park,

Avinash Atholi

T-16 Cricket News

It was billed as the ultimate fight between bat and ball. A fight between

the marauding strikers of Mavericks against a dogged and determined bowlers

of UNL. In steaming hot conditions on a Sunday afternoon the UNL guys in

their bright maroon jerseys and Mavs in their blue jerseys were ready for

the ultimate prize -- T16 Summer Blast Championships 2010.

The road to the finals couldn’t have been more different for these two

teams. Mavs were methodical and clinical in their approach against each

opposition.  They plotted against each team; prepared a game plan against

individual players and most importantly they broke the defense of almost all

the team with superb batting. A lineup heavy in batting talent till even the

9th and 10th positions, it would have been envy even for the mighty

Australians under Steve Waugh. Pratyush, Praveen, Vishal, Manoj,

Pradeesh....they were all in scintillating form and together under the

superb leadership of Pradeesh they consistently kept scoring above 100 in

each game thus demoralizing the opposition in the process before they went

for the kill. UNL on the other hand was more about talent than serious

method. This team knew only one way, to pummel the opposition into

submission with their pin-point accurate bowling. Except for couple of

individual brilliances (Manju, Sam) nobody really got any handle on their

bowling. This was a team that Imran would have been proud off...It had the

pace of Akthar, the guile and precision of Asif, and consistency of

Gul...They kept restricting teams to scores around 75 which their much

underestimated batting line up usually munched as easily as if it was soaked

vada.

The finals were set to be a colorful family event and it indeed was. There

were several spectators, families, kids, and even first timers from

different offices (friends of players). Under bright sunshine and under the

tent each team had excellent support. The proceedings started with a

complete line-up of the teams for pictures followed by the toss and

pre-match interviews with the captains. Mavericks captain Pradeesh won the

toss and elected to field. When asked for his strategy, he kept his plans

close to heart and said he would look to restrict UNL to less than 100. True

to UNL campaign, captain Gautham was even more easy going and mentioned that

they were just looking to play their natural game.

So after much fanfare, the teams ran on to the field. Mavs kept the ball

tight and bustled in the field. Before you knew, the cream of UNL was back

in the ranks and they were at 20 odd runs for the loss of 5 wickets, mostly

due to some accurate bowling by Sharath. Thereafter it was mostly recovery

job by UNL, done efficiently with a straight bat by Gautham and some flat

bat by the lower order batters including Pavan and Aikansh who made useful

contributions. In the end, UNL had a par score of 91.

At half time, Mavs were very confident about their prospects. After all they

had UNL exactly where they wanted -- score less than 100. But this was the

finals, where the pressures of chasing even mediocre scores have brought

down fabled teams. But Mavs beleived they had the firepower in them to run

down the chase. The second half by all means was the challenge that everyone

was licking their hands for. UNL bowling against Mavs batting. Mavs started

their inning with Praveen and Pratyush. Praveen was in blistering form in

the super six stages on scoring a strong half century as well. But this time

he went early edging a Vineeth delivery behind. As expected, UNL bowlers

were right on target and scoring was getting difficult. With pressure

mounting in the chase, Asad went for 5 and in came Manoj.  Beneath his calm

exterior, Manoj can pummel the bowling like a madman with an axe...but the

challenge was if he could do it against the laser guided missiles from

Gautham. It turned out the missiles were too much for the axe. One good

length ball at extreme heat aimed at the body and before he could pivot the

body weight, the ball had taken the edge and gone up in the air for a tame

catch. Round One victory for the ball. Before this act was being played out

at the striker end, it was probably foreseen at the other end by one of the

two geniuses in Mavs team -- Pratyush (who had correctly warned Manoj that a

trap was being laid by not having an extra mid-wicket boundary, and enticing

the pull). Not surprising perhaps, given for someone who cracked the IIM!

Omaha has perhaps rarely seen a more slender batter get such immaculate

leverage in his shots with his ability to get underneath the ball. This was

probably not his best inning of the tournament (he ended with the best

batsman of the series) but he kept hammering loose balls and continued the

momentum of the team as the game progressed.

But progress was slow indeed. But with captain Pradeesh and Pratyush in the

middle, and the other genius of Mavs (Vishal) still in the hut, Mavs were

still the favorites. Then came a curious turning point of the game. UNL

captain pulled a muscle strain and had to be taken out of the game for

treatment. With the spear out, there was a question as to how well the UNL

armory would work. Perhaps loosing his concentration and game plan, Pradeesh

spooned a Sreenivas ball up in the air which was caught brilliantly by the

substitute who ran back several yards. In came Vishal, who by all

probability is Omaha's answer to a right handed Ganguly. Apart from Sam (Red

Devils) there has rarely been anyone who has flayed balls through the

offside with such panache. But then again this was a different bowling

machine that he was facing and UNL (even though hadn’t seen too much of

Vishal) had curiously enough heavily fortified the offside. Not too long

after, he perished on the extra cover from another gem from Gautham, who in

the meanwhile had come back from the leg strain and was continuing to

delivery high heat missiles...

With support running out, Pratyush tried to increase the tempo and hit

couple of lovely boundaries, but again perished trying to get underneath a

low full length delivery from Gautham. That was an important blow. The tail

wagged for Mavs after that with some lusty hitting, but in the end Mavs fell

short by 9 runs.

It is said that wolves are most effective when they hunt in packs. So is the

case with great bowling teams of years. This UNL team hunted in packs.

Gautham might have had the most wickets (5 and Best bowler of the

tournament), but there was nothing free available from Sreenivas, Nathun and

co. In the end the overall bowling brilliance of UNL made the difference

(which is even more reason why the 28 ball 54 by Manju against UNL in round

1 might have been a once in a decade inning) .

Sport can be cruel. Man of the Series went to Pradeesh for his allround

efforts but he was left ruing along with other Mavs of what might have been.

 On the other end of the ground, Champaigne was being sprayed all over the

players as the UNL team lifted the spectacular Omaha T16 Summer Blast 2010

trophy.







In the post match presentation interview, Pradeesh was gracious and said UNL

were the better team but was proud of the way his team had fought in the

tournament. Gautham congratulated his entire team and mentioned his team's

overall brilliance as the reason for their victory -- true statement to end

what can only be termed a great tournament and a spectacular finale.

The trophies were given away by ConAgra Asian Network (CAN) representatives

who were the trophy sponsors. Several of the events at the half time ('Next

big star' for kids, and Revenge of the Ladies' for spouses) were huge hits.

The teams and audience had their appetite satisfied for now, and will now

wait eagerly for the next edition.

ll the teams have so far played really good games and I hope they will continue to show the good spirit through the remainder of the tournament.

T-16 club is pleased to announce that the teams – Mavericks, Red Devils, UNL, ProKarma, Eliminators and De-Terminators have made it to the Super six round of the T-16 Summer Blast Tennis Ball tournament based on the points and the net run rate. Congratulations to the teams that have made it into the next round of the tournament. The Super Six Round/Semi-Finals and Final games will be a real test to the team’s commitment, sportsmanship and fitness. Please remember the team that will be making to the finals will have to play 3 / 4 games, so please make sure your teams are well hydrated and geared up for the summer blast.