548 Runs, Two Wins and a Few Unanswered Questions

Two days at Glendon. Two York victories. One enormous Kishore performance, a Sunday rescue act, eight sixes, Stephen asking the questions nobody else thought to ask, and Jay accidentally discovering a miracle cure for shoulder injuries.

A Weekend in Two Paragraphs

Some weekends require careful analysis. This one mostly requires a calculator. York put up 268 against ICICI Bank on Saturday, then returned less than 24 hours later and made 280 against Combined Schools. Two victories followed — by 26 runs and 72 runs respectively — which sounds wonderfully comfortable now that nobody has to mention what it felt like while ICICI's Nachiket was merrily making 102 and threatening to ruin everyone's Saturday evening. Kishore had already produced a magnificent 122, then apparently decided one discipline was insufficient and came back for three wickets and three catches. Harry took four, Echi took three, York won. Simple — provided you delete roughly an hour of collective anxiety from the historical record.

Sunday was a different production entirely. Kannan began proceedings with 71 from 42 balls, including eight sixes, but York later found themselves at 137/6, which is normally the point where people begin discussing whether 200 is “defendable at Glendon.” Rajit Kadirgamar and Lahiru Wijesinghe declined to participate in that conversation. Their 123-run seventh-wicket partnership dragged York all the way to 280, with Rajit unbeaten on 63 and Lahiru making 65 before completing a fairly productive afternoon with the ball as well. Combined Schools finished on 208/9, York won by 72, and somewhere between Saturday morning and Sunday evening the club had accumulated 548 runs, two victories and enough wides to keep Stephen supplied with questions for several editions of this blog.

Pic Courtesey : Rafi, Harry, Sri Paran

York Voices

The scorecard tells us what happened. York Voices is where we find out what people actually noticed.

This week, the microphone went to Stephen Williams after Saturday's game against ICICI Bank and Jayantha “Jay” Abeyesekera after Sunday's encounter with Combined Schools.

As it turned out, they noticed rather different things.

Stephen's reflections on Saturday began with what can only be described as an unusually charitable interpretation of York's opposition.

For the first three overs, York managed only two runs off the bat. Fortunately, ICICI's bowlers were feeling “compassionate” and contributed nine wides to keep things moving. Then the fourth over arrived, Kishore decided he had seen enough, and the game suddenly came alive.

From there, Stephen's notes read less like a match report and more like somebody documenting a series of increasingly improbable events.

There was Kishore launching one over the baseball fencing and into the branches with what Stephen described as “a sound like thunder.” There was Pratha quietly turning the strike over while Kishore went about the louder work. And eventually there was Kishore reaching his century in the appropriate fashion — with an elegant six over extra cover.

Then came Echi.

With ICICI already three down, Neeraj offered what should have been a straightforward caught-and-bowled. Echi, according to Stephen's account, initially appeared to be searching the sky for information regarding the whereabouts of the cricket ball.

Fortunately, Rafi provided the necessary technical instruction:

“CATCH IT!”

Echi did.

York cricket remains a collaborative enterprise.

Stephen then admits that he personally attempted to keep the contest interesting by supplying a selection of full tosses and long hops as Nachiket and Naman began threatening York's total. Harry eventually induced Naman into a shot towards the cover boundary, where Kishore charged across and completed what Stephen regarded as a superb catch.

And then Kishore came back to bowl.

Nachiket had reached a fine hundred and ICICI were still very much alive. Kishore promptly took three wickets in 2.2 overs for 11 runs, including Nachiket, to finish an afternoon in which he had already made 122.

122 runs. Three wickets. Three catches.

There are good games.

There are very good games.

And then there are days when somebody appears to have accidentally selected Easy Mode.

Stephen's more serious observation was a worthwhile one. York needs more catching practice, but equally important is how the team responds when somebody makes a mistake. This is a close-knit group, and shouting at one another after an error rarely improves the next ball.

Fair point.

Of course, Stephen then submitted four questions for the captain and immediately returned us to normal programming.

It’s a combination of reasons, with superstition probably being one of them. Also, walking to the southern end takes an extra 30 steps, and our team would rather conserve those precious steps for fielding.

Another thought process could be we have a winning record bowling from the northern end. Why change what is working?

Besides making sure the umpire gets sufficient cardio for the day, I think some of our bowlers are forgetting the basics.

We get caught up trying to bowl faster, bowl variations, try something new, or simply impress ourselves — and forget that sometimes the best ball is just straight, on a good length and somewhere near the batsman.

For some of our bowlers, it’s definitely mental. The solution is simple: go back to basics, trust your bowling and stop trying to reinvent bowling every over.

Good question for the keepers.

From what I’ve seen, once the keeper gets the ball, the nearby fielders often start contemplating the big questions in life:

What’s for dinner tonight? Should I call in sick Monday? Will the skipper let me bowl today? Have I bowled my quota of nine wides already?

By the time they finish their existential crisis, the keeper has no choice but to roll the ball back himself.

Echi’s pre-match rituals and game preparation are comparable only to a full-scale pageant show. There’s preparation, wardrobe selection, final adjustments, mirror checks and probably a judging panel somewhere that we don’t know about. I believe he has permanently secured this honour. Ironically, Echi is also guilty of standing around contemplating life while the keeper is wondering why nobody is ready to receive the ball.

After four questions from Stephen, readers are officially permitted a short drinks break before continuing.

Kannan has reportedly taken offence. His only comment: “Rolling it back is quicker than waiting for someone to remember they’re fielding.

Right. Hydrate. Regroup. Jay is next.

Jay's reflection on Sunday was less concerned with the numbers and more with something that has become a recurring theme in York Voices — the atmosphere within the team.

What stood out to him was the interaction between the players: the conversations, the humour and particularly the banter that continues even while the game is being played. In Jay's view, that relaxed environment is part of what makes York special. It keeps people calm, allows them to enjoy the cricket and, perhaps not coincidentally, helps produce better performances.

His cricketing moment of the day was an obvious one. At 137/6, getting to 200 had started looking like a reasonable ambition. Rajit and Lahiru instead put together 123 for the seventh wicket, taking York from 137/6 to 260/7 and turning a struggling innings into a total of 280.

A fairly convincing argument for not beginning the post-innings autopsy while there are still batsmen available.

Jay modestly left one detail out of his reflection.

While Kannan was making 71 from 42 balls with eight sixes, those in and around the dugout were also being treated to Jay’s live commentary — an escalating collection of “Aaahhh!”, “Wowwww!” and the occasional “Bugga!”

There was plenty to react to. Two short ones disappeared into the Glendon jungle, while another — the six that brought up Kannan’s fifty — was dispatched in the general direction of the administration building.

And, conveniently, we have the footage.

The delivery in question was a chest-high full toss, which Kannan sent over long-on towards Glendon’s admin office. The leg umpire, apparently as impressed by the shot as everyone in the dugout, seems to have become so absorbed in watching the ball disappear that the minor administrative matter of signalling a no-ball completely slipped his mind.

No complaints, of course.

At The Green & Red, we respect the umpire’s decision. We merely provide the video evidence.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the safety of the dugout, Jay’s analysis was becoming progressively less technical:

“Bugga… beast, this guy!” We cannot independently verify the quotation. We can verify the eight sixes.

And anyone who knows Jay can probably verify the vocabulary.

Back to the slightly more serious business, Jay did have one piece of cricketing housekeeping for us: back up the throws. He noticed occasions where fielders waited until the ball had already been released before moving into position. His reminder is simple — anticipate the throw, create the angle and get behind it before it leaves the fielder's hand. It is a small habit, but one that can save several runs and, more importantly, prevent that familiar moment where a throw sails past its intended target and several York fielders simultaneously discover that somebody else was apparently supposed to be backing up.

Jay then used his final question to report what appears to be a significant development in sports medicine. During the game, one York player was apparently struggling to throw because of a shoulder problem — only to be spotted shortly afterwards bowling from one end. Jay would therefore like this individual to disclose the treatment responsible for such an astonishing recovery.

The Green & Red will, of course, protect the identity of the player concerned. We can neither confirm nor deny whether the miracle recovery belonged to a certain G(H)arry Sobers of York, or perhaps a certain Singham(e) prowling around Glendon that afternoon.

Those who know, know.

The rest of you may begin your investigation..

Next Up

Two wins from two made for a very good final weekend of August.

Unfortunately, September has looked at the schedule and decided York hasn't earned a rest yet.

Saturday, September 5 — York vs Old Boys CC

Sunday, September 6 — York vs Ramblers CC

Another double-header awaits.

York go into it with some momentum, a couple of big totals behind them, Stephen's reminder about catching, Jay's reminder about backing up throws, Rafi's reminder to stop reinventing bowling every over, and an entirely unnecessary amount of new information about Echi's pre-match wardrobe routine.

Two more games.

Hopefully two more good days at Glendon.

And, if possible, fewer wides.

Up the York.