Manhattan Fun Cricket 2008

Many congratulations to the champions Mani Brothers! Two thumbs up to the ISA committee 2008-2009 for the professional management and successful completion of the first leg of KSU-ISA’s Summer Cricket Tournamnet-2008. The winner of the tournament is not a surprise as the favorites lived up to the expectations in the crucial match. In fact, all the results were on expected lines, although Hit-n-Run would have liked to be in the final!

Growth of cricket in Manhattan

It was inspiring to see the crowd in the final and especially the American people coming to watch a game which they don’t even understand. The article in the Collegian, the KSU news paper, definitely helped bringing in the American folks to the ground. Use of the electronic scoreboard is a new addition this time and it helped people follow the game better. I feel these annual cricket tournaments arranged by KSU-ISA have definitely brought the level of cricket awareness a little up in the Manhattan community. Some of the on-lookers during our days of practice games are more than happy to give the game a try.

Our team performance

After the disastrous start we did well to reach the semi-finals, although there was not much of a challenge to reach that stage. But we slipped again and especially after bundling out the opposition for 41 runs, we should have scored one more. Our team was good enough to score those runs and with a little more application and better sense among our batsmen it could have been a reality. Hopefully, we will learn from these mistakes and apply ourselves better in the ISA Cup.

Tournament Organization

I have already applauded the ISA committee for the thorough planning and practice they put into the tournament. Especially, the use of the electronics scoreboard needs special mention and appreciation. I wish I could show such admiration about the umpiring. I would rate it average. Once a bowled decision was debated and the batsman got the benefit of the doubt, it left a bad taste in the mouth. Fortunately, none of the mistakes had an effect on the final outcome of the match.

In the end it was good fun and enjoyment for a few weeks. Ironically, some of the people who were very vocal about equality of team strength and quality of the tournament last year chose to field the best teams in the fun cricket tournament this year!

It is heartening to see four teams for the main cricket tournament and can’t wait for the tournament to begin. Bring on the RED BULLS………