2008

2008 Stats

Click here for the 2008 batting and bowling stats.

Player of the Season goes to…

February 1, 2009

Thank you to all who faced the snow storms to come out for the party last night. It was great to see a mix of familiar faces and some new and eager cricketers-to-be.

As well as good food and drink, we also had the player of the season award. In 2006 this went to Jamie Bruce, last year to James Hobbs and this year saw the first Japanese recipient…Toshio Takamori. Congratulations to Toshio. Sundance has kindly agreed to display the trophy for us, so pop in any time and have a look.

The Hardcore players v. the weather

September 29, 2008

Under glorious blue skies at Shijushida some fifty avid cricketers gathered last Sunday for……………….Ah, ok, I made that up. In fact the weather was miserable—rain, stop, rain, stop—and only five hard core members were there and ready to play at the appointed match time. Still, the low turnout wasn’t surprising given the weather—it certainly wasn’t barbecue weather—and the five of us were content to just have a light-hearted 2-hour practice session before calling it a day.

James was joined by Toshio, Dean, Yasuharu, and Shimpei, and Hiromi made a brief appearance towards the end of the session. It actually turned out to be a good opportunity to work on some of the finer aspects of batting stance, bowling grip, and bowling action. Toshio in particular showed that he has developed a solid batting stance and is capable of defending his wicket against the best of deliveries. The session ended with one question on everyone’s mind: “Where are the Indian guys, and where are Abidur and Mishra?” The rumour, yet to be confirmed, is that they have all left Japan to take up lucrative contracts in the Indian Premier League.

We decided to schedule one more session this season, from 1pm on October 19 at Shijushida. Whether that’s a full match, a pairs practice, or just a light knock around will depend entirely on how many people show up (and we found out today that answers on Facebook are no indication at all of how many people will actually come!).

Happy autumn leaf viewing and see you next time.

You only need two to tango

July 13, 2008

Even though the weather was beautiful, due to busy July schedules numbers were down a bit at the Shijushida Oval today. This didn’t stop us having a great practice and a bit of a game.

While we waited for a full team to show up, the early birds made the most of having the pitch to themselves and got in some batting and bowling practice. Once the majority of players had arrived we were still a little low on numbers for a full match, so we played a pairs game. Each pair got 5 overs to get as many runs as they could, with each out taking 5 points from their total. This gave everyone a good chance to stay up in the crease and meant everyone had a chance at bowling.

Even with a slightly different game style, we still saw some exciting moment and some great play. We also saw MCC’s environmental side with almost all members bringing their own plates and chopsticks, considerably reducing the amount of rubbish to take home. Thank you to everyone for their cooperation.

Our next game is July 27th at Kitakamikawa ground near Morioka Station, starting at 12 o’clock.

Bruce Leads MCC to Ashes Glory

July 1, 2008

Jamie Bruce was the star performer on Sunday as Morioka Cricket Club retained the Tohoku Ashes with a convincing victory over a strong Sendai CC line-up.

With MCC now so deep in talent, the 9-a-side format resulted in star all-rounder Abidur Rahman missing out and taking on umpiring duties with Boney, a move that that would have been unthinkable in the same fixture last season, and that signaled MCC’s pre-match confidence. Having won the toss, MCC chose to bat and soon began piling on the runs courtesy of Toshio (19) and Nirav (4). The fall of the first wicket brought Jamie out for his first visit to the crease. Perhaps worried that someone might steal his can of Super Dry while he wasn’t looking, Jamie hastily hammered 2 sixes and 2 fours to ensure a quick retirement and a return to his beer. The Sendai bowlers appeared still in shock as Yakin hammered a similarly swift 20 and sent the scoreboard racing towards 100. Thereafter the bowlers found their line and length again, dismissing James (0), Mishra (1), Piyush (1) and Shibin (4) in rapid succession. However, this only led to Jamie coming out for seconds, and he duly delivered an exact replica of his first “at bat”, hitting another 20 consisting entirely of fours and sixes and requiring no wasting of energy running between the stumps. By the time the last wicket fell Jamie had contributed a record 48 runs, and Morioka had compiled an impressive 124 all out.

Sendai knew that all their batsmen would have to deliver to give them a chance of victory, but their backs were soon to the wall as Kosuke fell for 1 and miscommunication led to the disastrous runout of star batsman Chris (AUS). Ewan offered some hope with a gutsy 16, but with Chris (UK) and captain Nigel managing only 1 run between them, late heroics from Bobby (20 (ret.) + 2 n/o) were more about restoring pride that chasing victory, and SCC were eventually dismissed for 57, ensuring that the Ashes will remain in Morioka until the two teams meet again.

A hastily arranged 13-a-side match then ensured that all those present got to play, and turned into an exciting game that went down to the wire. Sendai batted first, and this time were able to amass a strong 98/3, thanks mainly to the contributions of Ewan (20 ret.) and Kosuke (20 ret.). Morioka’s reply was led by yet another maximum score each from Jamie and Yakin, with Nirav and Piyush also reaching double figures. James arrived at the crease with MCC needing 11 runs from 10 balls and managed to lead them to within 2 runs of victory, but Kosuke held his nerve for the final delivery to Toshio and SCC held on for a narrow but deserved win.

Many thanks from all at MCC to all the SCC guys and girls for making the trip north and ensuring that everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable day’s cricket.

Other match day highlights:

Miki’s catch to dismiss Piyush
Nicola’s hook for 4 off her brother
Yusuke’s catch to dismiss (??? don’t remember who it was but remember the great catch)
Chris’s staring down Nigel after being run out
Excellent stops by the concrete bench
Kosuke’s textbook forward defensive shot
Abidur’s calm rejections of animated LBW shouts

Old members, new rules

June 13, 2008

A lineup including returnees Babu Khan and Ryan Miller gathered for MCC’s first implementation of the Twenty20 format, the Yakin Royal Kings taking on the Shibin Dragon Riders. In addition to the 20-over format, a new rule set the compulsory retirement target at 20, but allowed retired batsmen to return to the crease after the rest of the team has batted. However, an excellent standard of bowling all round ensured that only one player reached 20, both teams were held to under 100 runs, and neither was able to last a full 20 overs.

Yakin won the toss and elected to bat first, sending Toshio and Nirav out to open. Toshio contributed 6 before becoming the first of four victims for Jamie Bruce, increasingly a danger with the ball as well as the bat. Meanwhile Nirav [17] launched two hulking sixes, and seemed on course for another retirement before he edged a Mishra delivery through to keeper Abidur. Number 3 James again struggled with the bat, adding only two nervous singles, but the innings was then steadied by Piyush [15] and top scorer Yakin [21], who like Nirav chose to hit massive sixes rather than waste energy running between the stumps. The flow of runs then stopped abruptly, Shibin taking two wickets with consecutive balls during a period that saw Dean, Jason, Hiromi, Shoko and Akiko all fail to trouble the scorers, and Ryan and Laura manage only a single each. However, the Royal Kings’ Indian trio had already done enough to ensure that their team finished on a respectable 94 all out off 16 overs.

Opening the Dragon Riders’ reply, Nicola Birchall [5] became the first female to hit a boundary this season, elegantly hooking a leg-side delivery for 4 (protests of “I was just trying to protect myself” were dismissed as customary British modesty). At the other end Jamie scored a useful 9 before falling to a fine catch from Piyush when looking for his second ‘home run’. Babu [12] and Shibin [2] added runs, but miscommunication between the bastmen saw Boney and Mishra both run out, and the Dragon Riders were to remain one big innings short of really threatening the Royal Kings’ total. What hope remained seemed to evaporate when James dismissed Abidur [7], Yasuharu, and Yoshiaki in the space of five balls. The ball was then passed to Dean, who duly obliged by taking the wickets of Mizuki and Yumi to dismiss the Dragon Riders for 71 and seal victory by 23 runs.

On the evidence of today’s high standard of play play surely only rain can Save Sendai CC from a thorough drubbing at the hands of the mighty MCC on June 22?

Records tumble at Shijushida

May 12, 2008

The second match of the 2008 season saw the Nirav Knight Riders take on the Abidur Tigers on a cold and overcast day at Shijushida Oval. There had been fears that the bad weather would lead to a low turnout, but by the time James arrived with the equipment some ten players were already eagerly waiting to start, and over twenty were present by the time the barbecue was fired up.

Team selections saw Knight Riders’ captain Nirav Parmar assemble a formidable lineup including Piyush Dobariya, Yakin Thakar, Mishra Birendra, and Japanese sensation Toshio Takamori. The Abidur Tigers’ combination of Abidur Rahman, Shibin Paul, Yasuharu Shuhama and James Hobbs was by no means a weak lineup, but all knew they would have to be on top of their game to deny Nirav his first victory as captain.

The Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat, with Toshio and Piyush opening the innings. Toshio (11) played confidently and aggressively, making some excellent shots against quality bowling, but when Piyush edged James’ first ball to keeper Abidur it looked like wickets might start tumbling. However, this early success turned out to be a mixed blessing as the next three batsmen all powered effortlessly past the compulsory retirement target of 30. Yakim and Mishra each added 32, while Nirav blasted four huge sixes in a innings of 34 that surpassed even the 2006~7 feats of Jamie “Hit Man” Bruce. Yasuharu narrowly missed a hat-trick as he took two late wickets, but it was too little, too late as the Knight Riders’ finished on a record-setting 138/4 off 15 overs, shattering the previous record total of 99.

Opening the Tigers’ reply, Yasuharu (3) showed early promise before being run out, while newcomer Robert, clearly at home in the cold and overcast conditions typical of his native Scotland, contributed a valuable 11 runs. But as the Tigers looked to up the run rate, James (7) and Shibin (5) struggled against the tight bowling, and despite Boney’s (7) bravely returning to the crease after suffering a worrying head injury, the Tigers continued to drift further behind the required run rate. Jamie opened his account with a characteristic hook for 6, but could only add 2 more runs before being bowled by Piyush. With Abidur and Nicola requiring 60 runs off the final 2 overs, a Tigers win already seemed only slightly more likely than Hillary’s becoming President, and chants of “Yes, we can!” were soon silenced as Mishra completed the rout by taking the wickets of Abidur (5) and Morgan (0). The Tigers’ final tally of 80/8 would have been enough on many days, but on this occasion could not deny the Knight Riders a comprehensive and thoroughly-deserved victory. Man-of-the-match honours went to Mishra, who finished with 3 wickets at a cost of only 13 runs, in addition to his 32 not out.

Indian stars light up season opener

April 30, 2008

The 2008 season got off to a fantastic start on Sunday with 5 new club members from India attending the season’s first outdoor practice session at Shijushida Oval. Coming from the country that boasts the largest cricket-playing population in the world, all displayed talents that matched expectations, from fiery swing bowling to beguiling spin and accomplished batting. The plan had been for just a practice session, but with close to 20 members present and so much new talent on display, an impromptu 12-over match was quickly arranged, with team captains Mishra Birendra and Nirav Parmar choosing their players, and Nicola Birchall volunteering to act as umpire/ scorer.

The hastily-named Mishra Royal Challengers won the toss and put the Nirav Super Kings in to bat. The Super Kings were soon under pressure as opener Dean Ruezler fell to Mishra, and the attack-minded Yakin Thakkar was out to one of two excellent catches from the impressive Yasuharu Shuhama. Toshio Takamori (8), a much improved player with both bat and ball after some tough winter training sessions, got the scoreboard ticking over with Shibin Paul (4), but tight bowling from Mishra, Piyush Dobariya, James Hobbs and Abidur Rahman made runs hard to come by. By the time star batsman Nirav Parmar (11 n/o) arrived at the crease only a few overs remained, and despite Nirav’s majestic 6 off James, the Super Kings were limited to 48/6 off their 12 overs.

In reply, the Royal Challengers got off to a shaky start, with openers Mizuki and Yasuharu falling early before James (16) and man-of-the-match Mishra (14 n/o) began accumulating runs with the help of the very short leg-side boundary, taking their team to within sight of victory with 5 overs remaining. When Toshio bowled James to claim his second wicket it seemed like the momentum might shift, but the three-pronged bowling attack of Nirav, Shibin, and Yakin could not prevent Mishra and Boney Dalwani from picking off the runs required to seal a comfortable victory by 7 wickets.

The match was followed by the customary BBQ and yakisoba

Brian and Catlin’s Farewell Party

April 5, 2008

Last Saturday we enjoyed a wonderful party at Togarashi with the MCC members, but it was for a very sad reason. It was the last nomikai for Brain, the founder of MCC, and his wife Catlin.
Morioka Cricket has had over 50 members who have enjoyed the sun and a bbq and a knock around on a Sunday afternoon and it is all thanks to one man. Two years ago Brian grabbed a cricket bat and headed for a field in the Iwate inaka and MCC was born. Everyone here will be very sad to see him go, and the club won’t be the same without him, but hopefully MCC will survive for many more years to come and sometime in the future we might even be able to challenge him to a game!

Practice

March 23, 2008

On a glorious day like it was today, we should have been playing outside, but as we were all set to meet at Old-Iwate Uni Gym, that is where we went. As suspected we lost a few people to the sun, but enough came to get some good practice in before a competition.
In the game this time, we gave each person an over from every other player and got points for hitting the walls. If someone was out, instead of stopping, their score got halved.

Indoor Practice

March 17, 2008
Today’s practice concentrated on four different batting techniques. First we practised defence blocking, a forward swing, a side swing and a cut stroke. We then put them to practice in a mini-game. Putting them to the test in a real game taught us to try to judge which to use depending on where the ball came and use a combination of strokes to our advantage.

Indoor Practice

March 9, 2008

Today’s practice saw a few new faces and some great play.
After a warm-up that concentrated on catching and batting directional control, we moved onto some play in pairs. As more and more people came, we eventually moved onto a mini-game which saw some superb bowling from newcomer Dennis.

Indoor Practice

March 2, 2008
Today we had our second indoor practice of the season. Again we were able to practice those basic skills we need for batting and bowling before having a six-a-side game. With some big hits and great bowling seen in the game it seems the practice is paying off.

First Indoor Practice

February 24, 2008

Today we had our first ever indoor practice with MCC. We gathered at Kyouyougakubu-taikukan in Honcho-dori and started with two hours of batting and bowling practice. With two stumps set up and just over 10 people, we were able to get in a lot of practice and hone those basic skills.

We then put our new abilities to the test in a mini game. We didn’t play standard rules, but one person went into bat and everyone took turns to bowl. If they hit the side walls they got one point and four points for hitting the end wall. They went out if they were caught, got to 10 points or hit the walls without a bounce.

Meeting Feedback

On November 17th eight of Morioka Cricket’s members got together to discuss the highs and lows of this year and work out how to make next year even better. Below is a summary of what we talked about and some of our conclusions, but of course it is all still open for debate, so please email with any other suggestions.
Summary of ideas/suggestions raised:

• Possible practice venues: the baseball ground by the river? (booking unnecessary?), Prefectural Sports Park?, small park in Aoyama?, university grounds?
  Shijushida usually unavailable in May.
  Kendai ground great, but very hard to reserve
• Organize more winter events: skating, bowling
• Have a 3-team competition, each team playing each other twice: ‘home’ and ‘away’
• On each match day, have one league match, plus a scratch match with the third team and anyone else who didn’t play in the league match
• Have more split-ability practice-only sessions (like the one at Kendai)
• Start each session with official introductions of new people
• Get money from donations rather than sales
• Don’t sell alcohol at games, but still provide a coolbox

Lingering questions:

• Does anybody want to take over the 2nd-hand stall?
• How to divide people between teams?
• How to attract more experienced players?

Slightly late Bounenkai

December 7, 2007

This year we had our bounenkai mid January, but the lateness didn’t stop it being a success. As usual we had the whole top floor of Sundance booked out and enjoyed good food and much drinking well past the end of the nomihodai.

Best Player awards were awarded to Jamie for the 2006 season and James for 2007. It was also the official handover of the presidency from Brian to James.