Harrow St Mary’s were first in to bat and they would have never dreamed of what was in store for them. As all of you are aware our under 15 A team comprises of 7 very good players and it is always a difficult decision as to which one to leave out as only 6 can play in a match. So for this match Nathan the under 15 manager (maybe after some consultation with others) took the decision to leave Pira out and play Surendra. This was a key decision and in my opinion Surendra turned the match in our favour. We started off with Kishan Patel with Seerone standing behind the stumps. Kishan bowled a very tidy first over, just conceding 6 runs. We were bowling to Ian the HSM opening batsman who plundered 19 runs off Sahil Vora’s (Bessborough’s Hertfordshire county player) first over. Then came on Surendra and in his very first ball he had Ian caught by Kishan. He bowled a beautiful slower ball which Ian didn’t pick. He went through with the shot and was caught. I was told that this was the first time that Ian was out in this indoor tournament. In all previous matches he had scored the maximum score of 30 runs and retired. Kushal Patel the HSM skipper came to the crease to face two more dot balls before he was clean bowled. So at the end of the second over HSM were 2 down for 8 runs. They still had plenty of batting with Nikhil Patel joining Kamran. Kishan bowled the 3^rd over and then took over keeping duties from Seerone. The 4^th over bowled by Beeshman then saw Karan going for a big shot and being caught off the wall by Kishan. HSM were now 22 for 3 at the end of 4 overs. Ashwin came on to bowl the 6^th over in which we got the 4^th HSM wicket. This was the first time I saw 2 HSM players at the same end of the wicket and arguing which one was run out. Nikhil was given out as Amar had not left his crease. HSM 4 down for 31 at the end of 6 overs. Sachin came on for the 7^th over and even though Amar hit a 6 Sachin got his man when he caught and bowled Amar. HSM 5 down for 40 in the 7^th over. Ashwin bowled the 8^th over and just conceded 5 runs. Sachin came on for the 9^th over and had Cheranvir caught by Beeshman to bowl out HSM for 47 runs with 9 balls remaining. I’m sure this has been HSM’s lowest score of the competition. Our bowling and fielding was superb. This fact was endorsed by the HSM umpire when he came over to their scorer when he said that we played really well.

 If anyone thought that this would be a walk in the park they were wrong. Kishan and Seerone opened the batting for us. Harrow St Mary’s being the defending Area champions showed us why they were area champions by bowling tightly and not giving us any width to swing the bat and also no easy runs. We lost out first wicket when the score was 16 when Kishan was run out. This was a run out that we could have avoided as we didn’t need to take any risky singles. We had 60 balls to get 48 runs and a shot off the wall was worth 1 runs. Surendra then joined Seerone and the two of them took the score to 27 before Seerone looking to score a six was caught for 12. So we were 2 down for 28 in the 5^th over. Not much in it given that at the end of the 5^th over HSM were 3 down for 28. Amar Dev bowled the 6^th over and Surendra was bowled in this over to leave us 3 down for 30 at the end of the 6^th over. HSM were now for 4 down for 31 in the 6^th. We were still on target as we only needed 5 runs per over just that we had lost 3 wickets. Then Sachin was joined by Ashwin and the two of them batted sensibly. HSM knew that all we needed was a shot off the wall to get us the runs so they kept bowling on the leg stump. Sachin was aware of them and played some lovely shots off his legs to find the wall for the singles. He did have a chance though when one of these shots went high up on the wall but Amar Dev failed to catch the ball. At the end of the 8^th over we were 3 down for 42 needing 6 more. Kamran was the bowler and we knew we had to try and score as much as possible in this over as the final over was to be bowled by Kushal who is a spinner. The pressure was also on HSM and this showed when Kamran trying to find the leg stump line conceded 6 wides in his first 4 balls of the 9^th over to give us victory. So MTSSC had beaten the mighty Harrow St Mary’s by 3 wickets with 2 whole overs left.

 For all those present it was an excellent match to watch between the 2 only unbeaten teams in the competition. MTSSC have now played 5 and won all 5 of their matches.

 Thanks go out to all the parents (mums and dads) and even the brothers and sisters who came to support their sons and brothers. Thanks to all the colts committee members and especially to Mano for umpiring this high profile game. Thanks to Loges our colts secretary and Kannan our coach. Special thanks must go to Nathan our under 15 manager and Keerthi our coach who prepared the boys for this match by having practice matches.

 Report by Dinesh Peerez

Our 1st match was against Harrow St. Mary’s B team. As you may already know, our U11B had already won against them, so the pressure was on the A team to do likewise. HSM won the toss and elected to bat. HSM raced to 32 runs in the 4th over when Suginthan captured 2 wickets in 2 balls to put a stop to the free scoring. HSM were well placed at 50 runs for just 2 wickets in the 5th over. But then Purushot and Sanjeyan bowled well in the middle overs and HSM were all out for 88 runs in the 12th over. Sanjeyan took 3 wickets, while Suginthan and Purushot took 2 wickets each. Out of the total of 88 runs, there were 61 runs extras which included 43 runs in wides. Except Purushot, other bowlers all bowled too many wides and no balls. There were some good catches taken especially Asvin who took a blinder.

When we batted, we lost Risharn to the 1st ball clean bowled and very next over, we lost our other opener Suginthan and the score at that time was just 7 runs. But Purushot played a captain’s knock and with Sanjeyan formed a good partnership of more than 70 runs.  When Purushot got run out for 32 runs, Rohan joined Sanjeyan and we needed 8 runs off the last over. Amid high tension, we took the winning run on the penultimate ball. Sanjeyan played a good supporting knock and remained unbeaten with 14 runs and young Rohan scored the all important 2 runs in the final over.

Our 2nd match was against Lohana, and here too we lost the toss and Lohana asked us to bat first.  Here too, in the 1st over, we lost Suginthan to a run out. Our other opener Risharn, who had a poor game in the 1st match, spraying the ball all over the place when bowling and then getting out 1st ball when batting, putting all that behind him, he showed all of us, what a good player he is and the game against HSM, was just a one off. He played very aggressively and thanks to him, our run rate was around 12 runs an over. When he retired after scoring 33 runs, Purushot kept the momentum going with some well placed shots and scored 21 runs. Rohan was unfortunately run out for 5 runs, but his brief stay at the wicket showed what a good player he is going to be. Sanjeyan was not out at the end with 10 runs, with Yuvan who scored a quick 9 runs in the last over. So at the end of our innings, we scored a healthy 132 runs.

When Lohana batted, it became clear that it might be an uphill task for them to chase our total, and they were all out for 99 runs. Purushot once again bowled well and took 3 wickets for just 12 runs and to everyone’s delight, Asvin also took a wicket. Janathan who is playing his 1st match, bowled well for his only over and also fielded very well off his bowling. So we won this match by a margin of 34 runs. 

We also like to thank the parents of Purushot ( Sandwiches and drinks), Sanjeyan ( Chocolate cake ) and Risharn ( Biscuits) for providing refreshments to the boys and spectators.

Our next match is on the 19th Feb and both A and B teams have 2 matches each.

Report by Suren

 Dilshan opened the bowling for us and West Harrow got off to a good start by taking 3 singles in the first over to have 13 on the board at the end of the first over. Our first 5 overs were quite costly and at the half way mark West Harrow were 50 runs for the loss of no wickets. We bowled 15 wides in these first 5 overs. At this point West Harrow were looking to post a total of over 100 runs. However we fought back in the next 5 overs to restrict West Harrow to 88 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Of the total of 88 we contributed 21 runs in extras. Keson was the biggest culprit bowling 11 of the 19 wides and a no ball. Our fielding wasn’t bad and Dilshan saved about 5 boundaries. However we could have been a bit sharper to stop the singles that West Harrow took.

 So when Jeykumar and Dilshan came out to bat we needed 89 runs. We lost our first wicket of Jeykumar in the 3^rd over with the score on 18. Once again he was run out but I felt he was a bit unlucky as a fielder accidentally obstructed his run.  Jey must learn to push his way through instead of running round the fielder which cost him his wicket. Keson then joined Dilshan and the 2 of them took the score to 32 before Keson was bowled in the very first ball of the 6^th over. It was only when Kevin joined Dilshan did we up the tempo and took quite a few singles to put pressure on the West Harrow fielders. Dilshan and Kevin took the score to 64 before Dilshan was run out for 24 in the 9^th over. We lost Joshua in the last ball of the 9^th over to a run out. There was never an extra run there and Joshua must learn to say NO if he doesn’t think there was a run. We tamely lost Tharangan and Kevin in the last over to be bowled out for 75 and lose the match by 13 runs. For me the turning point was the 8^th over. At the end of the 7^th over we were 56 for the loss of 2 wickets needing 33 in 3 overs. 11 runs an over wasn’t too difficult at that time as Dilshan and Kevin were running the singles well. However in the 8^th over that Kevin faced we could only manage 1 run which also came through a wide. This meant that we needed to score 32 off 2 over at 16 runs per over. Even though we scored 15 in the 9^th over the only person who was capable of getting this was Kevin but he only got to the strikers end in the 3^rd ball of the over but was bowled in that 3^rd ball.

 So a disappointing result given that this was a match that we could have won.

 Thank you to all the parents who came to support the MTSSC team. Kannan for kindly umpiring the game and giving the boys all the advice he could even though it was not always put into practise. Thanks to Nathan for providing refreshments for the boys.

Report by Dinesh Peerez

Kevin won the toss and put Harrow St Mary’s in to bat. We started well in the bowling department but the last 5 overs were expensive which enabled Harrow St Mary’s to score a total of 102 runs for the loss of 3 wickets in their 10 overs. The first 5 overs saw HSM only scoring 38 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Therefore we conceded 64 runs in the last 5 overs. Krishan was the pick of the bowlers just conceding 11 runs and taking a wicket in his 2 overs. Keson too bowled well to only concede 15 runs in his 2 overs. The other bowlers were expensive with Kevin going for 27 runs and Tharangan going for 25 runs in their 2 over spells. In the extras department we only conceded 9 wides 7 off which came off Tharangan’s bowling. Tharangan’s needs to work on his game as it is not acceptable for a spinner to concede 7 wides in 2 overs. He also got his length wrong which is why he was expensive.

Our fielding was also not as sharp in the previous matches. We dropped a couple of catches and were generally slow moving to the ball. The fact that HSM ran 11 singles showed that we didn’t attack the ball enough and stop them from thinking of taking the single. Jeykumar kept well and only conceded a single bye.

When it was our turn to bat, we needed to bat well and take our singles to be in with a chance of winning the game. However we lost Krishan in the second ball of our innings without scoring. Jeykumar was then run out in the next over watching the ball rather than responding to his partners call for a single. Kevin too followed a couple of deliveries later unfortunately being bowled off his pads. When Tharangan was bowled in the last ball of the second over we were 6 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. Sharushan also got out without scoring in the 4th over to leave us on 10 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in the 4th over. It was Keson who batted through the remaining overs to give our score a bit of respectability. He was finally out bowled for 27 runs in the 10th and final over to see us through to a total of 44 runs. It was our batting and the running between the wickets that let us down. Krishan and Kevin need to learn to play the on drive to the ball that is bowled on the leg stump. None of our batsmen apart from Keson used their feet. They just stood and delivered and got out. Harrow St Mary’s too bowled 9 wides but the main difference between the 2 teams were the 11 singles that they ran.

Not sure if it was the Christmas break but we didn’t look sharp at all.

Thanks to Kannan for umpiring the game, Nathan and Shan for speaking to the boys and all the parents who came to cheer the boys. Once again it was very pleasing to see Ashwin, Sachin and Kishan from the A team present to encourage, support and offer any help needed to the B team.

We need to work on our weaknesses of this game in time for our next under 15 B match which is against West Harrow in 2 weeks time.

Report by Dinesh Peerez

Report by Nathan Sivayoganathan

1. Keson Kugathasan (Capt.)
2. Krishan Patel
3. Joshua Anantham
4. Jeykumaran Ashokkumaar
5. Vaheshan Ramaneswaran
6. Sharushan Vasudevan

Bessborough won the toss and elected to bat first. Krishan opened the bowling for us and bowled a very tidy first over and only conceded 4 runs but more importantly we run out the opening batsman Aman due to some tidy fielding by Keson. Vaheshan bowled the next over and only conceded 3 runs to put the pressure on Bessborough. At the end of the 5th over Bessborough were 43 for the loss of 1 wicket. In those 43 runs were 8 wides. The 6th over was bowled by Sharushan and his very first ball was hit for a six. However in his next ball he dismissed Bessborough’s other opener Kunal by taking a very sharp return catch. What a comeback ball after being hit for 6. Seeing the joy on his face showed how much that wicket meant to him. The 7th over bowled by Joshua also brought about a wicket. Joshua too holding onto a return catch to dismiss Dhillon Popat for just 7. At the end of the 10 overs Bessborough finished on 94 runs for the loss of 3 wickets leaving us a challenging target of 95 runs in 10 overs.

Of this total of 95 runs we conceded 19 wides, 1 no ball and 1 bye. So if we hadn’t conceded these extras Bessborough would have only scored 73 runs. We did also drop a few chances. Jeykumar’s keeping was good as he only conceded 1 bye. Krishan (1 wide), Vaheshan (2 wides) and Sharushan (1 wide) bowled well.

In our run chase we opened the batting with Krishan and Jeykumar. The first over brought us 8 runs however the next over was very fruitful and we scored 20 runs. Jeykumar hit with a lot of power and scored all 20 which included 2 boundaries and a six. Jeykumar had to finally retire for a well compiled 33 runs which comprised of 2 sixes and 4 boundaries. His 32 runs coming off just 11 scoring shots. Vaheshan then joined Krishan and the 2 of them pushed the score along with some quick singles some of them too risky for my liking. Vaheshan was the next batsman to be out for 14 which included 1 six and came off 4 scoring shots. He was out bowled in the 8th over with the score on 91. Keson then joined Krishan and the two of them took the score to 95 in the 4th ball of the 9th over. Krishan played a very sensible knock to ensure that we reached our target of 95 runs for the loss of just 1 wicket. He remained unbeaten on 26 which contained 1 boundary and 1 six.

So well done boys. You played very well. The batting was excellent. In the bowling department we must work on reducing the number of extras that we concede. We can improve in the catching department as well as we dropped about 4 catches which if taken would have made life a lot easier for us. Keson’s captaincy also must be commended as he rotated the bowlers well brining them on at the correct time. He was constantly talking and encouraging his bowlers.

So all in all a good day at the office. We won the match scoring the necessary total of 95 runs with 8 balls to spare.

Thank you to all the parents who came to cheer our boys. Thanks to Kugan and Loges for scoring. Thanks to Arul, Abrahams and Vaheshan’s dad and any other parent I may have missed. Thanks to Shan for organising the team, speaking to the boys and collecting the match fees. Special thanks go to Pira and Kishan Patel for coming to cheer their colleagues. It was really pleasing to see members of the A team coming to cheer and help with the practices of the B team players. This just goes to show the team spirit in the age group.

Report by Dinesh Peerez

In the batting department Krishan Patel and JeyKumar’s opening partnership was the key to our total of 95. However our running between the wickets was non existent. Our under 15 B team needs to take a leaf out of our under 15 A team’s book on running between the wickets. In contrast West Harrow ran many singles when they batted. However we ended up on 95 for the loss of 2 wickets in our allotted 10 overs.

Our fielding was exceptional. Vaheeshan’s single handed catch which was destined for 6 was probably the best. He also had a good throw that earned a run out in addition to a couple of good throws which nearly brought up a run out. Kevin’s catch was also of a very high standard which goes to show that the under 15 B team have some quality players.
We saw some good bowling and fielding by Joshua and Keson. We restricted West harrow to a score of 76 for the loss of 4 wickets to win the match by 19 runs.

Even though this was a good start to our under 15 B indoor tournament, we need to raise our game against opposition such as Bessborough and Harrow St. Mary’s in the upcoming fixtures.

Thanks go out to Kannan for umpiring today’s match. Shan and I were really delighted to see the many parents who came to watch the match and cheer our boys. Thanks also to our under 13 Manager and Asst. Managers Prakash and Suresh for their support and guidance.

We need to practice and remember the mantra “Running between the wickets”.

Report by Nathan Sivayoganathan

Thanks to our U17 manager Mano for umpiring and guidance in the 2 matches. Thanks also to Mahen, Arul & Nathan for providing drinks and crisps for the boys.

Thanks also to our coaches Keerthi and Kannan for the advice and guidance.

Report by Nathan Sivayoganathan

Report by Sam Surendran