Here you will find all UCC match reports for the upcoming season! Reports will be posted shortly after all matches with various members of the squad writing their thoughts of the games throughout our campaign :-)
Game 10 - UCC against SSC - UCC's awesome Black Caps shine in vain
Despite Big Steve's and Dormer's best efforts, UCC succumbed to another disappointing defeat to 2nd place Sri Lanka.
After being put into bat (to be confirmed), Sri Lanka got off to a steady start with 50 being put on for the first wicket before Nalin (12) was snared behind off Anant. However, this did nothing to slow the scoring as SSC reached 96/1 off 9. UCC desperately needed some wickets to reduce the runs being leaked and Big Steve duly obliged by taking wickets in consecutive balls, the first thanks to a brilliant catch by Asif, tumbling back to clutch onto a ball that looked liked it was going to evade him. Although Steve eventually took fantastic figures of 4-0-28-4, runs were leaking at the other end and Sri Lankans were able to hit boundaries with ease. In particular, Bertram (30*) and Suhard (33*) were treated to short balls on both sides of the wicket that they rarely missed out on. Anant took 2 wickets in the 20th over to give him figures of 4-0-30-3, but SSC were more than happy with 204, especially as UCC gifted them 72 extras.
In response, UCC lost Suresh (0) after 3 balls attempting a quick single that even Usain Bolt would have been proud to complete. 0/1 quickly became 4/2 as Chetan fell to send the wheels off UCC's reply before it had even got started and Abhishek and Dormer were faced with the daunting task of rebuilding the innings. The former attempted a counter-attack, hitting 15 off just 8 balls but exuberance got the better of him and he was caught behind leaving UCC's Kiwi connection to give the innings some stability. Dormer, on 1, was given a life as he middled one to very short cover who could only watch the ball spill. To be fair, it was a very tough chance, but to get him out, they've got to be taken. After this reprieve, he settled down, and with some delicate flicks to the leg-side and some typical heaves over log-on he masterfully reached 30 after just 15 balls. Steve, on the other hand, played the anchor role, steadily accumulating runs while dispatching anything lose over the boundary. Despite wickets tumbling at the other end, the big man calmly collected his 30 off 35 deliveries in an equally impressive knock.
At 104/8 off 18 overs, the game was lost but as retired batsmen can come back in, Dormer stamped his mark on proceedings. With a willing partner in Anant (5), Dormer unleashed a series of powerful bludgeons down the ground. With impeccable timing he hit his stunned opponents for 3 sixes and 1 four to reach 60 off only 29 balls in total, which I believe to be a VCA record, although I need that confirming. Hats off to an astonishing knock!
UCC need to address the amount of wides bowled as it really killed us in this game. Big Steve deservedly won man of the match for a great individual all-round performance with both bat and ball, and Guy's magical knock will live long in the memory. To salvage some pride in a hugely disappointing season, let's take our A game to our fixtures against India A and England and take out some frustration on them!
Game 9 - UCC against ISCS (India B) - Lackluster UCC fail again
In Vijesh's swan song for UCC, a disappointing performance in all departments left them 60 runs short in a one sided affair. More details to follow.
Game 8 - UCC against Pakistan - UCC stunned middle middle order surge
A fabulous middle order counter attack saw Pakistan overcome UCC in a tense game at the RMIT oval. Despite posting a defendable total, some big, cleaning hitting saw the lime greens home. More details to follow.
Game 7 - UCC against SACC (Australia) - Brilliant UCC denied in final ball thriller
On a sunny, clear, bright brunch time, UCC, lead for the second time this season by Dormer, lost the toss and were asked to field against the big hitting Australians. Vijesh opened the bowling and, as is now customary, struck on the first ball, trapping left handed dangerman Pinkard LBW to get UCC's tails up. However, unlike two weeks ago, they weren't about to let the pressure off. The baggy caps, used to scoring close to 200, were immediately tested with probing out and inswinging deliveries that regularly passed the outside edge, constantly keeping the fielders behind the wicket interested. Soon enough UCC talisman Vijesh (4-0-25-2) took his second scalp in the third over. Cashion, who had already struck two boundaries, slashed at a good length ball pitched in the corridor of uncertainty and was exceptionally caught by Suresh running to his left in the covers, parrying it before clutching the ball gleefully to the obvious delight of his team mates. Australia were reeling and Leech (14) and C. Armstrong (14) had to dig in resiliently to keep out Malone (4-0-31-1) and Anant (4-0-17-1) who troubled the batsman with a fantastic line and variable bounce. In the 7th over, Big Steve, was introduced into the attack and got instant reward. Armstrong, who looked well set, was surprised by a sharply rising delivery which caught a top edge. Jones, running back from slip, completed the catch leaving the Aussies 49-3. In the next over it was Anant's turn to join the party. Bowling an excellent line he enticed Leech into a big drive which steepled high into the air. Dormer called, steadied himself and took a wonderful catch after finishing a cup of tea and reading a newspaper while he was waiting for the ball to come down. At 58-4, SACC were scoring quickly but losing wickets and skipper R. Armstrong sought to steady the ship. This was not before Steve took another wicket before drinks. The interval bought about a change behind the stumps. The excellent Chetan was called into the attack and Jones donned the gloves. Steve (4-0-30-3), not trusting the new keeper, then proceeded to knock out Connell's middle stump out the ground with the score at 71/6. Armstrong and Crang (17*) proceeded with caution as Chetan (4-0-21-0) bowled a miserly spell and was unlucky not to breach the batsman defenses on numerous occasions. Malone, recalled into the attack, removed Armstrong (24) in the 17th over and with balls running out Daley (14) came in and boosted the Aussies total to 130/8 before falling caught behind to Mijin on the final ball on the innings.
During the interval, UCC learned that Jones wouldn't be fit to bat 4 as the result of deciding it was better to stop the ball with his thumb as opposed to the middle of the gloves. However, as Steve provided extra depth to the batting order, this was a mere hiccup and Malone and Chetan confidently strode out to the middle. Daley, pitched the ball up and got it to move around, causing the openers a few problems and got his reward somewhat fortuitously bowling Malone (6) off his 'flamingo' foot. This brought Dormer to the crease and he and Chetan proceeded serenely along to guide UCC to 64/1 after 11 overs. The batsman were both relatively untroubled, picking up ones and twos with some excellent placed shots and fantastic running. Looking to up the run rate, Dormer (16) attempted to launch Arnold over long on but was caught by a fantastic one handed catch by C. Armstrong who was diving low to his right on the boundary. Steve joined Chetan at the crease who decided to accelerate his scoring by hitting two huge, towering sixes before retiring on 31. Unfortunately momentum was knocked out of UCC's run chase with 2 new batsman in the middle. Vijesh and Suresh quickly fell to Connell (4-1-25-2) to bring in the eager Green. Steve got the chase back on track with some meaty blows over square leg and Green intelligently hit into empty spaces to leave UCC in a great position requiring 7 runs off 9 balls. Pickard struck a crucial blow in the 19th over, bowling the impressive Steve (15) bringing Jones to the crease.
In the final over UCC required 5 to win. Crang was given the responsibility with the ball for the SACC. Green couldn't get the first ball away but managed to run a single on the second. Jones couldn't middle a half tracker and sacrificed his wicket to get Green back on strike. The fourth ball was hit for a single and that was followed up by a wide leaving UCC requiring 2 runs off 2 balls with new batsman Mijin facing. He beautifully clipped the ball into the offside and 2 looked certain. However a combination of terrible luck and superb fielding saw Mijin's bat get caught in the turf whilst running it home and Arnold's throw was straight over the stumps allowing Skipper Armstrong to whip off the bails. A marginal decision went SACC's way and with the scores tied, UCC needed a single. Keshav middled the delivery. Unfortunately it flew straight into the hands of Cashion who took a usually simple catch superbly given the tension of the situation. SACC celebrated and UCC were left ruing missed opportunities.
It was an advert for the game of cricket in Vietnam. Not a catch went down all game and the fielding was tremendous on both sides. Crang's final over fantastic given the butterflies he must have been feeling. Green (15*) so almost guided us home and Chetan's innings was nothing short of incredible. Jones put in a good shift behind the stumps to allow Chetan (unlucky not to be named Man of the Match) to bowl 4 accurate and probing overs. UCC should be proud of their efforts in the field and with the bat and if they can continue to play with the skill, spirit and awesomeness, they will surely go one better in their upcoming games. Well done to both UCC and Australia on what was an enthralling game, played in the best of spirits.
Game 6 - UCC against ECCS (England) - Big hitting England too good for UCC
Despite Big Steve's and Dormer's best efforts, UCC succumbed to another disappointing defeat to 2nd place Sri Lanka.
After being put into bat (to be confirmed), Sri Lanka got off to a steady start with 50 being put on for the first wicket before Nalin (12) was snared behind off Anant. However, this did nothing to slow the scoring as SSC reached 96/1 off 9. UCC desperately needed some wickets to reduce the runs being leaked and Big Steve duly obliged by taking wickets in consecutive balls, the first thanks to a brilliant catch by Asif, tumbling back to clutch onto a ball that looked liked it was going to evade him. Although Steve eventually took fantastic figures of 4-0-28-4, runs were leaking at the other end and Sri Lankans were able to hit boundaries with ease. In particular, Bertram (30*) and Suhard (33*) were treated to short balls on both sides of the wicket that they rarely missed out on. Anant took 2 wickets in the 20th over to give him figures of 4-0-30-3, but SSC were more than happy with 204, especially as UCC gifted them 72 extras.
In response, UCC lost Suresh (0) after 3 balls attempting a quick single that even Usain Bolt would have been proud to complete. 0/1 quickly became 4/2 as Chetan fell to send the wheels off UCC's reply before it had even got started and Abhishek and Dormer were faced with the daunting task of rebuilding the innings. The former attempted a counter-attack, hitting 15 off just 8 balls but exuberance got the better of him and he was caught behind leaving UCC's Kiwi connection to give the innings some stability. Dormer, on 1, was given a life as he middled one to very short cover who could only watch the ball spill. To be fair, it was a very tough chance, but to get him out, they've got to be taken. After this reprieve, he settled down, and with some delicate flicks to the leg-side and some typical heaves over log-on he masterfully reached 30 after just 15 balls. Steve, on the other hand, played the anchor role, steadily accumulating runs while dispatching anything lose over the boundary. Despite wickets tumbling at the other end, the big man calmly collected his 30 off 35 deliveries in an equally impressive knock.
At 104/8 off 18 overs, the game was lost but as retired batsmen can come back in, Dormer stamped his mark on proceedings. With a willing partner in Anant (5), Dormer unleashed a series of powerful bludgeons down the ground. With impeccable timing he hit his stunned opponents for 3 sixes and 1 four to reach 60 off only 29 balls in total, which I believe to be a VCA record, although I need that confirming. Hats off to an astonishing knock!
UCC need to address the amount of wides bowled as it really killed us in this game. Big Steve deservedly won man of the match for a great individual all-round performance with both bat and ball, and Guy's magical knock will live long in the memory. To salvage some pride in a hugely disappointing season, let's take our A game to our fixtures against India A and England and take out some frustration on them!
Game 9 - UCC against ISCS (India B) - Lackluster UCC fail again
In Vijesh's swan song for UCC, a disappointing performance in all departments left them 60 runs short in a one sided affair. More details to follow.
Game 8 - UCC against Pakistan - UCC stunned middle middle order surge
A fabulous middle order counter attack saw Pakistan overcome UCC in a tense game at the RMIT oval. Despite posting a defendable total, some big, cleaning hitting saw the lime greens home. More details to follow.
Game 7 - UCC against SACC (Australia) - Brilliant UCC denied in final ball thriller
On a sunny, clear, bright brunch time, UCC, lead for the second time this season by Dormer, lost the toss and were asked to field against the big hitting Australians. Vijesh opened the bowling and, as is now customary, struck on the first ball, trapping left handed dangerman Pinkard LBW to get UCC's tails up. However, unlike two weeks ago, they weren't about to let the pressure off. The baggy caps, used to scoring close to 200, were immediately tested with probing out and inswinging deliveries that regularly passed the outside edge, constantly keeping the fielders behind the wicket interested. Soon enough UCC talisman Vijesh (4-0-25-2) took his second scalp in the third over. Cashion, who had already struck two boundaries, slashed at a good length ball pitched in the corridor of uncertainty and was exceptionally caught by Suresh running to his left in the covers, parrying it before clutching the ball gleefully to the obvious delight of his team mates. Australia were reeling and Leech (14) and C. Armstrong (14) had to dig in resiliently to keep out Malone (4-0-31-1) and Anant (4-0-17-1) who troubled the batsman with a fantastic line and variable bounce. In the 7th over, Big Steve, was introduced into the attack and got instant reward. Armstrong, who looked well set, was surprised by a sharply rising delivery which caught a top edge. Jones, running back from slip, completed the catch leaving the Aussies 49-3. In the next over it was Anant's turn to join the party. Bowling an excellent line he enticed Leech into a big drive which steepled high into the air. Dormer called, steadied himself and took a wonderful catch after finishing a cup of tea and reading a newspaper while he was waiting for the ball to come down. At 58-4, SACC were scoring quickly but losing wickets and skipper R. Armstrong sought to steady the ship. This was not before Steve took another wicket before drinks. The interval bought about a change behind the stumps. The excellent Chetan was called into the attack and Jones donned the gloves. Steve (4-0-30-3), not trusting the new keeper, then proceeded to knock out Connell's middle stump out the ground with the score at 71/6. Armstrong and Crang (17*) proceeded with caution as Chetan (4-0-21-0) bowled a miserly spell and was unlucky not to breach the batsman defenses on numerous occasions. Malone, recalled into the attack, removed Armstrong (24) in the 17th over and with balls running out Daley (14) came in and boosted the Aussies total to 130/8 before falling caught behind to Mijin on the final ball on the innings.
During the interval, UCC learned that Jones wouldn't be fit to bat 4 as the result of deciding it was better to stop the ball with his thumb as opposed to the middle of the gloves. However, as Steve provided extra depth to the batting order, this was a mere hiccup and Malone and Chetan confidently strode out to the middle. Daley, pitched the ball up and got it to move around, causing the openers a few problems and got his reward somewhat fortuitously bowling Malone (6) off his 'flamingo' foot. This brought Dormer to the crease and he and Chetan proceeded serenely along to guide UCC to 64/1 after 11 overs. The batsman were both relatively untroubled, picking up ones and twos with some excellent placed shots and fantastic running. Looking to up the run rate, Dormer (16) attempted to launch Arnold over long on but was caught by a fantastic one handed catch by C. Armstrong who was diving low to his right on the boundary. Steve joined Chetan at the crease who decided to accelerate his scoring by hitting two huge, towering sixes before retiring on 31. Unfortunately momentum was knocked out of UCC's run chase with 2 new batsman in the middle. Vijesh and Suresh quickly fell to Connell (4-1-25-2) to bring in the eager Green. Steve got the chase back on track with some meaty blows over square leg and Green intelligently hit into empty spaces to leave UCC in a great position requiring 7 runs off 9 balls. Pickard struck a crucial blow in the 19th over, bowling the impressive Steve (15) bringing Jones to the crease.
In the final over UCC required 5 to win. Crang was given the responsibility with the ball for the SACC. Green couldn't get the first ball away but managed to run a single on the second. Jones couldn't middle a half tracker and sacrificed his wicket to get Green back on strike. The fourth ball was hit for a single and that was followed up by a wide leaving UCC requiring 2 runs off 2 balls with new batsman Mijin facing. He beautifully clipped the ball into the offside and 2 looked certain. However a combination of terrible luck and superb fielding saw Mijin's bat get caught in the turf whilst running it home and Arnold's throw was straight over the stumps allowing Skipper Armstrong to whip off the bails. A marginal decision went SACC's way and with the scores tied, UCC needed a single. Keshav middled the delivery. Unfortunately it flew straight into the hands of Cashion who took a usually simple catch superbly given the tension of the situation. SACC celebrated and UCC were left ruing missed opportunities.
It was an advert for the game of cricket in Vietnam. Not a catch went down all game and the fielding was tremendous on both sides. Crang's final over fantastic given the butterflies he must have been feeling. Green (15*) so almost guided us home and Chetan's innings was nothing short of incredible. Jones put in a good shift behind the stumps to allow Chetan (unlucky not to be named Man of the Match) to bowl 4 accurate and probing overs. UCC should be proud of their efforts in the field and with the bat and if they can continue to play with the skill, spirit and awesomeness, they will surely go one better in their upcoming games. Well done to both UCC and Australia on what was an enthralling game, played in the best of spirits.
Game 6 - UCC against ECCS (England) - Big hitting England too good for UCC
UCC's recent bad slump continued against England on a perfect morning for cricket. Asif won the toss and decided to field first on a bright, sunny morning in HCMC. The impressive Vijesh got UCC off to the perfect start, producing a swinging yorker first up that ripped out the opener's off stump with the first ball of the game. It really was a special delivery that would've had the most accomplished batsmen in trouble. However, this wasn't a sign of things to as the English skipper J. Handscumbe steadied the innings before hitting 4 sixes on his way to 35 off only 18 balls. With UCC's bowlers out of sorts, and some poor catching, England's middle order dominated to set an imposing total of 195, including 14 sixes and 7 fours. In total 3 of their batsmen retired in an impressive display with the bat. Chetan kept brilliantly, Joe took 2 wickets and Vijesh with figures of 4-1-18-2 were the only highlights of a disappointing display in the field.
In response Vijesh (13) again got UCC started in positive spirit by hitting his second ball for six. However, after 3 overs UCC found themselves at 25-2 having lost both openers. The reliable Dormer (20) and Jones (16) put on 48 for the 3rd wicket but found themselves struggling to keep up with the 10 an over required rate. At 10 overs, UCC were 25 short of were they needed to be. After drinks, Jones was bowled trying to up the rate and the middle order were left with a mounting and daunting run requirement. Dan (4), Asif (10) and Suresh (7) all threatened to get going but UCC fell 74 runs short with only 4 sixes and 2 fours being hit in their run chase.
In all, a disappointing display by UCC and they will be looking to bounce back strongly in 2 weeks time against Australia.
Despite a spirited performance, UCC were once again ruing missed opportunities as calamitous running lead to 5 run outs. Stand in captain Dormer won the toss and decided to bowl first. This seemed like an inspired decision as opening bowlers Anant (19-1) and Vijesh took wickets to leave the defending champions Sri Lanka 16-2 off 4 overs. Vijesh (4-1-12-1) was particularly impressive, bowling well to an attacking 7-2 field. Constantly passing the outside edge, his efforts deserved more than the sole scalp. Unfortunately, the Sri Lankans were being given too many wides by the other bowlers and as wides are worth 3 runs in this competition, the tally soon mounted up to 44 by the end of the allotted overs. Malone, continuing his wicket taking streak to 4 games, struck at the end of his first over to bring skipper Suhard to the crease. With Nalin (23) struggling to score at the other end, Suhard (19) hit his first ball for 4 before pulling the second for 6. This injection of runs gave the innings the momentum it was lacking with 50 being added in 7 overs. With the game threatening to get away from UCC, Dormer introduced himself into the attack and he removed both Nalin and Suhard with his dibly dobly medium pacers to swing the game back into UCC's favour. This brought Priyantha to the crease and after taking 2 balls to get his eye in he launched a blistering counter attack to retire on 32 from 18 balls. This knock included 2 sixes and allowed Sri Lanka to post a total of 137. Mention should be given to Chetan, making his UCC debut, who took a smart stumping and energised the team from behind the sticks.
In response, Chetan (13) and Vijesh (8) got UCC off to a solid start. However, 2 moments of madness in 3 balls swung the game dramatically in the Sri Lankans favour. Firstly, a massive miscommunication between the openers lead to both batsmen being at the same end before Chetan called a suicidal second run to be caught 2 metres short of his ground. Guy and Malone then proceeded to steady the ship before another dubious run and smart fielding resulted in Malone being the next casualty. With the score at 46-3 from 11 overs, it was going to take something special to pull UCC back into the game. However, if anyone could do it, then Dormer (22) and Suresh (16) were the men. Dormer, constantly rotated the strike and dispatched the few loose delivers there were available to the fence. Suresh, taking a slightly different approach, freed his arms and hit a huge six to propel his side into a position were the impossible might be achievable. Unfortunately, he was bowled with the score on 78 in the 16th over and ended UCC's chances. Jonny (12), in his final game, came in and ran well with Guy but balls were running out. In desperation, more risky runs were attempted and 2 more run outs left UCC with 99 from their overs, 38 runs short.
Credit must go to the Sri Lankan fielders and bowlers. The bowlers kept a good line and length, rarely allowing the batsmen any easy boundary balls to build pressure which subsequently paid off. Despite the poor running, the fielders threw well and didn't miss any opportunities. UCC will reflect on what might have been over the holiday and come back raring to go against England.
Game 4 - UCC against SACC (Australia) - Brave UCC edged out
UCC skipper Asif won the toss and unusually decided to bowl first against an Australian team fresh from their demolition of England in their last game. His decision seemed incorrect as Australia raced to 21 off the first 3 overs before Anant (3-27) removed danger man Pinkard (16) through a sharp catch from Malone. From there, UCC's bowlers started to apply pressure with Malone (1-27) bowling with prestigious swing and Anant taking a further 2 wickets including having Daley bowled for a duck with a quite brilliant swinging yorker with the last ball of his spell. However, C. Armstrong (dropped earlier at mid-on) was still at crease and the fate of the Australian innings lay in his hands. While his partners were failing around him, one curtousy of a superb pickup and direct hit from Dormer and another from a running, diving catch from Asif, Armstrong retired on 30 to setup a gettable 118. This total should be compared to the 250 they racked up in their previous game against England and represented a fantastic effort from UCC's bowlers. Other honourable mentions should go to Jonny, who took a good catch in the deep and to Mijin (1-21) and Joe (2-14) who bowled with great control and precision.
In reply, UCC opened with Malone and Suresh, who was up the order due to Radha's unfortunate injury. This pair started calmly and didn't seem in too much trouble by the Aussie bowlers. Both remained watchful yet put away any loose deliveries. After 7 overs, UCC seemed to be progressing nicely at 32 before man of the match C. Armstrong was introduced into the attack. With the first 2 balls of his second over he removed Malone (10) and Guy (0) to leave UCC reeling. This coincided with some fantastic, disciplined bowling from Armstrong (2-16) and C. Arnold (1-13) which caused scoreboard pressure to mount up against UCC. However, with batting still to come and Suresh still at the crease, UCC were still very much in the game. Suresh started to hit out, launching 2 powerful sixes before perishing for 24 off 31 balls. This bought Vijesh (20) to the crease and after playing himself in, he started to dispatch anything on the leg side for 4. With the score at 86/4 from 17 overs, the game looked set for a tense finale. 33 runs required from 18 balls still very much achievable. Sensing their score was threatened, 2 run outs (to add to Green's (4) earlier run out to a fantastic throw) occurred to good arms which ripped out the middle order. From there, UCC could not recover and posted 109, just 9 short.
UCC were in the game, right up until the final over. Their bowling performance was magnificent against a strong Australian batting line up. The opening batsmen also setup the run chase nicely but without that little bit of luck we just fell short. Next week Sri Lanka, bring it on!!
