What makes the Team Shindagha experience different

I've just about completed 2-3 months playing cricket with Team Shindagha, so I am a relative newcomer to the proceedings (given that some people have been in the fold for years!), but am already struck by what a unique experience it is.  As a lifelong Dubaiite and diehard cricket fan, have been part of many mad and successful schemes with friends to get our regular fix of cricket, playing at any time of the day, in any spot that the concrete jungle offers up, and sometimes even in proper leagues with more than just pride at stake.  Tape ball, hard ball, rubber ball, indoors, outdoors, parking lot, sand, turf, cement, been there done that!

That said the nature of my life over the past few years had led to an unintended detachment from the game I once loved.  The first time I joined the Team Shindagha guys, thought it would be nice to drop by once in a while to have a non-taxing hit and a bowl, of course only when I'm not too exhausted from the week and can drag myself out of bed without smashing the alarm clock against the wall.  Fast forward a few months, and for the first time in my career as a professional amateur cricketer I wake up at 5AM every Friday to play, even as the dreaded months of June and July are upon us, embracing the heat exhaustion and body ache that plague the remainder of the weekend.  How things change when you're having fun!

So what has made the difference?  Instead of waxing philosophical, thought I'd be a bit practical for a change and list some of the unique features:

1. Continuity:  If you drove past the Mr.Baker ground around 7AM on a Friday, you might well spot us and think it's just another quaint weekend session of amateur cricket.  What you wouldn't realize at first sight is that we're actually in the middle of a SEASON.  Not only are we mindful of and and quite keen to talk about past matches amongst ourselves, we keep records and results of every match and once in a while crunch the numbers for bonafide statistics.  Charting our progress thus has helped many of us improve our skills, as well as given us an appreciation of strategic aspect of games, which is quite important, since we take turns being captain.  Of course it makes for fun reading too!
   
2. Digital scoring: We've scored on both iPads and iPhones, with umpires assuming the responsibility.  The scorecards not only allow for precise and varied statistical details (ie; runs, wickets, economy rates, strike rates, boundaries etc), they also have qualitative views like wagon wheels which show which area of the field was favored by the batsman.   Most of the players are tech savvy too and the software is fairly self explanatory so the task is shared quite easily.  Each scorecard is uploaded on Facebook, with the players involved tagged.
   
3. The match ball: Usually cricket in non-isolated areas is conducted with a taped tennis ball, especially when safety gear isn't available for the players.  While the same basic skills are required to play with a tape ball, there are many aspects of hard ball cricket that get lost in translation.  There is no seam, so difficult to spin, swing or move the ball while bowling.  Also the ball is much lighter and smaller, so it is a lot easier to just hit the cover off of every ball for elevated, long distance shots, but somewhat harder to play orthodox ground strokes.  If you've grown up playing hard ball cricket, tape ball cricket is fun, but just doesn't feel the same.
   Team Shindagha has found the perfect compromise for this situation, we use an Insportz-like coated rubber ball.  These look quite a bit like leather balls, with a nice, pronounced stitched seam, an initial shine, and are about the same size.  They are not heavy enough to injure the players on body impact, but carry enough weight that bowlers and batsmen get the same feel as with a proper cricket ball.  Also the ball ages in a similar fashion to the leather ball, ie; it starts out hard and shiny for new ball bowlers, but becomes more pliable for spinners and those skilled at reverse swing towards the end of the innings.  We've also tried the different types available eg; an orange ball that does not swing as much, and a yellow ball that is hard and low in bounce, but does not travel that far when hit.  Many of the higher team scores have been achieved against the orange ball!
   
4. Variations: We're not shy of experimenting with the rules either for practical benefits as well as for increased enjoyment.  For example, we changed the wide ball rule, so that two runs were awarded but the offending delivery wasn't rebowled.  This helped a great deal when the swinging ball became difficult to control and rebowling wides extended the session of play as well as spent time in the sun.  Some variations were made on a one off basis by consensus to challenge ourselves eg; disallowing runs on the leg side in one game, and then on the off side in another; or introducing a powerplay with fielding restrictions to be selectively taken by the captains (the orange ball was used in the same match, no coincedence that over 400 runs were scored in 40 overs)
   
5. The ground:  While the expanse of open space leaves us completely unshaded, it does make for great strokeplay.  The boundaries on the off and leg side are unimpeded, and big straight hits for six do not find any obstruction.  The only adjustment required is that raised pavements block the mid on and mid off areas in the 30 yard circle, but fielders adjust accordingly, and groundstrokes that strike the pavement are declared two runs. Like most parking lot grounds, the surface is perfectly even which makes it easy to run hard on the surface.  There is also a slight Lords-esque slope from the north end, which doesn't seem to affect the game though.  The freshly painted white warehouse front behind the bowler's arm and just beyond the boundary also makes for great sightscreen!
   
6. Multimedia: Last but not least, it's the photographs!  Faisal and Shruti do a great job of taking high-res snaps of all the action with their professional cameras, not an easy task given the frenetic pace at which the game is played!  The pictures almost seem posed in still life, but that's down to their fantastic eye for detail and technical skills.  In their absence, some of the more photographically-gifted players have subbed in and taken some memorable shots!  About 70-80 photos are uploaded every week, usually scant hours after the match has concluded, allowing us to revel in the action once more, as well as giving those who missed out a chance to experience it vicariously.  My first game was documented in a awesome time-lapse video!  Memories to treasure.

Above all, and I didn't feel this should be just a point in the list, what's most enjoyable is the camaraderie between the players, not just those on the same team but on opposing ones as well...After all, you might be sparring against someone one week (and possibly sledging them a bit too), but the next week you might just end up on the same side and involved in a match saving partnership!  It never gets out of hand, and while there are spirited discussions, they never descend into petty squabbles as everyone wants to play hard and fair.  You'll see plenty of examples of sportsmanship, because ultimately players this dedicated to playing are bound to respect the game.  In less than a month, it'll probably be impossible to play outdoors, but one thing is for sure, there'll be about 30 people keeping a close eye out for even a slight drop in temperature in September, hoping to resume their beloved Friday morning ritual without any further delay.

Match report: June 3rd 2011

Team Shindagha's valiant battle against the Dubai summer waged on at the Mr. Baker ground.  16 diehard cricketers took the field at 630AM, and by 930AM, Friday was effectively over for them as the sapping heat took its toll on tired bodies.  However those three hours were witness to a seesaw battle, in which both bowlers and batsmen had their moments, but was ultimately decided by a few stellar individual performances.

The captains this week were Faisal and Rohit.  Faisal's team were put into bat, with the opposition hoping to use the early morning bowling conditions.  Their plan seemed to be working after a quiet first few overs, keeping the dangerous Nandish in check with some tight swing bowling by Jameel, Pratik and Abhay. However the openers kept their wickets, and once the shine of the ball had been negated, Nandish upped a gear and unleashed some brutal straight hits.  The first wicket fell for 64 in the 7th over as Nikhil skied one to Jamil at long on.

Nandish's carnage continued in spite of wickets falling at the other end, he carried the score to 151-3 in the 13th over.  The Jagad-naut, as he has come to be known, looked set for his second century in 4 matches (to go with a 98* as well), but against the run of play, was dismissed fourteen short of the figure by Abhay.  The innings ended at 180 for 6 from 17 overs.

Faisal, sensing that the dangerous batsmen in Rohit's team could make light of even such a daunting target, proactively set strategy from ball one, earmarking each individual batsman's strengths and weaknesses in his precise field settings.  His bowlers executed the plan well, and the big-hitting Sumit was dismissed in the second over with the score on 17.  Gagan and Pratik consolidated to 76 by the 8th over, but the pressure of an ever-mounting run rate told as Gagan was dismissed by Karthik, who was in the midst of a remarkable spell of 3-1-8-2.  Pratik followed soon after and at the end of 10 overs, a 100 runs were still needed with only 4 wickets in the shed.

The effort was then galvanized by a rapid 50 run partnership in just 5 overs between Abhay and Sahil but just when it appeared they might have got themselves back into the game, both set batsmen were dismissed with the score on 138, and in spite of some last over heroics by captain Rohit, the innings ended at 159, as Faisal's team notched up an ultimately comfortable win by 21 runs.