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From Start up to Champions
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Diversity of Cultures
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Overcoming Hardships
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Dedication and Discipline
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What type of Cricketer are you?
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Life after Summer
CONTENT
KEEP FIT
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their heart out and bringing the best out of each other, making the competition even better throughout the day. I do believe the better team one on that day and as good sportsmanship men that we are, congratulated them on the outstanding performance in the field.
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he centurions were more than half way with the season, but we still felt as if we had two teams playing. The unbelievably talented team and on days a team that just came to play. We were 50/50 every weekend, but on the positive side had made the other teams think about how unpredictable we were every time we stepped onto the field. The next week we conceded another loss against Deepark but fin-
From Start up T
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he love of the game brought 13 passionate cricket players together on a cold afternoon in March. The main goal being, to enjoy the sport in a country not of their own. The expectations of players coming to practice in the off season to join a team not yet heard of, was difficult indeed. The players came from different teams to help create an upcoming “underdog” team. I say this because of the low expectations every other team in the league had for us. They said we had no depth in our side, no talent, but everyone soon came to realize this team was no joke. The words “from start up” in the title represents the creation of a talented bunch of cricket players in a new team, against all odds. The first couple of months in the off-season had been tough for us, because of the weather conditions and the uneven fields that we needed to practice on. After a long and hard couple of months practicing, the season finally started on the 10th of May 2009. As ready as we could
ever be, we started our first season off against the raining champions or favorites known as the Rockers, but unfortunately due to over excitement and some nervousness amongst the players, we lost the first game as a team. This in fact only boosted us to work harder for the next week to beat our opponents in the second round robin game of the season. We walked off the field with a great sense of professionalism and pride after a good win over Paradise.
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he third week we were short of two players, one of which had gone overseas to study for six weeks and the other for not being able to play cricket while having to study for finals and his last quarter in college to achieve his degree. We kept this in mind going into our next game against Warriors, and made the unfortunate slip of not performing to our very best, therefore leading to another loss. After three weeks it was 2 losses and 1 win, of which we decided to scoop it up a
notch the next two weeks. We were in the middle of June and went onto the field with passion and the confidence to win. The two teams that came to feel the fire of the centurions had been the Hawks and Desi Tigers, after we creamed them in the field. The centurions were on a roll having two victories in a row, but due to some unfortunate rain the next game against the Advancers was canceled, making us share points in the league. This gave us a set back on our next game against Trailblazers, of which we lost due to some conflict with players and overall bad performances. Once again the team that seems to be having ups and downs, had two magnificent wins over a strong Panthers and a weaker Cougars side, but once again failing to do it three times in a row, losing against a well played MWCA team all in good spirit of the game. The MWCA team was mostly youngsters, all busy with preparation for the national under 19 tryouts. This made the game an exciting one, for some of their players played with some of us while on a Californian trip. The game was equally well played with both teams playing
ished the round robin with a sense of eagerness after defeating an Australian team known as the Fenders, pushing us into sixth place and qualifying for quarterfinals. The time came for a second shot at MWCA and with one of the players back from overseas, we as a team were too much for the youngsters of the MWCA, and walked away with a place to the semi finals.
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with a close win the centurions raced into second place and into the finals against the Panthers. The day came on a nice sonny Sunday. A great game was played with both teams aggressive and competitive against each other, but in the end great teamwork showed us the way to the cup and the MCC 30/30 championship. Coming back next year as the defending champions.
dream, all-starting to become reality as we took on Trailblazers who cheated their way in. We soon showed them who belonged in the finals and
to Champions
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he team is split into three different cultures namely South Africa, Pakistan and India. The thought of playing with three different cultures was a bit extreme because of normal conflict between India and Pakistan people and their perspective on things, but these bunch of guys worked hard together and became great friends in the process. The story I would like to capture within this article, is mostly the different cultures And how everyone acts on each situation in their own way. There are five outstanding cricket players from India in our team coming from unique backgrounds in India.
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n India cricket is the main sport and having the opportunity to play in America is a great pleasure. The unfortunate thing is that cricket in America compared to the rest of the world aren’t on the same level yet, therefore we had to deal with some of the worst conditions compared to what we all had been use to back in our home countries. I wanted to discuss the backVijay Garud grounds of each individual player within the team and their performances throughout the season. The first five players will all have a background of India starting with Vijay Garud. He joined our team half way into the season, hoping for an opportunity to arise, and in the process became a great and loyal friend and teammate. Vijay is one of the most committed players I have ever met. We could all see from the start until the finish on how he had improved his batting, fielding and bowling. He did not bowl in the game but in the beginning he didn’t want to try, but now we
can’t seem to get the ball away from him in the nets. The teammate above is Himank Shastri, our spinner, awesome catcher and all time good friend. He was born in New Delhi, India and has become such an American that he just can’t get enough of football, always brings it to the game and actually is a very nice warm up for the guys. He Himank Shastri is also the brother of Sudanshu Kumar that was also born in New Delhi, India. They grew up playing street cricket and later in life moved to the US in 2000.
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he third player is Himank’s brother, Sudanshu Kumar Shastri. He is one of the senior players and always brings something new to the game. He has an outstanding talent of giving our teammates confidence and is a great all-rounder in general. He will unfortunately not be able to join us next year because he is now a US citizen and will be in the military. He plans to finish his masters in Information Technology after his service in the US Army. Sudanshu is an all time good friend that loves the game, and will always be welcome in our team wherever we are. The next two cricket players that I will be talking about are our Wicket keepers in the team. They are Samin Abbasi and Viral Patel, both from India. Sudanshu Kumar I only knew Viral being a keeper because I played with him, but Samin worked hard with Viral and they both became our keepers. Samin Abbasi is a hardworking individual who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal respectfully. He has a unique sense of humor that we all en-
joy and when needed, a great aggressive batsman in front to take on the bowlers. The second keeper is my fellow mate Viral Samin Abbasi Patel. He was born in Ahmedabad, gujarat, India. Ahmedabad is also one of the mega cities in India. Viral came to the US when he was a 15 years old and has been here since. He is an opening batsmen, but when pushed down the order can bring a lot of valuable runs throughout the end of the innings. Viral is on Viral Patel and off the field a funny guy, and even though it looks like he doesn’t take it seriously, we know what he can do and already had done. This concludes the end of our outstanding Indian team mates in the Centurions team, and now to get to our next bunch of guys, known as the South Africans. The first two are once again another pair of brothers within the team. They are known as Phillip and Hannes Botha. The following page will go into depth on these great players and the rest of our team. My good friend Phillip whom I had met first, coming from South Africa to the Phillip Botha US. He had
been playing here for almost ten years now and knows a bit about the cricket being played in the states. He is one of our bowlers/middle order batsmen and has contributed his part perfectly throughout the season. Phillip and his brother both grew up in Pretoria, South Africa and we have had the privilege to play with these talented guys. Hannes being the brother of Phillip has showed us unbelievable commitment in a team. He gets us going on and off the field, all the while, having fun. Hannes has come a long Hannes Botha way from not playing cricket for a while to a full blown athletic machine. A unique kind of potential not to be taken lightly.
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n outstanding note to go forth with the next individual being our very own captain, Jason De Swardt. He was born in Ladysmith, South Africa and is a great role model for us. The captain along with our coach, of which I will be getting to shortly, had the hardest of work to do. They needed to know the entire game from front to back as if it were a playbook. Jason always knew what to do in every situation of the game. He is one of our opening batsmen and when needed bowlers. He has a very funny sense of humor that sometimes only the South Africans understand. (No offence to everyone else, we still love you). The next three on my list are all related, two brothers a great dad, and Jason De Swardt
magnificent coach. These names are to be Quintin, Jacques and Douglas Gerber/ Quintin Gerber coach. The three rebels as we have come to know them. They are all from South Africa, but Quintin was born in Pretoria, Jacques in Johannesburg and Douglas/my dad in Port Elizabeth. Jacques is and opening batsmen, but it seems that in this season he had changed to not only an amazing batsman but a fast bowler just like when he was young. Quintin on the other hand Jacques Gerber has always been known for his left hand fast bowling, but this season decided to open the batting with an aggressive approach and when needed bowler.
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he third person is my dad also known as the coach of the team, even though he played with us this season. His techniques for fielding drills and batting and bowling has improved every one of us in the team, of which I do believe we are all grateful indeed. My favorite team mate next up is Adam Cowley. He joined us a few games in and never left our hearts, even Douglas Gerber though he is
Adam Cowley
now back in South Africa. A smile for every game, and a joke for every comment. He is mostly a bowler and a talented one indeed. This was such a pleasure to have played with him, and an exciting one of course. The last but not least individual, Hassan Baqir. The only one coming from a Pakistan background. He was born in Lahore and is an outstanding bowler with an eye for hitting the ball at the end of an innings. Hassan came to US when he was 15 and played for a little bit with the COD team, but tore his LCL in Hassan Baqir his right leg half way into the season making him unplayable for 4 years or so and this was his come back year with us! A great and loyal friend, and so are the rest of you guys. Diversity in culture may divide us, but as a team we stand as one.
Cricket Club
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One team made with the purpose to play cricket and have fun, along with working hard and overcoming every negative hit throughout the season. Life is not always the way one perceives it, and even though we had our losses throughout the summer, we never gave up hope. There were some players who had their doubts on us making it to the quarter-finals against MWCA, and we proved them wrong by making it to the Semi-finals, but once there we received another negative comment from an unknown cricketer saying and I quote;
“I think the semi-final against Trailblazers for centurions is going to be a hard one. Trailblazers will win because they beat the Warriors without their star players and the Centurions don’t have any depth in their team”. We kept on playing our game, making the opposition feel intimidated all the way to the finals. The captain of our team lead us all the way to the finals with wise words and most of all, respect for the game, even though this comment kept us feeling like the underdogs as we were. The captain of the Centurions team, Jason De Swardt, could only laugh and with respect said as I quote;
“The way we play cricket. A dedication to all that is cricket, to be worthy adversaries on the field of play, and at all times respecting the integrity and spirit of the game - these are our defining values”.
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They say a picture is worth a thousand words
Add each number next to your answer together and find out now, what type of cricketer you are?
G. What is your favorite shot? A. Can you hit the ball really hard? a. YES(2) b. .NO, not really(3) c. If I’m in the mood(1)
a. Cover Drive(1) b. Slog(3) c. Square Cut, other...(2)
H. How would you rate yourself as a batsman?
B. Can You Bowl faster than 130km/h? a. YES I am unplayable for every batsmen I play against!!!!!(3) b. NO I am a spin/slow bowler(2) c. I don’t bowl(1) C. Are you a reliable batsmen who can score at least 50 almost every match? a. YES(1) b. NO I am a bowler(3) c. I can bat well but I’m too eager(2)
a. The best... the very best(3) b. Careful but confident(2) c. I can hold the bat at least(1)
I. How would you rate yourself as a bowler?
a. Mate, I can’t bowl(1) b. I never give the batsmen time to think(2) c. Aggressive and attacking towards the bastmen(3)
Batsman (9 - 14)
You are a player who specializes in batting, therefore having the consistency to always score runs. You have a great responsibility when your team is batting, because you will lead them into a good or bad innings. You have every technique in the book and all you need to do now, is apply them to your game.
All-Rounder (15 - 21)
You are the genuine all-rounder, performing well at both batting and bowling. Such a player is quite rare and extremely valuable to a team. You have to effectively operate as two players in one game. The responsibilities for a player like yourself is endless and you need to stay fit, mentally and physically if you are going to become a great allrounder in the future.
Bowler (22 - 27)
The aggressive, attacking cricketer of the game, known as the bowler. You are the most competitive towards your opposition. The responsibility lies on your shoulders to take the new ball and perform at the best of your ability to bring the team a great start on the field in the game.
D. Have you ever achieved 5 wickets AND a 50 in one game? a. Yes(2) b. No(1) c. Almost(3) E. Have you achieved more than 3 wickets in an innings? a. YES, consistently(3) b. YES, every other game(2) c. NO(1) F. If the ball was wide would you.......
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a. Swing and miss?(3) b. Not take any chances and leave it?(1) c. Hit a four?(2)
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he long season is over and most of us now needed something else to keep us active. This only happened after a very deserving night out with the guys, and some drinks were involved. A lovely band playing in the background, and another day to walk in our flip flops. The guys needed a break from cricket even though none of us wanted one. The Centurions team overcoming every obstacle in their way to victory had an amazing night to celebrate our triumphant win over the Panthers in the final. I don’t need to say too much on what the guys are deciding to do after the season, but they have their plans and we all hope to see them back next summer for season two and a hope to do it a second time round.
http://centurionscc.synthasite.com