TOURNAMENT REPORT: 2004 Formosa Cup
Tournament Champions FCC
Man of the series Charl
28/02/04 & 29/02/04
Game 1 - TCA vs. FCC
TCA 123/7 (15)
Jayesh 32, Nitin 30
Charl 3/12, Salim 2/29, DB 1/7, Simon 1/23.
FCC 125/3 (14.2)
Shardul 50* , Charl 41*
It was time again for the Formosans to play their Northern Taiwan
counterparts in the tourney opener. The boys were keen not to repeat their loss to the TCA in the annual tourney last December.
The TCA openers Bonnie and Navin walked to the pitch eager to take on the FCC
bowlers after being scuttled in the final in Kaohsiung some 3 months earlier.
DB gave the new ball to Sushi in a ploy to shake up the TCA boys. Though costing
12 runs he claimed the first wicket of Navin. From the other end Ed gave up just 4 from his first over.
The TCA started to get the scoreboard ticking with the dangerous pair of Jayesh
and Bonnie settling down before Salim broke the partnership. The engineer clean bowled Bonnie and the score read 44/2.
DB brought on big Charl with his accurate fast bowling sending Gary
and top scorer Jayesh back to the pavilion as the TCA reached 63/4.
Despite a great opening over that went for just 3 runs, Cilliers was taken
to the sword by Nitin who smashed 5 consecutive fours from the Wolfs 3rd over. However Salim claimed Nitins wicket
in the very next over to put the brakes on.
Charl bowled a super last over and ended up with the amazing figures of 3/12
off 3 overs.
TCA finished on 123/7 from their 15 overs.
DB and Eddie opened the batting for the team, with the skipper
bowled around his legs for a duck off the second ball. A harbinger for the match?
Not exactly
Shardul joined Eddie at the crease to bring the situation
under control, pushing the score to 20/1 off 3 overs before Eddie was given out LBW in characteristic fashion.
Vishwa joined Shardul but the young man struggled in the
conditions and the FCC was tottering when Vishie was caught and the score was 3/36 off 5 overs.
Big Charl strode to the crease and was in a punishing mood
from the get go, following on from his excellent bowling, opening his scoring with a six over midwicket.
In the meantime Shardul stepped up a gear and the master
made batting look effortless despite struggling with the heat and fatigue. No bowler was safe as the pair bludgeoned 89 off
53 balls.
Shardul scored a half-century and Charl 41 as the boys got
us over the line with 2 balls to spare in the 14th over.
Game 2 - KCCC vs. TCA
TCA defeated the KCCC
Game 3 - FCC vs KCCC (D/N)
FCC 119/6 (15)
DB 35, Shardul 27, Eddie 19
KCCC 112/9 (15)
Jaco 27, Piers 24,
Charl 2/10, Salim 2/26
The FCC won the toss and elected to bat.
The skipper was focused and opened his account with a boundary
off the first ball of the innings. DB was throwing caution to the wind (dropped twice) while Eddie was pure calypso class
at the other end dispatching the KCCC bowlers all over the park.
The score raced to 64 from just 5 overs as a huge score
loomed. The KCCC got back into the match by claiming the first wicket with the score on 69 when Eddie (19) was given out LBW
yet again.
Darren followed soon after caught (finally) by Piers for
35 and with the score on a healthy 73/2 in the 7th over.
The brakes were applied effectively by skipper John with
just a handful of runs added in the next 3 overs. Shardul then undertook to take on the bowlers adding a quick 27 before being
bowled by the mercurial Andy.
Charl then joined Vishwa at the crease. It wasnt Vishys
day and the KCCC skipper caught him for 4. The score read 110/4 from 12 overs. Our man from Sanchong then strode to the crease
but was out for a diamond duck after mysteriously looking for a run that wasnt there
Charl sent him back and he in turn was sent back run out.
Simon was sent in to swing the bat but was out for 1; Ed
joined Charl and added a few runs off the last over with the FCC finishing on a disappointing 119/6 after 15 overs.
The FCC started impressively with Fast Bowler Cilliers claiming
Andys wicket in his first over and giving away just two runs. At the other end Salim was brilliant claiming the wicket of
Prakash and giving away just 1 run off his first.
DB then gave the ball to FCC virgin Shannon who claimed
the prize wicket of John, bowled for 7. A super ball from the young Ad guru.
With key players back in the shed, Piers joined Jaco and
staged a remarkable comeback as they rebuilt the innings. The skipper bought himself on to bowl and was carted around the
park by the batsmen before picking up Jaco via a smart stumping by Eddie.
The skipper then brought on Simon who was also thrashed
and the KCCC were in with a chance as the TCA joined the KCCC in willing an FCC defeat.
The KCCC was now back in the match needing just 19 runs
off 12 balls. Very gettable on this small ground.
DB turned to Charl to bowl the second last over and he didnt
let the boys down claiming 2/3 off his over, leaving the KCCC to score 16 off the last over.
DB threw the ball to Salim.
In an exciting last over, the KCCC gave it all they had
and needed a six off the last ball to tie the match. It was shades of the Cauldron all over again.
Salim kept his nerve and bowled a dot ball. FCC was victorious
again in another close game qualifying automatically for the final on Sunday afternoon.
Game 4 Preliminary Final - TCA by 4 Wickets.
Game 5 FINAL - FCC Vs TCA
FCC - 173/5 (15)
Eddie 57, DB 51, Charl 21*
TCA 98 (15)
Cilliers 2/10, Salim 2/13, Charl 2/13, Ed 1/2, Shannon 1/9,
Vinit 1/13,
The FCC was fired up for the big match. Gary won the toss
and elected to field hoping to restrict the FCC to a reasonable score.
But most of that hope was gone after the first over with
DB smashing 4 fours off the man who claimed his wicket the day before. Eddie at the other end was equally harsh on the bowlers,
opening his account with a six over square leg.
The openers were scoring at will with DB reaching his 50
with 2 sixes and 8 fours before being caught with the score on 92 in the 8th over. But unlike game two there was no stopping
the FCC juggernaut as Eddie picked up where DB left off hitting some spanking strokes to all parts of the ground.
Shardul pushed the ball into the gaps as Eddie played his
strokes before the big West Indian was caught for 57 with the score on 126 in the 11th over. A huge total loomed.
Charl then joined Shardul but soon the partnership was broken
with Shardul caught on the fence.
Salim could not add to the score and was bowled for a golden
duck and Vishwa turned a four off his toes of the first ball he faced before getting out.
The new boy Shannon then showed his class joining the big
man at the crease. Some lusty blows from Charlie saw the FCC take 28 runs from the last two overs.
The opponents were disheartened by their bowling performance
with the FCC amassing a daunting total of 173/ 5 off 15 overs.
The TCA would need to score 11.6 an over to win the match.
Cilliers opened with a classic ball and clean bowled the
dangerous Dilip. The writing was on the wall for the TCA, and Jayesh was then caught behind after hitting the Fast Bowler
for a six. Cilliers picked up 2/10 from his first over.
The writer of this report must note Jayeshs great sportsmanship
as he walked after the umpire gave him not out. Hats off to Jayesh!
Shannon then took the ball at the other end picking up a
wicket in his first over, with Salim then taking out the TCA captain. The TCA
was reeling at 21/4.
After sustaining such damage, there was no stopping the
FCC with six bowlers picking up wickets including Vinit taking his first wicket for the club.
DB held back the big fella as a display to opponents that
the FCC is not a one man bowling team. However he did bring Charlie on to bowl out the TCA for 98 off the last ball of the
innings.
Charl was awarded Man of the Series for his 7 wickets and
69 runs.
Another wholehearted team performance by the FCC. We love
it!
