Fort Collins Cricket Club has dominated our league for years. They've taken home more titles than we care to count. Last season, we had a rare moment of joy when we bowled them out for 132; only to be humiliated, all out for 42. The lowest total in Colorado Springs CC's 8-9-year history.
This yearโs first rematch didnโt go much better. We managed 123 before they chased it down with six wickets to spare. And so, when we rolled into Fort Collins this past Saturday, expectations wereโฆ tempered.
And then the chaos began.
We were 6 for 28, worse than the day we collapsed for 42. The top order had crumbled. I walked in with one job: survive. Do nothing stupid. Let Kalpesh cook.
And cook he did. He tore through their bowling like a man possessed, racking up 97 runs while I focused on staying alive. Our partnership yielded 101 runs - only 9 of which came from me. I was basically a crash test dummy with a bat.
But when Kalpesh finally fell, we were still in the danger zone at 7/129. I figured we'd limp to 140 if we were lucky. But something clicked. I found rhythm. Found gaps. Found boundaries. I went full tilt, smashing 2 sixes and 5 fours on my way to 58 not out, my highest score in the league at the time.
By the end of our 40 overs, we had clawed our way to 190. From 6/28. Against the best team in the league. That score alone felt like a win.
But Fort Collins came out swinging. After 10 overs they were 1/78 thanks largely to Rafiq's blazing cameo, and were looking set to chase 300, let alone 191. Colorado Springs were back on the ropes.
Then momentum shifted. One wicket, then another. A brilliant catch in the field. Then another scalp. Suddenly, they were six down and wobbling at 140. Our belief started creeping in.
I took a diving catch near the boundary to remove one of their big hitters (Patel for 17), before coming into bowl and taking the crucial final two wickets. We won. By 24 runs.
What started as a certain blowout turned into the greatest comeback our club had ever pulled off.
And to cap it all off? We stopped by Boondocks on the way home; bumper cars, mini golf, arcade games, and bumper boats. The kids had so much fun they passed out for four hours straight in the car. And's that's how it was for many summer weekends in Colorado, this cricket lover journeyed 10-12 hours round trip each weekend to play the sport he loves.
But that particular weekend we all won.
Below was a clip to savour; my rear-guard innings that got us to a competitive score.
That seems to be the difference between Aussie Rules and Cricket here in the U.S. Aussie Rules is trying to gain a foothold with a mixture of ex-pat Aussies and new blood Americans (who more often than not think Aussie Rules is Rugby), whereas Cricket is already well established but by, as you already stated, almost professional quality players who are life long cricketers.
Rugby has taken off pretty well because its gameplay is more similar to Gridiron (than is Aussie Rules) and because you don’t need the vast ovals that Aussie Rules requires.
Yeah I actually played in the SCRFU (Southern California Rugby Football Union) from 1999-2002 and it was a pretty good league!
http://www.slorugby.com is the team I played for.