MCC indicate their ambition for the season with their emphatic win over Hornbills

An outstanding performance by MCC has outplayed the opposition Hornbills in all aspects of the game over the weekend at Hainault.

Hornbills captain Felix Richard won the toss and elected to field on a wet pitch with little or no bounce.  MCC skipper Praveen Kumar took this decision on his stride and thoughtfully shuffled his batting order to suit the pitch conditions.

Hornbill ace bowlers Ameer and Kevin were hoping for quick breakthroughs initially. But both MCC openers Vinod Sasi and Denin C Davis were carefully negotiated the duo dealing with singles and doubles in their 14/19-run partnership. Hornbills got their first breakthrough when Vinod misjudged Kevin’s delivery offering Sreekumar Kurupath an excellent catch to end the opening partnership. Vinod’s dismissal saw MCC spearhead Aghilan Thamarakulam on to the crease with a bang. Making his intentions clear, trekking down the track, taking the ball on full and hammering Kevin’s first delivery for a huge 6 over wide long-on. While Aghilan hammering the bowlers with sixes and fours, Denin build his innings patiently in singles and doubles. Aghilan (55/61) and Denin (86/110 not out) steadied the innings with a 90-run partnership.  Aghilan got dismissed in the 23rd over of the innings by Baiju to the relief of Hornbills, but the damaged was already done. With Aghilan’s 55 from 61 balls (4x6, 1x4) MCC were looking to set a huge total.

MCC skipper Praveen then played second fiddle to the charged-up Denin in, that brought another valuable partnership of 40 runs to the MCC score board.  After the dismissal of MCC the skipper, Hornbills curtailed the run flow with Ameer and Rakesh getting rid of Prejiesh and Dawn K Ambi on single digits.

When Roshan Ambookan joined with Denin on the crease, the run flow once again gained momentum. In the last over Denin welcomed the bowler down the track and hit straight over the fence for a huge six.

Denin’s patient and carefully built innings was the highlight of MCC’s innings.  He carried over the bat through the whole innings with sheer flair and brilliance which helped MCC to secure a reliable score.

Scores: - MCC (195 for 5), Hornbills (95 all out).

Opening the batting for Hornbills, Ameer and Shazin started well. But MCC captain had other plans in mind. Denin trapped Rakesh Nair for single digit with a quick delivery, surprising the batsman completely.

After Rakesh Nair’s dismissal wickets fall on regular intervals, as Hornbills struggled to regain the momentum of their innings back. Dawn removed Hornbills skipper with a quickie that ballooned up in the air for Praveen to complete an easy catch. Vinod picked up the crucial wicket of Hornbills ace batsman Ameer, as Roshan taking the catch from behind the stumps. Whilst MCC cheered the big wicket, disappointed Hornbills contested the dismissal. Ever dependable Zaibak as economical as usual took 3 important wickets including the dismissal of Shazin, with a spectacular diving catch at the slip by Nishar.

Roshan was very impressive behind the stumps with his stunning ability of 3 stumping’s and one crucial catch. Captain Praveen, who led the MCC team from front with his tactful decisions at the right time, was jubilant with the excellent all-round performance by his team.