The Midwest Cricketer

Untimely Demise of Shekhs Aravind

2011-08-03T12:54:00.005-05:00

Folks,

Please use this thread to post condolence messages for our Prez- Shekhs Aravind.

The Visitation and Funeral Services information is available on the MWCC website now.

Last comment on the blog by Shekhs Aravind -

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Bolt,
Bud, I'm blogging as a fellow blogger and not as a league president.

We want all the bloggers to come back and get this blog going.
I miss blogging myself. LEts start it now..you and I... :-)

There is no point hearing only the good stuff, we want to hear the criticisms as well. Thats how we get better.
Of course, nothing is perfect, we can only try to get better.
So, you and I if we bring out the criticisms, the mangement should take it in good spirits and act on it.

Lets do this..
Shekhs

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Thanks!

Week 7, 8 - Discussions and Predictions

2011-06-07T22:21:00.003-05:00

The 2011 season has already been more than one month old and we have witnessed fewer (thanks to Rain God), but high quality matches.

Last week in Div 1, half of the matches were nail-biters. Bears-Rogers Park, Mil - Pak Gym, WildCats-Muslim Gym, while the other ended in total domination by one team.

Div 2 has been very much competitive in itself, with all the teams capable of being in the top-6.

Div 30-30 had a major disappointing result with last year champs Dee-Park getting allout for meager 59 and losing comprehensively. Juggernauts continue their march towards being the best team in this division.

Interesting matches coming up this weekend, so get on with your predictions!!

Welcome to 2011 Season - Week 1 & Week 2

2011-04-22T15:56:00.004-05:00

Time for the game predictions, Time for all our bloggers with aliases to wake up ... WhatzNext, Billoger and others .. :-)

This week we are going to see some rain, but hope we can get some matches done. Post your comments about the games and everything related to it.

All the Best to everyone for the 2011 season ..

Asif Mehmood Shines while playing for USA

2011-01-26T15:00:00.003-06:00

Asif Mehmood Khan playing for USA in the ICC Division 3 along with Usman Shuja led USA to brilliant comeback victory against Oman and kept USA's hope to progress to Div 2 alive.

http://www.dreamcricket.com/dreamcricket/news.hspl?nid=15487&ntid=4

http://www.espncricinfo.com/wcldiv3/engine/current/match/494735.html

http://www.americancricketacademy.com/live_score/match4/webscorecard.html

MWCC 2010 Banquet

2010-12-12T17:24:00.002-06:00

Midwest Cricket Conference’s (MWCC) 2010 season’s Annual Banquet was held at Waterford Banquet, Elmurst, IL on 11^th Dec in the Evening. About 200 people attended this year’s Annual Banquet.

The event started with the comparers Atif Sheikh and Shiraz Najam welcoming the MWCC Community and entertaining them with their witty speech. Shekhs Aravind, the president of MWCC then welcomed the attendee’s and spent few moments talking about Tushar Mehta – the dashing allrounder from Challengers Cricket Club who passed away last month due to Cancer. Tushar Mehta was one of best allrounders in MWCC, who can turn a match single-handedly.

After the dinner, the prize distribution ceremony was started and the best performers across the MWCC 2010 Cricket Season were given trophies. Following is the list of the few of Best Performers of 2010 –

· Div 1 Champions – Challengers Cricket Club

· Div 1 Runners-Up – Pak Gymkhana

· Div 2 Champions – Rogers Park

· Div 2 Runners-Up – QC Kings

· Div 2 Regular Season Champion – Arena PRI Cricket Club

· Div 30/30 Champions – DeePark

· Div 30/30 Runners-Up – Juggernauts

· Abid Lehri Night 20/20 Champions – Challengers Cricket Club

· Abid Lehri Night 20/20 Runners-Up – Pak Gymkhana

· Life Time Achievement Awards Winners – Tariq Ahmed, Humayun Mirza, Magnus Huggins

· Excellent Services to MWCC in 2010 Award Winners – Sandeep Palakkal, Pankaj Lawande, Ashhar Mehdi

The Banquet hall was sponsored by Waterford Banquet, Elmhurst, IL, while the Vegetarian food was sponsored by Raj Palace Restaurant, Schaumburg, IL.

MWCC Banquet 2010

2010-12-01T12:07:00.004-06:00

Date - 11th Dec 2010

Where - Waterford Banquet

933 South Riverside Drive,

Elmhurst, IL - 60126

Time - 6:30 PM to 11:00 PM

Tushar Mehta -- A Challenger left us all today morning

2010-11-16T10:46:00.005-06:00

Today morning Tushar Mehta - A Challenger player for long, breathed his last few breaths at 6:00 AM. He was suffering from Cancer for long. He was a great Right Handed Batsman and Bowler. He was a true Gentlemen and his absence will be felt in our MWCC.

Please pray for the deceased soul and his family in this difficult time.

Penultimate weekend of Regular season - results and related discussions

2010-08-31T23:05:00.003-05:00

This thread is for games related discussions only.

Most of the teams have now completed their 14 games of the season.

In Div 1, United's fate is hanging on the result of the game between AAA and CCI. Eagles have already been relegated to Div 2. The play-off teams have been finalized with just the positioning may change based on the results in the last week.

Div 2 too has the same situation with respect to the play-offs.

In 30-30, most of the play-off spots have been decided but the last week games will decide the final 2 play-off teams.

And last but not the least, Congrats to the Challengers for winning the ABNT for the 6th time. And thanks to Pak Gym and Challengers both for providing a wonderful game of Cricket. The Final was a match to remember.

Political Hot Topics - Thread 3

2010-08-31T23:03:00.001-05:00

In order to facilitate all discussions, we have decided to separate the discussion threads. If you want to talk about political hot-topics, then there will be a thread for that. If you want to talk about games predictions, results, and other discussions, there will be a separate thread for it.

If we see comments starting to spill over, we will be forced to monitor and censor them in order to keep the discussions separate. Note, the goal is not to prevent or suppress any form of discussion, but instead to facilitate all types of discussions.

This thread is for politically motivated discussions. Please feel free to discuss anything related to the running of this league, interactions with other leagues, USACA related issues, etc.

Week 13 - Results

2010-07-25T21:37:00.003-05:00

If we see comments starting to spill over, we will be forced to monitor and censor them in order to keep the discussions separate. Note, the goal is not to prevent or suppress any form of discussion, but instead to facilitate all types of discussions.

This thread is for results for week 13, and other games related topics.

Political Hot Topics - Thread 2

2010-07-25T21:36:00.003-05:00

In order to facilitate all discussions, we have decided to separate the discussion threads. If you want to talk about political hot-topics, then there will be a thread for that. If you want to talk about week 9 predictions, results, and other discussions.

If we see comments starting to spill over, we will be forced to monitor and censor them in order to keep the discussions separate. Note, the goal is not to prevent or suppress any form of discussion, but instead to facilitate all types of discussions.

This thread is for politically motivated discussions. Please feel free to discuss anything related to the running of this league, interactions with other leagues, USACA related issues, etc.

Week 11 - Predictions and Results

2010-07-07T23:15:00.001-05:00

In order to facilitate all discussions, we have decided to separate the discussion threads. If you want to talk about political hot-topics, then there will be a thread for that. If you want to talk about week 9 predictions, results, and other discussions.

If we see comments starting to spill over, we will be forced to monitor and censor them in order to keep the discussions separate. Note, the goal is not to prevent or suppress any form of discussion, but instead to facilitate all types of discussions.

This thread is for predictions for week 11, results for week 11, and other related topics.

Political Hot Topics - Thread 1

2010-07-07T23:07:00.002-05:00

In order to facilitate all discussions, we have decided to separate the discussion threads. If you want to talk about political hot-topics, then there will be a thread for that. If you want to talk about week 9 predictions, results, and other discussions.

If we see comments starting to spill over, we will be forced to monitor and censor them in order to keep the discussions separate. Note, the goal is not to prevent or suppress any form of discussion, but instead to facilitate all types of discussions.

This thread is for politically motivated discussions. Please feel free to discuss anything related to the running of this league, interactions with other leagues, USACA related issues, etc.

Week 8 - Results and CER team discussions

2010-06-28T17:46:00.005-05:00

As the previous thread has reached to 200 comments, starting up this new thread. Please continue your discussions here.

In the meanwhile, Rovers is showing potential to be a Div 1 playoff contender with winning their 4th match in the season. While Mil Panthers continuing their dream run in Div 2 with 6 wins in a row, while Hammond created a upset beating QC Kings. In 30-30, NightHowlers beat Hawks to be the #1 team again. While 20-20 had a very close encounter between Flames and Chargers with Flames winning by 3 runs at the end.

Week 7 - Results and Discussions

2010-06-21T19:20:00.008-05:00

Opening up a new thread to discuss the Week 7 results and carry on the other discussions from previous thread.

Also, The ALNT Season Opener was also covered by DesiTalk, the local newspaper for Indian and Pakistani news. The article can be found here:

http://www.desitalkchicago.com/DesiTalk/OpenImage.htm?Image=616201021525234&Date=18Jun2010&NewsId=5436330824040770449

Chicago Tonight covers MWCC - Watch it on TV today

2010-06-16T07:22:00.010-05:00

WTTW Channel 11 will be doing a segment on cricket, and the Abid Laheri tournament, today (Wednesday) night at 7pm, as part of their news-magazine show "Chicago Tonight". They "teased" it last night already at the end of their show.. saying "is the cricket bug catching on in Chicago? We'll go to Hanover Park tomorrow, where the biggest cricket league in the country plays" etc.. the show will be replayed at midnight and also at 10pm on WTTW-2, ie WTTW-Prime.

http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=42,8,80&player=Chicago-Tonight&pid=qLio0ls3IjVDuNrxve3FFoYYpiIrf0EK

http://blogs.wttw.com/moreonthestory/2010/06/16/going-to-bat-for-the-gentlemens-sport/

Season 2010 - Week 6 Results and Discussions

2010-06-13T11:56:00.004-05:00

Starting a new thread to discuss Week 6 games and other cricketing stuff on public demand.

To start up with, Chargers and St. Louis have become one of the few teams to lose to both the Div-1 debutants this year (CCI and Rovers). Though early to say, United along with Chargers seems like battling the relegation (1 win and 5 losses).

In Div 2, Rogers Park and Arena are the teams fighting for the top spot with no loss so far. But look out for QC Kings too, as they seem to have picked a good amount of talented new players. My team-Titans, along with others like Jaguars, Illinois, Mil Panthers will have to face stiff competition for the above 3 teams, if we are dreaming of any chances to get to Div-1 next year.

Div 30-30 has a debutant team topping the table so far - NightHowlers. South Barrington, Chicago Hawks, Juggernauts (another debutant) are doing well too.

In the Night Tournament, Challengers got a big win, while Karachi won a close match. More interesting match-ups coming up this week.

ABID LAHERI CPL T/20 OPENER - June 7th at 6:00 PM

2010-06-01T13:22:00.007-05:00

Important: The ABNT matches scheduled for today and tomorrow (6/8 and 6/9) will be rescheduled to a different date, as the lights at Community Park have not been fixed yet.

Update: The lights at Community Park have been fixed. So the ABNT matches on 6/10/2010 and then onwards will be played as scheduled.

Season 2010 - Week 3

2010-05-13T23:41:00.002-05:00

Wow, what a week of cricket we had - full of upsets, some valiant efforts, and highly competitive cricket. United, an early season favorite are winless after 2 games. Last year's champion Challengers look like the team to beat in Div 1. The Eagles fought hard but were unable to surpass the brilliance of Sohail from St Louis. Phoenix pulled off a huge upset by beating Pak Gym, the Siddique brothers from the Chargers continue some their awesome form, and AAA have got off to a quick start in pursuit of their first Div 1 playoff appearance.

Meanwhile, in Div 2 Rogers Park took out a contender for the regular season Div 1 spot in the Titans. Jaguars, another contending team relied on their strong batting to take out a tough Hammond team, while Arena continued their dominance with a big win over the Giants. The rivalry game of the week, ICC vs Evanston ended up as a lop-sided affair with ICC smashing a mammoth total and skittling out Evanston quickly.

Div 30-30 has a few teams making bold statements such as the Nighthowlers making a big statement with their domination of the Rockers. Fenders also have got off to a quick start with a close win against Devonshire. Desi Tigers are also looking strong with a win against the Advancers. The biggest statement however was made by South Barrington with a huge win over MWCA.

This week there are some important games in each of the Divisions. Nighthowlers have a chance to continue their dominance with a win against a good Chicago Cricket Club team, as do the Desi Tigers vs MWCA, and DeePark XI. Meanwhile, the race to Div 1 continues with Illinois needing a win to stay within striking distance of the current table toppers as do the Titans against a very good Hammond team. Teams for two political heavy weights (the President and Vice President) the Challengers and Muslim Gymkhana square off this weekend. Another important game in Div 1 will be between two good, but winless teams - United and Eagles. This will be a good chance for one of them to get back on track while the other will have a bigger hole to climb out of.

However, the statement game of the week has to be between the Flames and Peoria. Both are pre-season favorites for many to make the playoffs and go deep. This should be a very competitive game and give some indication as to who could prove to be a tough challenge for the current champions.

Season 2010 - Week 2

2010-05-07T15:31:00.001-05:00

The 2010 MwCC season kicked off last week due to the leniency of the rain-gods. Fortunately, only 1 game was rained out. We had some wonderful cricket with some close games between Pak Gym and the Chargers, Evanston and Jaguars, Hustler XI and Advancers, and Rogers Park and QC Kings. Some other games were dominated by Arena, Flames, Challengers, Fenders, South Barrington, Titans, and Hammond. There were some very low scoring games totaling under 100 for the day, and high scoring games totaling over 400 for the day. Some of the usual suspects jumped out with an early win, while others struggled a bit. One thing for sure, Cricket is back in the midwest and with a bang! Now it's time for week 2 and things are only going to get tougher. Teams are shaking off the rust, and the competition level is going to be right up there with some big games this week.

In Division 1, Challengers vs United could be a pre-cursor for things to come. Wildcats vs Milwaukee will be another meeting between 2 perennial playoff teams and AAA vs Rovers will give us some insight about how strong AAA is looking.

In Division 2, Rogers Park vs Titans will definitely have implications on the race to (or back to) Division 1 for both teams. Illinois vs Evanston will renew a rivalry between two primarily Caribbean teams whereas Jaguars vs Hammond will also impact the race to Division 1.

In Division 30/30, Chicago Super Kings vs Juggernauts will introduce two new teams to our league, while Rockers vs Nighthowlers will showcase two potential playoff teams competing in a hard-fought game. Fenders have a chance to continue against Devonshire on the back of their big win last weekend.

Good luck to all the teams and get ready for another bruising weekend of competitive cricket - weather permitting!

Sound the Trumpets, Let the MWCC 2010 Season begin

2010-04-30T13:29:00.003-05:00

We are just few hours before the MWCC 2010 Season starts. Though the weather prediction was not encouraging earlier, now the rain gods seem to have adjusted the rain schedule so that all the scheduled games can go ahead.

This weekend has some great games lined up across all the 3 divisions. I wish all the teams the very best for their season.

The league president Shekhs Aravind is going to be present at the Community Park ground tomorrow morning. He will be tossing the coin for the season opening game in the 30-30 division between NightHowlers and Panthers and mark the beginning of the 2010 season.

Lets Play !!!!

Note: The Chicago Park district does not allow to put the Portable Restrooms at Washington Park before the Memorial Day. But the main bathrooms at the south east side near the Washington Park Ground# 3 are open from 8 AM in the morning. Please use them when required.

New Rules to be incorporated this season

2010-04-26T23:10:00.006-05:00

The following rules will be in effect across the league this season -

Tie Games (2 points each)
Final Ranking - NRR (Will be decided on basis of head-head and other criteria)
Free Hits

These rules will be explained in detail in the Rules section on the website in few days. Please make sure that your team members are aware about these rule amendments as well as understand them.

Midwest Cricket Conference - Season Opener

2010-04-22T13:23:00.003-05:00

The Season Opener is cancelled due to the weather conditions this weekend. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Practice games - April 10-11

2010-04-09T23:49:00.003-05:00

Teams,

Find below the schedule for practice games this weekend.

4/10 - Community Park - Phoenix - Afternoon

4/11 - Community Park - Challengers/Deepark Vs Eagles - Morning

4/11 - Community Park - Bears Vs Rogers Park - Afternoon

Wish you all the best for the games. Also pass on the feedback about the grounds after your matches, so that we can take the necessary steps to fix them before the start of the season.

I will be publishing the schedule for next weekend by coming Tuesday.

Regards,

Alpesh

MWCC believes in CHANGE

2010-04-05T01:50:00.004-05:00

The elections for the Management of the Midwest Cricket Conference was held on Saturday April 3, 2010 at Community Park. 41 out of the 42 eligible teams to vote showed up as did a number of other interested members of the league. There was a spirited debate and question-answer session for an hour. After that, 41 teams exercised their right to vote.

The league voted 22-19 in favor of Shekhs Aravind and TEAM CHANGE. Congratulations to Shekhs and his team on a historic victory. There is a new era in the MWCC after 12 years, one which has promised a lot of change. I wish him and his team all the best and hope that they are successful in taking the MWCC to new heights.

In this time of change, we should not forget the invaluable contribution made by the previous management headed by Tariq Ahmad and Sohail Alvi. They have done a commendable job in transforming the league into one of the biggest in the USA. They have put in countless hours in running this league for so many years along with a number of individuals such as Marghoob Qazilbash, Humayun Baquai, Humayun Mirza, Krishna Meluvettil, Sridher Jagath, and many others. We thank them for their efforts and hope that they will continue to support this league and the new management.

In case you missed it, a recap of the election is available via the following link thanks to the efforts of Adnan Baig and United Cricket Club:

MWCC 2010 Election Coverage