Napa Valley Cricket Club go 1 and 1 to start 2021

The Napa Valley Cricket Club (NVCC) has played two games on the road and has been back in the practice nets to return to competitive play in their 10th season.

With all playing members vaccinated, the club began net practice at Newton’s Law of Fitness in early May, giving many members the chance to shake off the cobwebs after more than 18 months without cricket. The Nets sessions continue weekly, every Tuesday from 7pm.

The club’s first league game was against longtime rival Marin Cricket Club, where the NVCC played against their social team on Saturday, May 22. It was the first of three games scheduled between the clubs for 2021, with NVCC running out of easy winners. With Club Captain Brendan Helme unavailable due to the birth of his daughter the night before, NVCC was captained that day by New Zealander Bernie Peacock, who led the team well in their first appearance of 2021.

After losing the toss, NVCC was asked to bowl first and Peacock threw the ball to Adersh Maqsood to open the bowling. Maqsood repaid Peacock’s trust by taking a wicket with his second ball and another in his third left. The second of Maqsood’s wickets brought Marin CC chairman Nick Lynam to the crease and Lynam was in no mood to give up his wicket. He eventually put up 68 runs off 91 balls and played a calm and steady innings, while on the other side Marin CC batsmen came and went in a steady procession.

The bowlers’ choice for NVCC were Karan Grewal and Andrew Healy. Grewal took 4 wickets for 19 runs from 8 overs, including 3 maiden overs, while Healy took 3 wickets for 28 runs from the 5 overs he threw. Remarkably, both bowlers had hat-trick balls and neither were able to repent and take that most coveted accolade for a bowler. Marin CC finished all-out for 145 runs thanks to an excellent field performance with NVCC taking many of their catches with Jake Radloff and Nick Martin in particular showing safe hands.

With the bat, Maqsood laid a solid foundation for the chase, stopping with 50 on the scoreboard for others to hit. Sorabh Das also contributed a healthy 43 including eight fours and NVCC went on to win the match with seven wickets and 13 overs left.

Peacock presented the 19 Crimes Man of the Match award to Lynam of Marin CC for his strong performance with the bat.

“It was great to play a game of cricket after all the time we didn’t play a game because of the pandemic,” Peacock said after the game “and it was even better to win our first game back! Marin is always great hosts and the annual run of three games against them is always one of the highlights of our calendar.”

Over the Memorial Day weekend, NVCC traveled to Davis to play the Sri Lanka Lions in a 30-over match at Arroyo Park. When NVCC Club Captain Helme won the toss, he chose to field first given the strong bowling setup at his disposal. His decision paid off early on with Bernie Peacock taking a wicket in the first over. That would be all the success NVCC had in the beginning when the Lions showed a strong batting display. Scores of 31, 35, 64 (not out) and 25 made for solid innings for the Lions. NVCC’s next wicket came from the very last ball of Peacock’s six-over spell.

Despite some tight spin bowling from Helme, he was unable to take a wicket, but he rotated his bowlers regularly and eventually made the breakthrough he was looking for by bowling Grewal and Healy together. After their successful wicket-taking at Piper Park, the week before both booked four wicket hauls with Grewal again on a hat-trick ball only to miss it and take a wicket on the next ball, for three wickets in four balls. A wicket on his NVCC debut for Jamaican native Dayne Buddo upped the NVCC spirits and they finished the Lion’s tail with 189 runs on the board.

“The fast outfield here at Arroyo Park didn’t help us bowling,” said Helme during the innings break, “because the Lions batsmen made the most of any loose or full balls we threw. That said, I think we held up. well on our job as a bowling unit and Karan and Heals have done a great job taking wickets late to slow down their running speed and keep them under 200 runs.”

NVCC started brightly in pursuit with Abhijit “Doc” Adhye and Buddo opening the at bat. After a solid 13 out of 14 balls, Adhye fell to a rushed shot that brought Vinay Madavan to the center. Madavan played a solid and vigilant innings, racking up 22 runs off 50 balls, with 39 of those punts. Buddo eventually fell for a solid 25 runs and despite a service effort from Grewal with the bat (32 runs off 25 balls) NVCC always fell behind the required run rate and eventually went all out for 156 with the Lions winning by 33 runs.

After the match, Helme presented the 19 Crimes Man of the Match award to Sri Lanka Lion’s Chamin for his strong performance with the bat.

Score Summaries

Saturday, May 29, 2021 Sri Lanka Lions v Napa Valley CC at Arroyo Park, Davis
Sri Lanka Lions (189 oa) defeated Napa Valley CC (156 oa) by 33 runs. (30 over game / 12 batting)

NVCC Batting Karan Grewal 32 runs on 25 balls (5 x 4), Dayne Buddo 25 on 21 (4 x 4), Vinay Madavan 22 on 50 (2 x 4).

NVCC Bowling Karan Grewal 4 wickets for 10 runs on 6 overs including 1 maiden, Andrew Healy 4 for 55 out of 5.5, Bernie Peacock 2 for 20 out of 6 incl 1, Dayne Buddo 1 for 35 out of 4.

Saturday 22 May 2021 Marin CC Socials v Napa Valley CC at Piper Park, Larkspur
Marin CC Socials (145 oa) lost to Napa Valley CC (148/5) by 7 wickets. (40 over game / 13 at bat)

NVCC Batting Adersh Maqsood retired 50 runs on 46 balls (3 x 4, 2 x 6), Sorabh Das 43 on 34 (8 x 4), Jake Radloff 14 not out on 12 (1 x 6).

NVCC Bowling Karan Grewal 4 wickets for 19 runs from 8 overs including 3 girls, Andrew Healy 3 for 28 out of 5, Adersh Maqsood 2 for 14 out of 5.

The Napa Valley Cricket Club would like to acknowledge the continued support of the following sponsors;

19 Crimes Wine, ASL Print FX, AZMERA Consulting, Bill Wagner real estate agent, Balanced business group, Caliber home loans, Canyon West Dental, Crown Hill Stone Supply, John Fearless, NapaSport Steakhouse, St Helena Optometry, Stone Brewing Napa, vinoEZ, 3 rock marketing, Blue Jean Black Design, Importers of Amale Oaks, Napa Gourmet Food.

More info about Napa Valley Cricket Club HERE