SCYCA bowlers kept unbeaten SCCAY in check to win the inaugural Southern California Youth Cricket League championship in a hard-fought super-over.

SCCAY was unbeaten in four preliminary round matches; the team came into final as the favorite to win the 2016 SCYCL champions trophy on December 18, 2016. SCYCA won the toss and elected to bat on a pitch dampened by heavy rains two days earlier.

SCYCA started with two spinners and kept good line and length, not allowing SCCAY openers to steal runs. Harika took 3 wickets in her five over spell giving away only 12 runs, forcing SCCAY into the back seat with only 31 runs in the 10th over and already down 5 wickets. SCCAY middle order produced useful partnerships, cautiously posting ones and twos. SCYCA bowlers kept the pressure on, claiming wickets in regular intervals, restricting SCCAY to a low total of 102 runs. This was nevertheless a challenging score, considering the slow outfield.

SCYCA openers started their innings cautiously; they batted steadily but runs were hard to come by. Noah was bowled with only 10 runs on the board at the seventh over. SCYCA captain Andrew join Trishul and kept the scoreboard moving with and 87 run partnership in 20 overs. Andrew was bowled by trying to accelerate at the 28th over. SCYCA needed 5 runs in the 30th over to clinch the championship. Trishul was run out by trying to steal a run leaving 2 runs needed from the last ball. Kanishk managed to score one run from the last ball forcing a tie and a super over.

SUPER OVER: SCYCA – 9 runs for two, SCCAY – 6 runs for two.

SCYCA organized a three-match U-10 series against California Cricket Academy (CCA) during the Thanksgiving holidays with an objective to provide match exposure, experience and excitement to the youngest players of the academy who usually play with older players in U13 / U 14 age groups. This was a great platform for the players to perform and improve in their age group.

Match # 1

CCA 93 runs all out. (Raj 10, Nikhil 10, Rayaan 4-14, Pranv 2-8, Harika 2-12) beat SCYCA 85 all out (Kanishk 27, Sevitha 15, Kritin 2-5, Sheesh 2-9)

CCA won the toss and elected to bat on a beautiful day for cricket. SCYCA bowled tight in good line and length not allowing CCA batsmen to free their hands. At the end of 16^th over CCA was only 48 runs for 9 wickets. But they manage to recover and put a defendable score 93 on the board.

SCYCA stared well with opener Kanishk scoring 27 runs, but the top order could not contribute to useful partnerships resulting 44 runs for 5 wickets at the 11^th over. Sevitha (15 runs) and Harika batted sensibly and tried to steady the ship, bring up the score to 76 before Sevitha was trapped LBW by Shreesh. At the end of the 29^th over, SCYCA reached to 85, 9 runs short of the target.

Player of the match: Nikhil Krishnaswamy

Match # 2

SCYCA 126 for 6 wickets (Sevith 25, Rayaan 23, Pranav 20, Asteya 2-18) beat CCA 86 all out (Ashwin 10, Kanishk 3-7, Vardaan 2-15)

CCA won the toss again and elected to bowl. CCA struck early, removing in-form Kanisk for a duck. But the SCYCA top order batted sensibly with good partnerships, posting a challenging target of 126 runs on the board. 

CCA openers resisted the SCYCA bowling attack, stealing runs when possible. The middle order collapsed, however, and wickets fell in regular intervals. CCA managed to score 86 runs all out at the end of 23 overs.

Player of the match: Vardaan Sinha

Match # 3

SCYCA 114 for 9 wickets (Rayaan 39, Kanisk 20, Raj 2-1) beat CCA 93 for 9 wickets (Kritin19, Ashwin 19, Rayaan 2-11)

SCYCA won the toss and elected to bat on the deciding day of the three match series. The top order started strong and dominated the initial overs, scoring 37 runs for the first wicket in 11 overs, and scoring 94 runs for 4 at the end of the 18^th over. CCA bowlers came back strong and restricted SCYCA to 114 runs, 10-15 runs below the par score for this field.

SCYCA removed both openers cheaply. Kritin and Ashwin fought hard but failed in the 12^th over leaving CCA at 67 for 4 wickets. SCYCA bowlers were not giving any easy runs backed by good fielding. CCA lost the middle overs in regular intervals and ended the innings scoring 93 runs, 21 short.

Player of the match: Rayaan Bhagani

It was a great experience for all youth players of the both academies from Northern and Southern California. All players had fun, played with enthusiasm and good sportsmanship.

SCCAY PINS DOWN SCYCA

SCYCA 55 run all out. (Trishul 15, Banadish 2-7, Ashank 2-5, Abhay 2-7) lost to SCCAY 56 for 2 in 10.2 overs.

SCCAY won the toss and elected to field. SCYCA opener Noah got out early. Andrew had to join Trishul on the second over. SCCAY bowled to tight line and length and runs were not coming easily. SCYCA’s Leading run scorer, Andrew, was trapped LBW by Nandish with excellent bowling. Three excellent catches by Arjav removed the SCYCA top order forcing, SACYCA on their back foot and having fight for each run. At the end SCYCA bundled out for 55 runs, the lowest innings score of the tournament.

SCCAY top order batted freely and hit the winning run with no trouble in 10.2 overs losing just 2 wickets.

Player of the match: Nandish Rao

SCYCA clinched two consecutive victories in both home and away matches against San Diego Cricket Club Youth Association (SDCCYA), riding in the driver's seat to qualify for the SCYCL finals 2016.

Match # 1 – Home field (Turf wicket) on 10/23/206

SDCCYA 120 all out (Davam 33, Andrew 4-24) lost to SCYCA 124 for 4 (Andrew 67 no).

SCYCA opening bowlers bowled good line and length to claim early wickets. SDCCYA middle order batted sensibly including 33 runs by Devam with support from Gaurav, Ayush and Pranav. SDCCYA batted 26 overs and posted 120 runs, under par score for this field. Harika and Trishul bowled tight finishing, 0-10 in five overs and 0-8 in four overs, respectively.

SDCCYA stared defending the low total with a quick wicket in the very first over. But Andrew joined opening batsman Noah to shared a valuable partnership of 84 runs for the second wicket. SCYCA scored the winning run on the 18^th over with Andrew batting 67 not out.

Player of the match – Andrew Daluwatta

Match # 2 – Away match (Matting wicket) on 11/6/2106

SCYCA 155 all out (Trishul 36, Andrew 26, Pranav 25, Aditya 2-15, Pranav 2-24) beat SDCCYA 136 for 5 (Ayush, 17, Aditya 33, Davam 17)

SCYCA won the toss and elected to bat on the matting wicket, hoping to post a challenging target on the board. SCYCA openers batted cautiously and put 21 runs on the board in 5 overs, providing a good start for a challenging score.  Andew and Pranav continued the momentum, building a good partnerships that ended at 68 for the 2^nd wicket. SDCCYA claimed wickets on regular intervals after fall of Pranav, but SCYCA posted a defendable score of 155 at the end of 27 overs.

SDCCYA stared well and posted a 21 run partnership for the 1^st wicket, keeping up with the required momentum for a win. The middle order batted very sensibly, Aditya scoring 33 in 34 balls. SCYCA bowlers stuck to the plan and bowled good line and length with excellent fielding. Harika and Trishul bowled valuable 10 overs giving away only 28 runs, Harika 0-15 in five overs, Trishul 1-13 in five overs.

Player of the match – Aditya Anand

November is an exiting and a busy month for SCYCL playing 4 SCYCA matches. 11/20 – SCCAY Vs SCYCA, 10/26 – SCCAY Vs SDCCYA and 10/27 – SCYCA Vs SCCAY. Visit https://cricclubs.com/SCYCA