October brings the last of the regular league matches in the JCL for 2024, with only those lucky enough to make the finals playing games in November. After a bruising September the Sharks had needed a win from their last games in the JCL 1 and JCL 4 to make the semi finals and the JCL 2 squad entered the month still searching for their first win….would the cricketing gods be smiling on the Sharks?

October 5th saw the 1st XI and 2nd XI playing at the same time on adjacent grounds at Sano Riverside, on very damp grounds following overnight rain. All the teams were determined to play, however, even if the fast bowlers and batters would be struggling with slippery conditions.

On ground 3 the 1st XI were taking on the Rising Stars in a JCL 1 match, with both Max and the Sharks needing a win to reach the top 4 and the league semi finals. The Sharks were short of a number of their best players, who were in Korea with the Japan national side. Things didn’t go the Sharks way at the toss, with Max winning and choosing to bowl first. Takady and Nikhil opened, and it quickly became apparent the wet conditions would cause th batters problems with the ball slipping; after the first three overs only 5 runs had been scored off the bat and there were a total of 14 dot balls. The challenging batting conditions and low run rates were to be a feature of the Sharks innings, in the end the team struggled to a total of 152 runs off 39.4 overs. Abhipray made a valiant 53 from 77 balls, but his stand was the sole highlight from the innings, the other batters being frustrated by the conditions and Max’s bowling.  

During Max’s innings the conditions had improved a little but still caused issues for the batters and the Sharks fast bowlers, who had to bowl with shortened runups. Max’s openers put up a respectable 49 in the first 8 overs before the first wicket fell, and although some of their batters also struggled and fell easily, a 47 from their number 6 got them within touching distance of the win. In the end Max overcame the Sharks in the 32nd over, winning by 3 wickets. Of the Sharks bowlers Ashley and Manav took the most wickets, at 2 each. After the loss a dejected 1st XI ended up 5th in the points table, 3 points adrift of where they needed to be (for now…)

Meanwhile, on the adjacent ground 4, a 9 man 2nd XI were taking on the Sano second XI. As with the JCL 1 match the opponents won the toss and elected to bowl, however this match was shortened to 32 overs due to a late start. As with the JCL 1 game the batters struggled to score, with no overs having a run rate of 2 or more until the 16th over. At the end of the 32 overs the Sharks had scored 86 runs for a loss of 5 wickets, with Hammad being the top scorer on 25 runs. 

When it came time for Sano to bat, the Sharks bowlers and fielders gave it everything, keeping Sano from scoring and regularly dismissing the batsmen. 6 of the batsmen were removed without scoring 10 runs and no single batsman reached a score of 20. Hammad took 3 wickets and Vik and Mahesh 2 each with keeper Sud taking 2 catches from behind. A real battle was on and the Sharks were attacking with everything they had – despite the opening batsman remaining in place the other batsmen were being clinically removed and there was a real taste of possibility in the air…until the 9th batsman came in.. Try as they might the Sharks bowlers could not remove the 9th man, and the opener was doggedly defending his wicket, slowly as the score crept up the confidence of the batsmen increased. A Six from the number 9 in the 18th over put Sano within 6 runs of their target but more importantly signalled that the batter was not about to fold. In 8 more balls it was over, the Sharks having lost their last match of the season by three wickets. If only they had a full XI things could have turned out differently…..the 2nd XI finished the season dead last with 4 points (for now), all the points coming from cancelled matches.

Whilst the 1st and 2nd XI were battling away on riverside grounds 3 and 4, a JCL2 match between the Men in Blue and Alpha Quashers was taking place on riverside ground 1D, with the Sharks on umpiring duty. Each club in the JCL has to provide players for umpiring, most match weekends, and the rules state that 2 umpires have to be provided. Unfortunately for this match, only one of the Sharks umpires was in attendance, the other AWOL and not communicating. For this breach of the rules the Sharks were fined one point per team in the JCL…for the Sharks this meant the JCL 1, JCL 2 and JCL 4 teams each lost one point. The missing player, who shall not be named, needless to say, was not very popular.

The final chance of a semi final spot was to come on October 13th, with the 3rd XI  playing the Tokyo Titans in JCL 4. Although the date was not propitious the weather was splendid sunshine and the temperature and humidity were just right for cricket. Unfortunately the Sharks were again only 9 players, although whether this was due to the location (Sammu), the fact it was the end of the season, or because the opponents beat us 333 runs in June was not clear. True to form the Titans fielded a mix of players with JCL 1 and JCL 2 pedigree, and true to the Sharks luck this month the Titans won the toss and elected to bat. The Sharks were expecting another thrashing, however they gelled like a proper team and fought from the first ball. Things were moving along steadily, with neither team having an advantage for much of the innings – runs were being scored but wickets were being taken and the atmosphere was competitive but friendly. Unfortunately one of the Titans batters, after being saved by an umpiring error, opened up and hit 11 x 4’s and 2 x 6’s. Despite tight bowling and fielding which saw the Titans all removed by the 36th over, they achieved a total of 249. Standout bowing performances for the Sharks were Rahul (3 wickets), Ali (2 wickets) and Kris with an economy of 4.75 after 8 overs and with one wicket. Special mention should also go to Okuto, who took his first JCL wicket and bowled a great 5 overs. 

The Sharks innings proceeded steadily and well, with opener Sud putting up a big 81 and Vik a useful 24. Anton returned to the lineup for the first time since the season’s opening game and Anthony looked good for a spell, including a nice 6, until he was removed on 14. Although the Sharks played out their full 40 overs, and reached a season high score of 186 it was not enough to overcome the Titans. Although it was a great game of cricket and a fun day, there was a small annoyance that the presence of JCL 1 players was what swung the match. In the end the Sharks finished JCL 4 in 5th place, just missing out on a place in the semi finals.

All that’s left for the season is the Sharks Award Ceremony (perhaps the biggest day of the year) and some end of season training sessions. Some of the Sharks players will take part in international matches during the out season too. Keep watching this space for the announcements from the Awards Ceremony and the end of season roundups for each of the XI’s.