THE 2004 FCA SCOREBOARD 
Tampere CC finished 2nd in the League.
SKK1 vs Tampere (Saturday, September 11)
SKK1 got off to a flyer (6,75 runs/over for the first 12 overs!) after Tampere won the toss and elected to field. Tampere clawed their way back led by excellent tight bowling by initially by Sridhar & Nikhil, but SKK1 still made 186/7. Tampere started well but lost their way and were finally all out for 164 in 36,2 overs after some gritty lower-order batting brought them within sight of the elusive FCA trophy. MoM: Sridhar (3/12, and 23). Result: SKK1 (13 points) beat Tampere (3 points) by 22 runs.
Tampere vs FPC (Saturday, September 4)
FPC won the toss and elected to field on a day where the pitch made batting difficult. Tampere battled their way to a total of 219/10 in 41,1 overs helped by good innings by Sridhar & Sanjoy. FPC started well, but Nikhil initiated a good comeback, and with some tight bowling and fielding and the required run-rate creeping up steadily, FPC lost wickets regularly and were finally all out for 206 in 43,5 overs. MoM: Sridhar (2/31, and 74). Result: Tampere (13 points) beat FPC (5 points) by 13 runs.
Tampere vs Vantaa (Saturday, August 28)
The rain stayed away *just* long enough... Vantaa made 143/10 (32,4 overs), and Tampere strolled to the target in only 16,4 overs to qualify for the semi-finals for the 3rd consecutive year. MoM: Kuchey (6/24, and 59). Result: Tampere (12 points) beat Vantaa (2 points) by 6 wickets.
Tampere vs FPC (Sunday, August 8)
Finally a HOT day! FPC made 237/10 (45 overs), and Tampere overhauled the target in only 33,5 overs to secure 2nd place in Group A. MoM: Kuchey (2/58, and 70). Result: Tampere (14 points) beat FPC (4 points) by 5 wickets.
Helsinki vs Tampere (Saturday, July 31)
Heavy rains in the preceeding days, and intermittent heavy showers on the morning led to an early decision to abandon play for the day. Both teams got only the 4 points for a "No Result".
SKK1 vs Tampere (Saturday, July 24)
On this beautiful summer day, SKK1 were restricted to 240/6 in their allotted overs - due to some tight bowling led by Usama. Tampere for the most part batting sensibly chased down the target with an over to spare following a well-paced 96 by Sanjoy to clinch Tampere CC's first ever victory at Ruskeasuo, and against SKK1. MoM: Usama (0/14, and 21). Result: Tampere (12 points) beat SKK1 (5 points) by 3 wickets.
Tampere vs Espoo (Saturday, July 10)
After another delayed but powerful start to the innings, Espoo crumbled to 191 all out in 37 overs. Tampere needed only 26,1 overs to overhaul the modest total. MoM: Sridhar (1/23, and 109). Result: Tampere (13 points) beat Espoo (2 points) by 7 wickets.
Tampere vs Helsinki (Sunday, June 20)
After another cold and wet start, this double-header weekend game against the runners-up of 2003 saw the innovative Tampere squad do well to protect their wicket (pitch) from the rain... by parking their cars over the mat !!! The drizzle eventually subsided and a 30-over match was agreed upon. Helsinki made 199 (all out) after initially racing to 105 in the first 15 overs. Injuries and unavailabilities in a demanding weekend schedule meant that Tampere were never settled, and finally succumbed for a mere 98 in 26 overs. MoM(2): Moheb (3/39, and 0). Result: Helsinki (14 points) beat Tampere (4 points) by 101 runs.
Tampere vs SKK1 (Saturday, June 19)
Finally a beautiful sunny day! The Champs of 2003, SKK1, lost 9 wickets in making 264, and then bowled out Tampere for a mere 165 in 37,3 overs. MoM(2): Mandar (-, and 56). Result: SKK1 (14 points) beat Tampere (3 points) by 99 runs.
FPC vs Tampere (Sunday, June 6)
This game started late, and was immediately reduced to 35 overs from the originally reduced 40 over billing. Tampere bowled out a 10-man FPC for 143 in 24,1 overs, and was making light work of the chase at 77/1 in only 10,3 overs, when a 15 minute rain deluge drenched the mat and interrupted the game, and effectively made it unsafe for the FPC fast bowlers. The game was abandoned with another 6,3 overs needed (in at least 42 minutes) in order for it to constitute a match. The batting & bowling efforts will most probably not be rewarded, and the points will be split - each team only getting the 4 points for a "No Result".
Espoo CC vs Tampere CC (Sunday, May 29)
Rain prevailed in the opening game of the Season against Espoo. After a couple of hours waiting and chatting while it continued to drizzle, the Espoo lads dished up some lunch, we chatted some more, and then it was decided to give up on play for the day. It was decided with the umpire that the game be postponed till Sunday, July 11, but a subsequent FCA ruling meant the points were split and each team got only the 4 points for a "No Result".
FCA Cup 2004
Final: Espoo 104 (15 overs) lost to Helsinki 105 (14,1 overs).
In
an exciting tournament where we unfortunately struggled to field a
full-strength team on both weekends, Tampere narrowly lost to both
Espoo & SKK1, but defeated both Turku & SKK2 in what in the end
was a good pre-FCA League warm-up tournament.
2004 Season-opening friendly match vs Turku (Saturday, May 2) (35 overs, 12-a-side batting)
Turku won the toss and elected to field. Tampere made 193/11 (34,3 overs), and then restricted the plucky opposition to 175/11 (33,1 overs) in a very tight match that was played in a great spirit. Result: Tampere won by 18 runs. 1 / 2 / 3.
