THE 2006 FCA SCOREBOARD 
Tampere were FCA League Champions !!!
Tampere vs Turku (Saturday, September 9) - FINAL
Turku won the toss and elected to bat on a chilly & windy morning at Ruskeasuo. Moheb (2/32) struck early and Turku limped to 5/41 in 14 overs before Stephen Viola (129, 2/66) grabbed back the initiative with a series of scintillating boundaries - starring in partnerships of 73 and 66. But Ahad (4/18), bowling superbly throughout, finally removed the danger man in his 2nd spell, and the Turku innings closed on 205 in 35 overs, with the second highest score being made by Khalid Shahzad (16, 3/35). Khalid then struck immediately for Turku claiming 2 wickets in his first 3 balls, and also had the other batsmen second-guessing. With Tampere reeling at 2/0, Balaji (20) bravely took on the attack. Sensible batting under pressure, and good partnerships by Mandar (54) and Shaan (18) meant that Ahad (batting with a runner) could play his full range of shots, and then the cool heads of Sanjoy and Rishikesh (14no) punished any wayward bowling and overhauled the target with 9 overs to spare. MoM(2pts): Ahad (22, 4/18), MoM(1pt): Sanjoy (48no). Result:Tampere won by 3 wickets.
Scoresheets are available as PDFs: Turku innings, Tampere innings.
Team Tampere CC (and fans!) with the 2006 Finnish League trophy.(Photo: Jari Schabel)
Man of the Final-Series: Ahad Qureshi. (Photo: Jari Schabel)
Tampere vs Vantaa (Sunday, August 20) - SEMI-FINAL
Vantaa won the toss and elected to field on a warm morning at Kaisaniemi. Tampere played cautiously, but were again undone by some lax shots resulting in regular dismissals. Shamim (37) and Ahad (68) steadied the innings with an important 73 run partnership, before Ahad started hitting out well in the closing overs to take the total to 272. The Tampere squad, plagued by injuries, then bowled and fielded well against a strong Vantaa batting line-up, and again the spinners, Oba (1/64), Balaji, and Kuchey (7, 1/26), were needed to make the break-throughs and slow the run-rate. The game was unfortunately brought to a premature end after 36 overs, and after consultation with the rules, both umpires and captains mutually agreed that the game would be awarded to Tampere. MoM(2pts): Ahad (68, 1/17), MoM(1pt): Balaji (36, 3/29). Result:Tampere 272/9 (45 overs), Vantaa 193/7 (36 overs). Tampere won on superior run-rate. (RR calculations: 272/45=6,04, 193/36=5,36) Note: The Vantaa appeal was not upheld.
Turku vs Tampere (Sunday, August 13)
Tampere won the toss and elected to bat on a cloudy morning at Pansio. Without the regular opening bowlers in action, the Turku batsman - Steve Viola (86) & Asim Zaka (89) - aided by some extremely tentative fielding forged ahead against the medium pacers - an unlucky Ahad (0/44) however showing promise. The introduction of Balaji (4/41) and Kuchey (3/59), ensured that Turku could only post 301/9 from their 45 overs - with Tampere rueing a dozen-or-so missed chances. With the sun peeking through on the occasion, the Tampere run chase proceeded smoothly aside for the lax shots which lead to regular dismissals, and were looking good to reel in the total after good innings by Sanjoy, Ahad (42) and Shamim (30no), but Turku kept their cool to seal the necessary victory and ensure they qualified for the Semi-final - Tampere 270/10 in 42,5 overs. MoM(1pt): Sanjoy (79). Result: Turku won by 31 runs.
FPC B vs Tampere (Sunday, August 6)
FPC B defaulted the toss because the ground was not ready on time, and Tampere chose to bat on a raggedy pitch area. The FPC bowlers were wayward at the start, and Balaji, after an early reprieve, helped grind out a dominating total (305/8) in the allotted 45 overs - ably supported by "Mr Extras" with a handy 65. A good second wicket partnership of 75 steadied the FPC response after a brilliant overhead grab at slip by Balaji. Moheb (0/26) bowled well without reward, and although the fielding was below par, Balaji and Kuchey reaped the benefits after the climbing run-rate forced the batsmen to try and hit out. MoM(3pts): Balaji (121, 3/47), MoM(2pts): Kuchey (29, 4/12). Result: Tampere won by 84 runs.
Tampere vs Espoo (Sunday, July 31)
On a chaotic warm Sunday morning, Espoo won the toss and elected to bat. A great opening spell by Bhupinder (2/30) and Moheb (3/47) put a dampener on Espoo's semi-final dreams. A good 90 run partnership by Zaheer (112) and Ali (39) allowed Espoo to post a total of 216 in 33,1 overs after Oba bamboozled the tail. The Tampere chase slowed in mid-innings, but after a diving Mandar's run-out, Shaan (42no) and Sanjoy (39no) erased the deficit to surpass the total - 217 in 33,2 overs.MoM(2pts): Oba (5, 3/24), MoM(1pt): Mandar (65). Result: Tampere won by 7 wickets.
Tampere CC vs Earlham Village Cricket Club (EVCC) - 40 overs (Sunday, July 23)
The freshly graded ground meant the playing surface was again a little soft, but it also made the fielding a little easier than the day before. A 40-over match was decided upon, and under sunny skies, Tampere CC batted hesitantly on a slow-ish pitch. Several chances were spilled by an EVCC squad who were also slow to start after a night on the salmiakki-kossu. Kuchey made the most of his reprieves and went on to make a good century before retiring, and was the foundation of the innings with a 90-run partnership with Mandar (39, 1/18). EVCC once again snapped up a few wickets, but in the warm conditions Tampere CC motored on to a total of 324 in the alloted overs, based around the steady innings by Jignesh (48, 0/10), and despite the tight bowling of G.Crowe and M.Mosley (1, 1/10). After another excellent lunch, the pace pairing of Moheb (10no, 0/20) and Bhupinder (0, 0/28) didn't allow the EVCC batsmen to really get any start, despitesolid batting by S. Davis (40, 0/21), and with Nikhil (8no, 0/15) and Ahad (14, 1/25) also bowling tightly, the climbing run-rate meant they needed to start hitting out against the spinners. R.Lee played another good knock, even after being felled by a sharp run-out return attempt by Shaan, but the total was never really within reach - even after a fine unbroken 59-run partnership between P.Lee (46no, 1/54) and M.Mead (23no, 1/31) - after Balaji snapped up a good 5-for with his well-directed off-spin.
Tampere CC 324/7, EVCC 218/8. MoM(Tampere): Kuchey (127 retired, 1/15), Balaji (12, 5/30), MoM(EVCC): Rick Lee (38, 1/54), Gavin Cowe (13, 3/32). Result: Tampere CC won by 106 runs.
Earlham Village CC and Tampere CC after a great day of cricket. (Photo: Jari Schabel)
Addendum: EVCC finally made it home after a 2 hour flight delay... after a long weekend that included enduring some drizzle on Friday and some soaking downpours on Monday. Their busy programme included a visit to the spy museum, plevna, the lookout tower and coffee & donuts, a swim in the lake, crazy golf, megazone, karaoke, etc. And some even risked going for a sauna! "Man of the tour" was awarded to Pete Lee, and the "champagne" / "salmiakki-kossu" (liquorice vodka) moment goes to Giles for being suspended after bowling one-too-many beamers. :-)
Tampere XI vs Earlham Village Cricket Club (EVCC) - 30 overs (Saturday, July 22)
Heavy overnight rain left meant the field had about 10 large areas of standing water at the initially expected starting time. The Tampere XI worked hard to get the ground fit for play, and after a delay of about two hours, the pitch area was finally placed on the most suitable "dry" patch and a 30-over match was decided upon. A tasty curry lunch was taken, and then EVCC elected to field under cloudy skies. Tampere started well with Shamsul (30) and Balaji (29) playing steadily, but with EVCC rapidly acclimatising to the foreign conditions, and with some great ground fielding building up the pressure, wickets started to fall and the run-rate also slowed. An 87-run partnership between Sanjoy and the big hitting Vinod (45no) eventually propelled the Tampere XI to a total of 247 in the alloted overs, in spite of some tight bowling by I.White (2/18). The EVCC batsman chased well, once again considering the unusual conditions, with Pete Lee and Rick Lee (65) smashing some ordinary bowling over the trees on the boundary in an exciting 103-run partnership under clearing skies, but they nevertheless fell short in a well-spirited display.
Tampere XI 247/6, EVCC 234/4. MoM(Tampere): Sanjoy (79, 1/31), Balaji (29, 2/22), MoM(EVCC): Pete Lee (100no, 1/41), Iain White (dnb, 2/18). Result: Tampere XI won by 13 runs.
FPC A vs Tampere (Sunday, July 9)
FPC A won the toss and elected to bat on a very warm summer's day. Moheb (2/32) and Bhupinder (3/40) struck immediately, but FPC eventually managed to post a reasonable total of 210 (in 39,1 overs) against the 10-man Tampere in the heat. Also Kuchey (3/35) once again bowled well. The Tampere chase was again based around partnerships: Balaji was well supported by firstly Oba (11) in a 50-run partnership, and then Mandar, who with Shaan (11no) batted well to secure a Tampere victory - 211/3 in 41,2 overs. MoM(3pts): Balaji (76, 1/43), MoM(2pts): Mandar (63no). Result: Tampere won by 7 wickets.
SKK Sharks vs Tampere (Saturday, July 1)
The SKK Sharks won the toss and elected to bat on a very pleasant Helsinki morning. Moheb (3/51) and Bhupinder (2/27) started economically in the early spell but the Sharks weathered the storm, and with Timo Ilva (57) leading from the front, were suddenly cruising towards a big total (169/2 in 24 overs). A bowling change produced immediate results, with Oba (4/38) troubling most of the SKK batsmen, andTampere took the initiative to restrict the SKK total to 226 in 39,4 overs - extras making up the second top score ! The Tampere run chase began positively with a solid opening partnership of 92 by Balaji (61) and Kuchey (30), and this was followed by a sensible knock by Mandar (57no). Sanjoy (22no) helped polish off the final 50 runs at brisk pace to take Tampere to a comforable victory (231/4) in only 33,4 overs. MoM(3 pts): Oba (4/38), MoM(2pts): Balaji (61, 0/20). Result: Tampere won by 6 wickets.
Tampere vs Helsinki (Saturday, June 17)
Tampere won the toss and elected to bat on a very warm cloudless day. Solid partnerships between Balaji (48) and both Mandar (24) and Sanjoy (22) was followed by a collapse of 6/40 left Tampere about 30 runs short of a defendable target after 41,2 overs. On a good but dusty batting track, Helsinki forged ahead, and aided by some sloppy fielding, Shahid (56no) carried Helsinki to victory in 34,4 overs. Some promising tight bowling spells by Balaji (1/16), Oba (1/36), and Kuchey (2/38), however, bodes well for the future. MoM(1 pt): Balaji (48, 1/16). Result: Helsinki won by 4 wickets.
Tampere vs Finn-Asia (Saturday, June 10)
Sadly Finn-Asia decided to opt out of the match and thus deprived Tampere some much needed match practice, as well as possible MoM points. Result: Tampere won by forfeit.
SKK Lions vs Tampere (Saturday, May 27)
SKK Lions won the toss and elected to bat on a cool and cloudy day. Moheb (1/40) and Bhupinder (1/37) bowled economically but P.Moilanen (66, 2/29) and S.Rodgerson (80no, 1/38) guided the Lions to a good total of 248/4 in the alloted 45 overs, with Oba (0/46) also bowling well. Balaji (38) played sensibly and a good 2nd wicket partnership with Mandar laid the foundation for a Tampere victory with 6 balls to spare after wickets fell regularly under some tight bowling and increasing pressure. MoM(3pts): Mandar (76). Result: Tampere won by 2 wickets.
Tampere vs Vantaa CC (Sunday, May 14)
Vantaa won the toss and elected to bat on a chilly and breezy day. Some good bowling by Bhupinder and Ahad (4/26) reduced Vantaa to 61/9, but even with a Sanjeeva (57) inspired fight back, they were finally bowled out for 132 in 25,4 overs. Kuchey (37) survived a hostile opening spell, and then Mandar's superb 42-ball innings ensured Tampere sealed a comfortable win - 133 in 22,3 overs. MoM(3pts): Bhupinder (5/38); MoM(2pts): Mandar (58no). Result: Tampere won by 6 wickets.
Tampere vs Empire CC (Sunday, May 7)
Tampere won the toss and elected to bat on a surprisingly warm early May day. A good opening 54 run partnership between Oba and Kuchey was followed by good knocks by Sanjoy, Shamim (32) and Vaidhya (36). Tampere were finally bowled out for 233 in 39,2 overs - helped a little by Empire's 52 extras. Empire started reasonably well, but Bhupinder (4/31) struck regularly to slow the flow of runs. Kuchey then spun his tricks, and Empire finally succumbed for 92 in 20,3 overs. MoM(3pts): Kuchey (28, and 4/7); MoM(2pts): Sanjoy (48). Result: Tampere won by 141 runs.
Turku Indoor 2006 (Saturday, April 29)
Final: Helsinki beat Empire.
After a disrupted start due to Espoo arriving late, Tampere accounted for the SKK squad in the first game before falling to Espoo in the second. The enthusiastic but inexperienced indoor squad then went down in the Quarter Final against Helsinki.
(Photo: Jari Schabel)