By Sham Ali
(Celebrating 43rd Anniversary – Match #1210):- The last round of the 2022 cricket season was carded as a double-header where Cosmos took on Majestic at Baisley Cage in the first match. Cosmos won the toss and elected to bat after a delayed start due to heavy overnight dew. The temperature at 9am was a bit on the chilly side, and was expected to rise to the mid-sixties by the time we were ready for the second game.
Openers Alex Chunilall and Yogeshwar Ramgobin warm things up rather quickly as they got off to a good start on a tricky-track with a 50-run partnership in the powerplay overs. However, neither batsman managed to capitalize on their starts, and was back in the pavilion with the score on 56 for 2, when Ramgobin (25) played a tired swipe and missed while Chunilall (25) pushed softly to point.
The story of Cosmos’s middle-order has been told too many times this season, and it turned out to be the same as they stumbled once again with two headless run-outs. Akash Rahim was the only other batsman who showed some purpose and intent in the middle, and added some stability to the inning with a composed 45 runs. He was unable to stitch a partnership together as the middle order batsmen appeared “out of form” given the soft dismissals that resulted. The Cosmos inning closed on a competitive 141 for 7 off their allotted 20 overs with W. Haslim taking 2 for 23, and J. Sookdeo 2 for 25.
Majestic, a formidable opponent and the finalist in the division 1 Round Robin competition would look to seal their position in the playoffs with a win in this match, however, with the wicket still a little damp the chase can get a bit tricky and a few early wickets could make for an interesting encounter.
Cosmos created their opportunities when they got an early breakthrough in the first over when danger-man Derick Narine played over a flighted delivery from T. Thakoordeen. Wasim Haslim then joined Chris Patadin, two Ogle boys – just a mention for old time sake, to challenge Cosmos- a club with deep roots in Ogle. The pair, two accomplished and experienced batsmen rode their luck before they were in double figures as Cosmos woes in the field continued with not one, two, three, but four chances in the powerplay overs went begging off Thakoordeen, who would have hoped to repeat his five-wicket haul against this team last season.
Wasim Haslim had no compunction to dwell on his errors or to worry about any devils in a two-paced track as he single-handedly took the attack to Cosmos. He and Patadin posted an aggressive 70 runs partnership in the powerplay before Cosmos finally held on to a catch offered to remove Patadin (25). Haslim remained unfazed as he peppered the mid-wicket and mid-off boundaries before he went for an aggressive 43-ball 83 (10-4’s, 5-6’s) to put his team on course as they sealed a convincing 5-wicket victory in the in the 15th over with N. Persaud taking 4 for 27, and T. Thakoordeen 1 for 27.
It has been a testing season for this young Cosmos team, and while many would have folded prematurely, this group of Cosmos boys responded with grit and determination match after match. In these circles, success is often narrowly measured by winning a cricket match, however. the objectives of Cosmos as a club are much deeper and wider, and that was evident by the discipline showed in the activities that were undertaken. On another proud note; Congratulations are in order to, one of Cosmos stalwarts, Shafiq Jadavji, on his induction into the United States of America Cricket Hall of Fame. The entire membership of Cosmos wish him continued success in the years ahead.
Cosmos Annual Presentation will be on Nov. 13 at Nan King Restaurant, New Hyde Park.
Cosmos Bus Ride to Foxwoods will be on Dec. 10.
