After a small rain shower on the morning of Sunday 25th May, the Maharashtra Mandal cricket game began at Kenton cricket club at 11.30 am (in true Marathi style the game was due to start at 11.00 am).

It was an enthralling and riveting game of cricket, which consisted of two innings per side of 20 overs each. The game started ominously for Shivaji che Sainik team with a wicket falling with the very first ball of the innings. There were plenty of runs, wides, no balls and dropped catches, which kept the umpires (Mr Manohar Rakhe and Mr Jayant Gupte) and the scorer (Mr Sheth) very busy. In what turned out to be a tight and exciting finish, the Chatur Konkan che team won the game by 3 wickets.

The game was wonderfully supported by an extremely loud and jolly crowd, which consisted of families and friends. Special thanks shall be made to all the families and friends who came to support the game, since this made the day even more enjoyable. In what turned out to be a picnic day there was plenty of food and snacks, which was provided by the player’s families and friends.
Luckily we had good weather and even the small shower towards the end of the day could not ruin the day. The day achieved its objective in that new friends were made, there were plenty of laughs and we even managed to play a bit of cricket. We were also able to raise a total of £105, which we would like to give to the Maharashtra Mandal.

I am sure everyone will agree with me that thanks to the special efforts of the winning captain, Vijay Vaishampayan, who organised the day with great efficiency and enthusiasm, we all had a brilliant day.

With much anticipation we are looking forward to the next match on Sunday 17th August – there is even talk of a barbeque, so hope to see you then.

Prasad Pitale.