Many of life's most cherished experiences come from focusing on the journey and not the destination. As we (CHAMPS XI) embark upon a fight for the coveted Platinum Trophy this season, we wish to take a step back and reflect on the journey that has made us who we really are.
Who are THE CHAMPS?
It was in 2003 that a group of players led by Rajesh and RK (RamaKrishna) formed a playing group for weekend cricket. They were a part of Champions CC and as the economy was picking up after the dotcom burst, they decided to start their own startup - thus was the birth of CHAMPS XI. Rajesh and RK pulled in some resources and bought the kit, and invited more of our friends and we started playing friendly games. They continued to play social matches for another two years with more and more players joining in (Gokul, Rahul, Venky to name a few).
Rajesh and RK did all the hard work back then arranging games every weekend. No IEMails or CricBay forum convenience that we have now; rather, cold calls or emails were the way to go. There were times that we would reach the field and only 7 or 8 who said yes for the game would turn up. Depending on the city we were playing some of us would call up friends we knew who lived in that city waking them up at 8:30/9AM and ask them to join us for the game. It was an interesting thought back then to find a consistent 11 on each game day.
We would mostly lose but we never let that stop us from going out there the next weekend and play again. The CHAMPS steely resolve to never say die was sowed back then. We made it a point to go out there every possible weekend, have fun playing the game we all love dearly.
During the fall of 2005, we had an influx of fresh young(!) talent (Abhinandan, Amol, Karan, Nagesh, Vijay, Prashant and others). Having a consistent 10 or 11 players show up for each game, CHAMPS were forming into an organised unit. So in the 2006 CHAMPS decided to join the newly formed CricBay league. It was a magical season, a true Cinderalla story with a disastrous start and an (almost) fairy-tale ending! Our first 6 outings resulted in 4 losses and 2 abandoned games. A recovery of "Tunbridge Wells - 1983" proportions followed in the next game marking a dramatic turn-around in our fortunes that resulted in a run leading up to the platinum FINALS, and CHAMPS have not looked back since.
CHAMPS have been a regular feature in most of the CricBay tournaments. Some faces have changed, but the spirit to play cricket shall never diminish in our team. The passion to play the perfect cover-drive, or take that tumbling catch, or rattle the stumps with a crushing yorker still lives on. Here is a quick glance down the memory lane:
* 2006 CricBay platinum championship runners-up: Article + Pics
* 2007 BATA cup runners up
* 2008 BATA cup champions: Article + Pics
* 2008 CricBay regular season platinum group: 6th position
More than anything we have truly enjoyed our stint in CricBay and would like to salute all the volunteers involved in putting together such fantastic tournaments year after year :) Now with a place in finals of 2009 regular season, we seek to finish what we started three years back!
Regular Season 2009
We had a really solid bench strength when we started the 2009 regular season. Most of us knew that we had the skill and technique to win matches but did we really think we could go all the way this time? There was the fire in the belly and the twinkle in the eyes of all CHAMPS as we knew this season we could do something BIG!
We started the Round I placed as the highest ranked team in Group F. With strong and consistent teams like Yuva XI, Skiers 11, Aryans, and Chargers along with couple of newbies we knew this was a tough group and we could not afford to take it easy. With wins against GSCC and Daredevils we got our campaign off on the right note only to hit a road block in the form of Xterminators. Shocked by the result of the game we re-grouped really quick to see off the challenge of Cupertino Cougars. Then came the Blitz for a great game of cricket where we missed the mark yet again. Losing two games in the first 5 was definitely not the start we were looking for this season.
What went wrong? What could have changed? Where do we go from here? With a bit of retrospection and determined practice sessions, we bounced back with convincing wins over Legends, Syndicate CC and eventually group-toppers Yuva XI. That really brought a spring in our steps as it reaffirmed our belief that if we played to our potential, we could overcome any team in CricBay.
Probably spoke too early and a loss against Aryans CC left us with no option but to win both our games against Chargers and Skiers 11. Both good consistent teams, but we were up for a fight. We did what we aimed for convincingly to finish in Top 3 of our group and progress into the Round II of the season. Though there was ample scope for improvements, it's sometimes nice to get away from the nuances of the game and enjoy what you have achieved thus far. We could afford a pat on the back to have come this far, but the real work was just getting started!
Grouped with Dazzlers, Synergy CC and Maharajas (who were the only team not to lose a single game in Round I), we had our work cut out. First up was the much impressive Synergy CC (playing in their first season) and we were able to get on top of them. The real acid test was Maharajas who were coming from their 1-run loss to Dazzlers. With the label of under-dogs we were happy to fly under the radar and shock them at their home ground with a big win. With a place secured in the Platinum Playoffs we could afford to take it lightly in the game against the Dazzlers (I guess our fielding took an off day that weekend!) and to our peril we paid the price to be #9 team in the race for Platinum Championship.
Seldom does a team get a chance to get revenge so quickly as we did to have our pre-QF game slated against the Dazzlers in their den. Dazzlers are a bunch of talented cricketers - but we were confident of our chances and wearing our favorite tag of UNDERDOGS, we approached this game with caution mixed with aggression. A tidy bowling display meant a reasonably smooth chase and a place in the quarter-finals.
Next up were the top-seed Spartans CC: one of the front-runners for the title this time. With some gritty batting, disciplined bowling and quite brilliant fielding we had to pull everything that we had got, to see off the never-say-die Spartans. It was a great win for a team which was slowly pulling its weight in the championship.
Hattrickers in semi-finals at Washington Park - history really seemed to be repeating itself all over again. This ground brought back the memories of 2006 regular season where we beat the Mavericks on this same ground in the semi-finals. We did it then, could we do it this time again? That too against the same team which beat us in 2006 finals to lift that elusive Platinum Trophy. A brilliant come-from-behind performance in all the departments of the game meant that we had reached the finals!
Track our journey to the finals @ Ranking Tracker
This season has really been a roller-coaster ride for the entire team. We are almost there with the trophy within our grasp only to find one of most improved and red-hot teams this season standing between us and the Holy Grail: Squared Leg. We shall leave the head-to-head match-ups and preview analysis to the Cricbox writers. A big hand to all the talented writers for their dedication and commitment for churning out some amazing number-crunching articles throughout the season!
More than anything, we choose to focus on the journey to the finals and enjoy all those little moments of glory on the cricket field which have been frozen in our memory. Along the way, bones have been fractured, wrists have been broken and fingers have been dis-located. This game of cricket is nothing short of war as far as CHAMPS are concerned. We shall fight one more time, and we shall fight till the last CHAMP is standing!
The Bottom Line
A big thanks once again to all CricBay authorities, sponsors and volunteers for an opportunity to showcase our cricketing (and occasionally our writing) skills! Well done to all the participating teams and good luck for forth-coming tournaments as well :)
No matter what happens in the finals, no matter which team gets its hands on that trophy; it's always the GAME OF CRICKET which is the winner! We are the CHAMPS and we are here to play the game that all of us so dearly love!
GO CHAMPS!
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