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NCCA and Sunnyvale CC successfully host the 2005 Raisinland Trophy Tournament
The Raisinland Trophy games are an annual tradition between two of the oldest cricket associations in the country - Northern California Cricket Association
(NCCA) and the Southern California Cricket Association (SCCA). The Raisinland Trophy tournament was first held sometime in the late 1960s. The first game was played in Fresno, hence the title of the contest and the series. This contest was initiated by John
Marder, the enthusiastic and energetic SCCA President at that time. NCCA has competed with our Southern Neighbors every year since then, with the venue switching each year so that SCCA hosts games in the even years and NCCA hosts in the odd years.
This year's Raisinland Trophy Tournament featured many present and past US National players and
probables. Games were held in three categories, Youth (Under-19), Seniors and Masters (Over-40s). The games featured the best cricketing talent from the Northern and Southern California regions. The matches were very competitive with both sides being represented by youth and experience. There was great display of cricket and camaraderie amongst the players and the community.
Sunnyvale Cricket Club, one of the oldest member clubs of
NCCA, hosted the tournament with great assistance from the City of Sunnyvale. The City of Sunnyvale and its city staff have been big supporters of the game and the cricket community. Ms. Julia Miller, a former Mayor and a current councilwoman of Sunnyvale presided as the Guest of Honor and presented the awards to the best performers of the tournament.
Mr. Chandra
Bodapati, Founder of Sunnyvale Cricket Club and CEO of eGrabber, presented cricket mementos to Ms. Julia Miller on this occasion. Siva
Kolappa, the President of Sunnyvale Cricket Club, in his address said, 'City of Sunnyvale is one of the earliest cities that supported cricket in the Bay Area. We sincerely thank Ms. Julia Miller, Mr. John Howe, Mr. John Lawrence and all the City staff, over the years, for their continued support for the game and the cricket community'.
In the Seniors games, Tarun Bhoomireddy's enterprising knocks for
SCCA, on both days, ensured wins for SCCA. The NCCA Seniors caught up on the second game and lost by a one-shot difference. Performances by former Tamilnadu Ranji trophy player, Sunny Ramesh and promising Sri Lankan youngster, Arshad
Junaid, were notable, for NCCA and SCCA respectively. Arun Subramaniam and Sesha Haniyur of Sunnyvale Cricket Club and NCCA bowled well along with US National player, Nasir Islam of
SCCA.
In the Juniors games, NCCA youth did the host association proud, by winning the games on both days. Both days produced excellent cricket by some very promising youngsters. The highlights of the games were brilliant fielding by NCCA and mature batting performances by NCCA skipper Anwar
Mangal. NCCA Coach Owen Graham, with much logistics help from Alan Weedy, the association's longest serving member and Max Sheikh, prepared the NCCA youth meticulously for these games. NCCA Youth team, led by Anwar
Mangal, convincingly beat a strong Southern California team that contained several members of the recently victorious USA Youth team in the recently concluded ICC Tournament that was played in Toronto, Canada.
In the Master's game, veterans of NCCA easily made the target of 194 in 32
overs, and claimed the crystal Raisinland Masters Trophy for the first time. The Masters game serves to extend the involvement of passionate and accomplished cricketers in both the associations and to continue to contribute to the development of cricket in both the regions. Their passion for cricket and their continued involvement with the game not only introduces the game to their own children but also inspires the current and future generations of cricketers as well. Notable performers include, Clive Samuels and Veman Reddy from SCCA and Prem
Suri, Hardat Prashad for NCCA.
A banquet was held on Saturday, Sept. 3rd at the Kirigin Winery facility in Morgan Hill.
The following players were recognized at the end of the tournament for the brilliant performances. Councilwoman of Sunnyvale, Ms. Julia Miller, congratulated the best performers and presented the trophies -
Seniors Best Batsman: Tarun Bhoomireddy (SCCA), Sunny Ramesh (NCCA)
Seniors Best Bowler: Nasir Islam, (SCCA), Sesha Haniyur, (NCCA)
Seniors Most Promising Cricketer (Nikhil Iyer, SCCA)
Man of the Match: Tarun Bhoomireddy, SCCA for both days
Seniors MVP - Tarun Bhoomireddy (SCCA)
Juniors Best Batsman: Anwar
Mangal, (NCCA)
Juniors Best Bowler: Saad Siddiqui (NCCA), Ahmed Amin, (NCCA)
Juniors Most Promising Cricketer (Nisarg Patel, SCCA)
Man of the Match: Anwar Mangal (NCCA)
Juniors MVP - Anwar Mangal (NCCA)
For further information, please feel free to visit,
http://www.ncalcricket.org
and http://www.sccacricket.com
and http://www.sunnyvalecricketclub.org/ ; Contact
Siva Kolappa (President, Sunnyvale CC at siva_kolappa@yahoo.com
and Venkat CK, President, NCCA at president@ncalcricket.org; 408.245.0193); Mr. Barinder
Ahluwalia, Vice-President, Santa Clara CC, 408. 573.2481
About NCCA
NCCA, Inc., established in 1892, is a non-profit corporation organized for charitable purposes. The specific purposes for which this corporation is organized are: To promote, encourage, foster and cultivate interest in the sport of cricket; To initiate, sponsor, promote and carry out plans, policies and activities that would further the development and advancement of cricket in Northern California; To develop, foster and train amateur athletes for representation in national and international cricket competitions.
Currently, the NCCA comprises of 35 teams and approximately 800 active members and about 3000 past members, who hail from all around the world and represent the diversity of Northern California. The NCCA provides the framework for playing cricket in the Bay Area and organizes games and activities for its members. In addition, it hosts a variety of visiting teams from all over the world and sends its representative teams to play in other states and countries.
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