'Ustinov College Graduate Cricket club is a college cricket team representing
Ustinov CollegeUstinov College is the largest college of Durham University. Founded as the Graduate Society in 1965, it became a college in 2003 and was named after the university's then chancellor, the late Sir Peter Ustinov. It is located at the Howlands Farm site at the top of Elvet Hill.-History:In 1965,...
in the division two league of
Durham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
cricket. UCGCC is currently led by Richard Harker, and is jointly coached by
James WilsonJames Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
. The team is supported by the
Ustinov CollegeUstinov College is the largest college of Durham University. Founded as the Graduate Society in 1965, it became a college in 2003 and was named after the university's then chancellor, the late Sir Peter Ustinov. It is located at the Howlands Farm site at the top of Elvet Hill.-History:In 1965,...
GCR.
History
Cricket at
Durham UniversityThe University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...
is a sport considered to be highly reputable at the college and the university level. Ustinov college is one of the many colleges at the university who participates in cricket tournaments. However, for the past few years, the cricket team was down and out with the team failing to put up a squad and even backing out of tournaments. It was only in September, 2010 that Richard Harker and
James WilsonJames Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
took over the cricket society and formed the Ustinov College Graduate Cricket Club.
"When we took over the college cricket club at the start
of term, there really wasn’t a lot to build on. As far as
anybody could gather, it had existed for a few weeks
last year but hadn’t really been run properly for the best
part of two to three years. As a result, starting up and
running the club this term has been fraught with challenges.
That being said, with support from the GCR we’ve
been able to buy some equipment (indoor stumps, pads,
balls) that allows us to train in the Howlands building
every Tuesday night. Running the club has also been helped considerably by the commitment of so many members – we
regularly get between 20 and 30 men and women together at a training session. With so much enthusiasm
for cricket, whether they’re picking up or practising
skills, it has been a lot of fun so far." - Richard Harker
"It is also cultural difference that we celebrate through
cricket here at Ustinov. Started by an Englishman
(Richard Harker) and an Australian (myself) and with a
host of Indian and Pakistani members, the Ustinov College Graduate Cricket Club has developed from its embryonic stages into a rampant, noisy teenager full of
confidence and creativity, enthusiasm and guile." - James Wilson
Indoor Tournament 2011
The cricket Indoor tournament was held at the Freeman's Quay in Durham, on each weekend between 5 February and 5 March 2010. Most colleges had registered two teams for the tournament including Ustinov. Ustinov A and B, both got off to a nightmarish start, with the A team losing their captain Richard Harker to a hamstring injury. On the opening day of the tournament, Ustinov A lost to Van Mildert B and Stephenson A by a small margin. Coincidentally, the B team suffered narrow defeats to Van Mildert A and Stephenson B, who have been playing the indoor game for years. After a week of training, it was match day again when Parth Kanani was handed the surprise captaincy by Harker while both teams needed to win two out of their remaining three games to qualify for the knockout stages. However, Ustinov A suffered a heavy defeat to Collingwood A while Ustinov B playing under
James WilsonJames Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
lost the game in the final over. Hoping to win the final two, both teams had to give their best performances and Ustinov A were able to take advantage of this opportunity as they comfortably won both their games qualifying for the knockout stages. Due to changes in the team structure for the final game, James Wilson took over for Ustinov A and the captaincy for Ustinov B was handed to Saad Qureshi who ensured the team gave in their best effort but resulted in losses occurring in very close affairs.
It was knockout time and Ustinov team A was ready for the challenge they had ahead of them. They were poised to face Van Mildert A, who were favorites to win the Indoor Cricket title 2011. "Colin Megennis, tournament organiser and umpire, was
frequently heard telling unsuspecting opposition players
“I hope you brought your earplugs.” The incessant
chirping of Nisharg Shah behind the stumps and the unrelenting appeals of Nikhil Kaudinya were accompanied
by the cunning off-spin of Adhiraj Ghosh and the destructive hitting of Parth Kanani. Spectacular catches by
Adnan Afridi and Saad Qureshi’s thunderbolts were as
common as wristy flicks from
Mohan KumarMohan Kumar is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter, who worked in the Bollywood film industry of India born in undivided India who after Partition moved to India and settled down in Bombay....
and the
left-arm variety of Aditya Singh" - James Wilson (the Ustinovian)
The team for the final knockout game featured the return of Richard Harker,
James WilsonJames Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
, Adnan Afridi, Adhiraj Ghosh, Nikhil Kaundinya and Parth Kanani. After batting first and putting up a decent total, Ustinov A lost to Van Mildert with 3 wickets in hand. Despite the defeat, a lot of positives were taken from the tournament which helped the team build a base for the outdoor league beginning May 2.
Batting Figures (Indoor tournament)
| Name |
Innings |
Runs |
Out |
Average |
| Harker |
3 |
43 |
0 |
None |
| Kanani |
4 |
107 |
3 |
35.6 |
| Bhandari |
1 |
29 |
1 |
29 |
| Afridi |
4 |
53 |
3 |
17.6 |
| Wilson |
5 |
63 |
4 |
15.75 |
| Yousafzai |
3 |
30 |
2 |
15 |
| Ghosh |
5 |
33 |
0 |
11 |
| Kumar |
3 |
30 |
4 |
8.5 |
| Mhatre |
4 |
25 |
3 |
8.3 |
| Qureshi |
4 |
30 |
4 |
7.5 |
| Kaundinya |
4 |
27 |
5 |
5.4 |
| Nisharg |
4 |
19 |
5 |
3.8 |
| Singh |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
Bowling Figures (Indoor tournament)
| Name |
Overs |
Runs |
Wickets |
Economy |
| Afridi |
11.1 |
98 |
8 |
8.9 |
| Bhandari |
2 |
14 |
1 |
7 |
| Ghosh |
10 |
89 |
3 |
8.9 |
| Kanani |
10 |
78 |
4 |
7.8 |
| Kaundinya |
11 |
140 |
1 |
12.8 |
| Kumar |
9 |
70 |
1 |
7.7 |
| Mhatre |
7 |
70 |
1 |
10 |
| Qureshi |
10 |
86 |
2 |
8.6 |
| Singh |
5.3 |
82 |
0 |
14.9 |
Outdoor Tournament 2011
Ustinov College will be participating in the division two, Durham University college league. The tournament kicks off on 2 May 2011 when Ustinov play St.Cuths A at the Maiden Castle ground.
Currently the squad trains every Tuesdays and Fridays at the Howlands building and Redwood respectively. One of the most anticipated games is on the 5th of May when Ustinov A takes on the staff team.
2011 season
| No. |
Date |
Opponent |
Venue |
Time |
Result |
| 1 |
2 May |
St.Cuths A |
Durham |
11:00 |
Lost by 8 Wickets |
| 2 |
5 May |
Staff A |
Durham |
17:00 |
Won by 8 Wickets |
| 3 |
6 May |
Van Mildert B |
Durham |
11:00 |
Won by 7 wickets |
| 4 |
10 May |
Chads A |
Durham |
14:00 |
Lost by 82 Runs |
| 5 |
12 May |
Hild Bede B |
Durham |
11:00 |
Won by walkover |
| 6 |
14 June |
St. Marys A |
Durham |
14:00 |
Lost by 3 runs |
| 7 |
16 June |
Hatfield C |
Durham |
17:00 |
Won by 7 runs |
ALL MATCHES - Batting Figures
| Name |
Runs |
Average |
| Rushabh Desai |
68 |
18 |
| Richard Harker |
56 |
14 |
| Saad Qureshi |
43 |
10.75 |
| Mohan Kumar |
29 |
14.5 |
| James Wilson |
76 |
15.2 |
| Parth Kanani |
128 |
26 |
| Adnan Afridi |
102 |
25.5 |
| Bharat Bhandari |
90 |
30 |
| Arjun Chalana |
1 |
1 |
| Nikhil Kaundinya |
14 |
14 |
| Sher Ali Khan |
30 |
15 |
| Adhiraj Ghosh |
7 |
2.3 |
| Nisharg Shah |
7 |
2.3 |
ALL MATCHES - Bowling Figures
| Name |
Overs |
Maidens |
Runs |
Wickets |
Run Rate |
| Sher Ali Khan |
18.2 |
3 |
76 |
7 |
4.17 |
| Parth Kanani |
13 |
1 |
87 |
5 |
6.69 |
| Bharat Bhandari |
14 |
0 |
104 |
2 |
7.42 |
| Adnan Afridi |
17 |
0 |
109 |
4 |
6.41 |
| Nikhil Kaundinya |
11 |
0 |
97 |
3 |
8.81 |
| Saad Qureshi |
7 |
0 |
52 |
2 |
7.42 |
| Arjun Chalana |
14 |
1 |
118 |
2 |
8,42 |
| Mohan Kumar |
3 |
0 |
26 |
0 |
8.66 |
| James Wilson |
1 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
| Adhiraj Ghosh |
15 |
0 |
90 |
3 |
6 |
The Squad
| |
The team
|
|
Coach -  Richard Harker
Coach -  James WilsonJames Wilson was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. Wilson was elected twice to the Continental Congress, and was a major force in drafting the United States Constitution...
|