Rain, Families and a Home Win: Our First Home Match

Match notes, Vilok, Germantown CC

Sunday, October 4th marked our first home match of the season at Germantown Cricket Club — and, as many of us kept saying through the day, our first game on our own Manheim ground since May 2025. Coming off a closely fought contest at Merion the day before , the squad turned up buzzing. The weather had other ideas: intermittent showers meant the covers went on, came off, and went back on again, getting more of a workout than our twelfth man. Thanks to Philadelphia Cricket Club's patience, we still got a full 30-over game in.

We won the toss and chose to bat. Our captain Suri set the tone with a blistering 22, and solid partnerships followed through the innings. Special mention to our own Sid, whose spectacular 45 featured shots all around the ground. PCC's bowling was sharp, led by Chris Spaeth's four-wicket haul and some excellent catching and fielding from their Andy, and we were bowled out for 155.

In reply, I opened with a strong spell, and my GCC teammates Santosh, Harish, Sid and Suri chipped in with timely wickets to keep the required rate climbing. PCC's Parth batted beautifully and they fought hard to the end, but we held our nerve to close out the win.

The weekend captured what GCC cricket is about: sport, friendship and families sharing the occasion. Many of our cricket families had recently gathered to celebrate the wedding of our captain Suri and Julie, and Julie and her friends were back at Manheim cheering on the newly married captain. Suri rewarded them with a great all-round performance on the field — and went home with plenty of dirty laundry to prove it.

With plenty of families on the boundary, it felt more like a festival than a fixture. Rain delays, a full game and a home win: not a bad way to mark our first home match of the season — and to be back playing cricket at Manheim after more than a year.