A Dream Come True –2025 MCL Championship Finals (7th September) - Part 1

2025 Milwaukee Cricket League Championship game - The Finals (September 7th, @ Lincoln Park) - Milwaukee Super Kings vs. Milwaukee Cricket Club

A dream that first germinated on a cold February morning in 2016 blossomed into reality this past Sunday.

How?

    The team I formed back then—the Milwaukee Super Kings (MSK)—lifted the 2025 Milwaukee Cricket League Trophy, defeating the formidable Milwaukee Cricket Club (MCC) in a convincing fashion.

Looking Back on the Journey

As I drove the 40 minutes to the ground on that chilly September day—temperatures hovering around 60°F with scattered clouds—my mind wandered to the early days.

When I started MSK in 2016, my motto was simple: give opportunities to players who love the game and play it in the right spirit. Winning wasn’t my priority in those first three years. Instead, I wanted every player to bowl, bat, and field, to truly be part of the experience.

But by 2019, my final year as captain, I longed to see our team in the playoffs. I began selecting the best XI, and we came agonizingly close. In the match that could have secured our spot, two of my best players were unavailable. I stretched myself to play despite a lingering hamstring injury, but we fell short.

One more chance remained: the penultimate game of the season. All we needed was a single point. That morning, torrential rain seemed heaven-sent—the match was called off, and we secured the one point we needed. In celebration, we ducked into a nearby coffee shop, only to learn minutes later that the rain had cleared and the ground was playable again.

The opposing captain asked us to resume. Some teammates urged me to refuse; after all, if we didn’t play, we were through to the playoffs. But I couldn’t. My philosophy has always been: if the ground is fit, you play. Morally, it felt wrong to avoid the contest.

We played. We lost. The one point vanished, and so did our playoff dream. Yet, I walked away proud that we had upheld the spirit of cricket.

I continued playing in a limited role for three more years, but constant rotation of players made it hard to build a core group. In a competitive league with 14+ league matches a season, stability is everything. Without it, playoffs remained elusive.

Arriving at the Final

Fast forward to 2025. I hadn’t played for two years, but as I pulled into the ground, I was buzzing with anticipation. Watching the new generation of MSK players contest a final was surreal.

And I was confident. Their semifinal win had been a masterclass in balance—batsmen showing patience, bowlers executing their plans, and fielders holding their catches. This was a team ready for the big moment.

MCC Sets the Challenge

Our opponents, MCC, were no ordinary side. They had multiple championship titles, a captain in Shaker—one of Milwaukee’s finest all-rounders—and a roster stacked with match-winners.

Batting first, MCC posted a competitive 172 in 20 overs. Decent for a final, though I felt they were about 15 runs short. Our lineup had both depth and a calm, calculating middle order.

Their innings began strongly—118 for 4 after 14.2 overs suggested they were on course for 190+. But disciplined death bowling pulled them back. To my surprise, Shaker himself batted only one ball—the final delivery of the innings, which he dispatched for four. It was an odd decision, given his reputation for turning finals with a few meaty blows.

His son, Muhammed, provided the spark with a sparkling cameo—30 off 16, highlighted by a cover drive that drew gasps from the crowd. Still, none of MCC’s batsmen stayed long enough to dominate the closing overs.

Bowling Highlights

Chandra, a captain’s dream new ball bowler 

For MSK, Chandra set the tone. His four overs went for just 20 runs, swinging the ball with a skiddy, whippy action and that teasing in-between length batsmen dread. A class act on and off the field, he epitomized the team spirit.

Aditya—my successor as captain—shared the new ball. With the chilly breeze at his back, he bowled with pace and purpose, snaring two key wickets. Watching him charge in on that picturesque ground was a sight to savor.

Our younger bowlers—Ashish, Ravi, and Venkat—bowled with enthusiasm and pace but struggled with consistency, leaking runs at over ten an over. A fuller length might have served them better, but their energy was invaluable.

Wahid -  Exceptional death
over spell. 

The standout, though, was Wahid Alam. Tasked with the toughest overs at the death, he conceded only 27 runs in his spell, mixing pace, length, and angle with masterful variation. From my vantage point near his end, it was mesmerizing—his left-arm angle, subtle changes, and fearless execution swung the momentum our way.

And little did we know, Wahid’s greatest contribution was yet to come—with the bat.

In a big final, leadership matters — and Zubair got it spot on. He knew exactly who to bowl and when, showing real tactical brilliance. But more than that, his calm presence made all the difference.

Dropped catches, misfields, or bad balls — they happen. But with a composed captain like Zubair at the helm, the team stayed focused and confident throughout. You could see it in every player — belief, trust, and unity.

Well done, skipper. You led from the front and brought out the best in everyone.

The stage was set. MCC had posted 172. MSK would need composure, depth, and perhaps one heroic innings to claim our first-ever championship.

And as it turned out, what happened next was beyond even my wildest dreams.

To be continued in part 2

MCC batting

MSK Bowling