HAVERFORD, Pa. - After their decisive victory against Merion Cricket Club, Haverford faced off against another familiar foe in their Sunday afternoon match against British Officer's Cricket Club (BOCC). The side struggled with multiple injuries and were unable to overcome the absence of some key players in their eventual defeat to BOCC.
Batting first, Haverford lost an early wicket, with sophomore Mohanish Bajaj being dismissed in the second over for just one. Senior captain Samuel Monks played a cautious innings after this quick wicket, pairing with sophomore Sidd Phatak to put up 23 runs.
After a hip injury in the previous match ended his innings prematurely, Phatak continued to struggle with this injury. Phatak preferred to smash boundaries to score runs in an attempt to limit the amount he needed to run. His four boundaries meant he was able to score a quick 19 runs off 18 deliveries before being dismissed.
Despite Monks and Phatak safely seeing the Fords through the powerplay, the loss of Monks and Phatak in subsequent overs put the Fords in a spot of trouble. Junior Samanyu Kurra, however, would see to it that the Fords reached a respectable total.
Kurra scored consistently and cautiously, preferring to hurry for twos, threes and a five (the first five-run by Haverford since 2019) over boundaries. Kurra would go on to make his maiden half century for the college and Haverford's first of the season.
At the other end, Kurra was found in steady partnerships with sophomores Nathan Moore and Leo Gruenstein as well as junior captain Rebecca Stern. Moore continued his form from the previous match with 19 off 21, while Leo surpassed his total from Haverford's first match of the season for a career best 12 off 12. Stern showed her defensive skills with a 16-ball stand.
The stability these three gave Kurra allowed him to strike the ball freely. Kurra would finish Haverford's innings with an unbeaten 54 runs off 52 deliveries, bringing Haverford to a total of 141 off their innings. With a fast outfield, Haverford knew that defending 141 would be no easy task. Their defense was made even harder by the absence of Phatak from the bowling attack, whose hip injury prevented him from bowling.
Sophomore Eugene Yang would instead share the new ball with Bajaj, who was forced to make the switch from spin to pace bowling to fill Phatak's slot. Despite the pair being unable to make a breakthrough in the opening spell, freshman Ishpuneet Singh was able to take a wicket in the powerplay, leaving BOCC at 47-1 after six.
BOCC was able to recover from this, and would go on to put up runs consistently without losing wickets. Sophomore Joshua Corbett, coming off a career best innings, was able to offer some resistance in the middle overs, taking a wicket in the 16th over. Unfortunately for Haverford, BOCC was able to chase the total in the 20th over, defeating the Fords by eight wickets.
While the absence of Phatak and Patel in their bowling attack was felt, Haverford was heartened by the performance Corbett with the ball this weekend, as well as by their middle and lower order batters, who showed the depth of the team and their ability to be competitive in the absence of multiple players.
With Phatak and Patel slated to return at full health next weekend, Haverford will like their chances to pick up a couple wins next weekend when they face off against Merion in an away match and University of Pennsylvania at home.