T

he curtains to the Jakarta Cricket Association'€™s (JCA) season 2014-2015 were brought down in a fitting ceremony on Saturday, at the Hotel Mandarin Oriental, Jakarta.

The glitzy evening, which had all the fanfare associated with the completion of yet another successful season, had Ian Chappell, the legendary Australian, as the guest of honor, according to a press release on Monday.

Chappell, a former captain of the Australian team and now a celebrated and respected cricket commentator, drew upon the wealth of his experience in playing cricket, enlivening the audience with his humor and wit and recalling instances from his playing days. By virtue of his current active engagement with the game, Chappell was able to highlight the constant evolution the game of cricket is going through.

The event, which recognized and rewarded the individual and team achievements commenced with a note of introduction by Suresh Subramanian, the president of the JCA, who reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the growth of cricket in Indonesia, through the efforts of the JCA.

The competition saw 23 teams with more than 350 players involved in 159 games across three venues, over a period of 11 months, across all three formats '€” 35-overs league, T20 and Sixes tournament.

Desandri Candil Saputra won the award for the most promising Indonesian player.

In Division 1, WISCI Wanderers bagged the '€œchampions award'€ for the fourth consecutive year, while WPP India XI won the '€œrunner-up'€ trophy. Pallav Malhotra (WPP India XI) won the award for the '€œmost valuable player'€, while the awards for the '€œbest batsman'€ and '€œbest bowler'€ went to Pratyush Chaturvedi (GMIS) and Scott Masson (Jakarta Barbarians) respectively. Prakash Vijaykumar bagged the '€œbest wicket keeper'€
award.

In Division 2, Fez Rebels bagged the '€œchampions award'€, while TKCC took home the '€œrunner-up'€ trophy. Marten Eddy (Fez Rebels) won the award for the '€œmost valuable player'€, while the awards for the '€œbest batsman'€ and '€œbest bowler'€ went to Marten Eddy and Swaroop Chavan respectively. Muhammad Ramdoni won the award for the '€œbest wicket keeper'€ award.

For his tremendous and unstinting contribution to cricket in Indonesia, the JCA presented the '€œLifetime Achievement Award'€ to its former president Randy Reckerman.

The evening, which had sumptuous food, had Josh keeping the audience enthralled with his magical illusions. The JCA also held an auction of cricket memorabilia, the proceeds of which went toward supporting the furtherance of cricket in Indonesia.

The TATA Motors JCA League for the new season 2015-2016, involving 16 teams across two divisions, starts on Independence weekend thereby ensuring there is non-stop cricketing action, right through the year, for the ardent cricket lover.