Cricketing legend Clive Lloyd (back row, center) poses with young Indonesian cricketers (Courtesy of Clive Lloyd)

Clive Lloyd, the West Indian cricketing legend and one of the best captains and leaders the game of cricket has seen, was in Jakarta over the weekend as the guest of honor at the Jakarta Cricket Association’s (JCA) Gala dinner, held at the Grand Hyatt.

Addressing a jam-packed room of cricket enthusiasts, he spoke about the huge potential that he saw for the further growth of the game in Indonesia.

“Many of us in the cricketing world are not aware that so many kids play cricket in Indonesia. The ICC must support the further development of the game, through a structured program” said Lloyd during Saturday’s dinner.

Earlier he had traveled to the Cibubur Cricket Ground to witness Indonesian boys and girls from across nine provinces, taking part in the inaugural edition of the Indonesian Cricket League.

He spent time talking to the cricketers, their coaches and Indonesian Cricket Association (PCI) administrators and came back heartened by the energy and passion he had seen.

The JCA felicitated the Indonesian men’s and women’s teams for their success at the SEA Games. The Indonesian men’s team also won the JCA T20 tournament capping off a very successful year for Indonesians in cricket.

The gala dinner also celebrated and honored the winners of the season gone by.

The evening started with William Noronha being awarded the JCA Lifetime Achievement award for his energetic contribution to the JCA over the last 15 years.

Agi Saptiazi was named the Best Performing Indonesian player of the season. The Division 2 honors board was led by Keyur Moradia who won the MVP of the League award. The Best bowler award went to Anjaneyulu Katta while Ranjan Shankar won Best Batsman. Challengers CC, which had a fabulous season, claimed the Division 2 title while Emerio CC was runner-up.

Players from Metro Indians swept the individual awards in Division 1 with Sabu Joy claiming Best Bowler, and the prolific Kirubasankar CR taking home both the Best Batsman and the MVP trophies.

The WISCI Wanderers took home the Division 1 winners trophy, their sixth consecutive win. Although Yadavas Senayan CC ended as runner up in Division 1, it fought back well to claim the Champions Cup for the season.

Meanwhile, the MVP of last season, Kirubasankar, celebrated his award, by cracking a superb ton to almost single-handedly lead Metro Indians to a fighting win over Jakarta Barbarians. In a herculean effort, Kirubasankar batted for almost 35 overs as he shouldered his team’s innings, scoring 134 out of a team score of 213. Vivek Nair and Mohib Hussaini were Barbarians’ best bowlers while their keeper, Riaz Hyder, accounted for five dismissals.

In reply, the Barbarians looked in good control of the chase as Hyder and Ben Burgess put together 105 runs in quick time. The introduction of Aditya Khurana and Kirubasankar changed the course of the game as their tight bowling forced the batsmen to make mistakes. Burgess fell in a bizarre fashion, obstructing the field, and the other batsmen couldn’t finish off the chase and Metro ended up winning by 10 runs.

Yadavas Chairos Tigers continued their unbeaten run with an easy win over Jaguar CC in their T20 game. Asghar Ali was the lone bright spot in the Jaguar CC batting innings as his 63 guided Jaguar CC to 125 all out. Fernandez Nato was the most successful Tigers bowler and he had good support from Anjar Tadarus and Suda Arsa. The experienced Muhaddis and Ramdoni batted sensibly as their unbeaten 81-run partnership took Tigers to a comfortable, seven-wicket win.

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