The Reflector

Issue date: 3/27/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Courtesy photo The Mississippi State Cricket Club was founded during the fall semester of the 2000 school year.

During three tightly contested matches in the 2007 Alumni Cup, returning alumni of the Mississippi State Cricket Club provided a painful lesson to the club's current generation that "new" does not always mean "improved."

The tournament, which took place on the Drill Field over the weekend, was a contest between former members of the MSU Cricket Club and the club's current squad.

The two teams traded victories on Saturday, with the Alumni narrowly taking the first match 95-91.

State's current squad managed to best its predecessors by 34 runs in the afternoon match, extracting revenge with a 131-97 victory.

The win, along with the weekend's sunny skies, conveniently set up Sunday's match as the tournament's grand finale.

The Alumni were left chasing the score after their successors closed out the first inning with 93 runs. The current squad held strong for much of the match, but its defense became increasingly shaky as the Alumni narrowed the gap.

The present Bulldogs were eventually undone by a late surge from the Alumni, losing by two runs in a dramatic finish. The match ended 95-93, with the Alumni taking home the trophy and the knowledge that MSU cricket still carries on strongly, even in their absence.

"It does not matter which team won," said club president Surya Saha. "Now the new guys have an appreciation of our club's tremendous history and past performers. I hope this will inspire them to greater feats in the future."

Vinod Rajan, Alok Singh and Krishnendu Chandra all picked up man-of-the-match awards, while Prabhuram Jagadeesan and Alok Singh earned the best bowler and batsman of the tournament, respectively.

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