A "Brief" history of the Santa Clara Cricket Club, year by year, from 1987 to 2000.
Santa Clara Cricket Club has been a member of the Northern California Cricket Association (NCCA) since 1987. Started by Stan Kent and his fellow cricket enthusiasts playing on a matting wicket, the club has quickly grown into one of the largest and most active clubs in the NCCA. Within a few years of its inception, SCCC was recognized as the official cricket club of the city of Santa Clara.
Its ground, located in the City of Santa Clara, is an excellent, picturesque facility that hosts many of the NCCA premier tournaments. These include the National Inter-League Tournament, NCCA Six-a-Side Tournament, and A-League/B-League All-Star Game. SCCC has one of the largest and best practice facilities in the Bay Area, complete with an astroturf center wicket, and 2 batting nets including one astroturf and one concrete pitch.
SCCC members consistently win NCCA batting, bowling and fielding awards, and are regularly selected in NCCA teams. Its members balance their on-field contributions with service off the field; strengthening the league and promoting cricket in the Bay Area. Over the years its members have served on the NCCA Grounds Committees, Selection Committees, and Executive Committee.
SCCC celebrated its tenth year anniversary in June 1997 by hosting an 8-a-side tournament in honor of the late Austen D. Warburton who contributed significantly during its formative years. The tournament, inaugurated by Santa Clara Councilwoman Lisa Gilmore, was a grand success with most teams from the NCCA participating. In 1998, SCCC successfully co-hosted the National Inter-league Tournament and was privileged to welcome Sir Garfield Sobers to their home ground. In 1999, SCCC again stood at the forefront and co-hosted the National Inter-league tournament, which saw Chief Guest and batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar gracing our grounds.
Members who shaped the club:
Among the many who contributed to the club on and off the field, are the names of a few that were outstanding, and truly made a difference. Stan Kent founded the club and served as its President during the first three of its formative years. He now lives in Los Angeles. Stan Kent, Charlie Masch, Laks M. Sampath, Greg Widdicombe, Kiron Haltore, and Sridhar Ranganathan are Honorary Life Members of the club.
Other significant contributors include: Ammi Amaranth, Steve Anderson, Nilesh Bhagat, Shree Dharasker, Robin Easton, Naresh Govindaraj, Altaful Khan, S. Krishnamoorthy, Bharath Kumar, Justin Kumar, TR Ramesh, Clint Ramsey, Prasad Saggurti, Radha Sethuraman, Premal Shukla, Ramesh Subramanian, Peter West, Paul Whiting, Srinivas Krishnamurti, Sridhar Ranganathan, Kiron Haltore*, Sathya Maturi* and Puneet Grover*. (*Star indicates active player or member)
Past Executive Teams & Captains (1988-2000):
Jump to: 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
| 1988 | |
| President | Stan Kent |
| Captain | Stan Kent |
| Vice-Capt | Greg Widdicombe |
| SCCC's first year in the league started out with one team in The B-Division. They had mixed success and finished in the middle of the division. | |
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| 1989 | |
| President | Stan Kent |
| Captain A | Stan Kent |
| Captain B | Laks M. Sampath |
| Vice-Capt A | Clint Ramsey |
| Vice-Capt B | Jeff Finsand |
| Due to a large pool of interested cricketers, SCCC decided to expand its club to include two teams in the B-Division. The A-Team finished second in the league, the B-Team finished in the middle of the division. | |
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| 1990 | |
| President | Stan Kent |
| Captain A | Naresh Govindaraj |
| Captain B | Justin Kumar |
| Vice-Capt A | Clint Ramsey |
| Vice-Capt B | Sam Chopra |
| SCCC continued its participation in the League with two teams and was able to attract talented players that helped the A-Team finish a point short of winning the B-Division Championship. The B-Team performed extremely well and finished in the top four. | |
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| 1991 | |
| President | Clint Ramsey |
| Captain A | Altaful Khan |
| Captain B | Ammi Amaranth |
| Vice-Capt A | Clint Ramsey |
| Vice-Capt B | Krishnamoorthy |
| After having been bridesmaids for two years, the A-Team convincingly won the B-Division Championship and the Bank of India Cup. The B-Team once again finished in the top four and ended the year Runner-up in the Bank of India Cup. | |
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| 1992 | |
| President | Laks M. Sampath |
| Captain A | Altaful Khan |
| Captain B | Ram Venkatram |
| Vice-Capt A | Sachin Palkar |
| Vice-Capt B | Adam Pirrie |
| This was the first year Santa Clara fielded a team in the A-Division. In a fantastic debut, the team captured the Mike Miller Play-Off Cup, and was a close second for the League Championship. | |
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| 1993 | |
| President | Laks M. Sampath |
| Captain A | Bharath Kumar |
| Captain B | Shree Dharasker |
| Vice-Capt A | Justin Kumar |
| Vice-Capt B | Sam Chopra |
| Growing pains was the theme this year, as the Santa Clara teams struggled to find and maintain a rhythm throughout the season. Both teams finished the season in the lower half of the standings. | |
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| 1994 | |
| President | Shree Dharasker |
| Captain A | Bharath Kumar |
| Captain B | Laks M. Sampath |
| Vice-Capt A | Radha Sethuraman |
| Vice-Capt B | Sam Chopra |
| With a number of key players moving on, this year turned out to be one of rebuilding. Although there were some bright spots, much of the year was spent trying to stay afloat and rethinking strategy. | |
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| 1995 | |
| President | Ammi Amaranth |
| Captain A | Ram Venkatram |
| Captain B | Sam Chopra |
| Vice-Capt A | Naresh Govindaraj |
| Vice-Capt B | Laks M. Sampath |
| This was the best recruiting year for the club. A number of new players joined and more importantly contributed both on and off the field. The B-Team was runner-up in the Bank of India Cup, and once again finished in the top four in the B-Division Championship. The A-Team finished in the top five and reached the semi-finals of the Bank of India Cup. | |
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| 1996 | |
| President | Srinivas Krishnamurti |
| Captain A | Kiron Haltore |
| Captain B | Sam Chopra |
| Vice-Capt A | Rajesh Desai |
| Vice-Capt B | Puneet Grover |
| The A-team had a great season finishing second in the division. They also played the maximum number of games possible in the season. The B-team had a moderately successful season finishing fifth in the division. | |
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| 1997 | |
| President | Srinivas Krishnamurti |
| Captain A | Kiron Haltore |
| Captain B | Puneet Grover |
| Vice-Capt A | Nand Kumar |
| Vice-Capt B | Harsha Sathyamurthy |
| The A-team could not repeat their success of the previous year and finished in sixth place. They did however win the most sporting team award. The B-team had a fantastic season and finished second in the division, behind the first place team by just 3 points. The Bees also won the Bank of India Cup. | |
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| 1998 | |
| President | Kiron Haltore |
| Captain A | Babu Gopaladhine |
| Captain B | Puneet Grover |
| Captain C | Prasad Saggurti |
| Vice-Capt A | Shyam Nagaraj |
| Vice-Capt B | Ravi Shankar |
| Vice-Capt C | Krishnan Srinivasan |
| 1998 saw the addition of a third team to the club, making SCCC the largest club in NCCA history. The C-team immediately met with success becoming the first team in the club to win the D division championship. The A-team finished 4th in the division and made it to the finals of the Miller Cup. The B-team continued its successful ways and finished 2nd in the division, 2 points out of first place. The B-team also brought home the Mueller Cup for the first time in the club's history. The club also unveiled its industrial strength web site, still located at http://www.santaclaracc.org. | |
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| 1999 | |
| President | Greg Widdicombe |
| Captain A | Umesh Kelkar |
| Captain B | Sathya Maturi |
| Captain C | Praveen Devulapalli |
| Vice-Capt A | Mushtaq Mughal |
| Vice-Capt B | Dawood Mamsa |
| Vice-Capt C | Laxman Ganesan |
| After a slow start for all three teams, SCCC's fortunes surged as members strove manfully to effect a remarkable turnaround to reach the top of their respective divisions. The Aces finished 3rd in the league in the closest finish in NCCA history, and sparkled in post-season play, winning the Miller Cup in convincing fashion over Sunnyvale CC, thus making up for a narrow loss to the same team in the semifinals of the knockout Cup. The Bees reached the finals of the Mueller Cup, and the Rough Seas, though playing up in a tougher division after having topped the D-division in 1998, performed respectably by finishing in the top half of the C-division. | |
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| 2000 | |
| President | Puneet Grover |
| Captain A | Umesh Kelkar |
| Captain B | Dawood Mamsa |
| Captain C | Mahendran Chidambaram |
| Vice-Capt A | Yunis Mustafa |
| Vice-Capt B | Sridhar Ranganathan |
| Vice-Capt C | Ravi Vellanki |
| Beginning the new century, SCCC changed guard again with a mix of youth and experience heading its teams and looked forward to a great season on and off the field, striving to maintain its premier status in the Northern California Cricket Association. SCCC was honored to be represented at the helm of the NCCA by its new President Laks M. Sampath, who took over from another SCCC alum, Srinivas Krishnamurti. | |
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