Best Bowler Award – MK AIR Cricket Club 2025 Season
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A Different Kind of Recognition
While I spend my weekdays building loyalty analytics platforms at Marks & Spencer, my weekends belong to a different passion: cricket. And this season, that passion paid off in the best way possible.
I'm incredibly honored to have received the Best Bowler Award for MK AIR Cricket Club's 2025 season! 🏏
Thank You
A massive thank you to:
Saravanan – Our incredible captain who believed in me and gave me the ball in crucial moments. Your leadership and trust meant everything this season.
Raghav – Our club president whose dedication keeps MK AIR Cricket Club thriving. Thank you for creating an environment where we can all pursue our passion for cricket.
And of course, to all my teammates at MK AIR Cricket Club – cricket is a team sport, and this award is as much yours as it is mine.
The Numbers Behind the Award
Here's my bowling performance across the 2025 season with MK AIR Cricket Club:
| Date | Opposition | Overs | Figures | Economy | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26/08/25 | Zoho Cricket Club | 3.0 | 1/13 | 4.33 ⭐ | 91 |
| 12/08/25 | Brookland Blasters CC | 3.0 | 1/15 | 5.00 | 79 |
| 04/08/25 | MK AIR CC (for Punjabi CC) | 4.0 | 2/31 | 7.75 | 90 |
| 17/07/25 | Aylesbury Outlawz | 3.0 | 0/16 | 5.33 | 54 |
| 08/07/25 | Safran Sharkz | 4.0 | 1/37 | 9.25 | 33 |
| 02/07/25 | Safran Sharkz | 3.0 | 1/15 | 5.00 | 79 |
| 23/06/25 | Zoho Cricket Club | 4.0 | 1/19 | 4.75 | 113 🏆 |
| 17/06/25 | MK Gladiators | 4.0 | 2/25 🎯 | 6.25 | 106 |
| 11/06/25 | Brookland Blasters CC | 3.0 | 0/25 | 8.33 | 18 |
| 15/05/25 | Aylesbury Outlawz | 2.0 | 1/23 | 11.50 | 25 |
| 05/05/25 | Safran Sharkz | 4.0 | 1/36 | 9.00 | 33 |
| 29/04/25 | MK Super Kings | 4.0 | 0/41 | 10.25 | 0 |
Season Highlights:
- 🏆 Highest Points: 1/19 vs Zoho CC (113 points) - Best overall performance
- 🎯 Most Wickets: 2/25 vs MK Gladiators (106 points) - Best wicket-taking spell
- ⭐ Most Economical: 1/13 vs Zoho CC (4.33 runs per over) - Miserly bowling
- Total Wickets: 12 wickets across the season
- Economy Rate: 6.74 runs per over (season average)
- Consistency: Picked up wickets in 10 out of 12 matches
- Strike Rate: 1 wicket every 19.5 runs
View my complete stats on Last Man Stands.
Video Highlights
Want to see me in action? Check out my bowling highlights and wicket compilations on my Last Man Stands profile (click on the Videos tab).
From yorkers to slower balls, from outswingers to the occasional bouncer – these clips capture the moments that made this season special. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing the stumps cartwheel or getting that crucial breakthrough when your team needs it most! 🎥🏏
Why Cricket Matters to Me
People often ask how I balance a demanding career in data engineering with cricket. The truth is, they complement each other perfectly.
In data engineering, I spend my days:
- Analyzing patterns in customer behavior
- Optimizing algorithms for performance
- Building systems that scale
In cricket, I spend my weekends:
- Reading batsmen and adapting my line and length
- Optimizing my bowling variations based on pitch conditions
- Performing under pressure in tight match situations
Both require pattern recognition, strategic thinking, and continuous improvement. Both teach you that consistency beats brilliance. And both are incredibly rewarding when your hard work pays off.
The Data Engineer Who Bowls
There's something poetic about being a data engineer who plays cricket. During the week, I'm building Databricks pipelines and Streamlit dashboards. On weekends, I'm running in to bowl medium-pace deliveries, trying to break partnerships.
What they have in common:
- Pattern Recognition: Reading data trends vs reading batsmen
- Optimization: Query performance vs bowling economy
- Adaptability: Changing tech stacks vs changing bowling strategies
- Team Collaboration: Engineering teams vs cricket teams
- Performance Under Pressure: Production deployments vs death overs
What's Next
This award isn't a destination—it's motivation to get better. Next season, I'm aiming to:
- Improve economy rate and become even more difficult to score off
- Develop new variations to keep batsmen guessing
- Bowl more overs in crucial match situations
- Help MK AIR Cricket Club achieve even greater success
But for now, I'm just grateful. Grateful to my teammates, grateful to my captain and president, and grateful for the opportunity to pursue two passions: building data platforms and playing the sport I love.
To my fellow data engineers: Don't forget to have a life outside code. Whether it's cricket, music, art, or anything else—pursue it with the same passion you bring to engineering. You'll be better at both.
To my cricket teammates: Thank you for an incredible season. This trophy represents every practice session, every team meeting, and every moment we supported each other on the field. Here's to many more seasons together!
Best Bowler. MK AIR Cricket Club. 2025.
Cheers,
Vijay Anand Pandian
P.S. Now I need to find shelf space for this trophy next to my Sky Star Award and M&S recognition. My apartment is turning into a trophy cabinet! 😄🏏