[Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

[foreignfield]

Miller at 5, Mathews at 7 has been duly noted.

[foreignfield]

Right, it seems that there are no more changes, or else managers have either lost interest or not visited the forum during the last couple of days, so let's get the ball rolling as season two roars into life

[jaybro]

I really need a win here

[foreignfield]

Jaybro prevails in low-scoring thriller

Preliminary playoff 1

Jaybro 211 all out (39 overs) beats Kriterion_BD 204 all out (29.4 overs) by 7 runs

After season one which produced a lot of runs from the top of the order under the old two innings average model, often leaving the power-hitters high and dry, think tanks the competition over pondered their options and made slight changes to their batting order, but if your team can't bat the full 50 overs, all that planning goes out of the window as we saw today in the opening encounter of season two at ZCF Sportsclub.

Winning the toss under clear skies, jaybro decided to bat first. With the Fizz (4/26) moving the ball prodigiously this soon looked like a bad idea, as both Watson (6), promoted to open, and Sangakkara (4) fell early. Sharma (78 off 79) and Jayawardene (44/50) rebuilt the innings at good pace, Sharma hitting successive boundaries of Afridi (0/62) who seemed a bit rusty. After Imran Tahir (4/26) trapped Mahela lbw and soon after accounted for JP Duminy (12), Brendon McCullum came to the crease intent on proving a point. His 55 off only 25 balls should have propelled his team towards a substantial total, but with wickets falling all around him (Raza for 6, Steyn for 12) and last three batsmen only scoring five runs between them, the innings closed with 11 overs to spare at 227. For Kriterion_BD the Fizz and Tahir were ably supported by Alzarri Joseph (3/42) while Mosaddek Hossain and Maxwell bowled 8 wicketless overs between them for 43 runs. Overall the bowlers did a splendid job, conceding only 194 runs in their 50 overs -- which gave jaybro a total of 211.

In reply, Kriterion_BD, despite the early loss of Jason Roy (4), bowled by Rabada (2/50), was looking good while Warner (34) and Faf du Plessis (62 off 40 balls) were at the crease. But once Shane Watson (2/39 off 8 overs) had removed both, the collaps began: Mushfiq (6) and Maxwell (2) fell cheaply, and when Mohammad Amir (4/30 off 7 overs) bowled Hetmyer (21) and Yadav (1/18 off 5) had Mosaddek (10) caught on the boundary, a victory looked far off. For a while Alzarri Joseph (22 off 13) threatened a revival, but with the tail collapsing around him, only Tahir resisting for a while with 8, Kriterion's batting closed on 171 with more than 20 overs left unused. Jaybro's bowling was good if unspectacular, Steyn going wicketless (0/53) and Duminy and Raza bowling ten overs for 56 and no wickets, the bowling score 236 -- which improved Kriterion's total to 204 ... still 7 runs short.

MOM
Brendon McCullum

After some debate in the press box whether Baz or Mo Amir deserved the award, with Rohit Sharma another candidate, the panel settled on everybody's favourite tattooed Kiwi biceps.

[foreignfield]

Well, the forum expected more of a reaction from jaybro after his first win in this format, but maybe he needs time to reflect on what was, after all, another lackluster performance by his team. His players really need to step up when they meet unofficial defending champions brmtaylor.com in the quarters.

[foreignfield]

Bowlers win the day!

foreignfield 241/7 (50 overs) beats Zimbos_05 232 all out (50 overs) by nine runs

What at one stage looked like a stroll towards a competitive target, accentuated with dazzling stroke-play of the highest order, was turned on its head today at ZCFSC by a rare feat of collective bowling excellence as foreignfieldʼs six bowlers shared 16 wickets between them, everyone chipping in with at least two apiece. A brilliant batting effort by Zimbo_05's top order was not enough to stem the tide and ended in what must rank as one of the most frustrating defeats in ZCF simulation cricket history.

Earlier in the day, Sachin Tendulkar turned back the clock with a serene 85, after Hafeez (10) had succumbed to Bumrah who was easily his teams leading bowler with a superb 4/22 from his ten overs. Rahul Dravid scored a fluent 32 from 31 balls, and then Misbah put down the anchor at no. 4 (25 off 39) before Murali (2/60) ripped one through his defenses. Mr. Dependable, Shakib ul Hasan, hit yet another half century (56). Searching for wickets, AB brought back Anderson (0/60) and Curran (0/59) in vain, Jofra Archer (1/62) providing the much-needed breakthrough. Oram came and went for a quick ten runs, but at the other end Chanderpaul was running out of balls to block as he stone-walled Bumrah’s death bowling to the tune of 5 runs from 20 balls. A mediocre batting score of 223 was met by a less than convincing bowling performance (263/7), even if Klaasen took three catches to give his side a 5 run bonus (while allowing one bye to get bye) and a bowling total of 259: The target was therefore 241, about par for the course.

After the lunch break Zimbo_05’s batsmen looked unstoppable. Usman Khawaja scored a brisk 21, but the innings of the day flowed from the blade of Hashim Amla, all elegance, poise and class. His sizzling century (129 runs off 115 balls) was deftly complemented by the more business-like Jonathan Trott (94 off 121). AB stepped on the accelerator with a quickfire 21 from 12 balls and Marnus Labuschagne gave a batting exhibition for his run-a-ball 29 which had the spectators purring with delight and sighing with regret as they were robbed of watching him score the century he deserved. A provisional batting score of 294 really should have been enough for victory and a place in the main draw, but alas, foreignfield’s bowlers had other ideas. The fiery trio of Ngidi (4/51), Tait (3/48) and Bond (2/50) ripped through their simulation counterparts like a knive through butter, Oram (2/42) and Shakib (2/35) proved as difficult to get away as usual and when Mohammad Hafeez (3/29) found sharp turn from a suddenly helpful track, it was all over. A bowling analysis of 245/16 from 50 overs, revised to 170 runs conceded under the rules of this competition, stopped Zimbos_05 short of the target.

MOM
Shakib ul Hasan

It was difficult to single out one of foreignfield's bowlers, so the accolade goes to the allround excellence of his number one draft pick.

[jaybro]

Well, the forum expected more of a reaction from jaybro after his first win in this format, but maybe he needs time to reflect on what was, after all, another lackluster performance by his team. His players really need to step up when they meet unofficial defending champions brmtaylor.com in the quarters.

My apologies I have been very busy at work

I’m very happy with my victory indeed!!! To get it against my favourite sparring partner Kriterion makes it even sweater I won’t lie.

Also I feel vindicated in selecting BMac now as his innings really won it for me.

Thanks FF

[eugene]

jaybro and kriterion are forum also-rans, hence the lack of interest in this "clash of the titans". The performance of Team Eugene will no doubt boast far greater interest.

[zimbos_05]

Ok, but like I'm the rubber and you're the glue. So my result bounces off me and sticks to you. Hence, I win. Yay.

[CrimsonAvenger]

Wow, these matches are turning out to be thrilling nail-biters!

So, where would my team be facing your team? Nürnberg Cricket Club or Gangotri Glades, Mysore? Or are we sticking with the ZCF Sports Club?