[Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

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foreignfield
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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

Post by foreignfield »

Semifinal 1

Strauss’ daddy hundred trumps spirited bowling display

grant 241/3 beats jaybro 194 all out (34.4 overs) by 47 runs


Team grant’s batting line-up is teeming with youth, class and power, but in today’s first semifinal it was the more old-fashioned methodical approach of Andrew Strauss that came to the fore. His career best 158 off 145 balls defied jaybro’s variable and versatile bowling attack and set up what proved to be, in the end, a comfortable victory at the beautiful ZCF Academy Ground with the virtual jacarandas in full bloom. Meanwhile, over at ZCF Sports Club, Team Zimbabwe needed all the space the main ground could offer, as their training squad assembled in expectation of an exhibition series against the eventual tournament winners. Needless to say every player who had ever donned the Zim shirt in an ODI since 2010 was present, as well as quite a few extras who had at some stage or the other been invited to a previous camp. The number present made social distancing in the outfield difficult.

But back to today’s main action. While Strauss cautiously played himself in, Jonny Bairstow kick-started the innings with an explosive 56 off 43 balls. Virat Kohli, too often a passenger in this format, finally carved out a score, but whether his 46 off 62 balls will silence the critics back home remains to be seen. He, as well as Rassie van der Dussen (33*), took a back seat as Strauss went through the gears and propelled the innings to a very strong 293. But when jaybro’s bowlers had finished with their opposition, only 241 of these runs remained. Led by the contrasting duo of Sikandar Raza (3/40) and Kagiso Rabada (3/31), team jaybro only conceded 189 runs. Watson bowled just as economically for his 1/32 off 9 overs as Mohammad Amir (1/39). In fact, jaybro’s wealth of bowling options meant that McCullum could pick and choose his bowlers, JP Duminy (1/50 off 9.4) also putting in a decent spell and reducing a wicketless Dale Steyn to a virtual spectator (0/7 off 1.2 overs). Yadav, who had been tonked around in the nets at the rate of 8.4 runs an over, didn’t even get a bowl.

On a good batting deck, the target of 242 did not look out of reach for jaybro as long as Sharma (44) and Kumar Sangakkara (45) were at the crease, Ryan Harris earlier bowling Watson for just five. But once the stand was broken when Sanga failed to respond to a call for a quick run and the resulting run out, jaybro’s batting collapsed like a house of cards against disciplined but in no way penetrative bowling. Jayawardene (7) edged Swann (1/29) behind, Duminy (1) misjudged Rashid Khan’s (1/45) googly, and Raza (2) chopped a seemingly harmless ball by Faulkner (1/49) onto his stumps. Amidst the mayhem only McCullum stood tall, but when he ran himself out for 18 trying to force the pace against Brett Lee (0/37) the fate of the match was decided. All that Steyn (12), Rabada (9), Yadav (10) and Amir (6) could do was to push the batting innings one run beyond Strauss’ solo effort. Grant’s bowling performance of 228/5 gave jaybro a final total of 194, but it is grant who takes the first spot in this season’s final.

MOM
Andrew Strauss

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CrimsonAvenger
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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

Post by CrimsonAvenger »

foreignfield wrote:
Wed Jun 03, 2020 2:51 pm
Meanwhile, over at ZCF Sports Club, Team Zimbabwe needed all the space the main ground could offer, as their training squad assembled in expectation of an exhibition series against the eventual tournament winners. Needless to say every player who had ever donned the Zim shirt in an ODI since 2010 was present, as well as quite a few extras who had at some stage or the other been invited to a previous camp.
Well, that would be interesting!

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grant
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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

Post by grant »

Once again the bowlers let me down a bit but the batting is saving me.

foreignfield
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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

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Semifinal 2

Bell strolls into the final

CrimsonAvenger 226/3 (41 overs) beats rusty17 225/5 by seven wickets with 54 balls remaining


Somewhat preposterously billed as the “Clash of the Titans” by some sections of the forum press, today’s second semifinal did not quite live up to the hype. Yes, the spectators were treated to two strikingly similar centuries by Shai Hope (109 off 145 balls) and Ian Bell (113 off 143), and we also saw a change to the narrative as the side batting second successfully chased down the target, but the match lacked both high drama and spectacular bowling and batting feats. It was a day of solid performances all around.

Having been put into bat, rusty17’s openers started cautiously, Tamim Iqbal (17 off 31) struggling to time the ball before gifting Andrich Nortje (1/47) his only wicket. KL Rahul (48 off 64) fell to DJ Bravo (2/41) just when he was trying to cut loose, Ross Taylor (9) and D. Miller (6) both caught in the deep, trying to launch Woakes (3/41) and Ferguson (2/44). All the while Shai Hope was going through the motions at the other end, unable to shift gears, even when Amit Mishra (0/54) struggled for consistency. By now he had been joined by Ryan ten Doeschate who made sure there was no collapse and at least managed to score at almost a run a ball (38 off 39). But a batting score of 227, complemented by CA’s 222 runs conceded and thus resulting in a total of 225, was way below par.

When Virender Sehwag took strike for CrimsonAvenger’s reply, the match could have been over in a second, his random innings number just missing a double century that would have sealed the victory single-handedly. As it was, Sehwag barely reached double figures (10), and rusty17 sniffed his chance. And it was not that his bowlers led him down badly either. Morkel (3/70) and Philander (3/54) took six albeit expensive wickets between them. Starc (0/40) and Narine (0/39) kept the runs down but searched in vain for a decisive breakthrough, Angelo Mathews the pick of the bowlers with 4/59. All in all rusty17’s bowlers took 262/10, i.e. conceded 247 runs while Gambhir (50) and Bell quietly completed their century stand. When Shreyas Iyer (31) came in, the revised target of 204 already loomed large and was reached without much ado with the last ball of the 41st over.

MOM
Ian Bell

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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

Post by CrimsonAvenger »

Well, hello there! The Underdogs and the discards punching well above their weight! True "Zim of the 90's" style. Coach Grant Flower is well and truly chuffed with this clinical performance and is hoping for another great outing in the final!

foreignfield
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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

Post by foreignfield »

Hello and welcome to our coverage of the ZCF Simulation Cricket Grand Final.

The sun is out, a slight breeze wafts across the pristine outfield, and both managers are ready for the toss.

Up goes the coin, heads is the call and ... CrimsonAvenger wins the toss. Is he going to bat or bowl first?

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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

Post by CrimsonAvenger »

foreignfield wrote:
Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:31 am
Up goes the coin, heads is the call and ... CrimsonAvenger wins the toss. Is he going to bat or bowl first?
Well, if you are waiting for my call, then I'll have a bat first. Always best to put up a score on the board in the finals. :)

foreignfield
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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

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Lunch Report

Best of the Rest XI sets grant 229 to win


Throughout the tournament CrimsonAvenger’s veteran trio of Gambhir, Sehwag and Bell has helped him to solid starts. Today it was no different. Sehwag took the fight to the opposition from the first ball of the match, hurled down at ferocious speed by Brett Lee (1/52), but disappearing over the boundary just as quickly. He raced to 38 off 25 balls before playing one shot too many against Harris (1/48). Gambhir (33 off 53) was more circumspect while Ian Bell, fresh from his match-winning hundred, coasted towards his half-century, Faulkner (2/48) finally breaking the stand by trapping Gambhir plump in front. Swann (2/52) soon after removed Bell (53 off 64) and at 124/3 in the 24th over the innings was very much in the balance.

Shreyas Iyer had batted with gusto in the previous matches, but boundaries were hard to come by against Swann and Rashid Khan. Still, grant desperately needed a breakthrough. Strauss brought back Brett Lee who immediately breached the defenses of Trevor Bailey (21 off 26), and then Iyer (30 off 37) tried to force the pace against Rashid, Buttler completing a regulation stumping. Carey (45 off 55) kept some sort of momentum going while Afghanistan’s grey-bearded teen sensation tied DJ Bravo in all sorts of knots, the popular West Indian finally holing out for a painstaking 18 off 35 balls. Woakes could add only four more runs as the innings closed on 242. Not a bad effort given the fact that only Bell had passed fifty and only Sehwag had managed to score at better than a run a ball.

Grant’s bowlers shared eight wickets between them, Rashid Khan easily the standout performer with his 2/19. His superb economy rate ensured that his team only conceded 214 runs, CrimsonAvenger thereby ending on a slightly disappointing 228. In the short history of this competition, only one side has managed to defend less runs (jaybro in the preliminary round vs. Kriterion_BD). The Best of the Rest XI attack has its work cut out.

Will Amit Mishra again strike gold in Zim? Are grant’s explosive batsmen going to implode? Stay tuned …

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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

Post by CrimsonAvenger »

foreignfield wrote:
Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:12 pm
Lunch Report

Best of the Rest XI sets grant 229 to win

Strauss brought back Brett Lee who immediately breached the defenses of Trevor Bailey (21 off 26)
Well, I knew this would happen, which is why I had picked George Bailey as skipper! :)
foreignfield wrote:
Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:12 pm
while Afghanistan’s grey-bearded teen sensation...
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Coach Grant Flower at innings break: Ja, this is not ideal. We are probably 30 runs short, but we'll go out there and do our best and try to enjoy ourselves too.

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grant
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Re: [Draft 2] The Playoffs -- Season Two

Post by grant »

foreignfield wrote:
Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:12 pm
Will Amit Mishra again strike gold in Zim? Are grant’s explosive batsmen going to implode? Stay tuned …
Is he the leggie who took lots of wickets against us in that 2013 series?

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