Announcement

**UTBash** · 07-20-2017, 09:01 PM

South Africa in England - One Day series squad news

South African squad

Batsmen
AB De Villiers
Hashim Amla
Farhaan Berhardien
JP Duminy
Faf Du Plessis
David Miller
Quinton De Kock (WK)

All Rounders
Chris Morris
Wayne Parnell
Dwaine Pretorius

Bowlers
Imran Tahir
Keshav Maharaj
Morne Morkel
Andy Phehlukwayo
Kagiso Rabada

The South African travelling squad looks like an experienced one along with some talented young players such as Rabada and De Kock, despite their age they're kicking it at international level with plenty of runs and wickets under their belts. Keshav Maharaj is the only potential debutant.

English Squad

Batsmen
Alex Hales
Jason Roy
Ben Duckett (WK)
Eoin Morgan
Joe Root
Jonny Bairstow (WK)
Jos Buttler (WK)

All Rounders
Moeen Ali
Chris Woakes
Ben Stokes
Adil Rashid
David Willey

Bowlers
Mark Wood
Reece Topley
Jake Ball

It wasn't easy to decide on the squad I should choose and I almost opted to select players I would have selected in the older versions. However I felt like other players deserved a chance to show me what they can do. I did however select Topley as he was fantastic on the older games for me, couldn't let go, hopefully he comes up with the goods for me on this one!

**UTBash** · 07-20-2017, 09:17 PM

First ODI vs SA - The Teams

Ben Duckett is preferred to Jason Roy at the top of order after some fine form in the domestic game. South Africa hand a debut to left arm spinner Maharaj.

**UTBash** · 07-20-2017, 09:37 PM

First ODI vs SA - The Game

Toss News: England win the toss in this day/night game and choose to bat!

It was a solid start from Duckett and Hales, being 40-0 from 8. However, both fell before the 20 over mark after getting starts! Root and Bairstow were required to build a platform for the later overs and they did just that, taking us to 137-2 from 30 overs. I was hoping we could kick on from here and with Pretorius going for 9 an over from his first 3 overs, felt like we could target him. The pair recorded a record 2nd wicket partnership vs South Africa (170) in the 39th over, after we had piled on the runs and were on 234-2!! They were getting smashed! Maharaj halted us in the following over though and it was down to Bairstow and the rest of the lads to take us well over 300. An entertaining innings came to an end with Woakes providing 25 not out from 11 balls as Pretorius conceded 110 from his 10!

They came out all guns blazing and at 85-1 from the first 10 overs we needed to find a way to steady the flow of runs. Rashid was the man to start a collapse of wickets and he was followed up by brilliant spells by Stokes and Ball who ended as the pick of our bowlers! We might feel like we let them get too many though as their last 2 wickets put on over 60 as Woakes and Willey struggled.

Batting Award: Jonny Bairstow. The Yorkshire-man was in fine form hitting 104 from 88 balls!

Bowling Award: Ben Stokes. He was the pick of the bowlers by a mile and was the only bowler going at under 6 an over!

Series State: England lead 1-0 with 2 to play. I'm feeling good!!

**UTBash** · 07-20-2017, 10:36 PM

Second ODI vs SA - The Game

Team News

England replace David Willey with Moeen Ali on a pitch more favourable for spin.
South Africa are unchanged

The Toss: England win the toss and bat first.

Once again we lost Hales within 10 overs but Root and Duckett provided stability with a hundred partnership and half centuries each, the second for Root in as many games. He fell for 60 as Pretorius looked to get rid of the demons from the first game, leaving Duckett to be joined by the in form Jonny Bairstow! In a similar position to the last game at 142-2 from 30, the foundation was set once again! Duckett followed Root and was unable to kick on, leaving two new men at the crease. Parnell bowled a handy spell to get a couple more wickets and we needed a big push to get to a competitive target. Morgan and Stokes combined their hard hitting style to help us knock over 90 from the last 10, with Buttler's 65 coming from 51 balls.

Jake Ball took the new ball for the first time along with Woakes and didn't disappoint. The two combined to leave South Africa 49-3 from 10 overs, deep trouble for them! At 4 down not so long after, Miller and JP Duminy managed to rebuild in an attempt to save the game, scoring at over a run a ball during the spells of Ali and Rashid who claimed their wickets in the end. From there, the pressure continued to rise on their batsmen and Rashid took another 2 in the final over of his spell, with Stokes coming back to take the final wicket and win us the series with a game to spare!

Batting Award: Jos Buttler. Provided the impetus the innings needed at a crucial stage. Was a good team batting performance though! Root and Duckett set us up and Buttler and Stoke finished it off!

Bowling Award: Adil Rashid. He bowled at a tough time and came through his spell as the winner! Stokes was brilliant once again!

Series State: England lead 2-0 with one to play, wrapped it up early!

**UTBash** · 07-21-2017, 11:32 AM

Third ODI vs SA - The Game

Team News

England replace Alex Hales and Chris Woakes with Jason Roy and Reece Topley in this dead rubber.
South Africa replace Morris with Morkel.

The Toss: England win the toss and bat first! Getting good at this!

Jason Roy rode his luck early on, being dropped in the slips twice. It took the first change bowler Parnell to get their first breakthrough in the 11th with the score on 60, Ben Duckett continued his impressive start to his career under me. Maharaj joined Parnell in the middle overs and managed to peg us back slightly with a couple of wickets, with three of our lads falling in the 30's! We were however, well set once again on 154-3 with 20 left, Joe Root was set and Buttler was relatively new to the crease. Root led the way with his 3rd consecutive 50 and a dreadful series for young Rabada continued as he failed to pick up a wicket once again! A collapse in the final 10 overs meant we fell short of our target and had some work to do with the ball!

Topley joined Ball to open the attack and the pair bowled economically, whilst Topley also sent Amla back to the pavilion cheaply. However, De Kock and De Villiers fired for the first time in the series, putting on 150 at almost a run a ball. With the Proteas needing 60 from 17 overs when De Kock fell short of his century, a third English win was looking unlikely. Our bowlers weren't ready to give up and wickets at regular intervals left them needing 6 from the last 6 balls, with Parnell and Pretorius new the crease. The only downside to this was that Ben Stokes couldn't bowl his tenth due to being knackered! Could Joe Root save the day?

Final Over - South Africa (240-6) require 6 to win from 6 balls.

Ball 1 - Root to Parnell, 1 run.
Ball 2 - Root to Pretorius, BOWLED.
Ball 3 - Root to Maharaj, OUT, LBW. South Africa require 5 from 3 balls.
Ball 4 - Root to Rabada, 2 runs. 3 from 2 needed.
Ball 5 - Root to Rabada, dot ball! 3 from 1 needed.
Ball 6 - Root to Rabada, ONE RUN, England win by a run.

Heroic stuff from Root who cements his man of the match with 2-4 from the final over.

Batting Award: Joe Rooooooooot! Stand out batsman by a long way.

Bowling Award: Adil Rashid. He's proved handy in this series and was part of the trio that turned the game on it's head from the 30th (The other two were Topley and Ball).

Series State: England win 3-0!

**UTBash** · 07-21-2017, 12:03 PM

South Africa in England - Series Summary

After a wary approach the my first limited over series on CC17, the England side have come through to beat a strong South African side 3-0, with two convincing victories and a real nail biter to finish! Onward to the Champions Trophy!

Series Winners

Joe Root - The English batsman was the in form man as is expected of him these days. He scored 239 runs in 3 innings', hopefully he'll convert into a big one next time round!
Adil Rashid - The leg-spinning all rounder often divides opinion but showed his worth in this series, taking 8 wickets at an average of 19 whilst providing some handy lower order runs in the final game.
Ben Duckett - The 22 year old keeper-batsman proved to be our best opener of the series, staking a claim for a Champions Trophy spot after scoring 128 runs in 3 games, including one half century.

Series Losers

Kagiso Rabada - Big things have been predicted for the South African pace bowler but he didn't do himself any favours in this tour, picking up just 1 wicket and going for 161 runs.
Hashim Amla - The veteran batsman struggled for form at the top of the order and will be hoping to improve on his average of 19 in the Champions Trophy.
Moeen Ali - Ali struggled to contribute this time around, struggling with the bat and only picking up 1 wicket with the ball whilst also being expensive, conceding 142 runs in 20 overs.

Series Batting Award: Joe Root.
Series Bowling Award: Adil Rashid.

A solid start the the campaign here and some much needed form for what is to come! We also managed to pick up a point for the ODI rankings, though we didn't move up the table.

Next up, the Champions Trophy preview!!

**UTBash** · 07-21-2017, 12:40 PM

Champions Trophy in England - Preview

Group A

Australia

World Ranking: 1st

Key Man: David Warner - The hard hitting opener is as destructive as they come, and if he finds form he can fire the side to glory!

Prediction: Runners up. I think they may meet India in the final and I would never like to bet against the Indians, especially as they have done so well in the past on this game! They're a tough side.

Bangladesh

World Ranking: 8th

Key Man: Shakib Al-Hasan. The all rounder will be required to contribute in more than one discipline of the game and can do just that. He'll need to be supported by the likes of Tamim Iqbal if his side want to make it out of the group stage.

Prediction: Bottom of Group A, although they're well capable of doing better on their day.

England

World Ranking: 3rd

Key Man: Joe Root. The batsman is in fine form at the moment and is England's golden boy.

Prediction: Semi Finalists. I'm not one to get too ahead of myself, but obviously I hope we can win

New Zealand

World Ranking: 5th

Key Man: Kane Williamson. A fantastic player who will be looking to match the likes of our very own Joe Root with his performances.

Prediction: 3rd in Group A.

Group B

India

World Ranking: 4th

Key Man: Virat Kohli. Another world class player to star in this tournament.

Prediction: Champions. India are a side that are often tipped to win a lot of major tournaments and I'm hesitant to go against them here.

Pakistan

World Ranking: 6th

Key Man: Fakhar Zaman. New on the international scene but in form, averaging in the 60's from 3 games. Of course, we all know how he played in the real Champions Trophy too, a real find for Pakistan!

Prediction: Semi Finalists. It may seem a bold prediction but this side has something about them. Time will tell though I suppose!

South Africa

World Ranking: 2nd

Key Man: Quinton De Kock. Purely off his last knock against England, a quality player!

Prediction: 3rd in Group B. After seeing what they have to offer in the previous series I'm predicting them to fall short, however they do have the players capable of doing well if they find form.

Sri Lanka

World Ranking: 7th

Key Man: Angelo Mathews. An experienced campaigner who can give his side a lift!

Prediction: Bottom of Group B. I feel Sri Lanka will be outclassed here!

So there we have it! Let's go!

**UTBash** · 07-21-2017, 03:23 PM

Champions Trophy opener vs Bangladesh

In case you were wondering, we made one change to the South Africa squad for this tournament, James Anderson replaced Mark Wood!

England XI: Duckett, Roy, Root, Bairstow, Buttler, Morgan, Stokes, Woakes, Rashid, Ball, Anderson.
Bangladesh XI: Iqbal, Sarkar, Rahim, Al Hasan, Kayes, S Rahman, Mahmudulla, Mortaza, Hossain, Ahmed, M Rahman.

Toss News: Bangladesh won the toss and chose to field! We bat first for the 4th time in a row!

21 year old Rahman had us in early trouble, dismissing Roy and Root for low scores. Duckett held firm and after 10 overs we were 47-2, with the opener scoring 34 of those. A partnership of 123 between Duckett and Bairstow saw them both past the half century mark after battling through a tidy spell from their key man Shakib Al Hasan. Duckett fell in the 31st as we started to try up the rate ready for the final push in overcast and seaming conditions. Al Hasan picked up 2 in 2 balls as we slumped to 170-6 with 11 overs still to play. A measured innings from Stokes helped us reach a target that we may be able to defend, MAY BE!

Woakes and Anderson bowled well with no reward and at none down after ten we needed to pick up wickets and the change to Stokes worked, albeit for a short amount of time. Despite our tight bowling we struggled to pick up wickets and with 20 to go they required 100 with 9 wickets remaining. Stokes was reintroduced to the attack and dismissed Tamim Iqbal for a handy 76 but we still needed something extra if we were to win. A silly run out of key man Al Hasan gave us some home, but Ball's inexperience at this level started to tell as Rahim started to take advantage of his wayward bowling. By this time we were almost resigned to defeat and Rahim finished us off. Well played.

Batting Award: Jonny Bairstow

Bowling Award: Ben Stokes

We have our work cut out from here!

**Sureshot** · 07-21-2017, 04:20 PM

Oof, that's a tough start to the Champions Trophy!

**UTBash** · 07-21-2017, 08:21 PM

Originally posted by Sureshot View Post

Oof, that's a tough start to the Champions Trophy!

Especially after the series win against South Africa, it'll be tough for us to get through now, most likely will need to win both!

**UTBash** · 07-21-2017, 08:28 PM

Champions Trophy - Update

Group A

Bangladesh beat England by 6 wickets
New Zealand beat Australia by 2 wickets (Anderson 94, Smith 67)
Australia beat Bangladesh by 126 runs (Warner 107, Finch 51, Smith 81)

We need to secure a win against New Zealand in the next game to leave the group wide open!

Group B

South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 29 runs (De Kock 93, Amla 97, Tharanga 81, Gunaratne 61)
Pakistan beat India by 4 wickets (Rahane 172*, Azam 104, Zaman 52, Wasim 86*)

The Pakistan/India game looked a corker with Pakistan chasing 340. Imagine batting through for 172 and losing, poor Rahane.

**UTBash** · 07-21-2017, 08:54 PM

Champions Trophy Game 2 - New Zealand

We head into this must win game with some changes.

Team News: Hales and Topley replace Morgan and Ball. Hales will be in an unfamiliar middle order role due to the dismal form of Morgan. Joe Root will Captain.

The Toss: England win the toss and elect to bat.

It was Duckett who was the opener who fell early this time, and Joe Root followed without troubling the scorers! Roy and Bairstow began to rebuild and were taking us along at a run a ball before both fell, bringing our innings to a slight halt after we struggled to play Trent Boult. Jos Buttler however played a measured innings, getting himself in before teaming up with Chris Woakes in the last few overs to take us up to a competitive score. The pair hit 69 from the last 5!

Now was the real test of nerve, could we defend our total to stay in the competition? The first 10 overs saw a lot of bowler rotation as we used all 4 seamers, the runs were controlled but we made no inroads. Jimmy picked up the first wicket in the 13th and the opening over for Rashid brought our second just 12 balls later, and it was the dangerous Williamson who was given LBW! More big wickets followed and we had them struggling at 110-5, with our leggie taking 3 of them. We just had to finish them off now! And that we did! Chris Woakes came back to clean up and they were never in the game, a big win and a big statement from Woakes after being in poor form previously with bat and ball!

Batting Award: Jos Buttler. A brilliant innings which held us together!

Bowling Award: Chris Woakes. 7-2-19-4, need i say any more?

**UTBash** · 07-21-2017, 09:29 PM

Champions Trophy - All or Nothing! vs Australia

No update as I wanted to crack on! It's winner takes all here at Edgbaston and the winner will top the group, New Zealand beat Bangladesh to secure their spot in the semi finals.

Team News: We remain unchanged.

The Toss: Australia win the toss and elect to field, it's a cloudy day and conditions look good throughout for the swing bowlers!

We had an unspectacular start as the openers made the ball talk but we were without loss from the first 10, something we hadn't achieved for a while! Roy confidently led the way and was supported by Duckett. An opening stand of 108 was broken in the 28th but we had wickets in hand which was crucial on a day good for the bowlers. Buttler and Root had started to push on before some bad luck for the former saw him ran out off a no ball. Hales made the most of new found freedom, smashing his 50 off 31 balls whilst Root supported him at the other end. Wickets fell but we continued to make it rain boundaries before finishing on a defend-able total! All in all a good team performance with the bat, lets hope it was good enough!

I was confident that with a few early wickets we could really get stuck into their line up, which to me looked very top heavy. The wickets of Finch and Warner came in the first ten but we still had a job to do as the dangerous Smith and Maxwell occupied the crease. We managed to dismiss Maxwell shortly after and they began to lose regular wickets at the hands of the in form Woakes and the ever dangerous Rashid. It was the latter man that finished his spell with a wicket maiden, getting rid of their last recognised batsman. At 153-7, they had a mountain to climb, needing 6 an over. As expected, we finished the game off professionally and secured qualification to the Semi's!

Batting Award: This is a tough one, the innings from Roy set us up perfectly and allowed Hales to play his shots, but I think it's going to have to be Hales for his 58 from 35 balls.

Bowling Award: That man Adil Rashid, makes the ball talk even in pace bowling conditions!

Next up, results update, semi finals draw and the semi final preview!

**UTBash** · 07-21-2017, 10:15 PM

Champions Trophy - Update

Group A

Bangladesh beat England by 6 wickets
New Zealand beat Australia by 2 wickets (Anderson 94, Smith 67)
Australia beat Bangladesh by 126 runs (Warner 107, Finch 51, Smith 81)
England beat New Zealand by 109 runs
New Zealand beat Bangladesh by 87 runs (Latham 102, Williamson 87)
England beat Australia by 80 runs.

Standings

1. England - 4 points
2. New Zealand - 4 points
3. Australia - 2 points
4. Bangladesh - 2 points

So it's us and New Zealand who reach the Semi Finals. After the early scare against Bangladesh we've done really well!

Group B

South Africa beat Sri Lanka by 29 runs (De Kock 93, Amla 97, Tharanga 81, Gunaratne 61)
Pakistan beat India by 4 wickets (Rahane 172*, Azam 104, Zaman 52, Wasim 86*)
Pakistan beat South Africa by 2 wickets (De Villiers 65, Ahmed 91*)
Sri Lanka beat India by 6 wickets (Dhawan 107, Rahane 76, Mathews 138*, Gunaratne 77*)
India beat South Africa by 81 runs (Rahane 161*, Dhawan 93, De Kock 55)
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 3 wickets (Mathews 80, Sohail 115*)

Standings

1. Pakistan - 6 points
2. India - 2 points
3. Sri Lanka - 2 points
4. South Africa - 2 points

India managed to clinch a spot in the semi finals at the last chance as it was third time lucky defending a score of 300 plus! They're batting magnificently but not bowling too well. Pakistan were convincing in top spot!

Semi Final Draw

Game one: England vs India
Game two: Pakistan vs New Zealand

Announcement

England story!

England story!

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment