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An Australian Domest Journey - Victoria and Melbourne Renegades

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  • An Australian Domest Journey - Victoria and Melbourne Renegades

    Prologue

    I tried my hand at writing a summary of my first season of CC21 and enjoyed it enough that I might keep doing them. A number of CC Stories I've followed previously have detailed match reports or even session by session commentary but due to how irregular I play the game (sometimes it takes a week to play a Test, sometimes I play a whole season in an afternoon), I'll just be posting summaries of each season, including end of season stats, and go over new signings for the next season. If there are any details you'd like me to add or if you want me to include some season highlights, let me know.

  • #2
    Season 1: A New Beginning

    The Starting Squad

    No new signings for the first season. The Victorian domestic team is set in stone in real life at the time being so I didn't feel the need to make any changes. Even though Melbourne Renegades have not announced their BBL squad yet, I saw no reason to make any changes there either. Both squads had a good mix of consistent veterans such as James Pattinson and Nic Maddinson but as well as some notable youngsters such as Will Pucovski, Will Sutherland and Wil Parker (where there's a Will there's a way).

    Sheffield Shield

    Victoria dominated the regular FC season, only losing one match to the pseudo-Australian Test team: NSW. Going up against the Australian bowling quartet and star batsmen is always a tough ask. Will Pucovski was the standout batsmen but was picked for Australia alongside Pattinson but the rest of the team made up for their absences. Pucovski ended up being the Australian opener across all three formats and was one of the best international batsmen in the world this season. Thankfully he was able to return often enough to make an impact, scoring a number of centuries. Pattinson was not as lucky, being in the Aussie squad but never being picked saw his form plummet whenever he returned. Couldn't not pick due to him being the Vics best quick but he never took bags of wickets, just the occasional 3 wickets with a solid average. Marcus Harris was the leading run scorer for the team in Pucovski's absence. He didn't make many centuries but quite a number of 50s and solid top order partnerships.

    On the bowling side of things Sutherland surprisingly was the leading wicket taker for both Vic and the entire comp. A very solid change of pace after last few games categorising him as an underwhelming all-rounder. Pattinson didn't get picked after the Australian international summer but unfortunately he got a 10 week injury a few rounds before the Shield final meaning both he was out of action for most of the season. The reserve bowlers didn't really stand out in the 2nd XI either so finding a replacement was difficult. Thankfully Holland was there to compliment Sutherland's fast bowling. Between Holland and Sutherland, over 100 wickets were taken.

    With only one loss in the season, the Vics earned a home final against Queensland. To add to Victoria's late season bowling woes, Boland picked up a small injury and recovered in between the last round and the final. I didn't notice Boland's injury and picked him unaware that he had no stamina and he could only bowl 4-5 over spells for the match. With sidelined Pattinson, the second opener only bowling one short spell each session and a first change quick from the seconds, Queensland made 500 runs in the first innings. With the recent rules declaring a drawn final is decided on first innings bonus points, the Sheffield Shield coming home to Victoria again was unlikely. To add insult to injury, Queensland picked two spinners on a turning MCG pitch, and rolled the Vics for under 300 and enforced a follow on. The Vics' second innings didn't fare much better, leaving Queensland a measly chase of 73 to win. In the end I was lucky to avoid an embarrassing loss by an innings.

    One Day Cup

    The OD comp, traditionally my worst performing format, also had only one loss to NSW in the regular season. Aaron Finch was the standout batsman in most matches and Glenn Maxwell also scored consistent runs (and wickets too). Sutherland also had a great OD comp to go alongside his FC exploits and was again the leading wicket taker for the team and the comp. I have the feeling that he was given quite the upgrade from the last game. The final against NSW, who thankfully had most of their stars on international duty, didn't have the firepower they had in the regular season. With Maxwell out of the team on international duty, Seymour took up the mantle of second spinner and all-rounder. It was his figures of 3-33 off ten overs that ultimately one a close match.

    BBL

    The T20 comp was all over the place but I think the changes to the match engine are definitely better now. There were a lot more singles that meant that run rates could be maintained without playing riskily and there weren't as many instance of the opposition going on regular boundary hitting streaks and putting the match in an unwinnable position. I had Finch make consistent runs and he was surprisingly dropped from the Australian team (even though he was the opening with the most T20 runs for Australia so far this year) so it's the first time in a long time I was able to use him in the finals. Fan-favourite Haztoglou took wicket after wicket on the spin friendly home pitches and Sutherland again was the leading wicket taker for the club. The signed internationals performed abysmally leaving the team without any solid all-rounder so I often had to resort to picking four bowlers and share overs between between two batting all-rounders. Not ideal and having four bowlers meant I was chasing lower scores but not having enough batting depth. Ended up being being second on the ladder even though I only had eight wins. First place, Adelaide also had only won eight matches and the rest of the finalists had six wins. Kind of strange to see the final table so close from first to fifth, not sure if it was luck or unbalanced results. Ended up losing the first final (1st vs 2nd) but made my way through to the granny against Adelaide again with ease, which I ended up winning thanks to a very lucky and economical last over from Benny Howell, the one good performance from an international all season.

    Team Stat Leaders for the Season

    FC most runs:
    Marcus Harris - 1244 runs
    FC high score:
    Peter Handscomb - 176
    FC most wickets:
    Will Sutherland - 60 wickets
    FC best figures:
    Scott Boland - 7-88

    OD most runs:
    Aaron Finch - 420 runs
    OD high score:
    Aaron Finsh - 132
    OD most wickets:
    Will Sutherland - 22 wickets
    OD best figures:
    Will Sutherland - 5-28

    T20 most runs:
    Sam Harper - 461
    T20 high score:
    Sam Harper - 100
    T20 most wickets:
    James Pattinson - 26
    T20 best figures:
    James Pattinson - 6-22


    Next Season's Contracts

    Most of my Victorian budget after renewing went into improving physios, coaches and youth. My OD line up was lacking middle order batsmen and the only appropriate new signing I could afford was a local regen, Isileli Bhatt.

    The Renegades' budget went into retaining contracts, a lot of them went up considerably from last season. Dropped the four underperforming internationals and picked up Pakistani quick, Haris Rauf. The Renegades' middle order had a similar problem to the state team, all underperforming all-rounder and openers but no middle-order specialist batsmen. Picked up Peter Handscomb cheaply, Bhatt, the Victorian regen and new regen, Cameron Xiphias. There must be a cricket-playing Greek family on the regen list because three of them are playing domestic cricket now.

    Comment


    • #3
      There’s a good left arm pace bowler in your squad by the name of Tom Dillon, and he can bat too. Got test selection after his first year in my save.

      Comment


      • #4
        Season 2: Attack of the Regens

        Sheffield Shield

        After a dominate season marred by a shocking loss in the final last season, I was determined to win my first Shield of CC21 this season. The season did not start smoothly however, only winning two out of the six games before the mid-season break. Bowlers were struggling to bowl teams out for under 350, middle-order woes meant ridiculous totals needed to be chased and once again injuries for Boland and international selection for Pucovski meant wins needed to be hard fought. Thankfully Harris and Maddinson at the top of the order often held it together long enough to eke out a draw a few times. At the season's midpoint, Victoria were two wins,
        three draws and a loss, putting them two full games behind the top two spots.

        Thankfully after the return from the T20 comp, Maxwell, Handscomb, Boland and Holland returned to form. Holland could not stop taking wickets on the MCG's turning pitches and returning from international duty, Pattinson quickly became one of the better fast bowlers in the competition. Despite only playing four matches in the season Pucovski managed to score three centuries and led the way for Vics in their last two must-win matches. With two matches to go in the regular season, WA and Queensland were poised to play finish top spot with a large gap in between them a third placed Victoria. Back-to-back-to-back centuries from Pucovski and big scores from regen debutant, Isileli Bhatt, in the final two matches against the top two teams somehow pulled gave Victoria a finals berth against all odds.

        The final itself was a rematch of last year's embarrassing defeat against Queensland, this time we were playing up North instead of at home. With an in-form batting line up on a flat deck I liked our chances of getting revenge. With a first innings total of ~450, the Vics found themselves in a very handy position. However being a five day final instead of four meant Burns, Renshaw and Khawaja had all the time in the world to post a similar score in return and giving Queensland a narrow 20 run advantage. Three huge wickets for Queensland, Pucovski, Harris and Maddinson, for less than 20 runs put them well ahead going into the second half of the match. Handscomb managed to hold his bat through to the end of the innings but wickets tumbled around him and the Vic final batting innings of the season ended being all out for 180 with a 160-run lead. Burns, Renshaw and Khawaja being the three leading run scorers for the comp would surely lead Queensland their third Sheffield Shield win in a row. Sutherland and Holland said 'no'. They took eight wickets between them and despite a thirty run last wicket partnership, Queensland fell about 20 runs short.

        One Day Cup

        The One Day Cup this year was full of regens to say the least. Well not full but a few teams had regens who made notable scores against me. Most teams' top orders stayed the same but there were a number of new middle order batsmen and all rounders that caused my team some significant trouble early on. I was stubborn and tried to keep existing players in the playing XI but a slow start to the season with some poor losses, mainly due to some terrific innings by a few of the opposition's newcomers, I subbed in my new regen: Isileli Bhatt, who was averaging 70+ in the seconds. He made his mark immediately with some explosive hitting. Unfortunately it was too little too late. Scoring 184 runs from three innings with a SR of 125%, Bhatt led the Vics to victory twice in the last three matches of the season. They were the only two victories of the season for that matter. A very disappointing wooden spoon for the reigning OD champions. Turns out the OD format is still my worst format.

        BBL

        It was a similar story in the BBL, a slow start to the season had the 'Gades looking at missing finals. Sutherland had lost his fire since last season, Finch was struggling to make it past the Power Play and new signings, Handcomb and Rauf weren't performing to expectations. Only consistent batsman was again Bhatt. Regens OP in a CC game? What a surprise! Thankfully I used the last of my budget on Root and Stokes. with their international availability so low, they were around $30k each. Root made runs in the last four matches of the home and away season, Stokes filled in the bowling all-rounder position I desperately needed and we ended up third on the ladder at the end of the season. Once again it was a very tight comp with teams not making the finals still being in contention for top spot with a couple of games to go.

        The way the BBL finals works makes getting into the grand final very hard unless you finish in the top two. Every game is a must win and you play away more often than not. The top two teams however only play at home and get a second chance if they lose before the grand final. Despite overcoming unlikely odds in the OD comp, we were unable to do it again for the BBL and ended up losing the penultimate final. Third place is still not a bad effort in my books.

        Team Stat Leaders for the Season

        FC most runs:
        Nic Maddinson - 974 runs
        FC high score:
        Will Pucovski - 176
        FC most wickets:
        James Pattinson - 52 wickets
        FC best figures:
        Will Sutherland - 6-81

        OD most runs:
        Marcus Harris - 250 runs
        OD high score:
        Marcus Harris - 105
        OD most wickets:
        James Pattinson - 11
        OD best figures:
        Glenn Maxwell - 3-55

        T20 most runs:
        Isileli Bhatt - 462 (club record)
        T20 high score:
        Joe Root - 117 (fastest hundred record)
        T20 most wickets:
        Benny Howell - 25 wickets
        T20 best figures:
        Benny Howell - 4-28


        Next Season's Contracts

        Turns out Holland's Shield final heroics were his last match. With him retiring I picked up a couple of spinners. Leggy, Wil Parker, was already in the squad and will likely be the first choice but I wanted at least a couple of backups. Unfortunately soaring existing contracts of the likes of Pucovski and Sutherland (please give Puc an Aus contract next season) and getting the last of the youth development meant I could sign just one new player. I went with jack-of-all-trades all-rounder, Nivethan Radharkrishnan, from Tassie. Spin bowling, opening and solid second XI stats means hopefully he'll be able to reconstruct the OD squad after this year's performance.

        For BBL internationals I kept Root, Stokes and Howell as an English trio. They'll probably be my three internationals who play as often as possible. Also kept Rauf. Due to low availability for Stokes and Root, I also picked up Windies veteran all-rounder Kieron Pollard and Pakistani regen batsman, Al-Ashab Haider. Since it's so hard to tell how reserve BBL players a faring since there's no T20 2nd XI, I let some younger, uncapped players go and picked up a couple of regens who had good preseason stats.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Fitzroy FC View Post
          There’s a good left arm pace bowler in your squad by the name of Tom Dillon, and he can bat too. Got test selection after his first year in my save.
          I can't find any player with the name Dillon in Australia. Only Dillon at the moment is Dillon Pennington from England. Are you sure he's not a regen? There is an LF bowler I picked up for this season named Matthew Willans who made an 85* in the seconds in my current season. He's not too flash with the ball though so I haven't picked him yet. My trio fast bowling trio of Pattinson, Sutherland and Boland is effective when they're all playing and they don't look like retiring soon.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Wilted View Post

            I can't find any player with the name Dillon in Australia. Only Dillon at the moment is Dillon Pennington from England. Are you sure he's not a regen? There is an LF bowler I picked up for this season named Matthew Willans who made an 85* in the seconds in my current season. He's not too flash with the ball though so I haven't picked him yet. My trio fast bowling trio of Pattinson, Sutherland and Boland is effective when they're all playing and they don't look like retiring soon.
            My mistake, Dillon must not be listed in CC21. And yeah, that pace trio will win you alot of games.

            Comment


            • #7
              Season 3: Oh baby a triple!

              Finally the elusive triple belongs to Victorian teams. The FC, OD and T20 comp are all safe and sound in Victorian hands...

              I'll be recapping in chronological order this time rather than FC > OD >T20. The Australian domestic season starts off with the OD Cup, and followed by half of the FC season. After six rounds, the FC comp has a break and the BBL takes over. Once the BBL season is finished, the last four FC rounds and final are played.

              One Day Cup

              From probably the worst OD season I've ever played to the best so far in CC21. I find the short OD seasons to be tricky to navigate since one unexpected loss makes the difference between making the final and missing out. Lost early on to WA, who turned have been the strongest team at the end of the season stat-wise, but had very strong wins against the other teams. Runs were flowing for most batsmen and Boland was leading the charge with the ball equalling the all-time club record for wickets in a season. There was one shock loss came in the last round to Queensland (they've turned into a bit of a rival for my Vic team). A season highest total of 336 runs was not enough to defend. Daniel Solway score 151 off only 120 balls leading to an upset. This upset completely shook things up and somehow saw the Vics actually move up to top spot on the ladder and a second big upset in the same round saw WA fall to third and missing out completely. So for the third time in a row, Victoria play against Queensland for all the biscuits.

              Despite not being in the regular XI, Seymour replaced Maxi who was again on international duty. After a slow and shaky start and middle for the Vics, Seymour came in as a lower order batsman and blasted 70* off only 39 balls. 'Keeper Harper and short form extraordinaire, Bhatt, held it together with Seymour to see a good of 327. After the upset in the last round just days before, I wasn't counting any pre-hatched chickens. In the end all of my proverbial chickens were accounted for as Boland continued his hot form, taking 4-40 and was backed up by Pattinson with 3-46 for a very safe 81 run win. The first trophy out of three for Victorian teams this season.

              Sheffield Shield Part 1

              Start of the FC comp was very smooth for the Vics with three wins in a row. It wasn't until an away game against the red, hot WA that we saw a loss. And boy was it a huge loss by 200 runs and a career low innings total of just 87. And just to rub salt in the wound, young spinner, Will Parker, retired hurt just after cementing himself as the first choice spinner after Holland's retirement. Next match was a high scoring draw and then the rematch against WA was on for the last match before the mid-season break.

              Sometimes you need to just give away a match to see something special happen. Victoria were five very cheap wickets down and staring down the barrel of a follow on. OD hero, Seymour, and Harper were out there to waste some time and avoid the follow on and hopefully give our bowlers something to defend. Well Harper was the first one to make his double ton and gave the Vic a narrow lead. It was slow going so a declaration would had to have been made to not only bowl WA out but also chase the winning runs. With Seymour not far behind a double century of his own, we pressed on with the bat and soon there were two double centurions in the middle. At this point I really should've declared but decided to slog it out instead. Why chase extra runs on day four when you can make runs on day three? Harper finished on 226 before being bowled but Seymour kept on batting. His 200 came off 450 balls, slow and steady after being 5 for less than 100. His next 100 runs came at a run a ball. He was 303* when Victoria finally declared in the middle of day 4. I thought there was no harm in letting him bring up a triple, draw was inevitable anyway right? WA only had a session to bat but with six wickets falling in a session, it left me wondering if a win was possible if I had declared when both batsmen made their 200s. In the end though, what is more memorable? A close win for the top team in the middle of a season? Or a record partnership and a triple century? I know which one is going to stay in the records page longer.

              BBL

              After the Vics won the OD Cup and were sitting on the top of the FC table, a premiership from the 'Gades could give me the first triple of this career. Six wins in a row and more than a couple of games on top of the ladder. Our best internationals, Stokes, Root and Rauf, hadn't even played yet and were due back before finals. Things were looking very bright for the team. There were a couple of mid-season injuries and a couple of losses after that but the English duo returned and once again performed well right off the bat... wish the same could be said for the rest of the team. For some reason there was a massive form slump for everyone in the second half of the season, losing five out of the last six matches. Despite the horror form, we finished third on the latter and went straight through to the second round of finals. A timely return to form by Finch with 68 off just 32 balls put the 'Gades in a very solid position against the must-win match against Adelaide with a total of 197. But despite wickets at regular intervals, the total was chased down due to poor economy rates. We were on track to bowl them out before the 20 overs were completed but they chased down the total with two overs to spare. "But Wilted didn't you say you won the triple? That includes the BBL too!" The eventual winners of the tournament was the Melbourne Stars. We did beat them twice in a season but T20 is a very fickle game mode sometimes. #vicsdoitbetter... kind of.

              Sheffield Shield Part 2

              The first part of the season had three wins, two draws and a loss. With those results the Vics were comfortably on top of the ladder and already had one foot in the door for the finals. The second part of the season was not as successful with only two wins and two losses, including a loss against Tassie, who came out of nowhere after the BBL to win their last four games and stole their way into the final. It ended up being a very tight finish for the top two spots. Vics barely clung onto the number one spot thanks to bonus points, giving them a home final, and Tassie snuck their way into second. Only one win separated top and bottom of the ladder. And with that, the out of form Victoria hosted Tasmania for the final.

              Batting first has it's advantages but when the star international spinner from the other team takes 5-64 on the first day, you sorely regret your choice. 173 runs in the first innings does not leave you brimming with confidence. Maybe it's time to change my spinning home pitch strategy. And to make matters worse, Tasmania score 300+. It could've been much worse however since there were no big scores or partnerships. Our own spinner, Wil Parker, took a 5fa of his own. In almost complete parallel to last year's Shield final Victoria bounced back scoring their own 300+ score. Handscomb lead the way scoring the only 100 of the final from either team and was backed up nicely from Pucovski, who had spent most of the season on international duty. Once again it could have been a bigger score but Sri Lankan spinner, Manasinghe continued to exploit the spinning pitch. In the end Victoria put a target of exactly 200 for Tasmania to win. The game was anyone's for the taking. Turns out it was Parker who ended up being the one to take the game with a four wicket haul, one wicket off from his maiden 10 wicket match. Turns out spin was enough to win after all despite the slow start. Spinners took 22 wickets in total for that match as Victoria achieved back-to-back Shield titles.

              Team Stat Leaders for the Season

              FC most runs:
              Marcus Harris - 825 runs
              FC high score:
              James Seymour - 303*
              FC most wickets:
              Will Sutherland - 51
              FC best figures:
              James Pattinson - 7-108

              OD most runs:
              Nic Maddinson - 427
              OD high score:
              Aaron Finch - 228
              OD most wickets:
              Scott Boland - 25
              OD best figures:
              Scott Boland - 5-37

              T20 most runs:
              Isileli Bhatt - 445
              T20 high score:
              Isileli Bhatt - 77
              T20 most wickets:
              Peter Hatzoglou - 25
              T20 best figures:
              Will Sutherland - 5-32



              Next Season's Contracts

              Despite some great innings in his final season, Aaron Finch retired. While this won't affect the FC team, it means a new OD opener was needed. With no experienced local openers available to sign, I signed in form Sri Lankan opener, Avishka Fernando and a new regen with terrific 2nd XI stats, Tyler Zuma. Along with renewing inflating current contracts, they were the only additions to the Vic squad.

              There also wasn't a lot of movement in the Melbourne Renegades squad too. Finch retiring of course will impact the team but with Harper, Harris and Harvey able to open, there wasn't much need to spend big dollars on another opener. Just to be safe new, regen opener, Arlo Hayden, was picked up for safety. Lack of good allrounders hurt last season, relying too much on the often-absent Stokes so I picked up yet another regen, Wayne Lucas, as a second quick allrounder option. With Root and Stokes being more available this season, their contracts rose considerably leaving me with just enough funds to pick up another regen fast bowling option, Keeghan Boxhall. There are a number of quicks in the squad but they were all expensive last season so hopefully the new ones can teach the more experienced players how to bowl a tight line.

              Hopefully Victoria and Melbourne Red can bring home the triple this time around.

              Comment


              • #8
                Season 4: #vicsdoitbetter (for real this time)

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                One Day Cup


                Despite often claiming OD is my worst performing mode, I've made a bit of a habit winning the Aus OD comp. While previous seasons have been close, being able to make the final with just four our of seven wins in some cases, this season was not close. Tasmania were undefeated on top at the end of the season and the Vic had just two losses. Both teams were a game plus bonus points ahead of the rest of the pack.The season did not start very well though. The season started with a 100+ run defeat to Tassie but in typical see-saw fashion, Vics bounced back with their own 100+ run victory against WA. The see-saw once again tilts the other way in the next match and it was the second huge loss in just three games, this time against Queensland. Of the three games, Sri Lankan opener Avishka Fernando was the only performing batsman but he was called out on international duty. I pretty much gave up on this season and made some changes to get players form ready for the Shield season.

                Maddinson hit form just at the right time with the bat and so did Sutherland with the ball. The rest of the team picked up their overall game too and somehow it was three wins in a row with the last round of the season against NSW. Both of us had four wins and the winner would go on to face Tassie in the final. Thankfully the T20 World Cup had rolled around and none of the regulars for our team were taken out but the same could not be said for NSW. Thanks to that bit of luck it was almost easy to make the final. Unfortunately it was a similar case against Tassie. It was a long T20 WC for the Aussies. They had to dig their way out of the group stage and made it all the way to the semis. Their best batsman and bowler, Lampard and Ellis, came back into the Tassie XI out of form and no stamina. It was essentially 11 players against 9, which resulted in a very unsatisfying 58 run win with no stand out performances from either team. But a win is a win and next season the Vics will be going for three OD titles in a row.

                Sheffield Shield Part 1

                The hot form of the OD team continued into the early stages of the FC season. Two 100+ run wins and a 10 wicket win gave the Vics a very promising start to the season. There were two hiccups in a row against NSW and Queensland resulting in a crash to reality with yet another two 100+ run losses. This season was definitely one of extremes. After five matches and having three out of five wins the Vics desperately needed a win against the yet again undefeated Tassie. They seemed to have regained their form and bounced back after their OD final loss and the usual suspects were taking 5fa's and 100s.

                The match didn't start with a bang, more a slow wave of destruction. Ward and McDermott scored big 100s at a slow strikerate but after four sessions they were finally dismissed and the rest soon tumbled.
                Four and a half session at the crease for Tasmania but only 304 runs to show for it. With a pitch like that a draw seemed on the cards. A draw wouldn't cut it though. Only having three wins at the halfway point of the season would be putting ourselves on a very difficult pathway to finals at the end of round 10. We came out aggressive and messy. A few 50s but no 100s meant with only the tail left we were 100 runs behind but the positive side of things was there would be enough time to push for a result. If you shoot for the moon and fail, you'll land among the stars. Well we didn't need to shoot for the moon in the third innings quite yet as Sutherland and Pattinson were still batting at the crease. I think Sutherland has made more runs in CC21 in just a few seasons as a bowler than he has across multiple careers as an allrounder in previous games. Scores were level after their jaunt with a day and a half to go. Tassie's innings was very similar to the first: slow and steady. Another 300 run innings to them put them well... 300 ahead setting Victoria a two session deadline. Maxi said it's his time to shine. Well this whole season was his time to shine with 1000+ runs. His first century of the season was a 109 off 80 backed up with quick scoring cameos from Maddinson and Harris actually had the target reached with overs to spare. In the end Victoria reached the mid-season break in second place behind Tasmania.

                BBL

                Armed with new approach and strategy to T20 thanks to ground running with three wins in four matches. They weren't terribly exciting, just slightly better than usual scores being defended and chasing a bit better. Unfortunately maintaining form is always difficult since there's no 2nd XI to drop players to. Once a player gets unto a form slump, there's no way out of it for them. The season itself wasn't too exciting. With one match to go I was outright third on the ladder with no chance of dropping to fourth but a bonus point win would see me leapfrog into first place. With nothing to lose I went full steam ahead and turned the aggression up to 11. A record 248 was scored and we reached first place on the ladder, avoiding the gauntlet that is BBL low ladder finals.

                Yeah, second placed Hobart (who probably deserved first place on the ladder) made short work of us in the qualifier and in return we made quick work of Perth. My history with internationals is a bit shaky at best but out innings was essentially saved by Root. Another quick 50 alongside a few short lived partnerships with Stokes and Bhatt let the Renegades scrape past 200. It was an internationals' day out as Pakistani youngster, Haider, blasted Hobart well into the lead. I usually leave the death overs to Stokes but I used him earlier than usual to get a hold on the out of control scoring. My third international, South African Mulder, decided to just stroll in and take six wickets in three overs. No big deal. Also gave the Renegades their second BBL title, and yet another chance at getting the triple.

                Sheffield Season Part 2

                All of the huff and puff of winning two short form finals didn't reach the second half of the season. A loss, a draw and just two wins were all I was able to manage. Thankfully Tasmania, clearly the best team before the BBL, also completely tanked. It was NSW that hogged the glory for the second part of the season. They defeated both Tasmania and Victoria to go from fourth to second and it was only thanks to the gutsy victory against Tasmania earlier in the season that allowed Vics to hang on to to the top of the ladder. Victoria, NSW and Tasmania all were less than five points apart from each other. But top spot meant home final advantage. I always go for spinning pitches but Lyon had taken 50 wickets @27.10 in the season so far so I was keen to avoid his antics with the ball and opted for a paceman's pitch. It was a bit of a gamble since Hazelwood was also on the team but he had abysmal form and was actually dropped from the Aus team so I figured Lyon would be the bigger threat. Thankfully Starc, Cummins, Warner, Smith, Xiphias (regen, not the rookie) were all overseas at the time.

                Being a quick pitch that would deteriorate throughout the five-day final, I wanted to make the most of the first innings and so did Maddinson apparently. He scored a double century amongst three 100+ run partnerships and led Victoria to a first innings total of 538. A lot of runs for sure but a big first innings score and a lot of time chewed up meant a draw was on the table, one that either team could take with a first innings lead. Naturally I thought 538 would easily get the first innings lead but opener Kelvin Smith and a few of the other batsmen had other ideas. Parker and Sutherland, two leading wicket takers, were rendered useless as NSW slowly crept towards another mammoth 500+ score, which at this stage of the match would mean certain victory. At 2-360, finally Parker and Sutherland both snapped out of whatever daze they were in and actually decided to take wickets. In one spell between them they took the remaining eight wickets for just 40 odd runs. It was a sigh of relief for sure. There were just four sessions left and very unlikely that there was going to be any result. And no result meant one big result for Victoria. The end was in sight... until the scorecard read 6-67 that is. Don't know why, don't know how but we went from having one hand on the trophy to facing a massive come from behind defeat. Harper and Sutherland salvaged the innings and got Victoria to a lead of just under 300. A target of 300 is by no means an easy task. A target of 300 with two sessions to go is even more difficult. But when that 300 run deficit turns into a 120 run deficit in the space of just a session, you start biting your fingernails. K Smith and Campher the Irishman took a liking to the Victorian bowlers and with six wickets in hand at the final break, NSW were likely to perform one of the greatest Sheffield Shield wins ever. Cricket is a fickle game and the CC engine is even more so. Instead of coming out to win the final, extended session at only a decent run rate, NSW decided to clam up and block out a draw. NSW were still ~40 behind at the close of play, forcing a draw. And thanks to the 500+ first innings score for Victoria, the Vic won on higher run rate! I think I got the rule wrong which could've backfired in the end but a win is a win even when it's a draw.

                So finally the Sheffield Shield, One Day Cup and Big Bash finally were conquered in the same season.

                Team Stat Leaders for the Season

                FC most runs:
                Glenn Maxwell - 1045 runs
                FC high score:
                Nic Maddinson - 206
                FC most wickets:
                Wil Parker - 56
                FC best figures:
                James Pattinson - 6-67

                OD most runs:
                Nic Maddinson - 527
                OD high score:
                Nic Maddinson - 121
                OD most wickets:
                Will Sutherland - 23
                OD best figures:
                Will Sutherland - 5-44

                T20 most runs:
                Marcus Harris - 617 (club record!)
                T20 high score:
                Mackenzie Harvey - 90
                T20 most wickets:
                James Pattinson - 27 (club record!)
                T20 best figures:
                Wiaan Mulder - 6-33

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                  The End?

                  With the Triple out of the way, I'm taking a break from this save. I'll go back to it and take it to the 2050s and beyond at some point and I'm sure once the Ashes start, I'll be itching to do an international career. For now I'll be turning my attention to a different team, different country and different mode entirely. It's time Papua New Guinea have some international glory. They're only playable in the T20 World Cup tournament so getting PNG to win tournament is going to be my next save. It'll take many attempts and I'll be recording them in a new story thread. If you want to follow along, I'll hopefully be starting some time this week.



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