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**Wilted** · 06-16-2023, 03:21 PM

Game 1: 1920s vs 1940s
1920s XI: H Sutcliffe, H Taylor, C Macartney, J Hobbs, F Woolley, J Ryder*, J Gregory, B Oldfield+, M Tate, T Freeman, A Hall
1940s XI: C Washbrook, A Morris, R Modi, D Nourse*, V Hazare, K Miller, I Johnson, G Evans+, T Mann, B Johnston, E Toshack
The chosen XI was picked the default XI chosen by the game. Form will impact future rounds.
1940s won the toss and elected to bat first.

Day 1, Session 1
The first ball of the tournament saw left-arm quick, Alf Hall, bowl to Cyril Washbrook. The first over was textbook line and length bowling, leaving little room for the batsman to score. That first over set the tone for the rest of the session. The 40s bowlers hammered at tight lines but Washbrook and Morris gave no chances.

1940s 0-57

Day 1, Session 2
There was more excitement from the first over of the second session than there was in the entire morning. Washbrook dispatched Gregory for consecutive boundaries in the first two balls before the fast bowler retaliated with a quick bouncer that left Washbrook shaken, but unharmed. The session saw a 100-run partnership, Morris reaching 50 (with a reverse sweep of all shots) and a Washbrook 50 in the space of three overs. The 40s were having all the success in the match so far, leaving the 20s bowlers deflated and frustrated.

1940s 0-147

Day 1, Session 3
Tate finally broke the opening partnership with a full and straight delivery that thundered into Washbrook's pads. The rest of the day saw Modi and Morris continuing to amass runs. Morris kept his steady approach consistent for the duration of the session, even blocking out multiple maidens before stumps despite being on 98. Modi finished the day on an unbeaten 41.

1940s 1-229

Day 2, Session 1
It took no time for Morris to bring up the first century of the tournament and Modi quickly followed with his own 50. Tate finally drew an error out of Modi, only for the first slip to put down a sitter. The 1920s didn't feel the pressure of the drop with Tate picking up Modi LBW in his following over. Still, there was no reprieve for the bowlers. Morris looked as solid as any batsman has ever been and began upping the run rate. Even Nourse was able to come in a score an unbeaten, rapid-fire 50 off just 51 balls. Morris pushed for a single on the final ball of the session, bringing up his 150.

1940s 2-353

Day 2, Session 2
It was clear that the 40s were there to make quick runs, with most overs including one boundary. Once again, it was Tate that provided the desperately needed breakthrough, combining with Woolley, who took a screamer at second slip. Morris glanced the ball to backward square leg to bring up the 40s 400th run off 138 overs. The 20s were able to restrict the batsmen to only a few singles but were well and truly behind in the match by the end of the session.

1940s 3-425

Day 2, Session 3
After 440 balls and 21 fours, Morris reached his double ton. At the other end, Hazare was content to just push for an occasional single, scoring at 25 runs per 100 balls. Despite the low scoring rate, he hit the only six so far in the innings with a glorious drive over Ryder's head. Ryder was having absolutely no luck this session. He even managed to trap Morris LBW, only for it to be called a front foot no ball. Hazare made a 50 and in the same over, he brought up 1940's 500th run with a drive through the covers for 4. Morris' mammoth innings continued past 250 runs before the end of play. The exhausted bowlers walked off the field having only taken three wickets in two whole days of cricket.

1940s 3-552

Day 3, Session 1
The day started better for Hall, bowling Hazare with an inswinging delivery for 81, and then finding Miller's edge in the same over. Morris was dropped off Tate's first over of the day. With a string of boundaries, Johnson ticked the total over 600 and Nourse called for the declaration.

Sutcliffe and Taylor navigated the end of the session with ease. As long as this pitch kept as flat as it had been for two days, this game was headed towards a draw.

1940s 5-602(dec), 1920s 0-32. 1940s lead by 570 runs.

Day 3, Session 2
The Sutcliffe and Taylor partnership reached 50 in a lot quicker fashion than the opposition openers. Taylor was the first wicket to fall, getting caught at bat-pad off Johnson and followed it up with the wicket of Sutcliffe. Despite a couple of quick wickets, Macartney and Hobbs managed to settle things down a bit, bringing the 1920s total past 100.

1940s 5-602(dec), 1920s 2-119. 1940s lead by 483 runs.

Day 3, Session 3
Hobbs brought up his 50 and the team's 150 with an on-drive and Macartney soo followed with his own. Boundaries flowed consistently for the rest of the session, with the pair's partnership reaching 150. At the end of the day's play, a draw was the most likely outcome for the match.

1940s 5-602(dec), 1920s 2-208. 1940s lead by 394 runs.

Day 4, Session 1
With a new day came an envigorated bowling attack. Though Johnson and Johnston were unsuccessful, they caused all sorts of problems for Hobbs and Macartney. The duo persevered through the morning, Macartney bringing up his 100 off 228 balls. In fact, once Macartney passed 100l, he looked more confident and began playing more shots, including the occasional reverse sweep. Hobbs ended the session with a powerful pull shot for 4, bringing him to an unbeaten 98 on the cusp of lunch.

1940s 5-602(dec), 1920s 2-307. 1940s lead by 295 runs.

Day 4, Session 2
It was a few overs before Hobbs reached his 200th century in his career but he almost ran himself out in the process. The partnership was now above 250 runs and the exhausted bowlers were struggling. Despite being over 100 overs into the innings, Keith Miller, one of the greatest bowling allrounders of all time, let alone his era had only bowled three overs. This bizarre choice by Nourse meant all of the bowling duties had fallen on just four bowlers. A ridiculous reverse sweep for six brought up 150 runs for Macartney and soon after, the 20s were soaring past 350.

1940s 5-602(dec), 1920s 2-385. 1940s lead by 220 runs.

Day 4, Session 3
Another Macartney reverse sweep brought up 400 runs for the 20s' total as well as the deficit to below 200, meaning almost any chance of an unlikely result was now off the table. Despite playing an entertaining innings in what was a mostly boring match, Macartney was unable to go on to make his double ton, missing a straight one from Mann for 194. Hobbs kept his end tidy while ticking runs past 150. The match had just turned to batting practice at this point and he was intent on making the most of it.

1940s 5-602(dec), 1920s 3-475. 1940s lead by 127 runs.

Day 5, Session 1
The pitch was an absolute road for this match and by day five it had only gotten flatter. 50 for Woolley off 94 balls and 500 for the team total demonstrated just how bad the pitch was. Woolley quickly made it into the 90s before top-edging a hook shot straight to the keeper. The second double ton of the match came off 557 balls for Hobbs just before lunch on the final day.

1940s 5-602(dec), 1920s 4-574. 1940s lead by 28 runs.

Day 5, Session 2
With the pitch the way it was, Hobbs and Ryder were free to play however they chose. 250 for Hobbs, 50 for Ryder, and 700 for the 1920s. Even Ian Johnson had brought up his own milestone: the most overs bowled in an innings in 50 years. And yet the 1940s still refused to bowl a fifth bowler despite having two genuine bowling option waiting in the wings. At the end of the session, Ryder declared with a lead of over 100 runs, putting both the bowlers and the crowd out of their misery.

1940s 5-602(dec), 1920s 4-718(dec). 1920s lead by 116 runs.

Day 5, Session 3
Both openers were dismissed in the final session of the day but Modi and Nourse ensured the end result would be a lacklustre draw.

1940s 5-602(dec)
A Morris 264 no, V Hazare 81
M Tate 3-179, A Hall 2-116

1920s 4-718(dec)
J Hobbs 275 no, C Macartney 194
I Johnson 2-252, B Johnston 1-99

Match drawn
A Morris was awarded MotM.

**Wilted** · 06-20-2023, 01:50 PM

Game 2: 1980 vs 2000s
1980s XI: G Gooch, G Greenidge, V Richards, J Miandad, A Border*, I Khan, J Dujon+, R Hadlee, M Marshall, J Garner, I Qasim
2000s XI: M Hayden, G Smith*, R Ponting, J Kallis, R Dravid, K Sangakkara, A Gilchrist+, S Pollock, A Kumble, M Muralitharan, G McGrath
1980s won the toss and elected to bat first.

Day One
The 2000s have one of the stronger teams on paper for this tournament, with many of their players at the top of the leading runs and wicket scorers of all time. McGrath found early dominance with the ball but only yielded a drop catch. Despite some streaky edges and missed chances, the 80s safely saw off the new ball. A change of pace with Kumble coming into the attack saw Greenidge knick one through to the slips, surprised by the extra bounce. In Kumble's following over, he dismissed Richards in an identical fashion. It was a controversial choice to pick two spinners in this team but it was proving to be the correct option at this stage of the match. Gooch was the standout for the first session, remaining unbeaten on 48.

Even though Gooch reached 50, he was dismissed not long after off of Murali's bowing. Miandad and Border faced almost 150 balls for only 50 runs before McGrath added some life into the session with another breakthrough, this time of fellow Australian, Border. Between the two wickets at either end of the second session, only two boundaries were hit.

Coming out of his shell after a defensive start to his innings, Miandad scored more runs in the first half hour of the session than he had for the first 100 balls of his innings. He and Imran Khan maintained a solid pace throughout their partnership, which included Miandad passing his half-century. Unfortunately, Miandad was unable to go on to a big score, edging a short ball through to the keeper off Pollock. The South African allrounder didn't let the 80s batsmen settle, also dismissing Khan before the day's end.

1980s 6-218

Day 2
Day 2 started just as Day 1 ended, with Pollock taking wickets. With Hadlee and Marshall falling in the same over, the 80s' tail was exposed and the 00s' tails were up. Dujon batted well with his bowlers, wagging almost 50 runs and helping the 80s set a reasonable first innings score of 264. Pollock was the star of the innings, taking 5 wickets. 00s captain, Smith, was unable to survive the barrage from Garner and Hadlee before lunch.

Ponting and Hayden put on a solid partnership, as they had done so many times throughout their career. And just as Garner had done so many times throughout his career, he managed to break the partnership (and almost break Ponting's toes while he was at it). A mistimed reverse sweep off Qasim saw the end of Kallis but as batsmen were falling around him, Hayden claimed his first 50 of the tournament. Dravid was dropped and then ran Hayden out the very next ball.

Dravid made a slow start before being dismissed, Gilchrist went for a golden duck and Sangakkara and Pollock were left to salvage the innings. Pollock was the aggressor out of the two, scoring at a run a ball, while Sangakkara was the wall at the other end. The 00s would need to dig in deep if they wanted to take advantage of their successful bowling in the previous innings.

1980s 264, 2000s 6-166. 1980s lead by 98 runs.

Day 3
Disaster struck for the 00s on the second ball of the day. Imran Khan hit Pollock on the pads, leaving only three wickets left in the sheds and almost 100 runs in the deficit. Kumble lasted 21 balls for just one run. To finish up his demolition of the tail, Khan removed Murali and McGrath in consecutive balls, leaving him to bowl his hattrick ball in the next innings. The 2000s were bowled out for 190 and trailed the 1980s by 74 runs.

McGrath succeeded in searching for early wickets, claiming the wicket of Gooch from a mistimed drive for just 11 runs. Though Greenidge was off to an aggressive start, he too fell to a mistimed drive for a quickfire 28. The partnership between Viv Richards and Miandad grew steadily but the pitch continued to show its demons, not allowing any growing partnership to remain established. Just at the close of the session, Kumble drew a false shot from Richards.

Despite being a few wickets down, the 1980s' first-innings lead gave them the confidence to bat a bit more freely. Border played his shots with more vigour than most had been able to in this match, contributing most of the runs in the 50-run partnership with Miandad. Just before the end of play though, the dual spinners of Kumble and Murali took two quick wickets to give the 2000s some momentum going into Day 4.

1980s 264 and 5-162, 2000s 190. 1980s lead by 236 runs.

Day 4
Swing bowling reigned supreme on the morning of the first day. Pollock, and even McGrath, had the ball swinging both ways. Dujon and Hadlee departed within the first two overs. A cheeky 50-run partnership between Miandad and Marshall gave the crowd some fireworks and put the 1980s firmly in control of the match as their lead extended past 300. Marshall fell just before lunch but all eyes were on Miandad, who had just reached the 90s and was eyeing off a century on a very difficult wicket to bat on.

After blocking out a couple of maidens, the Pakistani master went to drive for four to bring up his ton but only found an edge straight to slip... which spilled out of Hayden's clutches. The dropped catch allowed Miandad to bring up his century in the next over with a flick through mid-wicket. A flurry of boundaries and tail-end wickets soon came to an end when Miandad was bowled by Murali for 112. The target for the 2000s was 347, a daunting class looking at the deteriorating pitch. Though the weather was looking good for the batsmen after a few overcast days.

A steady 50-run partnership got the 2000s off to a positive start, despite it taking several overs for the first boundary was hit. Smith reached 50 before Qasim finally got the breakthrough needed for the 80s. As the evening closed in on the fourth day of the match, Hayden brought up his own 50. Just to make sure the entire session wasn't in favour of the 2000s, Qasim took his second wicket, dismissing Ponting in the second-last over of the day.

1980s 264 and 273, 2000s 190 and 2-134. 2000s need 214 to win.

Day 5
The final day seemed like a guaranteed result, unlike the previous match. The key to the 2000s success was trapped LBW on the second ball of the day when Qasim took his third wicket and dismissed Hayden for 59. When Dravid became Qasim's fourth victim, it looked as if the momentum and the match had shifted entirely in favour of the 1980s. With two quick wickets gone, more tumbled to the quicks throughout the session, exposing the tail before lunch. The final nail in the coffin came when Qasim picked up his fifth wicket of the innings and removed the last recognised opposition batsman. Garner took the final wicket, finishing one of the most spectacular collapses seen in an ATG tournament. Qasim's six wickets helped seal victory for the 1980s with two sessions to spare.

1980s 264
J Miandad 72, G Gooch 61
S Pollock 5-53, A Kumble 2-35

2000s 190
M Hayden 65, K Sangakkara 32*
I Khan 4-32, J Garner 3-64

1980s 273
J Miandad 112, V Richards 34
A Kumble 3-49, G McGrath 3-61

2000s 175
M Hayden 59, G Smith 51
I Qasim 6-88, J Garner 3-15

1980s won by 172 runs
J Miandad was awarded Man of the Match

**CrazyCaptain101** · 06-21-2023, 09:00 AM

Wow, a very flat pitch in the first game of the tournament. Would've loved a closer game to begin but I guess we'll take a game in which 2 players made double hundreds and 11 wickets were taken.

**Wilted** · 06-25-2023, 03:18 AM

Originally posted by CrazyCaptain101 View Post

Wow, a very flat pitch in the first game of the tournament. Would've loved a closer game to begin but I guess we'll take a game in which 2 players made double hundreds and 11 wickets were taken.

That was just my second match of CC23 so it may have been me still getting used to the new system. Though across two years in an international career mode so far, I've only had one Test non-result so I think it was just an outlier.

**Wilted** · 06-25-2023, 06:17 AM

Game 3: 1930s vs 1950s
1930s XI: B Ponsford, B Mitchell, D Bradman*, G Headley, P Hendren, W Hammond, L Ames+, B Voce, C Grimmett, B O'Reilly, B Bowes
1950s XI: L Hutton, H Mohammad, C Walcott+, P May*, T Graveney, D Compton, P Umrigar, R Lindwall, H Tayfield, J Laker, A Bedser
1950s won the toss and elected to bat first.

Day 1
Any team with Bradman on it will always be one of the favourite to win any tournament but the 1950s team will be out to prove that wrong. Hutton and Mohammad put on a solid start to their team's innings, making a 50 partnership in just over an hour. Something that always looks strange is seeing these older ATG players whip out powerful reverse sweeps for boundaries, but Mohammad looked like he was brought up on T20 cricket the way he dispatched O'Reilly and Grimmet in the opening session. The 1950s openers reached the lunch break with an unbeaten partnership of 77 runs.

Hutton raised his bat for 50 with a single off Bowes early in the session, but it took Mohammad much longer to get his last few runs to reach 50. It wasn't until the 55th over of the match until the bowlers produced a chance, which was cleanly taken in the slip of O'Reilly's bowling. Mohammad slow 58 had come to an end. O'Reilly almost had two in two balls, but the umpire turned down the LBW appeal which replays showed could have gone either way. In his next over, there was no doubt that O'Reilly had his man. Taking some inspiration from his 'Bazball' contemporaries, May was off the mark with a reverse sweep boundary. The 1950s went to tea with 148 runs on the board and just two wickets down.

An early lapse in concentration caused May to push for two when there was only ever a single. A direct hit saw him out of his ground by half the length of the pitch. Graveney only managed to add one run to the total before O'Reilly picked up his third of innings and momentum was starting to go in favour of the 1930s. As dusk began to settle, Hutton reached the 90s and the new ball was taken, promising an exciting end to the day's play. A nudge to mid off and a risky single brought up Hutton's 100 off 254 deliveries just before stumps.

1950s 4-214

Day 2
It was a dull start to the morning of Day 2, with the only highlight being Compton bringing up his 50 off 150 balls. After the first our or so, Compton and Hutton decided to up their tempo, passing the 100 partnership milestone and beginning to string together boundaries to push for a big first innings total. In the second last over of the session, Bowes managed to sneak one past the edge of Compton's bat, and everyone behind the stumps were adamant they had heard a noise despite nothing being picked up by the stump mic. In the end though, the umpire agreed and sent Compton packing for 68 off 197 balls. The 1950s were 5-300 and the lunch break.

With the first 6 of the match and consecutive 4s, it was clear that Hutton was given instruction to get runs and get them fast. The only person in the way was O'Reilly who picked up the wicket of Umrigar for his fourth wicket. Lindwall supported Hutton with an exciting start to his innings, which was ended with an edge through to the keeper of Grimmett for quickfire 37. Tayfield fell shortly after before the break.

Hutton brought almost brought up his double ton with a reverse sweep for 6, but it landed just short of the rope. A few overs later, Voce found his edge removing Hutton for 198 off 471 deliveries, just two runs short of the massive milestone. Laker and Bedser put on an unlikely 61 run partnership to help the 1950s reach a first innings total of 477 runs. O'Reilly ended the innings with his fifth wicket, bowling Bedser through the gate with a wrong-un.

1950s 477, 1930s 0-7. 1950s lead by 470 runs.

Day 3
Bedser and Lindwall kept Ponsford and Mitchell on their toes, keeping the run rate under two runs per over. It wasn't until May had the notion to bowl himself that allowed the openers allowed themselves to freely score. After taking himself out of the attack after going for 10 runs per over, May brought on some spin to try change things up. Tayfield was effective immediately, removing Ponsford for 25. Bradman came out with his reputation only heightened after the last ATG Test tournament, where he score 1600+ runs @130 with eight 100s. That didn't seem to daunt the South African spin bowler at all, finding Bradman's edge and dismissing him for just nine runs.

Headley started his innings with a bit of West Indian flair and things sailed smoothly for the 1930s batters. Mitchell brought up his 50 but Headley fell just short on 49 when he tried to take Laker over mid off. Mitchell continued his steady innings and both he and Hendren made it to tea without further loss. Despite being a relatively flat pitch, with O'Reilly and Tayfield being the damaging bowlers, spin may just be the key to this match.

Laker dismissed Hendren in the first over of the final session of the day and that set the tone for the next few spells. Tayfield picked up another wicket in the next over, and it was the big wicket of Mitchell for 66 runs. Both Ames and Voce fell to Taylor before the new ball was taken. Hammond took the reins and looked to make sure that the 1930s would not be made to follow on. With 67 runs still behind to avoid the follow on, he had his work cut out for him.

1950s 477, 1930s 7-211. 1950s lead by 267 runs.

Day 4
Starting on the front foot (literally and figuratively), Hammond looked to reach the minimum target quickly. Unfortunately for the 1930s, he was dismissed for 48, still needing 33 runs to avoid a follow on. The tail were unable to wag enough runs and ultimately the fell just 16 runs short of being made to follow on, which May happily enforced.

Mitchell and Ponsford showed that those 16 weren't that difficult to make, brining them up in less than four overs. Their 50-run partnership included ten boundaries, showing they weren't afraid to take the match on rather than turn over and block out a draw. An errant swing caused Mitchell to completely miss a stock delivery off Laker, which bowled him for 35. This brought Bradman back to the crease who would be keen to make up for his failure just 24 hours ago. He looked to put any demons against spin to bed, sweeping Laker for 4 off his first ball. He did the same thing to Tayfield on the first ball he faced off him. Both Bradman and Ponsford looked strong at the tea break, bringing the total to 98 for the loss of one wicket.

A lofted drive over mid on brought up 50 for Ponsford and 100 for the 1930s. After having Tayfield hit out of the attack, the 1950s brought on Lindwall to try produce a wicket, otherwise the match would end in a draw despite the huge advantage to them. While Lindwall himself didn't pick up the wicket, a spectacular piece of fielding at short fine leg from him ran Ponsford out for 88, giving the 1950s a faint sniff of victory. A couple of quick wickets here would put them in the box seat for the final day. Bradman produced his first 50 of the tournament. The run of runs didn't continue for the great Don as Lindwall struck him plumb in front for 51. The day finished with Headley and Hendry rolling over their team's total to 200 without any further loss.

1950s 477, 1930s 262 and 3-202. 1950s lead by 13 runs.

Day 5
With only a draw and a 1950s victory left on the table, all fielders were brought into catching positions to ensure the last seven wickets fell. This didn't seems to bother Hendren one bit as he launched Tayfield and Laker to all parts of the ground, including 12 runs in the first over of the day. It took an entire day but the first innings deficit was finally chased down, only for yet another run out to break the growing partnership in the same over. Hendren continued to take advantage of the large gaps in the aggressive field but Hammond was looking to play the long game and focus on surviving for a draw. The fast-scoring approach of Hendren proved to be the more successful of the two, with Hammond finding a streaky edge through to the slips off Laker. Hendren seemed comfortable as he reached 50 and Ames looked settled at the other end as the first session was nearing a close. On the very last ball before lunch however, Laker managed to get one past Hendren's defence, dismissing him for 60, leaving just Ames and the tail left to dismiss.

Even though there was just the tail left to remove, the 1930s were beginning to build a decent lead. If the 1950s didn't take the last few wickets quickly, they would be left with a chase they may not have enough time for in the end. Voce was first to fall to Tayfield and Bedser had Grimmett in the next over. The last obstacle between the 1950s and a first round victory, Ames, was bowled around the legs by Laker for a hard fought 26 off 126 balls. O'Reilly looked to score a few quick boundaries just to give the 1950s some time pressure in the final chase but he was left stranded on 19 off 30 when Laker picked up the last wicket of the tail, and his fifth of the innings. Despite a solid total of 313, the 1930s had set their opponents a meagre chase of 99 runs to win with a session and a bit left in the match.

Despite some streaky edges and a few LBW shouts, the 1950s survived to tea without the loss of wicket and just 71 runs needed in the final session. Hutton and Mohammad didn't blink an eye as they quickly chased down the bulk of the required runs. Hutton scored the bulk of them, including reaching 50 runs in just 61 deliveries, and it was Mohammad who struck a magnificent drive through mid wicket for 4 to end the match.

1950s 477
L Hutton 198, D Compton 68
B O'Reilly 5-117, B Voce 2-91

1930s 262
B Mitchell 66, G Headley 49
H Tayfield 6-62, A Bedser 2-42

1930s 313
B Ponsford 81, P Hendren 60
J Laker 5-116, A Bedser 1-29

1950s
L Hutton 51*, H Mohammad 42

1930s lost to 1950s by 10 wickets.
L Hutton was awarded Man of the Match.

**Wilted** · 06-26-2023, 10:35 AM

Game 4: 1990s vs 2010s
1990s XI: S Anwar, A Stewart+, M Waugh, S Tendulkar, B Lara, S Waugh*, M Azharuddin, W Akram, S Warne, C Ambrose, A Donald
2010s XI: A Cook, D Warner, K Williamson*, J Root, S Smith, A de Villiers, B Watling+, R Ashwin, D Steyn, S Broad, J Anderson
1990s won the toss and elected to bat first.

Day 1
Steyn and Anderson had the ball on a string and made making runs difficult for the opening batsmen. Though Anwar and Stewart navigated the opening spell safely, things didn't get better. With an inswinging yorker in his first over, Broad picked up Stewart. It only took him two more overs before stringing again, this time dismissing Anwar. The younger Waugh twin got the runs ticking over while the Little Master protected his wicket until the lunch break. With two wickets and 87 runs in the first session, the game was shaping up to be fairly even.

A first-ball boundary off Anderson's bowling set the tone for the session. Mark Waugh brought up his 50 in just 67 deliveries before becoming Broad's third victim of the innings. Tendulkar raised his bat for a 50 after drinks but must have had a brain fade when he was trapped LBW when Williamson brought himself on to bowl. Steyn took advantage of having a new batsman at the crease, dismissing the older Waugh for a duck. With a wicket just before tea, the game was still in a relatively balanced position.

Two quick wickets fell with Anderson and Steyn picking up the last two remaining batsmen. If the 2010s could wrap the tail up quickly, they would take a lot of confidence going forward in this match. Akram and Warne had other ideas, putting on more than 70 runs for the eighth-wicket partnership. Only Anderson with a new ball was able to end it just before tea. Akram and Ambrose made it to stumps with 288 runs on the board.

1990s 8-288

Day 2
Starting the day in the 40s, Akram was hoping his partners would last long enough to score a 50. Once again, Steyn and Anderson had different ideas, taking two quick wickets and leaving Akram stranded on an unbeaten 47. The 1990s' final first innings total was 297. Slightly under par for what they were hoping for.

Cruising to a 50 partnership, Cook and Warner looked to set up a strong opening partnership. Shane Warne finally broke through by removing Warner for 34, but not before being hit for consecutive boundaries. Shortly after the lunch break, Cook brought up his 50 and was looking very confident against the all-star lineup of the 90s bowling attack. No matter how confident you look though, all it takes is one ball to swing the other way and it's all over, which is exactly what Akram did to dismiss the former English captain. Donald was next to strike, dismissing Williamson before he really go going. Root looked to adapt his Bazball-style approach to batting, knocking Warne for 6, and then was outdone the very next ball. Smith and de Villiers finished the session comfortably, leaving just 100 runs left in the deficit and six wickets in the sheds.

You'd expect nothing less from the greatest leg spin bowler. With the first ball of the third session of the second day, he found Smith's edge. De Villiers and Watling slowed the pace of the match down and looked to slowly build an innings. Their steady approach saw them climb to a 50-run partnership and they even saw off the new ball attack, giving the 2010s a decent advantage at the end of day 2.

1990s 207, 2010s 5-267. 1990s lead by 30 runs.

Day 3
Day 3 started with some streaky edges, close LBW appeals and even a run-out chance but ultimately no wickets. Both batsmen passed 50 with ease and soon started building a first innings lead for the 2010s. It was as if lightning had struck twice when Donald rattled de Villiers' stumps and then found Watling's edge. Ashwin and Steyn put on their own entertaining partnership, which put the 2010s ahead by 84 at the lunch break.

In the first over of the session, Akram bowled Steyn. Instead of rolling over, however, Ashwin kicked it up a notch and passed 50 runs from 82 balls. The innings finally came to a close when Ambrose bowled Broad and then dismissed Anderson in consecutive balls. The 2010s were balled out for 400 on the dot, giving them a first innings lead of 103 over the 1990s.

Despite spending all innings behind the stumps, Stewart was on from the very first ball. In very little time at all, he was in the 30s while Anwar was still marking his guard. The 50-run partnership was brought up in a little over seven overs. Despite the slower start, Anwar was first to 50, taking him just 43 balls. It took just 20 overs for the 90s openers to put on a 100-run stand and eradicate the sizeable lead in front of them. Boundaries flowed for the rest of the day, particularly from Anwar. With a hook shot off Broad, he brought up his century off 129 balls. At the other end, Stewart was content to just focus on rotating the strike. It was Williamson who made a surprise breakthrough at the end of the day, dismissing Stewart for 88, but not before the duo had put on over 200 runs together.

1990s 297 & 1-214, 2010s 400. 1990s lead by 111 runs.

Day 4
It was Steyn that ensured a repeat of Day 3 didn't happen, getting Anwar out in the second over of the day. That didn't deter Waugh or Tendulkar though, who kept the runs ticking over at quite a pace. Within the space of a few overs before lunch, both batsmen had reached 50, the 90s total reached 300 and the lead cruised past 200.

Waugh and Tendulkar had answers for everything that the bowlers were throwing at them and in return, the bowlers were running out of options. Bowling around the wicket to the right-handed Mark Waugh finally got Broad a wicket, ending the 167-run partnership. It can't be a good sign when you break a massive partnership only to have Brian Lara walk out to the middle and start smashing boundaries around the park, all the while Sachin Tendulkar reaches 100. Bowling to that pair would be any bowler's nightmare.

With a 350-run lead and a little over one day left, it was a matter of when to declare for the 1990s. Obviously, Tendulkar and Lara came out swinging. In the midst of boundaries, Lara reached 50 but it was who Anderson broke the third 100+ partnership of the innings. A few more quick wickets fell as the 90s tried to push the lead as fast as possible but when Lara was caught at deep mid-off, the innings was declared with a lead of 446 runs.

A golden duck to Warner just before tea knocked any wind out of the 2010s sails and boosted the confidence of the 90s. When Williamson was caught behind in the second over, it was demoralisation for the 2010s and elation for the 90s. Cook fell in the third over and ousting Smith in the final over of the day was just a cherry on top.

1990s 297 & 6-549, 2010 400 & 4-17. 2010s trail by 430 runs.

Day 5
Root reined in the Bazball antics to put his team first and did so quite commendably as he and de Villiers put on a defensive masterclass and survived the session with little fanfare. Bringing back a rampant Akram who massacred the top-order yesterday evening was an obvious choice and it paid dividends straight away, removing de Villiers. Ambrose removed Watling and the 2010s were down to the tail, though it was a tail tougher than most.

The first hour of the final session was frustrating for the 90s who had done the hard part dismissing the recognised batsmen but the tail remained defiant. There were plenty of near misses, close shouts and hits to the body but a dogged defence kept a draw still on the cards. Donald bowled Ashwin leaving just Broad and Steyn at the crease and Anderson left in the sheds. With 40 minutes left in the match, the 90s were desperate for the last two wickets to claim victory. They didn't have to wait long. Steyn was dismissed after an 81-ball defence but Anderson only managed to survive 5 balls. The 90s won an absolute classic test finish with just 22 minutes to spare.

1990s 297
S Tendulkar 65, M Waugh 62
S Broad 3-55, J Anderson 3-58

2010s 400
R Ashwin 66no, B Watling 62
A Donald 3-91, S Warne 3-137

1990s 6-549 dec
S Tendulkar 128, S Anwar 118
R Ashwin 2-120, K Williamson 1-35

2010s 235
J Root 81, A de Villiers 43
A Donald 5-55, W Akram 3-68

1990s defeated 2010s by 211 runs
S Tendulkar was awarded Man of the Match.

**Wilted** · 06-26-2023, 11:38 AM

Round 1 Results

Round 1

20s drew with 40s

80s defeated 00s

30s lost 50s

90s defeated 10s

Bye this round: 60s and 70s.

Current Standings:

Group A	Played	Wins	Draw	RPW	Total
1980s	1	1		1.47	2
1920s	1		1	1.80	1
1940s	1		1	0.55	1
1960s				#DIV/0!	0
2000s	1			0.68	0

Group B	Played	Wins	Draw	RPW	Total
1950s	1	1		2.00	2
1990s	1	1		1.67	2
1970s				#DIV/0!	0
2010s	1			0.60	0
1930s	1			0.50	0

Tournament Stat Leaders

Batsman	Runs	Bowler	Wickets
A Morris	296	I Qasim	8
J Hobbs	275	A Donald	8
L Hutton	249	J Laker	7
C Macartney	194	H Tayfield	7
S Tendulkar	193	J Garner +1 other	6

Round 2 Fixture

Round 2

20s vs 60s

40s vs 80s

30s vs 70s

50s vs 90s

Byes this round: 2000s and 2010s

**Wilted** · 06-27-2023, 03:41 PM

Game 5: 1920s vs 1960s
1920s XI: H Sutcliffe, J Hobbs, C Macartney, J Ryder*, F Woolley, W Bardsley, J Gregory, B Oldfield+, M Tate, A Hall, T Freeman
1960s XI: B Simpson, B Lawry, B Cowper, K Barrington, G Pollock, G Sobers*, J Parks+, P Pollock, F Trueman, G McKenzie, B Chandrasekhar
1960s won the toss and elected to bat.

Day 1
Some big names were making their ATG debut after the 1960s had a bye in the first round and with a new-look 1920s bowling lineup, it was tough to say who would come out on top in this match. Simpson and Lawry walked out to the middle together as they had done many times before and put on a solid opening partnership. It was another wicketless session for the 20s and they walked off complaining that these modern pitches with covers and heavy rollers were making it too easy for the batsmen.

Simpson raised a bat for his half-century but there was little spectacle outside of that. There were a few shots, half-shouts and streaky edges, but nothing really got the crowd going. The crowd were finally on their feet with a hook shot for 6 that brought up his 50. A bit of spin finally gave the 1920s a chance when Freeman found Lawry's edge. With only one wicket down and 150+ runs on the board, the 1960s were in a comfortable position.

Freeman struck early, bowling Cowper for 25. A leading edge that popped straight back to Freeman in his next over, saw Simpson depart for 84. Despite being a tournament of legends, there would not be too many 'fantasy' partners that were on the same level as G Pollock and Barrington. The pair quickly hit Gregory out of the attack and Woolley was brought on to roll his arm over before the new ball. He must've had the magic touch though, removing Pollock for just 10. The new ball did nothing for the 1920s however, with Barrington and Sobers smashing 50+ runs in the last 10 overs of the day.

1960s 4-283

Day 2
After having all four wickets go to spin bowlers on Day 1, the 1920s opened the day with Freeman bowling. He was able to keep things tight down one end while quicks down the other rotated and leaked plenty of runs. Barrington made 50 but the spin bowling gambit paid off when Freeman dismissed Sobers for 49. Park was off the mark with a reverse sweep for 4 off his first ball. His next attempt at a reverse sweep wasn't as successful, going straight to hand, giving Freeman his 5th wicket of the innings. In the last over before lunch, Woolley picked up P Pollock to close out the session.

Though the scoring rate had dropped, Barrington still managed to pick up ones and twos alongside the occasional boundary. He brought up his century off 196 balls. Freeman's 6th victim was the centurion himself but his innings ensured that the 1960s would post a total of close to 400. The 60s would have reached 400 but the last two batsmen fell in consecutive deliveries to Freeman, who picked up three wickets in the over and 8 in the innings.

McKenzie struck early and got the 1960s bowlers fired up. The 60s tried to piggyback Freeman's success by bringing on their own spinner, Chandrasekhar, early and the plan would have worked if it weren't for a drop catch. Macartney looked to play an aggressive role, bringing up a speedy 50 but became McKenzie's second wicket as soon as he returned for his second spell. The day closed with a crunching cover drive from Hobbs for 4.

1960s 391, 1920s 2-110. 1960s lead by 281 runs.

Day 3
P Pollock thought he had a wicket on the first ball of the day, but the umpire turned the LBW appeal down. On replay, it showed that Pollock may have been a little bit hard done by. The close scare didn't deter Hobbs, whose calm innings earned him another 50. Runs were almost at a complete stop when Chandrasekhar came into bowl again. The pressure had built up too much, which resulted in a couple of quick wickets for the spinner before lunch.

A comical misfield a cover drive from Bardsley reach the boundary through the legs of Barrington. The 1960s' captain, Sobers, waited for almost 100 overs to bring himself onto bowl and it only took him four balls to find success. A polite applause went around the ground when Woolley reached 50.

The Woolley/Gregory partnership passed 50 runs, and the deficit was now below 100 runs with 5 wickets in hand. Runs flowed off Woolley's and he reached one of the quicker centuries of the tournament off 168 balls. Gregory soon had his 50 to celebrate and it looked like the 2920s had turned their innings around. By the end of the day, the match was in their favour.

1960s 391, 1920s 5-367. 1960s lead by 24 runs.

Day 4
The remaining deficit melted off quickly and boundaries were flying off the bat in every direction. The 1920s had built a small lead when Gregory tragically fell short of his ton for 90. Oldman didn't stick around too long but that didn't slow Woolley down who cruised past 150. McKenzie finally had Woolley caught behind for 168, only to be called for a front-foot no-ball. To rub it in, Woolley dispatched the next delivery to the boundary.

The 1920s' total crept over 500 and their lead stretched into the 100s. The tailenders didn't stick around for long and Woolley upped the ante and began scoring multiple boundaries an over. On 197 runs, he fresh-aired a straight ball from Trueman, ending 1920s' innings with a 139 runs lead.

The first blood of the third innings went to Tate, who bowled Lawry for 13. Simpson was the bright light for the session, scoring a steady 41 runs off 114 balls. Cowper survived some close chances and calls, including a reverse sweep that he middled straight through the first slip's fingers. Judging by the defensive approach to batting, being one down stumps of the fourth day was a small victory for the 1960s.

1960s 391 and 1-73, 1920s 530. 1920s lead by 66 runs.

Day 5
Hall found his first of the match, knicking off Cowper for 16 off 71 balls. Freeman snagged the big wicket of Barrington. Simpson brought up a 50 at this point, it was clear that his team was going for a draw. On the stroke of lunch, the 1960s overcame hit the lead with only three wickets down.

Despite the pitch degrading quite a bit by mid day 5, it was showing no signs of support to the bowlers. G Pollock brought up his 50 without hassle, as did Simpson who reached his century. By the final break in the match, The 1960s had accrued a solid 85 run lead, with very little opportunity for a result to happen.

The final session had as much excitement as any match where an imminent, lacklustre draw was about to happen. A somewhat dubious decision sent Simpson packing for a slow 120 runs. Pollock became the most recent player to be dismissed in the 90s this tournament, also being Freeman's 10th wicket for the match, making Freeman the first player of the tournament to pick up a 10-wicket match. The highlight of the session came when Sobers reversed swept Woolley for 6.

1960s 391
K Barrington 117, B Simpson 84
T Freeman 8-82, F Woolley 2-44

1920s 530
F Woolley 197, J Gregory 90
G McKenzie 3-109, B Chandrasekhar 3-192

1960s 6-320
B Simpson 120, G Pollock 95
T Freeman 3-110, A Hall 2-79

Match drawn.
F Woolley was awarded Man of the Match.

**Wilted** · 06-29-2023, 04:26 PM

Game 6: 1940s vs 1980s
1940 XI: C Washbrook, A Morris, B Sutcliffe, D Nourse*, V Hazare, K Miller, D Tallon+, I Johnson, T Mann, B Johntson, E Toshack
1980 XI: G Gooch, G Greenidge, V Richards, A Border*, J Miandad, I Botham, J Dujon, I Khan, M Marshall, J Garner, I Qasim
1940s won the toss and elected to bat.

Day 1
As you'd expect from Washbrook and Morris after the first match of the tournament, the scoring was slow and steady. While each batsman only struck one boundary, they offered not a single chance to the bowlers. By the end of the session, they had put on 46 runs but didn't look like they were going out any time soon.

The second session was very similar to the first, with not a lot of action happening. Washbrook looked to be a tad more aggressive, reaching his 50 towards the end of the session. Marshall was the more expensive of the bowlers, despite just going for three rpo, but he did draw a couple of false shots from the stalwart openers.

Morris started the third session with a bang, sending a wider ball from Qasim through the covers to bring up his 50. Unfortunately, the very next ball he was out caught behind. Washbrook took the wicket as a sign to accelerate the scoring. In just one hour, he doubled the runs he had made in the first four hours of the match to bring up his century. The New Zealander, Sutcliffe, looked to keep a similar tempo and score quickly, including 14 runs off Khan in one over. Imran Khan had the last laugh however, surprising him with a short ball in the same over and dismissing him. A few overs before the close of play for the day, Qasim snuck one through Washbrook's defence, bowling him for 114. One brings two and Khan also had Nourse

1940s 4-256

Day 2
Greenidge dropped Hazare on 26 runs but hung onto a screamer to see the back of Miller for just 14. With Tallon being a specialist gloveman, the tail was longer than most and the end was in sight for the 1980s bowlers who toiled for little luck for most of Day 1. Khan bowled Hazare for his third wicket of the innings and in the very next over, Qasim trapped Tallon LBW for his third too. Johnson and Johnston put on a small resistance but the tail was soon wrapped up. Qasim had five wickets by the end of the innings.

Gooch and Greenidge put on a solid 50-run partnership in the second session of the day. Once again, there was very little in it for the bowlers. There were a few boundaries, including a huge 6 from Greenidge, but not much else to keep the crowd entertained aside from a good battle between bat and ball.

The first wicket of the innings went to Miller, who found Gooch's edge for 31. Though there were a few half shouts and chances, Greenidge brought up a 50, ensuring his team would put forward a good total. Both he and Richards were sticking their heels in until Mann dismissed Greenidge for 65. Border was looking comfortable against the spin so the 40s brought back the left arm quick, Johnston who found immediate success against the former Aussie captain just before stumps.

1940s 343, 1980s 3-142. 1940s lead by 201.

Day 3

Richards and Miandad aimed to make the bulk of their suns in singles until Toshack castled Richards's stumps for a slow 46. At the other Miandad had faced 70+ balls and still hadn't scored a boundary. Ian Botham changed the pace of things with a large 6 over mid-wicket just before lunch on Day 3.

A hooping inswinger from Toshack saw the end of Botham. The other left-arm seamer, Johnston, removed Dujon and brought Imran Khan to the crease. Khan would be one of the better no. 8s in the tournament so the 1980s still felt confident they could chase down the remaining 100 runs and start building a lead. Despite a few quick wickets, Miandad had finally gotten his eye in. His first boundary of his innings was a 6 over cover to bring up his 50. Khan and Miandad put on 50 runs together and survived until the very last ball before tea... which Khan was bowled on.

Mann and Johnson picked up two quick wickets at the start of the session, leaving Miandad in the 70s with Qasim at the other end. If anyone knew how unreliable Qasim is with the bat, it would be Miandad. Miandad must've faced almost 50 consecutive deliveries and brought up hsi 100 off 232 balls before being bowled in the following over. 1940s have a first innings lead of 19 runs. After a fantastic century in the first innings from Washbrook, Garner was elated to dismiss him for a duck in the first over of the second. Sutcliffe and Morris built upon their lead until the end of the day.

1940s 343 and 1-48, 1980s 324. 1940s lead by 67.

Day 4
Day 4 started with the sound of bat on ball as Sutcliffe drove Garner for 4. The second ball of the day had a death rattle sound and a cheer from the 1980s as Sutcliffe was dismissed for 25. The mode of dismissal for the say seemed to be bowled, with Marshall knocking over Morris's off stump. Qasim picked up the wickets of Hazare and Nourse and all of a sudden, momentum had swung the way of the 1980s.

Aside from the streaky edges for 4, runs were hard to come by. They became even more difficult to get once Garner had two in two balls. Toshcack did his best to keep the scoreboard ticking over but with Qasim turning the ball at almost 45-degree angles, it was almost impossible to get bat on ball. Eventually, bat did find ball one last time and ended up in the safe hands of Dujon. The 1940s ended their innings with a disappointing lead of 159 runs.

With all the time in the world (or at least four sessions), Gooch and Greenidge were in no hurry to chase down the winning runs. Scoring runs in mostly 1s and 2s, they slowly chipped away at the total. That was until Gooch decided to waltz down the pitch to play a reckless shot against Mann, only to swing at fresh air and have his bails removed by the keeper. Greenidge made another 50 but was one of the three quick dismissals at the end of the day.

1940s 343 and 140, 1980s 324 and 4-126. 1980s need 34 runs to win.

Day 5
It would take a miracle for the 1940s to avoid a loss and without any clouds in the sky, it was looking grim for them. Three wickets fell in the short chase but the results was never in doubt. Mann ended up with five wickets in the innings and Khan got off the mark with the winning runs.

1940s 343
C Washbrook 114, A Morris 51
I Qasim 5-128, 3-45

1980s 324
J Miandad 103, G Greenidge 65
T Mann 3-67, B Johnston 3-82

1940s 140
B Sutcliffe 25, D Nourse 22
J Garner 4-29, I Qasim 4-46

1940s lost by 3 wickets
I Qasim was awarded Man of the Match.

**Wilted** · 06-30-2023, 05:29 PM

Game 7: 1930s vs 1970s
1930s XI: B Ponsford, B Mitchell, D Bradman*, Headley, P Hendren, W Hammond, L Ames+, B Voce, H Larwood, H Veruty, B'OReilly
1970s XI: G Boycott, S Gavaskar, A Kallicharran, G Chappel, C Lloyd, D Amiss, R Marsh+, A Roberts, D Lillee, M Holding, D Underwood
1970s won the toss and elected to bat.

Day 1
Do you think Larwood apologised for bodyline before Bradman handed him the new ball? Either way, he bowled well for no rewards and even through in a few short balls. The session was otherwise dominated by Boycott and Gavaskar who put on an unbeaten 80-run partnership before lunch.

Gavaskar picked up a single on the first ball of the session to bring up his 50 and the pair cruised to a 100-run partnership. The first breakthrough of the match went to Verity who dismissed Gooch for 44, caught at first slip. There was no more success for the 1930s' bowlers. Gavaskar and Kallicharran made it through to tea and looked confident doing so.

A difficult dropped catch brewed frustration for the bowlers. A century for Gavaskar and a 50 for Kallicharran saw the total tick past 200 runs. A brilliant catch by O'Reilly off Verity dismissed Kallicharran but the rest of the day was filled with a steady flow of runs from Gavaskar and Chappell.

.1970s 2-261

Day 2
The day started with clear intent from Gavaskar, who hit Larwood back over his head for 6 and then when bounced in return, hooked it for 4. Gavaskar picked up a string of boundaries to bring up 150 and Chappell was happy to oblige him with more strike, just picking off singles. In a similar fashion to Kallicharran, Chappell brought up 50 and then was undone by spin without adding a single run more. O'Reilly picked up Lloyd for his third wicket of the innings but with the total nearing 400 runs, the 1970s were in full control.

Gavaskar reached his double ton with a full-toss gift from O'Reilly, the third double-century of the tournament. Larwood finally got his first wicket, and it was the big one of Gavaskar. Hammond rolled his arm over before the new ball was ready to be taken and bowled Marsh and then had Amiss a couple of overs later. With the new ball in hand, Voce had Lillee out and looked to wrap the tail up quickly. With a swinging new ball, he was able to do so with ease. The 1970s' innings ended with a total of 453.

Not wanting to lose any early wickets with a sizeable total ahead of them, Ponsford and Mitchell weren't in a hurry to score quick runs. They did put bad balls away but their own survival was the priority. By the end of the session, they had put together a solid start of 64 runs.

1970s 453, 1930s 0-64. 1970s lead by 389.

Day 3
Lillee and Underwood kept a tight line in their opening spells of the morning, drying up any potential runs. The frustration reached boiling point when Posford swung wildly at an Underwood delivery but only found an edge. Bradman came to the crease wanting to make up for his disappointing first-round match and was off the mark with a sweep shot for 4. Mitchell reached his half-century but fell to Lillee just before the lunch break. The big break came when Lillee removed Bradman in the same over for just 13 runs. The two late wickets set off a small collapse, with Lillee and Holding picking up one more each before lunch.

Lillee was on fire straight after lunch, picking up his fourth wicket in the first over of the session. Shortly after, Lillee had his fifth. With Roberts picking up another wicket soon after, the innings looked over and the 70s were weighing up whether to enforce the follow-on or not. Hendren had other ideas though and batted well with the tail to reach 50. At tea, the 1930s were 30 runs behind a follow-on. Hendren and Verity put on an 80-run stand, most of which came from Hendren's bat, but it came to an end just three runs short of the follow-on when Hendren was dismissed for 88, just two runs away from the follow-on, which Chappell chose not to enforce.

With three boundaries in the first over, Gavaskar was intent on setting a big chase quickly. Larwood bounced back, taking his off stump in the following over. Kallicharran and Boycott continued in a similar fashion for the rest of the session but did so without losing their wickets. The 1970s had put themselves in a commanding position at the end of day 3.

1970s 453 and 1-59, 1930s 252. 1970s lead by 260.

Day 4
Voce, Larwood and Hammond were bullied out of the attack early on Day 4 but it took O'Reilly just four balls to pick up the wicket of Boycott for 27. A flick through mid-wicket from Chappell brought up the 100 for the 1970s as well as a 300 lead. Quick runs seemed to be more important than preserving wickets, so while the runs flowed, O'Reilly reaped a few wickets as compensation. Rod Marsh's wicket was O'Reilly's fifth for the innings. The spinning duo of O'Reilly and Verity took nine wickets between them, six of which went O'Reilly, to end the innings and restricted the chase to a daunting yet achievable target of 368 runs.

Even though the pitch had developed some serious demons, Posnford and Mitchell put on a defiant 50-run stand to give the 1930s a glimmer of hope. Underwood ensured things didn't get too out of hand, removing Mitchell for 28. Bradman whisked away a couple of boundaries and the chase was below 300.

Once again, Lillee struck early in the session, trapping Ponsford LBW. This was followed up with Underwood catching Headley's edge for a duck, swinging all momentum towards the 1970s. A devious doosra from Underwood had Hendren, then Roberts had Hammond caught behind for a duck and the 30s were running out of batting steam. With a bit of luck having two very difficult chances go down, Bradman brought up his half-century off 88 balls. His fast pace of scoring dropped the runs required below 200 for the final day.

1970s 453 and 166, 1930s 252 and 5-169. 1930s need 199 runs to win.

Day 5
Of course, Bradman came out to win, scoring boundaries from the first over. Ames at the other end was unable to put up any resistance, falling to Lillee. Naturally, Bradman looked to take the burden of the majority of the runs while batting with the tail, but even he couldn't pull off another 150+ runs with the tail on a degraded fifth-day pitch. Could he? Riding his luck with another chance put down, Bradman made his first century of the tournament and dropped the required runs below 150. Bradman could shield the tail as much as he can but with bowlers like Lillee and Holding steaming in, every ball Bradman didn't face was a chance for a wicket. Voce was first to go, then Larwood, then Verity. Those three tail-enders all fell to Lillee who not only picked up five for the innings, it was his tenth for the match. The players went to lunch with one wicket left for the 1970s and an impossible 139 runs needed for the 1930s.

I'm not sure what the 1970s strategy was at the start of the session. You'd think it'd be simple: Lillee and Underwood have been the best bowlers, put them on. But no, they decided to go with Chappell and Boycott of available options. They might as well have gotten Rod Marsh to bowl with gloves on. Commonsense prevailed after a few overs of shenanigans and Underwood had it all over with just two balls.

1970s 453
S Gavaskar 203, A Kallicharran 50
B Voce 3-82, B O'Reilly 3-115

1930s 252
P Hendren 88, B Mitchell 65
D Lillee 5-70, M Holding 2-37

1970s 166
A Kallicharran 64, G Boycott 27
B O'Reilly 6-45, H Verity 3-27

1930s 253
D Bradman 118 no, B Ponsford 32
D Lillee5-68, D Underwood 4-67

1930s lost by 114 runs
S Gavaskar was awarded Man of the Match.

**Wilted** · 07-01-2023, 06:38 PM

Game 8:
1950s XI: L Hutton, H Mohammad, E Weekes, P May*, N Harvey, D Compton, C Walcott+, R Lindwall, H Tayfield, J Laker, A Bedser
1990s XI: S Anwar, A Stewart+, S Tendulkar, B Lara, S Waugh*, M Waugh, M Azharuddin, W Akram, S Warne, C Ambrose, A Donald
1950s won the toss and elected to bat.

Day 1
With both teams coming off the back of a first-round win and no other team in the group winning in both rounds so far, whoever won this match would get an early stranglehold on the top spot of their table. Hutton got things rolling with an uncharacteristic 6 over cover in the second over of the game. He tried it again against Donald and got a streaky edge that would have been 4 against any other team, but not with Mark Waugh in second slip, diving across to almost fourth slip to take a stunning catch. Unfortunately, he dropped a sitter not long after. Weekes came out with intent and brought up a half-century before lunch.

Mohammad brought up his own 50 at the start of lunch but fell to Warne shortly after. An edge from May gave Warne two wickets in two overs. Weekes was seeing beachballs and smoking balls all over the ground so it was entirely unexpected when Donald produced an unexpected edge from him. Warne had three in the session and was looking to live up to his King of Spin epitaph after underperforming in round one. The pair of Donald and Warne were making quite the duo, picking up eight combined wickets bowling at opposite ends so far. Harvey put on a gutsy 20 off almost 100 balls but thanks to Warne picking up six wickets in just over one session, he ran out of partners. The 1950s were bowled out for 201 runs.

Alex Stewart got off to a strong start but a leading edge saw him undone for 21. The pitch was proving to be a minefield for batsmen and a red carpet for bowlers as Bedser jagged one back to trap Tendulkar LBW for a duck! Anwar and Lara tried to make it through to the end of the day but Tayfield picked up another caught and bowled for the session on the very last ball. 13 wickets fell on Day 1.

1950s 201, 1990s 3-59. 1950s lead by 142.

Day 2
While Day 1 proved treacherous for batsmen on both teams, Lara defied expectations by reverse sweeping Tayfield for 6 on the first ball he faced. Lara soon reached 50 and Steve Waugh was building a solid innings at the other end. Just as things were steadying for the 1990s, Laker had Waugh scooping one straight to mid-on. Mark Waugh was off the mark with a 6 and lunch was called with the 1990s in a solid position.

Lara and Waugh put on runs at a tremendous pace, cutting the lead to single figures within the first half hour of the session. To show that the 1950s still had some fight left in them, Laker snuck one through Waugh's defence. Once Lara got to 99, it took him over three overs to face another ball before reaching 100 runs. The carnage of Lara ended on 125 when he edged one off Tayfield.

The final session of the day saw a lot more defensive approach from Azharuddin, who wanted to stick around to make runs with the tail. He and Akram put on 50 runs and got the lead to just under 100 runs when Bedser got the breakthrough yet again, removing Akram for 22. Compton came on as a change of angle with immediate effect. It would've been a third wicket for Laker but was called for a front foot, despite being well behind the line on release, much to his ire. Azharuddin finished the day unbeaten on 67.

1950s 201, 1990s 9-338. 1990s lead by 117.

Day 3
Hogging the strike and protecting the tail, Azharuddin was a brick wall. A brick wall that could whack a ball. He made a well-deserved 100. The innings ended when Tayfield produced a half-tracker that somehow found Azharuddin's edge. The last wicket partnership of 68 runs really put the 1950s in a dire situation.

A 50-run opening stand is exactly what the 1950s needed to stay in the match. Mark Waugh had a trundle picked up Mohammad for 30 with a ball that turned almost 45 degrees. Waugh claimed it was spin but his brother at a short cover says it hit a piece of dislodged turf. It seemed the demons on the pitch had come back out just for the 1950s when Warne found Hutton's edge. Being two wickets down and still 100 runs behind, the 1950s needed either May or Weekes to step up and produce a match-winning knock.

Any hopes of that happening was over by the first ball when Warne dismissed May for a duck and then Harvey caught at leg slip two overs later. Weekes reached 50 by playing some more aggressive shots but Warne's hot streak ended things, picking up the West Indian as his fourth wicket for the innings and tenth of the match. Soon after, Warne had Compton as his 5th victim. It seemed the only one who could handle Warne was fellow Australian, Lindwall, who hit five boundaries off the leggie to race to 20 runs. Of course, the battle was ultimately won by Warne who now had 12 for the match. Despite the wickets that session, the 1950s passed the deficit and posted a small lead by the end of the day. Three dropped catches helped out a lot.

1950s 201 and 7-223, 1990s 396. 1950s lead by 28 runs.

Day 4
Walcott and Tayfield put on a much-needed 76-run partnership but that soon ended thanks to Donald. Tayfield almost had a 50 but instead became Warne's seventh scalp of the innings. The aggressive fields allowed for runs to be had easily but with the constant fall of wickets, runs seemed trivial. The 1950s innings finished on 266 and a lead of 72. Warne picked up the final wicket of the innings, giving him eight for the innings and 14 for the match.

The 1950s took two wickets on the way to a devastating defeat.

1950s 201
E Weeked 67, H Mohammad 50
S Warne, 6-92, A Donald 3-19

1990s 396
B Lara 125, M Azharuddin 107
H Tayfield 4-95, A Bedser 3-86

1950s 266
E Weekes 50, C Walcott 48
S Warne 8-131, M Waugh 1-25

1990s 2-75
S Anwar 32 no, B Lara 19 no
J Laker 1-17, R Lindwall 1-39

1950s lost by 8 wickets
S Warne was awarded Man of the Match.

**Wilted** · 07-02-2023, 02:35 AM

Round 2 Results

Round 2

20s drew with 60s

40slost to 80s

30s lost 70s

50sdefeated 90s

Bye this round: 00s and 10s.

Current Standings:

Group A	Played	Wins	Draw	RPW	Total
1980s	2	2		1.30	4
1920s	2		2	0.84	2
1940s	2		1	1.10	1
1960s	1		1	0.84	1
2000s	1			0.68	0

Group B	Played	Wins	Draw	RPW	Total
1990s	2	2		1.34	4
1970s	2	1		1.23	2
1950s	1	1		1.11	2
1930s	2			0.68	0
2010s	1			0.60	0

Tournament Stat Leaders

Batsman	Runs	Bowler	Wickets
A Morris	366	I Qasim	17
J Hobbs	341	S Warne	17
J Miandad	307	B O'Reilly	14
L Hutton	295	T Freeman	12
F Woolley	288	A Donald	12

Jack Hobbs has the highest individual score of 275.
T Freeman has the best individual figures of 8-82.

Round 3 Fixture

Round 2

20s vs 80s

60s vs 00s

30s vs 90s

70s vs 10s

Byes this round: 40s and 50s.

**Wilted** · 07-04-2023, 07:40 AM

Game 9: 1920s vs 1980s
1920s XI: H Sutcliffe, H Taylor, C Macartney, J Hobbs, F Woolley, J Ryder*, J Gregory, A Faulkner, M Tate, B Oldfield+, T Freeman
1980s XI: G Gooch, G Greenidge, V Richards, J Miandad, A Border*, I Botham, I Khan, J Dujon+, J Garner, I Qasim, C McDermott
1920s won the toss and elected to bat.

Day 1
The 1920s had earned some questionable looks with their line up but with their recent poor performances with the ball and the devastation that the 1980s bowlers leave behind in their wake, they decided an unconventional lineup with a vast array of bowling options would complement their heavy batting attack well in this game. The strategy almost backfired in the first over of the match but Sutcliffe was luckily dropped. Dujojn made no mistake in the second over, taking a regulation catch to dismiss Taylor off Khan's bowling. Macartney came out and scored a 50 to round off the session but every bowler seemed to trouble Sutcliffe, who only made 17 runs albeit unbeaten.

Macartney made batting look easy, racing into the 90s while scoring most of his runs in 4s. In contrast, Sutcliffe had faced 150+ balls and still had not hit a single boundary. Taking a leaf out of Macartney's book, Sutcliffe pulled out a reverse sweep to hit Qasim to the boundary for his first boundary. Despite playing superbly, Macartney never reached his 100. A leading-edge bobbled back to Khan, ending his innings on 93.

The last session began with Garner removing Sutcliffe for 46 off 200 balls, an innings which include just two boundaries. Hobbs fell shortly after. Things didn't improve for the 20s when the new ball was taken. Khan had it swinging both ways and bowled Woolley, then had Gregory caught behind the next ball. Ryder fell a few overs later, making it 6 wickets in the day for Imran Khan.

1920s 7-203.

Day 2
A rearguard effort from Faulkner and the lower order saw the 20s put on 75 runs for the loss of one wicket in the opening session of Day 2. Once again, it was Khan who made the breakthrough but the 1920s ploy of having a deep batting lineup of all-rounders was proving fruitful.

It was an hour into the middle session until the ninth wicket fell. Faulkner had battled his way to 47 before McDermott swung one past his defences and into the stumps. It's unusual to see a wicketkeeper batting at 10 these days but glovemen batting in the lower order and tail wasn't that rare in ages past. Oldfield still managed to hit a few boundaries to get the score above 300. His defiance of the bowling attack kept him going past his own half-century before Botham picked up his first wicket of the tournament by getting Freeman caught behind. The 1920s finished their innings with a total of 326 runs. Imran Khan was the standout with seven wickets.

The leggie, Freeman, came into the attack early and picked up the wicket of Greenidge with his first ball. Tate had Goochg a couple of overs later and after a dominant Day 1 by the 1980s, the momentum had significantly shifted. It was another uncharacteristically sluggish innings from Viv Richards, which ended with him being caught at slip off a reverse sweep for just 6 runs. Border and Miandad had a tame last hour of the day, defending their wickets successfully.

1920s 326, 1980s 3-90. 1920s lead by 236 runs.

Day 3
There have been some slow sessions with little action this tournament but the morning session of Day 3 surely takes the cake. Not a single wicket, chance or boundary happened this session. Through good running between wickets, however, both Border and Miandad kept the score ticking over, Miandad even brought up his 50.

Border reached his own 50, with a cover drive to the boundary to boot. With the new ball, Tate found Miandad's edge for 86 from 224. As expected, Botham came out swinging, scoring at a run a ball before Ryder picked him up with an edge through to Oldfield. At the end of the session, the 1980s were 70 runs behind with five wickets left. The match was in the perfect position for either team to gain a first-innings advantage in the next session.

Border began the session reaching 100 runs off almost 300 balls. Border quickly changed the pace he was scoring runs after his ton and quickly made it to 150. He and Khan put on a 100-run stand to give the 1980s a strong first-innings lead going into Day 4.

1920s 326, 1980s 5-362. 1980s lead by 36 runs.

Day 4
Since it was now the fourth day and with the match still in the second innings, time was becoming a factor for the match. Someone forgot to tell Border and Khan that as they came out and played in the complete opposite style as Day 3 ended. It took over an hour for the first boundary to be hit. Once the lead ticked over 100, the run rate was raised again. Border's epic innings crossed 200 off 443 balls just before lunch.

Once again, the 1980s batsmen didn't look too eager to be scoring quick runs. Border continued to score steadily though, pushing the team's total to 500 before declaring with Imran Khan on 89 not out. With the declaration, the 1980s go into the third innings with a lead of 178 runs.

Taylor came out and was on the attack from the first ball he faced. Down the other end, Sutcliffe was struggling to get bat on ball and was eventually caught at leg slip off Garner. Taylor and Macartney put on a brief partnership of 50 runs but it was soon ended with another Garner wicket. With another boundary, Taylor reached his half-century. Qasim finished the day with a spell of tidy bowling, restricting runs for no reward. With almost two whole innings to go, the game is looking to be headed towards a third draw in as many games for the 1920s.

1920s 326 and 2-105, 1980s 5-504 dec. 1980s lead by 73 runs.

Day 5
Two things could happen today; either an all-time classic victory by the 1980s or a draw. Considering a draw was the better option for the 1920s, they looked to buckle down. Taylor and Hobbs put on a steady partnership before Qasim dismissed Taylor. Woolley came out aggressively to negate the deficit as quickly as possible but eventually fell to Botham. With lead beginning to build, the 1980s would need to take six quick wickets next session to chase down a manageable target.

Hobbs led the defence with a stalwart 50. With balls remaining being the main concern, the 1920s batsmen were successful in wearing the match down. Hobbs and Ryder faced 200 balls in the middle together for 90 runs before that partnership was ended by McDermott. Knowing that a collapse could still mean a last innings chase, Gregory came out swinging to put pressure on the 1980s while Hobbs ensured that the third innings would drag on. At tea, the 1980s still needed five wickets before their chase began, and the lead was over 100. A perfect recipe for a draw.

Hobbs reached his second century of the tournament off 245 balls. A change of angle from McDermott undid Gregory's match but with just an hour left in the match, it was too little too late. Qasim took some late, lower-order wickets before the match was called a draw.

1920s 326
C Macartney 93, B Oldfield 54 no
I Khan 7-80, I Botham 1-33

1980s 5-504 dec
A Border 240 no, I Khan 89 no
M Tate 2-103, T Freeman 2-156

1920s 8-359
J Hobbs 119 no, H Taylor 74
I Qasim 3-71, J Garner 2-74

Match drawn.
A Border was awarded Man of the Match.

**Wilted** · 07-05-2023, 09:14 AM

Game 10: 1960s vs 2000s
1960s XI: B Simpson, B Lawry, K Barrington, G Pollock, G Sobers*, B Cowper, W Grout+, P Pollock, W Hall, G McKenzie, B Chandrasekhar.
2000s XI: M Hayden, G Smith*, K Sangakkara, R Ponting, J Kallis, R Dravid, A Gilchrist+, S Pollock, A Kumble, M Muralitharan, G McGrath
2000s won the toss and elected to bat.

Day 1
With the 1960s being unimpressive with their bowling and the 2000s having a mediocre batting performance, this match gives both teams a chance for redemption after not winning their first games. Hayden quickly went on the attack against the West Indian great, Wes Hall, scoring six boundaries off just four overs of his bowling. This caused Sobers to bring himself on early and gave Hayden a bit of trouble, almost trapping him LBW but a close decision went against him. McKenzie stopped Hayden in his tracks, bowling him for 61 on the last over before lunch.

Captain Smith brought up his own 50 off just under 100 balls. The partnership between him and Sangakkara became the second partnership to go beyond 100 this innings. Unfortunately, Smith fell short of a century when he was bowled by Chandrasekhar for 94. By tea time, Sangakkara had raised his bat for 50 and the 200s had put on over 200 runs for the loss of just two wickets.

Chandrasekhar had two when he knicked off Sangakkara for 80 but the 2000s were comfortably building a big total. Kallis became the Indian leggie's third victim but with the total already above 300, a few more quick wickets were needed to salvage the day's play for the 1960s. Cowper rolled his arm over before the new ball was taken and took everyone by surprise, including himself, by removing Dravid. As Sangakkara, Hayden and Smith looked in fine touch, Ponting looked to be in even better shape. Unfortunately, he was struck by a short ball from Peter Pollock and had to leave the field. A huge blow for the 2000s as the day ended. The last bit of action for the day was the fall of Shaun Pollock's wicket, which read on the scorecard as, Pollock c. Pollock b. Pollock.

2000s 6-369.

Day 2
It didn't take long for the 1960s' quicks to begin firing at the tail. A last-ditch ever from Gilchrist almost got the 2000s above 400 but he fell as the last wicket for 40. Ultimately, it was a fantastic fightback from the 60s but they would need to produce a quality innings against some great bowlers to back their efforts up. They finished their first innings with 388 runs on the scoreboard.

Pollock and McGrath began their defence with typical, metronomic lines and lengths that made it difficult for Lawry and Simpson to score off. They reached a 50 partnership and soon Simpson had his own 50. The steady approach gave the bowlers no chances and allowed the 1960s to get back into the game. By the time tea had come around, the opening pair remained unbeaten with 100 runs on the board.

Of course, it was none other than Murali who got the first breakthrough of the innings, bowling Simpson in the first over after the break. Murali had two, dismissing Barrington for 11. For the second time this match, Pollock dismissed Pollock, this time Shaun bowling his uncle, Graeme. Despite putting in a fantastic dig so far, Murali had three wickets when he had Lawry caught behind for 72.

2000s 389, 1960s 4-187. 2000s lead by 201 runs.

Day 3
Day 3 started with Sobers thrashing McGrath through the covers before and in return, he copped a short ball to the body next ball. Thankfully, he was able to continue playing. Both Sobers and Cowper almost made it through to the end of the morning session but once again, Murali snuck in a last-minute wicket, bowling Cowper for 43.

Grout and Sobers fell early in the session, exposing a tail to a rampant Murali, who had already bagged five wickets this innings. Hall and Peter Pollock withstood the 2000s' attack, putting on a rear guard 50-run partnership. By tea, they had cut the lead down to 75 runs. After tea, the tail collapsed. nine wickets fell to spin, including six for Murali. Gilchrist also had his own 5fa, with three catches and two stumpings.

With a lead of 50, the 1960s' aim for this session was wickets. A few early wickets would bring momentum in their favour for the first time in the match. Unfortunately, Hayden and Smith had other ideas. While it wasn't a recreation of their swashbuckling first innings, no wickets and 50 runs in a session, put the 2000s in the dominant position.

Day 4
If the last session was about consolidating a lead, the morning session was all about Hayden and Smith making runs to bat the 60s out of the game. Smith fell to Chandrasekhar for 56. Hayden drove Sobers for 4 to bring up another half-century. Even though Chandrasekhar was the most successful bowlers this match, especially on a very spin-friendly wicket, Sangakkara took a liking to his bowling, smashing him to all corners of the ground. This even included multiple overs that went for 10+ runs.

Sangakkara started the session with another stunning display of strokeplay, reaching 50 in just 37 balls. He finally fell to a yorker from McKenzie for 63. At the other end, Hayden also looked to add quick runs to the lead, which had now grown past 250 runs. Kallis was unable to make an impact on the score. In the blink of an eye, the lead had reached 300 with one and a half days of play left. Along with the big lead, Hayden had brought up a century, following his incredible form from previous tournaments. Even wickets didn't slow the runs down. When Dravid was dismissed after scoring some quick runs, Gilchrist came in and immediately hit three 4s in a row. By the end of the session, the lead had amassed 378 runs. With a 6, Gilchrist brought up his quickfire 50 and Hayden reached 150 runs in the next over, shortly before the declaration was called with a lead of 431.

The 1960s' aim was obviously to survive the final session before moving on to the final day. Despite the like of Murlia having eight catchers around the bat, they survived and even knocked off 50 runs of the total.

2000s 389 and 4-379 dec, 1960 336 and 0-37. 1960s need 395 to win.

Day 5

Even though the first ball of the day was struck for 4, 400 runs in a day weren't something Lawry and Simpson thought was capable despite being told to score quickly. Murali got the breakthrough halfway through the morning session, ending the 68-run stand. He dismissed Barrington soon after. Pollock's treatment of the bowlers showed that the 1960s weren't ready to bat out a draw yet, but will actually try to reach the target, no matter how unlikely. Simpson brought up another half-century before lunch. 301 runs still remained.

The first ball of the session flew off Simpson's bat for 6 but the second flew straight to short leg. When Sobers came out to the middle, he could've made the decision to push for a draw but the West Indian powerhouse wanted to have a crack at chasing down what would be a record-breaking chase. He didn't last long as Murali picked up his 10th wicket of the match and then the orders were given to batten down the hatches and try and survive. Pollock reached 50 but Cowper didn't last long, stumped by Gilchrist despite not looking for an advantage. Very clever glovework, reminiscent of Bairstow's stumping from his County Championship final. A few more wickets fell in the session, including Pollock removing Pollock for a third time in the match and the 2000s had one more session to pick up the last two wickets for victory.

McKenzie and Hall lasted over an hour, putting on a 50-run partnership. The small stand wouldn't be nearly enough to win the match but it could prove vital in eking out an unlikely draw. With 40 minutes left in the match, Murali picked up Hall and then there was just one more wicket to go. Chandrasekhar had faced five deliveries before Murali picked up his seventh of the innings and 13th of the match, sealing a comfortable victory for the 2000s.

2000s 388
G Smith 94, K Sangakkara 80
B Chandrasekhar 3-75, G McKenzie 3-87

1960s 336
B Lawry 72, G Sobers 62
M Muralitharan 6-102, A Kumble 3-69

2000s 4-379 dec
M Hayden 153 no, A Gilchrist 72 no
G McKenzie 2-89, W Hall 1-69

1960s 272
G Pollock 71, B Simpson 58
M Muralitharan 7-89, G McGrath 2-63

1960s lost to 2000s by 159 runs.
M Hayden was awarded Man of the Match

Announcement

All Time Great Test Championship: Through the Decades

All Time Great Test Championship: Through the Decades

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