All Time Great Championship: T20 Franchise Frenzy

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Game 5A: Perth Scorchers vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Perth Scorchers XI" H Gibbs, J Inglis+, S Marsh, A Voges, M Marsh*, C Bancroft, L Livingstone, B Hogg, M Johnson, N Coulter-Nile, J Behrendorff
Sunrisers Eastern Cape XI: A Markram*, T Bavuma, J Smuts, T Stubbs, J Hermann, A Rossington+, M Jansen, R van der Merwe, B Carse, S Harmer, S Magala
Perth Scorchers won the toss and elected to bat.

Perth Scorchers
A Voges 35(37), H Gibbs 27(17)
S Harmer 2-20, M Jansen 2-35

6-140 (20 overs)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape
J Hermann 57*(29), J Smuts 47*(53)
M Johnson 2-30, B Hogg 1-34

Sunrisers Easter Cape won by 7 wickets
J Hermann was awarded Man of the Match.

It was a relatively tame affair for batsmen and bowlers in the first innings. Enough wickets fell to prevent batsmen from scoring too quickly but when batsmen were settled, they struggled to clear the rope. Voges's steadfast innings gave the Perth Scorchers 140 runs to defend. To very few spectators' surprise, Mitchell Johnson came out swinging... with the ball. He skittled both SEC openers in his first over. Once the batsmen ducked and weaved through Johnson's spell, it was a relatively easy chase. Hermann, who reached 50 in 26 balls, and Smuts made the bulk of the required runs with two and a half overs to spare.

Game 5B: Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Perth Scorchers
Sunrisers Eastern Cape XI: A Markram*, T Bavuma, J Smuts, T Stubbs, J Hermann, A Rossington+, M Jansen, R van der Merwe, B Carse, S Harmer, S Magala
Perth Scorchers XI: H Gibbs, J Inglis+, S Marsh, A Voges, M Marsh*, C Bancroft, L Livingstone, A Agar, B Hogg, M Johnson, J Behrendorff
Surisers Eastern Cape won the toss and elected to bowl.

Perth Scorchers
S Marsh 48(26), L Livingstone 47(17)
J Smuts 2-35, S Magala 1-28

6-206 (20 overs)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape
A Markram 74(56), T Bavuma 49(26)
L Livingstone 1-6, A Agar 1-26

4-196 (20 overs)

Perth Scorchers won by 10 runs
L Livingstone was awarded Man of the Match.

After a lacklustre opening game to the tournament, the Scorchers found a second gear and took the SEC attack head-on. Three different batsmen passed 40 but none reached the half-century milestone. Mind you, they were scoring too quickly to even notice. Smuts was the best bowler for SEC, with two wickets and helped make sure the Scorchers didn't go too far past 200 runs. Bavuma and Markram got the SEC off to a perfect start. Livingstone broke the hundred-run partnership by removing Bavums for 49. Two tight overs in a row pushed the required run-rate above 13 and it never lowered from there. The 24 runs required off the final over was too much and SEC fell short by 10 runs.

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Round 5 Results

All four matches had predictable results and all four winning teams went 2-0 to start their tournament campaigns. The best performance with the bat this round would have to go to the two opening partnerships between Hayden and Watson where both batsmen brought up centuries this round. Saqlain Mushtaq snared a rare 5fa in his first outing of the tournament, a feat that may not be reproduced in this shorter tournament.

Group A

SEC lost to GemAr GemAR defeated SEC

CV lost to IU IU defeated CV

PS - bye

Group B

TKR defeated SB SB lost to TKR

CSK defeated JK JK lost to CSK

AUCK - bye

Current Standings

Group A	Played	Wins	Tie	NRR	Total
Gemini Arabians	2	2		3.46	4
Islamabad United	2	2		0.97	4
Perth Scorchers				0.00	0
Comilla Victorians	2			-0.97	0
Sunrisers Eastern Cape	2			-3.46	0

Group B	Played	Wins	Tie	NRR	Total
Chennai Super Kings	2	2		2.75	4
Trinbago Knight Riders	2	2		2.44	4
Auckland Aces				0.00	0
Southern Brave	2			-2.44	0
Jaffina Kings	2			-2.75	0

Tournament Stat Leaders

Batter	Runs	Bowler	Wickets
M Hayden (CSK)	177	R Rampaul (TKR)	7
S Watson (CSK)	150	M Saifuddin (CV)	6
S Chanderpaul (GemAr)	125	D Chahar (CSK)	6
A Russell (CV)	105	D Bravo (CSK)	6
M ul-Haq (IU)	98	S Mushtaq (GemAr) M Muralitharan (GemAr)	5

Round 2 Fixture

Group A

PS vs SEC

GemAr vs CV

IU - bye

Group B

AUCK vs TKR

SB vs CSK

JK - bye

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Game 4A: Chennai Super Kings vs Jaffina Kings
Chennai Super Kings XI: M Hayden, S Watson, S Raina, M Hussey, M Dhoni*+, D Bravo, A Morkel, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, I Tahir, D Chahar
Jaffina Kings XI: A Fernando, S Samarawickrama+, R Rossouw, S Malik, R Gurbaz, T Kohler-Cadmore, T Perera*, W Hasaranga, M Theekshana, P Madushan, N Thushara
Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat.

Chennai Super Kings
M Hayden 106*(64), M Hussey 44(34)
M Theekshana 1-39, W Hasaranga 1-42

2-193 (20 overs)

Jaffina Kings
S Malik 35*(40), W Hasaranga 17(7)
D Chahar 4-25, D Bravo 4-27

89 (18 overs)

Chennai Super Kings won by 104 runs
M Hayden was awarded Man of the Match.

CSK have one of the most star-studded lineups going into the tournament. Hayden and Watson got things going with a 50-run partnership in the power play. Hayden cruised towards his own 50 while the Jaffina Kings managed to pick up two quick wickets. That was the only success the bowlers would find in this innings as Hayden continued his way to the first century of the tournament while Hussey scored some late-innings boundaries. Two wickets in the first over soon turned into seven by the time the power play wrapped up. Malik stuck around for as long as he could but Jaffina were bundled for under 100.

Game 4B: Jaffina Kings vs Chennai Super Kings
Jaffina Kings XI: A Fernando, S Samarawickrama+, R Rossouw, S Malik, R Gurbaz, T Kohler-Cadmore, T Perera*, W Hasaranga, V Viyaskanth, J Behrendorff, N Thushara
Chennai Super Kings XI: M Hayden, S Watson, S Raina, M Hussey, M Dhoni*+, D Bravo, A Morkel, R Jadeja, R Ashwin, I Tahir, D Chahar
Chennai Super Kings won the toss and elected to bat.

Chennai Super Kings
S Watson 111(60), M Hayden 71(53)
J Behrendorff 1-41, T Perera 1-46

2-202 (20 overs)

Jaffina Kings
S Samarawickrama 64(47), S Malik 61(34)
D Chahar 2-39, D Bravo 2-48

5-196 (20 overs)

Chennai Super Kings won by 6 runs
S Watson was awarded Man of the Match.

Watson and Hayden took things to a new level from the last game, churning out 184 runs before a wicket fell. This time it was Watson who scored big, notching up his century in 52 balls. None of the Jaffina bowlers could find any inroads as Chennai set 202 for Jaffina to win. This time, the Jaffina Kings batsmen came prepared and Samarawickrama, Malik and Gurbaz put on half-centuries to push the CSK bowlers out of their comfort zone. Pushed to the last few balls, Dwayne Bravo held his cool to keep Jaffina just six runs short of an unlikely victory.

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Game 3A: Trinbago Knight Riders vs Southern Brave
Trinbago Knight Riders XI: C Munro, B McCullum+, H Amla, K Pollard*, L Simmons, Dwayne Bravo, A Russell, A Hosein, S Narine, R Rampaul, A Khan
Southern Brave XI: D Conway, Q de Kock+, J Vince*, P Stirling, A Davies, R Whiteley, C Jordan, R Ahmed, G Garton, J Lintott, C Overton
Tribago Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bat first.

Trinbago Knight Riders
H Amla 72(44), C Munro 59*(43)
C Jordan 1-32, J Lintott 1-38

2-191 (20 overs)

Southern Brave
D Conway 70(52), Q de Kock 41(30)
R Rampaul 4-29, A Khan 2-34

7-175 (20 overs)

Trinbago Knight Riders won by 16 runs
H Amla was awarded Man of the Match.

It was none other than McCullum who got things started, leading TKR to a 60+ run opening stand inside the powerplay. After his dismissal by Lintott, Munro and Amla continued to pile on the runs by putting on an oppressive 100 runs during their time in the middle together. A few boundaries from Pollard led the Knight Riders to 191 with only two wickets lost. Conway and de Kock led a fantastic response to the sizeable chase. Rampaul stopped any chances of a big chase in its tracks with four wickets in the space of two overs, keeping Southern Brave at bay by 16 runs.

Game 3B: Southern Brave vs Trinbago Knight Riders
Southern Brave XI: D Conway, Q de Kock+, J Vince*, P Stirling, A Davies, M Stoinis, C Jordan, R Ahmed, G Garton, J Lintott, C Overton
Tribago Knight Riders XI: C Munro, B McCullum+, H Amla, K Pollard*, L Simmons, Dwayne Bravo, A Russell, A Hosein, S Narine, R Rampaul, A Khan
Trinbago Knight Riders won the toss and elected to bowl.

Southern Brave
P Stirling 20(21), M Stoinis 17(27)
S Narine 3-16, A Hosein 3-16

102 (17.3 overs)

Trinbago Knight Riders
L Simmons 41*(25), D Bravo 22(14)
J Lintott 2-28, C Overton 2-29

5-104 (11.3 overs)

Trinbago Knight Riders won by 5 wickets
A Hoesin was awarded Man of the Match.

Even though de Kock launched his first ball faced for 6, all momentum was with the Knight Rider after four wickets fell in the opening power play, three of which went to Rampaul. Narine and Hosein spun their way to three wickets apiece too and Southern Brave limped to a total a tick over 100 runs. Southern Brave were not going down without a fight, taking four big wickets in the chase's power play. It was about as much damage as Southern Brave could muster as Simmons and Bravo easily guided TKR to a simple victory.

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Game 2A: Comilla Victorians vs Islamabad United
Comilla Victorians XI: T Iqbal, L Das+, D Malan, M Rizwan, M Ali, M Samuels, A Russell, M Saifuddin, R Khan, M Mortaza, T Islam
Islamabad United XI: C Munro, A Hales, B Haddin+, M ul-Haq, L Ronchi, I Wasim, A Russell, S Khan*, A Ali, M Sami, U Gul
Comilla Victorians won the toss and elected to bat.

Comilla Victorians
A Russell 44*(19), M Ali 40(31)
U Gul 3-23, S Khan 2-30

8-162 (20 overs).

Islamabad United
I Wasim 37(20), M ul-Haq 34(18
M Saifuddin 3-30, M Mortaza 2-30

8-163 (19.4 overs)

Islamabad United won by 2 wickets
I Wasim was awarded Man of the Match.

Umar Gul took a couple of early wickets in the power play so the Victorians had to start rebuilding early in their innings. Sami and Khan combined to take a couple more and CV were reeling at 5-55. Lower-order hitting from Moeen Ali and Andre Russell, topped up by cameo from Saifuddin and Rashid, ended up giving the Comilla Victorians enough fightback to post a respectable 162. A couple of early wickets from the leading man, Mortaza, gave CV the best start to defending their total but a resilient Misbah ul-Haq and Brad Haddin stood firm. Islamabad United batted steadily through to the final over, where they needed just seven runs for victory with two wickets in hand. Saifuddin, with two wickets already, was unable to hold his nerve, giving Islamabad a memorable finish.

Game 2B: Islamabad United vs Comilla Victorians
Islamabad United XI: C Munro, A Hales, B Haddin, M ul-Haq, L Ronchi+, A Russell, I Wasim, S Khan*, F Ashraf, M Sami, U Gul
Comilla Victorians XI: T Iqbal, L Das+, D Malan, M Rizwan, M Ali, M Samuels, A Russell, S Afridi, M Saifuddin, R Khan, M Mortaza*
Comilla Victorians won the toss and elected to bowl.

Islamabad United
M ul-Haq 64(31), A Hales 28(16)
M Saifuddin 3-30, R Khan 1-23

6-171 (20 overs)

Comilla Victorians
A Russell 61*(39), D Malan 22(13)
S Khan 2-22, F Ashraf 2927

8-136 (20 overs)

Islamabad United won by 35 runs
M ul-Haq was awarded Man of the Match

It was a steady innings from Islamabad United that was punctuated by regular wickets that prevented them from achieving a big total. The only batsman who seemed to excel was Misbah ul-Haq, who scored a solid 64 that guided Islamabad to 171 runs. Saifuddin was the main strike bowler who took 3-30, the same figures as in Game A. CV's top order collapsed again, this time to 5-34 thanks to Sami and Khan. Unfortunately for Comilla, once big Dre Russ got to the crease to hit a 50, it was too late and the game was already taken away from them.

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Game 1A: Sunrisers Eastern Cape vs Gemini Arabians
Sunrisers Eastern Cape XI: A Markram*, T Bavuma, J Smuts, T Stubbs, J Hermann, A Rossington+, B Carse, M Jansen, R van de Merwe, S Harmer, S Magala
Gemini Arabians XI: J Rudolph, V Sehwag*, K Sangakkara+, B Hodge, S Chanderpaul, J Kemp, K Mills, N ul-Hasan, S Mushtaq, G Onions, M Muralitharan
Gemini Arabians won the toss and elected to field.

Sunrisers Eastern Cape
T Bavuma 49(26), R van de Merwe 30(21)
S Mushtaq 5-17, N ulk-Hasan 2-6

129 (17.1 overs)

Gemini Arabians
S Chanderpaul 84*(50), J Kemp 18(22)
M Jansen 3-21, B Carse 1-16

6-131 (17.5 overs)

Gemini Arabians won by 4 wickets
S Mushtaq was awarded Man of the Match.

It was a one-man show when Bavuma opened with 49 out of the first 55 runs before falling LBW to Mushtaq. That was the first of five wickets Mushtaq took, making things very difficult for the SEC. A decent 30 from van de Merwe helped the South African-based team avoid embarrassment but Murali and ul-Hasan finished them off for 129 runs. Three early wickets from Jansen made things look somewhat even in the opening overs of the chase until Chanderpaul came to the crease and struck an unbeaten knock of 84 off 50 to seal the match for the Gemini Arabians.

Game 1B: Gemini Arabians vs Sunrisers Eastern Cape
Gemini Arabians XI: J Rudolph, V Sehwag*, K Sangakkara+, B Hodge, S Chanderpaul, R Levi, J Kemp, K Mills, N ul-Hasan, S Mushtaq, M Muralitharan
Sunrisers Eastern Cape XI: A Markram*, T Bavuma, J Smuts, T Stubbs, J Hermann, A Rossington+, B Carse, M Jansen, R van de Merwe, S Harmer, S Magala
Gemini Arabians won the toss and elected to bat.

Gemini Arabians
V Sehwag 76(32), K Sangakkara 74(40)
R van de Merwe 2-58, M Jansen 1-44

5-243 (20 overs)

Sunrisers Eastern Cape
A Makram 39(22), T Stubbs 33(22)
J Kemp 4-11, M Muralitharan 3-40

128 (17.5 overs)

Gemini Arabians won by 115 runs
J Kemp was awarded Man of the Match.

After a golden duck in the first game, Sehwag looked to make amends as captain and blasted a 23-ball 50 to make up for it. His run of carnage ended on an electric 76 off just 32 balls. Sangakkara almost equalled Sehwag's feat with his knock of 74 and the rest of the Arabians followed suit with aggression and posted a colossal 243 after 20 overs. Obviously, there was nothing of note to mention from the bowlers. A 50-run opening partnership between Markram and Bavuma had the SEC in with a small chance but it wasn't long until wickets started to fall. Kemp, who didn't bowl a single ball last game, finished with four wickets in under three overs and led the Arabians to a massive 115-run win.

[Wilted]

India and South Africa are moments away from making history in the T20 World Cup final. Will India break their recent voodoo in tournament finals or will South Africa lift their first piece of World Cup silverware? Arguably, there is more prestige in winning franchise trophies. Well, there certainly is more money at least. From the gold standard of the IPL to the experimental The Hundred to the recent SA20, franchise cricket has become the most lucrative and most watched form of cricket in recent years. There have been attempts at international franchise tournaments with the Champions League T20, but it has been a decade since its last edition. This edition of the ATG will once again give the most successful franchise teams worldwide a chance to earn glory on the international stage.

Format
Like previous ATG Championships, the greatest players to ever represent franchise cricket will go head-to-head to see which franchise team. There are currently eight major franchise T20 leagues being played around the world from the most prominent cricketing nations. Despite not being a franchise league, New Zealand's Super Smash is being included and the Masters Cricket League held in the UAE is being represented to even out numbers.

The most successful teams from those 10 franchises' histories have been split into two groups and will play each other twice, once home and away, to determine the top three teams from each group that will proceed to the finals. First place from both groups will earn a spot in the semi-finals while second and third place will need to fight through a qualifying final first.

Teams
Sunrisers Eastern Cape - SA20

A Markram (c)

T Stubbs

J Hermann

T Bavuma

A Rossington (wk)

J Smuts

M Jansen

R van de Merwe

S Magala

O Baartman

B Carse

S Harmer

D Worrall

Aiden Markram will lead one of the newer franchises in the tournament. With local stars like Stubbs, Bavuma and Jansen, who are being supported by internationals Worrall and Rossington, Sunrisers Eastern Cape will look to cause some upsets against the bigger franchises.

Trinbago Knight Riders - CPL

C Munro

Darren Bravo

L Simmons

H Amla

B McCullum

D Ramdin (wk)

S Narine

Dwayne Bravo

A Hosein

A Russell

K Pollard

A Khan

R Rampaul

Many West Indian players have become franchise specialists over the years, including big names such as Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard. Their big-hitting line-up only gets more explosive with McCullum and Munro in the mix. The Trinbago Knight Riders will be looking to go deep in this tournament.

Comilla Victorian - BPL

L Das (wk)

M Samuels

M Rizwan

T Iqbal

D Malan

S Afridi

M Saifuddin

A Russell

T Islam

M Rahman

R Khan

M Ali

M Mortaza (c)

While the BPL is sometimes seen as the IPL's little brother, the Comilla Victorians would want to prove everyone wrong in this tournament. One of Bangladesh's finest cricketers, Mashrafe Mortaza will lead T20 superstars Shaid Afridi, Andre Russell and Rashid Khan in a star-studded lineup.

Chennai Super Kings - IPL

M Hussey

M Vijay

M Hayden

S Watson

S Raina

M Dhoni (c, wk)

Dwayne Bravo

A Morkel

R Jadeja

R Ashwin

D Chahar

M Sharma

I Tahir

First of all, sorry Mumbai Indian fans. The IPL is probably the one franchise league that didn't have a sole standout team. Both MI and CSK have very similar records but the CSK team won a best of three simulation 2-0. Every single player in the CSK squad are T20 legends in their own rights and Dhoni will be aiming for the top this tournament with the likes of Hussey, Bravo and Jadeja by his side.

Islamabad United - PSL

L Ronchi

A Hales

M ul-Haq

C Munro

A Ali

S Khan (c)

F Ashraf

A Russell

B Haddin (wk)

M Sami

I Wasim

R Raees

U Gul

Islamabad United is being led by the youngest captain in the tournament, Shadab Khan. He will be looking to the experience of Andre Russell, Brad Haddin, Alex Hales and Umar Gul to bring his team victory in this tournament. A line-up of some of the best T20 players in history will surely give Islamabad United an edge to make finals.

Jaffina Kings - LPL

A Fernando

S Malik

T Perera (c)

R Gurbaz (wk)

T Cohler-Cadmore

R Rossouw

S Samarawickrama

D Madushanka

M Theekshana

W Hasaranga

V Viyakanth

D Wellage

N Thushara

The lack of international stars may impede the Jaffina King's progress in this tournament but they do not lack experience. Perera will be looking to the likes of Hasaranga, Malik and Gurbaz to find success in the Group Stage.

Perth Scorchers - BBL

S Marsh

M Marsh (c)

C Bancroft

A Voges

H Gibbs

J Inglis (wk)

L Livingston

A Agar

N Coulter-Nile

A Tye

J Behrenhorff

M Johnson

B Hogg

The gap between the Perth Scorchers and the rest of the BBL is most likely more prominent than any other teams in this tournament and their respective league. Led by Aussie T20I captain, Mitch Marsh, the Scorchers will be aiming to take out the title with firepower from Gibbs and Johnson. Despite the appearance of some internationals, the Scorchers have always relied on local talent for their successes.

Auckland Aces - Super Smash

M Guptil

C de Grandhomme

R O'Donnell

C Munro (c)

M Chapman

C Fletcher

A Mahmood

M Bates

R Hira

M McCleneghan

A Adams

L Ferguson

K Mills

Being a non-franchise league, Super Smash has mainly New Zealanders in their team, with only a handful of internationals playing a significant number of games. Munro is one of the most prolific batsmen in T20 cricket and will be looking to New Zealand international stars such as de Grandhomme, Ferguson and Mills to come up with success.

Southern Brave - The Hundred

J Vince (c)

Q de Kock (wk)

A Davies

D Conway

R Whitely

P Stirling

C Jordan

G Garton

R Ahmed

J Fuller

T Mills

J Lintott

C Overton

The experimental Hundred has seen the T20 scene in England change dramatically. Jamie Vince will be hoping his team will dramatically change the international scene too with help from de Kock, Conway and English powerhouses Overton and Jordan.

Gemini Arabians - MCL

V Sehwag (c)

S Chanderpaul

B Hodge

R Levi

J Rudolph

K Sangakkara (wk)

S Ali

J Kemp

K Mills

M Muralitharan

N ul-Hasan

G Onions

S Mushtaq

The last of the franchise teams to be included is the Gemini Arabians who played in the Masters Champions League in the UAE. This tournament saw some of the greatest players from yesteryear give a blast from the past. Sehwag, Sangakkara, Murali, and other all time greats will be showing up to this ATG tournament to give every other team a real run for their money.

Fixtures

Group A

SEC vs GemAr

CV vs IU

PS - bye

Group B

TKR vs SB

CSK vs JK

AUCK - bye

And may the tournament begin...