Middlesex Crusaders: Into the future (a story)

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Day 4:Middlesex would have been boosted by the overnight news that Yorkshire had beaten Derbyshire by 7 wickets. Even with a loss in this game, Middlesex were guaranteed to be promoted.

Shah went on to post yet another fifty before falling lbw to Henshaw. The news of the promotion seemed to give Morgan something to think about, as he went on to post a century with a huge six down the ground. Middlesex declared at the end of that over, giving Warwickshire a sniff at a chance of winning the game if they batted well.

End of Middlesex innings: 227/3 declared, E Morgan 108*, O Shah 54, N Tahir 2-51, T Henshaw 1-50
Warwickshire need 338 to win

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Warwickshire played through to lunch, going in on 17 without loss.

Hutchinson was run out in the over after the break, going for 11. Several tight overs were bowled, hardly letting any runs leak. The pressure told on Bell, who tried to hit one through the offside but only managed to hit it to the right of the man at backward point, who took a magnificent low diving catch just inches away from the ground.

The change bowlers kept things just as tight and it seemed like Warwickshire were happy to play for the draw. They went to tea on 94 for 2 and going at only 2.4 an over.

Ambrose got to 50 after the interval but edged to the keeper without adding to that. At the other end, Troughton got to fifty himself, but he persisted after his achievement. Warwickshire hung around for the draw, and Middlesex did not mind that at all, having gained promotion to Division 1 for next season.

End of Warwickshire innings: 172/3, I Westwood 73*, T Ambrose 50, C Silverwood 2-49
Match drawn and Middlesex gain promotion to Division 1 of the County Championship
Man of the match: O Shah

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Results

County Championship, Division 1:

Somerset
Kent
Lancashire
Northamptonshire
Hampshire
Surrey
Nottinghamshire
Durham (relegated)
Worcestershire (relegated)

County Championship, Division 2:

Yorkshire (promoted)
Middlesex (promoted)
Derbyshire
Glamorgan
Leicestershire
Sussex
Warwickshire
Essex
Gloucestershire

Pro40 League, Division 1:

Durham
Kent
Sussex
Hampshire
Somerset
Nottinghamshire
Middlesex (won playoff)
Worcestershire (relegated)
Glamorgan (relegated)

Pro40 League, Division 2:

Surrey (promoted)
Lancashire (promoted)
Warwickshire (lost playoff)
Essex
Gloucestershire
Leicestershire
Yorkshire
Northamptonshire
Derbyshire

Challenge Trophy: Winner - Kent

Twenty20 Cup: Winner - Sussex

Championship records

Most runs : J Rudolph (Yorkshire) - 1535
Note: E Smith (Middlesex) - 1534...Damn!

Most wickets: M Munday (Somerset) - 135

Highest innings: J Rudolph (Yorkshire) - 295 vs. Warwickshire

Best Bowling (Innings): G Lamb (Hampshire) 8-41

(Any comments, suggestions, questions...the next season starts soon! I've been experimenting with video capture software but all of them are jerky on playback or give horrible quality if a 1:1 ratio is there. Would one of the admins or game developers tell me which video capture codec gives an accurate representation of the game? Highlight reels would be awesome, to be honest, and it would cut the write-ups down a bit too so that you won't be as bored reading them.)

[rishi]

good! Nice..

[Sureshot]

Sussex won the T20 cup? Well done on gaining promotion from Division Two, I've spent 5/6 seasons trying to do that with Essex.

[qpeedore]

But you do better in limited overs, right?

I have yet to really find a good way to give a challenge on that. But I'm experimenting.

[Screenwriters CC]

Come on the Middle'! I look forward to seeing how you do and well done for making time to play the game and then reporting it here, not sure I have the time or the patience for that! And congratulations on the promotion, if only the proper team could do the same!

I'm currently on 2017 with Middlesex and the only original member of the squad that is still around is Nick Compton. Joyce retired last year and I had to let Shah go the year before. The only players that I let stay at the club until retirement were Joyce, Strauss and Silverwood in fact.

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16th April 2010

Nottinghamshire vs. Middlesex – County Championship, Division 1

Nottinghamshire: W Jefferson, A McCulloch, S Patel, M Wagh, M Freshwater, C Read (wk), M Wood, S Broad, R Ferley, R Sidebottom, C Clough

Middlesex: D Malan, E Smith ©, E Morgan, O Shah, E Joyce, N Compton, B Scott (wk), R Martin-Jenkins, M Kartik, C Silverwood, S Finn

Forecast: Cloudy right through. May help with swing but it remains to be seen if the ball will swing at all.

Pitch Report: A mixed reaction to the pitch from batsmen and bowlers alike. A little bit of everything in it, this could be a good contest.

Toss: Nottinghamshire, who chose to bat. Ed Smith: “We haven’t been in the top division for a few years, and obviously we wanted to win the toss and bat but there’s something in it and it won’t be easy for them to score runs.”

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Report: With Malan coming into the side at the start of the season, it remained to be seen if he would perform well. The rest of the team was unchanged from the end of last season.

Finn and Silverwood would hope that their form with the ball carried over to this season as well. They stuck to their line and length bowling and Nottingham found it difficult to score, only having 18 on the board after 10 overs. That pressure was released soon afterward, however, with the boundaries starting to flow and even a big six being hit off of Silverwood in the 16th over.

Both batsmen settled into their task and Middlesex found it hard to remove them. They both scored half centuries before the break and went in on 114 for no loss, after a hard morning for Middlesex.

Things seemed just as difficult in the afternoon session, with the batsmen scoring freely and the runs coming easily. The first wicket finally fell with the score on 150, Jefferson going lbw to Kartik for 72. Patel came in and announced his presence with a nice four, getting it past mid on who had no chance of stopping it.

McCulloch at the other end looked in fine form as well, getting into the nineties and not looking nervous at all. He reach his century with a double through the on side but fell lbw to Kartik for 112 soon afterward.

Wagh came in and hit himself a four and a six to get his tally going but only managed 36 before he fell to Joyce. A brilliant piece of fielding from the second slip got Patel run out, Freshwater looking to run the ball down to third man and thinking that he had beaten the man. A sliding stop and a direct hit proved otherwise.

Nottingham went to tea on 277 for 4, with that session fairly even.

Nottingham kept scoring at a quick pace after the break. Even the new ball met the rope many times until Finn finally had Read lbw for 39. Silverwood then bowled Freshwater, knocking back the middle stump.

That was the last of the wickets for the day, and Nottingham closed their day on a strong position.

End of day 1: Nottinghamshire 386/6, M Wood 22*, S Broad 23*, R Martin-Jenkins 0-65, E Joyce 1-65

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Day 2: Wood eventually fell to Finn but Broad kept going and posted his fifty, looking in fine form. Ferley went lbw to Martin-Jenkins cheaply but it was Joyce who finally got Broad out. Silverwood removed Sidebottom for the final wicket but Nottingham had a huge total on the board.

End of Nottinghamshire innings: 483/10, A McCulloch 112, W Jefferson 72, M Kartik 2-55, E Joyce 2-79
Middlesex trail by 483 runs

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Lunch was taken immediately and Middlesex came back out to start their innings. They suffered a huge setback very early on, with Smith going for a pull to a ball that kept low. It hit him in his ribs and he was forced to retire hurt. Shah came out to replace him but was bowled for only 9.

Malan, who was less than impressive when given a chance last season, looked much better this time around and he showed that he has the ability. There were a few false shots and plays and misses, but overall he looked good. He posted his fifty with a top edge that went to the boundary and quickly showed that the edge did not affect him by driving two further fours in the over.

Compton had a very slow start but once he crossed 25 he seemed settled and started to play his shots more fluently. He brought up his fifty in the last over before tea with a push to mid on and Middlesex went to the break on 144 for 1 but with Smith unlikely to resume his innings it seemed like 144 for 2.

Malan carried on after the interval and entered the nineties but fell for 92, eight runs short of what would have been a great century. It was still his highest first class score, however. Joyce walked to the crease and blocked his first delivery before sending the second sailing over the fence for six.

At the other end, Compton looked in good form and he seemed set for a century. Unlike Malan, however, he got to the mark, even doing so with the maximum six runs. Joyce was less fortunate, falling lbw to a ball that would have just clipped leg stump.

Middlesex closed their day with some work needed still but well on their way.

End of day 2: Middlesex 268/3, N Compton 124*, E Morgan 14*, S Broad 2-88, R Sidebottom 0-66
Middlesex trail by 215 runs.[/b]

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Day 3: Nottingham struck early, removing Compton for a very well-played 132. Scott came in but fell for a duck. Martin-Jenkins came in and scored 18 off of his first 5 deliveries, a good sign. But he scored no further, falling in the first over of the new ball.

Middlesex lost their last three wickets quickly, with still 16 to go to avoid the follow on. Smith would have certainly taken them past it, but he did not come out to bat, and the news was that he had fractured a rib.

End of Middlesex innings: 317/10, N Compton 124, D Malan 92, S Broad 5-117, R Sidebottom 3-86
Middlesex trail by 166 runs and have been asked to follow on

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Malan fell cheaply this time, going for only 5. Compton and Shah, however, came together and played all the shots in the book, with the ball finding the boundary regularly and Shah posting a fifty just before lunch.

Compton posted his fifty after lunch, looking just as good as he did in the first innings. Shah eventually fell for 84 off of just as many deliveries but he had definitely helped to pull Middlesex out of the hole they had dug themselves into.

Middlesex seemed to keep digging, however, with the next two wickets falling even before the deficit was cleared. Scott came in and fell cheaply again, but did manage to get off of his pair.

Compton looked set for his second century of the match but a miscued shot led to his downfall on 98, so close to the mark.

With just the tail to come, things looked bleak. Kartik and Silverwood fell in the same over, but Martin-Jenkins farmed the strike and pushed the Middlesex lead to 87 before he was caught behind.

End of Middlesex innings: 253/10, N Compton 98, O Shah 84, S Broad 4-78, R Ferley 2-54
Nottinghamshire need 88 to win

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With such a small total to defend, Middlesex tried hard and did manage to take one wicket but Nottingham cruised home in the end.

End of Nottinghamshire innings: 88/1, A McCulloch 44*, W Jefferson 26, C Silverwood 1-22
Nottinghamshire win by 9 wickets
Man of the match: S Broad

(Harsh intro to Division 1)

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27th April 2010

Surrey vs. Middlesex – Challenge Trophy, Group stage

Surrey: H Amla, J Benning, U Afzaal, S Walters, K Beaumont, J Brown (wk), M Hussain, T Stubbs, S Mushtaq, J Ormond, J Nel

Middlesex: A Strauss, E Morgan, N Compton, B Godleman, E Joyce ©, D Nash, B Scott (wk), R Martin-Jenkins, M Kartik, C Silverwood, S Finn

Forecast: Light cloud cover throughout the day but with no chance of rain at any stage.

Pitch Report: This one will favour the batsmen but may behave a little erratically as the game progresses. Bat first.

Toss: Middlesex, who chose to bat. Stand-in captain Ed Joyce: “We’re looking to go out there and bat well. Things didn’t go our way in the Championship match last week, but we’re looking to change that here.”