Middlesex Story

[konrad_middlesex]

Just picked this game up on the cheap, and have started a normal difficulty game with Middlesex. Will be posting here as I go on, although I have played a fair few games already.

Preseason

Picked up young batsman Dan Guy before the season started to add depth to a fairly fragile batting lineup when my international players leave.

[dontask]

as i play as middlesex i will be watching this story with interest. i was hopeless/rubbish/crap/diabolical/any other bad word 1st season lol

[konrad_middlesex]

A Solid Beginning

22nd April 2009- Middlesex vs Glamorgan

First game of the season against Glamorgan; felt fairly confident of getting a decent result at home.

Middlesex
A Strauss (C)
B Godleman
N Compton
D Malan
E Morgan
D Nash
G Berg
T Murtagh
S Udal
C Silverwood
A Richardson

Day 1
Won the toss and decided to bat. Despite a poor start when captain Strauss was caught in the slips in the third over of the day for 2, Middlesex reached 113-1 at lunch thanks to Goldeman and the aggressive Compton.

The afternoon session started awfully, as Godleman was bowled without adding a run for 49. Malan and Morgan both fell cheaply to leave Middlesex 150-4. Nick Compton then reached a century in adding 51 with Nash, before he was yorked by Kruger. Tea was reached at 214-6.

The evening, like the afternoon, started poorly, as Berg, Murtagh and Udal all fell in single figures. Chris Silverwood then batted well to put on 64 with Nash, before Nash fell lbw to Kruger 1 short of a century. Silverwood was last out for 23. Middlesex 317

Day 2
Middlesex made a brilliant start with the new ball as both Glamorgan openers were dismissed for ducks, and Cosgrove fell for 11 to leave the visitors 20-3. Former Middlesex batsman Dalrymple led a counter-attack, but fell just before lunch for 57, with Glamorgan 106-4.

Alan Richardson struck early in the afternoon to remove Wallace for 41, but Ryan Watkins dug in and added 80 with the aggressive Wright. Glamorgan then collapsed from 200-5 just before tea to finish 228 all out, Chris Silverwood finishing with 4 wickets. Glamorgan 228

Middlesex were led from the front by Andrew Strauss in the evening session, who reached 50 before the close, but Godleman fell for 33 and Compton for a first-baller to close on 96-2.

Day 3
Dawid Malan started the morning aggressively for Middlesex, but fell lbw to Croft for 25, having added 47 with Strauss. The rest of the morning was a quiet affair, as Glamorgan bowled with control but couldn't remove Strauss or Morgan. 178-3 at lunch.

In the afternoon, the quiet run scoring continued for an hour, before Andrew Strauss, having reached his century, began to attack. The pair had added 111 when Morgan was bowled for 56. Nash was then lbw first ball to Harris, but Berg survived the hat-trick delivery. Middlesex reached tea at 256-5.

After tea, Andrew Strauss reached his 150, and subsequently holed out, prompting a declaration. Middlesex 280-6

Glamorgan set 371 to win

Having declared, Middlesex looked to pick up some early wickets, but Powell and Rees put on 40 before Powell edged to slip for 19 off Richardson. Richardson then took the important wicket of Cosgrove for 12, but Dalrymple and Rees survived to the close at 87-2.

Day 4
Needing 8 wickets to win, Middlesex had to wait an hour before Jamie Dalrymple was bowled by Richardson. Dalrymple's wicket was the beginning of the end for Glamorgan, and despite Rees's 76, no other batsman reached double figures on the final day. Tim Murtagh and Shaun Udal ran through the tail as the last 7 fell for 54, and Middlesex won by 201 runs.

MOM: Andrew Strauss (2, 151)

Summary:

Middlesex 317 (97.4 overs) Compton 102 Nash 99 Harris 4-80 Dalrymple 3-25
Glamorgan 228 (68.2 overs) Dalrymple 57 Wright 56 Silverwood 4-59 Richardson 2-41
Middlesex 280-6 (84.5 overs) Strauss 151 Morgan 56 Croft 3-92 Harris 2-80
Glamorgan 168 (61.1 overs) Rees 76 Richardson 4-60 Udal 3-20


Reaction

So a good start to the season at home. 2 centuries and 2 fifties batting-wise all from different players, although failures from Goldleman and Malan were slightly disappointing. All the bowlers contributed with no standout performances, Alan Richardson finishing with a decent total of 6 wickets.

[ab5ides1]

good start. a great read.

[CyberCricketer]

Very well set out and interesting to read. It isn't mandatory, of course, but a lot of people add embedded images of the match scorecards to their stories.

Go to this link if you want/need to find out how to do so:

http://www.childishthings.co.uk/foru...ead.php?t=1060

[dontask]

yes a good start, u did something i didnt manage to do much 1st season and bowl a team out twice in a match. mind you i was luckless with players being away or injured.
by the way malan has never really done much for me, averages around 35 but godleman does score well.

[konrad_middlesex]

OK, scorecards from Middlesex vs Glamorgan.

[konrad_middlesex]

Well as I've said I've played a couple of months so will post more stories soon, but Godleman only seems to bat well in 50-over games at the moment. Malan has been fairly average too, Compton is probably my standout batsman over all 3 formats so far.

[CyberCricketer]

Sorry to be annoying but those scorecards are obviously too wide. I think about 600 x 500 pixels is a good size, you can resize pictures in the 'Edit Picture' section of Microsoft Office Picture Manager if you're using that.

[konrad_middlesex]

Complete Humiliation

26th April- Middlesex vs Scotland

First 50-over cup game against Scotland. Was confident of a win after a good CC2 start.

Middlesex
A Strauss
B Godleman
N Compton
E Morgan
G Berg
D Malan
D Nash
T Murtagh
S Udal
C Silverwood
S Finn

Scotland Innings
Scotland won the toss and decided to bat on a good-looking surface with even bounce. Openers Watts and Sheikh looked to be aggressive from the start, and took advantage of poor bowling to race to 70 within the first 10 powerplay overs. Andrew Strauss didn't use the powerplay, opting to put men on the boundary, but this had little effect as the two raced away to a century stand inside 15 overs. Shaun Udal finally trapped Sheikh for 53, but the damage had been done. McCallum came in with licence to hit, and hit he did, reaching 50 off 42 deliveries, while Watts brought up a well-deserved century at a run a ball. Udal eventually removed Watts for 128, while McCallum was out taking a suicidal single to mid-off. The run-rate slowed slightly while Watson and Wright tried to settle in, but when Watson fell to Berg, Majid Haq cut loose, hitting a flurry of boundaries off the exhausted Middlesex attack. He eventually edged behind to Finn, who also removed Smith with the final delivery. Scotland 356-7

Middlesex Innings
Chasing an improbable 357, Middlesex promoted Nick Compton to open in place of the more defensive Godleman. This move failed, as Compton fell in the second over of the innings. Strauss started with aggression, but failed to build on a start and was bowled for 19, trying to hit Nel back over his head. Eoin Morgan came in and immediately looked confident, hitting a boundary first ball, but Godleman struggled for fluency at the other end. The pair put on 83 before Haq ended Godleman's misery as he top edged one to midwicket, before Berg fell in the next over. Well behind the rate, Malan attacked with some success before he missed one and was bowled for a quick 47. Requiring 15 an over from the last 10, it was beyond Middlesex, but Morgan batted through for a fine century, while Nash hit a few boundaries before he was bowled. Middlesex 275-6 Scotland won by 81 runs

MOM Fraser Watts (128)

Summary:

Scotland 356-7 (50 overs) Watts 128 McCallum 70 Udal 3-74 Finn 2-57
Middlesex 275-6 (50 overs) Morgan 119no Malan 47 Lyons 2-42 Haq 1-20


Reaction

A shocking defeat to say the least. I was expecting a win against Scotland, but lack of experience with one-day bowling and field settings was very costly. Scotland made a mammoth score, and although I was never going to reach it, my batting wasn't too disappointing.

[TheDevil666]

Well at least your honest and these defeats will happen. Bad luck

[konrad_middlesex]

I think it's because it was my first one-day game so I wasn't experienced in setting fields and how to bowl; starting to improve though. I'm more of a 4-day man I think.

[Tom Guntrip]

I love this

[konrad_middlesex]

A tough victory

28th April 2009- Middlesex vs Leicestershire

A tougher challenge than Glamorgan I felt, but at home, I felt I should at least push for victory in games like these to have a decent season.

Middlesex
A Strauss (C)
B Godleman
N Compton
E Morgan
D Malan
D Nash
G Berg
T Murtagh
S Udal
C Silverwood
A Richardson

Day 1
Leicestershire won the toss and bowled under cloudy skies at Lord's. Andrew Strauss made an aggressive start, hitting three boundaries, but was bowled by Harris for 21. Godleman batted in a defensive shell in a 64-run partnership with the aggressive Compton, but fell for 27 just before the break. Middlesex went in at 104-2.

After lunch, Compton reached a brisk half century with a boundary, but fell soon after when he was trapped lbw by Malik. Eoin Morgan batted nicely with fellow left-hander Malan, and they stood together at tea at 198-3.

After tea, New Zealander Iain O'Brian turned the tide of the innings, picking up 4 victims, all lbw, in a 5-over spell. Morgan and Malan both fell after making half-centuries, and then Berg and Murtagh were dismissed in successive deliveries. David Nash and Silverwood then frustrated the visitors, putting on 38 and picking up another batting point, before Harris returned to remove Nash. Richardson followed soon after. Middlesex 284

Middlesex made an early breakthrough in the dying light when Silverwood bowled Boyce through the gate for just 10. Leicestershire closed on 24-1.

Day 2
Middlesex picked up two wickets in the first hour of day 2 to leave Leicestershire struggling on 63-3. Silverwood removed Cobb for his second wicket, while Shaun Udal bowled the well-set New for 34. Ackerman and Dippenaar took Leicestershire to within an over of lunch, before Ackerman edged Murtagh to slip for 41. Lunch 131-4

Paul Nixon began the session in aggressive fashion, hitting consecutive boundaries off Tim Murtagh, and he put on 61 with Dippenaar, who passed 50. Shaun Udal was also hit for a couple of fours, but got his revenge when Nixon was caught at square leg. Dippenaar and Henderson then fell before tea, as the visitors slipped to 242-7.

After tea, Allendy and Malik put on 20 to gain another point, before Alan Richardson took 3 in an over to wrap up the innings. Malik was trapped in front, Harris missed a straight ball and O'Brien edged a short one behind. Leicestershire 257

Middlesex, looking for a lead, started well with a 50 partnership, before both openers fell before the close, to leave the hosts 84-2.

Day 3
Middlesex started day 3 targeting a big lead. As always, Compton played aggressively, but he fell for 32 when he pulled to square leg. Malan gave Harris his second wicket of the innings, but Morgan picked up his 50 before lunch. Middlesex 194-3.

The afternoon session progressed smoothly for Middlesex. Morgan and the aggressive Nash passed their century stand, and after Morgan brought up his 100 the stand passed 150. Both survived the whole session, leaving Middlesex looking strong at 304-3.

In the evening, Morgan fell quickly while looking to be aggressive. Berg was sharply stumped for a rapid 14, and after reaching a good century, Nash was last out before a declaration at 353-7

Leicestershire set 381 to win

Chasing 381, Leicestershire could hardly have got off to a worse start. Tim Murtagh picked up 2 wickets after Silverwood removed New to leave them 32-3. Boyce and Dippenaar held firm for the rest of the session, to close on 71-3.

Day 4
Middlesex toiled without success for an hour as Boyce and Dippenaar both made 50 on the final morning. Shaun Udal finally made the breakthrough when Boyce was caught at midwicket, and next over removed the dangerous Nixon for 2. Middlesex were firmly on top at 173-5 at lunch.

The afternoon was again a session of solid defense for Leicestershire. Murtagh got the important wicket of Dippenaar early on, as he prodded outside off, but Allenby and Henderson had added 69 for the seventh wicket when the new ball struck. Silverwood removed Henderson for 38 and Malik for 4 to leave Leicestershire on the brink at 273-8.

However, Leicestershire weren't to go down without a fight. Allenby, already past 50, took the fight to Middlesex with some cracking drives. At the other end however, Harris fell to Murtagh for 9. At 291-9, Middlesex were ready to celebrate, but O'Brien and Allenby wouldn't give way. The pair put on 41, and were 40 minutes from safety and 49 runs away from a remarkable win, before Silverwood finally trapped Allenby lbw for a valiant 92. Leicestershire 332

MOM Eoin Morgan (54, 108)

Summary:

Middlesex 284 (88.1 overs) Malan 58 Compton 55 O'Brien 4-52 Harris 2-43
Leicestershire 257 (71.5 overs) Dippenaar 71 Ackerman 41 Richardson 3-47 Udal 3-77
Middlesex 353-7 (108.2 overs) Morgan 108 Nash 105 O'Brien 3-91 Harris 2-51
Leicestershire 332 (109.3 overs) Allenby 92 Dippenaar 80 Silverwood 4-75 Richardson 4-77

Reaction
A win that was probably closer than it should have been. Some good performaces all round, but a slight worry about the lack of converting starts into good scores, especially in the first innings.

[dontask]

i know i was awful 1st season in the one day games as middlesex but even i didnt lose to scotland