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I'm finding Fuller to be a bit hit or miss at the moment, he either does incredibly well, or could be classed as a pie chucker. That said, he is currently my second highest wicket taker, so he's doing something right!
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Nottinghamshire supporter and proud! -
Worcestershire - Away - 2013
Look down their batting line-up for a second. You already know who's going to score the runs for them in this match. Samaraweera is a thorn in anyone's side, averaging almost 50 in first class cricket. Mitchell has also been playing well so far this year for them, so I'm sure that'll be a second wicket partnership that hurts us! In terms of bowling, Andrew and Richardson are both good experienced players, whilst Jones is someone who's been playing best for them so far in this campaign.Worcestershire Gloucestershire D. Mitchell (C) M. Klinger (C) M. Pardoe T. Price T. Samaraweera I. Cockbain M. Ali H. Marshall A. Kervezee A. Gidman N. Pinner W. Gidman M. Johnson (K) G. Roderick (K) G. Andrew E. Young N. Tahir D. Payne R. Jones I. Saxelby A. Richardson L. Norwell
For us, Cockbain and Marshall are still the two really holding up our batting at 3 and 4, and all the bowlers get another chance to try and prove themselves after that promising win last time out. Miles might feel disappointed to have missed out, but it's just the way it's gone on this occasion and he'll get chances. News from the middle is that we've won the toss and decided to bat first. Standard, really. Let's rack up some runs!
Note - Worcestershire are on Sky in the T20 tonight, so I'll do some scouting before playing the match!
He's definitely been the latter for me so far! I'm giving him some training though, so hopefully if he gets in form he'll be a nightmare for batsmen. That said, we've got a remarkable load of young seamers here, it's promising, I might only have to hire in one or two bowlers, as well as a new batting line-up, to achieve what I want.Originally posted by DaveK93 View Post
Last edited by Imager36; 07-26-2013, 05:37 PM.
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Oh my god I nearly lost this. And I really should not have!
We started poorly, as is usual, with the departure of Price. Klinger held it together well though this time, his 63 being the main innings of note in the top order while Cockbain (28) and Marshall (40) added their usual contributions towards our meagre score. Will did the better of the Gidmans, but we collapsed from 170/4 to 184/8, and it was left to a great attacking innings from Roderick and some tail defense, 24 from Saxelby and a resilient 3 in a 30 partnership from Norwell, took us above 250 for 2 batting points.
We snagged their first two quickly, Mitchell and Samara both falling. Unfortunately, however, Pardoe and Ali had other ideas, bagging a 109 run partnership between them and taking them up to 155/2. Thankfully, Payne and Saxelby started having their way, taking 2 each to put them 172/6 and us back on top! They owed their tiny first innings lead to Tahir mainly, whose unbeaten 45 gave them that second batting point and a way back in.
Price failed again, this time 1 from 1 ball, run out going for a second! This time around, Klinger also went early, for 19, but Cockbain stuck in a while longer for 39. It was the next partnership that we felt killed the game though, 202 made between Marshall and Alex G, both getting their centuries at good rates! Marshall stayed in and then accelerated even harder with Will G and Rodders in. We declared 376 ahead, with 45 minutes left of day 3.
We got Mitchell for another single figure, and whilst Pardoe and Samara added 74, it stopped bothering me when we picked up the latter and Ali for 2 runs, leaving them 78/3. Pardoe fell after not much longer, and while the next lot did okay, at 218/6 we felt comfortable. Somehow, however, no-one told Andrew and Pinner that it was all over. They put on 109 runs in double quick time to take the required runs down to only 51 from an hour and a half! Thankfully, when Pinner got out, Andrew, Jones and Richardson followed, and we had our second win!
Stat! - Will Gidman has still only managed 1 wicket this campaign, at an average of 234! He has the equal lowest economy of any of our bowlers though, so he's doing his job, I suppose.Championship State Those 21 points lift us to 5th in the table, 20 off second place! Batting Award Hamish Marshall - That second innings was class from the former Black Cap. Bowling Award Ian Saxelby - He's back and he's playing well! Those 9 make it up to 16 in 3 matches for him so far.
Note - In the match against the Unicorns between this match and the next, Cockbain and Klinger opened with a stand of 185 in 26.2 overs! Bloody typical.
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Lancashire - Away - 2013
Hmm... Lancashire have always been a very strong side, and it's no exception here, even though they're in Division 2. Katich and Moore are obviously a phenomenal opening partnership, and Prince has the class to add even more! White's been in form with the bat, and whilst their bowling attach looks rather impressive, all except Kerrigan have failed to live up to their potentials this year. Unfortunately, it's a turning pitch, so Ed Young will have to be on form to match him!Lancashire Gloucestershire S. Katich M. Klinger (C) S. Moore T. Price A. Prince I. Cockbain L. Procter H. Marshall W. White A. Gidman T. Smith W. Gidman G. Cross (K) G. Roderick (K) K. Hogg E. Young K. Ali D. Payne G. Chapple (C) I. Saxelby S. Kerrigan L. Norwell
We don't make any changes because we've been playing well and we have no real good reserve options on the batting side. I like Cockbain at 3 and Marshall at 4, which is the reason I haven't broken up our openers yet! We won the toss again, and despite the overcast conditions, the presence of Kerrigan meant we chose to bat first.
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This run of results is scaring me now!
Price was out early, but I didn't need to say that for you to know it. Klinger and Cockbain fought on, hitting a 76 partnership, but then they fell in quick succession to leave us in a spot of bother. The two Gidmans put up little resistance either, unfortunately, but Hamish was still there, and he put on 45 and 56 partnerships with Rodders and Young respectively to put us back in a good place, 248/7 when the latter fell. Payne and Saxelby, combined with the end of Hamish's 96, took us over 300, and we had to be happy with that!
We got Moore early for one, but with Katich and Prince building we felt like they would just continue into forever! Thankfully, as soon as we brought Young on he put a stop to Prince, and he and Norwell ran through a couple more to leave them 91/5! Smith and Cross hit a few runs to get them back in the game, but they only just reached the follow on target, pleasingly for us.
We didn't start our second innings well, being reduced to 79/4, but Price was still in and played very well in this innings. Will G stuck in with him for a 102 run partnership, and Price hit his highest first class score and his second century ever. He's probably worth his place for this season, but I'm not sure he'll be there for the next one!
We declared with 410 to win, and therefore felt confident. When they were 18/4 thanks to 3 wickets from Saxelby, we felt moreso! White, Smith and Cross put up some really good resistance, but we had enough runs and enough time, and so managed to bowl them out. Young was very disappointing though, finishing with no wickets in the second innings. Unfortunately, we don't have a serious second spin option!
Stat! - I didn't realise before now, but Hamish is the top run scorer in the championship this year so far, with 758 runs from 6 matches. Bopara is his closest challenger on 707.Championship State We're now on 81 points, only 12 points off second place with a game in hand! Batting Award Hamish Marshall - His first innings score was more important than Price's second innings one. Bowling Award Ian Saxelby - I gave him the new ball for this match, and he excelled with 6 more wickets!
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Glamorgan - Home - 2013
The Welsh currently sit bottom of the County Championship, having played only 5 games, but they're not to be underestimated. Jim Allenby is the man who has held their batting together so far this year, averaging over 50, but North and Goodwin are both former Test players, and despite aging now, both have parts to play in this team. The batsmen continue down to the in form pure batsman Ben Wright at 8, so we won't be through them for a while! On paper, their bowling looks rather thin, with only 3 seamers and an allround seamer selected, but all have healthy averages this year and North is a capable backup spinner, despite not having a Championship wicket this year.Gloucestershire Glamorgan M. Klinger (C) S. Walters T. Price G. Rees I. Cockbain M. North H. Marshall J. Allenby A. Gidman M. Goodwin W. Gidman M. Wallace (C) (K) G. Roderick (K) N. James E. Young B. Wright D. Payne G. Wagg I. Saxelby M. Hogan L. Norwell H. Waters
We have nothing to change, as players are not becoming fatigued and there is no-one else in form! In the one day matches, the AI is selecting Benny Howell instead of Tom Price, but he hasn't done enough to challenge for a FC spot. We have lost the toss and will have to bowl first, with cloud cover expected on the second morning! This could end badly. Should have prepared a turner for Ed Young!
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This match did not go according to my plans!
It started to plan, as Stew Walters was bowled by Ian S on the first ball of the match, but a partnership of 107 between Rees and North really brought the Welsh boys back into it. 3 quick wickets followed to put us back on top with them 118/4, and we got Wallace for 11, but unfortunately their long batting order meant we had problems. 26 year old Nick James, at 7, hit 80, his third half century this season, and he, along with ALlenby and Wright, rubbed us into the ground as they took their side well above 300.
We had the worst top order batting collapse we've had all season. The top 4 and Will G all got out for 16 or less, and we left ourselves 56/5, and at that point the game was almost over already! Alex G stuck around to make exactly his third century of the season, and we somehow avoided the follow on, but the rest was poor except for Saxelby's 89 ball 12.
We bowled okay in the second innings, but it was rather too late. Young and Norwell picked up 5 wickets a piece, their 2nd 5 for of the season each, but we needed well over 400 to win and it was never going to happen!
In our second innings, we collapsed again, this time all the way to 166 all out, really! The last wicket partnership was the largest, worth 31, and Tom Price was the only of the batsmen who looked like he was cut out to face this Glamorgam bowling line-up, this time led by Graham Wagg. Ah well! We shall return better!
Aside - I really like James Taylor, and I'm happy to see him likely to be given another chance in the test side! Crossing my fingers for KP to remain injured, now!Championship State We're still only 12 points off second place, but we've lost our game in hand! It can work out if we pull it round! Batting Award Alex Gidman - He made a century! Brilliant! I'd like some of the rest to have done something too, though... Bowling Award Liam Norwell - 11 wickets in the match, his first 10 wicket match ever! Rather splendid on his part.
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Hampshire - Away - 2013
Ahh, Hampshire. At Bristol, they provided our first victory of the season thanks to an unlikely 104 from Tom Price in the 4th innings chase. McKenzie, Briggs and Bailey all miss out from that side, replaced by Garside, Terry and Mascarenhas, so you could argue we face a weaker Hants side this time round. They are at home, however, and as such this is a good batting surface. Carberry destroyed us in their first innings last time, so I'm not unhappy to see him facing the new ball this time around! In terms of bowling, Dimi M has only played 2 CC matches this year, but taken a bag of wickets, so we'll have to be patient against him.Hampshire Gloucestershire J. Adams M. Klinger (C) M. Carberry T. Price S. Ervine I. Cockbain A. Wheater (K) H. Marshall J. Vince A. Gidman A. Garside W. Gidman S. Terry C. Herring (K) C. Wood E. Young D. Mascarenhas D. Payne D. Balcombe I. Saxelby D. Griffiths L. Norwell
We make a change! Surprise all round here at the Rose Bowl as 18 year old Cameron Herring makes his County Championship début in place of Gareth Roderick. Rodders has not been in form, and Herring has had a good spell in the seconds, so I feel he's worth a chance or two at his age. Other news from the toss is that we've won the toss and chosen to bat first. We're hopeful of something over 300 to get us into this game!
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A shame. We can't bat and bowl at the same time!
We started this match with a hundred partnership for the first time between Price and Klinger! Klinger eventually went for a rapid 65, but Price kept accumulating and eventually got up to 72 as Cockbain played alongside him. This wicket made us 180/2, and well in control. Ian C also formed decent partnerships with Marshall, Will G and Herring in the making of his 105, run out. Alex G made a first ball duck and missed out! Herring's partnership with Payne was entertaining too, and the youngster made 45 before his dismissal. We got to 350 within 110 overs, but would have missed out on the 5th batting point had we got there anyway.
Our bowling left a lot more to be desired. We silenced Adams and Carberry to put them at 63/2, but Ervine, Wheater, Vince and Wood worked together to make sure their side had a large first innings lead, and also to make sure that I became thoroughly miserable.
The best we could really do from there was aim to save the game, but this became less and less likely as we lost more and more wickets. Marshall kept us in it for a little while, with his innings of 55, and Alex Gidman batted with numerous partners as we fought to build a lead of more than 150! In the end, the lower order failed too, and we didn't even manage that.
They hit the target with 0 wickets lost in 34 overs. Says it all, really.
Stat! - None of our batsmen have now scored one Championship century this year. Cockbain, Marshall and Price have 2 each, Alex G has 3, and no-one else has any! There are also only 8 50s shared out among the rest of the squad!Championship State We now sit 6th, 11 points of second and 12 points off ninth! It's tight! Batting Award Ian Cockbain - His second century of the season. He's a good player. Bowling Award Nah... even though Saxelby got a five-for, he went for almost 5 an over!
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Since the last match, my Gloucs team have played 4 of their 10 T20 group matches, and have won 3 and lost 1! An injury scare for Alex Gidman threatened to alter our side, but thankfully he's back for this!
Kent - Home - 2013
Hmmm... Kent... the team we all struggle with whilst playing as them return to face my Gloucs team. Just at a glance, they aren't such a bad side. They lack depth to their batting, with Key and Nash expected to score the bulk of their runs, but their bowling isn't as bad as some, with Tredwell and Davies very good performers, and Coles and Shreck playing pretty decently this term as well. Geraint Jones is in a slump of batting form at the moment, and we'd be wise to try and continue that for him!Gloucestershire Kent M. Klinger (C) S. Northeast T. Price R. Key I. Cockbain B. Nash H. Marshall M. Powell A. Gidman A. Blake W. Gidman G. Jones (K) C. Herring (K) B. Harmison E. Young M. Coles D. Payne J. Tredwell (C) I. Saxelby M. Davies L. Norwell C. Shreck
Alex Gidman was the only tough choice, with his fitness low after his shoulder injury, but he plays as I don't feel Howell or Housego are really strong enough replacements. We choose a seaming pitch, as we believe Tredwell is better than Young, meaning a spinners' one could have backfired! We win the toss and choose to bat first. The first day's weather looks rather nice, but the other 3 days have a combination of grey cloud and rain forecast, meaning batting will be hard, although we might not get a result!
Note - The unplanned 6 day hiatus of TEC was due to my old laptop breaking (like, physically). Now though, I have a shiny new one, and all is good with the world again.
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Ooh. Runs.
Our opening partnership in the first innings was worth 139! Wowzers. We threatened to not follow it up, with both following in quick succession and Marshall not doing his usual job, putting us at 144/3. Thankfully, Cockbain was back to his best this year. Alex G supported him with a quick 39 to start, but it was his brother who put on a 159 partnership with Ian to take us to 362/5 and put us in a very commanding position on the second morning. A few wickets fell quickly, but batting with Saxelby and Norwell, Cameron Herring added 61 from 94 balls not out to get us the 5th batting bonus point just in time and take us beyond that!
Led by Northeast and then Blake, Kent batted really well as we attacked them in order to try and gain a victory. It had already rained for a session and a half, but the cloud in the sky was not helping our quicker bowlers at all, Payne picking up 3 wickets and the others getting nothing. Young was the pick for us though, 7 wickets in an innings is always a feat, and for under 100 runs was good on this pitch.
Some more people batted for us. We attacked to try and set a target, but didn't really have time to do so.
4 more people batted for them. It was an underwhelming end as we all just meandered towards a draw.
Note - Oooh, we have youth players! Let's talk about them.Championship State 14 points off second, 18 points off last... which puts us 7th. Ouch. Batting Award Difficult in an innings of 5 half centuries, but I'll go for Ian Cockbain's, which came at a good rate as well as being the largest. Bowling Award Ed Young - That wasn't too hard to adjudicate, was it?
Tom Sherbourne - 19 year old, aggressive middle order batsman, averaging 42.29 in 2nd XI cricket. His future might not be in the FC side, but he looks decent.
Peter Thomas - 18 years old, batting all rounder who bowls RF. Aggressive batting style, averages 42.83 with the bat and 31.57 with the ball in 2nd XI cricket. We will try to improve his bowling and make him into a very useful player indeed. (I HAVE A MIKE ALFORD REPLACEMENT! YAY!)
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Worcestershire - Home - 2013
Back earlier in the season at Worcester, we managed to snatch victory from the jaws of victory as they fought back through Pinner and Andrew before we crushed them. Much to our relief, neither of those heroes make the team this time around for Worcs! Samaraweera is the man who looks threatening, even though his average has dropped below 50, and Richardson is a good bowler who's been around for years and years and years and years and years. 18 year old Peter Stubbs makes his FC début after a 78* in his T20 one... should be interesting to face him! He did bowl two overs and go for 37 though, so at least we can sledge him about that.Gloucestershire Kent M. Klinger (C) D. Mitchell (C) T. Price M. Pardoe I. Cockbain T. Samaraweera H. Marshall P. Stubbs A. Gidman M. Ali W. Gidman A. Kervezee C. Herring (K) M. Johnson (K) E. Young D. Lucas D. Payne N. Tahir I. Saxelby R. Jones L. Norwell A. Richardson
We'd had a look at their squad, and seeing that they hadn't played a specialist spinner this year, have prepared a turner. I even considered bringing young Jack Turner in for one of the seamers to try and take as much advantage as we could. Turns out he doesn't really have good enough stats to make that possible! Peter Thomas is another I'm considering, and he'll probably come in for Will Gidman if we end up with another draw to give us less batting and more bowling, so we can really push towards taking 20 wickets. Anyway, after that ramble, we've yet again won the toss and chosen to bat first.Last edited by Imager36; 08-06-2013, 06:44 PM.
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Thoroughly pleased with this performance.
Our first innings batting was probably the weakest aspect. The openers put on 47, but then we capitulated rather, losing 5 wickets for 46 more to take us to a weak 98/5 at lunch. Alex G was the man who put up the most resistance, his 64 being the backbone of the innings. Herring stayed in for a little with him, and Ed Young's 34 was vital in making sure we got our batting point and a total that wasn't totally embarrassing.
Before the first day had been completed, Worcestershire were 80/7, and staring down the barrel even when following 201! David Lucas rather saved them with 59, his third FC half century and only 1 run off his highest score ever. Tahir, Jones and Richardson all put some hard work in to keep their team out there for a bit longer, and they only finished 20 runs short of our total.
Price fell for 11, but Klinger and Cockbain played very well together in a partnership of 122. Klinger made 65, all told, but it was Cockbain who went on, and played some really fluid cricket to make a fantastic career best of 169 from 237 balls. He was also supported by Alex G again, who made 77 as we fought on. Will G was out for a golden duck, but Herring and Young both fought to scores in the 20s and we declared just before we were bowled out to leave them 430 to chase in 5 sessions.
Thankfully, this time there was to be no revival. Young took 3 wickets on the turning pitch, and whilst Kervezee fought against us, the seamers, especially Saxelby, did their jobs. Norwell broke Tahir's rib just to add injury to insult for the visitors!
Note - I really don't enjoy FC matches in normal play, but when story-ing it's really great, I get to ponder over every tactic and groundsman choice etc. I wouldn't play like this for enjoyment regularly, I like to speed through seasons, but one match a day or so just about feels good!Championship State 20 points for us leaves us 17 points off those magic top 2 places with everyone having played 10 matches. 6 to go to push our hardest! Batting Award Alex Gidman - You could go Cockbain for his fluent innings, but the two efforts from Gidman steal the day here. Bowling Award Ian Saxelby - 2 in the first, polished them off in the second!
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Northamptonshire - Away - 2013
We played Northants in our second match of the season, which ended in a draw after some heroics from Hamish Marshall in our second innings. They're currently 6th in the table, only 4 points below us in 4th, so they could leapfrog us even with bonus points in a draw here! In other news, our T20 team have qualified for the quarter finals, winning 7 of 10 group matches. Yay, more money to spend on stodgy batsmen in the contracts section!Northamptonshire Gloucestershire R. Newton M. Klinger (C) S. Peters (C) T. Price D. Sales I. Cockbain A. Wakely H. Marshall K. Coetzer A. Gidman D. Willey C. Herring (K) D. Murphy P. Thomas S. Crook E. Young L. Evans D. Payne T. Copeland I. Saxelby Azharullah L. Norwell
For Northants, the changes since we last played them are Hall, Hinds and Middlebrook for Copeland, Crook and Wakely, which interesting leaves them without any sort of spin option at all. Newton and Peters are certainly the batsmen in form for them, and Azharullah and Copeland look a tasty pairing with the ball, so this is no easy match.
One change for us, the out of form and totally knackered Will Gidman is replaced by fresh faced Peter Thomas, who is in bowling but not batting form and so makes his début at number 7. Nice to have some real pace to use though! All my top 6 are in form now, so we shouldn't have a massive collapse. (Hint - now I've said that we almost certainly will.) The pitch looks flat, the weather set fair, and it'll be up to the teams to try and force a victory. We yet again win the toss and choose to bat first. The coin toss appears to be my best skill!
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Not the match I wanted to review.
Klinger was out for 1, and this time Cockbain followed for 11. Price and Marshall built well though, thankfully, with Price eventually falling for 43. Marshall kept going though, as Alex G hit 55 to stay with him, and we progressed nicely to 173/3. When Alex fell on that score, Herring came in and kept up his end with a 40 in an 80 partnership. Marshall was out for a tantalising 97 almost as soon as new boy Thomas came in, but he added 29 before being caught and bowled, and we limped over the 300 mark.
Our bowling started very well indeed. Left armer Payne took 2 with the new ball, the second caught by Thomas at 1st slip (which isn't where I'd choose to put a 19 year old débutante, but never mind!). That boy then came into the attack himself, and 2 wickets in his second over left them 82/4 and him looking promising! Then the wall hit us. Wakely and Willey smashed a partnership of 267, and all the bowlers looked toothless. Norwell was the worst, going at over 5 an over, but Young will also be disappointed on a pitch offering more to spin than seam. Payne finally put paid to Willey, and whilst we polished the rest off with relative ease, including a five-for on début for Thomas, they still had a large lead.
Our aim was to bat as long as we could, but after a good start which took us to 138/1 at one point, a collapse to 169/5 rather put paid to our chances. Thomas hit hard for 36 from 27 balls, and Ed Young played diligently with a tail that wagged rather splendidly, but we knew we just didn't have enough runs.
They hit them off in under 30 overs for the loss of only one wicket, which was a little embarrassing.
Note - I've got a lot to consider for the contracts phase... 1 or 2 openers, 1 middle order batsman, 1 frontline spinner and probably a seamer or allrounder too! Thankfully, I've got a lot of useless players I can cut from the wage bill!Championship State We're nestled safely midtable with 5 matches to go. Batting Award Hamish Marshall - Another great innings from the old man of Gloucs! Bowling Award Peter Thomas - A five-for on début is decent, but he mustn't get carried away.
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