From The Pavilion

Thanks for the second term, it's been great fun. We have enjoyed having a strong squad for a good number of seasons now and the future looks promising. This will likely be my last term as SA manager, hanajack is here to help again and JarlOlaf who has been learning the ropes is keen to be more involved in the tours. If anyone else is wanting to get involved send me a message.
It's looking to be another good season. Once again as the season progresses the players in better form will likely tour. Managers prepared their players really well last season and look to be doing similar already this season.
First tour this season is an important one and I'll post some details as they come to hand, Enjoy your season everyone.

We have the first tour of the season coming up at the end of this month. It looks to be an exciting set of fixtures and our goal is to promote to div2. This may be a div3 tour but our opponents are equal in strength to a lot of div1 sides. We are hosting this tour and the wickets we are preparing for are crumbling, slow and hard.
Match1. Bangladesh 21 wins, 14 losses. A 60% win rate in our favor.
Match2. England 17 wins, 21 losses. A win rate of 44.74%.
Match3. Ireland 28 wins, 19 losses. A win rate of 59.57%.
Match4. Bermuda 22 wins, 21 losses. A win rate of 51.16%
Match5. Scotland 18 wins, 19 losses. A win rate of 48.65%.
The allocation of the pitch types will play a big part in the tournament once again and no games stand out as being easy. I'll have a squad finalized by the end of the week, At the moment we are trying to ensure we have the right balance for the tour. Bowler variety, good form, skills, experience, age and talents are all part of deciding the final 18.
If you have a player you think should be up for consideration please contact me, If you are an experienced manager and wish to be involved in the tours you can also contact me for consideration.

Well, the tour is all set now. For us, all bar 1 of the 5 matches will be on a crumbling wicket. Match #2 against England will be played on a slow wicket.
The squad is set and I will list the 18 in the next few days. This looks to be another exciting tour, we are hosting and we feel confident with the form and experience we have for this tour.

Batsmen

J Rhodes Schweddy Balls
L Rimmington Hoarders
A Clifford Jolly Boys Of Peckham
T Goosen StarZ
R Horan Cocolocomotion
O Julian Simmo's Drop Bears
G Morcom Mekerz Tanks
Wicket Keeper

M Raath Almost
R Glendinning Me & My Buddies
Bowlers
D Van Vollenhoven Tobago Saucers Fast
W Colreavy Sgt Pepper Fast
Z van der Sander Wools Wanderers Fast Medium
J Cormack budgiewoi bulldogs Medium
B Sheppard St Marks Hill Strollers Medium
A Jackson Jared's XI Wrist Spin
A Zeneca Jared's XI Wrist Spin
D Telemachus kato11 Finger Spin
M Makalima Simmo's Drop Bears Finger Spin

Bangladesh
Its been a few seasons since we played Bangladesh and we were eager to get started. We lost the toss and the pressure was immediately upon us to bring the pitch alive. Vollenhoven was in the right spirits taking 3 wickets in his opening spell but the captain still wasn't able to rally the other bowlers and though economical we weren't taking the wickets to take control. 6-242 was the innings total.
Our turn to bat and we still felt like we were in for a good chance. We had a decent target to chase and the runs were adding up slowly. We were under the target RR but well positioned on the worm with wickets on hand us we built up to the 20 over mark. Unfortunately this was also about the point where the wicket really started to crumble and we suffered a big mid-wicket collapse. We had some good depth in our batting but the collapse so early was too much pressure on our lower order with so many overs to go. 175 all out before the 30th over was completed. It really was a batsmans nightmare the way the pitch crumbled as the game progressed.
A disappointing loss for us in game1. England next up and we really need to perform to remain in contention for a promotion. This will be a match to see.

Well, we lost 4 of the 5 matches. Apologies for the lack of match reports. It was an absolute shocker for us. Both Rimmington and Horan returned home disappointed with their efforts in the middle order. The stars were not aligned, the season can only improve from here.
The next T20 tour is getting close and a touring squad will be announced within the week. Also, a vacancy has arisen for an assistant. I would prefer someone who has time and interest, experience and someone who would be interested in taking my place at the end of this term. Message me if interested.

Its nearly time for the T20 tour. Congratulations to the following players and their clubs.
Batsmen
1. TJ Goosen StarZ
2. J Rhodes Jolly Boys Of Peckham
3. A Clifford Jolly Boys Of Peckham
4. M Sewart Snickets II CC (keeper)
5. G Morcom Mekerz Tanks
6. J de Jager Simmo's Drop Bears
7. O Julien Simmo's Drop Bears
8. M Raath Almost (keeper)
9. H Bloomfield Armstrong 13's
10. R Glendinning Me & My Buddies (keeper)

Bowlers
11. J Spangenberg The Bunker Bugs RFM
12. M Makalima Simmo's Drop Bears RFS
13. C Muncher Middle Stump Lubricators LF
14. Z van der Sander Wools Wanderers RFM
15. D Lambrechts Budgiewoi Puppies V2 RFM
16. Q Oshine Lincolnshire ccc RFM
17. E McNamara Brew Boys LFM
18. W Colreavy Sgt Peppers RF

A slightly different approach with this tour taking just the 8 bowlers.

Day 1 of the tour and we are due to play the West Indies. Its been 4 or 5 seasons since we played a T20 and the pitch looks set for a good scoring encounter. They are running hot after a successful start to the OD comp and we will be relying on the experience and form of our talented squad. The game starts at 4.30 ftp time. Come and watch the action.

What a match! We lost the toss and lost the match by 1 run in a match that was exciting til the very last ball. It was a sunny day and little separated the 2 sides until the toss. We lost the toss but not our spirit. We bowled pretty consistently and all except for the spinner were rewarded with a wicket or 2. Despite this the game was still favoring the batsmen and the Windies went on to finish their innings at 7/183.
They had a good lead and the pressure was on us. An early wicket fell and then some fine concentration kept us in the game. Goosen and Morcom combined well each securing a half century, and de Jager and Sewell kept the runs ticking up to the final over where some big hitting saw us finish 1 run short. 4/182

Bermuda next up and we will be fighting to make up for today's loss.

Day 2 Bermuda. Its been 6 or so seasons since we last played and our record against Bermuda has been poor. We lost the toss again today and were told to field first. The pitch performed nicely for us and some wickets were claimed early which helped in keeping the scoring down a smidgeon. A couple of wickets to each of our bowlers except our spinner. 8/158 was the total for Bermuda and we were satisfied with our efforts.
Goosen batted well again today and our openers had a handy 66 run partnership. With some wickets in hand and keeping above the required runs we were in a good position as they innings reached a close. It ended up a very tight finish down to the last over.
Zimbabwe is next up. They are on a winning streak and it will take a big effort to match them this time. Our T20 rivalry is close.7wins 8losses 1tie.

Day 3 Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe. They really have the golden touch atm and we really needed to perform. The toss of the coin was another one sided affair. Our 3rd straight loss of the toss, Zimbabwe has won the toss each match. The tall dark man with the paper bag didn't go totally unnoticed exiting the grounds early.
Bowling first we soon felt the brunt of the batting pitch only taking 1 wicket in the first 10 overs allowing Zimbabwe to set a strong chase of 5/232.
On the back foot we were pressured into some risks which just didn't pay off. 8/205 was our reply. A good score in most matches but not enough this time.
Bangladesh is next. We need to win and score big for this match.

Day 4 Bangladesh.
We won the toss, we won our match. We have a good winning record vs Bangladesh in T20 and we were lucky to extend it today. Batting first we put in a solid performance to finish at 4/227. With a decent target set we set an attacking field and went for some wickets. That was a risk that nearly fell flat though once again our bowlers all got a wicket cept for the spinner. 5/224 was the response and we relieved to take the win.

Next up is India. In order to promote we need to win and the West Indies would need to beat Bermuda.
10 batsmen and 8 bowlers including a "sturdy" bowler worked really well with us regarding fatigue. Everyone has played 3 games except for the "sturdy" bowler who played 4. Everyone is either rested or revived for the final match.
Come along and watch the match at 4.30, it will be a cracker. Feel free to show a bit of support here on the forums.

Day 5 India
We needed a win to keep in the running and fortunately we did it. We reached the final game with all players feeling at least revived and felt an air of confidence when we won the toss and nominated to bat. Glendinning (64no) maintained a solid foundation through the innings for us to finish at 6/140. Our batsmen didn't fire up as planned with the Indian bowlers and their seam bowlers contained us well to keep our score well below what we anticipated.
India is a strong side and they put our bowlers to the test. The first 10 overs was difficult (1/80). We kept our spirits up and our persistence was eventually rewarded. It had been a long week and some of the players must of been feeling the toll of previous matches. We found a crack in the Indian batting and focused on taking their wickets while there were some runs left to defend. We had been losing the battle but managed to turn it around taking all the wickets with an over to spare to win by 5 runs. E Mcnamarra played exceptionally well (5/14)
It was a nail biter but we got the win and finished in 3rd position.