England League and Cup Discussion

[spark]

S. Hodges (rfs) 4-0-31-1, A. Ghauri 37 (28b), G. Lamb 4 (7b)
End of over 20 (8 runs) - Grange XI(120-6) RR 6.00

That's chaseable but it's a tough chase on a slow pitch.

G. Lamb (rm) 2-0-9-1, A. Bowers 4 (8b), P. Solomon 6 (11b)
End of over 4 (5 runs) - Ruff Royals(18-1). 103 runs required from 16 overs. RR 4.50 RRR 6.44

It's not a great start from us.

[spark]

R. Browne (rfs) 1-0-12-0, A. Bowers 20 (16b), P. Solomon 12 (15b)
End of over 6 (12 runs) - Ruff Royals(40-1). 81 runs required from 14 overs. RR 6.67 RRR 5.79

We got the RRR under a bit of control.

R. Browne (rfs) 2-0-22-1, J. Bass 0 (0b), T. Liberatore 6 (3b)
End of over 8 (10 runs) - Ruff Royals(51-4). 70 runs required from 12 overs. RR 6.38 RRR 5.83

Then messed things up by losing 3 quick wickets. RRR is still ok but it's going to suffer now that we've not got many wickets in hand.

[spark]

Grange XI won by 35 runs

Ruff Royals Grange XI
Batting - Top Order 14,631 13,647
Batting - Middle Order 10,761 8,964
Batting - Tail 4,693 4,209
Bowling - Seam 12,460 (12) 12,760 (16)
Bowling - Spin 12,975 (8) 14,224 (4)
Fielding/Keeping 16,679 16,154
Overall 229,017 216,801

Disappointing result although the ratings were better than expected. Those 3 wickets (of arguably my 3 best batsmen) in 7 balls meant we had no chance of a successful chase.

Other results mean that with my NRR advantage I should be safe.

[wolfberries]

Cavendish Zeros wolfberries
Batting - Top Order 10,769 11,096
Batting - Middle Order 9,466 9,252
Batting - Tail 4,364 3,662
Bowling - Seam 10,868 (16) 11,362 (16)
Bowling - Spin 10,271 (4) 12,238 (4)
Fielding/Keeping 12,290 13,500
Overall 184,648 190,565

Result: wolfberries won by 32 runs

Takes us to second spot.

[wolfberries]

Home Captain Speccy's Muppets
Away wolfberries
Ground Captain Speccy's Muppets CG
League Youth 2.2
Date 08 Oct 20 10:00
Crowd 7,894
Weather Humid
Pitch Slow

Toss: Captain Speccy's Muppets won the toss and elected to bowl.

Important game for us today, currently top by six points so a win would go some way to securing top spot.

[spark]

Home Ruff Royals
Away The Middle Stump Lubricators
Ground Ruff Royals CG
League Youth 1.1
Date 08 Oct 20 10:00
Crowd 7,485
Weather Humid
Pitch Green

Important game for me too. Playing the team who is second bottom but has the same number of points as we do.

I was made to bat first which I don't mind at all.

N. James (rm) 3-1-6-0, W. Mills 13 (20b), A. Evans 10 (18b)
End of over 6 (3 runs) - Ruff Royals(26-0) RR 4.33

11 runs off the first over and then we had a player dropped in the fifth over.

[spark]

I. Meman (rfm) 3-0-17-0, A. Evans 31 (37b), S. Whitehead 0 (3b)
End of over 14 (8 runs) - Ruff Royals(60-1) RR 4.29

That's a decent base to build from but can we push on from here?

[spark]

N. James (rm) 5-1-10-0, S. Whitehead 30 (33b), C. Ingram 3 (7b)
End of over 25 (4 runs) - Ruff Royals(132-2) RR 5.28

Evans out for 62. He's put us in a decent position but we could do with making it to at least 220.

[spark]

I. Meman (rfm) 7-0-48-0, R. Norris 6 (4b), S. Whitehead 46 (48b)
End of over 30 (13 runs) - Ruff Royals(164-3) RR 5.47

I'd be very happy if we get 10 an over for the last 10 overs.

[spark]

S. Munir (rfm) 5-0-16-2, S. Whitehead 58 (60b), N. Gera 1 (2b)
End of over 34 (2 runs) - Ruff Royals(181-4) RR 5.32

Munir and Lewis keeping it tight. These are the last two recognised batsmen so we're looking more for 220+ than a really big score.

[wolfberries]

N. Tuit (rfs) 7-0-46-2, D. Bonnor 0 (0b), L. Lawrence 21 (14b)
End of over 37 (8 runs) - wolfberries(180-7) RR 4.86

Would be nice to hit the 200 mark.

[wolfberries]

M. Retallick (rm) 8-0-47-2, L. Lawrence 32 (21b), R. Salvana 1 (2b)
End of over 40 (5 runs) - wolfberries(198-8) RR 4.95

Close but no cigar, will still take 198 though.

[spark]

Not a great last 10 overs as we only scored 51.

S. Munir (rfm) 8-0-33-3, S. Clouston 10 (10b), N. Gera 14 (18b)
End of over 40 (7 runs) - Ruff Royals(215-5) RR 5.38

We're going to need to bowl well but we're packed with medium pacers on this green pitch so we'll probably struggle to take wickets.

Whitehead top scored with 69 and Evans hit 62.

[spark]

S. Clouston (rf) 1-0-10-0, G. Kinsella 23 (26b), A. Gordon 11 (10b)
End of over 6 (10 runs) - The Middle Stump Lubricators(34-0). 182 runs required from 34 overs. RR 5.67 RRR 5.35

A missed runout by Rush and a dropped catch by my back-up keeper Ingram; we can't afford to miss chances like those.

[Mentalist]

R. Schneider (rm) 4-0-14-0, G. Kinsella 24 (30b), A. Gordon 11 (12b)
End of over 7 (1 run) - The Middle Stump Lubricators(35-0). 181 runs required from 33 overs. RR 5.00 RRR 5.48

My top 5 will have to do the bulk of the work here.

As expected my young debutant bowler and spin AR went the distance in the first innings.

M