England League and Cup Discussion

[casperj]

Need a win, and a big enough one to protect a 0.34 NRR advantage against a team who are probably winning big,

No exactly off to a flier!!
J. Speirs (rm) 5-2-10-0, J. Wambua 13 (24b), D. Snider 6 (9b)
End of over 10 (maiden) - Crestfallen Sidekicks(36-1) RR 3.60

[Atko]

Interesting recovery from 5-4 to -

End of over 28 (2 runs) - South London's Number One CC(75-5) RR 2.68

I guess just as nature cannot tolerate a vacuum, the ME cannot tolerate a complete collapse. Special mention for Whittington, the oppo's 21yo keeper, who has stonewalled for 81 balls to score 35 runs. If this continues, I shall write to my MP.

[casperj]

Need a win, and a big enough one to protect a 0.34 NRR advantage against a team who are probably winning big,

No exactly off to a flier!!
J. Speirs (rm) 5-2-10-0, J. Wambua 13 (24b), D. Snider 6 (9b)
End of over 10 (maiden) - Crestfallen Sidekicks(36-1) RR 3.60

T. Selth (rf) 10-0-72-3, K. Carson 9 (6b), R. Kapur 13 (10b)
End of over 50 (9 runs) - Crestfallen Sidekicks(263-7) RR 5.26

Will be enough for the win on a crumbling wicket, but might need to get them out quite cheaply - 2nd placed team is probably goingto win with 30 overs to spare!

[Atko]

Well, we managed to bundle 'em out for 107 in the end.

In reply -

W. Routledge (rf) 1-0-3-0, H. Charlton 8 (17b), W. Fadington 8 (14b)
End of over 10 (3 runs) - The Raging Speed Horns(41-2). 67 runs required from 40 overs. RR 4.10 RRR 1.68

The two wickets were taken by their veteran bowler Olise, but I'm guessing we should knock those runs off with ease.

It's all academic, since Inchigeela Angels look well on top against Trevor Francis Tracksuit, so no change to the top 4 positions, I guess.

[Atko]

5 wicket win in the end against a very much underpowered South London's Number One CC -

Match Ratings
The Raging Speed Horns South London's Number One CC
Batting - Top Order 14,957 11,284
Batting - Middle Order 10,932 9,888
Batting - Tail 4,593 4,545
Bowling - Seam 15,181 (30) 12,010 (30)
Bowling - Spin 15,065 (20) 12,497 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 18,532 14,522
Overall 248,609 202,917

So, we finish 3rd, 4 points off top spot. At this time it's still not a certainty whether Egham Town or Inchigeela Angels will take the title.

It's been a frustrating inaugural season in the top tier for us. I've got to say I only have myself to blame. I was far too cavalier with orders in the first half of the season - setting extremely aggressive orders in the hope of blowing away the opposition. This netted me 4 wins and 3 losses and a realisation that smash and grab was not going to cut it. After a hiccup in our 8th game against wolfberries, who pipped us by a wicket with their B team, we ran in to the end of the season with six straight victories, and were left to consider what might have been.

Half the team have passed the big three-oh, but still appear to have plenty of gas in the tank. There are youngsters waiting in the wings, but they're desperately short of xp, and I think the first XI will be pretty much the same as this season, hoping to get the title that they missed out on this "year".

World Cup next week, and five of my mob are on tour (plus one of the youths) - so there'll be plenty of action to follow during the FTP seasonal break, and even better, a nice wad of cash at the end of it

Hmmm...can I finally upgrade that academy........?

[casperj]

Looked like a big win was coming, until their last pair put on 71 for the final wicket on an Overcast/Crumbling!!! Think this should still be enough, just waiting for the final table to come through!

Surrey Cricket Club Crestfallen Sidekicks
Batting - Top Order 10,642 14,433
Batting - Middle Order 9,258 12,584
Batting - Tail 3,158 6,821
Bowling - Seam 11,375 (20) 13,569 (30)
Bowling - Spin 11,308 (30) 14,346 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 11,634 16,984
Overall 180,656 248,886

Crestfallen Sidekicks won by 100 runs

Ü. Zörker (rfm) 8.5-3-28-6, P. Sternberg 7 (17b)
End of over 44 (6 runs) - Surrey Cricket Club(163-10). 101 runs required from 6 overs. RR 3.70 RRR 16.83

[spark]

Snakey's Kent Stars Ruff Royals
Batting - Top Order 14,246 14,592
Batting - Middle Order 12,724 13,497
Batting - Tail 6,665 4,962
Bowling - Seam 13,072 (30) 14,273 (40)
Bowling - Spin 14,475 (20) 14,467 (10)
Fielding/Keeping 17,092 17,808
Overall 247,320 252,230

Ruff Royals won by 6 wickets

Finally, a great performance to save our bacon. The bowlers did a fantastic job on an even pitch to bowl them our for just 133. However, it wasn't easy to bat on and we soon found ourselves at 14-3. Luckily, Captain Bullock was on form and saw us home with 74 not out.

In the other important match for us, Gully Boys did us a huge favour and comprehensively beat All Leeds Aren't We. That means that after a terrible SOD season we have managed to sneak out of it with some semblance of dignity by not getting relegated when we should really have been challenging for promotion.

Congratulations to Monsieurflibble and their Relegation reprobates team who won the promotion decider against Danger Hotspurs with a one wicket win. Commiserations to Dave's Danger Hotspurs side.

[spark]

Looked like a big win was coming, until their last pair put on 71 for the final wicket on an Overcast/Crumbling!!! Think this should still be enough, just waiting for the final table to come through!

Surrey Cricket Club Crestfallen Sidekicks
Batting - Top Order 10,642 14,433
Batting - Middle Order 9,258 12,584
Batting - Tail 3,158 6,821
Bowling - Seam 11,375 (20) 13,569 (30)
Bowling - Spin 11,308 (30) 14,346 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 11,634 16,984
Overall 180,656 248,886

Crestfallen Sidekicks won by 100 runs

Ü. Zörker (rfm) 8.5-3-28-6, P. Sternberg 7 (17b)
End of over 44 (6 runs) - Surrey Cricket Club(163-10). 101 runs required from 6 overs. RR 3.70 RRR 16.83

Congratulations on your promotion!

[Monsieurflibble]

Thanks Spark, down to the last wicket and penultimate ball sounds about right for the most bizarre SOD season I’ve had. Both of us worried about relegation at the half way point but glad good ratings came good in the end.

Three firsts and a respectable second to you ….. we can see enjoy the success for a week at least.

[casperj]

Congratulations on your promotion!

Cheers. My NRR advantage dropped from 0.34 to 0.26, so I probably could have got away with paying a bit of a weaker team, but after so many near misses (including at least one on NRR) it's a relief to be back in Div 2. Been in Div 3 for 6 seasons which is much longer than I thought I'd be, and have had to pivot my strategy towards seniors to eventually get promoted.
Next task is plotting my way to England Div 1 for the first time

[spark]

Ruff Royals Crestfallen Sidekicks
Batting - Top Order 14,784 11,979
Batting - Middle Order 12,393 9,435
Batting - Tail 5,012 4,685
Bowling - Seam 14,544 (12) 11,406 (16)
Bowling - Spin 14,369 (8) 13,101 (4)
Fielding/Keeping 17,816 13,803
Overall 249,567 199,850

Ruff Royals won by 48 runs

I couldn't risk playing a weakened side in case I got the maths wrong on the net run rate. I thought it would have been very difficult to not promote from the position we were in but I saw no reason to take a risk.

I'm very happy to promote and it'll be a much needed boost to the finances although that is more than wiped out by probably getting relegated to division 3 in SOD.

That's 3 of the 4 league targets completed successfully so far.

Congrat mate, more consistent side through the season and you probably always had it on NRR. Not great seeing opponents go easy in crux matches, looks they’ve otherwise got a simple match to promote in SOD on Friday.

Heaven only know for us both in SOD 2.1 for up and down, at least see you again in youths next season.

I would have played a stronger side but:

• Chance of us winning with stronger side was low + there was 0 chance of winning by enough to make a dent in the NRR difference between first and second (Think Ruff Royals were on something like 1.02 before the match, so no way could we have beaten them to get them down to 0.57)

• Got a reverse situation in the one day - got a 0.34 NRR advantage, but the team in second is at home to the bottom side who rate about 60k less than them. Had such a struggle getting out of League 3 don't want to risk it.

• Experience is such a key skill, and it so hard to find space to fit younger seniors in consistently enough to get their experience up. Have to try and pick and choose matches where the damage of playing a weaker side is minimal.

I'll write this now as opposed to when I needed teams to pick strong sides! It used to annoy me when sides played weakened teams in those crucial last games of the season but over time I've changed my opinion and feel that managers should do what is best for their club. Whilst it's unfortunate if you're on the receiving end of that, there are other occasions where the fixtures go for or against you too (weeks with internationals away, games thrown for cup/fatigue reasons). Ultimately, it's at least partly your own fault if you're relying on other teams to do you a favour on the final day of the season and you should have picked up enough points by then so that your success is in your own hands.

I could have had no real complaints (other than that the division 2 teams were a bit unbalanced with 1 of the divisions being much stronger than the other) if I had dropped a division due to someone picking a weakened side.

[spark]

G. Valenzuela (rf) 4-0-29-0, G. Pithey 6 (12b), C. Macrow 60 (53b)
End of over 20 (5 runs) - Ruff Royals(122-5) RR 6.10

Uneven pitch. It was great from Macrow with 60 not out but I don't think we've got anywhere near enough. We're maybe 30-40 short if I'm being generous to my side.

I went with 6 bowlers today and it doesn't seem to have worked out.

[casperj]

Not a great start to the season - lost to a team that rates 76k, conceding 30 rus in the last 2 overs!

Crestfallen Sidekicks Nutwood Lions
Batting - Top Order 5,622 4,989
Batting - Middle Order 3,866 3,372
Batting - Tail 2,231 1,668
Bowling - Seam 5,634 (12) 5,782 (12)
Bowling - Spin 4,578 (8) 3,216 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 6,692 4,785
Overall 90,786 76,580

Nutwood Lions won by 7 wickets

[spark]

Relegation reprobates won by 4 wickets

Ruff Royals Relegation reprobates
Batting - Top Order 6,837 8,843
Batting - Middle Order 4,862 6,461
Batting - Tail 3,724 3,999
Bowling - Seam 7,289 (16) 6,558 (16)
Bowling - Spin 7,981 (4) 8,473 (4)
Fielding/Keeping 8,416 8,953
Overall 120,352 134,782

Closer than I thought it was going to be and if it wasn't for a dropped catch by the keeper going for 4 runs after 18.5 overs then we might have even got the win as they only had 1 ball to spare.

I'd like to think I can avoid a relegation battle this season and aim for a safe mid-table place. It's not going to be easy though.

[casperj]

Not a great start to the season - lost to a team that rates 76k, conceding 30 rus in the last 2 overs!

Crestfallen Sidekicks Nutwood Lions
Batting - Top Order 5,622 4,989
Batting - Middle Order 3,866 3,372
Batting - Tail 2,231 1,668
Bowling - Seam 5,634 (12) 5,782 (12)
Bowling - Spin 4,578 (8) 3,216 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 6,692 4,785
Overall 90,786 76,580

Nutwood Lions won by 7 wickets

Just looked at the Fielding
Us: Rate 6,692 - 2 catches, 1 drop, 1 missed run out. Them: 4,785 4 catches, 1 stumping 1 drop. So basically we lost because we didn't pass anywhere near the % of fielding checks they did, even though we rate substantially higher on fielding.