Senior NAT Team - General Discussion

[MOD-MrMoose]

Well at least the collapse wasn’t at the top of the order.

Tour Match # 2
VS AUSTRALIA
Result:
win by 2 wickets.

The Match in a tweet: Australian spinners wreak havoc on a pitch filled with demons.

Man of the Match: Flloyd Mayweather Jr

Our best:
Sameh - 3/34 from his 9.2 overs and a handy 26 runs with the bat. Threatened to win the game from nowhere with those last two wickets but sadly the cricket gods had made their decision by that stage.

Alam - 3/44 from his allotted 10 overs.

Saad - 43 runs and part of an opening partnership that put on 69 runs (nice). After being dropped on a second ball, Saad made the most of his chance adding 43.

Ghayth - 53 runs and Saad’s partner in crime.

Pretty upsetting to be rolled for just under 200 after the platform our openers set up. Losing the last 4 wickets for 10 runs (and the last 3 for 0 runs) may have been the difference here.

Just needed a little bit of luck and it never came. Well maybe we can steal a bit of luck from the Irish tomorrow and look to win the last 3 matches of the week.

Tune in at 11.30 tomorrow 9th of December to see if any leprechauns streak onto the field (that’s actually not a bad idea for a commentary line - someone feel free to steal that one).

Time for the lads to turn this Tour around or the management will have to ban the Squad’s beach bocce competition planned for later in the week. The lads were really looking forward to it but only winners get to play beach bocce. Everyone knows that.

*mic turns back on*
I wasn’t going to address the in the room but I would like to state that the UAE Management do not share the opinions currently being shared by passionate fans (or conspiracy theorists) on social media. We don’t believe that the Australians are “cheating hacks” and “rigged the ME in their favour”. We would like to remind our fans that supporting our country together is the number one priority.

[MOD-MrMoose]

I am at a bit of a loss as how we have so deeply angered the FTP gods but as the new guy I would just like to say we are sorry. Sadly sometimes when you’re on you’re on and when you’re not you’re not. To have Ireland reeling at 7/78 then watch their wicket keeper batting at 6 make 80 really hurts. Banim faced all but 31 of the 150 balls after drinks. That’s 80% of the strike. Farming the strike has to be the worst type of farming in FTP and this was strike farming on steroids.

Tour Match # 3
VS Ireland
Result:
win by 24 runs

The Match in a tweet: The luck of the Irish prevails and UAE FTP fans around the globe have their hearts broken once again.

The Highlight Reel:

1st Over Jaber Wicket Maiden
21st Over Turk consecutive wickets
27th Over Nazih Wicket Maiden

30th Over Nazih 6!
That’s literally it, no other highlights from our batting.

Man of the Match: Bernard Banim

Our best:
Wakil Turk 3/21 from his 10 overs and 2 maidens

Alan Morrow 2/41 from his 10 overs and 2 maidens

They say in life you have to lose in order to appreciate the win. That the taste of success feels oh so sweeter after failures. If that’s the case, I for one am ready to win. Law of averages suggest we are well and truly due.

Tune in at 11.30 tomorrow 10th of December as we take on Sri Lanka. Time for the lads to turn this tour and get some respect out of this week. Trust in the process Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Time for the collective to go home, have a warm shower, realign your chakras, balance your zen and refine your inner life peace. For me I’m off home to stress eat 3 maxi bons and a block of chocolate.

[MOD-MrMoose]

*A young gentleman is pushed out into the press hall to the awaiting media scrum. Sweat on his forehead and a script in hand, it’s very obvious to everyone in the hall that this poor intern has been given the unfavourable task of facing a press conference after 4 consecutive losses.*

*3 nervous coughs* Goo-oo-d evening ladies and gent... gentle...

*one more cough, more confident this time*

Howdy all - how are we all this afternoon?

*radio silence*

Okay understood, tough crowd. Least I can now appreciate how the players felt, at least you lot aren’t vocal like the real crowd.

*one journalist laughs - this kid is doing alright - maybe sending the intern out wasn’t our worse idea after all*

What a mess that was. 2 micro collapses on a batting friendly deck and a finger spinner leaking runs without reward. A fourth consecutive loss for the week certainly stings. Especially when on paper we had a better side. Well you know what they say, cricket’s not played on paper, it’s played on the internet via displayed text of a simulation.

Tour Match # 4
VS Sri Lanka
Result: (this is getting kinda ridiculous at this point. I’m actually not sure what emoji I’ll use if we ever win a match).
win by 5 wickets

The Match in a tweet: Sri Lanka’s bold plan to only play two spinners on a spin friendly match is rewarded by the FTP gods.

Man of the Match: *apologies in advance if I mispronounce this* Weerakumara Kodituwakku Another display of strike farming with his 70 coming from 130 balls (more than half the balls bowled). He wasn’t even batting with the tail.

Our best:
The intern fronting the media hounds.

Amir Alam - 3/38 of his 10 overs.

Rahul Nazih - Top scorer with a hearty 29.

Highlight Reel:

3rd Over Salman consecutive 4s

13th and 14th over
2 wickets in 2 overs (Qassem and Alam)
41st Over - match finished meaning we could knock off and go to the pub.

There is a bit to think about heading into our final match of the week. Mostly how to not having batting collapses (it would be nice to have a match where the last four wickets aren’t lost for 0 runs) and how to bribe a computer system.

Tune in at 11.30 tomorrow 11th of December as we take on Bermuda

Trust in the process

[MOD-MrMoose]

[Todays press release proudly brought to you by McDonalds. They’re not a sponsor or anything I’m just using their free wifi.]

Winners are grinners
Feels good to check the score and see in the winners column. A great team effort today - 5 bats scoring more than 30 and the wickets reasonably shared.

Tour Match # 5
VS Bermuda
Result:
win by 50 runs

The Match in a tweet: The faith of the nation restored as UAE find a win in the wilderness and jump to finish 4th and avoid the drop.

Man of the Match: Kareef Sameh

Our best: Kareef Sameh - 47 with the bat 3/33 (off 9.2 overs) with the ball. Sameh the man today with a gritty batting performance that solidified a handy batting total that ultimately was enough to bring hole the chocolates. Backed it up with ball in hand as well. Poetically took the last wicket of the game and ran away with a stump.

Majid Jaber - 3/37 with the ball. Worth noting that all three were top order batsmen and just seemed to take that wicket when Bermuda got a sniff of momentum.

Rashid Oohood - 57 runs to the big crowd favourite. They all love him I think it’s the nice OoooO sound you can make with his name.

Well you know what they say. Winning sure is better than losing.
Not the best week for the lads - they know that. But a wins a win. Felt good to finish with a solid batting performance followed up with some good bowling and come out on top.

The result and others going our way means the lads finish 4th in the tour and avoid relegation. Not what we were hoping for by any means but better than bottom 2 for sure. I’ll reconvene in the next few days and do a little tour wrap with some statistics , etc.

That wraps up the Tour.

Hope you’ve all enjoyed these write ups (assuming anyone’s actually here reading them). They’ll be a constant feature moving forward and happy to take on board any reasonable feedback.

[heppa]

I don't know how we managed to survive the drop in the end, but we did!

My boy Saad did almost nothing in his four games.

Cheers for the write ups, Moose

[MOD-MrMoose]

Well what a week.

One win on the Friday and we manage to avoid the drop.

Results:
6 wicket loss to India.
2 wicket loss to Australia.
5 wicket loss to Sr Lanka.
24 run win to Ireland.
50 run win to UAE.

Ladder:
1st. India - 4 wins 1 loss. +0.77 NRR
2nd. Australia - 4 wins 1 loss. +0.51 NRR
3rd. Sri Lanka - 4 wins 1 loss +0.42 NRR
4th. UAE - 1 win 4 losses -0.24 NRR
5th. Bermuda - 1 win 4 losses. -0.70 NRR
6th. Ireland - 1 win 4 losses. -0.79 NRR

An interesting tour week. The top 3 all beat each other once as did the bottom 3.

Now a look into how our lads performed individually this week:

Our Best Performers:
1. Amir Alam (239 Fantasy Points from 3 games including one MOTM)
2. Kareef Sameh (191 Fantasy Points from 3 games including one MOTM)
3. Rashid Oohood (155 Fantasy points from 3 matches)

The Shockers:
1. Kareem Essa (10 Fantasy Points from 4 games)
2. Samir Mousa (15 Fantasy Points from 3 games)

Most Runs Scored:
1. Rashid Oohood (125 runs from 3 games)
2. Jaul Ghayth (99 runs from 3 games)
3. Khayri Saleh (90 runs from 4 games)

Best Score: Oohod with 57 from 54 balls against Bermuda.

Most Wickets Taken:
1. Amir Alam (8 wickets from 3 matches and 162 balls)
2. Kareef Sameh (6 wickets from 3 matches and 172 balls)
3. Wakil Turk (5 wickets from 3 matches and 180 balls)

Best Figures:
Wakil Turk (3/21 including 2 maidens against Ireland)

Best Fielder:
Ismael Saad (4 catches and 1 runout from his 4 matches)

Overall not the week we were looking for and a few concerns particularly around the batting collapses. We sneak into the top 4 at the 11th hour and avoid the drop. Got to celebrate the little victories and that's definitely one of them.

Next senior tour is a Twenty 20 Div 3 Tour and starts on the 28th December.

However, make sure you tune in for the U20s as they chase success in a Div. 3 One Day Tour this week.

U-20 One Day Div 3 Fixture is:
14th December 08.00 Vs Zimbabwe.
15th December 08.00 Vs Netherlands.
16th December 08.00 Vs Canada.
17th December 08.00 Vs South Africa.
18th December 08.00 Vs Ireland.

Get around the young fellas as they are the future of cricket in our great nation.

Hope you've all enjoyed my ramblings this week. I'm off to have a well deserved bath and the remaining half of cheesecake in my hotel's bar fridge before the long flight home to the UAE. Wishing all UAE fans a Merry Christmas and hoping they all tune in on the 28th as the T20s get under way.

[GA-PowerBug]

How much do you need to be loaned out to the U20s for tour week write-ups?

[MOD-MrMoose]

How much do you need to be loaned out to the U20s for tour week write-ups?

I’m sure we can come to some sort of “agreement”.

[MOD-MrMoose]

Let’s go again!
It’s time to shake off the tinsel and smash a leftover ham sanga.
There’s cricket to be played and I don’t mean the MCG Boxing Day Mess. It’s time for another National Senior Tour and this time it’s the ole slash and dash with a Div 3 T20 tour.

Let’s have a look at the touring squad heading off to Bangladesh:

Aban Haqq (Jareds XI)
Ahmad Ali (Caribbean Pirates)
Alan Morrow (Delhi DareWhackers)
Amir Alam (Hassanites)
David De Gea (Nottm Outlaws XI)
Hamis Rahim (Stamford XI)
Ismael Saad (Illawarra Dragons CC)
Kamal Qassem (Budgewoi Puppies V2)
Kareef Sameh (Allmänna Idrottsklubben)
Kareem Essa (Legend Super Chicken Samurai)
Khayri Salah (Achmid’s Soul)
Majib Jaber (Malvern)
Mujahid Zakiyy (Teambest)
Rahul Jabbar (One Man Rock Band)
Rahul Nazih (Caribbean Pirates)
Rashid Oohood (Ayatollah of Rockenrollah)
Wakil Turk (Kings XI Behala)
Zavier Salman (Mighty Tigers 2nd XI)

A big congratulations to all who have made the touring squad and a big thank you to all the managers who have produced these very fine players.

Let’s have a look forward at the week of T20 we have ahead:
All times below are in FTP local time.

Game 1
28th December 0200
VS
Pitch: Crumbling
Current Forecast:

Game 2
29th December 0200
VS
Pitch: Dry
Current Forecast: 🌬

Game 3
30th December 0200
VS
Pitch: Dry
Current Forecast: 🌬

Game 4
31st December 0200
VS
Pitch: Dry
Current Forecast:

Game 5
1st January 0200
VS
Pitch: Dry
Current Forecast: 🌬

Tune in every day and watch the lads play some T20 cricket. Let’s hope it’s a good tour to finish off 2020 and start 2021 with a bang. Also tune in every day for some awful humour and low quality match press conferences.

[MOD-MrMoose]

Well that’s an unfortunate way to start a tour. Opener gone for a golden first ball. The 104 posted was never going to be enough and it turned out to be that way with the home side cruising through the chase.

Tour Match # 1
VS
Result:
win by 7 wickets

The Match in a tweet: Paul Pogba traps Saad first ball of the tour to have UAE reeling at 1/0.

Man of the Match: Majid Jaber

Our best:
Majid Jaber - 2/14 off his 14 overs. Couldn’t have asked for much more from Jaber. The only bowler to do any damage with ball in hand.

David De Gea - a fighting 43 and the only batsmen to show some heart in the innings.

I’m not one to snitch but I do want to just note that I think it would be worth looking into the Club that produced Bangladesh’s best on today. The player was Rajid Omar and UAE U20 fans might recognise the manager of the club Rajid hails from
Maybe if the U20s had offered a better deal for my tour write ups I may have kept silent on the matter. 🥸

All jokes aside, a disappointing start to the tour in a match that the lads could have won. Let down with the bat today and will need to refocus before tomorrow’s clash.

Tune in at 0200 tomorrow as we take on Zimbabwe.

Trust in the process

[heppa]

That's disappointing. Saad was out for 2 the day before in the MKMC and followed it up with a duck for his NT team.

Sorry about Omar, I'll make sure he goes onto the market this week

[MOD-MrMoose]

Not a good day at the office. Leaked too many runs and then stumbled too many times in the chase.

Following UAE nationals is much like playing golf, you occasionally have a good round and enjoy it but most of the time you’re left wondering why you’re here and when you can sneak off to the clubhouse for a parmy.

Tour Match # 2
VS
Result:
Zimbabwe win by 20 runs

The Match in a tweet: You’re always going to struggle when one bowler goes for at least 12 an over. Yet alone when he does it 4 overs in a row. Sameh had an absolute mare today.

Man of the Match: Amir Alam

Our best:
Amir Alam - 2/18 off 4 overs and 14* with the bat.

Alan Morrow - 0/13 off his 4 overs and a fighting 32 runs.

I have no other words. This write up stuff is pretty sad when the biggest victory is that Jaber managed to get someone out Hit Wicket.

Tune in at 02.00 tomorrow as we look to turn this tour around with a win against South Africa.

Trust in the process