England League and Cup Discussion

[Atko]

Yeah - it's back on track, and as I type -

38.2 W Ravana to Patfield : [catch]
C. Patfield c J. Shalidor b. S. Ravana 12 (22b 0x4 0x6) SR:54.55

two to get.

[spark]

Ruff Royals won by 6 wickets

Ruff Royals YorkshireTykes
Batting - Top Order 13,867 12,864
Batting - Middle Order 12,734 10,802
Batting - Tail 5,955 5,179
Bowling - Seam 12,600 (30) 12,555 (40)
Bowling - Spin 13,288 (20) 12,868 (10)
Fielding/Keeping 16,876 15,000
Overall 239,276 218,295

Combs' 4-22 was very useful in bowling them out for 149. Some good contributions with the bat too with Schmidt 35, Dickerson 39, and House 44 not out.

We're 8 points clear of the relegation zone now. It's probably time to retire a couple of my older players to give some younger ones regular experience; I suspect that would mean I can say goodbye to any slim hopes of promotion though.

[Atko]

.....
It's probably time to retire a couple of my older players to give some younger ones regular experience; I suspect that would mean I can say goodbye to any slim hopes of promotion though.

Not had to make that call yet - my mob's homegrown and have a couple of seasons before that becomes an issue. I assume you'd be referring to Clarke and Whitehead - how are they holding up, summary-wise?

[casperj]

We'll its taken 5 weeks, but the ME has started to screw me again...

Crestfallen Sidekicks Indian Avengers
Batting - Top Order 10,819 11,890
Batting - Middle Order 11,884 8,868
Batting - Tail 7,407 5,381
Bowling - Seam 11,802 (30) 12,534 (40)
Bowling - Spin 14,096 (20) 15,123 (10)
Fielding/Keeping 15,183 14,296
Overall 222,187 207,329

Indian Avengers won by 5 wickets

Home on a dry top against a weaker team with 1 spinner, and they win comfortably. Two new batting recruits have upped my ratings but not contributed to scoring yet.

[Atko]

League One Day 2.1
The Raging Speed Horns v Snakey's Kent Stars
The Raging Speed Horns won by 45 runs

Match Ratings
The Raging Speed Horns Snakey's Kent Stars
Batting - Top Order 12,893 13,667
Batting - Middle Order 10,379 12,057
Batting - Tail 4,454 8,750
Bowling - Seam 12,692 (30) 12,303 (30)
Bowling - Spin 13,808 (20) 13,948 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 17,055 16,183
Overall 223,307 242,503

We made hard going of that in the end. Still, it pops us into second place behind Danger Hotspurs (presumably!). Ratings are deflated by fatigue and a couple of reserves playing, although they impressed - Saxon with a respectable 2-30, and Bozelli both captaining and opening with a knock of 37.

Now to apply linament and dust 'em off for the MKMC ...

[spark]

.....
It's probably time to retire a couple of my older players to give some younger ones regular experience; I suspect that would mean I can say goodbye to any slim hopes of promotion though.

Not had to make that call yet - my mob's homegrown and have a couple of seasons before that becomes an issue. I assume you'd be referring to Clarke and Whitehead - how are they holding up, summary-wise?

Their summaries are pretty good which I'm a bit surprised by with both being world class still. The changes to skill decreases are making it easier to keep players longer it seems.

Whitehead is my main captain but his average has been below my expectations throughout his career so is no great loss. His replacement would have to be my next best captain, Bullock, who is an accomplished experience batter who's 24. I've got another batter, Dickerson, who is almost 25 but only reliable experience so probably needed to get regular games last season. And I've got another 24-year-old batter who just reached accomplished experience this week. So 3 players who need experience and only 2 spots available if I retire or sell the older players is a bit tricky.

[Atko]

MKMC Round 5
Unusual Suspects v The Raging Speed Horns
Result: The Raging Speed Horns won by 2 runs
Weather Windy
Pitch Sticky

Match Ratings
Unusual Suspects The Raging Speed Horns
Batting - Top Order 13,925 12,737
Batting - Middle Order 13,662 9,919
Batting - Tail 8,000 4,293
Bowling - Seam 13,056 (40) 13,767 (30)
Bowling - Spin 13,511 (10) 13,139 (20)
Fielding/Keeping 17,332 16,376
Overall 252,085 220,214

I suppose that constitutes an upset

Thrilling 41st over, with the oppo needing 4 for victory, my trusty spinner managed to skittle the last two wickets in consecutive balls. The stroke of luck (or lunacy) was their set batsman running a single off the 1st ball, exposing the two innocents to a world class spinner on sticky/windy. The rest, as they say, is history

[spark]

H. Ishaq (rfm) 4-0-25-2, Q. Fattah 15 (10b), D. Rocha 0 (2b)
End of over 20 (1 run) - Ruff Royals(169-6) RR 8.45

We were going at 10 after the first 11 overs with 10 wickets in hand so to only finish on 169 is a big disappointment. It's overcast dry to 169 can be chased successfully. Marwat was the star as he hit 79 from 45 balls.

J. Harrison (rfm) 3-0-22-1, J. Albers 39 (27b), E. Shepherd 9 (9b)
End of over 8 (11 runs) - Relegation reprobates(69-1). 101 runs required from 12 overs. RR 8.62 RRR 8.42

They looking like they're chasing this easily. I can't see the same sort of collapse/slow down happening for them as it did for us.

[spark]

Relegation reprobates Ruff Royals
Batting - Top Order 7,205 7,751
Batting - Middle Order 6,519 5,584
Batting - Tail 3,280 3,629
Bowling - Seam 6,755 (8) 7,224 (14)
Bowling - Spin 6,792 (12) 7,970 (6)
Fielding/Keeping 7,657 9,431
Overall 121,595 129,763

Ruff Royals won by 44 runs

It ended up being a pretty comfortable win. The turning point was a two wicket over by Pithey. Later on Fattah took a hat-trick and ended with 5-16. We remain top of the league by 4 points.

In other news, I forgot to retire those two older players so I guess they stick around for another week.

[wolfberries]

Pedagogs wolfberries
Batting - Top Order 6,393 6,885
Batting - Middle Order 5,330 4,654
Batting - Tail 3,296 3,458
Bowling - Seam 5,941 (16) 4,877 (12)
Bowling - Spin 7,638 (4) 5,829 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 7,768 8,927
Overall 111,488 109,604

Result: Pedagogs won by 16 runs

First loss of the season in the youth T20, it was always going to happen with our current set of players.

[spark]

The Dross Ruff Royals
Batting - Top Order 12,550 14,507
Batting - Middle Order 11,548 11,920
Batting - Tail 7,371 4,937
Bowling - Seam 12,004 (8) 13,913 (12)
Bowling - Spin 12,697 (12) 13,288 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 14,844 17,122
Overall 225,138 240,205

Ruff Royals won by 7 wickets

Good bowling restricted them to 124 on a dry pitch. Westerveld had the best figures with 3-19 but Schneider's 3-29 included three of the top four.

Mills was the star with the bat as he hit a magnificent 79 not out from 52 balls.

[Atko]

Well, this will be the first time ever - and I've been playing on and off since season 4 - that I've set players to "Rest" training. Anyone else ever do that?

Total anathema to my ethos of "ultra-efficient/peak training yadyada", but the lads are wilting and there's a long way to go.

Oh, I wouldn't have a problem doing it with 30+ yo's but these chaps have still got a bit left in the tank dammit!

Shared experiences on a postcard or here welcome.

Oh, and sparky - lol - done the "oh bugger, forgot to fire (remember when that was a thing?) 'em" thang with my old affiliate

Sorry for the random thoughts - it's late, I'm still on the cocktails, and wallowingly-nostalgic for the days when these forums were a-rock with banter

[wolfberries]

I don't think I've ever put a player on rest who isn't 30+, I tend not to over extend my squads , senior wise I won't concentrate on more than two comps at a time.

[casperj]

Well, this will be the first time ever - and I've been playing on and off since season 4 - that I've set players to "Rest" training. Anyone else ever do that?

Total anathema to my ethos of "ultra-efficient/peak training yadyada", but the lads are wilting and there's a long way to go.

Oh, I wouldn't have a problem doing it with 30+ yo's but these chaps have still got a bit left in the tank dammit!

Shared experiences on a postcard or here welcome.

Oh, and sparky - lol - done the "oh bugger, forgot to fire (remember when that was a thing?) 'em" thang with my old affiliate

Sorry for the random thoughts - it's late, I'm still on the cocktails, and wallowingly-nostalgic for the days when these forums were a-rock with banter

I always keep a big squad (probably too big) which means I can manage fatigue, however that comes at a cost of wages. I don't think I've ever used the rest option.

[wolfberries]

The Spitfires wolfberries
Batting - Top Order 11,791 13,155
Batting - Middle Order 10,541 9,965
Batting - Tail 5,483 4,143
Bowling - Seam 11,534 (17) 10,887 (12)
Bowling - Spin 12,140 (3) 11,879 (8)
Fielding/Keeping 13,516 16,024
Overall 204,455 209,406

Result: The Spitfires won by 25 runs

Another loss on a Tuesday!