National Team Season 62 T20 World Cup

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1. R Glendinning (Me and My Buddies)
2. J Rhodes (Jolly Boys Of Peckham)
3. O Julien (Simmo's Drop Bears)
4. M Raath (Almost)
5. AB de Villiers (Beirams's 11)
6. M Sewart (Snicketts XI)
7. T-J Goosen (Sunrise)
8. H Bloomfield (Armstrong 13's)
9. J de Jager (Simmo's Drop Bears)
10. E Roberts (BTP's Chilbolton Wanderers)
11. J Spangenberg (The Bunker Bugs)
12. J Cormack (budgiewoi bulldogs)
13. W Colreavy (Sgt Peppers)
14. D Telemachus (kato 11)
15. Z van der Sander (Wools Wanderers)
16. E Mcnamara (brew boys)
17. R Schmidt (Earthlings XI)
18. M Makalima (Simmo's Drop Bears)

Management is pleased to announce the above players for this seasons T20 World Cup. Interestingly Ireland won the hosting rights and pakistan will be hosting the World cup.
Our opponents in Group2 will be Bangladesh (hard), New Zealand (uneven), Bermuda (uneven), Pakistan (sticky) and USA (sticky).

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The World Cup is almost upon us, With a keen eye on the weather my assistant and I have been busy plotting our strategy for the next 5 matches. We have strong opposition and will need to produce some solid team performances in all 5 matches. We start the week on a nice hard wicket hopefully producing some good scores from our bats in a lead up to a couple of matches on uneven wickets and then our final 2 fixtures on sticky wickets. It could easily turn sour for us but some good batting depth in the key matches should pull us through. With a good balance of experience, form, skills and age our squad looks well placed to get us through to the finals. Pretty sure matches start around 5 ftp time daily from next Monday. show your support and view our matches.

If you enter the tipping comp don't forget SA.

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Bangladesh. Game 1

We have a great T20 rivalry record against Bangladesh. Our last loss to them was a season 32 T20 World Cup match so we did enter the match as favorites. A windy day with a nice hard wicket, Bangladesh got the call of the toss wrong and we opted to bat.
It was comfortable batting conditions and we quickly set about scoring some runs. Bangladesh bowled with good precision stifling a few good scoring opportunities, de Villiers survived a couple of dropped catches to score 37 from 23 and opener Julien scored 66. 6/185 was our total.
Bangladesh wasted little time in showing us they were up for a challenge. 61 runs from 5 overs had us scrambling in the field before our anchorman Spangenberg took out an opener. Bangladesh had the edge over us in RR, 1 wicket down with their batting high experienced bats sniffing the opportunity of a win just spurred them on. We lost with an over to spare, Bangladesh were 8/186.
It was a close match throughout with a disappointing result. Telemachus was MOTM with 3-34 and 13no.
New Zealand is next on an uneven wicket. Another tough match.

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New Zealand. Game2.

The pre-match assessment of the 2 sides had us fairly evenly matched. Bowling and fielding, a very slight advantage to NZ. Batting, NZ had the superior top order bats but we more than made up for it with our mid order and tail. All the markings of a good match.
We lost the toss and were sent in to bat...we had a plan in motion. Uneven wicket with overcast weather was going to make it difficult to set a decent target. 4 over in we were 2/29. Fortunately a 50 run partnership steadied us and we went on to score 6/142. Not a real high score but a defendable lead all the same.
The NZ top order was hard to break but by the 12th over we had them 3/72. Cormack had claimed 3-33 with his allotment bowled. With 5 overs remaining NZ required 54 runs and they had only lost 4 wickets. Spangenberg called over our 2 remaining bowlers and gave his instructions - Set an attacking field and get them all out. NZ took up the task and they required 19 runs from 2 overs 5 wickets down. The fielding settings were a trap well set and 3 runouts in one over sealed our fortune. We won the match by 8 runs in a close encounter.
Next up we play Bermuda in the same conditions.

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Bermuda. Game 3.
Day 3 matches are always difficult and Bangladesh were slight favorites for todays match. Told to bat first we quickly adjusted our planned match tactics and set about scoring some runs. A slow start and an early wicket had us feeling some early pressure but our bats held their concentration and a score was eventually made. Julien scored a solid 74 and we settled at 4/158.
We were well aware we needed a good win and the captain determined an attacking field for the opening 8 overs. That played out perfectly for us and the score was 5/51. We had the rr and wicket pressure to secure the match. 10/91 was the result. Telemachus bowled well with 4/15.
The win has given us a NRR advantage which we aim to maintain.
Pakistan on a sticky wicket is next and promises to be a tough match up as Pakistan tries to break their run of losses.

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Pakistan Day 4.
We went into this match with a small bowling advantage but still had a big task ahead. Sent into bat we were soon struggling thru the innings. Wickets were falling but thankfully Glendinning held his ground for 46 runs and we survived the 20 overs 7/108. We were fortunate to get the score.
The captain elected play our natural styles to start and then start a full on attack for the final 5 spells.
123. 3 overs and 3 wickets for 7 runs! A dream start and then the predictable recovery started. 3/48 was the mid-innings score. The field got reset, bowlers gritted their teeth and the action began. Runs increased and then the wickets started. The match took shape when Pakistan's last bat (Asad) fell at the start of the 16th over leaving them chasing 19 runs from 29 balls. A wicket each over put an end to their innings all out for 102 with 10 balls to spare. We played well.
Next up is USA in the same conditions, a sticky in overcast. It should be an exciting match with both sides wanting a win. USA has some high bowling and batting ratings but we feel confident in overpowering them today. All our players are rested/revived and keen to win and make it through to the finals.
Thanks for supporting us in our quest.

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USA. day 5.

Last day of the fixtures in a competitive group2 has left the finals hinging on all 3 results with NRR being important.
We won the toss and elected to bowl. We had a good plan, Bowl first starting off attacking and taking 5 wickets or so, keep the runs down and then clean up with our batting. Too Easy....The plan failed. It took 6 overs before we took a wicket and they were scoring just under a run a ball. By the 10th it was 3/64 and their top order had left us under pressure. We struggled to keep the rate down and got a couple more wickets finishing the innings with USA at 7/122.
A high score but not out of reach. We went back into the ring to finish the match. 33 runs from 5 overs had our confidence up but everything got sticky from here. A change in bowlers changed the play and we were suddenly halfway through 5/71. We were leading the chase but even with depth our batting was feeling the strain. USA's confidence grew as the runs dried up and we eventually succumbed all out for 104.
Disappointing to lose on the last day but our relief came when our 18 run loss was calculated to have us just qualify on NRR for the Semi Final match against UAE.

UAE next in what should be a ball tearer on a hard wicket. The Group1 heavyweight comes in as favorite after a very successful campaign in the fixtures. Thanks for the support, match views and thoughtful messages. We have a top side selected for this next match, It's going to be a show down.