Posted:
Tue Aug 25, 2015 2:50 pm
by Wray
8000 words, coo.
Cricketweek's Who's Who is a guide published at the commencement of each domestic season, containing a biographical guide to every professional player on the domestic circuit. Written in a relatively light-hearted style, the guide provides stats, backgrounds and facts about every professional player in Wray. The squad for the World T20 is below, followed by the excerpts from the Who's Who.
Batsmen
GPRJ Mitchell (c)
CJ Laughlin
TJP Sutcliffe
JGN Jackson
BK Milson
JWO Colt
AA Mackie
EJM McCaughey
All-Rounders
JMA Keillher
SF Bentley
AJF Livingstone-Learmoth
KT Johanowicz
AMA Macallister
Wicket-Keepers
HJ Sleath
JS Stacey
Bowlers
JS Storm
BR Matthews
SG Aguando
C Dawson-Lane
NJ Gardiner
DRR George
GLENN Peter Richard Johan MITCHELL - 29 - RHB - RM - South-Eastern Territories
Captain Fantastic. Role model, hero, married to a pop princess. And there is no finer bloke than Glenn Mitchell who deserves these accolades (although we're all a bit jealous about that last one). Initially, he started out as Simon Sterne's deputy, batting three and four respectively in the Test side, but now he has began to overtake his mentor - he is captain in two of the three formats, and is all but nailed on to take over from Sterne at some point over the course of GCF 7. Adored by cricket-fans for his near-perfect technique and run-scoring ability, and non-fans alike, for his clean-cut attitude to life in the spot-light.
Any coach in the land can say to their students - 'Think about how Glenn Mitchell does it' - and they will get an instant response, evidencing his widespread popularity, especially amongst the younger generation. As a cricketer, he matches Simon Sterne for run-scoring prowess, and marks it out alone when it comes to facing tricky situations on the pitch. Quality bowling doesn't come around all that often on the international circuit, only four or five nations can claim to have bowlers of true 'international' standard, but Mitchell can counter-claim that he has bested all of them. Hundreds in Gruenberg on square-turners, in Liventia on lively green seamers, most places.
Stalwart of domestic cricket, racking up a healthy 7,400 runs @ 53 despite being with the national side for most of the time, and if his batting wasn't enough, he has two Test wickets to his name with some surprisingly accurate medium-pace wobblers. His wife of 6 months, Laurie (apparently she has a surname, but it's shrouded in mystery), says she 'doesn't get cricket', but Glenn very much does get cricket - his tactical and strategic brain is lauded as one of the finest in Test cricket, and isn't afraid to get creative with his fields. After initially copping some criticism for defensive captaincy, he has developed, and now isn't afraid to front up to Jackson Storm and say 'sorry mate, that's garbage, you're off'. The only thing more abundant than runs for Mitchell is the word 'mate' - everyone is his mate: team-mates (duh), opposition, fans, journalists, administrators, probably even in bed he'll call Laurie 'mate'. By and large, it's because he's everyone's mate. He's just a straight up nice bloke.
CHRIS James LAUGHLIN - 30 - RHB - RM - Eastern Territories
Bat like a tree trunk. Arms like tree trunks. Legs like tree trunks. Laughlin probably has more in common with an Upland Spruce than a professional cricketer. 6ft 4" and 260lbs, Laughlin is a man-mountain. The most delightful shape in cricket is undoubtedly the smooth, languid arc made by Laughlin as he swings his enormous bat through the line and hammers the ball over deep-midwicket. He does this all with a terrific, completely upright stance - never once does he crouch, let alone shift his feet, it's just: stand and deliver.
In T20 this is perfect. As an opener, he is given a license to whack the ball around for as long as possible until he gets out - normally caught in the deep. 'Whack the shine off the ball', as Glenn Mitchell puts it. And it's a surprisingly useful tactic, as the ball eerily stops swinging earlier when Laughlin is in full swing. In longer forms, his value diminishes somewhat, as attested by his first class average of 28, but the immense power he possesses means he can always entertain. Many pundits agree that Laughlin would be a decent pinch hitter in a baseball team - he could well forge a career as a slugger yet - what with his massive strength of swing, total lack of footwork and gruff, manly demeanour. Laughlin always seems to be fighting for his place, as some quarters don't think it's fair that a slash-and-burner gets into the T20 and ODI teams, thus keeping out some kid with a perfect technique. But Chris likes it like that, he likes being the antithesis of your prim, over-coached net-native; he'll stride out onto the wicket, determined eyes under the helmet, and just give it a good ol' whack.
TOM Jacob Parker SUTCLIFFE - 21 - RHB - LS - Central Districts
Nouveau talent. From the National Centre of Cricketing Excellence in Cartersburg, comes a batsman hyped as much as Glenn Mitchell was when he first appeared on the scene. After more than P40 million was poured into the new institution four years ago, it has produced its first talent. Its first future-superstar.
With a mop of blonde hair, a sharp smile and that drawl that only Cartersburg's social elite can impart on their vowels, Sutcliffe was going to be a success one way or another, it just depended on which path he took. Before appearing in Territory cricket last year, you just had to look at his record for St Lyon's College. He played for their 1st XI for three years. He batted three aged 15, and scored four centuries in 13 games in that year. For various reasons, he moved to four for the last two years, and amassed 16 centuries from 29 games. The kid was electrically good. He couldn't get into the NCCE set-up quickly enough. A predominantly front-foot player with impeccable speed and timing, with footwork and wrists to match, Sutcliffe is the complete batsman. When CricketWeek went to an NCCE 40-over fixture against Central Districts 2nd XI to survey the talent, Sutcliffe made 141* off 107 balls and oozed class. You might think this description is a little biased - who knows, his dad might own Cricket Media Group, our owners - but in an editorial meeting (where editors discuss cricket for three hours as opposed to anything meaningful) every single staff member agreed that Sutcliffe will score the most runs for Wray, at the best average. He has the effortless ability to switch through the gears, from grinding out runs at a 20 strike rate to pasting bowlers all over the park. In two seasons of domestic cricket for Central Districts and the Cartersburg Jets, he scored 2100 first class runs, including 7 centuries, and top the scoring charts for the Jets in the T20.
T20Is first, and you can't imagine the kid with the ice-cool demeanour will be phased, even if he takes a spot of barracking from the Liventian crowds. Not that he'll be on the boundary, as he's always one heck of a fielder. Anywhere from backward point to mid-off, he's rapid across the turf, will throw himself at anything even remotely near to him. Add to this hands which won't drop a thing and a penchant for the spectacular, Sutcliffe is almost as entertaining to watch in the field as he is with the bat. The only thing that leaves something to be desired is his bowling, which can liberally called 'leg-breaks', but that is in name only. If there's one thing you see over the course of the season, watch this kid bat.
JAMIE Gray Nicholas JACKSON - 25 - LHB - SLA - Southern Districts
To say Jamie Jackson is the best batsman in Wray at the moment might, on the surface, appear to be a bit of an overstatement - surely Glenn Mitchell, Simon Sterne and a handful of other test and one-day batsmen could claim to be better. Sure, some are perhaps more technically astute - Jackson's habit off moving towards the off-side during the bowlers run-up would have many coaches tutting and restructuring - but his ability to almost harvest runs is almost unmatched. In his debut series against Chelta, he made two centuries and two fifties, and then made another century against Patistan, and has looked every bit a Test player. He was rewarded with the WCB Young Player of the Year award, and rightly so, no batsman in the Green Cap made more of an impression than Jackson.
A fearless player who'll take on any bowler in any conditions, Jackson is known for his punishing drives through extra-cover and mid-on (and isn't afraid to go aerial, even in the opening exchanges of a Test match) and for extensive use of his feet when tackling the spinners, especially noted by his particularly harsh treatment of Cheltan leg-spinner Tim May. Strong upper-arms and plenty of exposure to the WCB's extensive strengthening programme mean his is immensely strong despite his rather small frame, and can put ferocious power behind his shots. Yet this is not to say that there is not a finesse side to Jackson's game - he is one of the most vigilant when it comes to defending, and knows where his off-stump is at all times. He is always busy against all bowlers, and looks to make the bowlers try and actively dismiss him, which leads too short balls and wide balls which he can feast upon.
In limited overs cricket, he was already a fixture in the ODI and T20I squads, where has occupied many batting positions, from number 2 to number 6. He was slightly unsteady at the top of the order, where a weakness against the seaming ball was exposed by Gruenberg's deft quicks, but a quick move down the order to four and five and he rediscovered his groove, with some effortless centuries and grafting fifties. Most people will be most interested at what happened down the other end, but Jamie Jackson held up an end with a fifty when Jason Keillher scored 149* off 112 balls. But that's not to say he can't attack, and a more prominent squad placing in the upcoming World T20 should give him a platform to showcase his talents - after all, he does have a 60-ball 100 to his name, against Liventia, coming in at 65-4 and taking his team to 336 to win.
BEN Keith MILSON - 23 - LHB - LM - Western Provinces
A classy, traditional limited-overs opener, excelling particularly in T20s, where his perhaps restrained stroke-play - a strike rate of just over 110 in T20s - comes as a welcome relief in this age of slashing and burning with the bat. Milson is small, just 5ft 6", with a wiry complexion that makes him look quite unlike a professional sportsman. In First Class cricket, he bats in the middle order, where he recorded 5 centuries last season, including a double on a particularly tricky TM Parker wicket against Southern Districts which emphasised his class, particularly against the seaming ball.
One of CricketWeek's 'School Players of the Year' back in 2010, Milson has promised big things from the moment he first played on the national stage, for Western Provinces U13s back in 2005. He advanced through the age-group cricket in Albion, captaining the regional junior sides from U15 to U21 and advancing to the main regional side, debuting at Ford Park aged just 19, where he made a pair of fifties, and has looked at home ever since. His first class average remains a solid 44, and in limited-overs cricket he shone as one of the province's stars during a particularly dour season for the Tigers, scoring 600 runs with 3 centuries in the One Day competition, and was rewarded with a place in the National Set Up. He opened with Chris Laughlin in the 6th T20 World Cup, and he did struggle, although he improved as the competition continued and recorded a 50 in the knock-out stages. Another T20 World Cup appearance this year will be key to whether he survive in a Wray shirt.
JACKSON William Oliver COLT - 33 - RHB - SLA - Northern Districts
Jackson Colt bats like batting is his job. Well, technically it's part of his job, but the calm and measured way Colt goes around setting up an innings. Once he is set, he is very difficult to dismiss, as his game is founded on a rock-solid defensive technique, and attacking strokes come as an afterthought almost. Yet he has managed to carve himself a niche role within the Wray T20 line-up. He has one of three Test 200s for Wray, along with Glenn Mitchell (200*) and Simon Sterne (213), when he scored a bizarre 201 vs Liventia when the second highest score was just 56. He replaced Mark Hudson in the side, and instantly cemented himself as one of the senior players in the Wray Test line-up. Along with that 201, he's scored 6 centuries for Wray, and 8 50s, and can always be relied upon to score runs in tricky situations, such is his technique. He has some of the smoothest shots when playing through the arc, driving either side of the bowler, but is also proficient at the pull and hook stroke. He is one of the quickest between the wickets, which adds to his skill as a T20 batsman. In the shortest form of the game, he plays a developed anchorman role, coming in at number 3, often very early in the game, and will score a 50 at a 110 strike rate, allowing the other batsmen further down the order to play more expressively. He plays very conventional strokes in T20 games, sort of playing an accelerated Test Match. Colt rarely goes aerial with his shots, and trusts his technique to allow him to score the requisite runs to survive in T20 games.
Colt came to professional cricket rather late, he already had a job as grocer when he was signed on a One Day contract by Northern Districts at the age of 25. He still worked on days he wasn't training, but after an injury to a middle order player, he made his debut in a fixture against Eastern Territories at the Kernani Events Centre Oval in Crystal Springs, where he scored 7*. He played six more games that season and made two centuries, including one, albeit in a losing cause, in the final. From there it was onwards and upwards. He opted not to keep selling fruit in the market in his home town of Meltarh - some 750km from Crystal Springs - and signed a full contract with the Club, and soon became a stalwart in all formats of the game, known across the game for his astute defence and high-elbowed drives. He's got a couple more seasons of Test cricket in him yet, and with the right fitness regime, could play for several years at the highest level, and create an impressive international record.
ADAM Alistair MACKIE - 22 - LHB - LM - Western Provinces
A left-handed batsman of grace and skill, Mackie is one of the young talents to emerge from Western Provinces in recent years. Ford Park, Western Territories' home ground, often creates fluid batsmen, none more prominent than Simon Sterne, as the flat nature of the surface gives batsmen plenty of time to refine their craft. Whilst his First Class exploits might not match up to that of Simon Sterne of that same age, it is in T20 cricket where he has made his mark.
While playing for the Albion Greyspears, he was the highest run-scorer in the GrandSlam T20 last season. In 16 games in the competition, he scored 572 runs, including two centuries, one of which was off just 58 balls in the semi-finals. This bombastic performance earned him GrandSlam Player of Tournament, which got him P50,000 and reprieve in the World Championship squad. His batting prowess comes from an ability to hit all round the wicket - as Jackson Storm will attest when he paddled him first over fine-leg and then drove him inside out over extra cover for two sixes in two balls in the semi-final. In 50 over cricket, he bats as a lower-order pinch hitter, which has brought him mixed results. There are plenty of 70* (50), but also too many cheap dismissals, and as such, he hasn't seen much of an advancement in his role in the 50 over game. He could easily forego List A cricket and make his name as a globe-trotting T20 freelancer and make obscene amounts of money - he is young enough and talented enough, but this also has another side, where he would believe that he has time and talent to succeed in all levels of the game.
ED John Marius MCCAUGHEY - 30 - RHB - OS - Central Districts
One of the two players to have played all 32 tests for Wray, from the first test vs Uitbregen to the most recent against GOram. In these 32 matches, he has acted as a key pillar in Wray's advance to the top of the tree in Test cricket. His stoic batting and watchful eyes means that Wray always has a chance to build a solid platform from which to post a commanding total. With the addition of Jackson Colt, the pair have formed one of the safest opening partnerships in Test cricket. Despite this strong resolve, he has a relatively poor conversion rate in Test cricket, with just 3 test centuries, and 14 half centuries. He'll need to improve his conversion rate if he is to be considered a great player.
A powerful driver off both the front foot and the back foot, McCaughey made his career as a very technically correct batsman, who has received minimal coaching from the time he first picked up a cricket bat. His parents moved to Uitbregen when he was 11 and he played school cricket whilst in the Uitbregeni education system, but returned back to his country of birth aged 17 and entered apprentice work in the financial sector, where he was also signed on to play club cricket for Hayne CC. His prolific run-scoring (as well as lively fast-medium bowling, although this has now died away) meant he was spotted by Central Districts talent scouts and offered a contract. He slogged away in Domestic cricket for close to ten years before receiving a call-up to the maiden test squad, and hasn't looked back since.
McCaughey also features in the slip cordon, where his chirp is a constant presence from second slip. With good hands and surprising agility that belies his rather sizeable frame, he is a sure thing in the slip cordon, as well as in the outfield during limited overs games.
JASON Marshall Alexander KEILLHER - 31 - RHB - RF - Northern Districts
The X-Factor, the Big Show, a one man cricket team packed into a 230lb, 6ft 4" frame. Jason Keillher is a freight train in every sense of the word. Watching him pound in off a 30 yard run-up, ball hidden behind his hand, is one of the more terrifying sights in world cricket, and a 93mph bouncer whizzing past your grill isn't much better.
Wray's premier all-rounder, has been for it's entire test playing career and will probably go on for another 40 test matches. He's so good that he's managed to keep out most all-rounders from the Wray side: he first disposed of Ashton Macallister, and is working on removing Jonathan Perry. Jason was crafted on the rugby pitches of Cartersburg's hard-as-nails school rugby team, where he was an indomitable number 8, as a 6ft 3" colossus of sporting prowess. Cricket came naturally to a young Jason, which he first picked up as a casual activity in the summer months when he wasn't on the track. Being a natural sportsman, he could immediately pick up the bat or ball and perform, and he did so, filling in for an injured player in a house match. He picked up the bat and slashed away 40 runs in double-quick time. From there it was only up. Captained the 1st XI at the well-known sporting college St Lawrence's College a year young, whilst being handed a contract by Central Districts. He made his First Class debut aged 18, playing as a bowler, being granted permission to miss a day of school to play over the long-weekend. He took four wickets in his first innings, combining rapid pace with booming outswing. He became a stalwart of the Central District sides for several years, until a fall-out with the upper management over pay, and he moved north to play for Northern Districts, where he became a free-wheeling all-rounder, batting at 6, slaying bowling attacks round the country. His first season at Northern Districts he scored 900 runs, whilst not the most runs, he struck them at a strike rate of 95, as well as 39 wickets. He scored 1000 runs twice in a season twice in a row in 2008 and 2009, and was a no-brainer pick for the all-rounder's slot in the Wray national team.
Since his selection, he's played 32 matches and scored 1999 runs, averaging 37, which isn't bad for an all-rounder batting at number 6. He's recorded 12 fifties, and scored 3 hundreds, with a high-score of 146, which he scored off just 148 balls against Gruenberg, with 25 fours and two massive sixes. That was the kind of innings he was capable of producing, and what makes him so vital in the Test team. He's also taken 42 wickets with rapid heavy-ball bowling. But it's not only Test matches where he's held his own, he's been a hero in limited overs cricket. Cricket fans in Wray are split down the middle, roughly, between those who think his 33-ball 80 or his 112-ball 149* is the better innings. Honestly, they're both phenomenal knocks, and adds to his credentials as a world class all-rounder. Gruenberg seems to be the team he plays the best against, taking to their array of slow bowlers with aplomb.
Keillher is always the first to stand up to for his mates and for his country, and subsequently often lands himself in a bit of trouble with opposition players, fans and umpires. Almost every time the Wray team is in Liventia, Keillher will gob off to a fan in the airport, a waiter at a restaurant, a Liventian fast bowler at the top of his mark, and an umpire whose given him out. Combative doesn't cover the half of it. Keillher, provided he doesn't have a spectacular fall from grace, should go down, when he eventually does retire, which we can't see happening easily, as a great of the game.
SHANE Flynn BENTLEY - 20 - RHB - RMF - South-Western Territories*
Shane looks more like one of the sun-weathered 20-something lay-abouts who inhabit the wide sandy beaches of South-Western Wray than a professional cricketer, but it is this laid-back appearance and similar approach which makes him such a hit with the fans. On the sun-drenched University Oval in Albion, you can spy Shane fielding at deep midwicket, the only patch of pitch shaded by trees, wearing a large non-regulation dark blue sun hat. His floppy blonde hair obscures his eyes partly and he chirps nonsensically to anyone in particular. After games, he can always be found outside the pavilion enjoying a beer with anyone who will share one. Whilst he does play hard, and to the best of his ability, he appears to not always take the game entirely seriously.
As a cricketer, he is a handy mixture between languid seam-up fast-medium bowler and heavy-hitting lower-order batsman. Whilst his bowling is significantly better than his batting, which is often erratic and poorly judged, it has proved very useful to his domestic side in recent times, when twice in successive One Day games he saved them with unbeaten knocks at over-100 strike rates. His bowling, ranging in from the mid-seventies to the mid-eighties, is tough to play on the tacky pitches of the University Oval, and he can swing the ball both ways, as well as a ball that seams. He comes into his own as a T20 bowler, when he puts cut on the ball and delivers both slower balls and bouncers. In fact, his slower ball bouncer is one of the trickiest to pick up, and to play. Batsmen around the country had admitted that Bentley's variety makes him one of the harder bowlers to face on the domestic circuit. He was a crucial parts of the Albion Greyspears' T20 campaign last year, when they made the Semi Finals, topping the club's wicket-taking charts with 15 strikes. This performance has led to his selection for the national squad for the World T20 championships, which no doubt he will enjoy immensely, and take no more seriously.
ASHTON Jayden Flynn LIVINGSTONE-LEARMOTH - 27 - RHB - OS - South-Eastern Territories
Born into the elite Livingstone-Learmoth family, former Uitbregeni gentry who moved to Wray in the 1920s and changed their name (to something rather ridiculous), where they continued their hobnobbing, despite having zero entitlement to anything, rather relying on the vast cash reserves compiled by generation after generation of financial giants. The family has moved on somewhat, they're involved in telecommunications and technology firms, and are very much part of the fabric, albeit the rather posh fabric, of Cartersburg and Wray.
Ashton is the youngest sibling of four in this particular generation: one is a lawyer, one a financial adviser, one an actress, and Ashton is a professional cricketer. He bowls rapid off-spin, sometimes almost medium pace, bowled low and flat and quick at the stumps. He states that he used to give the ball more flight, but used to get smashed out of the park in club and 2nd XI cricket so he adjusted it, making it harder for batsmen to get under him and hit him away in the air. Obviously, without being able to impart as much flight on the ball, he can't spin it as much, but he's developed way to seam the ball, almost like a pace bowler, and allow it to turn whilst not effecting his flight. For South-Eastern territories, he plays alongside an other spinner the turning deck of the TM Parker Bayside Stadium, and has garnered significant success there. In 23 First Class matches, he has taken 88 wickets.
As a batsman, he is a middle order player capable of rapid knocks, but also of knuckling down in the most extreme sense of the word - when his team is four down for less than a hundred, he records a strike rate of just 22. He has a very technically correct forward-defensive stroke, and is adept at stealing singles just when the pressure is rising. In T20s, he cuts loose a little bit, and is more aggressive. He uses his feet against the spinners, and is particularly strong on the leg-side, favouring the pull and the slog-sweep.
KIERAN Thomas JOHANOWICZ - 22 - RHB - LS/OS - Central Districts
Kieran Johanowicz and his coaches might be taking us all for a ride. Central Districts spin bowling coach Buttler O'Kane says that no-one in the Central District nets can pick this young spinner. Johanowicz emerged out of the club scene in much the same way. Playing for his club Rosewood CC in the Cartersburg Premier League, he took an unbelievable haul of wickets, and in the Cup Final, which is watched by close to two thousand people, he took a further 4 wickets, leaving batsmen from Pillawal CC floundering against his variety of off-spinners, leg-spinners, top-spinners and knuckle-balls, all supposedly delivered without a visible change in grip.
Central Districts clearly through he was legit, and signed him right up. He was frankly poor in his first-class debut, as professional players were able to ride the variation and he went wicketless whilst bowling too many loose balls. He was dropped promptly and Central Districts looked rather silly. But he was bought by the Cartersburg Jets in the GrandSlam T20, a last round pick for the franchise. He then went on to be a star of the competition, performing well amongst an otherwise poorly performing franchise. He took 12 wickets at an economy of just over 5. With time and overs against batsmen, it became more difficult to pick his variations and he achieved more success. He attended a WCB spin-bowling camp over the winter, where he impressed coaches, and received a call-up to the T20 WC squad later on.
ASHTON Mitchell Alan MACALLISTER - 28 - RHB - RMF - Central Districts
Originally a Test number five, Macallister long-form batting has declined significantly to a point where, when he does play for Central Districts, he does so as a bowling all-rounder. If you remember that long ago, Macallister played 16 tests for Wray, averaging just 31, and recording a single century, 132 not out vs Chelta - but even then, he was dismissed first ball in the second innings. Whilst there is no doubt he is a talented batsman, he is simply not consistent enough for the top level of the game. Whilst he was capable of strong innings, he just too often plays rash strokes and in Test cricket, you couldn't afford that. On the bowling front, whilst he bowled economically, he took only 14 wickets.
He has managed to cling on in the Test squad, but selection seems a long, long way off, but he still has a presence in the ODI and T20I squads, where he serves a purpose as a restrictive, experienced bowler who can tie down an end whilst bowlers at the other end strike. He bowls fast-medium, but can bowl as slowly as 65mph, and can seam it both ways, which always makes him useful, but lacks the direct wicket-taking penetration that a T20 bowler requires. As a batsman, when in form, he is a very capable back-foot player, with supple wrists which allows him to work the spinners well whilst remaining vigilant against the quick men. He has good awareness of where his off-stump is, and it is normally an ill-advised shot, like an aerial drive or a swipe across the line, which leads to his downfall.
HAYDEN John SLEATH - 23 - LHB - N/A - South-Western Territories
Originally, it seemed like Hayden would have to wait forever in the shadows caused by Julian Stacey, it appears his time has time has come rather early. Stacey has not lived up to all expectations, with just 3 test centuries, albeit with some attractive and fluent strokes. Whilst Stacey keeps the gloves in Test matches, Sleath has taken them in limited-overs cricket, his youth and fitness allowing him to keep and bat more freely than Stacey. Stacey tutored Sleath whilst he was a junior player at Western Provinces, and Sleath said that Stacey was an inspiration for him both keeping and batting, and that he used to watch the great keeper, some 11 years his senior.
As a keeper, he is lightning quick against the spinners, on both sides of the wicket, and is particularly known for his takes down the leg side, and his acrobatic displays when keeping against seamers. Once such time can be recalled when Sleath did a full cartwheel, taking the ball then rotating 360 degrees and standing again, much to the delight of the crowd. He is rapid on stumpings, which makes him a favourite with spinners, and has been known to stand up to some of the fastest bowlers on the domestic circuit, which means batsmen aren't able to leave the crease to play strokes. He does this in T20s a lot, which allows his team to greatly restrict the opposition's run-scoring ability. As a batsman, he functions as a typical wicket-keeper batsman should do whilst batting at number 7. He plays with a direct approach to run-scoring: look to put bat on ball for as many balls as possible and score as many runs as possible whilst not risking his wicket. He mirrors his mentor Stacey in his lopsided batting style, almost cramped over his bat, but he unfurls at the last second to play shots. This style means he is good square either side of the wicket, particularly in short-armed pulls or late cuts. He specialises in batting with the tail, an expert in keeping the strike but still keeping the score rate high. Sleath will eventually take over the gloves in Test cricket, and will have a long and fruitful career for the Green Caps.
JULIAN Stephen STACEY - 34 - RHB - N/A - Western Provinces
The legend that never quite was. Looking at his first class record, it's difficult to believe that he didn't fully make it at test level. Over 300 games, 15500 runs, 39 centuries, 500 dismissals, Stacey should have bee nailed down as a great of the game, but for some reason he couldn't quite graduate his skill onto the test level. Whilst an average of 36.5 for someone batting seven is by no means poor, in fact, it's pretty good. But when you see Stacey's first class average of 53, batting in the same position, it is a mite disappointing.
He has three test centuries to his name, one of which, against Chelta, is considered one of Wray's finest test innings, when he scored 112 off just 89 balls, scoring 8 fours and 4 sixes in a brutal knock which almost single-handedly won Wray a test match. His quick striking has many times put Wray in winning positions many times, but he hasn't converted these into big scores for himself: some people would say that he puts the team first and that's why he hasn't recorded better figures, but he would be the first to admit that he should have scored more runs than his 1,718 runs. He probably has two more years of test cricket in him, whereupon he will retire and probably head into coaching.
His glove-work has been patchy - in some matches he has been fantastic, taking every edge and barely leaking a bye, but in others he has fumbled chances, conceded byes and not really looked the pre-packaged legend he was supposed to be. His first-class keeping is fantastic, but that might have something to do with having to keeping to the hoards of fast-medium bowlers who bowl to him at Ford Park. When he only keeps against Jackson Storm, Blake Matthews and Shane Aguando, he is bound to make mistakes, and unfortunately he does so. But when you're keeping against 96mph outswingers, rapid bouncers and mystery wrist-spin, you have to be world class.
His batting is as idiosyncratic as it is exuberant. With a hunched batting style, he bats regularly without a helmet, and whilst many batsmen see batting as a fine, precise art, Stacey merely sees it as a means to an end - 'I bet because I need to score runs' so I don't care how. It's not unusual to see him enter the crease and charge out first ball and slap it over extra-cover. His shots are rarely beautiful, but are pragmatic and are always worth full-value. His innings are full of edges, mishits and plays-and-misses, but when he does connect, there is no more savage striker of the ball in Wray cricket.
JACKSON Sian STORM - 30 - RHB - RF - Western Provinces
The best fast bowler in the world. Probably. 109 test wickets. Stalking at the top of his mark, the ball in his right-hand whilst he quietly flexes his left hand like a psychopath. He then tosses himself a few catches and mumbles something to himself. He starts off slowly, a few slow steps before he breaks into a full sprint. He tears in past the umpire and delivers the ball. He then celebrates the dismissal - perhaps he's knock the middle and off-stump out of the ground, or he's extracted some movement off the seam and it's taken the edge. This has happened 109 times. Well, 110 if you count the time he bowled a no-ball against Liventia.
Storm is a bowler of pure pace and power. He is not a big heavy-ball bowler like Keillher, and not a slingy bouncer-bowler like Blake Matthews, but just a out-and-out fast bowler. It's not clear where the 95mph+ pace comes from. He's not that big, and doesn't run in impossibly fast, but he can still deliver some of the fastest balls in world cricket. Sports scientists say it's a combination of run-up, wrist and body position and exertion at the point of release. One sports scientist say that his back should have disintegrated long ago, but yet he plays day in day out. Perhaps it's because he's a super human. Or he plays through complete agony. Either is equally cool. His pace and venom, and disregard for everything else, is best demonstrated by his bowling innings against Liventia back in GCF 5. It was Wray's first tour there, and they'd been smashed in the first test by an innings. They need some inspiration to bounce back. Storm took the new ball and delivered a probing opening 5 balls, including a fierce bouncer. Sixth ball, the third to Liventian captain Max Finney, was a 92mph inswinger which clattered his leg-stump. Storm then quickly, and brutally, mutilated the Liventian batting line-up. 8, 1, 6, 6, 2, 0. These were the scores of the Liventian middle and lower order when Storm was in full flight. He took 6-50, and along with Craig Bennett's 4-30, and Liventia were dismissed for 100. Storm bowled with such speed and brutality, that whilst he did concede a few runs, he still took wickets and rocked the Liventian line-up. During this tour, he was generally harangued by Liventian crowds, especially when he put his finger to his lips after taking a wicket, but he takes it all in his stride, although he came under fire during a game in the PJH ODI Tournament when he was involved in a fracas with Liventian spinner Aled Powys-Evans, not only giving Jonathan Adams a send-off, but doing it squarely in the face of Powys-Evans. The WCB neglected to punish him, which pissed off the LCBA no-end, which must have delighted Storm. He's no mug with the bat either, as Wray tail-enders tend not to be, with three test half centuries and is more than capable of holding up and end.
BLAKE Ryan MATTHEWS - 22 - LHB - LF - Central Districts
'What's the weather like up there?' Ha ha. Being 6ft 6" isn't easy, and Blake Matthews could tell you all about that. He was that tall when he was 16 as well, but it's never seemed to affect his cricket. Right from the beginning of his cricket playing days, he was feared throughout the land owing to his immense height, and subsequently steepling bounce and intimidating pace. At 16 he played for, and captained, Wray Schools against De Marer University, where he bounced out fully grown men with 80mph bumpers. He was educated at Governor's College, the famous cricketing alma mater of Simon Sterne. He became one of the youngest players contracted on a full-time basis at aged just 17, and he instantly delivered, taking a fifer on his first class debut against South-Western Territories. Whilst he didn't get the wicket of Glenn Mitchell, he had him dropped at slip and generally intimidated him with bouncers. Although Mitchell didn't know he'd be playing Test cricket with him, he called the young Matthews 'a good young kid' with 'a big future'.
He was right. For the first 9 test matches Wray played, the selectors preferred the subtle swing and nibble of Adam Corrie, but after he suffered a slight hamstring niggle, Matthews made his debut in the opening game of the tour of Liventia, in which Wray were slaughtered. He bowled tightly but failed to pick up a wicket. His second test wasn't much easier: Storm and Bennett removed Liventia for 100, but then he managed to sneak out three wickets in the second, which is good, except Liventia racked up a record 724/6d. He started really delivering during the home series against Chelta, and has since gone on to take 67 test wickets, with a best of 7-46 against Jeckland, where a four over spell with the new ball saw him fire out four Jeckish top order players with bounce and pace. In pre-season whilst in a warm-weather training camp with Central Districts, he strained a calf muscle, and his first serious cricket will be the World T20. His bowling coach at Central Districts says that he has re-worked his action so that the batsman sees the ball much later, and has even added a yard of pace. If this is true, and Matthews can push the 95mph boundary, he will be a truly terrifying prospect indeed. Perhaps he can even go on to rival his namesake Brendan Matthews (the quintuple-Olympic medalist) as the most decorated and celebrated sportsmen in Wray - age is on his side, just 22, and he's already a key member of the Test side. He can also bat, with two ODI half centuries, including a blistering but ultimately futile 80 vs Gruenberg, and a Test fifty.
SHANE Graeme AGUANDO - 25 - RHB - SLC - South-Western Territories
A humble yet indomitable spinner, Shane Aguando treats bowling like it's something that he just happens to be good at. Yet he's taken 100 test wickets. His game is simple. He stands a couple of yards short of the crease, gives the ball a rip back into his hands, and begins to stride in. It's just four or five steps, he turns his arm and bowls. Every ball he seems to change something - run-up, head position, arm position, foot position, it's as if he's fixing himself and advancing himself whilst he's playing. He has his stock delivery, which is a loopy chinaman delivery - bowled like an orthodox leg-spinner bowling with his left hand; it turns into a right-handed batsman. He also has the wrong-un, or googly, which is delivered with a subtle alteration of his wrist, and can turn a surprisingly long-way away from the right hander. There's also the flipper, which keeps low, and the top-spinner, which is a slower flipper, giving it more rip and letting it shot low. He can turn the ball on most pitches, but it's the top-spinner which is most effective on flat pitches.
Shane used to have the mystery element about him - the media dubbed him as a 'mystery spinner', although there is no such thing as long as you can face a guy enough, and that's what happened to Shane. When he first arrived in domestic cricket, about 6 years ago, he turned rings round opposition batsmen in his opening season, taking 55 wickets at 22. But after a season and an off-season, people started to be able to read him, and became more comfortable in playing him. But that didn't diminish Shane's quality and usefulness to his club. He stuck primarily to his stock delivery, working mainly on flight and guile, but also used his variations to maximum effect, which maintained his potency. He had a similar effect when he first came into Test cricket, aged 21, troubling Liventian, Cheltan and Gruenberger batsmen. Traditionally, outside of South-Eastern Territories where the TM Parker Bayside Stadium crumbles and turns, Wray doesn't produce many spinners other than rudimentary off-spinners, but Aguando is different. He was too unfit in his youth to be a fast bowler, which he said he wanted to be, and wasn't a talented enough batsman to make it there, so he worked endlessly in the nets to hone his skills as a spin bowler, happening to pick the most difficult of spinning arts, but he mastered it, and when you master it, you become a hot property. In the inaugural GPL, he was signed for 725,000 by the Sultans. Whilst on tour, he likes to joke around and enjoy himself, as any international cricketer should, and approaches some of the toughest scenarios in world sport with a cheery calm, and you can't help but think he's a really nice bloke. Which he is.
CHRISTIAN DAWSON-LANE - 22 - LHB - LMF - South-Eastern Territories
Christian, or CDL as he goes by, is a left-arm fast-medium bowler who specialises in keeping it tight. A loping, slow run-up followed by a stutter and a whipped action is followed by a ball tossed just back of a length, jagging slightly away from the batsman. When he bowls to left-handers, which is his favourite, he bowls over the wicket and plants the ball on a sixpence coin, extracting slight seam movement to take the edge. He can also bowl a slightly quicker ball, which he slings in to the feet of the batsmen to try and catch them off guard. When bowling to right handed batsmen, he either comes round the wicket and throws it into them, hoping to get bowleds or lbws, or bowl over the wicket and bowl it outside off-stump and hope for edges. In limited overs cricket, he is one of the most proficient yorker bowlers on the circuit, and that's how he got the call up initially to Wray's ODI squad. He performed well in Triangular and Pentangular series, and was drafted in to be the next bowler tried in that troublesome third seamer spot behind Matthews and Storm. He did well for himself, taking 49 wickets with a combination of accuracy and movement, but recently for the series against Patistan he was dropped as a result of poor form, and replaced with a younger model, the exciting Ben Monnier. He will look to get back into the Test side, although playing in the World T20 might not be the most ideal preparation and could leave early to play first class cricket. At South-Eastern Territories, he developed as a medium pacer who could extract considerable movement from the helpful surface and overhead conditions, but he had to work hard to gain pace when he discovered that his 65mph wobblers would be pummelled anywhere else.
NATHAN James GARDINER - 26 - RHB - OS - Eastern Territories
There's a certain place in any cricket fans' heart for a hard-working, unglamorous off-spinner, such as Nathan Gardiner. A strong jaw and stylish brown hair, as well as a robust 6ft 1" frame, makes him look more like a dashing middle-order batsman than an off-spinner, but Gardiner is proud of his art. As a finger-spinner, he relies more on flight, guile and line than outright turn, but Gardiner gets more than most, with a languid entry and a slow-turn of the arm. He gives the ball a good rip, and delivers with a high elbow, which allows him to generate unusually tall bounce for a spinner, which has caused problems for many batsmen. He first impressed in limited overs cricket for Eastern Territories, where he took the most wickets for a spinner in the competition, even out-doing Shane Aguando, and earning a call-up to the Wray squad. When Wray plays in Gruenberg and at the TM Parker, he plays as a second spinner in ODI cricket - he has yet to crack the Test nut, as Jonathan Perry, who is talented with the bat, gets in ahead of him. Behind Aguando, he is the number one limited-overs spinner in Wray, but might have to wait until Aguando injures himself or falls drastically out of form before he gets to put on the whites.
DEAN Richmond Rupert GEORGE - 25 - RHB - RFM - South-Eastern Territories
Short, feisty and built like a brick-s***house. Just 5ft 7", Dean is amongst the shorter cohort of fast bowlers, and relies on the mass of his body to generate pace. He has struggled with injuries in the past, at 19 he suffered a stress fracture, the killer for young fast bowlers, which put him out for a season, and at 23 he pulled a hamstring muscle which made him miss half a season. But George is not one to be defeated, and he has come back stronger each time, eventually becoming a Wray player in the PJH ODI Series. He pissed off selectors when he followed Glenn Mitchell to play first class cricket in Liventia, despite the wishes of the board, but coach Tom Werren said he was too good not to be selected for Wray, and served as fast-bowling back-up for GCF 6. He was unfortunate not to make his debut at the end of the season, as the selectors preferred the left-arm of Ben Monnier - perhaps it was a subtle retribution act for his rebellion earlier on. It remains to be seen whether his size will affect his career. He is, bluntly put, not built to be a fast bowler. There is too much pressure on his knees when he comes in to bowl, too much mass above the knees, which means he will be more prone to injury in this area, and will have to be managed very carefully by Wray's medical staff if he is to succeed in international cricket, especially Test cricket, which he does have the skills to succeed in.
*Any resemblance to any Real Life Australia all-rounders is purely coincidental
Posted:
Wed Aug 26, 2015 3:38 pm
by Liventia
Hello all and welcome to our live ball-by-ball coverage of this opening game in Group E of the World Twenty20 Championship from the Cyclonesville Stadium. Hosts Liventia are taking on newcomers Democractic India.
The news from the toss is that Democractic India have won the toss and elected to bat first. Liventia captain Matt Geach says he would've batted first as well to attempt to get a large target on the board for net run rate purposes.
Unfortunately Democractic India haven't given us an official lineup today so although 11 of their players will take the field, we don't know their names.
The Liventia lineup is as follows: Hennessey, Finney, Kerr, Ashworth, Goudreau, Lewis, Watting, Jonsson, D Quinn, Geach, Adams.
Over 1
Here we go then. Jonathan Adams, left-arm fast bowler, has the new ball.
0.1 JPK Adams to Bat1, no run. Defended back to the bowler.
0.2 JPK Adams to Bat1, 1 run. Flicked to backward square leg where the fielder comes around to field it but they've taken the first run.
0.3 JPK Adams to Bat2, 92 mph, WICKET. Golden duck for the second opener. Adams runs in, clocked on the speed gun at 92 mph, a deadly yorker which the batsman tries to get his bat down onto but misses. The appeal goes up and the umpire agrees. Bat2 lbw b Adams 0 (1), Democractic India 1/1
0.4 JPK Adams to Bat3, 1 leg bye. Batsman shapes to play this, misses with the bat. An appeal goes up but it looks like it's going down the leg side. They've taken one.
0.5 JPK Adams to Bat1, no run. Outside off, no shot offered.
0.6 JPK Adams to Bat1, 1 wide, WICKET. This is down the leg side and it goes past Goudreau. The batsmen hesitate before deciding to attempt the single, but the throw comes back in and Batsman 3 hasn't made his ground. Bat3 run out (Goudreau) 0 (1), Democractic India 3/2
0.6 JPK Adams to Bat4, FOUR. Poor ball from Adams to finish the first over. Short ball that doesn't quite bounce and it's at a comfortable height for the new batsman to pull for four.
End of over 1: Democractic India 7/2 (Bat 1 1, Bat4 4, JPK Adams 1-0-6-1)
Over 2
Here's a surprise. Captain Geach normally leads the attack but he's given the ball to Daniel Quinn. Some spin then.
1.1 DM Quinn to Bat1, WICKET. Bamboozles the left-handed batsman with one that goes on. He was playing for the turn, there was almost none, and off stump is pegged back. The collapse continues. Bat1 b Quinn 1 (4), Democractic India 7/3
1.2 DM Quinn to Bat5, 2 runs. Played past square leg and they run two.
1.3 DM Quinn to Bat5, 1 run. Out past a vacant mid-on and they take just the single.
1.4 DM Quinn to Bat4, no run. Blocked back to the bowler.
1.5 DM Quinn to Bat4, SIX. The faster ball from the spinner but the batsman picks it and uses the pace on it to send this beyond the rope.
1.6 DM Quinn to Bat4, no run. Good response from the bowler as he fires in another arm ball but the batsman has picked that and defended it forward.
End of over 2: Democractic India 16/3 (Bat4 10, Bat5 3, DM Quinn 1-0-9-1)
Over 3
Adams to continue from the Cathedral End.
2.1 JPK Adams to Bat5, 90 mph, no run.
2.2 JPK Adams to Bat5, no run. Good bowling from Adams, asking questions of the batsmen. They're keeping his yorkers out.
2.3 JPK Adams to Bat5, 4 byes. Wow! This one keeps low outside off, beats the batsman and beats Goudreau as well. It's rolled all the way for four byes.
2.4 JPK Adams to Bat5, no run.
2.5 JPK Adams to Bat5, WICKET, the collapse continues. Not even three overs in and Democractic India are all at sea against one of the world's best sides. Adams finds a thin edge through to the keeper and the umpire agrees with the appeal. Bat5 c †Goudreau b Adams 3 (7), Democractic India 20/4
2.6 JPK Adams to Bat6, no run. What an over! A wicket maiden.
End of over 3: Democractic India 20/4 (Bat4 10, Bat6 0, JPK Adams 2-1-6-2)
Over 4
Captain Geach's experiment with Quinn lasts just one over. No real surprise, it hasn't really turned for Quinn. The skipper is bringing himself on.
3.1 MC Geach to Bat4, 90 mph, 1 run. Good ball first up, swinging away, but the batsman plays this nicely past the fielder at extra cover.
3.2 MC Geach to Bat6, 1 run. Taps this along the ground. Stopped in the infield but they've scampered a quick single.
3.3 MC Geach to Bat4, no run. Inswinger this time and blocked forward.
3.4 MC Geach to Bat4, no run. Massive appeal for lbw on another inswinger, the umpire has a think but doesn't give it. Hit him above the knee-roll and was going over.
3.5 MC Geach to Bat4, no run. Inside edge onto the pads.
3.6 MC Geach to Bat4, 1 run. Tucked off his hips to the fielder square but the throw is wayward and they run one overthrow. The captain isn't happy but that's a solid first over.
End of over 4: Democractic India 23/4 (Bat4 12, Bat6 1, MC Geach 1-0-3-0)
Over 5
Adams to continue - it looks like Geach is relying on his opening bowling partner to deliver the goods here.
4.1 JPK Adams to Bat4, 95 mph, no run. The fastest delivery of the night so far and this is dug out by the number four batsman, who's looked the most composed of all the Democractic Indian players so far.
4.2 JPK Adams to Bat4, FOUR. This is loose from Adams and dispatched to the boundary. Poor ball.
4.3 JPK Adams to Bat4, no run. Better from Adams, slower ball out of the back of the hand and nearly beats the batsman for a lack of pace. Just about gets bat on it to defend.
4.4 JPK Adams to Bat4, 1 leg bye. This comes off the batsman's thigh and just squirts past Goudreau, who's had a tough time behind the stumps so far. They take the single.
4.5 JPK Adams to Bat6, no run, DROPPED. Chipped to the fielder at mid-on, it's a simple catch but the normally ever-reliable Ollie Kerr has shelled it. Adams doesn't look pleased.
4.6 JPK Adams to Bat6, no run. Defended to mid-off. Suspect Adams will be given a rest here.
End of over 5: Democractic India 28/4 (Bat4 16, Bat6 1, JPK Adams 3-1-10-2)
Over 6
Geach to finish the powerplay overs. Democractic India have survived two overs without losing a wicket now.
5.1 MC Geach to Bat4, 1 run. Beats the fielder close in and mopped up by a retreating mid on.
5.2 MC Geach to Bat6, WICKET. Outswinger, the batsman tries to heave it over the covers but mistimes his shot and it's taken well by Duncan Lewis. Bat6 c Lewis b Geach 1 (5), Democractic India 29/5
5.3 MC Geach to Bat7, WICKET. Oh, hello. What a peach of a delivery. Looks like it's doing nothing, a nasty surprise for the new batsman with late inswing and it takes the top of off stump. What a ball! Bat7 b Geach 0 (1), Democractic India 29/6
Hat-trick ball to come.
5.4 MC Geach to Bat8, WICKET. He's done it! The skipper has a hat-trick and Democractic India are all at sea barely five overs in! This one is banged in short, the new batsman has gone for the pull but he's mistimed it and only finds midwicket. Bat8 c Quinn b Geach 0 (1), Democractic India 29/7
5.5 MC Geach to Bat9, no run. Played out beyond the infield but they've turned down the single. Looks like the number four is going to hog the strike from here, but surely they need every run they can get?
5.6 MC Geach to Bat9, no run. Risky business leaving a ball from Geach but this outswinger is harmless in the end.
That's the end of the powerplay. End of over 6: Democractic India 29/7 (Bat4 17, Bat9 0, MC Geach 2-0-4-3)
Over 7
Change in bowling... Daniel Quinn back on. Geach is keeping the pressure on with an attacking field, though - only an extra man pushed outside the ring.
6.1 DM Quinn to Bat4, 2 runs. Punched through the field. Man on the sweep cuts it off for two.
6.2 DM Quinn to Bat4, 3 runs, 1 no ball. Slipped out of the hand, this is beamer height. Called a no-ball. Slapped and going down towards long-off. They'll come back for three here.
6.2 (free hit) DM Quinn to Bat9, no run. Canny bowling, the carrom ball, goes through the stumps but the batsman survives as it's a free hit.
6.3 DM Quinn to Bat9, 1 run. They take a quick single to deep point and the throw is late back in.
6.4 DM Quinn to Bat4, FOUR, can't see how Quinn gets another over here. The pitch isn't turning, this is picked easily and thrashed through for four.
6.5 DM Quinn to Bat4, no run. Defended forward.
6.6 DM Quinn to Bat4, 1 run. Goes out past the infield and they take a single to keep the number four batsman on strike.
End of over 7: Democractic India 41/7 (Bat4 27, Bat9 1, DM Quinn 2-0-21-1)
Over 8
Oliver Kerr into the attack. Can Liventia finish this off quickly? They'll fancy chasing any two-digit total in under 10 overs, surely.
7.1 OH Kerr to Bat4, no run.
7.2 OH Kerr to Bat4, 1 run. Looking for two here but it's cut off well and they have to settle for just the one. Not ideal for Democractic India.
7.3 OH Kerr to Bat9, no run.
7.4 OH Kerr to Bat9, no run, CHANCE. Gentle outswinger catches the edge but it's past Goudreau and gets to first slip on the bounce.
7.5 OH Kerr to Bat9, no run.
7.6 OH Kerr to Bat9, WICKET. Bizarre dismissal. A bouncer, the batsman ducks underneath it but misjudges his footing and the bails have come off. Bat9 hit wicket b Kerr 1 (8), Democractic India 42/8
End of over 8: Democractic India 42/8 (Bat4 28, Bat10 0, OH Kerr 1-0-1-1)
Over 9
The off-spinner didn't have much luck but will the leggie get any turn? Duncan Lewis into the attack.
8.1 DM Lewis to Bat4, FOUR. We'll call this one a loosener. To the left-handed batsman, well outside off stump, almost near the guide line, yet the batsman gets enough on that to hoik it for a boundary.
8.2 DM Lewis to Bat4, no run. Googly employed with great effectiveness.
8.3 DM Lewis to Bat4, 2 runs. Regulation leg-break turning away from the lefty, well judged and cut away to the man at deep extra cover.
8.4 DM Lewis to Bat4, no run.
8.5 DM Lewis to Bat4, 1 run. They take the single so the number ten to face one ball.
8.6 DM Lewis to Bat10, no run.
End of over 9: Democractic India 49/8 (Bat4 35, Bat10 0, DM Lewis 1-0-7-0)
Over 10
Kerr to continue after his impressive first over. This innings isn't long for this world.
9.1 OH Kerr to Bat4, SIX. Slower ball, pitched on a good length, but the batsman has seen this all the way and hoiks it into the leg side over the rope for six.
9.2 OH Kerr to Bat4, no run. Good response. Seams off a length as it pitches and beats the bat.
9.3 OH Kerr to Bat4, no run.
9.4 OH Kerr to Bat4, 2 runs. Cover drive stopped on the boundary.
9.5 OH Kerr to Bat4, 1 run. Driven to mid-on where it's fumbled and they take a quick single.
9.6 OH Kerr to Bat10, no run.
End of over 10: Democractic India 58/8 (Bat4 44, Bat10 0, OH Kerr 1-0-10-1)
Over 11
The captain is back into the attack.
10.1 MC Geach to Bat4, no run. Slow yorker, dug out.
10.2 MC Geach to Bat4, 2 runs. Edged past first slip and picked up at deep third man. They've come back for two. Four away from a well-made 50, if he can get there. He's carried his team today.
10.3 MC Geach to Bat4, no run.
10.4 MC Geach to Bat4, 1 run. Oh that was close, an appeal goes up for lbw but the umpire rules he's got bat on that first. Squirts past short leg for a single.
10.5 MC Geach to Bat10, WICKET. Almost there now! One wicket left for the hosts. Geach bowls the number 10 with a perfect inswinger. Bat10 b Geach 0 (3), Democractic India 61/9
10.6 MC Geach to Bat11, no run. Outside off stump and safely through to Goudreau.
End of over 11: Democractic India 61/9 (Bat4 47, Bat11 0, MC Geach 3-0-7-4)
Over 12
Jonathan Adams returns for what will be his final over. Bat4 is on the verge of fifty.
11.1 JPK Adams to Bat4, 93 mph, no run. Scorchingly quick! But a well judged chop at it to the fielder.
11.2 JPK Adams to Bat4, 2 runs. Over the bowler's head and picked up at long on.
11.3 JPK Adams to Bat4, no run.
11.4 JPK Adams to Bat4, 2 runs, there's the fifty! What an innings against arguably the world's best attack. 39 balls it took him.
11.5 JPK Adams to Bat4, 1 run, dropped at deep third man as they run one through.
11.6 JPK Adams to Bat11, no run.
End of over 12: Democractic India 66/9 (Bat4 52, Bat11 0, JPK Adams 4-1-15-2)
Over 13
Adams has bowled out and Geach will continue for his final over.
12.1 MC Geach to Bat4, WICKET, that's it, the innings is over and Geach has a five-wicket haul for only seven runs. Looks to go big but finds long-on. Bat4 c Jonsson b Geach 52 (41), Democractic India 66 all out
So that's it, Liventia will have the small target of 67 to chase. Join us shortly for the chase.
Liventia chase:
DA Hennessey 38 not out (30b)
MA Finney 13 (15b)
OH Kerr 15 not out (13b)
Extras 3 (2wd, 1lb)