GCF World Test Challenge season 9 [RP/Squad lists/Scores]

by **Apox** » Fri Jul 13, 2018 3:30 am

GCF Test no. 626
Match Report: Apox in The Kiaser Colonies (1 of 2)
The Kiaser Colonies bat first
The Kiaser Colonies 500/4d (160.2 overs)
Apox 268 (86.2 overs), follow-on 545/9 (154.4 overs)
Drawn

Apox Bowling 1st Innings
Name                   O   M   R   W  Econ
Roy Hamilton-Randall 28.0  5  91   0  3.25
Rachel Gallegos      31.2  6  79   2  2.52
Tara Kakketa         28.0  5  95   1  3.39
Anyi Metrophanes     40.0  8 116   1  2.90
Organa Arrowsmith    25.0  6  82   0  3.28
Trajan Muldoney       8.0  0  37   0  4.63

Apox Batting 1st Innings
Name                 How Out                   R   B  4/6  SR
Jeff Zanzala         lbw Unknown              25  60  3/0  41.67
Jan Dickson          c Unknown b Unknown      17  29  2/0  58.62
Trajan Muldoney *    c Unknown b Unknown      30  78  4/0  38.46
Nancy Washington     lbw Unknown              73 115 10/0  63.48
Oberon Jessop        b Unknown                46  92  5/0  50.00
Organa Arrowsmith    c Unknown b Unknown       7  15  0/0  46.67
Ezra Girard †        run out                  19  34  2/0  55.88
Anyi Metrophanes     b Unknown                 4  13  0/0  30.77
Rachel Gallegos      c Unknown b Unknown       8  26  0/0  30.77
Tara Kakketa                                  21  39  1/1  53.85
Roy Hamilton-Randall c Unknown b Unknown       7  17  0/0  41.18
EXTRAS           1 wide, 1 nb, 7 byes, 2 lb   11
TOTAL                                        268

FOW
30  for 1 (Dickson)
58  for 2 (Zanzala)
104 for 3 (Muldoney)
189 for 4 (Jessop)
203 for 5 (Arrowsmith)
214 for 6 (Washington)
222 for 7 (Metrophanes)
237 for 8 (Gallegos)
246 for 9 (Girard)
268 all out (H-R)

Apox Batting 2nd Innings
Name                 How Out                   R   B  4/6  SR
Jeff Zanzala         c Unknown b Unknown      68 118  7/0  57.63
Jan Dickson          c Unknown b Unknown      39  78  4/0  50.00
Trajan Muldoney *    lbw Unknown               9  26  0/0  34.62
Nancy Washington     c & b Unknown            62  88 11/1  70.45
Oberon Jessop        b Unknown                58  97  9/0  59.79
Organa Arrowsmith    c Unknown b Unknown     142 255 15/1  55.69
Ezra Girard †        c Unknown b Unknown      36  70  4/0  51.43
Anyi Metrophanes     b Unknown                 9  13  2/0  69.23
Rachel Gallegos      NOT OUT                  66 117  7/1  56.41
Tara Kakketa         c Unknown b Unknown      23  37  3/0  62.16
Roy Hamilton-Randall NOT OUT                  11  29  1/0  37.93
EXTRAS          3 wides, 2 nb, 10 byes, 7 lb  22
TOTAL                                        545

FOW
70  for 1 (Dickson)
90  for 2 (Muldoney)
163 for 3 (Zanzala)
206 for 4 (Washington)
291 for 5 (Jessop)
371 for 6 (Girard)
399 for 7 (Metrophanes)
453 for 8 (Arrowsmith)
505 for 9 (Kakketa)

by **Ko-oren** » Fri Jul 13, 2018 4:20 am

Test draw in second match at Darmen; Ko-oren lose sight of Test Championship match

Second match at Darmen
The Ko-orenite squad is done in Darmen, and will leave with a loss and a draw. The second match went much more according to our hopes and dreams than the first one, and left Darmen with a very chaseable number in the second innings (Ko-oren batted first) - but the bowlers couldn't take wickets quick enough. In the end, Darmen's second innings ended some 50 runs short of Ko-oren's total. Overall, the Ko-orenites still couldn't get set for long innings (first innings was 87 overs, the second was almost 81) and the Darmeni were almost impossible to get out (first innings lasted 188 overs, the second lasted 86 as time ran out with only 5 wickets taken). The long but low-scoring Darmeni first innings eventually cost Darmen the match: with more time, they would have easily taken the lead - and thus the win - on day 5. Though wickets were hard to come by, that is an amazing result for the Ko-orenite bowlers to finish the first innings with just 430 runs from 188 overs. In comparison: other innings that lasted 135+ overs on round 8 of the championship: Mattijana (518 all out in 142 overs), Ethane (7 for 496, declared after 163 overs), the Kiaser Colonies (4 for 500, declared after 160 overs), Apox (9 for 545, declared after 154 overs), and Liventia (6 for 472, declared after 145 overs). The 430 allowed by the Green-and-blue bowlers pales in comparison - and that is a very, very good thing. Is it me, or have there been a lot of long and high-scoring innings this round? There have been declared innings in every other match - Barunia in Liventia even had two such innings.

First Innings
Player       Out                       R   B   4  6 SR
--------------------------------------------------------
Stevenson    b Milford c McAlister     38  64  4  - 59,38
Baldry       b Rosenfield c Armbruster 24  52  2  - 46,15
yRheighewn   lbw Rosenfield            57  109 4  2 52,29
Doyle        b Myers c Ready           54  114 6  - 47,37
Treadway     b Rosenfield              28  48  2  - 58,33
Meredith(WK) b Myers c Acker           19  36  2  - 52,78
yMharwn      lbw Dickenson             30  60  4  - 50,00
Chesterman   lbw Rosenfield            0   4   -  - 00,00
Marsden*     Not out                   15  25  2  - 60,00
Black        b Seeger                  2   4   -  - 50,00
Harvey       b Milford c Armbruster    2   7   -  - 28,57
Extras: 5 B, 8 LB, 9 W, 12 NB, 0 P (34 total)
Ko-oren 303 (87.1 overs)

Player     O    R   W
---------------------
Harvey     38   82  2
Black      36   74  1
Marsden    34.5 74  4
Chesterman 37   93  1
yMharwn    20   56  1
Treadway   23   51  1
Darmen 430 (188.5 overs)

Second Innings
Player      Out                        R   B   4  6 SR
---------------------------------------------------------
Stevenson    b McAlister c Winter      21  40  1  - 52,50
Baldry       b Rosenfield c Armbruster 58  102 4  3 56,86
yRheighewn   lbw Seeger                0   3   -  - 00,00
Doyle        b Myers                   52  93  6  1 55,91
Treadway     b Myers c Milford         50  85  3  1 58,82
Meredith(WK) b McAlister c Armbruster  26  35  3  - 74,29
yMharwn*     Not out                   56  68  3  2 82,35
Chesterman   b Dickenson               12  17  2  - 70,59
Marsden      b Dickenson               8   11  1  - 72,73
Black        lbw Milford               11  16  2  - 68,75
Harvey       lbw McAlister             8   15  1  - 53,33
Extras: 3 B, 12 LB, 2 W, 12 NB, 0 P (29 total)
Ko-oren 331 (80.5 overs)

Player     O   R  W
-------------------
Harvey     15  24 1
Black      18  34 0
Marsden    20  31 2
Chesterman 17  32 1
yMharwn    9   21 1
Treadway   7   17 0
159/5 (86.5 overs)

It was mostly business as usual in the first innings. In the Darmeni first innings, the bowlers did a fantastic job limiting runs, but failed to pick up wickets - though in the end, every single bowler took at least one, with Marsden having a field day taking four. The second innings saw four players reaching the 50s, all with extremely high strike rates - the scoreboard finally suffered from a Ko-orenite innings instead of a Darmeni one. yRheighewn had an unlucky break, but apart from him, every player had an innings favourable to their career run average and strike rate. The final Darmeni innings saw a solid outing by the bowlers, but not something too memorable.

With this result, Darmen have had a first-innings lead in seven of their eight matches, best among all Test cricket teams. The Dragonflies have been unable to break this ruthless streak, and with no big push in either of the second innings, it is fitting that Ko-oren come away with no wins out of this series.

Return from Darmen
The overhauled team has returned from Darmen with a loss and a draw. The loss has been evaluated and discussed enough in the media so far, as a particularly bad outing for this new team, but the draw is a very welcome result and nothing to be ashamed of. Wicketkeeper Meredith had this to say: "We have all known that this would be the real test for us this season. Darmen is always an opponent with a special quality when they play us, so to take them to day five and getting the draw is a good result. I'm more than ready to face the Plough Islands, to see what our team is worth when facing another debut nation. Personally, I'm happy with my performance, even been able to help my batting statistics. The first innings for the first match was just a sub-par showing, and I feel like I let myself and my team down there". Captain Marsden had similar words, speaking in terms of 'we' and 'us' and stressing the value of the experience gained: "It has been a lot of 'firsts' throughout the season. First time I haven't played for West Surbourneshire all season, many of us haven't been working together before the test season. Every single match we're learning and figuring things out, the experience has been extremely valuable and we will be stronger again facing the Plough Islands". With these results, Ko-oren have finally been overtaken in the overall season's Test Championship standings, and they are now fifth in the standings, behind Mattijana, Liventia, Ethane, and Darmen. With an average number of points that is over 10, the season can definitely still be called a huge success thus far.

It could be just that the opposition were a fantastic team, but just judging from the Ko-orenite performance, it seems that a few things are to be addressed. Firstly is not being able to draw out long innings (every Ko-orenite batting innings lasted between 70 and 87 overs), secondly it's having a very hard time getting wickets (Darmen's first batting innings lasting 110+ overs each time). Should that not be a problem against the Plough Islands, we should be in for a few good results at least. Even neutral fans might look forward to it, as Ko-oren's bowling just left us feel frustrated at times: often getting pressure, but never getting the wicket. As soon as pressure dropped, Darmen started churning out runs and kept the scoreboard turning.

Preparing for the Plough Islands
In the final four slots of the Test Championship season, Ko-oren will return home for the longest series so far: four matches against the Plough Islands. Our opponents have also just ventured into the world of international Test cricket, and have been modereately succesful. In four matches, they have won once, lost once, and drawn the other two. As Associate Members, they have played six eligible matches and are third in the overall (multi-season) standings, where Ko-oren curiously still sits in last of the Associates.

The team does not change for the Plough Islands series, but could change in between matches. Stevenson and Baldry remain the openers, followed by yRheighewn, Doyle, before going to Treadway, Meredith and yMharwn, then leading into the bowlers: Chesterman, Marsden, Black and Harvey.

Venue list for 4-match Plough Islands series
First test: Greencaster (Ground mod -2)

Second test: Llandy (Ground mod +1)

Third test: Ansonville (Ground mod +2)

Fourth test: Willowbourne (Ground mod 0)

by **Barunia** » Fri Jul 13, 2018 10:20 am

David Noble and Zane Adams are being hailed as heroes, after the numbers 9 and 11 dug Barunia out of a hole to avoid the following and force Liventia to waste another day batting in what would ultimately be a draw.
Liventia won the toss and elected to bat, Ollie Kerr happy to bat on another flat road at Park Central Oval, despite the ground staff's predictions for something different. The Liventians then immediately started into the Barunian attack, Quinn and Finch sending Monroe and Johnson to all parts of the ground. When Quinn departed, a successful review showing the ball brushing the inside edge on its way to Price's glove, Hennessey continued the onslaught. Quinn was the only wicket before lunch, and Barunia didn't look hopeful of getting another before the next break, especially after Dyson dropped a sitter at deep cover. But some fielding magic from Lewis saw the back of Hennessey, the debutant running Hennessey out with a lightning-fast gather and throw.

It's possible that Finch might have been more nervous at dinner, being on 92 over the break, but he needn't have worried, although he did spend two overs on 99 before finally cutting Adams for four to bring up his century. Then it was all Liventia, although the Barunian spinners did manage to slow the run rate down, as Liventia finished the day 312 runs up, having lost just two wickets.

Day Two started better for Barunia, with Heath Monroe trapping Finch in the 10th over of the day, to end an excellent knock, before Johnson sent Goudreau packing for 1 the next over, edging a high ball to Carter at second slip. That brought the Liventian captain to the crease, who dug in with Edwards to push Liventia towards 400, with Edwards becoming the second Liventian to pass 100 in the innings. He fell late in the day, courtesy of a special outfield catch by Cooper off the bowling of Adams. Brad Kerr came in as the night-watchman to see out the day. He helped drag out the Liventian score past 450 on the morning of day 3, but soon after he was castled by Johnson. At the end of the first session, Kerr decided that 472 was enough, and sent the Barunians in to bat.

It was clear from the outset that this was not going to be Barunia's day. Carter edged the third ball of the day to slips to be on her way for a golden duck, before Waterman was struck high on the helmet by a Johnathon Adams bouncer, and play had to be stopped while he was checked out for concussion. Price and Waterman then got down to the business of chipping in to the massive Liventian total, but couldn't get far. Waterman fell cheaply, as did Price, and when Castlemere and Dyson all fell with the score only just over 100, Barunia were in serious trouble. Debutant Albert Lewis dug in with Heath Monroe to get the Barunians towards a decent total, but when Lewis departed and Cooper went for a duck, it looked certain that the Barunians could be forced to bat again. enter David Noble, who held his nerve to push the score past 250, and held on even after a horrifying mix up saw Monroe run-out. Johnson made four before he was back in the sheds, and Barunia were down to their last wicket, with 20 runs needed just to avoid the follow on. Adams survived the first over, and Noble took up the mantle, taking the lion's share of the strike as the pair fought a desperate rearguard action. Noble farmed the strike, protecting his partner, and becoming the highest scorer for Barunia in the innings. Adams also chipped in with a few boundaries as well as singles, as his own score began to climb up the rankings. In the end, the pair put on 40 runs for the final partnership, before Adams was trapped lbw, and the Liventians were back on the field.

It took the Liventians only 63 overs to get to a run shy of 250, something it had taken the Barunians over a hundred to do. But despite a quick declaration, they'd used up to much time, and the Barunians were happy to sit out the draw, surving with only both openers and Castlemere back in the sheds. Under the tough circumstances, the Barunians will be happy with the draw, but will be looking for answers when they go into the third and final test with the series on the line.

by **The Plough Islands** » Fri Jul 13, 2018 1:00 pm

on the 10th July 2018, the Plough Islands Gazette wrote:
PREVIEW: FOXES SET FOR FIRST FLIGHT ABROAD
by Denis Wormwood, Sporting Correspondent, in Sutton

The Plough Islands embark today on their first overseas tour as a Test nation, travelling to the Halcyon Archipelago of Ko-oren for a four-Test series starting next week. Captain Kevin Laing's team will face rather different conditions than they are used to, with large areas of Ko-oren enjoying a subtropical climate high in both temperature and humidity; while this will be a challenge for the Foxes, the conditions could prove beneficial for Naomi Salisbury and Matthew Davy's spin if they can weather the climate, and the mood among the players is understood to be upbeat following a credible draw in the most recent Test against Liventia.
There are two changes to the squad from the home Tests; 29-year-old wicketkeeper Leanne Martin - who recently returned to Harrison Cup action for Bradford after a period of illness - replaces the retiring Paul Donaghy, and Swift's Daryl Westbrook has been called up, the 31-year-old opener replacing Nigel Hunter who has chosen not to travel. The other notable absentee is head coach Richard Peake, who is not accompanying the team or selectors to Ko-oren after what is understood by this author to be a falling out within the Plough Islands Cricket Association; South African-born bowling coach Lourens Hendricks will act in his absence. Speaking at December Park yesterday, Hendricks said "my focus is on working with the guys and having a positive relationship with them so we can make the best decisions. It might be me with the overriding power but it's the players who go out there and play for all of us and they are the experts on what the match situation is like so I'll definitely be taking input from them on everything, including selection."
The Green and Blue, as Ko-oren are known, affiliated to the Global Cricket Federation at the same time as the Foxes, and enjoyed a strong series win against Tobiasia before a quick tour of Darmen preceding our visit. As former 20-over world champions, they have a reputation for quick scoring, setting the stage for an interesting series should Audrey Leggett and Graeme Holt continue their recent domestic and international form. The first Test will be played in the metropolis of Greencaster on the 15th of July - a city into which the entire population of the Plough Islands could fit into many times over - before the series takes in the rest of the country, with the second Test at the historic yBherafon Hills ground in Llandy being a particular highlight. Plough Islanders will be able to follow the series on Plough Radio and in these pages.

on the 13th July 2018, the Plough Islands Gazette wrote:
WHITTALL RETURNS FOR FIRST TEST IN KO-OREN
by Ian Goswell, Chief Cricket Correspondent for Plough Radio, in Greencaster

The Foxes have been boosted ahead of the first Test against Ko-oren in two days' time by the return of top-order batsman Angus Whittall following his recovery from an ankle injury sustained during the home series against Liventia. Whittall has travelled to Ko-oren with the rest of the squad but had been in some doubt as his recovery continued, but acting head coach Lourens Hendricks confirmed to this author that Whittall has been training as normal in the team's improvised facilities in the hotel gym.
Hendricks said Whittall has been "back to his old self, putting weight on his ankle and giving us all hell with his offies", while Whittall himself was unprepared to state anything officially but stated he was "not having any trouble and hoping I can contribute and help us all to a good team performance on Sunday". The mood ahead of the Test was already good - albeit with few pretensions given the strength of a Ko-oren team that have made an excellent debut on the international scene - but will have been further lifted with the latest news.
Speaking after training this morning, captain Kevin Laing reported that while no final decisions had been made about the team for the first Test, "we will be keeping the faith with the core group of players that have served us so well so far this season, we do not want to lose the team spirit and good feelings we have built. I include in that Daryl and Leanne too - everyone in the squad has been a part of this team.". Laing also said the welcome from both the Ko-orenites and the small band of travelling Foxes has been appreciated, "it has been a wonderful atmosphere with everybody relaxed and enjoying themselves and taking in the sights - the weather has been odd to adapt to but this is not bad for a change of scenery. I only wish the tour was longer so we could enjoy it more!"
It seems likely that - against an opponent on their own ground, but with a pitch at the huge Greencaster Oval likely to favour bowling - the Foxes will refrain from experimenting quite yet, with the team for Sunday's Test likely to be the one that won the historic victory over Lisander. However, it also seems likely that most, if not all, of the squad will be considered for a game at some point on the tour - Hendricks is understood to be keen to avoid burnout, and with a more varied selection of conditions than can be found at home, Daryl Westbrook's batting and Kenny Cunningham's tail-end ability may prove to be useful weapons to have in the Foxes' arsenal. It promises to be an excellent series, and this author for one sees no reason why it will not bring out the best in Laing's team.

PLOUGH ISLANDS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
XI FOR FIRST TEST AGAINST  KO-OREN

      PLAYER            BAT   BOW
G     Holt              LHB      
MG    Davy              RHB   RLB
SLC   Weaver            RHB   RLB
A     Whittall          RHB   ROB
KCT   Laing (c)         RHB   RMD
AC    Leggett           RHB   RLB
AA    Kalantas          LHB      
IT    Lebed (w)         LHB      
CG    McCarthy          RHB   RFM
A     Baxter            RHB   RFS
NA    Salisbury         LHB   SLA

by **NS Global Cricket Federation** » Mon Jul 16, 2018 1:23 pm

Matchday 9

GCF Test no. 628
Match Report: Mattijana in Tobiasia (3 of 3)
Tobiasia bat first
Tobiasia 495/6d (202.5 overs)
Mattijana 232 (64.5 overs), follow-on 287/7 (118.1 overs)
Drawn
Series result: Mattijana win 2–0 (1 drawn)

GCF Test no. 629
Match Report: Apox in The Kiaser Colonies (2 of 2)
Apox bat first
Apox 229 (66.4 overs), 358/8d (95.2 overs)
The Kiaser Colonies 235 (78.5 overs), 206 (60.3 overs)
The Kiaser Colonies lose by 146 runs
Series result: Apox win 1–0 (1 drawn)

GCF Test no. 630
Match Report: Barunia in Liventia (3 of 3)
Barunia bat first
Barunia 277 (113.5 overs), 252 (81.0 overs)
Liventia 252 (74.5 overs), 281/9 (84.3 overs)
Liventia win by 1 wicket
Series result: Liventia win 2–0 (1 drawn)

GCF Test no. 631
Match Report: The Plough Islands in Ko-oren (1 of 4)
Ko-oren bat first
Ko-oren 270 (79.2 overs), 257 (75.2 overs)
The Plough Islands 290 (131.1 overs), 208 (51.3 overs)
The Plough Islands lose by 29 runs

League standings

#  Team                 Pl  W  L  D  T  Ld  Lv  Pts  IW   Avg
 1 Ethane                7  4  0  3  0   4   0   95   1  14.6
 2 Liventia              9  4  0  5  0   5   0  109   1  13.1
 3 Mattijana             9  6  2  1  0   4   0  117   0  13.0
 4 Darmen                8  3  3  2  0   7   0   86   1  11.8
 5 Ko-oren               6  3  2  1  0   2   0   46   1  11.3
 6 Apox                  7  2  2  3  0   4   0   63   1  10.0
 7 Northwest Kalactin    5  2  2  1  0   3   0   49   0   9.8
 8 Eura                  7  2  2  3  0   3   0   59   1   9.4
 9 Tobiasia              8  2  4  2  0   3   0   54   0   6.8
10 The Plough Islands    5  1  2  2  0   2   0   34   0   6.8
11 The Kiaser Colonies   2  0  1  1  0   2   0   13   0   6.5
12 Barunia               6  1  4  1  0   3   0   33   0   5.5
13 Eastfield Lodge       3  1  2  0  0   0   0   16   0   5.3
14 Lisander              2  0  1  1  0   1   0    9   0   4.5
15 Elejamie		 3  0  3  0  0   1   0    4   0   1.3

Pl: Played;
W: Won (16 points); 
L: Lost (0 points);
D: Drawn (5 points);
T: Tied (9 points);
Ld: First-innings lead (4 points);
Lv: First-innings scores level (2 points);
Pts: Total points;
IW: Innings win/10-wicket win (1 bonus point);
Avg: Average points, calculated as (Pts/Pl)+IW

Only Full and Associate Members with 5+ matches played can qualify for the playoffs

Updated rankings

Full Members                       Score  Pts/MP   Adjusted
 1 Mattijana			 FM  130 (1566/12)  115.25
 2 Ethane			 FM  127 (1279/10)  113.95
 3 Liventia			 FM  126 (3414/27)  113.22
 4 Eura				 FM  114 (2408/21)  107.33
 5 Barunia		 	 FM  109 (2616/24)  104.50
 6 Eastfield Lodge		 FM  107 (2045/19)  103.82
 7 Apox				 FM  100 (2312/23)   97.26
 8 The Kiaser Colonies		 FM   88 (1064/12)   94.33
 9 Darmen			 FM   84 (1349/16)   92.16
10 Lisander			 FM   73 (883/12)    86.79
11 Tobiasia			 FM   67 (1289/19)   83.92

Associate Members
1 The Plough Islands		 AS   97 (585/6)    103.00
2 Elejamie			 AS   83 (417/5)     97.00
3 Ko-oren			 AS   63 (446/7)     87.00

Affiliate Members
1 Northwest Kalactin		 AF  104 (728/7)     97.00

Inactive Members
1 Sargossa			 IN/AS   87 (603/7)     98.00
2 Qasden			 IN/AS   55 (165/3)     83.00

Apologies for the delayed scorination. The remaining schedule is unaffected:
MD10: 18 July
MD11: 21 July
MD12: 24 July

by **Apox** » Tue Jul 17, 2018 2:15 am

GCF Test no. 629
Match Report: Apox in The Kiaser Colonies (2 of 2)
Apox bat first
Apox 229 (66.4 overs), 358/8d (95.2 overs)
The Kiaser Colonies 235 (78.5 overs), 206 (60.3 overs)
The Kiaser Colonies lose by 146 runs
Series result: Apox win 1–0 (1 drawn)

Apox Batting 1st Innings
Name                 How Out                   R   B  4/6  SR
Jeff Zanzala         c Unknown b Unknown       8  18  0/0  44.44
Jak Dickson          b Unknown                43  72  7/0  59.72
Trajan Muldoney *    lbw Unknown              13  34  1/0  38.24
Nancy Washington     c Unknown b Unknown      14  26  1/0  53.85
Oberon Jessop        lbw Unknown              57 136  7/0  41.91
Organa Arrowsmith    b Unknown                11  17  1/0  64.71
Ezra Girard †        lbw Unknown              44  71  5/1  61.97
Anyi Metrophanes     c Unknown b Unknown       7   9  1/0  77.78
Rachel Gallegos      NOT OUT                  12   8  1/1 150.00
Tara Kakketa         b Unknown                 6   6  1/0 100.00
Roy Hamilton-Randall c Unknown b Unknown       2   3  0/0  66.67
EXTRAS           2 wides, 1 nb, 6 byes, 3 lb  12
TOTAL                                        229

FOW
15  for 1 (Zanzala)
43  for 2 (Muldoney)
75  for 3 (Washington)
90  for 4 (Dickson)
116 for 5 (Arrowsmith)
185 for 6 (Jessop)
202 for 7 (Metrophanes)
211 for 8 (Girard)
224 for 9 (Kakketa)
229 all out (H-R)

Apox Bowling 1st Innings
Name                   O   M   R   W  Econ
Roy Hamilton-Randall 18.5  6  53   2  2.82
Rachel Gallegos      14.0  3  38   3  2.71
Tara Kakketa         16.0  4  50   1  3.13
Anyi Metrophanes     18.0  5  57   3  3.17
Organa Arrowsmith    12.0  2  37   1  3.08

Apox Batting 2nd Innings
Name                 How Out                   R   B  4/6  SR
Jeff Zanzala         c Unknown b Unknown      11  25  0/0  44.00
Jak Dickson          b Unknown                48  85  6/0  56.47
Trajan Muldoney *    c Unknown b Unknown      30  90  4/0  33.33
Nancy Washington     run out                  40  74  7/1  54.05
Oberon Jessop        lbw Unknown              27  52  3/0  51.92
Organa Arrowsmith    b Unknown                71 103 10/2  68.93
Ezra Girard †        c Unknown b Unknown      53  55  6/0  96.36
Anyi Metrophanes     NOT OUT                  30  44  5/0  68.18
Rachel Gallegos      b Unknown                 9  13  1/0  69.23
Tara Kakketa         NOT OUT                  22  31  2/0  70.97
Roy Hamilton-Randall
EXTRAS           4 wides, 2 nb, 6 byes, 3 lb  17
TOTAL                                        358

FOW
28  for 1 (Zanzala)
89  for 2 (Muldoney)
98  for 3 (Dickson)
159 for 4 (Jessop)
168 for 5 (Washington)
284 for 6 (Girard)
302 for 7 (Arrowsmith)
323 for 8 (Gallegos)

Apox Bowling 2nd Innings
Name                   O   M   R   W  Econ
Roy Hamilton-Randall 16.3  5  61   6  3.70
Rachel Gallegos      14.0  3  37   1  2.64
Tara Kakketa          8.0  2  26   1  3.25
Anyi Metrophanes     13.0  4  50   2  3.85
Organa Arrowsmith     9.0  2  32   0  3.56

by **The Plough Islands** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 12:45 pm

on the 16th July 2018, the Plough Islands Gazette wrote:
MARSDEN HAT-TRICK STUNS FOXES IN GREENCASTER TEST
by Denis Wormwood, Sporting Correspondent, in Greencaster

In their first Test on foreign soil, the Plough Islands performed very strongly but found themselves undone by a brilliant piece of fast bowling from Ko-orenite captain Herschel Marsden to snatch a likely victory away from them in Greencaster. Resuming on 119-2 overnight from day four, the Foxes were buoyed by their small band of travelling countrymen who formed a tiny pocket of green and amber close to the media area, and initially all signs were good as Shauna Weaver built on her overnight half-century, adding a quick 43 with the returning Angus Whittall for company.
With 39 overs gone and day five barely an hour old, Marsden resumed bowling from the Pavilion End, and with the second ball of his spell caught Weaver out, trapping her in front for 72. With Foxes captain Kevin Laing the next in, coming off a battling century in the first innings, this was at first sight just a bump in the road, but Marsden got a good length to creep under Laing's bat to bowl him first ball - and then the captain could only watch in horror as his right-hand woman Audrey Leggett misjudged the hat-trick ball and too was plumb in front. Although Adam Kalantas kept Marsden from making it four wickets from four balls, he came back the next over to induce an edge from Whittall to complete the task of ripping the heart out of the Plough Islands' batting, and from 156-2 the Foxes were reduced to 161-6, a position from which they ultimately never recovered. The damage was done, and only Kalantas and Colin McCarthy were able to offer much resistance as Seophyn yMharwn's seamers and Finley Black's left-arm spin made sure of the victory; the Plough Islands finished 29 runs short of victory on 208, with Marsden taking 4-43 and yMharwn 2-35.
This completed a reversal of fortune from the start of the game; with the ground packed for the first of four Tests in the series, Ko-oren had won the toss and proceeded to go about the game in something verging on 20-over fashion. On a slightly unpredictable wicket, veteran Monroe Baldry survived just four overs before succumbing to a slightly dubious lbw decision to the benefit of Andrew Baxter, but the rest of the Ko-orenite top order generally contributed strongly - Ezekiel Stevenson made 63, Llowcan yRheighewn a brisk 46 - and Laing was forced to reshuffle his bowlers to cope before a brief rain delay just after lunch changed matters; Naomi Salisbury and Leggett's spin became far more potent on a damp pitch and soon exposed the soft underbelly of the hosts' batting order. Between them, Salisbury, Leggett, and the off-breaks of Whittall accounted for most of the recognised batsmen in the Ko-oren side, although Matthew Davy - finishing ultimately with match figures of 1 for 108 - toiled for no great reward and seemed to have difficulty bottling the same magic. Herbert Doyle offered strong resistance as the spinners kept wickets ticking along, but the return of Baxter's pace and McCarthy's swing just before tea brought things to a close and he would ultimately be left stranded on 91, virtually carrying his bat since the rain had began and helping his side to 270 all out from two sessions.
When the Foxes came out, the pitch was behaving more sensibly again, and Davy was able to add 53 for the first wicket with Graeme Holt before the latter went too eagerly for a run and was caught out of his crease by Finley Meredith. Thereafter the Green and Blue were able to make inroads into the Foxes' top order, yMharwn trapping Weaver in front for five, to which Laing's response - leading a middle-order fightback - had been to slow the pace of the game down, turning what had hitherto been a lively almost ODI-esque affair into a tactical battle that ultimately consumed the rest of day two and most of day three. With support from Whittall (a steady 29) and later Leggett (an uncharacteristically reserved 45), Laing fended off the conditions and the pace attack of the Ko-orenites to reach a century early on day three, receiving the appreciation of the Greencaster Oval crowd before falling two balls later to an acrobatic Marsden return catch. Departing on 104, and with his side just two runs behind the Ko-orenite total, Laing had done enough to take the Foxes into a first-innings lead, but yMharwn (2-61) and Solomon Chesterman (2-56) increased the pressure, and the Plough Islander tail succumbed to 290.
With the pitch now starting to remind the tourists of home, Baxter turned up the heat on the Green and Blue right from the start of their second innings, his first ball being skimmed by a hapless Baldry to the waiting Laing. Once again, though, Stevenson and yRheighewn made strong contributions - adding over 100 for the second wicket - backed up by a quick 59 from Doyle, but just as quickly as the hosts scored runs, the pitch deteriorated and Baxter (4-48) and McCarthy (3-36) capitalised to stop most of the middle and lower order before they could really get going. Lachlan Harvey was drawn out of his ground by Baxter with an hour to go on day four, leaving Ilya Lebed to take off the bails and set the Foxes 238 to win from three-and-a-bit sessions - setting up today's drama, and ultimately heartbreak.
In spite of the result, Laing was magnanimous in defeat and full of praise for his team; "I could not have asked any more from us, we were excellent in the first innings, everyone contributed as much as they could, just...when something like that happens, what can you do? You need to face up and applaud what was a wonderful two overs - because of the catch on Angus - and piece of skill from Herschel Marsden that just changed the game in his team's favour." He did, however, add with his voice cracking slightly, "I...should have played a different shot, should have just played a defensive..." Coach Lourens Hendricks was equally stunned, and opined "I don't think we're missing any technical ability, what the guys need is mental resilience, as a team - some days we've coped well with the adversity, some days we haven't, and I guess this was one of those second types of days we need to have less and less of."
There were also concerns specifically over Kalantas, who made 7 and 17 and was far more sluggish than usual in the field; Hendricks confirmed to this author he had been suffering from a stomach bug and may be rested for the second Test in Llandy. That match promises to be another tight contest between what have proven to be two well-matched teams, but as the sun set over Greencaster, it was the Foxes who were left licking their wounds.

PLOUGH ISLANDS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
XI FOR SEC'D TEST AGAINST  KO-OREN

      PLAYER            BAT   BOW
G     Holt              LHB      
MG    Davy              RHB   RLB
SLC   Weaver            RHB   RLB
A     Whittall          RHB   ROB
KCT   Laing (c)         RHB   RMD
AC    Leggett           RHB   RLB
IT    Lebed (w)         LHB      
K     Cunningham        LHB   SLC
CG    McCarthy          RHB   RFM
A     Baxter            RHB   RFS
NA    Salisbury         LHB   SLA

by **NS Global Cricket Federation** » Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:19 pm

Matchday 10

GCF Test no. 632
Match Report: The Kiaser Colonies in Darmen (1 of 3)
Darmen bat first
Darmen 168 (107.2 overs), 232/6d (58.2 overs)
The Kiaser Colonies 46 (18.5 overs), 357/9 (129.3 overs)
The Kiaser Colonies win by 1 wicket

GCF Test no. 633
Match Report: Liventia in Mattijana (1 of 3)
Liventia bat first
Liventia 493/5d (148.4 overs), 307/6d (96.5 overs)
Mattijana 435 (135.0 overs), 54/1 (22.5 overs)
Drawn

GCF Test no. 634
Match Report: The Plough Islands in Ko-oren (2 of 4)
The Plough Islands bat first
The Plough Islands 557/6d (147.2 overs)
Ko-oren 162 (40.5 overs), follow-on 176 (51.1 overs)
The Plough Islands win by an innings and 219 runs

GCF Test no. 635
Match Report: Eastfield Lodge in Barunia (1 of 3)
Eastfield Lodge bat first
Eastfield Lodge 265 (114.2 overs), 434/3d (107.1 overs)
Barunia 206 (72.5 overs), 496/5 (103.3 overs)
Barunia win by 5 wickets

League standings

#  Team                 Pl  W  L  D  T  Ld  Lv  Pts  IW   Avg
 1 Ethane                7  4  0  3  0   4   0   95   1  14.6
 2 Liventia             10  4  0  6  0   6   0  118   1  12.8
 3 Mattijana            10  6  2  2  0   4   0  122   0  12.2
 4 Darmen                9  3  4  2  0   8   0   90   1  11.0
 5 Apox                  7  2  2  3  0   4   0   63   1  10.0
 = The Plough Islands    6  2  2  2  0   3   0   54   1  10.0
 7 Northwest Kalactin    5  2  2  1  0   3   0   49   0   9.8
 8 Ko-oren               7  3  3  1  0   2   0   61   1   9.7
 9 The Kiaser Colonies   3  1  1  1  0   2   0   29   0   9.7
10 Eura                  7  2  2  3  0   3   0   59   1   9.4
11 Barunia               7  2  4  1  0   3   0   49   0   7.0
12 Tobiasia              8  2  4  2  0   3   0   54   0   6.8
13 Eastfield Lodge       4  1  3  0  0   1   0   20   0   5.0
14 Lisander              2  0  1  1  0   1   0    9   0   4.5
15 Elejamie		 3  0  3  0  0   1   0    4   0   1.3

Pl: Played;
W: Won (16 points); 
L: Lost (0 points);
D: Drawn (5 points);
T: Tied (9 points);
Ld: First-innings lead (4 points);
Lv: First-innings scores level (2 points);
Pts: Total points;
IW: Innings win/10-wicket win (1 bonus point);
Avg: Average points, calculated as (Pts/Pl)+IW

Only Full and Associate Members with 5+ matches played can qualify for the playoffs

Rankings

Full Members                       Score  Pts/MP   Adjusted
 1 Mattijana			 FM  130 (1566/12)  115.25
 2 Ethane			 FM  127 (1279/10)  113.95
 3 Liventia			 FM  126 (3414/27)  113.22
 4 Eura				 FM  114 (2408/21)  107.33
 5 Barunia		 	 FM  109 (2616/24)  104.50
 6 Eastfield Lodge		 FM  107 (2045/19)  103.82
 7 Apox				 FM  100 (2312/23)   97.26
 8 The Kiaser Colonies		 FM   88 (1064/12)   94.33
 9 Darmen			 FM   84 (1349/16)   92.16
10 Lisander			 FM   73 (883/12)    86.79
11 Tobiasia			 FM   67 (1289/19)   83.92

Associate Members
1 The Plough Islands		 AS   97 (585/6)    103.00
2 Elejamie			 AS   83 (417/5)     97.00
3 Ko-oren			 AS   63 (446/7)     87.00

Affiliate Members
1 Northwest Kalactin		 AF  104 (728/7)     97.00

Inactive Members
1 Sargossa			 IN/AS   87 (603/7)     98.00
2 Qasden			 IN/AS   55 (165/3)     83.00

by **Ko-oren** » Thu Jul 19, 2018 2:23 am

Plough Ploughs on

All the bad habits of this team came back in the second match versus the Plough Islands. What could have been an even match between two debuting nations, turned into a very one-sided affair. Ko-oren was at the crease for 92 overs in total, the Plough Islands were there for 147 overs. The Dragonflies did this in two innings, the Plough Islands in just one.

It seems that as soon as the ground is tailored to bowlers, the team fails to function. This does not bode well for the third test, which will be played in Ansonville. That the match would favour batsmen was visible quickly, with the guests batting first - and recording 557 runs in just 147 overs. They also gave up just 6 wickets for that, and halfway through the second day they declared an end to the innings, something that couldn't come quickly enough for the Ko-orenites. Forced to chase a high total, and knowing that the ground would allow for it, Stevenson and Baldry opened. Their wickets quickly fell to an edge and what seemed a regular good delivery but took out Baldry's off-stump anyway. The sun came out in full force towards the end of day two, and yRheighewn and Doyle were thankful for it, combining for 75 runs. Eventually the spin bowlers decided to end it and got yRheighewn out. Doyle survived but eventually succumbed to Salisbury. Doyle outlasted Treadway and Meredith, both of which tried to go for runs over safety. On day three, yMharwn continued and lasted through the entire innings - which wouldn't go on for too long. That, and the wet conditions (several brief rain breaks were taken on day 3) were an end to the Ko-orenite ambitions.

The Plough Islands enforced a follow-on, given that they had only been bowling for 40 overs and had energy to spare. The start was allright, and looked like Ko-oren might try for a draw. yRheighewn played masterfully but his support failed. Baldry and Doyle were tough losses, and though Treadway made up for it, Meredith and yMharwn failed to be of any importance, leading to another tail-end collapse. Of Ko-oren's 176 runs, 102 came from yRheighewn and Treadway. 18 came from the openers, while Black and Harvey, at 10th and 11th in the order, had 22. Just an awful showing.

The Plough Islands have had a small resurgence in the standings with the innings win, while Ko-oren drop to 8th which means any playoff ambitions will have to wait for next year, unless two miracles happen in
Ansonville and Willowbourne. Both aren't the most bowler-friendly grounds, however.

First Innings
Player       Out                    R  B  4  6 SR
--------------------------------------------------------
Stevenson    b Baxter c Lebed       2  4  -  - 50,00
Baldry       b Baxter               5  6  1  - 83,33
yRheighewn   lbw Cunningham         34 54 4  1 62,96
Doyle        b Salisbury            45 96 6  1 46,86
Treadway     b Cunningham c Lebed   11 16 1  - 68,75
Meredith(WK) b Cunningham c Leggett 8  12 1  - 66,67
yMharwn*     Not Out                22 36 3  - 61,11
Chesterman   lbw Salisbury          4  2  1  - 200,00
Marsden      b McCarthy             7  11 1  - 63,64
Black        lbw Baxter             0  1  -  - 00,00
Harvey       b Davy c Lebed         6  7  1  - 85,71
Extras: 2 B, 5 LB, 5 W, 6 NB, 0 P (18 total)
Ko-oren 162 (40.5 overs)

Player     O    R   W
---------------------
Harvey     30   109 1
Black      32   95  0
Marsden    28   126 1
Chesterman 36   135 4
yMharwn    11.2 50  0
Treadway   10   42  0
The Plough Islands 557 (147.2 overs) - declared after 6 wickets

Second Innings
Player      Out                     R  B   4  6 SR
---------------------------------------------------------
Stevenson    lbw McCarthy           10 13  1  - 76,92
Baldry       b Cunningham c Lebed   8  19  1  - 42,11
yRheighewn   b Baxter               54 107 5  1 50,47
Doyle        lbw Cunningham         0  6   -  - 00,00
Treadway*    Not Out                48 82  8  - 58,54
Meredith(WK) b Salisbury c Whittall 4  3   1  - 133,33
yMharwn      b Salisbury c Lebed    0  4   -  - 00,00
Chesterman   lbw Davy               9  20  1  - 45,00
Marsden      b Baxter               0  4   -  - 00,00
Black        b McCarthy c Laing     14 30  2  - 46,67
Harvey       lbw Salisbury          8  19  1  - 42,11
Extras: 2 B, 8 LB, 4 W, 7 NB, 0 P (21 total)
Ko-oren 176 (51.5 overs)

Notes about the first test:

We would almost forget that Ko-oren did in fact win the first test. Stevenson was a great asset, scoring 63 runs in the first, and 42 runs in the second innings. Baldry, at the start of the season seen as Ko-oren's greatest bowler, has simply disappointed all season, going for 14 runs all match. yRheighewn shows that he loves playing the Plough Islands, and their spinning is no match for him. Doyle has gotten a 91 not out from the first innings and 59 runs from the second, so it is disappointing to see his performance in the second test. From there on out, every member of the team was resilient and scored runs in both innings. The batting was great, but the Plough Islands did not do much worse. Both teams were extremely evenly matched and the home advantage likely was the deciding factor. Marsden was the team's best bowler again with 7 wickets across both innings, and yMharwn had no problems being the more bowlery all-rounder with 4 wickets taken. Harvey struggled, giving up more runs than necessary in the first innings. Chesterman was likely the most efficient bowler, giving away minimal runs but still coming up with a few wickets.

Team for the third test match:
- Stevenson
- yFhireath
- yRheighewn
- Doyle
- Baldry
- Treadway
- Meredith
- yMharwn
- Hooligan
- Marsden
- Chesterman

For the third test, the Green-and-Blue sacrifice one bowler for a batsman. yFhireath makes a return as an opener, and there is room for both Doyle and Baldry next to yRheighewn. yMharwn, but especially Treadway, will be tasked with bowling more often to make up. Marsden and Chesterman retain their spots. Hooligan is given as a lefty, while the entire team will rely on pace more than spin. Black, Harvey and Raycraft are all taken off for now, which removes both left-handed spin bowlers. Additional changes are expected for the fourth test match. Out of the 16-man team, only replacement wicketkeeper yCherwean hasn't made an appearance yet.

by **The Plough Islands** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 12:30 am

on the 18th July 2018, the Plough Islands Gazette wrote:
FANTASTIC FOXES LEVEL SERIES IN LLANDY
by Denis Wormwood, Sporting Correspondent, in Llandy

After a tense, heartbreaking finish in Greencaster, the Plough Islands ended the second Test of their series in Ko-oren on far happier and far more relaxed terms, as Kevin Laing's team - buoyed by a huge total set in their first and only innings that the hosts never looked like chasing down - comfortably completed their victory on day four of the Test today underneath the mock-thatched roofs of the yBherafon Hills ground in Llandy. Following a delayed start, the match having been repeatedly paused for transient showers, Ko-oren resumed in a truncated morning session on 70-4 with Cyril Treadway and wicketkeeper Finley Meredith tasked with, essentially, damage control; however, they faced an inspired Naomi Salisbury, who finished with figures of 3-22, and she shut down any attempts at quick scoring from Treadway before removing Meredith and Seophyn yMharwn in the same over - the latter almost comically trying to hook a short ball over fine leg but only succeeding in launching it almost perfectly vertically, eventually coming down into the grateful gloves of Meredith's opposite number Ilya Lebed.
A late start turned into an early lunch and, by now having been bowling for two full innings, Laing was rotating his bowlers frequently to try and conserve everyone's energy while also frustrating any tactics the Green and Blue tail end may have had. The final hours of the match saw Salisbury, Matthew Davy, Andrew Baxter and Colin McCarthy all pick up wickets as the runs dried up and the abyss approached for Ko-oren; Treadway continued to offer resistance, and Finley Black (14) and Lachlan Harvey (8) fought bravely at the last as the visitors took advantage of the half hour extension to the session. But - with two minutes to go to tea - a tired Harvey was too slow to react to a Salisbury arm ball and was rapped on the knees, prompting a raise of the umpire's arm, confirming a win by a massive innings and 219 runs, and setting off Plough Islander celebrations that had been virtually in the making since the first session of the match, since Graeme Holt's record-breaking heroics.
The opening duo of Holt and Davy have been possibly the Foxes' most valuable partnership all season, and as the Plough Islands batted first, so it proved once more, with the pair contributing 97 for the first wicket on an inviting, expansive yBherafon Hills surface before Davy mistimed a slog to bring up his half century and chopped a Lachlan Harvey length onto his stumps. Undeterred, though, Holt continued - despite a tense hour after lunch on the first day when Solomon Chesterman picked up the wickets of Shauna Weaver and Angus Whittall via glove and shoulder respectively - and the Green and Blue resorted to frequent bowling changes to try and unseat him, to little effect. Holt's century came up well before tea, and with a steady partner in Laing (65), he made the most of the hosts' frustration by unleashing a flurry of boundaries after tea, treating pace and spin with about the same level of nonchalance.
Laing departed early on day two to his opposite number - Herschel Marsden failing to recapture the magic he'd found at the Greencaster Oval - but Audrey Leggett happily accompanied Holt in a renewed onslaught on the scoreboard, with first Holt's double century - the fifth of his first-class career - and then the partnership's half century being brought up in rapid succession as the run rate crept upwards. Chesterman - the only Ko-orenite bowler to come out of the monster innings with any real credit, taking 4-135 - finally removed Holt for an astonishing 229, as he sloughed a loose ball towards the third man boundary only to find Monroe Baldry instead. The damage, however, was done, with the Foxes sitting on a well above-par 440-5; with the hosts' bowlers and fans clearly growing weary, Leggett then took up the torch, plundering the tiring Ko-orenite attack and reaching her own century shortly after lunch. With the score well over 500, there was a sense of wanting to press home the psychological advantage, and after an entertaining almost run-a-ball 43 from Lebed, a brief rain delay shortly before tea provided the cue for Laing and Lourens Hendricks to declare the innings closed on 557 for 6.

Ian Goswell: Graeme, you got 180 yesterday; what do we think about today, how do you feel?
Graeme Holt: I feel good! Breakfast was good. The pitch looks good. I just think today will be good.
Ian Goswell: Just 'good'?
Graeme Holt: Well, I would not want to speculate beyond that. You never know what will happen - it is not as though I have a quota of runs or anything.
Ian Goswell: Is two hundred a possibility, do you think?
Graeme Holt: Something like that - could be more, could be a lot more...[laughs]
Pavilion Live interview, Plough Radio

Ko-oren started their innings desperately searching for an omen; Ezekiel Stevenson gloving Baxter to Lebed after four balls was probably not the one they were after, but it proved accurate for how the rest of the match would progress. The hosts were 9-2 after three overs, and the dark clouds that lurked around Llandy for most of the rest of the match seemed to have taken up residence in the Ko-oren dressing room; it was only a 75-run stand between Herbert Doyle and Llowcan yRheigewn during a rare patch of sunshine that prevented the innings descending immediately into oblivion. Making his Test debut in an extended Foxes tail that was ultimately never tested, Kenny Cunningham would have to rely on the ball to make an impact instead, and after Salisbury bowled Doyle through the gate for 45 the young left-arm wrist spinner tore through Ko-oren's middle order, taking 3-34 to leave the hosts wobbling before a combination of good tactical bowling and a sticky wicket from rainy spells early on day three reduced them to 162 all out, yMharwn providing the main resistance and finishing stranded on 22.
With the hosts needing 396, it took little time for Laing's team to enforce the follow-on, but Ko-oren had very little left to give or anything different to try and their second innings started similarly, losing both openers for less than 20 runs in total as McCarthy and Cunningham worked their magic on an increasingly favourable pitch. yRheigewn once again performed well, standing out by accumulating a steady half-century that included an unexpected Marilliering of Baxter for six, but suffered from a lack of support, and when Baxter came back to remove his bails for 54 it brought on an early close of play to draw out the hosts' nightmares even more.
After the game, Laing was understandably pleased at the turnaround from the first Test; "completely jubilant, I think this has been the best game of the season so far - Lisander at Foxdale was a historic match, but this I think has been better just from the manner of the victory, we were in control throughout and, well, Ko-oren are a tough team but we kept finding all the answers to their questions!". Laing credited his bowlers with keeping the Green and Blue in check throughout - "everybody was in agreement about having to rotate the attack a bit, but fortunately everyone was on form; it was good to see Kenny doing so well too, we know he can deliver domestically and he and Naomi really pulled through for us yesterday and today" - but the central character in the game had clearly been the "mercurial" Holt; "I think we just need to bottle whatever it is he drinks in the morning. Although knowing him and Audrey well, it was probably 'hair of the dog'..." The sides continue to Ansonville at the weekend, where the conditions will be similar, and this author understands that the team is likely to be unchanged - although, as Hendricks has warned, pending fitness tests - given the success of today. And it must be said, there can be no blaming the Foxes after a performance that has established them as a real force to be reckoned with in Test cricket.

PLOUGH ISLANDS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
XI FOR THIRD TEST AGAINST KO-OREN

      PLAYER            BAT   BOW
G     Holt              LHB      
MG    Davy              RHB   RLB
SLC   Weaver            RHB   RLB
A     Whittall          RHB   ROB
KCT   Laing (c)         RHB   RMD
AC    Leggett           RHB   RLB
IT    Lebed (w)         LHB      
K     Cunningham        LHB   SLC
CG    McCarthy          RHB   RFM
A     Baxter            RHB   RFS
NA    Salisbury         LHB   SLA

by **Mattijana** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 3:43 am

Mattijana Play Out Stale Draw In First Liventia Test

Jonas Agnitz-MFO Cricket Correspondant

Mattijana comfortably batted out a draw against Liventia on a flat pitch in Kranja in which both sides could only muster 11 wickets apiece over the five days play.
A thunderstorm that wiped out most of the afternoon and evening sessions on day 4 was the final nail in the coffin for the game ending with a result, but even if play had continued, Mattijana would probably still have batted out the 47 overs lost from the rain.
With the match grinding to a halt and another storm imminent, Mattias Kolmetzov and Liventia captain Ollie Kerr shook hands with Mattijana only one wicket down in a totally fruitless chase of 365.
Although it would be easy to point both fingers at the bowling attacks, the real disappointment was the pitch at the Stadijo Antaljana. Spin is usually the main weapon on the island of Antalja, but even turn was limited on the deck presented and both batting sides looked well on top. Add to that the high temperatures and being out in the field was turned into an even more tiring and frustrating task.
In that regard, the Mattijanan batting unit deserves a lot of credit for coming out and nearly matching the score of Liventia despite the intense scoreboard pressure and fatigue from over one and a half days in the field. Kerr received some criticisms for leaving the declaration as late as he did, but the likes of Ivaljo Radoslavjevic, Marko Zackov and then the power hitting of Laramazic, Illicic and Glukspiel justified the decision with an obdurate and then dominant batting display.

Despite conditions becoming a little more spin friendly for Liventia's second innings, the minefield that spectators were hoping for never materialised and with the only threat to the batters coming from the dark clouds drifting in off the sea to the west, Kerr once again declared at 6 down on the final day. The move was made more in hope than expectation of a Mattijanan collapse and one didn't materialise. The one Liventian wicket was claimed when Dominika Elana thrashed a James Kennedy delivery down the throat of long on, but Marko Zackov once again added stability to the lineup and with distant flashes of lightening getting closer, Kerr and the Mattijanan vice-captain shook hands on a match that completely failed to live up to the dramatic weather conditions around it.

Antalja is known for its flat and dry pitches, but there is almost always a healthy dose of turn for the spinners to tuck into. The pitch for this match offered nothing to either seam or spin and even failed to significantly deteriorate over the course of the match. Mattias Kolmetzov was left evidently frustrated after the game, saying that he'd rather have bowled on the A34, the main road linking the city of Kranja to the other end of the island. Indeed the many cracks, bumps and odd pothole would have by far provided a more responsive surface.

The good news for both sides and especially for their fans is that the next match will be held at the Stadijo Nasinal in Burges, a pitch that will almost certainly be greener and bouncier and one that should near enough guarantee a result.

Liventia, currently the third-ranked side in the world, will pose the toughest test of the season for Mattijana and after the first test was neutralised by the conditions, the second test will offer even more intrigue than it already did.
If Mattijana can win, they will guarantee their unbeaten series record across the whole season after winning successive series against Darmen, Barunia and Tobiasia. Liventia will however be equally keen to regain their place at the top of the test rankings and season's standings, where they sit a place above Mattijana in second.

Victory for either side would virtually guarantee their place in the semi-finals. Some would argue that Liventia's current unbeaten record in all tests ths season makes them favourites, but on home soil with a powerful seam attack, Mattijana are well-placed to be the team that ends that 10 game run.
More importantly, the next match should offer so much more for fans of test cricket.

Second Test Against Liventia-Stadijo Nasinal

-3 ground modifier

The Stadijo Nasinal is Mattijana's largest multi-purpose stadium with a capacity of 80,000 and is usually used for association football and hockey. However with the domestic football season over and world cup qualifiers not due to begin to shortly, cricket is once again able to take place at the venue.
The city of Burges, situated in the centre-north of Mattijana, is significantly damper, cooler and cloudier than the south and generally favours seam and swing bowling. Batting is more challenging than most other venues in the country and playing the moving ball is an essential skill for building a big score at the stadium.

Third test against Liventia-Stadijo Kolmetzov

+1 ground modifier

(As described in roster)

by **Darmen** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 7:39 am

Darmen blows 354 run lead
6 fielding mishaps and botched run-out opportunity to blame

Once again, the Darmeni national cricket team put in a fantastic performance in the first innings of the opening test match against the Kiaser Colonies (the Darmeni team has had the lead following the first innings in eight of its nine matches so far). While the Darmeni batting was disapointing, only 168 runs from 107.2 overs (1.57 run rate), the Darmeni bowlers and fielders combined to limit the Kiaser Colonies to just 46 runs from 18.5 overs in an exquisite performance. If only this were a T20 match.

The Darmeni batsmen improved their performances in the second innings, captain Gwynn Milford's half century in 16 balls leaving the Darmeni's highly confident of victory. With 354 runs and only a day and a half remaining, Milford decided to declare, and the Darmeni bowlers were called upon to repeat their performance from the first innings.

And for the most part, they did. Kieran Rosenfeld took two wickets within the first ten overs of the innings, both dismissals being lbw. The seven other dismissals in the match were also bowled out or lbw's. But Darmen's second line of defense, the fielders, inexplicably fell apart.

With the Kiaser Colonies sitting at 56/2 after 16.4 overs, Ellar Ready dropped an easy catch at cover point. The very next ball, fielding at deep extra cover, Normand Seeger let one slip through his fingers. Both dropped catches allowed the Kiaserian partnership to continue, and the partnership pushed the Kiaser Colonies' total to 104/3 before Seeger made up for his mistake by taking the third wicket. With the close of innings on the fourth day, Darmeni confidence remained high, Milford promising to use the overnight rest to regroup and come back stronger to finish off the match and claim the victory.

The very first ball on the fifth day however proved otherwise, as Sigmund Winter threw to the wrong end of the pitch after becoming turned around while fielding in the slips, missing an easy chance for a run-out as the Kiaserian runner on the other end was well short of the popping crease. Just six overs later, Ellar Ready dropped his second catch of the match. The Kiaser Colonies were starting to gain confidence, being only 200 runs short with plenty of time and wickets remaining.

Two more dropped catches prior to tea time brought the Darmeni total to five, while the Kiaser Colonies found itself short of its target by just 70 runs as the two teams headed into the final session. With two wickets remaining, chances were still pretty good that Darmen would come away with the victory, but Milford was clearly disgusted by his team's fielding performance.

The Darmeni bowlers tried as hard as they could to keep the opponents from reaching the target necessary to win the match, but with twenty minutes remaining before the close of play, the Kiaser Colonies were sitting on 353/9. Darmen needed a wicket for victory, the Kiaser Colonies two runs. Theudofrid Milligan, fielding at long on, was served an absolute treat by the Kiaserian batsman, a high arching ball traveling straight towards Milligan was a fantastic opportunity for an easy catch, the final wicket, and a victory worth twenty points in the league standings. However, instead of catching the ball as any fielder worth their salt would have done, Milligan let the ball go through his hands, straight into his face. The ball, carrying enough momentum to continue traveling towards the boundary rope, did so, giving the Kiaser Colonies four runs and the victory. Blood poured from Milligan's face as be picked the ball up and returned it to the middle in anger; his nose was broken, as well as his pride.

Darmen must turn things around in the second and third tests of the series, with qualification to the World Test Championship at stake. Darmen must make sure it does not fall below fifth place Apox (10.0 average) in the standings, and must also hope that the Plough Islands (level with Apox in the standings) falters in its remaining two matches against Ko-oren. The only other opponent which could prevent Darmen from advancing to the Semifinals is indeed the Kiaser Colonies, who are in ninth with an average of 9.7 points.

As Milford faces criticism once again for his questionable decision to declare an innings closed early, he has decided to replace the injured Milligan in the starting XI with Ionathan Odell for the remainder of the current series. The second match will proceed in Brady City, play beginning at 11am on Tuesday. The pitch is expected to be a treat for the batsmen.

ISideWith UK · by **Eastfield Lodge** » Fri Jul 20, 2018 9:02 am

Test team for Tour of Barunia

Batsmen

Name                    Age M/F  Order   Batting   Club             Notes
Abdul Majeed Samsurov   24   M   1-3     Left      Norrion
Maia Accardi            31   F   1-3     Right     Mount Salt City
Darcelle Uncel          21   F   3-6     Right     Westpass
Wajdi Leblanc           27   M   2-5     Right     Micronia         Vice-Captain
Muneeb Fears            29   M   3-6     Left      Benopia
Kemina Clay             27   F   1-4     Right     Marepacopolis
Farida Akhtar           27   F   2-6     Right     Ashkaren

Bowlers

Name              Age  M/F  Bowling                Batting  Order  Club                Notes
Kamron Ricketts   30    M   Left-arm orthodox      Right    7-10   Revisionism City
Wiktor Ben        25    M   Left-arm Fast          Left     6-9    Textilia
Leandro Salehi    19    M   Right-arm Medium-Fast  Right    8-11   Farond
Rasil Syed        34    M   Right-arm Fast         Right    9-11   Pedantry Central
Jeane Ghazi       32    F   Right-arm Leg-Spin     Right    8-10   Steel River Valley
Courtenay Buck    29    M   Right-arm Off-Spin     Right    5-9    Ashkaren
Rita Hollis       25    F   Right-arm Medium       Right    9-11   Seaton              Vice Captain

All-Rounders

Name                  Age  M/F  Bowling                Batting  Order  Club            Notes
Eve O'Brien           33    F   Left-arm Medium-Fast   Left     4-7    Seaton          Captain
Yesenia Alder         29    M   Right-arm Fast         Right    3-6    Mount Salt City
Diallo Khalil-Farran  23    F   Right-arm Leg-Spin     Right    2-5    Nexusortem
Ingrid Madison        27    F   Right-arm Off-Spin     Right    3-7    Ashkaren

Wicket Keepers

Name          Age  M/F  Batting  Order  Club        Notes
Kasib Forbes  28    M   Right    2-4    Westpass
Alfonsa Edge  18    F   Right    3-6    Acreville   All-Rounder (Right-arm Leg-Spin)

by **NS Global Cricket Federation** » Sat Jul 21, 2018 3:52 pm

Matchday 11

GCF Test no. 636
Match Report: The Kiaser Colonies in Darmen (2 of 3)
The Kiaser Colonies bat first
The Kiaser Colonies 472/6d (159.3 overs), 198/3 (54.2 overs)
Darmen 813/5d (201.4 overs)
Drawn

GCF Test no. 637
Match Report: Liventia in Mattijana (2 of 3)
Mattijana bat first
Mattijana 454/9d (173.1 overs)
Liventia 247 (88.0 overs), follow-on 188 (60.4 overs)
Mattijana win by an innings and 19 runs

GCF Test no. 638
Match Report: The Plough Islands in Ko-oren (3 of 4)
The Plough Islands bat first
The Plough Islands 203 (80.0 overs), 314 (126.3 overs)
Ko-oren 184 (52.4 overs), 334/8 (96.1 overs)
Ko-oren win by 2 wickets

GCF Test no. 639
Match Report: Eastfield Lodge in Barunia
Eastfield Lodge bat first
Eastfield Lodge 443 (135.0 overs), 175/5d (56.0 overs)
Barunia 252 (80.1 overs), 345 (82.0 overs)
Barunia lose by 21 runs

League standings

#  Team                 Pl  W  L  D  T  Ld  Lv  Pts  IW   Avg
 1 Ethane                7  4  0  3  0   4   0   95   1  14.6 Q
 2 Mattijana            11  7  2  2  0   5   0  142   1  13.9 Q
 3 Liventia             11  4  1  6  0   6   0  118   1  11.7
 4 Darmen               10  3  4  3  0   9   0   99   1  10.9
 5 Ko-oren               8  4  3  1  0   2   0   77   1  10.6
 6 Apox                  7  2  2  3  0   4   0   63   1  10.0 E
 7 Northwest Kalactin    5  2  2  1  0   3   0   49   0   9.8 E
 8 Eura                  7  2  2  3  0   3   0   59   1   9.4 E
 9 The Plough Islands    7  2  3  2  0   4   0   58   1   9.3
10 The Kiaser Colonies   4  1  1  2  0   2   0   34   0   8.5
11 Eastfield Lodge       5  2  3  0  0   2   0   40   0   8.0
12 Tobiasia              8  2  4  2  0   3   0   54   0   6.8 E
13 Barunia               8  2  5  1  0   3   0   49   0   6.1 E
14 Lisander              2  0  1  1  0   1   0    9   0   4.5 E
15 Elejamie		 3  0  3  0  0   1   0    4   0   1.3 E

Q - Qualified for semi-finals
E - Cannot qualify for semi-finals

Pl: Played;
W: Won (16 points); 
L: Lost (0 points);
D: Drawn (5 points);
T: Tied (9 points);
Ld: First-innings lead (4 points);
Lv: First-innings scores level (2 points);
Pts: Total points;
IW: Innings win/10-wicket win (1 bonus point);
Avg: Average points, calculated as (Pts/Pl)+IW

Rankings

Full Members                       Score  Pts/MP   Adjusted
 1 Mattijana			 FM  130 (1566/12)  115.25
 2 Ethane			 FM  127 (1279/10)  113.95
 3 Liventia			 FM  126 (3414/27)  113.22
 4 Eura				 FM  114 (2408/21)  107.33
 5 Barunia		 	 FM  109 (2616/24)  104.50
 6 Eastfield Lodge		 FM  107 (2045/19)  103.82
 7 Apox				 FM  100 (2312/23)   97.26
 8 The Kiaser Colonies		 FM   88 (1064/12)   94.33
 9 Darmen			 FM   84 (1349/16)   92.16
10 Lisander			 FM   73 (883/12)    86.79
11 Tobiasia			 FM   67 (1289/19)   83.92

Associate Members
1 The Plough Islands		 AS   97 (585/6)    103.00
2 Elejamie			 AS   83 (417/5)     97.00
3 Ko-oren			 AS   63 (446/7)     87.00

Affiliate Members
1 Northwest Kalactin		 AF  104 (728/7)     97.00

Inactive Members
1 Sargossa			 IN/AS   87 (603/7)     98.00
2 Qasden			 IN/AS   55 (165/3)     83.00

by **Ko-oren** » Sun Jul 22, 2018 2:49 am

Confidence Restored

The Green-and-blue tip the series' scales back into our favour by winning a second match. After a devastating victory by the Plough Islands, Ko-oren finds enough confidence to close out a small win. Many factors suggest that the second match was an anomaly in many regards. First, the T20-inspired number of runs per over seems reverted back to the realm of possibility for a test match. The Plough Islands started with 2,5, then a slightly elevated 3,5 in Ko-oren's first, then another 2,5, and lastly a 3,5 to close out the match. Granted, 3,5 is still far from low. The second factor is that Ko-oren finally managed to keep an opponent under 100 overs in their first innings since the final Tobiasia match (round 3). Darmen was represented at the crease for over 100 overs in the first innings in every single match, and the Plough Islands continued that streak in the first two matches of this series. That curse is finally broken, and sealed with a victory to boot.

Some issues persisted, however: the first innings lead has been held by whatever team we face since that same Tobiasia match, and the Dragonflies have one last opportunity to tackle that curse as well. Ko-oren remain a team that gradually gets stronger throughout the match and only gains momentum in the second innings, if they gain momentum at all. The same held today: all out in just over 50 overs is not a sign of a stable batting order, even if there were runs galore during those 52 overs.

Now let's turn our attention to the Ploughian innings. In the first, their opening stand went for just 21 runs, and then third woman Weaver walked back to the pavilion less than five minutes after coming on as well. After Chesterman took the first wicket, Marsden took two in an over to end Holt's and Weaver's innings. Marsden failed to take any wickets after that, but the damage was done. As the captain of the team, he provided Ko-oren with much needed confidence after the innings loss, and the Plough Islands were with their backs against the wall from the very start, though all credit to them for not collapsing further. The biggest stand of the visitors came from Laing and Leggett, combining for 103 runs and giving the Plough Islands enough to celebrate in the first innings anyway. After Leggett, the tail end gave way easily. yMharwn had a great day with three wickets: first taking Leggett's, who had been a difficult foe, and then Lebed and McCarthy. Cunningham was dispatched by Hooligan, his first test wicket, and all that was left were two ducks. The second Plough innings started with nothing for them to worry about, they held the lead after all, and were about to go on a 100+ over innings. Holt and Davy now kept their wickets for much longer, then Weaver took revenge for her throwing away of her first wicket. This time, however, the Plough Islands hit a slump right after then, and Whittall, Laing, and Leggett failed to do what they did so well in that first innings. Lebed more or less saved the innings, and the team put up a resilient display from there on out. Hooligan had tasted success in the first innings and it must have been a good taste: he was the man of the innings on the Ko-orenite side with 3 wickets taken.

For Ko-oren, it was yRheighewn and Baldry who stood out. After a disappointing wicket in the first over for Stevenson, the rest of the batsmen were adamant to stay at the crease for a while. Even the bowlers joined in with the trend, with Marsden and Chesterman eventually even adding another 18 from a nigh impossible position at the very end of the order. Salisbury had been rampant at the end of the match, taking care of yMharwn, Hooligan and Marsden and only giving them 9 runs between them. In the second innings, almost the entire team raised their career run average, from Doyle and Baldry who recorded 50s, to the openers recording 40 for the opening stand, yRheighewn adding 38, the all-rounders going for 58 together (Treadway for 20, yMharwn for 38), and only Marsden not getting over 10 - because the match was over at that point. If we can get this kind of performance in a first innings once in a while, we wouldn't even have to worry that much, but right now we have to wait until the last or penultimate day for the Dragonflies to do something and it has never been good for the nerves.

First Innings
Player       Out                    R  B  4  6 SR
--------------------------------------------------------
Stevenson    b Baxter c Whittall    0  4  -  - 00,00
yFhireath    b McCarthy             13 30 2  - 43,33
yRheighewn   run out                60 89 6  1 67,42
Doyle        b Baxter c Laing       15 40 2  - 37,5
Baldry       b Salisbury            40 72 7  - 55,56
Treadway     b Salisbury c Lebed    14 22 1  - 63,64
Meredith(wk) lbw Cunningham         8  16 1  - 50,00
yMharwn      lbw Salisbury          2  7  -  - 28,57
Hooligan     b Salisbury            0  3  -  - 00,00
Marsden      lbw Salisbury          7  14 1  - 50,00
Chesterman   not out                11 19 2  - 57,89
Extras: 2 B, 4 LB, 5 W, 3 NB, 0 P (14 total)
Ko-oren 184 (52.4 overs)

Player     O    R   W
---------------------
Hooligan   21   41  1
Marsden    16   38  2
Chesterman 17   43  2
yMharwn    11   33  3
Treadway   15   48  1
run outs   -    -   2
The Plough Islands 203 (80 overs)

Second Innings
Player      Out                     R  B   4  6 SR
---------------------------------------------------------
Stevenson    b McCarthy c Lebed     25 48  4  - 52,08
yFhireath    b McCarthy             22 45  4  - 48,89
yRheighewn   lbw Cunningham         38 67  7  - 56,72
Doyle        b Salisbury c Lebed    82 142 10 2 57,75
Baldry       run out                56 102 9  1 54,90
Treadway     b McCarthy c Laing     20 42  3  - 47,62
Meredith(wk) lbw Cunningham         16 28  1  1 57,14
yMharwn      not out                38 75  5  1 50,67
Hooligan     lbw Baxter             10 17  1  - 58,82
Marsden      not out                4  11  -  - 36,36
Chesterman   did not play
Extras: 2 B, 4 LB, 5 W, 3 NB, 0 P (14 total)
Ko-oren 184 (52.4 overs)

Player     O    R   W
---------------------
Hooligan   27   63  3
Marsden    26   52  2
Chesterman 31   80  1
yMharwn    21.3 65  2
Treadway   21   54  0
run outs   -    -   2
The Plough Islands 314 (126.3 overs)

Ko-oren moves up to 5th with still a small hypothetical chance at the finals.

by **The Plough Islands** » Sun Jul 22, 2018 1:20 pm

on the 18th July 2018, the Plough Islands Gazette wrote:
PLOUGH ISLANDS TIRE IN ANSONVILLE HEAT
by Denis Wormwood, Sporting Correspondent, in Ansonville

After their Stakhanovite effort in Llandy, the Plough Islands were forced back into normality at Ansonville today as they struggled to replicate their effort under very unfamiliar conditions. With Ko-oren resuming on 50-1 overnight, the Foxes received a boost early on when Ezekiel Stevenson gloved Colin McCarthy's second ball of the day to Ilya Lebed; unfortunately, that was all that went the Plough Islands' way in the morning session, with Llowcan yRheighewn and Herbert Doyle getting settled quickly and comfortably fending off the visitors' attack. On the last day of the game, and with temperatures at the Southbight ground increasing to over 30 degrees in the shade, Kevin Laing's side began to flag; Matthew Davy ultimately conceded over 50 runs from just 12 overs, some of them increasingly wayward, while Audrey Leggett managed just three before being both taken off the field by Laing due to cramp and overheating.
This left the remaining bowlers taking on extra work, and the Foxes' fielding became increasingly tired throughout the day - a fact ruthlessly exploited by the Ko-orenites after lunch, despite yRheighewn departing in the first over back for 38; Doyle ultimately compiled 82, brutalising Kenny Cunningham and Davy's overs in particular as he got on top of the spin attack, and Monroe Baldry added a quick 56 as the required run rate came down and the total began to seem achievable. Cunningham (2-60) and McCarthy (3-65) did their best to stem the tide of runs, and Laing rotated his bowlers to try and force errors from the batsmen, but to little avail; although wickets began to come more regularly, Ko-oren had enough resources to be able to afford a few missteps. When Andrew Baxter sneaked a good length beyond Garfield Hooligan's bat to remove him for 10 after tea, the scoreboard showed just three runs required, and the inevitable arrived for the cooked Foxes when Ko-oren captain Herschel Marsden steered Baxter through cover for four. The hosts secured a two-wicket victory, and set up a vital deciding Test at Willowbourne.
The Foxes' troubles had begun after winning the toss; on what was normally a good batting surface, Marsden and Solomon Chesterman had found enough bounce to trouble the Plough Islanders from the first over, with Graeme Holt and Davy both falling cheaply and Shauna Weaver being trapped lbw by Marsden without scoring. From 27-3 though, Whittall (29) and Laing (63) were able to arrest the decline and get runs on the board, accompanied by Leggett who made a characteristic rapid 40 before, characteristically, setting off too quickly for a run and being stumped by Finley Meredith by the narrowest of margins. After tea on the first day, however, yMharwn was handed the ball and immediately found enough swing in the hot Ansonville air to cause problems, ultimately taking 3-33 including removing Lebed and McCarthy, normally reliable sources of lower-order runs, before they could get going. Cunningham dug in though, and was the last to depart on day one as what looked like a quick single opportunity was pouched by Stevenson at gully, restricting the tourists to 203.
Stevenson's fortunes declined almost immediately at the start of the second day; his first four balls thundered in menacingly from Baxter for no score, and the fifth, a bouncer, came off Stevenson's hand and looped to a grateful Whittall. However, the Ko-oren middle order proved stubborn, with yRheighewn and Baldry adding just under a hundred for the fourth wicket as Laing experimented with his bowlers to try and force the issue. Salisbury was able to break the deadlock - borrowing a helmet to field at short leg, she reacted quickly to save a four from Baldry and then, noticing yRheighewn backing up, ran to break the stumps before the batsman could get back and dismissing him on 60. With her next over, the left-arm spinner then took out Baldry's leg stump with a ball that reared up off a full length alarmingly, before running through the Ko-orenite lower order in the next half hour, finding enough turn on the Ansonville pitch to almost single-handedly reduce the hosts from 135-3 to 165-9. Although Marsden and Chesterman put up a five-over last stand to make the score slightly more respectable, it fell to Salisbury again to trap Marsden in front and finish the innings, the Green and Blue stuck on 184 and Salisbury's own 5-25 being her career best bowling performance by some margin.
This left the Foxes with a 19-run lead going into the second half of the match, and Davy, though he toiled with the ball, enjoyed at least some consolation with the bat, adding 36 for the first wicket with Holt and playing with some fluency before falling victim on 46 to a contentious lbw decision. Weaver made up for her first-innings duck as she bludgeoned the hosts' pace attack to a quickfire 77, but the pitch and ball seemed to be increasingly taking on minds of their own as the game progressed and Weaver's partners kept being caught out by changes in direction; Whittall made just three before gloving to Meredith off a ball that turned alarmingly for the third day of a Test. Hooligan, making his comeback to the hosts' lineup, eventually bowled Weaver, and the rest of the Foxes' lineup were unable to quite match her run rate, with Lebed the only other player to make more than 50 - his 69 off 119 balls rescued the Plough Islands from the slump that befell them after Weaver's dismissal. By the time Salisbury skied a Marsden delivery that Meredith had plenty of time to position himself to hold, the scoreboard stood at 314, leaving Ko-oren needing a triple Nelson to win the Test. They started about that task more steadily than their first innings had been, with Stevenson and Tawmin yFhireath having the measure of Baxter and adding 49 for the first wicket, but McCarthy struck just before stumps to set up today's events.
Following the match, head coach Lourens Hendricks and Laing both indicated the team's unfamiliarity with the heat of the ground was a factor in the result, Laing admitting "We fell apart a little today, I did, all of us did a little bit, I know all of us were struggling physically with the temperature and the humidity and I think that got to me certainly mentally a little as well". There was particular concern for Davy, who had been hit for 41 and 57, and Hendricks indicated that he would be rested for the next Test; "He's brilliant for the team 99% of the time and none of this changes our view of him and how good a player he is - it's just to protect the guy, I spoke to him before we even started playing and he told me he was suffering". Laing also emphasised the result in the context of the Test season thus far, "we cannot forget that we came from nothing coming into this, it has been a huge step up from the level we were previously used to and I cannot fault any of my players for how we've approached all the games so far, including this one. We still feel so proud and we have been genuinely humbled by the support of our countrymen and women, even today when it was all falling apart, and we want to go and win in the next Test to prove a point to ourselves as much as anything - nothing more and nothing less".
In the wider context of the season, the next Test will be crucial in terms of world rankings for both hosts and visitors, and with Ko-oren having the advantage in the series, there is likely to be a redoubled effort from Laing and Hendricks to get the Foxes back to the form shown in Llandy. As the heat finally eased up in the changing rooms and press box of the Southbight Ground, it was left to the Plough Islands to try and cool down and prepare for one final push.

PLOUGH ISLANDS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
XI FOR FOURTH TEST AGAINST KO-OREN

      PLAYER            BAT   BOW
G     Holt              LHB      
DK    Westbrook         RHB      
SLC   Weaver            RHB   RLB
A     Whittall          RHB   ROB
KCT   Laing (c)         RHB   RMD
AC    Leggett           RHB   RLB
IT    Lebed (w)         LHB      
K     Cunningham        LHB   SLC
CG    McCarthy          RHB   RFM
A     Baxter            RHB   RFS
NA    Salisbury         LHB   SLA

ISideWith UK · by **Eastfield Lodge** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 6:27 am

With the third day rained off, the visitors declared on 175-5 at the end of day 4 with a lead of 366 after a dominant first day, hoping to limit Barunia as they did in the first innings, split by the rain. The day began well, with both openers dismissed for under 50 runs, and the entire top order removed for under 200. The visitors high-risk bowling came back to bite them, as somehow the tail end rallied, holding out as long as possible and racking up over 150 runs between them to drag Barunia within touching distance of an unlikely victory - even with 20 overs of the day to go, the match could have gone either way, with half-centuries from Tom Johnson and Vince Cooper delaying the Eastfielder victory. But their resistance was not enough, falling short of victory by 21 runs with just a minimum of 8 overs more to play in the day, leaving the final test next week at the deciding fixture in this series.

Eastfield Lodge 1st Innings - 443 all out (135 overs)
				
Batsman					Runs	Balls	4s/6s	SR
AM Samsurov	    st Price b Adams	61	92	3/0	66.30
Maia Accardi	   c Dyson b Johnson	102	201	5/1	50.75
Kasib Forbes	        lbw b Cooper	51	104	2/0	49.04
Darcelle Uncel	    c Price b Cooper	43	81	2/0	53.09
Muneeb Fears	c Castlemere b Adams	21	26	2/1	80.77
Yesenia Alder	             b Noble	40	72	2/0	55.56
Eve O'Brien	     run out (Price)	39	58	1/0	67.24
Kamron Ricketts	    c Price b Cooper	21	60	0/0	35.00
Wiktor Ben	             b Adams	10	31	0/0	32.26
Leandro Salehi		     not out	19	52	1/0	36.54
Jeane Ghazi	         lbw b Noble	10	33	0/0	30.30

Extras		(3nb, 5wd, 12b, 6lb)	26			
					443 (135.0 overs)		

FoW: 113-1, 193-2, 241-3, 284-4, 298-5, 322-6, 359-7, 385-8, 417-9, 443-10					
					
Bowler		Overs	M	Runs	W	Econ
Zane Adams	31	2	80	3	2.58
Tom Johnson	35	2	80	1	2.29
Vince Cooper	24	1	80	3	3.33
Heath Monroe	20	0	91	0	4.55
David Noble	25	1	80	2	3.20

Barunia 1st Innings - 252 all out (80.1 overs)

Batsman					Runs	Balls	4s/6s	SR
Tim Waterman	          lbw b Ben	3	7	0/0	42.86
Miranda Carter	 c Uncel b Ricketts	73	131	3/1	55.73
Ben Price	      c and b Ghazi	36	72	2/0	50.00
Troy Castlemere	        lbw b Ghazi	13	25	0/0	52.00
Jane Dyson	c Forbes b Ricketts	48	102	1/0	47.06
Albert Lewis	       lbw b Salehi	19	39	0/0	48.72
Heath Monroe	   c Forbes b Ghazi	28	56	1/0	50.00
Vince Cooper	            not out	15	31	0/0	48.39
David Noble	 c Forbes b O'Brien	0	2	0/0	0.00
Tom Johnson	   c Samsurov b Ben	1	6	0/0	16.67
Zane Adams	              b Ben	2	10	0/0	20.00

Extras		(2nb, 2wd, 8b, 2lb)	14			
					252 (80.1 overs)		

FoW: 9-1, 84-2, 124-3, 179-4, 196-5, 207-6, 238-7, 242-8, 246-9, 252					
					
Bowler		Overs	M	Runs	W	Econ
Wiktor Ben	22.1	2	72	3	3.25
Leandro Salehi	14	3	41	1	2.93
Kamron Ricketts	17	3	58	2	3.41
Jeane Ghazi	19	2	54	3	2.84
Eve O'Brien	8	1	27	1	3.38

Eastfield Lodge 2nd Innings - 175-5d (56 overs)

Batsman					Runs	Balls	4s/6s	SR
AM Samsurov	    c Price b Adams	38	84	2/0	45.24
Maia Accardi	       lbw b Cooper	22	55	1/0	40.00
Kasib Forbes	            not out	62	107	3/1	57.94
Darcelle Uncel	c Waterman b Cooper	25	46	1/0	54.35
Muneeb Fears	    run out (Price)	13	24	1/0	54.17
Yesenia Alder	   st Price b Adams	5	20	0/0	25.00

Extras	        (3nb, 3wd, 4b, 0lb)	10			
					175 (56.0 overs - innings declared)
		
FoW: 41-1, 70-2, 115-3, 148-4, 175-5					
					
Bowler		Overs	M	Runs	W	Econ
Zane Adams	16	1	49	2	3.06
David Noble	12	1	41	0	3.42
Vince Cooper	18	2	47	2	2.61
Tom Johnson	10	1	38	0	3.80

Barunia 2nd Innings - 345 (82 overs)

Batsman					Runs	Balls	4s/6s	SR
Tim Waterman	     c Accardi b Ben	15	23	0/1	65.22
Miranda Carter	   c Forbes b Salehi	17	29	1/0	58.62
Ben Price	 c Forbes b Ricketts	67	99	3/1	67.68
Troy Castlemere	           lbw b Ben	14	21	1/0	66.67
Jane Dyson	             b Ghazi	21	46	1/0	45.65
Albert Lewis	       c Fears b Ben	0	4	0/0	0.00
Heath Monroe	    run out (Forbes)	18	34	1/0	52.94
Vince Cooper	       c Alder b Ben	52	73	3/2	71.23
David Noble	     c and b O'Brien	38	57	2/1	66.67
Tom Johnson	             not out	59	82	4/1	71.95
Zane Adams	           lbw b Ben	15	24	1/0	62.50

Extras	        (3nb, 9wd, 12b, 5lb)	29			
					345 (82 overs)

FoW: 31-1, 41-2, 75-3, 124-4, 127-5, 167-6, 173-7, 247-8, 287-9, 345					
					
Bowler		Overs	M	Runs	W	Econ
Wiktor Ben	21	1	77	5	3.67
Leandro Salehi	18	0	74	1	4.11
Kamron Ricketts	16	1	72	1	4.50
Jeane Ghazi	17	1	75	1	4.41
Eve O'Brien	10	0	47	1	4.70


Match Summary: Eastfield Lodge in Barunia
Eastfield Lodge bat first

Eastfield Lodge: 443 (135.0 overs), 175/5d (56.0 overs)
Barunia: 252 (80.1 overs), 345 (82.0 overs)

Eastfield Lodge win by 21 runs to level series 1-1.

by **Darmen** » Mon Jul 23, 2018 3:20 pm

Batting friendly pitch in Brady City "Too Friendly"
Milford draws further criticism for declaring late

If you're the type that likes cricket for its high scoring (take that Baseball!) then the Darmen vs. The Kiaser Colonies match in Brady City was certainly the match for you. After the Kiaser Colonies scored 472 for six from 159.3 overs, it looked as though Darmen's first innings dominance would not be a factor in the match. The 22 yards in the middle however had other ideas.

Opening pair Vinnie Acker and Sigmund Winter began Darmen's innings with a solid century from just 21 overs, Acker hitting five sixes and Winter coolly putting several balls across the boundary rope himself as well. After a series of overs where the Kiaserian bowlers recovered to bring the run rate to an absolute crawl (Darmen scored only 12 runs through overs 22-31), the dismissal of Acker meant that 23 year old Ionathan Odell approached the middle to take strike. He would remain in the middle for the rest of the innings. Ending on 361 not out, Odell's performance in replacement of the injured Theudofrid Milligan, will certainly be remembered by many. Winter and Armbruster also scored centuries.

Despite the massive score of 813 for five from 201.4 overs, Darmeni captain Gwynn Milford has once again come under intense criticism for his decision to declare the innings closed at the end of Day 4, just after reaching his half century. The decision left his fellow bowlers with only a single day to bowl out the side for less than 342 runs. With rain having been forecasted for the final day, the decision appeared odd to many fans and commentators, with some claiming that Milford was more interested in personal glory (scoring his half century) than he was in getting the victory and pushing Darmen further towards the Test World Championship. Others have however pointed out that Milford may have been attempting to get the bonus point on offer for an innings victory.

In any case, the Kiaser Colonies reached a score of 198 for 3 from 54.2 overs before rain closed in on the Brady City Cricket Ground and washed out the final session of play. The team looked strong, they certainly would not have been bowled out before the end of the day, but would still most likely have fallen short of their target.

Darmen will face their northern Rushmori rivals one more time, playing their second match of the season at Capital Stadium. Although the Darmeni Cricket Board had previously planned for the match to be a Day/Night match, those plans have fallen through, with the authorities from the Kiaser Colonies disagreeing with the plans. Regardless, the match will be the most important in Darmen's history, with qualification to the Test World Championship at stake. Darmen's opponents from their previous series, Ko-oren, are now Darmen's closest rivals in the Test League standings. A victory is likely the only way Darmen can comfortably confirm its place in the Semifinals.

by **NS Global Cricket Federation** » Tue Jul 24, 2018 4:06 pm

Matchday 12

GCF Test no. 640
Match Report: The Kiaser Colonies in Darmen (3 of 3)
The Kiaser Colonies bat first
The Kiaser Colonies 249 (96.0 overs), 164 (63.5 overs)
Darmen 190 (72.4 overs), 225/4 (68.3 overs)
Darmen win by 6 wickets
Series result: Drawn 1–1 (1 drawn)

GCF Test no. 641
Match Report: Liventia in Mattijana (3 of 3)
Liventia bat first
Liventia 196 (50.0 overs), 517/7d (195.3 overs)
Mattijana 323 (104.4 overs), 148/4 (67.0 overs)
Drawn
Series result: Mattijana win 1–0 (2 drawn)

GCF Test no. 642
Match Report: The Plough Islands in Ko-oren (4 of 4)
The Plough Islands bat first
The Plough Islands 331 (81.2 overs), 100 (21.0 overs)
Ko-oren 295 (89.0 overs), 139/7 (40.3 overs)
Ko-oren win by 3 wickets
Series result: Ko-oren win 3–1

GCF Test no. 643
Match Report: Eastfield Lodge in Barunia (3 of 3)
Eastfield Lodge bat first
Eastfield Lodge 194 (44.1 overs), 205 (62.3 overs)
Barunia 194 (52.1 overs), 168 (55.5 overs)
Barunia lose by 37 runs
Series result: Eastfield Lodge win 2–1

League standings

#  Team                 Pl  W  L  D  T  Ld  Lv  Pts  IW   Avg
 1 Ethane                7  4  0  3  0   4   0   95   1  14.6 
 2 Mattijana            12  7  2  3  0   6   0  151   1  13.6 
 3 Darmen               11  4  4  3  0   9   0  115   1  11.5
 4 Ko-oren               9  5  3  1  0   2   0   93   1  11.33
 5 Liventia             12  4  1  7  0   6   0  123   1  11.25
 6 Apox                  7  2  2  3  0   4   0   63   1  10.0 
 7 Northwest Kalactin    5  2  2  1  0   3   0   49   0   9.8 
 8 Eastfield Lodge       6  3  3  0  0   2   1   58   0   9.7
 9 Eura                  7  2  2  3  0   3   0   59   1   9.4 
10 The Plough Islands    8  2  4  2  0   5   0   62   1   8.8
11 The Kiaser Colonies   4  1  1  2  0   2   0   34   0   8.5
12 Tobiasia              8  2  4  2  0   3   0   54   0   6.8 
13 Barunia               9  2  6  1  0   3   1   51   0   5.7
14 Lisander              2  0  1  1  0   1   0    9   0   4.5 
15 Elejamie		 3  0  3  0  0   1   0    4   0   1.3 

Pl: Played;
W: Won (16 points); 
L: Lost (0 points);
D: Drawn (5 points);
T: Tied (9 points);
Ld: First-innings lead (4 points);
Lv: First-innings scores level (2 points);
Pts: Total points;
IW: Innings win/10-wicket win (1 bonus point);
Avg: Average points, calculated as (Pts/Pl)+IW

Updated rankings

Full Members                       Score  Pts/MP   Adjusted
 1 Mattijana			 FM  135 (2170/16)  117.82
 2 Ethane			 FM  127 (1279/10)  113.95
 3 Liventia			 FM  123 (3834/31)  111.84
 4 Eura				 FM  114 (2408/21)  107.33
 5 Eastfield Lodge		 FM  112 (2581/23)  106.11
 6 Barunia		 	 FM  105 (2944/28)  102.57
 7 Apox				 FM  100 (2312/23)   97.26
 8 Ko-oren			 FM   90 (1081/12)   95.04
 9 The Kiaser Colonies		 FM   87 (1400/16)   93.75
10 Darmen			 FM   85 (1701/20)   92.53
11 Lisander			 FM   73 (883/12)    86.79
12 The Plough Islands		 FM   68 (750/11)    84.09
13 Tobiasia			 FM   67 (1289/19)   83.92

Associate Members
1 Elejamie			 AS   83 (417/5)     97.00

Affiliate Members
1 Northwest Kalactin		 AF  104 (728/7)     97.00

Inactive Members
1 Sargossa			 IN/AS   87 (603/7)     98.00
2 Qasden			 IN/AS   55 (165/3)     83.00

Therefore, the teams qualified for the Test World Championship are, by virtue of league position, Ethane (first seed) and Mattijana (second seed). As these two teams are also the top two in the rankings, the next two teams in the league, Darmen and Ko-oren, also qualify.

Ethane will host Ko-oren and Mattijana will host Darmen for three-match semifinal series. The home team in each series may set pitch modifiers, as usual.

All other teams may play regular matches, counting towards the world rankings.

by **The Plough Islands** » Thu Jul 26, 2018 12:26 pm

on the 25th July 2018, the Plough Islands Gazette wrote:
ANALYSIS: SOBERING SERIES HELPS FOXES GROW UP
by Ian Goswell, Chief Cricket Correspondent for Plough Radio, in Gehrenna

Sometimes, in cricket, try as you might, things just do not seem to go how you want them to. In the first innings of the decisive final Test against Ko-oren in Gehrenna, it felt as though everything was going right; Shauna Weaver had batted brilliantly for an unbeaten 121, her maiden Test century, in an excellent team total of 331, before tight bowling from Naomi Salisbury and Colin McCarthy among others had limited the Green and Blue to 295 all out. Then, as the pitch began to dry and the midday air increasingly heated up, all the dice rolls began to come up wrong; Ko-orenite captain Herschel Marsden tore through the top order to reduce the Plough Islands to 19-4, and despite a stand of 49 from captain Kevin Laing and Audrey Leggett - broken by what looked to this author to be a run-out decision of dubious merit - they could only manage 100 and no more, setting the hosts 137 to win. After an opening stand of 74 from Ezekiel Stevenson and Tawmin yFhireath, it looked briefly as though for once there might be a happy ending for the Foxes after McCarthy, Weaver, and Andrew Baxter neutralised most of the Ko-oren middle order, wicketkeeper Finley Meredith hung on to break our hearts with a drive down the wicket and secure a 3-1 series win. While most of the travelling fans retained a sense of pride in defeat, and the Plough Islanders were applauded off the field by the majority who had stayed after the trophy presentations, there were occasional dissenting voices; there was talk of the early season results engendering false hope, of incompetent leadership, of a side that wilted in the heat and lacked the guts to close a game down.
Laing clearly felt the pain of the Foxes' supporters as the lights dimmed at the Willowbourne ground, but he remained philosophical about the result; "it is just a game of cricket, we know our time will come again soon and it all evens out in the long run. It does hurt, though, when everyone on this team has put everything into their performances on this tour and the margins have been so fine that 3-1 as a result feels harsh. But we do not want to detract from Ko-oren and they have had the mental strength we have not, we need to work on that and I know Lourens has some ideas in that department.". Weaver was also gracious towards the Green and Blue, telling this author on Plough Radio that "we all hope they can go and run riot in the World Test Championship matches, they have been excellent and if we have to lose out like this, we might as well lose out to the world champions!". Indeed, it is a testament to the character of this side that in their first season of international competition they remained in contention for "the playoffs", as they are known, right up until the last possible day. All the series has done is shown plainly which areas need to be improved.
So, what can the Plough Islands Cricket Association do to respond? It is understood that they are in agreement with the players that there is little blame to be assigned, given that the series featured three close-run victories at Greencaster, Ansonville, and today, and the only truly decisive result went the way of the Foxes at Llandy. There have been individually outstanding performances by Graeme Holt, Naomi Salisbury, and Weaver among others, with most players individually proving their credentials - Adam Kalantas and Matthew Davy were unable to perform at their best due to outside factors, and there is little anyone can do about having to play in such unfamiliar conditions in the time the schedule affords. The failures have been in the mental and emotional side of the game rather than the physical; acting head coach Lourens Hendricks has arranged support using psychologists from the University of the Plough Islands, and it seems to this author at least that his job is safe despite the tour's outcome; he has been popular among the players and fans for his open approach to the role.
There is a newly confirmed series to be played against Apox, who visit the islands in August, and talk of a one-day series to be played shortly afterwards which will play to the strengths of some of the players in the squad; this will be seen as an opportunity to wash away the sense of injustice and pain that has settled on this series, even from a broadcasting viewpoint. It has been a tough and painful encounter with reality for the Foxes, but the prevailing opinion is that this can be overcome - and nobody in Laing's side can be accused of lacking the ability and will to win to do so. With the will of 140,000 Plough Islanders still, mostly, behind this team, there is every possibility that the hurt of tonight will be seen in future as a bump in the road rather than a sign of things to come. It is now up to the Foxes to allow themselves to look to the future, and not dwell on the past.

by **Ko-oren** » Fri Jul 27, 2018 1:37 pm

Qualification for the finals by the skin of our teeth

The first test cricket season for Ko-oren somehow ends in celebration. After defeats in and versus Darmen and a shaky start in the home series versus the Plough Islands, two victories to close out the series give the Dragonflies an overall season score of five wins, three losses and a draw. And somehow, that is enough for the fourth place in the league, and on the basis that Ethane and Mattijana qualified doubly through the yearly standings and the overall multi-year rankings, giving extra places to the league standings. Darmen has also qualified for the season's semifinals.

Throughout the season, there has been quite some criticism on Ko-oren's play. Some of those issues haven't been addressed at all during the season. Nevertheless, the decisions worked and we're seeing Ko-oren in the final four of the test cricket season. What a start to hopefully an era of Ko-orenite international test cricket, and a status as full member. Despite the criticism, this was a year of incredible growth and overperformance. Starting the season, a full membership was seen as the pinnacle of what this season could bring. Now, at the end of the season, we not only have that, but we also have an excellent record versus our opponents, a semifinal berth and a big bag of stories from our first season. But first, the summary of the fourth test against the Plough Islands.

By now, the Plough Islands had grown to become our best-known opponent. Undoubtedly their players have even become accustomed to life in Ko-oren, for they had been here for several weeks now. In truth, this match played out much like the third one. The Foxes batted first, a partnership falling soon with Westbrook outed by Marsden. Holt held on for a long time, partnering with Weaver, who already put the Plough Islands on a huge mental lead by the end of day one - ending up with 121 runs for herself and all but carrying the bat, as far as that's possible to be said about a non-opener. Just Westbrook's five runs separated Weaver from carrying the bat - in spirit. Laing also was a thorn in the side of Ko-oren's batting, and eventually Ko-oren took to the crease facing a 331-run deficit. As always, the Dragonflies failed to overcome this, but they came close. On a warm day in Willowbourne, the lack of wind probably also helped, Stevenson and yFhireath started off well. It was just Baldry going out for a duck and yMharwn adding just one run that kept Ko-oren from taking the lead after the first innings was all done. yFhireath, Doyle and Treadway were excellent batsmen, and yRheighewn sped up the run rate early on as well. Salisbury was not to be stopped taking four wickets for just 38 runs - and not the least: she ended yFhireath after hitting 50, then took care of Doyle who looked sure to record a century, and then cleaned up the tail-end by sending off Marsden and Chesterman, the latter for a duck.

Captain Marsden retaliated in the Plough Islands' second innings, taking four wickets for 28 runs - maybe not intentionally to taunt Salisbury, but it sure looked like it in the end. Holt, Weaver and Whittall, unstoppable on the first day, fell for a total of 16 runs, all to the incredible pace of Marsden. In the end, all 10 wickets fell for exactly 100 runs and 21 overs played - a fairly poor T20 showing. It still took seven wickets to take the lead at the end of the match, with yRheighewn, Doyle, and Baldry all being offered the chance to make this match theirs, but all failing. To different bowlers, too. All in all, it looked like a sure thing that Ko-oren would win this match in the end, but they made it so hard for themselves. It came down to Hooligan to win the match, and had Meredith fallen as well, it would have been down to the full-time bowlers - and that could have made things very interesting. Still, lady luck was on our side on the last day of proceedings - not in the least because of that 100-run innings - but on the batting side as well. It was simply not great on that last day, but the Dragonflies grinded out a win and that is what takes us to the finals.

First Innings
Player       Out                    R  B   4  6 SR
--------------------------------------------------------
Stevenson    lbw McCarthy           20 32  2  - 62,50
yFhireath    b Salisbury c Lebed    52 84  4  1 61,90
yRheighewn   c & b Leggett          38 56  3  1 67,86
Doyle        b Salisbury            82 162 10 2 50,62
Baldry       b McCarthy c Lebed     0  3   -  - 00,00
Treadway     lbw Whittall           40 75  6  - 53,33
Meredith(wk) b McCarthy             12 26  1  - 46,15
yMharwn      b Cunningham st Lebed  1  5   -  - 20,00
Hooligan     not out                23 53  3  - 43,40
Marsden      b Salisbury            12 31  1  - 38,71
Chesterman   lbw Salisbury          0  7   -  - 00,00
Extras: 7 B, 2 LB, 4 W, 2 NB, 0 P (15 total)
Ko-oren 295 (89.0 overs)

Player     O    R   W
---------------------
Hooligan   19   90  3
Marsden    15   43  2
Chesterman 16   73  1
yMharwn    19.2 67  3
Treadway   12   58  0
run outs   -    -   2
The Plough Islands 331 (81.2 overs)

Second Innings
Player       Out                    R  B  4  6 SR
---------------------------------------------------------
Stevenson    run out                33 51 4  1 64,71
yFhireath    c & b Salisbury        46 82 4  2 56,10
yRheighewn   b Baxter c Lebed       1  6  -  - 16,67
Doyle        b McCarthy c Laing     0  4  -  - 00,00
Baldry       b Salisbury c Lebed    9  14 1  - 64,29
Treadway     lbw Weaver             10 18 1  - 55,56
Meredith(wk) not out                16 37 3  - 43,24
yMharwn      b McCarthy             7  15 -  - 46,67
Hooligan     not out                8  16 1  - 50,00
Marsden      did not play
Chesterman   did not play
Extras: 6 B, 1 LB, 0 W, 2 NB, 0 P (9 total)
Ko-oren 139 (40.3 overs) for 7 wickets

Player     O R  W
--------------------
Hooligan   6 30 0
Marsden    5 28 4
Chesterman 6 23 2
yMharwn    4 19 2
run outs   - -  2
The Plough Islands 100 (21 overs)

Across the season, sure, the scheduling helped. Seven of our nine matches were played on home soil, for instance. And our opening series had been versus Tobiasia, who finished in 12th place on the season and the worst of all full members on the rankings, definitely short of their expectations. It is what it is, and Ko-oren capitalised on maybe just a weak year for Tobiasia. That said, the other opponents have been resilient foes all season, Darmen has even been rewarded with a semifinal spot like us.

If there is one single point of attention for this season, it is to stop relying on the second innings. Out of all teams that have played this season (15), not one has a worse first-innings record than us. In less than 25% of matches have we had the first-innings lead. We cannot complain about the end result, but it seems like every single match, the bowling fails to break partnerships leading to big runs, and the batting cannot get set for a long time - and the team has failed to post an innings longer than 100 overs during all of last season, except for two times.

In the next edition: how have Ko-oren's players performed in season one?

by **Darmen** » Sat Jul 28, 2018 1:34 pm

Darmen into Test World Championship
Semifinal rematch against Mattijana on the docket for Darmen

Despite not having the first innings lead the Darmeni national cricket team has come accustomed to having, Gwynn Milford's squad was able to overcome the 223 run deficit it was tasked with chasing down easily with a full day to spare. In doing so, Darmen defeated the Kiaser Colonies, drew the overall series and qualified for the Test World Championship. It is Darmen's first qualification to the season ending championship.

Darmen's semifinal opponents in the TWC will be Mattijana, who Darmen previously faced earlier this season. Traveling to the Esportivan nation once again, Darmen will take on a side that recently defeated Liventia, widely regarded throughout the Multiverse as one of the dominant Test cricketing nations, in a three match series. It was Liventia's first loss of the season, and a loss which saw them knockout out of qualification for the TWC. Mattijana also proved victorious in their three match series against Darmen, winning two matches and losing one. If there is any confidence to be gained from that series for the Darmeni's, it is certainly from the second match in Izola, where the Darmeni bowlers dominated and Darmen won by an innings and 89 runs.

Should Darmen prove worthy enough to defeat Mattijana, ranked at number 1 amongst all GCF Full Members, Darmen will advance to the TWC Final where it will face either Ethane or Ko-oren. Darmen has not previously faced Ethane, but did defeat Ko-oren in their two match series this season.

Captain Milford has not made any changes to Darmen's squad, although Ionathan Odell will continue to play for the injured Theudofrid Milligan.

by **NS Global Cricket Federation** » Mon Jul 30, 2018 2:21 pm

Matchday 13

GCF Test no. 644 (WC Test)
Match Report: Ko-oren in Ethane (1 of 3)
Ko-oren bat first
Ko-oren 270 (77.4 overs), 287/6d (84.2 overs)
Ethane 172 (55.4 overs), 383 (160.2 overs)
Ethane lose by 2 runs
Series: Ko-oren lead 1–0

GCF Test no. 645 (WC Test)
Match Report: Darmen in Mattijana (1 of 3)
Mattijana bat first
Mattijana 248 (65.4 overs), 394/8d (120.3 overs)
Darmen 284 (78.1 overs), 360/3 (89.3 overs)
Darmen win by 7 wickets
Series: Darmen lead 1–0

by **Ko-oren** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 1:49 pm

Close match worthy of a semifinal! Ko-oren lead series 1-0

Player	Runs	Balls	SR
Stevenson	3	6	50,00
yRhireath	9	11	81,82
yRheighewn	52	82	63,41
Doyle	55	79	69,62
Baldry	107	188	56,91
Treadway	12	20	60,00
Meredith (wk)	0	4	0,00
yMharyn	12	33	36,36
Hooligan	4	21	19,05
Marsden (c)	6	15	40,00
Chesterman	2	7	28,57

Extras: 8 (1 b, 3 lb, 1 wd, 3 nb, 0 p)
Ko-oren all out for 270 in 77.4 overs

In the first innings, it all looked to fall apart early for the Green and Blue. Stevenson and yFhireath were both sent back very early. In all fairness, it looked like they threw their wickets away trying to force a lot of runs really early in the match. After a tumultuous start to the match, yRheighewn and Doyle found a steady pace that worked for them, establishing a partnership that troubled Ethane's bowling for a large part of the day. The weather remained a little unstable, but it did not seem to have a lot of impact on either bowling or batting. Clouds did slowly disappear and the match continued under slightly warmer circumstances than previously expected. Again, this barely impacted yRheighewn and Doyle, but once Doyle fell, yRheighewn followed soon after. This wasn't the end to Ethane's problems, Baldry came in and finally answered to the high expectations on him previous to the season: he recorded 107 runs - just the third Ko-orenite century this season. Baldry survived the entire rest of the team, with the allrounders and wicketkeeper failing to make an impression, and the tail-end not proving to be very resilient as seen before. For the first time, however, Ko-oren seemed to go for a first-innings lead.

Player	Runs	Balls	SR
Stevenson	10	22	45,45
yRhireath	38	72	52,78
yRheighewn	28	44	63,64
Doyle	67	121	55,37
Baldry	80	133	60,15
Treadway	20	49	40,82
Meredith (wk)	29	57	50,88
yMharyn	3	8	37,50
Hooligan	did not play
Marsden (c)	did not play
Chesterman	did not play

Extras: 12 (0 b, 3 lb, 3 wd, 6 nb, 0 p)
Ko-oren 6 for 287 in 84.2 overs

The second innings was more of a battlefield than the first one. Not so much because of very explosive play, but rather because of the strategic decisions that were re-evaluated every few overs. Keeping an eye on the weather and the amount of time left, as well as the lead and how likely it would be for Ethane to overcome that lead, were all instrumental to Ko-oren's story of the second innings. The openers were not too concerned with these factors, they slowly but surely took some revenge for their poor performance on the first day. yFhireath most notably added quite a bit to Ko-oren's total. Doyle and Baldry were again the meat of the artillery, and Meredith was a nice surprise after the best batsmen were out. yMharyn had barely any time to do anything. Treadway went out, and was replaced by yMharyn. Just two overs later, Marsden decided that this would be it for the innings, and led his team to the pavilion to prepare for the final act.

And what an act it was. Ethane was left with enough time to make something off it, and they balanced the amount of wickets in hand very well with the amount of time left and the Ko-orenite lead that was still there. Any threat of rain was gone, so it was all about the precarious balance between time and score for Ethane. The Ko-orenite bowlers silenced Ethane's aspirations of making it a high RPO innings, limiting them to just under 2,4. This proved to be exactly what gave Ko-oren the win in the end: nightfall and the end of play came closer and closer, while Ethane kept the scoreboard turning (though not as fast as they had hoped) and before they knew, they had just four wickets left, a small deficit to make up but the clock was suddenly the biggest concern. Another wicket fell, but the lead kept getting smaller and smaller. The sky turned yellowish, then orange, pink, another wicket down, but still 15 runs behind Ko-oren with only tail-enders left at the crease. Marsden took another wicket to make the situation even more interesting: Ethane could play defensively and push for a draw; Ethane could try to get a four here and there to see if Ko-oren's lead was really as insurmountable as it seemed at the start of their innings; or the Green and Blue would have to take one more wicket very, very quickly. Ethane went for the win - and with two runs left, Chesterman cleanly bowled Ethane's last remaining hope. As the lights came on, the Green and Blue had done it - a first-innings lead, a good away result, and a win in the semifinals.

by **NS Global Cricket Federation** » Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:49 pm

Matchday 14

GCF Test no. 646 (WC Test)
Match Report: Ko-oren in Ethane (2 of 3)
Ethane bat first
Ethane 432 (144.2 overs), 210/4d (75.2 overs)
Ko-oren 291 (84.4 overs), 244/3 (84.3 overs)
Drawn
Series: Ko-oren lead 1–0

GCF Test no. 647 (WC Test)
Match Report: Darmen in Mattijana (2 of 3)
Mattijana bat first
Mattijana 471/8d (150.5 overs), 256/9 (91.2 overs)
Darmen 718/5d (195.3 overs)
Drawn
Series: Darmen lead 1–0

A reminder that if either semi-final series is drawn, the team with the higher league position will advance.

GCF World Test Challenge season 9 [RP/Squad lists/Scores]

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