GCF ODI World Trophy I - RP/rosters/results thread

[Eastfield Lodge]

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Bahri ton puts Eastfield Lodge in control of Group I destiny

Ethane 234/7 (50 overs)
Eastfield Lodge 236/5 (41.4 overs)
Ethane win the toss and elect to bat
Lewes Park, Neverend

Batsman				Dismissal	Runs	Balls	S/R	4s	6s
E Dammelhead			b Ben		38	77	49.35	1	0
D Hannelten	lbw		b Madi-Zaidi	5	6	83.33	1	0
H Rowell	c Forbes	b Madi-Zaidi	74	76	97.37	4	2
G Umbridge	c Samsurov	b Ben		41	44	93.18	3	1
S Elizabeth		    c &	b Madi-Zaidi	31	37	83.78	2	1
A Loughton	lbw		b Sayman	6	9	66.67	0	0
A Farther	c Forbes	b Hollis	20	25	80.00	2	0
J Lion				not out		6	15	40.00	0	0
C Pilton			not out		5	11	45.45	0	0
T Burns				did not bat	-	-
P Keele				did not bat	-	-
Extras				6wd, 2nb	8
					Score	234/7 (50 overs)
							
Bowler		O	M	R	Econ	W
L Madi-Zaidi	10	0	45	4.50	3
W Ben		10	1	42	4.20	2
R Hollis	10	0	46	4.60	1
R Sayman	9	0	43	4.78	1
D Khalil-Farran	7	0	37	5.29	0
M Waldron	4	0	21	5.25	0

FOW: 8/1, 121/2, 121/3, 195/4, 195/5, 215/6, 224/7
Batsman				Dismissal	Runs	Balls	S/R	4s	6s
AM Samsurov	st Farther	b Keele		34	43	79.07	2	0
W Leblanc	c Keele		b Pilton	7	14	50.00	0	0
C Bahri		lbw		b Elizabeth	101	83	121.69	5	3
F Akhtar	c Farther	b Pilton	40	50	80.00	1	1
K Forbes			not out		31	35	88.57	2	2
D Khalil-Farran	c Dammelhead	b Lion		11	15	73.33	0	0
M Waldron			not out		7	10	70.00	0	0
W Ben				did not bat	-	-
L Madi-Zaidi			did not bat	-	-
R Hollis			did not bat	-	-
R Sayman			did not bat	-	-
Extras				5wd		5
					Score	236/5 (41.4 overs)

Bowler		O	M	R	Econ	W
C Pilton	8.4	0	46	5.31	2
P Keele		9	0	51	5.67	1
S Elizabeth	8	0	44	5.50	1
J Lion		7	0	43	6.14	1
T Burns		7	0	41	5.86	0
A Loughton	2	0	11	5.50	0

FOW: 18/1, 74/2, 182/3, 188/4, 214/5

[The Plough Islands]

This RP was...it started out as something completely different, and then became a few other things en route to what it is now. I'm still getting used to the Nephara doctrine of 'first idea is the best when you're in a hurry'!
Good luck to everyone else looking to qualify today - hopefully we get to play you all someday, later if not sooner :3

---

"I cannot quite believe it sometimes"
As the Foxes look to the quarter finals of the World Trophy, Plough Radio cricket correspondent Andrew Kulayev meets the islands' unlikely new lynchpin

Throughout our conversation at the training pitches next to the Island Cricket Arena in Schimpol, Plough Islands all-rounder Andrew Fairfield - a tall, broad-shouldered man whose haircut adds several centimetres to his height and whose prescription sunglasses would not look out of place in an agitprop mural - repeatedly makes the point, almost as much to himself as to this writer, that he did not expect his current levels of success or attention. In fact, that is almost the first thing he says. "Please forgive anything I might say if it makes no sense...it has been quite an unexpected few weeks. I should be reviewing flight plans around now..."
In a tournament full of elite athletes, sponsored pinnacles of the so-called capitalist paradises of the world, and those from other more acceptable nations who have been supported at every turn to live and breathe cricket, the proletarians of the Plough Islands stand out. The Foxes are one of the only teams remaining in the tournament where players are not professional athletes playing for money, with their unity of purpose and passion for their game and their country helping them to upset far, far bigger and deeper resourced nations. And Fairfield stands out most of all - other teams have had dockers and farmers and military men, but Fairfield, a left-arm unorthodox spinner and former PIA pilot who has flown PITA island-hopper services for the last seven years, was seen as sufficiently unusual that a report in the Orean Daily Times stated he had flown the PITA Tu-134 that had brought the team into the Liventian capital. "Utter nonsense" is how Fairfield describes the factoid, which found its way into a number of external media reports. "I have not held a jet licence since the Air Force..."
It is a factoid he has had plenty of opportunities to correct recently. Until the start of the month, Fairfield would only have been afforded the usual level of recognition within the islands; more people would be familiar with his voice, from the cockpit of an Islander or Trislander, or perhaps from a distance on the cricket pitch, than they would be with his face. Fast forward to today, though, and with Fairfield having played a vital role in bowling the 52nd over in the now infamous Damukuni match that opened the Foxes' campaign, Fairfield has been seen as something of a folk hero ever since. "I cannot quite believe it sometimes. The letters from comrades back home have been nice, but the local journalists have been..." He makes a gesture with his hands. "It all feels a little unreal. I was not expecting to be here, I am just...I am used to club cricket, the Highrock Athletic Club or Tendales or the Air Force ground, Meteor Park. I never thought this would happen..."
Fairfield talks through his latest match with the same sense of detached disbelief. He had only just returned from two matches out, which had served the purpose of giving young leg-spinning all-rounder Jannie Hendricks - a "lovely player, really eager to learn, quite keen in many ways to develop a distinct technique and approach to the game" - as well as affording the 35-year-old some rest. "I understood completely, it is the same in flying as it is in cricket or in fishing or in everything else - sprinting is for younger people who can, I need to pace myself out - but that did not stop me wanting to be out there!". Kevin Laing, his captain, chose to bat, which meant Fairfield would wait a little longer - and by the time he came out, it was the 45th over and a superbly judged century from Graeme Holt had seen the Plough Islands to an already imposing 284-5 with 35 balls remaining. And precisely one delivery later, with no change to the score, Fairfield was on his way back; his instincts told him to leave a Patrice Delacroix delivery outside off stump that arced in and took out middle and off.
"I was quite upset with myself for that, to be honest - I have not had much trust in my bowling since my Air Force days, I have tended to be more of a batsman since, so as soon as I heard that behind me I thought 'well, there goes the best part of the match'..." Indeed, as Barunia began to chase their eventual target of 343, Fairfield had been upset enough for captain Laing to be "a little hesitant to give him the ball, for fear of what he might do - it was a good, fairly new pitch, and it is easy to fall back on pragmatism in that situation". Laing did not, ultimately, go for the safe option of allowing Fairfield to mellow further, but introduced him to the attack in the eighth over from the City End. His first few deliveries were unremarkable, one even drifting a bit wide and being gratefully pounced on by Barunian captain Ben Lockwood for four, but in his second over he found his mark; a similarly slightly wide ball, that Lockwood got down to give the same treatment, but caught with less than the full face of the bat and barrelled straight back at Fairfield in his follow-through.
It took another two overs for his second to come, with Laing persisting with Fairfield as he cycled his other bowlers; "obviously, with the benefit of hindsight it is easy to say I thought Andrew was going to do something, but...you just feel like you can see what will happen, sometimes, and I saw something in his eyes". When it did, with Taylor Christian chopping the ball straight at Naomi Salisbury, wicket number three was not far away. "The Christian ball was quite a standard one, but I thought I would bowl something that turned the other way for the new bat, and he almost wafted at it and Tim [Bleasdale, wicketkeeper] could see what was happening..." Bleasdale duly caught the thin edge from Simon Daley to leave Fairfield on a hat trick. He had taken one before in elite competition - against the Naval Force in a 2008 Sutcliffe Shield match - but so unused was the veteran all-rounder to the situation that he did not know what to do.
"There was a bit more noise from the pavilion end than usual, and Kevin was asking me what I was going to bowl, and I was asking him...I was asking Kevin Laing how to bowl my own deliveries! Coherent thought had just completely left me!" From the distance of the next morning, Fairfield can laugh about it, but he cut a very nervous figure as he came in - from around the wicket this time - to the left-hander Phoenix Horton, one of the stronger Barunians in the tournament. Her previous form came to naught as she stretched to hit what was, in the event, a slightly too wide delivery, but could only get a thick top edge to it and, like before, Bleasdale was there. Fairfield had his second hat trick, the Barunian top order had been gutted of its strongest members, and the Foxes were completely in control of the Group G match.
Fairfield admits to not quite recalling the rest of the day in quite as much detail as those deliveries, but he does recall the reaction to them. "The roar of the pavilion end was quite something, and I had Audrey [Leggett] on my shoulders at one point! It was a little bit of catharsis for me as well, after how the batting innings went, I wanted to make some kind of impression..." The day then peaked when, with Salisbury having broken some of the Barunian middle order resistance, Fairfield came back to finish his overs from the Mainland End and found a way through the defences of Delacroix for a fifth, highly satisfying wicket. "I did not say anything to him after - maybe I should have. Maybe on a deep level it was some kind of revenge..."
His final bowling figures of five wickets for 38 from nine overs are his best in all first-class or List A cricket, and he shared Player of the Match honours with Holt, but Fairfield still expects to be left out of this evening's final second round match against Lisander; he again begrudgingly acknowledges his need for rest. "I need to keep myself in readiness for the quarter finals, whoever that might be against - we have come so deep in the tournament when nobody I think dared give us a hope, and certainly I have come a long way - I really was not expecting to be here!". Like his comrades, both those in Schimpol and the hundred and forty thousand back home, his expectations have shifted a little, although he tries to remain realistic - "I just turned thirty-five, I will make the most of international cricket while I can but I do not expect that to be much longer, in all honesty - although it is at the point now where you start to look at the tournament schedule and realise how close to the end you are, and wonder how far our country can go...". With the recent form the Plough Islands have been in, that statement could be taken as an observation or a challenge, and it is hard to tell from behind those sunglasses exactly which of them Fairfield meant.
But, to borrow a cliché from his regular job, the sky is the limit. "If we all continue to come together, to pull together, as we have, and if the currents favour us and we carry on playing good cricket, you never know". Fairfield stands up, and looks back out towards the main outfield where the rest of the Foxes are training. "And I am quite sure I have enough in me to see us there..."

PLOUGH ISLANDS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
XI FOR WORLD TROPHY VS.   LISANDER

        PLAYER           BAT   BOW
#10 G   Holt             LHB      
#12 AC  Leggett          RHB   RLB
#16 SLC Weaver           RHB   RLB
#2  RP  Aliyev           RHB      
#1  KCT Laing (c)        RHB   RMD
#13 LA  Martin           LHB      
#9  AJ  Hendricks        RHB   RLB
#11 IT  Lebed (w)        LHB      
#3  S   Ashe             RHB   ROB
#4  A   Baxter           RHB   RFS
#8  TSF Gibbs            RHB   RLB

[Liventia]

Second round Matchday 6
Group G
Darmen 239/3 (50 overs)
Barunia 244/6 (50 overs)
Barunia win by (either) 5 runs (or) four wickets with 0 balls remaining

The Plough Islands 318/6 (46.3 overs)
Lisander 317/6 (50 overs)
The Plough Islands win by four wickets with 3.3 overs remaining

  Group G              Pld   W  D  L  Pts
1 The Plough Islands     6   5  0  1   10  QF
2 Darmen                 6   3  0  3    6  QF
3 Barunia                6   3  0  3    6  ER
4 Lisander               6   1  0  5    2  ER

Tiebreaker:
Wins in the stage: Darmen 3, Barunia 3
Win percentage overall: Darmen 58.3%, Barunia 50.0%

Group H
Liventia 268/4 (49.2 overs)
Teusland 266/7 (50 overs)
Liventia win by six wickets with 4 balls remaining

Krytenia 270/7 (50 overs)
Ko-oren 252/6 (50 overs)
Krytenia win by 18 runs

  Group H              Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Ko-oren                6   4  0  2    8  QF
2 Krytenia               6   3  0  3    6  QF
3 Liventia               6   3  0  3    6  ER
4 Teusland               6   2  0  4    4  ER

Tiebreaker:
Wins in the stage: Krytenia 3, Liventia 3
Win percentage overall: Krytenia 66.7%, Liventia 50.0%

Group I
Damukuni 374/7 (50 overs)
Serriel 278/3 (50 overs)
Damukuni win by 96 runs

Ethane 222/3 (30 overs)
Samrakstivu 218/4 (50 overs)
Ethane win by seven wickets with 20.0 overs remaining

Eastfield Lodge 270/5 (50 overs)
Jeckland 280/6 (50 overs)
Jeckland win by 10 runs

  Group I              Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Jeckland               6   4  0  2    8
2 Eastfield Lodge        5   4  0  1    8
3 The Grearish Union     5   3  0  2    6
4 Ethane                 5   3  0  2    6
5 Samrakstivu            5   3  0  2    6
6 Damukuni               5   1  0  4    2  E
7 Serriel                5   0  0  5    0  E

Group J
Mattijana 243/7 (50 overs)
The Sarian 247/7 (46.3 overs)
The Sarian win by three wickets with 3.3 overs remaining

Sajnur 272/5 (50 overs)
Sylestone 276/5 (40.3 overs)
Sylestone win by five wickets with 9.3 overs remaining

Elejamie 245/8 (50 overs)
Martune 344/5 (50 overs)
Martune win by 99 runs

  Group J              Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 Mattijana              5   4  0  1    8
2 Martune                6   4  0  2    8
3 New Lunenburg          5   4  0  1    8
4 Sylestone              5   3  0  2    6
5 The Sarian             5   2  0  3    4  E
6 Sajnur                 5   1  0  4    2  E
7 Elejamie               5   0  0  5    0  E

[Sylestone]

Sylestone completed a dominant display over group minnows Sajnur to keep their hopes of progression alive. They kept the opposition to 5/272 after their 50 overs, and Sylestone, or more accurately Lachlan Edwards and Daniel Fomleya, won the game in the 41st over. Martune also beat Elejamie, meaning that all Sylestone needs to do to progress is beat the winless Elejamie and hope Mattijana beats New Lunenberg. Talk about hearts in mouths.

Sajnur won the toss and batted on a good-looking track. They started off well but lost on of their openers to Norbert Pistecial in the eighth over. That was the only wicket for a while, although Polen kept the reins in. It was not going well for Sylestone until Hall and Edwards claimed three wickets between them in five overs, effectively restarting their innings. The quick bowlers kept the brake on during the final 10-15 overs, with Vilesti also adding yet another wicket to his collection. Sajnur finished with 272, a defendable total, but not necessarily difficult.

Joshua Vilesti 8 - 0 - 45 - 0
Norbert Pistecial 9 - 0 - 56- 1
Sean Polen 9 - 0 - 55 - 0
Liam Afosha 6 - 0 - 44 - 0
Broughton Hall 10 - 1 - 38 - 2
Lachlan Edwards 8 - 1 - 20 - 1

Extras: 17 (14LB, 3WD)
Total: 5/272 (50)

Sylestone began well, but Tiati fell after making a start. Charlton soon followed and it seemed Sylestone was in trouble. Fomleya and Edwards steadied the innings, but Edwards was having the time of his 16-year life and took to the Sajnur bowling. He ended with 154 not out. Fomleya made a half-century and provided brilliant support until he fell to a brilliant catch at short mid-wicket. Cocrine and Afosha fell quickly, but the game was won and Appleby and Edwards finished the game off with nearly 10 overs to go. All eyes on tomorrow's clashes to see who goes through.

Luke Tiati 23(24) Caught
Lachlan Edwards 154(125) Not out
Zachary Charlton 14(10) Bowled
Daniel Fomleya 63(59) LBW
Lachlan Cocrine 3(8) Bowled
Liam Afosha 7(6) Caught
Jonah Appleby 9(12) Not Out

Extras: 3 (2WD, 1NB)
Total 5/276 (40.3)

After the game:
"Today the results went our way, and we are desperately hoping for the same tomorrow. However, we cannot let whatever it distracts us from the game tomorrow, and although Elejamie is currently winless, we will go home if we underestimate them. We will focus on beating them and hope Mattijana can do the same. Until then, that is all."

[New Lunenburg]

NEW LUNENBURG BEAT THE SARIAN, SETTING UP A SHOWDOWN AGAINST MATTIJANA

TALBOTT, LIVENTIA - New Lunenburg's cricketers handily dispatched of The Sarian, cruising to a four-wicket victory by chasing a target of 222 to win with nearly 20 overs to spare. The bowling proved efficient once more, if a little toothless, as Adam Lyons and William Rose combined to claim all five fallen Saari wickets in the latter half of their innings. Although all five bowlers put in a solid performance in the first innings, bowling tidily and holding The Sarian to a low score, these wickets seem to have fell to Lyons and Rose mostly as a result of the Saari batsmen eyeing up a slog against the slower bowlers late on in their innings and the Saari opening partnership may well have both carried their bats if they had not done so. In the second innings, Jordan Humphreys opened the batting with David Klein once more and silenced the critics, who have often favoured test opener Joseph Graves, as he made a half-century during the first powerplay. Humphreys put up the largest score of the match for New Lunenburg, eventually being caught at the boundary rope on 79, though the rest of the order took up his example of attacking batting and seemed to want to end the match as quickly as possible. Whereas losing six wickets in the course of slightly more than 30 overs is a cause for slight concern, Nathan Stainton's side never really looked like the match would get away from them and comfortably closed it out.

The Racecourse Ground. Talbott, Liventia
The Sarian 221/5 (50 overs)
New Lunenburg 222/6 (31.3 overs)
New Lunenburg win by four wickets with 18.3 overs remaining

New Lunenburg's cricketers were then rewarded with a much-earned rest day before their final Group J match against Mattijana in Orean. Another piece of welcome news was received that day in the training camp, as the side were informed that The Sarian had managed an upset victory against Mattijana, which means that the upcoming match will decide who finishes first in the group. Although a win guarantees New Lunenburg finish first and qualify for the knockout rounds, their position is not entirely secure, as Martune and Sylestone are both still in contention for the top two qualifying spots. Even if New Lunenburg lose to Mattijana and are eliminated to the benefit of either of the two aforementioned sides on a tiebreaker, they can feel confident of having made the nation proud with an excellent first foray into ODI cricket and somewhat unlucky to not progress to the knockout rounds with such an impressive record in both phases of the group stage. Nathan Stainton remarked that these scenarios are not on his or his side's mind ahead of the match against Mattijana, saying that we can "forget tiebreakers, forget second place. We're here to win this match and win the group, maybe even the whole tournament." The side named for the decider is below:

NEW LUNENBURG CRICKET BOARD
XI FOR ODI WORLD TROPHY VS. MATTIJANA

1. DJ Klein
2. JC Humphreys

3. SE Wells
4. N Fuller
5. NE Stainton (c)
6. A Hansen (wk)
7. AB Lyons
8. WS Rose
9. JPR Atkinson
10. TT Griffiths
11. KK Schneider

[The Plough Islands]

Quick post just to get my scorecard up - I can't do much else until I know who I'm facing and where, so good luck to all the Group I and J teams and everyone involved in the eliminators. I'm going to take the opportunity to have a couple of days' rest from the world of cricket (and from the world in general) so I can be a bit fresher when the quarter finals come around!

---

[The Grearish Union]

GCF WORLD TROPHY ROUNDUP:Almost Goodbye
cricketgrearia.gu/home/international/grearia/almost_goodbye.html

NEVEREND, LIVENTIA: The last match stares into the eyes of Cricket Grearia as the end of the second round rolls around in the ODI World Trophy in Liventia. The Black Dolphins hve found themselves in a precarious position, as they sit at third place with 6 points off 5 matches.

While it isn't entirely impossible for the Black Dolhpins to advance to the next stage, it is highly unlikely, and popular opinion back ahome and among the travelling fans, is that it is for the most part, over. It has been quite the ride for The Grearish Union as they topped their Group F to qualify into Group I, but defeat at the hands of the current table toppers in Eastfield Lodge and Jeckland left them vulnerable.

It is weird for one to even imagine now, how the elegant national team skipper in Ronald Potter scored a magnificent unbeaten 122 going greater than a run a ball in this round itself. It is probably just the stench of broken dreams that fills Grearish hearts. The World Cup Qualifiers were largely unattended, with special importance given to one of the country's more loved games - cricket. Yet, disappointment never seems to leave Grearish camps. The WCQ performances are dismal, and in cricket, the valiant efforts of our players have been thwarted in the cruellest of ways. The next game is now turned into a do-or-die encounter against Damukuni. A win is the least the Grearish will need.

The last game against a Damukuni side who just tasted their first victory against the severely underperforming lads from Serriel will only make them hungry for more. The air around the national team is unnaturally defeatist at the current moment, and it seems wild to imagine that defeating even Damukuni will be possible. Grearia needs a victory in this encounter, no arguing about that. If we don't win, we go home. Even if we do win, it's a tough battle forward. The tiebreaks come into play, as does God's grace. All we can say to our heroes now, is,

Do your best, and godspeed!

All matches will be telecast live on cricketgrearia.gu from Liventia.
This was a press release for Cricket Grearia™.

[Liventia]

Second round Matchday 7
Group I
Samrakstivu 307/6 (50 overs)
Eastfield Lodge 339/5 (50 overs)
Eastfield Lodge win by 32 runs

Serriel 327/6 (50 overs)
Ethane 288/6 (50 overs)
Serriel win by 39 runs

The Grearish Union 310/7 (50 overs)
Damukuni 310/5 (50 overs)
Super Over:
The Grearish Union 13/0 (1 overs)
Damukuni 10/0 (1 overs)

  Group I              Pld   W  T  L  Pts 
1 Eastfield Lodge        6   5  0  1   10  ER
2 The Grearish Union     6   4  0  2    8  ER
3 Jeckland               6   4  0  2    8
4 Ethane                 6   3  0  3    6
5 Samrakstivu            6   3  0  3    6
6 Damukuni               6   1  1  4    3
7 Serriel                6   1  0  5    2

Tiebreaker:
Games won in stage: The Grearish Union 4, Jeckland 4
Win percentage overall: The Grearish Union 72.7% (8/11), Jeckland 63.6% (7/11)

Group J
Sylestone 229/8 (50 overs)
Elejamie 240/5 (50 overs)
Elejamie win by 11 runs

The Sarian 237/8 (49.5 overs)
Sajnur 234/7 (50 overs)
The Sarian win by two wickets with 1 ball remaining

New Lunenburg 287/7 (50 overs)
Mattijana 263/6 (50 overs)
New Lunenburg win by 24 runs

  Group J              Pld   W  D  L  Pts 
1 New Lunenburg          6   5  0  1   10  ER
2 Martune                6   4  0  2    8  ER
3 Mattijana              6   4  0  2    8
4 Sylestone              6   3  0  3    6
5 The Sarian             6   3  0  3    6
6 Sajnur                 6   1  0  5    2
7 Elejamie               6   1  0  5    2

Tiebreaker:
Games won in stage: 
Win percentage overall: Martune 72.5% (8/11), Mattijana 50% (6/12)

Elimination round draw
Barunia v Martune at Grovers Park, Orean
Liventia v The Grearish Union at NCE Oval, City Centre (main ground)
Teusland v Eastfield Lodge at The Bastion Dover Cricket Ground, Dover
Lisander v New Lunenburg at Island Cricket Arena, Schimpol

OOC: In a change to the previously-announced schedule, tomorrow (Tuesday 2 June) will be an off-day, with the eliminators now taking place on Wednesday 3 June leading into the quarter-finals on Thursday.

[Sylestone]

Sylestone finished up their ODI World Cup with a shock loss against the winless Elejamie. It meant that Sylestone ended up fourth in the table, but they still gained much respect and they look a team to really take on the more established sides and spring some surprises. However, today, and at other points in the tournament, they were just under par and it ultimately cost them progression. However, 15/38 is a respectable placement and they can only improve.

Elejamie won the toss and batted and started off without losing any wickets, however, the Sylestonean quickies kept them at bay. Polen took three quick wickets, but the middle order consolidated. The spinners were nullified and played with relative ease, although Broughton Hall got the occasional ball to slip through to the keeper with his hybrid spin-bowling technique. At 3/160 with 10 overs to go, there were questions over whether the Elejamie batters had held off too long. Those questions remained the final ten as Vilesti and Pistecial each dismissed the set batsman and they could only get to 5/240 after 50 overs. It seemed a walk in the park for the Sylestonean batsman, but no one had any sort of clue what sort of mess they would make of it.

Joshua Vilesti 10 - 0 - 54 - 1
Norbert Pistecial 10 - 1 - 46 - 1
Sean Polen 10 - 1 - 33 - 3
Broughton Hall 10 - 0 - 47 - 0
Liam Afosha 4 - 0 - 27 - 0
Lachlan Edwards 6 - 0 - 23 - 0

Extras: 7 (7WD)
Total 5/240 (50)

Tiati and Edwards went out full of confidence, knowing that the target wasn't overly difficult. However, this was their downfall. Tiati, Edwards and Charlton were all back in the sheds by the end of the fifth over. Cocrine and Fomleya both inched along at a snail's pace until they were both dismissed in the 15th over. At 5/35, a humiliating defeat was at hand. Afosha and Appleby led a recovery until Appleby was dismissed for 23 with the score on 86. Pistecial made 12 before he too was dismissed at 117. 7/117 after 35 overs did not look very promising and Afosha and Polen could only add 15 in the next five overs. However, Afosha, amongst all of this collapse, kept on going and started really taking to the bowlers. With Polen's help, Sylestone required 28 runs off the final over, Afosha creamed a cover drive for four off the first ball. The second was a brilliant wide yorker of which nothing could be done. The next two went sailing over mid-wicket into the crowd. The score was 7/229 with two balls left. Everyone was on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately for Afosha, the Sylestone players and the country, in general, the fifth ball was a perfect yorker which bowled Afosha for a brilliant 119. Hall hit the final ball straight back to the bowler and walked immediately off the field, depressed. This was the attitude of the country for days afterwards, but they moved on and are looking forward to their next challenges.

Luke Tiati 2(6) LBW
Lachlan Edwards 6(12) Caught
Zachary Charlton 3(5) Caught
Daniel Fomleya 5(33) Run Out
Lachlan Cocrine 10(34) Bowled
Liam Afosha 119(109) Bowled
Jonah Appleby 23(45) Caught
Norbert Pistecial 12(21) Run Out
Sean Polen 49(34) Not Out
Broughton Hall 0(1) Not Out
Joshua Vilesti DNB

Extras: 0
Total: 8/229

Elimination Predictions:
Barunia vs Martune
This game looks to be a good one and Barunia looks the favourites, and with Martune's showing against Sylestone, that certainly looks likely. However, Martune did beat New Lunenberg, so you never know. Shouls be a thriller.

Barunia: 56%
Martune: 44%

Liventia vs The Grearish Union
The Grearians have looked good, but the question is, are they good enough to beat #1 test ranked and hosts Liventians in their elimination?
We shall see. Sylestone have never played against either side before so it should be interesting.

Liventia: 81%
The Grearish Union: 19%

Eastfield Lodge vs Teusland
This one should be extremely close. Eastfield Lodge put up a poor showing in the first stage but have seemed to have clicked to form a formidable side. Teusland won the WTC last month, but they haven't looked very strong since. Should be interesting.

Eastfield Lodge: 49%
Teusland: 51%

Lisander vs New Lunenberg
Lisander haven't looked extremely good against their stronger counterparts, so it should be interesting to see how they fare against the slightly weaker New Lunenberg, However, New Lunenberg are in form and the odds are stacked in their favour.

Lisander: 28%
New Lunenberg: 72%

We will be back in two days time to predict the quarter-final results.

[Ko-oren]

An Unlikely Story

Mawryshire's rise and fall & why only yLellmedd and ySarthylhar are on the World Trophy team

We left off at around the 30th year of organised First-Class cricket in Ko-oren, at the time a competition played between just a few regions. Mawryshire and Greencaster were obviously founding members of the KCB, as was Willowbourne. The latter two quickly split up, giving rise to Western Surbourneshire (previously part of Greencaster) and Leeshire (previously part of Willowbourne). Eastern Surbourneshire would be added decades later - but that's a story for a different time. We specifically ended the previous part with how Mawryshire repeatedly pummeled Greencaster.

Obviously, that's the "rise" bit of the subtitle. The "fall" part comes next.

Other regions catch up. With the establishment of a five (and later six) region system, each region can focus on their strengths, and competitiveness rises. Unfortunately for Mawryshire, each other region's population boomed at a certain point. Greencaster and Willowbourne grew to be the largest and second-largest cities. Leeshire has multiple top 20 cities. Western Surbourneshire - I mean, the mess that it can be - is densely populated at least. Eastern Surbourneshire has gone through its own boom and bust cycle - but their population is still larger than Mawryshire's, and much less spread out. Mawryshire just didn't have the resources to cover the larger ground, the less dense population, and later couldn't keep up with rising populations elsewhere - as well as the funds the other five regions were putting together.

In today's connected world, there are no single hubs for certain techniques anymore. Sure, there are regional differences making some techniques 'better' than others, but Mawryshire lost its spin bowling advantage to Leeshire and Western Surbourneshire. Today's connected world also means that Mawryshire can make up its gap to the other five - and it does. So why are Mawryshire so bad nowadays?

Well, honestly, a lot of bad luck.

There is great talent coming in from the southwest, actually. But either, it's years too late, or even too early, or there are generational talents available at that position already.

Mawryshire are up there in all-rounder talent. It might not seem like much, but the Ko-orenite game has always prioritised those that could play both sides. Darknoll and Cheyne are huge - but yMharwn and yFfewlpes are a great duo that can stengthen the middle order as well as the bowling attack. It's just a shame that yMharwn is out of form a little, and definitely looks at his best in Tests.

In batsmen, Mawryshire are middling. They have no truly bad players, one of the deepest lineups - but lack a standout century guy. No Willises, Whites, Aherns, or Stanways even. yChaegrheodd, yDigtawr and yRheighewn have all got national team experience, and the former two will likely get there again. yChaegrheodd, again, is primarily a four/five-day player. Ok, for openers, you got us - they don't look reliable.

Wicketkeeper is a stacked position, and besides, we only need about 10 of them in the country. Each region gets one, you need a few backups, and the national team can claim two or so as well - and behind Meredith and Wheelwright, it's tough to break through. yCherean is right up there in talent, but aging, so Mawryshire better hope what comes through the ranks for them is good enough to challenge.

Bowling - well, we've got plenty of good bowlers. Spin, while not exclusively Mawr domain anymore, still is a skill best acquired on the peninsula. ySarthylhar is, admittedly, not as accurate and consistent as his colleagues - but he's the best orthodox lefty we have. yLwrcof is a right-handed spin bowler, primarily leg-break, and unfortunately for him that is one stacked discipline. After Lincoln, and the rising Enright, yLwrcof better hope he can keep up the pace and stay on form. yLellmedd and yHofflhaws are among our nation's authorities in right-handed off-spin, but they're not the only ones. The selectors have in the past gone with Chesterman for his batting qualities - but yLellmedd is on his way showing he's got plenty to offer in limited overs as well.

Things will be better for Mawryshire. They will. But with six, nearly equally developed regions, the competition is huge and they're currently a step behind. Before long, the older players are out and Mawryshire are in the best position to get their new core ready when that happens - there will be some places up for grabs within a few years.

[Martune]

In Memoriam: Those We Lost In Round 2

---

Earlier predictions made by The Daily Martune made a slight error regarding tie breaking protocol. We overlooked that before head to head matches was overall win percentage in the whole tournament. If we had taken that into account the the predictions we made would've been much brighter and optimistic, as Martune held an impressive 72.5% win percentage for the entire tournament. Such as the case, Martune advances on an important tie break against Mattijana, who's 50% didn't hold a candle to Martune. And so, with the Second Round concluded and the matches played, here are the Elimination Round participants:

Group G
3. Barunia (3-3, Loss of tiebreak vs. Darmen)
4. Lisander (1-5)

---

Group H
3. Liventa (3-3, Loss of tiebreak vs. Krytenia)
4. Teusland (2-4)

---

Group I
1. Eastfield Lodge (5-1)
2. The Grearish Union (4-2, Tiebreak win vs. Jeckland)

---

Group J
1. New Lunenberg (5-1)
2. Martune (4-2, Tiebreak win vs. Mattijana)

For a fortunate few in the upper groups they have already advanced to the quarter-finals. Those being The Plough Islands, Darmen, Ko-oren, and Krytenia. Thankfully for them they don't have to drudge through the extra elimination round. But let's not forget about those we lost today. 10 teams are out of this tournament and whether they are going back home or staying to watch the final few games...let us remember their legacy in this prestigious tournament.

Nation, Second Round Record, Overall Record

• Jeckland (4-2, 7-4)
• Mattijana (4-2 6-6)
• Sylestone (3-3, 6-5)
• The Sarian (3-3, 6-5)
• Samrakstivu (3-3, 6-5)
• Ethane (3-3, 5-7)
• Damukuni (1-1-4, 3-2-6)
• Serriel (1-5, 5-6)
• Sajnur (1-5, 3-9)
• Elejamie (1-5, 2-10)

12 teams remain in contention for the World Trophy still

[New Lunenburg]

NEW LUNENBURG DEFEAT MATTIJANA, WINNING GROUP AND QUALIFYING FOR KNOCKOUT CRICKET

OREAN, LIVENTIA - New Lunenburg's cricketers won the final and deciding Group J match against Mattijana, thus ensuring their qualification to the knockout stages of the ODI World Trophy and eliminating their opponents. Nathan Stainton won the toss and opted to bat first. David Klein and Jordan Humphreys walked out to the middle once more as the opening pair of batsmen for New Lunenburg and seem to now be nailed down as the first choice for the partnership in ODI cricket. The pair got off to a steady start, first weathering six balls of expert seam-bowling from the Mattijanan captain Mattias Karamov, scoring just a run each in the first over. Indeed, Karamov could be credited with keeping the New Lunenburg bats at bay from some of the more high-scoring innings that the side has produced throughout the course of the tournament, as he took five of the seven New Lunenburg wickets that fell. Whilst Karamov clearly unsettled the openers early on, he failed to dismiss them and they went on to score more freely against the other four bowlers in the Mattijanan attack. By the end of the tenth over and the first powerplay, Klein and Humphreys were both still at the crease and had combined for 42 runs. However, this didn't remain the case for much longer, as Karamov returned to the attack and dismissed Klein leg before wicket. Sebastian Wells' wicket also fell in the same over, which is a shame as the test specialist was brought in to settle the side, who have often seemed somewhat cavalier about the value of their wicket. Nicholas Fuller continued his recent form and brought up a 50 partnership with Humphreys before the latter was dismissed just short of his half-century. The captain then came to the crease, there certainly seems to be a special something about the combination of Stainton and Fuller, with the presence of the captain steadying the nerves of the young gun who was cast out of the test XI earlier this year. Both Stainton and Fuller would reach their half-century before being dismissed, the captain fell victim to a tricky ball from off-spinner Jan Nortje on 54, whereas Fuller reached 87 before Karamov claimed another wicket. Keeper Andreas Hansen was then allowed to perform his normal role of sending as many balls to the boundary as possible before the bowlers get out. Hansen raced to his 50, as he so often has for his country, whilst spinner Adam Lyons batted with relative competence, though much more reserved in style. Lyons defended his wicket well and managed to tack 20 on the board before Karamov got the better of him. The same cannot be said for William Rose, who smashed a few boundaries (much to the surprise of the crowd) and then was promptly dismissed. Hansen and JPR Atkinson walked off the field after the scheduled 50 overs with New Lunenburg setting Mattijana a target of 288 to win. Konstantin Schneider opened the bowling for New Lunenburg and did not disapoint throughout his spell, though he actually seemed more shaken than Mattijanan opener Katarina Sava when he struck her in the helmet with a lethal bouncer, his next delivery to her went for six and he conceded 17 in the opening over, though he kept his bowling tidy during his subsequent spells. Thomas Griffiths kept his recent form up and was probably the best of the New Lunenburg bowlers on the day, though all five performed exceptionally to limit Mattijana to just 263/6 and claim first place in Group J.

Broadham Green. Orean, Liventia
New Lunenburg 287/7 (50 overs)
Mattijana 263/6 (50 overs)
New Lunenburg win by 24 runs

In the other final matches in the group, Elejamie secured their first victory in Group J, which also ensured Sylestone's elimination from the tournament and The Sarian successfully chased a target set for them by Sajnur on the penultimate ball of their innings, turning a dead rubber at the lower end of the group into an exciting match. Martune watched from afar as their fate was decided by these final matches played in the group and must have been nearly as glad to see New Lunenburg's cricketers defeat Mattijana as our nation's side was, as this ensured that Martune qualify at Mattijana's expense on the tiebreaking criterion of matches won during the course of the whole tournament. The full group table is below:

Group J                  Pld W  D  L  Pts 
1 New Lunenburg          6   5  0  1   10  ER
2 Martune                6   4  0  2    8  ER
3 Mattijana              6   4  0  2    8
4 Sylestone              6   3  0  3    6
5 The Sarian             6   3  0  3    6
6 Sajnur                 6   1  0  5    2
7 Elejamie               6   1  0  5    2

Preparations have begun for the Elimination Round match against traditional cricketing heavyweights Lisander at the Island Cricket Arena in Schimpol. This is without a doubt the biggest match so far in New Lunenburg's foray into international cricket. The selection committee of the New Lunenburg Cricket Board has made just one change ahead of the match, replacing Sebastian Wells with Joseph Graves.

NEW LUNENBURG CRICKET BOARD
XI FOR ODI WORLD TROPHY VS. LISANDER

1. DJ Klein
2. JC Humphreys

3. JP Graves
4. N Fuller
5. NE Stainton (c)
6. A Hansen (wk)
7. AB Lyons
8. WS Rose
9. JPR Atkinson
10. TT Griffiths
11. KK Schneider

[Martune]

A Martune invitation to Sylestone to set up a friendly series of cricket matches

The National Cricket Council Of Martune writes this to the governing Sylestone Cricket body to extend an invitation to arrange for a series of friendly cricket matches played in either country. It will be a 3 match series preferably played in the ODI format after the conclusion of the GCF ODI World Trophy. And while Martune is eager to host their first international sporting event we are not opposed to touring Sylestone for this series. We congratulate the Sylestone cricket team for their performance in the GCF ODI tournament and hope to see them compete in the future. We also hope to schedule this series of friendlies in due time to strengthen the bond between our nations and sharpen our players’ skills in this amazing sport.

-NCC of Martune

Sorry for the blandness here. I’m on my phone and wanted to do something else before the deadline today.

[Liventia]

Elimination round
Barunia 285/5 (50 overs)
Martune 326/4 (50 overs)
Martune win by 41 runs

Liventia 239/5 (46.4 overs)
The Grearish Union 236/7 (50 overs)
Liventia win by five wickets with 3.2 overs remaining – match scorinated by The Plough Islands

Teusland 326/7 (50 overs)
Eastfield Lodge 253/5 (50 overs)
Teusland win by 73 runs

Lisander 240/6 (50 overs)
New Lunenburg 300/3 (50 overs)
New Lunenburg win by 60 runs

Quarterfinal draw
This was an open draw, except that G1 could not be drawn against G2 or H1 and H1 could not be drawn against H2 or G1
The Plough Islands v. Teusland
Ko-oren v. New Lunenburg
Krytenia v. Darmen
Martune v. Liventia

[The Grearish Union]

GCF WORLD TROPHY ROUNDUP:Redemption Song!
cricketgrearia.gu/home/international/grearia/redemption_song.html

OREAN, LIVENTIA: We witnessed a miracle! While th ecrowd back at home was utterly defeatist in mentality, the Grearish national team itself seemed to be in very high spirits if the performance against Damukuni is to be considered the new norm. A tight victory in a super over encounter ensured that the Grearish Union advance to face the hosts, the mighty Liventians, but not without a fight to the bitter end.

Having been practically eliminated earlier in the Group I stage, Damukuni seemed keen on playing the part of, and upholding the honour of the classic spoilsport - and the win against the GU would have guaranteed the notorious practicality of the same. A rather high-scoring encounter at The Bastion in Dover ensured that both sides got up to a total of 310 for their regulation 50 overs, but the Black Dolphins overcame the hurdle of the super over in which they outscored the opposition by restricting them to a total of 10 runs in response to their 13. This win has been humongous for Grearia in terms of the overall results in the tournament. If we look at it that way, it has been a sort of redemption. The overall victory percentage of the two sides came into play in the group table standings tussle between Grearia and Jeckland, where Grearia reigned supreme, thanks to this victories, and more in the past. "Chokers!" was heard a lot over national TV in the past few hours after the win, though, pointing fingers at how The Grearish Union could barely scrape the second place in the group to advance into the eliminator stage.

The eliminator stage is now crucial, as it every other match for every other team from now on. It is all knockout, and anything, really can happen. The game of cricket as it is, is regarded as one of the more uncertain sports where it isn't known who wins the competition until 'the last ball is bowled'. In this exciting ODI format of the game, in a condition as serious as the World Trophy, it is expected to draw more TV viwership as ever as the top 12 ODI teams in the world as of now face off in the next rounds - with their future in the tournament at stake.

The mighty Liventians are next at the door, and the Grearish are tense. What happens next?

All matches will be telecast live on cricketgrearia.gu from Liventia.
This was a press release for Cricket Grearia™.

[Krytenia]

Revenge On Cards As History Beckons
Angus Haggerston reports from Orean, Liventia

After two gruelling group stages, a feast of entertaining cricket, and the most convoluted tournament format this side of Casari, we are finally down to the nitty-gritty. Eight teams remain for the knockout stages of the World Trophy, and from here it's winner stays on.

Krytenia have won nine of their twelve games in the competition, and have beaten seven of the eight teams they have played in that time. It's little wonder, then, that the Stars have been mentioned alongside the likes of the Plough Island and Ko-oren as potential champions. There is however, one thing standing in their way.

The draw in Folensia pitted Krytenia against none other than the odd one of the eight, the only side that Krytenia have played and failed to beat in the competition. The match against Darmen, way back on opening day, was perhaps the worst that the Stars have played, failing to reach even 200 runs against a gettable target. This time, though, Krytenia have learned much, and will have the advantage of knowing the conditions of the artificial Grovers Park field better than their opponents.

It's going to be an enthralling matchup, with both sides wanting to make as big an impact as possible on this inaugural tournament. Let's hope that Lynton Saxon and the boys can stay in the competition just that little bit longer.

[Sylestone]

Teusland vs Plough Islands:
Teusland notched up a comfortable victory over Eastfield Lodge, but they have The Plough Islands up next and everyone knows how good they can be on their day. However, as stated before, Teusland did win the Test Championship, so you never know. However, The Plough Islands are heavy favourites to take this one out.

Teusland: 16%
Plough Islands: 84%


Ko-oren vs New Lunenberg:
Ko-oren, an established GCF side, are looking to take on the talented New Lunenberg in their quarter-final. Ko-oren are expected victors, but New Lunenberg is looking to only just be peaking. Should be a blinder

Ko-oren: 69%
New Lunenberg: 31%


Krytenia vs Darmen:
Probably the closest game of them all, and both sides are looking strong. However, Darmen looks slightly stronger than the Krytenians, and they are expected to beat them in what should be a good game to watch.

Krytenia: 43%
Darmen: 57%


Liventia vs Martune:
Liventia is certainly the better side out of these two, that's for sure. But they haven't played at their best during the tournament and Martune only just look to be peaking. It will certainly be an interesting game to watch as no one can really know for sure what can happen.

Liventia: 61%
Martune: 39%

[The Plough Islands]

Here we are - it feels like this is just going to be coin flips all the way to the final, and given the high levels of roleplay we've had (eight!!! pages) I'm not realistically expecting this to be easy - like Kevin, anything from here on will feel a bit like a bonus for me, as OOCly as well as ICly it feels a bit like I'm punching above my weight...
The very best of luck to Teusland, and to the other six teams remaining, before tonight's games - here's to the tournament continuing to be RPed well and to finish on a high, whoever's name goes on the trophy :3

---

WORLD TROPHY: TEUSLAND AWAIT AT LIVENTIAN CRICKET COLOSSEUM
by Denis Wormwood, Sporting Correspondent, in Orean

After a few days of precious rest and recuperation following their four-wicket victory over Lisander that marked the end of the second stage of the tournament, the Plough Islands are now confirmed as facing the reigning World Test Challenge champions, Teusland, in the first of the World Trophy quarter finals. The match will take place at the home of Liventian cricket; the Colossal scale Park Central Oval in Orean, where the Foxes previously played in Group A, and where a near-full capacity crowd (with thousands more of their comrades watching and listening from home) is likely to see Kevin Laing's team attempt to progress further in a Global Cricket Federation competition than they have ever previously been.
It is the first meeting of these two teams since Teusland made their Test cricket debut with a two-match series in the Plough Islands, with the visitors winning the first match at December Park but suffering an innings defeat to a reawakened Foxes side in the second Test at the Highrock Athletic Club. Since then, they have grown to become one of multiversal cricket's most entertaining teams, with the GCF ranking them fourth in the world in the long format; they have been less successful in limited overs cricket, falling in the group stage of both the eleventh and twelfth World 20-over Championships, despite their dangerous, high-scoring, attacking cricket being a natural fit for the format.
The Edelweiss have had a mixed World Trophy campaign thus far; they began strongly with a dominant win over an Elejamian side still struggling to adapt to limited overs cricket, but Konrad von Sauerland's team struggled to replicate that form for the remainder of the first round and went into the final day needing to defeat Mattijana to finish in the top four. An excellent display of death bowling by Elias Lehner and von Sauerland himself, with the captain bowling the final over, helped them defend 275 in City Centre and remain in the so-called "elite" groups in the next round. They had a poor start to the second phase, however, losing their first three matches as von Sauerland's team struggled with the makeshift pitch and the patchwork mixture of real and artificial grass at Grover Park. A late recovery in the second half of the second round ultimately foundered as a last over defeat to Liventia saw them forced into the eliminators against Eastfield Lodge, where again good bowling by Lehner and von Sauerland saw them restrict the Lodgers' scoring and win comfortably by 73 runs.
Teusland have also had the benefit, ahead of the quarter final, of remaining in the dry heat of Orean, while the Foxes' recent run of form has predominantly come on the coastal plains of Schimpol, and the Plough Islands may have to adjust their tactics - and almost certainly will need to adjust their preparation - accordingly. There will be few concerns over team selection, particularly after batting all-rounder Shauna Weaver returned to action in the win over Lisander after missing two matches with concussion; head coach Lourens Hendricks told this author that he plans to pick "as much of a full-strength side as we can, y'know, with injuries". Hendricks and Laing's main issue will be the effectiveness of the bowling on a pitch that historically helps batting sides; with Colin McCarthy injured, Andrew Baxter is the only pace option available, and proved more effective in Schimpol than he had been in the desert, and the accurate finger-spin of Naomi Salisbury and Sarah Ashe will likely be key in containing the Edelweiss.
While comparing the One Day International records and paths through the tournament of the two teams suggests the Plough Islands will be seen as favourites - with one foreign correspondent rating their likelihood of winning as 84 per cent - the truth is, as anyone who has played in the Sutcliffe Shield or even a summer club competition can tell you, the final stages of a tournament are a very different world to the early rounds and pressure can play cruel tricks on the mind. Hence, the outlook of the Foxes has been predominantly on taking each game as it comes; Laing confirmed to this author that he considers the knockout stage to be "as much down to luck as skill, really, you can hold on to the ball or drop it - the margins in this world are quite fine", and he prefers, mostly, to focus on the tournament in perspective, even as history potentially awaits.
"When you look at the teams we have beaten, we have beaten the hosts, we have beaten our Ko-orenite friends, we have beaten Darmen, again, Sajnur, Lisander, so many distinguished and very, very big teams with so much more backing them than we have in our small country. We can be incredibly proud of being here no matter what happens, and now..." Laing smiles. "...it is just a case of taking one game at a time and seeing how far we can take this adventure..."

PLOUGH ISLANDS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
XI FOR WORLD TROPHY VS.   TEUSLAND

        PLAYER           BAT   BOW
#10 G   Holt             LHB      
#12 AC  Leggett          RHB   RLB
#16 SLC Weaver           RHB   RLB
#2  RP  Aliyev           RHB      
#1  KCT Laing (c)        RHB   RMD
#13 LA  Martin           LHB      
#7  AG  Fairfield        LHB   SLC
#11 IT  Lebed (w)        LHB      
#3  S   Ashe             RHB   ROB
#4  A   Baxter           RHB   RFS
#15 NA  Salisbury        LHB   SLA

[Ko-oren]

An even unlikelier story

The Mawr Language

Ko-oren, as a patchwork of languages, is a centuries-old thing. Even before the arrival of the foreign languages (English, Dutch, French, and indeed Mawr), the archipelago was home to a native language family ('Ko-orenite Language Family'), of which members are still widely spoken on the isles. Gehrennan is the most successful, still the unofficial language of administration. Beyond the four major ones, there are about a dozen or so smaller languages that survive in small communities. But that's not what you're here for.

Some 1500 years ago, Ko-oren had its first run-in with anything foreign. The first trade relations with nearby nations were set up, there was mutual influence, and the first attempts by Ko-orenites to learn foreign tongues. They weren't very good at it (yet), but they tried, communcation was possible, and that kept trade alive. As the trade across the Bay of Ko-oren stalled, money from abroad took away influence from our own government. We stood (somewhat) powerless, but the nation kept on running despite having to sell away some of their economic rights. Ultimately, the foreign influence would make Ko-oren stronger than ever, and the linguistic influence would never leave the country.

The next big wave of foreign influence came about 500 years ago, at a time when Ko-oren was busy exporting its goods and culture to other places, also taking their goods and cultures home. Again, Ko-oren stood at a vulnerable point in its history, and this time the trade posts that were established on our soil stayed. Spanish and Portuguese came first, then Dutch, English, French, Japanese as well (as well as many more, but they're now only spoken in small communities). Celtic languages came along with English, but as we've seen in previous episodes, they were relegated to a relatively unwanted piece of land - Mawryshire. Under continuous pressure by the Anglophones as well as the native Ko-orenite languages, the Celtic speakers banded together and over generations started speaking their own language - dubbed Ko-Gaelic at times - which is now known as Mawr.

The orthography has only been established two centuries ago and has been changed and corrected every now and again, taking into consideration both Welsh and Irish spelling. Th and dd are used as in Welsh, but the h is used for lenition as in Irish, for instance. The phonology is decidedly more Welsh-leaning, but does make a distinction between 'broad' and 'slender' consonants (as in Irish). Over time, Mawr developed its own idiosyncracies, including an expanded vowel system. There are regional differences to lenition, as well.

As far as names go, Mawr names are as easy as they get. Like in Gehrennan, or English, people have a given (first) name and a family (last) name. It's even easy to distinguish between them: last names start with a lowercase 'y', a prefix derived from various pronouns and articles (the, a, on, at, in, etc.) that merged into one prefix that lost its meaning - but the 'y' remains.

We'll cover pronunciation next time - but be warned - it's a technical story with asterisks abound. Local pronunciation might differ from 'standard' Mawr, and it's not always clear which goes first in that case. Even place names aren't above regional disputes.

[New Lunenburg]

NEW LUNENBURG THROUGH TO LAST EIGHT IN ODI WORLD TROPHY

SCHIMPOL, LIVENTIA - New Lunenburg's cricketers flourished in Schimpol amid conditions that surely reminded the ODI side of home. The Island Cricket Arena in Schimpol, located off the Liventian mainland, provided a familiar environment for the seamers, which was certainly reminiscent of northern New Lunenburg grounds in Clarendon, Montgomery and Verulam. New Lunenburg batted first once more and the batsmen did not disappoint, putting in perhaps the best performance of the tournament so far. David Klein and Jordan Humphreys opened solidly again, both surviving the initial attack from the Lisanlicean bowlers. This slow, stalwart approach to the start of the innings clearly steadied the rest of the side, as just three New Lunenburg batsmen were dismissed by the Lisanlicean bowling attack. Klein and Humphreys calmly brought up a 100 partnership, then both openers' wickets fell in quick succession to Harry Graham. This brought in test opener and ODI reserve batsman Joseph Graves, who also played a slow but steady innings, leaving the shots to be played by the more cavalier batsman Nicholas Fuller, who has certainly proven himself as a player adept in the ODI format. Fuller was the final New Lunenburg batsman to be dismissed, giving away his wicket in the 36th over to Isaac Highfield after making 71 runs with considerable speed. This brought Nathan Stainton to the crease, who was clearly given the green light to play any shots he felt comfortable playing and relished attacking everything the Lisanlicean bowlers sent him. Even Graves took a more attacking approach in the final few overs and New Lunenburg reached 300 on the last ball of the innings, Stainton was beaming as he removed his helmet and walked to the pavilion, knowing that his side had set Lisander a target that would be hard to chase in such conditions. In a change to the normal bowling order, Stainton gave the ball to Thomas Griffiths for the first over. Griffiths bowled in Schimpol just like he does on his home ground in Montgomery and could not have looked any more confident throughout his spells. Whilst Griffiths did not dismiss either of the Lisanlicean opening batsmen, he certainly gave Dante Brandet and Harvey Reiman some trouble, as they struggled to get off the mark. Whereas Griffiths was the most efficient of the New Lunenburg bowlers, JPR Atkinson proved to be the most dangerous, taking three wickets in the match. Atkinson dismissed Brandet on 28 for the first wicket of the innings and would later add Sam Ayers and Franco Mader to his tally. The spin and medium-fast pace bowling of Adam Lyons and William Rose proved efficient once more, which played a big part in keeping Lisander to 240/6 and ensuring New Lunenburg's passage into the quarter-finals. One blow for the side in the match is the loss of Konstantin Schneider, who suffered from cramp towards the end of the match and will be rested against Ko-oren.

Island Cricket Arena. Schimpol, Liventia
Lisander 240/6 (50 overs)
New Lunenburg 300/3 (50 overs)
New Lunenburg win by 60 runs

NEW LUNENBURG CRICKET BOARD
XI FOR ODI WORLD TROPHY VS. KO-OREN

1. DJ Klein
2. JC Humphreys

3. JP Graves
4. N Fuller
5. NE Stainton (c)
6. A Hansen (wk)
7. AB Lyons
8. CD Connolly
9. WS Rose
10. JPR Atkinson
11. TT Griffiths

[Martune]

And They Keep On Winning

---

Yesterday in a thrilling performance by the Martune side, who secured another 300 run match, saw the Royal Eagles advance to the quarter finals in the GCF ODI tournament. From here on out it's a one game winner advance situation. No longer can any team rely on group play tie breakers to advance onward. We've seen some excellent cricket being played by both sides of the Martune squad as the Gardener/Daniell partnership has proven to be a valuable asset to Martune's innings as well as the Holland/Qadir bowling attack that has stumped quite a few batsmen. Overall, Martune graduates to 9 of 12 in this tournament and is now eyeing the World Trophy as well as some positive rankings once this is all over. We were able to sit down with both Gardener and Daniell yesterday after the match and briefly interview them about their team's success and where they think they will go from here.

Interview of Eduard Gardener and Yusuff Daniell by Tammy Wank

Wank: So guys, how does it feel winning this elimination match?

Gardener: Oh I think I speak for both of us that we are very relieved that we won that. Our goal was to get as far as we could and we keep setting new bests to beat.

Wank: Of course. You know when we saw you lose to Mattijana...everyone just thought 'this is it' you know? Like this is the match that's killed Martune.

Daniell: Well the thing is that: yes, Mattijana won. But we aren't disappointed that we advanced off a tie break to them. The tie break said that whoever performed the best in total would advance, and we were the better team overall. We have to keep our heads up. We aren't going to succeed by sticking our heads in the mud and whining about 3 losses.

Wank: Well how was that feeling. I mean you had several sources misreporting how the tiebreaks would happen. I mean nobody believed that you were going to adv-

Gardener:No no. We did. We believed. Like Yusuff said, we aren't doing ourselves any favors by sticking our heads in the mud and crying about it. Everyone looked at how we could lost but no one wanted to see how we could advance, except us. I mean, I was in the clubhouse telling everyone that if we beat Elejamie then we got this. Only a super over could kill us. And look at us now.

Wank: Well, you beat off Barunia

Gardener and Daniell: *chuckle*

Wank: Yeah yeah, you beat Barunia and will be playing the hosts Liventia. This is probably going to be the biggest stage yet. The most people who you have ever had watch one of your matches. My last question is: Are you prepared?

Gardener and Daniell: yea-yes

Gardener: I'll stick with my message Tammy, we aren't putting our heads in the mud. If we lose, we lose looking Liventia in the eyes. We are only getting better. How many first year squads take their run to the quarters? We did. So if this isn't our year then we aren't far off.

Wank: Thank you gentlemen. I'm Tammy Wank and this was Wank n' Company. Stay tuned tomorrow as we talk with Coach Swanson about his team's performance and some light about the NCC issue.

Barunia 285/5 (50 overs)
Martune 326/4 (50 overs)
Martune win by 41 runs

While not as cozy as the 99 run margin the Eagles put up against Elejamie, it was enough to take them to the quarters. Martune will play Liventia later on today on SOX Sports and MNBC (check your local listings). A few notable players to note injuries for on the Martune team are:

• Bill Garret (Sprained ankle, May request a runner)
• Adam Alfarsi (Flu like symptoms, Playing status unknown)

Liventia are coming off a comfortable win against The Grearish Union in a decent display of batting discipline. Not many are expecting Martune to win and even Sylestone reporters state that Martune have a 39% chance of winning. But then again, Martune was the underdog against Barunia and New Lunenberg too. So there's not really any real solid speculation that could pin down a loss or win for either side. Once again we will see a win for cricket tonight. So if you weren't planning on flying out to Liventia, go out there now. We need you to support our boys in gold no matter the odds. Let's be the 12th man out there. GO MARTUNE!!!

Martune vs. Liventia

---

Starting X1

---

1. Terry Daniels
   Batsmen, Right Handed
2. Ben Dalton
   Batsmen, Left Handed
3. Raymond Antonino
   All-Rounder, Left Handed Bat, Left Arm Orthodox
4. Eduard Gardener (C) (WK)
   Batsmen, Right Handed
5. Yusuff Daniell (VC)
   All-Rounder, Left Handed, Left Arm Unorthodox
6. Bill Garrett
   Batsmen, Left Handed
7. Leon Holland
   Bowler, Right Handed Bat, Right Arm Off Break
8. Ronni Garry
   Bowler, Left Handed Bat, Left Arm Medium
9. Dee McFay
   Bowler, Left Handed Bat, Right Arm Fast
10. Aqil Qadir
    Bowler, Right Handed Bat, Right Arm Leg Break
11. Adam Alfarsi
    Bowler, Left Handed Bat, Left Arm Fast-Medium

[Darmen]

Some abbreviated scorecards of the statistical variety...

Name      Overs M Runs Wkts Econ.
Wakefield 10.0  1 56   1    5.60
McAlister 10.0  0 70   1    7.00
Dickenson 10.0  1 54   0    5.40
Bachmann  10.0  0 61   0    6.10
Myers     10.0  2 44   1    4.40

Name          Runs Balls 4's 6's SR
V Acker        53  65     6   1   81.54
S Winter*      29  42     3   1   69.05
W van der Zee  88  66    10   4  133.33
T Milligan     15  23     2   0   65.22
E Ready         4   5     1   0   80.00
B Bachmann     64* 71     9   2   90.14
A Armbruster†   1   3     0   0   33.33
C McAlister    17   6     1   2  283.33
D Myers         6*  3     0   1  200.00
Extras         10
Total         287        33  11
Did not bat: A Dickenson, M Wakefield

Name          Runs Balls 4's 6's SR
V Acker        45  37     6  1   121.62
S Winter*      65  51     9  2   127.45
W van der Zee  54  34     8  2   158.82
T Milligan     94* 77    13  0   122.08
E Ready        28  32     4  0    87.50
B Bachmann     24  29     2  1    82.76
A Armbruster†  17  25     2  0    68.00
C McAlister    10* 15     1  0    66.67
Extras         11
Total         348        45  6
Did not bat: D Myers, A Dickenson, M Wakefield

Name      Overs M Runs Wkts Econ.
Wakefield 10.0  1 68   2    6.80
McAlister 10.0  0 69   0    6.90
Dickenson 10.0  0 62   1    6.20
Bachmann  10.0  1 54   2    5.40
Myers     10.0  3 39   1    3.90

Name      Overs M Runs Wkts Econ.
Wakefield 10.0  0 76   1    7.60
McAlister 10.0  2 47   3    4.70
Dickenson 10.0  1 58   2    5.80
Bachmann  10.0  2 46   1    4.60
Myers     10.0  2 45   1    4.50

Name          Runs Balls 4's 6's SR
V Acker        64  70     8  1    91.43
S Winter*      59  61     9  0    96.72
W van der Zee  48  44     7  1   109.09
T Milligan     61  70     8  2    87.14
E Ready        13  26     1  0    50.00
B Bachmann      7  13     1  0    53.85
A Armbruster†  12* 16     2  0    75.00
Extras          7
Total         271        36  4
Did not bat: C McAlister, D Myers, A Dickenson, M Wakefield

Name      Overs M Runs Wkts Econ.
Wakefield 10.0  0 90   1    9.00
McAlister 10.0  0 62   1    6.20
Dickenson 10.0  1 61   2    6.10
Bachmann  10.0  0 77   2    7.70
Myers     10.0  3 43   1    4.30

Name          Runs Balls 4's 6's SR
V Acker        70   56    7  2   125.00
S Winter*      93  107    9  3    86.92
W van der Zee   1    3    0  0    33.33
T Milligan     14   23    2  0    60.87
K O'Callaghan  58   67    7  2    86.57
B Bachmann     23*  30    4  0    76.67
A Armbruster†   5    4    1  0   125.00
C McAlister    12*  10    2  0   120.00
Extras         15
Total         291        32  7
Did not bat: D Myers, A Dickenson, M Wakefield

Name          Runs Balls 4's 6's SR
V Acker        37   34    4  1   108.82
S Winter*      54   47    7  0   114.89
W van der Zee  46   30    5  2   153.33
T Milligan     80   88    8  1    90.91
K O'Callaghan  88*  56   10  2   157.14
B Bachmann     11   13    1  0    84.62
A Armbruster†  24   18    4  0   133.33
C McAlister    19*  14    1  1   135.71
Extras         13
Total         372        40  7
Did not bat: D Myers, A Dickenson, M Wakefield

Name      Overs M Runs Wkts Econ.
Wakefield 10.0  0 79   1    7.90
McAlister 10.0  1 70   3    7.00
Dickenson 10.0  0 63   3    6.30
Bachmann  10.0  1 56   2    5.60
Myers     10.0  1 51   0    5.10

Name          Runs Balls 4's 6's SR
V Acker        18   26    2  0    69.23
S Winter*      35   46    3  1    76.09
W van der Zee 102* 116   11  3    87.93
T Milligan     51   70    6  1    72.86
K O'Callaghan  26*  42    3  0    61.90
Extras          7
Total         239        25  5
Did not bat: B Bachmann, A Armbruster†, C McAlister, D Myers, A Dickenson, M Wakefield

Name      Overs M Runs Wkts Econ.
Wakefield 10.0  1 59   2    5.90
McAlister 10.0  1 55   2    5.50
Dickenson 10.0  2 44   1    4.40
Bachmann  10.0  1 51   1    5.10
Myers     10.0  3 35   0    3.50

---

A Darmeni Cricket Blog

Who are Darmen's statistical leaders at the World Trophy?
-Christopher Wilkie

Batting Leaders
Runs - Theudofrid Milligan with 610
Most Boundaries - Winston van der Zee with 84 (62 fours, 22 sixes)
Strike Rate - Winston van der Zee with 121.36
Batting Average - Kenny O'Callaghan with 98.00
Half Centuries - Theudofrid Milligan with 6
Centuries - Theudofrid Milligan & Winston van der Zee with 1 each
High Score - Theudofrid Milligan & Winston van der Zee both with 102*

Bowling Leaders
Overs Bowled - Dorian Myers with 120.0
Maidens - Dorian Myers with 28
Wickets - Dorian Myers & Menashe Wakefield with 18
Economy - Dorian Myers with 4.33
Bowling Average - Dorian Myers with 28.83
Best Figures - Dorian Myers with 4-28

As it is with the Test team, Darmen's success has to be attributed to its middle order batsmen. Whether its Milligan's patience, which has actually paid off for the most part in the one-day format; or van der Zee's brash, caution to the wind, buy all the raffle tickets, fearlessness; the middle order is where much of Darmen's production has come from. Kenny O'Callaghan, even with the small sample size of only four innings at the crease, has also performed admirably, already surpassing Ellar Ready, the man he replaced, in total runs scored, 196-178.

To be fair to the openers, Acker and Winter are fourth and third respectively in total runs, and both are averaging above 40 an innings.

Even though the conditions in Schimpol favored pace bowling and his performance has dropped off in the past few matches, spinner Dorian Myers continues to lead Darmen in every statistical category there is. Perhaps Orean's Grovers Park will favor Myers' off break a bit more than the Island Cricket Arena did and his top level performance will continue on. Menashe Wakefield has also done well, matching Myers' record of 18 wickets so far, but doing so with the worst economy rate of any Darmeni bowler, 5.93 runs per over.


Lineup for Quarterfinal vs. Krytenia: V Acker, S Winter*, W van der Zee, T Milligan, K O'Callaghan, B Bachmann, A Armbruster†, C McAlister, D Myers, A Dickenson, M Wakefield

[Liventia]

Quarter-finals
The Plough Islands 316/5 (50 overs)
Teusland 273/7 (50 overs)
The Plough Islands win by 43 runs

Ko-oren 331/5 (50 overs)
New Lunenburg 333/7 (49 overs)
New Lunenburg win by three wickets with 6 balls remaining

Krytenia 267/8 (50 overs)
Darmen 238/7 (50 overs)
Krytenia win by 29 runs

Martune 314/4 (50 overs)
Liventia 316/6 (45.5 overs)
Liventia win by four wickets with 4.1 overs remaining (third-party scorinated by The Plough Islands)

Semifinal draw
The Plough Islands v Krytenia at NCE Oval
New Lunenburg v Liventia at Folenisa Cricket Ground

[Martune]

On May 11th, I posted "in" not knowing just how much of a positive effect that would have on me. And so since May 16th I've been posting about my players, my opponents, my matches, and now I post about me. It's been really fun getting to participate in a tournament that combines a sport I enjoy with the right style of RP involvement. This was easy to get into and it's a little sad that I'll be out of it until the next competition. This has done wonders for my mentality; being able to just express myself and my desire to write and create in a form that also allows me to compete. Not to mention the people that I've met and the friends I've made of them on the discord. So yes, this may be my last RP on here, but I'll be back for other events. And you'll still see me trying maybe just a little too hard to get RP bonuses. But hey, why not give it my best if no one is stopping me?

So thank you to Aels/Liventia for hosting this and thank you to all who participated. Thank you to my opponents for giving me something to write. And Good Luck to the final four. May who ever win be blessed with a golden star

---

Liventia Slays Martune In Heart-Breaking Defeat

---

All good things must come to an end. As such, the Martune Royal Eagles have finally been slain and eliminated from their maiden international tournament. In another 300+ run affair, Liventia caught the Martune total with little over 4 overs to spare despite the desperate bowling efforts of Leon Holland. The thriller saw another great batting effort from our skipper and the openers. Eduard Gardener hit for a century, the last of his for this tournament, and Leon Holland was seen taking an amazing 5 of the 6 wickets Martune would secure. But, the 34th over proved to be the start of a terrifying Liventia run in which the RRR was significantly reduced. By the 40th over, Martune was dead where it stood. Leon Holland would come into the 45th and final over to take two wickets and give up 2 singles. But, the final ball was punched deep into the outfield where no one stood. The ball rolled and rolled as Ronni Garry chased desperately. Yet after a diving effort the ball bumped into the boundary, 312 became 316, and Martune became another victim of elimination. And while this is disheartening, don't let it distract you from the truth: Martune had made the final 8 in their first ever international tournament. Just like Gardener said, if this isn't our year then we aren't far off from it.

We have selected a few members for some awards:

• MVP: Yusuff Daniell
  After his removal from the team regarding the twitter incident, the Martune squad suffered some disappointing defeats. It was when he was reinstated that we saw the greatest set of games in the tournament. And while his numbers aren't as flashy as other, his value comes from being the glue that held the team together into the quarter finals. Here's to you Yusuff!
• Best Batsman: Eduard Gardener
• Best Bowler: Leon Holland
• Best Fielder: Terry Daniels
• Most Interesting Character: Coach Swanson (love you coach)

A short list, but all of those players deserved those awards and should be recognized officially by the NCC. In other news, the semi-final round will take place and we have a few predictions on who will win and who will join Martune in elimination:

The Plough Islands vs Krytenia
It's a no brainer that the ever powerful Plough squad have dominated their competition in this tournament. So we don't expect anything less from them in the Semi-Finals.

Liventia vs. New Lunenberg
Martune beats NL, Liventia beats Martune. But seriously, Liventia is a powerhouse and New Lunenberg really need to pull out the bag of tricks to earn a spot in the finals.

Thank you for following The Daily Martune's coverage of Martune International Cricket. We will be back to cover the T20 tournament soon!

[Sylestone]

Liventia vs New Lunenberg
Liventia remains hot favourites in this matchup, but New Lunenberg are seemingly just getting started in the tournament and are just beginning to peak. Should be a game to watch as both sides are currently playing very good cricket.

Liventia: 63%
New Lunenberg: 37%


The Plough Islands vs Krytenia
Both sides have played some extremely good cricket over the World Cup, and this matchup could well and truly decide the fate of the World Cup. However, The Plough Islands just hold the edge on this one, but this will certainly be one cracker of a game.

The Plough Islands: 54%
Krytenia: 46%