on the 18th July 2022, the Plough Islands Gazette wrote:WORLD TROPHY: WEATHER-AFFECTED VICTORY SETS UP FINAL FOR PLOUGH ISLANDS
by Denis Wormwood, Sporting Correspondent, in Willowbourne
The Plough Islands have reached their second multiversal cricket final in just four months, after Kevin Laing's team prevailed against Eastfield Lodge today at Willowbourne. Despite the achievement, though, the match was marred somewhat by the weather, as a sudden but intense shower during the Eastfielders' innings forced them to resume batting on a sticky, drying pitch, and they lost four quick wickets after the resumption to effectively deny them a fair attempt at chasing the target set by the Foxes.
While the weather forecast will have been at the back of both captains' minds at the start of the day, there was initially no prospect of rain arriving until after the teams left Willowbourne. Nonetheless, both captains would have wanted to bat first on a pitch that has seen three matches in the last week, and when Sydney Bukhari called incorrectly, Laing seized his chance to make an early impression.
As they have done throughout the tournament when batting first, the Plough Islanders started very strongly, with Brett Scarbeck and Audrey Leggett showing little fear of the new ball; they blazed a quick fifty partnership inside the first six overs, with Leggett characteristically opening her shoulders and leading the way with some early boundaries. Also characteristically, however, her innings came to an abrupt end due to her running between the wickets; either not hearing or not listening to Scarbeck's call, she set off far too early for a barely feasible run that ended with both Foxes batters at the non-striker's end. After some deliberation, Leggett was deemed to have been run out, and Shauna Weaver came out in an attempt to calm any early nerves with some quick runs.
The Eastfielders were buoyed by their breakthrough, though, and before long they had another wicket; the impressive Strachan bowled a perfectly placed yorker to Scarbeck that threaded the gap between bat and foot, and Scarbeck was sent back for 39. This brought Laing out, but the Foxes captain lasted just three balls; mistiming a sweep at a slower ball from Strachan, he sent the ball halfway to the skies, and virtually began walking even before wicketkeeper Malita Gracelyn could get into position to complete the catch. Eastfield Lodge scented blood, and they had more the next over when Tim Bleasdale was trapped plumb in front by Amelie Lie, causing the faintest ripple of panic to come over the Plough Islanders on the balcony at the Royal Oval.
Situations like that, though, are Andrew Fairfield's stock in trade. The left-hander immediately settled out in the middle, and would prove the only Foxes batter to get and keep a hold over the Eastfield Lodge bowling, accumulating runs steadily and fearlessly regardless of what was happening around him. When Weaver eventually holed out in the deep off part-time seamer Neva Sheasby, there was much less panic, and wicketkeeper Ilya Lebed joined Fairfield and continued in much the same vein that Weaver had been doing, providing support and security at one end while scoring opportunistically from loose balls. In keeping with the theme of the Plough Islander innings, unfortunately, Lebed too was to depart just as he had looked set for a good total, leaving a Bukhari delivery that bowled him around his legs for 33, and it looked like the Eastfielders might have gained some momentum back when Dimitry Andreyev fell lbw shortly afterwards for a solitary run.
Sarah Ashe, though, avoided falling into the traps that Strachan and Badr al-Din were setting, and proved another productive partner for Fairfield, showing good anticipation and scoring well against the pace that now returned to the Eastfield Lodge attack. Disaster nearly struck, though, when Ashe belatedly called off a run with her partner in sight of his second international century; Fairfield's helmet came flying off as he attempted to make his ground, and it was only because of a less than clean catch from Gracelyn that he succeeded. Fairfield regrouped, though, and soon enough the milestone came; the left-hander flicking the first ball of the fiftieth over through the gap between slips and gully to reach exactly three figures, and for a short while the Willowbourne crowd, and even the Eastfielders, were united in their appreciation of an innings that single-handedly elevated the Plough Islander total to respectability.
It looked, at least through green and amber tinted glasses, that Fairfield and Ashe could push on towards, potentially even past, 300, but there was a sting in the tail of the Eastfielder death bowling. Strachan pinned Fairfield down at the Dalmington End with two full, straight deliveries, and when the New Dalmatian finally set up a shot, Procter ran in from deep extra cover to cut off a potential boundary, and in the ensuing scramble the Foxes were only able to make a single. Strachan then moved the ball just enough away from Ashe to induce the thinnest of edges, which was pounced upon by Gracelyn, and the Foxes offspinner became the fifth player to make it past a quarter of a century and then stall out. Andrew Baxter only had one ball to face, and very little to lose, but his almost golf-like swing at a Strachan yorker sent the ball trickling harmlessly in the direction of square leg, and the scoreboard remained stuck on 283.
At first glance, this was an achievable total, albeit one that would be tricky on a pitch that was starting to deteriorate from the tournament schedule. However, it was the Plough Islands that drew first blood; Uthman Darryn-Pelletier had struggled against Krytenia, losing his wicket for just seven runs, and his luck did not turn against the Foxes; facing his second ball, he gloved Andrew Baxter straight to Lebed to make the Eastfielders' task more difficult. When Arjun Abdul Ghani wad adjudged lbw almost immediately afterwards after an Ashe delivery went straight on and hit him in the upper thigh, adding a degree of insult to the undoubted injury, the Eastfielders may have sensed disaster looming, but Darryn-Pelletier's opening partner Tilbrooke and number four Katryn Lunt began to steady the ship. The pair worked well together, digging in and holding on to their wickets before starting to score more heavily, and the left/right-hander combination proved difficult for Laing and his bowlers to effectively counter in the field.
But then, the weather intervened. The sky had been brightly overcast over Willowbourne all day, with a thick, at times suffocating humidity permeating the air wherever you went, but the clouds burst just as Tilbrooke brought up his half century and sent both teams racing from the field with waves of rain. The unforecast downpour lasted barely a quarter of an hour, easing off as suddenly as it began, and the Royal Oval groundskeepers worked tirelessly with brooms and hoses to remove the standing water and ensure no overs were lost from the quota. However, the delay in getting the covers on had concerned both captains, and once the players came back out there was a long discussion in the middle between Laing, Bukhari, and umpires Burnadette Taylor and René Delaphilippe, with the Eastfielders particularly concerned that the pitch would be harder and harder to bat on as it dried out.
The officials deemed it playable, though, and before long Bukhari's fears were starting to manifest themselves in reality. The scent of petrichor was still thick in the air when Lunt tentatively defended against a high ball from Dimitri Andreyev that lost momentum, stayed low, and found the gap between the right-hander's pads to peg her middle stump back, and after a lengthy stare at the wicket and some shaking of the head, she was gone for 47. In came Gracelyn, the Eastfielder vice-captain hoping to build a solid foundation with Tilbrooke - and out went Gracelyn, shaping up for a square cut when her feet disappeared from beneath her on the damp grass and her left toe dislodged the bails.
Initially the Plough Islanders could not believe their luck, but soon the mood soured and it became difficult to believe their situation at all. Sheasby held on for six deliveries from Andreyev and Salisbury, managing a streaky boundary before losing her footing trying to take a relatively safe single, and leaving Lebed with the simplest of run outs, and when a violent bounce turned a straightforward Tilbrooke drive into a thick edge to Laing in the slips, the Foxes captain barely celebrated. By now even the spectators could tell that something was not right, as another mid-pitch conference had been called with Liventian match referee Anthony Wilson; the general thrust of the discussion was that both captains wanted the match postponed until conditions could improve, but this author understands that the tournament schedule would have prevented this from happening.
Eventually a compromise was agreed on where the Willowbourne ground staff came out again to dry and repair the areas of the pitch that were causing the most concern, and after a brief inspection by Bukhari and Laing, play resumed once more. The damage to the Eastfielders' chances, though, had been done, and needing 173 from 23 overs with almost no recognised batters remaining was a virtually impossible task. Lie and al-Din were playing as if to salvage a draw in a Test, rather than for what was effectively a 20-over game, and the Foxes' spinners were keeping a consistent line and being met with defence after defence until inevitably they found a gap. Between Tilbrooke's dismissal and the end of the Eastfield Lodge innings nearly fifteen overs later, there were three maidens bowled and only two boundaries - a four from al-Din in the thirty-second over, and another from Strachan in the fortieth - as the game ended any pretence of being a serious contest, and both Salisbury and Andreyev picked up three wickets as the Eastfielders were all out for 146.
It would be inaccurate to write that there were no celebrations from the Plough Islanders as the last wicket fell, but they were very much tempered by the farcical situation that had developed and sympathy for the Eastfielders, something that Laing made very clear to this author. "It is very hard to know how to feel when this happens - nobody wants or deserves to lose like that, and it is not how we wanted to make the final. Cricket does not benefit from lopsided final scores like this, and I am not sure what the solution is, better equipment for the hosts or whatever, but as a sport we need to find one." However, the occasion was not lost on Laing entirely - "I might not be entirely sure how to comprehend it but there is definitely a lot of pride!" - and relief, anticipation, and happiness were the main emotions to be found amongst the rest of the Foxes.
"I thought the Anaian championship against Krytenia in Barilla was something, but this is something else," Andreyev related, slumped down in a chair after his exertions. "It feels larger than life. Everything we do has felt like a dream, I honestly do not want it to end..." Bleasdale, meanwhile, could only describe the prospect of a final against old rivals Ko-oren as "wicked. I mean, it's a madhouse, it really is; hundreds of millions poured into cricket the world over and it's us and our mates left at the end!", and perhaps the most articulate assessment of the challenges faced by the Plough Islands in the final came from wicketkeeper Lebed.
"We probably know each other better than anyone - our first tour was here, our first match together was at Greencaster, the weather was the same muggy humid mess for a lot of that tour - and we know each other probably better as friends than as rivals. And it will be hard to look past that camaraderie, however temporarily, on Tuesday and convince ourselves that we deserve to win, because every time we play Ko-oren it turns into a Harrison Cup match with catching up on family members and gossip in between balls. But we do deserve it, and we need to keep telling ourselves that, the Anaian title was about as far from a fluke as you can get. Yes, it will be a great game of cricket with great people, but above all that, we need to believe it is one we can win..."
And, should the Foxes ever find themselves wavering in that belief, there will doubtless be a hundred and forty thousand voices back home on the islands - as well as a good portion of fifty thousand in the cavernous Greencaster Oval, and countless more admirers that the Plough Islands have acquired over the course of the last few weeks. With the spirits of their country and the unity of socialism behind them, the Foxes surely have more than a sporting chance of winning the World Trophy.
Golden age - revealed today...
on the 19th July 2022, the Plough Islands Gazette wrote:WORLD TROPHY: PLOUGH ISLANDS IN PURPLE & TEAL FOR ALL-ANAIAN FINAL
by Andrew Kulayev, Cricket Correspondent for Plough Radio, in Llandy
Ahead of the final match of the World Trophy tomorrow in Greencaster, the Plough Islands Cricket Association have chosen to wear purple shirts and trousers with bright teal green trim - the colours of the flag of Anaia - for the match against our regional comrades and neighbours Ko-oren.
It is relatively unusual to see the Plough Islands wearing anything other than the national colours of green and amber in One Day Internationals, as conventionally, in cricket, there is little need in cricket for teams to be distinguished on the field of play. While some limited overs competitions in other areas of the multiverse have permitted teams to wear very similar colours, the Global Cricket Federation requires teams other than the host nation to have a change kit available, in a contrasting colour, for the benefit of people who may be watching on television, and the World Trophy is one of the events where this is enforced strictly.
Since these rules came into effect in 2020, Plough Islands teams have normally worn red and amber when the situation arises, doing so most recently in the group stage against Ko-oren and Indusse. For the Anaian One-Day Cricket Championship earlier this year, though, to celebrate the inaugural event of the Anaian Board of Cricket, the Red Flag co-operative prepared a kit in the regional colours to be worn in lieu of green or red if acting captain Audrey Leggett or coach Lourens Hendricks so desired.
When the Foxes reached the final against old rivals Krytenia, they duly wore purple for the occasion, and were rewarded with their first major multiversal title. Ever since then, and particularly since the Foxes progressed past Kimi-Suomi in the quarter finals, there have been suggestions from within the travelling Plough Islander caravan that the gesture could be repeated, with Red Flag known to be working on a version in the Anaian colours and in the knowledge that the final of this co-hosted tournament would be in Anaia.
Consequently, the Foxes revealed a purple version of the 2022 shirts this morning, on their final full day in their adopted Ko-orenite home base of Llandy, albeit with a preparedness that suggested the Association had received the kits earlier in the tournament but waited until now to wear them. "Ag, possibly!" said head coach Lourens Hendricks, when asked about that scenario. "But then if I told you, Andy, I couldn't let you tell anyone else! Anyway, ja, the only other side we thought about wearing the Anaian colours against wore purple as well, it turned out..."
Foxes all-rounder Andrew Fairfield, whose hundred against Eastfield Lodge played a large part in getting the Plough Islands into the final, was more forthcoming about the intention of wearing purple rather than red. "We identify ourselves as Plough Islanders strongly with our comrades and friends in Anaia, and I suppose it is a fitting situation that a tournament held partially in the region, should finish with two Anaian teams in the final", he told this writer, looking resplendent in the regional colours. "And although I could not be there myself, I gather it brought us some success in Grande Cucina as well..."
Hendricks, too, hopes that the colours can inspire the Plough Islands to success in Greencaster. "Ja, no, I really hope so. In Barilla, for the Anaian final, it was nice to have that reminder of why we were there and what had happened in the last fourteen or fifteen months. And we can carry with us the good memories from that, y'know?" He pulls at the badge on his chest, and exhales contentedly. "It will be a good match with the Dragonflies, they are good okes and we know them really, really well by now. But hopefully, ja, hopefully this gives us a little bit of an edge to come out on top in the final..."
The special Red Flag playing kit, in the Anaian colours of purple and teal, to be worn by the Plough Islands in the final of the World Trophy against regional neighbours Ko-oren.
PLOUGH ISLANDS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
XI FOR WORLD TROPHY VS. KO-OREN
PLAYER BAT BOW
#12 BK Scarbeck RHB
#10 AC Leggett RHB RLB
#15 SLC Weaver RHB RLB
#1 KCT Laing (c) RHB RMD
#5 TM Bleasdale RHB
#7 AG Fairfield LHB SLU
#9 IT Lebed (w) LHB
#2 DV Andreyev RHB RFM
#3 S Ashe RHB ROB
#4 A Baxter RHB RFS
#11 NA Salisbury LHB SLA
