GCF World Trophy V | IC thread

[Crpostran]

Crpostran Batting
Batter                                           R   B  4s  6s   SR
Eugénie          b Baek                        104  76   5   4   136.84
Kaysen           c Jang b Barnes                26  34   2   0   76.47
Earnest          b Nam                          42  54   3   4   77.78
Lucas            c Nam b Normandin               3   8   0   0   37.5
Desiderio        b Baek                         34  42   4   1   80.95
Barclay          run out (Allen-Hong)            2   2   2   0   100
Arnold           b K. Eskelin                   41  54   3   2   75.93
Utz              c Nam b Normandin               6   7   0   0   85.71
Valère           b Baek                          0   2   0   0    
Kalyan           not out                        10  18   1   0   55.56
Donato           b Baek                          6   3   1   0  200
      EXTRAS     (4 b, 2 lb, 6 wd)              12
      TOTAL      all out                       286   (50 ov; 5.72 RPO)
               

Venue: Unspecified
Match number: CRN-5 
Toss: Crpostran won the toss & decided to bat first
Season: GCF World Trophy V
Matchdays: Kytlerian pool Match 5
Player of the Match: Timothée Eugénie (CRN)

Match Result: Crpostran win by 68 runs

---

OOC: Scorecard to be edited later once Queb RPs/is contacted in the case he does not RP

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Vielfaltigian Pool MD6 cutoff

TJUN-ia 403 (48.1 overs)
Baggieland 232 (48.3 overs)
TJUN-ia win by 171 runs

The Plough Islands 199/6 (50 overs)
Ko-oren 201/8 (37.1 overs)
Ko-oren win by 2 wickets (77 balls remaining)

Liventia 309 (49.2 overs)
Milchama 297/7 (50 overs)
Liventia win by 12 runs

Vielfaltig 241 (48 overs)
Indo-Athena 172/6 (50 overs)
Vielfaltig win by 69 runs

Grand Exultia 246/2 (50 overs)
Natkr 248/8 (41.4 overs)
Natkr win by 2 wickets (50 balls remaining)

The Golden Harp 234/6 (50 overs)
Aryavarna 237/7 (38.4 overs)
Aryavarna win by 3 wickets (68 balls remaining)

TEAM			W	L	D	NRR
The Plough Islands	5	1	0	+0.75
Natkr			4	2	0	+0.69
Ko-oren			4	2	0	+0.36
Grand Exultia		3	3	0	+0.54
------------------------------------------------------
Baggieland		3	3	0	+0.17
Milchama		3	3	0	+0.08
Liventia		3	3	0	+0.08
Aryavarna		3	3	0	-0.36
------------------------------------------------------
Indo-Athena		3	3	0	-0.38
Vielfaltig		3	3	0	-0.50
TJUN-ia			2	4	0	-0.36
The Golden Harp		0	6	0	-0.91

Note that this table is provisional: the NRRs do not sum to zero and an absurd number of teams are separated only on NRR, so a recheck will be needed to confirm nobody's being eliminated by numerical error. If everything is correct, these are the next set of fixtures:

QUALIFIERS - winners to quarterfinals, losers to repechage
The Plough Islands v Grand Exultia, The Quanta Stadium, Montebello
Natkr v Ko-oren, The Graham Bellamy Show, Mogendorf

ELIMINATORS - winners to repechage, losers eliminated
Baggieland v Aryavarna, Lambert Park, Walbourg
Milchama v Liventia, Luzzfield Ground, Luzzana

[Vielfaltig]

Kytlerian Pool MD6

The Kytler Peninsulae 212 (48 overs)
Darmen 204/8 (50 overs)
The Kytler Peninsulae won by 8 runs

Kimi-Suomi 258/8 (46.1 overs)
Sylestone 257/6 (50 overs)
Kimi-Suomi won by 2 wickets (23 balls remaining)

Quebec and Shingoryeo 231/9 (49.1 overs)
Eastfield Lodge 228/9 (50 overs)
Quebec and Shingoryeo won by 1 wicket (5 balls remaining)

South Newlandia 237/8 (50 overs)
Indusse 241/9 (30.4 overs)
Indusse won by 1 wicket (116 balls remaining)

Vaishnavaria 349/8 (50 overs)
Yuugria 328/6 (50 overs)
Vaishnavaria won by 21 runs

Impreo De Jap 223/5 (50 overs)
Crpostran 434/6 (50 overs)
Crpostran won by 211 runs

TEAM	                W	L	D	NRR
Kimi-Suomi	        5	1	0	0,330
Indusse	                4	2	0	1,388
Darmen	                4	2	0	0,897
Vaishnavaria	        4	2	0	0,834
Crpostran	        3	3	0	0,523
The Kytler Peninsulae	3	3	0      -0,143
Impreo De Jap	        3	3	0      -1,346
Sylestone	        2	4	0      -0,040
Quebec and Shingoryeo	2	4	0      -0,353
South Newlandia	        2	4	0      -0,421
Yuugria	                2	4	0      -0,659
Eastfield Lodge	        2	4	0      -0,692

Note that the table is provisional because the sum does not add up to 0. Only one team makes it through on NRR so there should not be significant changes if any.

Qualifiers (winners to Quarterfinals, losers to repechage)
Kimi-Suomi vs Vaishnavaria @ National Oval, Roddens
Indusse vs Darmen @ St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City

Eliminators (winners to repechage, losers eliminated)
Crpostran vs Sylestone @ Snowflake City Oval, Zube
The Kytler Peninsulae vs Impreo De Jap @ Iain Lexington Bowl, Carroll Lewiston

[Baggieland]

The Daily Boing Interviews

Lei Siulung: "What the hell happened here?"

Jenny Harrington-Smythe: "Yah, a bit of a rotten second half to the groupies, wouldn't you say so?"

Lei Siulung: "Rotten? A fucking liability more like! I go away for a couple of days and you guys go from wining three on a trot to losing three on a trot."

Jenny Harrington-Smythe: "Certainly has been a toughie to take Old Chap, but that's the way the cookie crumbles!"

Lei Siulung: "Let's take a look at these three losses. The one against Ko-oren wasn't that bad, a team ranked higher than us and they just scraped the win."

Jenny Harrington-Smythe: "I know, their last two batters held on to just edge past our total. We nearly had those blighters!"

Lei Siulung: "But what came next was inexcusable. An embarrassing defeat to unranked Natkr, and it wasn't even close – they had six overs to spare."

Jenny Harrington-Smythe: "Sorry about that Old Chap. We were playing at our favourite ground – The Graham Bellamy Show – and I guess we just assumed that we would beat these newcomers, but we really messed up there."

Lei Siulung: "What concerns me the most is the last match. Okay, TJUN-ia are above us in the rankings, but to lose by 171 runs!"

Jenny Harrington-Smythe: "No excuses Old Bean. The Jaguars pulled our pants down and gave us a damned good spanking."

Lei Siulung: "Now there's a 'win-or-go-home' match against Aryavarna. They're unranked and their media have refused to report anything, but this tournament has been a good one for the unranked teams. Are you guys going to get your shit together for this one?"

Jenny Harrington-Smythe: "You bet we will!"

[Indusse]

OOC: The Copyright message at the end of the post has been used from the standard copyright message from multiple books.

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The Half Blood Saga II
Chapter VIII
The Herald's Secrets

---

Previous Edition
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII

The moment Adael and his companions breached the northern barricade, reality itself seemed to warp. Shadows moved with impossible fluidity, twisting around defenders like living tendrils, consuming light and hope in equal measure. The herald remained motionless atop its shadow-beast, watching their approach with an unnerving stillness that felt more predatory than passive. Azahl struck first, his blade cutting through a wave of shadow-creatures with practiced precision. "They're not just attacking," he shouted over the chaos. "They're testing our defenses!"

Kael was right behind him, his Guardian's blade leaving trails of pure light that momentarily pushed back the darkness. "They're coordinated. This isn't a random assault,it's a calculated invasion." Ashear moved forward feircly, her daggers flickering between shadow-forms faster than the eye could follow. "Adael, the herald isn't engaging! It's waiting for something!" Indeed, the armored figure remained still, watching their advance with what felt like cold calculation. The Sphere of Balance pulsed in Adael's hands, its light pushing back the surrounding shadows, creating a bubble of protection around their small group.

"Something's wrong," Adael muttered. "This feels too deliberate." As if in response, the herald raised one shadowy hand. Instantly, the shadow-creatures pulled back, creating a clear path directly to the armored figure. An invitation. A trap. Mehrea's voice came as a whisper in Adael's mind, a connection forged by their shared heritage. Be careful. Nothing is as it seems. Adael took a step forward. The herald tilted its featureless helm, a gesture that felt almost... curious.

"I'm coming to you," Adael called out. "No more games." The shadow-beast beneath the herald began to dissolve, revealing a perfectly clear ground—smooth as glass, reflecting fragments of the battle around them. As Adael approached, he realized the reflections weren't just random. They were memories. Moments. His own childhood in Fararah. Mehrea's departure from Jehnara. Ethran's years of separation. Scenes from lives he'd never witnessed, yet somehow knew.

"Who are you?" Adael demanded, the Sphere now burning with an intense white light. The herald's hand reached up, slowly lifting its helm. The face beneath was not what anyone expected. It was his own. Older. Harder. Eyes that had seen centuries of conflict. But unmistakably Adael. "What—" Adael stumbled back. "Balance requires sacrifice," the older Adael said, his voice a perfect mirror of Adael's own, but layered with something ancient and weary. "Always, there must be balance." Behind them, Azahl and Kael were fighting desperately to keep the shadow-creatures at bay. Ashear had moved to Adael's side, her daggers ready.

"I don't understand," Adael said. The older version of himself smiled—a smile that held no warmth. "The Abyssal Prince is not an external threat. He is the result of imbalance. And you are the key to restoring that balance." Mehrea and Ethran pushed forward, sensing the critical moment. "The prophecy," Mehrea whispered. "It was never about defeating the darkness. It was about understanding it." The older Adael, a.k.a the herald now extended his hand. In it was another Sphere of Balance, identical to the one Adael held, but darker. Fractured.

"You cannot defeat what you do not understand," the herald said. "The shadows are not an invasion. They are a correction." Fragments of memory crashed through Adael's mind. Glimpses of futures. Possibilities. Worlds where Jehnara and Fararah had been destroyed. Worlds where balance was maintained through impossible sacrifices. "Choose," the herald said. "Understand, or be consumed." The Sphere in Adael's hands began to crack. The battle around them froze, as if all of reality was holding its breath. Waiting.

To be Continued...

---

Copyright © Akiho Banwari.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

http://www.lexiread.org

[TJUN-ia]

TJUN-ia 403 (48.1 overs)
Baggieland 232 (48.3 overs)
TJUN-ia win by 171 runs

171 runs. One of, if not the biggest ODI win in our history. And it was all for nought.
This should be a joyous occasion, the taking down of a Top 10 team by that sort of margin, but this time, we don't have anything to show for it.
This era ended with the Espo T20 crown and a group stage crash-out at the ODI World Trophy.
Very conflicting times indeed.

But the end has arrived. We must bow out, just like four of our players. All brilliant, but all gone now.
But we must move on...so so long, and thanks for all the fish.
GO BOWLIN' JAGS

---

SCHEDULE (VIELFALTIGIAN POOL, Vielfaltig)
MD1: vs The Plough Islands (1) - The Quanta Stadium, Montebello City L by 2 wickets (10th)
MD2: vs Vielfaltig (UR) - The Quanta Stadium, Montebello City L by 1 wicket (10th)
MD3: vs Indo-Athena (UR) - The Quanta Stadium, Montebello City L by 1 wicket (12th)
MD4: vs Liventia (7) - The Quanta Stadium, Montebello City W by 67 runs (10th)
MD5: vs Grand Exultia (UR) - The Quanta Stadium, Montebello City L by 1 wicket (11th)
MD6: vs Baggieland (10) - The Quanta Stadium, Montebello City W by 171 runs (11th)

[The Plough Islands]

It had to happen at some point, and if I could have picked anyone to be the one to do it it would have been our southern neighbours! Well done Ko, genuinely, and thankyou for answering a lot of my slightly inane questions as I built this RP up; hopefully I haven't got anything too wrong.
Much of this came to me on the train back from the Dayglow concert - I imagine to people who go to concerts regularly it probably isn't anything special, but I have just been at the very front of the crowd, watching one of my favourite performers, playing all of my favourite songs. Even the ones that I did not think would make the set list. Even the weird track from two albums ago that sounds like the opposite of a floorfiller. It was a fantastic time and if you get the chance I would recommend going to see him :3
Best of luck to everyone ahead of the second round, but particularly our opponents Grand Exultia - hopefully, whatever the result of our match, we won't have a game where the umpires will have done too badly this time around!

---

WORLD TROPHY: BITTEN FOXES FACE PLAYOFFS FOLLOWING BITTER FALLOUT
by Ian Goswell, Chief Cricket Correspondent for Plough Radio, in Montebello

After five matches undefeated at the World Trophy in Vielfaltig, the Plough Islands were finally bested in their final pool stage match by our old friends and foes from across the Celestial Ocean, Ko-oren - taking our limited overs record against them to eight victories and seven defeats, with one tied match in 2019 - and a casual follower of the sport, glancing at the scorecard, might assume that Cofan ySalw, the twenty-seven year old Mawryshire right-hander, was the catalyst for the result. Coming in earlier than he would have hoped with Mitchell Enright's team struggling to get their chase of 200 off the ground, ySalw set about plundering runs at a rate of knots, picking out the variations of the Foxes' spinners with ease and flaying them to the ropes, before huddling down and shouldering arms more as the wickets kept falling at the other end, edging closer and closer to the target as it looked like he might run out of time. Eventually, eight wickets down, ySalw had brought the Ko-orenites to within one swipe of victory and worked Sarah Ashe away for two to bring up his own century, before thumping the winning boundary to the near universal acclaim of the twenty-seven thousand people in the Lawson Oval for his efforts.
Simple and clean the narrative feels, but the numbers do not tell the full story. "If I am being honest, I do not think the century made a huge difference", Foxes captain Shauna Weaver told this writer earlier, the morning after the night before. "And I in no mean that as a slight on Cofan or our friends from over the water, it is always a special and enjoyable time playing against Ko-oren and they were clearly the better side on aggregate, but the real turning point was when we lost Dimitry [Andreyev] in our innings."
Indeed, the decisive contribution had come earlier, and not one that either side would have wanted or hoped for. Bowling his ninth over, Harrison Gledhwiladen - the young right-arm pacer one of an increasing number of Gehrennan speakers expanding Ko-orenite cricket further east from its heartlands - found a particularly quick spot on the pitch and the ball reared up and caught Andreyev full on the arm as he instinctively tried to block it. The impact left Andreyev crouched down at the crease as the pain and swelling built, and though he evidently wanted to continue his innings - along with Peter Hodgeson, he had been holding the line well after Algernon Renbeck had taken three wickets to rip through the Plough Islander middle order, and the pair had put on 64 in their quest to take the Foxes past 200 - it became hopeless, and even from the commentary box it was obvious that the injury was worse than a bruise. X-rays at the university hospital in Montebello after the match confirmed them - Andreyev's arm was broken, and the errant bounce had not only taken from the Plough Islands their best chance of setting a strong total on a difficult pitch, it had effectively removed the Foxes' only proven pace bowler for the rest of the match, and indeed the tournament.
The repercussions for the match went beyond the psychological; with the Plough Islands guaranteed to finish top of their pool no matter the result against the Dragonflies, coach Paul Donaghy had made a number of changes which included restoring veterans Brett Scarbeck and Tim Bleasdale to the XI for the first time in Vielfaltig, but which also left Andreyev as the only pace bowler in the team. With the Ko-orenites having such good results with pace through Gledhwiladen, Renbeck, and Walter Dencherry, the Foxes would struggle without any options of their own. Following a debate that took place at the edge of the field throughout the break, and lasted almost until the first ball of the Dragonflies' innings was bowled, the solution took the unlikely form of Bleasdale; a committed wicketkeeper batsman, albeit one who had played extremely aggressively before flaring out for just 12 as the first of Renbeck's victims, he was the only other player in the side who did not bowl spin, in the form of 'dibbly dobbly' medium pace from a short run up.
Despite Bleasdale's protestations about his lack of skill - although the Liverpudlian's retort of "Shauna, I've only got one ball!" at the start of the chase, loud enough to register on the television feed and provoke a brief loss of control from Reginald Twaddle while the Ko-orenite opener was trying to take guard, had to have been at least partially intentional - he has taken wickets for Lainemouth Carnegie in club cricket, and although his deliveries, as broadcast, were relatively one-dimensional they were straight and accurate. Under the circumstances, he bowled well and was rarely easy to score against compared to the spinners; 0 for 32 from 7 overs was certainly no worse than many of his comrades managed, and he was unlucky not to get ySalw out for 11 when the right-hander edged a full ball that Ilya Lebed could only get his fingertips to behind the stumps.
ySalw, however, went on to reach his century, and the Plough Islands were denied, though not for want of trying; for all of the pressure being exerted by the Ko-orenite pacers, all of the Foxes' frontline spinners took wickets, with Terry Gibbs taking two wickets on his return to the side and captain Weaver also contributing to break a promising partnership with Renbeck. Though Enright was able to anchor the innings to allow ySalw to work his magic and bring the target into view ahead of schedule, the Dragonflies' captain was undone by a low, dipping ball from Naomi Salisbury that pegged back his off stump with 28 runs left, and the teal-haired left-arm spinner followed that with a quick arm ball that the unfortunate Gledhwiladen entirely misread to briefly raise purple and green hopes. But they faded quickly as ySalw worked Ashe away for two to bring up his century, before thumping a gently turning ball from Weaver through the covers to near universal acclaim.
The next morning, the shockwaves of the injury to Andreyev were still keenly felt by the time Weaver was able to speak with this writer. "I saw Dimitry at the hospital last night, after the game, and he was quite down about things." Weaver explained. "It was not a bad break - they can set it in fibreglass and have him out by next week, but obviously he cannot bat or bowl for a few months while it heals. Tim did as well as anyone would have done in that situation, especially given the pressure he has been under, but it was an awful situation to end up in between innings." With Grand Exultia, and the dangerous Eldanaen Blackcairn, waiting across Montebello in the playoff match on Friday, the Plough Islands may be left with only Jennifer Hart - who has struggled in Vielfaltigian conditions, taking two wickets for a combined 146 runs across three group matches - or the uncapped teenager Richard Crichton as their available quicks. "It is probably just as well that we are back at the city centre stadium because the wicket there should have less pace to it, so we can probably manage with one fast bowler." Weaver mused ruefully.
Donaghy was not at the Lawson Oval yesterday - the head coach was scouting at Liventia's win over Milchama over in Kaunus - but has been in close contact with Weaver and the Plough Islands Cricket Association in Sutton to find a path forward. "From talking to Paul, we have a couple of options...we have looked at adding to the squad but the distance from the islands makes it really difficult to get them into Esportiva and registered before the playoff, while Jennifer and Richard are here and have been training and playing games in the tournament already," Weaver explained, "and speaking personally, as the team captain I have faith in them and certainly I would feel comfortable relying on either to bowl well against the Exultians. I would hope that our comrades and friends back home would share in that."
But even with that handicap, the Foxes have been the form team of the tournament so far - after consecutive titles in 2022 and 2023, does Weaver think the Plough Islands can win the World Trophy a third time? "Yes, but so can fifteen other teams!" she laughs. "Obviously the table and the rankings paint a picture, probably a little bit of a distorted picture where we Plough Islanders are the team to beat. We believe that we can do it, certainly, but you need more than belief and performance, you need luck, and I suppose up until now we had been particularly lucky while we have been here. But anything can happen, and all we can do is come together, try and channel the support that we get from everyone back on the islands, and go out in the field and do the best that we can, for our country and for socialism."
Such is all that we could ask of the Foxes, even though with two Test and two One Day International titles, we could be forgiven for dreaming and hoping of more, no matter how great the opposition.

---

PLOUGH ISLANDS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
XI FOR WORLD TROPHY VS. G. EXULTIA

        PLAYER           BAT   BOW
#16 RTL Trevithick       RHB      
#18 ANL Weaver           RHB      
#1  SLC Weaver (c)       RHB   RLB
#17 ADM Tyrie            RHB   RLB
#13 ES  Nasrullin        LHB      
#11 P   Hodgeson         LHB   SLW
#12 IT  Lebed (w)        LHB      
#3  S   Ashe             RHB   ROB
#14 NA  Salisbury        LHB   SLA
#6  R   Crichton         RHB   RFS
#9  TSF Gibbs            RHB   RLB

[Grand Exultia]

MD 6 Lambert Park, Walbourg

Grand Exultia Innings
Batter		                R   	B  	4s  	6s   	SR
B Waldon (+)	Bowled	        60	69	0	0	89.96
A Deinomache 	Not Out	        109	135   	0	0	80.74
G Brimstone	Caught & Bowled	23	31 	0 	0	74.19
D Larkspur (C)	Not Out	        24	32	0	0	75.00
K Celaeno	Did not bat	0	0	0  	0  	0
S Nightwhisper	Did not bat	0	0  	0  	0	0
C Darkfell	Did not bat	0	0   	0   	0	0
D Vortexhelm	Did not bat	0  	0	0   	0	0
B Hulidi	Did not bat	0	0  	0  	0	0
A Hawkhelm	Did not bat	0	0  	0  	0   	0
E Blackcairn	Did not bat	0 	0   	0   	0   	0
       EXTRAS      30 (6wd, 7nb, 11b, 6lb)            
       TOTAL       246/2   (50 ov; 4.92 RPO)
                 
Natkr Innings

       TOTAL	248/8   (41.4 ov; 5.95 RPO)
                 


Grand Exultia Bowling
Bowlers	        Ov   	M	R	W	Econ 
E Blackcairn	10	3	49 	1	4.90
A Hawkhelm	3	0	15	1	5.00 
B Hulidi	8	0	39  	2	5.16
K Celaeno	8	0	39 	0   	4.88
C Darkfell	8	1	39 	2	4.88
S Nightwhisper	9	4	44	1   	4.88             
D Vortexhelm	4	0 	23	0	5.75

---

Umpire review with Syreswain Quickfinger

Good morning and welcome back to our umpire corner, we have an interesting one for you today after Altheriorn was removed from bowling due to dangerous play so let’s get into it.

A much less disciplined bowling game today saw a number of extras in the Exultious inning and some dubious signalling as Aete on more than one occasion remonstrated with the umpire that the ball had indeed made contact with their bat and was not the respective bye or leg bye they had deemed it.

Then we come into the Natkr innings and Altheriorn runs up to begin their third over and releases this missile of a beamer causing the matter to take evasive action resulting in them sitting in the crease looking rather disgruntled. A warning from the umpire rightly provided to Altheriorn and you would expect that to be the end of it normally, but then we see them running in with this grip here, the knuckle ball, so rather than holding the ball like so with the index and middle finger positioned along the seam like so they use the index and little finger with the middle and ring finger tucked up behind the ball, normally an effective slower ball as you cannot supply a delivery with the same venom without pushing down the back of the ball but as we see here it also loses the control and flys on the full to the batsman, just above waist height and gets despatched to the boundary. A bit of sensible umpiring as another word is had following the no ball signal, no need to take the bowler off if the batter gets the better of the delivery. Now the issue really, I mean if you’ve had an issue with the decision so far you’re getting a bit silly, was the last delivery, a full toss that somehow the Natkr batter misses, schoolboy error I know but then it makes contact with the batter straight on the box. They were reduced to a crumpled heap, as we all would be, and after a quick discussion between the umpires Dronwick is called over and Altheriorn is removed from bowling duties for dangerous bowling. My contention is that the ball is under waist height given we know exactly where it made contact with the batter and therefore was a legal delivery so how can it be considered dangerous?

More umpires making decisions that don’t make a lot of sense and ultimately impacting a game where the Exultian bowling just didn’t quite limit the Natkr batters enough, maybe Altheriorn takes a couple extra wickets and it’s wrapped up before they get going.

[Milchama]

"So we blew against Liventia?"

"Yep, just got too behind the rate and even though Topaz and Prentice got 18 in 48th and 15 in the 49th, there was still too much to do"

"That's awful"

"Yeah it wasn't our best batting performance but so it goes sometimes. You know what's more annoying?"

"What?"

"We're facing Liventia again today"

"Seriously?!"

"Yep, in an Eliminator"

"What's that?"

"So many cricket leagues use Page playoffs, since they're popular in Australia, to decide who advances"

"What's Australia?"

"Good point, nevermind. Anyway, page playoffs are awesome but kinda hard to do with more than 4 teams and even harder to figure what to call rounds since you don't have traditional octos, quarters, semis, etc"

"True"

"So cricket has invented new terms, Eliminators, Qualifiers, Fake Qualifiers, Qualifying Eliminators, Eliminating Qualifiers, and Finals to help bridge the gap"

"Does anybody know what any of the rounds mean?"

"No, well except final"

"Ok fair, so we're in the Eliminator what does that mean?"

"If we lose we're eliminated"

"Ok, cool, and if we win?"

"We advance Qualifying Eliminator"

"And what happens if we lose there?"

"We're out"

"So we're in a single elimination tournament right now"

"Essentially"

"Good to know, why can't name their rounds normally"

"That's cricket baby!"

"Ah, I see, that's fair"

"Can we win?"

"Well we barely lost to Liventia last time, so no reason we can't win this time"

"After that?"

"I have no idea who we're playing so sure why not"

"Sounds good"

"Come on You Warriors!"

"Let's Go Milchama!"

[Crpostran]

~Snippets from Crpostranian social media~

Crpostran Batting
Batter                                           R   B  4s  6s   SR
Eugénie          run out (REDACTED)            231 112  27  16   206.25
Kaysen           b REDACTED                     41  41   3   3   100
Earnest          b REDACTED                     11  21   1   0   52.38
Lucas            c & b REDACTED                  4   8   0   0   50
Desiderio        not out                        50  51   4   2   98.04
Barclay          c REDACTED b REDACTED           3   8   0   0   37.5
Arnold           lbw REDACTED                   51  53   3   2   96.23
Utz              not out                        30   7   1   4   428.57
      EXTRAS     (4 b, 2 lb, 6 wd, 1 nb)        13
      TOTAL      for 6 wickets                 434   (50 ov; 8.68 RPO)
Did not bat:   Valère, Kalyan, Donato

Venue: Unknown
Match number: Final Kytlerian Pool Game
Toss: Crpostran won the toss & decided to bat first
Matchdays: Match 5
Player of the Match: Timothée Eugénie (CRN)
Umpires: Unknown
TV Umpire: Unknown
Reserve Umpire: Unknown
Match Referee: Unknown
Match Result: Crpostran win by 211 runs

[Kimi-Suomi]

With one game left in this group stage, the Karhut of Kimi-Suomi entered their final contest knowing that Top 4 was in their hands. It was a position that this team rarely found themselves in, to challenge the very best at their own game, but Lorcán Ua Tuathail wasn't going to allow resting on laurels this late into the game. This team wanted to enter the Playoff stage of this tournament with that Top 4 seeding because having the extra security of the Repechage if needed would put a lot of minds at ease...so could we do it?

Sylestone, the GCF #2 in ODI and the co-champion of the previous World Trophy, would be the team standing in our way at St Margaret's Oval in Florley Garden City. #2 vs #14 and it would be the 'Stone that won the toss and batted first. The first innings were eventful, to say the least, as we were considered the underdogs before this whole thing began and wanted to crash the order as much as we could. Luke Tiati, the man who doesn't age, managed 92 in his efforts while Liam Afosha looked to try and make things unenviable with 67 of his own... but our bowlers had something to say about that. Lina Lehtovaara and Signe Hyppia got two each during the defence as Sylestone finished their work on a respectable 257/6.

258 to win, that was all we needed, but we knew that things would be tough right from the off and it showed. In the first half of this match, things just were not clicking for ourselves at all - and we can easily admit that. 25 over gone and we were 98/6, with Samuel Scron's 4-34 causing chaos across our entire batting order. We looked cooked, we looked unsavable...and then the Captain stepped up. Mika Linnankoski doesn't usually take the spotlight down at 6, but his leadership was strong enough to make his teammates believe in anything. When he arrived initially, we has just a passenger to the madness, but once Lina Lehtovaara joined the fray, something unexpected happened...they started to get to work. On by one, the placement of the ball was met with perfection and for a long while, they just cooked. Lina Lehtovaara departed on 34 and both Åke Lindman and Signe Hyppia would get involved, but all eyes were on one man. His unbeaten 107 got us out of a huge hole we had made for ourselves and with 4 overs to go, he would be the one to walk this game off with a four. A 2-wicket win against the ODI #2. The Karhut will enter the Playoffs as the #1 seed in Kytlerin Niemimaa. Who saw that one coming?!

And so we are here. Vaishnavarinen will face us in a rematch in Roddens. Victory sends us into a bye, defeat means we must play one more game. It is as simple as that. We have a cushion, but will we need it? Only time will tell...NOSTA KUIN KARHUT!

---

SCHEDULE/AJOITTAA (KYTLERIAN POOL, Kytlerin Niemimaa [The Kytler Peninsulae])
MD1: vs Kytlerin Niemimaa [The Kytler Peninsulae] (19) - Iain Lexington Bowl, Carroll Lewiston W by 7 runs/Voita 7 juoksulla (5th)
MD2: vs Vaishnavarinen [Vaishnavaria] (UR) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City L by 5 wickets/Tappio 5 portit (7th)
MD3: vs Crpostran (UR) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City W by 1 Wicket/Voita 1 portit (5th)
MD4: vs Itäkentän Lodge [Eastfield Lodge] (12) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City W by 88 runs/Voita 88 juoksulla (4th)
MD5: vs Etelä Uusimaainen [South Newlandia] (20) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City W by 3 runs/Voita 3 juoksulla (2nd)
MD6: vs Sylestone (2) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City W by 2 Wickets/Voita 2 portit (1st)
-------------------------------------------------------
Qual: vs Vaishnavarinen [Vaishnavaria] (UR/#4K) - National Oval, Roddens

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Vielfaltigian qualifier/eliminator results

Qualifiers
The Plough Islands 277/8 (50 overs)
Grand Exultia 247/8 (50 overs)
The Plough Islands win by 30 runs

Natkr 197 (45.1 overs)
Ko-oren 199/6 (44 overs)
Ko-oren win by 4 wickets (36 balls remaining)

Eliminators
Baggieland 237/6 (40.5 overs)
Aryavarna 234/6 (50 overs)
Baggieland win by 4 wickets (55 balls remaining)

Milchama 169 (31.5 overs)
Liventia 303/4 (50 overs)
Liventia win by 134 runs

Repechage fixtures
Grand Exultia v Baggieland, The Lawson Oval, Montebello (winner to play Ko-oren in quarterfinals)
Natkr v Liventia, Preline Park, Bogen (winner to play The Plough Islands in quarterfinals)

[Vaishnavaria]

Vaishnavaria vs Yuugria - ODI Match Scorecard  

Vaishnavaria Innings:  
Androw Billings       c Fansollak b Kalafid          67 (81)  
Sam Bradwel          c & b Zadari H                  45 (50)  
Sawyer Smith (C)     c Idrid b Kalafid              32 (37)  
Oscar Trayhan        b Fansollak                     75 (62)  
Aayuv Singh          b Sarfwan                       89 (55)  
Manu Glover          not out                         24 (15)  
Aaryan Maryevrekar   c An-Alsan b Sarfwan           0 (2)  
Arjun Khan           c Zunna b Kalafid              3 (5)  
Kai Chang            b Zadari Z                      5 (7)  
James Bradwel        not out                         4 (6)  
Extras: 21 (7nb, 6w, 8lb)  
Total: 349/8 in 50 overs  

Fall of Wickets: 1-79 (Bradwel), 2-132 (Smith), 3-145 (Billings), 4-266 (Trayhan), 5-312 (Singh), 6-312 (Maryevrekar), 7-318 (Khan), 8-333 (Chang)  

Bowling:  
Yasir Kalafid       10-1-66-3  
Hakar Zadari        10-0-74-1  
Zeyan Zadari        10-1-64-1  
Tarif Sarfwan       10-0-58-2  
Arhad Fansollak     10-0-68-1  

Yuugria Innings:  
Abder An-Alsan (C)  c Trayhan b Maryevrekar         91 (96)  
Molhammen Yuli      c Smith b Khan                 53 (47)  
Karin Felsun       lbw b Chang                     12 (20)  
Sarran Idrid       c Billings b Maryevrekar        74 (51)  
Rashid Harza       b Bowman                         6 (11)  
Arhad Fansollak    not out                         66 (42)  
Inad Zunna         not out                         18 (13)  
Extras: 8 (5nb, 3w)  
Total: 328/6 in 50 overs  

Fall of Wickets: 1-107 (Yuli), 2-128 (Felsun), 3-230 (An-Alsan), 4-249 (Idrid), 5-267 (Harza), 6-328 (Zunna)  

Bowling:  
Kai Chang          9-0-64-1  
Austin Bowman      9-1-58-1  
Arjun Khan         9-0-55-1  
Aaryan Maryevrekar 7-0-54-2  
Manu Glover        6-0-40-0  
James Bradwel      5-0-28-0  
Sawyer Smith       5-0-29-0  

Result: Vaishnavaria won by 21 runs.  
Man of the Match: Aayuv Singh (89 off 55 balls)

Vaishnavaria Beats Yuugria in front of 300 Million viewers and 30,000 Fans in a crucial game


Walbourg City, Marigny Province

Lambert Park


In a high stakes rivalry game with hundreds of millions watching around the multiverse and an extremely loud Lambert Park that seems as if 100,000 people were there and not 30,000. This was Vaishnavaria vs Yuugria and what a game it was an absolute masterclass from both sides. The Tigers needed this win to advance to the Qualifiers and the Yuugrians needed this win to have a shot at making the Eliminators. The Tigers managed to pull away with a great win. Aayuv Singh the replacement for the injured Sunny Mohammed Shined smashing the Yuugrian bowlers all over the park hitting a massive 85. Abder An-Alsan hit a ton 95 too but in the end it wasn't enough.


The first innings started off pretty slowly for the Tigers as openers Sam Bradwel and Androw Billings played slowly but steadily edging out singles to get out to a healthy run rate of 5. Andrown Billings kept the pressure on hitting shots all through the gaps around the field to get quick singles and Doubles while Bradwel Anchored in playing as cold and calculated shots as he could using his technique to guide the ball and use its pace to work through gaps. However the Yuugrian Bowlers were hard to play against for Bradwel as they were bowling at incredibly fast paced that the team hadn't faced at all. Kalafid and Sarfwan were getting tons of swing while the Zedari brothers applied the hard yet accurate paced balls. Arhad Fansollak was also throwing off the Tigers with his surprise balls and they struggled to get runs off them.


The first wicket fell of a perfectly placed slower ball and change of Pace by Hakar Zadari. Zadari's balls were really flying today and got good and hard pace troubling Sam Bradwel and getting some struggle from Androw Billings. The balls before Hakar Zadari had bowled a ruthless Yorker that nearly shattered the middle stump but Bradwel Managed to get his bat down. The other ball was a fast quick bouncer that nearly took Bradwel's head off. Then on the third ball Bradwel prepared for another quick one but to his surprise the pace was pulled back enormously and was well disguised by Zadari and it came much much slower on a fuller ball on middle stump. Bradwel tried to go for a sweep which he usually does on slower balls but it caught the top edge and flew up in the air, coming down right into Hakar Zadari's hands. The tigers were 1-79 in 14 overs now.


Sawyer Smith Entered and immediately got the innings moving a little bit faster hitting a couple quick doubles along with 2 boundaries He changed the tide of the game and managed to increase the run rate all the way to 6.5 from a decent yet not good enough for Yuugria 5.5 runs per over. Androw Billings steadied by a reliable partner he also began to up the pace taking on the Yuugrian Pace with kindled aggression smashing Zeyan Zadari for 15 off one over and hitting 9 off another one. The Batsmen were taking it too the Yuugrian attack and things were starting to slowly grow grim for the Warriors.


The game shifted once more when Smith Got out off a brilliantly placed and set up outswinger by Yasir Kalafid drawing an outside edge and a brilliant catch at the slip by Sarran Idrid. After 3 straight inswingers turning sharply into middle and leg from off stump Smith expected another one when it was pitched on the same line and he went for a big straight drive. However then it sharply turned out and it just barely knocked the edge of Smiths bat. However the pace and the rapid swing made it turn rapidly and take off towards 2nd slip where Idrid lie. He took it wonderfully and just like that the Captian was dismissed for 32 not bad but could have been much more.

[Sylestone]

Sylestone Batting
Batter                                               R   B  4s  6s   SR
L Tiati (c) (+)      c Lehtovaara b Linnankoski     92 120  11   0   76.67
B Golman             c Linnankoski b Eskola         11  24   1   0   45.83
N Lovia              c Järnefelt b Lehtovaara        6  10   1   0   60
S Asaskia            c&b Lehtovaara                 36  51   3   0   70.59
L Cocrine            c Lindman (+) b Hyppia          0   5   0   0    
L Afosha             not out                        67  62   7   1  108.06
S Cross              b Hyppia                       20  20   0   1  100
J McMillan           not out                        13   8   1   1  162.5
        EXTRAS       (6 b, 3 lb, 3 wd)              12
        TOTAL        for 6 wickets                 257   (50 ov; 5.14 RPO)
Did not bat:       B Hall, S Scron, K Sonnel

FOW: 1-26 (B Golman, 7.2 overs); 2-38 (N Lovia, 10.5 overs); 3-117 (S Asaskia , 28.6 overs); 
     4-124 (L Cocrine, 31.1 overs); 5-176 (L Tiati (c) (+), 39.5 overs); 6-229 (S Cross, 46.5 overs)

Kimi-Suomi Bowling
Bowler                  Ov   M   R  W   Econ  Ext
S Hyppia                10   2  42  2    4.2  
S Eskola                10   1  49  1    4.9  (1 wd)
M Linnankoski (c)        8   0  50  1   6.25  (1 wd)
L Lehtovaara            10   1  42  2    4.2  
L Pöysti                 8   0  43  0   5.38  (1 wd)
W Tykkä                  4   0  22  0    5.5  

Kimi-Suomi Batting   (Target: 258)
Batter                                               R   B  4s  6s   SR
A Aaltonen           c Tiati (+) b Scron             5  12   0   0   41.67
W Tykkä              c Tiati (+) b Scron            34  58   3   0   58.62
A Järnefelt          c Lovia b Asaskia              20  26   3   0   76.92
L Pöysti             b Scron                         9  12   1   0   75
J Paarma             c Hall b Scron                  1   3   0   0   33.33
M Linnankoski (c)    not out                       107  94  11   4  113.83
A Ackté              lbw b Sonnel                   16  18   2   0   88.89
L Lehtovaara         lbw b Asaskia                  34  37   5   0   91.89
A Lindman (+)        c Afosha b Asaskia             14   9   0   2  155.56
S Hyppia             not out                         9   8   2   0  112.5
        EXTRAS       (4 lb, 5 wd)                    9
        TOTAL        for 8 wickets                 258   (46.1 ov; 5.59 RPO)
Did not bat:       S Eskola

FOW: 1-12 (A Aaltonen, 4.2 overs); 2-52 (A Järnefelt, 14.1 overs); 3-76 (L Pöysti, 17.1 overs); 
     4-78 (J Paarma, 17.5 overs); 5-73 (W Tykkä, 19.2 overs); 6-98 (A Ackté, 24.5 overs); 
     7-212 (L Lehtovaara, 38.5 overs); 8-238 (A Lindman (+), 42.3 overs)

Sylestone Bowling
Bowler                  Ov   M   R  W   Econ  Ext
S Scron                 10   2  42  4    4.2  
J McMillan             8.1   0  44  0   5.39  (1 wd)
S Asaskia                9   1  52  3   5.78  (1 wd)
B Hall                   6   0  38  0   6.33  (1 wd)
K Sonnel                 8   0  42  1   5.25  
S Cross                  5   0  36  0    7.2  (2 wd)

Venue: St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City, The Kyler Peninsulae
Match number: Match 62
Toss: Sylestone won the toss and elected to bat
Season: GCF ODI World Trophy V
Matchdays: Matchday Six
Player of the Match: Mika Lennankoski (KIM)
Series result: 
Debut: 
Umpires: Unknown
TV Umpire: Unknown
Reserve Umpire: Unknown
Match Referee: Unknown
Match Result: Kimi-Suomi win by two wickets with 23 balls remaining

[Vielfaltig]

sorry for the delay, had a rough day and overslept.

Kytlerian Qualifiers/Eliminators

Qualifiers
Kimi-Suomi 180/6 (50 overs)
Vaishnavaria 240 (47.4 overs)
Vaishnavaria won by 60 runs

Indusse 247/3 (50 overs)
Darmen 221/9 (50 overs)
Indusse won by 26 runs

Eliminators
Crpostran 179 (36.1 overs)
Sylestone 333 (47.3 overs)
Sylestone won by 154 runs

The Kytler Peninsulae 274/3 (50 overs)
Impreo De Jap 278/8 (30 overs)
Impreo De Jap won by 2 wickets (120 balls remaining)

Repechage Fixtures
Kimi-Suomi vs Sylestone @ The Donnelly Ground, Willsbrook (winner to play Indusse in quarterfinals)
Darmen vs Impreo De Jap @ St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City (winner to play Vaishnavaria in quarterfinals)

[Indusse]

OOC: The Copyright message at the end of the post has been used from the standard copyright message from multiple books.

LexiRead™ > Web Edition

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---

The Half Blood Saga II
Chapter IX
Reflections

---

Previous Edition
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII

"This is impossible," Adael whispered, staring into a face that was his own, yet not. A face weathered by years perhaps due to centuries of hardship. The herald which was his future self, watched him with eyes that held knowledge beyond comprehension. "Nothing is impossible between worlds, between times. That is the first truth you must accept." Ashear moved protectively closer to Adael. "Don't listen to him. This could be another shadow trick."

"It's no trick," Mehrea said softly, her eyes fixed on the herald. "The Celestial Forge exists outside of time. Its power... its influence... extends beyond our understanding." The battle around them remained frozen, shadows and the 'warriors of light' caught in a moment between moments. Only their small group and the herald seemed able to move, to speak, to breathe.

"Explain," Adael demanded, the Sphere in his hands continuing to fracture, hairline cracks spreading across its surface. "If you're truly me, then tell me what this means." The herald or which seemed like the future Adael, gestured with his darkened Sphere. Instantly, the air between them shimmered, and images began to form. A vision of Jehnara in ruins. Fararah consumed by shadows. Then another vision where both worlds thriving, but fundamentally changed, darkness and light woven together in impossible harmony.
"The prophecy was misunderstood," the herald explained. "The half-blood doesn't defeat the darkness. The half-blood integrates it. Balance isn't the absence of shadow, it's the proper proportion of shadow and light."

Ethran stepped forward. "The Abyssal Prince—" "Is part of me now," the herald finished. "As he must become part of you." He looked directly at Adael. "That was my choice, centuries from your perspective. I absorbed his essence, became the herald, maintained the balance through eternal vigilance." "At what cost?" Azahl demanded, his sword still raised defensively. The herald's expression grew somber. "Everything. Everyone. Isolation between worlds became necessary. Jehnara and Fararah were separated completely. No passage between them. For centuries, I have been the only bridge."

Adael felt his heart racing. "And now?" "Now the balance fails. My time ends. The cycle must renew or both worlds will perish."
The cracks in Adael's Sphere deepened. Through them, tendrils of shadow began to seep, seeking connection with the light within.
"The fracturing has already begun," the herald observed. "Your Sphere seeks harmony with its counterpart. Light and shadow, intertwined."

Adael looked at his companions, at the two men who had been his fathers, at his mother who had sacrificed so much, at Ashear whose loyalty had never wavered. "There must be another way." "There wasn't for me," the herald said simply. "But perhaps... perhaps you might find one. That is why I orchestrated all of this, the Shadowblades, the refugees, the crisis. To force a confrontation before my power fades completely."

"You endangered innocent people!" Kael accused. "I gave them a chance," the herald countered. "Without this moment, both worlds would have faded into oblivion as the imbalance grew. At least now, there is a possibility." Mehrea placed her hand on Adael's arm. "What he says aligns with the oldest texts. Balance must be maintained, but the manner of that maintenance... that has always been a matter of interpretation." Adael felt the weight of two worlds pressing down upon him. The Sphere in his hands now resembled a cracked egg, shadow and light bleeding together within its fractured shell.

"What happens if I refuse?" he asked. The herald's expression grew grim. "Then I fail. The shadow essence I've contained for centuries will be released without control. Both worlds will be consumed." "And if I accept?" "Then you become what I became. The Herald of Balance. Forever caught between worlds, between light and shadow." Eternal isolation. Endless vigilance. A destiny of solitude.

"There has to be another way," Adael insisted, his mind racing. Then, a thought struck him, something the Celestial Forge had said. "Power demanded has a price. Power freely given has conditions." He looked at the darkened Sphere in the herald's hand, then at his own cracking one. "You took this burden alone," Adael realized aloud. "You demanded the power to save both worlds, and the price was your isolation. But what if... what if the power were freely given instead? What if the burden were shared?"

The herald's eyes widened fractionally, the first genuine surprise he had shown. "Impossible. The darkness cannot be divided."
"Everything can be divided," Ethran said suddenly, understanding dawning on his face. "That's why Jehnara and Fararah separated in the first place—to divide the burden of existing." Adael turned to Ashear, then to his family. "What if we all carried a piece? Not just me. Everyone. Both worlds." The herald shook his head. "The shadow would corrupt—" "Only if it remains shadow," Mehrea interrupted. "But balanced with light..."

Adael held up his fractured Sphere. "This isn't breaking. It's transforming." With sudden clarity, he understood. He raised the Sphere high. "I accept the burden of balance, but I will not bear it alone!"

The Sphere shattered completely. But instead of darkness flooding out, a multitude of tiny lights scattered in all directions—each containing a perfect balance of shadow and light. They shot through the frozen battlefield, through the city beyond, across the barrier to Fararah, touching every person, every creature, every structure. The herald watched in astonishment as his own darkened Sphere began to respond, cracks of light appearing across its surface.

"What have you done?" he whispered. Reality itself seemed to shudder. The frozen moment broke, time resuming its flow, but everything was different now. The shadow-creatures were transforming, darkness and light swirling together within them until they became something new—beings of twilight, neither pure shadow nor pure light. Jehnara's crystal structures absorbed threads of shadow, becoming stronger, more complex. The amber sky darkened slightly, stars becoming visible even in daylight.

"The balance," Adael said with certainty, "belongs to everyone. Not just to me. Not just to you." The herald—his future self—began to change. The dark armor cracked, light pouring through. For a moment, his form became transparent, ghostly. "You've changed the pattern," he said, wonder in his voice. "The cycle breaks. I never imagined..." His form flickered. "My time is done. My purpose fulfilled differently than I expected, but fulfilled nonetheless." He looked at Adael with something like pride. "Be wiser than I was."
With those words, the herald dissolved completely, not into darkness, but into countless motes of balanced light, scattering to join the transformation spreading through both worlds.

Adael stood in the aftermath, surrounded by his loved ones, watching as Jehnara and Fararah began to heal—not by separating light from shadow, but by finding harmony between them. "Is it over?" Ashear asked, taking Adael's hand. "No," he replied softly. "It's just beginning." In his palm lay a single fragment of the original Sphere—a perfect teardrop of crystal containing swirling patterns of light and shadow in perfect balance. A reminder of what had been lost, and what had been gained.

Above them, the sky of Jehnara had changed forever—no longer purely amber, but painted with gentle darkness that made the light more precious. Balance had been restored, not through isolation and sacrifice, but through connection and shared burden. And somewhere between worlds, the essence of the Abyssal Prince—now divided among all living things in infinitesimal amounts—found peace in balance. The prophecy had been fulfilled, though not as anyone had expected. The half-blood had indeed restored balance to all.

To be Continued...

---

Copyright © Akiho Banwari.

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

http://www.lexiread.org

[Ko-oren]

National Centre for Sporting Excellence opens in Ilohbonu

Sports and science are one step closer together - again - as a brand new National Centre for Sporting Excellence opens near Ilohbonu. The collaboration is between the Ministry for Culture and Sports, the major national sporting associations (soccer, gridiron, cricket, baseball, and so on, and including individual and amateur sports), and universities in and around Ilohbonu.

The aim of the Centre touches on all three cooperating components:
- The associations want a better environment to prepare athletes in order to get better results in international events;
- The universities want a closer look into the Ko-orenite sporting landscape and better access to athletes for more meaningful research;
- The ministry wants to show Anaia that Ko-oren can take a leading role in sports and research.

Part of the Willowbourne Professional Research University campus will relocate to the area - universities use their 'international' place names rather than the Gehrennan ones, yes - and Cresthill University, the Applied School of Auctermuncty, and parts of the Lycée de Camreault, Penshaw Vocational School, and Starlingseed Vocational School will all take part.

Research that is scheduled to run from day one includes the following:

Measuring some of the more measurable intangibles: eyesight (including depth perception, visual acuity, peripheral vision, focus and tracking) and its role in performance. What can eye tests teach us about the potential of (young) athletes? Early research suggests that in sports like baseball and cricket, the ability to focus on, and predict, trajectory and spin, is a massive part of hitting, but the same skills also matter in other sports in determining the speed and direction of the ball and teammates. Athletes with better 'eyesight' have a better sense of positioning and are able to land key passes (in soccer, for instance) better.

At the same time, medical students are able to work more often and closer to athletes to benefit nutrition, recovery, and so on.

The universities will also have closer access to the organisation behind club teams: how are strategies and tactics formed, what makes a good team (having similar or different players on a team, with which properties and personalities?), and what's the role of a coach on a team? Do the didactics of team sports translate in any way to education or leadership over a small team within a company, school, organisation, or institution? Having multiple 12-team leagues offer opportunities for (limited) experiments and control groups. Both rugby codes have indicated that they're open to experiment - though that is probably due to their precarious financial positions in comparison to booming sports like baseball and even basketball, let alone the big two/three (soccer, gridiron, orienteering) with cricket in an intermediate position: not as massive and national as soccer, but far more established than baseball and basketball. Either way, the rugby codes could see more methodical approaches to roster building and behind the scenes leadership.

[Sylestone]

Sylestone Batting
Batter                                             R   B  4s  6s   SR
L Tiati (c) (+)    b Valère                       13  17   2   0   76.47
B Golman           st Desiderio (+) b Kalyan      83  88  10   0   94.32
N Lovia            c Earnest b Barclay            60  44   6   3  136.36
S Asaskia          c Utz b Kalyan                 67  53   8   2  126.42
L Cocrine          c Desiderio (+) b Barclay      25  25   1   1  100
L Afosha           c Desiderio (+) b Barclay      14  16   1   0   87.5
S Cross            b Valère                       35  21   1   4  166.67
B Hall             run out (Lucas)                12   8   1   1  150
A Hackett          not out                         7   9   1   0   77.78
S Scron            b Utz                           2   5   0   0   40
K Sonnel           c Kalyan b Utz                  0   1   0   0    
       EXTRAS      (2 b, 3 lb, 8 wd, 2 nb)        15
       TOTAL       all out                       333   (47.3 ov; 7.01 RPO)
                 

FOW: 1-16 (L Tiati (c) (+), 4.3 overs); 2-117 (N Lovia, 18.2 overs); 3-201 (B Golman, 29.5 overs); 
     4-249 (S Asaskia , 35.3 overs); 5-272 (L Afosha, 39.2 overs); 6-282 (L Cocrine, 41.2 overs); 
     7-310 (B Hall, 43.5 overs); 8-330 (S Cross, 46.2 overs); 9-333 (S Scron, 47.2 overs); 
     10-333 (K Sonnel, 47.3 overs)

Crpostran Bowling
Bowler                Ov   M   R  W   Econ  Ext
C Valère               9   0  57  2   6.33  (1 wd)
K Utz                8.3   0  61  2   7.18  (6 wd, 1 nb)
R Kalyan              10   0  55  2    5.5  
L Donato               7   0  70  0     10  
E Barclay              8   0  49  3   6.13  (1 wd)
S Arnold               5   0  36  0    7.2  (1 nb)

Crpostran Batting   (Target: 334)
Batter                                             R   B  4s  6s   SR
T Eugénie (c)      c Afosha b Asaskia              1  11   0   0    9.09
L Kaysen           b Sonnel                       47  54   6   0   87.04
I Earnest          c Tiati (+) b Sonnel           23  27   3   0   85.19
H Lucas            c Tiati (+) b Hackett           4  10   0   0   40
C Desiderio (+)    lbw b Sonnel                   37  49   3   1   75.51
E Barclay          c Afosha b Asaskia             20  15   2   1  133.33
S Arnold           c Cocrine b Hall                0   5   0   0    
K Utz              c Tiati (+) b Cross            14  21   1   0   66.67
C Valère           b Sonnel                       10   9   0   1  111.11
R Kalyan           not out                        13  10   2   0  130
L Donato           c Cross b Sonnel                1   6   0   0   16.67
       EXTRAS      (7 lb, 2 wd)                    9
       TOTAL       all out                       179   (36.1 ov; 4.95 RPO)
                 

FOW: 1-9 (T Eugénie (c), 3.1 overs); 2-54 (I Earnest, 11.2 overs); 3-62 (H Lucas, 14.1 overs); 
     4-81 (L Kaysen, 19.1 overs); 5-114 (E Barclay, 23.3 overs); 6-115 (S Arnold, 24.5 overs); 
     7-147 (K Utz, 31.3 overs); 8-153 (C Desiderio (+), 32.3 overs); 9-173 (C Valère, 34.3 overs); 
     10-179 (L Donato, 36.1 overs)

Sylestone Bowling
Bowler                Ov   M   R  W   Econ  Ext
S Scron                4   0  16  0      4  
S Asaskia              6   0  32  2   5.33  (1 wd)
A Hackett              4   0  28  1      7  (1 wd)
K Sonnel             9.1   0  41  5   4.47  
B Hall                 8   1  38  1   4.75  
S Cross                5   0  17  1    3.4  

Venue: Snowflake City Oval, Zube, The Kytler Peninsulae
Match number: Match 79
Toss: Sylestone won the toss and elected to bat
Season: GCF ODI World Trophy V
Matchdays: Eliminator
Player of the Match: Kate Sonnel (SYL)
Series result: 
Debut: 
Umpires: Unknown
TV Umpire: Unknown
Reserve Umpire: Unknown
Match Referee: Unknown
Match Result: Sylestone win by 154 runs

[Kimi-Suomi]

The Karhut of Kimi-Suomi had made the Playoffs as the #1 seed in this half or the World Trophy. That is something that has never happened before, to my knowledge, and Lorcán Ua Tuathail was certainly happy with just how well this team has developed and advanced over time. But the work was not yet done, not by a long shot. We still had to deal with knockout cricket and all the trials and tribulations that might follow...so what could we do in a new venue?

Not too well, apparently. Vaishnavarinen at a rematch at the National Oval in Roddens was supposed to be a big-time clash between a team looking to keep their debut campaign in the highest glories while the other wanted simple revenge. It was a simple game with simple things at stake where the loser has to play next time around...and things got off to an interesting start. Zakaraya Naveshkar's side, in their first ever ODI tournament, were trying to put on a show and Sawyer Smith was their main weapon of choice as his 87 certainly help them along. But our bowling was also good, with Mika Linnankoski and Saima Eskola getting 3 wickets each, and we ended up bowling out the opponents for 240.

241 in 50 overs did sound reasonable when we stepped up to bat, but that confidence was a grave mistake indeed. James Bradwel, Kai Chang and Austin Bowman were all weapons with the ball and while Wäinö Tykkä managed 56, we struggled with everyone else in this response. We ended up at 180/6 when all was said and done, falling as the #1 seed by 60 runs - embarrassing, to say the least.

And so, we did need the cushion of the Repecharge after all...and that sets up another rematch, this time with Sylestone at The Donnelly Ground in Willsbrook. They will be looking for revenge, with a date with Indusse on the cards for the victor, so this one should be a cracker. Take a deep breath... and hope for the best. NOSTA KUIN KARHUT!

---

SCHEDULE/AJOITTAA (KYTLERIAN POOL, Kytlerin Niemimaa [The Kytler Peninsulae])
MD1: vs Kytlerin Niemimaa [The Kytler Peninsulae] (19) - Iain Lexington Bowl, Carroll Lewiston W by 7 runs/Voita 7 juoksulla (5th)
MD2: vs Vaishnavarinen [Vaishnavaria] (UR) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City L by 5 wickets/Tappio 5 portit (7th)
MD3: vs Crpostran (UR) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City W by 1 Wicket/Voita 1 portit (5th)
MD4: vs Itäkentän Lodge [Eastfield Lodge] (12) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City W by 88 runs/Voita 88 juoksulla (4th)
MD5: vs Etelä Uusimaainen [South Newlandia] (20) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City W by 3 runs/Voita 3 juoksulla (2nd)
MD6: vs Sylestone (2) - St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City W by 2 Wickets/Voita 2 portit (1st)
-------------------------------------------------------
Qual: vs Vaishnavarinen [Vaishnavaria] (UR/#4K) - National Oval, Roddens L by 60 runs/Tappio 60 juoksulla
R: vs Sylestone (2/#8K) - The Donnelly Ground, Willsbrook

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Vielfaltigian repechage results

Grand Exultia 220/6 (42.3 overs)
Baggieland 219/6 (50 overs)
Grand Exultia win by 4 wickets (45 balls remaining)

Natkr 429 (48.4 overs)
Liventia 220/8 (50 overs)
Natkr win by 209 runs

Vielfaltigian quarterfinals
Ko-oren v Grand Exultia, The Quanta Stadium, Montebello
The Plough Islands v Natkr, The Graham Bellamy Show, Mogendorf

[Vielfaltig]

Kytlerian Repechage results

Kimi-Suomi 243/7 (50 overs)
Sylestone 296/9 (50 overs)
Sylestone won by 53 runs

Darmen 138/9 (22.3 overs)
Impreo De Jap 137/8 (50 overs)
Darmen won by 1 wicket (165 balls remaining)

Kytlerian Quarterfinal fixtures
Indusse vs Sylestone @ St Margaret's Oval, Florley Garden City
Vaishnavaria vs Darmen @ Snowflake City Oval, Zube

[Vaishnavaria]

Vaishnavaria vs Kimi Suomi - ODI Match Scorecard

Vaishnavaria Innings:  
Androw Billings       c Lindman b Eskola            24 (31)  
Sam Bradwel          c Paarma b Eskola             17 (29)  
Sawyer Smith (C)     c Ackté b Linnankoski         87 (92)  
Oscar Trayhan        b Tykkä                        9 (12)  
Aayuv Singh          c Lindman b Linnankoski       41 (47)  
Manu Glover          b Eskola                        8 (14)  
Aaryan Maryevrekar   c Järnefelt b Linnankoski      6 (10)  
Arjun Khan           lbw b Lehtovaara               5 (8)  
Kai Chang            c & b Hyppia                   3 (7)  
James Bradwel        b Hyppia                       8 (13)  
Austin Bowman        not out                        10 (9)  
Extras: 22 (8nb, 5w, 9lb)  
Total: 240 all out in 47.4 overs  

Fall of Wickets: 1-39 (Billings, 7.4 ov), 2-61 (Bradwel, 12.3 ov), 3-76 (Trayhan, 15.1 ov),  
4-160 (Singh, 32.4 ov), 5-178 (Glover, 36.2 ov), 6-192 (Maryevrekar, 38.5 ov),  
7-204 (Khan, 41.1 ov), 8-208 (Chang, 42.3 ov), 9-221 (Bradwel, 45.2 ov), 10-240 (Smith, 47.4 ov)  

Bowling:  
Saima Eskola        10-0-46-3  
Mika Linnankoski    9-1-39-3  
Signe Hyppia        9.4-0-44-2  
Lina Lehtovaara     10-1-52-1  
Wäinö Tykkä        9-0-47-1  

Kimi Suomi Innings:  
Albert Aaltonen      c Khan b Chang                12 (20)  
Wäinö Tykkä         c Billings b Bowman           56 (78)  
Alina Järnefelt      c Singh b Maryevrekar        22 (36)  
Lasse Pöysti        lbw b Glover                  15 (30)  
Jukka Paarma        b Smith                       27 (40)  
Mika Linnankoski (C) not out                      38 (50)  
Aino Ackté          not out                       10 (20)  
Extras: 14 (5nb, 4w, 5lb)  
Total: 180/6 in 50 overs  

Fall of Wickets: 1-24 (Aaltonen, 5.3 ov), 2-71 (Järnefelt, 14.1 ov), 3-102 (Tykkä, 22.5 ov),  
4-118 (Pöysti, 28.4 ov), 5-152 (Paarma, 39.5 ov), 6-180 (Ackté, 50.0 ov)  

Bowling:  
Kai Chang           10-1-35-1  
Austin Bowman       10-2-38-1  
Arjun Khan         10-0-41-0  
Aaryan Maryevrekar  10-0-43-1  
Manu Glover        10-1-23-1  
Sawyer Smith       5-0-26-1  

Result: Vaishnavaria won by 60 runs.  
Man of the Match: Sawyer Smith (87 off 92 balls)

Tigers beat Kimi Suomi in historic win to head to the quarterfinals




Montebollo City, Montebollo

The Lawson Oval


The Tigers managed to pull off a stunning upset of the #1 seeded Kimi Suomians in a win that will be remembered for the ages not because of a extremely close and legendary clash but a low total defended wonderfully and the first time in the short national team history where they were really playing from behind and fighting a large uphill battle. 240 scored and winning by 60 runs is definitely not bad, not bad at all


The first innings started out a little slow but chopped in singles and doubles like the game against Yuugria. Androw Billings and James Bradwel seemed to hit and take singles and doubles with ease against the Karhut Bowlersmanaging to up the run rate to nearly 6 runs per over. Billings seemed in good touch as he faced little trouble from the bowlers and upped the pace gradually trying to go for bigger shots as he settled in but he sacrificed his strike rate a little bit and singles and doubles to hit fours. He took Saima Eskola and Lina Lehtovaara for 4 boundaries divided between them in consecutive overs but then tragedy struck as he tried to go for a big drive but a brilliant outswinging ball from Eksola drew an edge and was caught behind by Åke Lindman for 24.


Then the dominoes started to fall. With Sawyer Smith At the crease they started to push back in the form of Singles and Doubles but the run rate slowed down to just below 4 and then Sam Bradwel's wicket fell. With Eksola being brought back into the attack Bradwel tried to go for a push shot a drive to get a single but the confusing turn and swing of Eksola led to a thick edge where it was taken at 1st slip by Jukka Paarma. Then Shortly after Oscar Trayhan was bowled by a brilliantly disguised ball by Tykkä that turned sharply into the wicket and Trayhan's off stump was cleanly taken off.


Then Entered Aayuv Singh the big hitter. Singh cam ein and immediately made an impact going hard at the bowlers from the get go smashing a couple of boundaries and sixes. On an over by Lina Lehtovaara Singh hit a four and a six, one was punch powerfully through covers and the six was a massive pull shot that cleared into the crowd. Sawyer Smith got on the action two hitting a couple fours on balls that strayed down the leg side or pitched in the slot. Singh and Smith brought the Tigers innings back to light with a long standing 84 run partnership that changed the game.

It all Ended when a good length ball from Mika Linnankoski came to the hit man. SIngh Tried to go for a leaning back foot defense and drew an edge that carried behind to the keeper where it was safely taken and given out. But the Tigers were in a better position now at 160-4 in 32.4 overs with a 5 run rate. However they still needed to up the pace.


That's not what happened as the innings started to unravel right there and then. Manu Glover made a couple good runs and seemed to be in form until he was bowled after trying to loft a ball over mid on, wiffing on the ball and then the stumps were clattered giving Eksola 2 wickets on the day. Maryvrekar went a short overs later biting on a slower paced ball on the cover side that was taken by Alina Järnefelt. Arjun Khan fell less than three overs later attempting a back-foot flick shot and getting pinned on the stumps leading to an LBW after review. 1 over later Chang fell after hitting it straight back to Signe Hyppia.


Throughout all of this Smith remained Vigilant and persistent providing much needed runs and finding them when it seemed like there was no such thing as a stable partner. He continued to attempt to keep the score churning till the end of the innings. But the 9th wicket fell right After James Bradwel attempted a drive and wiffed, taking out middle stump. Then Austin Bowman came and began to provide a steady steaming flow of runs. Hustling singles with Smith in an attempt to gouge every run possible. It seemed like they would take it to the end of the innings but a big Sawyer
Smith shot that went in the air and came down on Long Off led to all our in the 47th over

[Sylestone]

Sylestone Batting
Batter                                                  R   B  4s  6s   SR
L Tiati (c) (+)      c Aaltonen b Tykkä               129 140  12   4   92.14
B Golman             c Järnefelt b Hyppia               0   6   0   0    
N Lovia              b Linnankoski                     11  24   1   0   45.83
S Asaskia            c Aaltonen b Pöysti                3  12   0   0   25
L Cocrine            c Ackté b Linnankoski             29  46   2   0   63.04
L Afosha             c Lindman (+) b Linnankoski       11   7   2   0  157.14
S Cross              not out                           79  46   8   5  171.74
B Hall               run out (Eskola, Lindman (+))      7  12   0   0   58.33
J McMillan           b Hyppia                           5   4   1   0  125
S Scron              lbw b Hyppia                       2   2   0   0  100
K Sonnel             not out                            2   1   0   0  200
        EXTRAS       (10 b, 1 lb, 7 wd)                18
        TOTAL        for 9 wickets                    296   (50 ov; 5.92 RPO)
                   

FOW: 1-4 (B Golman, 1.5 overs); 2-36 (N Lovia, 12.1 overs); 3-45 (S Asaskia , 15.2 overs); 
     4-139 (L Cocrine, 33.5 overs); 5-152 (L Afosha, 35.5 overs); 6-236 (L Tiati (c) (+), 43.5 overs); 
     7-275 (B Hall, 48.1 overs); 8-292 (A Hackett, 49.3 overs); 9-294 (S Scron, 49.5 overs)

Kimi-Suomi Bowling
Bowler                  Ov   M   R  W   Econ  Ext
S Eskola                 7   1  46  0   6.57  (5 wd)
S Hyppia                10   0  59  3    5.9  (1 wd)
M Linnankoski (c)       10   1  34  3    3.4  (1 wd)
L Pöysti                 6   0  38  1   6.33  
L Lehtovaara             8   0  61  0   7.63  
W Tykkä                  9   0  47  1   5.22  

Kimi-Suomi Batting   (Target: 297)
Batter                                                  R   B  4s  6s   SR
A Aaltonen           c Tiati (+) b Hall                31  45   3   0   68.89
W Tykkä              c Tiati (+) b Scron                5  16   0   0   31.25
A Järnefelt          c Sonnel b McMillan                0   3   0   0    
L Pöysti             c Sonnel b Hall                   71  85   7   0   83.53
J Paarma             b Cross                           52  60   3   2   86.67
M Linnankoski (c)    c Afosha b Cross                   3  13   0   0   23.08
A Ackté              b McMillan                        41  38   3   2  107.89
L Lehtovaara         not out                           30  30   2   1  100
Å Lindman            not out                            6  10   0   0   60
        EXTRAS       (2 lb, 2 wd)                       4
        TOTAL        for 7 wickets                    243   (50 ov; 4.86 RPO)
Did not bat:       S Hyppia, S Eskola

FOW: 1-12 (W Tykkä, 4.4 overs); 2-13 (A Järnefelt, 5.3 overs); 3-60 (A Aaltonen, 14.3 overs); 
     4-141 (L Pöysti, 31.4 overs); 5-150 (M Linnankoski (c), 34.4 overs); 6-173 (J Paarma, 38.4 overs); 
     7-235 (A Ackté, 47.2 overs)

Sylestone Bowling
Bowler                  Ov   M   R  W   Econ  Ext
S Scron                  7   0  35  1      5  
J McMillan               9   1  44  2   4.89  
S Asaskia                7   0  39  0   5.57  (1 wd)
B Hall                  10   0  47  2    4.7  
K Sonnel                 8   0  39  0   4.88  (1 wd)
S Cross                  6   0  25  2   4.17  
L Afosha                 3   0  12  0      4  

Venue: The Donnelly Ground, Willsbrook, The Kytler Peninsulae
Match number: Match 83
Toss: Kimi-Suomi won the toss and elected to bowl
Season: GCF ODI World Trophy V
Matchdays: Repechage
Player of the Match: Luke Tiati (SYL)
Series result: 
Debut: 
Umpires: Unknown
TV Umpire: Unknown
Reserve Umpire: Unknown
Match Referee: Unknown
Match Result: Sylestone win by 53 runs

[The Plough Islands]

So after lucking into an extra long cutoff period that included a bye day and a weekend, my roleplay is...predominantly, about struggling to write a roleplay and having your mind led down introspective and surreal paths. And, in a display of what might be called irony, it was a genuine struggle to write, with my mind being constantly led down introspective and surreal paths, and although there are some good lines in it I do fear the whole thing suffers a little from the fact that I thought of an idea and was too stubborn to let it go even where it patently did not work, purely because of cutoff panic.
(yes, despite having two extra days to write; in my admittedly weak defence, we had no power for part of that time - thanks, Electricity North West.)
Thanks are due to a couple of people - Grand Exultia, for being a pleasingly good sport about the scorecard; Osarius, for indulging me in a discussion about the nature of the press under socialism - see, occasionally I am logically consistent! - and Mertagne for keeping me going through quite a bad period of self doubt. Hopefully I can keep this all tracking along for however long I have left in the tournament - although on the horizon I can spy the wake of an unranked and unrostered torpedo, and I fear it may yet hole me below the thermocline.
Such is the way of Margaret though; whatever happens, good luck to everyone left in the competition, and may the best roleplayer win!

---

...It was illustrative of the Foxes' bowling difficulties of late that Naomi Salisbury took the first over of the Exultian innings, with Bertelis Waldon and Aete Deinomache puzzled to be facing left-arm spin with the new ball while Shauna Weaver was giving the eighteen-year old Richard Crichton a final briefing in the slip cordon between deliveries. Everyone, from Weaver to wicketkeeper Ilya Lebed to Crichton himself, had expected a bit of a loosener as he started his spell from the scoreboard end, and indeed Lebed had not yet crouched as the young pacer began his run up.
What came instead, though, was a once in a lifetime moment; from behind the crudely painted logo on the field, Crichton delivered the ball of the match. The youngster had his eyes closed as he came in, from either fear or folklore, but landed his delivery stride perfectly, digging his front foot into the pitch as his chest and arm rippled, and the ball came off the pitch as if on a wire, skimmed under Waldon's gloves, and cracked into the off stump with enough force as to split the wood along the grain.
The stadium was split between nothing and everything, a mix of stunned silence and spontaneous, unfocused joy from the two dozen travelling Plough Islanders and the neutrals nearby, and a hastily struck up Golden Ageaccompanied the surely iconic projection screen image of Waldon staring, grimly transfixed, at what remained of the wicket as Crichton ran away down the pitch, with fellow New Hibernians Peter Hodgeson and Sarah Ashe clinging on in unbridled jubilation.
And well he might; Crichton had effectively decapitated the Exultian batting lineup with his first ball in international cricket, and done it with a ball you could enlarge, mount under glass on the wall, and use as a teaching aid for young fast bowlers. If this young man can channel the commitment and passion in that ball, and have a modicum of good luck with his joints and tendons as his body matures, a star may well have flared into life in the cauldron of the new stadium in Montebello.

Andrew Kulayev had been staring at the cursor on his laptop for long enough to realise he needed a break. He arched his back hesitantly and stretched up from the table; his body had certain positions, consciously or otherwise, that he had to be in to be able to write; part of it was pain relief that stemmed from his own cricketing career, where ten years of hammering the popping crease through his right knee had taken a physical toll such that his last sentence had been particularly personal, but Andrew had concluded that his brain needed an especially active blood supply to get his neurons firing, and the easiest way of achieving this was apparently to sit high in an armless chair and put pressure on his left arm and most of his chest.
What he had also concluded was that he was struggling with the rest of the match, given he had devoted four short paragraphs to the seventh ball of the Exultian innings and written virtually nothing about the before and after of that moment. Granted, for once he was not on deadline - the three-day break that the Foxes had earned several hours ago by beating Grand Exultia for a second time meant that coverage was continuing in the weekend edition of the Gazette, so he had a while yet before he had to commit his words to disk - but the lack of urgency only seemed to trouble Andrew more.
He had, he realised, focused so much on that wicket because it was the only part of the match that needed no context, save perhaps for the nine and a half overs of frustration that had followed for Crichton. As the Plough Islands had gone deeper into the World Trophy under Shauna Weaver and Paul Donaghy, they had accumulated intractable problems almost as fast as they had runs; arriving as the world champions had meant a target was on their back from the start, which had led to an unnecessary degree of gamesmanship from some opponents, most notably Milchama. The fun and energy of being in the greatest multiversal celebration of cricket had been sapped a little by the burden of the title.
And then there were the more practical problems; the squad selected by the Plough Islands Cricket Association, despite having no fewer than eighteen players, was being stretched thinly by Dimitry Andreyev's broken arm and some top order batters' broken spirit. Compounding this, Donaghy's team selection had at times been unusual, and the head coach was far less fond than Lourens Hendricks had been of explaining his decision making. In fact, he had heavily restricted the Foxes' exposure to any media, even friendly; Andrew found himself longing to get back home so he could talk to Tim Bleasdale and Brett Scarbeck, both hitherto vital parts of the Plough Islands in One Day Internationals, to find out why they had both played just one game in Vielfaltig. He had some theories, but none of them made him at all comfortable.
"Wotcher, Andy!"
Andrew laughed at the thought; Tim had an outsider's casual disrespect for social norms, and they could and probably would spend all day dissecting the tournament. Then he realised the voice had in fact not been in his head, but real, even though the media centre at the lavishly finished stadium was practically empty since the crowds had left. He scanned the room frantically, but there were only a few writers finishing up copy, and surely the Foxes were long since gone - but then the voice came again.
"Behind you, la. Sorry if I scared you."
With some difficulty, he contorted his body to see over his shoulder a sudden presence that grinned and clasped him by the shoulder. He was wearing a dark, shapeless raincoat over his purple and green shirt, but the coarse Scouse tones of Tim Bleasdale were unmistakable, and his presence, while irregular, was not unwelcome.
"Tim! What brings you here?"
"Oh, you know." Tim eased himself down beside the radio commentator. "I got tired of skulking around not playing cricket, so thought I'd see who was here. And here you are!"
"Are the rest of the team back at the hotel?" Andrew thought back to the new coach's restrictions.
"Nah." Tim stretched his arms out. "Shauna doesn't know I'm here, and Paul doesn't know I'm here, but those are two different things, if you know what I mean."
Andrew was never quite sure if he knew what Tim meant, but thought he knew where he was being led. "Is there anything particularly going on?"
"I dunno, Andy." Tim raised his palms. "We're meant to be having the times of our lives representing our country and you struggle to feel a part of it sometimes, especially with how Paul goes on and on at us. He gives it that about the privilege of working with eighteen fantastic players and then it might as well be sixteen with the way he treats us." Catching an arched eyebrow from Andrew, he clarified. "When I say 'us', it's not just me, you know? It's Brett Scarbeck as well. But you probably guessed, la."
There was a quick nod from the journalist. "I had been wondering about the pair of you. You bring so much experience and..."
Andrew left the sentence unfinished and Tim was only too happy to complete. "Yeah, man, it all just gets left in the nets. I can play the shots in practice and I'm ahead of people on fitness, I'm pretty sure, but..." There was a long, guttural sigh.
"Do you know why?" Andrew prompted, hoping for any answer than the one he feared he would get. "I talked to Ilya and he said he was pushing for you to play, but he sounded like there was something he could not talk about. Is it age?"
Theatrically, Tim buried his face in his hands. "No, and it fucking stinks. It's 'cause we're not Plough Islander enough for him, 'cause I'm from Formby and Brett's dad was from Yorkshire so he was born there." Andrew's face said nothing, though his heart wanted to scream. "Never mind that he's been here since lower school, or Dale Piper being the one who pushed me to naturalise and look at playing internationally. It annoys me that I can be enough of a Plough Islander for the f...for the Premier, but not for me own coach. And it really, really annoys me that he can't just tell me it to me face. I mean, what difference does it make what's on me passport as long as it's green?"
Tim was now in full flow, holding court for a council of one, speaking in short sentences without pausing for a reply. "He actually said, right, in one of those stand up talks he does, that he valued everyone no matter where they came from to be here, but he kept going on about the values of a team of Plough Islanders against the world. It was one of those times, where you know that someone's saying the word 'values' over and over and they really want to say something else but they're being polite about it. And then he didn't pick me or Brett for the first five games. Just threw us in the side against Ko-oren to stop people moaning about it, once we'd already qualified. And then we lost and that proved his point, I suppose." Tim sighed, and glanced up from the view of the field. "I mean, aren't you in the same boat? 'Cause I know you were born in the Soviet Union, has he said anything to you?"
"Not really?" Andrew said, catching himself as he overthought the question and his voice and vowels temporarily wavered back to his native Chechen. "I mean, we rarely get to speak, and he is alway professional when we do. Although maybe he does not see me representing the country in the same way that he thinks you would."
Tim sighed. "I spoke with Shauna about it, and she said she understood and she was pushing for me because we needed a proper middle order. Catherine, bless her, can't carry everything forever, and Whitney tried but you can't keep getting run out like the school second elevens." Tim paused, glancing up almost in apology towards Andrew, but before they could get into performance issues he continued. "Shauna, right, I can understand, 'cause she's been there, done that, she's got that journalistic training. She could be lying to me and I wouldn't know, and if I were in her shoes I'd understand why. But Ilya," Bleasdale raised his hands in imitation of Lebed's permanently tousled hair, "I can believe. He's a good kid. He's been in the selection meetings. And if he and Shauna and everyone are pushing for me to be in, right, and Paul can still say no, what chance have I got?"
The rhetorical question was barely so; Tim spoke it with venom, and not a little passion, and he paused awkwardly to wipe at the table with his sleeve. "And this is you and Brett?" Andrew asked, quietly. "The last time I spoke to him, he said nothing about not playing. Although ninety per cent of what we talked about was painting."
"Yeah, you know what Brett's like, he's not bothered one bit. He's been having a great time, been off doing his landscapes. I wish I could do that instead of just festering. I was out with him the weekend after we got here, you know. After it all became obvious. Let me tell you, if I can be half as happy as he is, getting fucked over and just going 'you know what, I'm gonna just get the bus up in the hills and paint the best sunset you've ever seen', I'm gonna jack all this in and go and get some crayons."
Tim glanced away suddenly, and then sprang to his feet. "Actually, you know what. He said he was gonna go down to the docks this evening, I think I'll take me own advice. Well, thanks for listening, anyway, Andy." He had given Andrew a warm pat on the back before the journalist could even react, and was already halfway out of the double doors with a cheery wave. "Sorry to drag you into all this crap, but it's rather that than just sitting around not playing for me country."
All Andrew could do was return the gesture, blinking and shaking his head slightly as he tried to process what he had heard. Many of those on the media benches would happily have taken notes or recorded every word, and written it up as a world exclusive with a thousand jagged pull quotes and harvested the attention like chaff, and it was a strain of reporting that Andrew had always been a little saddened by. Perhaps, he thought, this was another area where Plough Islanders saw a different spectrum to the wider multiverse. Rather than a cudgel for vested interests, the Plough Islander media served as a mirror for the country to hold up to itself and see that which they chose to be.
The intimacy of the islands also meant the press framed itself rather differently compared to much of the capitalist world. Plough Islanders were private people when they wanted to be, but when you were always two or three degrees of separation at most from the most fundamental workings of the Socialists or the bureaucracy of the Commonwealth, you had less need of the morning news or the Gazette to tell you what was happening and why. Combined with a highly politically educated and engaged population, it meant the news media had little power to set the agenda of the day; it was futile to expound on how day was night when Jonathan from the collective who was friends with the brother of the Minister concerned could not only tell you it was day but happily give you a full weather forecast.
What the media did, though, was act as the prestige record of events; even if it was rarely the first or even second time people had heard it, the version of events as written down and adopted in the collective memory mattered, in a way that was hard to explain to those not from the Celestial Ocean. And depending on the subject and the reader, it could matter a lot or not at all; in Andrew's experience, those closest to the centres of power in Sutton - or who imagined themselves to be - cared the deepest about the 'official' version, and the enforced positivity that often resulted, and the inverse was true of those least attached to their country.
Andrew had often met people while reporting from around the multiverse who claimed to be well informed about the Plough Islands, but in the same breath proudly claimed never to read or trust the Socialist press, believing firmly that the 'truth' could only come from exiled dissidents or half-remembered whispers. But you could not have one without the other. The words on his terminal screen and the words that still rattled in his head, long after Tim had left to go and paint sunsets with Brett Scarbeck, were two parts of an inseparable whole, a vital gear in the intricate train of the unspoken social coalition that kept an independent, self reliant republic of a hundred and forty thousand people on some distant rocky shores independent and self reliant.
All of which, Andrew realised, was really a long and circuitous route to the conclusion that despite the wealth of context that Tim had just unloaded on to him, there was no getting out of writing about the rest of the Exultian innings. He sighed, reached over the trackball, and contemplated how to describe yet another Naomi Salisbury caught and bowled.

---

PLOUGH ISLANDS CRICKET ASSOCIATION
XI FOR WORLD TROPHY VS.      NATKR

        PLAYER           BAT   BOW
#16 RTL Trevithick       RHB      
#18 ANL Weaver           RHB      
#1  SLC Weaver (c)       RHB   RLB
#17 ADM Tyrie            RHB   RLB
#13 ES  Nasrullin        LHB      
#11 P   Hodgeson         LHB   SLW
#12 IT  Lebed (w)        LHB      
#3  S   Ashe             RHB   ROB
#14 NA  Salisbury        LHB   SLA
#6  R   Crichton         RHB   RFS
#9  TSF Gibbs            RHB   RLB

[The Kytler Peninsulae]

Vielfaltigian quarterfinal results

The Plough Islands 255/6 (50 overs)
Natkr 175 (48.1 overs)
The Plough Islands win by 80 runs

Ko-oren 388/9 (50 overs)
Grand Exultia 287/7 (50 overs)
Ko-oren win by 101 runs

Vielfaltigian semifinal: The Plough Islands v Ko-oren, The Quanta Stadium, Montebello