Esportivan East-West Cup: Sylestone vs. Grearia (Cricket)

[Sylestone]

Disclaimer: Please do not post in this topic unless you are Sylestone, The Grearish Union or a moderator performing their duties, thank you!

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Here we are. Sylestone versus Grearia, the East-West Cup, played between two sides located on different sides of Esportiva. Two up-and-coming nations in the cricketing world facing off in Sylestone for the first time. Neither of these sides are yet to play each other, until now, but both have made good, promising starts in the sport. This series will prove useful to both sides, who will both discover something about their identity. But who will win it? You could say Sylestone, being the home side, but Grearia looks like a very decent option. They have performed slightly better than Sylestone recently, progressing slightly further than the home side in the ODI World Trophy. They also got one more win and finished one place higher than Sylestone in the GCF T20 Championship. This is the series, though. What can each side do?

Schedule:

Test:

11 December @ Capital Stadium, Avondale (cap. 100,000)
The most celebrated cricket stadium in the entirety of Sylestone, Capital Stadium can hold 100,000 cricket-mad fans on a good day. It is a relatively good batting track, but there is something in it for the bowlers. It should be interesting to see what happens on this deck in the test.

Exhibition Match: (Sylestone Shield All-Stars - Grearia A, played ICly a week before test)

11 December @ Heritage Stadium, Avondale (cap. 21,000)
What used to be the best stadium in all of Sylestone is now nothing more than a little shack (maybe not that small). It has not been renovated upon for more than 50 years and is a tour into the past.

T20:

14 December @ Betham Cricket Ground, Betham (cap. 43,000)
The BCG is another celebrated cricket ground in Sylestone. It is an even ground for both batting and bowling and has relatively short boundaries. Should be interesting to watch, with the first T20 against Grearia being played here.

16 December @ Bolton Oval, Pesfield (cap. 50,000)
Bolton Oval is another Sylestonean batting paradise. There is nothing more to say about it. We can expect scores of 200 plus on this ground, and it is even possible to chase down 250 here. Should be a great game for the batsmen.

ODIs:

19 December @ Cleorough Stadium, Cleorough (cap. 57,500)
Cleorough Stadium is an interesting one. It has tiny boundaries, but a devilish pitch. High scores and lots of wickets will be expected from this ground.

21 December @ Halpenley City Oval, Halpenley (cap. 35,000)
Halpenley City Oval is generally a good pitch for bowlers, however, good batsmen can play well on it. It is a testing pitch where 250 is equivalent to a 300 in ODI terms.

23 December @ Chanberley Cricket Ground, Chamberley (cap. 86,000)
This ground is a peculiar batting paradise, where most tests turn out to be drawn. However, occasionally, some cracks do spring up and frustrate the batters. The ODI played here will round out the series and may well end up deciding it, too.

Sylestone host information:

Sylestone is a tropical island nation located in the region of Esportiva. The nation is home to 25 million people and sentient objects who are sure to welcome your national side and supporters to the country. Being a wonderful tourist destination, there are many things to do in off days, including going to the world-class beaches, rainforests, reefs and of course the amazing resort of Felton Island. The nation also has a reasonably high level of technology that ought to make everyone feel comfortable, as well as an efficient transport system. The economy is unsurprisingly run by the tourism industry, although the dairy and agriculture industries are significant in size.

Sylestone is roughly 750,000km square and generally takes about twelve hours to travel by car from Dunkirk in the northwest to Kirkham in the southeast. However, it will only take two if travelling by aeroplane and ten if catching a train. A physical map of Sylestone will be found below and we hope you enjoy your stay in paradise.



Dangers
Sylestone may be beautiful, but like many tropical countries, it is not without its dangers. The nation is full of snakes, spiders, jellyfish, big cats and many other deadly predators. Also watch the Mwimbi Bimbi fruit that will kill if touched, let alone swallowed. It looks like an ordinary plum but with thorns on the stem. Remember to watch out for elves in the Melville Rainforest surrounding Emacuton and Chamberley, they will kill anyone who seems to cause disunity. And whatever you do, do not offend the sentient objects of Kirkham…

And there we are, let's get this thing going!

[Sylestone]

Test Side:

Openers:
*+ Luke Tiati (Left-hand bat, age 25)
Samuel Creln (Left-hand bat, age 26)
Sean Lake (Right-hand bat, age 28)

Batsmen:
Daniel Fomleya (Left-hand bat, left-arm off-spin, age 31)
Zachary Charlton (Left-hand bat, age 30)
+ Jonah Appleby (Right-hand bat, age 24)
Simon Monteane (Right-hand bat, age 22)
Lachlan Cocrine (Right-hand bat, age 22)
Oliver Edwards (Right-hand bat, right-arm medium, age 18)

All-Rounders:
Liam Afosha (Right-hand bat, right-arm off-spin, age 26)
Jack Martin (Left-hand bat, left-arm off-spin, age 18)

Bowlers:
Norbert Pistecial (Left-hand bat, left-arm fast-medium, age 20)
Zangj Jonjaakh (Right-hand bat, right-arm fast, age 30)
Broughton Hall (Right-hand bat, right-arm hybrid spin, age 19)
Joshua Vilesti (Right-hand bat, right-arm fast, age 29)
Nathan Norwell (Left-hand bat, right-arm medium-fast, age 21)
Georgia Haines (Left-hand bat, right-arm leg-spin, age 26)

ODI Squad:

Openers:
+ Luke Tiati (Left-hand bat, age 25)
Simon Monteane (Right-hand bat, age 22)
+ Yash Ubuni (Right-hand bat, age 32)

Batsmen:
* Daniel Fomleya (Left-hand bat, left-arm off-spin, age 31)
Zachary Charlton (Left-hand bat, age 30)
Lachlan Cocrine (Right-hand bat, age 22)
Peter Lenton (Right-hand bat, age 30)
Oliver Edwards (Right-hand bat, right-arm medium, age 18)
Mitchell Stein (Left-hand bat, left-arm leg-spin, age 23)

All-Rounders:
Liam Afosha (Right-hand bat, right-arm off-spin, age 26)
Jack Martin (Left-hand bat, left-arm off-spin, age 18)

Bowlers:
Norbert Pistecial (Left-hand bat, left-arm fast-medium, age 20)
Zangj Jonjaakh (Right-hand bat, right-arm fast, age 30)
Broughton Hall (Right-hand bat, right-arm hybrid spin, age 19)
Joshua Vilesti (Right-hand bat, right-arm fast, age 29)
Sean Polen (Right-hand bat, right-arm fast-medium, age 32)
Georgia Haines (Left-hand bat, right-arm leg-spin, age 26)

T20 Squad:

Openers:
+ Luke Tiati (Left-hand bat, age 25)
Simon Monteane (Right-hand bat, age 22)
+ Yash Ubuni (Right-hand bat, age 32)

Batsmen:
Lachlan Cocrine (Right-hand bat, age 22)
* Daniel Fomleya (Left-hand bat, left-arm off-spin, age 31)
Zachary Charlton (Left-hand bat, age 30)
Oliver Edwards (Right-hand bat, right-arm medium, age 18)
Peter Lenton (Right-hand bat, age 30)
Sean Lake (Right-hand bat, age 28)

All-Rounders:
Liam Afosha (Right-hand bat, right-arm off-spin, age 26)
Jack Martin (Left-hand bat, left-arm off-spin, age 18)

Bowlers:
Norbert Pistecial (Left-hand bat, left-arm fast-medium, age 20)
Zangj Jonjaakh (Right-hand bat, right-arm fast, age 30)
Broughton Hall (Right-hand bat, right-arm hybrid spin, age 19)
Joshua Vilesti (Right-hand bat, right-arm fast, age 29)
Sean Polen (Right-hand bat, right-arm fast-medium, age 32)
Georgia Haines (Left-hand bat, right-arm leg-spin, age 26)

Exhibition XI: (In batting order)

Samuel Creln (Left-hand bat, age 26)
Sean Lake (Right-hand bat, age 28)
* Mitchell Stein (Left-hand bat, left-arm leg-spin, age 23)
Jack Martin (Left-hand bat, left-arm off-spin, age 18)
+ Ashton Stealom (Right-hand bat, age 27)
Patrick Shotenham (Right-hand bat, right-arm medium, age 21)
Fergus Stanton (Right-hand bat, right-arm leg-spin, age 19)
Sean Polen (Right-hand bat, right-arm fast-medium, age 32)
Nathan Norwell (Left-hand bat, right-arm medium-fast, age 21)
Talvin Mankira (Left-hand bat, left-arm fast, age 25)
Georgia Haines (Left-hand bat, right-arm leg-spin, age 26)

[The Grearish Union]

T H EG R E A R I S HU N I O N
The Black Dolphins

The board of cricket in The Grearish Union (henceforth referred to as Cricket Grearia) have announced the following 18-player squad for the first-class matches in the tour of Sylestone, including Grearia A vs Sylestone Shield All Stars XI (warm-up) and Grearia vs Sylestone (first-test). As previously intimated to the public, the previous national side under the leadership of Ronald Potter has been debarred for life from participating in any form of Grearish cricket - both domestically and internationally. This new test side will be under the able captaincy of Osvaldo Cullison of the Railways, while the Grearia 'A' team will be lead by Taryn Eslick of Chicaster. The squad is listed as follows:

[Form/15][Role] Name (Age) - Bowling Type/Batting Hand (Domestic Team)

[15][Bat] Dewitt Boswell (32) - L Fast/L (Atheburn Lions)
[13.5][Bat] Taryn Eslick (22) - L Medium/R (Chicaster Clarets)
[13.5][Bat] Taylor Kincheloe (22) - R Medium/L (Manta Islanders)
[13][Bat] Mirian Dodds (33) - L Fast/R (Adenham Bears)
[13][Bat] Carlyn Clover (31) - L Orthodox/L (Chicaster Clarets)
[12.6][Bat] Gladis Sweatt (29) - R Offbreak/L (Adenham Bears)
[12.6][Bat] Diego Fox (35) - R Fast/R (Atheburn Lions)
[12][Bat] Osvaldo Cullison (22) - R Medium/R (Grearish Railways)

[10.4][All-Rounder] Dewayne Goolsby (31) - R Fast/L (Adenham Bears)
[9.9][All-Rounder] Magdalena Bolten (25) - L Medium/L (Chicaster Clarets)

[15][Bowl] Jacqueline Giorgi (26) - L Wrist/R (Adenham Bears)
[14][Bowl] Heriberto Boger (18) - L Fast/R (Adenham Bears)
[14][Bowl] Sofia Palin (27) - L Fast/R (Chicaster Clarets)
[14][Bowl] Harrison Posner (27) - L Slow/L (Forsho Rangers)
[13][Bowl] Stacy Paiz (33) - R Offbreak/L (Elesborough Everblades)
[12][Bowl] Jalisa Level (27) - L Slow/L (Adenham Bears)

[12.6][Wicketkeeper] Wilfredo Beaton (21) - R Fast/R (Chicaster Clarets)
[11.7][Wicketkeeper] Wei Morello (38) - R Offbreak/L (Grearish Services)

Grearia 'A' team selection v. Sylestone Shield All-Stars XI in batting order
Carolyn Clover
Taylor Kincheloe
Taryn Eslick (C)
Gladis Sweatt
Diego Fox
Wilfredo Beaton (WK)
Magdalena Bolten
Harrison Posner
Jacqueline Giorgi
Heriberto Boger
Jalisa Level

The Grearish Union team selection v. Sylestone in batting order
Osvaldo Cullsion (C)
Taylor Kincheloe
Taryn Eslick
Mirian Dodds
Dewitt Boswell
Wei Morello (WK)
Dewayne Goolsby
Magdalena Bolten
Jacqueline Giorgi
Heriberto Boger
Sofia Palin

[The Grearish Union]

Together with Cricket

A lot of thought went into the thought process behind Cricket Grearia's initiative to make the lives of a few underprivileged dreamers come true in a country as large as the Grearish Union. With the option for any other national board to join, and even the option of letting the Global Cricket Federation (GCF) take it up under their own wing: Together with Cricket might have a solid future in the years to come. This initiative is aimed at all people who have been suppressed or oppressed by society or are in danger of the same happening to them in the near future. One of the biggest international concerns (among many) is poverty, when there is talk of social development. The poverty line in Grearia is drawn at 60% of the median salary ($ 68,440) in the nation . Any individual earning below this level would be deemed as a person below poverty line (BPL). The demographics of the people reportedly falling under this constraint have changed over years of change of industrial structure, and diversification of the population in terms of race, occupation, ethnicity, etc.

Earlier, it was known to be a fact that most of the impoverished people in the Grearish Union were mostly retirees from average-paying jobs. This put their government pension far below the required 60% threshold for the poverty-line considerations. There has also been significant politics from the party-campaigns before elections in handing out Ration Cards to people classified as BPL. These cards would be a pass for people under the said line to sustain a living with essential goods being made available to them at subsidised rates upon producing the card. While there are different schools of thought regarding the matter, a certain school of thought says that it may have caused people under the poverty line to not look for further employment or better means of living - causing damage to the economy as a whole in more ways than one.

Together with Cricket, however, is not a politically-motivated campaign, and it is merely an attempt on the part of Cricket Grearia to give hope to the underprivileged. A lot of charity Sunday leagues have sprung up in patches all over the country - with proceeds from each matchday going to the Together with Cricket fund to take care of these impoverished people. Apart from monetary aid, the children of these BPL-classified people have been given access to better school education by Cricket Grearia from the said fund to ensure that no child is in want of basic education. This is turn helps the national economy by generating more skilled workers than before, and helps Esportiva as well, as it creates the demand for non-skilled workers to enter the Grearish market from countries where the job market is saturated. Apart from this, Together with Cricket is run in schools to teach students more about the need of acceptance of people from all parts of the multiverse - whatever, race, ethnicity, gender or even human and/or non-human. All of these factors will play a major role for the children of tomorrow to have a better, more empathetic understanding of the world that awaits them and their leadership. It also works hard to educate more about other pressing social issues - bound together by the common chord of cricket.

The Sylestone Cricket Board have graciously worked with us on the occasion of the First Esportivan East-West Cup where Together with Cricket was agreed to be given increasing importance. The specific campaign for this tour for Grearia would look to bring cricket and the economic opportunities in career-building that it brings to the table, to the economically marginalised section of Grearish society. CG would be working tirelessly to give these people a possible alternative source of income, and another root to hold on to, to brave the financial storms that they have to endure. This is also thought to be important in keeping the Grearish supply line of cricketers always well-stocked. Over in Sylestone, the SCB would be brought to mentally and physically specially-abled people in an adapted form to allow them to play - giving them one further source of joy and recreation in a world where happinesses are few-and-far-between. 50% of all match revenues will be given to the Together with Cricket charity, to achieve the lofty goals that have been set - goals that we will accomplish.

Cricket Grearia hopes that the multiverse shall take note of the intention in the campaign and come forward to give back to the people who support these teams throughout the year. To give back something of value in return for all the invaluable love that the sport receives all across the multiverse. The time is ripe to unite, and fight all evils - inside and out.

[Sylestone]

TOGETHER WITH CRICKET.
Boy oh boy, those words are running around this country like mad. For 25 million cricket-mad Sylestoneans, that and the upcoming series against The Grearish Union is all they can talk about. With both sides debuting late in the eleventh test season, they have come a long way in the cricketing world and finally deciding to play a series against each other. Sylestone is hosting, with the games being played on pitches where the home side are very good at winning on, but The Grearish Union are formidable. Will they be too tough?
In Sylestone, Together with Cricket is working with the Sylestone Cricket Board to adapt forms of cricket to suit those mentally and physically disabled. Half of the revenues from the series will be going to this organisation, where, from there, half each will go to Sylestone and Grearia to bring cricket to disadvantaged people. Even before the first ball was bowled in the exhibition match between Sylestone Shield All-Stars and Grearia A in Heritage Stadium, Avondale, a significant amount of money had already been donated.
In The Grearish Union, the charity will be supporting those below the poverty line and bringing the love of cricket to them. They will learn about acceptance and working with a team and ultimately making them and their lives better. It is hoped this will be successful here just as much in Sylestone.

With the exhibition match starting later today, it is hoped that crowds will be seen at the spectacular Heritage Stadium near Avondale Beach. Will Together with Cricket truly bring people... together?

[Sylestone]

Exhibition Match:
Sylestone Shield All-Stars bat first
Sylestone Shield All-Stars 525/5d (164.1 overs), 193/4 (45.4 overs)
Grearia A 336 (112.2 overs),
Drawn

Only Test:
Sylestone bat first
Sylestone 472/8d (138.0 overs),
The Grearish Union 100 (27.1 overs), 138 (35.5 overs)
Sylestone win by an innings and 234 runs

[Sylestone]

Sylestone have racked up a massive win over an inexperienced Grearish side in the Only Test in Avondale. After the Exhibition Match resulted in a draw, where Sylestone racked up 525/5 declared, led by a Jack Martin 200. The Grearish followed with 336 and Sylestone finished off with 4/193, with Samuel Creln completing a century just before time ran out. It was a good turnout for the players, some of whom cemented their spot in the side.
With a new side, Sylestone were expected to win, but they weren’t expected to win by the amount the eventually did. They racked up 472 before declaring eight down, a good score on a good pitch at Capital Stadium. But the carnage to follow was even better. Grearia got ploughed, bowled out for just 100 before being asked to follow on by Sylestone captain Luke Tiati. Their second innings wasn’t much better as the tenth wicket fell with the score on 138. Sylestone had recorded a massive win by an innings and 234 runs, showcasing their strength to the rest of the cricketing world.

Day 1:
Luke Tiati won the toss in front of a sell-out crowd at Capital Stadium, Avondale and chose to bat on a good batting pitch. It paid off, as the captain and Creln batted cautiously through the first session, finishing on 0/64 after the first 28 overs, with Creln on 26 and Tiati on 35. While slow, it was exactly the start they needed, with both players working the singles occasionally and getting the shine of the new ball. Palin and Boger were both unable to break through, as were the spinners. So the first session went to Sylestone.
Unfortunately, it wasn't long after the break when Creln fell to spin of Jacqueline Giorgi. He came down the wicket with the intent of driving the ball between cover and mid-off but missed the wrong'un as it spun into off stump. The score was 1/66 and it was Grearia's opening to try and take the game away. They couldn't. Fomleya came to the crease as Tiati stepped up the run-rate, passing fifty in the 37th over. It seemed that the game was beginning to get away from the Grearish, but soon after Fomleya passed fifty, Tiati fell, caught behind off the bowling of Heriberto Boger. The score was 2/164, and it soon was 3/171 as Charlton edged a long hop from Giorgi to slip as the game fell back into the balance at tea time.
Out came Martin, star from the exhibition match where he scored 200* to gain his place in the side. He looked positive from the outset as he raced past fifty, but like Tiati and Creln, fell without making a huge contribution, for 58. Meanwhile, at the other end, Fomleya was steadily working his way towards a well-deserved century, Monteane also came and went with a bang, scoring 14 quickfire runs before getting out. His dismissal meant that honours were even as the day began to come to a close. But Fomleya wasn't done yet. He put on a burst as the day ended and made his deserved century in the final over of play. After 90 overs, Sylestone were 5/299, with Appleby on 9* and Fomleya on 103*.

Day 2:
Fomleya struggled early on Day 2. From his position of 103 not out from 181 balls, he took up around 75% of the strike before finally being dismissed just before lunch on 120. His 17 runs had taken a whopping 106 balls, while Appleby just faced 34 in that time period. His tiny share of the strike continued, as Pistecial took most of it for his quickfire 46 off 43, in a period where Appleby also was starting to pop off. The two of them put on 96 together, taking the score to 428 when Pistecial was dismissed. Then Appleby took charge, scoring the majority of the runs in a fast-paced 21-run partnership between him and Jonjaakh. Appleby was dismissed on 88, 12 short of his maiden century. Hall and Jonjaakh finished it off, combining for an unbeaten 23-run stand as Tiati declared the innings with a few overs before tea on 472. It had been a great performance from the Sylestoneans. Now all they needed to do was back it up with their bowling.



As the Grearish walked out to bat, polite applause came from around the ground. The applause soon turned to a raucous cheer as second ball, Joshua Vilesti uprooted Cullison's middle stump with an inswinging yorker. Then the very next over, Vilesti had Taryn Eslick edging to Tiati and the score was 2/4. Vilesti was bowling 150 km/h most balls and absolutely demolishing the inexperienced Grearish lineup. Opener Kincheloe fell next, cover-driving a tempter from Pistecial straight into the hands of Hall at gully. Grearia were 3/7 and looking completely out of their depth as tea rolled around.
After tea, Dodds and Boswell both began to attack the bowling, but Pistecial continued his form by bowling Dodds with a ball that surprisingly didn't swing. Then he was taken off, and Vilesti continued the carnage. He got Morello, Goolsby and Bolten caught in the slips cordon and all of a sudden it was 7/51. Giorgi looked good, but Pistecial came back for a one-over burst and got her out caught-and-bowled. Hall finished the innings off abruptly as the daylight began to fade, but Boswellstil managed to rack up a run-a-ball half-century before he got Palin with a quicker ball. Grearia had been bundled out for 100 runs and it was an easy sleep for Tiati, as he sent them back in the next morning.



Day 3:
Following on, the day began well for Grearia, as Cullison and Kincheloe successfully saw off the new ball. Unfortunately, though, Cullison fell to Hall, caught t point after top-edging a cut shot. Eslick looked strong, but fell cheaply nicking off to the spinner. At the other end, Kincheloe was looking solid and calm, but when Dodds and Boswell fell within the space of four balls to Vilesti, even she began to panic. With the score on 75, her brave knock of 36 came to an end. Morello fell for 16 soon after and the Grearish were in dire straits at 5/81. Lunch came and went with Goolsby and Bolten in, playing a counter-aggressive game. Goolsby fell and was replaced by Giorgi, who also began to play well. At 7/138, the tail was wagging and a drawn-out game looked possible. It didn't happen.
Vilesti was keen to finish things off. In two balls, he got Girogi and Boger, the first caught behind and the second at cover. As he steamed in for the hattrick, Palin stepped away. The resulting yorker cannoned into the base of off-stump as Vilesti's hand went up into the air. A stunning performance of 7/25 had finished off the Grearish as Sylestone skipped to a simple innings-and-234-run win. What a game for them.



Sylestone have kindly accepted Grearia's offer to play an exhibition ODI match before the T20s. The game will be played at the BCG, where the first T20I will be played. Join us then.

Player of the match: Joshua Vilesti (12 wickets @ 4.25)
Result: Sylestone win by an Innings and 234 runs

Exhibiton Match Scorecards:

[The Grearish Union]

An acclimatising draw
Diary of a Sunday Cricketer
James Scunthorpe

Cricket Grearia had banned all of its existing international squad on account of misdemeanor when they refused to accept the domestic season as the selection and scouting process for entry into the national side, while the international coaches from Liventia and Damukuni were retained. This happened just weeks before the start of the domestic cricket campaign in the nation, and it meant that they would not be available for national selection de facto. This created a huge void - a vacuum, if you may call it so - in the national side to accept newer players into the national fray, those who are mostly unknown to the greater multiverse. It is at this juncture that the tour of Sylestone becomes one of a high degree of importance, as it will put to immense test, the talent and willpower of these fresh new faces.

The series kicked off unofficially at the Heritage Stadium, in Avondale with Grearia A facing the Sylestone Shield All-Stars XI in a four-day first-class encounter. There wasn't a huge crowd at Avondale, as expected, but the intrigue was huge, surrounding the game. The sun was out on the day upon what used to be one of the grandest stadiums that Sylestone cricket enjoyed. While it doesn't have the same aura of grandeur anymore, with up-and-coming stadiums tending to be on the more humongous side of the scale all over the world - the ghosts of the past still surely haunt the mystical arena where one's heart stops a little as they breathe in the air of history. The atmosphere is not that gloomy, obviously - yet, a little conserved. In situations where the laddy lads back in Grearia would have been having and throwing their beer around on the grassier sections of the stands with their friends in attendance, Avondale makes you sit down with your drink, open up a newspaper and clap mildly to a good shot. Classic!

The Chicaster boy Eslick walked out onto the green for the toss when the half-of-capacity in spectators roared in a joyous applause. You can always analyse it further to say that it's a first-class match, but to say the truth, it's as good as an international. Especially with all the turmoil that is taking place in the CG, it is probably the first football-style Baptism of Fire for the new squad. By the time they were out there on the pitch and tossing the coin, a few keen-eyed blokes were peering over the fence with squinted eyes - swearing if they'd not have the slight myopia they could've seen the outcome from here in the stands. Stein won the flip of the coin nevertheless, and the skippers had to walk back to the pavillion. Some said Stein wanted to bat, others differed - there wasn't any real way to know. There wasn't commentary either for a first-class warm up game in an international series, so the radio was pretty useless too, unless you wanted to listen to the Hot 100 while Kincheloe drove through the covers. Maybe not, eh? It was therefore a weird little phase of suspense between the toss and the start of play to see which team came out to bat first - mostly discerned by the colour of the caps for the recently referred slightly-myopic connoiseurs of the game.

It was the Shield XI, of course, with Creln and Lake walking out into the middle in classic openers' styles - a little sprinty-sprint, a couple of double-legged jumps and the age-old wild swinging of the arms with the bat in hand. I had never found much use of the exercise, with the best result of the round swings being me pulling a nerve or something in the upper arm and sitting out retired hurt for the entire innings without even getting to step on the crease - but I forget that this isn't the Grearish heath, and these folks know what they're doing. Play started after an eternity, as it seemed, with Heriberto Boger completing his run-up-warm-ups (that sounded weird) after 15 minutes of continuous repetition to the point where we didn't realise when he released the ball from his hands and it was a delivery. To add insult to injury, Lake dispatched the half volley almost reluctantly to the cover fence for four. I could feel the journalists from Grearia going crazy, trying to persuade CG to call this team back and to send the old, tried and tested ones. What they didn't take into account, was that this game is cricket, and it's beautiful because you never know what will come out of the very next delivery. Something similar actually occurred, when Sean Lake was starting to get bogged down by the sheer number of dot balls he was having to face. Giorgi had come onto the attack and found her rhythm (thank Heavens) and was spinning it around a little bit. It is then when the frustration probably got to the Sylestonean opener, as he took the aerial route inside-out over the cover fielders only to bet caught in the deep. The Shield All-Stars were 37-1 and the 'A' Dolphins could sense a glimmer of opportunity. Taking pace off the ball seemed to be the obvious thing to do, at this point. The skipper of the Shield All-Stars walked out immediately after the dismissal to steady the ship after an initial upset - but he couldn't provide substantial support to the the other opener. After lunch, Eslick brought on a change of pace in the attack - Boger out, and Level in. Turned out to be brilliant! The sudden change got the batting skipper caught in the slips by an ever-vigilant Clover. The Grearish cheered, the locals fell quiet - the usuals ensued. Nothing special happened for us in the second session, with the Sylestoneans piling on the runs on what seemed to be a fairly decent batting track. Post tea, the Sylestone All-Stars took their score to a formidable 289 for the loss of two wickets, when Creln swept Giorgi to deep square leg, and right down the fielder's throat. Creln gone for a well-made 136. Many argued that it was probably a little too late, especially considering the solid performance Martin was putting up at the other end, with a hundred already on the board for him. Ashton Stealom walked out after that, only to take 3 singles in the last ball of 3 three overs and then eventually getting caught behind by Wilfredo Beaton with all his lightning reactions. The umpire signalled the end of day's play with that wicket, and Shotenham didn't have to bother about padding up for the evening.

The Grearish hoped a few wickets on the morning track would stop the flow of runs - at least somewhat! The All-Stars were now 302 for 4. By the time the next wicket fell, the home side were thinking about declaration at 410-5, after a fine innings from Patrick Shotenham, who worked fairly hard for his collection of 65 first-class runs. This is when the umpire called everyone in for lunch, and I gave the kids and the wife back home a call. What was I doing here watching a first-class game which will be forgotten a month later? I needed to start thinking straight. Play resumed after lunch, only to see the Grearish bowlers being sent to all parts of the park. Eslick didn't seem to have many options available to him, especially after literally trying everything he could. I needed to drown myself in some beverage to retain my sanity, and it was too early for beer. I tried to find tea, but there probably wasn't any near me. A little boy walked up to me offering lemonade at what he claimed to be a steal of a price - steal or not, I couldn't turn it down. "Don't think Stein will declare the innings until Martin gets his 200, you know." He was probably trying to poke at me after noticing the little black-gold shirt I had on underneath my coat - but the sense struck me. What a nice guy for a skipper! Lunch came and went on day 2, and Martin strolled for a single on the 15th over after lunch to complete his 200, remaining unbeaten. Stein was on the balcony calling the two up into the dressing room. Stanton played wonderful second fiddle with his 73*. The All-Stars were now 525-5 (dec). Talk of tough starts! All we had in response to this onslaught was a wrist-spinning Giorgi who managed a 3-115.

Grearia A batted, and batted well after this. Doing justice to the (supposedly good) batting track, Eslick led from the front - especially since Kincheloe disappointed with her golden duck. It is no secret that CG and the entirety of Grearia loves the idea of Kincheloe as a wonderkid batsman, but she really has to pick up her game if she wants to continue to see herself playing for the national Test side. From reeling at 4-1, Eslick brought the team up to 106-2 when a lapse in concentration meant that the skipper had to depart to a well-taken catch in the slips. What ensued was a mess of falling wickets, with Sweatt and Clover falling in quick succession. This quagmire would have seen no end, if there was no Diego Fox to save the day. When the team wanted to send out a night-watchman, Fox is reported to have refused it and gone in himself - and oh boy isn't he brilliant to watch! His 141 took the Grearish to a respectable 336 all out. At what was the middle of the fourth day when Grearia A were bundled, the game was headed surely for a draw, and I started looing at the tourists' guide to for places to visit across Avondale for the week before the big Test in front of a suspected full-house 100,000 crowd at the Capital Stadium. The All-Stars batted for a 45-over spell with Creln getting another hundred, and the umpired promptly throwing the bails down. Match drawn, happy days!

[The Grearish Union]

T H EG R E A R I S HU N I O N
The Black Dolphins

After a dismal performance in the first-class encounter and the test for the Black Dolphins, it was rumoured whether or not the captaincy of the national team would be left under the aegis of an out-of-form Osvaldo Cullison. The skipper has, however, been in decent form in the limited overs format, and is supposed to perform well for the national team at least in the upcoming limited overs fixtures. The squad is listed as follows in order of highest form rating through lowest:

[Form/15][Role] Name (Age) - Bowling Type/Batting Hand (Domestic Team)

[Bat] Taylor Kincheloe (22) - R Medium/L (Manta Islanders)
[Bat] Ernie Behm (25) - L Orthodox/R (Grearish Services)
[Bat] Tilda Ernst (34) - R Legbreak/L (Manta Islanders)
[Bat] Osvaldo Cullison (22) - R Medium/R (Grearish Railways)
[Bat] Marni Passman (18) - L Fast/L (Grearish Railways)
[Bat] Temeka Pippin (32) - R Medium/R (Valgow Bulls)
[Bat] Alba Lawerence (35) - L Wrist/R (Grearish Railways)
[Bat] Faustino Veatch (29) - L Wrist/R (Chicaster Clarets)

[Bowl] Enoch Suits (40) - L Slow/L (Glomridge Magpies)
[Bowl] Myriam Beans (29) - R Slow/R (Valgow Bulls)
[Bowl] Monty Birt (35) - R Fast/R (Glomridge Magpies)
[Bowl] Tyree Durgan (22) - R Offbreak/R (Manta Islanders)
[Bowl] Guillermo Luque (32) - R Slow/R (Glomridge Magpies)
[Bowl] Elva Heffington (32) - R Fast/L (Forsho Rangers)
[Bowl] Mose Eckman (20) - R Fast/R (Atheburn Lions)

[Wicketkeeper] Gene Pettitt (24) - L Medium/R (Valgow Bulls)
[Wicketkeeper] Drusilla Scruggs (29) - R Slow/R (Elesborough Everblades)
[Wicketkeeper] Brady Byerley (24) - L Wrist/R (Atheburn Lions)

[All-Rounder] Dewayne Goolsby (31) - R Fast/L (Adenham Bears)
[All-Rounder] Alexandria Starkweather (19) - L Fast/R (Valgow Bulls)
[All-Rounder] Issac Zehr (30) - L Medium/L (Glomridge Magpies)
[All-Rounder] Gita Teter (31) - R Legbreak/L (Grearish Services)

Grearia 'A' team selection v. Sylestone A in batting order for the List A exhibition
Osvaldo Cullison
Taylor Kincheloe
Drusilla Scruggs (WK)
Marni Passman
Ernie Behm
Dewayne Goolsby
Alexandria Starkweather
Enoch Suits (C)
Monty Birt
Elva Heffington
Miriam Beans

The Grearish Union team selection v. Sylestone in batting order for the first T20I
Osvaldo Cullison (C)
Taylor Kincheloe
Tilda Ernst
Ernie Behm
Marni Passman
Gene Pettitt (WK)
Dewayne Goolsby
Alexandria Starkweather
Enoch Suits
Miriam Beans
Tyree Durgan

[Sylestone]

Cutoff for exhibition ODI match and first T20I!

Exhibition ODI:
Sylestone A 268/9 (33.5 overs)
Grearia A 266 (48.2 overs)
Sylestone A win by 1 wicket with 97 balls remaining.

First T20I:
Sylestone 176/7 (19.5 overs)
The Grearish Union 175/7 (20 overs)
Sylestone win by 3 wickets with 1 ball remaining.
Sylestone leads T20I series 1-0

[Sylestone]

On another good pitch at the Betham Cricket Ground, Cullison won the toss and chose to bowl and announced a whopping nine changes to the Test lineup. Only him and fellow opener Taylor Kincheloe stayed in the squad for the T20I. Although the side between the two formats often changes a bit, it is almost never this drastically. Would it make a difference?
Grearia started off well, with the openers playing out the six-over powerplay with 52 on the board for the loss of no wickets. Cullison 29, Kincheloe 21. It was the ideal start for the visitors, but Sylestone soon turned it back around when Hall dismissed Cullison three balls later with the score on 54. Two balls later, it was 2/54 as Tilda Ernst came down the wicket to the spinner only to misread the length and bunt it straight into the hands of backward point. After a few more good overs fro the Sylestoneans, Kincheloe decided it was time to put the foot down. She took Afosha for 15 from an over but at the other end, Behm wasn't able to stay with her as he fell for 14 with the score at 108. Afosha fought back well, running no.6 batsman Passman and bowling Gene Pettitt when she was on 2. But Kincheloe was still going strong, currently in the high sixties and if a late burst took place, had an outside chance at her first T20I hundred.
She kept going, but when Goolsby fell with the score at 137 she was still only on 75 with a little over 3 overs remaining. Starkweather came to the crease and immediately took the Sylestone bowlers to the sword. She tried to get her side to their best possible score but was caught behind off Vilesti with one ball remaining. Suits was unable to hit the final ball as Grearia finished with 7/175 after their 20 overs.



In the very first over, Suits dismissed opener Simon Monteane with the score only on five. This brought form player Cocrine to the crease, coming off a brilliant World T20 Championship in Gruenberg. He produced again. Tiati and Cocrine matched each other, shot for shot, as they each worked their way into the innings before they upped the ante. But Starkweather dismissed the two of them only a few balls apart and Grearia were once again back on top. Fomleya and Martin both fell soon after as Grearia began to get more confident. At 5/114, Sylestone needed another 62 runs off 33 balls and Grearia had it in the bag. But Afosba was still in, and he could change the game. He did.
Lake and Pistecial were both dismissed only two runs apart and Sylestone were 7/139 with 3 and a bit overs left, but Afosha was still in. He needed Polen to stay with him. The two of them whittled down the run rate, but with six balls to go, 15 runs were still needed.
Polen played and missed at the first ball, but then creamed the next one over mid-wicket for six. 9 off 4. Polen hit a single next up, and Afosha hit a two. 6 off 2, Afosha on strike. It only took one ball, as he sent a wide half-volley over backward point for six. Sylestone had snatched the game from the jaws of defeat, winning by three wickets.



Player of the match: Broughton Hall
Result: Sylestone win by 3 wickets

Exhibition Match Scorecards:

[The Grearish Union]

An unusual day
Diary of a Sunday Cricketer
James Scunthorpe

A draw in the last exhibition match was all that the Grearish national team could offer their fans. Following that, a humiliating defeat to the Sylestoneans in the only Test meant that the Grearish were now well and truly behind in the overall standings for the East-West Cup. Insult to injury was delivered by the manner of the defeat - which decent international side loses by an innings and 234 runs?! It is almost as if the Sylestone side would be happy to ask us to follow on another time if they could, and we would still stumble and fall before leveling scores. What a disgrace! This was also, incidentally, the exact reaction that my wife had towards me when the Dolphins started to trip over every other thing you put it its way - even feathers. "I demand you come home right now," she screamed over the telephone, "and stop following those stupid arses around the world with your own money." She had a point there that I couldn't really argue logically, so I took the direction of passion, and tried to persuade her along those lines. "It is what I love, you see?" I had to try to not let my voice shake as I spurted out the words, somehow. A minor pause followed, and then a direct question. "Cricket, or the Dolphins?" And there she had me. I couldn't answer one from the other because I couldn't really differentiate even if I tried to! The only trick left up my sleeve was to pretend to have bad connectivity, "Hello? Mollie? Hello? Can you hear me?" I'm not much of an actor, and let me tell you, it is nerve wracking - especially with a marriage on the line. "Hello? Hello!?" I continued over her, as she shouted, "Oh don't you do that again!" I couldn't fault her, it was an old trick - but now it was time to end it - the conversation, of course. "Sweetheart, connectivity is very poor here, I'll get back to you soon!" I had to hang up soon, but she was quick to say, "You're such a doughnut!" And the red button was hit. Now, apart from getting to breathe for a second again, my mind wandered into the realms of interpretations of being called a 'doughnut'. Was she beside herself with rage, or was she being cute before I disconnected a very expensive international call. I really needed a third person's opinion on it, but I chose a random stranger on the streets of Betham, unfortunately, and proceeded to ask him, "She loves me, doesn't she?" I'll never forget that look on his face that moment - one of an utterly bewildered, and soon enraged man. "Fuck off, will you?!" I had to oblige.

Having handled troubles back at home fairly decently and then having received a kind comment from a stranger, I was ready for the 'A' match between the two national sides. After a very disappointing couple unlimited overs' matches, the Grearish will have to bounce back strong. It is very important that they do, given the circumstances. I happened to get a pass into the exhibition game (again) after trying relentlessly to make the guards understand that I'm a media person - which they were having none of, and promptly sent me to get a regular ticket from the box office. I had to see the sense in it and oblige, but the heath cricketer in me was definitely not the happiest. While trying to take a good seat in the shade of the empty-ish stands, I saw a real boxing match unfolding behind the sightscreen. As I drew closer to the scene, I understood that Cricket Grearia did not have a scorer for the day as he called in sick, and were hoping to get a Sylestone scorekeeper for the day. The one at the BCG was furious, and would not give in without a (literal) fight with the Grearish manager. There was some sense in it, considering the fact the CG offered to play the warm-up game, and ideally should provide a scorekeeper out of courtesy, but that wasn't to be. The poor Sylestonean chap had to let go of his off day to sit and keep scores for a match that probably didn't even matter after it was over! After exchanging a few blows and destroying the Grearish manager's suit, it was decided that a coin would be flipped - 'heads' and our local lad would forfeit his beer and get down to scoring (reluctantly), and 'tails' meant that our manager would have to keep the scores without a fancy jacket on. What a prospect! A toss before a toss. A fine 20c coin of the Sylestonean Dollar was flipped high in the air and allowed to land on the soft grass at the BCG. Heads it was. The local lad was livid, but at least we had a game on our hands!

The match itself wasn't as interesting, with Enoch Suits leading the lineup for the day, and choosing to bat first. Both sides went crazy on the attack on a good batting track, but forgot that they also had to keep wickets in hand. In the first innings, by the time Grearia A realised that they were in trouble, they were back in the pavillion having been bundled for 266. The standout performer being Drusilla Scruggs who continued to show her class in the limited format, scoring 87 but losing her calm and lofting the ball caused her wicket to fall getting caught in the deep by Sean Polen - a Sylestonean loved by most Grearish cricket fans after a wonderful domestic season. Cullison found form, and Kincheloe showed class, but the team as a whole showed a lack of character. Sylestone A made a bright start to the innings, with them being 112-0 at a point, and things looking very bleak for the Grearish side. This is when Birt, Heffington and Beans picked up a few quick, crucial wickets to bring the game back to a point where a loss would not be humiliating, at the least. Heffington went on to pick up a fiver (5-65) and brought hope of a win into the Grearish dressing room, but it wasn't to be, as the Grearish couldn't find the elusive final wicket. Sylestone A strolled across for their victory, riding on a magnificent 104 from Yash Ubuni. As it stands, Heffington will not find herself in the team for the first T20I against the Sylestone national side, but would that be a good answer to the defeat problem? It will be interesting to see what the Grearish do, for the next T20I, should they (God forbid) lose the first one.

The Grearish Union team selection v. Sylestone in batting order for the second T20I
Osvaldo Cullison (C)
Taylor Kincheloe
Tilda Ernst
Ernie Behm
Marni Passman
Gene Pettitt (WK)
Dewayne Goolsby
Alexandria Starkweather
Enoch Suits
Elva Heffington
Tyree Durgan

[Sylestone]

Second T20I
Sylestone 157/5 (20 overs)
The Grearish Union 182 (18.2 overs)
The Grearish Union win by 25 runs
T20I series drawn 1-1

[Sylestone]

Grearia recorded their first win of the tournament with a solid 25-run win over our Sylestoneans. They were bowled out for 182 early, but the Grearish bowling was outstanding and no set batsman could really take the run chase on. The result was a T20I series draw with only ODIs to come.
Cullison won his second toss of the series and elected to bat on a flat, hard surface at the Bolton Oval in Pesfield. It was a good choice, as he and Kincheloe got off to a superb start. The two of them racked up 32 before on the last ball of the fourth over, Kincheloe fell to an inside-edge onto her stumps. Tilda Ernst came to the crease but was unable to start where Kincheloe left off. Fortunately for her, though, Cullison upped the ante at the other end, keeping the run-rate up. Ernst fell with the score on 78, and the rot began.
Behm fell for four with the score on 86 and then Passman went for one five runs and an over later. Vilesti bowled Pettitt just two balls later and all of a sudden, Grearia were 5/91 with just over eight overs left. Cullison made a well-deserved fifty, but Goolsby didn't offer any help, stepping back on his stumps to a Broughton Hall quicker delivery. At 6/106 in the 14th over, someone needed to support Cullison and Starkweather was the only recognised decent bat left in the sheds. She had to perform, and she did. She started off just working the singles, but eventually stood up and belted a few sixes. Cullison's fine knock ended with the score on 140, falling for 75 from 43 balls. The entire crowd clapped him off the field; it had been a brilliant innings.
Suits hung around for a little while with Starkweather going for it, but fell 21 runs later. Heffington went the next ball, scooping it down long on's throat. Hall was on a hattrick but was bowling to Starkweather. What did she do with it? Hit it for six, of course.
Durgan was dismissed for six runs with the score on 182, with Starkweather not out on 45 off 22. Hall was the pick of the bowlers, snagging yet another T20I five-for, finishing with 5/24 off his four overs.



Needing 183 to win, Sylestone went out knowing that the game was very much in the balance on a brilliant batting surface. A couple of good partnerships would take the game away from the Grearish and Sylestone would win the series. But it was still very open and even at Bolton Oval, good bowling still prevails.
Starkweather and Suits began well, throttling Tiati and debutant Ubuni before Suits made Ubuni skip down towards him and got him bowled under the bat. In came Cocrine and a big innings from him could easily win the game for Sylestone. But it didn't happen. Heffington came on and on the last ball of her first over, bowled the number 3 bat with a perfect inswinging yorker, sending all three stumps flying. It wS the perfect start for Grearia.
Fomleya and Tiati calmed the innings down, but it did little good as the required run-rate started to soar upwards. Neither batsman could get going and that was mainly due to some great bowling by the spinners and Heffington. In the 13th over and the score still only on 88, Tiati fell for a decent 49 runs off 38 balls, although slow, still a good knock. Martin came out and began to produce fireworks, but Fomleya at the other end was still struggling and departed 27 runs later for a quickfire 20. Out came Afosha, and Sylestone's last hope. He began well, taking 9 runs off his first 5 balls faced, but on the sixth, he cover-drove Heffington hard. It looked like the flat shot was going for six, but at the last split-second, Kincheloe at deep cover came around and plucked the ball out of the air, one-handed. Monteane did his best to smash a couple of boundaries and take the final score within 25 of Grearia's, but the game was already lost. Fomleya made his fifty on the second last ball, off 43 deliveries. His slow innings basically summed it all up for the Sylestoneans, who will look to bounce back for the first ODI at Cleorough. Join us then for live coverage.



Player of the match: Elva Heffington (3/25 off 4 overs)
Result: The Grearish Union win by 25 runs

[The Grearish Union]

---

TAS Grearia and Aer sign deals worth a total of NS$ 76.8 million with the CG

---

The followers, supporters, participants and stakeholders in Grearish cricket were gifted with the best gifts that they could hope for in the holiday season (and the overall season in all)! Cricket Grearia had started to look for sponsors a while before the Esportivan East-West Cup began proceedings in Sylestone, with various bidders from Grearia and abroad vying for the spots of kit supplier and title sponsor / principal partner roles. This list of companies included the likes of Grearish powerhouses such as FutureBank and powerbet.com, while international attention came in the form of the the Bank of Tikariot. The Grearish government has also stepped in to aid the process, with cricket being the #1 sport in the country as things stand now, and the potential it has for churning out economic steps forwards towards achieving ideals set by the government for its people.

This recognition was important for Grearish cricket, as the the two victor bids emerged in the form of TAS and Aer Sportswear. While Aer is home-grown and wouldn't have been much of a difficult choice over Grearish rivals in Equinox (especially given the fact that their offer of paying the Grearish national team 21.2 million international dollars for the rights, and an undisclosed fee every year on an annually-renewing contract blew the Equinox offer out of the pool); it became increasingly difficult to keep TAS interested in eventually finalising the deal. Considering the fact that TAS was one of the first brands to have picked up the application documents or the tender and then emerged as the H1 bidder, they had started to lose interest after the rather high tax rates in the country started to discourage them from entering too far into the deal. This is where the immense support of the Central Government was invaluable to the CG, as they proactively ensured that the brand was not only sponsoring the national cricket team, but was also investing the plastic-money-card sector of the Grearish Union that is lagging quite far behind other economies. A digitised, plastic economy has been foreseen as the perfect Grearish solution to crackdown on whatever remaining corruption there is the country, and to tackle the rise of parallel or black market economies.

This led TAS to announce their Grearish set-up in TAS Grearia, who became the principal partner of Cricket Grearia with immediate effect. It is disclosed that the commercial giants paid the national board NS$ 55.6 million dollars to buy the rights for the same. This will then be renewed by an undisclosed fee every year for the foreseeable future. This meant that the Grearish subsidiary of TAS will be given trade benefits by the Government itself, while TAS Grearia continues to support Grearish sport as it has already committed itself to. In honour of the same, the TAS Alliance Racing Team will be racing in Grearish black-and-gold for the final race of the season and with the TAS Grearia logo on the car livery to pay respects to the immense sporting culture that exists in our home, the Grearish Union.

Given below are the three kits that will be used by the Black Dolphins in international cricket, with them being donned on the international stage starting from the 1st ODI that the Grearish will be playing in the East West Cup ongoing in Sylestone. Kits with all the new updated partner logos, and your favourite Grearish cricketers' names are now available on the Aer Online Shop!

Test (Unlimited Overs) - One Day International - Twenty20 International

[Sylestone]

First ODI
Sylestone 224/9 (50 overs)
The Grearish Union 272/5 (50 overs)
The Grearish Union win by 48 runs
The Grearish Union leads ODI series 1-0

[Sylestone]

Player of the match: Taylor Kincheloe
Result: The Grearish Union win by 48 runs

[The Grearish Union]

The Class of Taylor Kincheloe
Diary of a Sunday Cricketer
James Scunthorpe

Who could've possibly guessed that an Islander would rule Grearish cricket? In the time of Ronald Potter and the heroic Grearish performances in the World Cups and Trophies, it was almost team policy to keep Islanders out of the team as if it was avoiding the plague. Nobody knew why it was the case. As it is, the team was never shuffled, and the same squad was sent to everything the Grearish participated in. As a consequence, we've found ourselves in the rabbit hole that is the East-West Cup where a classy, left-handed 22-year-old woman was ruling the stage. In the first ODI of the series here at the Cleorough Stadium, Cullison kept an unchanged squad from the last T20I victory at the Bolton Oval in Pesfield, and additionally won a very helpful toss. The opening pair kept a cool head for the Grearish side, as the skipper and our hero in Taylor Kincheloe saw out the first few swinging overs of the white ball. The onslaught begun from this point, with a Norbert Pistecial over going for a total of 24 runs. At one stage, the Grearish found themselves perched happily at 210 for no loss of wickets.

I was about to call home at this point and cry to make them (especially my wife) understand what this opening partnership meant to me, but the dramatism choked on my tears in my throat as Osvaldo Cullison tried to inexplicably slog a ball to cow corner, and was gobbled up in the the deep. The end of the 200-run partnership let the Sylestoneans get back into the game, as they started to pick wickets up in quick succession, and only Ernst and Pettitt managed to get into double figures. On the other end, however, a resilient Taylor Kincheloe took care of everything. The more you talk about this lady, you keep falling short of words to express the beauty of her off-drives. The average cricket follower would know how absolutely stunning it is, to watch a left-handed batsman drive through the covers, but Kincheloe made it look like art - legs planted, eyes set, and a follow through that felt like the stroke of a brush. Magnificent!

Kincheloe fell 5 runs short of the 150-run celebration, but she remained unbeaten to lead the Grearish to a competitive 272-5 in a wicket where high-scoring is common along with the fall of wickets - to Grearish credit, they didn't let the pack of cards crumble too early. In the Sylestonean innings, this was exactly the problem. Fall of wickets started so early on and plagued them so much, that at a stage, they were 99-5 and looked unsure of whether it would be possible after all to reach a respectable total. A middle-aged man next to me, seemed much less concerned for the home side. "We still have Lenton," he said, cracking his newspaper open as if he could read my mind. It creeped me out a bit, I shan't lie, but it was the truth. Wickets fell all around him like Snowflakes in a Salvador winter, but he stood tall and took the attack to the Grearish bowling contingent.

Yet, cricket is a funny game. It is about individuals and about the team at the same time. Years later, if someone wants to analyse the game and finds my report, there will be two lines I'd quite from the Grearish poet, William Evans:

In the midst of chaos, there was a soul unafraid,
Yet he too was defeated, for the lack of a comrade.

[Sylestone]

Sylestone 217 (48.5 overs)
The Grearish Union 290/9 (50 overs)
The Grearish Union win by 73 runs
The Grearish Union lead ODI series 2-0

[Sylestone]

Cullison once again won the toss, and once again chose to bat on a difficult batting track in Halpenley. With the series currently standing at 4-3, Sylestone's way, he knew that a win here was essential if his side were to win the first-ever East-West Trophy. That thought was at the back of his mind as him and Kincheloe walked out to open that batting for the Grearish. Or was it?
It seemed to affect him, either way, though. He scratched around, while Vilesti and Pistecial operated accurately towards him. Eventually, he tried to take Broughton Hall on but ended up top-edging it to cover in the 14th over. Cullison went for 22 off 36 balls, and Sylestone had started well. They kept the pressure on, getting Ernst next, then Kincheloe straight after she passed fifty. Passman was run out for a duck and when Behm was given out LBW to a Broughton Hall wrong'un, Grearia were in deep trouble at 5/110 in the 24th over and Sylestone had their entire head in front of the game. Goolsby and Pettitt were Grearia's last two recognised batsman, and they needed the two of them to perform. And they did.
Goolsby went hard, while Pettitt knocked the ball around at just under a run a ball. The two of them batted together for 23 overs, matching each other with stunning cover-drives, back-foot punches, on-drives and glorious pull shots. The bowlers stood no chance. But finally, with the score on 270 and the partnership at 160, Goolsby got an absolute peach from Vilesti and edged it straight to Tiati behind the stumps. He went for a brilliant 83 off 64 balls, with Pettitt still in on 78 off 80.
But Pettitt went soon after, edging off with the score on 283. Starkweather and Suits continued to psh the score upwards, but with two balls to go, Suits smacked one straight back to the fast bowler for his fourth wicket. On the ultimate ball of the innings, Heffington went for a massive swipe and top-edged it straight down third man's throat. Vilesti had his five-for and the final score was 9/290, defendable but not match-winning. A thrilling run-chase looked nigh.



Except it wasn't. The rot began in the second over, when Suits bowled the out-of-form Monteane with a perfect arm-ball. Fomleya then edged two balls in a row for four off Starkweather, before being bowled on the first ball of the fifth-over by one which just held its line. Then Charlton went, coming down the wicket to Suits only to misjudge the length and be given out stumped in a contentious decision that put social media into uproar. With the score at 3/23 after 5.1 overs, it went bad to worse for the Sylestoneans. Suits bowled Martin with a peach that just nipped the top of off-stump, before the fourth ball of the ninth over was a bouncer which Afosha parried straight down the throat of fine leg. 5/38 was the score and the Grearish fans back home were yelling at their televisions. In came Lenton and he and Tiati calmed the score down. They scored at just above four runs per over, but when they began to up the ante, Tiati fell for 65 off 86 balls and the 99-run partnership was brought to an end. The score was now 6/137 in the 32nd over and Sylestone needed something special. Pistecial tried to give it, but the required run-rate was far too high. Lenton made a well-deserved fifty, but he, too, was unable to get the bowling away. Pistecial went with the score on 200 and with less than six overs left, Sylestone gave up. Polen was caught on the boundary taking a wild swipe off spinner Tyree Durgan for three, and Goolsby and Heffington took the final two wickets, wrapping up the innings with Sylestone still 73 runs short of their mark. It was a convincing win for the Grearish, as they took the series lead. The final ODI would decide it all...



On the bright side, Lachlan Edwards announced that he would be back into the squad after a change of mindset from watching the series so far. Whether he will be selected is yet to be seen.

Player of the Match: Dewayne Goolsby
Result: The Grearish Union win by 73 runs

[The Grearish Union]

An Abomination of a Scoring System
Diary of a Sunday Cricketer
James Scunthorpe

Sylestone win the Test series. The T20s are tied. ODIs go to the Grearish. who gets the bloody Cup?

If I had told you that we'd put three points for a test win, two for ODI victories and one for each T20 won before the news spread, and before this publication was out - you'd hand me a chit of paper with a psychiatrist's number written on it. Trust me, it isn't your fault, I'd do the same. Since when did we start to quantify the worth of cricket formats in points? What makes matters even better, is that we only get to know of the system through Sylestonean newspapers in Halpenly (they're bloody expensive, though) and we couldn't do anything but wonder how it escaped the vision of the media. Might be a bit of a late-night panic decision on the part of the two cricket boards ahead of the final ODI here in Chamberley. Whatever be the case, the CG will have to take care of tricky questions about the points decision once all the cricket reporters are back on home shores. As it stands with the 3-2-1 points format, Sylestone are at 3 + 1 = 4 points for one test victory and one T20I victory respectively. The Grearish on the other hand, find themselves on 5 points in a 1 + 2 + 2 breakdown for the singular T20I victory and two convincing ODI wins. The fate of the Cup hangs in the balance at Chamberley, as the two teams take the field to fight it out for a winning two points in what would otherwise be a dead rubber.

What one wouldn't otherwise consider is the chance of rain. It has been raining cats and dogs in Chamberley for the last two days, worrying both sets of fans and the authorities alike. A no-result match would end up having the points shared between the parties, handing the Black Dolphins the win by default on a 6-5 scoreline in the Grears' favour. The groundstaff at the Chamberley Cricket Ground, however, are mighty confident of a full-game on the day, with super-soppers being brought in from Kirkham (who have also expressed their excitement in being able to help). They are suspected to have been playing for the Kirkham Appliances team in the youth leagues - two promising young appliances, they are raring to go in case the rain falls down hard on the given day.

As for the previous Black Dolphins' encounter against Sylestone, Gene Pettitt and Dewayne Goolsby found themselves cementing their place in the Grearish side, with superb 80-odd runs each to take the team to high sub-300 total. A total which proved to be too high for the spirited Sylestoneans to chase down. The performance that has come under the scanner, however, is the run-out for a duck from Marni Passman. It is believed that he might be benched in the last game to try out the right-hander in Temeka Pippin before the One-Day World Trophy starts early next year. This change will disturb the balance in the team somewhat, in sacrificing a key left-handed batting option for a relatively new, but aged right handed batting option. It remains to be seen whether the forecast turns into the actual weather for the day, but skipper Cullison will have to take steady steps for his side to be in a commanding position, while also trying out viable options for the World Trophy coming up.

The other news to touch upon before I hit the bed, would be the TAS partnership. The Lisanderian company has shocked the world in entering into a rather lucrative title-sponsorship deal with Cricket Grearia after a not-so-pleasant WGPC outing with TAS Alliance. The company is said to be rolling out various outreach programmes for cricket (and for themselves as well, obviously) in the more rural parts of the nation. Plastic currency is still a strict no-no in various parts of the Grearish nation, especially in the villages - and so is cricket, despite being the nation's #1 sport. TAS is here to change that, and I'm sure we can get behind the effort, can't we?

Speculation is thus in the air, and I'm so tired (and probably a little drunk but nevermind me) that if I keep typing, I may start to prod into the realms of conspiracy theories in lieu of whatever little crumbs of news that I generally dish out on here. Good news is, it got me a Press ID. Bad news is, now I have to attend all Grearish games for GBC Sport. Blessing in disguise, surely? Over and out!

The Grearish Union team selection v. Sylestone in batting order for the last ODI at Chamberley
Osvaldo Cullison (C)
Taylor Kincheloe
Tilda Ernst
Ernie Behm
Temeka Pippin
Gene Pettitt (WK)
Dewayne Goolsby
Alexandria Starkweather
Enoch Suits
Elva Heffington
Tyree Durgan

[Sylestone]

Sylestone 259 (48.4 overs)
The Grearish Union 261/9 (43 overs)
The Grearish Union win by 1 wicket with 42 balls to spare

The Grearish Union win the East-West Cup, 7-4! Join us next time!

[Sylestone]