An Australian Story...

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

This story was done using ICC 2001 Ashes Edition.

The story of my Australian team on the road, hopefully, to the top. I've already advanced the team 1 and a half years from the starting year of 2001.
---------------------
September 2002
Tour Location: Sri Lanka
Tour Length: 3 Tests, 3 ODI's
Ratings: SL #5, Aus #1

Touring Squad:-

Tests
M Hayden (Bat 40.49)
J Langer (Bat 40.36)
R Ponting (Bat 49.63)
S Waugh (Bat 51.56)
D Martyn (Bat 45.97)
D Lehmann (Bat 37.19)
S Katich (uncapped)
A Gilchrist (Bat 44.54)
A Bichel (Bowl
S Warne (Bowl 25.26)
S MacGill (Bowl 25.02)
G McGrath (Bowl 21.95)
J Gillespie (Bowl 23.59) - out with the cold for 6 days
B Lee (Bowl 24.05)

ODI Additions
M Bevan (ODI Bat 56.39)
A Symonds (ODI Bat 36.25, ODI Bowl 34.78)
I Harvey (ODI Bat 22.53, ODI Bowl 38.10)
D Fleming (ODI Bowl 25.79)

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Tour Match - Australia XI v Sinhalese
Aus XI - Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Lehmann, Martyn, S.Waugh (capt), A Gilchrist, Warne, Lee, MacGill, McGrath.

Toss: Sinhalese (bat first)

Sinhalese 1st innings 148 ao (R Wickramasinghe 43, MccGrath 4/35, MacGill 4/37)
Australia 1st innings 201 ao (J Langer 33, D Lehmann 31, Samaweera 5/58)
Sinhalese 2nd innings 204 ao (M Jayawardene 93, McGrath 3/26, Warne 3/60)
Australia 2nd innings 152/6 (D Martyn 42*, M Hayden 36 off 38, Nayanakantha 3/27)

Result: Aus won by 4 wickets
Comments: Totally unconvincing, but we got the job done in the end.
MoM: G McGrath
---------------------
Tour Match - Australia XI v Singha
Aus XI - Hayden, Langer, Katich, Lehmann, Martyn, S.Waugh (capt), A Gilchrist, Warne, Lee, MacGill, Gillespie.

Toss: Singha (bowl first)

Australia 1st innings 447 ao (105.1 overs) (Langer 122, Hayden 120 off 133, Katich 64, S.Waugh 48, Mirando 4/127, Milton 4/137) - Australia were 200/0 at lunch on Day 1
Singha 1st innings 210 ao (H Mendis 75, Warne 4/60, Lee 2/54)
Singha 2nd innings (following on) 205 ao (H Mendis 66, Warne 5/55, Lee 5/39)

Result: Aus won by an innings and 32 runs
Comments: 1/ Gillespie bowled 31 overs and got 2/100 in the match on his return. 2/ The performance was much better. 3/ Hayden and Langer in excellent form going into the Test series. 4/ MacGill has 8 wickets at 19.5 in the 2 warmups, so he deserves consideration for the Test XI.
MoM: S Warne

 

[Mr. P]

wheres ponting? did he play?

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Ponting's in top form, so he didn't play against Singha. I gave Katich a shot instead.

 

[Mr. P]

of course. ponting is ALWAYS in top form.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

1st Test Match - Australia v Sri Lanka
Australia- Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Lehmann, Martyn, S.Waugh (capt), A Gilchrist (wk), Warne, Lee, Gillespie, McGrath.
Sri Lanka- Atapattu (capt), Jayasuriya, Jayawardene, Arnold, A.DeSilva, S.DeSilva (wk), R.Wickramaratne, Vaas, Herath, Muralitharan, C.Fernando.

Toss:- Sri Lanka (bat first) - 3 straight times I've lost the toss!!!

Day 1 Pitch Condition:- Poor for seamers; Good for spinners
Day 1 Weather Conditions:- Very Sunny all day long
Day 1 Score:-
Sri Lanka 1st innings - 229/8 (S DeSilva 61, R Arnold 43, Lee 5/30)

Day 2 Pitch Condition:- Good for seamers; Good for spinners
Day 2 Weather Conditions:- Very Sunny all day long
Day 2 Score:-
Sri Lanka 1st innings - 249 ao (S DeSilva 61, R Arnold 43, Lee 6/32, McGrath 2/32)
Australia 1st innings - 178/3 (D Lehmann 77*, D Martyn 59*, Fernando 1/38)

Day 3 Pitch Condition:- Good for seamers; Good for spinners
Day 3 Weather Conditions:- Very Sunny all day long
Day 3 Score:-
Australia 1st innings - 421/6 (D Lehmann 184, D Martyn 93, S Waugh 60*, Vaas 2/106, Muralitharan 2/132)

Day 4 Pitch Condition:- Difficult; Good for spinners
Day 4 Weather Conditions:- Cloudy and unsettled
Day 4 Score:-
Australia 1st innings - 533 ao (D Lehmann 184, D Martyn 93, S Waugh 87, S Warne 46, Muralitharan 4/162, Vaas 3/127)
Australia lead by 284 runs
Sri Lanka 2nd innings - 149/1 (S Jayasuriya 70*, M Jayawardene 58*, Lee 1/28)

Day 5 Pitch Condition:- Difficult; Good for spinners
Day 5 Weather Conditions:- Very sunny all day
Day 5 Score:-
Sri Lanka 2nd innings - 310 ao (M Jayawardene 89, S Jayasuriya 79, Lee 5/62, 3/70)
Australia need 27 runs to win.
Australia 2nd innings - 30/1 (R Ponting 11*, Hayden 9*, Fernando 1/12)

Result:- Australia won by 9 wickets
Comments:- 1/ Great comeback in the first innings after Hayden (0) and Langer (3) departed early. 2/ Outstanding bowling from Brett Lee (11/94), even when the conditions were poor for the seamers.
MoM:- D Lehmann

(Full scorecard is attached.)

 

[Mr. P]

love that 11* in the second innings by punter

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

2nd Test Match - Australia v Sri Lanka
Australia- Hayden, Langer, Ponting, Lehmann, Martyn, S.Waugh (capt), A Gilchrist (wk), Warne, Lee, Gillespie, McGrath.
Sri Lanka- Atapattu (capt), Jayasuriya, Jayawardene, Arnold, A.DeSilva, S.DeSilva (wk), R.Wickramaratne, Vaas, Perera, Muralitharan, C.Fernando.

Toss:- Australia (bowl first) - I finally win a toss! I bowl anyway :P

Day 1 Pitch Condition:- Good for seamers; Good for spinners
Day 1 Weather Conditions:- Very Sunny all day until tea, overcast after tea
Day 1 Score:-
Sri Lanka 1st innings - 168 ao (A DeSilva 58, R Arnold 29, Gillespie 3/31, Warne 3/44, McGrath 3/45)
Australia 1st innings - 66/1 (25 overs) (M Hayden 31*, J Langer 20, R Ponting 13*, Vaas 1/18)

Day 2 Pitch Condition:- Good for seamers; Good for spinners
Day 2 Weather Conditions:- Very Sunny all day long
Day 2 Score:-
Australia 1st innings - 299/8 (D Martyn 71, R Ponting 52, Warne 15*, Muralitharan 4/111)

Day 3 Pitch Condition:- Good for seamers; Excellent for spinners
Day 3 Weather Conditions:- Very Sunny all day long
Day 3 Score:-
Australia 1st innings - 317 ao (D Martyn 71, R Ponting 52, Muralitharan 5/119)
Sri Lanka 2nd innings - 244/8 (M Jayawardene 83, A DeSilva 53*, McGrath 4/75, Gillespie 2/45)

Day 4 Pitch Condition:- Difficult against pace; Good for spinners
Day 4 Weather Conditions:- Sunny
Day 4 Score:-
Sri Lanka 2nd innings - 287 ao (M Jayawardene 83, A DeSilva 78, McGrath 4/85, Gillespie 3/68)
Australia need 139 runs to win.
Australia 2nd innings - 139/2 (M Hayden 74*, J Langer 27, Arnold 1/20, Muralitharan 1/46)

Result:- Australia won by 8 wickets
Comments:- 1/ Careless batting at times. 2/ Well bowled McGrath.
MoM:- A DeSilva

(Full scorecard is attached.)

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

3rd Test Match - Australia v Sri Lanka
Australia- Hayden, Lehmann, Ponting, Martyn, S.Waugh (capt), S Katich, A Gilchrist (wk), Warne, Lee, MacGill, McGrath. - Katich in for Langer. MacGill in for Gillespie.
Sri Lanka- Atapattu (capt), Jayasuriya, Jayawardene, Arnold, A.DeSilva, S.DeSilva (wk), Samaweera, Tillekeratne, Vaas, Perera, Muralitharan.

Toss:- Australia (bowl first) - I finally win a toss! I bowl anyway :P

Day 1 Pitch Condition:- Poor for seamers; Good for spinners
Day 1 Weather Conditions:- Very Sunny all day
Day 1 Score:-
Australia 1st innings - 235/5 (R Ponting 88*, S Waugh 71*, Perera 1/49, Muralitharan 1/54)

Day 2 Pitch Condition:- Help for seamers; Good for spinners
Day 2 Weather Conditions:- Overcast until tea; sunny after tea
Day 2 Score:-
Australia 1st innings - 573/6 dec. (R Ponting 225, S Waugh 140, S Katich 73, A Gilchrist 50*, Perera 2/122, Arnold 2/147)
Sri Lanka 1st innings - 12/0 (M Atapattu 12*, McGrath 0/12)

Day 3 Pitch Condition:- Good for seamers; Excellent for spinners
Day 3 Weather Conditions:- Very Sunny all day long
Day 3 Score:-
Sri Lanka 1st innings - 210 ao (M Atapattu 50, T Samaweera 46, Warne 5/56, MacGill 3/59)
Sri Lanka 2nd innings (following on) - 46/0 (M Atapattu 30*, S Jayasuriya 15*)

Day 4 Pitch Condition:- Difficult against pace; Good for spinners
Day 4 Weather Conditions:- Sunny
Day 4 Score:-
Sri Lanka 2nd innings - 288/6 (M Jayawardene 95*, M Atapattu 66, MacGill 4/112)

Day 5 Pitch Condition:- No help for seamers; Excellent for spinners
Day 5 Weather Conditions:- Very sunny all day
Day 5 Score:-
Sri Lanka 2nd innings - 329 ao (M Jayawardene 113, M Atapattu 66, MacGill 4/116, Warne 3/57)

Result:- Australia won by an innings and 34 runs
Comments:- 1/ Brilliance from Ponting - his 14th Test hundred and 7th in 17 matches. 2/ Steve Waugh 28th hundred. 3/ 274-run partnership between Waugh and Ponting. 4/ MacGill payed off - he may play the ODI series to give Warne a rest.
MoM:- R Ponting

(Full scorecard is attached.)

 

[Mr. P]

WooHoo! Skill from punter

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

1st ODI - Australia v Sri Lanka
Australia- Hayden, Gilchrist (wk), Ponting (capt), Lehmann, Bevan, Martyn, Symonds, Lee, Fleming, MacGill, McGrath.
Sri Lanka- Atapattu (capt), Jayasuriya, Arnold, Jayawardene, A DeSilva, Samaweera, S De Silva (wk), Chandana, Perera, Boteju, Murali.

Toss: Sri Lanka - Back to regular business.

Conditions: Poor for seamer; some help for spinners
Weather: Sunny

Sri Lanka innings - 188 ao (Jayawardene 52, Lee 3/31, Fleming 3/33, MacGill 2/44)
Australia innings - 189/2 (A Gilchrist 68 off 53, R Ponting 66* off 82)

Results:- Australia won by 8 wickets.
MoM:- Adam Gilchrist

 

[Mr. P]

Pffft...punter deserved MOM

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

2nd ODI - Australia v Sri Lanka
Australia- Hayden, Gilchrist (wk), Ponting (capt), Lehmann, Bevan, Martyn, Symonds, Lee, Fleming, MacGill, McGrath.
Sri Lanka- Atapattu (capt), Jayasuriya, Arnold, Jayawardene, A DeSilva, Samaweera, S De Silva (wk), Chandana, Perera, Boteju, Murali.

Toss: Sri Lanka

Conditions: Poor for seamers; Good for spinners
Weather: Very Sunny

Australia innings - 229/8 (R Ponting 81, M Hayden 41, Samaweera 4/60, Chandana 2/54)
Sri Lanka innings - 230/5 (49.4 overs) (M Jayawardene 94*, Samaweera 36, McGrath 1/36, Lee 1/45)

Results:- Sri Lanka won by 5 wickets.
MoM:- T Samaweera

 

[Nate]

Go your stories!!
Gotta love `em.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

Other results: India beat SL by 55 runs.

3rd ODI - Australia v India
Australia- Hayden, Gilchrist (wk), Ponting (capt), Lehmann, Bevan, Clarke, Symonds, Lee, Gillespie, Warne, McGrath.
India- Ramesh, Bundela, Dravid (capt), Laxman, Kambli, Karim (wk), Agarkar, Dutta, Kumble, N.Singh, Kartik.

Toss: India - bat first

Conditions: Very poor for seamers; some help for spinners
Weather: Unsettled

India innings - 193/8 (A Agarkar 70*, S Karim 34, Gillespie 6/38)
Australia innings - 194/5 (46.3 overs) (R Potning 78 off 91, A Gilchrist 53 off 60, Kartik 3/41, Agarkar 2/47)

Results:- Australia won by 5 wickets.
Comments/Notes:- 1/ Gillespie ripped through the top order with the first 5 wickets in his first 5 overs!
MoM:- J Gillespie

 

[marc71178]

AA is furious at not getting MOM.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

4th ODI - Australia v Sri Lanka
Australia- Hayden, Gilchrist (wk), Ponting (capt), Martyn, Bevan, Clarke, Symonds, Lee, Gillespie, Warne, McGrath. - Marto in for Lehmann.
Sri Lanka- Atapattu (capt), Jayasuriya, Arnold, A DeSilva, Samaweera, Tillekeratne, S DeSilva (wk), Chandana, Boteju, Vaas, Muralitharan.

Toss: Sri Lanka - bowl first

Conditions: Some help for seamers; some help for spinners
Weather: Very Sunny, unsettled, very sunny

Australia innings - 225/6 (D Martyn 81, M Hayden 61, M Clarke 49* off 38, Vaas 2/40)
Sri Lanka innings - 156 ao (40.1 overs) (M Atapattu 39, Symonds 4/49, Lee 3/16, Warne 3/37)

Results:- Australia won by 69 runs.
Comments/Notes:- 1/ Clarke stranded 1 short of first ODI 50. 2/ Note to self: Gillespie and Lee started to cause trouble when they pitched the ball up.
MoM:- A Symonds

Australia face India in the finals.

 

[Mr. P]

AA is furious at not getting MOM.

mom is furious at not getting AA.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

THE FINAL
Australia v India
Australia- Hayden, Gilchrist (wk), Ponting (capt), Lehmann, Bevan, Clarke, Symonds, Lee, Gillespie, Warne, McGrath.
India- Ramesh, Bundela, Dravid (capt), Laxman, Kambli, Karim (wk), Agarkar, Dutta, Kumble, Srinath, Kartik.

Toss: India - bowl first

Conditions: Very poor for seamers; poor for spinners
Weather: Unsettled throughout the day

Australia innings - 172/8 (R Potning 45, Kumble 3/33, Kartik 2/23)
India innings - 173/6 (48 overs) (D Bundela 56, V Laxman 56, Lee 2/31)

Results:- India won by 4 wickets.
Comments/Notes:- 1/ Bad batting on a flat pitch...
MoM:- D Bundela

 

[Cloete]

bad luck. good story so far tho. just wondering was clarke playing in the final?