International Cricket Captain General Thread of Miscellany

[LongHopCassidy]

I find it dehumanising to call my home grown and nurtured players 'regens', like they're some common replicant from Blade Runner. I've thrown in two seasons of you learning front foot onside technique, now go and do Northants proud Fred Manglebury.

[Dan]

Originally Posted by LongHopCassidy

I find it dehumanising to call my home grown and nurtured players 'regens', like they're some common replicant from Blade Runner. I've thrown in two seasons of you learning front foot onside technique, now go and do Northants proud Fred Manglebury.

I'm ridiculously attached to a few of them. Sam Aimson, the left-arm pace bowling all-rounder for New Zealand is one that I occasionally forget isn't real. Averages 45 with the bat in Tests and 19 in ODIs with the ball.

[Crazy Sam]

I started up my Australia game for the first time in about 8 months today. Won the 2059 World Cup in England (Zimbabwe somehow finished top of their table, though lost the other semi final).

South Africa is touring and I just managed to bowl them out for 45 within the first session on the first day of the 3rd test. Their highest partnership was 13 for the last wicket...

[Dan]

Luke Fletcher's return in the first T20 of the season:

3-0-7-7

My legspinner took the last 3 in an over to ruin his chances of all 10. NRR at +4.88 after that.

[Somerset]

Originally Posted by Crazy Sam

I started up my Australia game for the first time in about 8 months today. Won the 2059 World Cup in England (Zimbabwe somehow finished top of their table, though lost the other semi final).

South Africa is touring and I just managed to bowl them out for 45 within the first session on the first day of the 3rd test. Their highest partnership was 13 for the last wicket...

Reassuring to know that in just under 50 years' time, the side that bowled us out for 45 will have a similar fate inflicted.

[Dan]

Started a NZ save on ICC 2012. My initial selection for the West Indies T20 series paid off; Matt Henry had a gun start to his career, ending his first 3 ODI games with 7 wickets @ 7 apiece or something equally ridiculous. Hamish Rutherford also doing a good job, alongside Mitch M and Hamish Bennett.

Now to see whether some of those guys can transfer it across to the red ball format.

Picked the following squad (first XI playing the tour match)
Rutherford, Raval, Ryder, Brownlie, Watling, CdG, Vettori, Wagner, Henry, Boult, Mitch M, McCullum, Taylor, Williamson, de Boorder, Bracewell, Astle, Guptill.

Rested the certain starters from this match; 3 way opening shootout to partner Guptill and I want to see what the quicks can do. Southee shunting it in the ODIs getting him dropped.

[Dan]

First Test was nuts.

I did a Nasser Hussain and sent the West Indies in on a pretty placid deck, banking on the afternoon conditions to help my bowlers out. Unfortunately we got hit by a Gayle (coming off the back of consecutive ODI tons returning from injury) and they seized the initiative early on. When that blew over, Chanderpaul came in and dominated. Barath stuck with him, and despite a trio of quick wickets we couldn't tear through them. Brendon Nash made a 50, and Wagner cleaned up the tail to bowl them out for 351. Chanderpaul the last out for 149.

Our first innings started with a rather brisk opening stand, Guptill looking very much at home. Rutherford got a start then got out, and that somewhat set the tone for the innings. Every specialist batsman made double figures, but only Guptill passed 60. Bowled out for 331, Guptill 87, Taylor 55, Watling 56.

Boult struck in the first over to get rid of Gayle, but that was the only bright spark of the second innings. Chanderpaul made 155, Barath another ground out innings of ~50 and Bravo, having failed in the first dig, made a circumspect 60 to have the West Indies firmly in control at 3/300. But then they collapsed, Boult, Wagner, Henry and Williamson all taking vital wickets to limit them to 370, with Boult ending up with 5/94.

That set us 391 to win in a day and a bit. We ended Day 4 at 0/30 odd, a decent position.

The openers put on 89 before Rutherford was out for 45, and while Williamson once again didn't convert a start, he forged a successful partnership with Guptill that kept us right in the mix. When he fell, Taylor went to work with the opener, but they both fell with the score at 233. Guptill made 120.

That brought Jesse Ryder and BJ Watling to the crease, and the former, despite being short of form, blasted the attack around the ground for 55 off 60 right when the run-rate needed to be upped. But the target was still 60 runs off about 9 overs, and the ball was pretty new. Cue captaincy mistake - bowling Brendon Nash. He went for 21 off 2, and when Kemar Roach came back it was too late. Watling ended up on 68* (100) and McCullum 30 (29) to take us to victory 5 down with an over to spare.

[Dan]

Well that was an interesting T20. Just bowled Derbyshire out for 23, having been 8/11 at one stage.

My regen opening bowler who is rubbish at FC cricket but gun in the shorter formats took 6/11 off 3.3

My other opener, a West Indian regen with 251 T20 wickets @ 8.81 apiece, took 3/12.