An English Adventure

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Squad for Test series against :
Sam Hain
Keaton Jennings
Dawid Malan
Sam Robson
Joe Root
Jason Roy
Jonny Bairstow
Jos Buttler
Ed Barnard
Liam Dawson
Adil Rashid
Ben Stokes
James Anderson
Stuart Broad
Pat Brown
Craig Overton
Ollie Robinson
Mark Wood

Unchanged squad.

 

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Three Day Friendly vs Cape Town
We're going full experimental again here, apart from a few bats who just need to get into form. Jennings, Robson, Roy, Hain, Bairstow, Malan, Barnard, Dawson, Overton, Brown and Robinson is the XI.

We chose to bat first after winning the toss. Jennings failed, nicking Joubert to slip, and Robson got in and then nicked off to the keeper from Paterson. Roy was out soon after. Bairstow hit a quick fifty, but he and Hain were out within an over of each other. But it was Overton's 52 and Malan's 87* that got us to a score of 8/324 overnight, where I declared.

In the first bowling innings, I was highly impressed by Overton, who had three wickets in the middle order after two more Malans and Amla got the club off to a cracking start. Dawson was economical, while Robinson and Brown had a few wickets, but Barnard was terrible.

A 95-run opening stand ended when Joubert bowled Jennings. From there, the goal was simply to win the game, and I asked everyone to bat faster. Bairstow rose to the challenge again with 71, as we set the club 271 in three hours.

Robinson got two wickets in the first over, but from there it was harder as Pieter Malan, assisted ably by Qeshile and Khomari, counter-attacked and actually had CTCC ahead for the win - Dawson and Barnard sufferedc. But all it took was one spell from Pat Brown to remove Malan, Khomari and George Linde. Robinson got rid of the tail despite getting pasted a few times by Dry, taking the final wicket with just ten minutes left in the game. Brown and Robinson were impressive in this innings, giving me good confidence in my pace attack.

 

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England vs South Africa
Dec 31, 2019
Test 1 of 4
Johannesburg

Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	Dean Elgar
Sam Robson	Aiden Markram
Jason Roy	Theunis de Bruyn
Joe Root	Faf du Plesiss
Jonny Bairstow	Zubayr Hamza
Dawid Malan	Temba Bavuma
Ben Stokes	Quinton de Kock
Adil Rashid	Vernon Philander
Mark Wood	Kagiso Rabada
Stuart Broad	Dale Steyn
James Anderson	Lungi Ngidi

One change from the NZ game, as Keaton Jennings is in for Hain. South Africa go with the all-pace lineup, and interestingly no Malans for them.

I won the toss and bowled - against any attack other than SAF and AUS, I might have batted, but I didn't want to play on a fourth-inning wicket that would aid quicks. Sam Robson, bowled in the fourth over by Rabada, may have disagreed. Jennings did a ton of hard work only to get out, and Roy was yorked one short of fifty. The in-form Bairstow got one that hit a crack and then the edge, leaving England 4/117. Root was another to get in and out, while Malan, back in South Africa, scored a nice 57 to ensure a decent target was set. Mark Wood and even Stuart Broad hit a few lusty blows to make that target 275.

On a pitch that suited him, Mark Wood got the new ball, and bowled Markram in the eighth. de Bruyn popped a simple catch to bat pad off Rashid, and Big Game Ben took a screamer off his own bowling to get the key wicket of du Plessis shortly after lunch. Wood bowled Elgar to end a gutsy 50 the next over, leaving South Africa in a worse position than England had been at 4/112. Hamza departed in the next Stokes over, though, and when Broad came in and immediately snaffled de Kock, South Africa were 144 behind - over 50% - with all recognised batsmen but Bavuma back in the shed. But Bavuma was all they needed - he rained down lusty blows off Broad, Stokes and Rashid, finishing with 160* from just 140 balls thanks to some resistance from the tail. Suddenly, England were 80 behind.

Jennings and Robson survived eight overs on Day 2, then Day 3 was rained out. The openers put England ahead net on the final over before lunch on Day 4, surviving for over 50 overs in a partnership of 133. Jennings was eventually bowled for 74, and Roy and Root both failed. In fact, no Englishman after the opening pair passed 21. But Robson never got out after getting in, carrying his bat for a brilliant 165* that puts him firmly back into my long-term picture.

South Africa needed 257 from four and a half hours to win. There were no early wickets from Wood this time, but Broad's first delivery resulted in the departure of Elgar. A marathon spell from Anderson ended with Markram cleaned up, while Ben Stokes' first delivery resulted in his second snaffle of the SAF skipper this game. de Bruyn took the game back to England, but then was trapped in front by a Wood slower ball. Bavuma, the key man, fell identally the next ball, and although QDK tried to fool everyone by slamming a six from the hattrick ball, South Africa were in trouble. But Hamza and de Kock played them back in; they needed 61 at tea. Hamza and de Kock got 47 of those before the keeper popped one straight to mid on. South Africa made it home comfortably with the loss of no further wickets. Again, we couldn't finish off the tail.

 

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England vs South Africa
Jan 7, 2020
Test 2 of 4
Cape Town

Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	Dean Elgar
Sam Robson	Aiden Markram
Jason Roy	Theunis de Bruyn
Joe Root	Faf du Plesiss
Jonny Bairstow	Zubayr Hamza
Dawid Malan	Temba Bavuma
Ben Stokes	Quinton de Kock
Adil Rashid	Vernon Philander
Mark Wood	Kagiso Rabada
Stuart Broad	Dale Steyn
James Anderson	Lungi Ngidi

Unchanged for both sides.

The openers got off to a good start for us, but then we lost Robson and Roy in three balls. Root was run out shortly after lunch, and Jennings was LBW to Ngidi after a great 80. Bairstow was bowled shortly after tea, leading to a small collapse. A good late order partnership by Malan and Wood, though, got us just past 300 - to 301 in fact.

Elgar nicked Anderson to slip off the fourth ball of the innings in reply. Anderson also removed Markram, clean bowled, in his first spell. de Bruyn and du Plessis got moving well, but Stokes broke the partnership just after lunch, de Bruyn edging to the keeper. Hamza only lasted an over, and Wood continued his devastating spell by repeating the dose to Faf. de Kock edged a big drive off Stokes, leaving South Africa 6/79. Anderson removed Bavuma and Philander, but South Africa passed 101 in between. Wood cleaned up the tail to have South Africa all out for 139.

I asked the openers to accelerate, but neither made it past 30. Root went cheaply again to a Steyn yorker, and Roy was out fifteen minutes into Day 3. The middle order faltered, leaving England 8/132 and in trouble. Malan, though, was still in, and delivered - 53, combined with a effective 33 from Broad, got England to set a target of 357.

Broad got rid of Markram eight balls into the innings, plumb LBW. de Bruyn put together another nice partnership, this time with Elgar, until Stokes got him in the same fashion as the first innings. Elgar spooned a catch back to Rashid after the leggie delivered a few expensive overs. No further wickets fell on Day 3 as du Plessis and Hamza counter-attacked. But it was again Stokes with the big wicket, as Hamza flicked one to square leg to be out for 32. But the big wicket came for Mark Wood in his first over of the day (the eighth overall) as du Plessis skied a pull. de Kock attacked, but then lost Bavuma edging to Roy at slip off Broad. But he found a willing ally in Philander who joined him to run the requirement down to 36 at lunch. But with just 16 required, Philander was run out. But Rabada held firm enough for de Kock to convert the game.

 

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England vs South Africa
Jan 14, 2020
Test 3 of 4
Pretoria

Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	Janneman Malan
Sam Robson	Aiden Markram
Jason Roy	Theunis de Bruyn
Joe Root	Faf du Plesiss
Jonny Bairstow	Dean Elgar
Dawid Malan	Temba Bavuma
Ben Stokes	Quinton de Kock
Pat Brown	Vernon Philander
Mark Wood	Kagiso Rabada
Stuart Broad	Dale Steyn
James Anderson	Lungi Ngidi

One change for us - Rashid is out and Pat Brown comes in to make his Test debut. Also one for South Africa, who bring Janneman Malan in to debut in exchange for Zubayr Hamza.

We batted on an absolute flat track. Jennings didn't make the most of it, out in the fourth over. Roy departed for a golden duck the next ball, and Root was out softly, leaving England 3/19. Robson was yorked by Philander, leaving us 4/47, and Malan followed up with a 22-ball duck. The innings looked in awful trouble at 7/96 following the dismissal of Pat Brown, but Stokes and Wood added 100 for the eighth wicket. Stokes and Broad then added 140 for the ninth, before the all-rounder was finally out for a brilliant 171. Anderson got out immediately, as England set a score of 339 and Broad was stranded on 48*.

That said, this became less impressive when Malan and Markram added 226 for South Africa's first. Malan was eventually out edging behind for 120, off Stokes of course. Brown got de Bruyn for 45 after an expensive spell for his first Test wicket. After another big partnership, Wood finally got Markram with the second new ball, leaving South Africa 3/429. Elgar was yorked by Stokes for two, and Stokes then repeated the dose to Faf for 95. South Africa declared shortly after, though, after hitting 500.

The openers added 65, before Sam Robson was out LBW. Jennings made a lovely half century, but then holed out to long on. Root failed for the sixth straight innings, leaving England effectively three for -21. Roy and Bairstow righted the ship, though - Roy put together his second Test ton, before edging Philander behind. Bairstow was out for 78 with the second new ball, and Pat Brown collected a pair. With Stokes and Broad going the next over, England lost 5/0. The last pair added a few valuable runs, but a target of 166 didn't look threatening.

Broad got Malan eleven balls into the innings; it should have been the second, but Markram was put down at slip two balls prior. Roy did hold de Bruyn off Wood in the last over before tea, though, and Robson at second held Markram after the break. South Africa needed under 100 though with seven wickets left, so it was still their match. Faf was run out 23 runs later, and Bavuma was caught at gully for a duck, giving SAF some problems. de Kock chipped one back to Brown after 20 more runs, then Brown bowled Philander the next ball. Rabada skied one and was out for 1, but South Africa survived to the end of the day. They kept chipping away too, but Brown struck again, a big edge getting rid of Elgar with 17 left to get. But they held on - a few late boundaries from Ngidi just got SAF home. Brown was elite though, which was brilliant because I had a friend telling me how bad he was when I picked him live in VC.

 

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England vs South Africa
Jan 21, 2020
Test 3 of 4
Durban

Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	Janneman Malan
Sam Robson	Aiden Markram
Jason Roy	Theunis de Bruyn
Jonny Bairstow	Faf du Plesiss
Dawid Malan	Zubayr Hamza
Jos Buttler	Temba Bavuma
Ben Stokes	Quinton de Kock
Pat Brown	Vernon Philander
Mark Wood	Keshav Maharaj
Ollie Robinson	Bjorn Fortuin
James Anderson	Kagiso Rabada

Two changes for the dead rubber for me. Broad is rested and Ollie Robinson comes in on debut, while the awful Root gets dropped for Jos Buttler. The Proteas make three - Elgar is dropped for Hamza, while Steyn and Ngidi get rested - and interestingly, call up two spinners - Maharaj and debutant Fortuin - in replacement.

This time we bowled first, on a much worse pitch than Pretoria. Anderson immediately got a breakthrough, as Markram picked Buttler at square leg. Roy put down what would have been a blinder to dismiss Malan in the next over off Wood, but Pat Brown came into the attack after a small partnership and got de Bruyn nicking. du Plessis was aggressive, particularly to Brown who almost had him thrice, but he eventually fell to a better catch by Malan in the same position Roy dropped one, with Wood benefiting this time. Malan and Hamza got to work, surviving almost a session and adding 125 runs. Malan brought up his second ton of the series with a single and immediately feathered Wood to the keeper. Wood then got Hamza a few overs later, who had continued at a rapid pace, for 94. Anderson, who was expensive, did remove Bavuma to a mistimed hook, though. de Kock and Philander stormed on, adding another 100 in 20 overs before the new ball was taken. Wood immediately threatened with that, and got rid of Philander for 43 to a catch at square leg in his first over. Anderson bowled de Kock two overs later for 93. Despite a barrage from Wood, Maharaj and Fortuin somehow survived the night, and played on through the morning. Fortuin eventually flicked one to catching mid wicket to give Ollie Robinson his first wicket. Two balls later, Rabada was his second, and South Africa were finally all out for 532. Wood was impressive with four wickets, and Robinson was good on debut, but Anderson, Stokes and Brown were all very expensive.

Robson and Jennings survived through lunch, but two overs after, Robson snicked one from Philander. Roy departed for a golden globe after being pinned LBW, and Jennings was out shortly after to Maharaj. Malan was dropped on 20 off Fortuin. This mistake did only cost South Africa 17 runs, as an edge to third just after tea ended Malan's innings, and shortly after, Buttler was out LBW, leaving England in trouble at 5/172. Bairstow was eventually dismissed to a good outfield catch after a nice knock of 89, but a big partnership of 93 between Stokes and Brown got England to within touching distance of not following on. Stokes was dismissed for 93, leading to three quick wickets, and Robinson edged one to slip three runs in arrears.

Jennings was bowled without scoring in an auspicious start. Philander removed Robson and Roy before the score was past 12, and apart from solid fourties from Bairstow and Stokes - the only two to impress me in the first innings too - we were rather totally crushed.

 

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Squad for 3 ODIs vs
Sam Hain
Alex Hales
Eoin Morgan
Joe Root
Jos Buttler
Jonny Bairstow
Jofra Archer
Moeen Ali
Ed Barnard
Benny Howell
Adil Rashid
David Willey
Tom Curran
Saqib Mahmood
Toby Roland-Jones

Domestic standouts get the call in Howell, Ali and Barnard. They replace Denly, Higgins and Fraine. Also, Bairstow is back from the injury that ruled him out of the WC, and he replaces Duckett.

 

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Match 1 - Johannesburg
England XI - Bairstow, Hales, Root, Morgan, Buttler, Moeen, Howell, Willey, Rashid, Archer, Curran. One debutant - Howell as a lower order hitter and fifth bowler - compared to SAF's six.

Credit has to go to Aislabie for my performance with the bat. Bairstow and Hales put on 100 up top, while after a big falter by the middle order, Howell and Willey went ham - their 109-run partnership meant I got to 8/325, with 100 coming off the last ten. Hales with 86 and Howell with 75* were the best performers. The bowling really wasn't very good, though - the defensive attempts were still leaky, and the choice to anchor the innings with Rashid instead of Curran was uninspired. South Africa got home with two to go.

Match 2 - Cape Town
England XI - Bairstow, Hales, Root, Morgan, Buttler, Moeen, Howell, Willey, Rashid, Archer, Curran.

This batting effort was even better. It was trouble early at 3/41, but Morgan and Buttler played well to get England back into it by the 30-over mark and then, aided by a 63-ball 36 from Moeen, exploded. Buttler finished on 101, Morgan 97, and England 8/337.

The chase was stressful. Two explosive stints from Archer had South Africa a wicket from being all out with 100 runs still to get, but they did get Archer (and Moeen), and still had David Miller. Fortunately, the death bowling pair of Willey and Curran delivered, stalling South Africa and then knocking over Bjorn Fortuin with 33 runs still needed.

Match 3 - Pretoria
England XI - Bairstow, Hales, Root, Morgan, Buttler, Moeen, Howell, Willey, Rashid, Archer, Curran. Unchanged again, but SAF bring in Rabada...

I was very annoyed at a late collapse, including 4/0 to end the innings, but I was fine with posting 332 and very fine with our top five. 61 for Bairstow, 69 for Morgan, a very quick 75 for Buttler and a welcome return to form, 96 for Root, set the innings up brilliantly and almost brought it home.

The chase was just destruction. Apart from a decent partnership between Markram and Marques Ackermann, wickets fell throughout. Rashid took five, which was awesome, and he was well supported by Archer, Willey and Howell. South Africa were bowled out for 195 and England won their first series in this save! @Aislabie thanks a ton

POTS: Adil Rashid - won us Game 3, and took some crucial wickets in Game 2 as well.

 

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Squad for 3 T20s vs :
Alex Hales
Eoin Morgan
Joe Root
Jason Roy
Phil Salt
James Vince
Jos Buttler
Moeen Ali
Jofra Archer
Benny Howell
Chris Jordan
Adil Rashid
David Willey
Tom Curran
Mark Wood

Unchanged.

Match 1 - Johannesburg
England XI: Buttler, Roy, Root, Morgan, Roy, Howell, Ali, Willey, Rashid, Archer, Wood. I feel bad for Vince who misses out only because I want a sixth bowler in Howell.
We simply got wrecked by Bjorn Fortuin. 6/22 ruined our chase of 161. I was generally happy with the bowling, though, to restrict South Africa's power bats to that total - the unheralded Marques Ackerman did the most damage.

Match 2 - Cape Town
England XI: Buttler, Roy, Root, Morgan, Roy, Salt, Ali, Willey, Rashid, Archer, Wood. I figured we did need the extra batting, given we didn't utilise Howell at all with the ball, so in comes Salt's international S/R of 177.
Some of our bowlers were expensive - Willey's 0/68 was just tragic - but brilliant spells from Wood, Archer and Moeen restricted South Africa to 189 after de Kock's 84* and Hamza's 70. What was really brilliant, though, was our batting. Hales' 78* was good, but Buttler was on another level - his 109* got us home almost on its' own. We won the match without losing a wicket!

Match 3 - Pretoria
England XI: Buttler, Roy, Root, Morgan, Roy, Salt, Ali, Willey, Rashid, Archer, Wood. Unchanged.
South Africa batted first again, and while they did well with the bowling, a slow innings from Marques Ackerman, an economical spell from Mark Wood, and three runouts restricted them to 176. England's chase was somewhat disjointed, but 72 off 37 from the strongly in-form Buttler and 25 off 11 from the all-rounders got England home, just - 7/179 was the final score to win the series.

POTS: Jos Buttler

 

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Squad for Test series against :
Sam Hain
Charlie Hemphrey
Keaton Jennings
Dawid Malan
Sam Robson
Joe Root
Jason Roy
Jonny Bairstow
Jos Buttler
Liam Dawson
Adil Rashid
Ben Stokes
James Anderson
Stuart Broad
Pat Brown
Craig Overton
Jack Leach
Mark Wood

Two changes - Ed Barnard dropped, as is Ollie Robinson (although I'm not unhappy with Robinson, he just wasn't going to play in Sri Lankan conditions), and in comes Jack Leach and Charlie Hemphrey for them.

 

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Sinhalese friendly: I don't really care about this game. We drew. Concerningly, 16 of the 18 England wickets to fall were to spin.

England vs Sri Lanka
Jan 21, 2020
Test 1 of 2
Khettarama

Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	Pathum Nissanka
Sam Robson	Upul Tharanga
Joe Root	Dinesh Chandimal
Jason Roy	Angelo Mathews
Jonny Bairstow	Kusal Mendis
Jos Buttler	Sachithira Serasinghe
Ben Stokes	Priyamal Perera
Adil Rashid	Akila Dananjaya
Mark Wood	Lasith Embuldeniya
Stuart Broad	Lahiru Kumara
Jack Leach	Asitha Fernando

Leach, Broad, Rashid and Root all return from the last South Africa test, although three of them were only rested. As for Sri Lanka, they give Serasinghe a debut.

We lost the toss and had to bowl. Wood yorked Tharanga in the final over of his first spell, followed three balls later by Rashid ending the struggle of Nissanka. Rashid got Chandimal ten overs later, and while Kusal was aggressive, he chipped one back to Broad minutes before lunch. Mathews was dismissed by a spectacular catch by Bairstow, while Leach got his first wicket, bowling Serasinghe. A couple of tail wickets gave Rashid five, and two in two for Broad had Sri Lanka all out for 230.

England started positively, but a big nick in the seventh ended Robson's innings. Jennings and Root made it through to the end of the the day, but Jennings was out three overs into Day 2 for 52. Root and Roy then added 180. Root made his ton, and Roy would have but for running himself out thirty minutes after England took the lead. Root was finally dismissed for 146 shortly before tea. The wicketkeepers added 110, before Bairstow missed a full one sweeping and was dismissed for 70. Buttler was out late on Day 2, but the tail kept wagging alongside Stokes and even without him, as England posted 584, leading by 354.

Nissanka and Chandimal weren't dismissed by the opening bowlers this time, but Tharanga was out LBW to Leach early in the spinner's spell. Rashid got Chandimal to nick after a fast 25, but Nissanka and Mathews were harder to move. They survived the rest of Day 3, only for Mathews to be LBW to the fourth ball of Day 4. Nissanka finally departed thirty minutes before lunch, nicking a Rashid toppie to the keeper for a brilliant 117. Mendis and Serasinghe pushed on until Kusal was yorked for 87 with the second new ball. Perera was removed the next delivery, and although Dananjaya survived the hattrick ball, he was out the next over to Wood. Sri Lanka were just five runs behind England, though, and did push to a lead thanks to Serasinghe and Embuldineya. In the end, they were all out for 503 with Serasinghe making 133 on debut, leaving England to get 150 to win.

That didn't look good when Robson and Root went with just four on the board. England were 4/23 after the dismissals of Jennings and Roy, both caught in the cordon. Bairstow and Buttler utilised the time on England's side, but the former's plumb LBW to Embuldineya left England 5/55. But the experience of Buttler and Stokes came to the fore - the former added 30 off 101 while the latter was only out with three needed after 39 added - to a horrendous LBW decision, I must say. By that time, Adil Rashid was settled, and he and Wood got us home... relatively comfortably.

 

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Got a total heart attack when told Steam corrupted my file - I also had the same thing happen on OOTP this morning and that save was unusable. Fortunately, this one's backup was intact.

England vs Sri Lanka
Mar 20, 2020
Test 2 of 2
Colombo

Lineups:

Keaton Jennings	Pathum Nissanka
Sam Robson	Upul Tharanga
Joe Root	Dinesh Chandimal
Jason Roy	Angelo Mathews
Jonny Bairstow	Kusal Mendis
Jos Buttler	Ashen Bandara
Ben Stokes	Priyamal Perera
Adil Rashid	Wanindu Hasaranga
Mark Wood	Lasith Embuldeniya
Stuart Broad	Lahiru Kumara
Jack Leach	Asitha Fernando

Unchanged for us. Two for SL - Dananjaya is dropped for debutant Hasaranga, and second inning hero Serasinghe is out injured - Bandara replaces him.

Winning the toss and batting, a bright start was stopped in the sixth as Jennings was LBW to Kumara. Root played steadily until he was also LBW - this time to Embuldeniya, and Roy's aggressive 32 was undone when he missed a wrong-un from the same spinner. Bairstow failed, and Buttler added a quick 27 before edging Kumara to slip. Robson brought up a high-quality ton, then was LBW sweeping in Embuldeniya's next over. Stokes chipped one back to Embuldineya for his five-for in the next over. Rashid and Wood added fifty, and their late runs allowed England to survive through stumps and then post 308.

Broad got rid of Nissanka in the ninth over, a loose shot clipped straight to Robson at square leg. Stokes came on after lunch and immediately produced the same result from the other opener. Chandimal and Mathews played nicely together, but while Broad troubled the former, it was actually a Rashid leggie that fizzed past Chandimal's bat and into the stumps that broke the stand. Leach finally got Mathews for 91 after a thin edge to the keeper. After another nice partnership, Rashid got a catch behind this time to remove Bandard - but Sri Lanka were already ahead. Stokes got Mendis for a lovely ton early on Day 3. 40 was added in five overs by Perera and Hasaranga before the latter holed out to deep cover. Rashid and Wood wrapped up the tail, but Sri Lanka were 165 runs ahead.

Both openers were out cheaply. Roy counterattacked, then followed. Root and Bairstow did well for a century partnership, but then Root perished on the first ball after tea. Bairstow fell for 65 just after we took the lead. Stokes and Buttler played well through to stumps, but Stokes was immediately out on Day 4, stumped. Failures by the tail meant Buttler fell just short of a hundred - 97* - and set SL 166 to win.

Nissanka departed again early, but this time Leach got Tharanga too just after lunch. Chandimal went to Rashid too, but Mathews took Sri Lanka to a six-wicket win.

 

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I'll admit writing these out was getting depressing, so I've kind of stopped. But look at this nuts test!



Yes, that is Moeen Ali. And yes, it suddenly started turning square late in India's innings. The last 25 wickets fell for 367 runs, after the first 15 cost 963!