Story Bangladesh: From Minnows to Tigers! (End of England tour)

[qpeedore]

After an amazing ODI series victory against the Kiwis a few months ago in-game, it?s time to face Zimbabwe. They?re a team that really should be beaten but they will still provide stiff competition. But the good news is that I have a lot of domestic form to rely on when I pick my squad.

Since it?s Zimbabwe, though, I?ll experiment a little bit here and there. I need a wicketkeeper who can provide me with runs consistently. That?s a big issue for me right now. So onto the squad selection screen.

Openers
Tamim Iqbal
Shahriar Nafees

Middle order
Mohammed Mahmadullah
Naeem Islam
Shuvagoto Hom
Shakib Al Hasan
Shamsur Rahman
B Bari

Wicketkeepers
Saghir Hossain
B Anjum

Bowlers
Mohammed Sharif
Dolar Mahmud
Tareq Aziz
Subashis Roy
Monir Hossain

Some new faces and some old ones. The openers have chosen themselves. Mahamdullah and Hom have been consistent and are top batsmen. Shakib is there more as a bowling all-rounder really. Rahman and Bari have been great in List A matches and they get a spot.

As for the keepers, Anjum is my first choice but I won?t hesitate to bring Hossain in if he doesn?t perform.

Aziz earns a recall due to wonderful domestic form. Hossain replaces Razzak as the specialist spinner and Roy comes in for Mortaza, who has not really been penetrative despite being fairly economical. They aren?t totally out of my plans, though.

 

[qpeedore]

Pitch report and weather forecast ? 1st ODI

Today?s pitch is going to offer a lot for the bowlers who take the pace off but very little in terms of spin. The Zimbabwe team is going to enjoy this one perhaps even more than Bangladesh, with their medium pacers and their various cutters and slower balls. It will be interesting to see what sort of scores are possible on this pitch.

Overhead, conditions are perfect for cricket. It won?t be too hot today and there is going to be some cloud cover in the afternoon to make for a cool second session.

Squads

Zimbabwe
Hamilton Masakadza (Bat)
Vusi Sibanda (Bat)
Forster Mutizwa (Bat)
S Rutherford (All)
Tatenda Taibu (WK)
Elton Chigumbura (CAPT ? All)
M Koortzen (Bat)
Timycen Maruma (Bowl)
Admire Manyumwa (Bowl)
Edward Rainsford (Bowl)
Natsai Mushangwe (Bowl)

Zimbabwe will rely on their medium pacers as they have done so for a few years now. Their batting lineup is average at best but there are one or two players who can be explosive on a good day.

Watch out for

Tatenda Taibu ? The vast experience that he brings to this team will no doubt help his captain if things get tough, and behind the stumps he is capable of stunning athleticism.

Edward Rainsford ? Zimbabwe?s fastest bowler today, he will look to surprise the Bangladeshis with pace when compared to the relative slowness of the other bowlers.

Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal (Bat)
Shahriar Nafees (Bat)
Mohammed Mahmadullah (All)
Shuvagoto Hom (Bat)
Shakib Al Hasan (CAPT ? All)
B Anjum (WK)
Shamsur Rahman (Bat)
Mohammed Sharif (Bowl)
Dolar Mahmud (Bowl)
Tareq Aziz (Bowl)
Subashis Roy (Bowl)

Bangladesh have decided to go into this match with four seamers and only two all-round spinners. The pitch seems to swing the decision that way, but only time will tell if it is the right choice in the end.

Watch out for

Shuvagoto Hom ? He has been in deadly form for Warwickshire this season and he has shown that at international level he can be just as effective.

Tareq Aziz ? After being dropped from the team he made the selectors look to him once more with good domestic form. Back on the big stage, he will want to show that he has what it takes to stay there.

The toss

Shakib calls while Chigumbura tosses. The coin lands heads-up and the match referee confirms that Bangladesh have won the toss. Shakib decides to bat first, saying that he thinks the pitch might just wear a little bit later on and that would make batting in the second half difficult. He prefers to get runs on the board and is confident that the team can defend whatever score is posted.

Chigumbura is fairly happy, saying that it would be good to know what their target is when they bat. He thinks that Bangladesh might suffer from a little bit of overconfidence and Zimbabwe are going to have to seize that opportunity and get control of the match as early as possible.

Play ? 1st ODI

Tamim and Nafees walked out to bat. Tamim took first strike, as usual, and he prepared to face the bowling of Manyumwa. Despite playing no international cricket for a few months, he showed none of it when he hit his first ball off his legs, but it was well stopped by square leg and there was no chance of a run. Tamim proceeded to block out the rest of the over and no runs ended up being scored.

Nafees got Bangladesh started in the next over with a run down to third man. That over went for only the single but the third over was a little wayward and Bangladesh took advantage. First Nafees hit one over mid on that went for four before Tamim played a straight drive that had his partner dropping to the ground at the non-striker?s end to avoid the ball hitting him on its way to the boundary.

Zimbabwe tightened their line and kept the batsmen from freeing their arms. That restricted the scoring rate and it was not until the 9th over that another boundary was hit, this one coming from Tamim once again.

At the end of the first Powerplay Bangladesh were only 31 for no wicket and Zimbabwe took the bowling Powerplay at once. That turned out to be a good choice when only 4 balls in, Manyumwa bowled a leg cutter that beat the bat of Nafees to hit the pads. The appeal went up and to the naked eye the ball seemed to hit him outside the off stump but the umpire gave it out and Nafees took a second or two before walking off, clearly disappointed. Replays confirmed that the ball had indeed hit him outside the line. But he was gone and Bangladesh were 32 for 1.

Tamim tried to get the run rate up and survived a close call in the last over of the Powerplay when he was dropped at second slip. It was a simple catch but the fielder just did not get himself in a good position and the ball went straight in and straight out of his hands. Tamim would have wanted to capitalize on that chance but he could not as only a few balls later he was edging to the slips again. The first slip did not make the same mistake as his teammate and he held on to send Tamim walking. Bangladesh were 51 for 2 now.

Mahmadullah and Hom needed to be cautious after the fall of a couple of wickets but they still did not want to just block out the overs. Hom decided that he would be the aggressive one and he took Maruma for two fours in an over to send the rate up a bit. Mahmadullah decided to cash in as well and he took the same bowler for the first six of the match a few overs later. Maruma decided to add a little extra pace on the next ball and it worked as Mahmadullah was beaten and found the timber being disturbed. He was about to walk off when his partner called to him. He looked up to see the umpire signaling no ball. The free hit only went for a single, but the over ended up producing 12 runs.

Hom continued doing what he does best, and he took Maruma for another six, this one over third man. The next ball was driven nicely through the covers for four and Zimbabwe had a bit of thinking to do with respect to Maruma, who by the end of the over had bowled 3 overs for 35 runs.

The Bangladesh hundred came up in the 23rd over. Hom and Mahmadullah had built up a nice partnership so far and they were looking to continue it for as long as possible. When Mahmadullah cut one over wide third man for the third six of the match to bring up the fifty partnership, the Bangladesh dressing room rose to their feet in appreciation.

They just kept going, and Mahmadullah closed in on his individual fifty with a couple of fours through the on side. He got there with a single to deep backward point and once again his teammates stood and applauded him.

Hom kept on going himself, and he continued to hit boundaries whenever he could. Rainsford troubled him with one that moved in off the pitch and struck him in front of the pads. It seemed like a straightforward decision for the umpire but the appeal was muted as the umpire called no ball. The free hit went for a couple of runs only, but the next ball went for yet another boundary.

Hom was nearing his own fifty himself and with both men going well, Bangladesh decided to take their batting Powerplay sooner rather than later. It was the start of over number 28 when the message came out from the dressing room via the 12th man and Bangladesh were 144 for 2.

The first order of business was for Hom to get to fifty but he was unable to reach the landmark, falling LBW to Rainsford from a legal delivery this time. He went for 46 off of only 32 balls and despite not getting to fifty, his contribution was well appreciated by the Bangladesh fans in attendance.

It took Shakib some time to get going and it is never easy to come out in the Powerplay and get going immediately. Zimbabwe took advantage of that and kept him on strike for most of the time. Whenever Mahmadullah was on strike he tried to score as much as possible, and was fairly successful with it, but at the end of the Powerplay only 24 runs had come from the 5 overs.

Shakib eventually got settled and hit his first boundary a few overs later, hitting one past long on for four. He followed it with a big six over midwicket two balls later. The crowd was ducking for cover with that one and Shakib no doubt would have enjoyed seeing that in the highlight package later on in the day.

Zimbabwe recovered well with some good fielding, limiting the batsmen to singles and twos but just when they seemed to snatch some of the sting out of Bangladesh, Shakib unleashed another six, this one straight back past the bowler. The fifty partnership came off of just 59 balls and Zimbabwe had a bit of thinking to do once again.

The breakthrough came from Maruma, who had been hit all over the park in his 6 overs so far. But he came back well in a new spell to pitch one on leg that straightened and hit Mahmadullah right in front. He went for 79 and Bangladesh were 204 for 4 in the 40th over.

One wicket brought another and Shakib lost his wicket in the next over, LBW to Chigumbura for 33. Out walked Rahman on his ODI debut. He had to contribute to his team?s score today and he had a good platform on which to build but not a whole lot of time in which to get going. He got himself off the mark with a good looking shot to third man for a single but only 4 runs came off the over in the end.

Anjum could not really get going and he lost his leg stump after a couple overs of struggle. Bangladesh were letting their strong position slip away from them and Zimbabwe were finding their way back into the match.

Rahman lost his wicket to a brilliant piece of wicketkeeping from Taibu. He seemed to have no chance of catching the edge but somehow he flung himself to his right and just managed to get the ball to settle in his gloves before it hit the turf. Zimbabwe were into the tail now.

Sharif, like most tail enders, preferred to be called a batsman when he had his pads on, and he showed that he had some ability with the bat by finishing the over in style with three fours that were hit all along the ground.

Aziz was out in the 46th over cheaply and there was some miscommunication between Mahmud and Sharif that saw Sharif run out by a mile. Thankfully Bangladesh lost no further wickets before the 50 overs were up and Bangladesh would have been relatively happy with their score, but they should have gotten about 20 runs more.

End of Bangladesh innings ? 242/9, Mahmadullah 79(81), Maruma 3-75(10)
Zimbabwe need 243 runs at 4.8 per over


(I somehow don't have the scorecard for this match. Guess I didn't save it like I thought.)

 

[qpeedore]

The Bangladeshis were out on the field during the interval going through their drills and getting some final touches in before the second innings began. When the time came for the first ball to be bowled they looked confident and ready to defend their total. With Zimbabwes batting a bit on the weaker side, they had a good chance of knocking over a few wickets early on.

Mahmud took the new ball first up and prepared to run in. Masakadza was on strike. He bowled a genuine loosener first ball and the batsman had no trouble cutting it past point for a single to open the scoring. Mahmud was much better with his line and length from then on, keeping Sibanda at the strikers end and preventing him from scoring.

Aziz also showed good control early on and his first over went for only two runs. Mahmud followed it with another good over but in the 4th over Aziz overpitched one that Masakadza easily swung his bat at and the ball just flew over the off side and went all the way for six.

Sibanda joined in during Azizs next over, taking the bowler for another six. The batsmen were starting to settle and they hit another couple of boundaries before Aziz struck to remove Masakadza. He bowled a nice short one that surprised the batsman and when he tried to defend it the ball popped up in the air. Short midwicket ran in to take a good catch and Zimbabwe had lost their first wicket for 37.

With the new batsman at the crease, Bangladesh opted for their bowling Powerplay right after 10 overs. Sibanda took advantage of the restrictions and dealt mainly in boundaries, helping his team to 22 runs from the 5 overs. He did not stop once the field started to spread, and he raced into the 40s after having had a relatively slow start.

Mutizwa soon got his eye in and he slog swept Shakib for six off of the bowlers very first delivery. Zimbabwe were making good progress and Sibanda in particular continued to frustrate Bangladesh. He got to fifty with a boundary and never looked like he was in doubt for a moment.

It was Mahmadullah who got his wicket with the arm ball. Sibanda played for turn when there was none and he was rapped on the pads. A tight decision but the right one in the end and Sibanda was on his way after making 58. Mahmadullah then had Rutherford LBW to a regulation off spinner the very next ball. Taibu walked to the middle with Bangladesh suddenly chirping loudly in the field and with Mahmadullah on a hat trick.

Bangladesh surrounded the new man as Mahmadullah came in to bowl. The hat trick ball was one that pitched just outside off and turned in a fraction. It took the bottom of Taibus bat but was only airborne for a fraction of a second before it bounced well short of the man crouching at short leg.

Taibu got off the mark two balls later with a nice off drive that went all along the ground for four. He was lucky not to edge one into Anjums gloves one ball later, but it was the arm ball again and Taibu had played for turn just as Sibanda had done earlier in the over. He missed it in the end and would have been relieved not to get an edge.

Mahmadullah would have had another wicket in his next over, but the man standing at long off dropped a simple catch. Mutizwa had tried to clear the fielder but miscued it and the ball went high in the air. It should have been taken, however. International standards are high and Mahmadullah was not happy with the effort.

Taibu was looking good right from the word go and he played his shots to good effect. The boundaries rained down on Bangladesh and the field spread out after being relatively attacking to the newer batsman.

Aziz returned for a second spell and for a moment it seemed as if Zimbabwe would be pinned down but Taibu and Mutizwa made sure that did not stay that way for long. Mutizwa got to his fifty with a pull shot for four that could have come straight out of a coaching manual. Bangladesh had some worries on their hands and by the start of the last 10 overs, Zimbabwe only needed 55 runs to win and they still had a Powerplay.

They took that Powerplay then, looking to reduce that 55-run deficit as much as possible. The Powerplay started well enough, Mutizwa taking Mahmadullah for a four and then some singles to keep the scoreboard ticking.

It was Roy who finally got a much-needed wicket when he had Mutizwa LBW for 77 with the score at 199. He went off after sharing a 92-run partnership with Taibu. The fall of the wicket brought the captain Chigumbura to the crease but Roy was bowling a good over and he kept it that way, ending up with a wicket maiden.

Mahmud was always a great bowler late in the innings and he showed that once more with the wicket of Taibu, caught at short midwicket for 41. Two new batsmen were suddenly in the middle and the run rate was climbing all the time. With Roys good over before and now Mahmud going good, it had jumped past a run a ball for the first time in the match.

Koortzen got off the mark with a four but more of that would be needed. What was not needed was the loss of another wicket, but Roy knew what full and straight meant and he did just that, trapping Chigumbura in the crease and giving the umpire an easy decision to make. Zimbabwe ended the Powerplay having lost 3 wickets for only 14 runs in the 5 overs. 37 were needed from the final 5 overs. Nothing too far-fetched but Bangladesh had a plan in mind and they hoped everything would go according to that plan.

Koortzen kept Zimbabwes chances alive with a boundary in the next over and it was clear that this one would go down to the wire. They needed 30 from 24 balls.

Roy bowled a great ball to Koortzen in the next over that the batsman had no idea about. The ball went high into the air but fine leg could not run across in time to intercept it or even prevent it from going for four. Later in the over he overpitched slightly and Maruma drove it right back past him for another four. They needed 20 from 18 balls at that point.

When luck goes a batsmans way, it goes all the way, and Koortzen was again riding his luck in the next over. Mahmud bowled a beauty that Koortzen could only jam his bat down in time to. The ball took the inside edge and went past the diving keeper for four more. A few singles made the equation read 12 runs from 12 balls.

In any close game the penultimate over is often more important than the final over and Roy knew that. He spoke with Shakib at length over field placements and it took some time before he was finally happy with how things were.

He ran in to bowl but Maruma was ready for a full straight one and backed away to give himself room to drive the ball through cover for a four. A few more singles and they needed 5 runs from the final over to win the match.

Mahmud took a long time to set the field with his captain. Men stood just on the edge of the circle, trying to cut off the singles but also the boundaries. Maruma was on strike, something which was good for Bangladesh but he had shown so far that he can bat.

The first ball was clipped off of Marumas legs for two. 3 from 5 and Zimbabwe were the favourites to win. The next ball was driven to long on for a single. Mahmud was doing just what he was supposed to, but the batsman was equal to it.

He opted to go around the wicket to the left handed Koortzen, who tried to beat short fine leg but could not. 2 from 3.

The next ball was a gem. Mahmud saw Koortzen starting to back away and he bowled it just wide of the off stump. Koortzen flashed at it but missed and Anjum collected behind the stumps and shaped to throw in case the batsmen tried to sneak a bye. 2 from 2.

Mahmud strayed too close to the pads from the next ball and Koortzen hit it to long on for a single. Scores tied. 1 to win from 1 ball.

Mahmud bowled one right at the stumps but again Maruma was equal to it and he got his bat onto it and took off for the winning run.

End of Zimbabwe innings 243/6(50), Mutizwa 77(108), Roy 2-35(10)
Zimbabwe win by 4 wickets

After the match at the presentation ceremony, Shakib is noticeably disappointed. He says that he really thought they had a defendable total after the first innings, but it really was not enough in the end. Coming out of a close match on the losing side is never and easy thing to do.

Chigumbura is happy for the win and says that at the end of it all, he was happy that his team held their nerve and came away with a good victory. He looks forward to going into the next match with a win behind them and Bangladesh had better be prepared for another tough battle.

The man of the match is Mutizwa for his 77. He does not say much, just that he was happy to help his team get to victory and that he wants to keep scoring runs and carrying his team on their way to making a name for themselves once again.

 

[Prithvi]

Bro, just saw couple of recent updates and I'm completely shocked!
Why don't you just color up the story by adding some graphics. This is the first story, to have such long writings! Use different colors by applying the BB code accordingly, add up few images here and there (screenshots are enough). It'll improve the presentation to great extent.
And I guess reading the whole story will take a week for me, assuming you've written loong loong updates in past too..

 

[Aditya]

I agree with Binnu. Although everyone has different presentation style, I'd still recommend to add some pics. Writing is excellent anyways, good work.

 

[qpeedore]

I do have graphics in from time to time but currently I won't be including graphics for a little while. It takes time to find just the right pictures I want (I'm fussy about things). But rest assured that once I have some more time on my hands I'll make sure to include more graphics.

 

[Dragon Fire]

I remember you sad that the graphics detract from your writing, but people are more likely to read it if there's a bit of eye candy. I agree that stories should be about the writing, but your story will appeal to a wider audience if it has pictures.

^
Sorry if that sounded condescending. It wasn't meant to

 

[The Rock]

Great writing there. KUTGW. But just like others said, some graphics will make those updates look appealing to the eyes.

 

[qpeedore]

Pitch report and weather forecast ?2nd ODI

This pitch offers a little bit for everyone and it should really be a test of ability for both bowlers and batsmen. Nothing is particularly easy, yet it won?t be too hard either. A tough toss to win and perhaps it is best if the toss is lost and the opposing captain decides what to do.

That decision may be influenced by the cloudy skies above. Some heavy rainfall last night and early this morning leaves the outfield very slow with all the water it took up. The clouds are threatening too and rain may be a factor. Hopefully there is a full game today.

Squads

Zimbabwe
Hamilton Masakadza (Bat)
Vusi Sibanda (Bat)
Forster Mutizwa (Bat)
S Rutherford (All)
Tatenda Taibu (WK)
Elton Chigumbura (CAPT ? All)
M Koortzen (Bat)
J Cullinan (Bat)
Timycen Maruma (Bowl)
Admire Manyumwa (Bowl)
Natsai Mushangwe (Bowl)

Rainsford is carrying a slight ankle injury that forces him out of this game but Zimbabwe have chosen to replace him with a batsman instead. Very interesting decision.

Watch out for

Forster Mutizwa ? Bangladesh had no answer to him in the last game and if he goes about things the same way today then it won?t be easy to contain him at all.

Elton Chigumbura ? He won?t be easy to contend with today and Bangladesh may have problems timing the ball with his varying pace.

Bangladesh
Tamim Iqbal (Bat)
Shahriar Nafees (Bat)
Mohammed Mahmadullah (All)
Shuvagoto Hom (Bat)
Shakib Al Hasan (CAPT ? All)
Saghir Hossain (WK)
Shamsur Rahman (Bat)
Dolar Mahmud (Bowl)
Tareq Aziz (Bowl)
Subashis Roy (Bowl)
Mohammed Sharif (Bowl)

Saghir Hossain comes in for Anjum, making the spot for the wicketkeeper-batsman even more flooded with candidates.

Watch out for

Subashis Roy ? He bowled great in the last game and he can stake a claim for a prolonged stay in the team if he does well in this one as well.

Mohammed Mahmadullah ? The Bangladeshi batsman is capable of everything on his day and he may be called upon to bowl if necessary as well.

The toss

Chigumbura wins the toss and decides to field first. He says that the outfield is very waterlogged with all the rain around and the ball won?t reach the boundary as much early on. In the second innings the field would be better for batting and that should make it easier for Zimbabwe.

Shakib is a little unhappy to be batting first, saying that he would have liked to bowl first as well but he and his team are prepared to give it their all and post a better total this time around.

Play ? 2nd ODI

Zimbabwe were getting the ball to move about early on and the Bangladeshi openers had a hard time coping with the swing. They played each ball as it came to them and did not have any premeditated ideas in their minds.

The ball also travelled slowly across the ground. Singles were pretty much the order of the day and in the first 10 overs only two boundaries were hit. Bangladesh had only scored 26 in the first Powerplay, but under the circumstances that was not too bad.

Zimbabwe kept the field in despite not needing to and after a couple of overs they decided to take the bowling Powerplay and get it out of the way while they could still keep the field up.

Tamim decided that enough was enough and he started to play some shots, finding the boundary as he started to look more aggressive. At the other end he lost his partner, LBW to a straight ball from Maruma for 22.

Mahmadullah swept his second ball for four to get off the mark but he was cautious afterward. Zimbabwe were really bowling tightly and it was hard to time the ball well enough. By the end of the Powerplay Bangladesh had scored 28 runs for the loss of Nafees. Not too bad but nothing special either.

Bangladesh needed some quick runs and Tamim decided to get them himself. He was successful in it as well, hitting fours with regularity. Mahmadullah even chipped in with a couple of boundaries himself. But he was out when he called for a suicidal single and not even a desperate dive could save him as the man at short fine leg slid across well to intercept and fired in a throw to the keeper, who removed the bails in one swift motion. The square leg umpire did not bother to refer it upstairs and Mahmadullah himself knew he was out. Bangladesh had lost their second wicket for 82 runs.

Hom was perhaps the right man to walk out at that time to get Bangladesh some quick runs in rapid time. He got himself off the mark first ball with a single and let Tamim take most of the strike. He did that for good reason, as Tamim was approaching fifty. Tamim got there with a late cut four that third man really should have stopped.

Hom was content to just work the field and the two men rotated the strike until Tamim played across the wrong line to a ball from Rutherford and found himself LBW for 56. Bangladesh were 114 for 3 in the 26th over at that time.

Shakib could not get going and he was out edging to the keeper for only 1. 119 for 4 and Bangladesh needed someone to hang around and score some runs.

Hossain walked out on his debut but he tried to be too cheeky right from the outset and he found himself stumped by a mile for only 2. Bangladesh were in some trouble. They had a long tail and Hom was running out of genuine partners.

Rahman was the one to stick around with Hom. While Hom started to be more aggressive, Rahman played himself in and then started to play some shots, first hitting an absolutely straight four before slogging a six clean over long off?s head.

With the last established batting pair at the crease, Bangladesh took their batting Powerplay at the start of the 38th over. Rahman showed his ability with a couple of fours in the first over but he lost Hom a few balls later as Hom tried to smash one over cover but all he could do was find the fielder out in the deep. He went for 39 with the score at 176 for 6.

Rahman was left with the tail but he could not keep the scoring up and he ended up edging to Taibu for 34 in the 47th over.

Sharif only lasted one ball before he was LBW. Bangladesh would have been very disappointed by their performance but they had runs on the board at least.

End of Bangladesh innings ? 196/8(50), Iqbal 56(62), Chigumbura 2-20(10)
Zimbabwe need 197 runs at 3.9 per over

 

[just_cricket]

Nice writing mate, but personally I would like a change to presentation.
Some might disagree but personally I think you should never use verdana as the main font - your posts need to stick out as being the elements of the story around everyone else's comments.
Also even a real-life photo of a player who performed would do wonders for the presentation, as would some variation in font size for titles, rather than just making them bold.

The things which you can't really teach, like motivation and writing skills, are things you seem to have, so it's just a few quick fixes which make this story great rather than just decent.

 

[qpeedore]

To everyone, thanks for the replies and suggestions and constructive criticism. At the moment I'm very tied up in the real world (as usual) but I'm going to keep this going because the writing is good and I know that if I stop posting updates I'll lose interest. As it stands right now, I won't be able to do anything TOO special at least until the start of June. That's really only a few weeks' away so what I'll do is finish the Zimbabwe tour and then when June starts (after the 6th, specifically), I'll really put some effort into getting graphics and making things as reader-friendly as possible.

I will ask, though, if anyone wants to do some graphics for me I'll really appreciate it. It can be a long-term sort of thing between us, and you will get full credit for your work each time I use it.

What I'm looking for:

Someone to do graphical scorecards - I'll send you the card and you do it up nicely for me. I don't have Photoshop.

Someone to do banners for each series - I'll give you a week's notice.

If you can do Hawkeye, that's a bonus too.

Anyone who can do one or all of the above can send me a PM. Again, I will give you full credit for your work EACH TIME I use it and I will consider you as contributing to the story as well. What you can do is show me some of your work so I can make the right choice in the end. Thanks in advance.

As far as the story goes, I'm absolutely annoyed with my team for losing that first ODI. Poor showing by them. But they have a chance to get a win in the second match.

Now it's time for some questions.

1. Will Bangladesh be able to defend this total? If so, how many runs will they win by? If not, how many wickets will Zimbabwe win by? (5 points for the winner, 5 points for the closest runs/wickets prediction)

2. How many overs will it take in the second innings to get a result? (10 points)

3. Who will top score for Zimbabwe? How much will they make? (5 points for the player, 5 points for the closest prediction)

4. Who will be Bangladesh's top wicket-taker? How many wickets will they take? (5 points for the player, 5 points for the closest prediction)

5. Who will be man-of-the-match? (10 points)

The winner of the prediction contest will get their name in my signature for a minimum of two weeks. If you want me to link to your thread anywhere on this forum (stories, graphics, mods for games, etc) I will link to it as well. Some incentives for predictions. So don't just read the post, enter the contest!

You have until Wednesday to enter the competition. Edit your post as much as you want until then. After that, I'll post the second innings, declare a winner, and contact you via PM.

Just getting some hype for my story!

EDIT: I sort of double posted the first innings a few minutes ago. Sorry about that. I fixed it now.

 

[qpeedore]

So after an overwhelming response of ZERO entries in the contest, I have quite a few questions in my mind about whether I should continue the story or not. But I'll do it anyways. Maybe it was a bad week, with the IPL starting and all that.

Bangladesh needed early wickets if they wanted to defend their low total. The outfield was drier than earlier and the pitch was holding up well. They walked out to the field and got into a huddle. In the middle of it, Shakib was seen trying to motivate his team.

Whatever he said seemed to work almost immediately. Mahmud was right on target in his first over and he had Sibanda beaten by one that hit the pads for an easy LBW decision. Zimbabwe were 1 for 1 already.

Mutizwa looked as good as he had in the last match but it was harder to pierce the field today. He still tried, though, and he got through with a couple of fours that went all along the ground. He lost Masakadza at the other end, well caught by Tamim at short midwicket off of the bowling of Sharif.

Sharif was bowling much better in this match and he got the dangerous Mutizwa out, LBW for 18. Zimbabwe were 30 for 3 and Bangladesh seemed well on top.

Bangladesh took their bowling Powerplay immediately and the opening bowlers gave way to their first changes. Aziz was effective just three balls in, getting Rutherford to edge to the keeper for only 3. Zimbabwe had lost another wicket for 34 runs and Bangladesh were all over them. Aziz was not done for the over, however, and he had Taibu out LBW for only 2 from the last ball.

Roy was not to be outdone either as he got the captain Chigumbura to edge a little leg cutter to the keeper. Suddenly Zimbabwe had lost more than half their side and they had not even crossed 40 yet. By the time he got Koortzen out LBW a couple of overs later, there was a mass exodus of Zimbabwe supporters from the ground. Bangladesh?s supporters just got noisier and noisier as they urged their team on.

Maruma was well bowled by Aziz a few overs later and Zimbabwe were in real danger of being all out for under 50. That proved to be true as Aziz finished his fiery spell by cleaning up the final two wickets cheaply to end with a well-deserved 5 wicket haul.

End of Zimbabwe innings ? 48/10(23.3), Mutizwa 18(29), Aziz 5-9(5.3)
Bangladesh win by 148 runs

**********************************************

Zimbabwe - 1st Innings
----------------------------------------------
H Masakadza     c Iqbal b Sharif          9
V Sibanda       lbw b Mahmud              0
F Mutizwa       lbw b Sharif              18
S Rutherford    c Hossain b Aziz          3
T Taibu         lbw b Aziz                2
E Chigumbura    c Hossain b Roy           1
M Koortzen      lbw b Roy                 1
J Cullinan      not out                   6
T Maruma        b Aziz                    2
A Manyumwa      lbw b Aziz                0
N Mushangwe     lbw b Aziz                1
----------------------------------------------
Extras: (nb1,w2,lb2)                      5
TOTAL: (all out, 22.3 overs)              48

**********************************************

                O       M       R       W
----------------------------------------------
D Mahmud        6       1       9       1
M Sharif        6       0       23      2
T Aziz          5.3     0       9       5
S Roy           5       1       5       2
----------------------------------------------
Fall of Wickets:
1-1  2-19  3-30  4-34  5-35  
6-35  7-37  8-43  9-46  10-48

**********************************************
Bangladesh won by 148 runs
**********************************************

Post-match, Chigumbura seems to be in shock a little but he just about manages to say that they had no answer to Aziz and he bowled brilliantly for his 5-wicket haul.

Shakib says that with low totals you have to get the opposition all out or else the match would be lost. Aziz showed just how to bowl under the conditions and his spell really won the match for them.

Aziz is, predictably, the man of the match. He says that getting a 5-for is always excellent, no matter who the opposition is. He is happy to give his team an important victory and now they will look to win the series in the next game.

 

[Dragon Fire]

Zimbabwe = Owned.

Also, don't stop this story - I like reading it even if no-one else does.

 

[hedger_14]

Ok, I have read past updates in this story and I know that the writing is good.

I totally agree with JC here. I don't like using Verdana as the main font. It doesn't have to be that different, like I use Arial in my current story but with a different size so it does stand out, although I do like Comic Sans MS a lot and use it for my Worcs story and in my career diary.

You should probably have a title for each update which should probably be centered, bolded and have a different size so it stands out. I would suggest you to read some of my updates in my 'Australia's Journey in International Cricket' story. I'm using cricsim which is a lot similar to ICC, especially as you are saving the scorecards in text format so pretty much you have the same type of story as mine but when you look at mine, it does look better, mainly because of the different font, the title of it even if I just have what match it is etc. and the picture or two at the bottom of each update with a caption for each picture.

Also I would suggest to not leave so many lines, so write in longer paragraphs. I just don't like reading it the way it is. I prefer a few paragraphs of writing which are easy to read rather than 25 different lines of writing


And just to give you a hint, get Suhrawadi Shuvo in the side ASAP. He is gun on ICC, averages 29 with the bat and 20 with the ball in Tests and 16 with the bat and 18.8 with the ball in ODIs.

But I normally use Shuvo, Enamul Haque, Jubair and Alam/Mahmud as my 4 pace bowlers, since I have no good bowling regens yet. So yeah, I play 2 spinners and 2 pace bowlers along with Al Hasan and sometimes Reza and Iqbal proves to be a handy part time option so many times. 49 ODI wickets @ 18.8 is pretty handy even if he does average less than an over a match.

 

[Dragon Fire]

I think his bowling attack looks okay, especially in the light of the last match. Also, I could do him a simple little banner to put on each post.