Story CJ takes over at Worcestershire

[KingCJ]

New Coach at Worcestershire​

The Worcestershire County Cricket Board have announced sporting unknown and Australian KingCJ as the new man in charge of the county's cricket team. A spokesperson for the board spoke to the press earlier today.
He had this to say, "Yes, we are aware that he has never played cricket even at domestic. However, he has a lot of knowledge for the game and he seems like the kind of person who will fit this role just nicely. We have confidence in him to help our side to a respectable finish across all competions this season."
Certainly an interesting appointment. Will he be the right man for the job? Only time and results will tell.

And before I knew it, I was employed. I had tried to play when I was younger, but unfortunately I lacked in skill across all part of the game. I was hoping that a coaching role would turn out better for me.

Now I only had a few days to finalise a squad. Looking at the current roster I noticed that an extra batsmen would be handy. I would have to look into it.

 

[Kiko_97]

What ICC is this? If it's 3 or 08 I am updating the graphical side of it so stick around

 

[Jaztheman]

Hopefully it's 06.

Good start, Chris, looking forward to seeing the quality of your writing.

 

[KingCJ]

Well ICC 08 is the only one I have installed on the computer, but I've been tempted for a while to give 06 another go. I think perhaps it's time to give it another run, even if it is just for this story.

EDIT: I found the old disk for 06 and re-installed it, so I'll be using 06 for the story.

 

[KingCJ]

Worcestershire Squad Announced​

Worcestershire coach KingCJ has announced the county's squad for the 2006 season. The 18 man squad, which includes overseas players Zaheer Khan and Phil Jaques, is expected to carry Worcestershire to a respectable finish across all competitions.

Worcestershire Squad:

Graeme Hick RHB 39yo 486 FC matches 38437 runs @ 52.80
Daryl Mitchell ORHB 22yo 6 FC matches 196 runs @ 24.50
Stephen Moore ORHB 25yo 37 FC matches 2500 runs @ 43.10
Ben Smith RHB 34yo 266 FC matches 15320 runs @ 41.86
Phil Jaques (Aus) OLHB 26yo 75 FC matches 6678 runs @ 53.42
#Mitchell Baulderstone RHB 18yo 0 FC matches
Steven Davies LHB/WK 19yo 11 FC matches 627 runs @ 34.83
Vikram Solanki RHB/part time OS 30yo 186 FC matches 10008 runs @ 35.49, 78 wickets @ 46.23
Kabir Ali RFM 25yo 69 FC matches 1506 runs @ 19.82, 256 wickets @ 27.81
Gareth Batty OS 28yo 78 FC matches 2408 runs @ 23.84, 237 wickets @ 31.43
Richard Jones RMF 19yo 0 FC matches
Shaftab Khalid OS 23yo 10 FC matches 14 wickets @ 50.86
Nadeem Malik RMF 23yo 31 FC matches 95 wickets @ 31.43
Matthew Mason (Aus[K]) RFM 32yo 58 FC matches 184 wickets @ 27.58
Ray Price (Zim[K]) SLA 29yo 71 FC matches 1502 runs @ 15.98, 255 wickets @ 32.04
Roger Sillence RMF 28yo 13 FC matches 34 wickets @ 36.35
Stuart Wedge LM 20yo 2 FC matches 5 wickets @ 42.20
Zaheer Khan (Ind) LFM 27yo 79 FC matches 1210 runs @ 15.32, 303 wickets @ 27.93

#New Signing


And just like that, the squad had been named. I was slightly disappointed to only pick up one new batsmen, but Mitch Baulderstone looks like a promising young batsmen. Hopefully he can take the opportunity, should he get the chance.
However, until the first match comes along, I guess I'll just have to stock up on the county's famous sauce.

 

[Jaztheman]

Worcestershire sauce.

Some decent bowlers but I'd say that your team is more batting orientated. It's a good team however and as long as you can get the main batsmen to score well then you should do okay.

Good luck mate. Great writing.

 

[KingCJ]

Challenge Trophy Match Preview
Nottinghamshire v Worcestershire​

Good morning and welcome to today's Challenge Trophy match between Nottinghamshire and Worcestershire. This is the first game of the season in this competition for both of these teams. For Worcestershire, this is their first match over all competitions, whereas Nottinghamshire drew against Yorkshire in their opening County Championship match.

There is a bit of cloud cover at the ground this morning, however that is expected to clear during the day, and we should easily be able to get in a full game.
To the ground itself, the pitch looks like it will have nice, even bounce throughout the day. The outfield also looks to be fairly even. The pitch should favour the batsmen. However, there might just be a little bit in it for the spinners.

Now, onto the sides. Nottingshire seem to have gone for a fairly balanced side, with at least half decent batting all the way down to number 9, and they have a decent bowling lineup.

Nottinghamshire Team​

S Fleming
J Gallian
D Hussey
C Cairns
A Singh
D Bicknall
C Read
M Ealham
P Franks
G Smith
R Sidebottom​

Now onto Worcestershire. They hae actually picked 5 bowlers in their lineup, due to the fact that Phil Jaques is in Bangladesh with the Australian team, and new signing Mitch Baulderstone is out for at least 3 more weeks after copping a broken finger in the nets a few days ago.

Worcestershire Team
S Moore
D Mitchell
B Smith
G Hick
V Solanki
S Davies
G Batty
K Ali
Z Khan
R Price
M Mason​

Now to the coin toss. Worcestershire captain Graeme Hick won the toss and decided to bat first. He had this to say:
"The pitch looks like a good one to bat on. Hopefully we can pile on the runs, and give our bowlers something decent to bowl to."

So there you have it. Worcestershire will bat first in their first match of the season.

 

[Roofrom50]

Nottinghamshire have a very strong line up

 

[Jaztheman]

Expect Nottinghamshire to win this match but I feel your boys will give a good fight. As lnog as your star players perform, however, then you have a chance in the match.

Good writing and nice, clean presentation.

 

[age of the fall]

Great Start man. Although I do have a question. How does Notts have three Overseas players?

Cairns, Fleming and Dussey.

 

[KingCJ]

Hey, I only just noticed that!

About that question, Cairns is under Kolpak ruling for some reason.

 

[KingCJ]

Moore Century gives Worcestershire hope​

Worcestershire 225 off 48 overs (S Moore 123*, R sidebottom 2-39, P Franks 2-43)​

An unbeaten hundred from opener Steve Moore has kept Worcestershire within a slight chance of a win against Nottinghamshire, despite a poor showing from the rest of his side.
Moore (123* from 136 balls) carried his bat in a defiant innings, which started with a 67 run partnership with Daryl Mitchell, before Ryan Sidebottom (2-39) trapped him LBW in the 13th over. Graeme Hick (21) and Vikram Solanki (23) offered some support for Moore, and when Solanki was removed by Gregory Smith in the 32nd over, the score was 4-165, still a respectable position. But from there, things went downhill for the Worcester boys. No one else reached double figures, and only Zaheer Khan was able to hang around long enough to be of any help to Moore.
When Matthew Mason was run out at the end of the 48th over, the score stood at 225. Nottinghamshire will come out to bat after the break as favourites for the win, needing a run rate of 4.52 to do so.

 

[Jaztheman]

The pitch looked like it offered something for the batsmen but Moore was the only batsman to really play well at all. Worcestershire now have to bowl incredibly well and if it wasn't for a sensational hundred from Moore, they would of lost already.

Good stuff, CJ.

 

[KingCJ]

Worcestershire Clinch Opening Win in Thriller​

Worcestershire 225 (Moore 123*, Sidebottom 2-39)
def Nottinghamshire 9-223 (Hussey 84, Ali 4-50)
by 2 runs.​

Nottinghamshire were only chasing 226 to win on a pitch that was helpful for batsmen, but some tight bowling from Zaheer Khan and 4 wickets to Kabir Ali guided Worcestershire to a thrilling 2 run victory.
The Worcester bowlers made a tidy start to the innings, and when Chris Cairns gave Kabir Ali (4-50) a sharp return catch, Nottinghamshire were 3-52 in the 16th over. It could have been 4 fer by the end of the over, if not for Steve Moore dropping Dave Hussey (85 from 114) in the deep on 27. Darren Bicknall (31) and Chris Read (34) gave Hussey good support, but when Gareth Batty (2-42) removed Hussey, the score read 6-185 at the beginning of the 45th over.
The conclusion of the match was hectic. Nottingshire required 10 from the final over. However, Matthew Mason held his nerve and only conceded 7 to give his side a 2 run win in their season opener.
Steve Moore recieved the Man of the Match award for his unbeaten 123.


Apart from Steve Moore's century, I was quite disappointed with our batting effort, especially on a decent pitch. However, our bowlers hit back and stood tall. Zaheer Khan went wicketless, but only conceded 32 from his 10 overs. Kabir Ali took 4-fer, and the other bowlers were able to pick up at least 1 wicket each. I was satisfied with the win.

 

[Jaztheman]

Khan and Ali worked well together and helped keep Nottinghamshire under the target score. Moore definitely deserved Man of the Match and although it was a close match, a win is a win. Good start to the season.

Great writing mate, keep it up.