Story CSL: It's time for trades
- Thread starter ddrap14
- Start date
Surprisingly, they've got two wins from opponents bottling against their spinners... uncharacteristicStars at the top! Let’s hope they don’t bottle this up like every season of BBL
Strikers vs Hurricanes
Will Jacks replaced Tim David for the Hurricanes.
The Canes innings was best split into three parts. After the dismissal of Jacks in the second over who missed a reverse sweep off Briggs, the Strikers had to endure a good partnership between Short and Ingram until hell broke loose following Ingram being beat home on a close two from the second-last ball of Rashid's first over. In the next over, Handscomb was bowled from outside leg stump and McDermott also run out on a tight single, before the over after that, Rashid dismissed both Short (edging a late cut) and Faulkner (miscuing a swing straight to square lag), leaving the Canes 6/65, and then 7/70 in the 7th over when Ellis was bowled by a magnificent ball from Valente. However, Boland and Wright then went ham. 15 runs were conceded by Worrall in the 9th before Siddle, who bowled a great first over, was sent for 25 in the final to get the Hurricanes to a shockingly good 124.
Both Rashid and Valente were brilliant, but were let down by Worrall, while Siddle was just punished regardless of what he bowled in the last.
The Strikers started superbly, Salt and Weatherald put on 94 in the first 7 overs, including getting the bonus point. In desperation Meredith was brought back early and he struck a double blow- Salt hooked a ball straight to Colin Ingram at 45, while next ball Weatherald was run out with a direct hit from Boland at long on. Renshaw worked on getting in but Carey was run out in the next over by a game glitch (while the camera followed to deep cover, the ball was stopped (incorrectly?) by short mid on and easily direct hit). In the final over, nothing worked for the Strikers- Short was bowled trying to give the strike to Renshaw, Rashid picked Meredith at long off and Renshaw couldn't score 8 from 2 to win the game.
The Hurricanes were roundly bashed except Meredith and Boland, and they proved to be the matchwinners.
While Phil Salt would have easily won it if not for the late collapse, Boland deserved to win MOTM for how he closed.
Will Jacks replaced Tim David for the Hurricanes.
The Canes innings was best split into three parts. After the dismissal of Jacks in the second over who missed a reverse sweep off Briggs, the Strikers had to endure a good partnership between Short and Ingram until hell broke loose following Ingram being beat home on a close two from the second-last ball of Rashid's first over. In the next over, Handscomb was bowled from outside leg stump and McDermott also run out on a tight single, before the over after that, Rashid dismissed both Short (edging a late cut) and Faulkner (miscuing a swing straight to square lag), leaving the Canes 6/65, and then 7/70 in the 7th over when Ellis was bowled by a magnificent ball from Valente. However, Boland and Wright then went ham. 15 runs were conceded by Worrall in the 9th before Siddle, who bowled a great first over, was sent for 25 in the final to get the Hurricanes to a shockingly good 124.
Both Rashid and Valente were brilliant, but were let down by Worrall, while Siddle was just punished regardless of what he bowled in the last.
The Strikers started superbly, Salt and Weatherald put on 94 in the first 7 overs, including getting the bonus point. In desperation Meredith was brought back early and he struck a double blow- Salt hooked a ball straight to Colin Ingram at 45, while next ball Weatherald was run out with a direct hit from Boland at long on. Renshaw worked on getting in but Carey was run out in the next over by a game glitch (while the camera followed to deep cover, the ball was stopped (incorrectly?) by short mid on and easily direct hit). In the final over, nothing worked for the Strikers- Short was bowled trying to give the strike to Renshaw, Rashid picked Meredith at long off and Renshaw couldn't score 8 from 2 to win the game.
The Hurricanes were roundly bashed except Meredith and Boland, and they proved to be the matchwinners.
While Phil Salt would have easily won it if not for the late collapse, Boland deserved to win MOTM for how he closed.
Renegades vs Sixers
The Renegades brought in Jon Holland and Jack Prestwidge for the absent Cam Boyce and Noor Ahmed, while Sixers were unchanged.
The Renegades hit hard in their batting innings... or I should say Aaron Finch did. He was in for all bar 8 balls of the innings, beat Short's highest innings of the year and set the Gades up for a brand new team record. He was aided by Sam Harper until he (somehow) underestimated Silk at mid on, and then by Marsh until Finch himself, angling for a shocking ton, picked that man again at deep extra cover. Marsh finished positively.
Everyone was thumped, some harder than others. For someone who had to bowl the last over, Abbott ended with respectable figures, as did the spinners, but the fast mediums aside from Abbott struggled.
The Sixers had a tough start, being at 35 after 4 overs, and this eventually proved a stumbling block. However, they accelerated after the wicket of Hughes who picked Webster at deep square leg. Henriques missed his first two, hit three boundaries and then one straight up to Jon Holland. Brathwaite was stumped also off Nabi, before that over went for 23 with the Sixers picking up thanks to Philippe. 64 (26) was a good effort considering how hard the task was and slow the start. But they fell just short.
Richardson's performance, only conceding 11 from the last over, held the Sixers off. Unfortunately for Nabi, the Sixers targeted him to start the fightback, conceding three consecutive sixes to Philippe.
Finch was a deserving man of the match.
The Renegades brought in Jon Holland and Jack Prestwidge for the absent Cam Boyce and Noor Ahmed, while Sixers were unchanged.
The Renegades hit hard in their batting innings... or I should say Aaron Finch did. He was in for all bar 8 balls of the innings, beat Short's highest innings of the year and set the Gades up for a brand new team record. He was aided by Sam Harper until he (somehow) underestimated Silk at mid on, and then by Marsh until Finch himself, angling for a shocking ton, picked that man again at deep extra cover. Marsh finished positively.
Everyone was thumped, some harder than others. For someone who had to bowl the last over, Abbott ended with respectable figures, as did the spinners, but the fast mediums aside from Abbott struggled.
The Sixers had a tough start, being at 35 after 4 overs, and this eventually proved a stumbling block. However, they accelerated after the wicket of Hughes who picked Webster at deep square leg. Henriques missed his first two, hit three boundaries and then one straight up to Jon Holland. Brathwaite was stumped also off Nabi, before that over went for 23 with the Sixers picking up thanks to Philippe. 64 (26) was a good effort considering how hard the task was and slow the start. But they fell just short.
Richardson's performance, only conceding 11 from the last over, held the Sixers off. Unfortunately for Nabi, the Sixers targeted him to start the fightback, conceding three consecutive sixes to Philippe.
Finch was a deserving man of the match.
So yeah, because I'm bored, we'll go for it. I'll use a draft I did a while back. Let's write the story to it:
March 2020. Under weight of major cheating allegations, as well as legal abuses to do with player immigration, the MLB has buckled under its own weight and is no more. Attempts to replace it with another baseball series have failed. One visionary executive, though, remembers a tour a few years ago of two cricket teams- the Ponting and Tendulkar XIs. These pulled big crowds to discover what T20 cricket is and he realised cricket's short form has a big future with the stick/ball sport-starved American populus, and such was the formation of Major League Cricket for the 2021 Season.
How This Will Work
There will be five 'groups' of six teams. The second and third place teams in each group fight for places to the 8-team finals, which the group winners automatically go through to, after each regular season of home and away games. The 4th, 5th and 6th teams fight with other teams that placed where they did for draft order. At the end of the season there will be a draft for young prospects and a trade window. But we'll get there when we get there.
The games will also be simulated rather than played by me- as usual, on AC.
Who Is Playing Where?
I put 600 cricketers into a draw, randomised them to create 20 team rosters and then the teams each released two players to end with an 18 man roster. Those rosters will be revealed over the next few days.
March 2020. Under weight of major cheating allegations, as well as legal abuses to do with player immigration, the MLB has buckled under its own weight and is no more. Attempts to replace it with another baseball series have failed. One visionary executive, though, remembers a tour a few years ago of two cricket teams- the Ponting and Tendulkar XIs. These pulled big crowds to discover what T20 cricket is and he realised cricket's short form has a big future with the stick/ball sport-starved American populus, and such was the formation of Major League Cricket for the 2021 Season.
How This Will Work
There will be five 'groups' of six teams. The second and third place teams in each group fight for places to the 8-team finals, which the group winners automatically go through to, after each regular season of home and away games. The 4th, 5th and 6th teams fight with other teams that placed where they did for draft order. At the end of the season there will be a draft for young prospects and a trade window. But we'll get there when we get there.
The games will also be simulated rather than played by me- as usual, on AC.
Who Is Playing Where?
I put 600 cricketers into a draw, randomised them to create 20 team rosters and then the teams each released two players to end with an 18 man roster. Those rosters will be revealed over the next few days.
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TEAM PREVIEWS:
WESTERN CONFERENCE
San Francisco Dolphins
Expected Lineup: Wakely, Tamim, Khawaja, Rutherford H, Bopara, Klaassen, Cartwright, Saini, Mishra, Dernbach, Rabada, (Hasan Ali)
Thoughts: A well balance team that lacks a lot of firepower. Definitely stronger bowling with the spinner Mishra, quick Rabada, and canny Saini and Dernbach. Batting will be an area they want to trade for next year with only Raine and Hain in reserve.
Los Angeles Stallions
Expected Lineup: de Grandhomme, Marsh S, Kohli, Bravo DJ, Short M, Rossington, Curran T, Abbott S, Yasir, Burmrah, Siraj, (Tickner)
Thoughts: A strong team with a couple of issues. Batting in particular is great with a all-star top 4 plus a long tail. Add to that the world #1 bowler as well as two of the best wicket takers in the game (Abbott and Curran)... Their weakness is depth- should a quick be injured, their options are Blair Tickner and Nathan McAndrew.
Las Vegas Wizards
Expected Lineup: Chandimal, Hughes D, Root J, Taylor R, Asad, Van Zyl, Van Der Merwe, Bhuveneshwar, Ellis, Rashid A, Shaheen, (Karn)
Thoughts: Lots of stars here- Dinesh Chandimal, Joe Root, Ross Taylor, Bhuvi Kumar, Adil Rashid are the standouts. But they also have some great moneyballers, particularily in the middle order- Asad, Van Zyl, Van der Merwe and Ellis are all good players. Their weakness could be slow starting if Chandimal gets out early, as this is also a team with depth from Ishant, Weise and Pucovski.
Portland Vikings
fun fact: my Xbox apparently doesn't recognise the word 'Viking' as being in the dictionary
Expected Lineup: Philippe, Short, Dunk, Bravo DM, Samson, Rahim, Tanvir, Nijjar, Swepson, Zahir Khan, Talat, (Cleaver)
Thoughts: What a top order! That top 6 is the match of any other team here, with the opening pair of Philippe and Short particularily exciting. However, bowling could be a weakness- they only have two seamers in the entire squad. Look for the likes of Hazratullah Zazai and Matt Critchley leave for more seam otpions next year.
Seattle Bulldogs
Expected Lineup: McDermott, Powell, Lewis, Morgan, Miller, Duminy, Ashwin, Starc, Richardson J, Raes, Pushpakumara, (Prasad)
Thoughts: Well rounded with no real weakness, Seattle could well go all the way. Eoin Morgan is their big batting star but all of their top 6 are good players. They are missing a little depth but I doubt it will affect them too badly. In the bowling front, not only do they have a lot of depth (Pradas, Jamie Overton, Kyle Abbott) but also a strong starting 11 with two great spinners Ashwin and Raees and two great quicks in Starc and Jhye Richardson.
San Diego Bolts
Expected Lineup: Gayle, Shan, Rahul, Hemraj, de Bruyn, Worker, Agar, Jadeja, Fletcher, Steyn, Meredith, (Frylinck)
Thoughts: They sseem to have all of the signs of an inconsistent team this year. Some great players (bowling in particular), some average players (that middle order is a bit scary compared to others, like Seattle). They do have a lot of depth though which is better than many other teams (eg Mohammad Mahmudullah, Shipley, Parthiv and Frylinck)
WESTERN CONFERENCE
San Francisco Dolphins
Expected Lineup: Wakely, Tamim, Khawaja, Rutherford H, Bopara, Klaassen, Cartwright, Saini, Mishra, Dernbach, Rabada, (Hasan Ali)
Thoughts: A well balance team that lacks a lot of firepower. Definitely stronger bowling with the spinner Mishra, quick Rabada, and canny Saini and Dernbach. Batting will be an area they want to trade for next year with only Raine and Hain in reserve.
Los Angeles Stallions
Expected Lineup: de Grandhomme, Marsh S, Kohli, Bravo DJ, Short M, Rossington, Curran T, Abbott S, Yasir, Burmrah, Siraj, (Tickner)
Thoughts: A strong team with a couple of issues. Batting in particular is great with a all-star top 4 plus a long tail. Add to that the world #1 bowler as well as two of the best wicket takers in the game (Abbott and Curran)... Their weakness is depth- should a quick be injured, their options are Blair Tickner and Nathan McAndrew.
Las Vegas Wizards
Expected Lineup: Chandimal, Hughes D, Root J, Taylor R, Asad, Van Zyl, Van Der Merwe, Bhuveneshwar, Ellis, Rashid A, Shaheen, (Karn)
Thoughts: Lots of stars here- Dinesh Chandimal, Joe Root, Ross Taylor, Bhuvi Kumar, Adil Rashid are the standouts. But they also have some great moneyballers, particularily in the middle order- Asad, Van Zyl, Van der Merwe and Ellis are all good players. Their weakness could be slow starting if Chandimal gets out early, as this is also a team with depth from Ishant, Weise and Pucovski.
Portland Vikings
fun fact: my Xbox apparently doesn't recognise the word 'Viking' as being in the dictionary
Expected Lineup: Philippe, Short, Dunk, Bravo DM, Samson, Rahim, Tanvir, Nijjar, Swepson, Zahir Khan, Talat, (Cleaver)
Thoughts: What a top order! That top 6 is the match of any other team here, with the opening pair of Philippe and Short particularily exciting. However, bowling could be a weakness- they only have two seamers in the entire squad. Look for the likes of Hazratullah Zazai and Matt Critchley leave for more seam otpions next year.
Seattle Bulldogs
Expected Lineup: McDermott, Powell, Lewis, Morgan, Miller, Duminy, Ashwin, Starc, Richardson J, Raes, Pushpakumara, (Prasad)
Thoughts: Well rounded with no real weakness, Seattle could well go all the way. Eoin Morgan is their big batting star but all of their top 6 are good players. They are missing a little depth but I doubt it will affect them too badly. In the bowling front, not only do they have a lot of depth (Pradas, Jamie Overton, Kyle Abbott) but also a strong starting 11 with two great spinners Ashwin and Raees and two great quicks in Starc and Jhye Richardson.
San Diego Bolts
Expected Lineup: Gayle, Shan, Rahul, Hemraj, de Bruyn, Worker, Agar, Jadeja, Fletcher, Steyn, Meredith, (Frylinck)
Thoughts: They sseem to have all of the signs of an inconsistent team this year. Some great players (bowling in particular), some average players (that middle order is a bit scary compared to others, like Seattle). They do have a lot of depth though which is better than many other teams (eg Mohammad Mahmudullah, Shipley, Parthiv and Frylinck)
Okay, change of plans- I've discovered you can't quicksim single games. So instead we'll have a slightly different plan:
* The league stage will work as before, but maybe timed differently (although I should be able to run 5 consecutive group tournaments)
* The finals will completely change though. The four best third placed teams will join the group winners and runners up in a 16 team knockout to win the tournament. The two worst third teams will do a round robin with the 4's, wile the 5th's and 6th's will also play their own round robin solely for drafting.
* The league stage will work as before, but maybe timed differently (although I should be able to run 5 consecutive group tournaments)
* The finals will completely change though. The four best third placed teams will join the group winners and runners up in a 16 team knockout to win the tournament. The two worst third teams will do a round robin with the 4's, wile the 5th's and 6th's will also play their own round robin solely for drafting.
Thunder vs Heat!
Baxter Holt and Xavier Bartlett made their BBL debuts while Doggett was recalled.
Ignore Joe Burns, that should be Max Bryant
The Thunder won the toss and bowled and put in a mostly good performance. Chris Tremain bowled well early, only conceding 13 from his two overs, before the bowlers at the other end struck. In the second over, it was Doggett, who kept moving balls out as Tremain had done, but then moved one in and caught Heazlett LBW. Cook also took a wicket in the fourth, with Bryant picking Tremain at deep mid wicket. Lynn and Lawrence started moving with Tremain gone, but Jono Cook returned in the seventh and immediately got Lawrence hitting one straight up. The Heat finished well with Green conceding 22 runs from his final over, although Sams only conceded nine in a well executed 10th.
The pace bowlers dominated the innings in terms of economy, although Jono Cook took two wickets.
The Thunder didn't get off to a flier; Khawaja, trying to hook, top edged to Peirson who initially dropped it but got his gloved underneath before it hit the ground. Ferguson and Hales consolidated until Ferguson missed an acceleration shot off Mujeeb. Ross and Hales added quick runs but then the Heat bowlers managed to dot up Ross in the middle overs and they were rewarded with him being plumb LBW sweeping. Sams also got going until he picked Mujeeb at long on. Hales, meanwhile, just kept going- while he was somewhat starved for strike, he made what he had count to get to an undefeated 48. And after Holt thumped the youngster Bartlett for 6-4-4 from the last three balls of the ninth, the Thunder only ever needed seven runs. Chris Lynn dropped Hales off what proved to be the final delivery and the batsmen scurried back for two, completing the win.
Steketee was easily the standout bowler, although Mujeeb also did well.
While Chris Tremain and Jono Cook would have been good shouts, Alex Hales wins MOTM.
Baxter Holt and Xavier Bartlett made their BBL debuts while Doggett was recalled.
Ignore Joe Burns, that should be Max Bryant
The Thunder won the toss and bowled and put in a mostly good performance. Chris Tremain bowled well early, only conceding 13 from his two overs, before the bowlers at the other end struck. In the second over, it was Doggett, who kept moving balls out as Tremain had done, but then moved one in and caught Heazlett LBW. Cook also took a wicket in the fourth, with Bryant picking Tremain at deep mid wicket. Lynn and Lawrence started moving with Tremain gone, but Jono Cook returned in the seventh and immediately got Lawrence hitting one straight up. The Heat finished well with Green conceding 22 runs from his final over, although Sams only conceded nine in a well executed 10th.
The pace bowlers dominated the innings in terms of economy, although Jono Cook took two wickets.
The Thunder didn't get off to a flier; Khawaja, trying to hook, top edged to Peirson who initially dropped it but got his gloved underneath before it hit the ground. Ferguson and Hales consolidated until Ferguson missed an acceleration shot off Mujeeb. Ross and Hales added quick runs but then the Heat bowlers managed to dot up Ross in the middle overs and they were rewarded with him being plumb LBW sweeping. Sams also got going until he picked Mujeeb at long on. Hales, meanwhile, just kept going- while he was somewhat starved for strike, he made what he had count to get to an undefeated 48. And after Holt thumped the youngster Bartlett for 6-4-4 from the last three balls of the ninth, the Thunder only ever needed seven runs. Chris Lynn dropped Hales off what proved to be the final delivery and the batsmen scurried back for two, completing the win.
Steketee was easily the standout bowler, although Mujeeb also did well.
While Chris Tremain and Jono Cook would have been good shouts, Alex Hales wins MOTM.
As for the US save, I've just added the second batch of teams so here's the next previews:
SOUTHWESTERN CONFERENCE
Phoenix Broncos
Expected Lineup: Banton, Dickwella, Denly, Shehzad, Duckett, Chase, Sammy, Holder, Dilruwan, Phehlukwayo, Ball, (Pant)
Analysis: A strong contender. Not only is their first 11 strong, they have good depth including Asif Ali and Anrich Nortje.
Denver Prime
Expected Lineup: Guptill, Carey, Vince, Maxwell, Cooper, Nabi, Norwell, Dawson, Kuldeep, Paterson, Shahidul, (Fawad)
Analysis: Great batting (with Stoneman and Tharanga in depth) but the bowling is ordinary and their backups are spin biased. Need to trade for a good quick next year
Dallas Pumas
Expected Lineup: Salt, Kayes, Bell-Drummond, Uthappa, Henriques, Pfeffer, Dananjaya, Zampa, Ngidi, Rance, Junaid, (Nurse)
Analysis: A lot of bowling depth but their batting leaves something to be desired most certainly in terms of backup with only Harry Nielsen there.
Houston Cheetahs
Expected Lineup: Livingston, Hildreth, Aviska, Sangha, Vilas, Russell, Christian, Kelly, Yuzvi, Sohail, Hendricks, (Larkin)
Analysis: A decent team, they have all of the elements- a competent enough base with some stars like Livi, Russel, Christian and Yuzvi. The one weakness is their top order barring Livingston, but it also isn't awful.
Austin Phoenix
Expected Lineup: Finch, Harris, Pandey, Rahane, Gotch, Wells, Morris, Joseph, Qayyum, Tremain, Maharaj, (Sutherland)
Analysis: Another strong contender for the Southwest gong. A solid starting lineup with some good allrounders in depth (Sutherland, Max Waller, ten Doeschate).
Kansas Sharks
Expected Lineup: Shaw, Munro, Head, Zaman, Watling, Afridi, Deepak, Sodhi, Bresnan, Shanaka, Boult, (Markram)
Analysis: There are so many good teams here; this one maybe has a long tail but it's still a classy outfit.
SOUTHWESTERN CONFERENCE
Phoenix Broncos
Expected Lineup: Banton, Dickwella, Denly, Shehzad, Duckett, Chase, Sammy, Holder, Dilruwan, Phehlukwayo, Ball, (Pant)
Analysis: A strong contender. Not only is their first 11 strong, they have good depth including Asif Ali and Anrich Nortje.
Denver Prime
Expected Lineup: Guptill, Carey, Vince, Maxwell, Cooper, Nabi, Norwell, Dawson, Kuldeep, Paterson, Shahidul, (Fawad)
Analysis: Great batting (with Stoneman and Tharanga in depth) but the bowling is ordinary and their backups are spin biased. Need to trade for a good quick next year
Dallas Pumas
Expected Lineup: Salt, Kayes, Bell-Drummond, Uthappa, Henriques, Pfeffer, Dananjaya, Zampa, Ngidi, Rance, Junaid, (Nurse)
Analysis: A lot of bowling depth but their batting leaves something to be desired most certainly in terms of backup with only Harry Nielsen there.
Houston Cheetahs
Expected Lineup: Livingston, Hildreth, Aviska, Sangha, Vilas, Russell, Christian, Kelly, Yuzvi, Sohail, Hendricks, (Larkin)
Analysis: A decent team, they have all of the elements- a competent enough base with some stars like Livi, Russel, Christian and Yuzvi. The one weakness is their top order barring Livingston, but it also isn't awful.
Austin Phoenix
Expected Lineup: Finch, Harris, Pandey, Rahane, Gotch, Wells, Morris, Joseph, Qayyum, Tremain, Maharaj, (Sutherland)
Analysis: Another strong contender for the Southwest gong. A solid starting lineup with some good allrounders in depth (Sutherland, Max Waller, ten Doeschate).
Kansas Sharks
Expected Lineup: Shaw, Munro, Head, Zaman, Watling, Afridi, Deepak, Sodhi, Bresnan, Shanaka, Boult, (Markram)
Analysis: There are so many good teams here; this one maybe has a long tail but it's still a classy outfit.
And because the game I posted this morning was played last night, you get to see more great work right now!
This was the reverse fixture from earlier in the round when the Hurricanes held off a fast finishing Strikers. Both sides fielded unchanged lineups, albeit with a shuffled batting order.
The Strikers never really fired. The one major exception was Matthew Renshaw, who had to cope with wickets falling around him in the first half of the game. First out was Salt who was set up for a ball that moved in and took the top of off. Then in the fourth over his opening partner Weatherald joined him, miscuing to mid on. The next over by James Faulkner was a double wicket over. First Carey missed his first delivery; then the big wicket of Renshaw was taken by a ball that straightened off the seam to catch him plumb. When Matt Short was caught at deep mid wicket off his first delivery next over, the Strikers were 5/42 and then it got worse. While Jono Wells got off to a typical Wells busy start, Valente played and missed everything. Nathan Ellis's first over went for one run, while Meredith was similarily frugal as a result and Scott Boland finally finished the job with a full, straight delivery. Rashid played a couple of clever shots to finish the innings with the lowest total yet in the series.
my bowling captures didn't take so here's the figures
FAULKNER: 2-0-11-2
BOLAND: 2-0-14-2
ELLIS: 2-0-11-0
MEREDITH: 2-0-12-2
Lamichhane: 2-0-23-2
The Hurricanes seemed to have an easy target but they were a bit stop-start early. Their plan seemed to be to have one batsman going and the other getting in, and this was hurt by some unfortunate dismissals. Will Jacks was pinned by Siddle in the third over. Short began to go afterwards but then went, missing an attempt to beat a spectacular 109m six from Wells earlier in the game. McDermott then went in the next over, hooking a ball to short fine leg. This should have been Ingram's chance to go but he couldn't get moving; instead, Canes recruit Peter Handscomb finally showed why he was signed with a couple of spectacular sixes. While Ingram looked out of touch, he was unlucky to not be there at the end, having played a great cut straight into the outstretched left hand of Matt Short at backward point. Still, with 9 needed from 17 at his departure, it was a walk in the park.
Strikers bowlers actually did respectably but not good enough to redeem their batsmen (or in the case of Cam Valente, himself)
Confusingly the game chose Renshaw as man of the match. I've overruled and selected Jimmy Faulkner.
Tomorrow- more team previews and a look at individual stats!
