Story England International Season - September 8th, 2007 - India in England

[Gaurav_7]

Look, if Ganguly is going to score a ton, then I'm going away from this thread.

 

[Pakistani Army]

The Indians lost Yuvraj just at the wrong time where the Indians would have looked to up the scoring rate. Nevertheless, some brilliance from Prior was all that was required and that sure was a superb catch. Now, it depends on Dhoni on whether or not he can rotate the strike until the 43-44 over mark , then explode into action as Ganguly is definitely set to make a ton.

If Dhoni does fire, England maybe chasing 285+. If either of Anderson or Flintoff can get him early, then I feel despite Ganguly England will be chasing 260-265. The current batsman aswell as the lower order will also have to be wary of the fact that Anderson and Flintoff will be bowling the allotment of the remaining ten overs in the Innings. With the ball 40+ overs old, there will be some Reverse Swing on offer which will make scoring difficult. It will be interesting to see if Dhoni and Ganguly can counter this and push on.

As JC & Aditya also stated, I particularly enjoy your writing and presentation mate. Always has been top notch' and always will be. You may just have tempted me into starting another story. . .

 

[treva]

This is coming back. I want to finish it and I'm so close to the end of the series I don't see why I can't at least get this final match done.

I have the next update ready, but my cricket 2005 folder is completely buggered after I had to rewrite my laptop. Hopefully I can sort it out when I get back to uni and get on with the 2nd innings.

 

[Gaurav_7]

Look, if Ganguly is going to score a ton, then I'm going away from this thread.

This.

 

[treva]

I banned him for 2 matches, that should even out any runs he scores

 

[Pakistani Army]

That is great to hear mate. In fact, i was tempted to post in this thread earlier, just to check what you were sayin'. This is without any doubt, your best story to date. Smash the final match, and i hope you do continue to progress it along, after the conclusion of this series.

 

[treva]

Cheers mate. Was going to follow you on Twitter, but it seems that account doesn't exist anymore.

 

[treva]

Because I'm bored and felt like writing an update, I take you back 3 days:

Pakistan A v Australia A, 1st ODI, Lahore

Umar century secures Pakistan A victory

Cricinfo Staff
September 5, 2007

Pakistan A 266 (Umar 101, Latif 54) beat Australia A 226 (Hussey 84, Voges 60, Shah 4/38) by 40 runs
Scorecard

Taufeeq Umar scored 101 as Pakistan A won comfortably in the first match of their three match series against Australia A in Lahore. Umar was helped by fellow opener Khalid Latif as the pair put on a stand of 102 to begin the match, leaving bowlers Najaf Shah and Mohammad Irshad to take 7 wickets as they restricted Australia to 226 - 40 runs short.

Pakistan relied on their top order as the top three scored 181 of their 266 total. Yasir Hameed backed up the openers with 26 from 36 balls before Cullen Bailey and Ashley Noffke did their best to give the batsmen something to bowl at, taking 5 wickets between them.

Australia began badly, losing openers Luke Ronchi and Phil Jaques with just 25 runs on the board. Dave Hussey and Adam Voges then put on the highest partnership of the match with a stand of 134. However, both were dismissed in an attempt to meet the required run rate. Irshad ripped through Australia's middle order leaving the tail with too much to do as they fell 40 runs short.​

 

[Pakistani Army]

Cheers mate. Was going to follow you on Twitter, but it seems that account doesn't exist anymore.

No worries. Pass me your link, and i will follow you.

A great start to the series for Pakistan A. I have always questioned the temperament and the rate at which Taufeeq scores his runs, in one-day internationals. A well compiled innings, which was the bulk of the runs. That said, the middle-order equipped with ex-international players such as Faisal and Tanvir stuttered, and i feel that the middle-order should have based their innings around Taufeeq's. I am a bit surprised to see Mansoor Amjad bat at number 11, as he is a capable batsman, and i feel that he should be well placed at either number 7 or 8.

The bowling was good on a whole. Najaf bowled really well, aswell as a tight line, which restricted the Australians early on. That said, i thought D Hussey and Voges showed their international capabilities with a excellent partnership in the middle. Once Najaf dismissed D Hussey, the pressure was applied excellently by the Pakistanis, and they won comfortably.

Well played Pakistan, now on to the second one-day. Treva, got a favour, yo. Please try and play/simulate one of these one-day matches at Peshawar. I will be very grateful.

 

[treva]

I was just following the real itinerary, but I can change the 3rd game at Lahore to Peshawar.

Pakistan A v Australia A, 2nd ODI, Sheikhupura

Pakistan A secure series victory

Cricinfo Staff
September 7, 2007

Pakistan A 219/7 (N Latif 84, Iqbal 41) beat Australia A 218/9 (Jaques 44, White 42) by 3 wickets
Scorecard

Pakistan A wrapped up a series victory over Australia A as they chased down 218 to win by 3 wickets in Sheikhupura. Naved Latif picked up the man of the match award for his 84 from just 78 deliveries, including 5 fours and 4 sixes.

Australia batted first, posting a total of 218/9 thanks to knocks of 44, 42 and 40 from Phil Jaques, Cameron White and Dave Hussey. The rest of the Australian batsmen struggled to get the Pakistani bowling away as Mansoor Amjad and Atif Maqbool finished with excellent figures of 1 for 26 and 1 for 33.

Chasing proved comfortable for Pakistan, and despite a wobble towards the finish line, they made it with three wickets to spare. Taufeeq Umar picked up from where he left in the first match of the series to score an exciting 30, setting up the platform for Latif to smash the Australian bowlers around the ground. Hopes dismissed him with Pakistan 44 runs short of victory but despite wickets for Bailey and Noffke Australia were unable to prevent a second successive loss.

​

 

[Pakistani Army]

A below par score posted by the Australians. In the time when they needed to push on, they were already four wickets down, and thus had to bat conservatively. Some excellent, economical bowling from Mansoor Amjad did not aid their cause. I also feel that the three run-outs did not help their cause either. One being Phil Jacques, who had settled into the conditions nicely. The Pakistan bowling was a mixed bag, with Mansoor Amjad being the star, by only going for 2.60 runs per over. Sohail's inconsistency showed, once again, as he leaked 62 runs off his ten overs, despite grabbing two wickets.

The run-chase was well composed. A blistering start, then a period of consolidation, despite the hiccup towards the finish. Taufeeq once again showed his capabilities in the 50-over format, scoring at way more than a run a ball. When he departed, the game was still in the balance at 65/2, despite Pakistan being ahead of the rate. Faisal and especially Naved then took the game away from the Australians with a well composed partnership of 120 runs. When Naved did eventually depart, the Australians were still in with a sniff, as wickets continued to fall. Eventually, Pakistan did manage to get there, but i feel that the lower-order should not be left too much to do, as it seems fairly fragile.

Thanks a lot mate, really appreciate it.

 

[treva]

You write more feedback on the game than I do in the updates Appreciate the posts though, Arslaan. Nice to have at least one constant follower.

 

[Aditya]

Haha, indeed. Arslaan's posts makes a story much more realistic.

Post the last match of the series already. User doesn't want Ganguly to score a century, I want the opposite.

Good to see you back in this section, Trev. This is easily one of my favorite stories.

 

[treva]

Ganguly ton sets up tough chase

England vs India
7th Natwest ODI
September 8, 2007
Lord's, London

Overs 41-50: Highlights

India power on, with a bit of luck

Ganguly is put down at gully; Dhoni slices away over the top; Pulled all the way for six

England dismiss Dhoni

Driven hard down the ground by Ganguly; Dhoni goes aerial again; Well caught deep on the off side by Flintoff

Pathan ups the scoring rate

Slogged into the leg side; The ball travels high into the stand; Skewed over backward point for another six

Pietersen gets the surprise breakthrough

Pietersen celebrates his first wicket of the series; Flicked into the legside; Bell secures a good diving catch

Another wicket as Ganguly reaches 100

Harbhajan charges down the pitch; Easily stumped by Prior; Ganguly raises his bat as he reaches three figures

India end positively

Over the top once more for six; Short, wide and cut away to the boundary; England walk off needing 297 to win the series

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[Gaurav_7]

England to chase it down in 45.3 overs with 5 wickets left.