Story England's Tour of New Zealand and Zimbabwe

[m_vaughan]

Hey sorry I couldnt post the screenshots of the first two games as I did not have Fraps. I was using Game Photographer which works with FIFA but does not with c2k4.

Anyways I will start this thread with the third ODI between England and New Zealand with England leading the series 2-0.

Interview with England captain Michael Vaughan:

Tim Abraham: Michael you must delighted to be 2-0 up.

MV: Yeah, definately. They are a fantastic side, but I think we have played well in both the games. The lads have stuck to their task, and I think we deserve this lead.

Tim Abraham: Obviously, if you win today at Dunedin then you win the series. How are England going to approach this game?

MV: Well, exactly the same way we have done in the first two games. Our confidence is sky-high, and we really want to seal the series as soon as possible. Its going to be tough against a good side like New Zealand, but thats what we will try to do.

Tim Abraham: Any possible changes? There were rumours that James Anderson had sprained his ankle in the nets.

MV: No, thats just rubbish. We do not want to change a winning side, a confident lot. James almost single-handedly won the last game for us, and will be an important payer for us throughout the series.

Tim Abraham: What about your personal form? 2 in the first match, and 45 in the second match. You still havent scored a 100 in One Days.

MV: Yeah, I was disappointed to be out on 45. I thought I was playing well and had got my eye in. But thats One Day cricket. But at the end its the team that matters, so I am not thinking much about my form.

Tim Abraham: What about the newcomers in your side? Ian Bell and Andrew Strauss have looked good, havent they?

MV: Yeah, and its fantastic to see the young lads come into the squad and rise to the challange. Its very good for England. I think this tour will be a perfect test for them, and so far they have done very well.

Tim Abraham: Any thoughts about a possible 5-0 whitewash??

MV: Well, thats too early to predict. At the moment, for us , today's game is of prime importance. We want to seal the series as soon as possible. It will definately give us a lot of boost. But at the moment, its one game at a time. And besides I dont think beating the Kiwiz 5-0 at home is quite possible.

Tim Abraham: Thanks Michael and best of luck for the game.

MV: Thanks, mate!!

Stay tuned to this thread for the 3rd ODI between England and New Zealand. Can Stephen Fleming's side fight back, or will Michael Vaughan and his boy seal the series at Dunedin?

LIVE and EXCLUSIVE coverage only on Sky Sports 1.

 

[m_vaughan]

England's upcoming fixtures

Tour of New Zealand (in progress)
Tour of Zimbabwe
ICC Champions Trophy (Hosts - India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka)
India's tour of England (Test Series)
England v Zimbabwe (Natwest Challange)
England v India v Australia (Natwest Series)
England v Australia (Ashes in Test Series mode)

 

[m_vaughan]

Oh by the way...here is England's squad for this tour.

Michael Vaughan (capt.)
Marcus Trescothick
James Anderson
Andrew Flintoff
Chris Read (wk)
Geraint Jones (wk)
Nasser Hussain *
Mark Butcher *
Graham Thorpe *
Darren Gough +
Andrew Strauss +
Ian Bell +
Steve Harmison
Richard Johnson *
Simon Jones
Matt Hoggard
Ian Blackwell
Gareth Batty
Ashley Giles
Paul Collingwood

Coach: Duncan Fletcher
+ only for the ODIs, * only for the Test Matches

 

[brad352]

Are you playing on Hard? Any AI patches? Sams exe?

 

[m_vaughan]

Im playing hard...though I have just downloaded tutsi's AI patch. will use it in the next game (4th ODI). and yeah I am using sams exe.(the one which fixes the bug).

NOTE IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS WITH SCREENSHOTS BELOW THEN CLICK REFRESH THRICE AND THEN THE SCREENS SHOULD LOAD PROPERLY - THANKS

 

[m_vaughan]

Welcome to Dunedin for the third one-dayer between New Zealand and England. Its do or die
for Stephen Fleming's New Zealand side, after having lost the first two games. England on
the other hand will want to wrap it up here.

All the action LIVE and EXCLUSIVE right here on Sky Sports.

The Pitch: Normal (Jim Maxwell recommends - batting first)
200+ will be a good total on this pitch.

The Conditions: Mild Climate and Sunny.
Toss: Stephen Fleming won the toss and elected to bat.

 

[m_vaughan]

The Teams:

 

[m_vaughan]

New Zealand's Innings:

New Zealand got a terrible start losing three early wickets.

Chris Cairns and Craig McMillan then rescued the New Zealand innings with a partnership of 104 runs.

Late hitting from McMillan, Harris, Oram, and Vettori took New Zealand to very good total of 224.

England now have a tough run chase.

 

[m_vaughan]

 

[m_vaughan]

Scorecard and Stats:

 

[FishBowlMan]

Nice screens. I like the one showing the ground with the houses on the hill. Very picturesque.

Should be an interesting run chase.

 

[m_vaughan]

Nice screens. I like the one showing the ground with the houses on the hill. Very picturesque.

Should be an interesting run chase.

Thanks m8!
I have my IIT entrance exam on Sunday, but hopefully I'll get enough time for the runchase. I also need to play very carefully, as I find it very difficult to bat in the Hard mode.

 

[karan_rvd]

good luck on your run chase.

Off Topic : 200 posts

 

[m_vaughan]

NZ Beat England by 7 runs (D/L method)

Hey Guys...first of all I wanna inform that I faced a problem during this game.
The game was nicely poised with England 98/5 after 22 overs. But I was unable to resume
the game. I tried using all the possible keys (S, Esc, Enter, Mouse Click), but I was not able
to resume the game. Its sad because, the game was heading for a nail-bitting finsh.
England obviously needed 127 runs more from 28 overs to win this game (and with it the series). Batting has been extremely difficult.

What I have done now is quit that game (which basically means England lose the game).

So this is what I have come up with...

New Zealand beat England 6 runs (D/L Method) (I know its applicable only after the 25th Over)
But I have no other option.

Also I cannot use the "Match Drawn" or "Match Abandoned before completion of 25 overs" options as in the Fixtures screen,
it clearly shows NZ Beat England.

Now the Official Statement:

New Zealand have beaten England by 6 runs under the D/L method, after rain prevented the completion of the game.
The Weather Control Agency had predicted 0% chance of rain before the match, but due to a totally unexpected change
in the direction of the strong coastal winds, the clouds which were initially heading North were pushed back, and gathered
over the city of Dunedin. It then rained continuously for about three hours, thereby preventing the completion of the match.

Under the D/L method England needed to score 104/5 to draw the game, and 105/5 to win it. England were 98/5, when the
game was called off, with captain M Vaughan unbeaten on 59.

England got off to a decent start with a 52 run partnership between Vaughan and Strauss. However, after Strauss was run out
for 22, England lost Trescothick, Collingwood, Flintoff and Bell for 0, 4, 3, and 2 respectively.

It was always going to be difficult for England to get to 225 with only 5 wickets in hand, but Vaughan seemed to be in good touch,
and both Chris Read and Ian Blackwell are well capable of batting.

New Zealand's Craig McMillan was declared Man of the Match for his 76.

England still lead the series 2-1 heading into the fourth ODI at Chrischurch.

LIVE and EXCLUSIVE coverage of that match on Sky Sports 1.
Till then on behalf of the entire Sky Sports team here at Dunedin, its Good-Bye.

ANOTHER PROBLEM FACED:
If you check the England lineup for this game (refer screenshot above) then you will notice that M Trescothick is supposed to open the innings with A Strauss, however when England start their innings, its with M Vaughan and A Strauss.
M Vaughan does open the innings in the default lineup. Though Sam's exe does indeed fix the lineup bug which we would face, I still have a feeling that the opener (No. 1) is going back to the default lineup setting. Just check this out!

 

[m_vaughan]