For the curious: Cricket 07, ****, using Tutsi's 4.1 AI Patch
Thanks to Kev (for the county adboards), Tutsi (for the AI patch), Whitehornmatt for the gorgeous Sky Sports overlay, and Burma's finest for the batpacks. Without you, and other creators, this story and the others would be a lot less aesthetically pleasing
On the 17th January 2007 the chief executive of Derbyshire CC, Tom Sears, called a press conference regarding the future of Derbyshire CC. He stated that inspite of the previous year's profits, other projects taken on by Derbyshire CC were forecast to make Derbyshire CC bankrupt by mid-way through the season, and thus could not guarentee the payments of its creditors. In order to avoid receivership, Derbyshire CC would be unable to compete in its scheduled 2007 events.
In light of this unprecidented move by Derbyshire CC, the ECB found itself with only 17 competing teams for 2007, and met on the night of the 18th to find a solution. It was unable to simply give Derbyshire's opponents byes due to television contracts, and the loss of revenue would also be met with anger by those teams. It also was unable to promote a minor county due to their respective agreements and scheduling. As a result, the ECB decided to find a businessman to act as caretaker for Derbyshire's place for the 2006 county season.
Sam Knox, a property developer from Reading and acquaintence of David Collier was contacted in the early hours of that Friday morning to discuss the feasibility of Mr. Knox organising a team for the season ahead. Derbyshire CC had agreed to lease their facilities to whomever took their place for the season in order to offset its losses. The ECB would appoint backroom staff for Mr. Knox to aid him throughout the season. All that remained was to sign up a coach and 20 players. Mr. Knox believed it would be possible, but was hamstrung by the fact the players were not allowed to have any county experience, due to the concerns of other teams.
As a result, the 18th spot in County Cricket would be taken up by a team with no name, no players and no coach, and little over 3 months to organise itself for its first game versus Surrey. Their ability to even make the game was in doubt, let alone compete well in it.
What is Mr. Knox to do? He sends out some of the backroom staff the ECB have provided him with and searches some of the clubs and nets around the country. Clearly having people who know people would be important in this situation, and some names started to crop up.
Ben Hall from Norwich was only 24, and had been a solid opener for his school's 1st XI. He had, however, ignored interest from counties due to him pursuing a biomedicine degree. Disappointed with the career choices involved, he was happy to join Mr. Knox's team and give cricket a second chance. Ben also gave hint of another potential signing, John Duffy. A workhorse bowler with shoulders the size of a horse's, he and Ben often spent hours in the nets together in their younger days, and was quickly snapped up, along with Keiran Williams, a wicket keeper with wasted potential, to complete the East Anglia trifecta.
Sunil Vijay was touted a star of the future from an early age. A classy right handed batsman, complete with flair and a certain je ne sais quoi, he went down all the right paths until he was not chosen for Surrey Under-19 representative team, in spite of him being worthy of at least a place, if not the starting XI, he was left in the dark. That was, until he received a call regarding the new team six months later. Determined to make his name on the national stage, he instantly signed up to the team. He also brought along another batsman with him, nuggety opener Josh Salisbury. He was the complete opposite of Vijay, a dour, defensive batsman but his solid technique made him the scorn of opposition. Perhaps being able to see off the new ball and bat time would save the team in some 4-day contests.
Sean Ealham, a Yorkshire native, gave another dimension to batting. A single nurdler, he was never a big hitter but he drove and defended with courage and vigour. Perhaps this was due to a former teammate, Paul Adcock. Touted as a bowling star he was often unable to drive to practices because he had no car, and his parents were unable to give him lifts to practice. So he took his bicycle, shoved a ball in his pocket and forewent batting. His wicket taking ability caught the eye of some scouts, but then became the object of ridicule when sent in at number 11.
Not much better in the batting stakes, but certainly no worse in the bowling was Corey James. He had played for Jamaica but seeing no future in the Caribbean financially, he moved to London on a visa to seek employment in the financial sector. Sam Knox personally selected James, meeting him on a business venture two months earlier and knowing his past, was eager to sign him up in spite of his lack of British residency. Another international player, Ehsanul Haque was brought in to bolster the wicketkeeping.
Daniel Wade, a Mancurian of mixed parentage was a fiery allrounder who was simply missed by the system. He did play for a local club and was reknowned as a big hitter and had an average of 13 in the previous season, but this did not bring him to the attention of the local teams. He was yet another pickup for the team.
The team by now had been picking up publicity and caught the eye of one Ian Botham. Bored with the analysis work for BSkyB and looking to get back into the game, he contacted Sam Knox with regards to the coaching. Bringing with him fellow ex-England players and ex-BSkyB commentators Michael Atherton and Bob Willis, the three would work to transform the players into viable county cricketers.
With most of the team signed, and the coaching staff selected, the team would be able to go into the Surrey game and fulfill the season requirements. All that was left was a name, and the name "Wanderers" was chosen, to represent their unusual history. And so to the first game, Wanderers versus Surrey in Derby.
Thanks to Kev (for the county adboards), Tutsi (for the AI patch), Whitehornmatt for the gorgeous Sky Sports overlay, and Burma's finest for the batpacks. Without you, and other creators, this story and the others would be a lot less aesthetically pleasing
On the 17th January 2007 the chief executive of Derbyshire CC, Tom Sears, called a press conference regarding the future of Derbyshire CC. He stated that inspite of the previous year's profits, other projects taken on by Derbyshire CC were forecast to make Derbyshire CC bankrupt by mid-way through the season, and thus could not guarentee the payments of its creditors. In order to avoid receivership, Derbyshire CC would be unable to compete in its scheduled 2007 events.
In light of this unprecidented move by Derbyshire CC, the ECB found itself with only 17 competing teams for 2007, and met on the night of the 18th to find a solution. It was unable to simply give Derbyshire's opponents byes due to television contracts, and the loss of revenue would also be met with anger by those teams. It also was unable to promote a minor county due to their respective agreements and scheduling. As a result, the ECB decided to find a businessman to act as caretaker for Derbyshire's place for the 2006 county season.
Sam Knox, a property developer from Reading and acquaintence of David Collier was contacted in the early hours of that Friday morning to discuss the feasibility of Mr. Knox organising a team for the season ahead. Derbyshire CC had agreed to lease their facilities to whomever took their place for the season in order to offset its losses. The ECB would appoint backroom staff for Mr. Knox to aid him throughout the season. All that remained was to sign up a coach and 20 players. Mr. Knox believed it would be possible, but was hamstrung by the fact the players were not allowed to have any county experience, due to the concerns of other teams.
As a result, the 18th spot in County Cricket would be taken up by a team with no name, no players and no coach, and little over 3 months to organise itself for its first game versus Surrey. Their ability to even make the game was in doubt, let alone compete well in it.
What is Mr. Knox to do? He sends out some of the backroom staff the ECB have provided him with and searches some of the clubs and nets around the country. Clearly having people who know people would be important in this situation, and some names started to crop up.
Ben Hall from Norwich was only 24, and had been a solid opener for his school's 1st XI. He had, however, ignored interest from counties due to him pursuing a biomedicine degree. Disappointed with the career choices involved, he was happy to join Mr. Knox's team and give cricket a second chance. Ben also gave hint of another potential signing, John Duffy. A workhorse bowler with shoulders the size of a horse's, he and Ben often spent hours in the nets together in their younger days, and was quickly snapped up, along with Keiran Williams, a wicket keeper with wasted potential, to complete the East Anglia trifecta.
Sunil Vijay was touted a star of the future from an early age. A classy right handed batsman, complete with flair and a certain je ne sais quoi, he went down all the right paths until he was not chosen for Surrey Under-19 representative team, in spite of him being worthy of at least a place, if not the starting XI, he was left in the dark. That was, until he received a call regarding the new team six months later. Determined to make his name on the national stage, he instantly signed up to the team. He also brought along another batsman with him, nuggety opener Josh Salisbury. He was the complete opposite of Vijay, a dour, defensive batsman but his solid technique made him the scorn of opposition. Perhaps being able to see off the new ball and bat time would save the team in some 4-day contests.
Sean Ealham, a Yorkshire native, gave another dimension to batting. A single nurdler, he was never a big hitter but he drove and defended with courage and vigour. Perhaps this was due to a former teammate, Paul Adcock. Touted as a bowling star he was often unable to drive to practices because he had no car, and his parents were unable to give him lifts to practice. So he took his bicycle, shoved a ball in his pocket and forewent batting. His wicket taking ability caught the eye of some scouts, but then became the object of ridicule when sent in at number 11.
Not much better in the batting stakes, but certainly no worse in the bowling was Corey James. He had played for Jamaica but seeing no future in the Caribbean financially, he moved to London on a visa to seek employment in the financial sector. Sam Knox personally selected James, meeting him on a business venture two months earlier and knowing his past, was eager to sign him up in spite of his lack of British residency. Another international player, Ehsanul Haque was brought in to bolster the wicketkeeping.
Daniel Wade, a Mancurian of mixed parentage was a fiery allrounder who was simply missed by the system. He did play for a local club and was reknowned as a big hitter and had an average of 13 in the previous season, but this did not bring him to the attention of the local teams. He was yet another pickup for the team.
The team by now had been picking up publicity and caught the eye of one Ian Botham. Bored with the analysis work for BSkyB and looking to get back into the game, he contacted Sam Knox with regards to the coaching. Bringing with him fellow ex-England players and ex-BSkyB commentators Michael Atherton and Bob Willis, the three would work to transform the players into viable county cricketers.
With most of the team signed, and the coaching staff selected, the team would be able to go into the Surrey game and fulfill the season requirements. All that was left was a name, and the name "Wanderers" was chosen, to represent their unusual history. And so to the first game, Wanderers versus Surrey in Derby.
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all the best with your story mate 
