Story FTP: I've never been one for titles

[hedger_14]

And for those that just want a quick T20 stats overview for the season so far:

Batting:

1. Ruben Mol - 448 runs @ 56.00
2. David O'Keeffe - 410 runs @ 58.57
3. James Pettinger - 211 runs @ 30.14

Bowling:

1. Evert Goedhart - 27 wickets @ 8.44
2. Aladdin Yousif - 17 wickets @ 10.71
3. Marcel Lansing - 9 wickets @ 23.22

 

[Sulaiman7]

This Goedhart guy is amazing . Probably a T20 legend .

 

[hedger_14]

Jans Vierhouten's 145* was not enough for Hedger's Team as they had 282 chased down, Barisal Burners winning by 5 wickets, scoring the final run on the final ball of the game and Hedger's Team's chances of avoiding relegation were reduced dramatically in what was a must win game for the home side.

Barisal Burners 283/5 (Pathan 92, Kross 87, Gieling 2/39, Juffermans 1/47) def. Hedger's Team 282/3 (Vierhouten 145*, Ring 66*, Lindhoud 53, Lovell 1/30) by 5 wickets with 0 balls remaining.

 

[hedger_14]

Pettinger to Hand Over the Gloves At End of Season​

After a less than impressive season behind the stumps, James Pettinger has announced he will give up the gloves at the end of the season. With only 14 dismissals in 12 games with many missed chances, Pettinger has allowed van der Hoeven to take over the gloves and with an average of only 19 with the bat, he really needs to put his act together if he wants to stay in the first team. In an interview, he stated, "I think it's time for me to give up keeping altogether. I'm sorry to say that it is severely affecting my batting, especially as I near the end of my career. We have a bright young talent in Lars van der Hoeven, who will be eager to take up his spot behind the stumps and has already shown great talents in the T20 arena after being the most successful youth keeper. He is very fluent in his movements and there's no doubt he will be able to do a great job in the 50 over games. His batting still needs work but that will come in the seasons to come." Pettinger will continue keeping for the rest of the season but will hand over the gloves for the first game of next season. Pettinger in his time at the club, has taken 64 dismissals (48 catches, 16 stumpings) in 45 SOD matches behind the stumps.

 

[hedger_14]

Tough Pitch Tests Hedger's Team Batsmen​

This match would most likely determine which team would finish second on the ladder, as the end of the season drew near. BD Spark, at home, prepared a sticky pitch at home, likely to favour the bowlers and the batsmen would have to work hard for the runs. Kohli won the toss and sent the visitors into bat, Mol back in the starting XI to partner Young as Delaney was dropped down the order, after failing to fire in his first few matches with the club.

It was a watchful start from the openers as Young and Mol battled through a tough period to be at 40/0 after 12 overs. Li relieved some of the pressure though as Young and Mol hit him for two sixes in his next over, bringing up the fifty partnership from 79 balls. Mol had got off to a slow start but seemed to have found some of his earlier season form, as he took Hastings for 14 runs in an over, including another six. Hastings didn't like it, as Mol hit him for yet another boundary but he finally had his man though as Mol gloved a pull shot straight through to Wright behind the stumps for 47. Young was struggling and finally paid the price for his frustration as as massive swipe only resulted in a relatively simple catch for Azharuddin at mid on, and Young was out for 31. At drinks, Hedger's Team were 105/2, with Omara and O'Leary at the crease, both with a hunger for runs.

Omara, who had been scoring at not even a run every two balls finally looked to get a move on with a boundary through the legside off Jotanai, his first boundary of the day. The sticky pitch was asking some questions of the batsmen but Omara finally seemed to get a hold of the pitch, as he hooked an Azharuddin bouncer over square leg for six and backed that up with another boundary later in the over, as he moved into the 40's. The fifty partnership was brought up off 60 balls and it seemed like Hedger's Team could push on for a total around 250. Omara then brought up his fifty, the sixth time this season that he passed that mark. O'Leary who was just started to find his feet couldn't capitalise on his start, as he edged Hastings through to Wright who took a simple catch and he was on his way for 25 and after 39 overs, Hedger's Team were 192/3. Yousif and Omara then looked to get a move on, scoring runs at a good pace, pushing the run rate above 5 rpo and after 45 overs, the team were 227/3. Omara couldn't go on and make a hundred though, as he was dismissed for 79, but would be glad to pass the 700 SOD run mark for the season. Yousif and Delaney finished the innings strongly though as Hedger's Team finished 264/4, Yousif 38* off 36 and Delaney 20* off 14, surely a confidence booster after only scoring 29 runs in his first 2 matches. 264 was certainly not going to be an easy target to chase down but Hedger's Team's bowlers needed to put in a strong performance to get them over the line, even against a very young batting lineup.

 

[hedger_14]

Pace Bowlers do the Job​

Chasing down 265, BD Spark needed to get off to a good start and despite batting out a maiden to Lansing in the first over, an explosive innings from Azharuddin put the home side at 61/0 after 9 overs. Bollinger finally struck in the 12th over though, as Azharuddin couldn't get over his hook shot and it was a simple catch for Delaney as the danger man was out for 44 off 33 balls. Goedhart was brought into the attack and should have had a wicket in his first over, when Walallawita edged straight to O'Leary at first slip who couldn't hold onto a tough chance and Goedhart wasn't happy. Goedhart was getting his deliveries in great areas as the young medium pacer was really testing the batsmen but was unable to hold onto a tough chance off his own bowling and Walallawita was still at the crease, with another boundary. He finished a very unlucky spell with 0/22 from 5 overs, and would be called upon later in the game. Laxman was looking comfortable but the reintroduction of Bollinger unsettled him and a full straight ball had him caught dead on the crease, the umpire with a simple LBW decision, Laxman on his way for 22 and Bollinger had his second wicket. Wright then ran himself out as Mol's accurate throw had the batsman well short of his ground. Yousif then had his first wicket as Li chipped him straight back to Tindall at mid on and BD Spark were 140/4 at drinks.

BD Spark captain, Kohli couldn't provide much support for Walallawita though as he top edged Yousif straight to Bollinger at mid-wicket. Bollinger meanwhile finished with a maiden to take figures of 2/46 from 10 overs, a very solid performance. Lansing didn't have the best first spell but would have gained a lot of confidence when he trapped Walallawita in front for 66 and BD Spark were in huge trouble, losing their settled batsman. Goedhart was called upon again and finally got his deserved wicket, as Gopinath lobbed a good length ball straight into the hands of Mol at long-off. Kutumbaka was unable to pick up the medium pace of Goedhart as he managed to edge a good length ball straight through to Pettinger, who took a simple catch, and Goedhart had his second wicket. Pettinger then had his second catch as Lansing got the edge of Jotanai and BD Spark were all but out at 197/9. Goedhart should have had 3 wickets when he pulled Hastings out of his crease but poor glovework from Pettinger cost him a stumping. Goedhart finished with figures of 2/40 from 10 overs, as Yousif was brought back into the attack and finished the home side off, trapping Hastings in front for 4, BD Spark bowled out for 202 as Hedger's Team won by 62 runs, regaining second spot in the One Day league.


Toss: BD SPARK (Elected to bowl)
Result: Hedger's Team 264/4 (Omara 79, Mol 47, Hastings 2/43, Jotanai 1/32) def. BD SPARK 202 a.o. (Walallawita 66, Azharuddin 44, Yousif 3/23, Goedhart 2/40) by 62 runs
MOTM: Aladdin Yousif (38* off 36 and 3/23 off 5.4 overs)

 

[hedger_14]

Senior One Day Season MVP Standings​

1. Michael Young (1011 points)
2. Aladdin Yousif (834 points)
3. Aidan O'Leary (826 points)
4. Victor Omara (784 points)
5. Frank Bollinger (660 points)
6. Fred Tindall (451 points)
7. Victor Dharson (436 points)
8. Ruben Mol (425 points)
9. Craig Crane (398 points)
10. Andrew Whiteman (334 points)​

 

[Sulaiman7]

Its quite frustrating for Victor Omara , when he sees the MVP standings altough he has performed quite magnificently the last couple of matches .

And when will Andrew Whiteman get a chance to promotion ? he is also one of your key players , actually a key bowlers as you can see him perform good as a bowler but not as a team player , maybe thats why he is last in the MVP standing .

(you indicates you , Hedger .)

 

[hedger_14]

Fitness is hindering him atm though. As I'm away for the next few weeks, I've already set my lineups for the last few games of the season (I'll update everything once I get back) and he hasn't been named in any of the SOD lineups (I think named in every T20 side though). Plus, he's only averaging 32 with the ball this season, with 1 five wicket haul so he can put in the big hauls occasionally but on average is there to just keep one end tight (lowest ER this season).

 

[Dipak]

I might sound like an utter noob here, but how does FTP work?

 

[hedger_14]

Okay, well it's hard to explain briefly but pretty much in short, it's an online cricket management game.

When you sign up, you choose your squad name and pretty much, you're given a squad of players, that make up your senior and youth squad. All your players are pretty average though so most of them will be fired within your first season or playing.

Each player has a batting skill, bowling skill, technique skill (essential for everyone, and usually should be the same level or one level higher or lower than the primary), fielding skill, endurance level and power level (fielding and endurance pretty straight forward, power pretty much means bowlers are more likely to take wickets by bowling a quicker delivery and means batsmen are more likely to score quicker). And then there are experience levels and captaincy level. All skills are improved through training (a variety of training programs that each player is set to by yourself). Experience is improved through playing matches, while captaincy improves but only very slowly and only when a player is captaining.

So really, you improve your squad through training and by the transfer market system, where managers list players no longer needed and can be bought by other managers in a bidding war.

And your team plays in a pyramid league structure, with 3 separate competitions. Youth One Day (40 over league), Senior Twenty20 League and Senior One Day (50 over league). Top team in each league is promoted with the goal being to get to Division 1 and then winning the top division. Each countries have different league structures so there's also a world ranking based on the strength of each squad (also nation ranking given).

So yeah, that's a basic overview, if you want more, then just sign up and have a look around

From the Pavilion - Free Online Cricket Management Game

 

[Dipak]

Thanks buddy, looks fun!

 

[hedger_14]

Very fun, only downfall is no FC matches but not overly important Especially with the fact that the schedule is tight enough as it is

 

[hedger_14]

Is 10,000 Runs an Optimistic Target?​

At 30 years of age, Aidan O'Leary is maybe nearing the end of his career, an unbelievable career, that is. Joining the club at the age of 20 for a very surprising fee of only $115,762, he has been the club's leading run scorer in both senior formats. So far, he has played 166 Senior One Day matches for the club, scoring 6334 runs @ 43.68, with 14 centuries and 32 fifties (6474 career runs in total). To back this up, he has scored 4571 runs @ 53.15 with a SR of 172.75 in 138 T20 matches (4618 career runs in total), an incredible T20 career. But the 30 year old batsman said he isn't hanging up the boots anytime soon, "I still feel at the top of my game and I will not be retiring until I reach at least 10,000 career runs in the One Day arena". With around 3600 runs to score, it could be at least another 4 full seasons to bring up the 10,000 runs, and only if he can continue putting in top performances for the side. Hedger replied to O'Leary's comment, "I will not be saying much regarding O'Leary's future. He is an exceptional player and if he can keep putting in these strong performances at the top level, he will be at the club for a long time to come." O'Leary has had an excellent year, scoring 764 runs @ 76.4 and could score close to 1000 runs if he can put in strong performances in the last 3 matches of the season.

 

[hedger_14]

Royal Greens Come Out on Top in Close Match​

It was the top of the table clash in the T20 league, although Royal Greens seemed to have the title secured already. Hedger's Team won the toss and elected to bat first but had a horrible start, when Vierhouten was trapped in front for a second ball duck. O'Keeffe and Lindhoud put on a strong partnership though, 70/1 after 10 overs, before Lindhoud was bowled by Kota for 23. O'Keeffe then dispatched Kota over the mid wicket boundary before knocking the ball onto the onside for 3 to bring up his fifty. He couldn't add many more to that though, as he came dancing down the wicket to Saswata but couldn't get to the pitch of the ball and the ball spun past the outside edge and Kohli completed the stumping. It was a strong end to the innings from van der Hoeven and Pettinger though, getting the total to 154, before van der Hoeven was caught on the boundary on the last ball of the innings for a 27 ball 41. Pettinger finished not out on 27, coming off 20 balls.

Royal Greens would have maybe been slight favourites going into the innings but were put immediately on the back foot as Goedhart trapped Niamat in front second ball. Whiteman was brought on 5 overs in, and Horne was beaten for flight as he dragged his back foot out of the crease and van der Hoeven smartly removed the bails. Juffermans then removed Pendharkar in the next over and Hedger's Team were on top. Kohli wasn't able to do much, as he got a leading edge off Whiteman to Pettinger at mid off. After 10 overs, Royal Greens were 57/4 and in deep trouble. Gieling was brought into the attack and Mol was immediately made to regret that move as he went for 27 runs in his first 2 overs as Devmurai took him on, hitting 5 boundaries in those 2 overs and after 13 overs, Royal Greens were 96/4. Juffermans copped a bit of treatment in his final 2 overs, finishing with figures of 1/35, while Whiteman's figures looked much better with 2/16. Gieling was having a horror day and was costing his team dearly as he went for 50 runs in his 4 overs. Chittoor would have been disappointed to have been run out on 85 but he seemed to have done enough to get his team over the line. Dharson was to bowl the last over with 6 runs needed to win. He got the big wicket of Devmurai with his first ball though, as Gieling took a simple catch on the edge of the circle to dismiss the danger man for 42. Kota then flicked Dharson to the legside for two before being dropped by Vierhouten, and Royal Greens needed 4 runs off the last 3 balls. Singles came off the next two balls and they needed 1 run off the last ball to tie it, with 2 to win. It was some poor fielding on the boundary from Goedhart though that cost the home side the game, as he was slow to pick up the ball and throw it, allowing the batsmen to get through for the second an win the game, winning by 4 wickets with 0 balls to spare.


Toss: Hedger's Team (Elected to Bat)
Result: Royal Greens 155/6 (Chittoor 85, Devmurai 42, Whiteman 2/16, Dharson 1/19) def. Hedger's Team 154/4 (O'Keeffe 57, van der Hoeven 41, Kota 2/35, Sheen 1/22) by 4 wickets with 0 balls to spare
MOTM: Gurudeva Chittoor (85 off 62)