ICC ODI WORLD LEAGUE: I know what....let's restart!

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World ODI League To Get Underway

The first round of the ambitious ICC World ODI Leagues are about to get underway. The ICC is hoping to capitalize on the enormous popularity ODI cricket received from the recent World Cup and hopes to use that wave of attention to promote cricket throughout the world.

We will be following the Netherlands cricket team as they match up against the teams vying for promotion into the top league. But they face some tough competition from experienced and adept teams. Two will earn direct promotion to the top tier whilst two teams will face relegation. The Netherlands have a strong tradition of cricket and have had highs and lows. The recent years have seen them struggle to galvanise their position after the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup.

ICC and government funds have been made available to promote cricket in the country as many are realising that cricket not only offers a great sporting and community centered activity but also installs great values in young people because it is a sport that can be highly competitive whilst at the same time promoting ethical and social values.

The Netherlands will face Oman in the first round of games at the picturesque home ground of Amstelveen to the south of Amsterdam. We will bring you full updates as we lead up towards the game and have team news shortly.


(Thanks for @wasteyouryouth 's creations and other people from the academy! You make this game to be even better than what it is!)



The teams in The Netherland's division:

 

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(A very simple vid to test some stuff!)


Netherlands versus Oman Promo:

 

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Rapid 50 partnership as Netherlands struggle to find their lines:

 

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Oman continue to pile on the pressure as The Netherlands continue to struggle with finding the right line and length on a hard pitch with variable bounce. The bright sunshine and placid conditions are not helping the Dutch as the ball comes straight off the flat pitch with little variation enabling the Oman openers to score pretty much at will. At a run a ball Oman are laying an excellent foundation. The 100 run partnership coming just inside 15 overs. This could be a monster score if the Dutch continue to be so toothless with the ball.

[DOUBLEPOST=1564417733][/DOUBLEPOST]Latest Scorecards:

The Dutch were guilty of sloppy bowling, bowling too many wides and no-balls. However nothing should be taken away from both Ali and Singh who applied the pressure from the start and just waited for the bad balls to come their way: the Dutch serving plenty of them for the openers to feast on.

 

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Singh joins Ali with controlled aggressive 50.

 

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The Dutch contemplate what to do next: they are struggling to contain the Oman opening pair and are already facing an uphill task as the pitch is expected to be more tricky to bat on as the day wears on.







Brandon Glover was the only bowler offering any sign of threat, beating the bat on a number of occasions with extra pace and bounce.







Jatinder Singh played some eye-catching shots for his well-sculptured fifty. He played much more along the ground than his partner Ali. He will be pleased with his first outing for a while having come into the side off an extended period out of the running with a groin tweak.

 

[Little Timmy]

Thanks for making this - I used to try and make a 16 team ODI league in DBC17 and Ashes. DBC 17 the OD but similarly to you I got fed up because of the bonus points not adding up and then AI simulations being screwed.

My other frustration was I couldn't find a way to make it fair for the team that bowled first. In real life league cricket, some leagues have a system where a team gets bonus points for chasing down a target with less wickets lost. This makes up for the fact they can't reach the full batting score points. Ie if full batting points are for getting 200 and start at 100, and the bowling team restricts the batting side to 126 and chase it down losing only 4 wickets. You would get 2 batting points (100,125) and 3 points for chasing (6 wickets left) - thus getting the full 20 points.

Very sad and boring I know, but has anyone come up with a fair system using the current points system on offer?

Yes I gave up on bonus points too. Just points for a win, draw or defeat. Would be great if we could actually create leagues with multiple divisions!

 

[blockerdave]

Will be following this! Great stuff

 

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Breakthrough! Brandon Glover brings some overdue joy in the Dutch camp as he gets Jatinder Singh LBW. The ball seemed to be going down legside but there was enough in it for the umpire to raise the finger. Singh decided not to review and replays suggested he was right to do so. An excellent knock from the opener and the Dutch have at least an opening at one end: Aqib Ilyas comes to the crease hoping to profit from the great opening stand.

 

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Bowled Him! Dutch tighten the screws in Amstelveen!
Roelof van der Merwe capped an excellent spell of bowling as he shattered new man's Ilyas's stumps as he played completely down the wrong line to one that kept straight. The Dutch are starting to find their lengths and tighten the screws. 100 came off the first 15 overs. The last 12 overs have gone for 52 for 2 and the Dutch sense a way back into a game that looked like it was running away from them!

 

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Seelar gets danger-man Ali on 95! Heartbreak for Khawar Ali as he played a tame shot straight at short mid-wicket off an innocuous flighter from Seelar. The disappointment was for all to see but he can be rightly proud of his excellent knock. Baresi made no mistake and the danger-man is gone. The notoriously brittle Oman middle order need to steady the ship. The Dutch smell blood and they have gathered themselves after a torrid first fifteen overs. Oman need to make sure all of the good work isn't undone in the next few overs. Oman 169 for 3 after 32 overs.

 

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First ball....nicked it! Off spinner Max O'Dowd sent Oman into disarray as he forced a faint edge off his very first ball to remove Zeeshan Maqsood as Oman continued to falter. The top order has now been blown away as Oman have gone from 100 for none off 15 overs to 169 for 4 off 33 overs. The Dutch started very shakily with their bowling but are now threatening to leave Oman well short of a par score on a pitch that promised runs. After the powerplay the predicted score was somewhere in the region of 320. Oman will hope that someone can throw out an anchor and that they at least see out their overs. With the spinners causing all sorts of problems there is no guarantee of that. They will be looking at the pitch and know that anything above 220 will be hard to chase. The patriotic home crowd has become more and more raucous after a somewhat subdued first period and the Dutch have the bit between their teeth and are firing well.

 

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Oman lower order power to challenging total as Dutch lose the plot in the end overs.

Oman piled on the runs in the last ten overs of their innings. They were faltering somewhat at 170 for 6 in the 38th over but a rapid 44 off 15 balls by Khurrum Nawaz ensured that the target they have set the Dutch is a very competitive one. The Dutch spinners had the game in their grasp and had tightened the run rate very well. Questions will be asked as to why Pieter Seelar kept them on even though they were starting to get shown to all sides of the ground. In fairness even when he bought back his top strike bowler in the form of Brandon Glover the run rate only increased as his last 4 overs went for 50 runs.

It was a topsy turvy match with both teams rightly being able to claim supremacy at various points of the innings. Oman will be the most happy however as they racked up late runs giving them extra batting bonus points. The Dutch bowling, especially the pace attack were largely ineffective and they leaned heavily on the slower spin options. O'Dowd was the pick of the bowlers but even he couldn't prevent the onslaught when it came. In hindsight one has to conclude that Oman paced their innings well and despite a middle order wobble that will need looking at they have set the Dutch a very challenging target.

The Dutch will rue the fact that they had Oman on the ropes but couldn't finish the job off. All credit to Nawaz though as he came in at a challenging time and took the fight back to the Dutch with devastating results. An innings he will cherish for a long time and he offers a real batting option lower down the order.

 

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Dutch lose wickets in frantic opening.

The Dutch made a positive start to their 298 chase but lost wickets with their gun-ho attitude. Max O'Dowd once again proving he is worth his weight in gold both batting and bowling as he piled on the bulk of the Dutch runs. Tobias Visee score well and will just have to accept he was beaten by a good deliver that took a feathered edge. the other wickets were down to too aggressive play however. Cooper needlessly run out on a single that was never there and never needed, Barressi had his middle stump removed after trying to swat a full length ball somewhere into the North Sea and Zulfiqar will need to go back to the drawing board reminding himself that you need to get your foot back over the line when being beaten by spin. Stumped, as we all were when looking at the replays.

Van der Merwe and O'Dowd will now need to hold the Dutch innings together. they are right on top of the RRR and will need to play the next 20 overs sensibly. No need for over aggressiveness. the platform has been laid. they cannot afford another cluster of wickets.




O'Dowd in familiar pose: tonking like a good 'un!

 

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Not what the doctor ordered!



















Scott Edwards comes in: the wicketkeeper batsmen the last
real batsmen holding any chance of helping O'Dowd get near the Oman score











An excellent Innings so far by O'Dowd who has used controlled aggression to get to a rapid fifty. if he scores big the Dutch might do it....if he doesn't its a free afternoon to do some shopping in Amsterdam one feels!