Story Lions on the Shirt. It's just not the Lions you were thinking off!! **FRIDAY'S OD MATCH UPDATED!!!**

[mattfb]

Ownage in the first innings! But nice fail in the second dig... Nice amount of gate receipts too there!

Nice work Tom, kiu!

 

[Maxkarter]

The power of Surmon's mullet will easily overcome the ginger ninja that is Manders.

Keep it up, lay off the gingers tho, ghastly things with no souls.

 

[Highlander999]

Livingston Lions vs rats: FC Day 2​

So after the farce that was Day 1, Chris Conelly and Scotty Burns had the impossible task of trying to get the Lions past the follow on mark and somehow salvage a draw. It didn't look likely.

It looked even less likely when 3 wickets fell in the first over of the day :doh

Stevens cleaned up Conelly, Roper and Cawood to quickly disperse any chances of a semi acceptable score being posted. Burns was left stranded on 17* when Matty Pretorius was trapped LBW for 3, leaving the Lions 98 All Out. A pathetic display and one which had manager Tom Baker pulling out his hair, at how Scotty Burns a very mediocre batsman could be left not out and the third highest scorer. Stevens did rip the heart out of the Lions and finished with 6-14

Stevens bowled with real venom today

With the Lions being made to follow on, manager Tom Baker proceded to give the players a total bollocking, breaking a window and taking Paul Tailors locker door of its hinges and beating an unfortunate Indian called Avroneel so badly that brain damage quickly ensured (not that anyone noticed ) The message was clear. Score runs or end up like Avroneel....

The message looked to have got through as Mcbean and Ashmore did start well. However, a lapse of concentration meant that Ashmore was soon back in the pavillion and hiding from Mr Baker after being bowled on 15. Mcbean though finally made his first proper contribution for the club scoring his first 50 for them as him and Dougie Hollis put on 61 runs for the second wicket.

However, once they went, the lack of depth in the Lions batting showed, with the last 7 batsmen only contributing 4 runs between them!!!! :doh Paul Tailor was left on 37* and the Lions were all out for 161 It was a better showing in the second innings, but it just wasn't a good enough team performance.

Mcbean starred with the bat in the second innings, but it just wasn't enough

Lescott and Claasen starred with the ball for rats in the second innings, picking up 4 wickets apiece. It all ended up with the Lions losing by an innings and 105 runs. 2 FC matches played. 2 losses so far. Not good. Not good at all

The look on manager Tom Baker's face said it all, and when a local reporter asked for a comment words rhyming with "buck" and "doff" were said to him, which summed up the feeling of many of the Lions fans who had turned up, even though it looked like the team apparently hadn't :sarcasm Tom Baker's comments might explain why the insulted local reporter gave such a damning reporter's summary...

Paul Popejoy got a deserved MOTM, for his superb first innings for rats and the way he took the attack to the Lions bowlers and made them look like rank amateurs.

The Lions second loss of the season, leaves them rock bottom of their FC group, with only 3 points to their name Shmily are also without a win, and are only one point ahead. The two teams that manager Tom Baker is targetting as must win games are Shmily and PaLaTo PaLaTo. If the Lions can get wins against them, it is more then likely that the Lions and the two previous mentioned teams will lose to the new teams in the league. If this happens, the Lions should scrape fourth and survive. That is the plan at least, only time will tell....

The Lions have to move on now though. The Lions have a big match this Friday against C&D who have improved vastly with recent investment, so that even though it currently stands 4-0 to the Lions, C&D are heading into Friday's game favourites, especially with U19 star Carlton Manders a doubt, due to him needing to save PFL for international duties. Hopefully, the Lions can bounce back from this morale crushing defeat with the spirit of a Lion and exact an emphatic victory against C&D.



--------------------------


QUIZ TIME:

A chance for you, the reader to get involved.

Who will score the most runs for the Lions this Friday vs C&D?

A) Pete Mcbean?
B) Seymour Ashmore?
C) Dougie Hollis?
D) Paul Tailor?
E) Darren Ingham?
F) Martin Lee?
E) Chris Conelly?
F) None of the above?


Competition open till Friday 7:30 GMT. Good luck, I'll think up a prize over the next few days (might give away 3 months Battrick membership )

 

[Maxkarter]

C) Dougie Hollis

If he doesn't I'll send the mullets after him.

Btw, your FC orders are shocking

 

[Highlander999]

LOL, I just stuck all my batsmen on very attacking in the second innings. Shows how little difference it makes

 

[Left_Hander]

The summary was fairly even but he had it well over you in the bowling department.

For the quiz, I'll go:
D) Paul Tailor

It would be nice to get some membership...

 

[aussie1st]

So anymore broken locker doors or beaten Avroneel after that batting display?

Tailor for the quiz.

 

[Highlander999]

Lions buy New Zealand youth talent​

Lions manager Tom Baker, unveiled his latest signing to the club members today. 17 year old Nick Morne who has come from The Grenadiers youth academy in New Zealand for ?2,000.

This is what Tom Baker had to say on his latest signing,

"Nick first came on our radar last week when one of our scouts spotted him and told us he thought he could be a good potential trainee for the club. With Carlton now on international duties and not requiring so much training time, it opened up a free spot and we felt Nick is the perfect person to fill it. He is an agressive batsman who is not afraid to take the attack to the bowlers, which is just what the club needs, and hopefully in a few seasons we will see him making regular appearances for the 1XI."

In a pretty old team, the Lions need as many youngsters as they can, and with Carlton Manders and Darren Ingham already showing talent, lets hope Nick can follow in the same direction

The XI for tomorrow's crunch match vs C&D was also announced.

Livingston Lions vs C&D @ The Enclosure

1. Pete Mcbean
2. Seymour Ashmore
3. Dougie Hollis +
4. Paul Tailor
5. Darren Ingham (B4)
6. Martin Lee
7. Chris Conelly
8. Scott Burns (B3)
9. James Roper * (B5)
10. Matthew Pretorius (B1)
11. Carlton Manders (B2)​

Ingham comes back into the starting XI which gives the Lions a bit more batting depth and also his useful spin bowling on a slow pitch. Manders also makes a return as manager Tom Baker has decided he should be fit enough to play in today's game and any international games this Sunday/Monday. Chris Conelly also retains his place, although with rumours of a mystery star batsman about to be signed, how much longer that will be for, who knows?




--------------------------



The Quiz is still open. So far, Maxkarter has gone for Dougie Hollis and Left_Hander and aussie1st have gone for Paul Tailor. You have till 7:30am tomorrow morning to get your entries in, so hurry up!!!

 

[mattfb]

Nice trainee buy, hopefully he goes alright!

I'll go A) for the quiz as well.

 

[Gary123]

For quiz-
E) Darren Ingham

 

[Maxkarter]

Morne isn't ginger! He should be great!

Hopefully there won't be anymore Avroneel look-a-like's after tomorrow, would be such a pity for that to happen.

 

[Highlander999]

Just got a message from Under 19 manager that Manders can't play so gonna have to replace him with Cawood

 

[Left_Hander]

Morne looks like a good signing. Defiently has a big future ahead of him if you net him right

Oh and go Tailor!

 

[Highlander999]

Livingston Lions vs C&D: OD Match​

After the disappointment earlier in the week of losing to rats in the 3 day format of the game, the Lions were looking to bounce back well vs C&D who on paper were to the same sort of standard as Livingston.

The Lions received bad news early on Friday morning when the South African Under 19 manager told Tom Baker that Manders could not play as he would be involved in international duties. Therefore Matty Cawood, who was going to be 12th man got a surprise maiden OD call up for the Lions in a very important match. With FCS beaten last week, if the Lions could win this match, they would have a very good chance of promotion!!!

C&D skipper, Woodward, won the toss and put the Lions into bat on a slow pitch, on a sunny day. Looking at the C&D attack, anything 250/260+ would be a good score.

The openers started well, with the 50 partnership being brought up relatively quickly as they went along at a decent run-rate. However, C&D fought back well with Fleck picking up Ashmore and then Hollis 2 balls later to leave the Lions 58/2. Paul Tailor was now at the crease with Mcbean and the run-rate begun to slow down. Mcbean looked to be struggling under the tight bowling and he finally snapped, choosing the wrong ball to heave at, and the result was that the Lions were now 106/3.

Darren Ingham had never really come to the crease under such an intense and serious situation, but with his new position at 5, a lot was expected of him.

And he delivered....

Ingham, was on the money from the first ball he faced, and he and Paul Tailor took the Lions all the way to the 50th over. They especially used the last 10 overs well, with 102 runs being scored off them, to take the Lions to 287/3 off their 50 overs, a superb score. Ingham also brought up his maiden ODI century at a great strike-rate of 138.46!!! Paul Tailor also did a cracking job, supporting the youngster well, to finish on 94*.

Ingham was in fine form with the bat to bring up his maiden OD 100

Overall, it was a superb middle order performance from Darren Ingham and Paul Tailor, giving the Lions a real chance of winning this

With 288 needed for victory, the C&D batsmen did face a tough ask. However, the Lions bowlers knew that the top 3, were of a very high quality, and anything poor would be at the rope within seconds.

Up to the 10th over, it was pretty much level pegging, with the run-rate staying the same, and no wickets lost. However, the C&D openers then accelrated well, where the Lions middle order had to regroup. They looked to have the match in the bag by the 25th over, as they were well ahead of where the Lions had been.

The man of the hour became the man of the day though. Darren Ingham came on with the ball and with his off-spin he managed to slowly get the asking rate back up so that by the 33rd over, things were looking pretty even again. Scott Burns and Matty Cawood then combined to remove the top 3 relatively quickly, and from there on in, C&D were doomed, with a plummeting run-rate and an asking rate that was increasing rapidly, they were eventually 271/4 off their 50 overs, giving the Lions a 16 run victory :happy

It was a good all-round performance by the bowlers, especially Darren Ingham, who kept it very tight, going at 3.40 runs an over off his 10 overs. Scott Burns also picked up 3 crucial wickets, whilst Pretorius and Roper backed up well. Matty Cawood did a very good job, considering he was such a late replacement and manager Tom Baker can be very pleased with his team's performance.

Everyone had assumed that MOTM would go to Darren Ingham for his superb century and great bowling figures of 10-0-34-0, however, it ended up going to C&D opener Hindmarsh, for his 132. Tom Baker was a bit upset at this, as Ingham had played a pivotal part in both innings, but it wasn't to be. He can also be happy at the gate receipts for this match which stood at ?184,380 a very good taking so early in the season. With a weakened middle order and Carlton Manders missing, the reporters summary was pretty fair considering, but it also highlighted just how well matched the two teams were.

The Lions are now second in OD Div IV.16, after having played 2, won 2. The only other team to have this record are Ezlyn Eleven CC, although they have had much easier matches then the Lions have faced. This looks like it could be the season in which the Lions make the big step up to Division III in the OD format Hopefully their superb OD form can continue.

For now though, the 1XI can enjoy a nice break with the 20/20s next week instead of FC, meaning the majority of them won't be needed or at least can enjoy playing a minimal role.




---------------
Quiz Results!!! :banana2



Congratulations to Gary123 on winning the quiz. If he can mail me his BT team name he can receive his prize of 3 months worth of membership at Battrick

 

[ZoraxDoom]

3 months membership!

Right, I'm entering the next quiz...