Post Line-ups Nearly Real County League

[Akshay.]

@Aislabie please add ''.'' in my username
you are tagging incorrectly due to which i am not getting alerts

 

[Umair7]

Gary Ballance
Kieran Noema-Barnett
Adil Rashid

 

[ROlson]

Once we get started, what will be the next step? This is the first time I have played in a league like this an I want to prepare

 

[Umair7]

Once we get started, what will be the next step? This is the first time I have played in a league like this an I want to prepare

We will post lineups

Aislabie will sim the match

We will comment on the match (if you want)

Repeat

 

[Aislabie]

We will post lineups

Aislabie will sim the match

We will comment on the match (if you want)

Repeat

Yeah, this will be the next step. Apologies for this taking so long - it's easily the biggest thing I've tried to put together so it's a little overwhelming. Have mostly been trying to figure out exactly how to structure the season.

 

[ROlson]

We will post lineups

Aislabie will sim the match

We will comment on the match (if you want)

Repeat

I figured that is how it would go, but you never know. @Aislabie thank you for running this for us and all of your work! I am really looking forward to this.

 

[Aislabie]

A Quick Guide To The Nearly-Real County Competitions

The counties are going to be playing for five separate domestic titles in this Nearly Real season. Here is a quick explanation of how they're going to work.

First-Class Cricket

The County Championship
The County Championship has been realigned this year into two divisions of nine teams. In order of their finishing positions last year, those teams will be:

Division One | Division Two
Essex|Gloucestershire
Somerset|Nottinghamshire
Hampshire|Glamorgan
Kent|Durham
Yorkshire|Sussex
Surrey|Derbyshire
Warwickshire|Middlesex
Lancashire|Worcestershire
Northamptonshire|Leicestershire

Each team will play eight regular season matches before the top four teams from Division One and the top two teams from Division Two progress to the playoffs, which will take three rounds to crown the County Champions.

One-Day Cricket

Royal London Trophy
This will see the eighteen counties joined by England Under-19s and the Minor Counties XI, where they will play across four groups before heading into the Quarter Finals. Those groups are:

Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D
Derbyshire|England U19s|Glamorgan|Gloucestershire
Durham|Essex|Hampshire|Leicestershire
Lancashire|Kent|Minor Counties|Northamptonshire
Nottinghamshire|Middlesex|Somerset|Warwickshire
Yorkshire|Surrey|Sussex|Worcestershire

Each team will play four group matches.

Nationwide Knockout
This 64-team knockout tournament will be cricket's FA cup, with a random draw between each round virtually guaranteeing upsets and fascinating cup runs. The 64 teams are:

• 18 first-class counties
• 20 minor counties
• 18 "Cricket Board XIs" of first-class counties
• 6 MCC University centres
• England Under-19s
• MCC Young Cricketers

The First Round draw will be the first event of the county season.

Twenty20(ish) Cricket
Because Cricksim doesn't let me do Twenty20s, these games will be 25 overs a side.

Vitality Blast
The counties will be divided into a North Group and a South Group, with the top two teams from each progressing to Finals Day.

North Group | South Group
Derbyshire|Essex
Durham|Glamorgan
Lancashire|Gloucestershire
Leicestershire|Hampshire
Northamptonshire|Kent
Nottinghamshire|Middlesex
Warwickshire|Somerset
Worcestershire|Surrey
Yorkshire|Sussex

There will be eight group games, but no Quarter-Finals.

European Cup
This will be another knockout competition, with a randomly drawn bracket as opposed to a draw every round. The 32 teams taking part will be:

• 18 first-class counties
• 4 Irish provincial sides
• 3 Scottish regions
• 2 Dutch regions
• 5 European national teams (Denmark, Germany, Guernsey, Italy, Jersey)

@Till Valhalla @El Loco @Master Bates @ahmedleo414 @PresidentEvil @Naman Thakur @ROlson @Asham @Steeroid @CerealKiller @Aislabie @DalePlaysCricket @ABDULLAH @Akshay. @Chris Swift @The Deadman @Na Maloom Afraad @Yash.​

I hope this all makes sense and I really hope I can deliver it for you all. The next thing that will happen, probably tonight, will be the draw for the Nationwide Knockout First Round, as well as the draw for the European Cup bracket.

 

[Master Bates]

I might be available initially but then my activity will go down so better get a co-manager for me @Aislabie

 

[Aislabie]

I might be available initially but then my activity will go down so better get a co-manager for me @Aislabie

No worries; I don't mind if managers drift in and out in this

 

[ROlson]

Brilliant! Well done @Aislabie !

 

[Aislabie]

Nationwide Knockout Draw

Hello all and welcome to the Nationwide Knockout draw. So first of all, how is this draw going to work? Well, each of the 64 teams involved will be allocated a number between 1 and 64 through the equitable means of alphabetical order. Then they will be drawn one by one to decide who is playing whom. Here are the numbers that fans of the first-class counties will have to watch out for:

10 - Derbyshire - @Till Valhalla
14 - Durham - @El Loco
18 - Essex - @Master Bates
20 - Glamorgan - @ahmedleo414
22 - Gloucestershire - @PresidentEvil
24 - Hampshire - @Naman Thakur
28 - Kent - @ROlson
30 - Lancashire - @Asham
33 - Leicestershire - @Steeroid
38 - Middlesex - @CerealKiller
41 - Northamptonshire - @Aislabie
44 - Nottinghamshire - @DalePlaysCricket
49 - Somerset - @ABDULLAH
53 - Surrey - @Akshay.
55 - Sussex - @Chris Swift
58 - Warwickshire - @The Deadman
61 - Worcestershire - @Na Maloom Afraad
63 - Yorkshire - @Yash.

Let the draw commence.

We will begin by drawing all of the HOME teams for the first round of fixtures, before then finding out who their visiting opponents will be.

First, the home teams.

Spoiler: The draw as it happened, Part I

63 - Yorkshire - @Yash.

17 - England Under-19s

29 - Kent Cricket Board

45 - Notts Cricket Board

37 - MCC Young Cricketers

2 - Berkshire

13 - Dorset

28 - Kent - @ROlson

48 - Shropshire

20 - Glamorgan - @ahmedleo414

39 - Middlesex Cricket Board

16 - Durham MCCU

44 - Nottinghamshire - @DalePlaysCricket

42 - Northants Cricket Board

58 - Warwickshire - @The Deadman

7 - Cheshire

10 - Derbyshire - @Till Valhalla

21 - Glamorgan Cricket Board

55 - Sussex - @Chris Swift

30 - Lancashire - @Asham

35 - Lincolnshire

12 - Devon

8 - Cornwall

46 - Oxford MCCU

49 - Somerset - @ABDULLAH

25 - Hampshire Cricket Board

11 - Derbyshire Cricket Board

53 - Surrey - @Akshay.

59 - Warwickshire Cricket Board

54 - Surrey Cricket Board

4 - Cambridgeshire

61 - Worcestershire - @Na Maloom Afraad

And so that first half of the draw sees eleven of the eighteen fist-class counties with home fixtures. But what of the other seven? Will any of them get box-office draws against first-class oppositoin?

It's time for the away teams!

Spoiler: The draw as it happened, Part II

41 - Northamptonshire - @Aislabie - They'll be playing Yorkshire!

22 - Gloucestershire - @PresidentEvil - They'll be playing England Under-19s.

33 - Leicestershire - @Steeroid - They'll be playing Kent Cricket Board.

36 - Loughborough MCCU - They'll be playing Notts Cricket Board.

50 - Somerset Cricket Board - They'll be playing MCC Young Cricketers.

18 - Essex - @Master Bates - They'll be playing Berkshire.

1 - Bedfordshire - They'll be playing Dorset.

62 - Worcestershire Cricket Board - They'll be playing Kent.

27 - Hertfordshire - They'll be playing Shropshire.

5 - Cambridge MCCU - They'll be playing Glamorgan.

26 - Herefordshire - They'll be playing Middlesex Cricket Board.

52 - Suffolk - They'll be playing Durham MCCU.

32 - Leeds/Bradford MCCU - They'll be playing Nottinghamshire.

6 - Cardiff MCCU - They'll be playing Northants Cricket Board.

24 - Hampshire - @Naman Thakur - They'll be playing Warwickshire!

19 - Essex Cricket Board - They'll be playing Cheshire.

40 - Norfolk - They'll be playing Derbyshire.

64 - Yorkshire Cricket Board - They'll be playing Glamorgan Cricket Board.

23 - Gloucestershire Cricket Board - They'll be playing Sussex.

47 - Oxfordshire - They'll be playing Lancashire.

43 - Northumberland - They'll be playing Lincolnshire.

3 - Buckinghamshire - They'll be playing Devon.

31 - Lancashire Cricket Board - They'll be playing Cornwall.

38 - Middlesex - @CerealKiller - They'll be playing Oxford MCCU.

14 - Durham - @El Loco - They'll be playing Somerset!

56 - Sussex Cricket Board - They'll be playing Hampshire Cricket Board.

57 - Wales Minor Counties - They'll be playing Derbyshire Cricket Board.

34 - Leicestershire Cricket Board - They'll be playing Surrey.

60 - Wiltshire - They'll be playing Warwickshire Cricket Board.

51 - Staffordshire - They'll be playing Surrey Cricket Board.

15 - Durham Cricket Board - They'll be playing Cambridgeshire.

9 - Cumberland - They'll be playing Worcestershire.

So there we have it!

A fascinating first-round draw. Most of the first-class counties will be expecting relatively easy passage through to the second round, but plenty of eyes will be on the Yorkshire vs Northants, Warwickshire vs Hampshire and Somerset vs Durham fixtures.

Thank you for joining us and goodnight (unless I do the European Cup bracket tonight as well, but it seems likely that I'll hit the hay.

Spoiler: Nationwide Knockout Round One fixtures

• Yorkshire vs Northamptonshire
• England Under-19s vs Gloucestershire
• Kent Cricket Board vs Leicestershire
• Notts Cricket Board vs Loughborough MCCU
• MCC Young Cricketers vs Somerset Cricket Board
  
• Berkshire vs Essex
• Dorset vs Bedfordshire
• Kent vs Worcestershire Cricket Board
• Shropshire vs Hertfordshire
• Glamorgan vs Cambridge MCCU
• Middlesex Cricket Board vs Herefordshire
• Durham MCCU vs Suffolk
• Nottinghamshire vs Leeds/Bradford MCCU
• Northants Cricket Board vs Cardiff MCCU
• Warwickshire vs Hampshire
• Cheshire vs Essex Cricket Board
• Derbyshire vs Norfolk
• Glamorgan Cricket Board vs Yorkshire Cricket Board
• Sussex vs Gloucestershire Cricket Board
• Lancashire vs Oxfordshire
• Lincolnshire vs Northumberland
• Devon vs Buckinghamshire
• Cornwall vs Lancashire Cricket Board
• Oxford MCCU vs Middlesex
• Somerset vs Durham
• Hampshire Cricket Board vs Sussex Cricket Board
• Derbyshire Cricket Board vs Wales Minor Counties
• Surrey vs Leicestershire Cricket Board
• Warwickshire Cricket Board vs Wiltshire
• Surrey Cricket Board vs Staffordshire
• Cambridgeshire vs Durham Cricket Board
• Worcestershire vs Cumberland

 

[Aislabie]

The European Cup Draw

Hello again and a warm welcome back to all of you who, like me, have decided that sleep is maybe not quite the priority yet. Thank you for joining us for the European Cup draw, where the teams will today get to see what their projected draw through the tournament might look like. So who are the teams?

1 - Caledonian Highlanders
2 - Denmark
3 - Derbyshire - @Till Valhalla
4 - Durham - @El Loco
5 - Eastern Knights
6 - Essex - @Master Bates
7 - Glamorgan - @ahmedleo414
8 - Gloucestershire - @PresidentEvil
9 - Germany
10 - Guernsey
11 - Hampshire - @Naman Thakur
12 - Italy
13 - Jersey
14 - Kent - @ROlson
15 - Lancashire - @Asham
16 - Leicestershire - @Steeroid
17 - Leinster Lightning
18 - Middlesex - @CerealKiller
19 - Munster Reds
20 - Northamptonshire - @Aislabie
21 - Northern Knights
22 - North Holland Hurricanes
23 - North West Warriors
24 - Nottinghamshire - @DalePlaysCricket
25 - Somerset - @ABDULLAH
26 - South Holland Seafarers
27 - Surrey - @Akshay.
28 - Sussex - @Chris Swift
29 - Warwickshire - @The Deadman
30 - Western Reivers
31 - Worcestershire - @Na Maloom Afraad
32 - Yorkshire - @Yash.

The draw will take two parts. The first will see the 32 teams put in order for the knockout bracket,

And away we go:

Spoiler: The draw as it happened, Part I

15 - Lancashire - @Asham
12 - Italy

20 - Northamptonshire - @Aislabie
32 - Yorkshire - @Yash.

3 - Derbyshire - @Till Valhalla
1 - Caledonian Highlanders

21 - Northern Knights
31 - Worcestershire - @Na Maloom Afraad

28 - Sussex - @Chris Swift
18 - Middlesex - @CerealKiller

5 - Eastern Knights
25 - Somerset - @ABDULLAH

19 - Munster Reds
23 - North West Warriors

6 - Essex - @Master Bates
16 - Leicestershire - @Steeroid

13 - Jersey
27 - Surrey - @Akshay.

29 - Warwickshire - @The Deadman
8 - Gloucestershire - @PresidentEvil

4 - Durham - @El Loco
10 - Guernsey

30 - Western Reivers
17 - Leinster Lightning

2 - Denmark
22 - North Holland Hurricanes

14 - Kent - @ROlson
26 - South Holland Seafarers

9 - Germany
24 - Nottinghamshire - @DalePlaysCricket

11 - Hampshire - @Naman Thakur
7 - Glamorgan - @ahmedleo414

Amazing! We see ANOTHER Northants-Yorkshire draw in the first round of a knockout competition. Astonishing: there was only a 0.87% chance of the same two first-class counties meeting in the first round of the Nationwide Knockout and the European Cup. But will the two teams be playing at Headingley again, or will this fixture be at Wantage Road?

Well that's where the home or away flip comes in. This will decide which of the two teams is at home in each of the 31 matches.

Spoiler: The draft as it happened, Part II (this one's pretty dull, I don't recommend it)

TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be Italy.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be Yorkshire again!
HEADS - The top team is at home - that'll be Derbyshire.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be Worcestershire,
TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be Middlesex.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be Somerset.
HEADS - The top team is at home - that'll be Munster Reds.
HEADS - The top team is at home - that'll be Essex.
HEADS - The top team is at home - that'll be Jersey.
HEADS - The top team is at home - that'll be Warwickshire.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be Guernsey.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be Leinster Lightning.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be North Holland Hurricanes.
HEADS - The top team is at home - that'll be Kent.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be Nottinghamshire.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home - that'll be Glamorgan.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home. For the rest of these we don't know who that'll be because we've not got that far in the competition.
HEADS - The top team is at home.
HEADS - The top team is at home.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home.
HEADS - The top team is at home.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home.
HEADS - The top team is at home.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home.
HEADS - The top team is at home.
HEADS - The top team is at home.
HEADS - The top team is at home.
TAILS - The bottom team is at home.

And so, this is the bracket for the European Cup

Last 32 | Last 16 | Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Final
Lancashire
Italy |T.B.C.
Northamptonshire |T.B.C. |T.B.C.
Yorkshire
Derbyshire
Caledonian Highlanders|T.B.C. |T.B.C. |T.B.C.
Northern Knights|T.B.C.
Worcestershire
Sussex
Middlesex |T.B.C.
Eastern Knights|T.B.C.|T.B.C. |T.B.C.|T.B.C.
Somerset
Munster Reds
North West Warriors|T.B.C.|T.B.C.
Essex |T.B.C.
Leicestershire
Jersey
Surrey|T.B.C.
Warwickshire |T.B.C.|T.B.C.
Gloucestershire
Durham
Guernsey |T.B.C.|T.B.C .|T.B.C. |T.B.C.
Western Reivers|T.B.C.
Leinster Lightning
Denmark
North Holland Hurricanes |T.B.C.
Kent |T.B.C. |T.B.C. |T.B.C.
South Holland Seafarers
Germany
Nottinghamshire |T.B.C.|T.B.C.
Hampshire|T.B.C. |T.B.C.
Glamorgan |

Wow that was a simultaneously productive and unproductive evening. And yes, I am using under protest until we get a German flag emoji on the site.

EDIT: I edited in @Na Maloom Afraad 's German flag for aesthetic reasons

 

[Yash.]

Damn! This is gonna be a mega league.

 

[Steeroid]

Ok so we need to submit two separate teams - one for the 50 over format Nationwide Knockout and the other for the 25 over format European cup?

Or one team for both will do?

Also is the home team supposed to select a particular pitch type?

 

[Aislabie]

Ok so we need to submit two separate teams - one for the 50 over format Nationwide Knockout and the other for the 25 over format European cup?

Or one team for both will do?

Also is the home team supposed to select a particular pitch type?

Okay so I didn't do it last night because I needed to sleep, but my next post asking managers for stuff should be up at about lunch time.

It'll involve letting me know the pitch type of your home ground (Excellent, Normal, Poor or Random) and posting a line-up for the Nationwide Knockout. I'm hoping we can do it with one default line-up per competition, based on how I'm putting teams into the sim. There's so many