This has got to be the best thrilling and most nerve racking game I’ve ever played on Cricket 19 all completed with my dad pointing out and guiding me through the last hour of play with some handy and some deliberate not so handy points. Me (as England) ai as Scotland in a game that ebbed and flowed on a new range of difficulty I tried out. Veteran Ai with a “Super Difficulty” tweaked but largely the same from Twistie 3 on YouTube’s settings. Made for an amazing match lasting up until the last over on Day 4.
Match Scorecard:
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Scotland 1st Innings:
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England 1st Innings:
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Scotland 2nd Innings:
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England 2nd Innings:
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Started off with Scotland flying out the gates with the AI deciding 5 an over off Broad Wood Stokes and Curran was the right policy. Bess came on and dropped it slightly but it was Stokes who in both innings ended the 100 run stand between the openers both times edges behind. Back to the first innings and it was a case of hang in there as partnerships developed before I took the last 7 wickets for 100 exactly. Denly with some highly economical leggies whilst Bess and Wood helped wrap up the rest. It was encouraging to see the batsman adapt as the day went on and spin played more of a role in dismissing them for 370.
Our batting innings was filled with patience and reward as I felt comfortable at 2 /3 an over. However I fell into the short ball ploy with Sibley as well as the spinner short leg catch bat onto shoe ballooning upwards with Burns. Denly and Root played beautifully until Denly nicked off down to short third man hmm. From 317-4 we collapsed to 364 all out due to clever AI bowling and some poor shot choices from me that usually wouldn’t go punished. Stuart Whittingham should take credit as after his poor opening spell to Burns he was right on the money and improving with pace every over he bowled and it was amazing to watch how the AI developed and got better and how I played some average shots with the middle and lower order as well as the tailenders.
As mentioned before the openers for Scotland raced to a 100 stand before Stokes removed Munsey and from there I felt like we had exploited the conditions perfectly with our attack. From there we took regular wickets almost 1 every 20 runs spearheaded by the impressive Bess who found some real turn and dip allowing for some short leg stunners by Burns and genuine inside edges too. What was also good to see was that with the old ball I managed to get Sam Curran to bowl some reverse swing and take two wicked in a high quality spell where I felt unstoppable. But as I say this I realise that actually Scotland still made runs and the way Cross batted with the tail was a great thing to see and how he anchored strike whilst going berserk.
Inside 12 minutes on Day 4 we would be strapping the pads on chasing 251 for a great turn around win. At 52-0 going at 2 an over I felt prematurely confident of our chances. Enter Mark Watt left arm spinner who first removed the sweeping Burns lbw before getting Denly got at leg slip for a three ball duck. Sibley fell at 58-3 to a genuine caught and bowled (like Chris Jordan in his element) and we were struggling as the uneven bounce and pitch wear was evident at the Oval. The uneven and exciting pitch wear and bounce were too much for Root and Pope and suddenly we were 78-5 from 52-0. Stokes and Buttler came together in true World Cup style but kept the run rate at 2’s and 3’s playing smartly before a couple of maximums from Stokes eased the pressure. Until he late cut into the arms of slip for a well made 45. A partnership followed that turned the game as Curran joined the patient Buttler and showed intent from the beginning striking at 50 and 60. Buttler started to look like the man to lead the team home but at 196-6 he nicked off to a beauty of a delivery from Davey. This wicket was hugely pleading as I felt like Davye had been setting me up with some in swingers in the previous couple of overs followed by a bouncer and then caught me out with a wider angle and lovely out swinger. Curran continued well whilst Bess really dropped anchor in a defiant display of batting after Tea as the ball wore on and it became easier to score. Just needing 19, Curran (56) was trapped lbw to the spinner thanks to poor judgement and lots of turn. Seeing Mark Wood come out to bat was terrifying as the new ball was taken and it was certainly like a day 4 new ball pitch where we couldn’t find a gap for a good 8 overs and were constantly beaten ticking the strike over at 1 and 2. With the new ball worn after half a dozen overs, I felt in a better position to cut and eke out the final runs shown in Bess’s 17 from 62. Wood helped with a flourish and it felt like Headinglry particularly when Curran was in as the field was spread and then bought back up. It also felt like Scotland’s inexperience was eventually held out at the end as we scraped home.
This was the tightest match and most enjoyable and thrilling match I’ve ever played and I thought it would be nice to share with you to keep the cricket spirits high. I was very impressed by the quality of the oppo as well as the AI’s tactics and scenario play throughout whilst also posting respectable totals and setting up my batsmen. I throughly enjoyed playing and hopefully that comes across in the photos and report. Despite some issues the game has that I can also agree with and sometimes get annoyed with, in general we have a high standard and level of game that I loved playing. Thank you.
