Story Suriname's Quest

[drainpipe32]

Ooh, that really is heart breaking! Great effort by the...um....Surinamese?

Hopefully they can pick themselves up after this one, and get a win in their next game.

The boys have done their nation proud!

 

[Harishan]

Bad luck on the loss there.
Nice work on the story so far, I like your presentation.

 

[blake]

Argh! A heart breaker there (I read it).

Are those made up players? How come you didn't use their official squad? (Wouldn't work in CC?). Probably close to impossible to get decent player info too.

Well done.

I applaud you for reading it all, it's a fairly big block of text so well done.

No, I didn't start with their official squad - for most of the minor nations Cricket Coach just uses a standard surname and first name generator to create players - which is why Guernsey's team has a lot of players with the same last name. However, since I'm playing with Suriname, I added heaps more first names and surnames, so we can get a wider variety of generated players.

Thanks for the feedback everyone as well - just thought I'd try a minnow story which we don't see too much of. I can't exactly include pictures right now, seeing as the squad is all generated, but once Suriname progress into the higher divisions (which I'm hoping we will!), then there will be more press conferences and bigger match build-ups.

Glad everyone is 'enjoying' it reasonably so far, it will be interesting to see how far I can take Suriname.

 

[Gary123]

Good Luck blake for this one.
Hope you take the minnows to great heights.
Nice going thus far,and hope for the same in future.

 

[iridescentt]

Blake, just a suggestion. How bout' including run rates. It'd be nice to have.

EDIT: I mean in the bowlers scorecards of course.

 

[blake]

13 May, 2009​

The Surinamese squad hardly got any time to rest, flying out immediately at 8:00am the morning after their heart-breaking 2 run loss against Guernsey. They were straight back home to Suriname, and had a game just two days after their previous one leaving no time for recovery. The players of Suriname were initially extremely disappointed after the loss, fearing all their training had come to no reward, but Blake seemed more than pleased with the gut-wrenching performance of his players which saw them come up just 2 runs short of what would have been an emphatic victory.

Suriname are definitely in the running to pull off a victory over Bahrain, after they also went down after failing to chase down Nigeria's 7/224 and falling 24 runs short of victory. However, no team in the Division 6 league seems to be an easy beat with all of the matches turning out extremely competitive, with the results being decided by 24 runs, 12 runs and 2 runs. Gibraltar held strong in the other match, as they posted 3/241 before seeing off Malaysia's 5/229.

Haroon Mason seems extremely unlikely to hold on to his spot for the match against Bahrain, with Blake instead opting for 31-year old Irfan Finegan after Mason made just 12 off 30 for Suriname in their chase. Rhun Franks, despite bowling poorly for 0/58 from 10 overs, has been given another chance, whilst it appears that Lynch might be the victim of an unfortunate dropping as promising leg-spinner William Whitney might be given a chance. Whitney is a handy batsman which seems to be the reasoning behind this logic.

Bahrain hardly looked convincing against Nigeria, but one of the main concerns may be Anthony Moore, who snared 4/43 from his 10 overs against Nigeria to seriously hurt them before the rest of the batsmen blazed away.

Likely Suriname XI:

1. M Beaven
2. E Hole
3. J Paskins
4. I Finegan
5. M McGarry
6. P Gazzard
7. J Fisher
8. R Franks
9. W Whitney
10. R Saggers
11. A Hodgson

12. D Lynch

 

[drainpipe32]

Hopefully the Surinamese can come out on top!

Looking forward to an update

 

[blake]

14 May, 2009​

Match day has once more arrived, this time Suriname flying back to their home ground to take on Bahrain. Mr Blake himself went to scout out the Bahrain training session at the local nets the day before, and noticed one handy batsman, who was being referred to as Antonio by his teammates. Checking the team lists once more revealed his name was Antonio Burford. After Burford finished batting, he went and bowled a few overs of off-spin, which also looked very tidy. He would definitely be one of the key players in the Bahrain side that Suriname would need to watch out for.

The lineups for each side were announced, and the two captains went down to the pitch for the coin toss. In the end, Whitney had developed a slight calf strain near the end of the last training and Lynch had indeed been re-called to play.

Suriname
1. M Beaven
2. E Hole
3. J Paskins (wk)
4. I Finegan
5. M McGarry (c)
6. P Gazzard
7. R Franks
8. J Fisher
9. D Lynch
10. R Saggers
11. A Hodgson

Bahrain
1. L Akram
2. J Knappett
3. L Alberts
4. J Currie
5. M Bresnan
6. A Chambers (c) (wk)
7. A Burford
8. J Roberts
9. F Roberts
10. A Moore
11. S Hughes

It was going to be the two opposing captains in McGarry and Chambers contesting the toss. Chambers called 'heads' in the air..

and it landed on tails! McGarry considered the situation - the pitch had occasionally difficult bounce, and would help the bowlers, but it wasn't turning and the weather was tropical and ideal for batting. It was a tough decision...

"We will have a field first, thanks," said McGarry, before heading off to his team. His reasoning was similar to Blake's - the team wasn't quite as experienced bowling under pressure, and with a target they would at least know how aggressively they had to bat - their work would be cut out for them. His opening bowlers began to warm up their arms, and out came the two opening batsman for Bahrain - Lawrence Akram and Jamie Knappett. David Lynch was going to share the new ball with Saggers.

In the 4th over, Saggers struck, annihilating Akram's stumps. However, the celebrations were cut short by the cry of 'No Ball' from the umpire - Saggers had overstepped the line. He looked distraught after missing out on the chance to have Bahrain 1/10 early, but it didn't make a difference. Just two balls later, his foot well behind the line this time, he demolished Akram's stumps in similar fashion, sending him back on his second life for 6.

Lynch was struggling to find a spot and was hit for the first boundary of the innings in the 5th over, just after delivering a ball in Steve Harmison fashion, off the pitch to second slip. But it didn't matter, as his partner was on fire. Saggers in his next over had an extremely close LBW shout rejected but again he claimed his mark later in the over, as the No 3. Luke Alberts went for 4, this time caught plumb in his crease. However, the demolition wasn't over yet - on the last ball of the over, he sent in a toe-crusher to Currie who never even looked close to keeping it out, and he was bowled for a golden duck. Saggers had 3/9 after just 3 overs and would be on a hat-trick at the start of his next.

There was plenty of incident on his hat-trick ball, as he came in and delivered a beauty to Knappettt. It rapped him on the pad very close to the stumps, and the entire team appealed, including coach Blake from the sidelines, which drew some stares. However, after taking an eternity, the umpire rejected the appeal, leaving Saggers with a dejected stare on his face.

After bowling six overs each, the openers were taken out of the attack - Saggers had been lethal with 3/14 from 6 overs, including a maiden - but Lynch had been quite poor, conceding 29 runs from his 6 overs. Into the attack came fast medium bowler Hodgson, and Rhun Franks; neither who had been particularly successful against Guernsey. But, it proved to be a good move, as Hodgson managed to finally dismiss opener Knappett for a resilient 18 from 45 deliveries, ending the strong partnership. At the other end, Bresnan was still looking dangerous, having blasted 33 off 36, and if Suriname didn't dismiss him soon, he might go on to make a big score.

But, after Hodgson's early wicket, Suriname didn't claim another wicket for quite some time. Franks looked just as poor as in the first game and was hammered for 27 runs from 5 overs before he was dragged from the attack, whilst Hodgson suffered a similar fate, conceding 27 runs from 5 before he was taken out - however, at least he had gotten the wicket. Meanwhile, the partnership was building again for Bahrain, with Bresnan nearing his half century and Chambers scoring at a run a ball.

Finally, it was the introduction of quick bowler Fisher who shook things up, as he claimed Bresnan LBW for a well-played 49, from just 52 deliveries. Now, however, things didn't look much better, with dangerman Burford coming in to the crease alongside Chambers who was cruising on 21* from 23.

Suriname used their entire arsenal of bowlers, even sending Saggers back to finish off his last 4 overs, but for no reward. Finally, it was David Lynch who broke the partnership, with a corking in-swinger to Burford. He had been looking comfortable and had hit 27 from 29, but finally he was sent back by Lynch who took his first wicket, a much needed one after his first spell. There wasn't too much left in Bahrain's tail now, but Chambers was still at the crease on 42* from 64. Bahrain were 6/152 after 34.3 overs.

Chambers continued on and brought up his half century, but his partner James Roberts didn't last long, with Rhun Franks claiming his wicket with a well flighted delivery, causing him to hit a catch to midwicket where Edward Hole held on with steady hands. Just overs later, Franks struck again, claiming Chambers for 55 from 77, bowling him through the gate with a good delivery. Bahrain were now 8/185, and ideally Suriname would be able to contain the tail to within 200.

But the Bahrain tail batted superbly, with Fasal Roberts hitting a superb 27 from 32 before being bowled by Lynch. Moore contributed with 9* from 21, coming at number 10, whilst the number 11 Hughes hit 11* from 15, seeing Bahrain to 9/221 from 50 overs. This was a very competitive score now, and was going to require some chasing from Suriname on a tricky pitch.

 

[drainpipe32]

Carn Suriname! Saggy was brilliant

 

[OffCutters]

I made the effort to read that huge write-up, and i gotta say, well written blake . Shame Saggers didnt get his hattrick, even though i didnt see it, i`ll say it was plumb

 

[hedger_14]

and the entire team appealed, including coach Blake from the sidelines, which drew some stares.

Haha. You would feel a bit stupid appealing from the sidelines. Anyway, nice bowling to restrict them to 221. Saggers bowled really well while Franks and Lynch chipped in with a few wickets each. Nice update, KIU mate.

You have presented this really well and it's one of the only stories I read all of the update. It is in short paragraphs which doesn't make it look so boring and even though the scorecards are simple, they are effective. I hope you continue to write both in this story and later on when/if you start a new story.

 

[blake]

Suriname vs Bahrain - Suriname Innings​

The spirits in the dressing room at the break were decent, after Bahrain made 9/221. Despite the score being very reasonable, the Suriname bowlers thought they had done well to take wickets and Blake was reasonably pleased with the performance also. However, now, they had to chase the score, which would be the hard part. It was Beaven and Hole coming out to open the innings - Beaven made 7 against Guernsey, whilst Hole hit 26. It was up to these two batsmen to get Suriname off to a good start.

Clutching the new ball in his hand was dangerous fast bowler James Roberts, who was rumoured to be one of the fastest bowlers in the tournament, and that was quickly revealed to be true as he sent down an over of thunderbolts at Hole and Beaven, who did well to survive. His last match revealed figures of 3/53 - he had been expensive, but taken wickets. At the other end, Anthony Moore shared the new ball - he was also very fast, but not quite up to Roberts speed. However, he knew how to swing the ball well and was one of the best bowlers in the tournament, taking 4/43 from 10 overs in his last match. These two bowlers were the heart of Bahrain's attack, and if Suriname could survive them they would be in with a chance.

Suriname, despite the quick bowlers early looking threatening, batted well early. Hole struck the first boundary of the innings with an exquisite pull shot off Moore, and after 5 overs Suriname were looking steady at 0/20, just below the required run rate.

However, the scoring slowed down and from the next 5 overs just 13 runs were scored for Suriname, as the required run rate crept up to 4.72. Thankfully, they hadn't lost any wickets yet, and had survived the opening bowlers, but they still needed to start scoring runs.

In the 12th over, disaster struck as Roberts clean bowled Hole for 17. Things were starting to look a bit shaky for Suriname - they were scoring at 3.21 an over, and the required run rate was now 4.82. However, it was wicketkeeper batsman Jason Paskins, who revived their innings again, hitting 17 runs from his first 14 deliveries to get his team back on track. But Paskins couldn't last forever either, and he went lbw to Hughes for 25 from 32 deliveries, bringing in Finegan to make his debut.

Finegan went back as quickly as he came, falling for 5, and now the pressure was on Suriname. They were 3/92 after 21 overs, scoring at 4.38 an over with the required run rate at 4.48. They still had a long way to go, and Beaven was starting to look tired out in the middle - but he had played well so far for 42* from 51. Could Suriname keep it up? At the crease, Michael McGarry entered - the skipper. He had hit 48 in the last match, and Suriname dearly needed another captain's knock here. However, there was disaster as he edged it to slip to fall for just 1. Now, Suriname needed someone to stand up big time.

Suriname were starting to post a recovery, when Beaven went LBW to Moore who had returned into the attack. He had batted well for 51, but with Suriname still needing 97 runs to win now was not the time to let the tail be exposed.

But one man stood tall for his country, displaying immense fight. Gazzard gritted his teeth and played a superb innings, bringing up his half century from 51 deliveries. The tail was falling around him, with Franks going for 7 and Fisher for 10, but still he refused to give up. Suddenly, it looked like a glimmer of hope had emerged for Suriname - if someone from the tail could hang in with Gazzard.

After 41 overs, Suriname were 7/186 - needing 4 an over to win from the last 9. But could Lynch stay in with Gazzard, or would Gazzard fall - he was extremely fatigued and it couldn't be long before he let one through.

Just four runs came from the next two overs, and it seemed that it was going to be now very hard for Suriname to win. But, David Lynch cracked a two and then a four off the next over to keep Suriname very much alive, at 7/198 after 44 overs. This partnership was now worth 40 off 42, and was the only reason Suriname still had a chance.

However, Gazzard began to fall to pieces, swinging blindly and he fell after four consecutive dot balls, being bowled by Hughes. Now, Suriname needed 24 to win off 31 deliveries, and it was up to Lynch and Saggers.

The next over was great for Suriname, though - Saggers, the new man in, took three dot balls to get his eye in and then hit a two, followed by a three, with seven coming off the over in total. Suriname now needed 17 to win from 24 balls, with two wickets in hand. It looked like another thriller coming up.

Surprisingly, the ball was thrown to opening batsman Knappett, to bowl his first ever over for Bahrain. He seemed to be inspired by the pressure and bowled brilliantly, keeping the over to just one run. But again, Burford let his team down the next over and conceded 7 more runs. Suriname now needed just 9 runs to win from 12 balls - could they do it?

Knappett kept the ball, and apart from conceding a three, he didn't let through any more runs. What a brilliant effort from the opening bowler, conceding just 4 runs from 2 overs at the death. Now, the ball was handed to Burford - a risky move, perhaps. Suriname needed 6 to win from 6 - the equation was simple. Burford had been bowling horribly today, conceding 49 runs from 8 overs, and he was the man to score the runs off.

49.1 Burford to Saggers, Dot ball! Saggers doesn't hit it cleanly and can't get a run.
49.2 Burford to Saggers, Two runs, Saggers strokes it to deep cover and the batsman pick up two, 4 off 4 needed!
49.3 Burford to Saggers, Bowled! Disaster for Saggers, as he misses a straight one, trying to hit it out of the ground, Suriname are on their last wicket and will Hodgson be the hero?
49.4 Burford to Hodgson, Hits it down the ground but there is confusion and the batsman don't take a single in the end, they don't want to be run out
49.5 Burford to Hodgson, One run, pushes it away for a single, it's do or die now for Lynch

Lynch to face the last delivery. 3 runs to win. 2 to tie. 1 wicket in hand. This is seeming like a replay of their last game, and it looks like it might end the same way. Will Lynch be a hero?

49.6 Burford to Lynch, Pitches straight, Lynch goes for a slog sweep.. and misses! It gets him LBW in front, he's gone for 20, Suriname lose by 2 runs - shades of deja vu there. Bahrain are ecstatic and run off to celebrate, Burford is their hero after conceding just 3 from the last over and picking up 2 wickets, Suriname are shattered. Two consecutive 2 run losses for them - can they take anymore of this? They seemed to have it in the bag, but Knappett was immense conceding just four runs. An extremely disappointing loss for them. The players of Suriname can't believe it, Lynch and Saggers fought fiercely at the end but they weren't good enough and Bahrain win by 2 runs.

Bahrain: 9/221 (50.0 ov)
Suriname: 10/219 (50.0 ov)
Bahrain win by 2 runs

(Sorry about fuzzy scorecard, not sure what caused it, tried a re-upload and it looks great as a saved file, just Photobucket is screwing it up for me.)

 

[hedger_14]

For the scorecard, maybe you should just try and different image uploading site. Anyway, unlucky not to win there. Another good effort but another loss. Hopefully you can come back strongly and win your next game.