Story The Rebel Tour Thread - links to all reports and videos in OP

AROSA SRI LANKA TOUR
If the England rebel tour was high-profile and controversial, the AROSA Sri Lanka Tour became more obscure, but at the time was even more controversial, as it saw a non-white team agree to come to the land of apartheid and play the Springboks.

Sri Lanka had only gained test status earlier in 1982, so when in November of that year it was announced that a team led by their test captain Bandula Warnupara there was uproar. All the players were banned for life from any cricket in Sri Lanka, and were called traitors.

Nevertheless, the tour went ahead...

(note, the actual tour was multiple provincial matches, a 2-match (4-day) 'Test' series, and a 4-match 'ODI'. I am just playing 2 Tests and 2 ODIs, under similar rules to the tour. Tests are 4 days, ODIs have a single 15 over fielding restriction at the start of 50 overs.)
 
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1st Test - South Africa XI vs AROSA Sri Lanka, Berea Park
The controversial test series gets underway. Sri Lanka win the toss and bat first. Hettiaratchi falls first, caught at gully off van der Bijl for 7. Captain Warnapura falls shortly after without scoring to leave the tourists 24/2. Aponso and De Silva have a partnership of 49 before Aponso is caught behind off Jefferies. Perera falls for a 2-ball duck, the second double-blow the Sri Lankans have suffered, slumping to 73/4. When van der Bijl gets his 3rd wicket with Bandula De Silva caught behind for a promising looking 41, it's 82/5 and the fears of a mismatch look like being well-founded.

But Sri Lanka have packed their batting line-up (keeper Goonatilleke, proud owner of a test 50, is batting at 9), and a 50-partnership off 90 balls between Fernando and Woutersz settles things down a bit. Fernando finally goes for 28, and the score is 141/6. Woutersz becomes the second Sri Lankan to miss out on a 50, giving van der Bijl another wicket and Jennings another catch behind the wicket as he goes for 44, the score now 164/7. Rice gets his 2nd wicket as Kaluperuma goes for 14, 183/8 and a competitive score some way off. But Goonatilleke finds good support from Opatha as they share a partnership worth 54 before Opatha gives Le Roux his first wicket, going for 18 with the score on 237/9. Goonatilleke farms the strike to finally get a Sri Lankan batsman over the 50-mark, and the keeper also takes the team total over 250. Ajit de Silva becomes the third tourist to get out without troubling the scorers, leaving Goonatilleke unbeaten on 53, with Sri Lanka 251 all out. Vince van der Bijl the pick of the attack with 4-76, and Jefferies, Rice and Le Roux each picking up 2.

Cook and Richards come out with 19 overs left in the first day. Cook never looks comfortable and gives new-ball bowler Fernando a first wicket when he chips to mid-wicket for a tortuous 9 from 32 balls. Richards is then controversially given out stumped off the bowling of Ajit de Silva, it looking as if he was behind the line before the bails were off, but perhaps nothing grounded... either way the local crowd were not happy to see their star cut down while he was looking dangerous: Richards gone for 23 and the Springboks 42/2. Kirsten goes early on the second morning for 14, so it's 71/3. Pollock and Rice share a solid 50-partnership, and the legendary left-hander brings up his own 50. Rice and Pollock fall in quick succession, and the score is 141/5 - the much-vaunted Springbok top-order failing to fire. Have they been softened up by isolation? Kourie dominates a partnership of 67 with Kuiper, before falling short of his own half-century as Bandula de Silva chips in with a wicket with his part-time mediums. Jennings makes 22, a pattern emerging of too many Springbok batsmen getting in but bot going on, but at 250/7 they've reached parity, Kuiper is well set and there are no rabbits in the team. Can they conjure up a match-winning lead? Kuiper goes through to 50, but can't find support from Le Roux who falls for just 7. Jefferies also doesn't last long, but van der Bijl helps Kuiper take the score up to 310 before the giant fast bowler is last man out for 16, the young all-rounder being 75*. Ajit de Silva is the ky bowler for the tourists, with 4/59, each of the other 6 bowlers used grabbing a single wicket.

Sri Lanka lose Hettiaratchi (0) and Warnapura (26) before the deficit is erased, but for the second time in the match opener Bandula de Silva holds the top order together, bringing up his 50 and sharing a vital 50 with Perera after Aponso is out for 16. De Silva bats throughout most of the 3rd day, shrugging off the loss of Perera (41, partnership 83), Woutersz (9), and Fernando (22) to bring up a quite brilliant 100 off 166 balls, including 13 boundaries. He is finally 7th man out for 119, with the score on 277 and a lead of 218. Kaluperuma looks like giving the tourists a potentially match-winning lead, but is controversially given out LBW 2 runs short of a deserved half-century despite having seemingly got an inside-edge on to his pad. When Goonatilleke goes for 6 the lead is 249 with 1 wicket left, and a day plus almost a whole session to go. But a mixture of sloppy fielding and wayward bowling allows Opatha and Ajit de Silva to add 40 for the last wicket, Sri Lanka dismissed for 348. Van der Bijl is again the best bowler, picking up 5/65.

An hour left on the penultimate evening and the Springboks need 290 to avoid an embarrassing defeat. They don't get through the hour unscathed, losing Cook caught behind off Opatha for 12 and Richards mistiming a cut to a Fernando bouncer and being caught in the covers to complete a miserable match for the opening pair.

The final day starts with South Africa needing 240 with 8 wickets left... most results still in play though with a scheduled 96 overs in the day a draw is probably unlikely barring the intervention of bad weather. The morning session is firmly Sri Lanka's with Pollock, Kirsten and Kuiper all out in the 20s as the Springboks slump to 109/5 and when Rice is smartly stumped by Goonatilleke off the bowling of Ajit de Silva for 33, the score is 134/6 and an upset is surely on the cards.

Jennings and Kourie see out the morning, and are looking well settled, but shortly after lunch Jennings is given out lbw to Fernando for 27. With replays suggesting the ball was going over the stumps, it looked a poor decision, but perhaps no worse than the one that dismissed Kaluperuma the previous evening. With the score 173/7, the Sri Lankans are surely favourites now. However, Kourie is still in and playing solidly, and he shares a vital 50 partnership with Le Roux, and passes his own half-century as the Springboks move within 56 of the target.

Still Kourie and Le Roux bat on, forcing the Sri Lankans to post more defensive fields in an attempt to frustrate them. The runs required are under 50, and if the South Africans stay patiently they will surely win. But Le Roux is finally tempted into hitting a big shot and can only find Kaluperuma at deep backward square leg, the bowler being Bandula de Silva enjoying a charmed match with bat and ball. Just 9 runs later, Opatha finds Kourie's outside edge and he's snaffled by Goonatilleke behind the wicket for 62. There's just one wicket left and still 34 to get.

But as shown in the first innings, neither Jefferies nor van der Bijl are mugs with the bat, and they slowly erode the lead... into the 20s... then the 10s... finally single figures left to get...

And then Jefferies overbalances to an Ajit de Silva ball, Goonatilleke whips off the bails in an instant, the finger goes up and AROSA Sri Lanka have won by 8 runs, a stunning victory that will send shockwaves throughout South African cricket.


AROSA Sri Lanka win by 8 runs and lead the 2-match series 1-0.
 
OK, with Patch 4 hopefully hitting consoles shortly, I've spent some time completing the rebel tour teams.

I've completed all of the international squads across the various tours, plus some of the teams that played tour matches.

The teams are:
  • AROSA Sri Lanka - they toured South Africa in late 1982 (early part of 1982/83 season). The identity and uniform logos are edits I made of Llewelynf Sri Lanka dragon.
  • Australia Rebels 85-87 - they toured South Africa in 1985/86 and again in 1986/87. The team logo is a brilliant work by Llewelynf and the List A uniform is one I made based on their real uniform.
  • Eastern Province 1983-86. They played matches against Arosa Sri Lanka, West Indies and Australia across 5 tours. The team logo is another by Llewelynf and the List A uniform is a fictional one I've made.
  • England Rebels 1990. This is the Gatting Tour that was in the country when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. The team logo and uniforms are again the wonderful work of Llewelynf
  • SAB English XI - The Gooch Tour of 1982, the first of the Rebel Tours. Logo again by Llewelynf and List A uniform a fictional one by me.
  • SACB Invitation XI - played Australia in 1987 and England in 1990. Logo is the Highveld Lions logo I downloaded from the server i'm not sure who did it. Uniform made up by my imagination :)
  • SACB President's XI 85-87 - played Australia on each of their tours. Logo is a Dhaka one I downloaded from the server i'm not sure who did it. Once more my imagination takes credit for the kits.
  • South Africa Colts 1982 - played the SAB English XI in 1982. As a South African representative side I've given them the Springbok logo that (you guessed it) Llewelynf made.
  • South African Universities - played Australia in 1987 and England in 1990. Logo & Kit all from my fevered imagination. (the logo is supposed to be a mortarboard in the colours of the then South African flag).
  • West Indies XI 1983-84 - played 2 tours, probably the most controversial of all the tours and also the best from a "quality of cricket" perspective. Once more thanks to Llewelynf for the logos and me for the made up List A uniforms.
  • Western Province 1982-84 - the squad / lineups covers matches vs SAB English XI 1982, AROSA Sri Lanka 83, & West Indies 84. Once again the dynamic duo are Llewelynf for a superb logo and me for a made up uniform.
And then the Springbok squads, bridging the generation from Richards, Pollock and Procter to Cullinan and Donald:
  • South Africa XI 1982 - Covers the SAB English XI and AROSA Sri Lanka Tours
  • South Africa XI 1983 - Covers the first West Indies Tour
  • South Africa XI 1984 - Covers the second West Indies Tour
  • South Africa XI 1985/86 - Covers the first Australia Tour
  • South Africa XI 1986/87 - Covers the second Australia Tour
  • South Africa XI 1990 - Covers the England 1990 Tour
For all of the Springbok squads it's thanks @Llewelynf for the amazing logo. The 1982 List A kit is based in fact the rest I made up.

Some housekeeping:
  • All teams are graded as First Class, due to the unofficial status of the international matches.
  • All teams should have the correct player names/identities but due to the obscurity of some of the players and the sheer amount all but the famous players have random appearances with no attempt at likeness.
  • All teams have lineups done with it noted what matches they were for. In some instances They would need more than the allowed 8 lineups so I haven't done them all, I've just done a selection. I can find no record of the 2nd ODI on the AROSA Sri Lanka Tour so there is no line-up for that. The South Africa XI 1982 only has lineups for vs SAB English XI, not AROSA Sri Lanka.
  • Some skilling might be a little off (the Aussie players in particular are a bit underskilled at present and i'll revisit that in due course.)
  • I've assigned home country stadiums to each of the touring sides (i.e. English Stadiums for the English teams etc.) though of course none of them ever played any matches at home.
  • All the players have bats assigned, but no attempt has been made to give them "their" bats (which in most cases might be impossible anyway). But I've largely kept to retro bats, and huge thanks go to all the creators of those e.g. @relaxedanderson @GorgeousGeorge59 @Sweppy12 @Llewelynf and others.
  • Thanks to anyone who has made any of the stadiums, I've used all the SA Test ones from here (renaming Supersport Park to Centurion) as well as a Pietermaritzburg one I found & downloaded (& renamed for the purposes of the tour Jan Smuts Stadium), and I've also edited template grounds to make Berea Park, Jan Smuts Ground East London, and Harmony Gold Mine Ground. I also edited Arundel to make Crusaders Ground at St George's Park, and the Nevill Ground to make Goodyear Park, Bloemfontein. (No attempt at accuracy on the edited stadiums, just to get the names & locations). I've assigned the correct stadiums to teams based on where their matches were played.
  • Finally, I acknowledge the sensitivities / controversies of these tours and names like Jan Smuts and the old flag. No offence is intended, I am just interested in these tours as they represent a "lost era", and there were some genuinely world class players playing in these tours.
mrdconnors is the academy name on the server. the team names in bold are the names they are shared under.
 
While waiting for patch 4 I've decided to continue the AROSA Sri Lanka Tour and play the ODI series... this is a 2 match series played under the rules of my custom 25 over format: a single 8-over powerplay with 3 men outside the circle, 4 men outside for the remaining 17 overs.
 
1st ODI - South Africa XI vs AROSA Sri Lanka at Centurion

Smarting from their sensational defeat in the first test, South Africa are out for revenge in the ODI series.

They don't have to wait long to draw first blood, putting the tourists in to bat and seeing Garth Le Roux strike with 2 wickets for no runs in the first 4 balls of the match. Le Roux takes a third wicket early in his 2nd over to reduce the Sri Lankans to 13/3. Flavian Aponso leads the fightback, but he and others benefit from some inaccurate fielding from the Sringboks as a few shies at the stumps go wide with the batsman well out of his ground. That helps spare AROSA Sri Lanka from utter humiliation, as they lose wickets throughout the innings.

Nobody can support Aponso, who's 32 is the only score above 20 apart from extras, a wasteful 22 from the Springboks helping Sri Lanka to 113 all out in the 16th over, a very sub-par effort. Le Roux leads the charge with 4 wickets and Jefferies, Van der Bijl and Rice get 2 apiece.

In reply, Cook survives an early scare as his edged leg glance drops just short of Devapriya behind the stumps. Richards is out to a good catch on the run by Woutersz off Opatha, and the same bowler finds Kirsten's edge for a routine catch for Devapriya to put the Springboks 30/2. But Cook and Pollock make sure there's no repeat of the Test Match shock, an unbeaten stand of 87 taking them home, a 4 from Cook bringing up the winning runs and his 50.


South Africa win by 8 wickets and lead the 2-match series 1-0.

Big thanks to @Dutch for the music for the video.
 
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2nd ODI - South Africa XI vs AROSA Sri Lanka at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth

Looking to seal the series win, the Springboks win the toss and bat first. However, Opatha runs through the top order with 3 quick wickets, plus one for Karunaratne leaves the South Africans in all sorts of trouble at 26/4. Seef and Kuiper steady the ship, before the opener becomes Opatha's 4th victim with South Africa 45/5 at the end of the power play.

Kuiper shares another goof partnership with Kourie, but a catasrophic run-out robs the young all rounder of a deserved 50 and leaves the Springboks in need of good contributions from bowlers Le Roux and Jefferies to reach 139/8 off their 25 overs. Opatha's 4/25 a huge factor in the Springboks below par score.

However it proves enough as yet again the Sri Lankan's can't cope with the Springbok bowlers. Jefferies (4/30) and Le Roux (3/17) do the bulk of the damage as Sri Lanka are bowled out in exactly 15.4 overs for the second match in a row. Captain Bandula Warnupura makes 37, and nobody else passes double figures.


South Africa win the match by 55 runs and the 2-match ODI series 2-0.

3 different tunes by @Dutch in this vid! Thanks again.
 
Lovely stuff Dave

I've found these logos which may be of help for some more provincial teams.
 

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Tour Match - Eastern Province vs AROSA Sri Lanka, 3-day Match at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth

Sri Lanka return to First Class mode with a 3-day match against Eastern Province.

After the batting problems of the ODI, Sri Lanka will be looking to restore confidence ahead of the final test. Batting first, they start well, seeing off the new ball attack of Watson and Carse, before the medium pacers Cowley and Brickett make the breakthroughs, as Sri Lanka slump to 43/3. Goonatilleke (41), Perera (29) and Woutersz (36) restore order and make starts but don't go on, before a staggering collapse sees 5 wickets fall for just 3 runs, 4 to the medium pacer Howell who ends with 4/3, Sri Lanka bundled out for just 155.


Dave Richardson got the Eastern Province reply off to a good start, and was unlucky to fall 1 run short of a half-century. His departure leads to a mini slump as the Sri Lankan spinners pick up several wickets, but captain Cowley hits a fine unbeaten 63* to lift Eastern Province up to 229 all out, a handy lead of 74.


Sri Lanka erased the deficit and built a lead helped along by Goonatilleke's 53 and 39 from Perera as they both completed good matches. But another shocking collapse, losing the last 5 wickets this time for 15 runs, saw them bundled out for 188, a lead of just 114. Brickett picked up 3 for the second innings in a row, and Carse's 3-45 helped make up for a poor first innings.


Eastern Province got off to another good start but again Richardson fell just short of a half-century, this time going for 45. Another mini-slump gives Sri Lanka hope, but Cowley and Williams steady the nerves to lead Eatern Province to a solid 5-wicket win early on the final day.


Eastern Province win by 5 wickets.
 
So I did complete the AROSA Sri Lanka Tour some time ago. I haven't really had time to write it up or make the highlights video... but:

1st Test - South Africa XI vs AROSA Sri Lanka, Newlands

South Africa win the toss and bat first, posting a competitive 365. Jennings just misses out on a hundred, falling for 99, and Kirsten's 79 is the other innings of note. Opatha and Ranasinghe take 3 wickets apiece for Sri Lanka.

In reply the tourists make a disappointing 222, just avoiding the follow-on. Captain Warnapura scores 87, but has little support with Woutersz being the next highest scorer on 39. The South African spin duo of Kourie and Hobson do the damage with 4 wickets each.

Graeme Pollock anchors the Springbok 2nd Innings with 106, as they score 302 to set a target of 446 to win, or more realistically a day and a half to survive for the draw. Ranasinghe backs up his first innings effort with a 5-fer, and there is another 3 for Opatha.

Sri Lanka never get near either target, dismissed for 263 after lunch on the final day. Goonatilleke (66) and Ranasinghe (59) each show some resistance in passing 50, but Le Roux's 5-70 secures the win for the Springboks and spares their blushes.

South Africa win by 182 runs, the series is drawn 1-1

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