Story The Tasmanian Green to the Baggy Green? [UPDATED!! - Greetings from Warwickshire!]

[shantanu_rooney]

Nice you bowled well in your first 5 overs going for just 16 runs. Goodwin is playing really slow but Mike Huss is playing great and has a great strike rate. You need to break this partnership or else i can see WA reaching 250 odd. Huss will surely be the key man here.

Great writing and gfx Matt

 

[stevo1]

Great presentation, great story, absolutely brilliant, kiu!

 

[Jaztheman]

You've bowled well so far, so your last 5 overs should be less nerveracking. Hopefully you can get the breakthrough soon as this partnership is getting out of control.

Brilliant writing mate.

 

[Highlander999]

I didn't know what to think

How about me? Are you using the patches I mentioned? Hussey is playing well though and his wicket is very important. Not a bad opening spell, but you should try and get a wicket

Lovely detail, get those pitch ads, bats and stumps!!!!!!

 

[mattfb]

Yeah I'm using the patches. Haha I was looking at the stumps earlier but forgot about them

Cheers for the comments guys!

 

[mattfb]

Chapter 3: vs WA ING CUP
Hussey and Goodwin were starting to look good after 29 overs. The run rate was slow but the partnership was building and so was there confidence. Me and Marsh were in the attack and they were picking us off for singles, not taking any risks. The bad balls were put away, and the good ones were just put away for singles. I bowled 7 overs straight before being taken off, and I couldn't get a wicket but I kept it fairly tight but we weren't getting a wicket which was annoying. Goodwin and Hussey were starting to look good and Hussey had reached his 50, and he did it with a good strike rate. The Western Australian batsmen were starting to look good.

It was then that Goodwin started getting in on the act, hitting Wright and Kremserkothen straight down the ground for a few fours. The placement was brilliant and they were putting the pressure on us as Goodwin moved in on his 50. He was starting to get into the groove as he started playing some shots. It was a long innings he had taken his time, before he brang up his 50 in 104 balls. A slow innings and it could hurt Western Australia unless he starts playing some big shots towards the end.

Things were starting to get annoying. Wright was taken off and Downton was brought back into the attack only to be greeted by a boundary from Goodwin. Hussey was starting to free up a bit now as well and we just knew they were going to start trying to hit out soon with only 12 overs left in the innings and we didn't look like getting a wicket. Everything we tried was just either meet with a straight bat and a single or four, or a cut shot that either just missed the edge or flew out to the deep point fieldsmen. They were doing good picking the gaps.

But Goodwin started getting excited, and tried to hit balls that weren't there. After a few played and misses Goodwin tried to pull a ball that was way to full to be pulled and pay the price as it struck him on the pad. We all went up and were running in appealing and celebrated a lot when the umpire put the finger up. We had finally got rid of the rock after so many chances and frustrated moments. It was good to see the back of Goodwin for sure.

"It's about time the umpire did something for us"

"Yeah, maybe we should stop being so mean to him."

"I dunno, we'll have to see if he tries to rip us off when we have bat in hand."

But all this did was bring Wates into the attack. I was brought back in for Wright who was expensive and was greeted with some poor fielding and big shots. Hussey was sweeping and going long but it was either just over the head of the fielder, or bad positioning and lack of heart meant it went for 4. Many times the fieldsmen missed simple balls on the ground or misjudged the line of a ball and as a result when to the boundary. It was annoying and I was getting angry.

That said, Wates was batting great as soon as he came in, hitting over the top and into the gaps. As soon as Cox changed the field and hit it into the new gap. Hussey was starting to go long as well and was hitting a few sixes. Western Australia were all of a sudden looking at a score of around 240 as they were 4/170 after 40 overs. They will still need to score a lot of quick runs to get there but they looked like they would do it easy the way they were going.

Then all of a sudden, our fortunes changed. Hussey went to go for another big sweep off me and got onto it, at first I thought it was six until I noticed Dawson was calling catch it a lot more excitedly then the other ones that flew over Marsh's head. I turned around and saw Hussey had only managed to pick out Marsh, and I had taken my first wicket in domestic cricket!!!! It was a great feeling, especially seems I had been smashed and has gone for 15 off the 2 overs so far in my spell.

"Well done mate!!!"

"Great catch Marshy!!"

"Yeehhhaaaaaa. Come on boys lets finish them off!"

But that certainly did not happen. North strode to the crease and didn't score too quickly at first, but Wates kept going big. He was dominating, and scored almost all his runs in boundaries. North was picking singles and still hitting the odd boundary as these 2 were doing there best to get WA past 250. They were going strong and in the end passed 250 with still a few overs left. Wates brang up his 50 in just 17 balls, featuring 9 fours and 2 sixes. He hammered me as I finished with figures of 1/54 off 10 after going for 24 off my last 3 overs. I was disappointed with that.

With Wates smashing the quick bowlers as well, and North hitting a six off Griffith Cox decided to take a gamble and bowl Marsh for the final over and take the pace off the ball. It certainly did not work as Marsh got hit for 3 fours off the first 3 balls. Wates had taken Western Australia up to 270 and they could get to 280 if they hit big in the last 3 balls. But Marsh bowled a cracker of a ball which Wates played all around and took out Wates off stumo. We were all delighted.

"Good to see the back of him. Good stuff Marshy"

"No, I haven't even done 5% of my job yet. We have to do the good stuff with the bat or we are goneskies"

Hogg came in, and hit a four first ball but the last ball of the innings he couldn't score off. Am extremely eventful last 10 overs saw 106 runs and 2 wickets as Western Australia finished 6/276 at the end of their 50. It was going to be a hard chase, and nothing we thought we would be chasing down so we were in for a tough time. I was a little nervous as I knew I would play a big part in the next innings, all the batsmen would. We all sat down and started tucking into dinner as Tim spoke to us.

"Well well boys, that's what happens when you don't kill the match. We could have had them all out for 200. Anyway, we have a big chase so we need to knuckle down and concentrate. We can still win this!"

Western Australia 6/276 off 50 overs
Hussey 84 (83)
Goodwin 59 (110)
Wates 57 (19)

Kremerskothen 10 overs 2-45
Wright 9 overs 1-44
Coll 10 overs 1-54

 

[shantanu_rooney]

Wow!! WA have reached a really good score after what they were after 16 overs. Hussey has played brilliantly as he does for Australia.. Quickfire 50 by Wates at the end really helped WA. Will be really challenging for Tasmania and hope you do show some allrounder skills with the bat also.

Great presentation as usual Matt KIU...

 

[Jaztheman]

Great batting by WA to hit the bad balls and still manage singles off the good balls. Hussey was indispensible for WA but you got the big wicket, then went on to concede many runs...

Hopefully you can bat well and somehow get near the score. WA should never of reached that score though. Brilliant writing and graphics, Matt, awesome stuff.

 

[surendar]

250+ is always going to be tough.. but the start is going to matter a lot now.. Good luck for the chase Wonderful presentation .. keep it going :hpraise

 

[Highlander999]

Thank you Tom's patch That Goodwin dismissal looked painful though, nothing like a slower ball bouncer

You guys are going to have to bat sensibly to win this. Congrats on getting a wicket as well

 

[Dr. Pepper]

Lol your high five celebration was sooo camp . Tough score but congrats on a wicket.

 

[Jakester1288]

Looking forward to the chase.

 

[mattfb]

Chapter 3: vs WA ING CUP

As we sat down to eat our lunch in the break, the nerves started kicking in as I started coming to terms with the situation of the match and the roles that us batters will need to play. We want to get off to a good start in the season and an away win against a powerhouse team like Western Australia would be the perfect way to do that. As I tucked into some chicken, Cox and Birt went to go get their pads on and release some nerves.

I was soon sitting on the balcony next to Michael Bevan who was due to come in at 4 as Cox and Birt made their way to the center. A positive start was vital, and we got that even if it wasn't off the bat. Ronchi made an elementary mistake when he missed a sitter, which only just missed the outside edge and ran away for 4 byes. It might not have been the best start in terms of confidence but it kept the run rate flowing. We scored 5 runs in the first over which was a good start as we required around 5 and a half an over. I started to chat to Bevan who was next to me.

"Hopefully we can keep this up and we will be in a good position to win this."

"Yeah mate, I'm hoping these 2 can get us to a good position and still be in the middle after 15 or so overs."

Just as we spoke, Birt almost found himself walking back to the pavilion as he was hit on the pads by Magoffin. They all went up and the umpire took his time before giving it not out. Replays suggest it might of just hit outside the line of leg, but it was close!

"We don't want any more of that!"

But unfortunately there was some more of that, as 3 overs later, just when the two batsmen were looking good, Cox chipped one off his legs straight to square leg. The ball looked to go past the man at square leg and the two batsmen took off. As soon as they noticed it was going to be caught they just started to jog, but the ball was dropped!! :happy

Next thing the batsmen knew, they were both caught in no mans land!! Wates picked up the ball straight away, put in a perfect throw to Ronchi who removed the bails in a flash and Birt was out by a good distance! The first wicket fell and now Di Venuto walked to the crease with the score at 1-24.

When Birt made his way back into the pavilion is wasn't pretty.

"F%#@ING BULL#%*@!!!!!!!!"

Di Venuto strode to the crease and straight away started to look comfortable playing some top shots to all around the ground. Cox was going along nicely, his strike rate was slow but there were a lot of extras like byes and leg byes which kept the run rate about 5 an over at all times which meant there was no need for him to play silly shots.

3 overs after the Birt dismissal though, Williams had Cox trapped in front. It was a good ball that swung into Cox and he tried to play it away to the leg side, but misjudged the pace of the ball and live it looked like it might have been going down leg side when it hit him, but replays showed it was quite plumb. Western Australia were ecstatic as they had us 2-37!

"Well, looks like I'm in. Don't worry about putting those pads on just yet matey, as I don't plan to be returning any time soon! "

But of course I had to, because the Cox dismissal meant I was next in!!!

 

[Highlander999]

Quack quack quack, and the long walk back. OMG that was awesome rhyming by me

You better not make a 50 Great read Matt

 

[Jaztheman]

Both openers have gone and your team is in a spot of trouble. You need to go in and make an amazing century off 35 balls.

Great read there, Matt. Also loving the dropped catch only for a run out to occur.