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The Golden Isles - A Third Time Lucky West Indies Story

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  • You know what, guys... I think this side might just be better than us.



    We batted first, and after Barath was out early, Tuit, Bravo and Burton constructed a solid but rather slow platform for our side. Unfortunately, they got out at just the wrong moments and Pollard and Alford both failed to do what they're in the side for and hit, leaving Benjamin (27) and Imran Khan (28*) to tidy up the mess and provide us with a strong finish, which they did.

    India made 161 from their opening partnership, however, and despite Kohli and Pandey both falling cheaply, had no real issues passing our target which on a good pitch was made to look dreadful.

    Series State India win the series 3-0 with 2 to play.
    Batting Award Shane Burton - Top scored at quite a good rate, was only out run out.
    Bowling Award None awarded - A poor performance in this area.
    Team News None!
    Let's get this series over and done with in this post then, shall we?



    This time was the other way round... we started bowling well and ended batting badly... The Indian top 3 were quality as they always seem to be, but apart from them, dots and scores in the teens from the middle and lower orders were all we had to contend with, and having constricted them to under 250 we really felt we had a good chance to take a consolation victory from the game.

    It never really happened for us with the bat though... regular wickets fell at all points, and when Imran Khan second-top scores in an ODI, you know you've been having problems with the willow.

    Series State India have won the series and lead 4-0 with 1 to play.
    Batting Award None given or deserved.
    Bowling Award Sunil Narine - Economy, 3 wickets, lovely.
    Team News Maynard back in for Pollard, McClean in for Matthew.
    Pffffftttttt.



    Mukund got India off to an amazing start, and whilst no-one really stuck with him that well at the other end, people made cameos of attacking efforts, and that meant India could reach their highest total of the series by some margin.

    As that had happened, we didn't really fancy our chances of reaching the target. We made a pretty good fist of it in the end though, with our opening partnership worth 103, Tuit's 65 from only 53 balls. Unfortunately though, we couldn't turn that into a win. Shane Burton played incredibly well, but no-one stuck with him for long enough. Alford managed to stay out there for 25 balls, but that was the best our middle and lower orders could accomplish.

    Series State India win the series 5-0.
    Batting Award Dolston Tuit - He scored quickly and positively, and was our second highest run scorer in the series.
    Bowling Award Kev McClean - Had the difficult job of closing the innings, but kept his economy rate low.
    You know what's next, ladies and gentlemen? 2 T20Is against India and then the infamous T20 World Cup. With a preview and everything. First up though, we have to work out what our best squad for this format of the game is... In the template below, I've put in all the definites and positions still to be filled.

    Comment


    • Originally posted by ME
      K. Powell (O)
      BAT or O
      S. Burton (BAT/O)
      Darren Bravo (BAT) (C)
      BAT
      BAT/ALL
      BAT/K
      M. Alford (ALL)
      ALL/ASP
      K. Stoute (ALL)
      SPIN/ASP
      C.Brathwaite (SEAM)
      SEAM
      S. Narine (SPIN)
      WILDCARD
      What you can basically gather from that is that we have a very unsettled squad at the moment, taking losses against big teams, so I can only name 7 players out of 15 as definite to go... not amazing. Anyway, next up, a list of players in contention for each position.

      Position Player T20s Bat Average SR Bowl Average Econ
      Opener Dolston Tuit performed well in the recent ODI series in India, and his good form and performances in T20s this year could see him catapulted into the line of duty. 41 23.71 134.59 - -
      Opener Xavier Marshall is an aggressive batsman who has played a lot of West Indies cricket, but mainly as a young man. 59 25.06 134.94 - -
      Batsman Miles Bascombe has played a solitary T20I for the West Indies, but his domestic form this year is not to be sniffed at, as is his aggressive nature. 62 24.55 139.45 - -
      Batsman Mike Paul plays a lot of international cricket for me, and has played all 8 T20Is for me this year. Not particularly successfully though. 37 21.76 122.09 - -
      Batting All-rounder Dwayne Bravo is another who has played a great number of T20Is previously (55), but has been out of the team recently. 214 24.60 130.42 22.34 7.97
      Batting All-rounder Kieron Pollard. Once well renowned young talent, then West Indies short-form batting revalation, now struggling to retain his place in even a weak middle order. 200 26.59 158.01 24.54 7.90
      Keeper/Opener Lendl Simmons, who many would say was unfairly dropped earlier this year in favour of better glovemen who can't bat. 112 25.25 117.19 - -
      Keeper Graham Maynard, who played well in his 2 T20Is to date, but really struggled in his 11 ODIs. 6 42.67 129.27 - -
      Keeper Max Browne, now the first choice test match keeper for the side, would not be an explosive pick, but a solid base. 26 18.88 126.37 - -
      All-rounder Dean Benjamin would be a pick that would enforce the status quo. Immediately impressive in international cricket, his ODI century has boosted him, but otherwise he has struggled. 18 22.90 129.37 20.50 7.66
      All-round spinner Ryan Hinds is a man who generally features in my tournament squads, but at 35, is this one tournament too far? An experienced head may be useful though. 57 22.89 127.93 20.03 6.58
      Spinner Imran Khan is another who plays a lot when I'm in charge, but he can't be a definite as he's only played 9 T20Is for me. Good economy this year though. 67 15.73 112.67 12.96 7.05
      Spinner Devendra Bishoo is a man who hasn't been mentioned much round here lately but can probably still spring a performance. Can't bat well though. 81 9.76 135.74 17.56 6.64
      Seamer Mervin Matthew has played a lot in the last year, but can't be a definite simply due to the fact he has no form at all at the moment. 65 6.90 113.11 12.90 6.79
      Seamer Jason Holder is now 24 and could be in line for a nice return to the national squads. Has been taking wickets in T20 at an average of 10 runs this year. 46 15.07 148.68 12.85 6.99
      Whew. That was a lot of reading and writing. Anyway, for the two warm up T20s, I have selected these players to fill the positions...

      Originally posted by WICB
      BAT or O - Dolston Tuit - Just for the fact he made a promising start to his international career.
      BAT - Miles Bascombe - I'll give anyone a go, me, and this guy (a regular in one of the previous Golden Isles games) may have something.
      BAT/ALL - Dwayne Bravo - I've missed him. I'll bat him higher this time around.
      BAT/K - Lendl Simmons - I've missed him too in one day cricket. I was impetuous. Sorry Lendl.
      ALL/ASP - Ryan Hinds - The old guy gets the nod, and spinners always concede fewer runs somehow.
      SPIN/ASP - Imran Khan - The only real no brainer, a quality performer.
      SEAM - Jason Holder - I miss his striking ability and don't know why I didn't persevere a little longer first time.
      WILDCARD - Dean Benjamin - I'm happy for him to sit on the bench all tournament, but if we struggle he's a decent option.
      And the team for the first match, and what I believe at the moment to be my strongest team, looks like this...

      K. Powell (O)
      D. Tuit (O)
      Darren Bravo (BAT) (C)
      Dwayne Bravo (ALL)
      M. Bascombe (BAT)
      M. Alford (ALL)
      L. Simmons (K)
      R. Hinds (ASP)
      C. Brathwaite (SEAM)
      J. Holder (SEAM)
      S. Narine (SPIN)
      And within that I'd say there are a lot of combinations... take an opener out, let Simmons open and bring Burton in, for instance, or sub a bowler for Khan for even more spin or Stoute for even more batting! I like this squad. I better bloody do. It took me long enough.

      NOTE - I originally wrote those two posts as one, but it was too long and it wouldn't let me.

      Comment


      • Well... that wasn't our finest performance.



        What happened to my golden touch, eh? Considering the start we got with Powell and Bravo, who made it through to 87/1, we had a torrid time at the end of the innings and just couldn't speed it up no matter how hard we tried. Dwayne and Bascombe fell cheaply, and whilst Alford managed to club 8 from 4, it wasn't really as much as we needed.

        In the bowling department, it could be said that things went even worse. Holder started off with two total nightmares of overs, and had to be taken out, with Alford not faring much better. Dwayne Bravo bowled an economical over. Hinds took a wicket. Pfffffft.

        Series State India lead 1-0 with 1 to play.
        Batting Award Kieron Powell played well for his 72, but it could have come quicker...
        Bowling Award Sunil Narine - Bowled four overs for 23. Pfffffft.
        Team News Stoute in for Holder. Cracking.
        Yeah... we're going to struggle in this world cup.



        We were more pleased with our total this time round, coming as it did from 22/4 off the first 5 overs, mainly due to a partnership between Simmons (21) and Stoute worth 67. Waiittt... Kevin Stoute averages more than most of our batsmen in T20... why did no-one tell me this? I may utilise him at 6 in future...

        Our bowlers struggled again against a rather good Indian team, and we were utterly and totally thrashed. Ah well.

        Series State India win the series 2-0
        Batting Award Kev Stoute - A rather fine innings from him... shame he was batting at 8.
        Bowling Award None awarded.
        Next up is the preview of the T20 World Cup. We keep the same squad going into that.

        Comment


        • 2016 T20 World Cup Preview

          2016 T20 World Cup Preview

          I even gave this post a title. Yep, it's serious.
          Group A

          England

          Summary - England have named 3 wicketkeepers in their squad for the tournament, which as a team with half a wicketkeeper in their 15, I rather envy. Cook and Morgan will lead the batting, and Swann may get outings on these Indian pitches.

          Key Player - In Ian Stamp's T20i career to date, he's played 19 matches, averaged 50.8 at a strike rate of 131 with the bat, and taken wickets at 14.7 and an economy of 5.93. I'm impressed.

          Prediction - Runners up

          Netherlands

          Summary - As ever, ICC will not let me view the team details for the Netherlands. Generally the most dangerous of the associates on the game, but I would expect and hope that they lose both their group matches.

          Key Player - Ryan ten Doeschate was in amazing form at the last World Cup tournament, and if he hasn't retired yet I expect similar again from him.

          Prediction - Knocked out from Group A.

          West Indies

          Summary - We enter this tournament in our worst position for a while. Since the loss of Shiv Chanderpaul we've never really looked the same, and whilst I can see one unexpected Super 8 victory and a win against the Dutch, I don't see knockout stages looming.

          Key Player - Sunil Narine is still only 27 years old, but his middle over economy is always vital for my side, and I can't help but name him our key player.

          Prediction - 3rd in Super 8 group.

          Group B

          India

          Summary - They've just beaten the Australians at ODIs in Australia, and handed out a 7-0 home thrashing to the Golden Isles on a limited overs tour, so they'll have their heads up. The bowling looks fragile though, and if someone goes out and clobbers them I have no idea if they'll be able to react. Rishi Dhawan has never played an international match, but makes their squad.

          Key Player - Abinhav Mukund is a massive part of the Indian top order. In the 7 matches against the West Indies recently, he scored 553 runs at an average of 110.6. None of his scores were below 50. Watch out, world.

          Prediction - Semi-finalists

          Kenya

          Summary - They'll almost certainly be dreadful.

          Key Player - None, they haven't got a hope.

          Prediction - Losers in Group B. I'll be surprised if they score over 100 in either match.

          Sri Lanka

          Summary - Always a strong team when you look at a World Cup, they have serious batting talent and probably enough bowling to see them over the line. A team that is very hard to predict for though, as they could implode at pretty much any point.

          Key Player - Janith Wijisena is still only 20 years old, but the left arm paceman is sending down some serious balls at the moment. His test match record may be average, but in T20Is this year he's sent down 35 overs, taking 16 wickets at 13.25, with an economy rate of 6.06. Brilliant.

          Prediction - Semi-finalists

          Group C

          Australia

          Summary - Normally they go into tournaments looking strong and with people saying they'll win the thing, but I have an inkling that might not happen this time. Whilst they have quality players, I think they lack any real depth in their team and squad, and I don't think they'll get past the Super 8s.

          Key Player - David Warner is the sort of opener we'd all love to have in this format. A great player in all formats, but he made his name in T20 and I think he'll excel again.

          Prediction - 3rd in Super 8 group.

          Bangladesh

          Summary - Their bowling, and especially their spin bowling, is very strong indeed, but apart from Shuv Hom, none of their players average over 20 in the T20I format. I can't see them getting through this strong group.

          Key Player - Shuvagata Hom has to carry the batting almost by himself in this tournament. He's a talented boy, but he will have to be right on form for his side this time out.

          Prediction - Last in Group C.

          Pakistan

          Summary - Pakistan's strong squad belies their world ranking of eighth, and I have a sneaking suspicion they might beat Australia in the group stage. Not many allrounders for them though, which could lead to a bit of lower order collapse.

          Key Player - Nasir Jamshed is the highest run scorer in T20 and T20I cricket in the world this year, and I'd expect him to get a few big scores in the matches they play.

          Prediction - 4th in Super 8 Group.

          Group D

          New Zealand

          Summary - I'm going to come right out here and say it... this New Zealand squad is weak. Their bowlers apart from Vettori are expensive, and only de Boorder and Rutherford have batting stats to compete at this level.

          Key Player - The only man who helps give balance to their side is Derek de Boorder. He has a good T20I average and Strike Rate batting wise, and his keeping too allows one more specialist batsman in the side.

          Prediction - Last in Group D.

          South Africa

          Summary - I'm finding it incredibly hard to pick any holes at all in this South African squad. My only hope for the rest of the competition is that they choke. Their allrounders aren't the best bowlers ever, so we'll have to hope people can score in the middle overs.

          Key Player - It's hard to pick just one, but 29 year old Abdul Razak has turned himself into the spinner that South Africa have always longed for in the short formats. He's started his international career wonderfully, and in India will be key.

          Prediction - Winners.

          Zimbabwe

          Summary - I've stuck my neck out by saying Zimbabwe will beat New Zealand to that second qualification spot in Group D, and that is partly because the Zimbabwe squad actually struck me as quite a good one. Brendan Taylor and the little man Tatenda Taibu will lead the batting, and they're a bit weak in this area, but in terms of bowling they're looking like a very good side indeed.

          Key Player - Because of the all-round bowling strength, this is a batsman, more specifically Brendan Taylor. He's still only 30, and averaging almost that number in T20Is, will lead his team from the front and with bat in hand.

          Prediction - 4th in Super 8 group.
          Last edited by Imager36; 04-26-2013, 06:28 PM.

          Comment


          • Team News for England Match (14/3/2016)

            Did anyone else miss the Team News posts I did at the last world cup? No? Well, I did, so you're getting more this time round.

            This is the first match in Group A. There's no real discussion to be made, therefore, except to say that they'll almost certainly beat us and we shouldn't be particularly distressed about that. So, without further ado...

            England West Indies
            A. Cook (C) K. Powell
            J. Trott L. Simmons (K)
            J. Gates Darren Bravo (C)
            J. Bairstow (K) Dwayne Bravo
            E. Morgan M. Bascombe
            B. Stokes S. Burton
            I. Stamp K. Stoute
            T. Bresnan R. Hinds
            C. Woakes I. Khan
            S. Broad C. Brathwaite
            J. Harris S. Narine
            No Mike Alford? In a West Indies team? Preposterous. It's happened though, with the pitch looking as if it's going to turn square, we pick a spin trio of Narine, Khan and Hinds, with England not even having a decent part-time spin option. Shane Burton is batting at 6 for us because I thought he was the most viable option... a failure for him in this game may offer a return to the more multi-dimensional Alford, however.

            The news from the middle though, is that the West Indies have won the toss, and decided to field first.

            Comment


            • Really enjoying the return of your story. Keep it up

              Comment


              • Thanks... I've gone back a bit to just playing matches and writing about them briefly

                Anyway... a totally unexpected win, but not one I begrudge us.



                We opened our bowling with Ryan Hinds, who bowled straight through and only went for 22 runs on a spinning wicket. None of the seamers could really keep the runs down at the other end though, so after the powerplay we brought on a full spin attack and ran the English batsmen rather into the ground. Khan got rid of Cook almost immediately after coming on, and towards the end of their spells, him and Narine took a little flurry. Trott was caught LBW, and after Bairstow got a first-baller from Khan, Gates was stumped for 25. Morgan and Stamp offered little resistance against the returning quicks, and while Stokes and Bresnan put on an annoying 29, a couple more late ones for Brathwaite sorted out their innings and gave us a chaseable target.

                Lendl Simmons started our innings in typical fashion, with a 2-ball 1. Kieran Powell and Darren Bravo (23) put on 57 in quickish time for the second wicket though to put us well back on course, although as soon as Darren fell, Dwayne followed with his 3rd duck in 3 T20Is. Drop time, I think. Miles Bascombe came in and played well though, putting on another 55 with Powell and making 26 from 20 balls to keep us ticking along nicely at the run rate and confident. Shane Burton came in, and Powell accelerated to make the partnership worth 21, but then was bowled by Broad at the start of the 19th over, us requiring only 7 from the last 2 overs to win. Stoute ran a single, but Burton was caught LBW by Broad, and after a single for new batsman Hinds, Stoute and Khan were out in consecutive deliveries to make things nervy. Stamp started the 20th with a strong LBW appeal, but a single and a boundary saw us to a good victory.

                Batting Award Kieran Powell - When did that man get so good at T20 cricket? 77 from 59 to keep us in with a shout at the match.
                Bowling Award Hinds/Khan/Narine/Brathwaite - All four did amazing jobs and were all reasons we managed to keep the total so low.
                Key Opposition Player Watch Ian Stamp had an average game, 5 from 4 balls with the bat and 22 runs coming off his 3 and a half overs.
                Last edited by Imager36; 04-27-2013, 06:35 PM.

                Comment


                • Results before West Indies vs. Netherlands

                  Group A

                  The West Indies (144/8 from 19.3, Powell 77, Broad 5/23) beat England (143/8, Trott 47, Brathwaite 3/28, Narine 3/27) by 2 wickets.

                  England
                  (190/2, Cook 117*) beat the Netherlands (126 all out, Seelar 48*, Stamp 3/11, Broad 4/16) by 64 runs.

                  Group B

                  India (174/6 from 18.3, Mukund 45, Kohli 60) beat Sri Lanka (171/6, Mathews 45, Silva 40*, P Kumar 2/24) by 4 wickets.

                  India (189/2, Kohli 96*, Mukund 45, Menaria 42*) beat Kenya (99 all out, Tong 35*, P Kumar 3/22, Ashwin 3/15) by 90 runs.

                  Kenya (160/6 from 19.4, Obuya 50, Obanda 48) beat Sri Lanka (156/6, Serasinghe 50*, Varaiya 2/21) by 4 wickets.

                  Group C


                  Pakistan (189/8, Alam 54, U Akmal 68) beat Bangladesh (111 all out, S Tanvir 2/15, A Tanvir 2/13, Hafeez 3/10) by 78 runs.

                  Pakistan (194/2, Shehzad 68, Jamshed 53, Alam 59*) beat Australia (180/3, Warner 63, Burns 52) by 14 runs.

                  Group D

                  South Africa
                  (85/2 from 14.2) beat Zimbabwe (81/9, Philander 3/13, Razak 3/17, McLaren 2/4) by 8 wickets.

                  New Zealand (153/4 from 18.5, de Boorder 56*) beat South Africa (150/9, Smith 47) by 6 wickets.

                  New Zealand (169/6, Taylor 53, de Boorder 41, W de Villiers 2/17) beat Zimbabwe (146 all out, Masakadza 44, Banks 3/14, Noema-Barnett 3/35) by 23 runs.

                  Team News for Netherlands match (19/3/2016)

                  Basically, the West Indies will qualify with England from Group A unless they are thrashed by the Netherlands, and will win the group if they manage to win this match.

                  Netherlands West Indies
                  T. Heggelman K. Powell
                  T. de Grooth L. Simmons (K)
                  A. Kervezee Darren Bravo (C)
                  R. ten Doeschate S. Burton
                  P. Borren (C) M. Bascombe
                  E. Szwarczynski K. Stoute
                  M. Swart M. Alford
                  M. Bukhari R. Hinds
                  S. Mott I. Khan
                  P. Seelaar C. Brathwaite
                  W. Barresi (K) S. Narine
                  So the only change for the West Indies is that Dwayne Bravo drops out and is replaced by Mike Alford, who is down to come in at number seven. The Netherlands' top scorer in the last game, Seelaar, is still buried at number ten in the order. The pitch isn't set to spin too much, but the three spinners are retained on account of how well they did last time.

                  The news from the middle here in India is that the Netherlands have won the toss and have elected to bat first.
                  Last edited by Imager36; 04-27-2013, 07:46 PM. Reason: Poor spelling of Szwarczynski.

                  Comment


                  • Not exactly the convincing thrashing I was hoping for...



                    Hinds once again bowled straight through from the start, and once again conceded only 22 runs, but the seamers were expensive at the other end, all 3 used for one over apiece and going for over 10 runs each. After that, we switched to Narine and Khan, who regained control but didn't take any early wickets, eventually removing de Grooth with the score at 74. From a run rate of almost 10, we then reigned them in completely, with Heggelman getting out soon after for 46 from 31 balls, and none of the other batsmen managing to accelerate to the same regard, with ten Doeschate's 21 from 20 balls the only other innings with a Strike Rate of over 100, and we were very pleased with the end by Brathwaite and Alford to keep them to under 7 an over, a target we thought was easily in our reach...

                    Hahahaha. We made a slow but steady start before Simmons was caught off ten Doeschate for 5, but Darren Bravo built with Powell, Burton, Bascombe and Stoute to take us to 110/4, needing another 29 runs from 23 balls, that we thought should be fairly regulation. Ten Doeschate caught Stoute LBW for 18, and Darren Bravo followed later in the over for 43 from 36 balls, us needing 22 fromthe last 3 overs to win it. Alford struggled slightly to keep the pace, but Ryan Hinds hit a boundary in the 18th over and they both rotated the strike to keep us on track, and we needed 8 from the last over. Alford was out to the first ball of it. Khan managed a single off the second, but Hinds struck a 4 off the third to make us need 3 from 3. He hit a single the next ball, but Khan played and missed at the penultimate delivery, and could only manage one off the last, so the match was tied... and we go through in first place from the group!

                    Batting Award Darren Bravo - The only man to score over 20, captain B made a good score.
                    Bowling Award Imran Khan - 1/20 from 4 overs, and his wicket was the important one of Heggelman.
                    Key Opposition Player Watch Ryan t D - 21 runs from 20 with the bat, 4 overs 3/28, their best player played like that.
                    The remaining result from the first group stages was Australia (169/9, Warner 61, Reza 3/25) beat Bangladesh (70 all out, Cutting 5/16, Faulkner 3/22) by 99 runs.

                    Which all means the Super 8 groups are going to look a little like this...

                    Group E Group F
                    Kenya Australia
                    Pakistan England
                    South Africa India
                    West Indies New Zealand
                    To me, Group E, where we are, looks remarkably weaker. I'd expect South Africa to win all their matches, and possibly Kenya to lose all of theirs... though I shouldn't underestimate them as they beat my dark horses Sri Lanka to get here! The West Indies/Pakistan match will likely be the decider in our group for our prospects. The order of matches for us is SA, Kenya, Pakistan. The other group is harder to call, but sticking my neck out, England and India will qualify.

                    Comment


                    • Team News for South Africa Match (20/3/2016)

                      24 hours have passed since our Netherlands tie, and here we are facing up to the might of the South Africans. Their batting is phenomenal, their bowling more than half decent... I think we might have to settle for a loss in this and try and turn it around in the Pakistan and Kenya games. We must endeavour to try, however. Here are the teams...

                      West Indies South Africa
                      K. Powell D. Wilson
                      L. Simmons (K) G. Smith
                      Darren Bravo (C) A. de Villiers (C)
                      D. Tuit Q. de Kock (K)
                      M. Bascombe H. Amla
                      K. Stoute M. Rindel
                      M. Alford O. Pienaar
                      R. Hinds R. McLaren
                      I. Khan V. Philander
                      C. Brathwaite K. Eccles
                      S. Narine D. Steyn
                      Their strong side leaves little room for maneuver, except for maybe if we could pick off one of their allrounders they have no strength in depth of bowling in the eleven. Pienaar and McLaren are men I'm really going to have to try and target, if we have enough wickets left by the time they come on to bowl, anyhow! For us, Burton, who never seems to perform in T20s, drops out to give room for the return of Tuit, batting at 4 this time around. The pitch looks encouraging for South Africa... a bit of a green top, if you ask me.

                      News from the middle is that the West Indies have won the toss, and they have decided to field first. We can but hope, my friends. We can but hope.

                      Comment


                      • I didn't quite expect our batting to crumble so much, but the result was as expected.



                        We got a wicket with the first ball of the match as Stoute took Wilson by surprise and caught an edge. Stoute bowled 3 overs through at the start to help us through the powerplay, also getting rid of ABdV, and Hinds and the spinners then took over after a single over from Alford picked up the wicket of Graeme Smith to leave South Africa 58/3. Narine and Khan kept the run rate seriously down, conceding only 42 from 8 overs between them to make us feel we really had a chance with SA struggling at 106/5 with only 3 overs left. Alford got the wicket of the struggling Pienaar, but Rindel capitalised on our poor death bowling and got his team over 140.

                        He needn't have worried too much, a remarkable batting collapse that saw all of the top 7 except Miles Bascombe fall left us 39/6 very early and from there we had absolutely no hope of rescuing the match. Bascombe and Hinds put on 63 together to save face for us and a bit of our net run rate, but we never got anywhere near our actual target.

                        Batting Award Miles Bascombe - Played very well. Shame about 8 of the others.
                        Bowling Award Sunil Narine - Went for 17 runs from 4 overs. The man is brilliant.
                        Key Opposition Player Watch Abdul Razak - Didn't play. Shows how good I am at picking teams, eh?!

                        Comment


                        • Team News for Kenya Match (22/3/2016)


                          Originally posted by Me in the preview
                          Summary - They'll almost certainly be dreadful.

                          Key Player - None, they haven't got a hope.

                          Prediction - Losers in Group B. I'll be surprised if they score over 100 in either match.
                          That, ladies and gentlemen, was me talking on the subject of Kenya before the tournament started. I was pretty certain we wouldn't have to face them. However, much to my luck, hopefully at least, we do. They've already lost their first Super 8 match against Pakistan, but I know they'll put up more of a fight than I am expecting. That's how things work.

                          West Indies Kenya
                          K. Powell S. Waters
                          L. Simmons (K) D. Obuya
                          Darren Bravo (C) N. Laker
                          M. Bascombe R. Patel
                          D. Tuit A. Obanda
                          K. Stoute C. Obuya (C)
                          M. Alford P. Tong
                          R. Hinds M. Ouma (K)
                          I. Khan H. Varaiya
                          C. Brathwaite N. Odihambo
                          S. Narine E. Otieno
                          Only one tiny change for us, in that Tuit and Bascombe swap batting order places at 4 and 5. The pitch again looks like it could spin sideways, and Kenya have only picked 3 bowlers, so we'll be hoping we can get their part-timers away brutally and give them a very hard task scoring too many runs for us.

                          Anyway, the news from the middle is that the West Indies have won the toss and have chosen to bat first.

                          Unusual for me, I know, but I really feel if we can get a lot of runs, we can win this game in the first innings!

                          Comment


                          • No stroll in the park, but we were never unduly troubled.



                            Batting first, we made a very slow start. Powell was out to Otieno before long, and whilst the partnership that followed turned out to be worth 109, it started incredibly negatively against a team I was expecting to wallop. The bowlers weren't of a quality where Lendl Simmons could get out to them, even on full aggression, but he was failing to pierce the field at all throughout his innings, and whilst he finally managed to rotate the strike to Darren Bravo a little more effectively, he still managed his 57 from 58 balls, almost half of the innings used up at just under 6 runs an over. Simmons, Bravo and Bascombe were all out in the 19th over to Odihambo, Bravo for a wonderful 62 from only 40 balls, and Alford was promoted up the order to give the ball a whack. He managed that to an extent, with 13 from 6 balls taking us over the 150 mark.

                            We always managed to keep the run rate down though, and were never really in trouble at any point. We got the early wicket of Obuya, and whilst the spinners weren't quite up to their usual standards, or the standards we will need to beat Pakistan, they managed to do enough to keep it down. The seamers returned at the death, as always, and needing 36 from the last 2 overs, Kenya looked beaten. Keeper Ouma had a successful thrash for 28 from 14 balls, but he just couldn't see his team over the line alone.

                            Batting Award Darren Bravo - Made up for Simmons slow scoring with his strike rate over 150.
                            Bowling Award Sunil Narine - Again economical, again 3 top order wickets in his 4 over spell.
                            Key Opposition Player Watch Errmm... yeahh... I didn't pick a key player for them... I've been shown up there.

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                            • Team News for Pakistan (24/3/2016)

                              In the other match in our group, as I predicted, South Africa fairly easily defeated the Pakistanis. Therefore, this match against the team in green basically serves as a quarter-final match between our teams, with the winner likely to play the winner of the England/New Zealand match in the other group. Good luck to everyone involved.

                              West Indies Pakistan
                              K. Powell A. Shehzad
                              L. Simmons (K) N. Jamshed
                              Darren Bravo (C) F. Alam
                              M. Bascombe U. Akmal
                              K. Stoute R. Jaffar
                              D. Benjamin Z. Haider (K)
                              M. Alford M. Hafeez (C)
                              R. Hinds H. Azam
                              I. Khan M. Irfan
                              C. Brathwaite N. Abbas
                              S. Narine A. Tanvir
                              With neither Burton nor Tuit having done much in T20s recently, it felt like as good a time as any to get rid of Tuit from the side and replace him with Benjamin, who can't bat any worse really and can bowl as well just in case of overs needed. The pitch looks like it will spin from ball one again, so all three spinners are included and I would expect them to be vital if we're to win!

                              The news from the middle is that Pakistan have won the toss and have decided to bat first.

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                              • And just like that, my prediction came true and my season was over.



                                We got off to a very good start, Brathwaite and Hinds bagging Shehzad and Jamshed respectively and keeping the powerplay tight. Narine bowled well after to keep that run rate low, but Khan bowled 2 overs that went for 20, so was swiftly recalled and Alford and Benjamin bowled an over each, both pretty expensively. Brathwaite managed to keep the run rate down at his end, but the others were being carted to all parts by Jaffar and Haider, before the latter was shot out and Brathwaite took the late wickets of Hafeez and Azam to make his figures look better.

                                Powell made a good start to our reply, making 17 from 10 balls before falling, but after that the pace slowed rather under the care of Simmons and Darren B. They went along at about a run a ball each for their partnership of 65, which for the start was good and solidified our position, but when it came to hit out Simmons just couldn't effectively and was out for 31. Bravo managed though, ending on 47 from 38. Then the run rate required had leapt to almost 9 though, and every new batsman had to hit from ball one. Few managed, and we didn't threaten late in the innings at all.

                                Batting Award Darren Bravo - Yet again the captain was our best batsman. Shame the others aren't at his level.
                                Bowling Award Sunil Narine - Another of the massive surprises... 1/21 from 4 overs. Best spinner around in this form.
                                Key Opposition Player Watch Nasir Jamshed - 1 from 2 balls. We got him early, but it didn't help us win! He took a catch, too.
                                For those of you interested, England won the tournament from India, with Jim Gates making 110 in the final. Next up, the revamped Season Awards and a preview of the 16/17 season!

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