Week 5 - Pitches

Northern League:

Match 1 - Warwickshire Bears vs Yorkshire Carnegie

Pitch - A slowish pitch with quite a low bounce that could cause problems for batsmen that like the ball to come on. Bowlers who can exploit this uncertainty will do well. A slow outfield could mean a tight low scoring affair.

Match 2 - Lancashire Lightening vs Leicestershire Foxes

Pitch - A fast pitch that will suit express bowlers. Even the medium pacers will get some great bounce and pace off of this pitch. If a batsman can use the pace to his advantage they are bound to do well.

Match 3 - Nottinghamshire Outlaws vs Durham Dynamos

Pitch: A bit of a dust bowl that will offer plenty of spin to even the part time spinners, batsman will have to innovative to score here as well as being good against spin. A fast-ish outfield might make this a cracker of a game.

Southern League:

Match 1 - Hampshire Royals vs Surrey Lions

Pitch: To be announced by Sainty!

Hampshire vs. Surrey pitch:

A greenish top which will be receptive of pace early doors but as the game progresses, will lose it's purchase and accommodate spin. The trick to success is selecting a team well equipped for any situation.

Edit - KRD - just copied Sainty's pitch here for completeness


Match 2 - Essex Eagles vs Middlesex Panthers

Pitch: Overnight rain has taken a bit of the sting out of this pitch but medium pacers and spinners who can keep it tight and keep scoring opportunities to a minimum might well win this game. Furthermore, if a batsman can get in/ride his luck and score a quick 30-40 runs the match might well be over right then!

Match 3 - Somerset CC vs Sussex Sharks

Pitch: A typical Taunton pitch with small boundaries adding to the fun. The ball should sit up nicely on this pitch allowing batsman to score freely. This game could well be won by the side that fields the best.

SUSSEX SHARKS Tactics v Somerset @ Taunton

Team line-up:

1 Chris Nash (c)
2 Richard Levi
3 Jacques Kallis
4 Manoj Tiwary
5 Matt Prior (wk)
6 Andre Russell
7 Ben Brown
8 Dale Steyn
9 Darren Pattinson
10 Harry Gurney
11 Monty Panesar

5 Overseas players (Levi, Kallis, Tiwary, Russell, Steyn)
4 Under 25s (Levi, Russell, Brown, Gurney)

Kohli, Shahzad, Yardy and McKay are injured, but, after this week's Supplemental Auction, we have plenty of quality to cover for this and the players that come in will be going all out, not just for the team, but for places in the team when the others return. Chris Nash fills in as captain in the absence of Kohli, whilst Richard Levi, Jacques Kallis Andre Russell, Manoj Tiwary and Darren Pattinson make their debuts. Even with the injuries Luke Wright, Scott Styris, Misbah-ul-Haq, Robert Croft and Reece Topley miss out. Ben Brown retains his place, after a late check of Tiwary's birth certificate reveals he is in fact 26!

Toss

Bowl first - we are a strong chasing side

Batting Plans

- Nash to be responsible, but ensure that he scores at a good rate as a big total will be needed.
- Levi to hit up front in the first six. Capable of going on with it, as is shown by his record fastest ever T20 hundred, scored on a ground of similar dimensions to Taunton. A few members of the Somerset attack are inexperienced and could well go the distance on this pitch.
- Kallis will bat at three and look to play a match-winning knock. He is capable of all kinds of innings, and will be left to bat at the rate required for the situation.
- Tiwary is another classy player, with an international hundred under his belt and a good IPL record. More than capable of attacking.
- Prior and Russell will play their shots. No boundary is big enough for Russell, and this one certainly isn't. Brown and Steyn are also good attacking players down the order.

Bowling and Fielding Plans

- Panesar will take the new ball. Gayle often shows weakness starting off against spin. He will then return in the middle overs to build pressure.
- Steyn and Kallis will also bowl in the powerplay. They have superb records, and Steyn's pace is likely to extract anything in this pitch. Kallis is often difficult to get away. Steyn is my premier death bowler, and is very experienced in this role. In a tight run-chase in a high scoring game, it will be nigh on impossible to score at more than 10/over off him.
- Russell has fantastic control of variations, which he will use as he sees fit. In particular, he has a good bouncer which he has been instructed to use against some of the younger Somerset players though not at Gayle, if Gayle is still in when he bowls.
- Pattinson is experienced. He'll bowl mostly in the middle overs, and will try to keep the scoring rate down with clever use of variations and bowling good lines.
- Gurney to bowl here and there but probably not finish his quota. He was a key part of Leicestershire's 2011 success, and is an underrated T20 performer.
- Nash is in reserve, but given the size of the boundaries isn't in my plans for this match unless things go badly wrong

- We feel we have the edge in the field. Kallis catches everything at slip, whilst Russell, Tiwary, Brown, Levi and Nash are great in the outfield.

Approximate Plan -
Panesar: 1, 7, 9, 11
Steyn: 2, 4, 18, 20
Kallis: 3, 5, 13, 16
Russell: 8, 10, 15, 17
Pattinson: 6, 19
Gurney: 12, 14


+ Nash as an option

This plan is very much dependent on how people bowl. Panesar and Steyn will almost certainly bowl out, but the other overs are very flexible on this occasion - depending on who is at the crease, the match situation, and who is bowling well. Gurney doesn't necessarily need to bowl at all, and if Gayle is in full swing he may well not.

Hampshire vs. Surrey pitch:

A greenish top which will be receptive of pace early doors but as the game progresses, will lose it's purchase and accommodate spin. The trick to success is selecting a team well equipped for any situation.

Provisional Foxes XI

Sangakara (WK) (C)
Gambhir
O'Brien
Raina
Cobb
Allenby
Trego
Langeveldt
Tremlett
Morkel
Nannes


Probably my best XI of the tournament so far.

Surrey squad to face Hampshire:

1) Steve Davies (wk) - U25
2) Jason Roy - U25
3) Mahela Jayawardene (c) - O
4) Darren Stevens
5) Mike Hussey - O
6) Angelo Mathews - O U25
7) Ravindra Jadeja - O U25
8) Chris Woakes - U25
9) Murali Kartik - O
10) James Harris - U25
11) Jade Dernbach - U25

Toss: Bat first, allowing our batsman to tee off against the Hampshire seamers in the first innings hopefully setting a big target. Bowling second will allow Kartik and the debutant Jadeja to use the increased spin from the pitch to stifle the chase.

Batting:

With Taylor being rested Roy is promoted to open with Davies. These two will look to tee off straight away, hopefully riding out luck against the Hampshire opening bowlers. The new captain Mahela is at three and will look to play through, he will look to anchor the innings. Stevens is promoted again this week and as one of the biggest 6 hitters in the domestic game he will look to boss the game. Hussey is Hussey and therefore will just play his natural game. Mathews, Jadeja and Woakes are all big hitters and will look to push us to a huge total. Kartik and Harris can swing a bat as well if needed.

Bowling:

Opening with Dernbach as usual before he gets replaced by new signing James Harris. At the other end Woakes starts off as normal but Kartik will bowl in the powerplay to try and take advantage of the spin. Kartik bowling 3 of his quota straight off. Mathews will bowl the 7th over to keep it tight before Jadeja comes on to bowl his full quota straight off. Once Kartik has bowled 3 we will have another over of medium pace either Mathews followed by one from Stevens. The reason for this being that both can bowl cutters and keep it tight further increasing the pressure on the batsman. Also with Jadeja at the other end the Hampshire batsman may well be looking to score off the other end. Keeping it tight will limit these chances. Dernbach will then bowl his final 3 from one end as normal. Over 17 will be bowled by Woakes who has experience in these conditions. If however Woakes was smashed in his first spell Harris can bowl this over if needed, likewise Mathews or Stevens can bowl this over if either of them had a sensational over which both are capable of especially on a pitch such as this. The penultimate over will be bowled by Kartik who will use his experience and the pitch to strangle the Hampshire chase.

Overs:
Dernbach - 1,16,18,20 (4 overs)
Woakes - 2,4,17 (3 overs)
Harris - 3,5 (2 overs)
Kartik - 6,8,10,19 (4 overs)
Mathews - 7,12 (2 overs)
Jadeja - 9,11,13,15 (4 overs)
Stevens - 14 (1 over)

Hants Prov XI v Surrey:

1. Smith (C) - O
2. Adams
3. Vince - u25
4. Clarke - O
5. Akmal (WK) - O - U25
6. Bopara
7. Mascarenhas
8. Bravo - 0
9. Khan - O
10. Briggs - u25
11. Wood - u25

Nottinghamshire Outlaws Vs. Durham

Michael Lumb
David Warner
Ajinkya Rahane
AB De Villiers (wk)
James Taylor
Tamim Iqbal
Samit Patel
Stuart Broad
Graeme Swann
Lasith Malinga
Will Beer

Toss: Bat first, then squeeze with spin.

Batting: Despite the loss of Hales, Hussey and Van Wyk my batting line up is strong. World T20 winner Michael Lumb makes his debut alongside the latest acquisition to the Outlaws in AB De Villiers. Lumb will open with Warner and attempt to use the fast outfield to get us off to a flyer against the quicker bowlers. They are prepared to see spin early on however, and if that is the case they will have a look first. Rahane is a master of spin as he was brought up in India and he comes in at three to continue his wonderful IPL form. De Villiers can play in all conditions and he has succeeded in them all as well so he will just go out and play his natural game. Taylor can rotate the strike and is very innovative on this wicket, and will urn hard. Iqbal has a new role today as he will come in late and attempt to blast Notts up to a unreachable score. Then my lower order of Patel, Broad and Swann can all launch a long ball and will be ready is needed.

Bowling: Swann will open up with Malinga who will bowl one over before being replaced by Broad for 2. Patel, Swann and Beer will form a deadly spin trio in the middle overs with Beer's exceptional T20 record coming into play. Then Malinga and Broad return at the death.

Malinga - 1, 16, 18, 20
Swann - 2, 4, 13, 15
Broad - 3, 5, 17, 19
Patel - 6, 8, 10, 12
Beer - 7, 9, 11, 14

Lancashire Lightning v Leicestershire Foxes

Injuries
Tom Smith
Simon Kerrigan
Nathan McCullum
James Tredwell

Line up
1. Ryder (Ov)
2. Mustard (wk)
3. Taylor (Ov)
4. Williamson (Ov) (U25)
5. Maynard (U25)
6. Brown (U25)
7. Napier
8. Johnson (Ov)
9. Harris (Ov)
10. Piolet (U25)
11. Anderson (C)

4 under 25 and 5 overseas players

Team news

With injuries to all of our front line spinning options, it is perhaps fortunate that this is a pitch that is not best suited to spin. The injured Smith and Kerrigan drop out to be replaced by the newly signed Mitchell Johnson and Steffan Piolet (who has a great 20/20 record). Freshly signed Ross Taylor also makes his debut, with Stephen Moore the unfortunate player to drop out. The other change sees Ryan Harris regain his place after injury, replacing Glen Chapple.

Tactics

Bowl first, exploit the early pace and bounce that the pitch provides and restrict Leics to a manageable score

Bowling
Anderson (1, 3, 18, 20)
Harris (2, 4, 6, 15)
Napier (5, 8, 13, 17)
Johnson (7, 9, 11, 19)
Piolet (10, 12, 14, 16)
(Ryder and Williamson will provide a 6th option if need be)

We have gone for an all out pace attack, given the conditions and our injury problems. Anderson, Harris and Napier will bowl in the player place, all three are capable of bowling at express press and will look to exploit the pitch conditions and swing the bowl. Mitchell Johnson will then take over, he will use his experience, the conditions and the different angle to trouble the Leicester batters. Steffan Piolet is the 5th bowler, he does not have the pace of the other four, however he does have a career economy rate of less than 7 rpo, and will use his accuracy, and range of deliveries to great effect. The death others are spread around, with all of our main four bowlers capable of mixing up their pace and hitting their Yorkers.

Batting

Mustard and Ryder open the innings, Mustard will bat as he normally does, he will look to be aggressive and take advantage of the extra pace that will be on the bowl. Ryder will look to bat throughout the innings, he is in great form, and we have confidence that he can bat throughout the innings. A middle order of Taylor, Williamson and Maynard are next up, all three to look to play their shots from the off, although Williamson will be the more cautious of the three. Karl Brown is at six, his role is to rotate the strike and allow the other batsmen to play around him, should it come down to the lower order then Napier, Johnson and even Harris are more than capable of giving the ball a good whack

Middlesex side to face Essex

No	Player	Ave	SR	Bowling Ave	Econ
1	Martin Guptil (o,u25)	36.78	132.02	-	9.50
2	Shane Watson (o)	31.29	144.84	24.75	7.28
3	Brendon McCullum (o,wk)	32.55	137.24	-	-
4	Dawid Malan (u25)	32.15	118.00	23.00	6.90
5	Eoin Morgan (u25)	26.33	130.64	-	-
6	Yuvraj Singh (o)	26.98	133.93	23.07	7.21
7	Darren Maddy	30.18	132.97	23.84	7.95
8	Daniel Vettori (o,c)	19.40	122.87	21.16	6.25
9	Jack Brooks	14.75	134.09	30.15	6.93
10	Steven Finn (u25)	9.00	90.00	25.76	7.54
11	Boyd Rankin	8.00	84.19	16.25	5.41

Toss: Bowl first and look to contain then run down whatever is needed with a pretty strong batting lineup.

New auction purchases Yuvraj Singh, Darren Maddy and Boyd Rankin come into the side this week, with Dale Benkenstein, Neil Dexter and Irfan Pathan dropping out.

Batting: This pitch sounds like a good old fashioned NZ-style slowish pitch. Hence Guptil and McCullum should handle things pretty well. Guptil and Watson open up, and will look to get in and build, while taking a toll on anything that gives them a chance to free their arms, depending on what they're chasing. With plenty of batting in McCullum, Malan, Morgan, Yuvraj, Maddy and Vettori to follow (plus Brooks is very capable of finding the fence) calculated risks are on, and such an experienced lineup should be able to pace a smallish chase well, on a pitch that will be tough to get big scores on.

Bowling:
Steven Finn (3 overs 1,3,17)
Boyd Rankin (4 overs 2,4,10,19)
Jack Brooks (3 overs 5,7,9)
Daniel Vettori (4 overs 6,8,14,16)
Yuvraj Singh (3 overs 11,13,15)
Shane Watson (3 overs 12,18,20)

With Tendulkar likely to open the batting for Essex, Finn and Ranking open the attack, Finn attacking with pace, while even on this lowish pitch Rankin's steepling bounce should be effective at containing and pressurising. Brooks and Vettori take up the attack next, Vettori should be incredibly hard to score off on this pitch while Brooks' line and length will mean few freebies at the other. Watson and Yuvraj join the bowling attack in the later stages as the bowlers are rotated around, Yuvraj's darts on this pitch ought to be tough to attack, while Watson's change of pace could well see some balls going through quite low. Rankin joins Watson at the end for the death overs. There are spare overs availble for Finn, Brooks & Watson and they can bowl extra if they're having a really good day, while Maddy & Malan are also available if needed.

another raging turner, means Botha and Borthwick both in, and Stirling and Blackwell should bowl some overs as well, as could Collingwood with his cutters.

provisional XI:
Finch
Stirling
Gibbs
Collingwood
Blackwell
Pollard
Read
Borthwick
Botha
Gul/Hassan
AN Other (possibly Roland-Jones, otherwise a batsman).

Yorkshire Provisional XI

Sehwag
Denly
Rohit
Samuels
Dhoni
Bairstow
Mahmood
Rashid
Bresnan
Shahzad
Warne

Hants XI v Surrey:

1. Smith (C) - O
2. Adams
3. Vince - u25
4. Clarke - O
5. Bopara
6. Akmal (WK) - O - U25
7. Mascarenhas
8. Bravo - 0
9. Khan - O
10. Briggs - u25
11. Wood - u25

Toss: Bat first and look to take advantage of the seaming conditions, and then chase. If we bowl first Briggs and co will destroy em second innings.

Batting Tactics:
Smith - Do what you do son and bat through. Look the hold the innings together.
Adams - I want a big game today, look to score quick and big.
Vince - Carry on attacking the bowlers with your powerful strokeplay.
Clarke and Bopara - If you are in early look to nudge and nurdle at over a run a ball. If not then use your big hitting abilities.
Akmal, Mascarenhas, Bravo - You guys can all hit the ball a country mile. Look the finish off the innings in style.
Khan, Briggs and Wood - You just swing from the hips lads!

Bowling:
Khan - Overs 1,3,18,20
Bravo - Overs 2,4,14,16
Wood - Overs 5,7,9
Mascarenhas - Overs 13,15,17,19
Briggs - Overs 6,8,10,12
Bopara - Over 11

Bowling tactics:
Khan - Open up well looking to use your swing prowess. You are a death bowling king, look for those yorkers.
Bravo - I want pace and swing opening up from you. In your middle overs look to keep the runs down.
Wood- I want aggressive bowling from you. Look to take wickets.
Mascarenhas - This pitch is made for your cutters and slower balls. Look to finish off the innings very economically.
Briggs - Look to use the spin to strangle the batsmen. Keep the runs down.
Bopara - You could surprise someone, look for a cheeky wicket.

So we have full tactics in for
Sussex
Surrey
Hampshire
Notts
Lancs
Middlesex

Provisional team lists for
Leics
Durham
Yorks

Zip from
Essex
Somerset

yeah sorry, I meant to put my full tactics in yesterday evening, but I got a bit side-tracked (the small matter of the most heroic football performance you'll ever see ). Tactics up later today, without fail!

Mad for Chelsea wrote:yeah sorry, I meant to put my full tactics in yesterday evening, but I got a bit side-tracked (the small matter of the most heroic football performance you'll ever see ). Tactics up later today, without fail!

Fair enough. It's amazing what happens when you get rid of Terry eh

sorry I finished my assignment at 2:30 last night and had to be at campus this morning, will do it now if its ok?

Thats fine hodge, deadline extended til 5

1) Marcus Trescothick (c)
2) Chris Gayle (O)
3) Jonathon Trott
4) Ricky Ponting (O)
5) Craig Kieswetter (U25 + WK)
6) Jos Buttler (U25)
7) Vernon Phillander (O)
8) Alfonso Thomas (K)
9) Lewis Gregory (U25)
10) Muttiah Muralitharan (O)
11) George Dockrell (U25)

Toss - Bowl, were confident we have the batting line up to chase down big totals if required so try and limit that total by opening.

Batting - Sussex have a lot of spin options so they could feature early, so as before he went early, let Gayle have a look at the spinner before trying to attack, we can take enough runs off the seamers or with tres vs spin to allow gayle to have a quick look. Trott comes in at 3 to balance the ship for which ever the 2 openers go, Trott will look to go at his steady pace but if a boundary chance is there don't expect him to miss it. Ponting comes in not only because he is a very talented batsman but also because he is still a very good fielder which will be needed on this pitch. Then comes the power of Kieswetter and Buttler to provide the bosh for hopefully the last 7 overs max, this will be letting the 2 go after the bowling to add to what should be a good score at the time. Philander and Thomas after can also hit the ball the distance if required.

Bowling -

Thomas - 1, 9, 18, 20
Murali - 2, 10, 12, 16
Philander - 3, 6, 17, 19
Gregory - 4, 7, 11, 14
Dockrell - 5, 8, 13, 15

If required - Gayle, Trott

The idea is not to let the opening batter settle against 1 bowler or even style of bowler so for the first 5 overs a different bowler will bowl each over making sure the openers will have to have their whits about them. The middle patches still rotate until Dockrell and Gregory get their spells done early leaving Philander, Murali and Thomas to close the innings. Like I said Gayle and Trott available incase on bowler is being taken apart.

Durham tactics:

Selection:
Finch (U25 - o)
Stirling (U25)
Gibbs (o)
Collingwood (capt.)
Pollard (U25)
Blackwell
Read (wk)
Botha (o)
Borthwick (U25)
Gul (o)
Davies

On a pitch not offering a huge amount to the fast men, the more accurate Davies is preferred to Harmison. Otherwise it's pretty self-explanatory really.

Toss - bat first, the pitch won't improve, so getting runs on the board could be crucial.

Batting tactics: the new ball will be the best time to bat, so we'll look to cash in during the powerplays with our exciting top 3. The middle-order is full of excellent players of spin who should nurdle the ball around while dispatching the odd loose delivery they're bound to offer. The platform should be set for some Pollard pyrotechnics while Read, Botha and Borthwick are great improvisers with the bat so should thrive on here if needed. With Gul at 10 we have excellent depth.

Bowling tactics: open up with Davies and Botha. Davies will just bowl accurate nagging stuff, looking to frustrate the volatile top order of Notts. Botha is of course one of the top T20 bowlers in the world and should enjoy this wicket, while we know Lumb isn't a good player of spin so expect him to struggle in particular. Gul will bowl one PP over. Through the middle we'll rotate our bowlers, with Davies, Borthwick, Stirling and Blackwell featuring prominently. Four good spin options will be key on here. Gul and Botha at the death.

overs:
Davies (1,3,12, 16)
Botha (2,4,6,19)
Gul (5,13,18,20)
Stirling (7,9,11)
Borthwick (8,10,15,17)
Blackwell (14)

forgot to mention that if required Collingwood and Pollard offer good bowling options. Collingwood's cutters could be pretty effective here.

Balls!

I'll post tactics later!!

Yorkshire Tactics vs Warwickshire

Sehwag
Denly
Rohit
Samuels
Dhoni
Bairstow
Mahmood
Rashid
Bresnan
Shahzad
Warne

Toss: Bat. Bowlers are good at defending totals.

Batting tactics: Sehwag will play his natural game and Denly will play slightly conservatively first up before getting progressively more attacking. Rohit and Samuels will look to provide a platform for Dhoni, Bairstow and Azhar. If the top order clicks, Samuels will drop down to 7 in the line up with the others moving up one place. The whole line up, down to Shahzad are all capable of clearing the ropes.

Over allocation:

Bresnan 1,3,18,20.
Shahzad 2,4,17,19.
Mahmood 5,16.
Warne 6,8,10,12.
Rashid 9,11,13,15.
Samuels 7,14.

Bowling tactics: Bresnan and Shahzad will look to take advantage of any early swing with the new ball. Azhar will bowl wicket to wicket in order force mistakes, using his experience and subtle variations. whereas Warne will do what do does best, attacking fields and intricate variations. Rashid and Samuels will attempt to bowl defensively and restrict, forcing wickets through mistakes by the batsmen. Shahzad and Bresnan will return at the death. If a bowler has a shocker, Samuels or Mahmood can bowl more, or we might even see some Sehwag off breaks.

Right voting open tomorrow

Leicestershire Tactics vs. Lancashire at Grace Road.

1.Sangakara (WK) (C)
2.Gambhir
3.O'Brien
4.Raina
5.Trego
6.Cobb
7.Allenby
8.Langeveldt
9.Tremlett
10.Morkel
11.Nannes

Toss - Bowl first.

Bowling - On a bowlers pitch that favours the quicks, I've opted to unleash my triplet of new seamers from the off. Morkel and Tremlett will open fire and hit the pitch hard. Losing a boundary or two will be alright for a couple of early wickets. Morkel will bowl two and will be replaced by Langeveldt whilst Tremmers will bowl through his 4. The middle overs will be shared by Trego, Allenby and Langeveldt. The conclusion will see Morkel bowl the death overs in tandem with Nannes.

Batting - With a low total to chase, my order is long with proven T20 players, although Sangakkara will look to get us off to a flyer alongside Gambhir.

Essex XI

Tendulkar(o)
Dawson(u 25)
Shah
Chandimal(o)(u 25)
Hodge(o)
RTD
Niall O'Brien(wk)
Coles(u 25)
Pattinson(o)(u 25)
Narine(o)(u 25)
Sidebottom


Overs Allocation

Pattinson : 1,3,17,19
Sidebottom : 2,4,18,20
Coles : 5,7,14,16
Narine : 6,8,10,12
RTD : 9,11,13,15

Either out of Dawson,SRT, Shah and Hdoge may be used in case one of the main bowlers has a bad day.