Week 6 - Pitches

Northern League

Match 1: Nottinghamshire Outlaws vs Worcestershire Royals

Pitch: A hard pitch that will offer some great bounce to the seamers, some spin throughout as well. Could well be a case of who is on form as the pitch could also lead to some high scores.

Match 2: Durham Dynamos vs Yorkshire Carnegie

Pitch: Rain overnight has slowed the pitch right down and the outfield has slowed as well. This pitch is all about control and converting the ones into twos. One great performance could change the fate of the match.


Southern League

Match 1: Middlesex Panthers vs Hampshire Royals

Pitch: A haven for spinners in what is quite a dusty pitch, players who can play spin well will play a huge part in the outcome. Even part time spinners and medium pacers bowling cutters will get a lot of purchase out of this pitch.

Match 2: Sussex Sharks vs Surrey Lions

Pitch: Clouds have descended onto Hove and the sea breeze has really got up. Pace bowlers will have a great time as some swing will be present and taking advantage of this will be key. Spinners will have to bowl with great control and maybe getting the batsman to hit into the breeze could be a great tactic. Batsman will have to be right on top of their game on this pitch.

Match 3: Somerset CC vs Essex Eagles

Pitch: A batting paradise where the ball should sit up nicely, big hitters of the ball will be licking their lips at the prospect of playing on this pitch. Add in Tauntons small boundaries and a lightening quick outfield should result in a huge scoring game. Bowling wise it may well be a case of damage limitation!

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Tactics by Monday Midnight please

Surrey Provisional Squad:

Hussey, Taylor, Stevens and Roy all out due to injury.

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1) Steve Davies (wk) - U25
2) Mahela Jayawardene (c) - O
3) Zander de Bruyn - KOLPAK/Sam Northeast - U25
4) Rory Hamilton-Brown - U25
5) Angelo Mathews - O U25
6) Ravindra Jadeja - O U25
7) Chris Woakes - U25
8) Yasir Arafat - O
9) Rana Naved-ul-Hasan O
10) James Harris - U25
11) Jade Dernbach - U25

Overseas: Mahela, Mathews, Jadeja, Arafat, Rana
Under 25: Davies, RHB, Mathews, Jadeja, Woakes, Harris, Dernbach, (Northeast)

SUSSEX SHARKS Tactics v Surrey Lions @ Hove

Team line-up:

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

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

Captain Kohli is still injured, but vice-captain Yardy is back and takes the reins on this occasion. Shahzad also returns in place of the injured Harry Gurney. We continue to have perhaps the most expensive bench in the EPL - Misbah, Manoj Tiwary, Luke Wright, Scott Styris and Clint McKay are amongst those not picked today.

Toss

Bowl first and exploit conditons. We have the batting line-up to chase down any score.

Batting Plans

- Nash to be responsible, but not get bogged down and score at a good rate.
- 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. Attack Dernbach and Arafat in particular.
- 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.
- Prior is a classy player, and won't be worried by some of the medium-pacish bowlers Surrey have on their team.
- Shahzad and Russell are young and free spirited. Both are capable of massive hits. Jadeja has a tendency to go round the park if he doesn't get things right and these two will look to exploit that.
- Yardy will play primarily as a bowler, but will be promoted to number 4, where he can play a sensible innings, if early wickets fall and particularly if Nash is out. He has a good FC batting record

Bowling and Fielding Plans

- Steyn takes the new ball on this occasion. The pitch should assist him quite a bit, and he is of course the premier pace bowler in world cricket. He returns at the death, where he is also an extremely skillful bowler.
- Pattinson will also try to exploit conditions early on.
- Russell has fantastic control of variations, which he will use as he sees fit though is instructed not to over-use on this occasion, as conditions are in his favour. In particular, he has a good bouncer which he will use sparingly to unsettle the likes of Mathews and Jadeja.
- Kallis could be very effective in these conditons. He has a lot of experience, so shouldn't be expensive.
- Panesar and Yardy will bowl with the wind, so that the batsmen have to hit into the wind. Panesar will give it some flight on this occasion, whilst Yardy bowls a more defensive line.
- Nash is in reserve, but isn't really in my plans for this match unless things go badly wrong

- We are a good fielding side. Kallis catches everything at slip, whilst Russell, Brown, Levi and Nash are great in the outfield.

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


+ 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. Panesar and Yardy should bowl against the wind, so their overs might be moved dependent on this.

Ohhh spinners pitch, very interesting

Provisional XI for Middlesex, I want to play both Yuvraj and Irfan Pathan so McCullum looks like being rested

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	Dawid Malan (u25)	32.15	118.00	23.00	6.90
4	Yuvraj Singh (o)	26.98	133.93	23.07	7.21
5	Eoin Morgan (u25)	26.33	130.64	-	-
6	Dale Benkenstein	25.87	129.38	26.95	7.35
7	Irfan Pathan (o)	22.97	127.97	24.31	7.57
8	James Foster (,wk)	21.56	132.90	-	-
9	Daniel Vettori (o,c)	19.40	122.87	21.16	6.25
10	Ollie Rayner	12.66	100.00	28.76	7.35
11	Tom Smith (u25)	22.50	109.75	24.16	7.72

7 (not that they'll all be used) spin options - Vettori, Smith, Rayner, Yuvraj, Malan, Benkenstein & Guptil plus slower balls and cutters from Pathan & Watson
And Rayner at #10 has a first class century (vs Sri Lanka) to his name, so batting deep.

Benkenstein isnt a spinner btw, he is a medium pacer.

CF wrote:Benkenstein isnt a spinner btw, he is a medium pacer.

Cricinfo says he bowls both http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/44070.html

I wasn't planning on bowling him anyway, may even swap Darren Maddy into the XI

Can anyone explain to me how this fantasy thing works?

How does your game plan influence the end result, sfter you have picked your squad and approach to the game?

Hey biltong, basically you have to pick your squad in response to the pitch conditions and injuries. You put some basic tactics e.g. toss, batting and bowling plans. Once the tactics are up everyone from the opposite league votes on your match taking conditions/pitch/tactics/teams.

Hope that makes sense?

Yorkshire Tactics vs Durham

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.

Pollard and Hassan missing in action this week, but Stokes has recovered form his injury. On a pitch where control is everything I think I'll go for

Wade
Stirling
Finch
Collingwood
Blackwell
Stokes
Read
Botha
Borthwick
Gul
Davies

Wade comes in for Gibbs to add a bit of firepower at the top, while Stokes is back for Pollard. Davies prefered to Harmison or TRJ due to his greater accuracy.

Toss: bowl first
The overnight rain means the outfield will be slower in the first innings, so it should be easier to chase. On a pitch which looks tough to score freely on, knowing our target will be an advantage.

Bowling tactics:
Davies and Gul open up. Davies bowling a tight line-and-length and looking to frustrate Sehwag into doing something silly, while Gul will bowl just the one over before Botha comes into the attack. One of the world's best T20 bowlers, he'll be very difficult to get away and should chip in with a wicket or two. Once more accuracy will be the key word in the middle with Collingwood and Borthwick sharing the main duties. With no pace on the ball it will be hard to get away. Gul and Botha return at the death.

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

Obviously if one of the bowlers is struggling they're plenty of other options there with Stokes, Stirling or Blackwell more than capable of contributing.

Batting tactics: Having restricted Yorkshire to a low total, we'll look to get off to a good start against the new harder ball. Our top three is explosive and can hit boundaries at will. They'll be particularly severe on the loose balls Shahzad is bound to offer. Collingwood and the rest of the middle-order can then play their natural game, just rotating the strike while again cashing in on anything loose (yes, Rashid I'm looking at you). Finally, there's great depth to the batting: Borthwick and Botha are genuine all-rounders, while Gul at ten can certainly swing the willow.

Apologies. I've been away from Uni and my computer all weekend until today and I have a lot of revision to catch up on! My tactics will be up tomorrow, but it is exam season coming up so I will try to be as prompt as possible with votes and tactics, but unfortunately exams do come first!

If it makes you feel better jd I'm just entering my finals exam period, first one next sat. So totally understand

Middlesex tactics vs Hants

With the pitch a raging turner there are 4 changes this week. Irfan Pathan's cutters and late-innings hitting against spin are vaulable so he comes in for Jack Brooks, meaning Brendon McCullum drops out in favour of James Foster to keep the overseas player numbers in check. Spinners Ollie Raynor and Tom Smith come in for Steven Finn and Boyd Rankin.

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	Dawid Malan (u25)	32.15	118.00	23.00	6.90
4	Yuvraj Singh (o)	26.98	133.93	23.07	7.21
5	Eoin Morgan (u25)	26.33	130.64	-	-
6	Irfan Pathan (o)	22.97	127.97	24.31	7.57
7	Darren Maddy	30.18	132.97	23.84	7.95
8	James Foster (wk)	21.56	132.90	-	-
9	Daniel Vettori (o,c)	19.40	122.87	21.16	6.25
10	Ollie Rayner	12.66	100.00	28.76	7.35
11	Tom Smith (u25)	22.50	109.75	24.16	7.72

Toss: Bat first and post a decent score, then strangle the chase with spin. With quality players of spin in Yuvraj and Morgan in the middle order and batting depth all the way down to 11 a good total should be achievable. Guptil and Watson are tasked with being positive in the powerplay, with Malan playing more of an anchor role. Yuvraj and Morgan play spin well, so look to score quickly and build, with Pathan, Maddy, Foster and Vettori following and finishing. Should they be needed Rayner and Smith both know one end of a bat from the other.

Bowling:
Irfan Pathan (3 overs 1,3,19)
Ollie Rayner (3 overs 2,14,17)
Daniel Vettori (4 overs 4,6,10,12)
Tom Smith (3 overs 5,7,16)
Yuvraj Singh (3 overs 8,13,15)
Dawid Malan (2 overs 9,11)
Shane Watson (2 overs 18,20)

Pathan opens up to take some shine off the ball, bowling plenty of cutters. Ollie Raynor starts at the other end as he did several times for Middlesex last season before giving way to Vettori, the best containing spinner in the game. Those two as well as Smith, Yuvraj and Malan rotate through the innings; offering a variety of spin styles, left-arm, off-spin and leg-spin On such a dustbowl of a pitch the batsmen will be going all out for survival. Watson and Pathan take the death overs using all their guile, mixing up cutters and slower balls. There are plenty of spare overs amongst the 7 bowlers used so if anyone does get smashed early their overs can be shared around, but if neccessary Maddy and Guptil could also bowl at a pinch.

Middlesex Panthers vs Hampshire Royals

For this spinning pitch we make two changes, with Nayan Doshi and Steve Smith coming in for Chris Wood and Dwayne Bravo. Also Michael Clarke moves up to number 3 and Umar Akmal to number 4 with Vince moving down the order to number 6.

Hants XI v Middlesex:
1. Smith (C) - O
2. Adams
3. Clarke - O
4. Akmal - WK/O/U25
5. Bopara
6. Vince -U25
7. Mascarenhas
8. Smith - O/U25
9. Khan - O
10. Briggs - u25
11. Doshi

Toss: Bowl first and look to take advantage of the spinning conditions with the three quality spinners we have as well as our cutters and medium pace bowlers. Chasing we have the experience at the top of the order and the exuberance in the middle to see us past there bowling and score.

Batting Tactics:
Smith - Look to bat through the innings again, take advantage of any bad balls.
Adams - Look to tee off early on and try to get a big score, look to attack there weaker spinners.
Clarke - You have been promoted to three because you are the best player of spin in the world. This is made for you to go and see us over the line. Look to score quickly but don't give your wicket away.
Akmal and Bopara - I want you two to come in and get yourselves in. But after a couple of balls I want you to tee off and score for fun.
Vince, Mascarenhas, Smith - You guys just come in and look to hit the boundaries to get us over the line.
Khan, Briggs, Doshi - Hopefully it won't come to you but if it does just see ball and hit ball!

Overall batting tactics: Look to attack there weaker spinners such as Rayner and Malan. Give Vettori the respect he deserves but don't let anyone bog you down.


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

Bowling tactics:
Khan - Open up and try to find some swing or seam. If it's not there look to bowl your cutters. When bowling at the death be clever with slower balls, yorkers and cutters.
Doshi - You are going to open up, so be wary of the powerplay. Look to take early wickets, and use your experience to an advantage.
Briggs - This pitch is made for you. Look to take as many wickets as possible, and try to restrict them as well.
Smith - You have come in to bowl on this pitch and I believe you can take wickets here. Look to be attacking and make sure to be consistent.
Mascarenhas - You are coming in to bowl at the death. You have some of the most devastating cutters and slower balls in the world, and use your death bowling experience to full effect.

Overall Bowling tactics: Look to keep it tight, but be wary of Singh and Morgan. Try to pick them up early. Make sure we are aggresive.

Somerset team Vs Essex

Toss - Bat, look to put a big score on the board on a good pitch and put Essex under pressure of hopefully having to chase a big total

1) Trescothick (c)
2) Gayle (O)
3) Trott
4) Kieswetter (WK + U25)
5) Van der Merwe (O)
6) Buttler (U25)
7) Meschede (U25)
8) Philander (O)
9) Thomas
10) Gregory (U25)
11) Murali (O)

Long batting line up there, batsman down to 7 with Philander, Thomas and Gregory after who can all give it a decent knock. Gayle and Tres to go hard in the power play, if one goes early use Trott to steady the ship, however if for a reason all goes well in the innings, Trott can be pushed out of the order to accomodate the others, so if it looks like the whole innings could be used with the aggressive batsman do so and Trott comes in at 7 or 8. This again changes if 2 wickets fall quickly, Trott is again used to steady the ship up till the 15th over.

Bowling

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

Others: Gayle, Meschede, Trott

The ideal 5 are listed if changes need to be made Gayle and Meschede both have good experience in T20 and Trott is another potential if nothings working.

Nottinghamshire Vs. Worcestershire

Outlaws XI:

Michael Lumb
David Warner
Ajinkya Rahane
James Taylor
Ab de Villiers - WK
David Hussey
Samit Patel
Stuart Broad
Graeme Swann
Andre Adams
Lasith Malinga


Toss: Bat. I have a strong batting line up in good form, so I will bat first and look to post a big score and then strangle.

Batting: I have a fearsome batting line up, and I open up with David Warner and Lumb and they will both be told to go out and play their natural game and look to get us off to a flyer. Rahane will come in at three, and look to continue his form from the IPL and play his game and try to bat through for a big score. Taylor will look to rotate the strike and push the ones and twos and put pressure on the fielders. AB is the in form batsmen in the IPL at the moment, so he will just do what he does best and David Hussey will look to increase the scoring rate as well. In my lower order, down to Adams at 10, they can all clear the ropes and have batting pedigree so will just go out their and look for quick runs.

Bowling: Broad and Adams will open up, as they are both taller bowlers who make better use of the bounce than Malinga who is skiddier, and they will look to make use of their bounce to unsettle the Worcs batsmen, especially KP. Malinga will have one over in the PP to try and blast out some crucial batsmen and stem the RR early and put them behind it. Swann and Patel will come on after the PP and look to strangle as the pitch will be offering some more spin second innings. Hussey can also offer some tweakers if the pitch is turning. Then Broad and Malinga return at the death and do what they do best.

Broad - 1, 3, 17, 19
Adams - 2, 4, 6, 8
Malinga - 5, 16, 18, 20
Swann - 7, 9, 11, 13
Patel - 10, 12, 14
Hussey - 15 (Can bowl more, over Adams, if the pitch is turning more than expected or if someone gets some tap)

Worcestershire Royals tactics vs Notts

Toss:Bat first, post a big score and hope a mixture of bowlers can see us through.

Batting line up:

1)Kevin Pietersen
2)Mohammad Hafeez-O
3)Hashim Amla-O
4)Ian Bell
5)Vikram Solanki
6)Dan Christian-O
7)Shakib Al Hasan-U25-O
8)Gary Wilson-U25-WK
9)Brett Lee-O
10)Stuart Meaker-U25
11)Azeem Rafiq-U25

Batting tactics:Hafeez to play more carefully than Pietersen at the start of the innings, KP should enjoy the bounce on offer. Amla can look to play an anchor role if we lose an early wicket, with others playing around him. Late-order hitting will fall on the heads of Solanki, Christian, Shakib and Wilson.

Bowling tactics:

Lee:1,3,18,20
Meaker:2,4,6,8
Christian:5,7,17,19
Shakib:10,12,14,16
Hafeez:13,15
Rafiq:9,11

If Rafiq takes some stick first over, then Hafeez can take over Rafiq's 2nd over, and vice versa. Meaker to bowl through at the start looking to exploit the bounce of the pitch, Lee to have an initial burst before coming back at the end alongside his Australian team-mate Christian. Shakib and Hafeez are two very experienced international spinners and hopefully will take advatnage of the conditions.

Surrey tactics vs Sussex @Hove

Injuries: Jason Roy, Mike Hussey, Brandon Taylor, Darren Stevens

Team:

1) Steve Davies (wk)
2) Rory Hamilton-Brown
3) Mahela Jayawardene (c)
4) Shaun Marsh
5) Sam Northeast
6) Angelo Mathews
7) Ravindra Jadeja
8) Chris Woakes
9) Rana Naved-ul-Hasan
10) James Harris
11) Jade Dernbach

Overseas: Mahela, Marsh, Mathews, Jadeja, Rana
Under 25: Davies, RHB, Northeast, Mathews, Jadeja, Woakes, Harris, Dernbach

Toss: Bat first and try to set a comanding score. We have lots of match winning bowlers who are great at defending a total in these conditions.

Bat:
Rory is recalled and is promoted up the order alongside Davies, both will look to be sensibly attacking and hit with the win if possible. Rory as an ex-Sussex player will know what to expect with the wind at Hove. Mahela at 3 is the rock we will bat around. He is one of the best batsmen in world cricket and we expect him to show this again today. Shaun Marsh comes in for his debut as a replacement for Hussey, Marsh will look to attack if possible. Northeast is a very capable young batsman and we want him to seize this opportunity of being in the first team. Mathews and Jadeja at 6 and 7 are there to finish off the innings in a big way. Woakes and Rana can hit out as well if needed and even Harris can chip in.

Bowling:

Dernbach to open up with Rana. Rana has been chosen due to his years of experience down at Hove where he regularly took key wickets in T20 cricket. Dernbach to be replaced by Woakes for the 5th over. Post powerplay Jadeja will come on using his experience to bowl into the wind and make the batsmen play shots. After Woakes second over we will turn to Harris and Mathews. Mathews' cutters will be of particular importance here. Jadeja will then switch ends whilst Woakes finishes off his quota. Dernbach and Rana to share the death overs as they excel at this. Harris, Mathews and Rory will fill in if any bowler gets the treatment.

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

(Mathews and Harris can bowl more if required, RHB can also fill in with his useful off spin)

Top man Gregers. I will try and get my tactics soon but you do understand my problem, right?

If only a certain "lol" poster on another forum could understand the same, I would not have had to quit his Fantasy League.
Oh wait how am I expecting that guy to understand haha?

That's fine shanks, as I'm starting finals on sat I'm in the same position but hopefully the league will still run smoothly. If you could possibly get your tactics and votes up tomorrow it would be a huge help.

Even just posting an xi with a choice for the toss is good enough

Tendulkar
Hodge
Shah
Chandimal
Ten Doeschate
N O'Brien
Coles
Pattinson
Mills
Masters
Narine

Gone in with 5 Bowlers on a flat deck.
Toss : Bat First