Week 11/12 - Pitches

Final game week before the Quarter Finals!

Southern League - Week 11

Match 1 - Surrey Lions vs Hampshire Royals

Pitch: A batting paradise that should see a high scoring game, some movement throughout for the seamers but spinners will have to keep it tight and hope the batsman tries one big shot too many. Could be an absolute cracker of a game.

Match 2 - Middlesex Panthers vs Essex Eagles

Pitch: This is a pitch which will suit all-comers. Some dry grass for the
spinners, some bounce for the seamers and a touch of that famous
British swing. However, due to the great nature of the pitch batting
should be a fun challenge for the batsman. If a batsman gets in he
should find scoring easy and boundaries easy to hit given a relatively
short boundary.

Match 3 - Sussex Sharks vs Somerset CC

Pitch: Overnight rain has taken the sting out of the pitch and so batsmen will have to be clever and put it into the gaps. Converting ones into twos will be absolutely key today. Bowling wise the bounce will be low due to the rain and the ball will be slippery for the spinners. If any batsmen gets going and chances his arm he could win it right there.

Northern League - Week 11

Match 1 - Nottinghamshire Outlaws vs Yorkshire Carnegie

Pitch: Some rain is predicted between the innings making the toss crucial. The
rain could make the job of the spinners harder in the second innings but
it might also make the pitch somewhat two speed. Some clouds throughout
will should offer some swing. This could offer up a gem of a pitch that should see the two teams currently at the top of the league scrap it out for a guaranteed home 1/4 final.

Match 2 - Leicestershire Foxes vs Worcestershire Royals

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 some really small boundaries and a this should be a huge scoring game. Bowling wise it may well be a case
of damage limitation rather than wicket taking especially if a batsmen really gets going.

Match 3 - Durham Dynamos vs Lancashire Lightening

Pitch: A green top with clouds in the sky causing swing to be a real danger.
Spinners will be looking to keep it tight but this is really a seamers
pitch with even the part-timers getting something out of it. Could be a
difficult pitch to bat on especially before they play themselves in.
Will probably be a low scoring affair unless a batsman is able to chance
is arm.

Northen League - Week 12

Match 1 - Lancashire Lightening vs Nottinghamshire Outlaws

Pitch: A bit overcast to start with with with swing bowlers having fun early on
but as the clouds retreat it should become a batting paradise. Bit of
spin throughout, possibly more in the second innings. Big hitters could be key to get there team ahead of the rate.

Match 2 - Worcestershire Royals vs Leicestershire Foxes

Pitch: A pacey wicket with some bounce. A great track for seamers who will be
be the biggest threat in this game. Some swing throughout but bowlers
who can really bang it in will find good bounce. Once a batsman has got
in and is used to the bounce the pitch provides may be able to score
well.

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Can anyone who hasn't predicted on Week 10 please do so asap.

Tactics due by Wednesday midnight.

Match 2 - Middlesex Panthers vs Essex Eagles

Pitch: This is a pitch which will suit all-comers. Some dry grass for the
spinners, some bounce for the seamers and a touch of that famous
Headingly swing. However, due to the great nature of the pitch batting
should be a fun challenge for the batsman. If a batsman gets in he
should find scoring easy and boundaries easy to hit given a relatively
short boundary.

Headingly?

SUSSEX SHARKS Tactics v Somerset @ Hove

Team line-up:

1 Chris Nash
2 Jacques Kallis
3 Virat Kohli (c)
4 Matt Prior (wk)
5 Luke Wright
6 Andre Russell
7 Ben Brown
8 Dale Steyn
9 Clint McKay
10 Monty Panesar
11 Reece Topley

5 Overseas players (Kallis, Kohli, Russell, Steyn, McKay)
4 Under 25s (Topley, Kohli, Russell, Brown)

Kallis returns, and replaces the out-of-form Levi, whose batting style won't suit this pitch. Reece Topley replaces Michael Yardy.

Toss

Bat first and put runs on the board

Batting Plans

- Nash to bat sensibly and ensure that wickets don't go down too quickly. Can accelerate as the innings goes on. Good runner.
- Kallis can plan any type of innings that is necessary. Will adjust to conditions.
- Kohli at three is extremely classy. Runs well between the wickets
- Prior is experienced, and very capable of playing all kinds of innings. Good 'keeper to have under swirling catches.
- Russell and Wright are both capable of massive hits. They will need to attack the spinners on this occasion, but will also need to run well, as constant big hitting may not always be possible.
- Brown is an extra attacking option
- Steyn and McKay can hit the ball, but hopefully it doesn't get that far

Bowling and Fielding Plans

- Steyn takes the new ball and bowls at the death. He should be difficult to score off as the premier pace bowler in world cricket. He returns at the death, where he is also an extremely skillful bowler.
- McKay at the other end is a fine international bowler, and has shown his skills with the new ball in the ongoing Eng v Aus series. Will also make use of his variations, and bowl at the death.
- Russell is an exciting cricketer who will run in and give his all. Swung the ball in the recent WI v NZ 1st ODI in Jamaica.
- Panesar will vary his flight and is a good enough bowler to bowl with a wet ball.
- Kallis is still a top class bowler and could well be a handful on this surface
- Depending on how things go, Wright and Kohli can fill in some overs. The wet ball probably means that Nash won't be used, though if spin's the thing he's always an option.

- We are a good fielding side. Russell, Kohli, Brown, and Nash are great in the outfield, and Prior is one of the best keepers around.

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


+ Wright, Kohli and Nash as options

This plan is very much dependent on how people bowl. We have plenty of alternatives if we need to move away from Plan A.

The team have been reminded how important this fixture is. We have qualified for the quarter-finals but finishing as high as possible is essential, as we need to avoid the stronger teams in the North group. At the time of writing a top 2 finish remains a possibility.

Week 11 tactics
Worcs vs Leicestershire

Toss:Bat First, get the score on the board and hope the pressure tells on Leicestershire

Batting Order:

1)Kevin Pietersen
2)Mohammad Hafeez
3)Hashim Amla
4)Ian Bell
5)Vikram Solanki
6)Shakib Al Hasan-U25
7)Adam Lyth-U25
8)Gary Wilson-WK-U25
9)Brett Lee
10)Azeem Rafiq-U25
11)Junaid Khan-U25

Batting Tactics:I've gone for a long order here so we can make the most of the flat wicket. KP to play his normal game and attack from the start, Hafeez also looking to attack. Solanki,Bell and Amla are capable players in the middle overs, and I have plenty of lower-order hitting should it be needed.

Bowling:Had a tough choice this week with who to go with, decided that the experience of Lee and variation of Junaid will prove better suited to the pitch than Meaker's raw pace, combined with a good crop of spinners.

Bowling Tactics:

Lee(1,3,18,20)
Junaid(2,4,17,19)
Hafeez(5,10,14,16)
Shakib(6,8,12,15)
Rafiq(7,911,13)

Week 12
Worcs tactics vs Leicestershire Foxes

Toss:Bowl First

Batting Line-Up:

1)Kevin Pietersen
2)Upul Tharanga
3)Hashim Amla
4)Ian Bell
5)Adam Lyth-U25
6)Shakib Al Hasan-U25
7)Dan Christian
8)Ben Cox-U25
9)Brett Lee
10)Stuart Meaker-U25
11)Alan Richardson

Batting Tactics:Tharanga comes in for Hafeez(injured) at the top of the order, him and Pietersen will have to negotiate a couple of tricky overs at the start but they are capable of that, and with the bounce provided that should play into their hands. Bell and Amla can firm things up if needed, with the lower order capable of some late runs.

Bowling Tactics:I've gone for a predominantly quick attack this week in an attempt to exploit the conditions, meaning recalls for Alan Richardson and Dan Christian.

Brett Lee(1,3,18,20)
Alan Richardson(2,4,10,12)
Stuart Meaker(6,8,14,16)
Shakib Al Hasan(5,7,13,15)
Dan Christian(9,11,17,19)

Middlesex team vs 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	84.21	16.25	5.41

Toss: Bowl first, look to pressurise and contain, then chase down the score.

Batting:
Guptil and Watson open up, and will look to play themselves in and then play their shots. McCullum offers impetus at 3, and Malan a steadying hand at 4 if that is needed. Morgan, Yuvraj and Maddy offer plenty of late-innings acceleration and strike power, particularly given the short boundaries, backed up by Vettori and Brooks.

Bowling:
Steve Finn leads off the attack, looking to take advantage of any early swing, while there will be plenty of bounce off a length from Rankin who will hopefully hit the splice a lot. Watson comes in for an over in the powerplay to see if he can find any swing, before the attack is handed to the accuracy of Brooks and Vettori. Yuvraj offers an extra couple of overs of spin later on, before Watson and Rankin bowl the death overs. There are spare overs available from Brooks, Watson, Yuvraj and Darren Maddy should anyone be having an off day.

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

Surrey Lions vs Hampshire Royals

1) Steve Davies (wk)
2) Mahela Jayawardene (c)
3) Jason Roy
4) Branden Taylor
5) Mike Hussey
6) Dan Stevens
7) Angelo Mathews
8) Ravindra Jadeja
9) Chris Woakes
10) James Harris
11) Jade Dernbach

OV: Mahela, Hussey, Taylor, Mathews, Jadeja
U25: Davies, Roy, Mathews, Jadeja, Woakes, Harris, Dernbach

Toss: Bat first and bat Hampshire out of the game

Team News: Dan Stevens and Brendan Taylor in, Kartik and RHB out.

Batting: Our strength is our batting and with our future in the competition out of our own hands lets give our fans something to smile about. With Davies, Roy, Taylor, Stevens. Mathews and Jadeja providing the fireworks I'll be looking for Mahela to bat through and if he departs then Hussey to do the job instead. Realistically on this pitch 220+ is achievable.

Bowling: Jadeja to open up to try and catch Hants out with a spinner opening before Harris and Woakes take over. Once the powerplay is over we will rotate our bowlers between Jadeja, Mathews and Stevens to keep the batsmen guessing. Mathews and Stevens getting a little bit of movement whilst we hope the Hants batsmen will try something big off of Jadeja (as they can't score big off of Mathews/Stevens) allowing us to grip the game. Dernbach to bowl all four of his at once from overs 14-20 whilst Woakes bowls at the death at the other end. If any of Jadeja/Mathews/Harris/Stevens has a great day then they will get a fourth over instead of whoever is having a bad day.

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

Yorkshire Tactics

V.Sehwag
J.Denly
R.Sharma
M.Samuels
M.S.Dhoni (w)
J.Bairstow
A.Mahmood
A.Rashid
T.Bresnan
A.Shahzad
S.Warne (c)

Toss: Bowl.


Batting: Sehwag will play his natural game and go after the opening bowlers. Denly will play a bit safer and look to get set before attacking himself. Rohit, and Marlon will adapt to the match situation; both can anchor or attack. If we get to the tenth over without losing a wicket, Samuels will be demoted to 7 and eveyone else will move up a spot. Dhoni and Bairstow will look to get set before hitting out, whereas the rest of the line up will look to hit it out of the park after the 15th over. The whole batting line up can clear the ropes on their day.

Bowling: Bresnan and Shahzad will take the new ball and look to extract early swing. Mahmood will bowl first change. The plans for the middle overs will vary depending on whether we win the toss or not, as shown below. Bresnan and Shahzad will return at the death.

Over allocation (bowling first):

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

Over allocation (batting first):

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

Rohit or Sehwag could fill in if necessary.

Nottinghamshire Outlaws Vs Yorks

Alex Hales
David Warner
Michael Lumb
AB De Villiers
James Taylor
Morne Van Wyk
Samit Patel
Stuart Broad
Graeme Swann
Pat Cummins
Lasith Malinga


Toss: Bowl first. Squeeze with swing and so the conditions help my spinners, then back my strong batting line up to knock it off.

Bowling: I will open up with a one over burst from Malinga with his raw pace causing damage with a little bit of swing. From the other end Pat Cummins will open up and he is rapid and will love this pitch, especially with some swing and if we bowl second the two paced aspect. Then I have Broad to bowl, a quick hit the deck bowler who will really enjoy bowling on ths wicket as it will play to his strength with some nibble. Swann and Patel to bowl in the middle overs. Broad and Malinga to return at the death.

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

Batting: Basically, play their natural games. Hales and Warner will go hard early and look to make inroads into the total. Lumb is in brilliant form, and will be used to the conditions. AB is just class and can be good in all conditions, and Taylor will rotate the strike and knock the total off easily. Van Wyk is my finisher, and is a class T20 player. And my "tail" of Patel, Swann and Broad can bat if required.

Injuries to Patel, Malinga and Van Wyk mean my resources are really tested for the first time!

Nottinghamshire Outlaws Vs Lancs

Alex Hales
David Warner
Michael Lumb
Tamim Iqbal
AB De Villiers
David Hussey
James Taylor
Stuart Broad
Graeme Swann
Andre Adams
Pat Cummins



Toss: Bowl first. Use the swinging and spinning conditions to restrict runs, and the use my powerful batting to knock the runs off.

Bowling: Andre Adams, the swing specialist will open up and bowl through and will look to get early wickets with the new swinging ball. Cummins with his raw pace and swing from the other end will cause problems, as will Broad. Swann and Hussey will bowl in the middle overs and use the spin to keep runs down before Cummins and Broad return at the death.

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

Batting: You have to score fats to get ahead of the rate on his pitch, and my batting line up of Hales, Warner, Lumb, Iqbal, AB, Taylor and Hussey is about as destructive as they come. They will score fast and heavily. And then if by some disaster they all fail, Broad, Swann and Adams can all hit a ball to get me over the line.

Week 11
Leicestershire Tactics vs. Worcestershire.

Squad

K. Sangakkara (O) (WK) (C)
T. Dilshan (O)
K. O'Brien
S. Raina (O)
P. Trego
C. Hughes
J. Cobb
C. Henderson
C. Langeveldt
S. Ajmal (O)
D. Nannes (O)

Toss - Bowl first, allowing Nannes, Ajmal and Henderson in particular to stifle Worcestershire, my line up is more adept at chasing.

Bowling - Nannes and Ajmal are two wily, canny bowlers who know how to keep people quiet and pick up wickets. Wickets aren't going to tumble here so they'll look to apply the breaks. Henderson is the most successful t20 bowler there is, and will know how to bowl on a wicket like this, whilst Dilshan, Trego and Langeveldt will look to ably assist.

Batting - With batting down to 7, I'd fully expect my order to chase down whatever score The Royals made. Sanga, Dilshan, O'Brien and Raina in particular have been in situations much difficult, and especially on a batters track should flourish, especially Raina, who has the knack of powering through an innings out of no where.

Please someone remind me to do this tonight. Got WWA votes and Euro Div tactics to do as well

Somerset Vs Sussex

Toss - Bowl, chasing will be better than setting and later in the game the ball will be harder to control for a bowler.

Batting Order:

1) Trescothick - captain
2) Kieswetter - U25 & WK
3) Trott
4) Ponting - overseas
5) Buttler - U25
6) Hildreth
7) Morkel - overseas
8) Meschede - U25
9) Thomas
10) Tait - overseas
11) Dockrell - U25

Plenty of batting in this order with recognisable batsmen down to 8 then Thomas can have a throw of the bat if required. There are a lot of players in the line up this week which are able to pick the gaps to score runs and convert 1's into 2's. We have the explosive Trescothick and Kieswetter at the top where on this surface are able to be expansive with less bounce in the pitch. Then the likes of Trott and Ponting, followed by a potentially explosive player in Buttler who will bat as dictated by the score at the time. Then Hildreth who offers another quick runner and after that exlplosive from Morkel.

Bowling:

Plan is to not let batters get used to a bowler so rotation will be on the cards, the Sussex order isn't the longest of batting orders, relying on people to be able to have a go in the lower middle order.

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

If sussex go after someone Trott can be used as an alternative. When we get to the likes of Andre Russell really mix up the bowling so that he really just has to take a guess if he's going to swing, so likely throw an over of Alfonso at him with all his variables in his bowling. Tait is brought in for block hole bowling which will be better than Philander who often drops shorter, on this pitch that will present runs to the batsman, with Tait, just look to vary his speed a bit in variaty and bowl some yorkers outside off stump too.

This team is also a good fielding side so we can look to apply pressure in the field.

Hampshire Royals v Surrey Lions
Injuries: Zaheer Khan

Starting XI:
1. Graeme Smith - Captain/Overseas
2. Jimmy Adams
3. Michael Clarke - Overseas
4. Umar Akmal - Wicket Keeper/Under 25/Overseas
5. Ravi Bopara
6. James Vince - Under 25
7. Dimi Mascarenhas
8. Dwayne Bravo - Overseas
9. Wayne Parnell - Overseas/ Under 25
10. Danny Briggs - Under 25
11. Chris Wood - Under 25

Toss: We will bowl first, as we will chase down anything.

Batting Tactics:
Smith - Marshal the innings. Want you to play through the 20 overs and look to score at more than a run a ball.
Adams - Explode. Look to score really quickly and get us off to a flyer.
Clarke - You are a great player of spin. You can make the score to get us the win today. Do it.
Akmal - Come in and look to score quickly. Look to hit the boundaries a lot.
Bopara and Vince - Come in and play your lovely shots. Look to score quickly, and at least a run a ball is required.
Mascarenhas and Bravo - Both of you are to come in and clear the ropes. End our innings off on a high.
Parnell, Briggs and Wood - Come in and hit the ball. Simples.

Bowling Tactics:
Mascarenhas - Overs 1,3,18,20.
Parnell - Overs 2,4,6,8.
Bravo - Overs 10,12,14,16
Briggs - Overs 9,11,13,15.
Wood - Overs 5,717,19.

Mascarenhas - Bowl your cutters early on, and look to take wickets. Death bowling you are great at, so bowl yorkers and slower balls.
Parnell - Open up. You are a great T20 bowler, and look to take wickets early. You can wreak havoc, with the movement.
Bravo - Bowl overs in the middle of the innings, look to keep it tight and nip it around.
Briggs - Wicket is against you today. So bowl economically, and look to nick a wicket or two.
Wood - Come on at the death, and bowl really tightly, look to nip it around a bit as well.

Week 12 Tactics - Leicestershire vs. Worcestershire

1. Gambhir
2. Sangakkara (WK) ©
3. Dilshan
4. O’Brien
5. Allenby
6. Trego
7. Cobb
8. Henderson
9. Tremlett
10. Morkel
11. Nannes


Toss – Bowl

Bowling
Nannes – 4 – (14, 16, 18, 20)
Morkel – 4 – (1, 3, 17, 19)
Tremlett – 4 – (2, 4, 6, 8)
Trego – 4 – (5, 7, 9, 11)
Allenby – 2 – (13, 15)
Henderson – 2 – (10, 12)

On a seamers track, I’m going with Nannes, Morkel and Tremlett, all who can get the ball to talk on such a pitch. Backed up by Trego, Allenby and Henderson who will all do a job.

Batting – We should keep Worcs quiet and I’ve opted for a long order, that should be able to chase down their total.