A sticky wicket - Cricket in the USA: Cricket Coach 2014

[BYU 14]

Cricket is as obscure a sport as it gets in the USA and not that I will be able to change that, but I at least hope to make people realize the sport is played here and not just in India, England, Pakistan, Australia, etc. Team USA will play in the World Cricket league 3, which is the 4th tier down (7 tiers total) under Championship and divisions 1 and 2. Other countries in our league are Italy, Oman, Tanzania, Nepal and Denmark, which tells you just how bad of shape USA Cricket is in.

First up I select the 16 member national team out of 51 hopefuls, most of which are naturalized US citizens from Cricket hotbeds, who aren’t good enough to play national or domestic Cricket in their home countries.

Meet the team
First 11 (Name, position, birth country, age)
Steven Taylor – Wicket keeper, USA, 19: Our young captain is our most skilled batsman rated 48
Steve Massiah – Mid/cover, West Indies, 33: Overall rated 37 batter
Aditya Mishra – Slip/Bowler, India, 31: Overall rated 36 batter, bowling spinner, nothing special
Rashard Marshall – Utility, USA, 30: Overall rated 38 batter, power potential
Orlando Baker – Utility/Wicket keeper, USA, 33: Overall rated 38 batter, defensive liability
Barrington Bartley – Slip/Bowler, West Indies, 32: Overall rated 36 batter and 35 as a slow bowler
Timroy Allen – Boundary/Bowler, West Indies, 26: Overall rated 35 batter, fast bowler rated 35
Ryan Corns – Mid/covers/Bowler, South Africa, 22: Overall rated 34 as both a batter and slow bowler
Neil McGarrell – Mid/covers/Bowler, West Indies, 40: Rated 32 as a batter, but 43 as a slow bowler
Elmore Hutchinson – Boundary/Bowler, West Indies: Rated 25 as a batter, 40 fast bowler
Muhammad Ghous – Bowler, Pakistan, 22: Horrible batter at 18, best bowler 42 rated spinner

Reserves
Akeem Dodson – Wicket Keeper, USA, 25: Batter 33
Andy Mohammed – Utility, West Indies, 22: Batter 31
Timothy Surujbally – Boundary/Bowler, West Indies, 28: Batter 32, Spin Bowler 25
Imran Awan – Boundary/Bowler, USA, 33: Batter16, Fast Bowler 34
Danial Ahmed – Boundary/Bowler, Pakistan, 28: Batter 14, Slow Bowler 37

First order of business is a 2 match twenty20 tour of Ireland, a division 1 side. We will get mauled, but it will let me see what I have and get us some experience heading into our league play.

[BYU 14]

USA vs Ireland
Malahide Ground, Dublin – T20 friendly
April 7th, 2013
Toss: USA wins, we will bowl first

1st innings
Ireland Batting
Overs: 20
Runs/wickets: 219/5 – 10.95 per over
Porterfield – 52 runs on 27 balls, 8 fours, 1 six (LBW out)
Stirling – 66 on 37, 10 fours, 1 six (caught out)
Joyce – 19 on 16, 2 fours, 1 six (LBW out)
O’Brien – 42 on 21, 2 fours, 3 sixes (-)
Wilson – 16 on 9, 2 fours, 1 six (bowled out)
Cusack – 12 on 7, 2 fours (LBW out)
Johnston – 9 on 3, 1 six (-)
Did not bat: Mooney, Sorensen, Murtagh, Dockrell

USA Bowling
Hutchinson – 4 overs, 58/0 (runs/wickets)
Ghous – 4 overs, 38/0
McGarrell – 4 overs, 36/0
Allen – 4 overs, 35/3
Bartley – 2 overs, 30/0
Baker – 2 overs, 22/2

1st innings
USA Batting
Overs: 20
Runs/wickets: 94/6 – 4.70 per over
Taylor – 32 on 43, 1 six (caught out)
Massiah – 26 on 36, 1 four, 1 six (bowled out)
Mishra – 3 on 5 (LBW out)
Marshall – 2 on 8 (caught out)
Baker – 0 on 3 (caught out)
Bartley – 17 on 17, 1 four (-)
Allen – 0 on 2 (caught out)
Corns – 10 on 6, 2 fours (-)
Did not bat: McGarrell, Hutchinson, Ghous

Ireland Bowling
Murtagh – 4 overs, 17/2
Dockrell – 2 overs, 5/0
Johnston – 4 overs, 16/3, 1 maiden
Sorensen – 4 overs, 26/1
O’Brien – 3 overs, 20/0
Cusack – 2 overs, 10/0

MOM: Johnston - Ireland

As expected Ireland just hands it to us, but again our highest batting skill is 48 and they have 7 players higher than that, plus 8 bowlers over 50 in skill to our…nobody. One pleasant surprise was Baker’s bowling, as he was our 6th in, but most effective. Taylor and Massiah were decent at the top of our order, but no match for the 8 sixes hammered by Ireland, who had 2 batters top 50 runs. One more tomorrow and we can drag our tails home.

[bbgunn]

Yes, finally a cricket dynasty!

You said Cricket Manager or Cricket Coach?

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Yes, finally a cricket dynasty!

You said Cricket Manager or Cricket Coach?

Cricket Coach, my bad

I am actually using this to learn the sport better as I go, and am finding I actually like it. T20 is much more exciting than the 3-4 day marathons most people (me included) have always associated with Cricket, kind of a mix of Baseball and Basketball

[Grover]

I have no idea what any of this means, but I am excited about it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Grover

I have no idea what any of this means, but I am excited about it.

Basically this.

I'd probably qualify more as "interested" than "excited" but the lack of understanding is definitely comparable (likely even worse)

[BYU 14]

USA vs Ireland
Stormont – T20 friendly
April 8th, 2013
Toss: Ireland wins and will bat first

1st innings
Ireland Batting
Overs: 20
Runs/wickets: 215/8 – 10.75 per over
Porterfield – 19 runs on 9 balls, 1 four, 2 sixes (caught out)
Stirling – 59 on 29, 7 fours, 2 sixes (run out)
Joyce – 67 on 35, 11 fours, 1 six (caught out)
O’Brien – 7 on 7, 1 four, (run out)
Wilson – 27 on 15, 2 fours, 2 sixes (bowled out)
Cusack – 12 on 10, 2 fours (LBW out)
Johnston – 7 on 4, 1 four (LBW out)
Mooney – 7 on 5, 1 six (bowled out)
Sorensen – 4 on 3 (-)
Murtagh – 1 on 3 (-)
Did not bat: Dockrell

USA Bowling
Hutchinson – 4 overs, 48/1 (runs/wickets)
Ghous – 4 overs, 58/0
McGarrell – 4 overs, 32/2
Allen – 2 overs, 16/2
Bartley – 4 overs, 38/1
Baker – 2 overs, 23/2

1st innings
USA Batting
Overs: 20
Runs/wickets: 94/4 – 4.70 per over
Taylor – 36 on 42, 3 fours (caught out)
Massiah – 34 on 45, 2 fours, 1 six (bowled out)
Mishra – 4 on 8 (caught out)
Marshall – 12 on 17, 1 six (-)
Baker – 3 on 4 (caught out)
Bartley – 1 on 4 (-)
Did not bat: Allen, Corns, McGarrell, Hutchinson, Ghous

Ireland Bowling
Murtagh – 4 overs, 20/1, 1 maiden
Dockrell – 4 overs, 20/0
Johnston – 4 overs, 17/1
Sorensen – 4 overs, 18/1
O’Brien – 2 overs, 12/0
Cusack – 2 overs, 7/1

MOM: Joyce - Ireland

Amazingly we got more wickets than Ireland, but fell way short in the power department as they walloped 8 sixes (when a ball is knocked over the fence on the fly on any part of the pitch it counts as an automatic 6 runs. A four is a ball hit past the boundary line on either the bounce, or a grounder and is an automatic 4 runs) Once again Allen was our most effective Bowler in limited overs. (An over is a series of 6 balls or pitches, so 2 overs means Allen basically threw 12 pitches) Power or aggression is a valued commodity in T20 matches and Ireland has plenty. Due to the limited pool of cricketeers in the US, it will be hard for me to find that. Next up we open our Division 3 campaign with the limited overs match away to Denmark.

Originally Posted by Grover

I have no idea what any of this means, but I am excited about it.

LOL, I am learning as I go. I added some descriptions above and on some of the other stats I list are below.

On batting 36 on 42 would mean a batter accounted for 36 runs on 42 balls (pitches) before he was put out. Each batter can hit until he is put out or an innings is declared (this is a voluntary ending to the innings in unlimited overs play (matches in unlimited last up to 4 days) and used to save time when a team is ahead to insure the match is complete.

Out descriptions
LBW = Leg before wicket, basically the ball hits the batter anywhere on his body, except the glove holding the bat this action prevents it from hitting the wicket.

Caught out = a ball caught on the fly

Bowled out = The bowler knocks the wicket down with a ball that either the batter misses, or a ball that hit the wicket after the batter makes contact,

Run out = A fielder retrieves a ball and either knocks down the wicket with his throw or his throw is caught and the fielder that caught it knocks a wicket over before the batters gets safely back past his line.

In an T20 match, 4 overs (series of six balls each) is the maximum a bowler can throw. The numbers (17/1 as an example) indicates the number of runs a bowler concedes, followed by the number of wickets (outs) recorded while he is bowling.

A maiden is an over in which the opposing batter(s) account for no runs on their 6 balls.

[bbgunn]

Makes sense to me. :-)

I'm hoping to get my copy of CC2014 tonight. Time willing, I may start my own dynasty.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

MOM: Joyce - Ireland

Lit geek humor here.

[BYU 14]

USA vs Denmark
Svanholm Park, Copenhagen – Division 3 Limited Overs (50)
April 30th, 2013
Toss: Denmark wins and will bowl first

1st innings
USA Batting
Overs: 41
Runs/wickets: 190/10 – 4.63 per over
Nadkarni – 20 on 31, 1 four, 1 six (LBW out)
Taylor – 16 on 37, 2 fours (caught out)
Massiah – 8 on 4, 2 fours (caught out)
Baker – 11 on 17, 2 fours, (caught out)
Marshall – 36 on 35, 6 fours (caught out)
Mishra – 17 on 35, 1 four (caught out)
Allen – 21 on 23, 2 fours (caught out)
Bartley – 0 on 5 (caught out)
Bush – 29 on 29, 4 fours, 1 six (-)
McGarrell – 19 on 29, 2 fours (caught out)
Ghous – 0 on 1 (caught out)
We go all out on 41 overs

Denmark Bowling
Ahmed – 10 overs, 65/3 (runs/wickets)
Javed – 10 overs, 42/0, 1 maiden
Bulow – 10 overs, 52/3
Anjum – 8 overs, 21/3, 1 maiden
Iqbal – 3 overs, 10/1

1st innings
Denmark Batting
Overs: 42.2
Runs/wickets: 191/3 – 4.51 per over
C. Pedersen – 20 on 32, 3 fours (LBW out)
Bulow – 23 on 41, 2 fours (caught out)
Iqbal – 58 on 63, 7 fours, 1 six (caught out)
Ahmed – 57 on 73, 6 fours (-)
Mahmood – 27 on 45, 3 fours (-)
Did not bat: Klokker, Ahmed, M. Pedersen, Shah, Javed, Anjum

USA Bowling
Bush – 10 overs, 54/0
Ghous – 10 overs, 39/2
Allen – 10 overs, 29/1, 3 maidens
McGarrell – 10 overs, 43/0, 1 maiden
Bartley – 1.2 overs, 10/0
Baker – 1 over, 16/0

Final: Denmark 191 plus 7 wickets – USA 190
MOM: Anjum – Denmark

We have a few consistent batters, but some abysmal performances by Massiah, Bartley and Ghous lead to us not even reaching 50 overs before we go all out, despite the fact that we averaged more runs per over than Denmark. We need some depth at bowler and some batters to step up and last more than the combined 13 minutes that Massiah, Bartley and Ghous did. We were the better side here and choked it.

Originally Posted by Izulde

Lit geek humor here.

Next time maybe Kathy will show up for model geek

[bbgunn]

Marshall and Bush looked consistent, if anything.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Marshall and Bush looked consistent, if anything.

I am still trying to get a feel for this lineup, some of the guys are really under performing and my bowlers just have horrendous stretches. Next up is Nepal, hopefully I can pull off a much needed win.

[BYU 14]

USA vs Nepal
Central Broward Park, Lauderhill – Division 3 Limited Overs (50)
May 6th, 2013
Toss: Nepal wins and will bat first

1st innings
Nepal Batting
Overs: 38
Runs/wickets: 171/7 – 4.50 per over
Khakural – 15 on 39, 1 four, 1 six (stumped out)
Airee – 0 on 1 (bowled out)
Malla – 6 on 20 (bowled out)
Khadka – 58 on 52, 3 fours, 2 sixes (caught out)
Vesawkar – 45 on 59, 1 four, 1 six (bowled out)
Bhandari – 12 on 16, 1 four (bowled out)
Baskota – 12 on 16, 1 four (-)
Gauchan – 13 on 20 (bowled out)
Sawad – 7 on 5, 1 four (-)
Extras: 1 wide, 2 no balls
Did not Bat: Mukhiya, Karn
Halftime called at 38 overs due to rain delay, which means we will have 38 as well

USA Bowling
McGarrell – 10 overs, 50/2 (runs/wickets)
Allen – 10 overs, 40/1
Hutchinson – 8 overs, 34/2
Corns – 8 overs, 36/1
Bartley – 1 over, 3/0
Baker – 1 over, 8/1

1st innings
USA Batting
Overs: 38
Runs/wickets: 168/5 – 4.42 per over
Nadkarni – 8 on 19, 1 four (LBW out)
Taylor – 36 on 52, 2 fours (LBW out)
Massiah – 15 on 26, 2 four (caught out)
Marshall – 0 on 4 (bowled out)
Baker – 1 on 6 (caught out)
Mishra – 47 on 57, 1 four (-)
Bartley – 48 on 64, 2 fours (-)
Did not bat: Allen, Corns, Hutchinson, McGarrell

Nepal Bowling
Mukhiya – 8 overs, 29/0, 1 maiden
Khadka – 8 overs, 41/2
Gauchan – 8 overs, 36/3, 1 maiden
Karn – 8 overs, 35/0
Sawad – 6 overs, 27/0

Final: Nepal 171 – USA 168
MOM: Gauchan – Nepal

So much for Marshall and Baker being solid mid-order batters, they screwed the pooch today and after a great start by our bowlers the partnership of Khadkar and Vesawkar killed us. We rallied mightily at the end behind Mishra and Bartley, who were unstoppable in tandem, but we fell just short thanks to the damn rain delay that shorted the match by 12 overs. The way we were coming on I have no doubt we would have caught them over a full 50 as we had momentum and a wicket advantage at 38. But, that is Cricket and this is another match without a win.

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Marshall and Bush looked consistent, if anything.

You sure threw the jinx out here

[bbgunn]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

You sure threw the jinx out here

Oops... My bad. I'll proceed to shut up now.

[BYU 14]

USA vs Tanzania
Anadil Burhani Club Ground, Dar es Salamm – Division 3 Limited Overs (50)
May 12th, 2013
Toss: Tanzania wins and will bat first

1st innings
Tanzania Batting
Overs: 50
Runs/wickets: 223/9 – 4.46 per over
Khalifa – 0 on 3 (stumped out)
Kiongozi – 5 on 17 (LBW out)
Mwita – 14 on 35 (bowled out)
Kikasi – 39 on 51, 2 fours (LBW out)
Nassoro – 6 on 7 (stumped out)
Abdallah – 0 on 1 (caught out)
Kakonzi – 34 on 53, 2 fours (LBW out)
Kiseto – 58 on 67, 3 fours, 1 six (bowled out)
Rehemtulla – 25 on 30, 2 fours (LBW out)
Jabeneke – 25 on 23, 3 fours (-)
Kimote – 10 on 13, 2 fours (-)
Extras: 3 wide, 4 no balls

USA Bowling
Ghous – 10 overs, 33/2
Allen – 10 overs, 44/1, 1 maiden
McGarrell – 10 overs, 36/4
Bartley – 10 overs, 57/1
Corns – 10 overs, 53/1

1st innings
USA Batting
Overs: 50
Runs/wickets: 221/2 – 4.42 per over
Taylor – 88 on 160, 3 fours (bowled out)
Nadkarni – 96 on 112, 10 fours (caught out)
Massiah – 26 on 26, 2 fours (-)
Allen – 2 on 2 (-)
Extras: 5 wide, 4 no balls
Did not bat: Mishra, Baker, Marshall, Bartley, Corns, McGarrell, Ghous

Tanzania Bowling
Rehemtulla – 10 overs, 60/0
Mwita – 10 overs, 24/0, 2 maidens
Nassoro – 10 overs, 54/0
Kiseto – 6 overs, 24/0
Kimote – 9 overs, 36/1
Jabeneke – 5 overs, 23/1

Final: Tanzania 223 – USA 221
MOM: McGarrell – USA

Another frustrating loss, we score 9 wickets and on Tanzania and only bat 4 batters, but STILL fall 2 runs short. Despite getting no outs, Mwita was the difference for Tanzania only giving up 24 runs in 10 overs. I like that Taylor lasted for 160 balls, but we need more production than just 88 runs for that type of streak. Despite the bumps, we needed 6 runs on 6 balls in the final over, but Jabeneke took a wicket and Allen came on and only managed 2 runs, leaving us just short again.

[chesapeake]

I'm trying to figure this out. So, each side is limited to 50 overs (300 total throws), and the US lost this last match essentially because it was inefficient in scoring runs, even though very few of the batters were put out or whatever the correct term is? Does that mean the problem is something like a lack of power? They make contact but are unable to drive the ball enough to score multiple runs when they hit it?

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

I'm trying to figure this out. So, each side is limited to 50 overs (300 total throws), and the US lost this last match essentially because it was inefficient in scoring runs, even though very few of the batters were put out or whatever the correct term is? Does that mean the problem is something like a lack of power? They make contact but are unable to drive the ball enough to score multiple runs when they hit it?

Pretty much spot on, my bowlers outperformed theirs in terms of wickets (outs) but they still got all 50 overs since I didn't get 10 of them.

Mwita was the best bowler of the match, because even though he recorded no outs, he kept the ball in tight where we could not run. The 2 maidens means he bowled 2 overs where we did not score at all, which is really just as good as getting an out.

If I had gotten 10 outs on them in say the 42nd over, their at bat would have ended right there and I would have still had 50 to win. Power is key in limited overs matches, since you have limited balls. If this game was an unlimited overs match, which goes 2 innings each over 4 days, I likely would have run away with it since they could not get me out. (In these games you just bat until you are put out 10 times)

[chesapeake]

How long would a typical match with a 50 over limit take?

[UK Rookie]

When I first found FOF I had a lot of Noob questions which guys kindly answered on here,so I am redressing the balance here because I knows cricket.

In the real game (I don`t know the sim or how it works) of limited over cricket (20/20 or 50 overs) the key is to get a good start when the fielding restrictions are in force,keep the scoreboard ticking over in the mid overs and ,with wickets in hand,excellerate the scoring in the last few overs.

The key to this is making sure you "bat out" all your overs,don`t get bowled out with say 5 overs left.Thats 30 balls you haven`t had the chance to score off.

On the bowling side off things ,taking wickets is the best way to reduce the score,as new batsmen take time (balls) to familiarise themselves with the pitch,ball and conditions,a player who is in is more likely to get the big hits to boost your final score.

Hope that helps a bit.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by chesapeake

How long would a typical match with a 50 over limit take?

A match of 20 overs, typically can take 90 minutes an innings, so around 3 hours. 50 Overs is usually a full day 7-8 hours.

Great explanations below by UK Rookie

Originally Posted by UK Rookie

When I first found FOF I had a lot of Noob questions which guys kindly answered on here,so I am redressing the balance here because I knows cricket.

In the real game (I don`t know the sim or how it works) of limited over cricket (20/20 or 50 overs) the key is to get a good start when the fielding restrictions are in force,keep the scoreboard ticking over in the mid overs and ,with wickets in hand,excellerate the scoring in the last few overs.

The key to this is making sure you "bat out" all your overs,don`t get bowled out with say 5 overs left.Thats 30 balls you haven`t had the chance to score off.

On the bowling side off things ,taking wickets is the best way to reduce the score,as new batsmen take time (balls) to familiarise themselves with the pitch,ball and conditions,a player who is in is more likely to get the big hits to boost your final score.

Hope that helps a bit.

[BYU 14]

USA vs Oman
Central Broward Regional Park, Lauderhill – Division 3 Limited Overs (50)
May 18th, 2013
Toss: Oman wins and will bat first

1st innings
Oman Batting
Overs: 50
Runs/wickets: 231/9 – 4.62 per over
Siddiqui – 21 on 25, 1 four (caught out)
Hussain – 0 on 7 (bowled out)
Wategaonkar – 8 on 14, 1 four (caught out)
Ilyas – 14 on 18, 1 four (bowled out)
Ahmed – 10 on 16, 1 four (stumped out)
Mehta – 71 on 93, 5 fours (LBW out)
Ali – 9 on 23 (LBW out)
Mehmood – 61 on 72, 6 fours (LBW out)
Khan – 18 on 18, 2 fours (LBW out)
Kumar – 9 on 14 (-)
Rasheed – 0 on 0 (-)
Extras: 6 wide, 4 no balls

USA Bowling
McGarrell – 10 overs, 34/1
Hutchinson – 10 overs, 51/4, 1 maiden
Ghous – 10 overs, 43/1
Allen – 10 overs, 48/0
Bartley – 5 overs, 35/0
Baker – 5 overs, 20/3, 1 maiden

1st innings
USA Batting
Overs: 50
Runs/wickets: 223/6 – 4.46 per over
Nadkarni – 48 on 77, 3 fours (bowled out out)
Taylor – 33 on 56, 3 fours (caught out)
Massiah – 77 on 84, 6 fours (bowled out)
Allen – 26 on 35, 3 fours (caught out)
Marshall – 2 on 3 (stumped out)
Baker – 11 on 20 (caught out)
Mishra – 13 on 20 (-)
Bartley – 6 on 5, 1 fours (-)
Extras: 2 wide, 5 no balls
Did not bat: McGarrell, Hutchinson, Ghous

Oman Bowling
Kumar – 9 overs, 53/1
Mehmood – 10 overs, 39/1, 2 maidens
Mehta – 10 overs, 31/0, 3 maidens
Rasheed – 10 overs, 47/1
Khan – 5 overs, 29/1
Siddiqui – 6 overs, 24/2, 2 maidens

Final: Oman 231 – USA 223
MOM: Mehta – Oman

Business as usual as Siddiqui shuts us down late and wastes a good start by our top 3. I am going to go more aggressive in the bottom of the order and look for more long balls. Also toying with bringing in my better bowlers late. Still without a win in Division 3.

[BYU 14]

OK, after getting thrashed by Italy I went and did extensive research, scrolled forums, etc.

So basically, to ever have hope of progressing the USA, I will need to add a domestic league or I will never have players develop. So I am going to start a new game, with a limited domestic league added to the US so I have players that will come up through the pipeline. Also got a bit of a better grasp on strategy, so I am going to start again the right way, as I am becoming fascinated by the nuances of this game.

[Young Drachma]

You start over yet?

[BYU 14]

I did but just playing and not documenting