By Grockle
October 18 2005

With Matt Wood out for 4 weeks and Arul Suppiah also injured, John Francis gets the call for game 2 of our simulation. It starts so well but it doesn't carry on that way...where do we go from the end of Day 2?

v Yorkshire CC2 Simulation @ Headingley (or my office) 20 April 2005

I said I would put the youngsters into the TSL2 side.  And I did against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

The side was Smith, Trescothick (got to use him while we got him), SJ, Hildreth, Blackwell, Laraman, Gazzard, Durston, Hollins (new signing), Francis S and Caddick (experience)

The Bears won the toss and elected to bat and scored a respectable 239 for 5 off their 45.  Knight made 91 and Powell 100 but there wasn't a lot else.  Caddick took 2 for 39, Laraman 2 for 38 and Wes got the other.  Simon Francis went for 67 off his 9!!  We started well with Smith making 45 but then we lost Banger and SJ for 2 in total and although Blackie put in 81 the gut and tail were ripped out by Brown (4 for 23) and we were all out for 191 - loss by 48 and bottom of the TSL after week 1.

Back to the drawing board then...

Headingley.  With Matt Wood  out for 4 weeks and Arul Suppiah also injured, I brought in John Francis at number 4.  Other than that, the side was the same as the Championship team who lost to Lancs last week.  We lost the toss and were put into the field by Yorkshire.  A good thing too, it seemed when Caddick had Vaughan caught off the fourth ball of the second over with no score to the home side after a McLean maiden.  Banger caught Jacques off the next Nixon six and we had Yorkshire at 10 for 2. 

The change to Johnson also reaped benefits when Sayers was bowled for 21 with 45 up and then the Laraman change took out Lumb without adding to the Yorkshire score 45 for 4 before lunch was an OK start in my humble opinion.  Pyrah and Wood rallied the cause a little and at the Lunch interval the score had moved on to 128 without any further damage being done.  Pyrah did take some stick from the Caddmeister before the interval though and we went in well on top.

After lunch it looked to be continuing to be our day. Caddick removed Wood for 46 at 136 but Harvey came in and helped Pyrah to his 50 (starting to score ominously well) before being bowled by Blackwell for 22 at 184. Then he removed the other danger man Pyrah for 68, moving the score on by only 1.  Again Yorkshire rallied and Blakey and White had moved to 254 for 7 by the second interval of the day.  Still on top but having difficulty cleaning up the tail again!!

In the final session of the day there was loads of playing and missing as Caddick and the pacemen tried to get past Blakey and Craigy.  LBW calls all received the 'Not Out' statement and Blakey was dropped!  Eventually Caddick bowled White for 60 2 short of the 300.  Silverwood arrived and was immediately dropped by Turner before being hurt by a bouncer from NM.  But he stuck at it, until Laraman removed him with the new ball at 318.  Not long to go now!!

42 runs later, Hoggard and Blakey end Day 1 at 360 for 9 after LBW and thick edges galore.  Day 2 fares no better and after 14 LBW calls, all turned down, Richard Blakey reaches 100 and the 400 arrives.  The luch break arrives with Yorkshire on 452 for 9!! and it isn't until half an hour into the second session that Caddick finally bowls Hoggard for 36 after a 142 run partnership which leaves Blakey on 152 not out!

The advantages of the day before have all gone and we need a solid batting performance to get back on track.  Andy Caddick, 4 for 107, is the pick of our bowlers but the two partnerships of Craig White and Matthew Hoggard with Blakey have torn this game from us.

 

Silverwood bowls Smith for 9, Hoggard has MT LBW (the first of the game) for 11 and we are 18 for 2.  John Francis is Silverwood's second victim bowled at 50 and Pyrah pulls off a great catch to remove James Hildreth via Harvey at 96.  To cap off the session, Vaughan gets Blackie before we hit 100 and we go in for our Tea 105 for 5 looking at a follow on position!!  Not good.

It doesn't get any better.  The solid back of our innings Sanath finally succumbs at 75, bowled by Harvey and then it all falls to bits.  Turner for 7 (175), Johnson for 5 (182) and Caddick for 0 (182).  Laraman and McLean keep them out and Day 2 ends at 189 for 9.  When Hoggard bowls Nixon two overs into Day 3 we are 194 all out and following on in a game we looked like walking at Lunch on Day 1!!

Anyone got any suggestions before I run the second half of this one??

Grind it out they say, try and stay there and put on a total in the hope of batting for four, or even five sessions and then holding them to pull off a draw.  It's a nice theory but can we do it?  Well with Smith gone with only 23 added, it looks unlikely.  Sanath starts to put something together with Marcus but it only lasts until we pass 50 because he is caught at 69 for a useful 33.  At Lunch we have 105 but are still a loooooooonnnngggg way behind the home side with Hoggard and Silverwood in fine fettle.

John Francis goes to the first ball after the break for 21 and Hildreth doesn't light up the Yorkshire Spring either as he capitulates at 140 for only 20.  Meanwhile Trescothick has continued his rich vien of form with a half century...but is bowled by White for 57 as we stagger towards 200.  Ian Blackwell does manage a bit of a score, for the first time this season in a four day game but goes to the Yorkshire captain for the second time in the game 5 short of the double ton.

It is effectively all over and we can only hope to bat into the fourth day.  Hard to do with no wickets however, Rob Turner is caught behind for 4 and Johnson fails to trouble the scorers as we limp to 211.  Caddick and Laraman get us to Tea with 220 - 46 behind/away from saving an innings defeat.

They add another 23 before Caddick is caught behind for 20 and when Aaron is bowled by Hoggard at the start of the next over for a fighting 32 it is all over.  We lose by an innings and 23 runs and it is not a great start to the simulated season.  No victory points and three games lost in a fortnight!

I think we come home for the first match at Taunton in the next thrilling (or depressing) episode.