Week 8 - Pitches

Southern League

Match 1 - Hampshire Royals vs Sussex Sharks

Pitch: The hot weather has baked the Hampshire pitch and caused large cracks to appear, this should offer both uneven bounce and plenty of spin. Batsman will have to be on the top of their games to score on this pitch. Could be a low scoring affair unless a batsman decides to force the pace and attack.

Match 2 - Middlesex Panthers vs Somerset CC

Pitch: A seamers paradise at Middlesex with even the medium pacers getting some extra zip off of the pitch. Batsman should look to use the pace which could cause a largish scoring game if the seamers don't put it into the right areas. Could be a cracking game.

Match 3 - Surrey Lions vs Essex Eagles

Pitch: With a very hard wicket, this should be a batsmen's paradise. However
there is a green tinge to the wicket offering something to the seamers
first up and throughout. The spinners may be able to use the bounce to
there advantage but there is minimal spin. With a lightning quick
outfield as well, this should be a high scoring game.


Northern League

Match 1: Lancashire Lightening vs Worcestershire Royals

Pitch: Plenty of spin at Old Trafford today as well as bounce and carry. Sub-continent spinners will have a field day as these conditions will suit them perfectly. Batsman will probably want to attack the extra bounce that the seamers are getting.

Match 2: Yorkshire Carnegie vs Leicestershire Foxes

Pitch: Overnight rain has taken a bit of the sting out of this pitch but the outfield is still fast. Medium pacers and bowlers who can keep it tight will be essential. If a batsman gets going and rides his luck a bit he might win the match there and then.

Hampshire Royals vs Sussex Sharks

With the injuries to Graeme Smith and Ravi Bopara we bring in Michael Carberry and Usman Khawaja. No change to the bowlers with Doshi retaining his place.

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

Toss: Bat first and build a total. Then look to use our plethora of spinners to strangle the game and take control.

Batting:
Carberry: You are making your debut today. I want you to get your eye in and then unleash. You and Adams can get us off to a flyer.
Adams: You and Carberry work well together, get us off to a flying start.
Clarke: I want you to bat through the 20 overs. You are the best player of spin in the world so use that to your advantage. There is plenty of runs for you today.
Akmal - Come in and play spin well as you usually do. I want you to up the pace and take the attack to their bowlers.
Khawaja and Vince - I want you two to come in and look to score quickly. You can both clear the ropes with ease.
Mascarenhas and Smith - Come in and look to finish off the innings well. Look to clear the ropes or just hit the fence.
Khan, Briggs and Doshi - Come in and whack it.

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

Khan - Look to open up and take advantage of the uneven bounce. Pick up early wickets. Then at the death come on and bowl yorkers and cutters to keep it tight.
Briggs - You are going to open up. Look to take advantage of the spin and bounce and pick up wickets. Put them on the back foot straight away.
Doshi - Come on and keep it tight in the middle overs. Look to pick up a wicket or two, if not keep your economy rate down.
Smith - You are the wildcard. Come in and be aggressive. You are bowling well lately so continue by looking to unsettle the batsmen and pick up a wicket or two.
Mascarenahs - You are one of the best death bowlers around. Keep a cool head and bowl lots of yorkers, slower balls and cutters. This pitch is made for your type of bowling.

i'll get on this now considering i haven't got much else i can do at the moment

Surrey lions squad to face Essex:

Davies (wk)
Taylor
Roy
Mahela (c)
Hussey
Stevens
Mathews
Woakes
Kartik
Harris
Dernbach

Jadeja out due to injury so Kartik comes in.

Toss: Bat first, put huge runs on the board and then use our bowlers to squeeze them out of the game.

Batting: We need a win this week and on a batting paradise we've gone with a lot of batting prowess. Davies and Taylor will open up and look to get going straight away, if we lose an early wicket then Roy and come in and continue the assault. Mahela and Hussey can play their normal games and they are two of the best in the world. Stevens and Mathews can then finish it in style with some lusty blows. We expect a lot of maximums today lads! Woakes, Kartik and Harris can all bat too so the tail is long. As always we'll hope that Dernbach isn't needed to bat!

Bowling: Opening up with Kartik who will bowl one to try and catch the Essex batsmen out before Jade and Woakes come on. Two from each with Harris completing the powerplay. Harris to bowl a couple alongside Mathews. Stevens will then bowl opposite Kartik as we look to keep it tight. Kartik to bowl out the rest of his allotment before Woakes returns. Dernbach to bowl at the death.

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

are there week 8 injuries yet gregers?

Yep Hodge, their up. I'm without jadeja and arafat

Vs Middlesex, Toss - Bowl

1) Gayle (O)
2) Kieswetter (WK + U25)
3) Trott
4) Hildreth
5) Buttler (U25)
6) Van der Merwe (O)
7) Meschede (U25)
8) Southee (U25 + O)
9) Phillander (O)
10) Thomas
11) Dockrell (U25)

Batting: we have the explosive start with Kieswetter and Gayle, then a stabalisation period with trott and Hildreth if required however both are capable of kicking on if needed, a 5,6,7 of Buttler, VDM and Meschede then can give a good kick to the end of the innings as all can bat quickly and hit big boundaries if needed. Southee and Philander both have good strike rates as well.

Bowling - not going to set out overs by overs this week as i have so many bowling options in this side and considering the pitch players like Trott and Meschede could play a bigger role than thought. So open with Philander and Thomas for 2 each to see how they do, then switch to Southee and Meschede. After the powerplay get Dockrell on to see if he can bowl however after that for the middle overs it will just be a combination of Dockrell, VDM, Trott, Meschede, Southee and Gayle if needed, before finishing the innings with Thomas and Philander again

Middlesex Panthers vs Somerset CC

Toss: Bowl first and get first use of the seaming conditions

Team:

No	Player	Ave	SR	Bowling Ave	Econ
1	Martin Guptil (o,u25)	36.78	132.02	-	9.50
2	Brendon McCullum (o,wk,c)	32.55	137.24	-	-
3	Shane Watson (o)	31.29	144.84	24.75	7.28
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	Irfan Pathan (o)	22.97	127.97	24.31	7.57
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

Bowling:
Dan Vettori is rested this week as I'm looking at a more than useful 5 pronged seam attack to take care of business. Steve Finn is in very handy county form at the moment, and he opens up the attack with Rankin, aiming to knock over Gayle and Kieswetter early with seam and steepling bounce. The very economical Jack Brooks comes on next with Irfan Pathan, aiming to keep up the pressure. All five bowlers get rotated through the middle stages before death over specialists Pathan and Shane Watson finish. If anyone is having an off day there are overs available from Maddy and Yuvraj.

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

Batting
Guptil and McCullum have grown up on seaming NZ pitches, so they open up and look to take toll on anything loose. Watson follows, with Malan earmarked for the anchor role if needed. Morgan, Yuvraj and Maddy all offer quick runs and hitting power in the middle order, while Pathan and Brooks are no slouches either.

I'll try to get this done later, sorry for delay.

Yorkshire Tactics vs Leics

Cook
Denly
Rohit
Mahmood
Dhoni
Bairstow
Ervine
Rashid
Bresnan
Rampaul
Warne

Toss: Bowl. Seamers to restrict Leics, hopefully setting up an easy chase.

Batting tactics: Cook and Denly will play slightly quite conservatively first up before getting progressively more attacking. Rohit and Azhar will look to provide a platform for Dhoni, Bairstow and Ervine. The whole line up, down to Bresnan are all capable of clearing the ropes. Sehwag inured, so Cook plays.

Over allocation:

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

Bowling tactics: Rampaul and Bresnan will look to take advantage of early swing with the new ball, forcing errors out of the top order. 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 will attempt to bowl defensively and restrict, forcing wickets through mistakes by the batsmen. Rampaul and Bresnan will return at the death. If a bowler has a shocker, Ervine's medium pace or Rohit's spin could be used.

Worcestershire Royals tactics vs Lancashire Lightning

Toss:Bat First

Batting line up:

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

Batting tactics:Hafeez to play carefully early on, whilst Pietersen will provide the attacking impetus. Amla,Solanki and Bell are all very capable players of spin, as is Shakib who alongside Wilson and Mendis will look to provide lower-order hitting

Bowling tactics:Side is packed with spinners who will to exploit the conditions, with Meaker and Junaid providing the pace options on the pitch.Meaker will try and take advantage of anything offered by the new ball, hence only the 2 over spell. Junaid will bowl mainly at the death, leaving my quad of spinners to do the bulk of the work with the ball.

Meaker(2,4)
Hafeez(1,3,5,7)
Shakib(9,11,13,16)
Mendis(8,10,17,19)
Junaid Khan(6,15,18,20)
Azeem Raifq(12,14)

Worcestershire v Lancashire

Injuries: Ross Taylor & Phil Mustard

1. Stephen Moore
2. Phil Hughes (U25) (Ov)
3. Jesse Ryder (Ov)
4. Kane Williamson (U25) (Ov)
5. Tom Maynard (U25)
6. Stephen Croft
7. Darren Sammy (Ov)
8. Gareth Cross (wk)
9. Nathan McCullum (Ov)
10. Jimmy Anderson
11. Simon Kerrigan (U25)

Toss: Bowl first, restrict Worcs to a small total and leave ourselves a manageable total

Over allocation
Kerrigan (1, 3, 14, 16)
Anderson (2, 4, 18, 20)
Sammy (5, 10, 12, 15)
McCullum (6, 8, 17, 19)
Croft (7, 9, 13)
Williamson (11)

Kerrigan will open up to KP, the idea being to expose some of KP’s old demons against left armed spinners, Anderson gets his full allocation as he is a quality bowler, capable of adapting to any pitch. Sammy will use his lack of pace to tie down the batters on a pitch where pace and bounce is crucial for the batters. Kerrigan, McCullum and Croft take care of the spin, hoping the exploit the pitch, and whilst none are mystery spinners, all three (especially McCullum) are capable of getting the score down, frustrating the batsmen and getting wickets through scoreboard pressure

Batting

Moore and Hughes will both look to bat for as long as possible, however both are naturally quick scorers so if these two stay together for a long time then a big score should be attainable, Ryder is at number 3 and is an good player of spin and naturally aggressive. Williamson is decent against spin and will look to rotate the strike whilst everyone else plays around him, with Maynard, Croft and Cross all being capable of hitting big shots and scoring quickly. Sammy will have free reign to slog away as he usually does

SUSSEX SHARKS Tactics v Hampshire Royals @ Rose Bowl

Team line-up:

1 Jacques Kallis
2 Richard Levi
3 Virat Kohli (c)
4 Matt Prior (wk)
5 Chris Nash
6 Andre Russell
7 Luke Wright
8 Michael Yardy
9 Dale Steyn
10 Harry Gurney
11 Monty Panesar

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

For the first time in ages we field just about our strongest line-up, though Clint McKay is injured.

Toss

Bat first, but we have a line-up that can chase well if we do lose the toss

Batting Plans

- Kallis to bat sensibly, but his class will ensure he scores at a decent 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.
- Kohli at three is extremely classy and experienced on turning pitches
- Prior and Nash are experienced, and very capable of playing all kinds of innings. Nash will drop behind Russell and Wright if the situation demands big hitting
- Russell and Wright are both capable of massive hits. They will need to attack the spinners on this occasion.
- Yardy will play primarily as a bowler but he has a good FC batting record and if we lose wickets can bat to good effect.

Bowling and Fielding Plans

- Steyn takes the new ball on this occasion. He should find some uneven bounce, 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.
- Nash takes the new ball to bring spin into the game right from the start.
- 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 and will use cutters on a regular basis.
- Gurney can bowl a few overs if necessary. However, his main purpose is to make up the number of Under 25s (!)
- Panesar and Yardy will bowl in tandem, as they look to get the most out of a wearing surface

- We are a good fielding side. Kallis catches everything at slip, whilst Russell, Kohli, Brown, Levi and Nash are great in the outfield. Prior is one of the best keepers around, and could nab some stumpings in this game with a lot of spin being bowled.

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


+ Gurney and Wright as option

This plan is very much dependent on how people bowl. If Nash goes well his spell could be extended, whilst if Russell goes round the park there are plenty of alternatives.

Right, that's 8 sets of tactics in

Tomorrow midnight is the cut off, any not posted will result in 6-0 losses.

Is that okay for everyone?

Sachin Tendulkar(os)
Tom Westley(u 25)
Owais Shah
Ryan Ten Doeschate
Cameron White(os)
Niall O'Brien(wk)
Shahid Afridi(os)
James Pattinson(u 25)(os)
Sunil Narine(u 25)(os)
David Masters
Tymal Mills(u 25)

Gone in with 5 proper bowlers and Afridi at 7 is certainly a capable batsman on a good batting track. Gone in with a couple of outright pacers. Masters too should be useful. Narine will get bounce with his high arm action and should trouble the opposition with his variations even on a non spinning track. Afridi's quickish spin too would be useful on this hard track IMO.

Toss : Bat first

20 overs will be shared between the 5 main bowlers. With Pattinson and Masters bowling with the new ball. Pattinson and Narine at the death.

Leicestershire Foxes Tactics

W. Jefferson
G. Gambhir
K. Sangakarra (WK)
K. O'Brien
S. Raina
A. Razzaq
P. Trego
J. Allenby
C. Langeveldt
S. Ajmal
C. Tremlett

Bowling

Tremlett - 4 Overs - Open bowling and finish.
Ajmal - 4 overs
Langeveldt - 4 Overs.
Allenby - 2 Overs.
Trego - 2 Overs. - Open other end to Tremlett.
Razzaq - 4 Overs. - Bowl at the death opposite Tremlett.

Toss - Bowl first