Crownmethod's Cricket Sim Season 2!!

Round 16 matches have been played.

Australia v West Indies

The West Indies made a competitive score of 221 for Australia to chase. The Australians were too good, chasing the total down with 7 wickets to spare and 17 overs to spare. Matthew Hayden has been in brilliant for through out the whole season, scoring another 84 of 83. He won the man of the match award.

Bangladesh v Sri Lanka

Man of the match Sanath Jayasuria scored a vital century to lift his side to a score of 282. Things never looked too good for Bangladesh when they lost their first wicket for 0 runs. They were then 68 for 5 at one stage, and later on they were 190 for 8. They never looked like winning until Shakib Al Hasan scored 118 from 122, an innings which included 5 fours and 4 sixes, gave Bangladesh some hope.

Zimbabwe v South Africa

Zimbabwe never looked like winning when Graeme Smith got off to a flyer and scored 60. The South Africans dominated the rest of the match. Zimbabwe can be happy with themselves however, they only lost by 60 runs, and it’s a team that’s second on the ladder.

Pakistan v England

England lost a very important game that could well have given up their final hopes. Pakistan scored 274, a very hard total to chase. England couldn’t chase down the total.

India v New Zealand

Virender Sehwag played brilliantly, scoring 111, with four 4’s and seven sixes. He lifted his side’s total to 267. New Zealand weren’t good enough, the Indian bowlers dominated them, bring their side to victory by 74 runs.

All scorecards can be viewed here. Click here

Round 18 matches have been played

Australia defeated Sri Lanka by 66 runs

New Zealand defeated Bangladesh by 3 wickets

West Indies defeated Zimbabwe by 9 wickets

India defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets

South Africa defeated England by 8 wickets

Sri Lanka v Australia

Sri Lanka have had a taste of what to expect when the finals come, after they got defeated by Australia by 66 runs. Clarke, Ponting and Hussey did the damage with all of them scoring half centuries. Ricky Ponting won the man ofthe match award with his outstanding play.

New Zealand v Bangladesh

Mohammad Ashraful made the highest score for his team, 46 in an awful display by Bangladesh. The wicket tally was shared evenly between the New Zealand bowlers. Jacob Oram won the man of the match award with his superb all round efforts.

Zimbabwe v West Indies

The West Indies thrashed Zimbabwe, bowling them out for just 77, and chasing their score down in just 10 overs.  The West Indies end their season on a high note.

India v Pakistan

India have had a good practice before the finals, beating Pakistan by 7 wickets. They only lost 3 wickets, to chase down 121 on a poor pitch. A brilliant effort from India.

England v South Africa

South Africa have sealed second place(due to their superior run rate) after thrashing England convincingly by 8 wickets. They bowled England out for 200, and chased their total down easily. Graeme Smith scored 96, but it wasn’t enough for him to win the man of the match award. Shaun Pollock won the award, because of his brilliant 5 for 39.

All score cards can be viewed here. Click here

Ladder

1. Australia 64
2. South Africa 52
3. India 52
4. Sri Lanka 44
5. Pakistan 32
6. West Indies 32
7. England 32
8. New Zealand 32
9. Bangladesh 16
10. Zimbabwe 4

Round 18 is the last round, and the four teams that qualify for the semi finals are Australia, South Africa, India and Sri Lanka. First of all I like to congratulate Paulnixon1 for taking Australia to 1^st place for the second season in a row. I also like to congratulate all the other managers for making it into the finals. The teams who have not finished in the top four are out, unfortunately. I like to thank all the managers of those countries for participating in my sim, especially the ones that were very active, Monty, MP12, ryanwkp and wolvesfc1. I have never seen the other managers name their starting XI every round regularly.

The Finals

I have said earlier in the rules that 1v4 and 2v3.

Semi Final 1

Australia v Sri Lanka

This match is played on Saturday.

Paulnixon1 and Freddie, you both have to name your starting XI. Paulnixon1, you have to name a venue and a pitch condition as you are the home team.

Semi Final 2

South Africa v India

This match is played on Sunday.

Grasshopper and Nrlbulldogs4, you both have to name your starting XI. Grasshopper, you have to name a venue and a pitch condition as you are the home team.

The Final

The match is played between the winners of each of the semi-finals. This match is played on Wednesday. This match is played at a neutral venue(yet to be decided), with a random pitch condition.

Good luck to all four managers.