Well, that's a bit shit. Emm not taking any wickets in the 4th on a spinning deck where we fell apart to spin. Not really sure that we could have done anything differently.
*sigh* Crusaders vs Allstars Ames, Retzel, Heads, Miokovic, Perry, Warrington, Clough, Immanuel, Ridd, Ritchie, Wilson. Manera, Himann, Armstrong, Downpipes, Olsen, O'Driscoll, Storer, Funkotron, Davis, Emm, Howe. The first game of the fifth round of Bannerman Shield action takes place at the Castle where the Crusaders take on the Allstars. It's a potentially mouthwatering encounter as the Allstars were tipped as pre-season favourites to take third place, but their bye week leaves the Crusaders leading their opponents by six points. A win for the Crusaders could open up a sizable sixteen point gap (despite the 'Stars game in hand), but an Allstars win would leave them in a dominant position in the race for third. It's all to play for and first innings points are vital. A key factor to consider is the venue - the Castle is arguably one of the most unsuitable venues for an Allstars side who boasts one of the most menacing seam attacks in all of CricSim, in Funkotron, Davis and Howe. Whilst the Allstars opted to play spinner Thomas Bradford at the spin-friendly Ravens' Unkindness early on in the season, he returned poor figures of 107-1 over the two innings. This has led to the selection of rising star Jake Howe, but is certainly to the Allstars' detriment on such a minefield of a pitch. The injury to Duckworth Lewis is also sure to have an impact on the end result. Despite averaging a modest 29, the NSW star is one of the side's most dangerous batsmen because of his ability to rack up big totals. In his place steps up Somestars' opener Dave Armstrong is certainly able to make an impact at any level. However Lewis' occasional tweakers may be missed with the Allstars' use of seamer Ben Storer as fifth bowling option. This may mean we see the occasional over from Asian opening bat Leumas Himann as he provides help to primary spinner Hache Emm. The Crusaders walk into the match in high spirits after a win against potential finals rivals, the Ravens. Spinner Joshua Ritchie has taken the Bannerman Shield by storm, with 25 wickets @ 22.20 to sit atop the bowling charts, alongside Pumas' spinner Aaron Hunt. But the key to victory will be the battle between the middle order and Allstars' spinner Emm. The controversial head of FAGS has taken wickets at 23.55 this season, and is likely to get even more help this week. Against such a potentially fragile middle-order, he could get some luck despite the pressure on his shoulders. The Herald predicts a tight game that the Crusaders should ultimately edge because of the injury to Lewis, and the pitch conditions. A win of anything more than 4 wickets would be more than satisfactory for the team in maroon.
Nah, just don't get Ritchie's constant, droning hate and Athlai now doing the same against his old team. That's their prerogative of course, but why am I being uncharacteristic if I give some back?