Season 10 Bannerman Shield Final Preview Since the beginning of CricSim, the Bannerman Shield competition has always been hotly contended, and a team has never been able to completely dominate the competition. And yet, two sides that could ‘dominate’ in two potentially different ways come along at once. Should the Ravens complete their immaculate Season 10, then they will become one of the Bannerman Shield’s most successful sides – only losing the final two matches of the campaign once the minor premiership had already been wrapped up. Winning the Shield now would make the Ravens’ season the most dominant that any team has ever been. The rampant Ravens almost went on to better their Minor Premiership winning points tally of 132 in Season 6 – despite the season being seven rounds shorter than it was back then. Something is most definitely going right at the Unkindness. The Vipers, on the other hand, have had continued success – a polar opposite of the first installment of the club, where the men in orange managed to collect two spoons in two seasons before folding. Since the club’s re-inception at the start of Season 8, the club has never finished outside of the top 3 and the club’s excellent performances were capped by a Bannerman Shield victory over the Pumas for Season 9. A victory in this season’s final would mean the silverware is back-to-back, and with the recruitment of WC Welker and GJ Weaver, the club could be challenging for the same trophy again, next season. This is more than just a final. This is a CricSim finest, tenth centenary final. The victor can claim their place in the history books as the most successful side to ever grace CricSim.com. But who is going to win? We’ve spoken to some of CricSim’s finest, for their views… Who do you think will win the Bannerman Shield final this season? “Well Amesy my boy, there no is no doubt in my mind that this will be a close encounter but it's hard to go past the Ravens with there immensely bonkers season they've been having. As much as I want the Vipers to win, they will have to play their best game of the season if they want to get a winski.” – A moderately tipsy Gareth Weaver, Stingrays bowling all-rounder. “On face value, it has to be the Ravens, surely? They won 12 of 14 this season, beating the Vipers twice in the process. They've really found a great balance to their side. Everyone pulls their weight and does their job week in week out. They're bowling attack has been good enough to keep the likes of HG "HGM" Emm out of the side, while their batting lineup is long and has been great this season. The danger for them is DA "Bulldog" Eggman though. He's an absolute machine. Most valuable player in the game atm, and he's been ably backed up at times by GR "Fiery" Smith and allowed to take wickets by the ever generous BOY "Pies" Blunder. They're batting lineup has been untouchable all season, with S "Pest" Das unable to get a run ahead of T "alentless" Delonge, R "Prophet" Gee or J "Fernando" Torres despite tearing the ALC to shreds. The only weakness in their side would have to be SLO "Judas" Graham who has been known from time to time to forget his gloves in the changerooms. This Vipers side looks like a serious challenger. In fact the Ravens lost to a Pumas side carrying the likes of passengers AJ "shitcunt" Son and LE "I'm not" Schaw. Vipers by an innings and a half.” – Alistair Son, Pumas President and all-rounder. Which players are you picking to make a big impact on Saturday? “Eggman. If he can skittle through the Ravens batting order, then it gives the Vipers a real fighting chance – I can’t see any of the other Vipers bowlers being able to destruct this ridiculous Ravens’ batting lineup. Yes, Smith and Blunder are excellent support bowlers but they haven’t got anywhere near the quality that Eggman has. If he can’t fire, the Ravens will win.” – Ed Ames, Crusaders President and opening batsman. “Obviously Eggman comes instantly to mind. Learn the tricks of the trade from CricSim’s all-time best fast bowling duo Funkotron & Bullpitt at the Allstars. So with all he was taught and from the club atmosphere he was born from, there is a lot to be feared there. I do worry about the rest of the [Vipers] side as well though, they are probably all a chance of suicide post the drubbing the Ravens give them. ” – Rusty Downpipes, Ravens middle order cum opening batsman. “I personally don't think I'm the one to watch. Yeah, sure I am the main weapon in our bowling attack but Smith has had a great season. Smith can very much rip through any top order, even one with Downpipes. Torres, Hughes and Blunder can all chip in with wickets too. I very much think it'll be won or loss in the bowling for us. If the batsmen do what they have done all season, then all of the pressure is on us Vipers bowlers to do the job. The Ravens have been awesome all season, at home or away, but this is NRLM Oval, both teams are on even grounds. NRML Oval where Eggman has taken 76@19 with the ball and Funkotron 73@31. Torres hit 1540@66 with the bat and Downpipes 1259@46. We're in good form running into this game. I think we'll put it too the Ravens.” – Dave Eggman, Vipers opening bowler extraordinaire. Where do you think the game will be won? “I think the biggest impact will come down to the bowlers. You're looking at the top 2 batting teams across the board, so it'll come down to which of the star bowlers will fire. Either Eggman or Funky will decide the match imo. If either of the two don't show up, I can see the opposition putting on 400+ and that'll be hard to recover from.” – Tom Delonge, Vipers President and middle order batsman. “Both teams have strength in batting and bowling, Ravens edging the bowling and Vipers edging the batting as a whole, but both have players who individually can dominate in the teams weaker field, Eggman could take 12+ wickets in a game, Rusty/Cribb/Shri/Marcuss could all score big on their day. Shri, Rusty and to an extent Marcuss have found really bad times to start slumping in their department, Eggman has continued with his constant threat of completely dismantling teams without a moments notice. He is the main decider that put me on the Vipers bandwagon for the final. An in form dominant bowler coupled with the class of Luffman, Torres, Gee and Delonge, even Hughes whose come out of the station full speed this season, can not see anything other than the Vipers, the worrying thing is that they're only going to be better next season Ravens can suck shit, Torres for MOTM taking 3 wickets. HISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS” – Sam Verigotta, Cyclones middle order batsman. The Teams Ravens Code: RG Cribb 1085 runs @ 43.40 63 wickets @ 26.51 RST Downpipes 1441 runs @ 72.05 DW Lewis 1254 runs @ 54.52 PM Jackson 200 runs @ 25.00 M Deane 957 runs @ 50.37 26 wickets @ 40.88 DRP Taylor 691 runs @ 36.37 G Shriram 788 runs @ 43.78 6 wickets @ 58.00 TJL Webber 654 runs @ 36.33 P Orr 223 runs @ 24.78 18 wickets @ 47.00 AD Funkotron 320 runs @ 20.00 79 wickets @ 23.78 AJ James 130 runs @ 14.44 73 wickets @ 23.81 The Ravens have had an astounding season. Twelve straight victories proved beyond doubt that this side is more than capable of winning the Season 10 Bannerman Shield. But form has begun to drop and the last two games of the regular season saw two losses, first to the 5.01 outsiders, the Pumas, and then to the Gamblers. It has been an excellent season for the top of the Ravens batting order. Downpipes and Cribb have averaged 110 between them, and have often proved too much for opposition bowling attacks. Lewis and Deane have been equally as excellent, generally forming big partnerships between them, with Taylor, Webber and Shriram providing excellent batting support. Funkotron and James have also been phenomenal – possibly the greatest new ball bowling attack in CricSim history, considering it has been an incredibly batting-friendly season. But after the openers and Cribb, the Ravens really lack another support bowler that is needed to form a great bowling attack. The Ravens have not really been punished for this during the season although if anyone will, it’s the Vipers. Vipers Code: JE McGrath 1038 runs @ 41.52 JRE Luffman 1525 runs @ 63.54 T Delonge 1125 runs @ 48.91 J Torres 1259 runs @ 57.23 13 wickets @ 35.85 R Gee 1114 runs @ 48.43 SLO Graham 805 runs @ 38.33 JM Hughes 996 runs @ 52.80 37 wickets @ 45.41 CJ Devonshire 692 runs @ 34.60 20 wickets @ 61.30 DA Eggman 278 runs @ 21.38 84 wickets @ 27.08 BOY Blunder 231 runs @ 12.83 52 wickets @ 37.62 GR Smith 110 runs @ 13.75 35 wickets @ 32.57 A stop-start season for the reigning champions has meant to a disappointing 3rd place finish – but the size and expectations of the club are proven by the fact 3rd is unsatisfactory. Losses in simple games to out-of-form Crusaders and Stingrays early on in the season proved costly and the Vipers stumbled into the playoffs. Possibly the best batting lineup during the regular season, it has everything you could want. Torres blossoming into a star batsman has massively helped the Vipers, who were previously reliant on Mr. Consistency, JRE Luffman. But the batting lineup also has no weaknesses, with everyone inside the top 7 massively contributing. The bowling has been largely reliant on CricSim’s new star DA Eggman. On the Vipers highway, Hughes has done well to take wickets, although has not been potent enough and Devonshire seems to have hit his declining season as his lack of net sessions catches up with him. Blunder and Smith have provided good support to Eggman but not much more. Key Battles AD Funkotron and AJ James vs JRE Luffman and T Delonge Most probably the biggest battle, and certainly one that will decide the final. Funkotron and James have been phenomenal this season with the ball, and if they can get rid of Luffman and Delonge early then the Ravens stand a real chance of running through the middle and lower order, setting up a low platform for their batsman to step up to. On the other hand, if the Vipers can see off the deadly opening pair without much damage to the batting order, then they stand a real chance of making a huge score, with only RG Cribb to back them up. RST Downpipes vs DA Eggman As an opening partnership, Downpipes and Cribb average over 110. This is rather incredible considering Cribb’s average of 26 with the ball. But then you bring in CricSim’s best fast bowler and a hugely promising up-and-comer in GR Smith and you make for an incredibly interesting match-up. But the key is between Eggman and Downpipes – the best bowler and batsman in their respective sides. Whoever wins this battle is likely to determine who does better in that certain innings. RG Cribb vs J Torres As their respective sides primary all-rounders, Torres and Cribb both have a huge amount of pressure on their shoulders. But the key battle will come when Torres takes a break from ripping through sides with the ball, and holds the wood. Cribb is the only real support bowler for the Ravens opening bowlers, with other bowlers Orr, Deane and Shriram all averaging upwards of 40. If Cribb struggles with the ball, so will the Ravens. TJL Webber vs SLO Graham A rather different contest than those previously mentioned, but the two keepers have had very similar seasons this year, averaging 36 and 38 respectively. We've seen so many times this season that dropped catches and edges have turned out to haunt a side so badly, often resulting in the difference between a loss and a victory. If these two can stand up and be counted, it'll be a huge bonus to their sides. Our Predictions For the betting men amongst you. - Paddy Orr to take 6+ wickets - Jimmy Torres to score 150+ - Vipers victory by 4 wickets. You heard it here first, folks.
Only thing issue I have is classing Sam Verigotta as one of cricsim's finest :troll: Love Mousey's entry. Good read.
