Generally what we roll with on the bowling orders front is short spells dependent on pitch conditions and who's in form - as we all know ITC can either decide you're on a great day or a stinker. If someone smells bad, get shot of him - it's not like we're shy of options!
I would go with the following batting order:
SA Bennett
DP Richards (has opened for Black anyway!)
NA Borcich
CP Thompson
TC Halsey
XPA Rose+
DJ Watt
AA Cameron
GM Thomas
NS Pickup*
Kexing Su
I think you greatly overstated your abilities with the willow...!
A bit late, that...game already simmed and I'm not prepared to do another hour for a resim.
Batting XI v Bowling XI
at CWBCC Stadium
Scorecard
Ball By Ball
As has been the case all season, the batsmen outperformed the bowlers massively in the charity match at CWBCC Stadium. Fifteen sixes were hit in a roaring game of cricket, where the batsmen got to shine on the bowling figures thanks to occasional bouts of suicide from the bowling XI.
However, it was a fair reaction facing a total of 591 for four. Håkon Mørk had set the tone with four fours and two sixes in the first thirteen overs, also riding his luck after Su put down a catch at square leg, which meant Mørk had hit 42 of the first 52 runs. At lunch, Mørk had reached 73, and Young had also cut loose with a massive six off Su as well as boundaries off Andrew Cameron.
The partnership was eventually broken at 179, Su striking in his second spell as Mørk yielded to a quick away-swinger. It didn't help. Dan Smith raced to 32 at tea, while Young brought up the hundred just before the session break with a single. By then, he had produced nine fours and two sixes, and Tom Halsey would be ruing his straightforward drop at mid-on which gave Young a lead on four.
With the total at 237 for one, the bowling XI had essentially yielded the game. Young was floored once more, Su's second drop of the match, but he redeemed himself an hour later as a barrage of yorkers found its reward when Smith was trapped lbw for 78. Young, however, had batted through the day for a massive 190, and the batting XI had only lost two wickets. In the following two sessions, the bowling XI repeated their feat, Halsey holding on to Young five short of the double before Cameron saw off Kearsley for 52. It mattered little. Anxious to finish the game, Garven declared with Towns still in the 90s, after Cribb had reached the half-century.
Bennett and Watt batted through till tea, but Bennett quickly fell afterwards, Dwyer generating extra pace to lead a ball through to second slip, and Watt's brief interjection ended when he pulled Cunningham onto his own stumps for 26.
Borcich and Thompson continued the counter-attacking tactics, adding 50 in a little less than ten overs with help from Mørk at third slip, who floored his Red recruit Thompson on 17. It was to be almost as crucial as Su's drop of Young, with Thompson flashing his bat at every ball as he blazed his way to 78 at stumps. At the other end, Cribb, Chaulk and Young brought breakthroughs for the batting eleven, and by the end of the day the bowling eleven were 198 for five.
The next three sessions brought the remaining fifteen wickets. Though Rose lived a charmed life, he made his way to 38 for the only significant innings of the morning session, as the Thompson show had been curtailed by a sharp catch by Mørk at point. Cunningham's second spell took care of Richards, while Pickup, attempting to block Kearsley, miscued the seam movement and was caught behind for 5 to be last out at 313.
With his team still trailing by 278, Watt succumbed in the second over, to a belligerent Dwyer. The attempted off breaks, with plenty of flight and pace, brought a number of fine strokes from the bowling eleven, but it also yielded wickets, and the opening spell of three for 53 had seen boundaries off the bats of Bennett, Thompson, Borcich and Thomas.
The pitch, however, had crumbled somewhat, and Cribb exploited this shrewdly to decimate what was left of the nominal middle order. With his first ball, he spun a leg break onto Thomas' bat, caught at first slip for 18. The third fell to Dwyer at short leg, and though Borcich kept edging his way to the half-century, he fell to the easiest of bottom edges for Cribb's third wicket. The spinners had now taken the first six wickets of the innings, and more was to come; Rose's futile counter-attack was stopped with a full toss smashed straight up to Cunningham, after the Green fast bowler had spent only 31 balls for the half-century. A full toss from Young then rattled Richards' middle stump, and with Halsey's dive home being ruled not safe by the third umpire, the bowling XI needed 86 runs between Su and Pickup just to avoid the innings defeat. (By that time, Su had been dropped twice without scoring a run.) Pickup attempted it, wafting at every ball, and making memorable contact three times; they went for four through mid off, three to long on, and six over third man respectively. However, with Su caught by the batting captain at fifth slip after a 46-ball vigil, the bowling eleven had to concede defeat.
Batting XI 591 for four declared (150 overs)
PE Young 195, DP Towns 92*, H Mørk 84, DP Smith 78; Su 2-97
Bowling XI 313 all out (65.2 overs)
CP Thompson 88; BC Cunningham 3-36, PE Young 2-46
Bowling XI (following on) 211 all out (41.4 overs)
NA Borcich 69, XPA Rose 55; RGEWS Cribb 4-47, CR Dwyer 3-53
Batting XI won by an innings and 67 runs
Man of the Match: P. E. Young (Batting)