This season, 34!
- come top 3 in OD 1.1
- promote out of T20 2.1
- remain in DEV 1.1
- and I'd like to foray into Cup R4, please
AXI season review:
4th in the top division. Only naturally, I suppose. But a strong recovery back to finish with 8 wins, despite a weak start. Promising stuff, as we look towards a permanent place at the top of Asia. Smith, Simmonds, and whichever we played of Dee and Zahid were excellent, but the star was the glorious Benjamin Butler, with 474 runs in 11 games at 118.5, aside a SR of 140. Winton and the lower order had to content themselves with mediocre performances, unfortunately. Ludlow and Winton struggled to take wickets, but overall a strong bowling performance as ever.
It's good to receive confirmation that AXI still remains a strong T20 side, as promotion came. Lost one game thanks to a batting collapse in a big chase and tied with GG, but that was all. Smith, Frost, Winton, and Chambers were strong. Ram and Kaiser were the most effective bowlers.
In the Dev, it was up and up and up. Until we stopped. But still, a 59-point season isn't bad for a first time, as we made the most of maturing generation of youngsters. At one point we had won 35 of our previous 36 games in the competitive format. Then came two losses. Then five wins. Certainly bodes well for the CWC! Zahid, Roopak, and Butler were the main stars, keen to up their average while they still could. Oakes and Darnell aged out, by then confined to very limited roles in the interest of IGT – so no longer do we have a big difference between competitive and friendly ratings!
The Cup run was great. We were only eliminated in R6, thanks to a kind draw. So overall a very good season, judging by these goals.
POTS award: Chambers, Zahid, and Butler emerge the main contenders. In the end, it must be Butler: a sensational knock every week, he did.
55 (21) (50 in 5 overs) in CWC8 v ZCC;
86 (29) in CWC8 to spite Hlengwa;
71 (26) in T20 2.1 (50 in 5 overs again);
71* (39) in SOD 1.1;
62 (23) in CWC8 (50 in 4.1 overs);
79* (58) to resurrect a flat Cup chase;
142 (79) in DEV 1.1 where all the other batters from both teams made 203 between them;
46 (17) v FHK in CWC8;
135 (53) in CWC8;
86* (61) in a successful SOD chase of ZCC; and
123* (86) in SOD 1.1.
Butler hit 61 sixes in the CWC group stage. The next highest? 34. This was a 14 team competition!
Aims for season 35:
- remain in both senior divisions
- come top 2 in one senior division
- come top 3 in DEV 1.1
- briefly enter the world top 5