A new project

I'm giving the 'pure' ATG Tests a rest for now, but I have another ATG project already up and running, involving the top teams from history, according to the ICC ratings. At the current time I don't think I'll be posting the results here, but write-ups and results can be found over at the Home of British Sports Replay Gaming forum; look for the thread marked ICC ATG Test Championship.

Thanks for looking in.

Season I - VI Complete Statistical Review

Six seasons of ATG cricket are now in the book, and the following files provide a statistical review of all the Tests played since England and Australia first took the field at Trent Bridge, some 231 Tests ago.

If you'd like to download the stats as one handy PDF file, make your way to the Home of British Sports Replay Gaming, and look for the post titled ATG Cricket Statistical Review in the 'Cricket' folder.

Pages 1 & 2

Pages 3 & 4

Pages 5 & 6

Pages 7 & 8

Pages 9 & 10

Season VI Statistical Summary

The Test in Kandy between Sri Lanka and Australia brought down the curtain on the sixth season of ATG cricket; click on the image below for a statistical summary of the season.

Season VI Statistical Summary (click to enlarge)

Sri Lanka v Australia - Only Test

Asgiriya Stadium, Kandy

Sri Lanka: MS Atapattu, UC Hathurusingha, AP Gurusinha, PA de Silva, *A Ranatunga, HP Tillakaratne, +RS Kaluwitharana, DS de Silva, JR Ratnayeke, HDPK Dharmasena, GP Wickramasinghe.
Australia: WM Woodfull, AR Morris, *IM Chappell, GS Chappell, SR Waugh, KD Walters, +RW Marsh, RR Lindwall, SK Warne, CV Grimmett, GD McGrath.

Debuts: MS Atapattu (SL); IM Chappell, KD Walters, SK Warne & GD McGrath (AUS)
Umpires: HD Bird (ENG) & S Kishen (IND)
Toss: Australia

Australia sent what was very much a shadow squad on this, their first ever trip to Sri Lanka, but with the illustrious quartet of Ian Chappell, Doug Walters, Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath all making their debuts the team was hardly weakened. Ian Chappell also had the honour of captaining the side, and he rounded off a memorable first day by sharing in a century stand with brother Greg before completing a chanceless hundred off just 133 balls shortly after tea. Australia lost five wickets in the final session though, subsiding from 254-3 to 319-8 in the process, but on a dry and cracked pitch Messrs Warne and Grimmett were expected to put a seemingly disappointing score into a somewhat different perspective on day two.

Ian Chappell made the perfect start to what is likely
to be a short-lived career as Australian captain

Australia were eventually bowled out on the second morning for 346, a challenging if not dominant total on this pitch, and after the opening pair of Atapattu - on debut - and Hathurusingha both fell in the 20s, Gurusinha and de Silva upped the pace and took the score to 143-2 before Lindwall bowled both of them in consecutive overs before tea. Lindwall was by far the pick of the Australian attack at this stage, but in the evening session McGrath finally found his rhythm and wickets continued to fall. Tillakaratne held firm though, and in partnership with Ravi Ratnayeke he set about salvaging the innings from the depths of 215-7. Their eighth wicket partnership had reached exactly 100 before McGrath finally induced a catch in the gully to dismiss the battling Ratnayeke - who had been dropped by Woodfull when on 5 - for 49 shortly after lunch on day three, but Tillakaratne was able to press on to a thoroughly deserved century, and Sri Lanka secured their first ever first innings lead as last man Wickramasinghe contributed a career best 24 to a last wicket stand of 53.

Lindwall apart, Australia had not bowled well, and Sri Lanka's total of 386 - the highest in their eight Test history - gave them a 40 run lead at the game's halfway stage. Australia's top three batsmen then all threw away starts as their second innings stuttered to 97-3, but day four of this see-sawing Test was dominated by the tourists as Greg Chappell and Steve Waugh got their heads down and batted with great composure to snuff out any chance the Lankans might have had of forcing victory.

Greg Chappell and Steve Waugh batted remorselessly on the fourth day

Both players reached three figures as their fourth wicket partnership swelled to 208, and with the pitch playing better than anyone had expected the home bowlers were unable to create a single chance. The score had moved on to 305-3 when Chappell finally departed, playing on for 113 in Wickramasinghe's second over with the second new ball, but Waugh continued on into the evening session and, along with Marsh, helped take the total past 400 before a late shower brought on the declaration, Sri Lanka being set the unlikely target of 371 to win in just over a day.

It was soon obvious that the draw was to be the limit of the hosts' ambitions, and by lunch on the final day they had progressed to 102-3, a score that meant the game was still very much in the balance. Shane Warne was enjoying an enthralling joust with Aravinda de Silva, and with his score on 49 Sri Lanka's pocket dynamo offered a chance to Greg Chappell at slip, but the ball went to ground and Sri Lanka had been thrown a lifeline. De Silva and Ranatunga batted on past tea, taking their fourth wicket partnership past the hundred mark in the process, and although Warne managed to complete his five-for on debut with three wickets, including de Silva for 94, in the evening session, Sri Lanka held on with relative ease for a morale boosting draw. Ranatunga was still there at the close, undefeated on 81 after four and a half hours at the crease, and Season 6 ends on note of unexpected optimism for ATG cricket's new boys.

It was de Silva to the rescue as Sri Lanka secured an honourable draw

Score Summary
AUS 1st Inns 346 (IM Chappell 104, GS Chappell 52, Waugh 43)
SL 1st Inns 386 (Tillakaratne 131*, PA de Silva 49, Ratnayeke 49, Gurusinha 43; McGrath 4-102)
AUS 2nd Inns 410-6 dec. (Waugh 128, GS Chappell 113, Morris 49, Marsh 42*)
SL 2nd Inns 295-6 (PA de Silva 94, Ranatunga 81*; Warne 5-86)

MATCH DRAWN

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - Australia 1st innings 319-8 (Warne 5*; 99 ov)
Day 2 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 243-7 (Tillakaratne 57*, Ratnayeke 10*; 80 ov)
Day 3 - Australia 2nd innings 113-3 (GS Chappell 6*, Waugh 10*; 32.4 ov)
Day 4 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 8-0 (Atapattu 2*, Hathurusingha 6*; 4 ov)
Day 5 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 295-6 (105 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ Sri lanka's 386 in the first innings is their highest ever total
▪ Tillakaratne and Ratnayeke's partnership of 100 is Sri Lanka's highest for the eighth wicket
▪ Sri Lanka took a 1st innings lead for the first time
▪ IM Chappell is the sixth Australian, and eighteenth overall, to score a century on debut and the first player to captain on debut, other than in a country's inaugural Test
▪ SK Warne is the first Australian, and eleventh overall, to take five wickets in an innings on debut
▪ GS Chappell made his 50th appearance for Australia

Man of the Match: HP Tillakaratne

West Indies v India - Series Summary

WEST INDIES WON THE SERIES 3-1
Whilst West Indies eventually took the series at a canter it must be remembered that India gave them a run for their money to begin with, winning the first Test in Jamaica and then holding on heroically for the draw in Trinidad. It was not until Curtly Ambrose came to the fore in the second half of the series that West Indies really asserted their authority, and with Garner and Marshall also finding their form in the latter stages it was a barrage of relenting pace that finally did for the Indians.

The recalled George Headley led the run scoring for the hosts, almost half his runs coming in one innings in Guyana (but what an innings!) and Viv Richards looked to be rediscovering his best form by the end of the series after what had been a somewhat extended slump. The opening positions are still up for grabs though, with neither Greenidge nor new boy Lawrence Rowe able to stake a solid claim, and whilst Dujon continued to provide valuable runs down the order - indeed, he actually topped the batting averages - his displays behind the stumps were somewhat below par.

If truth be told, neither side fielded particularly well, but whilst West Indies were able to compensate the Indians' poor out cricket went a long way to costing them the series. The tourists dropped sixteen catches over the course of the five games and with their bowling, Prasanna apart, lacking any sort of penetration, this was simply unacceptable. Gavaskar's stellar form with the bat papered over the cracks to some extent, but the likes of Pataudi, Manjrekar and Umrigar hit as many lows as they did highs, and the way in which India's batting simply disintegrated in the last two Tests would have been a source of both concern and embarrassment for the selectors.

West Indies' eighth consecutive series win guarantees that they will end Season VI on top of the rankings, whilst India remain in sixth place and are now in danger of being overtaken by perennial basement dwellers, New Zealand. For now though the focus switches to Sri Lanka, where Australia's visit for a one-off Test brings the season to a close.

Series Averages
(click to enlarge)

Players of the Series: CEL Ambrose & SM Gavaskar

West Indies v India - Fifth Test

Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's

West Indies: CG Greenidge, LG Rowe, GA Headley, IVA Richards, CL Walcott, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, MD Marshall, AME Roberts, MA Holding, CEL Ambrose.
India: SM Gavaskar, M Prabhakar, DB Vengsarkar, VL Manjrekar, PR Umrigar, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, +SMH Kirmani, J Srinath, EAS Prasanna, BKV Prasad.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: Mahboob Shah (PAK) & RS Dunne (NZL)
Toss: West Indies

Having started the tour so well it all came down to a case of do or die for India in Antigua, but the momentum was now firmly with West Indies, a draw being enough to secure an eighth successive series victory. Injury meant that Worrell, Garner and Griffith all remained in Barbados, but the selectors were able to call on the handy trio of Walcott, Marshall and Roberts as replacements, and Pataudi's incorrect call at the toss allowed Garry Sobers' team first use of a hard, glistening surface at the ARG.

Lawrence Rowe's 80 turned out to be
the highest innings of a low scoring match

The strokemakers were expected to be favoured on such a pitch, but 13 wickets fell on a dramatic first day as West Indies were bowled out for 314 and then responded by reducing the Indians to a precarious 13-3 by the close. The early part of the hosts' innings was built around Lawrence Rowe's first ATG fifty, and when he was out for 80, bowled by one that Prasanna held back a touch, two further fifties from Sobers - his first of the series - and Dujon combined with a boisterous 31 from Roberts to steer the innings past 300.

India's bowlers had performed well although the tail somewhat gifted Prasanna a five wicket haul, but their fielding had again been poor. Both Rowe (on 66 at the time) and Dujon (on 28) were given lives when Prasad and Kirmani respectively grassed a pair of simple catches - Kirmani's fumble off the bowling of Prabhakar was a real howler - and this profligacy was compounded when Marshall removed both Gavasakar and Manjrekar with what turned out to be the last two balls of the day, leaving the tourists deep in the mire. Vengsarkar and Umrigar threatened to stage a recovery on day two, but from the relative heights of 60-3 the innings fell apart as the spin of Sobers picked apart a batting order that was being traumatised by pace from the other end, and West Indies' skipper finished with the eyebrow-raising figures of 5-11 from 9.5 overs as India crumbled to 101 all out, equalling their lowest ever total in the process.

Sobers' bowling came off the sidelines
to devastating effect on the second day

India had batted very poorly and were asked to follow-on some 213 runs in arrears, but led by a confident innings of 79 from Vengsarkar they made a much better fist of things second time round, and had progressed to 174-4 when Vengsarkar lost his middle stump to Marshall late on the second evening. There were no further casualties before the close, but on the third morning the rampaging Marshall simply tore through the lower order like a tornado through Texas, and when hostilities ceased the Indians had been bowled out for 196 to hand West Indies victory by an innings and 17 runs before we had even reached lunch.

Marshall's analysis of 5-12 from 16.3 overs ensured that most onlookers now had both eyebrows firmly elevated, and at the hastily arranged presentation ceremony the Indian players milled around in a near catatonic state as the magnitude of their defeat began to sink in. After starting the series in such positive fashion they had been bowled out for under 200 in each of their last four innings, and the final two Tests were completed in less than five days put together. The four-pronged pace attack fielded by West Indies after their shock defeat in the first Test gradually wore down the Indians' resolve, and the denouement here in Antigua tightens still further West Indies' grip on the number one position in the ATG world.

Malcolm Marshall and Jeff Dujon, two of the main
architects of West Indies' victory in both match and series

Score Summary
WI 1st Inns 314 (Rowe 80, Sobers 62, Dujon 50; Prasanna 5-55)
IND 1st Inns 101 (Sobers 5-11)
IND 2nd Inns 196 (Vengsarkar 79, Gavaskar 46; Marshall 5-12, Ambrose 4-47)

WEST INDIES WON BY AN INNINGS & 17 RUNS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - India 1st innings 13-3 (Vengsarkar 4*; 5 ov)
Day 2 - India 2nd innings 179-5 (Pataudi 18*, Kapil Dev 4*; 48 ov)
Day 3 - India 2nd innings 196 (62.3 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ India's 101 in the first innings equals their lowest ever total
▪ Ambrose passed 100 career wickets
▪ This was the shortest ever completed Test match, both in terms of time (14 hours and 19 minutes) and of overs bowled (189.3)
▪ West Indies have now won eight successive series

Man of the Match: MD Marshall

West Indies v India - Fourth Test

Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

West Indies: CG Greenidge, LG Rowe, GA Headley, IVA Richards, FMM Worrell, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, MA Holding, CC Griffith, CEL Ambrose, J Garner.
India: SM Gavaskar, M Prabhakar, DB Vengsarkar, VL Manjrekar, PR Umrigar, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, +SMH Kirmani, J Srinath, EAS Prasanna, BS Bedi.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: Mahboob Shah (PAK) & DJ Constant (ENG)
Toss: India

Whilst the late withdrawal of Malcolm Marshall with a hamstring strain may have disappointed the local fans, fellow Bajan Charlie Griffith was rushed into the side as a late replacement and the bowling of another favourite son of Barbados, Joel Garner, was to the fore as India's batting was destroyed on a remarkable first day at the Kensington Oval. Pataudi won the toss and batted on a pitch that promised to provide both pace and bounce, but he was soon regretting his decision when Gavaskar played on against Ambrose for just 2 in the sixth over. Garner then proceeded to tear through the middle order and when Prabhakar, who had been promoted to open in place of the axed Engineer, finally departed for 33 after two hours at the crease, India were 56-4 and in distinct trouble.

Fee, fi, fo, fum...Ambrose and Garner tore India apart on the first day

Umrigar dug in to provide a small ray of hope for the tourists, but wickets continued to tumble around him as Ambrose now wrought havoc, and shortly after tea India had been bowled out for just 129, Umrigar top-scoring with 35. Ambrose and Garner picked up five wickets apiece as the Indians emphatically failed to deal with West Indies' two giant fast men, but the hosts quickly stumbled to 75-4 in reply as Prabhakar and Srinath, who was making his first appearance of the series, continued the dominance of ball over bat. The West Indians had also been shaken by the sight of Frank Worrell being stretchered off the field after ducking into a ball from Prabhakar that didn't really get up, and although he is expected to make a full recovery, what was later revealed to be a hairline fracture of the skull means that Worrell will take no further part in the series.

So, with the score effectively 75-5 West Indies were now under unexpected pressure, but an epic innings from Viv Richards shifted the momentum firmly back in favour of the hosts over the course of the next couple of sessions. It could have been a different story had Prabhakar clung on to a sharp slip catch off Srinath before Richards had scored, and Prabhakar's error was to prove enormously costly as Richards set about dismantling an Indian attack that lacked the resources to take full advantage of the conditions in the manner of Ambrose and Garner. Richards was actually outscored initially by Dujon, who contributed a valuable fifty as West Indies moved past India's total before stumps on the first day, but on day two he took over as he blasted his way to a stunning century.

Viv Richards' vintage century scuppered any hopes of an Indian recovery

Richards' partnership with Dujon had been worth 87, and with Holding and Ambrose both contributing useful tail end runs West Indies were finally bowled out for 311 and a lead of 182, Richards remaining undefeated on 153, an innings that included eighteen fours and six sixes. India now had it all to do, but in a repeat of the events of the first day the tourists were pounded with pace and by close of play the scoreboard read a sorry looking 124-6, with only a valiant, unbeaten 80 from Gavaskar preventing total humiliation. He fell early on day three though, Ambrose picking him up for the second time in the match as Dujon reacted brilliantly to grab onto the ball on the rebound after Greenidge failed to hold on at first slip, and although Kirmani delayed the inevitable with a defiant innings of 47, India's final total of 187 meant that West Indies required just six runs to win.

With the match not even having reached its halfway stage, Greenidge and Rowe duly secured an emphatic ten wicket victory and along with it the series lead, and although Ambrose's first ever ten wicket haul gave him the man of the match award, Richards' pyrotechnic century will also live long in the memory. After beginning in such positive fashion India now face the prospect of ending the tour with nothing, and their powers of recovery will be put to the test when the teams meet in Antigua for the final match of what has been a highly entertaining series.

Score Summary
IND 1st Inns 129 (Ambrose 5-24, Garner 5-34)
WI 1st Inns 311 (Richards 153*, Dujon 57)
IND 2nd Inns 187 (Gavaskar 84, Kirmani 47; Ambrose 5-64)
WI 2nd Inns 6-0

WEST INDIES WON BY 10 WICKETS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - West Indies 1st innings 159-4 (Richards 54*, Dujon 54*; 36 ov)
Day 2 - India 2nd innings 124-6 (Gavaskar 80*, Kirmani 8*; 40 ov)
Day 3 - West Indies 2nd innings 6-0 (1.5 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ West Indies recorded their first ever 10 wicket victory
▪ Richards passed 6000 career runs
▪ This was the shortest completed Test in terms of overs bowled (190.2)

Man of the Match: CEL Ambrose

West Indies v India - Tour Match

Barbados XI v Indians
Kensington Oval, Bridgetown
3 Day Game
Umpires: HBD Jordan & LH Barker
Toss: Barbados XI

Barbados XI: G Challenor, SL Campbell, SM Nurse, CA Best, JED Sealy, *JDC Goddard, DAJ Holford, +DA Murray, VA Holder, ST Clarke, WW Daniel.
Indians: SM Gavaskar, M Prabhakar, VL Manjrekar, VS Hazare, DB Vengsarkar, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, +SMH Kirmani, J Srinath, EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar.

India needed to regroup following their third Test defeat in Guyana, and on a placid strip at the Kensington Oval they played out a tame draw with John Goddard's Barbados XI ahead of the Test here later in the week.

The hosts batted with enterprise on the first day, with Carlisle Best slamming fifty off just 43 balls after the early loss of both openers, and after Best eventually went for 81 out of a stand of 137 with Seymour Nurse, a further 191 runs were piled on for the fourth wicket as Derek Sealy played second fiddle to the increasingly dominant Nurse. India's bowlers toiled in the unhelpful conditions as Nurse made his way to a confident century, but the pace of his scoring slowed somewhat as he approached 200, forcing Goddard to extend the innings almost until lunch on the second day in order for Nurse to reach his milestone.

Nurse's undefeated 200 dominated what
turned out to be a relatively mundane draw

Barbados had reached 412-4 when the declaration came, and in reply the Indians batted on past tea on the third and final day, paying scant regard to the match situation as they simply opted for what amounted to a glorified net session. Clarke, Daniel and Holder struggled to extract any life from what was by now a truly dead wicket, and it was the medium pace of Goddard and Sealy that posed the most telling questions as all bar Hazare of the Indians' top order got some runs under their belts.

Manjrekar's five and a half hour 90 was the most significant contribution for the tourists, whilst Pataudi's quickfire 69 provided the most entertainment as the Indians meandered their way to a final total of 355 in the game's final hour, the match ending as a draw with Barbados reaching 23-1 in their second innings. India would probably be very happy to play the Test on a similar pitch to the one used here, but with the series poised at 1-1 with two to play one can only speculate as to the instructions issued to the ground staff ahead of what promises to be a pivotal fourth Test match.

Score Summary
BAR XI 1st Inns 412-4 dec. (Nurse 200*, Best 81, Sealy 78)
IND 1st Inns 355 (Manjrekar 90, Pataudi 69)
BAR XI 2nd Inns 23-1

MATCH DRAWN

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of Play

Day 1 - Barbados XI 1st innings 348-3 (Nurse 166*, Sealy 70*; 101 ov)
Day 2 - Indians 1st innings 129-4 (Manjrekar 33*, Pataudi 0*; 48.3 ov)
Day 3 - Barbados XI 2nd innings 23-1 (12 ov) - end of match