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