Story Australia's International Story (Ashes Onwards) (ICC2005)

[James_W]

Welcome to my thread which will follow the fortunes of the Australian International team on International Cricket Captain 2005. The story will start with the Ashes tour of England. It will not be as colourful or exciting as stories which use games like BLIC and C2005, but I still hope you will enjoy the read. It will be played on Normal difficulty. Alrighty, let?s start then!

Ashes Tour Schedule
Cricket Australia have today announced the schedule for the Ashes tour of England 2005. The details are as follows.

5th June 2005- Squad Is Named
8th June 2005 -Squad Arrives In England

Tour Matches

11th June 2005- One Day- Leicestershire vs. Australia
15th June 2005- One Day- Somerset vs. Australia
15th July 2005- Three Day- Combined Univs. vs. Australia
31st July 2005- Three Day- Gloucestershire vs. Australia
21st August 2005- Three Day- Middlesex vs. Australia
4th September 2005- Three Day- Essex vs. Australia

Twenty Overs Match

13th June 2005- Twenty Overs match- England vs. Australia

ODI Triangular Tournament (Australia, Bangladesh, England)

18th June 2005- ODI- Bangladesh vs. Australia
19th June 2005- ODI- England vs. Australia
23rd June 2005- ODI- England vs. Australia
25th June 2005- ODI- Bangladesh vs. Australia
28th June 2005- ODI- England vs. Australia
30th June 2005- ODI- Bangladesh vs. Australia
2nd July 2005- ODI- TBD vs. TBD

3 Match ODI Series

7th July 2005- ODI- England vs. Australia
10th July 2005- ODI- England vs. Australia
12th July 2005- ODI- England vs. Australia

5 Match Ashes Test Series

21st July 2005- Test- England vs. Australia
4th August 2005- Test- England vs. Australia
11th August 2005- Test- England vs. Australia
25th August 2005- Test- England vs. Australia
8th September 2005- Test- England vs. Australia

So an extremely busy tour for the Aussies as they will play either 21 or 22 matches. But there is no doubt as to which of the matches are most important. Can Australia retain the Ashes against what is shaping to be a strong England lineup?

 

[FreddieFan]

Good luck with this story, its nice to see some more ICC 2005 stories.

 

[James_W]

Cheers mate!
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England Beat Banglies In Test Series

England stumbled to a 2-0 victory in their Test Series vs. Bangladesh. The first test was won by 149 runs. Graham Thorpe?s 126 and Andrew Flintoff?s 42 helped England to make 296 ao in their first innings, with Bengali medium pacer Mashrafe Mortaza picking up 4-95 to help his team. Bangladesh responded poorly, putting just 134 runs on the board, Rajin Saleh top scoring with 32, while Harmison bowled well and took 4-34. England gave the Bengalis a target of 273 to win after scoring 211 all out, with Geraint Jones and Andrew Strauss both nearing the 50 mark and experienced spinner Rafique picked up a good 4-60. Bangladesh put up a better fight than in the first innings, but still could only make 224 ao, Rajin Saleh and Imran both getting into the 40?s, and Ashley Giles picked up a superb 7-71 to help England to a 149 run victory. Graham Thorpe clinched Man Of The match with his brilliant first innings century.

The 2nd Test was a much closer affair, with England winning by just two wickets. Bangladesh batted first and put a disappointing 175 on the board. The wickets were shared pretty much evenly between all the bowlers, but Mark Butcher surprisingly picked up 2-9. England bettered Bangladesh?s effort by 70 runs, making 245, with Andrew Strauss hitting a century, but no one else was able to escape the 20?s. Rafique and Mortaza picked up 2 wickets each. A superb 5-fa by Matthew Hoggard contributed to England only having to chase 132 to win, the Bengali?s only making 202. The easy target though was reached with immense difficulty, with Kevin Pieterson top scoring with 33, which is his current test high score. Rafique?s brilliant 5-fa meant that England barely stumbled over the line, Geraint Jones and Matthew Hoggard pulling them through in the end for a 2 wicket victory. MOM honour went to Andrew Strauss, after making a match-winning century in England?s first innings.

 

[James_W]

Australia name 18 Man Squad To Go To England For Ashes Tour

The Australian Selectors have named their full side to tour England for the Ashes. There a 4 players who are uncapped at Test Level in the side. These are Michael Clarke, Phil Jaques, Brad Hodge and talented all-rounder Shane Watson. There are also places for Andrew Symonds and Nathan Bracken in the squad. Here is the squad in full.

Ricky Ponting (c)
Adam Gilchrist (wk) (vc)
Matthew Hayden
Justin Langer
Damien Martyn
Simon Katich
Phil Jaques
Brad Hodge
Michael Clarke
Andrew Symonds
Shane Watson
Brett Lee
Michael Kasprowicz
Shane Warne
Jason Gillespie
Glenn McGrath
Stuart MacGill
Nathan Bracken

Rumours are that the final place in the team was a toss-up between Phil Jaques and Mike Hussey, but Phil Jaques was able to claim the place in the end. The squad is set to fly in on the 8th June.

Phil Jaques celebrating one of his 9 First Class Centuries

 

[James_W]

Australia Team Touch Down In London For Summer?s Ashes

Australia?s 18 Man Squad have arrived today at Heathrow ahead of the summers Ashes. We were able to get words with some of the squad.

How do you fancy your chances of winning this summer Ricky?

Well, obviously, anything can happen in the Ashes and it will be a great Summer for Cricket here, and I think our chances are very good, but we know not to underestimate a good England side.

What do you think of the long tour schedule?

Well, we?re big boys, we?re professionals, we can handle a long summer of cricket alright, in fact, all the lads are relishing the Summer ahead!

We then caught up with Leg Spin King Shane Warne.

?Warna? in action

Shane, are you looking forward to the Tests against England this Summer?

Yeah, absolutely. I haven?t been so excited about a series in a long time, and I?m hoping to hit my top form this Summer.

No one will be able to forget your ?Ball Of The Century? you bowled all those years ago. Have you got any new deliveries planned?

To be honest, not really. I?ve just been practising my spinning the ball, and a lot of batting practice as well. I want to help my country with a good knock or two on this tour.

Have you identified anyone you would like to ?target? for the Summer?

Yeah actually, I?m looking forward to bowling against Andrew Strauss. He?s been looking good recently, and I?d love to test myself against him. Getting him out a few times will be a target for me this Summer.

So, there you have it, the Aussies have arrived and have come with their usual fighting talk. How will England respond?

 

[James_W]

Leicestershire vs. Australia
One Day Friendly

Australia batted first on a batsman?s paradise and ripped apart the Leicestershire bowling. Leicestershire have been set the target of a massive 332 runs to win. No qualms can be had about any of the Aussie batsmen today. Hayden played very well, Adam Gilchrist was another class, Ponting was superb also, Martyn and Katich both had short useful cameos and Symonds did well to keep the strike on Ponting at the end. It was then the turn of the Aussie bowlers to do the damage.

Leicestershire tried to bat aggressively against Australia, and while they kept going at a good run rate, the wickets just tumbled all around them. Mongia, Ackerman, Dakin and Gibson particularly put in good efforts, but their team had no real chance of winning against an aggressive Aussie side. From the Aussie side of things, openers McGrath and Gillespie kept things tight enough, Watson and Lee were unlucky as they had a few catches put down and a few snicks that got away from fielders and flew to the boundary. Clarke bowled very well, and he helped clean them up so quick, Andy Symonds didn?t even get a chance to bowl! But a great performance by Aussies all-round today.

Unsurprisingly, Adam Gilchrist was named MOM for his superb batting performance, and he promised the Aussie fans that there?d be more of that from him this Summer.

Result: Australia win by 166 runs

 

[James_W]

Strauss: ?Warne will not intimidate me.?

Andrew Strauss has sent a message loud and clear to Australia?s legendary leggie. Shane Warne stated in an interview that he would be looking forward to dismissing Andrew Strauss in this Summer?s Ashes, but Strauss had responded aggressively.

I know what these Aussies are like, and I?m not going to be intimidated by their mind games. If Shane Warne wants to challenge me, I?ll see him out in the middle, and I?ll battle him the way real cricketers do, with bat and ball, not words. I respect what Warne has done in the game, but I think he needs to do his talking on the pitch., not off it.

Things are already heating up ahead of the Summer?s Ashes, and tomorrow, the teams will meet for the first time this Summer, in a Twenty20 Match at the Rose Bowl, although Warne will not be playing as he doesn?t play One Day Cricket. It will be a very interesting afternoon?s Cricket tomorrow, you can be assured of that!

 

[FreddieFan]

Ominous form by some of the Aussi big guns, England are up against it here.

 

[James_W]

Twenty20 International
13 June 2005
The Rose Bowl, Southampton
England vs. Australia

These two teams are going to be seeing a lot of each other this Summer, and this will be their first meeting since the Ashes in Australia in 2003/04, and there is no more exciting way for the sides to meet again than in an explosive Twenty20 match, the format that has brought Cricket into the 21st Century.
We were hoping for a really good batsman?s tracks, which we have got, but unfortunately the overhead conditions aren?t so bright. There will be cloud cover which will hang around all day, and you?d have to think, with this pitch offering no uneven bounce or turn, the team batting first will be at a slight advantage, so the captain should definitely elect to bat on such a pitch.

A nice view of the Rose Bowl

Now we will have a look at some of the more dangerous players in this match.

Australia

Adam Gilchrist

?Gilly? is one of the premiere ODI batsmen in world cricket. His hard hitting style makes him a real entertainer, and this form of cricket is pretty much made for him. He will play very explosively, as always. Add to this, his exceptional work with the gloves, and that is why he is the best Wicket Keeper Batsmen in the game.

Brett Lee

Brett Lee is one of the fastest, and most deadly strike bowlers in the world game. When he is on form, he is very hard to smash around, and he should be very useful in this match for the Aussies.

Ricky Ponting

Captain of the Aussies and usually leads by example. While not as explosive a batsmen as some, he generally goes at a very good strike rate, and can really put his foot on the gas if needed. His natural game is when he is just picking the gaps for runs, and occasionally smacking bowlers to the boundary, and the ways he can vary his attack make him one of the best batsmen in both forms of the game.

England

Kevin Pieterson

The new crowd favourite for England, is very Adam Gilchrist style in his batting, he will just whack the ball all over the park all day long. Like Gilchrist, this kind of cricket is made for someone like him, and, playing at his home ground here today, you?d expect him to smack some runs.

Steve Harmison

England?s answer to Brett Lee. Bowls at a very good pace, and has the ability to take wickets from anywhere. His bouncers and Yorkers are up there with the best of them, he will be an important part of England?s hopes of winning the Ashes this Summer.

Andrew Flintoff

?Freddie? is just about as good an all-rounder as you can get. He is very aggressive and strong in his batting, doesn?t allow himself to get bullied at all by bowlers. In his bowling, he is quite tight, and can take a lot of wickets with demonic Yorkers. He bowls at a very high pace, above what you?d expect for a medium fast bowler, and also has a good slower ball. A match-winner if there ever was one.

Here are the teams for the match today:

The big surprise today is the omission of Michael Vaughan from the England team. He is said to have concerns over a dodgy knee that has been acting up on him recently, but many pundits have said that he was ?afraid to face up to the Aussies today, as he knows his batting is too slow for Twenty20? as one put it. Marcus Trescothick will captain the side, and there are places in the team for James Troughton and Alex Tudor. Australia are as you would expect them to be really, Shane Watson is preferred to Michael Kasprowicz, and Andrew Symonds and Michael Clarke have made it into the team.

The toss was conducted down on the pitch, shortly before the start of play. Ponting called ?Tails? and was spot on in his choice, as he won the toss, an he unsurprisingly batted first.

A good toss to win I reckon, very happy to bat first and set England a target here.

Not that bad that we lost really, as the pitch should still be flat enough later, and the cloud cover will be here all day, so I don?t think losing the toss puts us at a disadvantage.

Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist walked out onto the pitch, followed by the England fielders, and Trescothick gave the ball to Matthew Hoggard for the opening over.

 

[James_W]

5 Over Update

AUS: 34/5

Hayden 11 (12)
Gilchrist 13* (10)
Ponting 8 (4)
Martyn 0 (1)
Katich 0 (2)
Symonds 0 (1)
Clarke 1* (1)

Bowling:

Matthew Hoggard 3-20
Alex Tudor 2-14

Australia have made a disastrous start to their innings in the Twenty20 at the Rose Bowl. They started alright, being 13/0 after 2 overs, but then Matthew Hoggard got Matthew Hayden caught behind for 11. This was a minor setback but surely captain fantastic could steady the ship? No. 9 balls passed before Alex Tudor had Ponting caught behind by Jones for 8. The usually reliable Damien Martyn came to the crease and tried to smack Tudor on his first ball but could only sky it into the safe hands of Ashley Giles. In Hoggard?s 3rd over, he got Simon Katich to miscue a cut shot off his second ball, which flew into captain Trescothick?s hands. Then Hoggard made things worse for Aussies, as he bowled Andrew Symonds off his first ball too! So Australia will need to make a partnership between Gilchrist and Clarke, as they only have Watson to come who is recognized batsmen.

End Of Innings Update

Alex Tudor managed to claim his hat-trick as Michael Clarke, who needed to be sensible, flashed at one, and it flew into the hands of Pieterson in the slips. Australia now needed Watson and Gilchrist to be smart. Watson didn?t last long though, he went for 5 off 4 balls, which brought the first of the tail, Brett Lee to the crease. Ashley Giles? first ball destroyed any hopes Australia had of posting a good score as Adam Gilchrist was dismissed try to sweep. Now only the tail were left. Too make matters worse, Brett Lee was clean bowled by Harmison first ball, meaning only Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie were left. McGrath was given out LBW in the same over to Harmison, and England has more or less won the match, chasing a pathetic 41 to win.

Australia came out onto the pitch, knowing they were already defeated. Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick came out to the crease to open the batting, while Glenn McGrath was giving the ball for Australia, could even he do anything about this?

5 Over Update

Eng: 24/0

Trescothick 15 (22)
Strauss 5 (10)

Bowling:

Glenn McGrath 0-16
Jason Gillespie 0-8

McGrath started the Aussie bowling well with a maiden. Gillespie then bowled Strauss, but a no ball was signalled, and Strauss later hit a four in that over. Trescothick then hit 9 runs off a McGrath over and defeat was imminent for the Aussies. Just 2 runs came from Gillespie?s second over, followed up by 6 off McGrath?s 3rd over, leaving England only 17 runs to win.

End Of Match

Andrew Strauss hit the winning run off Shane Watson as England eased to a 10 wicket victory after just 9.1 overs. Lee got 2 overs in, Watson got 1 and McGrath and Gillespie got 3 each. Reaction on England?s easy victory to come soon.

Result: England win by 10 Wickets

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Sorry about the match being a dud, I?m not usually that bad so please don?t be put off by that.

 

[puddleduck]

Aussies should have bowled first, made use of the early morning moisture

That said, Go England

 

[PeterF]

Good to see another icc story

 

[embi]

Good story mate, and go england!

 

[James_W]

Err, I don't know what to say. The game is lost. I can't find it, it isn't in the ICC folder, and it isn't in my saved games, so this story will have to stop. Sorry for the diappointment, I have no idea what has happened. I may be back with another story soon, keep yours eyes open for it.