Story Max Walker's Cricket Game - Great Series

[Slowcoach]

With the recent passing of cricket legend Max Walker, I decided to track down the old cricket dice game in his name, Max Walker's Cricket Game.
It enables you to recreate great series between past teams, players are rated according to their real life averages, and though simple, the game gives realistic results.
In a tribute to Max, I will be replaying some great series of the past, and also modern series alongside the real thing, to keep the memory of his great game alive.

Having good knowledge of the tables and statistics involved enables me to rate any player realistically and recreate any match.
Having played the game for years, I noticed run rates and totals under the original rules were low, so increased the number of overs in a day in a Test to 18, and the number in an ODI innings to 15. I can also play T20 matches with 10 over innings.

The first series I decided to recreate was the first full series I watched on tv, Australia v Pakistan, 5 Tests, in 1983/4.
In real life the series was dominated by the Australians, with Imran Khan injured and unable to bowl, Pakistan were powerless to stop a powerful batting lineup.
In a what if scenario, I decided to recreate the series with Imran fully fit to see what impact if any he could have on the series.

Match Reports and Progress Updates to follow.

 

[Slowcoach]

1st Test...Australia v Pakistan at the WACA 1983/4

Australia won the toss, and with match conditions normal for the entire day, decided to bat first.
Australia were immediately in trouble, slipping to 35/4 as the Pakistani seamers ran riot.
Imran Khan and Azeem Hafeez claimed a wicket each, but it was medium pacer Mudassar Nazar who caused the most damage, claiming Wessels and Border cheaply.
Greg Chappell soon followed for 22 to Abdul Qadir, and at 74/5 Australia were in deep trouble.
Australia closed at Lunch on 95/5, with Kim Hughes not out 27, and Rod Marsh not out 10.
After lunch to two West Australians piled on the runs in an impressive rescue partnership, at Tea Hughes was unbeaten on 112, and Marsh on 50, as Australia clawed their way back into the match to be 236/5.
After tea the two took their 6th wicket partnership to 179 before Australia lost 4 wickets cheaply, with Imran Khan impressive.
A bouncer from Azeem Hafeez caused last man Carl Rackemann to retire hurt, leaving Australia all out for 273, and the Pakistani openers a nervous couple of overs before Stumps.

Australia Innings

K.Wessels.............c Mohammad Nazir b Imran Khan..............10
W.Phillips.............c Zaheer Abbas b Mudassar Nazar..............16
G.Yallop................lbw Azeem Hafeez......................................15
K.Hughes (c).........b Mohammad Nazir...................................119
A.Border...............c Wasim Bari b Mudassar Nazar...................4
G.Chappell............lbw Abdul Qadir..........................................22
R.Marsh (wk)........b Abdul Qadir.............................................68
G.Lawson..............c Mohammad Nazir b Imran Khan...............3
D.Lillee..................lbw Imran Khan..........................................2
R.Hogg..............................not out............................................1*
C.Rackemann........retired hurt.................................................6*
Extras 7 (nb 3, b 4)
Total: 273 all out (15.2)
Fall of Wickets: 10,31,31,35,74,253,258,260,266

Imran Kha.................3-72 (4)
Azeem Hafeez............1-55 (3.2)
Mudassar Nazar.........2-18 (1)
Mohammad Nazir.......1-58 (4)
Abdul Qadir................2-68 (4)

 

[Slowcoach]

It's such a quick game I will spend more time on reports than playing, so in future I will keep the posts short.

1st Test...Australia v Pakistan...at the WACA...1983/4

Australia won the toss

Australia 273 all out

K.Hughes 119
G.Chappell 22
R.Marsh 68

Imran Khan 3-72
Mudassar Nazar 2-18
Abdul Qadir 2-68

Pakistan 231 all out

Mohsin Khan 42
Mudassar Nazar 33
Qasim Umar 27
Javed Miandad 69

D.Lillee 4-72
R.Hogg 2-44
C.Rackemann 2-40

Australia 110 all out

K.Wessels 31
G.Yallop 22
A.Border 21*

Imran Khan 4-50
Mohammad Nazir 2-12
Abdul Qadir 3-15

Pakistan 155-5

Qasim Umar 21
Zaheer Abbas 63*
Wasim Raja 54

D.Lillee 4-35

Pakistan won by 5 wickets

Man of the match: Imran Khan 3-72, 4-50, 13, 7*

 

[Slowcoach]

I decided I will rate players based on their home and away averages, rather than their overall stats.
This should reflect things such as the difficulty of touring Pakistan in the 80's, the West Indies ability to take wickets in all conditions such as India, etc.
It will give a more accurate reflection of results.
The game has 7 grades of batsmen, and 4 grades of bowlers.
Averages and run rates of the various classes are easy to work out with a knowledge of probability.
Am just fooling around with different teams and matches at this stage, but will probably settle into something organised soon.
Was thinking of letting Planet Cricket users take control of each country from a certain year and select teams and organise tours, and I will simulate the matches and post reports.
1992 would be a good place to start with South Africa readmitted to Test cricket and Zimbabwe given Test status.

 

[Slowcoach]

I decided to go back to 1979/80 to recreate some history. I am familiar with most of the players involved, and can check their stats on cricinfo statsguru to rate them accordingly.

Australia in India...6 Tests...1979/80

Australia Squad and Max Walker's Cricket Game ratings (by me)

A.Hilditch D
G.Wood D D
A Border B C
K Hughes (c) D
G.Yallop D D
R.Darling E
D.Whatmore E
K.Wright (wk) E
G.Porter E C
P.Sleep E C
B.Yardley E B
G.Dymock F B
J.Higgs G B
R.Hogg G B
A.Hurst G B
G.Lawson F B

 

[ShamiLoverGlipGlops]

Just read and it seems interesting. Did not know such game existed

 

[Slowcoach]

First match of the tour is a 3 day warmup game against a fairly strong North Zone team.

North Zone team and ratings

P.Vedraj (wk) F
C.Chauhan D
A.Malhotra D
Arun Lal D
S.Amarnath (c) D
M.Amarnath D C
D.Chopra E C
K.Azad E C
U.Chopra F C
S.Valson G C
R.Goel G B

North Zone won the toss, and with conditions favouring the ball for the second half of the day after midday rain, decided to bowl first.

Australia began well, the openers putting on 66 before Darling was out lbw to the offspin of Kumar for 23.
That brought Border to the wicket, and he attacked from the outset.
Australia reached Lunch on an impressive 133/1, with Hilditch unbeaten on 70*, and Border on 40*.
Border reached his half century in quick time, before being stumped off Kumar.
Hilditch seemed certain for a century, before being out caught off Azad for 94.
Conditions then became difficult for batting and the North Zone spinners tightened their hold.
Hughes and Yallop added an important 55 in difficult conditions, before the loss off 4 wickets for 5 runs prompted a declaration.
Offspinning allrounder Kirti Azad finished with an impressive 3-24, taking full advantage of worsening conditions for batting against the lower order.
That left a difficult 5 overs for the North Zone batsmen to negotiate in poor conditions for batting against a what was actually a quite a good Australian bowling attack.

Australia innings 255/7 declared

A.Hilditch.............c A.Malhotra b K.Azad....................94
R.Darling.............lbw U.Kumar..................................23
A.Border..............st P.Vedraj b U.Kumar....................56
K.Hughes (c)........lbw K.Azad.....................................30
G.Yallop...............lbw R.Goel.....................................42
D.Whatmore.........lbw R.Goel......................................0
K.Wright (wk)...............not out...................................7*
B.Yardley.............lbw K.Azad......................................0
G.Dymock.....................not out...................................1*
J.Higgs
A.Hurst
Extras 2 (nb 2)
TOTAL..............255/7 declared (13)
Fall of Wickets: 66,149,190,245,245,250,250

S.Valson..................0-21 (1)
M.Amarnath.............0-19 (1)
R.Goel.....................2-78 (4)
U.Kumar..................2-67 (3)
D.Chopra.................0-46 (2)
K.Azad.....................3-24 (2)

 

[Slowcoach]

North Zone innings report

North Zone lost Vedraj to the first ball of the innings, but survived to stumps with the loss of only one more wicket, the impressive Hurst claiming both scalps.
Overcast conditions favoured the bowlers for the first session of Day 2, but an experienced North Zone batting lineup batted solidly, before a late order collapse in better conditions saw them all out for 228.
Arun Lal battled hard for an impressive 90, while he received support from most of the top order.
The Australian spinners enjoyed what were mostly favourable conditions, claiming 6 wickets between them.
U.Kumar retired hurt at 217/7 and will be unable to bat and bowl again til Day 3.

North Zone innings...228 all out (14.4)

P.Vedraj (wk)..............lbw A.Hurst...............................0
C.Chauhan...................c K.Wright b B.Yardley.............48
A.Malhotra..................b A.Hurst..................................32
Arun Lal......................lbw A.Border............................90
S.Amarnath.................b J.Higgs..................................27
M.Amarnath................c Hilditch b J.Higgs...................16
D.Chopra....................lbw J.Dymock.............................3
K.Azad..................................not out.............................9*
U.Kumar.....................retired hurt................................9*
S.Valson.....................st K.Wright b B.Yardley..............2
R.Goel........................b J.Higgs....................................0
Extras 1 (nb 1)
TOTAL: 228 all out (14.4)
Fall of Wickets: 0,73,94,141,200,209,217,219,228

A.Hurst..................2-50 (3)
G.Dymock..............1-48 (3)
B.Yardley..............2-69 (5)
J.Higgs..................3-59 (3.2)
A.Border................1-13 (1)

 

[Slowcoach]

Australia 2nd Innings report.

Despite the early loss of Darling, and overcast conditions for the 1st half of Day 3, the Australians batted impressively second time round, delaying their declaration until Hilditch had completed his century.
Hughes also cashed in with 64 as the Australians gained some valuable batting practice against the turning ball.

Australia...260/4 declared (14)

A.Hilditch............st P.Vedraj b D.Chopra........................102
R.Darling.............lbw S.Valson.........................................4
A.Border..............b K.Azad..............................................48
K.Hughes (c)........lbw R.Goel...........................................64
G.Yallop.......................not out........................................36*
D.Whatmore.................not out.........................................4*
Extras 2 (nb 2)
TOTAL: 260/4 declared (14)
Fall of Wickets: 7,75,175,256

S.Valson................1-42 (2)
M.Amarnath...........0-29 (1)
R.Goel...................1-68 (4)
K.Azad...................1-52 (3)
D.Chopra...............1-35 (2)
U.Kumar................0-34 (2)

 

[Slowcoach]

North Zone 2nd innings report

North Zone had to bat 3 overs in difficult overcast conditions, and once again lost Vedraj cheaply.
2 more wickets quickly followed, but North Zone were eventually able to get away with the draw through an unbroken 8th wicket partnership of 43 between Chopra and Kumar.
Test opener Chauhan held the innings together with an excellent 81, negotiating the difficult conditions against the new ball, then making hay against the spinners.
Yardley finished with 3-53 but Higgs was expensive in a disappointing performance.

North Zone 2nd innings...7-212 (12 overs)

P.Vedraj (wk).........lbw G.Dymock.................................3
C.Chauhan..............b J.Higgs........................................81
A.Malhotra.............c K.Wright b B.Yardley.....................9
Arun Lal.................st K.Wright b B.Yardley....................0
S.Amarnath (c).......c R.Darling b G.Dymock..................35
M.Amarnath............lbw A.Border..................................33
D.Chopra........................not out...................................27*
K.Azad....................c K.Wright b B.Yardley....................0
U.Kumar........................not out....................................19*
Extras 1 (nb 1)
TOTAL: 212/7 (12)
Fall of Wickets: 11,24,24,90,150,166,169

A.Hurst...............0-32 (2)
G.Dymock...........2-36 (2)
B.Yardley............3-53 (4)
J.Higgs................1-71 (3)
A.Border..............1-16 (1)

Match Drawn.

Man of the Match: A.Hilditch

 

[Slowcoach]

2nd tour match is another 3 day game, this time against a weaker South Zone team.

South Zone team and ratings

V.Sivaramakrishnan E
S.Jung E
V.Mohanraj E
T.Srinivasan E
R.Binny E C
V.Narasimha Rao E C
S.Kirmani (wk) D
A.Jayakaprash E D
P.Prasad F C
J.Kishore F D
S.Yadav F B

 

[Slowcoach]

Heavy Rain washed out the first day's play, and on the 2nd day with hot conditions favouring the batsmen in the 2nd half of the day, upon winning the toss, South Zone batted first.
A superb bowling performance by Hogg meant any advantage of the toss was lost, the speedster claiming 6-50 on an unhelpful pitch.
A few of the South Zone batsmen got starts, but none really got going and Srinivasan top scored with 47 out of a disappointing 197.

South Zone 1st innings...197 all out (13.4)

V.Sivaramakrishnan..........lbw R.Hogg...............................20
S.Jung..............................lbw R.Hogg................................22
V.Mohanraj.......................b J.Higgs...................................11
T.Srinivasan.....................b A.Border.................................47
R.Binny............................st K.Wright b J.Higgs..................25
V.Narismha Rao...............c J.Higgs b R.Hogg......................21
S.Kirmani (wk) (c)...........c A.Border b R.Hogg....................7
A.Jayakaprash.................c P.Sleep b R.Hogg.......................8
P.Prasad..........................b R.Hogg....................................13
J.Kishore.........................lbw P.Sleep................................15
N.S.Yadav................................not out................................7*
Extras 0
TOTAL: 197 all out (13.4)
Fall of Wickets: 38,53,53,99,142,149,159,174,175,197

R.Hogg..............6-50 (4)
G.Porter............0-38 (2)
J.Higgs..............2-58 (4)
P.Sleep..............1-40 (2.4)
A.Border............1-14 (1)

 

[Slowcoach]

Australia innings report

With offspinner Shivlal Yadav claiming the key wickets of Border and Hughes, Australia squandered the opportunity for good batting practice ahead of the Test series.
Opener Rick Darling made a solid 61 to possibly claim a spot in the Test XI, but most of the batsmen threw away their wickets after getting starts.

Australia 1st innings..221/8 declared (13)

G.Wood...............b Prasad.................................20
R.Darling.............b Narasimha Rao....................61
A.Border.............c Jayakaprash b Yadav.............6
K.Hughes (c).......c Kirmani b Yadav...................35
G.Yallop..............c Kirmani b Binny....................34
D.Whatmore........c Kirmani b Prasad..................17
P.Sleep................c Narasimha Rao b Binny.........16
K.Wright (wk)......c Srinivasan b Kishore.............20
G.Porter......................not out.............................7*
R.Hogg........................not out.............................4*
J.Higgs
Extras 1 (nb)
TOTAL: 221/8 declared (13)
Fall of Wickets: 27,48,123,127,163,189,205,217

R.Binny......................2-49 (3)
P.Prasad....................2-49 (3)
N.S.Yadav..................2-55 (3)
V.Narasimha Rao........1-61 (3)
A.Jayakaprash............1-6 (1)

 

[Slowcoach]

South Zone opener S.B.Jung held the innings together with a solid 61 as his team held on easily enough for the draw in the rain reduced match.
The Australian bowlers claimed a wicket each in another useful allround bowling performance.

South Zone 2nd innings...137/5 (9)

R.Binny...........................c Higgs b Porter.......................10
S.Jung.............................lbw Border...............................61
A.Jayakaprash.................b Hogg.....................................11
T.Srinivas........................lbw Higgs..................................5
V.Sivaramakrishnan.........c and b Sleep...........................35
V.Mohanraj.............................not out..............................9*
N.S.Yadav...............................not out..............................6*
Extras 0
TOTAL: 137/5 (9)
Fall of Wickets: 17,42,51,122,128

R.Hogg.......................1-34 (2)
G.Porter.....................1-30 (2)
J.Higgs.......................1-29 (2)
P.Sleep.......................1-38 (2)
A.Border.....................1-9 (1)

Match Drawn

Man of the Match: R.Hogg

 

[Slowcoach]

India v Australia...1st Test 1979/80 lineups and ratings.

India

S.Gavaskar (c) B
C.Chauhan D
G.Viswanath C
D.Vengsarkar B
Yashpal Sharma D
Yajurvindra Singh E D
Kapil Dev D B
S.Kirmani (wk) D
K.Ghavri E B
S.Venkataraghavan F B
D.Doshi G B

Australia

A.Hilditch D
G.Wood D
A.Border B C
K.Hughes (c) D
G.Yallop D
R.Darling E
K.Wright E (wk)
G.Dymock F B
R.Hogg G B
J.Higgs G B
A.Hurst G B

B.Yardley out injured.