PlanetCricket Premier League Awards Evening(s)

Jaztheman

Chairman of Selectors
Joined
Sep 8, 2006
Location
Southend, England
Online Cricket Games Owned
The first debut season of the Planetcricket Premier League has come to an end. After a successful yet problematic first season, everyone has seemed to enjoy themselves, and watching their teams win. Well I say win, but in most cases players looked on as their teams lost. Sydney and Vatican, I'm looking at you. All in all though it has been a success and has made the cricsim area even more active than what it used to be. Which is a great thing, obviously.

The time everyone has been waiting for is that of the award ceremony. The baton has been passed many times(once or twice...) to see who would do the honours. There was a long list including Sir Ian Botham, Brian Lara and many others, but none had the stature and the presenting abilities which James Edmonds has. Thus, I will be going through with the award ceremony.

We start with the batting, something which has dominated PCPL this season and has seen some very close games, and some not. High scores have been set and been unchaseable but there have been a few good tries. Our first award is for Most Runs by an individual batsman. In reverse order, from fifth to first:

5. Michael Hussey(MAN) 366 runs
4. Giggity_Giggity(MAN) 414 runs
3. Mohammad Yousuf(VAT) 419 runs
2. Karachi Xpress(CHE) 445 runs
1. Sachin Tendulkar(CHE) 484 runs

Congratulations to Sachin Tendulkar who scored the most runs, 484, in the competition. A big 39 runs ahead of his team-mate Karachi Xpress, Chennai dominated the leader board with first and second. Vatican got third place, Mohammad Yousuf getting 419 runs only 5 runs ahead of fourth place Giggity_Giggity, with 414. Giggity_Giggity's team-mate for Manchester, Michael Hussey, was quite a way behind with 366 runs which made 5th place a massive 118 runs behind first place. Congratulations to Sachin Tendulkar and all others on a terrific season

The second award I would like to hand out, is for the highest average. Many batsmen took to the pitch this season. Some failed yet some flourished. The highest average is a very prestigious award and will no doubt be one of upmost importance in the following years of the PlanetCricket Premier League. To qualify for this award, players must of batted in at least 6 of the 10 matches. Runs in brackets. Once again, from fifth to first place:

5. Cricketman(CHE) 78.5(157)
4. Karachi Xpress(CHE) 89.0(484)
3. Bilal91(TOR) 95.5(191)
2. Mohammad Yousuf(VAT) 139.7(419)
1. Mahendra Singh Dhoni(MAN) 183.0(183)

Manchester Monkeys pick up their first award of the night, MS Dhoni being miles ahead of the pack. 183 average with 183 runs means he must of never got out! Now that is definitely something to be proud of. Mohammad Yousuf came second this time, bettering his third for most runs, with a magnificent average for his mammoth runs total. Third place was given to another player who didn't get over 200 runs and that is Bilal. 95.5 average for the Toronto player must mean he was hard to get out all season. Chenai Champions occupied the last two positions with Karachi Xpress, who finished second with most runs, taking fourth ahead of Cricketman in fifth. Surprisingly there were no top 5 places for Sachin Tendulkar, Giggity_Giggity_ Michael Hussey or myself.

Highest individual score, the one everyone would love to have. Whether it be at the start of an innings, battling through the middle or batting with the tail, they all count. Heck, you might have to do all three to get on our leader board! We have seen some mammoth totals in the first season of the Planetcricket Premier League and I'm sure everyone was delighted with the fast flowing games and the lovely high scores. Runs in brackets again. But which high scored? Again, in ascending order:

5. Shahid Afridi(DUB) 103(270)
4. Mohammad Yousuf(VAT) 106(419)
3. Brendon McCullum(TOR) 107(361)
2. Holdenator(TOR) 116(338)
1. Sachin Tendulkar(CHE) 124(484)

Sachin Tendulkar picks up his second award of the evening for Chennai with his high score of 124. An incredible innings by Sachin deserved his second award as he looks to be the most successful. Holdenator gets on the leader board for the first time with his helpful knock of 116. A nice runner up for the Toronto batsman. Team-mate Brendon McCullum, who was only 5 runs short of getting on the most runs leader board, makes up for it here by taking third place. His 107 just about pipped fourth placed score of 106. And who got fourth? Mohammad Yousuf of course. The only player to be in all the leader boards so far but is still yet to win one. Second, third and now fourth is added to the tally. Shahid Afridi rounded up the top five with his 103 knock for Dublin which was a pleasure to see for the players, and the fans alike.

The last of our awards for the batting this season will be for that of the Strike Rate. When your team is in the dump and the scoreboard is barely ticking, some players get called upon to make big innings and to make them fast. This award goes to the people who recorded the fastest strike rate over the course of the season. Minimum of 6 innings to be nominated for this award. A pointless award in some aspects, but it's an award and I'm short on ideas!

5. Tassietiger(SYD) 117.0
4. Karachi Xpress(CHE) 122.0
3. Cricketman(CHE) 124.0
2. Shahid Afridi(DUB) 128.0
1. Simbazz(DUB) 132.0

The first award that Mohammad Yousuf isn't involved in, even though he was only a little of fifth place. Congratulations are in order to the main runner of the Planetcricket Premier League, Simbazz, who got a Strike Rate of 132.0 and still scored 313 runs in the season. A very much needed player for Dublin, indispensable if you will. he was shortly followed in second place by his team-mate Shahid Afridi. 128.0 was his strike rate which only just qualified as he batted six times. Chennai kept themselves in the awards again, getting third and fourth; Karachi Xpress and Cricketman appearing yet again with Strike Rates in the 120's. Fifth place went to an optimist and a Sydney legend, the Donkey that is Tassietiger. A great run scorer, and chaser.

Well that completes the batting awards for this year, leaving only the bowling awards left to do. We will be going for a short interval where you can go to the pub for a drink or get something to eat. On a side note, all the awards are based on the group matches and the finals are not included. Will Chennai flourish once again in the bowling or will a new team come and get a few awards? Find out soon enough; watch this space.
 

Dr. Pepper

Chairman of Selectors
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Location
England
Online Cricket Games Owned
Absolutely brilliant write up Jaz. Obviously took a lot of time and effort mate. And that's only the batting! Congratulations to the winners although most weren't members :p.
 

treva

ICC Chairman
Joined
Mar 23, 2006
Location
London, England
Profile Flag
England
Great work Jaz. Seems Sachin dominated the awards, but nice to see Dublin with a 1-2 in the strike rate!

Looking forward to seeing my name up there for the bowling...
 

Cricketman

ICC Chairman
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Location
USA
Good work there Jaz.

Sachin was brilliant in this tournament along with Karachi Xpress - Chennai's batting giants!

I'm happy with my performance, averaging 79 with a strike rate of 122.
 

Karachi Xpress

Chairman of Selectors
Joined
Jul 25, 2005
Location
Canada
Congrats to everyone:) Especially Tendulkar:p If tendulkar came first, does the next PC member get the vCash award or what??
 

Simbazz

Chairman of Selectors
Joined
Dec 10, 2005
Online Cricket Games Owned
Congratulations to all the batters, as Jaz said in his entertaining post, the PCPL is about big scores and we certainly had a few of those!

Now for the bowlers, good luck!
 

Jaztheman

Chairman of Selectors
Joined
Sep 8, 2006
Location
Southend, England
Online Cricket Games Owned
Right. I hope you all enjoyed whatever you did in the intermission - I must say I enjoyed my Pasta Bake; delicious. Anyway back to the awards. The batting awards for the year has been done and dusted with Sydney only appearing on the leader board once. Chennai Champions dominated the batting ranks as they won two of the four awards, Sachin Tendulkar winning the awards for most runs and highest individual score. Kudos to all the batsmen for making this year so special.

Onto the bowling awards now. In what seemed to be a very one sided affair how would the bowlers have done in such a batsman orientated competition? Did any bowler average under 20 and did any bowler get at least 10 wickets? Well you're shortly going to find out. Part two of the awards... starts now.

The first bowling award to be given out tonight is the much decorated title of most wickets. We started the battings awards with most runs so it sees fit. The title everyone seems to want with many feeling they have done enough. But have they? In most games there weren't many wickets, so will any get over 10? To be the same as last time, it's done in ascending order. Who will get most wickets?...

5. Roborocks(MAN) 8 (34.5)
4. w3lshrugby(VAT) 8 (31.8)
3. treva(DUB) 10 (35.5)
2. Gilly Fan(SYD) 10 (32.5)
1. aus5892(SYD) 10 (29.8)

That's how close the bowling has been this year! Joint first place but only one player can win. Congratulations to all the top three who managed to get 10 wickets this season but special congratulations to Aus5892. 10 wickets at an average of 29.8 is a splendid effort, considering they came joint last. Second place went to another Sydney player who also got 10 wickets, Gilly Fan. 32.5 was his average, a little behind his team-mate but not that much. Treva came third who must be heartbroken not to come in the top 2 - which please me greatly. His average of 35.5 is the worse in the top 5. Very over-rated in my opinion. W3lshruby and Roborocks wrapped up the leader board both with 8 wickets, but W2lshrugby having the better average. A fantastic leader board to see with no Internationals on there - I say none, but future internationals you never know!

Moving swiftly on to our second bowling award. The best bowling average in the competition. With not many wickets being taken, what with there being the highest wicket taker only taking one wicket per match you can't really expect the best averages. Don't be down heartened though. I'm sure this award will be as close as the last. Well I doubt it but heres hoping. You had to have played a minimum of 6 matches and 6 wickets to qualify.

5. Gilly Fan(SYD) 32.5(10)
4. w3lshrugby(VAT) 31.8(8)
3. aus5892(SYD) 29.8(10)
2. Anonymous_Owner(DUB) 27.5(6)
1. k_picky(CHE) 26.2(6)

A close afair between a new set of bowlers. k_picky of Chennai Champions has won the award for best average, with a decent 26.2. A very disappointing average for a victory that everyone wanted. In second place was the Owner of Dublin Destroyers who only a few select know who - I know but I can't say. Aus5892 keeps up his great form picking up third whilst team-mate Gilly Fan can only take fifth. W3lshrubgy who is co-owner of PlanetCricket Premier League once again gets fourth place as he looks to break into the top 3, but lacks that final edge. A worthy leader board, but hopefully the averages will be better next season. Toronto yet to get on a leader board for a bowling award.

Our third inaugural award this year is for the Best Bowling Effort. Sydney have so far been the best bowling side in the awards, despite coming joint last in the group stage. There were many great innings in the batting, with many players getting their centuries but this year it was very disappointing on the bowling front. No bowler got more than 4 wickets in one effort, which shows how good the batting really has been. Anyway, right on cue, here is the award for Best Bowling Effort.

5. Gilly Fan(SYD) 3/36
4. skater(MAN) 3/32
3. w3lshrugby(VAT) 3/27
2. aus5892(SYD) 3/24
1. NightProwler10(SYD) 3/22

Sydney get the one, two and five! NightProwler10 who is co-owner of Sydney takes his first award, slightly ahead of already Award winner aus5892. 3/22 marks an amazing bowling effort in such a batsman orientated competition. aus5892 had a remarkable effort, only falling by 2 runs to his fellow team-mate. 3/24 marked aus5892's best achievement as the to three became incredible close. In third place, finally, was W3lshrugby. After coming fourth in the last two awards he has finally graced the top three and could maybe go one or two better in the last award? We'll see. Skater takes fourth place with 3/32 as Manchester Monkeys fail in the bowling and then Gilly Fan notches the third Sydney spot in the top 5, only just behind Skater. Still no Internationals or Toronto Tanks in the top 5 of any Leader Board...

Which brings us to our last award; lowest economy rate. With all the batsmen going ten to a dozen and trying to get a run a ball at least and then going all guns blazing towards the end of an innings, bowlers had their work cut out. Keeping the runs down and trying to bowl in the right places had never been so important. Many batsmen got past the one run a ball mark for the season and some even nearly made the one and a half run a ball mark! Again, 6 matches is minimum but this time they need at least 4 wickets. How did the bowlers do with the Economy Rate then? It doesn't sound good but you may be surprised.

5. skater(MAN) 5.8(5)
4. whitehornmatt(MAN) 5.8(8)
3. Anonymous_Owner(DUB) 5.7(6)
2. w3lshrugby(VAT) 5.6(8)
1. k_picky(CHE) 5.1(6)

k_picky takes his second award of the night, which means he got best bowling average and best economy rate. Not bad going. 5.1 in a 25 over competition is absolutely breath taking considering most of the bowlers had over 6.5 or 7. Vatican get second place as Rhys comes so close to that first place, he's the only bowler to be involved in every award. Brilliant season for the Welshman. Dublin picked up third place with their Anonymous Owner getting in the top 5 yet again, his 5.7 was only just behind second place but only just ahead of fourth and fifth! Speaking of which had to be decided by most wickets. whitehornmatt beating fellow Manchester Monkey player skater on wickets as they get a brilliant 5.8 economy rate which is only 0.2 behind second place. The closest award looks like it waited till last.

That rounds everything up. The season is to a close and the debut season comes to an end. Sydney dominated the Leader Boards but didn't manage to get one in economy rate which I'm sure made everyone happy. Hopefully everyone sees the awards as a little bit of fun and everyone involved enjoyed the first season. If you didn't get an award then unlucky; try again next season. Until then it's goodbye from me.
 

treva

ICC Chairman
Joined
Mar 23, 2006
Location
London, England
Profile Flag
England
Grande stuff James! Nice to see a few pops at me in the one category I featured in :p Now that all this One Day stuff is over, lets get back to proper 5-day cricket!
 

w3lshrugby

Panel of Selectors
Joined
Dec 3, 2005
Location
Braunton, Devon
Online Cricket Games Owned
Damn it, so close to a number 1 spot in one of those awards, should be interesting to see how I do next season :p

Money coming up for those successful this evening.
 

Simbazz

Chairman of Selectors
Joined
Dec 10, 2005
Online Cricket Games Owned
Congratulations to all those who won! Each and everyone who posted this year has helped the PCPL!

Obviously we've had our arguements and disagreements, but hopefully we can put that to one side and say "yeh, we enjoyed it," because i certainly did.

From me, thank you again, and see you next year! :D
 

Karachi Xpress

Chairman of Selectors
Joined
Jul 25, 2005
Location
Canada
Congrats to all winners again:)
Damn it, so close to a number 1 spot in one of those awards, should be interesting to see how I do next season :p

Money coming up for those successful this evening.

If tendulkar came first in a category, does the next PC member get the vCash award??
 

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