Posted by With the Sri Lanka v England Test series postponed because of coronavirus, we’re playing out two Test matches between Sri Lanka and England on Cricket Captain 2018’s ‘All-Time Greats’ mode… This is Sim Series.
Sri Lanka gave England hell on day three.
The tourists are still 88 behind with eight wickets in hand.
Morning session
Muttiah Muralitharan starts with just the six close fielders.
David Gower starts with a pair of fours.
Murali adds a seventh close fielder.
Gower hits a six.
Gower just doesn’t give a shit.
At the other end, Kevin Pietersen hits consecutive fours off Chaminda Vaas before swaying inside the line of a short one that goes for four byes.
Gower inside edges Rangana Herath to short square leg for 46. That was exactly how he got out in the first innings. The sound of Jonathan Agnew’s head hitting his hands rings out over the airwaves.
Graham Thorpe takes a more counterattacking approach to start his second innings. Meanwhile KP looks entirely untroubled until he’s 9,000 years late on a Herath straight one and sees his stumps spread.
Herath gets Thorpe as well.
At lunch England are just 23 ahead. Weirdly, Murali doesn’t have a wicket.
Afternoon session
Ben Stokes and Matt Prior ride their luck and then pretty soon Murali does have a wicket – Prior, caught and bowled for 37.
England are 71 ahead.
Murali bowls Stokes for 50.
England are 101 ahead.
Derek Underwood is LBW for 1.
England are 109 ahead.
Is anyone else finding this genuinely quite tense?
James Anderson is LBW for 0.
England are 111 ahead.
Monty Panesar is the last man in. Graeme Swann attempts to farm the strike.
Graeme Swann is LBW to Malinga after adding just one more run.
Change of innings
Stokes gets Marvan Atapattu for 4 and is then clattered for six by Kumar Sangakkara.
Evening Session
Anderson bowls Sangakkara.
Sri Lanka need 84 to win.
Mahela Jayawardene edges Stokes behind in the very next over.
It all peters out a bit after that though.
Derek Underwood gets a couple of late wickets, but England simply didn’t have enough runs to defend.
Sri Lanka win. Aravinda de Silva is player of the match.
The series is drawn 1-1.
Similar deliveries:
Sim Series, Sri Lanka v England, 2nd Test, day 2: Sangakkara and de Silva turn the screw
Sim Series, Sri Lanka v England, 2nd Test, day 1: Swann counterattacks after Murali and Herath leave England rocking
Sim Series, Sri Lanka v England, 1st Test, day 3: Laker tears Sri Lanka a new one with Jayawardene offering lone resistance
Sim Series, Sri Lanka v England, 1st Test, day 4: Underwood ices the cake for England
Matthews seemed to be able to milk Underwood.
Oh come on, people, some recognition at least. Even a groan. But you can’t just let it go un-commented.
Do not go gentle into that good Knight
You’re getting Llareggub.
Questions will have to be asked about team selection and captaincy.
It is so rare for an England tour to get off to a good start. England fans will be devastated that so many mistakes were made in the second test after the excellent performance of the first test.
Insufficient rotund cricketers in the England team in my view. The selectors need to weigh up their options for the next series.
Don’t be silly.
Have a decider. Can’t leave it 1-1
In this particular reality, can the two cricket boards agree that having a 2 test series was a terrible idea, and schedule a third to begin mid-week?
Alas not. The Future Tours Programme is set in stone.
We may follow up with something better the week after next though.
Can we have some sort of All-Time World Test Championship?
Not sure if ICC 2018 would allow it (are there enough of the relevant players included in the game?) but the 1975-81 West Indies vs 1950s Australia, or 2010s England vs the current India team, would be something to behold
Good suggestions. Think we need a fallow week at least without Sim Series though.
By ‘2010s England’ I mean the good bit at the start of the decade, plus Stokes and Root, probably
And Gooch is going to lose to Hughes in the Cricket Moustache World Cup final. It’s just bad news for England all around today.
Sad news from the non-simulated world: https://cricket.lancashirecricket.co.uk/news/2020-news/club-statement-david-hodgkiss-obe/
Are you intending to play out the entire English summer?
Best not to look too far ahead at the minute.
Unless you’re an epidemiologist.
Bring back Wilfred Rhodes, that’s what I always say.
I demand video highlights.
Superb series simulation and reporting, KC.
Keeping with the theme of demands, I demand a simulated fan match report describing in detail the non-cricketing aspects of the series (with no idea how it would be possible). Anyone?
We would certainly take a look if someone sent such a thing.
Top innings from de Silva in both innings!