2016-17 Cricket: Preseason Part 1

We've got 29 games for the preseason this year, including the first appearances of a massive rookie class and three expansion franchises. There's been silence since my notification about the data loss. As I mentioned, cricket data is completely lost for the first two seasons, beyond what is on here. There will be no full cricket record book in the works anymore. By memory, I know that Tigerette had the highest all-time individual score at 3648, and the Capital City Sharpshooters own the highest team score, although the Archtown Arrows are the most frequent team to exceed 4000 points. Specifics are unknown currently, but may be recovered on the website. The third season, last year's cricket season, is mostly salvaged via Google Docs. This year, we essentially start things over with the league in its most likely finalized form, with 36 teams and 144 players. Rebuilding of pool information will continue for the next couple of weeks, although no official league action will take place until November at the earliest. Cricket will provide us the way forward in this trying fifth year of the league's existence, and seventh overall for the league and its precursors. Great challenges can lead to great accomplishments, and that is what I anticipate this season producing. I expect it will be another enthralling offensive season, and the new scheduling for cricket should excite. The Rookie of the Year race will be particularly exciting, as many rookies are in a position to succeed from the start, while many of the players who didn't score well last season did so because they knew they were leaving. Having new players is a huge benefit to the league, and it should reflect in the games. Also new is the division system. This year, there are six divisions with six teams each, so each team has just 10 division games in the regular season. With divisional record as the first tiebreaker, each one of those games is particularly critical for every team. Finally, the UPCL will now provide the Cricket: Defend the Wicket game right here on the site. If you want to check it out, click on Cricket Game in the navigation bar at the top. Without any further rambling or delay, let's get the preseason started with the Coastal and Urban divisions. First up...

Volkswagen Stadium, Viewpoint Sound: The Meteors debut their new logo, along with a gold accent on their purple and gray home jerseys. Snuggle led off with 650 for Oceanside, a strong effort from the veteran captain. Please note that scores will be approximated, not official, in the preseason. Mams posted 312 for Viewpoint Sound, as she assumes the captain role after a purging of their roster. She would have been cut, but earned immunity thanks to a good year of pool. Caitlin (formerly Alyssa) had a rocky start for the Waves, taking only 51 after a false start wiped out her first turn. Hoot scooped up 936 for the Meteors, as the former Trident lifts them into the midway point lead. Celestia didn't appear to cover the deficit in her debut, picking up a reasonable 272 for Oceanside. Nibbles countered with 196 for Viewpoint Sound, keeping their lead fairly steady. Dewey went with 734 for the Waves in his first league appearance, lifting them to around the 1700 mark in total. Dominic, the well traveled journeyman, put up 309 for the Meteors, appearing to give them a win with around 1750.

Microsoft Pitch, Del Sur: The Spanish Derby rivals meet up for a preseason match now. Easter grabbed 275 for Todavía in her opening effort. Panda gave Southern a bit of a lead with his 336, a reasonable showing for the captain. Sierra botched her turn with only 21 for the Stills, hurting their chances in this game. Hoppy had only 57 for the Monarchs, a poor first appearance for the rookie but enough to maintain the lead for now. Sparkles clobbered 775 for Todavía, giving them a significant lead at this stage. Pounce did alright to take 352 for Southern, but they've got work to do if they want to win this one. Bells picked up an extra 256 for the Stills, and they hope that will count for the win. Shannon hauled in 376 for the Monarchs, a good debut in her new batting spot, but the Stills took the win by a decent margin.

Honda Driftwood Coliseum, Pearl: The main rivalry of the division is next for these two teams. Snuggle began with 192 for Oceanside, which he could have done a bit better with. Watermelon looked much sharper for Pearl, slapping 515 with relative ease to give them the initial lead. Caitlin faltered with 135 for the Waves, unable to cover the deficit. Neopolitan was hardly better, working with 180 for the Surfers to keep their lead stable. Celestia looked pretty good for Oceanside in her first appearance, picking up 318 to get them a bit closer. Boots made a good impression with 521 for her new team, probably securing Pearl's lead as well. Dewey answered with 492 for the Waves, but it's likely too little to steal the game away. Wings, playing from a new position in the Surfers lineup, answered with 475 to take the win for a team looking in good form early on.

Microsoft Pitch, Del Sur: The Monarchs get their second preseason game against the Meteors. Mams had a bit of a rough turn, scoring 176 for Viewpoint Sound as their new captain. Panda got Southern going well with his 408. Hoot fell with 164 for the Meteors, a score that demands much more for the visitors as they navigate a rebuilding time. Hoppy did alright for the Monarchs, collecting 294 as they continue to lead halfway through the game. Nibbles gave Viewpoint Sound a chance with his 429, cutting into the deficit. Pounce staved off the trouble with 243 for Southern, although the game is a bit close heading into the final players. Dominic did okay with 266 for the Meteors, but they're expected to fall in this game. Shannon capped the Monarchs win with 359 in her turn.

Verizon Field, Pacific: The final Coastal preseason game goes here. Mams poked 192 for Viewpoint Sound, still not yet in good form for the regular season. Starlight got beat by a ball that just jumped over the end of her bat, putting her at 158 for Pacific. Hoot looked very bad in hitting only 45 for the Meteors on his turn. Ms. Kitty pulled the Volcanoes ahead with her 434, giving them a noticeable lead at the halfway mark. Nibbles covered it for Viewpoint Sound with his 424, already taking some looks at being a star. Leonette was undeterred for Pacific, upping their lead with her 464. Dominic served up 445 for the Meteors, forcing a small response from the hosts. Chicky Phil iced it with 294, giving the Volcanoes a modest win in their only preseason game.

Samsung Whitewater Stadium, Whitewater: The first ever game for the Nighthawks is on the road, as they will be for quite some time, with the Shores acting as hosts. Peach put up 150 in the first ever North Modernistic turn, a poor start for the franchise. Bear countered with 283 for Whitewater to give them the early edge. The other Nighthawks rookie, Luigi, got the team on track by slashing 515. Twinkie III was solid with 377 for the Shores, making it a fairly close game at this stage. Cheddar dug in for 266 for North Modernistic against her longtime former team. Marsell couldn't hold on for Whitewater, putting them behind as he contributed just 144 to the cause. Bright crushed 759 for the Nighthawks, putting them in a good position to get the win. Shaggy faltered on 51 and sent the Shores to a loss.

BMW RockDome, Westside: The Rockers get the next Nighthawks game, and the Rockers debut their new all-black third jerseys in this preseason match, which they will wear for certain rivalry games. Peach struggled again, taking 199 in a slightly better start for North Modernistic. Misty couldn't cover that, scoring only 144 for Westside. Luigi has looked the better of the rookies for the Nighthawks, belting 852 this time around. Goatee tapped 247 in her turn for the Rockers, as they appear to just be using the game as a tune-up. Cheddar unleashed 1123 for North Modernistic, giving them a likely insurmountable advantage. Midnight chipped 214 for Westside, doing nothing to attack the deficit. Bright iced the game with 162 for the Nighthawks, who will bag this second win quite easily. Slinks impressed with 355 for her new team, even as the Rockers had no chance in this game.

Google Pitch at Union Ground, Modernistic: The Union have their first home game with the black, gold, and silver color scheme as their primary against a heavily remodeled Shores side. Bear sliced 670 for Whitewater in a confident start for the quiet captain. Ms. Puppy saw an unlucky bounce end her turn at 51 for Modernistic. Twinkie III wasn't much better with her 82 for the Shores. Daisy got some back with 335 for the Union in a good first appearance from the rookie. Marsell stood tall for Whitewater this time around, batting 654 in a very strong outing. Puff I took some time to get going, but produced 433 after a couple of false starts for Modernistic. Shaggy kept the Shores offense in good shape with 385 in this game, which should guide them to a win. Strawberry made it too close to call, grabbing 904 in a massive comeback effort for the Union, which makes the home fans happy to know she'll be in that role all season.

Audi Knights Pitch, Terrace City: The best Urban Division teams from last year meet up in their only preseason games. Neither team made roster changes for this season. Commerce captain Tigerette hit only 112 in this appearance. Kiwi kept it simple with 180 in response to put Terrace City narrowly ahead. Ice Cream froze up a bit when the pitch got cluttered, ending with 359 for the Tradewinds and clearly needing to practice in less-than-ideal circumstances. Jennifer let the Knights lead slip away when she recovered only 106, putting them behind at the halfway mark. Lionel tacked on 337 more for Commerce, and they'll push forward with a nice lead. Oreo got some back with 417 for Terrace City, but they still trail with a player each to go. Lorde slipped up at 200 for the Tradewinds, potentially leaving them exposed. Stripes pummeled 1134 for the Knights, lifting them to victory over a potentially major rival.

Google Pitch at Union Ground, Modernistic: The first ever installment of the league's bitterest rivalry comes in the preseason. Originally, this game was to be played at IBM Nighthawks Nest, but the home of the Nighthawks isn't ready yet, so the Union will host it instead. Peach has looked shaky, and this continued with her 33 for North Modernistic. Ms. Puppy knocked 508 for Modernistic to give them a big lead early on. Luigi saw a bad bounce cut him down at 96 for the Nighthawks, who aren't getting up much for this game. Daisy added 416 more for the Union, boosting their lead nicely at the halfway mark. Cheddar carved out 557 for North Modernistic, making her impact on the game. Puff I ripped 867 for Modernistic to extend their lead once more. Bright's 350 left the Nighthawks well short of the mark in this one, dropping the game to their rivals. Strawberry had only 20 for the Union, but they took the win anyway.

Preseason is running a bit late this year, as is everything due to the reconstruction efforts. I can say that I'm working on rebuilding the 2015 pool document, but it's all a bit of work paralysis at times. It will be done in due time, and cricket should go on without too much delay in the first half of the season. There will be two more parts to the preseason after this, which I hope to get done with early this week so as to allow the season to start off on schedule.