Been incredibly busy, with phenomenal amounts of driving, and other stuff.
More than a few games affected by rain, and some of the Completed Match Markets (CMM), have been exceptionally panicky ..
One traded over £7m, which, is serious liquidity .. especially when people are only trading off Tv/Radio/Social Media, and Internet weather radar.
Eyes on site .. especially experienced eyes, are worth a lot.
Monday, 17 June 2013
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Game 6 - Champions Trophy - India v W.Indies - Oval
Looking forward to this.
Some key match-ups from the IPL, and big players like Gayle/Pollard/Narine/Bravo hoping to step up for the Windies, and an array of stars from India, equally hoping to take part.
The pitch was responsible for a humdinger on Friday, when the Windies only just managed to scrape home, against Pakistan, and it would be great to see another close one.
Dhoni wins the toss for India, and elects to send Windies in.
They scored 232, another interesting score, which would have been much lower, apart from a dynamic 50 from Sammy at the end, only playing due to the enforced rest given to Ramdin.
The pitch was a little two-paced, and if Roach gets a break-thru early, Narine may be able to weave a spell.
Posted with BlogsyMonday, 10 June 2013
Game 4 - Champions Trophy - Sri Lanka v New Zealand - Cardiff
Sri Lanka have a near invincible record against New Zealand, and all the stats say, teams that bat first, lose just about all games in Cardiff.
Sri Lanka win the toss, and decide to bat .. Which most commentators agreed with.
NewZealand do bowl with spirit, and Vettiri back, even 40% fit, is Abigail boost for them, but Sri Lanka had to self-destruct to only score 139.
Wow, what a game.
N.Zealand were going along nicely, at 50-1, but, once 1 goes, nerves can set in, and with Sri Lanka bowling superbly, especially Malinga, they had a decent shot to win.
N.Zealand just got there, thru some vital contributions from the McCullums, with the winning run coming from Mclenagan, making his lifetime ODI scores total, 7. It's unlikely, he will ever score a more important 1 for his country.
Game 5 - South AfrIca v Pakistan - Edgbaston
Amazing atmosphere in the stadium, with 20k people, of which 97% must have been Pakistan supporters, v many with flags.
Steyn did some light warm-ups, but, was never going to play, and its dubious if we shall see him, sometime soon. A great shame.
The contest was billed as the side who can't bowl (S.Africa),v the sideshow can't bat (Pakistan), which is a trifle unfair on S.Africa,but spot -on, re Pakistan.
S.Africa won the toss, and De Villiers decided to bat. It's interesting his, alleged fitness, doesnt seem a worry.
Eng scored a pedestrian 270 on the same ground 2 days ago, and a similar score should be enough for S.Africa to win the game.
Pakistan bowled well, with a couple of chances missed, and finally got to 238, which made it an even game, and gave the home supporters, much to shout about.
Unfortunately, the Pakistan reply was v pedestrian .. Something like 50 off the first 20 overs, 135 off 40, and with a mounting run-rate, lost more wickets, and the game.
Chris Morris is a fun player to watch. (Bowler for SA). I watched a few of his games in the T20 Champions trophy, and he was clearly v nervous, with many wides .. A feature he hasn't as yet, managed to totally eradicate. He got a surprising $650k contract for the IPL, and he is quickly maturing. It was fun to watch his 1st ball called a wide, but equally fun, to see wkts cart-wheeling out the ground, when he hits them. If S.Africa have injury worries with their fast bowlers, he's a v decent alternative.
There are many players you could point the finger at.
Pak now have no pints from 2 games, and its highly unlikely they can progress out of the group.The game at the same stadium on Saturday, v India will have a great atmosphere, whatever .. But, maybe will have a little less intensity for Pakistan, if that's possible.
The tournament as a whole is going fairly well. I do like quick tournaments, thou the travelling between venues, can be tedious. Crowds have been generally v good, and the Crickekeers .. Volunteer helpers, v friendly. Prices are not cheap, especially for food etc at the ground, but tickets are fairly well priced, at about £40 for a decent seat.
Most games involving Pak/India/England are full, and the website selling the tickets, works well, which is a pleasant change. I have seen touts outside grounds, but, it's v hard to police.
The ICC seem overly strict on people using tablets in the ground, with all being asked to put them away, fairly quickly. Anyone who thinks about using a laptop, soon changes his mind, which is fair enough .. It's too busy.
Sunday, 9 June 2013
Game 3 - Champions Trophy - England v Australia - Edgbaston
Prelude to the Ashes, and one to saviour.
No Clarke for Aus, and England have Swann missing/rested/hidden and Finn dropped, or not the right balance.
Eng win the toss, and decide to bat.
It should have been a 325 pitch, but, after a great start, Eng miss opportunities to press on, and allowed Aus back into the game.
Bell scored 91, but,it was one of those innings, you ever knew if it was match winning, or losing.
Bopara added some much needs runs, quickly at the end, as England finished on 270. I though it was 40 light, but, Warner isn't in great nick, and once Watson was out, they folded pretty tamely.
Hard to see Aus winning this tourny, without Clarke.
I can't really see Eng winning it either, but, they have very decent bowlers.
Thursday, 6 June 2013
Game 2 - Pakistan v W.Indies - Oval
It will be hard to tell which side is at home here, as its reasonable to think both sides will get v strong support, and the atmosphere, is entitled to be electric.
Hoping for a decent contest. Pakistan have a really good bowling attack,but, their batting has a few holes, and they need to someone restrict the Windies to no more than 300.
If they happen to bat first, and score 320 or so, u would think they would definitely win - thou, Gayle/Pollard etc,can, make a mockery of that.
The bookies can't decide with team is favourite, but its probably a huge toss to win (and bat).
Well, W.Indies won the toss, and decided to have a bowl.
Pakistan batting holes, caused massive leaks, and despite a good effort by the captain, Misbah .. They crawled to a poor total of 170.
As we said, they bowl v well, but its not a score to exert any pressure, and it will take a monumental effort by W.Indies to lose this one.
Almost .. Pakistan bowlers would win the Tourny for the team, if only they had 4 solid batters, who could make 230+ per game.
Fine effort by them, and the usual nervy stuff from Windies. Need a strong stomach, to follow these guys over a cliff.
Champions Trophy - S.Africa v India - Cardiff
Game 1 proper, of this lightening quick tournament.
Lotsa injury worries for S.Africa. With Steyn missing the match with a side strain, and De Villiers thought to be carrying a niggle.
Already depleted by the huge loss of Smith and Kallis, u have to feel. It's tournament is quickly getting beyond them.
S.Africa win the toss, and decide to field.
It was an overcast morning, and the market reacted sharply, moving India from 1.88 faves, to 2.24.
Once play started, only Morkel was threatening and India complied 331, which could have been far more ..Dhawan got a v decent 100, probably the 1st of many.
S.Africa had chances, but lost wickets at the wrong times, with some suicidal running, and once again, get tagged as chokers. This may not be totally fair, but, they do seem to lose games, u would expect them to win.
Spoke to a few Indian supporters, and many complained about the really high prices, for .. Hotels/Trains/Food/Tickets etc, they are paying, following the team around the country. It's not cheap .. Especially for a family to watch these games, and I do wonder, if some of the games, between .. Less well supported sides, will get decent ground support. Lets hope so.
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