2nd T20 - England v N.Zealand - Oval

 

I don't like to be negative .. Honestly, and went to this game, despite not having a ticket.

I got there at a few minutes past start time, having studied the weather patterns all day, and though play, was at the best, 'iffy' , and most likely, would be severely interrupted.

I got there, (having been given a ticket), to see I had missed all the action - such as it was .. 2 balls, and England were 0-1.

Then, light drizzle forced the players to leave, and despite some efforts from all concerned, play never resumed.

In my view, they went off, a fraction early, but, that was unlucky.

I could not really fault the Oval .. They tried, but, where once again, they were poor, was in communication to the Public.

The PA system, is just impossible to hear, at least in the OCS stand .. And I asked 6 people on the tube after, where they sat, and if they could hear the PA, and all said, No.

Is it so hard, for them to actually improve this .. They have done well in most other areas ..

 

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Friends Life T20 - Hampshire v Surrey - Ageas Bowl, Southampton

The domestic T20 tournament starts in the UK, and it will no doubt be as frenetic as ever.

The exchange markets have become more robust, with institutional money, now mixing with the gamblers.

Mr Lumpy traditionally likes to back the side batting second, and almost falls over himself at times, wanting to get matched, in a size the market cannot accommodate.

It's all v well, matching him, when the price is wrong, but, it tends to stay wrong, far longer than it should, and rarely leaves u a good exit point. This makes life v hard, and liquidity can at times suffer.

This yr, I am going to stagger my entry points, far greater, with only a token interest, in the early stages.

Tonite, Hampshire have Carberry, who is definately in the running for an England spot, of some sorts, and Surrey look well below par, with Ponting missing due to injury, and Pietersen on England duty.

Hampshire are traditionally v strong at home, and in the last 5 yrs, Surrey typically only make 140 or so, which is rarely enough.

3 hrs before the game :

 

Hampshire 1.90

Surrey. 2.10

Hampshire won the toss, elected to field, and Lumpy got with Hampshire. A fair start by Surrey, didn't really dent his enthusiasm, and they were just starting to look like favs, when the 2nd wkt fell. Unfortunately, for Surrey, the next 6 overs, had little momentum, and they tossed away a decent start, of 70-1 after 10, to a final score of 139.

It's always easy to look back, but Roy was out, when Surrey were 31-0, and Solanki when Surrey were 64-2, at both points, the Surrey price seemed fair, but, it gapped down, huge, on a wicket, so, I am starting to respect Mr Lumpys play.

It didn't look enough, and although the winning margin of 3 balls looks like its close, Hampshire were never really in danger. The Hampshire captain, Mckenzie, excels at pushing the ball around, and a small chase, is right up his alley. He got a decent 60, and is a seasoned professional.

I am going to try and keep a record, of how lumpy goes on each game .. So far ..

Lumpy 1-0

 

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Champions Trophy Final - India v England - Edgbaston

We know if it's Edgbaston, it's gonna be wet, and we weren't disappointed.

The completed match market, traded over £10 million, which is a decent sum.

I was v heavily involved in these markets, and posted on twitter, my book, at a certain point .. it was a nice picture.

The book was heavily influenced with the theory, the ICC would change the rules .. just a guess, but, it made sense .. and it paid off.


In their wisdom, the ICC couldn't find space in the schedule, to allow reserve days, for either the semi-finals, or the final .. So, when the rain fell, both on the 2nd semi, and the final, the public were left largely wondering, what would happen.

I don't have a problem, specifically, with no reserve day, but, it appears the ICC changed the cut-off times, at least for the final .. And, this was never communicated to the paying public .. Till way past 4pm.

I saw many people leave their seats, and go home .. And u couldn't blame them .. As, they judged they were being taken for complete fools, by staying .. Which Edgbaston, has a history for.

All the ICC are doing, is alienating the public .. I suppose they don't care, it's all about TV revenue, but, u can only get away with so much.

In the game itself, you saw just how important momentum is .. I think Bell losing his wkt, is a 50 over game, last yr, saw the same sort of collapse .. and .. Dhoni is a quite brilliant captain/wikky/batsman.

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Royal Ascot etc

This is a mixed gambling blog, and I have spent the last 5 days at Royal Ascot.

I did this, as a bookie in the Silver Ring.

These are my thoughts ...

1. The UK economy is fucked, and people have little disposable income. Racing is fine and good, but, by the time someone has paid between £20-£40 to get in, (even in the Silver Ring), bought an outfit, paid for travel, bought some food/drink, they have v little left, to actually gamble with.

2. This is June .. its supposed to be summer .. where the fuck is it ?

3. The expenses for a bookmaker to bet, are almost prohibitive. To work the 5 days, the costs, even with 3 staff members, are :

Badge fees .. £752 ,, including marketing fee

Extra gate passes for staff .. £125

Staff wages .. 3x£100 per day, x 5 = £1500

Petrol £200

Hotel costs .. u cant drive 200 miles each day .. £800

Food .. £ 80

Rent of Joint .. £125

Wi-fi . £60

Equipment / stationary / wear and tear etc .. + laptops getting drowned .. I wont count.

So, before u have struck a bet, you have had to shell out .. £3700 or so, and that's before u have bought the licence to work .. which in our case, cost £20k.

Over the week, we took £25k, and won £6k gross, £2300 net. That's £2300 for 5 days, of really hard work .. am not sure, its that great, but, I suppose its a job.

Atmosphere was largely jovial, despite a monster fight, that erupted in front on us, on Day 2. Ascot security is only average .. I believe a police presence costs £300 per man per day, and the course management decide not to employ many .. when problems arise, the on-course security, can only do so much.

As a bookie, u have to lug your kit .. normally 2 trolley-loads, from the car-park, to the track. This isn't easy, and its v physically demanding.

After the week, you are shattered .. there are 70-100 bookies in the silver ring, and its v competitive.

 

 

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Raining again

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.

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.

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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.

 

 

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