Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

[Lahrio]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

I was tempted by Kohli as well but didnt for the same reasons as you guys mentioned

	Single	1		Bangladesh Tournament Specials – Top Team Batsman	Shakib Al Hasan @ 9/2	–
		1		Australia Tournament Specials – Top Team Bowler	Jason Krejza @ 6/1	–
		1		West Indies Tournament Specials – Top Team Bowler	Sulieman Benn @ 9/2	–
		1		South Africa Tournament Specials – Top Team Bowler	Imran Tahir @ 11/2	–
	Single	1		New Zealand Tournament Specials – Top Team Bowler	Daniel Vettori @ 15/8

Gone for a range of 2 point bets here with Hills. The common theme is spin bowlers. Im surprised by the prices for bowlers like Benn, Tahir and Krejza. All are attacking spin bowlers and will have a big part to play for their countries. At their prices I think they represent great value, especially as I think some of the pacemen will be rested for some of the lesser nations! Vettori picks himself on the subcontinent! Shakib has become a consistent batsman for Bangladesh and at the price is much more reliable than Tamim Iqbal who blows hot and cold!

Krejza is easily the best spinner in Australia, but the selectors (and Ponting) refuse to give him a bowl. They use the excuse that he is too expensive, which begs the question - Why the hell is Mitchell Johnson anywhere near the team? :\ I'm hoping he does get a go in the World Cup being Australian considering the 12 wickets he took in his only Test Match over on the sub continent.

[travisbickle]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Hi mate, Good to see you posting, and don't mean to be fickle, but when did you take the 18/1 from Paddy Power? (or see it if you didn't take it and are merely relaying a tip). Reason I ask is, Amla has been top price 16/1 for a couple of days or so now, and I know this because I myself have a huge interest in him and am on him too.

I took the 18/1 about 2 weeks ago........actually opened an account with them to take the bet! as only could find 16/1 elsewhere!

[Charlie Wong]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 It will be 2/3 out of Yuvi, Kohli, & Raina. However there's still concerns over Sehwag and Gambhir's fitness. Might be a bit of rotation through the group stages, its a tough, go with Kohli who's currently in the best batting form of the 3, or Yuvi's who's been out of form but home soil might revive his form, Raina is explosive and the latter duo do offer an option with the ball, If Yusuf's place is guaranteed, dont know how many PT spinners Dhoni needs?

[liveforever31]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 1pt E/W - Shane Watson - World Cup Top Runscorer @ 18/1 (Stan James 1-5 1/4) A tricky market no doubt, and there are also doubts about Australia's strength. However, they have some momentum (which while I totally dismiss in Test cricket, I feel form is key to the ODI arena due to players needing to be on top of their game due to the limited length of play; there is no time or room for playing ones self in). He has been in pretty consistent form all winter, regularly clocking up 50s in all formats, and hitting devestating larger knocks in the ODIs vs England. We know he will get the chance to score the runs as he will open, and he has been in pretty decent form with the bat for a long time now. With no M. Hussey, Australia will be looking to Watson even more now for the runs. I'll be looking for a couple of other plays here before the WC starts, but Watson seems a decent price for someone with the profile to win this market, and the form and desire to go with it. He has the ability to clock up the big ODI scores that transform games, and he'll have the chance to butcher pretty much all attacks in Group A bar the tricky Sri Lankans. I have also followed with the Sri Lanka to win WC bet, as the mix of a top quality team and sub-continent knowledge will prove more than useful come the middle of the WC when other teams start to struggle.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 A small dabble into the top batsman market for me. 0.5pts ew Darren Bravo Top Tournament Batsman 100/1 Ladbrokes (1/4 1,2,3,4,5) 1.5pts ew Darren Bravo Top West Indies Tournament Batsman 6/1 Ladbrokes (1/5 1,2,3) I've been pretty certain I'll be taking this for a while and his performances in the recent series with Sri Lanka have just confirmed in my mind that he's worth a go. With regards to the top tournament batsman part of the bet we probably need West Indies to surprise a few and make the last 4 at least but I don't think that's necessarily impossible. One thing Bravo has got on his side is he's in Group B which doesn't go anywhere near the rain threatened Sri Lanka so all his side's innings should be full innings unlike some of the batsmen in Group A who could have innings shortened or wiped out to rain. He is batting 3 in the West Indies line up and I think he's a real player. He's likened to Brian Lara back home in Trinidad and the similarities in their style is definitely there. If he scores half as many runs in his career as the great BCL did then he won't be a bad player at all. I think he's a solid player who can attack in the powerplays without being reckless but who can knock, nudge and nurdle the ball around in the middle overs. Obviously there is a danger that someone like Gayle wades into the likes of Ireland or Holland so for that reason I've gone ew rather than on the win only. Batting at 3 he's only got to hold up batting position for a place but I think he's better than that and as he's maybe coming in under the radar he can take advantage of that to top score for the Windies in the tournament and push his total up towards the rest of the tournament's batsmen.

[cashit]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Krejza is easily the best spinner in Australia' date=' but the selectors (and Ponting) refuse to give him a bowl. They use the excuse that he is too expensive, which begs the question - Why the hell is Mitchell Johnson anywhere near the team? :\ I'm hoping he does get a go in the World Cup being Australian considering the 12 wickets he took in his only Test Match over on the sub continent.[/quote'] Johnson is one of the most marketable players in world cricket, he gets a good ride because of this imo. my bets so far Sri Lanka to win their group @ 2.60 Tikolo most runs for Kenya @ 5.50 Hansra most runs for Canada @ 17 Joyce most runs for Ireland @ 4 Iqbal most runs for Bangladesh @ 4 Tharanga most runs for the Tournament @ 31 Yusuf Pathan fastest 50 @ 26/1

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Johnson is one of the most marketable players in world cricket, he gets a good ride because of this imo. my bets so far Sri Lanka to win their group @ 2.60 Tikolo most runs for Kenya @ 5.50 Hansra most runs for Canada @ 17 Joyce most runs for Ireland @ 4 Iqbal most runs for Bangladesh @ 4 Tharanga most runs for the Tournament @ 31 Yusuf Pathan fastest 50 @ 26/1

I think your supposed to post some reasoning behind the bets mate??! And which bookie you took them with... speaking of which... who is the fastest 50 bet with?

[cashit]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

I think your supposed to post some reasoning behind the bets mate??! And which bookie you took them with... speaking of which... who is the fastest 50 bet with?

sorry mate i actually had some write ups for each but wasnt sure if it was necesary on here, not used to going into too much detail on other aussie forums. all the bets are with Sportingbet (Australia) Tikolo most runs for Kenya @ 5.50 (veteran player, whos been instrumental in Kenyas rise in cricket, scored 126 in their warm up match, has a very good WC record, i think experience gets him a few good scores which should be enough. Hansra most runs for Canada @ 17 (he averages close 30 with the bat which is pretty good for a Canadien, he bats in the middle order but that shouldnt be a problem as he will get plenty of time in the middle, has top scored both games so far in the warm ups.) Joyce most runs for Ireland @ 4 (speaks for itself i think, its already been discussed amongst a few of you, and theres not much more to add, he has showed good form so far in their warm ups) Iqbal most runs for Bangladesh @ 4 (think hes their best bat, should score well against the lesser teams, values his wicket and goes at over 40 in Test Level, and close to 30 in ODI) Tharanga most runs for the Tournament @ 31 ( been impressed with his form, could score a few big knocks against the minnows.. i see Sri Lanka reaching the final so he will bat more than any other batter IMO, used to the conditions, he ticks the boxes and is good value) Yusuf Pathan fastest 50 @ 26/1 (has an incredible strikerate, featured alot in the fastest 50s in the IPL.. if he makes a 50 this world cup, i think it has a real shot at being the fastest.) also love the look of this Devilliers most runs out of Haddin, Prior, Dhoni, Mccallum, Akmal @ 3.75 i think Dhoni is the only threat, De Villiers is a cut above the rest in terms of batting ability, he scored more runs than any of these other keepers last year and also averaged more Sri Lanka to win their group, all but one game in Sri Lanka, they should really go through undefeated

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Cheers mate :ok

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 10pts India to win the World Cup @9/2 with b365 Backed this a while back and have a fair chunk backed on betfair also with a view to trade. Strongly fancy India to win this in home conditions. They are the best side in the world period, and are incredibly tough to beat in India. Best batting lineup in the world by a distance likely to be a top 7 of: Gambhir, Sehwag, Sachin, Yuvraj, Raina, Pathan, Dhoni Doesn't really need much explaining really. It is just a list of pure class throughout. Says a lot for the depth/talent of the side when you consider that Kohli is likely to miss out despite being in the form of his life. Raina won't be dropped in India as he is too explosive, and Pathan is India's trump card for later powerplays. That leaves a straight fight between Yuvi and Kohli imo. I reckon Yuvraj will get the nod due to his experience and also being an option with the ball. Either way, both are quality players who add to the lineup in their own way. With the ball there is always a worry with India. However, in home conditions this should be somewhat negated. Zaheer and Bhaji are world class. That leaves two of Nehra/Sreesanth/Munaf Patel - the problem area for India. I'm hoping that India choose to go with only 2 seamers and go with the extra spinner, although this is unlikely. For the 5th bowler, Pathan, Yuvraj, and Raina will make up the overs - all decent enough on home tracks. That leaves a likely team of (IMO): Gambhir, Sehwag, Sachin, Yuvraj, Raina, Pathan, Dhoni, Harbhajan, Zaheer, Chawla/Nehra, Munaf Patel. Looks stupidly strong to me. Another big improvement for India nowadays is the fielding and catching. Despite still carrying a few duds in the field (mainly the quicks), they have a core of players who can finally catch a ball and do not automatically give teams a 20run start due to bad fielding. Another huge reason for backing India is that there is a very strong possibility that they will be facing New Zealand in the quarters. Looks a very easy route to the semis from what I see at which point they will be no bigger than 2/1. Bottom line is that it is the best team in the world in their own back yard - noone to fear other than perhaps SL.

[flatstanley]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 West Indies 9/4 to not qualify from group (Bet365) This looks good value to me. Group has two very strong sides in India & SA, England will be very professional at least, and both Bangladesh and Ireland could easily beat the WI in a one off game.

[RuleBritannia]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

10pts India to win the World Cup @9/2 with b365 .

Good post mate, but part of the point in tipping on here is to allow punters to get the best current price available. To post up a bet that has clearly been taken some weeks back (9/2 when top price 3/1) is IMO pretty poor form and constitutes more to bragging than tipping, as no-one is going to get anywhere near the price that you have suggested with bet365 (or any other bookie for that matter). Second time in this thread I have seen this from someone and for me is not what Punters Lounge is about.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 I was thinking deeply about this last week but thought I'd give myself a few more days to mull over them ahead of the tournament. Thankfully the prices haven't fluctuated a great deal so I went in with the following. Alot of bookies have their Batsman matches up at the moment too. Fancy a few of them but until I decide on those... - 1pt ew Morne Markel Top Tournament Bowler 25/1 (1/4, 1-5) StanJames Morne Morkel is a class act. He has been one of South Africa's most consistent performers over the past couple of years and has firmly established himself as one of the best in world cricket in the present day. He's a tall guy and can get fantastic bounce off the track tucking up many batsman he bowls to. On top of that, he bowls great lines outside off-stump at a fairly decent pace and I think he'll nick a few over the next few weeks. He's in fairly good form having taken the most wickets out of anyone in their recent ODI series with Pakistan and coming second in their recent series with India by only one wicket. I'm big on South Africa going far in the tournament too. I believe they'll be one of the last four which will give this the best chance of coming in. Will take this price all day too as it is as low as 18/1 elsewhere (Bet365) and have 5 places on the each way market. - 1pt ew Tillekeratne Dilshan Top Tournament Batsman 28/1 (1/5, 1-4) StanJames I have an outright on Sri Lanka and I think Dilshan will be one of the reasons why they'll do well in this tournament. He too is a top player and he is one of the best openers around. He can score quickly and can get stuck and dig deep if need be which is obviously a good quality for an opener. I really can't see him going 6 or 7 games in this tournament without a ton which would boost this a great deal. It was a toss-up between Dilly, Sanga and Mahela for me but I think Mahela bats too far down the order and I just don't have the gut feeling with Sanga as I do with Dilshan. This market again on Bet365 is at 16/1 so getting this at 28/1 is too good to pass-up. The other day in the warm-up match he top-scored with a 78 run innings so form doesn't really look like being an issue. Home conditions too. Worth a punt at this price. - 1.25pts ew James Franklin Top New Zealand Batsman 16/1 (1/5, 1-3) Ladbrokes This bet is a bit speculative but I am willing to have a dig at it either way. James Franklin's form with the bat recently has improved massively and he now bats at #5 for New Zealand having started his career as a number 10. He really has put in a string of important performances for the kiwis especially in 2010 steadily holding their innings together in the middle overs and being there at the end of the innings. In their recent 5-match ODI tour to New Zealand, Franklin scored more runs than any other Kiwi and he batted in only three of those 5 matches. I don't expect him to top the charts this World Cup by any means, actually think Guptill will do that but odds of around 3/1 for him to place I will have. Took this before he hit 49 in the warm-up match yesterday too. Looked elsewhere and saw him in this market at 15/2! Value at sixteens with Ladbrokes.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Good post mate, but part of the point in tipping on here is to allow punters to get the best current price available. To post up a bet that has clearly been taken some weeks back (9/2 when top price 3/1) is IMO pretty poor form and constitutes more to bragging than tipping, as no-one is going to get anywhere near the price that you have suggested with bet365 (or any other bookie for that matter). Second time in this thread I have seen this from someone and for me is not what Punters Lounge is about.

I agree with RB here. Remember we're here to collectively beat the bookies guys and help each other not score points on each other.

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Apologies for that lads. Just re-read it and the price I got isn't even 9/2 anyway! Should read 7/2 (Got bigger on betfair, but with 365 got odds of 4.5). Not sure if that is still about, but even if not the 3/1 is still a good price in my opinion for the reasons stated. Even today India struggled with the batting - difference for them though is that even when they struggle they hit 200+. Only a warm up so not much to read into, but India are the real deal this year.

[Otter4]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Some good stuff on here. I've gone for another bet 19 Feb 2011 - World Cup - Top Tournament Batsman - Top Tournament Batsman Jacques Kallis @*16/1**EW @ 1/4 1-5 I didn't really want to go below 20/1 but I just can not ignore his form, mentality, class and likings to the conditions. The guy is a limpet and scoresruns for fun. S Africa will hopefully reach semis and kallus will bat at 3 and only bats one way so will not throw his wicket away!

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Fair pick but an awful price mate. 24/1 with Ladbrokes currently, and 19/1 in plenty of other places. Still looking into top runscorer bets myself. Picks definitely have to come from group B though imo - you have to fancy the Indian pitches to be higher scoring than the ones in Sri Lanka. Also less risk of rain affecting matches you'd think. Yuvraj at 65/1 looks appealing considering he will bat at 4, as does De Villiers at 49/1. Not taken any yet but they scream value to me on first look. Will post actual selections nearer the time though.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 1pt ew J.Trott Top Tournament Batsman 33/1 Coral (1/4 1,2,3,4) 2pts J.Trott Top England Tournament Batsman 7/2 VC The top tournament batsman market is wide open but Jonathan Trott fits my 3 main criteria. He plays for one of the 6 sides I've identified that I think can win this thing, he's in Group B which all my tournament bets will be because the weather in Sri Lanka is way too unreliable and he's also in tip top form. I guess the form is the thing which overrides everything. He can't possibly be in better form coming in. Ever since he stepped into international cricket runs have flowed from the middle of his bat. I think he's a quality one day cricketer. He's scored runs for Warwickshire for years with a simple technique and he's taken that into international cricket and has thrived. He'll bat 3 in this tournament and plays seam and spin equally as well and if England can make the top 4 and beyond then his runs are likely to match up well to most in the competition. Admittedly England have the harder of the two groups in terms of bowling opposition but they should get most of their matches played in full which balances that out. 33/1 is big on Trott in the form he's in. As is the 7/2 for top England batsman. With Morgan gone and Pietersen out of form you would think this is a 3 way market. Strauss, Trott and Bell. Strauss can't attack off spin and Bell bats at 5 unless we finally see sense and open with him. England are still stubborn though so I don't see that happening. Trott's the most in form England batsman and in his first world cup I think he can lead England's run charts and push the top echolons of the tournament runscorers.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 One more outright. For anyone following, they won't all be favourites :$. 2pts K.Sangakkara Top Sri Lanka Tournament Batsman 3/1 Blue Square This is without a doubt a more competitive market than some of the top team batsmen markets but for me the rest class is with the captain Sangakkara. I love watching him bat. He reminds me a bit of David Gower. So elegant and can play shots all around the wicket. He's a real classy batsman. He'll bat at 3 for the co-hosts and that's perfect for him. He can play seam and spin equally as well as each other and he's perfectly adept in playing the big innings. Sri Lanka are well fancied in this tournament and if the weather was better in the country then I would probably be on Sangakkara for the overall top bat. On his day there's few better batsmen in the world. One of Sri Lanka's top 4 will win this market but Blue Square stand out on the 3/1. At that price it's well worth sticking with the captain to lead his side's run scoring in this tournament.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Some good stuff on here. I've gone for another bet 19 Feb 2011 - World Cup - Top Tournament Batsman - Top Tournament Batsman Jacques Kallis @*16/1**EW @ 1/4 1-5 I didn't really want to go below 20/1 but I just can not ignore his form, mentality, class and likings to the conditions. The guy is a limpet and scoresruns for fun. S Africa will hopefully reach semis and kallus will bat at 3 and only bats one way so will not throw his wicket away!

I was also very close to having Trott as my Top England runscorer. At the time Ladbrokes had him at 4/1 too but something held me back. The fact he can play spin though tempts me alot. Interesting to note that spin took twelve of the twenty wickets in the warm-up match between India and Australia. Vettori also got four and Shakib got three for Bangladesh, highlights the prominence spin will play. Pietersen throws his wicket away too often against spin and Bell at #5 is too low for me. May follow that one. One thing about the Kallis pick though Otter was this. I don't know how much you want to read into that but it looks as though he won't be playing in every match for South Africa, especially against the lesser teams where you might expect him to score big. I don't know if you put the bet on already but I thought it's worth sharing because that would sway my decision.

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

1pt ew J.Trott Top Tournament Batsman 33/1 Coral (1/4 1' date=2,3,4) 2pts J.Trott Top England Tournament Batsman 7/2 VC The top tournament batsman market is wide open but Jonathan Trott fits my 3 main criteria. He plays for one of the 6 sides I've identified that I think can win this thing, he's in Group B which all my tournament bets will be because the weather in Sri Lanka is way too unreliable and he's also in tip top form. I guess the form is the thing which overrides everything. He can't possibly be in better form coming in. Ever since he stepped into international cricket runs have flowed from the middle of his bat. I think he's a quality one day cricketer. He's scored runs for Warwickshire for years with a simple technique and he's taken that into international cricket and has thrived. He'll bat 3 in this tournament and plays seam and spin equally as well and if England can make the top 4 and beyond then his runs are likely to match up well to most in the competition. Admittedly England have the harder of the two groups in terms of bowling opposition but they should get most of their matches played in full which balances that out. 33/1 is big on Trott in the form he's in. As is the 7/2 for top England batsman. With Morgan gone and Pietersen out of form you would think this is a 3 way market. Strauss, Trott and Bell. Strauss can't attack off spin and Bell bats at 5 unless we finally see sense and open with him. England are still stubborn though so I don't see that happening. Trott's the most in form England batsman and in his first world cup I think he can lead England's run charts and push the top echolons of the tournament runscorers.

Have you missed a trick Kev? BSQ pay 5 places, 1/4 odds @ 33/1?

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 With the teams having played a few games now and being able to form an opinion of how grounds are playing, I've decided to kick off my match betting with a double on the warm up games tonight. 4pts double, Netherlands/Pakistan to beat Kenya/Bangladesh @6/4 with Ladbrokes Really fancy the Netherlands to see off Kenya early tomorrow morning in this world cup warm up. They are on a bit of a bad run atm having lost a few games, hence the big odds. However they should still be far too good for this Kenya team, who imo are the worst in the tournament. Netherlands played at the SSC a few days ago against Sri Lanka where they lost by 156 runs. No real shame in that as Sri Lanka are up there as one of the favourites for this competition, and playing in home conditions. Kenya on the other hand got beat by the West Indies by 61 runs. They only managed 192 in their chase, which imo is not overly good form considering the relatively poor quality of the Windies bowling attack. These 2 sides played last year with Netherlands running out comfortable winners (117 runs). That Kenya side contained 7 of the 11 that they fielded against Windies last time out. The Netherlands side that won, did so without RTD and Cooper. Netherlands have a better team on paper, and should be more consistent in all departments here. They are being underrated/overpriced by the bookies mainly due to the Canada loss a few days ago, but again that was without RTD and Cooper - their 2 best batsmen. I think they win this comfortably. Pakistan are self explanatory really - if they turn up, they win well. You never know with them, but with no pressure on I reckon they should do the business. Bangladesh have an awful record at Dhaka often getting hammered. Pakistan are better throughout the lineup, and unless Iqbal plays a blinder they have little chance imo.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Have you missed a trick Kev? BSQ pay 5 places' date=' 1/4 odds @ 33/1?[/quote'] Yep. They weren't 33/1 when I placed my bet but anyone who is following me should take the Blue Square option for the extra place.

[kevshat]

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Yep. They weren't 33/1 when I placed my bet but anyone who is following me should take the Blue Square option for the extra place.

I'm thinking as i'm typing and i'm guessing its going to be one of those that is different for each bet.... but i'll ask anyway in case there is a secret formula! Kev, would you always prioritise odds over places? IE would you ever take 25/1 for 5 places rather than 33/1 for 4 places? When I say formula, what i'm getting at is, is there a rule you use? Cheers in advance :ok

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

I'm thinking as i'm typing and i'm guessing its going to be one of those that is different for each bet.... but i'll ask anyway in case there is a secret formula! Kev, would you always prioritise odds over places? IE would you ever take 25/1 for 5 places rather than 33/1 for 4 places? When I say formula, what i'm getting at is, is there a rule you use? Cheers in advance :ok

Usually I would be all about the extra place but I do really fancy Trott's chances in this. He recently became the quickest ever to 1000 ODI runs and although he's one paced there is nobody in world cricket in better form right now.

[travisbickle]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Ravichandran Ashwin top wicket taker 66/1 general Worth a small bet i think.Ok hes the second spinner behind Harbajan but hes taken a respectable 14 wickets in 7 ODIs.He should play despite Chawlas good performance in the warm up against Australia as he is the superior batsman and also plays for the same team as Dhoni.

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

With the teams having played a few games now and being able to form an opinion of how grounds are playing, I've decided to kick off my match betting with a double on the warm up games tonight. 4pts double, Netherlands/Pakistan to beat Kenya/Bangladesh @6/4 with Ladbrokes Really fancy the Netherlands to see off Kenya early tomorrow morning in this world cup warm up. They are on a bit of a bad run atm having lost a few games, hence the big odds. However they should still be far too good for this Kenya team, who imo are the worst in the tournament. Netherlands played at the SSC a few days ago against Sri Lanka where they lost by 156 runs. No real shame in that as Sri Lanka are up there as one of the favourites for this competition, and playing in home conditions. Kenya on the other hand got beat by the West Indies by 61 runs. They only managed 192 in their chase, which imo is not overly good form considering the relatively poor quality of the Windies bowling attack. These 2 sides played last year with Netherlands running out comfortable winners (117 runs). That Kenya side contained 7 of the 11 that they fielded against Windies last time out. The Netherlands side that won, did so without RTD and Cooper. Netherlands have a better team on paper, and should be more consistent in all departments here. They are being underrated/overpriced by the bookies mainly due to the Canada loss a few days ago, but again that was without RTD and Cooper - their 2 best batsmen. I think they win this comfortably. Pakistan are self explanatory really - if they turn up, they win well. You never know with them, but with no pressure on I reckon they should do the business. Bangladesh have an awful record at Dhaka often getting hammered. Pakistan are better throughout the lineup, and unless Iqbal plays a blinder they have little chance imo.

Wins, +6units profit and a good start to the tournament. Great innings from RTD which gubbed 1.01 for small amounts on Betfair. :nana

[Westy]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Some good picks so far, I'm sure this thread will be a huge success. Here's my first involvment. 1.5pt ew - Most Tournament Sixes: Yusuf Pathan - 12/1 (1,2,3,4,5; 1/4) [stan James] 0.5pts ew - Most Tournament Sixes: Suresh Raina - 33/1 (1,2,3,4,5; 1/4) [Paddypower] I'm having two plays in this market, the first being Yusuf Pathan and the second being Suresh Raina. The first selection is an obvious one, this guy is a monster hitter of a cricket ball and worth investing at single digit prices in my opinion. India should fare well in this tournament and therefore that should give YP the chance to get his way up the sixes leader board. The off putting factor for many could be that he bats at number 7 more often than not therefore he won't get that many overs to bat. However this doesn't deter me from selecting him as he is the kind of guy who can hit 3-4 sixes in the space of 2 overs and make up for that lost time as he has shown recently with centuries from the number 7 position. If India go the distance, I'm convinced this guy will be up there in terms of sixes hit. The second, albeit a smaller play, is Suresh Raina who is no certainty in the line up which is probably reflected in the price but he is another massive hitter of a cricket ball. With the type of bowlers that are likely to be in operation i.e. spin, Raina can slog sweep into cow corner all day long. All he requires is one good knock and he'll be up and running and at 33/1, I feel he is overpriced and therefore worth a small investment.

[Westy]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Another one I like. 3pts - Team to score 400+? Yes - 11/10 (Paddypower) 400+ has been achieved 9 times in ODI cricket (3 times in India) with all of these occasions coming in the last 5 years. I think this is largely due to the introduction of T20 cricket and the batting powerplay which has changed the mindset of the players. No longer is 8 an over an issue for batsmen and with the amount of power hitters in the game these days, it would come as no surprise if teams piled up huge scores in this World Cup. The chances of it happening are increased tenfold with the amount of games against 'minnows' so overrall I'm confident that we'll see at least one 400+ total.