Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 I wasn't going to take anything in the outright market but I've changed my mind. 1pt ew West Indies to win World Cup 20/1 Bet365 (1/2 1,2) Truth be told I've no idea who is going to win this. It's completely wide open and you can pick holes in everyone. I've narrowed this down to a possible 6 winners. That's the main 8 minus South Africa and New Zealand who IMO can't win this thing. South Africa can't play spin and have a shorter batting line up than my club team and New Zealand are pony at the minute. I like Sri Lanka but the weather in that country make them a lottery and they rely on their top 4 a bit too much for my liking but if everyone was the same price I'd pick them. India are popular but my own view is I can't back anyone at 3/1 that uses part time bowlers to make up 10 overs like they do. Someone will cop hold of those 10 overs at some point in this tournament and if it's in the knockout stages it'll be toodlepip. Australia have to be respected for their record in these tournaments if nothing else. Not only have they won the last 3 of these but they are also Champions Trophy champions too. They have the opportunity to warm to their task and 6/1 for a side who only need to win 3 pressure matches is big but their bowling could go round the park as easily as it could skittle someone. England have a live chance but preparation hasn't been good and their batting line up doesn't really stack up with some of these. That leaves me with the two I've considered. Pakistan and West Indies are both mercurial in that they have the personnel to be brilliant but in the same breath are just as easily ridiculously awful. Pakistan have a real chance in this tournament if the likes of Hafeez, Shahzad, Younis and Misbah go well because if they can set it up for Boom Boom, Umar and Razzaq bowlers will go. However the West Indies at 2.5 times the price have the better batting lineup and if the likes of Benn, Bravo, Pollard and even Gayle can keep things tight there's no reason why the Windies with true class acts at this level in Gayle, Sarwan, Chanderpaul and Bravo can't be propelled into the latter stages. This is the most open cricket tournament I can remember but if their main performers arrive at the party the Windies won't be making up the numbers. 20/1 is big for a side with the one day cricketers they have at their best and it's got my money for this tournament.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 3pts A.Shehzad Top Pakistan Tournament Batsman 5/1 Paddy Power I was in two minds whether to take this bet because it's a big ask for a 19 year old to perform in a tournament this big but the more I think of it the more I'm happy to take it. He comes into this event in good nick having had a superb tour of New Zealand which included his maiden ODI ton which was a cracking knock. He made another in the warm up match against Bangladesh on Tuesday. Unlike some 19 year olds such as say Tamim Iqbal, Shehzad isn't completely gung ho. He can dig in when he needs to and then let the shoulders go once he's in and the innings is set up. He's got all the shots so that isn't a worry. I think he's got a lot in his favour in this tournament. First of all Pakistan play all their group matches in Sri Lanka so any weather that comes along could favour him as he could've batted before it comes or matches could be shortened. However any weather effects Pakistan matches Ahmed Shehzad isn't going to lose out. By opening the innings he'll have the ball coming onto the bat and the powerplays to tuck into before scoring gets a bit more difficult as the ball gets older. This Pakistan batting line up have a lot of bits and pieces innings in it and if Kamran Akmal keeps batting at 3 then arguably the main danger in the form of Misbah will be batting at 5. That's harsh on Hafeez who is in good form too and merits respect but I like what I've seen over the last month from Ahmed Shehzad and at 5/1, daft in itself for an opener, I'm happy to get on the teenager to top Pakistan's run list in this comp.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 1pt ew Y.Pathan Top India Tournament Batsman 20/1 Ladbrokes (1/5 1,2,3) 3pts Y.Pathan Top India Tournament 6 hitter 10/3 Stan James Yusuf Pathan could not be coming into this tournament in better form with the willow. His two knocks in South Africa were special particularly the ton in the deciding match and he's way too overpriced to be the top India batsman in this tournament. Admittedly there's Sehwag, Gambhir and Sachin to factor in here but all three have been injured and short of cricket in recent weeks and even when India were going well against New Zealand there was still space for Yusuf to come in and smack a ton in one of the matches. As a devastating hitter he'll probably get a bat in most matches India bat 1st in which will help him tot up a total and batting 2nd if India are in trouble he's perfect at 7. It only really needs one substantial knock and then a few solid efforts to secure a place here and I think he's capable of that. If he were to catch hold of the Holland, Bangladesh or Ireland bowling attacks in the group stages it'll be game on. Stan James have the price for him to hit the most 6's all wrong, especially with him joint favourite with MS Dhoni. If there's a hitter in world cricket who hits the ball as far as Yusuf it's only Pollard so at over 3/1 whereby if the innings is set up properly it will be down to Yusuf to come in and swipe balls into Nepal that's a bet I have to take. Raina and perhaps Yuvraj are dangers but they have to play longer innings whereby they can't just swing the bat, more regularly. Yusuf's primary job more often than not will be to come in, plonk the front foot down and swing for glory. 10/3 has me very interested in that market. 1.5pts ew K.Pollard Top Tournament Six Hitter 18/1 Stan James (1/4 1,2,3,4,5) I can't let 18/1 go by in this market. Anyone who has watched the twenty20 events in India will know there isn't a ground in the country big enough to contain this man. To be fair the only ones in the world would be the MCG and to a lesser extent Lords. Even were West Indies to nose dive in the group stages I think Pollard will be in the mix here. This is a market between 3 men in my eyes. Pollard, Yusuf and Afridi. Yusuf's at the bottom of a strong batting line up and wouldn't be guaranteed to bat if low targets were set. Afridi is way too hit and miss and Pakistan won't always set it up for him to crash bang and wallop and so there's Pollard. West Indies batting line up is good enough to have him coming in between 35-40 overs and that's perfect. I think Pollard will get more batting time in the group stages than Afridi and Pathan and that will keep him competitive in this market. What happens in the knockouts happens but I firmly believe 5 men will not manage to outhit Pollard unless someone goes completely and utterly stupid against the weaker nations. I think Pollard's a certainty to place providing WI make the QF's which is the minimum I have them achieving. The further they go beyond that the crazier this 18/1 looks. He's way too big a hitter to ignore this price especially at these each way terms.

[cashit]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 any of the UK books allowing Multis/Parlays on the most runs category? i usually reserve such bets for the Brownlow Medal as its far more successful than general sport parlaying but i do not mind this option being allowed at Centrebet. something like Joyce Tikolo Iqbal Watson 165/1 just an example

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Interestingly Bet365 have opened the Lowest Score of the Tournament market up and have set the Over/Under line at 68.5. As soon as I saw it I was going to go in heavy on Overs as I expect every team, including the minnows to clear that score but remembered the rain situation expected in the sub continent and will cautiously avoid that market. I fancy Guptill to be Top New Zealand batsman and have fancied it for a while. Will sleep on it and maybe come back with reasoning tomorow. Looks as if they've decided that Pietersen will open the batting for England at this World Cup and drop Prior back down to his rightful position at 6. Prior is never an opener at this level so I'm all for him going back down the order. Pietersen in at #2 though is abit baffling for me. I can't quite see how that is going to work and can only see it causing more problems than it solves. With that in mind I have taken Trott being Top England Batsman @ 3/1 with Bet365. No way he's going to miss any games soon and scored another top fifty today. He's in ridiculously good nick. Good to see Broad back but worrying to see us have Canada on the ropes at 28/5 in 7 overs and still allow them to get 220-odd. Saw it in the ODI series with Australia, we get ourselves in almost 'un-losable' situations only to allow teams to get back into the game. We have no ruthlessness and we ain't gonna win shit this year if we don't sort that out.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 1pt ew B.Lee Top Tournament Bowler 22/1 Sportingbet (1/4 1,2,3,4) Brett Lee is in the easiest group and Australia's games against the minnows are in India which is a help. Bowls in both sets of powerplays and Australia's schedule means there's no chance to rest him. Better option than Tait as Tait is always injured. His raw pace should bring him wickets against the likes of Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya and he comes into the event in decent nick. Australia going out early were it to happen would be offset by them being in the easier group so at 22/1 I'll take my chances.

[MemoryOf82]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

any of the UK books allowing Multis/Parlays on the most runs category? i usually reserve such bets for the Brownlow Medal as its far more successful than general sport parlaying but i do not mind this option being allowed at Centrebet. something like Joyce Tikolo Iqbal Watson 165/1 just an example

Hey, if it's any help, on Bet365 you can do that as far as I know, I find those bets can be a lot of fun, and you can get some tasty odds for them :)...

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 1pt C.Gayle Top West Indies Tournament Bowler 25/1 Stan James This is an insanely stupid price I think. Aside from Suliemann Benn there isn't really a standout bowler in this West Indian lineup but Gayle appears to be bowling a full allocation of 10 overs if the warm up's are anything to go by and if that continues in the tournament itself then this 25/1 is a very big price. He takes wickets with his off spin and he's been known to bowl in the powerplays as he's tough to get away. It's often the case that batsmen see off the likes of Benn and Roach and then look to get to work on the supposed weaker bowler and if they do that here Gayle's in business. On these wickets I don't think Gayle will be far away when the West Indies tournament comes to an end.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 2pts J.Oram Top New Zealand Tournament Bowler 9/1 Blue Square Jacob Oram is a massive price here. I accept we're dancing with death that he breaks an eyelash or something halfway through the competition but if that doesn't happen I think he'll be very competitive in this market. For a while now teams have just been batting out Vettori and then trying to make hay at the other end which involves taking Jacob Oram on. That isn't easy because he's very accurate. Even as clear favourite in this market, Vettori has a long term back problem so it's no gimme he plays every match. Oram bowls in all the powerplays so all the cheap wickets which comes via them he'll be in with a shout of picking up and in matches at places like Nagpur and Chennai, such is the necessity for runs, teams will have to attack Oram. He's been around the block a million times and knows what's required and he's a cracking price at 9/1 to lead the Kiwi wicket taking figures when their race is run.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

1pt C.Gayle Top West Indies Tournament Bowler 25/1 Stan James This is an insanely stupid price I think. Aside from Suliemann Benn there isn't really a standout bowler in this West Indian lineup but Gayle appears to be bowling a full allocation of 10 overs if the warm up's are anything to go by and if that continues in the tournament itself then this 25/1 is a very big price. He takes wickets with his off spin and he's been known to bowl in the powerplays as he's tough to get away. It's often the case that batsmen see off the likes of Benn and Roach and then look to get to work on the supposed weaker bowler and if they do that here Gayle's in business. On these wickets I don't think Gayle will be far away when the West Indies tournament comes to an end.

Would it not make more sense to spare one more 1pt and make that an each way bet? It is a stupidly high price which would mean you'd get some pretty sexy odds on him finishing say second or third, which to be fair is alot more likely than him coming out on top. No?

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Would it not make more sense to spare one more 1pt and make that an each way bet? It is a stupidly high price which would mean you'd get some pretty sexy odds on him finishing say second or third' date=' which to be fair is alot more likely than him coming out on top. No?[/quote'] It would if you know of anywhere offering ew terms. I've not seen anywhere though mate :ok. 1pt ew M.Rahim Top Bangladesh Tournament Batsman 12/1 Ladbrokes (1/5 1,2,3) Mushfiqur Rahim is a batsman I quite like and I think he can be a good each way alternative to the popular Tamim Iqbal who fails to deliver too much in ODI's for my liking. The diminutive wicket-keeper batsman batted at 4 in the warm up loss to Bangladesh and has batted high up in the middle order before. I think that's perfect for him on these wickets. He's someone the likes of Shakib, Mahmudallah et al can all bat around but he's got all the shots to score well himself. He has almost 1500 ODI runs to his name now so he knows the use of the willow in this format of the game. Most of these Bangladesh batsmen lack consistency and with the skipper batting below him if Rahim spends the tournament at 4 I like his chances. I don't see Bangladesh progressing beyond the groups so a couple of good solid knocks in the 6 innings sees him a major player here and in sub-continent conditions where the ball doesn't bounce much he's a good player. Excellent price for an ew bet at 12s.

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Would it not make more sense to spare one more 1pt and make that an each way bet? It is a stupidly high price which would mean you'd get some pretty sexy odds on him finishing say second or third' date=' which to be fair is alot more likely than him coming out on top. No?[/quote'] No Each Way offering i'm afraid.... If they did I'm sure Kev would've been on it like flies on s*it....

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 :lol:lol. 2pts R.ten Doeschate Top Holland Tournament Batsman & S.al Hasan Top Bangladesh Tournament Bowler double 7.25/1 Ladbrokes I'm not a huge fan of doubles but these are both priced quite small for singles and I like both their chances so I'll hit the double here. Neither really need too much explanation. Both are comfortably the best in their respective teams at their respective disciplines. ten Doeschate is one of the best limited overs batsmen around and he'll carry Holland almost on his own over 6 matches while Shakib is earning himself all sorts of county and IPL contracts thanks his the quality of his left arm spin. Bangladesh have the likes of Razzak but Shakib's still the main man for them and when he's taken 3 for against a side who play spin as well as Pakistan then you know he's the one to beat. I'm surprised the double pays over 7/1 but I'm happy to take it.

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 6pts England to beat Pakistan in World cup Warm up Match 5/6 with Ladbrokes Going against the grain here as many people fancy Pakistan for this one due to England's injuries and lack of form. Personally however think that it is a good spot to get on England to win. Pakistan won their first warm up game against Bangladesh very well and appeared to have players in pretty good nick. England on the other hand were almost upset by huge underdogs Canada. I feel that England need some sort of response here, and there is definitely no love lost between the 2 sides. Pak may decide to experiment a little, and England played on this same pitch against Canada - both factors which should help Strauss' team. With it being a warm up match I just feel that the motivation levels from the England side will be higher, and that they could win this comfortably. Am expecting plenty of wides and no balls from Pakistan, as well as sloppy fielding due to the insignificance of the game. England on the other hand are awesome as a fielding unit, and have a fair amount of discipline in their bowling. Pakistan have a settled side, whereas plenty of England players have points to prove before the world cup kicks in proper, and I reckon they beat Pakistan later today.

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Onto the main tournament markets for me now. First up a treble which I like the look of: Tendulkar vs Ponting Ryder vs Prior Iqbal vs Brendan Taylor 4pt Tournament match bet treble pays 3/1 (4.07) with Ladbrokes. I'll try to keep the explanation behind this one quite short and sweet because the reasoning is simple. Sachin Tendulkar is in group B, where India will be playing their games at home. No weather issues and decent pitches are expected, all meaning Sachin should have a fair chance at scoring big runs here. He is the outright favourite for top tournament run scorer for a reason - the man is different class. Ponting is showing signs of coming to form, but being in group A hinders him here imo. The Sri Lankan weather is unpredictable at the best of times, and he could well end up not getting as much time as Sachin to bat. Also the fact that Ricky bats at 3 whereas Sachin will open the batting for India is a big advantage in this market, particularly with a few games against lesser sides. The risk is that Sachin may get rested against the minnows, but hopefully that won't be the case due to India not wanting to break up the side. Even if he does get rested, India will go deep into this tournament and I feel that the little master will outscore Ponting. Iqbal to outscore Taylor has similar reasoning. The group situation/weather worries/grounds played on all favour him. His aggressive style during the powerplays will often mean he will pick up quick runs when he fires, despite not being overly consistent. I reckon he'll have a few decent scores so am happy to have him to outscore Taylor. The last one I have gone against my 'strategy' and backed someone in group A. That is in the form of Ryder to outscore Prior this world cup. Only one reason for this and it is simply because Ryder will bat at 3, and Prior will bat at 6. Therefore I reckon he'll get more opportunities to score big.

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 2pts West Indies team to score most sixes at 6/1 with Ladbrokes India are rightfully favourites in this market at 2/1 purely as they have a team of big hitters and are expected to go very deep into the tournament. Sehwag, Raina, Yuvraj, Dhoni, and Pathan are all capable of hitting the ball a long way, hence the short price on the Indians. But West Indies at 6/1?!! :loon This is a side that contains arguably the 2 biggest hitters in world cricket - Pollard and Gayle. Then you have a back up cast of Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sarwan, and Sammy who are all capable of hitting a big ball. That's literally half the team that can clear the ropes with their natural game. If Gayle or Pollard have even 1 big innings each in this tournament, they could well build enough of a lead to win this market without even progressing to the semis. Another plus for the bet is that India are going to drop Raina and bring in Kohli. That takes a big weapon (in terms of 6 hitting) out of the India side, as Kohli is more of a steady batsman. West Indies are not likely to go as far as India in this tournament hence the big odds, but at 6/1 I have to take them here. Hopefully they can rack up a score against a few of the smaller sides. Even against top sides they don't really have the class to put up big scores, but they will guarantee 6 hitting.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 1pt ew T.Perera Top Sri Lanka Tournament 6 hitter 9/1 Stan James (1/4 1,2,3) I think Perera is a big price here and this would have been getting a much bigger stake on it had he been guaranteed his place in the side but as things stand he isn't. However Chamara Silva is missing the opening match as his sister has just passed away so Perera could well come in as his replacement. As a rule Sri Lanka don't hit many 6's but in Thissara Perera they have a genuine 6 hitter down the order. Should the innings be set up right then in matches he does play he will be able to come in and swing for glory. I wouldn't be at all surprised if a total as low as 5 or 6 6's were to win this market but I can't be having any of the top 4 in their order as natural 6 hitters maybe with the exception of Dilshan. Therefore Mathews would be the main danger but with 3 places being paid here I'll take my chances Perera plays enough matches to get this gig won.

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

6pts England to beat Pakistan in World cup Warm up Match 5/6 with Ladbrokes a.

Wins well. Profit up to 11 points now going into the main tournament. One for tomorrow's opener: 6 points India to have the highest 15 over score 1/2 with Ladbrokes Short odds here but still a more than decent bet in my opinion. India will open with Sehwag and Tendulkar - both very seasoned at this level and unlikely to feel any real pressure early on. We all know what Sehwag's natural game is, and Sachin is the best strokeplayer in the game. Bangladesh's main strength in the bowling is their spinners, with their quicks usually taking a bit of a pasting early on. I think this will be the same again tomorrow with India getting off to a good start and utilising the powerplays to good effect. The danger to this bet is Iqbal, who on his day can score just as quickly as Sehwag. Zaheer Khan negates this though for my money. Nehra/Munaf/Sreesanth at the other end is a worry, and the only thing stopping this being a max bet for me.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Nice start infamous. I'm going with the following: - 3pts Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Player Performance) - 50 & Over 5/6 Bet365 Some may immediately be put off by the high line being asked of Dhoni here. Infact, initially I was aswell but despite this, he actually has three ways of scoring and each one has a decent possibilty of coming in. Firstly and most obviously, he's a quality batsman, I don't even need to elaborate any further on that. His 108 off 65 balls in the last warm-up match says everything that needs to be said. The second being a wicket-keeper is the likelihood of him taking catches. Zaheer, Munaf and Nehra are all capable of beating the outside edge early on and I'm sure any nicks will be taken with ease behind the stumps. Finally though, and potentially the one that could take this over the line is the stumping option. India are a team that play with several spinners and as we all know they like to use a lot of them in one match, some for a few overs, some for a few more. I'm sure in the middle overs the Bangladeshi batsmen will look to get after them a touch, coming down the wicket and so on leaving themself very open to the stumping. Dhoni got THREE stumpings in the warm up match against Australia and another against New Zealand the other day with all four coming off spinners. At 25pts a piece, they could prove to be lucrative in this market and Dhoni's Performance Pts are something I will be looking at quite abit over the course of the tournament. Having said that though, this could come in with the bat though so they may not even be needed. - 8pts Shakib Al Hasan Over 0.5 wickets 1/2 Ladbrokes - 3pts Total Match Extras Over 24.5 5/6 Ladbrokes The Shakib line doesn't take much explaining. He is a decent one-day bowler for someone so young and I think him taking one wicket is easily within reach. I don't expect India to be all out at the end of their innings whether they bat first or second but I still expect Shakib to take one. He bagged three against Pakistan and three against Canada in their warm up matches so one wicket here is expected. The extras line I thought was a shade low. Bangladesh aren't notorious for giving away extras but India on the other hand with their multitude of spinners are. Bangladesh only gave away 5 and 11 in their warm up matches but in the match versus Australia, India alone gave away 20. Against New Zealand it was 23! The only thing that scares me though, is the possibilty that the Bangledeshi innings won't last long enough for the extras to rack up. Even still though, I expect 25 to come in. I've waited ages for this to start I can't fxcking wait. I have Bangladesh to go beyond the group stages so I wouldn't mind a win here for them. Should be a good tournament. Best of luck fellas :hope

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Few more bets for me. Apologies for the late notice, not long been back from watching Luton at Newport and as a result I'm drenched, majorly pissed off and knackered so no massive write ups. 4pts Sri Lanka to beat South Africa - Tournament Match Bet 5/6 Sportingbet As I've said before I can't see SA doing anything in this. Can't play spin, batting line up is way too short and they are perennial bottle jobs. Sri Lanka should go far in this event. Have everything they need and if they don't win the thing they will at least beat SA I believe. 3pts S.Benn Most Tournament Wickets vs N.McCullum 10/11 Blue Square Benn is twice the bowler McCullum is. Benn's the main spinner unlike McCullum and I see Windies going further than the Kiwis. Should be a no brainer this. 3pts T.Dilshan Most Tournament Runs vs A.Strauss 5/6 Paddy Power Dilshan revels in these conditions whereas Strauss' form has gone. Strauss needs pace and bounce and he won't get either out here. This is Dilshan's territory. I think SL will go a lot further than England so with more innings and an easier first group Dilshan's the call here.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Opening match bets. 3pts Bangladesh +4.5 wickets/60.5runs 5/6 Sportingbet I don't think Bangladesh will win this match but they have enough with bat and ball to stay fairly close to India. I don't think India will score that many that Bangladesh can't stay within 60 and with the ball the likes of Razzak and Shakib can get the required wickets for us. Bangles at home in familiar conditions so while they'll lose I think they'll lose closely. 4pts S.al-Hasan's Performance Pts - Over 40.5 5/6 Boylesports Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Welcome back to Boyles performance markets :nana. No brainer this one. Shakib averages 43.75 with the bat on this ground and 48 wickets here. Gone well here against India in the past too and as captain needs to lead his team. Can cover with bat or ball on a line which is very low. Overs for me. 1pt Y.Singh Top India Bowler 8/1 Sportingbet Longer shot this but the seamers shouldn't do much on this. Just a look at the Bangles attack says this will turn. Harbhajan the main danger but Yuvraj is 4 times the price but probably not 4 times as bad. Yuvy often gets his 10 overs in and takes wickets with his left arm spin. Not a bad price at all this and one with every chance. Good luck all :ok.

[infamous]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Wins well. Profit up to 11 points now going into the main tournament. One for tomorrow's opener: 6 points India to have the highest 15 over score 1/2 with Ladbrokes

Wins, despite Sreesanth trying to single-handedly mess it up! Profit up to 14 units now for the tournament.

[Charlie Wong]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 Good start for Kohli, Sehwag was brutal on one leg!

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 4 for me for the opening match tomorrow, one of which is an outright. 2pts S.Waters Top Kenya Tournament Batsman 5/1 Skybet Seren Waters has been going well for Kenya recently and warmed up for this event with an unbeaten ton against Holland. Ok it was only Holland but runs are never bad runs. He also scored 40 odd against the Windies who have a bit of pace in their attack which all bodes well. Everyone says this is all about Tikolo but there's a new breed of Kenyan batsmen coming through at the minute. Tikolo will be a danger for certain as will other experienced players like Collins Obuya and Maurice Ouma but Waters is the best of these Kenyan batsmen. He's on the books at Surrey so he'll face some decent bowlers in the nets and will have honed his game on lovely batting strips. All Surrey batsmen have solid techniques under the guidance of Graham Thorpe and 5/1 is very big on the young opening batsman and well worth snapping up. Now for the match itself. 3pts S.Waters' Performance Pts - 21&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. I've said most of what needs saying about this bet above but Chennai is a cracking batting wicket. New Zealand conceded 360 to India here in a warm up match a few days ago and bowlers will go around the park. This is a day game so no need to worry about swing or any of that. On a wicket not too dissimilar to his home one at The Oval apart from the extra bounce, I expect Waters to go well. He's more than capable of 21 with the bat but catches are always on offer so this looks particularly low for a guy who can bat even though he's a Kenyan. 3pts B.McCullum's Performance Pts - Over 49.5 5/6 Boylesports Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 25pts per stumping. Brendon McCullum's back up and opening the batting for the Kiwis and he'll enjoy batting on this wicket. It's as true a wicket as there is in India and the boundaries are nice too. He swiped 58 on this ground in the warm up match against India before he was run out. Needless to say Jesse Ryder was involved in that so he could be the biggest danger to this bet if he wants to run him out again. Medium paced attack, good wicket and McCullum in form. 50 with the willow wouldn't surprise but there's a bit of carry here so points with the gloves should pep up the total. Overs here. 3pts D.Vettori to hit a boundary with the bat 11/10 Blue Square If Vettori gets in I'm confident he'll score a boundary. Getting in could be the issue but the Kenyans are game and their bowling attack is varied and there isn't any reason why they can't go ok if they bend their backs even on a good track like this one. The pressure is massively on NZ here and there's 2-3 in this batting line up out of nick who could probably go without this match. 6 wickets get Vettori to the crease and with a couple of those in form fairly loose strokemakers I can see Vettori at the crease if they bat first. I guess the main danger is Kenya bat first and crumble but they've put in a couple of decent digs with the bat in their warm up's and they won't be too uneasy when they go to bed if they were thinking about this NZ attack. Bottom line is the price overrides the risk so I'm gonna get on.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 And two for the 2nd game. Hold the front page, we could get a game of cricket in Sri Lanka without rain :loon. Haven't gone to town on this match because I've never heard of the ground let alone know how it plays :lol. First international game here but the talk is it looks good. 4pts Canada vs Sri Lanka - Over 14.5 wides 8/11 William Hill This bet is becoming sort of mandatory now really. 15 wides is nothing in a full on 50 over contest. Of course the danger is Canada do a 2003 and end up 36 all out but I don't see that happening on these slower wickets. They might not score at an alarming rate but they can at least occupy the crease long enough for Malinga and co to sling a few behind them, hopefully to the boundary. It's the same with Canada. More so with them in a way as the SL opening pair are left and right handed which is never easy for pro bowlers let alone part timers. Both sides know where the white line is and how to go the wrong side of it and this looks a low total so I'll get on. 1pt Canada Most 6's 4/1 VC Whatever happens to Canada with the bat, they may have a chance on the 6's match. Sri Lanka as a rule don't hit many 6's and if they bat first I think their main men may well just look to bat as some preparation for later in the comp. I don't see them thinking oh look it's Canada we'll slog which we're crap at. However Canada do have a couple of biffers. They have this Rizwan Cheema who smoked England for plenty the other day and ok this attack is going to be harder to hit but a couple of 6's could get the job done, especially if they bat first and post a mid range total of say 140-150. There's also John Davison who has that ultra quick World Cup ton to his name so they can hit. No Jayasuriya to worry about here so I think this offers a bit of value in the 2nd match of the day.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Nice start infamous. I'm going with the following: LOSS - 3pts Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Player Performance) - 50 & Over 5/6 Bet365 WIN - 8pts Shakib Al Hasan Over 0.5 wickets 1/2 Ladbrokes WIN - 3pts Total Match Extras Over 24.5 5/6 Ladbrokes

Decent start. A bit gutted Dhoni didn't get to bat, especially as the Bangladesh bowling attack was wayward and the track looked a decent for batting on. The extras sailed in though. Ladbrokes have removed the market for Total Extras for the two games tomorow which is a bit annoying but it's something to look at in the future. Was very happy Shakib picked up a tired Sehwag too; I was getting very nervy towards the end there. Not going mad for tommorow. The differences in class between Sri Lanka and Canada is too big and I cant back a misfiring New Zealand and an awful Kenya. Will follow the wides bet but that will be it for me.

[CFCWatson]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011 I'm taking a small double today with Sportsbet to open my betting for the ICC World Cup. Australia v Zimbabwe - Highest Opening Partnership: Australia @ 1.43 New Zealand v Kenya - Highest Opening Partnership: New Zealand @ 1.40 Total Odds: 2.00 My reasoning is pretty simple. The gulf in class between the sides is blatantly obvious and both sides will need a good start to the tournament. I expect them to realise this and make the most of their opening partnerships. When the situations are reversed I'm more then confident in Brett Lee taking an early wicket against Zimbabwe, while New Zealand shouldn't have much of a problem against a very weak Kenya. There is obviously an element of risk involved which I do understand, as wickets can fall very strangely in the early overs, but I'm happy to take a punt anyway. Let's make the matches a bit interesting! :hope

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

I'm taking a small double today with Sportsbet to open my betting for the ICC World Cup. Australia v Zimbabwe - Highest Opening Partnership: Australia @ 1.43 New Zealand v Kenya - Highest Opening Partnership: New Zealand @ 1.40 Total Odds: 2.00 My reasoning is pretty simple. The gulf in class between the sides is blatantly obvious and both sides will need a good start to the tournament. I expect them to realise this and make the most of their opening partnerships. When the situations are reversed I'm more then confident in Brett Lee taking an early wicket against Zimbabwe, while New Zealand shouldn't have much of a problem against a very weak Kenya. There is obviously an element of risk involved which I do understand, as wickets can fall very strangely in the early overs, but I'm happy to take a punt anyway. Let's make the matches a bit interesting! :hope

Nice start! Got lucky with NZ... there opening partnership just crept past Zim's :rollin......... and then kept creeping until it was bigger than the whole teams total! :clap

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

Nice start! Got lucky with NZ... there opening partnership just crept past Zim's :rollin......... and then kept creeping until it was bigger than the whole teams total! :clap

That's what I like about you Perry mate. You can predict the future :loon :clap ;).

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: ICC World Cup 2011

That's what I like about you Perry mate. You can predict the future :loon :clap ;).

Ok.. So Zim should read KENYA... its all the same with your head in a bucket of water :$:spank