Cricket: Friends Life t20

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Just the one for me in today's QF as I'm on Leicestershire outright already. 5pts Over 6.5 6's 10/11 Paddy Power We saw in the last two matches of the group phase that Kent can hit some serious 6's and since that match the likes of Key and van Jaarsveld have found some form so they have a stronger batting line up here. Leicestershire too have plenty of 6 hitters in the form of McDonald, Cobb, Razzaq, White and Du Toit. Neither bowling attack is much cop and the boundaries aren't drastically big and with a big crowd expected they could be pulled in a bit to make room for the razzmatazz of T20. This doesn't look a particularly high line given the batting line up's on show so I'll take the overs here.

[gettingfatter]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 looks to be cruising to victory here. Just a question, anyone know if this bet stands if overs are reduced. And if it doesn't, what if it has already won when the rain hits? That must be a win as long as the game is completed right? Looks to me like there could be a bit more rain later on.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Decent first quarter final for me with the 6's coming in easily and Leicestershire's superb run chase, one of the best I've ever seen, ensuring I have an outright bet running into finals day. +4.55 on the day and -36.15pts overall now heading into Sunday's 2 matches. Bet heavy in the first one. 4pts Somerset to beat Nottinghamshire 10/11 Skybet I can understand why bookies can't split these given that Nottinghamshire won their group and Somerset were 4th in theirs but if you look at the two teams in detail Somerset should be favourites. They've got a massive batting line up, the majority of which is in excellent form and while their bowling isn't as strong, with Alfonso Thomas back now, a man they missed badly in the group phase, it's a bowling attack which along with Murali Kartik and Kieron Pollard is more than capable of taking care of a very light Nottinghamshire batting line up. That's my main reason for liking Somerset here. Nottinghamshire's batting is very very light. They are a good batsman short with Tamim Iqbal and David Hussey both away on international duty so there is massive pressure on their main 5 of Hales, Wessels, Voges, Patel and Read. After that it's only bits and pieces players and I don't see them putting up the necessary runs with bits and pieces players. Nottinghamshire's bowling attack is perfectly adequate but the hitters keep on coming in this Somerset line up. Somerset have really turned the screw in all forms of cricket in the last 2-3 weeks and they will be full of confidence coming in here. They beat Notts in the semi final of this competition last year and a 3rd successive finals day appearance can be theirs with victory here. 6pts Somerset Most 6's 11/10 Stan James I'm surprised Somerset are this big with the hitting power they've got in their ranks. There's a Marcus Trescothick in insane form, Craig Kieswetter and Peter Trego who are huge hitters before James Hildreth and Jos Buttler who both hit a big ball. If you get through them there's some fella called Kieron Pollard to follow and he's the biggest hitter of the lot of them. There is some insane hitting to be done but this Somerset batting line up when it falls into place for them. Nottinghamshire don't really have that. Alex Hales is a cracking player as is Adam Voges but they don't hit too many 6's for as good as they are. In the tournament so far they have hit 110 4's and only 13 6's. Nottinghamshire's leading 6 hitter is David Hussey and he's in Sri Lanka and while the likes of Patel can hit a decent ball he's not going to outhit this Somerset side with all their power on his tod. I would expect Nottinghamshire to clear the ropes a few times purely because of the size of the boundaries but most of the Somerset players can mishit it over these boundaries so at odds against they are definitely the call. 4pts Over 7.5 6's 5/6 William Hill Normally I wouldn't take a most 6's and a total 6's bet in the same match but this line is just too much on the low side. There is a 9.5 line knocking about where the overs are only evens so this line at 2 less than that and at this price is very appealing. If Somerset bat first they could clear this total on their own if they get going but as I've said above while I don't expect Nottinghamshire to hit lots of 6's they could easily hit 2-3 which makes this line easier for Somerset to reach. The boundaries at Trent Bridge are short and although Notts' attack has a bit of lick to it it can be attacked by batsmen with the class Somerset have. I think this line is too low so I'll take the overs here. 0.5pts ew A.Adams Top Nottinghamshire Batsman 33/1 Coral (1/5 1,2,3) Bit of a longshot here but given that Andre Adams can hit a very big ball I'll take a chance. If Somerset were to bat first and put up a big total Nottinghamshire may well sacrifice someone at number 3 and Andre Adams looks as good a candidate as anyone. This is a two way bet because even if that doesn't happen the Nottinghamshire batting line up is a batsman short and if the scoreboard pressure tells they could feel the pressure and one or two get out cheaply. The five main batsmen are all in decent form but we saw with Mitchell Johnson in the Sri Lanka/Aus T20 that a hitter can run well down the order and at 33/1 I'll have a small bet to see how this innings pans out and whether Adams can slap a quick 20-25 or more.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 I'm off to the Rose Bowl for the 2nd match and it's a game I'm happy to watch in the main with my Hampshire hat on rather than worry about bets, especially with so much riding on the first QF. For those betting Durham would appear to be a big price to me and I wouldn't put anyone off them but I won't bet against the side I support in this one. Just a small top bat for me. 1pt P.Collingwood Top Durham Batsman 5/1 Coral (1/5 1,2,3) Paul Collingwood top scored in the CB40 game at the Rose Bowl a couple of weeks ago and with conditions expected to be similar to that night I see no reason why he's 5/1 here. One advantage he'll have over most of his Durham teammates is he'll have faced plenty of Shahid Afridi and Imran Tahir in the international circle and he avoids the Dimi spell which can often be the hardest to get through. He went off retired hurt in the Championship on Friday with a back twinge but I'm sure with no realistic hope of winning that was just a precaution and I expect him to play here and even though this is a star studded Durham batting line up which could have someone as good as Ben Stokes or Dale Benkenstein as low as 7, I think Collingwood remains the class act in it. I would imagine he'll be in at 4 and he can top score from there.

[slizorn]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20

Sport	Cricket
Event	Nottinghamshire vs Somerset
Selection	Somerset
Strength	10/10
Date	07/08/2011
Bookmaker/Price	Paddy Power @ 1.91
Reasoning	This match is essentially between Somerset's batting and Nottinghamshire's bowling. If I had to pick one or the other, it would have to be the batting that I would have to side with. Somerset's batting in recent matches have been quite impressive and I would expect their line-up to put out another impressive batting performance for this match. I geniunely feel that Somerset should win this match and will be abcking them in this match.

[slizorn]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20

Sport	Cricket
Event	Hampshire vs Durham
Selection	Durham
Strength	10/10
Date	07/08/2011
Bookmaker/Price	William Hill @ 2.37
Reasoning	I know that Hampshire are the defending champions, nevertheless I feel that the Durham side are overpriced. During a match in the CB40, Durham simply destroyed the Hampshire side that was put out in that match. If they can replicate the performance that they had that day, I feel that Durham will give Hampshire a run for their money and will be able to make this match as exciting as the match between Nottinghamshire vs Somerset.

[fishy25]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 I'll get involved today in both matches after a cracking chase by Leicestershire yesterday. Still really struggling in this tournament so I'll look to claw back some of that deficit today. 2 in either match for me. Nottinghamshire vs Somerset- Over 34.5 boundaries- 5/6 William Hill- (5/10) Opted for this rather than the sixes' market or total 4's as I feel this bet has a pretty decent chance of coming in. These two sides have some of the best batsman in the country on show today, with many being natural boundary scorers with excessively high strike rates. We have the likes of Hales, Voges, Wessels, Patel, Read and even Andre Adams down the order for Notts, whilst Somerset have Trescothick, Kieswetter, Trego, Hildreth, Pollard and a few others who can also find the rope. There is just too much batting power in this one for me to ignore this total boundary line, and a decent scoring match, should see the ball go to or over the ropes 35 times or more in total on this smallish boundary wicket. Somerset to beat Nottinghamshire- 10/11 Coral- (4/10) With the rest on this one today and everything has pretty much been covered. My old man was down at Southend the other week when Somerset played Essex and Somerset completely rolled them over without too much ease, even allowing Kartik to come in early and effectively see them through. Notts are missing Iqbal and Hussey, two massive players for them, and I do fancy Somerset's bowlers over their opponents today which leads me to think they will come through this one and make finals day again which seems to be the norm given past years for them. Hampshire vs Durham- Over 5.5 Sixes- 5/6 William Hill- (4/10) Saw this and felt it was worth the risk in taking it as I thought the line was maybe a touch low. Granted there has been alot of talk about Hampshire's pitches this year, echoed by the points deduction but in recent matches it looks to have turned into a road down at the Rose Bowl. Couple of 500 scores in the championship match, where Carberry hit an unbeaten triple century incredibly, whilst in the match before that Hampshire managed 273 in their 40 overs. Now I'm not sure what wicket they are playing on, but given the high scores, I find it hard to imagine both sides will struggle to get past 120 today. Both sides have players who can clear the ropes as well, with Vince, Adams, Mascarenhas and not forgetting Afridi up the top of the order, then Durham have Mustard, Blackwell and Collingwood in particular who can hit a long ball amongst their ranks, so on this newly found road of a pitch, I'd fancy there to be at least 6 6's today. Sean Ervine Top Hampshire Batsman- 6/1 Coral- (1/10) E/W- 1-5, 1,2,3 Fancied Ervine a couple of weeks back with this bet and although it didn't come through then, it doesn't put me off him today. In that last one day match against Leicestershire, Ervine hit a century on this pitch, in good time as well, and before that managed 47 against Warwickshire, only bettered by James Vince that day. Even despite Afridi coming back into the side, Ervine should still be well up the order, at either 3 or 4 I'm thinking so he should have time to hit some runs today and given his decent form coming into the match, I'll back him with an each way return of coming in the top 3, if not top scoring overall.

[kevshat]

Wasn't going to take a bet in the Hampshire match but now I'm at the Rose Bowl I'm going with one. 5pts Over 5.5 6's 10/11 Skybet I'm at the Rose Bowl now and the boundaries are in a lot more than I expected. I'm sat in the west stand and the rope in front of me is in a good 30 yards even though the wicket is in the middle of the square. We're not using the Championship pitch, this one looks fairly new. Both sides have plenty of men who can clear the ropes and given that the line is small and the ropes are in a lot I'll take the overs. Sent from my Desire HD using PL Forum

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Top work Fishy and good call on Somerset slizorn :clap:clap:clap. Much better day in this competition for me. All 4 main bets won to return a profit of 17.13pts for the day which puts me back to -19.02pts for the competition overall which I'll gladly take having come into these quarter finals worse than -40. One more QF to come and then finals day so hopefully I can continue to wipe that loss out.

[meatman]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 top work today Kev, really good stuff! :ok :clap

[slizorn]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Ta Kev! Gratz on fishy's and your top notch performance yesterday! Overall a very profitable day! :clap

[fishy25]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Finally my best day of the competition thus far. All bets came through, with Ervine ensuring a place in the top 3 with his 35. Shame the Hampshire running was terrible as he looked well set to maybe topscore. +11.32 yesterday though, which cuts the losses a bit, and leaves me on -19.47. Great shouts all round in the forum yesterday, let's hope it continues. :clap

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Just the one for me tonight. Been an excellent weekend for profit so am happy to top it off with just one. 4pts Lancashire to beat Sussex 6/4 William Hill I think Lancashire are overpriced here. They have a very good bowling attack and it's one which could be perfectly suited to Hove. They have a possible 4 spinners should Sussex produce a dry wicket for Monty and Rayner to use and if it does a bit for the seamers then they have Mahmood and Junaid Khan, both of whom can be tough to score off at the death. Sussex probably have the edge in the batting department but Lancashire do have Farveez Maharoof back in the country which will boost their batting. They came good when they really needed to in order to make it to this stage and with confidence behind them and the outside chance of a domestic treble still a possibility I'll take Lancashire to come through when I expect to be a tight quarter final. Given it is likely to be tight the 6/4 definitely represents value so I'll take the Northern side to make level up the North/South divide for finals day.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Lancashire won easily to complete a very successful set of quarter finals for me with over 27pts profit. Back down to a much more manageable -13.02pts overall now. The draw for finals day took place this evening and the semi finals are: Leicestershire vs Lancashire Hampshire vs Somerset All set up to be a fantastic finals day on the 27th August. I'll re-stick the thread nearer the time when we can get stuck into the greatest day of the cricket season.

[meatman]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 top work in the QFs Kev :ok :clap

[PerryPFC]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20

top work in the QFs Kev :ok :clap

Rubbish! Andre Adams didnt even get an each way place... you need to pull your finger out Kev! :rollin

[fishy25]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 The most exciting day in the cricket calandar is upon us and I for one cannot wait. The one saturday of the year that the cricket is on ahead of soccer saturday and I'm going home from uni to 'see the parents', i.e. they have sky and I don't. Onto tomorrow then, and I'm personally standing on -19.47, so I'll hope to end on a respectable figure come the end of finals day. Sure there will be a fair number of bets about, and I'm taking a very early one. Here's to a good finals day for the spectator and punter. No Maiden to be bowled on finals day- 4/6 Ladbrokes- (7/10) Couldn't believe the price when I saw it and I'm sure it won't last for too long so I'm jumping on early. Think it was Kev last year that took this bet on finals day and it came through nicely, and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't again tomorrow. A few relevant stats for this one that I've digged out are that between the 4 sides on show today, they have bowled a total of 8 maidens in the competition this year, which averages out to 1 maiden in every 8.5 matches or so if that average continues to happen, the odds given are way too high. This with the fact that there haven't been any maidens bowled at Edgbaston this year in T20, provokes extra confusion to where these odds have come from. I like this bet alot, and with no Junaid Khan for Lancashire, I see the main threat to this bet out of this picture so I'll back all teams to score off each over tomorrow.

[slizorn]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20

The most exciting day in the cricket calandar is upon us and I for one cannot wait. The one saturday of the year that the cricket is on ahead of soccer saturday and I'm going home from uni to 'see the parents', i.e. they have sky and I don't. Onto tomorrow then, and I'm personally standing on -19.47, so I'll hope to end on a respectable figure come the end of finals day. Sure there will be a fair number of bets about, and I'm taking a very early one. Here's to a good finals day for the spectator and punter. No Maiden to be bowled on finals day- 4/6 Ladbrokes- (7/10) Couldn't believe the price when I saw it and I'm sure it won't last for too long so I'm jumping on early. Think it was Kev last year that took this bet on finals day and it came through nicely, and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't again tomorrow. A few relevant stats for this one that I've digged out are that between the 4 sides on show today, they have bowled a total of 8 maidens in the competition this year, which averages out to 1 maiden in every 8.5 matches or so if that average continues to happen, the odds given are way too high. This with the fact that there haven't been any maidens bowled at Edgbaston this year in T20, provokes extra confusion to where these odds have come from. I like this bet alot, and with no Junaid Khan for Lancashire, I see the main threat to this bet out of this picture so I'll back all teams to score off each over tomorrow.

Hey mate, can you let me know how I can direct myself to that bet on Ladbrokes? I cannot navigate my way to it :(

[fishy25]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 I think they've suspended it for the time being mate. Earlier it was under a little sub category of 'specials' but I can't see it now. I'm guessing they will put it back up later, maybe after revised prices though :\

[slizorn]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20

I think they've suspended it for the time being mate. Earlier it was under a little sub category of 'specials' but I can't see it now. I'm guessing they will put it back up later' date=' maybe after revised prices though :\[/quote'] Ugh! Oh well, guess I will have to take the next best odds @ 1.44 Boylesports and put it in a double with something like Barcelona to beat FC Porto tonight. Ta :ok

[fishy25]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Only other option could be to wait and see if any other bookies offer a better price? I'd have a guess that Ladbrokes will put the same markets up again later today.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 I'm waiting for a few prices to go up before I get stuck into finals day. Stan James assure me their prices will be up by 4pm and Blue Square 'sometime today'. :nana.

[fishy25]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 The prices are back up on Ladbrokes now btw, the maiden bet is at 4/7 atm. I'm doing the same Kev, but putting a few markets and players into an extended shortlist :lol.

[fishy25]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Right the finals day special bets then. Actually looked into them quite heavily, and taken 10 in total. Of course some are similiar in terms of the market, but all of them I see as potential good value. Away from the outrights, I'm not actually taking any bets in the individual semis, so I'll leave that to the others but I'm just looking forward to enjoying the semis and hope my picks have a good finals day. Murali Kartik Most Economical Somerset Bowler- 5/4 Ladbrokes- (4/10) Only Kartik, Gregory, Pollard and Suppiah count in the bet. Kartik has been one of the most consistent bowlers in the domestic game for quite a while now and him being fit for finals day will be a massive boost for Somerset. He has taken 16 wickets this year in T20, but he usually keeps things tight and is very hard to get away for the majority of time. I'm guessing Somerset will continue to open with Kartik for an over in the powerplay before giving him his other 3 in the mid point of the innings. Facing a spinner is never easy in T20 as we've seen, and especially on such a big ocassion, to have to face an experienced bowler like Kartik won't be easy. His main threat in this little group of players in this bet is likely to be Suppiah, who seems to have had a revelation in the T20 this year after taking the record for the best figures. Despite his good form with the ball, Kartik is still a better bowler in terms of quality and he's seen finals day time and time again with his various counties so he should be the most comfortable tomorrow. There also may be chance we will get some brief showers tomorrow which makes the ball hard to grip, and extremely hard for the spinners to control. If this is the case though, Kartik has that extra quality to control the ball and will still be hard to get away. Gregory and Pollard are both good bowlers, but can still go for a few with that extra pace on the ball. Along with Thomas, Kartik will be one of the main guys for Somerset whilst they are on the field, and given his experience, I'll back him to have the best economy rate for Somerset tomorrow. Gary Keedy Most Economical Lancashire Bowler- 9/4 Ladbrokes- (3/10) Only Keedy, Parry, Khan and Maharoof count in the bet. Well we can exclude Junaid Khan from this little selection as he is on international duty and isn't playing tomorrow so we are left with just 3. This could well be Keedy's last year with his boyhood club as there's talk about him moving on at the end of the season. If that is the case he will want to put in a big effort personally to try and win the competition after falling short in the past with Lancashire. Like Kartik for Somerset, Keedy generally keeps things extremely tight and will bowl his 4 overs in no time and keep the batsman pinned down to around 6 an over or better. He leads the wicket charts for Lancashire this year and if there's one bowler in the Lancashire attack that Leicestershire will try to see off with as little damage as possible it is the wily spinner. Parry is obviously very capable as well, and apparantly on the brink of the England 'B' side but I still rate Keedy above him right now and experience is invaluable on days like this. Maharoof, although having a good first campaign with Lancs, whenever I've seen him bowl he hasn't looked that brilliant and has always been overshadowed by Junaid Khan. Maharoof will bowl up the top of the innings against the likes of Cobb and McDonald who will look to score freely so there's a fair chance the Sri Lankan will go for a few and I'd fancy Keedy's economy rate to be lower than Parry's in the middle overs so I'm siding with the veteran here.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 6 finals day outrights for me to go with the Leicestershire outright which I am very quietly confident about. 1.5pts ew N.McKenzie Top Finals Day Batsman 16/1 Blue Square (1/4 1,2,3,4) In a pressurised environment you need a calm head and there's not many calmer than Neil McKenzie who is as cool as a cucumber. Some of the innings he's played for Hampshire this season have been fantastic, not least the knock in the quarter final to get Hampshire to finals day. Hampshire fans will also remember his wonderful half century in the final last year then the pressure was really starting to mount on the Royals. When taking a finals day bet it's always worth thinking who you think will win the two semi finals because it's unlikely someone is going to top score with the one knock over a host of players who get two. I think Hampshire and Leicestershire will win the semi finals so I have this market down as players from those sides. There's some really good batsmen on both sides and the likes of Andrew McDonald - top runscorer in the tournament, and James Adams top runscorer in it last year deserve a mention. Paul Nixon and Abdul Razzaq also merit a mention as they too are excellent under pressure while the likes of Cobb, Vince and Taylor are all playing on a big stage which they may not be used to. Only James Vince has scored more runs for Hampshire in the competition this season and that's only by 19 but he's batted once more than Macca. Neil McKenzie arrives at finals day in superb form with the willow and given that he's the glue the rest bat around I think he's a wonderful price at 16/1 and if Hampshire make the final I would find it hard to believe Neil McKenzie hasn't contributed a fair chunk of runs. 1pt ew D.Briggs Top Finals Day Bowler 12/1 Blue Square (1/4 1,2,3) 0.5pts ew M.Hoggard Top Finals Day Bowler 25/1 Paddy Power (1/4 1,2,3) Taking two in the top bowler market, as with the above I'm taking them from the sides I think will win the semi finals because surely if you take enough wickets to win this in one innings your team will be having a second bowl. Of all the players playing at Edgbaston nobody has more wickets than Danny Briggs so for him to be 12/1 is a big price. He almost takes advantage of the big name two spinners because sides realise they probably can't take liberties with them so they try to do it to Briggs but Briggs is a very good bowler in his own right and I expect him to have a decent day. If Hampshire go well on Saturday I'm sure Briggsy will be among the wickets with his left arm spin. Elsewhere Harry Gurney is injured for Leicestershire so Matthew Hoggard will take the new ball and under cloudy skies he could well find a bit of swing with it and it would be no surprise at all if he went well especially as a Yorkshireman playing Lancashire in the opening semi final. In Gurney's absence he's the leader of the Foxes attack and if he bowls twice I think he'll be in among the wickets enough to be in the mix of top wicket taker when the cup is won. 1pt ew S.Afridi Most Finals Day 6's 16/1 Blue Square (1/4 1,2,3) This is perhaps the most interesting market of the day. The reason I say that is once again the most likely winner of this market is going to have 2 bats. He might not but the chances are if someone wallops a 6's cameo in the semi they will score enough runs for their side to make the final. The top 4 in this market are all Somerset players as is Buttler who also features prominently in it. If Hampshire were to beat Somerset in the semi final, which I believe they will do, then that opens this market right up for someone batting twice. Of the other 3 sides you'd have to say the only 'serial' 6 hitters are Shahid Afridi, Josh Cobb and Abdul Razzaq. The likes of McDonald, Croft, Maharoof, White etc can hit 6's but not with the consistency of Cobb, Razzaq and Afridi. Afridi has done nothing with the bat for Hampshire in this competition but he'll face two nice bowling attacks here in Somerset and Leicestershire for me or Lancashire if not and there's a chance he could get going. We all know if Shahid bats for 10 overs on finals day he will set a pretty formidable target here and at 16/1 I'm willing to take the risk. 4pts 23 or more finals day 6's Evs Totesport All summer long the limited overs wickets at Edgbaston have played lovely and with probably the two biggest hitting batting line up's at finals day this year this total looks a bit low. The wicket is sure to be brand new for such a showpiece occasion so with the test match recently being played in the middle of the square I expect this wicket to be slightly to one side giving some short boundaries to go at. The new stand has made the straight boundary a lot shorter and one side could be shorter than usual too. I've highlighted the amount of 6's previously in this post so there's more than enough hitting potential for this day to see at least 23 6's. 4pts C.Henderson Most Economical Leicestershire Finals Day Bowler 5/2 Ladbrokes Only Henderson, Razzaq, McDonald and Gurney count in this market. As I've said above we can take Gurney out of the equation as he's out with injury so that leaves a spinner, a new ball bowler and a canny medium pacer. On a day like this I'm going to have to take the spinner all day long, especially one as clever as Claude Henderson. The likes of McDonald could be just the right pace to go while Razzaq will open the bowling and bowl at the death. As the day goes on and the wicket begins to wear spin will play a more prominent part and therefore Claude Henderson has to be the call of the Leicestershire trio to be the most economical Foxes bowler throughout the day.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 2 for the opening semi final. 4pts Leicestershire Most 6's vs Lancashire 11/10 Paddy Power These two met twice in the group stages and while the match results ended 1-1 the 6's matches certainly didn't as Leicestershire won both battles. They won 6-3 at Grace Road and then won 7-4 at Old Trafford and the best thing was most of their batsmen scored runs over the two matches which shows the hitters will keep coming here. Leicestershire have some real hitters of a ball. Cobb and McDonald do it up top and then du Toit will come in and do it if one of them goes early. Down the order there's Wayne and Razzaq who can clobber it while Jefferson, Taylor and Nixon can also clear the ropes when the stars are in the right direction and the prevailing wind blowing. I look down this Lancashire line up and I don't see a natural 6 hitter. Smith can hit a few to be fair to him but he's only ever going to hit his to cow corner with his technique. Croft can hit too but there's nothing in the Lancashire side that can hit like the Foxes can and all things being equal I would expect Leicestershire to hit the most 6's in the opening semi final of what promises to be a fantastic day. 1pt P.Nixon Man of the Match 25/1 Ladbrokes Can't resist a small punt on this price. In fairness to Nixon he didn't do a lot in the quarter final other than carry on the momentum the openers generated but given the story that he's carrying that Leicestershire's next defeat will be his last he was still the man of the match. He scored 31 in that quarter final. He didn't top score and you could argue Razzaq did as much to win the game as he did with that over off Langeveldt which he hit the two monster 6's off. Paul Nixon is a popular character and having watched him for as long as I have knowing this is his last day of competitive professional cricket in this country I would be amazed if he doesn't leave his mark on the day. He probably wouldn't have to do anything out of the ordinary to land this but he plays spin well, could get a prominent role from which to star from and at 25/1 he's well worth a pay to see bet.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 And 3 in the second semi final. Am at finals day tomorrow so probably won't come back with anything else but if something catches my eye when I get there I'll pipe up. 5pts Hampshire to beat Somerset Evs William Hill I'd be quite intrigued to know why Hampshire are the outsiders here. I suspect it's because of the notion that Hampshire can only win on turning wickets which is a load of nonsense. Tahir will turn it on anything, Afridi doesn't really turn it anyway and Briggs deceives batsmen with his flight rather than any turn. If it isn't for that reason then far too much respect is being given to this Somerset batting line up. Hampshire beat Somerset in the final last year and in the opening match of this year's event and I see no reason why they can't complete the hat trick. I imagine part of the gamble going down on Somerset is due to Murali Kartik being announced as being fit but Hampshire's batsmen have faced quality spin in the nets all season and batted on real turning wickets so I don't see why they won't play Kartik. As I've said for a good while now in previewing T20 matches I'm very much in the school of bowlers winning these matches. When you throw Dimi and Cork in with the three spinners it's a bowling attack which is liable to win any match and therefore I simply have to take the even money for the defending champions to make it back to back finals. 3pts Over 8.5 6's Evs Blue Square I've been got at with the even money here. If anyone is going to score 6's against this Hampshire bowling attack it will be Somerset's batsmen with pretty much the top 7 all capable of clearing a rope. One thing to put into the equation is Hampshire should score a few too against what isn't the strongest bowling attack and one which features quite a lot of hit me medium pace. If Shahid Afridi gets hold of the likes of Pollard and Maschede they'll be needing to duck at the Leicester vs Southampton game never mind at Edgbaston. In fact with Afridi and Pollard in the match the potential for this to be covered is always there and with the short boundaries I've already spoken about a small bet on the 6's could be worth a go here. 1pt ew J.Buttler Top Somerset Batsman 6/1 Coral (1/5 1,2,3) Jos Buttler has come up trumps for me twice in the last two weeks so there's no reason to desert him now even with Pollard in the side. Pollard doesn't hit spin very well which would give Buttler a bit of an advantage over him. Buttler has finally got his England call up and what better way to celebrate that than to top score in his side's biggest game of the season. Not much really that I need to add to what I've said in the CB40 in the last two weeks. He remains one of the best finishers in the county game despite his age and at 6/1 he looks well worthy of each way interest again here.

[fishy25]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 And now the potential huge value bets. Of course it's tricky given some will only play one match but I've picked at least one player from each county to give a larger chance with the bets and also for added entertainment whilst watching :lol Also I'm not sure who will win their respective semis as they are so tight. Finals Day Leading Run Scorer- 1/4, 1,2,3,4 Steven Croft- 14/1 BlueSquare- (0.5/10 E/W) Neil McKenzie- 16/1 BlueSquare- (0.5/10 E/W) James Taylor- 20/1 BlueSquare- (0.5/10 E/W) First off the Lancashire captain who tomorrow will face his biggest day yet as captain. Although he will be under pressure, that doesn't worry me with Croft as he is one of those guys who seems to thrive under the pressure and grit his teeth and pull out a good performance. He has 351 runs this season in T20, and in the past few matches he has put in some top notch performances. He hit 50 and 107 in his last Championship match, and then 85 in their most recent match against Glamorgan. He comes into finals day in good nick and if Lancashire break this curse of finals day for them, sure Croft will have to hit some runs tomorrow. McKenzie hasn't scored too many runs in his last couple of innings but that shouldn't make a difference tomorrow. He is one of the classiest batsman on show tomorrow and his experience and craft will be crucial for his side if they are to retain the trophy. He has over 400 runs to his name in the tournament this season, and we saw in the quarter final against Durham how key he is in the middle order to provide that stability if a couple of early wickets are lost. He essentially gave them the foundations to win that quarter final, and I expect him to be solid and classy as ever tomorrow and hit some important runs for his side. And last but not least for the leading runscorer is a guy who I firmly believe will be a key batsman for England in the coming years. T20 may not suit his game ideally, but James Taylor has shown this season he can still pound the boundaries in this format and hit a fair amount of runs. He's scored 300 runs this season and although not having a score over 53, tomorrow he will be looking to impress the England selectors as well as help his team to success. He was overlooked in the tests against India in favour of Bopara so the motivation will be there for the youngster to prove why he is such a talent in the domestic game and show why he should be considered more seriously and I'll hope he shows us what he can do tomorrow. Finals Day Leading Wicket Taker- 1/4, 1,2,3 Dimi Mascarenhas- 12/1 BlueSquare- (0.5/10 E/W) Sajid Mahmood- 16/1 BlueSqaure- (0.5/10 E/W) How I'm reading the conditions and wicket tomorrow given the past few matches at Edgbaston, I'm favouring the seamers over the spinners in terms of wickets, although I'd fancy the spinners to keep things tighter like we usually see in T20. First off is Mascarenhas who has 21 wickets to his name this season which is impressive, especially given the main focal point of Hampshire's bowling attack is their 3 spinners, however Dimi has performed consistently well. He'll bowl a couple of overs up front, and then 1 or possibly 2 at the death where there are always chances of a constant flow of wickets. The Somerset side who they are up against in the semis are generally quite good players of spin but what really leads me to Mascarenhas is the variation which is so key when bowling in T20. He isn't the quickest, but his variation of line and length makes him a very difficult bowler to pick and score off consistently. Also Somerset are full of players who will want to pound the boundaries and that won't be easy against a former international and Mascarenhas is one of those guys who won't be phased against the batting quality he will come up against and he could well be the forgotten treasure in the Hampshire bowling attack. Last time Lancashire were at finals day Mahmood missed out on playing and he has spoken about how he really wants to perform well for his side tomorrow. Now simply looking at this pick some would think I'm crazy, given his erratic nature and the fact he only has 10 wickets in the competition this year, however he is the type of player who can turn out a world class performance from nowhere. There's no Junaid Khan so Mahmood's death bowling is going to have to be spot on tomorrow and with that extra pressure, Saj could well thrive on it and have one of those days where we see why he was tipped to do great things as a youngster. Finals Day Leading Six Hitter Steven Croft- 14/1 BlueSquare- (1/10 E/W) James Vince- 16/1 BlueSquare- (1/10 E/W) James Taylor- 25/1 BlueSqaure- (0.5/10 E/W) Of course with this bet there are the obvious choices of Pollard, Trescothik, Afridi and Razzaq but I've opted for 3 guys who aren't fancied too much in this category. I've spoken about Croft already and how he will have to go well tomorrow for his side with the bat and if he does get going, watching him clear the ropes is a joy to watch. He has hit quite a few maximums this year in the tournament, and in his most recent innings in the one dayer against Glamorgan he smashed 5 on his way to his 85 showing how he find those big shots to clear the ropes. If he gets going tomorrow against a fairly weakish Leicestershire bowling attack, he could be in with a shout. Know Kev has opted for Vince's teamate in Afridi but I've gone for Vince in this one who can pack a punch with the wood in his hands. He, like McKenzie is a classy batsman to watch and although he is compared to Michael Vaughan, we've seen quite a bit of tv this season of the kid and he looks extremely free when he plays and he is more than capable to match the big hitters in terms of maximums. He'll lead from the front and this could be the day that really puts him in line for a future England call up. Now if anyone has ever seen Taylor play, you will know that his natural game is a nurdler, looking to score off most balls and picking off the bad ball which explains the high price. However, as Leicestershire got some momentum behind them and pushed to reach the quarter finals, the youngster seemed to play far more freely and in the last 2 group matches, he hit 6 in total, including 3 at Edgbaston where they play tomorrow. If he gets in early, he will look to bat for the majority of the innings, and if he gets in, he will be well set to try and push for those bigger shots. High price for the kid who I rate so highly, but he could be a surprise package in this market.

[Tyler]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Haven't followed this seasons T20 competition as much as I would've liked which means I won't be getting involved tomorrow. Good luck with all of those though you two. Hope this season ends in the green for both of ya :ok

[fishy25]

Re: Cricket: Friends Life t20 Can't believe Razzaq in that over, blocking 5 balls on the trot meaning the maiden bet is a loser already :wall. Frustrating weather though, think the forecast is on/off showers all day which is a shame.