Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy

[maj69er]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy The problem with this tournament are the conditions of the pitch., One day they are frigging flat and fast, the next day they are slow and low wickets. Add in the dew factor and overall piss porr batting performances its hard to know what way a game is going to go...

[maj69er]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy New Zealand v pakistan preview off cricinfo. Pitch and Fleming remain the focus The Preview by Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Mohali October 24, 2006

Run to me: Fleming apart, no New Zealand batsman has stepped up © Getty Images

Barring selectorial quirks, Daljit Singh would have probably kept wickets for India. Despite 87 first-class games - most of it for Bihar - and a reputation as one of the safest stumpers around, he failed to make the grade. For the last 12 years, he's carefully tended to the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium's tracks at Mohali. Yesterday, when asked if the pitch at Mohali would provide any joy for the batsmen, unlike most others in this tournament, Daljit went down on his haunches, pulled out a screwdriver and drove it through the top surface. It went down about seven millimetres before it met with rock-like resistance. "It isn't so much how hard it is on top as how hard it is below the surface that dictates how the track will behave," he said. "I expect that there will be good bounce which will facilitate stroke-making." Those words will come as a huge relief to batsmen who've floundered quite spectacularly for the first half of the tournament. Just what were the odds? Sample some of the totals in the ongoing Champions Trophy and you'd think the tournament was staged in wintry New Zealand: 80 and 83 for 1 (Sri Lanka v West Indies), 125 and 126 for 6 (India v England), 195 and 108 (New Zealand v South Africa), 165 and 166 for 3 (Sri Lanka v New Zealand), 169 and 170 for 4 (Australia v England). No minnows here mind you - of course there's England, but they're still considered one of the major teams - yet it's the bowlers who've imposed themselves. In the 12 matches before today, just one team, Sri Lanka, has crossed 300, and that too against one of the lesser sides. When Polyvinyl Acetates (PVA) wins a Man-of-the-Match award (Okay, it didn't, but it should have) you know something is wrong. Daljit's track, to the World Anti Doping Agency's great relief, won't need any chemical enhancements. The outfield might, after being bathed in dew at, if you believe Bob Woolmer, "half-past seven as normal". Basically expect normal service to resume, with big scores being chased down with ease. Pakistan won't mind, neither will New Zealand. Both teams bat deep, both have faster bowlers who can use the bounce, both have stroke-players who can go thump, thump, thump. Yasir Arafat hasn't come here to liberate a region; he arrives on the back of a triumphant season with Sussex, helping them win the County Championship. He's nippy and can clear stadiums. The fact that he may not get a chance to play is indicative of how well Pakistan did in the first game. Understudies came to the fore in a crisis, scripting a quite romantic win. "We have to maintain that desire, motivation and energy we had against Sri Lanka for the games against New Zealand and South Africa," said Woolmer. "The emotional high was we won. The reality is we played well. We have to maintain that through the next two matches. The determination among the boys is very high." New Zealand are in an even tricker position. Lose and, for all practical purposes, they're out. Stephen Fleming admitted that it's taken some time to adjust to the conditions - it can't be easy to come out of seven-months' hibernation and find yourself in a Mumbai minefield. He also admitted that it would be easy to adjust to a batting pitch after experiencing two games on a two-paced one. Barring Fleming, none of the other batsmen have come up with anything sizeable. Fleming will remember the winter day in Karachi, nearly ten years ago, when he guided his side to a seven-wicket win. He'd also know that it was the last time New Zealand beat Pakistan away from home. Statistically New Zealand don't stand a chance but, as this tournament has shown, it's the underdog that starts games as favourites. Just ask Pakistan. New Zealand (likely): 1 Stephen Fleming (capt), 2 Lou Vincent, 3 Nathan Astle, 4 Scott Styris, 5 Hamish Marshall, 6 Jacob Oram, 7 Brendon McCullum (wk), 8 Daniel Vettori, 9 Kyle Mills, 10 Shane Bond, 11 Jeetan Patel. Pakistan (likely) 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Imran Farhat, 3 Younis Khan (capt), 4 Mohammad Yousuf, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Abdul Razzaq, 8 Kamran Akmal (wk), 9 Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, 10 Rao Iftikhar Anjum, 11 Umar Gul. Siddhartha Vaidyanathan is staff writer of Cricinfo © Cricinfo

[mccres01]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Dravid v Tendulkar On the last five batting together Tendulkar is 4-1. Tendulkar 1.72 Bet365

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy We'll try again in the hope that my luck changes. Having gone to Goodison Park last night it can't get much worse :lol 10pts West Indies to beat India 9/5 Sporting Odds West Indies are in the middle of a good run against India in ODI's. They beat the Asian side 4-1 in the Caribbean and then beat them again in Malaysia recently. India haven't impressed me for a while now. Their batting just isn't firing. Their bowling is functioning well, particularly Munaf Patel who looks a great prospect but the simple fact is they aren't scoring enough runs. West Indies - without Lara for this match - bounced back very well to beat Australia after their humiliation by Sri Lanka. Sarwan will lead the side here and I expect big things from the Windies in a match they know if they win they are through to the semis. This match is being played on the same pitch as the SL vs SA match on Tuesday and that pitch was very much a seamers wicket which will suit the Windies bowlers and batsmen who don't take to spin all that well. That was a fairly high scoring game in the context of this tournament so the longer the Indian batting doesn't come to the party the more their chances here deteriorate. Add to that the dew factor now which may result in India not playing both spinners and Windies start to gain a significant advantage before a ball is bowled, particularly if they can bowl 1st. I think the Windies are full value in this match, particularly on recent records and I'll take them to win and qualify for the semis. 10pts I.Bradshaw's Performance Pts 39&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Coming into the tournament Ian Bradshaw was ranked 6th in the ICC ODI bowling rankings and he's shown why in the tournament. Chaminda Vaas bowled a very good spell on Tuesday and Bradshaw's in the same mould. Opening the bowling he'll be helped by the fact that both the Indian openers will look to get after him. He'll also bowl towards the death when cheap wickets are dealt out. We need 2 wickets here and I'm confident we'll get them. 10pts I.Pathan's Performance Pt's 44&Over 10/11 Boylesports Irfan Pathan has a key role to play in this Indian lineup. He bats at no3 and opens the bowling and is great at both. He'll get runs and he'll get wickets so I think 44pts is well within reach. With both Windies openers being left handed his swing will have the batsmen in trouble and his solid but aggressive style with the bat pays dividends too. Pathan's becoming a forceful all-rounder and can confirm his talent here. 5pts ew Y.Singh Top Indian Bat 5/1 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3) Yuvraj Singh is a classy, dependable batsman capable of playing the flamboyant aggressive knocks or the slow and solid knocks. With the IUndian batting so out of form Yuvraj in a good price here in a field which Sachin Tendulkar could be the only genuine rival. Yuvraj was 2nd to Sachin against England and I'll take a chance he goes 1 better here. 1pt Race to 10 runs - No W.Indies batsman 15/2 Bet365 This is a race to 10 runs between Windies 2 openers - Gayle and Chanderpaul. I'm taking the neither to make 10 runs option. This tournament has been a low scoring tournament and loads of early wickets have fallen throughout the tournament. Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan will open the bowling for India and they get seam and swing so won't be easy to face. With that in mind and the low scoring nature of the matches so far I think it's worth a small stake on neither making 10 runs. 1pt Race to 10 runs - No India batsman 10/1 Bet365 This is a race to 10 runs between India's 2 openers - Sehwag and Tendulkar. Again I'm taking the neither to make 10 option. Ian Bradshaw takes lots of early wickets for the Windies and Jerome Taylor, his new ball sidekick has been impressive so far. India's batting hasn't got going at all recently apart from Sachin who could well be due a bad day. With the rate of early wickets so far in the tournament I'm happy to have a small stake on this at 10/1 with the quality of the Windies opening bowlers.

[xxdaxxbombxx]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy KevShat, have you got on tilt? Surely for your picks for Ind vs WI you simply have bet on the opposite of what you think will happen? :( India at home Vs West Indies at $1.5 is huuge! value if they do not have Lara Playing

[ashleybarnes]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy

KevShat, have you got on tilt? Surely for your picks for Ind vs WI you simply have bet on the opposite of what you think will happen? :( India at home Vs West Indies at $1.5 is huuge! value if they do not have Lara Playing

Problem is Lara is playing :unsure , India have strated well without losing any wickets and have to say their batting lie-up looks exceptionally strong. Have taken India to Score under 278.5 runs with PP at 5/6. :hope

[xxdaxxbombxx]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Thats a great bet.. india will probably get 240-250

[ashleybarnes]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy

Thats a great bet.. india will probably get 240-250

Handicap has now gone down to 230.5 - I think they will struggle to get that now with Sachin gone. :nana

[ashleybarnes]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy

10pts I.Bradshaw's Performance Pts 39&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Coming into the tournament Ian Bradshaw was ranked 6th in the ICC ODI bowling rankings and he's shown why in the tournament. Chaminda Vaas bowled a very good spell on Tuesday and Bradshaw's in the same mould. Opening the bowling he'll be helped by the fact that both the Indian openers will look to get after him. He'll also bowl towards the death when cheap wickets are dealt out. We need 2 wickets here and I'm confident we'll get them. quote] This bet is already up after 16 overs LOL. He has taken 2 wickets already. Good bet - shame PP doesn't do those.

[888]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Nice pick on Bradshaw kev ! Followed you on Bradshaw and Pathan performance. Now just need Pathan to complete my day and ironically he was bowled out by Bradshaw, what a LOL. Anyway, all hope is not lost for India they have Dravid still and few decent batsmen and Dhoni to hold the tail enders. I would say India reach around 170 runs in their innings today against WI.

[ashleybarnes]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy I would say that they would be very dissappointed with under 200. At the rate they are going on at the moment they will be looking for 230. The way Bravo is bowling I would say they would easily get that, Lara must take Bravo out of the attack. His economy is just under 10 at the moment???

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy

KevShat, have you got on tilt? Surely for your picks for Ind vs WI you simply have bet on the opposite of what you think will happen? :( India at home Vs West Indies at $1.5 is huuge! value if they do not have Lara Playing

Not sure I follow you here mate. I backed what I thought would happen. I always thought WI would beat India, personally I think India are the most overrated side in World cricket at the minute. As I said in the writeup's I liked Windies with or without Lara based on India's hype and the recent results between the 2. Finally a profitable day. Not as much as I'd have liked but every little helps. The 2 dropped catches off Pathan weren't helpful but that's cricket.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Effectively a 1/4 final today. Winner of the SA vs Pakistan match join NZ in the semi finals. 10pts SA to beat Pakistan 10/11 VC South Africa showed a lot of heart in coming back from their drubbing at the hands of NZ to beat Sri Lanka on Tuesday. They did that on a pitch that didn't really suit but their bowlers put in an awesome shift. Now they come to a pitch which will suit them. It's the same pitch that NZ thrashed Pakistan on earlier in the week. With the pitch favouring the seamers by offering some bounce and a bit of pace SA have everything they would want. Their batsmen are much more at home against the seamers and their bowling attack is dominated by seamers. Nel, Pollock and Ntini could well be a real handful on this deck. Although they've not nailed a big score yet all of their batsmen have made starts in the tournament and a big score may not be far away. The inclusion of AB De Villiers for the SL game was big for SA, he top scored with 54 and I sense there's more to come from him. Pakistan have been like a soap opera in this tournament. Something different has happened every day and it has to be taking it's toll. It's plain to see that they are missing Inzamam bigtime. His spot in the batting lineup is being filled by Afridi who has 5 runs to his name in 2 innings. As they showed over in England during the summer, their batsmen don't like playing on bouncy, quick wickets. The winners of this match join NZ in the semi finals and with conditions suiting South Africa and form and morale in their favour I'm on the Proteas for this one. 10pts S.Pollock's Performance Pts 40&Over 10/11 Boylesports Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch and 20pts per wicket. Shaun Pollock is still a class act at this level. Not only is he a superb bowler but he's a more than capable lower order batsman. The Pakistan openers are the sort that go after you and with the new ball that's right up Pollock's street. He's often in among the wickets in ODI's and 2 more here will see this bet home. If he doesn't get them I fancy him to get a bat so he might get a few points with the bat too. I do think he'll take the 2 wickets needed though so with the safety net of potential runs as back up this is a good bet. 10pts A.Razzaq's Performance Pts 40&Over 10/11 Boylesports Abdul Razzaq has shown in this tournament already how classy he is. He's taken 6 wickets in 2 matches and 2 more here sees this bet safely home too. The pitch should suit him and he took 2 wickets on it on Wednesday. He bowls at the end of the innings so may pick up a cheap wicket or 2 when the hunt for quick runs is in full swing. As with Pollock, Razzaq is a more than capable batsman, as the Trent Bridge crowd saw in Pakistan's ODI there in the summer! Razzaq could so easily cover this with bat or ball so it's another bet that looks very good. 5pts ew S.Malik Top Pakistan Bat 13/2 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3) Shoaib Malik is having a good tournament with the bat. He's been batting at 6 but have still managed to score 46 and 54 not out in his 2 innings. With the captaincy seemingly affecting Younis Khan's batting and the absence of Inzamam, Malik seems to have taken on a responsible role in the side and with a fair bit of batting after him he's able to build his innings. He's been bowling well in the tournament so far which has given him confidence in his batting and I'll take him to have another good tilt at top scoring having been 2nd in both games so far. 5pts ew AB.De Villiers Top SA Bat 5/1 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3) I think AB De Villiers is a very good batsman. When SA toured SL during the summer he was comfortably SA's best batsmen although admittedly the Protea's were missing Kallis and Smith. He scored 54 in SA's win over SL though so is showing an apparent liking for the sub-continent wickets. Coming in at 5 he has lots of time to score runs. I really can't see him being out of the 1st 3 and with his form from the last match he could well go on and top score again.

[kiwimike]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Please Help! need abit of advice from you guys if you will. As i am a cabbage Heres my problem. I have been betting on who will win the comp outright and have all the teams covered to a nice profit bar India and Aussie. (whom i have placed nothing on as of yet). Now one of these teams will be eliminated in the next match between them as the West Indies are through to the semis coutesy of their win last night over India. I am a newb and can't figure out the best way to come out on top and cover either Aussie or India for the outright win. I can afford to take a hit on my profits from the other team bets , but not enough to cover both for the outright win. Looks a bit like this on betfair Aussie - $350 (paying $3.35 for the win) India - $350 (paying $7 for the win) All the rest + between $200 and $600 I apprecaite your thoughts guys! as i don't know what to do...:unsure

[ashleybarnes]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy

Please Help! need abit of advice from you guys if you will. As i am a cabbage Heres my problem. I have been betting on who will win the comp outright and have all the teams covered to a nice profit bar India and Aussie. (whom i have placed nothing on as of yet). Now one of these teams will be eliminated in the next match between them as the West Indies are through to the semis coutesy of their win last night over India. I am a newb and can't figure out the best way to come out on top and cover either Aussie or India for the outright win. I can afford to take a hit on my profits from the other team bets , but not enough to cover both for the outright win. Looks a bit like this on betfair Aussie - $350 (paying $3.35 for the win) India - $350 (paying $7 for the win) All the rest + between $200 and $600 I apprecaite your thoughts guys! as i don't know what to do...:unsure

I can see where you are coming from, personally I would not cover Aussie or India - both have been under par in this tournament. There are other teams (which you have already covered) that are much more in favour. Betting is a risk, I would rather win big or lose rather than cover every bet and win a small covering amount. But each to there own. Good Luck. :ok

[kiwimike]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Cheers Ash :ok, the general advice i'm getting seems to be , sit and wait for now. I can afford to take the $350 hit should i lose, but if i could cover, that would be nice. I am hoping that india win and knock aussie out,then i can hopefully cover off on india at a slighty higher price....still not 100% deceided though ...

[TazaD]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Here it comes, here it comes.....here it comes......... AKMAL!!!!!!!!! Flying one-handed catch in front of first slip. Wait...wait...I'll get the 'official' commentary... Akmal dived full stretch to his right and took it from right in front of the first slip, brilliant take. (You know I'm only messing! ;) )

[TazaD]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy ....Boucher 50+ and a blinding leg side catch....yes, yes I saw.... Now to see Akmal's worth with the bat...

[davidmphill]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Pak 27-6 WTF!!

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy South Africa won that easily! Onto the England vs WI match. Appears a nothing game on paper but with the World Cup around the corner there's no such thing. Windies may rest a couple though to save them for the knockout stages of this tournament. 10pts England to beat West Indies Evs Boylesports England are already out of this year's Champions Trophy and are playing only for pride but this England side have lots of that so I believe they will be all out for a win in this match. England are buoyed by the great news that their captain Andrew Flintoff will bowl in this match. I don't expect too much but thinking long term that is superb news. Bowling hasn't been England's problems though, getting enough runs have been and it's vital that Flintoff or Pietersen score heavy runs in this match, not only to win this match but for their Ashes confidence. West Indies have had a lot of matches recently and that could start catching up with them. Lara didn't look fully fit to me on Thursday so it wouldn't surprise me if he rests himself and the Windies may rest a couple of others for the KO stages too. The pitch is expected to be a seamers wicket like the last 2 in this tournament have been which should only suit our bowlers who will be thankful for a wicket they are used to after playing on 2 dustbowls so far. If anything we have more to play for than the Windies as our ODI performances are under scrutiny these days. We want to leave India with a win and I think we'll do that here. 10pts J.Dalrymple's Performance Pts 37&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Jamie Dalrymple has probably been England's best ODI performer in 2006. He's an aggressive middle order batsman who comes in and looks to up the run-rate and bowls very good off spin, particularly suited in these conditions. If he can get a wicket with his spin then I don't see this target being a problem. He's also a good fielder and often picks up catches in the covers so he has all 3 bases covered and with World Cup spots up for grabs he'll want a good game here to further cement his place in the side for that. 5pts ew P.Collingwood Top England Bat 5/1 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3) Paul Collingwood is always a batsman you can rely on in 1 day cricket. His low bat lift batting style is perfectly suited for these wickets as there is never much bounce. With so many of England's batsmen out of form the target to win this bet may not be the highest. Batting a 5/6 he'll have enough overs to compile a score and I'll take England's best allround ODI batsman to top score in this one.

[davidmphill]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy God knows what kind of a showing we're going to get today from England! Hopefully they can put a decent innings together to give us some chance. Really like Dalrymple as a player. Looks set to be a fixture in this side for some time to come. Can't see Giles or Blackwell figuring now. The bet on him is solid and he's always going to give you a run for your money especially with the bat as he tends not to give his wicket away and with the way we bat these days hes always got plenty of overs to play with!

England team AJ Strauss, IR Bell, A Flintoff, MH Yardy, KP Pietersen, PD Collingwood, JWM Dalrymple, CMW Read, SI Mahmood, J Lewis, JM Anderson

West Indies team CH Gayle, S Chanderpaul, RR Sarwan, BC Lara, RS Morton, DJ Bravo, MN Samuels, CS Baugh, CD Collymore, JE Taylor, FH Edwards

Windies win the toss and will bat

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy India vs Australia next in a winner goes through match so it's effectively a 1/4 final. 10pts Australia -2.5wickets/23.5runs to beat India 4/5 Bet365 Australia should really be 2 from 2 in this tournament but a late collapse to Jerome Taylor of the Windies sees Australia having to win this to qualify. India will be without key middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh who has done ligaments in his knee. Agit Agarkar has also been ruled out of the rest of the tournament. Their replacements are likely to be Mohammed Kaif and Shiv Sreesanth. India have big batting problems. More so without Yuvraj, although I like Kaif as a batsman. Technically correct and can be a grafter or flambouyant. One problem I have with India is Pathan at 3. He's no number 3. Sure for a bowler he can bat but batting at number 3 is not for him. I'd much rather see him at 7 and have say a Dhoni at 3 if they want an attacking batsman there. Too often Dravid's in a 4 with his side 2 down for diddly squat. Australia have a talented side. Most of their batsmen have made runs so far and Johnson, Watson and Bracken have gone well with the ball. McGrath and Lee are always a handful and it's not the sort of attack a patched up and out of form batting attack want to be facing. The pitch situation here is a bit dodgy. They were due to be playing on the pitch SA demolished Pakistan on but it's suddenly changed. That pitch, a green top seamers paradise has gone and instead we're on a pitch with less grass. Cynics would say that the previous pitch was too much in Australia's advantage hence the move but truth be told they are good enough to beat this Indian side on anything. There haven't been many close games in this tournament and this won't be close either. Australia to win with a fair bit in hand. 10pts S.Watson's Performance Pts 43&Over 10/11 Boylesports Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch, 20pts per wicket. Shane Watson is having a good time of it in ODI cricket. He did well with the bat against India in the DLF Cup in Malaysia just prior to this tournament and is on fire with the ball in this ICC Champions Trophy. He's now opening the innings which while I'm not sure is his right position, it gives him as much time as he likes to polish this total off with the bat. Should that not happen though he's been in the wickets so far in the tournament and I can't see that suddenly changing on this wicket. Truth is he can cover it with bat or ball so he looks like the best performance bet for this match. 5pts ew M.Kaif Top India Bat 7/1 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3) Mohammed Kaif is a very good batsman who can be relied upon to not give his wicket away and to get stuck in and graft if need be. He's got all the shots in the book and hasn't been part of this misfiring lineup so won't be low on confidence. With a World Cup coming up Kaif's got a chance to catch the selectors eyes here which he needs to take. I think we'll see a good innings from Kaif, which will hopefully be good enough to top score but I certainly see him in the top 3 in this out of form lineup.

[kiwimike]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Great report that Kevshat....i do enjoy reading what you have to say...nice one , keep it up buddy:ok and all the best with your picks:hope

[davidmphill]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy Great work today Kev. I make it 3/3 with Kaif finishing 3rd top scorer with 30. Looking forward to your thoughts on the big NZv Aus match on Wednesday.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy

Great report that Kevshat....i do enjoy reading what you have to say...nice one ' date=' keep it up buddy:ok and all the best with your picks:hope[/quote'] Cheers guys. Nice to have a successful day in what's looking like an unsuccessful tournament unless the Kiwi's do the biz for me.

[kiwimike]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy

Cheers guys. Nice to have a successful day in what's looking like an unsuccessful tournament unless the Kiwi's do the biz for me.

I'm with you on that one Kev, i stand to lose abit if the kiwis lose....so :hope crossed they can put one over the aussies. and if they will i will make a very nice profit....go the kiwis!

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy 1st semi final on Wednesday. 10pts NZ +3.5wickets/31.5runs to beat Australia 5/6 Bet365 These 2 sides clash in a often hotly competitive contest. Australia have had the upper hand recently, winning 15 of the last 17 clashes however NZ did win the last match between the 2 sides. The last 3 have all been close, tight matches, which with this being a semi final I'd be surprised if this doesn't follow suit. NZ have a bit of a blow in the news that Scott Styris is not fit to play. In the last meeting between the 2 sides he plundered 105 in NZ's run chase of 332. Shane Bond however is fit and he loves tackling the Aussies. He has 22 wickets from his 6 battles with Aus. Australia have no injury problems. They will select the same lineup that walloped India on Sunday. Shane Watson was a doubt having batted with cramp on Sunday but he took part in practice today and is fine to play, as is Michael Clarke who got a niggle in the India match. The venue is the same as Sunday's and the pitch definition is likely to be the same. All reports suggest it will have bounce and carry and a fair bit of pace, which is about as close to Aus/Kiwi conditions as you'll get in India. When I look at these matchup's I tend to compare the captains as generally in close matches the side which is captained the best wins. Stephen Fleming is a much better captain than Ricky Ponting who I don't particularly rate if I'm honest. I saw a quote from Ponting which when asked what weaknesses Australia have to exploit his reply was none. Well as Shane Bond and Flintoff and Harmison will testify that's not actually true as the Aussies seem to dislike facing express pace. If Bond bowls well and the pitch turns out to play to it's billing the Aussies could easily be turned over. 10pts B.McCullum's Performance Pts 32&Over 10/11 Boylesports Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 25pts per stumping. Brendon McCullum is a sound wicket keeper and a good lower order batsman. With Scott Styris not playing in this match he could well find himself pushed up the order a wee bit in the quest for runs during powerplays if early wickets fall. If not he'll come in later on in the innings to boost NZ's total. With the pitch likely to seam and bounce edges are likely to be found for him to snap up. Vettori will play for NZ too so stumpings are an option and I believe there will be enough opportunities for McCullum to cover this. 1pt ew B.Lee Top Australia Bat 66/1 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3) We've seen a few low scores in this tournament although not recently it must be said but with Bond's record against Australia and Mills, his new ball partner having tournament figures of 6 for 80 there's a chance that the Aussie top order could be ripped apart which with Lee coming in at no8 would give him a chance of top scoring. Brett Lee showed in the Ashes last summer that he could bat when he nearly rescued the famous Edgbaston test with Michael Kasprowich not to mention sending Steve Harmison out of Trent Bridge twice with huge 6's. At this price we don't even need Lee to top score for a tasty profit. He's 16.5/1 to make the 1st 3 which I'll take with glee. If Lee doesn't bat we get a full refund so I think it's worth the risk of a small stake. 2pts S.Bond Man of the Match 14/1 Boylesports Shane Bond is without doubt New Zealand's main strike bowler. On what is defined as a batting pitch if he takes wickets he'll be a contender for this award. He opens the bowling and will come back at the death and maybe snatch a couple of cheap wickets. There's every chance of him getting a 4 for or something. To add to his value he can hit a big cricket ball so if he gets a few overs of batting to propel an NZ total that will all help him. If NZ are to win the game Bond will have to figure largely and with that in mind I'll take a pop at the price.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy A day full of losers although another 3 NZ runs would have seen me nearly even for the day :wall . That's the outright gone as well :sad . Onto semi final 2 - WI vs SA. 10pts WI to beat SA 2.45 Expekt Apart from their match with Sri Lanka it's fair to say the West Indies have been the most consistant and competitive side in this year's ICC Champions Trophy. In Chris Gayle they've got an opener in superb nick and with new ball bowlers Taylor and Bradshaw having good tournaments they are in good shape. There isn't really a player in their squad who isn't in good form. South Africa are probably the surprise package of the tournament. They've scrapped hard on pitches which haven't suited them but here they are. Their batting hasn't been overly impressive but Pollock, Ntini and co have got them here. Both sides go into the game with no new injury scares. The pitch is more of an Indian wicket than yesterday's semi. That can't really be to the Proteas' liking but how many times have we said that this tournament? I think the West Indies have become a good tight unit and under the superb guidance of Lara who is getting the maximum out of a bowling attack that looks nothing special on paper and that's one of the reasons I like them here. When you throw in the conditions and the form of their batsmen it points to a win for the Caribbean men. 10pts WI Highest 1st 15 Overs Evs Blue Square West Indies batsmen are in good form and possibly none more so than Chris Gayle at the top. If he gets going West Indies could be away and gone after 15 overs. Looking at the SA bowling 1st up, Pollock is fairly tight but Ntini can go for plenty despite his 5 for in the last game. In contrast SA's top 4 are in no sort of nick at all really and have lost wickets early all through the tournament meaning they have to spend the 1st 15 overs rebuilding. Bradshaw rarely goes for many more than 4 an over and if WI take early wickets like they have all tournament they'll be comfortably ahead at the 15 over mark. 10pts 1 run out or less Evs Sporting Odds This tournament has been remarkably short of run out's so far. In the matches played so far only 2 have covered the 2 run out's needed here. The reason for that is in the 2nd half of the match the dew kicks in on the outfield and accurate throwing with a wet ball is not likely. With many of the games being low scoring with early wickets tumbling, sides aren't in a position to take fielders on and risk runs because losing wickets to run out's when they're in trouble is calamitous. It's a bit of a risk taking on SA in the field but the dew counters potential run-out's so I'm happy to be on. 10pts I.Bradshaw's Performance Pts 40&Over 5/6 Bet365 Points are scored as follows: 1pt per run, 10pts per catch & 20pts per wicket. Ian Bradshaw is a real underrated bowler who is ideal for these wickets. He always runs up and sticks the ball on the same line and length and moves it away a touch drawing batsmen into having a go at him and thus causing their downfall. He almost bores them into submission. He also uses a lot of cutters which grip on these surfaces and can be very tough to play hence we'll see a lot of inside edges and lbw appeals. He needs 2 wickets to cover this spread and with SA's top order not functioning I think Bradshaw will show us the benifit of missing the England game by bagging us a couple here. 5pts ew C.Gayle Top WI Bat 4/1 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3) Chris Gayle is the form man of the tournament with the bat. Coming off the back of an unusual Chris Gayle century against England, his 2nd of the tournament, his confidence will be sky high and I expect plenty more runs today in a quest to take his side to the final. Makhaya Ntini is the ideal bowler for him to face because he's prone to give left handers width which Gayle will feast on all day or night long. Brian Lara has been carrying a back injury all tournament so he bats lower down the order for that reason so Gayle's main competition is out of the way so with us getting our money back if he makes the top 3 I think Gayle is an excellent bet here.

[davidmphill]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy I made a huge error yesterday. In test matched involving the Kiwi's I tend to back Daniel Vettori as Top NZ bat and yesterday with the way the wickets have been tumbling I thought about backing him but pulled out at the last minute. Result, top scores with 79.:sad

[davidmphill]

Re: Cricket: ICC Champions Trophy I tried to guess some of your bets today Kev and got 3 that I thought you may go for. Like WI top 15 overs, Bradshaw performance and the WI to win. Good luck, due a result.