Cricket: County Championship 2008

[Tranquillizer]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Cant believe Warwickshire chased down 383 in 82 overs I thought a Bears win was the least likely of the 3 outcomes saw an amazing game at Derbyshire today. YTD -3

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 An unbelievable run chase from Warwickshire, finally making their target of 382 off the 2nd last ball of the match. That gives me a double this week and a profit of 14.4pts which puts me +2.4pts for the Championship so far.

[Matt]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Just so you know Kev, Dippenaar and Du Preez arrived over the weekend and are in our squad for the Warwickshire game ;)

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008

Tuesday 29 April 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Gloucestershire v Glamorgan (10:30BST)	1.57	2.78	100%	Details »
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Warwickshire v Leicestershire (10:30BST)	1.61	2.65	100%	Details »

Wednesday 30 April 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Sussex v Surrey (10:30BST)	1.88	2.12	100%	Details »
Hide « Sussex v Surrey
Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire (10:30BST)	1.80	2.14	102%	Details »

Northamptonshire v Worcestershire (10:30BST)

2.20

1.85

100%

Details »

Just so you know Kev' date=' Dippenaar and Du Preez arrived over the weekend and are in our squad for the Warwickshire game ;)[/quote'] Ta mate. Had been keeping tabs on their progress because Dippy is in my cricinfo fantasy team and could yet be transferred into the telegraph one!! Going with your boys this week :ok. 10pts Leicestershire to beat Warwickshire 6/4 Boylesports Leicestershire come into this match top of the table after two matches and they'll be keen to get one over their ex-player who is now Warwickshire captain, Darren Maddy. Warwickshire won last week chasing down a mammoth 382 on the final day at Northampton but they showed their Jekyll and Hyde side when they couldn't defend 290 odd against Northants in the 50 over match on Sunday. Warwickshire have Ian Bell and Tim Ambrose at their disposal as the ECB want them to get matches under their belt. Monde Zondeki makes his home debut. Darren Maddy arrives in good form having hit a ton and a 50 at Northampton over the weekend. Lee Daggett and Neil Carter could both play although James Anyon is in the squad. If it's one of Daggett or Carter, Carter's batting prowess should get him the nod. Leicestershire welcome overseas player Boeta Dippenaar into their side for the 1st time this week. He brings with him talented all rounder Dillon Du Preez who is meant to be a hot prospect and he will make his debut here too. HD Ackerman will be looked upon for runs while young opening pairing Tom New and Matthew Boyce will hope to continue their good start to the season. Leicestershire are that confident with their bowling attack that they leave ex Windies test star Jermaine Lawson out of the squad here. Warwickshire are undoubtedly a good side but they are very inconsistant. 2 weeks ago a certain loss against Worcester was saved by the rain and then their was the mixed bag at Northants over the weekend. In a way Leicestershire are very similar but they can be very good as they showed in beating Middlesex in their opening match. Warwickshire are rightly favourites on quality alone but Leicester are bowling teams out now and if their batting gets going they won't be far away here so I take the away team to pinch this one. I'll do Wednesday's bets tomorrow night when we've got more team news.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Warwickshire are 128/4 after day 1 at Edgbaston. Leicestershire are only 1 wicket from the lower order but rain might have the final say there. Will take 2 more on Wednesday. Again though rain could be the winner. 10pts Surrey to beat Sussex 11/10 Boylesports Surrey come into this match with a pair of draws to their name this season while Sussex come into it with the same record however their seasons have been totally different. Surrey were on top in both of their matches while Sussex were hanging on in theirs. Sussex lost to Essex in the FP Trophy ono Sunday so it's fair to say their season hasn't got going yet. The defending champions will have Luke Wright and Matt Prior available here but their batting hasn't really fired yet although Murray Goodwin is a class act and will surely start firing soon. Jason Lewry comes back into the squad for this match in place of Chris Liddle. James Kirtley may get a game while all eyes will be on Mushtaq Ahmed after his good start to the season. Surrey have hit their straps straight away, particularly with the ball. They bowled Durham out for 224 and had them 228/9 last week which is a decent effort. Matt Nicholson leads their attack with all rounder Chris Jordan getting better by the match. Their batting centres around Ramprakash and Butcher with Afzaal, Batty and Newman playing the support acts. Chris Schofield could play if the pitch is to take spin while Saqlain returns to Hove for the 1st time since leaving Sussex in the winter. If the weather stays away this could be a cracking match between the two best sides in the division IMO. Surrey's bowling attack is in great form at the minute and with Butcher and Ramprakash in the team runs are guaranteed so Surrey is the call here. 10pts Worcestershire to beat Northamptonshire 5/6 Blue Square Worcestershire are another side with 2 draws from 2 matches but Northants have picked up two losses from their 2 openers with the latest loss being extra bad as Warwickshire chased down 382 on the final day to win. Worcester had Warwickshire all but beaten before rain on the 4th day denied them a chance of victory. Northants were in a way a tad unlucky last week but allowing Warwickshire to chase down such a huge score on a 4th day shows how brittle their bowling attack is. In the last innings of that match Northants bowled 82.5 overs of which 54.5 were bowled by Boje and Panesar which indicates how Boje has a lack of confidence in his seamers. That may change here with Johann Louw making his 2nd debut. He'll replace Steven Crook. David Sales hasn't got going with the bat yet and it could well be left to Klusener and Boje to rescue innings again. Worcestershire will be without Graeme Hick's services as he's about a week away from a return to action. Simon Jones does begin the match though and the Royals will hope he finishes it this time too. Darryl Mitchell and Stephen Moore will open the innings with Solanki and Smith 3 and 4. Kabir Ali and Gareth Andrew have added good lower order runs as Worcester continue to bat a long way down. Kabir's probably the best bowler in this division and should cause problems as will Jones. Gareth Batty will relish this Wantage Rd pitch to bowl his off spin on. In truth these sides are fairly evenly matched. Neither have a great deal of batting strength although Worcestershire do have runs in them. It's the Worcester bowling attack which impresses me though and it's that side of their team which I think can win this game for them.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 The weather won at Edgbaston and it will do at Sussex too but Worcester still have a chance of beating Northants if they can take quick wickets in the morning. Cash back from the Leicestershire bet so record is as it was.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Annoyingly Nicky Boje hit an unbeaten double century so Worcester couldn't force the victory. Good for my fantasy team but not my bets! Stakes back this week as Surrey and Sussex was drawn too so as I was going into the week.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008

Wednesday 7 May 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Lancashire v Durham (10:00BST)	1.70	2.37	100.93 %	Details »
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Nottinghamshire v Kent (10:30BST)	1.60	2.52	102.18 %	Details »
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Somerset v Hampshire (10:30BST)	1.53	2.70	102.25 %	Details »

Wednesday 7 May 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Essex v Middlesex (10:00BST)	1.90	2.12	99.80 %	Details »
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Derbyshire v Warwickshire (10:30BST)	2.25	1.83	99.09 %	Details »

2 for me this week. No great prices but should be solid. 10pts Somerset to beat Hampshire 8/15 Ladbrokes Somerset come into this match with just a draw to their names from their solitary match in the Championship this season. That was a rain affected match. Hampshire have a draw against Sussex and an innings defeat to Yorkshire so far this season. Somerset come into this match having already done the double over the Hawks in the FP Trophy. Somerset will give a Championship debut to Zander de Bruyn in this match. Justin Langer returns to skipper the side while Marcus Trescothick is joined at the top of the order by Neil Edwards for the 1st time this season. Andrew Caddick misses out so Alfonso Thomas plays and Somerset will decide between Michael Munday and Steffan Jones for their last place on the day of the game. For Hampshire it's a who's who that they are without. Obviously Warne has now quit the club but they will also be without Shane Bond who's gone lame, Dimitri Mascarenhas who is warming Jaipur's bench in the IPL as well as Chris Tremlett and Michael Carberry who are playing for the England Lions. That means their attack will be led by David Griffiths and James Tomlinson - both teenagers. Hamza Riazuddin, a teenage all rounder gets his debut in this match too. Kevin Pietersen plays though while Jimmy Adams takes over as captain from Pothas who reverts to being just the keeper. Hampshire are massively depleted here and you can't go to Taunton with a seam attack of 3 teenagers and Sean Ervine. It's cannon fodder in truth. Even with KP in the side Hampshire aren't going to be competitive enough here. They certainly shouldn't bowl Somerset out twice. Somerset have won both FP Trophy matches this season and the hat trick will be complete by Saturday. I'm no fan of short prices in cricket but this does look too good to be true. 10pts Warwickshire to beat Derbyshire 8/11 Ladbrokes Warwickshire are joint top of Division 2 coming into this match courtesy of a win against Northants and a couple of rain affected draws. Derbyshire beat Essex in a contrived finish and drew with Gloucestershire when defeat looked certain before the rain arrived. Both sides had contrasting fortunes in the FP Trophy at the weekend but the 4 day game is different. Derbyshire will be without key all rounders Graham Wagg and Greg Smith. They are out through injury and illness and are both big misses, particularly Wagg. Charl Langeveldt should make his debut but once again this batting lineup looks way too light. Tom Lungley will support Langeveldt with the new ball while Nayan Doshi plays against the side who tried to sign him last season. Warwickshire have the services of Ian Bell and Tim Ambrose one last time here before they disappear on England duty. Jon Trott has been in good form as has his skipper Darren Maddy. Monde Zondeki has settled ok with the ball and James Anyon is now back. Neil Carter will complete the seam option. Ian Salisbury has started the season well while Ant Botha will play against his old club. Warwickshire have way too much strength for this Derbyshire side. The lack of batting nearly cost them against Gloucester until the rain saved them but the forecast is perfect in Derby for the next 4 days so that luxury doesn't exist here. Warwickshire for me.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008

I'm no fan of short prices in cricket but this does look too good to be true.

Somerset 126 Hampshire 194/3 (57.0 ov)

That's exactly why I'm no fan of short prices in cricket :eyes. I've just seen a weather forecast which says there will be rain in Taunton on Friday so from a betting point of view :hope Somerset can hang on for a draw. Luckily Derbyshire have been bowled out for less than 300 having chosen to bat so I should be ok with Warwickshire to lessen any losses caused by Somerset.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Both matches were drawn but I'll take that as neither ever looked like winning. Still +2.4 for the competition.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008

Wednesday 14 May 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Durham v Yorkshire (11:00BST)	1.88	2.04	102.21 %	Details »
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Hampshire v Surrey (11:00BST)	2.30	1.72	101.37 %	Details »
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Nottinghamshire v Lancashire (11:00BST)	2.14	1.83	101.27 %	Details »
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Somerset v Sussex (11:00BST)	1.83	2.20	100.00 %	Details »

Tuesday 13 May 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Leicestershire v Northamptonshire (11:00BST)	1.89	2.10	100.53 %	Details »
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Wednesday 14 May 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Glamorgan v Derbyshire (11:00BST)	2.20	1.75	102.60 %	Details »
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Worcestershire v Gloucestershire (11:00BST)	1.85	2.24	98.70 %	Details »
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I'm not going to bet on Leicestershire vs Northants just yet but I've noticed Ladbrokes are offering end of each day odds so we might get something as we go along. I'll give my thoughts on Wednesday's matches tomorrow night when we've got all the team news.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Ok 3 from tomorrow's matches. 2 from Division 1 and 1 from Division 2. 10pts Surrey to beat Hampshire 8/11 Totesport Surrey come into this match in 5th place in the table having drawn all 3 of their matches so far. Hampshire are 7th having secured 2 draws from their 3 matches. The Rose Bowl hosts this match in what could be a mismatch. Mark Ramprakash comes into the match needing 1 more century to become on the 28th batsman to notch 100 1st class centuries. Hampshire have lots of injury problems to contend with. 3 of them to their main players. John Crawley, Nic Pothas and Shane Bond all miss out here. Good news is that Dimi Mascarenhas is back from the IPL and captains the side while Chris Tremlett and Michael Carberry are back from England Lions duty. Chris Benham will come in for Crawley while Tim Burrows takes over the gloves from Nic Pothas. Surrey's only injury concern is Chris Schofield. He's out for 6 weeks with a pear-shaped finger so Murtaza Hussain comes into the squad as Saqlain's backup. With Afzaal in the side though I doubt he'll play. Chris Jordan comes into the side and will probably replace Jade Dernbach from the one day side which got bashed up by Essex. Mark Ramprakash and Mark Butcher go with Afzaal to form a very strong middle order while Windies star Pedro Collins and Matt Nicholson will lead the bowling attack. Hampshire are having to overcome a few problems on and off the pitch at the minute and this Surrey side isn't one you'd want to face with a depleted side. There's no longer any problems with the pitch at the Rose Bowl, it should be good for batting and with a near on non existant batting lineup without KP, Crawley and Pothas, and a weak bowling attack that can only favour Surrey and so do I. 10pts Nottinghamshire to beat Lancashire 6/5 Coral The top two do battle in this clash at Trent Bridge but it's a different Lancashire lineup to the one which has been playing so far. Notts come into the match top having won and lost to Kent and getting a draw against Yorkshire while Lancashire have a win and two draws from their 3 matches. Nottinghamshire will be without their England bowling duo Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom which means Darren Pattinson and Paul Franks come back into the side. Graeme Swann returns from England Lions duty and will form a lower order with Franks and Mark Ealham. Adam Voges continues while David Hussey is in India with Jefferson and Wood opening the innings and Wagh at 3. Chris Read's been in great form so far. Lancashire will be without James Anderson who is with England and Andrew Flintoff and Kyle Hogg who are injured. Dominic Cork returns to the squad and may well play. It's the batting which worries me for Lancashire. It's probably led my Mohammad Yousuf but he's hardly got a run yet and other than Loye and Law there isn't much there at all except for the improving Paul Horton. Saj Mahmood could lead the pace attack alongside Cork with Newby and Smith in contention for a spot. Kolpak Francois du Plessis could make his 4 day debut but Glen Chapple is also injured. Lancashire are lacking a few runs in this competition, so far they still haven't gone past 300 this season which needs to be improved if they are to win here as Notts bat a long way down. Notts are surprising many and come here in good form having won in the FP Trophy at the weekend despite losing a close match in the Championship last week. I think they can make up for that disappointment here though and get another win. And now into Division 2. 10pts Glamorgan to beat Derbyshire 6/5 Skybet Both sides come into this match unbeaten in the longer form of the game but Derby would've been beaten in the opening week but for rain. Glamorgan were most people's tip for the wooden spoon but they've shown they could be better than that by beating Gloucestershire last time out. The SWALEC Stadium hosts it's 1st 4 day match here. Glamorgan have teen sensation James Harris back in their squad after he's recovered from injury. He'll replace Ryan Watkins. Robert Croft also plays here as does opener Gareth Rees. Jamie Dalrymple plays too in a twin spin attack with Croft while Dizzy Gillespie plays as the overseas player. David Hemp, Matthew Wood and Michael Powell will make up the top order with Alex Wharf handy with bat and ball. Derbyshire will be without Greg Smith who is still injured and Jamie Pipe who is out with a finger injury. Danish keeper Fred Klokker will take over with the gloves. Graham Wagg returns here after his illness. Even with Wagg though my concern is the lack of strength in the batting of Derby. Chris Rogers isn't really doing it and neither are any of the top 4. It's being left to the lower order and tail to score runs and they won't do that forever. Tom Lungley and Charl Langeveldt look to be becoming a good new ball pairing and Jon Clare backs them up after signing a contract extension earlier this week. I don't think there's a great deal between the sides if I'm honest. Both lack a bit of batting depth and quality but if anything Glamorgan are marginally the stronger while they look evenly matched with the ball so with Glamorgan odds against I'll take them to win the opening 4 day game at the newly named SWALEC Stadium.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 It's going pretty well this week. Notts need just another 112 runs to beat Lancashire and they've got 9 2nd inns wickets left so they should win that. Glamorgan lead a toothless Derby by 10 runs with 7 1st inns wickets left and Surrey look like getting a 1st inns lead against Hampshire. Hopefully the weather stays good and they can complete victories and make it 3 from 3 this week.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Notts wrapped up a comfortable win this morning to start the week off nicely, as I type Surrey are 80 ahead of Hampshire who have lost Tremlett for the rest of the match and still have 8 2nd inns wickets left and Glamorgan finished 95 ahead on 1st innings so there's every chance of 2 more wins this week.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Hampshire managed to hold out for a draw while yet again the rain saved Derbyshire against me but Notts win made it +12 for the week and now +14.4 for the tournament.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008

Nottinghamshire 888 Sport" onclick="a(0,272196118,8,11,0,6218); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.72 1.83 1.76 1.83 1.72 Boylesports" onclick="a(0,272049442,8,11,0,6169); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.72 1.66 Paddy Power" onclick="a(0,272100797,4,6,0,3); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.66 1.8 1.83 1.66 1.78 Betfair" onclick="a(0,270646562,17,20,1,401); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.85 Sussex 888 Sport" onclick="a(0,272196119,1,1,0,6218); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">2 1.83 2.12 1.83 2 Boylesports" onclick="a(0,272049443,11,10,0,6169); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">2.1 2.1 Paddy Power" onclick="a(0,272100798,11,10,0,3); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">2.1 1.9 1.83 2.1 2.15 Betfair" onclick="a(0,270646563,81,100,1,401); return false;" onmouseout="cellExit(this);">1.81

Best price percentage: 100.6%, bookies only: 101.8%

I was going to back Notts but Mushtaq is back for this one which evens it out massively. Still not sure how fit he is though so I'll take a watching brief and maybe get on in running should the opportunity arise. I may well play a couple in the matches starting Wednesday but I'll do that tomorrow night when I'm back from Hampshire's match when I have more team news.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Can't get prices to copy to go on here but I'm going with 1 from today's matches. 10pts Northants to beat Glamorgan 4/5 William Hill Northants have a strong side with their four South Africans even with Klusener injured for this game, David Sales is due for some runs and on what is normally a dry wicket at Swansea Boje and Brown are good spin options to have. Glamorgan have rested Alex Wharf while Jason Gillespie is to face a fitness test but I'd imagine will play. The Welsh side could play 3 spinners but they look a batsman light to me and I favour Northants here.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 One day in and Northants can't lose. They've piled on the runs and are 453/6 at the close. If they can stick another 100 on the board tomorrow they'll have every chance of making Glamorgan follow on even on a slow pitch.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 The weather didn't help Northants yesterday but they've got 530 odd on the board so hopefully it brightens up and Northants can bowl Glamorgan out twice. Going to play the Notts vs Sussex match now. 10pts Sussex to beat Notts 4/9 Ladbrokes 3 days into this match and Notts closed on 114/5 chasing a mammoth 286 so they need 172 more on the final day to win. That would mean having to score the highest score at Trent Bridge this season which in itself tells us a lot about their chances. The fact they've not made 286 here all season is bad enough but to do it on a 3rd and 4th day makes it all the more unlikely. Notts are already down to their all rounders and there's not a great deal to come after Read and Swann who will begin the day at the crease. Notts' batting hasn't really got going yet and with Sussex's attack at full strength I expect them to seal victory on the final day.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Sussex wrapped up a comfortable victory to give us +4.45pts for the week so far. As I type, Glamorgan are 5 down and still over 300 behind so if Northants can bowl them out tonight and put them back in there's still a chance of forcing victory tomorrow.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Northants bowled Glamorgan out right on stumps and still have a lead of 253. I'm sure they'll stick them in again in the morning and have a day to bowl Glamorgan out again to win. Every chance if they get a full day's play in.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Northants bowled Glamorgan out by mid afternoon to give me +8 there and that makes it +12.45pts for the week which means I'm now +26.85pts for the season.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008

Friday 30 May 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Hampshire v Kent (11:00BST)	2.00	2.00	100.00 %	Details »
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Surrey v Somerset (11:00BST)	1.80	2.25	100.00 %	Details »
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Sussex v Durham (11:00BST)	1.93	2.00	101.81 %	Details »
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Yorkshire v Lancashire (11:00BST)	1.83	2.20	100.00 %	Details »
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Friday 30 May 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Gloucestershire v Warwickshire (11:00BST)	1.90	2.20	97.84 %	Details »
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Leicestershire v Glamorgan (11:00BST)	1.58	2.65	101.03 %	Details »
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Middlesex v Derbyshire (11:00BST)	1.80	2.20	101.01 %	Details »
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Worcestershire v Essex (11:00BST)	2.00	1.90	102.38 %	Details »

I'm going for two this week. Hopefully they can get it done quickly because as it stands the weather looks a bit wet on Monday. 10pts Sussex to beat Durham 5/6 Stan James Sussex come into this match in 2nd place in the table having won one and drawn four of their 5 matches. Durham haven't had such a good start and lie 2nd from bottom coming in here with a win, a draw and a defeat from their 3 matches although they did thrash Yorkshire last time out. Matt Prior and Phil Mustard will face each other on the day the England ODI squad is announced with it being widely tipped Prior will replace Mustard. Sussex are at full strength ahead of this match. Mushtaq Ahmed is back and among the wickets while Luke Wright and Matt Prior are both available and will be hoping for good news from the England selectors during the match. Murray Goodwin is also available for the Sharks and Corey Collymore makes his home debut in the Championship. Durham will be without Graham Onions who has a heel injury. Callum Thorp will continue to deputise for him. Will Smith comes in for Kyle Coetzer who has struggled so far this season. Steve Harmison is fit for Durham but Liam Plunkett is still coming back to full fitness. Paul Collingwood hasn't been giving permission to play. Sussex are a decent 4 day side who are tough to beat at home. They line up well with a good attack and a superb spinner in Mushy. Durham come here without a decent spinner and that could be crucial. Sussex are the form team and I'll take them to win here. 10pts Essex to beat Worcestershire 10/11 Coral Essex travel to New Road 3rd in the table with 2 wins and a draw from their 4 matches. They would've been unbeaten if they didn't fall foul of setting up a game against Derbyshire. Worcester have played 4 in the Championship and have drawn all 4 after their relegation from Division 1 last season. Worcestershire are at full strength ahead of this game. Kabir Ali is fit again and is in the squad as is Simon Jones. Gareth Andrew could make way if Chris Whelan is selected. Graeme Hick is back with the bat which strengthens a batting lineup which is a tad inexperienced. Gareth Batty was a doubt but is expected to play. Essex have added Maurice Chambers to their squad and he'll play if the conditions at New Road are seamer friendly. Danish Kaneria is in the Essex side and he is already among the wickets since his arrival. Ravi Bopara is in great touch with the bat and David Masters is bowling as well as ever. Alastair Cook hasn't been released by England. Worcestershire have a good bowling unit but their batting is one quality batsman short for me. Essex bat a long way down and they will have lots of bowling options here too with Bopara and ten Doeschate playing. They're the better side and with Gallian the top run scorer in county cricket this season playing I'll take Essex to come away with the win here.

[mdivenuto]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 10pts Sussex to beat Durham 5/6 Stan James Would love a Durham win but I think your spot on tipping Sussex. We have a dreadful record v Mushtaq, the only time I can recall Durham beating Sussex was at the end of last season when Naved Rana did his shoulder in. Got a pasting at Horsham at the start of last year, and twice the season before that. Mushtaq will get 8 wickets in the match at least, probably at an average of about 15.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Poor week this week. Both my bets lost inside 3 days so -20 for the week and back to +6.85pts for the season.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008

Friday 6 June 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Durham v Hampshire (11:00BST)	1.57	2.62	101.73 %	Details »
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Kent v Sussex (11:00BST)	2.00	2.00	100.00 %	Details »
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Lancashire v Nottinghamshire (11:00BST)	1.90	2.10	100.00 %	Details »
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Somerset v Yorkshire (11:00BST)	1.74	2.30	100.95 %	Details »

Friday 6 June 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Derbyshire v Worcestershire (11:00BST)	2.20	1.80	101.01 %	Details »
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Glamorgan v Warwickshire (11:00BST)	2.62	1.61	100.00 %	Details »
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Middlesex v Essex (11:00BST)	2.05	1.85	102.83 %	Details »
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Northamptonshire v Gloucestershire (11:00BST)	1.78	2.20	101.63 %	Details »

Hoping for a better week than last week. I'm going for one in each division. Note that the Somerset match actually begins at 12pm not 11am as Somerset were given an extra hour to recover from their FP match earlier. 10pts Somerset to beat Yorkshire 8/11 Stan James Somerset come into this match top of the table but will be a bit low after losing their FP Trophy quarter final yesterday. Yorkshire won their quarter final at Bristol on Wednesday but come here with only one win to their name in the 4 day competition and carrying a few injuries. Somerset continue to be without Andy Caddick and Peter Trego is set to miss out as well but Somerset are still full of riches with their bowling. Charl Willoughby is bowling well as is Ben Phillips and Steffan Jones backs them up well. Ian Blackwell provides a spin option. Naturally though, at Taunton it's the batting which is in the spotlight and with Trescothick and Langer in excellent form as well as Blackwell, Somerset have all angles covered. Yorkshire will be without their captain Darren Gough who aggravated a back problem at Bristol on Wednesday. Anthony McGrath will skipper the side. Yorkshire are also without Rana Naved and Deon Kruis but Matthew Hoggard is fit. Scott Patterson may join him and Bresnan in the seam attack. Adil Rashid offers a spin option. Yorkshire aren't the strongest with the bat though with Rashid coming in at 6 but they have a couple of all rounders in Bresnan and Pyrah who try to make up for that. Somerset are the stronger side. If Yorkshire can't bowl out a weak Lancashire batting lineup at Headingley they're sure to struggle to bowl out Somerset at Taunton. Somerset are in good form while Yorkshire appear to be targetting the one day game in Gough's last season so I think Somerset will win here. 10pts Northamptonshire to beat Gloucestershire 5/6 Bet365 Northants come into this match fresh having not had an FP match in midweek and resting most of their players last weekend when they took on the Kiwis. Gloucestershire are the only side in the 2nd division yet to win a match in this competition and come into this having lost their FP quarter final on Wednesday. Northants are back to full strength for this match. Nicky Boje skippers the side while Lance Klusener has recovered from injury to play. Fellow South African's Johann Louw, Andrew Hall and Johan van der Wath are all likely to play. David Sales will carry the batting although wicket keeper Niall O'Brien is in excellent form at the minute. Gloucestershire have a doubt over their captain Jon Lewis. It seems likely he won't be risked with the twenty20 beginning next week. Alex Gidman will skipper the side in his absence. Carl Greenidge or Will Rudge will replace Lewis if he's not passed fit. Gloucestershire's batting is struggling a bit, especially up top and they need their lower middle order and tail to rescue them which will only happen so many times. Without Lewis they are much more toothless with the ball too. This four day competition doesn't suit Gloucestershire while Northants seem to have a perfect blend. It's been very dry down here the last couple of days which should suit their spinners and Northants really should beat a struggling Gloucestershire on home ground.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 A good looking day turned into a massively frustrating one. Northants chased down 280 odd without much fuss and Somerset looked like they'd chased down 320 odd but stumbled and lost 2 wickets in 2 balls with 4 overs left to lose. -1.67 for the week and back to +5.18 for the competition. The Championship now takes a 3 week break for the twenty20.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 The twenty20 spell is over now and the Championship returns tomorrow and runs right through to the end of the season now. Full fixture list this week.

Sunday 29 June 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Hampshire v Nottinghamshire (11:00BST)	2.12	1.85	101.22 %	Details »
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Surrey v Kent (11:00BST)	1.90	2.05	101.16 %	Details »
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Sussex v Lancashire (11:00BST)	2.00	1.95	101.22 %	Details »
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Yorkshire v Durham (11:00BST)	2.05	1.90	101.16 %	Details »

Sunday 29 June 2008	Home	Away	bookmakers margin on the event. However, they do not take account of commissions that may be charged.">BPP
Essex v Derbyshire (11:00BST)	1.61	2.50	101.90 %	Details »
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Leicestershire v Worcestershire (11:00BST)	1.85	2.10	101.67 %	Details »
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Middlesex v Northamptonshire (11:00BST)	1.85	2.10	101.67 %	Details »
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Warwickshire v Gloucestershire (11:00BST)	1.66	2.50	100.00 %	Details »

I'm going with 2 on the resumption. 10pts Hampshire to beat Nottinghamshire (DNB) 11/10 Ladbrokes Both these sides come into this match having suffered disappointment on the last night of the twenty20 group stages. Both sides lost knockout matches meaning neither will be taking their place in the quarter final. 4 day cricket is now the focus. Nottinghamshire were going well before the break while Hampshire just struggled a bit but got a much needed win over Durham. Hampshire will have John Crawley back for this match. Michael Brown and Michael Carberry will go back to opening the innings. James Adams will come into the side while Dimitri Mascarenhas will resume the captaincy of the side having left Nic Pothas is charge during the twenty20 while he was on international duty. Chris Tremlett also plays here and Nantie Hayward will make his 4 day debut for the Hawks. James Tomlinson is likely to replace Billy Taylor. Notts will be without their England pace duo of Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad after England refused them permission to play. Darren Pattinson and Charlie Shreck will lead an attack which will include Graeme Swann. The Outlaws' batting hasn't been up to much so far this season but Mark Wagh will come into the side again for the 4 day games while Adam Voges continues to fill in for David Hussey as overseas player. Hampshire have played some decent cricket in the last few weeks and the main thing is they are scoring runs. Pitches at the Rose Bowl are pretty good these days which helps that. Hampshire's bowling attack matches up with most now and with Notts losing a few matches recently I'll take the home side to win here. 10pts Kent to beat Surrey (DNB) Evs Betfred The bottom two sides meet at The Oval here although neither will be too concerned with their league position just yet with only 19pts separating top to bottom and still over half the season to play. Both sides had differing twenty20 periods, Kent made a meal of qualifying but eventually did so while Surrey were never in the qualifying mix. Surrey will be without Mark Butcher who is still coming back from surgery. Chris Schofield may well play while Abdul Razzaq makes his 1st class debut for the Brown Caps. Mark Ramprakash - still looking for that elusive 100th 100 will captain the side. Pedro Collins, Chris Jordan and Jimmy Ormond are likely to return. James Benning may miss out again. Kent will continue to be without Simon Cook for this match although he's not played too much four day cricket anyway. Robbie Joseph and Martin Saggers are pushing for recalls. Rob Key will captain the team with Joe Denly his opening partner. Kent will be at full strength other than the Cook injury. I think this is the competition Surrey will do the best in. I still think they'll be in the title mix but they will miss Butcher. I'm still not sure about Mark Ramprakash as a captain. I like Key as a captain and as his side are settled and at full strength I think they'll go into their FP semi final next weekend with a win here.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Sussex vs Lancashire is live on Sky this week and the usual live markets are up so I'll go with a 1st inns top bat in that match. 5pts ew M.Prior Top Sussex Batsman (1st Inns Only) 6/1 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3) Matthew Prior has been in top form with the bat for Sussex in the Championship this summer and with Tim Ambrose not being able to buy a run and making a few catching cockups recently all eyes will be on him to see if he can give the selectors a nudge going into the South Africa series. Prior has 616 runs in the Championship this season at an average of 68.44 and he has hit 4 half centuries and 3 centuries. Those knocks have come from just 10 innings so he's clearly in good form. He wasn't too bad in the twenty20 either where he kept his eye in and with the cameras on him this week I'd expect him to go well and given the stats, 6/1 looks an excellent ew bet.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: County Championship 2008 Strange 1st day for me really. Prior came 3rd so he placed which was good. Hampshire haven't posted a huge 1st innings score but it could still be enough to lead while on a decent deck at The Oval, Kent haven't let Surrey get away from them. I'm sure it will develop more on day 2 but I'm hopeful we'll end the week in profit.