Cricket: Twenty20 Cup 2008

[kevshat]

The best competition on the domestic scene begins in a little under 48 hours so it's time to get the thread started. Unfortunately I can't post the odds up in here so to see the outright odds for the tournament see here: http://odds-comparison.bestbetting.com/cricket/england-domestic/twenty20-cup/winner. Anyone betting outright should think about using Totesport as they pay 4 places each way. The format for this years competition is almost the same as last year. The only difference is that each team plays the other 5 teams in it's group twice as opposed to recent seasons when teams have only had 8 matches. The 18 counties are split into 3 groups. North Group: (odds here:http://odds-comparison.bestbetting.com/cricket/england-domestic/twenty20-cup/north-division/winner) Lancashire Leicestershire Derbyshire Durham Nottinghamshire Yorkshire South Group: (odds here:http://odds-comparison.bestbetting.com/cricket/england-domestic/twenty20-cup/south-division/winner) Surrey Essex Kent Hampshire Sussex Middlesex Mid/Wales/West Group: (odds here:http://odds-comparison.bestbetting.com/cricket/england-domestic/twenty20-cup/mid-wales-west-division/winner) Somerset Northants Worcestershire Gloucestershire Glamorgan Wawickshire The top 2 in each group go through along with the two best 3rd placed teams. The two finalists will play in the much talked about Champions League in October for a potential $5m. Finals day this year is at Hampshire's Rose Bowl. As usual I'm going with 3 teams outright, one from each group and I'll back them to win each group. It looks wide open to me this year so I'm going to use the 1/4 1,2,3,4 at Totesport for the outright. Having backed the winner of this competition for the last 3 years, here's hoping one of them can make it 4! 2pts ew Leicestershire to win Twenty20 16/1 Totesport 1pt Leicestershire to win North Group 7/1 Bet365 Leicestershire have won this competition twice in it's short history and they were extremely unlucky last year when they were among the worst hit from the bad weather. Critics and doubters of the Foxes say Darren Maddy was vital to their success and while I agree to an extent that doesn't mean to say the current side can't win this for a 3rd time. Leicestershire always focus on twenty20 and that's a lot of the job done. They appear to have signed for this competition too having brought in Dillon Du Preez, a twenty20 specialist. HD Ackerman continues to be the key and if he can churn out runs at the top of the innings and the likes of Dippenaar, Snape, Allenby and Nixon can score solidly Leicestershire will go close. Garnett Kruger and Nadeem Malik take wickets with the new ball and Du Preez and Allenby can be hard to score off while Snape and Henderson provide the spin. Jeremy Snape provides a good outlook on twenty20 and was part of the coaching staff for the Rajasthan Royals who recently won the IPL. Grace Road is a tough tough place to win at, especially in this competition when the ground is full and everything is there for the Foxes to have a real tilt at the cup again. 2pts ew Northants to win Twenty20 Cup 16/1 Totesport 1pt Northants to win Mid/Wales/West Group 6/1 Paddy Power Northants have filled their side with good twenty20 players and they have everything they need for a tilt at the title. Andrew Hall has proved with his spells in county cricket for Worcestershire and Kent that he can be a very effective twenty20 player whilst overseas player Johann Louw showed when he was last at Northants how economical he can be with the ball. With Nicky Boje and Jason Brown bowling spin, as well as the option of Monty Panesar who isn't on England duty Northants can be very tight with the ball. Lance Klusener is the eye opener with the bat and even though he's got a slight niggle he will still be dynamite with the bat. David Sales is a good batsman too as are the keepers Niall O'Brien and Riki Wessels. Hall, Boje, van der Wath and Louw can all strike a big ball so Northants look a side with every chance. Their group looks very weak with Glamorgan and Warwickshire potential cannon fodder and Worcestershire looking a player or two light and so Northants have every chance of going all the way this season. 2pts ew Hampshire to win Twenty20 Cup 18/1 Totesport 1pt Hampshire to win South Group 7/1 Bet365 As a Hampshire fan I usually disregard this competition from a Hawks point of view because in the past we've not really taken it seriously and have a poor record in the event. This year though, with finals day being at Hampshire's ground the policy of playing the kids has been thrown in the bin. Shane Watson was signed for the Twenty20 but Australia commitments have ruled him out so Ian Harvey has been signed as overseas player. Most would think with Kevin Pietersen, Mascarenhas and Tremlett all missing for most of the group stage being on England duty that we've no chance but that's not necessarily true. Hawks have signed Rory Kleinveldt and Nantie Hayward as kolpaks to cover the loss. Of what's left well I expect Harvey will open with Michael Lumb who is well suited to this form of the game. Sean Ervine will bat 3 and he's hitting the ball very well. Crawley, Benham and Carberry will form the middle order with Pothas behind them. With the ball, Kleinveldt and Harvey come with economical figures while Ervine, Hayward and Taylor can take wickets and with the youngsters in the squad having had experience of this competition we can cover a few injuries. Getting through the group will be the key for Hampshire because after that, KP, Dimi and Tremlett will be back for the knockout stages which I think will give Hampshire every chance of winning this tournament with the assurance they are taking it seriously. There's plenty of specials markets about which I'll take a look at and come back with in due course along with the match betting as we go along.

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Twenty20 Cup 2008 Ok I'm going to go for a couple of top bats and an overall top bat before the competition starts. Both Stan James and Totesport offer top team tournament batsmen but Totesport only choose 4 players so I'm going there with my 3. 2pts R.ten Doeschate Top Essex Twenty20 Batsman 11/4 Totesport Market includes M.Pettini, J.Gallian & J.Foster. Ryan ten Doeschate is having a decent one day season with the bat and he could be the one in this Essex lineup to flourish without Ravi Bopara. He's an aggressive batsman who naturally hits the ball hard and when he's in form there's very few boundaries which are big enough for him, especially his home ground of Chelmsford. Mark Pettini has been very hit and miss this season and the burden of captaincy in twenty20 may not help his batting. Jason Gallian's natural game isn't really suited to twenty20 and he could easily get bogged down and James Foster would bat below ten Doeschate so if the all rounder bats to his potential, Foster shouldn't be a factor. Therefore I like the 11/4 on the Dutch all rounder. 2pts S.Ervine Top Hampshire Twenty20 Batsman 5/2 Totesport Market includes M.Lumb, M.Carberry and C.Benham. As a Hampshire fan I've seen the Hawks a few times this season already and I believe that Sean Ervine is hitting the ball as well as he's ever done for us and I include the 2005 season in that when his centuries in the semi and final won us the C&G Trophy. He has a habit of getting a start and giving someone a catch but that can't go on forever and the emphasis of hitting over the top in the 1st 6 overs is perfect for the Zimbabwean. He'll bat at 3 in this tournament I think which would mean he'll bat ahead of Carberry and Benham assuming Harvey opens with Lumb. Lumb is a quality player in his own right who could go well but he might just have to play 2nd fiddle to Harvey at the top of the order which could give Ervine the edge and knowing how he's hitting the ball I'll take him to top score from these 4 Hawks. 2pts C.Spearman Top Gloucestershire Twenty20 Batsman 9/4 Totesport Market includes H.Marshall, A.Gidman and M.North. Craig Spearman was Gloucestershire's best batsman by a long way in their Friends Provident campaign earlier in the season and he's perfectly suited to twenty20. He hits the ball a long way and more importantly he opens so he's there during the powerplay overs. He's generally having a good season and I can't see the others coming close to him really. Hamish Marshall's season has been like his brothers test series against England - a disaster! Marcus North has shown glimpses of something but very rarely and while Alex Gidman is a cricketer I'm a massive fan of, batting at 4 or 5 won't help his chances of big scoring. Spearman gets Gloucestershire off to a good start and looks a good bet from this 4. 2pts S.Patel Top Nottinghamshire Twenty20 Batsman 13/8 Totesport Market includes G.Swann, M.Wagh and C.Read. Samit Patel is a very good one day cricketer. He's a decent bowler as well as a batsman but it's his batting we're concentrating on here. His performances in the twenty20 last season had some talking about him maybe being in the England side but that didn't materialise. Patel's had a good Friends Provident campaign and looks to be the best option of these 4. Graeme Swann is on England duty so will only play in the knockout stages of the competition if Notts get there as Notts don't play in the 1st round of matches. Mark Wagh is more an accumulator of runs than a big hitter and while Chris Read could be a danger, Patel should get lots more time at the crease and the burden of captaincy could hold Read back. Patel's a decent cricketer and I like him to be these 3 team mates. 1pt ew S.Ervine Top Tournament Batsman 66/1 Stan James (1/4 1,2,3,4,5) Echoing what I've said above really. If Hampshire go all the way or at least to finals day then I can't see Ervine being too far away. If he keeps hitting the ball well he could run free and at 66/1 is a no brainer and well worth a minimum stake.