Cricket: Natwest Pro40 2008

[kevshat]

The final domestic one day competition begins on Tuesday. As last year the Pro40 is split into 2 divisions with the bottom two sides of Division 1 at the end of the season being relegated and the top 2 from Division 2 being promoted. The 7th placed side in Division 1 will play the 3rd placed side in Division 2 in a playoff at the end of the season. Every team plays each other once with the usual scoring system of 2pts for a win, 1pt for a tie/no result and nothing for losing. Any ties on points at the end of the season are separated on net run rate (NRR). Each match is 40 overs per team (weather permitting) and there are fielding restrictions for the 1st 15 overs. Division 1 odds:

	Lancashire	4.5	4.5	4.9	4.5	5	4.5	5	5	4.5	4.5	6	4.5	4.5	5.2	5.3
	Durham	6	5.5	5.7	6	6.5	6	5	6	6	5.5	5.5	5	5.5	6	4
	Somerset	6.5	6	6.1	6	6	6	6.5	6	6	6	5.5	6	6.5	6.4	6
	Nottinghamshire	6.5	7.5	6.2	7	6	6	7	6	6.5	7.5	8	6.5	6	6.6	6
	Sussex	9	9	8	7	7	8.5	8	9	8.5	9	7.5	8	8	8.5	9
	Worcestershire	10	7.5	8.9	7.5	7.5	10	8	8	8.5	7.5	11	7.5	9	9.5	8
	Middlesex	11	9	12	11	13	12	9	10	11	9	8	9	13	13	10
	Hampshire	10	13	13	11	11	11	11	11	11	13	10	10	11	14	12
	Gloucestershire	12	15	13	11	11	11	15	10	11	15	11	11	11	14	10

Division 2 odds:

	Kent	5	5	4.8	5	5.5	5.5	4.5	5	5	5	4.5	5	5	5	5
	Surrey	6	5	4.9	4.5	4.5	4.5	6	5.5	5.5	5	7	5	4	5.2	5.5
	Essex	6	5	6.2	6	7	6	5	6	5.5	5	5.5	5.5	6.5	6.6	6.2
	Northamptonshire	6	7	7.1	7	7	6.5	7	7	7	7	5.5	6	7	7.5	7
	Yorkshire	6.5	7	7.6	7	7	7.5	6.5	7	7.5	7	8	6.5	7	8	7
	Warwickshire	10	9	8.5	8	8	8	8	8	9	9	7.5	9	9	9	8
	Derbyshire	11	13	10	9	9	11	13	9	10	13	13	10	9	11	9
	Leicestershire	11	13	11	9	9	13	13	11	11	13	13	11	9	12	11
	Glamorgan	17	21	24	21	21	17	26	26	19	21	21	17	17	26	26
Place terms		3 1/5	3 1/5		3 1/5	3 1/5	3 1/4		3 1/4	3 1/5	3 1/5	3 1/5

[kevshat]

Re: Cricket: Natwest Pro40 2008 I'm going with 2 outrights. One in each division. 2pts ew Middlesex to win Division 1 12/1 William Hill (1/5 1,2,3) Middlesex have had an excellent one day season. They were unlucky not to qualify from the South East Group of the Friends Provident Trophy having only finished 1pt behind Essex and 3pts behind Kent. Those two sides are going to compete in the final of that competition in August. They then easily won the South Group of the twenty20 and made it through to finals day. With Hampshire getting 2pts more than any other 4th placed side Middlesex can claim they won the hardest group. So having played good one day cricket this year there is no reason at all why the Crusaders should be 12/1. They've got everything they need to succeed in one day cricket. They have a good batting lineup, a decent seam attack and 2 very good spinners. They have a good blend of youth and experience and even the loss of Owais Shah won't be a huge loss because Andrew Strauss will return. Shah will only miss 3 matches anyway. Dawid Malan, Billy Godleman, Steven Finn, Gareth Berg and Danny Evans are all good youngsters who have proved themselves this season and they blend well with the experience of Ed Joyce, Ed Smith, Tim Murtagh, Murali Kartik and Shaun Udal. This 1st division is wide open with there not being a really solid side in it. Middlesex have shown they go well in one day cricket and they've shown by winning the playoff last year and by their twenty20 run that they can handle pressure and come the end of the season I expect the Crusaders to be right in the title mix. 5pts ew Essex to win Division 2 11/2 William Hill (1/5 1,2,3) Essex were relegated into the 2nd division in this last season but before then they were champions of this tournament for two successive seasons. Everything went against them last season. Their captain Ronnie Irani retired and key batsman Andy Flower decided to retire can become a coach. They also lost Darren Gough from their bowling attack. They have bounced back from that this season though. They've made the final of the Friends Provident and will be at finals day of the twenty20. Under new head coach Paul Grayson they have come up with good ideas in one day cricket and are playing really well. In Ravi Bopara they have one of the most in form players in the country and the way the fixtures have fallen he'll only miss one match while on England duty. Graham Napier is the talk of the cricketing fraternity right now and the likes of Mark Pettini, James Foster and Ryan ten Doeschate can give it a whack. Jason Gallian and Grant Flower offer solidity to the batting. Danish Kaneria will be tough to get away in the latter stages of the season while David Masters is one of the most economical bowlers out there. Essex have one of the best one day sides in the country and I'm certain their stay in the 2nd division will purely be a one season thing. This is a tough division with the likes of Kent, Northants, Yorkshire and Warwickshire enjoying good seasons but Essex, probably along with Kent are a class apart in this league and will be right there when the title is decided.