Australia Lose to Zimbabwe
I can’t take the credit for this, I read it on another site but I love it so much I had to post it after I mentioned their new kit the other day…
Mastercard on the prowl for Cricket Australia sponsorship contract!
The new 20-20 cricket wardrobe of Aussies!!
Cricket Australia’s yellow-grey Cap: $ 25
Grey inner vest by Adidas: $ 75
Cricket Australia’s all new sleeveless yellow-grey shirt: $ 69
New yellow-grey trousers: $ 80
Adidas Cricket shoes: $ 195
The look on Australian Captain’s face after losing to Zimbabwe: PRICELESS
THERE ARE SOMETHINGS MONEY CAN’T BUY (LIKE THE LOOK ON PONTING’S FACE)…
FOR EVERYTHING ELSE, THERE IS MASTERCARD !!!!!
World Twenty20 Betting… Or Not
It might be nearing the end of the season here in England but the news and events going on are thick and fast at the moment! Not only does the World Twenty20 start tomorrow, but today they also announced the next round of central contracts and the touring party for the one dayers to Sri Lanka!
However, with the World Twenty20 starting in earnest tomorrow afternoon I had to come with my view on the tournament from a betting perspective after my previous successes! Although having said that I am now going to proceed to sit on the fence I think due to the uncertainty over the form in this flavour of the game!
Australia are, as always, the favourites, but they havn’t done so well in the warm up to the first game. I still think they’ll probably win it mind, but at the pathetic odds offered on them there doesn’t seem much point. So much can happen in a couple of games here to knock them out and early on I don’t see betting on them as the cleverest thing to do. One team that catch my eye are Sri Lanka - at only fourth favourites and with some real match winners in their team I can see them doing well in this form of the game.
I said there isn’t much form to go on with this, and that is because since Twenty20 has been played, there have been only 19 international matches played, with a variety of players in each of the teams. Pakistan actually have the best record so far, and Australia have only won 2 of the 5 games they’ve played. You can say anything with stats though - chuck the players out there and just see what happens if you ask me!
Right, that was suitably vague… I’m off to stick a couple of quid on Sri Lanka now though! (Just don’t blame me when they don’t win!)
Australian World Twenty20 Kit
I’ve been sitting on this post for a while since I saw the “interesting” kit that the Aussies will be wearing in the World Twenty20, but now the tournament is nearly here I better talk about it!
If you havn’t seen it yet, it is basically a cricket shirt without the sleeves. Yes, it looks ridiculous! In addition to this sleeveless top, the players will also be wearing a base layer shirt in grey, so the whole thing looks like a mish mash really. If you want to take a look, I suggest you go to this link.
The ICC don’t allow advertising or even the make of the kit on the front of any shirt during the official tournaments, and this kit also gives Adidas much greater exposure. Call me a cynic if you like but I bet this had a big part to play when they decided to wear this kit but at least it gives us a chance to laugh at them! Its just not cricket!
For a preview of the groups, teams and potential stars, the best I’ve read is by David Lloyd who gives a good overview. Go take a read of it at the SkySports site. And look forward to the tournament starting Tuesday!
England in One Day Series Winning Shocker
Despite being potentially a great close finale to a one day series, England blew India out of the water at Lords yesterday and one the series 4-3.
It was a great performance from the England team, and despite a dodgy decision which meant the end of Sachin’s summer in England, it was a well deserved victory and was a good result for an England team most definitely on the right track.
We look so much better with Freddie in the team and being able to bowl first change – but his fitness is not right and he was just “getting through†the game. Whether he’ll make it to the World Twenty20 or not is not confirmed yet, and if he’s going to miss a tournament then this is the one to do. Get yourself right Freddie for the winter in Sri Lanka and New Zealand as we’ll need you more there. However, if he goes, the fact that they are only short games will help.
So the English summer of cricket is over – but we have only a couple of days before the winter of cricket starts with the World Twenty20 competition in South Africa. England havn’t had a bad summer – but it has been hit by injuries and we havn’t always played our best cricket. Still, lets look forward now to the winter and get the fire on!
One Day Series Finale
Its been a while since we can say the last game of a one day series involving England will be good viewing, but thats exactly what tomorrow should be. England and India have shown at different times during the series why they are potentially good one day sides, but the incosistency is always a problem with these two.
The game at the Oval the other day was a real cracker, and although it will take some game to match that one, tomorrow has the makings of a great game. The bookies can’t split them at the moment, and I agree - flip a coin and that will tell you who will win if you ask me!
Luke Wright played very well on debut at the oval and he should stay in the team - although I’d like to see him bowl a bit in this game as well as that is another part of this promising youngsters game. England still go into a game though not knowing their best 11 which has been a problem for a while, but we’ve managed to go into this game drawing the series so I won’t moan too much!
Its going to be a day of sport with England teams playing cricket, football and rugby all at the same time so it could be a sport maniac’s perfect day! The first Saturday after the end of my cricket season - at least I won’t have nothing to do!
World Twenty20 News
I’ve not been able to talk much about the upcoming World Twenty20 taking place in South Africa in September. There has been plenty of news from around the countries but time constraints have meant a lack of coverage here! I’ll try and wrap up the most interesting bits so far now.
We’ll start with the hosts South Africa as there is quite a story to tell here! They left out Jacques Kallis, the finest all rounder in the world, believing he scores too slowly in the shorter forms of the game. He was getting stick around the time of the World Cup in the West Indies, but he should still be in the squad if you ask me. And then when Mark Boucher stood up for his mate, he got severely reprimanded as well! Cricket politics are never the most straight forward in South Africa so I won’t go too deep into it – and they still have the players who can make a big impact in the game such as Smith, Ntini and the like.
Australia have lost Shaun Tait through injury, but Brett Lee comes back – so that’s one step back and three forward then! If the Aussies don’t win the cup then blow me over and call me Maria. Although of the countries taking part they don’t have the most experience in this form of the game, I’m going with the “best players will adapt” thinking here.
Murali will be missing for Sri Lanka which will be a huge huge blow to their chances of winning, although they will still be in the reckoning if they play as well as they did in the West Indies. Jayasuriya could be the real key to the way they start games with the bat and set them off to some good targets.
England might as well not bother going such is the chance we have of winning with some journeymen county cricketers. If we win, I really will eat my hat. I can’t bear to talk about our team anymore so I won’t. Not even the one-day resurgence against India makes me more positive about our chances in South Africa.
I heard in the news in the past couple of days that the organisers were planning to make sure they didn’t make the same mistakes as the “Real” World Cup organisers did. Well they’ve got a headstart as the tournament only lasts a couple of weeks, and dull and one-sided games will be less than half as long as the routs in the West Indies! They also plan to let plenty of people into the large stadiums, with tickets apparently going for as little as £1.38 – now if that doesn’t get the grounds full I don’t know what will!
Right, there’s a headstart on what has been happening, for the latest up to date news from all the main sources in the world, check out the World Twenty20 page at Live Cricket Updates! Just before the start of the tournament I’ll also come back with a view of the tournament from a betting point of view – those who have read for a while will know I’ve been doing ok in this recently!
