Like picking Dead Man's Cherries

Of course I want the bat - or more precisely the Sweaty Robinson World Cup Trophy of Winningness!  Its been fun playing with all of you.  Looking forward to the next one!

Congratulations Anna

Just like your namesake, you may have been knocked out early but you made a miraculous recovery!! In stead of the bat I did find this lovely Cricket Seagull we could have inscribed:
Of course if you would rather have the bat, James said he'll get the plaque updated and pass it on.

The Brown Sugar Squares held onto second while the 4Bs, much like the Kiwis, did in fact get Doosrahed! If you want to check out the final standings, log into cricket web and look on the right. Click on "World Cup 2015" under "Recently Archived Teams", then scroll ALL the way to the very bottom and you will see a link to "Robinson Cricketers Rout"

New Zealand did not show themselves like they had for the rest of the tournament, a bit disapointing. McCullum went out for a duck on the fifth ball and that kinda set the stage. Elliot hung in for 83 but no one else could get anything of note going. 3 wicket hauls to both Johnson and Faulkner running New Zealand all out after 45 overs with only 183 runs to show for it. When Finch went out for a duck in the second over I am sure that New Zealnd thought maybe they could pull it out but no. Australia chased them down in 33.1 overs using up only 3 wickets. Well Done Australia

Thank you all for playing with me, its always a lot of fun. Next March the World Twenty20 tournament will be in India, who's in??

Its Finals Time

If you haven't been paying attention Australia managed to beat India ruining my bowler plans. Australia batted first and put up 328, 105 coming from Smith, with a 4 wicket haul to Yadav. India just couldn't get a good partnership going. Kohli went out with only 1 run, and Raina only got 7. Dohni had the highest with 65 but in the end they went all out after 46.5 overs and 95 runs short. Well done Australia.

So it will be New Zealand and Australia in the finals tonight. Can the little brothers show the big brothers up? Will Australia remind New Zealand why they are considered the little brothers in the first place? I am hoping for a nail-biter that goes down to the wire, even though I won't be able to watch I will be checking in with the commentary on cricinfo.

So how about us? Cricketing Seagull is in first but the Brown Sugar Squares have gone dark. Word of caution mother - eating See's in the dark is not a good idea, I've tried, it doesn't make for a very good movie snack. But, best of luck to you in hunting down your oldest. Barnett's Ball Breaking Batsmen had better watch out, my bowlers are using the Doosra, you will be left confused. The HooNus partook in to much reveling to soon, its hard to sustain that kind of revel, will they be caught by the Kailua Katchers? The Anit-Pivots have also gone dark. I'm not sure their political statements will shine through the dark but The Chartham Stikers just might be carrying a flashlight. Hartless has no hart for the Nagelators, meanwhile the Nagelators have gone dark constructing an eliminator to scrape the dark PaulpaulpaulpaulTeamPaul from their shoe. HAve you every noticed that the more you write the name Paul the funnier it looks? And Team? Well, Team is just boring so they belong on the bottom - Sweaty Teddy to them.

Good Luck tonight folks.

Going dark claims another victim

Sorry Moira.  And watch out Mom.  You are taking a chance!

Final Stretch!

And then there were two. New Zealand was able to knock out South Africa - sorry Robinsons and Tucks (I admit to cheering for NZ but i was purely due to who I had on my team, nothing against the proteas) Anyway, that game had some rain delay issues and then finished in a limited over fashion. South Africa had a great opening inning putting up 281 from 43 overs but NZ just got the better of them in the end. So who will New Zealand face next? Will it be India? They have been storming their way through this tournament, undefeated. Or will it be Australia? They certainly have history on their side and a nice home court advantage.

500 points currently separates 5th from 1st. 5 people within 500 - lots of juggling can still happen, so long as we don't all choose the same 11. SO, who are you going to throw your trade to? How will you make yourself stand out? Michael has settled into the sweaty teddy role for sure but the spots just above him are still in play, so give it your all folks, TWO MORE GAMES!

You can't crack a coconut if you're a dead anchovy

A fall from grace........

or more like a fall from reveling? Moira has seen the power of one choice in the game we call Fantasy Cricket. But there are still 3 games left, three opportunities to make the inspired choice, three chances for glory, three more stabs at improving your place. So, don't lose hope, you all can do it, whatever it is. For me? Well, I have been mucking around in this top group, I'd like to soar past a few of them. Let's see what I can do today.

New Zealand will be playing South Africa - sure wish I could watch this one, it should be a goodun'

Then on Thursday (well wed. night for me) Australia will battle India - another epic game I wish I could see. Michael was trying to find away for us to watch. And he found one, it involved $40 and watching the game on my phone............no thanks, I can't even imagine the eyestrain from watching 8 hours on my phone.

The winner of those two matches will battle it out in the Final on Sunday (Saturday night). I think the top 4 teams are all well deserving of their spots and I suspect 3 nail biting matches ahead. I still predict New Zealand / India in the final and I will further predict New Zealand take the title. As for us? Its to close to predict, anything can happen.

Have fun!

What happened?

Guptill happened.  And the Thunder Boult!

Keep on the sunny side....

I've learned my lesson

Going dark is clearly NOT the way to go. I have fallen to 5th now behind my Mom and my brother. Well no more, no more I say. Today is my day, I am off to great places, and will I succeed? Yes, I will indeed (98 3/4% guaranteed)! Kathy Hart also had a late surge ahead of Paul - are any of those folks even playing??

Australia has earned their spot in the semi finals against India. They beat Pakistan by 6 wickets with 97 balls remaining. Pakistan put up 213 with no major batting standouts and then it only took Australia 33.5 overs to chase it down. 4 wicket haul to Hazelwood, anyone pick Hazelwood?? I think he had like 50 total points before yesterday. Well done if you did, I did not. In Australian batting news, Smith got 65 and 64 not out to Watson.

Tonight is the last quarter final with New Zealand taking on the West Indies.

Side note: I was just reading that the New Zealand team was at a fan event posing for "selfies" with folks. Here's my question, is it really a selfie if you pose with someone else? I'm just asking. Paul? Any sage advice? I figure right now half of our crew are saying to themselves, "what's a selfie??" To them I say, "google it" and now they are all saying, "how do I google again??"

Happy Birthday Missy!

and while we wish you the happiest of days, we will not go easy on you in the cricket - I am sure you would settle for nothing less. So.... India beat Bangladesh, this is not a surprise but Bangladesh did conduct themselves quite well in the opening inning of the match and so it wasn't quite a cake walk for India. To quote cricinfo: "And the first innings finally comes to a close with India getting themselves up to an imposing total of 302 for 6, not a bad feat considering how well the Bangladeshi bowlers pulled them back after their rather spirited start in the early overs. Rohit Sharma played an imperious 137 to guide India to a suitable position, with Suresh Raina providing the adequate foil with his 57-ball 65. The late-hitting of Ravindra Jadeja ensured India could just get over the line and post a 300-plus total in the end. " That was at the innings break. India polished off Bangladesh pretty quickly they went all out 109 runs short. Other people of note, 3 wicket haul for Ahmed and a 4 wicket haul to Yadav.

In our game, My Mom and I passed James (was that your gift to Mom James??) while everyone else remained stagnant. And while I was checking the game progress at midnight I looked at the teams around me to see who I should be shouting for and noticed that Anna and I had the EXACT SAME TEAM! Down to the captain. I will not go so far as to say that she copied me, but I did make my trades first, so............ Now that paranoia is starting to creep in, I may have to go dark. It's tough, the choices are limited this late in the game. what to do, what to do...................

Australia and Pakistan tonight. Will the Hawk take flight? Should we be Afridi? Will Clarke discover new territories? Is it Elementary my dear Watson? Or maybe its all a double helix........who knows, or is it HooNus?

The worm is wiggling

James Goes Dark

James has allowed paranoia to take over and did it help?? Oh I think not, not at all. It would seem that Sri Lanka also let a little paranoia set in. They changed around their starting line up, and did it help? Hell to the NO! They got beat by South Africa, and beat bad, very bad.

Sri Lanka batted first and were able to get nothing started, or finished for that matter. No one broke the 50 mark and only 2 guys even made it into the 40's. They went all out at 37.2 overs with a dismal total of 133. Hats off to South Africas bowlers, well done boys. 3 wicket haul for Duminy and a 4 wicket haul for Tahir. With such a small total to chase it is no surprise that South Africa reached it in spades. It only took them 18 overs and 3 batsmen to get the job done. 78 for de Kock. The sole wicket for Sri Lanka went to Malinga. So South Africa wins by 9 wickets and moves onto the semi finals, its been awhile for the Proteas, can they keep it going??

Tonight its Bangladesh against India, it will be a tough battle for Bangladesh but you just never know.

Here are some of my favorite quotes from the cricinfo match commentary of last nights game:

"yep, the Proteas choked all right," wheezes David. "Choked the life out of Sri Lanka"

"Evolution still happens - from Quinton De Choke to Quinton De Kock to Quinton De ROCK :)"

and finally one that seems especially appropriate for the fantasy player,

"Every wicket makes me happy and Every wicket makes me sad .. Ahhh cricket what have you done to me"

Lazy and negligent

So over the weekend I was all consumed by minecraft.I felt good, there were days to get a blog done before the next match.  plenty of time to talk smack.....well here we are hours before the first quarter final and I am at gymnastics again, blogging from my phone.  I had already taken notes on the last two matches, all ready to go for a recap for you.  but at this point, if you didn't bother to go look at the results, do you really care? So I will just press on.
Today south Africa will battle Sri Lanka. Next match up is Bangladesh and India.Then Australia take on Pakistan.  Finally new Zealand will go up against the west Indies. Looking it over I predict sa will move on with India. And Australia and New Zealand. Further I suspect it will be India, New Zealand in the finals. What are your predictions?
In other news, can anyone catch moira? Does anyone know how much it will cost me to ship the bat to sa? And what about the next 4 spots, it's a pretty tight race at the top.  should be some tense moments ahead. As for the bottom,I think we can say the lagging group will remain so, but who will get the coveted sweaty teddy??? So many questions yet to be answered.
Enjoy the cricket folks.

I think its time for a drinks break.

Man, that sure was a Doosra!

A surge is a surge no matter how small

From my phone

So the day wears on, no trades made, time to take the kids to gymnastics....what to do? I decided to see how smart this phone actually is. Just made all my trades on the phone, wipe brow that I got it done in time. Now I am attempting to write the blog on my phone while I wait. We'll see how it goes.
Yesterday new Zealand best Bangladesh in what was a really exciting match, or at least that what the headlines on cricinfo said. I think mahmudullah got like 147 but not enough.sorry that's all the details you get.the phone is good but it's no computer. Then England beat Afghanistan, thank God because they may not have been let back in the country if they had lost.
So two matches about to start, first it's India and zimbabwe then Australia and Scotland.any guesses who the favorites are? I don't think a win or lose makes a hill of beans for India, but Australia will want the win to make their finishing place a little stronger, although they go through no matter what.
Ok,I chock all typos up to autocorrect and all witty humor I take full responsibility. Chow

After today you all will be like, "man that sure was a Doosra!"

I'm looking to surge, so watch out! James and Anna are pulling away from me and its time I reined them in. And don't think we've forgotten about you Moira - I have you in my sights as well. Plus my Mother In Law is hot on my heels and I don't want to make this easy on her. Henry is still hanging in with the big kids and Paul is trying to Mind the Gap. In low end news, the Hart sisters have a fear of the sweaty teddy and have surpassed Michael. Michael actually said to me the other night, "when should I make trades?" Really? Like I'm going to help the likes of him.

In cricket news, India beat Ireland, Sri Lanka beat Scotland, and last night South Africa beat the UAE. (Side note question: If I want to start a sentence with de Villiers, do I capitalize the de??) Anyway......De Villiers was one shy of a century and Berhardien earned a half century with 64, and despite Naveed's 3 wickets South Africa put up 341 for the UAE to chase. But other than 57 from Patil, they couldn't manage to do much, going all out at 47.3 overs and 146 runs short. So, well done to all the big teams putting the little teams in their places.

Today is the start of 3 days of double headers. The last 3 days before the quarter finals. First up today is New Zealand and Bangladesh. Both of these teams are through to the quarter finals and NZ will top Pool A, but if Bangladesh could win it would move them ahead of Sri Lanka. Which would be good because they would probably avoid meeting India, which could be bad. The second game is England and Afghanistan. Both of these teams are headed home after this. But, there are still points to be had so don't hesitate to put them on you team. England will not want to face further shame by losing to Afghanistan and Afghanistan will want to show the world the associates deserve a seat at the table.

tata for now

Get off me!

Worm of Losingness for those not named Moira

Worm of Winningness

Bangladesh Knock England Out

Now that we have settled the sweaty teddy matter (see post below) back to the cricket. Last night Bangladesh beat England knocking them out of the quarter finals, and ensuring they themselves will move on. So the top 4 from Pool A are set, although what order they finish is not set yet. Moving on from Pool A are New Zealand, Australia, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. A special well done to Bangladesh as this is their first time to move out of the knock out stage in a world cup.

How'd they do it? Well they batted first and it was all about Mahmudullah (103) and Rahim (89). No One else did much but they didn't need to. The put up a total of 275 after the 50 overs. England couldn't get it together, Bell tried (63), Buttler tried(65), but it was not enough. They went all out 15 runs short. And a 4 wicket haul to R. Hossain.

More shuffling in our group, check the worm.

The Sweaty World Cup Teddy Bear of 12th Place-ness

So, this is the original post from back in the day when the bat and the bear first made their appearances. As to why the bear is sweaty? Still a mystery.

"Moira stuck to her guns for a solid 12 place finish and so earns the sweaty world cup teddy bear of 12th place-ness. Paul get the shirt of first place-ness. Missy came in second and has requested the third place prize of the hat coz she doesn't know what a cricket ball is and so, if that is ok with you Sarah, she wins the hat and you win the cricket ball.

Also, we bought a floating trophy of a signature cricket bat that will go to Paul as the winner. I will get his name put on it, and in 4 years time it will go to the next winner of the Robinson World Cup. It shall hence forth (I always wanted to say that) be known as the Sweaty Robinson World Cup Trophy of Winningness. Here is a picture of the bat and the bear."

Things are heating up yet again

we had a lull there for a few days, not much movement. But, no more. Moira continues to soar, Missy and James took me out, Catherine and Henry finally broke through taking out Bob along the way. Paul is not in the hunt and Michael is also on the move taking out Sally. Kathy is still the in the hunt for the Sweaty Teddy, but don't fear Kathy, Moira was the first ever recipient of the Sweaty Teddy and look how far she has come. We have one more week until the quarter finals so the pressure is on all these games as we get down to the end of the group stages.

In yesterdays matches NZ and Australia both took home wins. New Zealand beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets. Afghanistan batted first and totaled a whopping 186, half centuries to Shenwari and n. Zadran but almost everyone else were in the single digits. They went all out after 47 overs with a 4 wickets haul to Vettori. NZ only used up 4 wickets in the chase with a half century for Guptil.

Australia beat Sri Lanka in what looks like a pretty even match - must have been a good one to watch. Australia started by putting up 376, a fine total. They got there with 102 from Maxwell, 72 from Smith, and 67 from Watson. So Sri Lanka answered with 62 from Dilshan, 104 from Sangakara, and 52 from Chandimal. But Faulkners 3 wicket haul helped Australia get them all out after 46 overs and win by 64 runs.

Today England will take on Bangladesh. This is a must win game for both teams if they want to make it to the quarter finals so it should be a good one. England have been sad, Bangladesh have been happy, lets see what today brings. If Bangladesh make it to the Quarter Finals, it will be their first trip.

You wouldn't take me out too would you Mom?

Robinsons no longer chasing

Reaching for the stars

The Powerhouses let the Associates know their place

the last 3 matches have seen full member nations taking on associate nations, and predictable the full member nations have triumphed. Pakistan beat UAE, Australia beat Afghanistan, and tonight Bangladesh beat Scotland. This division between the full member nations and the associates is cause for much strife amongst some and much debate. Where do you fall? Should the associate nations be in the World Cup? Or should the ultimate tournament belong to the top 10??

And what about our tournament? Moira has reclaimed number 1 - with some breathing room, and James has let his folks know just what they can expect for elder care. Meanwhile Henry is making a move to reign his wife in and the two of them are making lots of moves to reign the Barnett's (and Moira) in. Paul is showing signs of fight and Michael seems to have given up.

Tomorrow it should be a good one, India and the West Indies. Only like 10 more days of this opening round folks. How are your trades looking??? Anyone need a new captain? (I Do, I DO)

Hold on to something Moira - you don't want to gloat away!

Now Catherine has us in her sights

Welcome Back

Well, you all might have been here all along. Sorry, I went MIA over the weekend and then the folks needed some IT training, so I have been remiss. But you all are used to that right?

Here's the recap: NZ beat Australia by 1 wicket, India beat UAE by 9 wickets, Sri Lanka beat England by 9 wickets, and Pakistan finally won a match against Zimbabwe by 20 runs. So, in Pool A NZ has 8 points, SL 6, Bang 6, and Aust. 3. In Pool B India has 6, SA 4, Ire 4, and WI 4.

With us, Anna has reclaimed #1, I put the temporary squash on my aangetroude (is that the right word?), while my parents have taken out their son - We'll see if that sticks. Although I have to say when they did it to me there was NO sympathy what so ever, and now my mom seems to feel a little bad that she has done it to James...what gives? Also, in big news, Catherine has overtaken Henry! Kathy???? Kathy???? are you with us? Sally - give her a nudge. Lots more cricket to play folks, lots more.

In about 90 minutes South Africa will be taking on Ireland - they could use a win but the Irish are on fire so who knows.

Beaten by a distant Aangetroude

Henry is coming for us all

Seriously fun cricket

There has been some really exciting matches in the tournament - at least they read exciting. I wish I could watch a few of them but time zones are an issue as the $100 price to get the feed. Aah well, I have to rely on cricinfo for my blow by blow commentary.

Yesterday South Africa beat the West Indies by 257 runs! WTF? SA needed that win for sure but did anyone predict such a blow out? The West Indies have been doing well. SA put 408 runs, that is the highest total we have seen by far. Amla, duPlessis, and Rossouw all scored in the 60's and deVilliers got 162! 162 from only 66 balls - that's lots of 4's and 6's that is. Must have been exciting to watch that. SA only dropped 5 wickets on their way to 408 so there wasn't much to talk about with WI bowling. And apparently there wasn't much to talk about with their batting either because they went all out after 33 overs. Gayle got 3 - hope you all picked him! And the only one to score anything of note was Holder with 56, on the other side, Tahir got a 5 wicket haul. Who had him?? I did! I did!

Today we will see the huge match up of Australia and New Zealand. Australia missed their last match from the hurricane so their numbers look low compared to NZ but I wouldn't count them out my friends, I wouldn't count them out. Time for my captain choice to pay off! India will also be handing the UAE tickets home, actually with this tournament I shouldn't be so quick to judge. But India is definitely a favorite.

I got back in front of my mom, Moira remains on top, Henry continues to climb and it appears that Paulpaulpaulpaulpaul and the Nagelators have both woken up.

Revel while you can Moira, revel while you can

and Mom - gloat away.

Shocked and Dismayed

I can't believe I have fallen to 5th place. I mean to be passed by your own parents, its just not right. And with my In-laws in hot pursuit, well, I'm afridi, very afridi.

In yesterdays two matches it was all about that Dilshan and those Zadrans. Sri Lanka took out Bangladesh by 92 runs. I expect more from Bangladesh quite frankly. Sri Lanka only needed 3 batsmen, Thirimanne got 52, Sangakarra 105, and Dilshan 161. The lone wicket for Bangladesh went to Hossain. Where were the rest of the Bangladeshi bowlers? Did they get stuck on the bus? Cause it doesn't seem like they showed up here. But then neither did their batsmen. Rahman got a half century but nothing for anyone else and they went all out after 47 overs falling 92 runs short. 3 wicket haul for Malinga (nice to see something from him) and 2 a piece for Lakmal and Dilshan.

Afghanistan was able to beat Scotland, although this doesn't seem to be that great of a feat. Not impressed so far by the tartan clad crowd. Scotland managed a meager 210 in the opening inning but the real news was on the other side with Afghanistans bowlers. 3 wickets to D. Zadran and 4 wickets to S. Zadran. I guess it didn't matter much if you mixed those two up. In the second inning Afghani Ahmadi got a half century and that was about all but it didn't matter they chased down that 210 with 1 wicket to spare. But hats off to Berrington for a 4 wicket haul, well done son.

Overall in the competition Pool A see's New Zealand on top with 6 points, Sri Lanka has 4, and Australia and Bangladesh are tied for the last 2 spots with 3 each. In Pool B there is a 3 way tie for the top, 4 a piece for India, the West Indies, and Ireland. (Well done Ireland!), followed by 2 each for South Africa and Zimbabwe. Those Proteas really need a win today, we don't want to see them so low.

Today's match is South Africa and the West Indies. Whose gonna pick Gayle?? Can he repeat?? I hope not.

We are in the thick of it

Things are heating up and competitions are getting fierce. Lots of cricket left to play. 2 games today, and a few more double game days in the week ahead. I like a double game day, it provides more opportunity to differentiate our teams, and therefore make a move. How are everyones trades going? Have you mastered the schedule yet? Have you appropriately planned out how many trades you will do each day? Which players are turning out to be your Achilles heel? I for one am having issue with Jayawardene, I've picked him for today, so guaranteed he will get a duck.

In yesterdays game Ireland beat the UAE. The UAE put up 278 in the first inning, not shabby but not stellar. Shaiman Anwar earned himself a century, so well done to him. And the Irish shared the wicket love with 2 a piece for Sorenson, Stirling, Cusack and K. OBrien. Ireland was able to chase it down with 2 wickets and 4 balls remaining. Half centuries for Wilson and K. OBrien. (I of course had N. OBrien, but no matter). And Javed racked up 3 wickets.

Today Afghanistan and Scotland will do battle followed by Bangladesh and Sri Lanka - two potentially good match ups. Tomorrow will be South Africa and the West Indies is you are placing your pending trades early.

Ciao

The worm has turned

Things are shaking up!

What is going on around here?? Are there pigs flying? Has anyone check hell? Has it frozen over? Is it simply that the Robinsons are back from Lake Como? Has Moira been hitting the Amarula? I'm in shock. I start my day checking out Anna's fine worm. All seems well, Moira is still in second, Catherine and Henry have woken up but no real threat yet, its status quo......and then I checked cric info to see the results of the game, WHAT? And then I checked the fantasy site and WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? Moira is in first! She has unseated Anna! And my Dad has overtaken James! And then there's Henry who didn't just surge but rocketed, with Catherine not far behind. Those are closing the gap and fast. Now all of sudden there are lots more people for me to be looking over my shoulder at. Its crazy up in here! Such fun, and so much cricket left to play.

As for the game yesterday, The West Indies, or I say Gayle, beat Zimbabwe in truly amazing style. Gayle and Smith opened for the West Indies, Smith fell quickly after like 2 balls. Enter Samuels..... let the greatness begin. Those two, Gayle and Samuels were in the rest of the game. Yes, you heard me, all fifty overs. Samuels earned a century, almost a century and a half. And Gayle, well Gayle scored 215!! What? What? Double century for the man. This is the man who I had as my captain the first time we ventured into this little game of ours, and he did ok. But since then, not so much. Haven't seen much greatness from Gayle in a long while. But to bat for 50 overs and reach 215! Awesome. Well Done Gayle. I am assuming this is how Moira managed to knock Anna down a peg, Gayle would not have figured into Anna's pivot very well. But HooNus? Moira nus. And maybe Bob? And Henry? Was he your secret weapon?

Zimbabwe didn't just curl up and go away though. They fought hard and clawed back 289 of those runs, going all out after 44.3 overs. So well done Gayle and all you Gayle pickers.

Today it will be Ireland against the UAE, could be a good one, you just never know!

Welcome back Robinsons!

HooNus?

Moira - just keep doing what you are doing!

Cyclone Marcia

Cyclone Marcia has ruined all my plans for a massive surge. I was poised with the best ever team for yesterdays match between Australia and Bangladesh, but sadly they did not play. No result there so each team will earn 1 point. In the other match, The West Indies won by 150 runs! They crushed it. Strong all around hitting gave the West Indies 310 for Pakistan to chase, but they couldn't even chase a baby. The first 5 of their batsmen went out with only 8 runs scored. Yes, I said 8 runs, 3 of those dismissed went out with a duck. Maqsood and U. Akmal tried in the middle to rally, but really it was just to late.

So right now Afghanistan is desperately trying to hold off Sri Lanka and India has just picked up the bat against South Africa.

You should be thinking about your strategy for tomorrow , maybe make some pending trades. England will be hoping to gain back some pride as they take on Scotland.

What is going with us? Have you seen the worms, they are lovely. We seem to have two groups. And not a whole lot of movement just yet in either one. Cricketing Seagull is flying so high we all need to be wary of getting poop on our heads, Barnett's Ball Breaking Batsmen keep thinking, "It's a Doosra, I just don't get it, it's really a Doosra?!?", and apparently the HooNus don't know about Brown Sugar Squares (its a See's thing - ask Catherine) but they do know not to Antipivot. As for the other crew, The Nagelators lead the pack in the back while Team is one beat ahead of Hartless. And really Paulpaulpaulpaulpaulpaulpaulpaulpaul.....is that enough Pauls? You really shouldn't be showing up your folks like this - they are on vacation after all. When they get back they are going to be pissed, don't you want the bat back?? You should be fighting young man, fighting.

So, I hope you all are enjoying the tournament, now go trade.

Wishing you all sunny skies today and no Sharknado

AUSTRALIA WEATHER UPDATE:

Cloudy with a chance of Sharknado.

Line Dancing

Science Fair

Sean had his science fair tonight, his sun dial project took honorable mention for the Kindergarten set! Well done Sean! So, its late now I will make this short. My earlier mistake did indeed leave the door open for my dear brother, but I cry no more. Sean's sun dial might need to point North but I am all about the SOUTHEE!!!!! 7 wickets! 200 points! I had him, James did not, I'm back on top baby! Or at least back on top of James, I still need to catch my sister.

Seems England can not get their acts together this tournament. Hope no one had a Brit as captain, if so I see a trade in your future. England batted first and went all out after 33 overs with only 123 runs! What?!? I mean WHAT?!? Seriously, did you all see that coming? You might have thought them underdogs for the game but really, that is a bit embarrassing. It only took New Zealand 12 overs and 2 wickets to crack that code. Sorry England you be at the bottom of pool A.

Tomorrow their are two games being played, Pakistan and the West Indies - both teams could really use a win, and Australia and Bangladesh - my money is on this match for the action.

Don't forget to make trades!

And Again with the mistakes.....

I have left the door open for my brother, this pains me no end..... I worked at the preschool this morning, didn't get home until after the game started........no trades made.... wah wahhhhhh........ I guess I will be joining the pending trade club in the future.

So, Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 105 runs. They batted first and put up 267 runs. Both Al Hasan and Rahim earned half centuries. They lasted all 50 overs but used all 10 outs to get there so Afghanistan did rack up some wicket points. Then Afghanistan took their turn at the bat and well.....it was raining wickets for awhile. Three outs in 3 overs. But the middle of the order were able to hang in there and get a few runs on the board. In the end though it just was not enough. 105 runs short all out at 42. overs.

Currently the UAE is battling Zimbabwe. I have no players playing, booo! But UAE put up 285 in their inning with a half century for Anwar and they only dropped 7 wickets. SO well done UAE! Now Zimbabwe is at the bat and as of 5 seconds ago Zimbabwe require another 214 runs with 9 wickets and 35.0 overs remaining.

Tomorrow it will be two powerhouses, New Zealand and England!

Ciao!

We Love a Worm!

Thank you Anna for the lovely worm!

Sorry that I have been a bit remiss in my blog writing, the up side is that my house is significantly cleaner than it was 3 days ago. I can't do EVERYTHING people!

Anyway, Ireland did indeed beat West Indies! First upset of the tourney. And then Scotland was obliterated by New Zealand, seriously, it was pretty sad, I felt bad for the Scots. I was thinking maybe its better that they didn't vote for independence - not sure they can hang on their own.

Currently Bangladesh is battling Afghanistan. They are only 11 overs in so its to early to tell what will happen but Bangladesh is the favorite. However, Bangladesh hasn't been playing well and Afghanistan has, so...........might be the second upset of the tournament!

Tomorrow it will be UAE Vs. Zimbabwe. Both are underdogs so it could be an interesting game. UAE is the last new team, so after tomorrow it will all be teams we have seen before.

Make your trades! Have Fun!

Wheeeeee!

A tale of two groups

I couldn't take Katy Soucy off the list.  I know she is playing with us in spirit - just having technical issues. :-)

Players that don't play

Is there anything more frustrating than picking a player and then they don't play? I mean really, the nerve. Anyway, Yesterday saw South Africa beating Zimbabwe and India taking the piss out of Pakistan.

Things started well for Zimbabwe, they got top 4 of South Africa's order out within the first 20 overs. This is no small feat when you consider that top four includes, de Kock, Amla, du Plessis, and de Villiers. But then they were left with Miller and Duminy, and those two refused to leave. They each had centuries well in hand finished out the innings not out. So, in the end Zimbabwe allowed SA to rack up 339 that they had to chase. I think the match was probably over at that point. Although Chibhabha and Masakadza both earned half centuries, Zimbabwe went all out after 48 overs and came up 62 runs short.

I think the first inning went ok for Pakistan. They were able to hold India to 300 runs - that's should have been within reach. Kohli got a century and both Dahwan and Raina were in the 75 run range. But it seems Pakistan could not hit to save their lives. They went all out after 47 overs and were 76 runs shy - Zimbabwe did better against SA. The Haq was the only Pakistani of note run wise with 76.

Today there is only one match, Ireland take on the West Indies. Should be a WI day, but apparently they have been in bad form of late and this is a World Cup, so the luck of the Irish may have some surprises for us.

Get your trades in!

Mistakes have already been made, mistakes have been made

So, let me share with you a lesson I have had to learn the hard way in just about every competition we have done: When you make a trade, make sure you hit the "confirm changes" button on the second page. You will make trades and at the bottom it will say "make changes", then it will show you the changes you've picked and you have to click the "confirm changes" button! You MUST click TWO buttons before the trade is actually made. Otherwise you will think you have made a change, go about your day, sit down to check in on your players progress only to find the guy with the 5 wicket haul is not actually on your team.

Anyway, well done every one on the first day of matches. Anna and James soared to the top - I suspect well picked captains. I am in third - my captain earned me a duck! This is mistake number two for me, pick a good captain. Michael doesn't seem to know what game he is playing, and for most of us we are just getting our feet wet.

So what happened? Well, For starters New Zealand beat Sri Lanka. NZ went in to bat first and put up a respectable score of 331. Half centuries to B. McCullum, Williamson, and Anderson. They only dropped 6 wickets and Sri Lanka didn't seem to have any stand out bowlers. Then Sri Lanka went in and went all out only answering 233 of the runs after 46.1 overs. Thirimanne got 65 but he was the only one do to much. The Kiwis like to share the love so Southeem Boult, Milne, Vettori, and Anderson all got 2 wickets a piece.

The second match was Australia v. England and I am sorry to say for Moira, Catherine and Henry that Australia seemed to kick a little English tail. Australia batted first and with half centuries for Bailey and Maxwell to add to Finch's 135, they racked up 342 runs for England to chase. But it wasn't a blow out, England's bowlers did get 9 wickets with a 5 wicket haul going to Finn. England then went in to bat and Taylor was their all star with 98 runs, he was not out so bummer for him that he couldn't have snuck a few extras in to reach the 100. But with 2 wickets a piece for Starc and Johnson and another 5 wicket haul going to Marsh, England just could not reach the mark and fell 111 runs short.

So this evening, or in the wee hours of tomorrow, South Africa will take on Zimbabwe (the only two African nations in the tournament) and India will battle Pakistan, always a heated battle.

For those of us in California it seems like morning is the best time to make your trades, I guess that means in the evening for those in England. And Moira?? Well, that is one to many time zones for me to figure out just now.

Good Luck All!

Is Everyone Ready??

Welcome everyone! I am so glad to see some new names in the mix, and I look forward to beating the new and old alike. I haven't seen that bat since we bought it back in the West Indies - time for it to return home. So, matches will be starting tomorrow, get your teams in order and your captains picked. The first match begins tomorrow at 2pm my time. Which is like 10 pm England time and 11 am (the next day) local time. I see keeping the match schedule straight as the hardest part this time around. Be Vigilant!

Match one: New Zealand V. Sri Lanka. I've been looking for prematch previews but my normal source doesn't seem to have anything yet. So.... you can bet it will be a good match. Both strong teams, we know those Sri Lankans like to hit, a lot. And the kiwis? Well, maybe they'll do a little Haka for us during the drinks break.

Match Two: Australia v. England. I do know the Irish are pissed. They are a bit tired of England stealing all their players, me thinks South Africa can relate. Moira, what does one do when Australia is playing England? I mean I know its anyone but Australia, but when England have pilfered your best men?? What then?

Good luck to everyone tomorrow and check back later in the day for a post match recap.

Have Fun and Good Luck!

Katy

The tournament

So I promised a breakdown of how the tournament is structured. Here goes. The teams are broken into two pools of 7 (pool A and pool B). Each team will play a One Day International (ODI) match against all the other teams in their pool. A win earns them 2 points, 1 point for a tie or no result, and 0 points for a loss. Top 4 teams in each pool advance to the quarter finals with A1 playing B4, A2 vs. B3, A3 vs. B2 and A4 vs. B1. Qaurter finals is a knockout round with winners moving on to the semi finals. Winners of the semis move onto the final match.

An ODI is a shortened version of the game in which each side plays 50 overs. An over consists of 6 balls. So one team will go in to bat and will face 50 x 6 balls, scoring as many runs as possible. Of course the inning will be over early if the bowling team can get 10 outs before the 50 overs are up. Then we'll have a drinks break, tea anyone? Then the second team will go in to bat and again face 50 x 6 balls (or until 10 outs), hoping to score more than the first team.

Everyone clear? If not, study up with the "cricket 101" link on the right.

Pool A
England (1)
Australia (4)
Sri Lanka (5)
Bangladesh (8)
New Zealand (9)
Afghanistan (12)
Scotland (13)

Pool B
South Africa (2)
India (3)
Pakistan (6)
West Indies (7)
Zimbabwe (10)
Ireland (11)
United Arab Emirates (14)

Join our Competition

Ok, did you create a team? If not, read the last post and go make a team. Don't worry about who is on it just yet, just make one.

Team made? Ok, next you need to join our private competition. Go to the cricket web site, sign in, and on the right click "user comp - join"

Enter "1422824046" as the user comp key. You will now have joined Robinsons Cricketers Rout where you can see everyone else in our group and how they are doing.

Come back tomorrow and I will share some info on the general tournament set up.

Katy

ICC World Cup 2015 - How to create your team

Hi all, if you've joined us in the past the email from cricket web with an invite should be coming in the next day or so, so keep an eye out for it - check your spam.

For those who are new:

Let me start by walking you around the bog. Look on the right hand side of the screen, see the links?? Those are handy. The one marked "Cricket 101" will take you to a good basic intro to the game and its rules if you care. You might not. The one marked "cricket web fantasy home" will take you to the site where you will create and manage your team. The other two "ICC World Cup 2015" and "Cricinfo" are both links to sites with useful info about the tournament - schedules, team rosters, and so on.

Now look at the bottom of this post. See in aqua blue where it says "0 comments" click that and leave a comment. The comments are the best part of the competition, really they are. Comment frequently. I will be trying to write a blog post most days during the competition. And we will also be posting a worm, Anna, you want to be in charge of the worm? The worm is a graph that will show your standings in our private competition.

So, that is blog. Visit often, comment with wild abandon. Now you need to create your team:



Go and click the link on the right for "cricket web fantasy home" and log in. If you've never played with us you will need to create an account – easy.

The on the left hand side choose “add team”, then choose “World Cup 2015 ODI Competition” from the drop down menu. And hit “select competition”

Now you have to pick a team name and your players. Team name is important – you want it to be good. :)

Players. You will see drop menus for the 11 positions (6 batsmen, 1 wicketkeeper, and 4 bowlers). Each player is listed under their country and they have a ranking A-E. You are allotted 125 points with which to create your team. A players cost 15 points, B players 13 points, and so on with E players costing 7. So you have to budget, you can not have a team of 11 A players.

You will also be able to make 300 modifications or trades during the tournament. So, you can change your team daily depending on who is playing that day. *****modifications are FREE until a few hours before the start of the tournament***** so feel free to just choose random people for now.

Once you have selected all your players, pick one of them to be your captain. Your captain will earn you double points (and will lose double points) so Captain choice is key. Also, it will cost you 4 modifications to trade your captain once the competition starts.

So go and make a team, leave us a comment with your teams name. I will post again soon with the next step.

Katy