Robinsons take over

Who Knew? England!

England had a massive win today to take them into the finals over New Zealand. I really thought NZ was going all the way, but they didn't just lose, they got beat, big time. NZ batted first and put up 153. Not a stellar total. Highest scoring batsmen was Munro with 46. They needed to do better, really, this is the semi finals here. 3 wicket haul to Stokes. Anyone have that guy??

So England went in to bat and they made it look easy, like they were playing Ireland or someone. Roy hit 78 and they only dropped 3 wickets. The 153 was easily chased down in 17.1 overs. So well done England. They only have to keep from choking in one more game. They could do this people! What's the word at Patisserie Valerie?? Is everyone all a buzz? Or are they "cautiously optimistic?"

Next semi starts in a little while and will be India v. West indies, should be a good one, which I could watch. Maybe I'll force the kids to watch the end with me........

DON"T FORGET TO TRADE

Game tomorrow, if you don't have Anna doing it for you, don't forget to trade.

21 points!

I am hanging on for dear life. The Chuddley Cannons have 19 trades, Conquistaors have 9. Will it matter? Can the fungus grow to such heights? And what about this hottly contested next group? Will the Veg spring a Hoodoo? Or will the Strikers stay of fire? Can Mfforeel and the Vasawati want in on the action but what about the Real Deal? I think they got dealt out. And Hartless may be getting the sweaty teddy but they are doing much better than Michael. Does anyone even remember what his teams name was again? He disappeared. We have one day off and then the quest continues.......

SA beat Sri Lanka by 8 wickets, yes 8. SL batted first and only put up 120 which Amla, deKock, and duPlessis chased down without to much bother. Half Century to Amla.

On Wednesday the Semi Finals get underway with New Zealand and England.

And I happen to know that The Conquistadors, the Fungus, and Vasawatti may be out of wifi range until Thursday. Sure hope they figure out a way to get their trades done. We will accept NO whining or excuses.

No change, but Oh so close.

Happy Happy Easter!

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!! I made it to the top...............for now anyway. Kohli as captain was my not really a secret weapon.

Afghanistan beat West Indies?!? WHAT?? yes, they did, for real. But the West Indies are already through to the semis so maybe they weren't trying that hard. They didn't even have Gayle in.

India beat Australia, knocking them out as they move on. And Kohli, oh Kohli, he's my man. Nuff said.

Tomorrows game is for nothing but pride as South Africa takes on Sri Lanka.

Then the Semis start on Wed. with New Zealand and England, followed on Thursday with West Indies and India.

We're getting down to it folks. Now is the time to make your moves.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter

I know Katy did!

Quick recap

New Zealand continues their charge through the field knocking out Bangladesh. They really creamed them, it was sad for Bangladesh. NZ put up 145, which isn't a huge number but proved to be WAY to big for Bangladesh. Although kudos to Mustafizur Rahman for a 5 wicket haul. Bangladesh just could not get past NZ's bowling. It's like they never came back after tea time. Catherine, did you see them at Patisserie Valerie? I think they might still be there. They went all out after 15.4 overs and only managed to get 70 measly runs. 3 wickets each to Elliot and Sodhi.

In the second match England edged out Sri Lanka. Which puts England through to the semis. Well done England. England opened the game and only dropped 4 wickets. Half century for Buttler and a total of 171 to chase. As good as that opening inning was, it wasn't a slaughter. Sri Lanka fought back and got close, very close. The opening batsmen for Sri Lanka dropped pretty quick but their middle order held ground. Angelo Matthews took 73 runs to the bank but at the end of 20 overs they were 10 runs shy. 4 wickets to Chris Jordan.

I am closing in on Catherine, I have her in my sites.........Anna took a dive, Bob made a surge, and Missy just keeps asking, why?? why??

Tomorrow Afghanistan will try not to embarrass themselves in front of the West Indies while India and Australia will battle it out for a semi final spot.

Here is the worm.

Enjoy it while you can Catherine.

Do the Haka....doot doot doot doo doot doo doot do ...dooot dooot doot do doot do doot do...Do the Haka...

I'm planning to Haka my way to the top! Watch out Catherine.

England pulled off a win as did India, barely. England beat Afghanistan by 15 runs. They batted first and rode Moeen Alis's 42 not out to a total of 142. Afghanistan just could not chase. 2 wickets each for Nabi, Rashid Khan, Willey, and Adil Rashid.

In the second match India nearly blew it. They batted first and 146 whcih isn't stellar but isn't bad either. There were no real standouts for them in the batting arena. But then What happened to their bowling? Bangladesh lasted all 20 overs and did use 9 wickets trying but they fell 1 run short, that's it, 1 run. Apparently it all came down to some careful last ball planning by Dhoni and some great last ball execution by Pandya. 2 wickets each to Al-Amin Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, R. Ashwin, Jadeja and Pandya.

I am closing the gap on my MIL, Mom and Moira have been doing a little do si do, other than that things are status quo.

Tomorrow its Australia v. Pakistan - both could use the win. And then South Africa / West Indies. SA needs to win here to realistically have a chance at moving on.

Katy makes her move

State of the Tourney

So with today's win over Pakistan, New Zealand has secured their spot in the Semi Finals. NZ batted first and Guptil's 80 runs took their total up to a formidable 180. 2 wickets each for Sami and Afridi. But Pakistan choked when their turn to bat came. They only dropped 5 wickets but still came up 22 runs short. Where was Boom Boom?? 2 wickets each for Santner and Milne (hey, I'm pretty sure last time I had Milne on my team he got negative points....hmmm.....)

So todays win puts NZ at the top of group 2 with 6 points. Pak, Austr, and India all have 2 points and sadly Bangladesh has 0. In Group 1, the Windies are on top with 4 points followed by SA, SL, and England all with 2, and Afghanistan with 0.

As for the Robinson Cricketers Rout?? Conquistadors chose their name well, at least for now they are conquering and conquering big. The Chuddley Cannons fired another shot at the Fungus among us while Wonky Veg Hoodoos are hanging in there. Vasawatti is dark, very dark but still above the The Real Deal, that's for real not Mforreel. And watch out Chartham Strikers cause Hartless is on the move.

Lots more cricket to play. Tomorrow its England against Afghanistan and India takes on Bangladesh. Should be two open and shut games but with this tournament you never know, you never know......

Catherine just keeps rolling along...

This cricket stuff is exciting!!

No Blog last night as I barely made my trades in time in between Immy waking up with nightmares. But New Zealand beat Australia and are looking strong over all. And in a major comeback move England beat SA. The opening inning was so bad for England Catherine gave up and went to Patisserie Valerie. But she took her tea to soon and she missed watching England rally and pull off a huge chase. So well done England. They needed that. Sure hope that Mille-Feuille was worth it Catherine.

Happy Birthday Mom! I am sure Missy was glued to the TV today, she probably brought her tea to the couch. I saw that golf was on.

As for the cricket. Only one game. India beat Pakistan in a much anticipated game. I guess there were security questions and venue changes and everything. But, a game happened, shortened due to weather - 18 overs a side. Pakistan managed only 118 in their innings and the wickets were spread around, not much of note. Then India went in and Kohli led the charge with 55 not out. So well done Kohli. Sami got 2 wickets. India won in 15.5 overs with 6 wickets to spare.

As for us, the worms tell it all.
Catherine has a major lead - on both worms. I overtook James and Anna took a massive dive. What happened Anna?

Tomorrow its Afghanistan and South Africa first followed by Sri Lanka and the Windies. Have fun

We're gonna need a bigger chart.

Off the charts

Perrrrrreeerrrrreraaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!! Shakes fist!

So my dear MIL sent me message this morning to tell me how well Dilshan was doing. I was overjoyed. Anna did not have him on her team - this was looking good for me. I was drafting my victory speech. What my dear MIL did not tell me was that not only did she have Dilshan, I believe he was her captain. And she quietly did not mention that she also had Perera. His 3 wicket haul was my demise. Well done Catherine, well done. Enjoy your time, I'm coming for you.

Bob also had a nice soar today and I see Kathy has joined us! Yeah! Moira? Moira? I see your trade number there as 92 - don't let your Big Mistake, Huge be Humongous, make your trades.

Afghanistan lost to Dilshan, Perera, and the rest of the Sri Lankans. Dilshan got 83 from 56 balls and was not out with a strike rate of 148.21. So well done Sri Lanka.

Two good rivalries tomorrow, New Zealand and Australia (although rain threatens) and England try to save face against South Africa.

Now I don't like either version.  But well done Catherine!

Boom Boom Afridi and the Window Smasher Gayle

The day began with Pakistan showing Bangladesh why they didn't have to bother with the qualifying rounds. Pakistan batted first and 2 guys got half centuries (Shehzad and Hafeez) with Afridi only 1 run away, all of that led to an impressive innings total of 201. Pakistan only dropped 5 wickets with 2 going to both Ahmed and Sunny. And despite Al Hasans 50, Bangladesh came up 55 runs short. 2 wickets each for Amir and Afridi.

The second game was truly something. England opened things up with 182 runs for their effort - a highly respectable total, nothing to sneeze at for sure. Root was close to a half century and they only dropped 6 wickets. And when the West Indian inning opened there was a brief flicker of a win for England. The 1st batsmen fell on ball 2 with a duck. But the second batsman was Gayle, and Gayle did not fall with a duck, in fact he did not fall at all. Gayle earned the first century of the tournament and was not out. He hit the 100 mark with only 48 balls, he had 5 4's and 11 6's for a strike rate of 208.33! Amazing! It only took 18.1 overs for the Windies to shut it down for England.

I know Catherine is home thinking, "that was some fun Cricket, and isn't it just like the English to choke?"

Well, I be hoping some Americans choke........

Tomorrow, or actually today since I am writing this after midnight - don't tell Michael I staid up so late.... there is only one game, Afghanistan v. Sri Lanka. Can Afghanistan build on their momentum?? Can Sri Lank break their losing streak?? Who knows.....

Clean Slate or Combined?

 Clean Slate is ahead in votes

Combined just for fun (but then it's all fun, right?)

What just happened???

India went into this tournament as favorites. But today's game was a shocker. New Zealand batted first and the at first they were dropping like flies. Then the middle order salvaged some runs and in the end they gave up 7 wickets and put up 126. The wickets were spread across the Indian team but Bumrah and Raina both had good looking econ ratings. This should have been a no brainer for India to chase. But the top order was horrible. Sharma, Dhawan, Raina, Singh, all dropped in the first 5 overs. Kohli and Dhoni hung in and there was a sigh of relief but it was a short sigh, VERY short. Kohli went out at the beginning of the 9th and then it was like dominoes. They went all out at 18.1 overs and they were only at 79, 47 runs short! What the what? As Catherine said, they played like grade schoolers. It seems the kiwis put the spin on. Santner had a 4 wicket haul and Sodhi got 3. SO, well done to the all blacks.

Anna was smart enough to put Santner on her team and she soared in the lead of part 2. Who leads the combined game? Don't know, you'll have to tune back in for more.

Tomorrow there are two games, Pakistan v. Bangladesh and England v. West Indies. Should be good.

Is your team quiet as a test match or roaring like a triumph?

Don't forget

Sorry about the radio silence. I'll be back soon. But DON"T FORGET, tomorrow is the first game in the main tournament. So, if you haven't created your second team and joined our second group. Do so NOW. The user comp join key is 1456788101. I don't see Anna, Kathy, Michael....anyone else??

First match is India and New Zealand.

Happy Birthday Everyone!

Happy Birthday Dad!

A very Happy Birthday to my Dad. It would have been nice if Catherine could have let you have 1st place, but you know those South African English......

Very short blog as I have a Harry Potter party to prepare for.

Scotland beat Hong Kong and apparently it was win a long time in the making. Their both out.

Afghanistan walloped Zimbabwe. They put up 186 with a half century for Nabi. Zimbabwe went all out at 19.4 overs 59 runs short. So well done Afghanistan, they move on to the main event as top of group B.

Tomorrow its Ireland and Netherlands in a sad, you are both going home, game. And then the main match between Oman and Bangladesh, Bangladesh is the favorite but who knows, Oman could be a spoiler.

As for us, Catherine??!!?? Who did you bribe? Seriously, that was quite a steep climb. Also with surges (smaller but still surges) Anna, Henry, and Kathy. Well done to all of you.

Go Catherine!

Saddest worm ever posted :-(

RRAAAIIIIINNNNNNNN!!!!!!!! Ireland and the Netherlands are shaking fists.

Well, there were two games today and two rain outs. The first match with Oman and Netherlands was rained out before it even started. So no points from any of them. The second match with Bangladesh and Ireland got in 8 overs before they washed out, so some points to be had. Iqbal got 47 runs and McBrine and Dockrell each got a wicket. Those few points helped Moira move up and I retook 1st from my Dad. (no I don't feel bad, not at all, his birthday is tomorrow anyway, so we can all go easy on him then, maybe, probably not even then)

The real news is that this means that Ireland and the Netherlands are both O U T out. Oman plays Bangladesh in the last match so they still have some hope, it will be a showdown there.

Tomorrow will decide Group B. Hong Kong plays Scotland, they are both out, BUT there are points to be had there folks, so don't discount the game. And then the big match will be between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan to see who advances.

Its raining buckets here as well. Anyone else in the RRAAAIIINNNNN???????????

Day 3; The Rath of Morse

Zimbabwe and Afghanistan both won their matches today, which means that the final game between the two will determine which team from group B goes through. Nail biting, nail biting.

Zimbabwe batted first and with a half century from SC Williams they put up 147 for Scotland to chase. But I think maybe Scotland never heard the start whistle for their innings (do they do a whistle? Maybe its that they didn't see the ump wave his hat, I don't know) anyway, Scotland didn't get anything going at all. They went all out after 19.4 overs and they were 11 runs short. 4 wicket haul to Masakadza - don't get to excited though, it was Wellington, not Hamilton. If only Masakadza wasn't such a common name........

Afghanistan beat Hong Kong by 6 wickets. HK put up a measly 116, really? I'm pretty sure Afghanistan could have chased that in their sleep. RAAAATTTHHHHH!!!!! was the highest at 28. NO real need to shake a fist at that. As for the bowling, Nabi nabbed a 4 wicket haul, of course I didn't have him on my team today. Afghanistan chased down the 116 in 18 overs with most of the work being done by Shahzad and Ali Zadran.

Catherine and Anna both had surges but Bob, man o man, did you see that steep climb? MMOOOORRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEE .......... TTTTWWWWIIIISSSSTTTTT..............DDDDDRRRIIIILLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!! (not quite the same ring as Khan) shaking both fists.


And welcome Hartless!! Not we're not Hart less. We could be Hart full if Sally joined!

Tomorrow is Oman and Netherland (can't predict that one now with Oman doing so well) and then Bangladesh / Ireland. Ireland need a win but its doubtful.

Happy Birthday Dad! (a few days early)

and Hello Kathy.

Day 2: Oman? Who knew?

Day 2 closes with wins for Bangladesh and Oman. Bangladesh won pretty much on the shoulders of Iqbal. I think Iqbal was also responsible for James's climb through the ranks. He was one of the openers and lasted all 20 overs finishing with 83 not out. In the end Bangladesh put up 153 for the Netherlands to chase. They did drop 7 wickets and a gugten job for van der Gugten with a 3 wicket haul. The dutch did OK, but no one really out up the kind of numbers needed to overcome Iqbal. 2 wickets each to Al Hasan and Hossain.

The second match was all about Oman, Ohh MAAAANNNN!!!! The Irish were expected to bring their famous luck, but I guess they don't know leprechauns in Oman. Ireland started off well enough, they only dropped 5 wickets and they put up a decent 154. So, you go into drinks, thinking you know whats coming. Oman's innings start and they just start plugging away, chipping at the total needed. dropping wickets but nothing major. At the start of the 20th over they needed 14 runs off 6 balls, and in the end, THEY DID IT!! Huge upset for Ireland. They will need to beat Bangladesh to have any hope.

With us? Michael and Moira took major hits, did you guys make trades? While James had an early surge. I'm still at the top, for now.

Tomorrow will be back to Group B, Scotland v. Zimbabwe and Afghanistan v. Hong Kong

No sign of Kathy or Sally yet....still hoping they work out their tech issues.

Day 1 Done

Well the tournament is officially underway and some of us took full advantage! Zimbabwe beat Hong Kong by 14 runs and takes one step toward a berth in the next round. Zimbabwe were the opening batsmen and Sibanda put up a half century to get things going. Chigumbura only faced 13 balls but managed to score 30 runs from them. But it wasn't a walk in the park. They dropped 8 wickets with 2 a piece to Afzal and Khan. KHAAAAAANNN!!!!!!!!! anyone? anyone? ok, I digress. So at the end of 20 overs they had put up 158 for Hong Kong to chase. Hong Kong stayed strong for all 20 overs but fell 14 runs short. Half Century for Atkinson and Afzal had a good day with 31 not out. Bowling props to Tiripana and Chatara with 2 each.

The second match was Afghanistan v. Scotland. The Afghanies batted first and put up 170. Half centuries for both Shazhad and Stanikzai. Not much to note in Scotlands bowling. Lets see how they batted? They hung in for all 20 overs and started strong with their opening pair earning 40/41. But after that they never really seemed to get much going. And fell 14 runs short. 2 wickets to Rashid Khan. KHAAAAANNNN!!!! I am sensing a theme.

One day of play has me in the lead, yeah!! Mom is hot on my heels with Moira right behind her. So much more to play, so much more. Rumors abound that Kathy and Sally will be joining us soon, very soon.

Get your trades done, tomorrow is Bangladesh / Netherlands, and Ireland / Oman.

Who's Ready?

Do you have your team ready?? Only a few days left. First match is Hong Kong v. Zimbabwe and Afghanistan V. Scotland on March 8th. For us US folks we will need to make our trades on the night of the 7th (that's Monday night). Don't be caught out! I am busy plotting my strategy. Seems that if I can't make trades in between matches, which I can't, then I can pretty much make full team trades for each day. Oh the possibilities....

DON"T FORGET to make 2 teams, yes, TWO. One for Qualifying and one for the main event.