2 OBriens and a hat trick of hat tricks

2 OBriens and a hat trick of hat tricks ousted 2 teams today. Say goodbye to all your Australians and Bangladeshis. Ooh, Ponting's your captain? First a golden duck and now 7 trades to get rid of him. Sucks for you.

So, how did this all happen? Bangladesh began the day putting up 137 runs, nothing special there. But on the other side Ireland gave us the first hat trick as DT Johnson made 3 wickets. He also earned some extra points along with McCallan for low econ ratings. Then Ireland went in to bat and the 2 OBriens became the pride of Ireland putting up 40 and 39 runs. Kristy, James, Kathy, and Anna were all helped by at least 1 OBrien but no one (that I know of) was lucky enough to really grab ahold of the luck of the Irish. Ireland won by 6 wickets with 10 balls remaining knocking Bangladesh out and securing their spot in the super 8 round.

The Australian / Sri Lankan match opened with this bit of commentary:
Anthem watch: Sri Lanka are mostly mumbling. The crowd are in great voice - oh but wait a moment, Jayasuriya is singing his heart out. Terrific effort from the big man. Sangakkara's getting noisier, but ... well, I think Australia can win this one.

Anthem watch 2: The Husseys are in good voice, both smiling - points for them. Nothing from Hauritz, even less from Watson. This is a tight one - but Ponting's pulled it out of the bag with a superb rendition. I think Australia sneak home in that little contest.

I think the Australians should have walked after this small victory because it was to be their last. They batted first and put up 159 runs for Sri Lanka to chase but it took them 10 of their 11 players to do it and the Sri Lankan bowlers racked up major points. Our second and third hat tricks came from these guys. Both Malinga and Mendis earned 3 wickets a piece. and Udana was having a bad day with only 2 wickets to his credit. Kristy, Moira, Anna, and myself all capitalized on these guys. Then they went into bat.....2 half centuries from Sangakarra and Dilshan! Bob was lucky enough to get in on this rout along with Moira, Anna, and myself. So Sri Lanka knocked out Australia winning by 6 wicktes with only 6 balls remaining. With Australia going out the West Indies are now assured a super 8 spot along with Sri Lanka.

We'll have to wait for Michael to get home from work for the worm, so for now.......plan, trade, plan, curse, trade again, and put your hopes in tomorrows matches. Pakistan will tackle the Netherlands while New Zealand tussles South Africa. Enjoy!

de Villiers Anyone?

Things are starting to shake up as people begin to get their strategies inline. Anyone with AB DeVilliers really racked up the points today - anyone lucky enough to have him as their captain?? Henry's Hobos and the Flying Toasters both jumped way up in the standings while Team Jiminy took a hit despite huge marketing efforts on their behalf. And the Smashing Windows have smashed into the bottom. I am still in the lead and I credit the ardent support of Sean for my success. So, here's the worm:



Well, Sean and I didn't make it up to see South Africa put up their 211 runs but we did catch them shutting Scotland down after 81 runs! I read they beat them by the second highest margin for this format ever! I have to say I feel a little bad for Scotland as they really got themselves slaughtered. So Scotland is out of the tournament, time to trade your Scots - anyone have Scots?

Then England kept their dream alive by beating Pakistan by 48 runs. Even though England has only won one match they are through to the next round so it is up to Pakistan and Netherlands to slog it out for the other spot. We had a small crowd here at the Robinson home for a cricket tutorial. It was quite a good time with good food and good folk. By the end of the match everyone was saying things like, "Bopara's dropped a dolly at point! He's blaming the lights, but really... " and "He just planted his feet and flogged it for a flat six wide of long-on!". So now that everyone knows what a yorker is and where silly mid off is I think we'll see a lot more thoughtful strategies coming out of California.

Tomorrow we see two must win games. Australia must beat Sri Lanka while Bangladesh need to rout Ireland to make it through to the super 8. Stay tuned........now go make some trades already!

Ponting, the Golden Duck of Cricket!

Sorry to all you Ponting fanatics, I for one stay clear of the man. -10 points for the golden duck are bad enough but if he was your captain......OUCH! I know Katy S's Bubble Gum team had him but they also carried Gayle and he racked up 6 4's and 6 6's, so that helped soften the blow. You were also bummed if you were counting on Australia's Michael Clark who did nothing, or Brett Lee who conceded some insane number of runs (mostly to Gayle). Other players of note for the day: Yuvraj Singh had a huge strike rate (227.77) as he hit 41 runs from only 18 balls! And Yuvraj didn't do to bad in the field either. Hart's Gas is happy that he's their captain! Gambhir scored a half century and if you were lucky enough to have Ojha as a bowler (I know Norm did - well done Norm) he earned an econ rate of 5.25 and had a whopping 4 wickets! Not to be forgotten was the performance by Scotland's captain, Watson who had a strike rate of 270 hitting 6 4's.

So, to recap, India beat Bangladesh by 25 runs, The Windies ousted Australia by 7 wickets, and in a backyard 7 aside 7 over match New Zealand sent Scotland home early for dinner.

I am still in the lead with my husband and Mom hot on my heels, Team Jimminy and Hart's Gas are not far off the mark. Blair's Bombers made great strides as did the Flying Toasters. I guess you really don't have to know much to play this game.

Hang in there everyone, it is only the beginning with lots more cricket to be played. Tomorrow we will see if England can come back from their embarrassing start and beat Pakistan, while South Africa will make their first show against Scotland (I sure hope they took notes during the England/Netherladns game!)

Michael should be posting a worm soon. Enjoy!

We Need a Worm

Ok, so we are getting the worm going but we neglected to record the scores after Fridays matches. If you remember what your score was please let me know in the comments. Thanks.

Netherlands! Who Knew?

Well, Englands overthrow allowed the Dutch to overthrow England. What an upset. Catherine is certainly "Agnomaning" all over Cantebury. England batted first and put up 162 for 5. Wright was the big hitter for England putting up 71 of those runs. Bopara almost got bonus points but fell to a wicket by my man ten Doeschates after 46 runs. With Pieterson out I was a bit disappointed with England at this point. I mean, Shah, Morgan, and Collingwood (all on my team) collectively only scored 22 runs! no points from those folks. So then the Dutch went in. They played some good solid cricket and made for a most exciting final over - they needed 7 runs from 6 balls. Each ball they ran a single. Last ball they needed 2 to win. "Broad to Schiferli, 2 runs, goes for a club, Broad again fields - they run, and Broad has all three stumps as he collects it in his follow through. But he misses, and they run an overthrow. They're through and Netherlands have scored a brilliantly, outstanding upset here for the first match at Lord's!"

So, with one match down we await OUR scores. Will past favorites take an early lead or will The Netherlands win bring tidings of joy to someone new? Rumor has it that Paul has programmed a new and improved worm - I look forward to watching my line climb on the steepest of slopes.

Tomorrow: India V. Bangladesh, Australia V. West Indies, and New Zealand V. Scotland. So get to making your trades already.

As a side note to those folks joining Michael and I on Sunday: The game begins at 9:30 not 8:30 as previously mentioned. SO, come at 8:30 or 9:30 or whenever it suits you best. We will be watching the match LIVE! And, seriously, if you want to catch the earlier 5:30 match Sean and I will be up - feel free to join us.

Twas the Night Before Competition .........

and all through the world all the cricketers were stirring and finalizing their teams. Team Jiminy is chirping loudly, Blairs Bombers are aiming high, Gonubie Chinas are polishing up, the Hobos are hopping a train, the DRMTEAM is resting nicely, Hart's Gas is firing, The Flying Toasters are buttering both sides, Bubble Gum is blowing big, and the Chiloquins are having a pow wow. Arvinder/ is browsing for a new name, the Old Boggers are scraping muck off their shoes, The Smashing Windows are windexing their targets while Dr. Teeth is rinsing and spitting. Agnoman is praying hard and the Goggas are hoping not to get smashed. The dusters are dusting off their brooms and the Great Gryllidae are warming up their wings. It's GO time people. Tomorrow morning (or afternoon depending on where you are) it will all begin. With 17 teams I hope everyone is ready for a fun time!

Let the games begin!!

THIS JUST IN: We think we have found a way to watch the live match on Sunday!! We may all be crowded around Michaels computer but luckily he has an obscenely large screen! The game starts at 9:30am England vs. Pakistan. South Africa is also playing Scotland starting at 5:30 - Michael, Sean and I will be up for that one as well so anyone wanting to really get their cricket on is free to come for the early match, but you'll need to bring me a latte for early admission.