Sean is cranky

and therefore this will be short. Two games that didn't matter other than to give us points. Sri Lanka had some great batting and beat the West Indies who played like poo. Then India took out a surprised Ireland. Ireland was surprised cause this was their first loss ever in a twenty 20 match - I don't think they've played many at this level. If you had Jayasuriya, Dilshan, Bravo, or Sharma then you got extra points for their half centuries. I had 3 of the 4.

As for the worm, some went up, some went down, but I'm on top.

Tomorrow starts the beginning of the Super Eights. This round is broken into two groups with the top 2 from each group moving on. Group E is England, South Africa, India, and the West Indies. Group F includes Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Each team plays 3 games, so 2 wins would guarantee a spot in the semis. Tomorrow we see England take on South Africa and New Zealand takes on Ireland. I think the England v. South Africa game should be interesting since SA hasn't been playing as well as they can but also haven't really been tested yet and England is probably on an upswing since their opening defeat. Should be good cricket.

Good Night

Bowling and Fielding, Bowling and Fielding

Bowling and Fielding were the hits of today. It began with some solid bowling and fielding on the Netherlands part to hold Pakistan to 175 runs and continued with Pakistan as their spin bowlers left the Dutch dumbfounded and 82 runs short. Pakistans three spin bowlers were the men that shined; Malik, Ajmal (3 wickets), and most especially Afridi who took 4 wickets, held them to 11 runs from 24 balls (an econ rate of 2.75).

Then New Zealand put in some great bowling and fielding holding South Africa to only 128 runs. But South Africa's bowling and fielding kept things tight all the way through and they came out 1 run ahead in the end. Performance of note: my main man Brendan McCullum not only fielded great, getting out Boucher and Kallis, but also went on to hit 57 runs! I love my captain - maybe some of you Ponting lovers should convert. But....New Zealand is facing a lot of injuries and it makes me wonder about their longevity in the tournament. Hmmmmmm.......so much to consider.

Now for a look our worm.... So much going on, lots of movement and general jockeying for position. Blair's Bombers rose up and bombed those at the bottom, Norm's Old Boggers have come out of the muck to capture 3rd place with Bob's Chiloquin peac pipe blowing smoke right up his backside. And don't forget James' Flying Toasters - their looking to soar even higher now that they have the top insight.

In other news, Michael has been copying off of his wife......but cheaters never prosper.

So tomorrow the final matches before the super 8. India take on Ireland, and the West Indies take on Sri Lanka. However neither game really means much as the super 8 are already set: India, Ireland, Pakistan, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand, and South Africa - start plotting you super 8 strategy now.

The worm, Day 5

The worm

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!