It only takes two

Well, South Africa gave a huge gift to England when they beat Bangladesh and then choked while playing New Zealand. I guess it didn't pay to be so nice. Then England took that gift and promptly flushed in Aunt Katy's Outhouse this morning when they were trounced by Sri Lanka. This must be Odins way of righting the universe. So moving onto the Semis we have Sri Lanka who will face New Zealand on Tuesday and on Wednesday India will take on Pakistan.

We finally purchased the video feed of the cricket so Michael caught the end of this mornings game. He watched on with glee at seeing cricket on our new big TV. Giggling with joy as Dilshan apologized to Tharanga for hitting a 4 and then just stood there for the rest of the over. This allowed Tharanga to score not only the winning run but also earn his century. I'm not sure if Michael's glee was due to Dilshan's cheekiness or just being able to see cricket in general but he was dancing around like a ten year old girl at a Justin Bieber concert. So, if you are in the area on April 2nd come on over to watch the finals. We'll watch it delayed so don't go checking cricinfo that morning or you'll spoil the results. I'll get you more specifics soon about exact times and what you can bring.

Our competition is heating up. If you ignore James, and I try to, then there is some fierce competition in the upper ranks. Bob was in 2nd, then Katy S, then Suresh, and now Anna has jumped into that coveted position. There is lots of jockeying around. I was ahead of Bob - much to my glee, now he's ahead of me - much to my chagrin. Missy was down, now she's up. Cosmin has rocketed into the mix. It seems that anyone can shoot themselves into the top 5. Michael moved out of 11th only to get stuck in 10th, can he overcome and conquer 9th? Can Lynda and Moira at least break into the 8 thousands before all is said and done? Ok, James, we won't ignore you any longer, what is your world ranking these days? Ooh I just looked. You're sitting at 100 exactly - hang in there James! As much as I don't want to type this out loud It would be fun if you finished on the leader board.

OK, bit of break for the next few days. Next set of trades needs to be done by Monday night. Oh, a question: I have been thinking about strategy. do you think it best to split your squad in two and have half from each team playing, or to pick a side and load up on them? My strategy has been to split my team, I am thinking that may not be the best option. James, Anna, what does the almighty pivot say? Dad, does Odin have an opinion?

Wormy wormy worm

The Quarter Finals are Here

OK folks, we are getting down to the end of things. 8 teams left, and its win or go home time. Tonight we see Pakistan take on the WI, then tomorrow it will be India v. Australia, followed by New Zealand v. South Africa, and finally Sri Lanka v. England.

There are some tough battles heating up in our competition. I know lots of you have been saving up trades to have full teams in these later stages so it would seem that it may come down whether or not you can pick the one sneak attack player that earns big points. Everyone will have Afridi and Singh, so who will distinguish your team? And will they do enough? James figures you have to earn 200 more points than him in each game to beat him, can it be done? Don't know but I'll try. Bob and Katy S need to look at their collective rears again cause Anna and Cosmin are banging on the door, seems to be a bit of an urgent matter. I'm sandwiched between my Mom and my Mother in Law - hoping to leave them both in the dust. I know Michael just wants to finish higher than 11th, Henry? Moira? You both had brushes with fame and then sharp declines, can you fight you way back? Lynda???? Oooh Lynda....... we're playing cricket here, care to join us?

Get your trades on people, and goodness sake, HAVE FUN!!

Pigs are flying and Hell is freezing over

No Catherine it is not due to global climate change or your recycling. Its due to the cheering support that England will be giving South Africa tonight! That's right, I said it, all over England you will hear the cheer "Go Proteas!!!" If South Africa beats Bangladesh then England makes it through to the next round. If not, Bangladesh goes through. The other match of the night pits Australia against Pakistan, both of whom are looking to come out on the top of group A.

The pigs aren't just flying over England but over our competition as well. I have been overtaken not only by Cosmin but by Missy as well - a mother should love her daughter more than that. Michael is out of 11th place, and what happened to Moira - you used to be in 4th girl! It's such a hard fall isn't it?

I'm working on our next worm so we can see it all in technicolor.

Have fun with your trades.

Well, well, well

England has given everyone something to think about. Their win over the West Indies keeps them in contention for the next round. Top four teams from each group moves on. In group A things are pretty much settled, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka will be moving onto the quarter finals. But with England win things are up in the air in group B. Ireland and the Netherlands are out but everyone else still has a shot. So, should be an exciting few days.

How did England do it? They bowled liked mad in the waning innings. The West Indies were up and chasing 243. This seemed a surmountable task and everyone thought they'd do it right up until the 19th over. At this point West Indies were 118/4. Then Bresnen and Bopara collaborated to bowl 3 maiden overs in a row racking up a 4th wicket in the process. Then Sarwan and Pollard had a shot at coming back putting the pressure on England but Swann was able to take out Pollard leaving the West Indies at 150/6 with 22 overs remaining. They conceded only 5 runs in the next 3 overs. Then Sarwan and Russell started to get into a groove making it look good for WI again. By the 41st over England looked all but out. WI only needed 22 from 54 balls with 4 wickets remaining. Then England struck again knocking Russell out. Sarwan hung in for another 2 overs but as soon as he fell so did the rest of the team. England finally took the match by 18 runs.

What excitement - were you watching Catherine? Sure wish I could have been especially now that we've caught up with the Barnett's and Robinson's and scored ourselves a High Def TV. And the good news is we can stream willow.tv directly to it, so we can watch live cricket matches on the big screen in the future. We are thinking of ordering the finals if they offer a good deal. If that happens, Bay Area folk should expect a finals party to watch the game.

In other news, Suresh zoomed past Bob and Katy S and now is attacking James. He's gaining James........ and speaking of gaining, Cosmin is also soaring past a lot of folk. Who are these people Lynda? and why aren't they giving you better advice? Cosmin is hot on my tail but I have plans people, plans. So I expect to be leaving him in my dust.

3 days of double headers lead up to teh quarter finals next week. Tonight is Ireland/ Netherlands - nobody cares about that one. And New Zealand/ Sri Lanka - nobody cares about that one either as all those teams have either secured their pass into the next round or not. But, that doesn't mean there aren't points to be had, so trade early and trade often. Maybe consider changing your captain at this point..........

Things are winding down, or up depending on your point of view

So we've had a few worms - thanks Michael. And there are some interesting developments that have arisen. While Bob and Katy S were battling for second place Suresh snuck up on the both of them. Two weeks ago Suresh was wallowing in the bottom group and look at him now. He should be inspiration to all of us. James is not out of sight. We CAN catch him. So, set a goal for yourself and make it happen!

Tonight's game is Australia v. Canada. Then England / West Indies, followed by 3 days of double headers. Then its on to the quarter final matches. Its in the quarter finals that I plan to really surge, who's with me?

Wormy