Worm 1

Just testing out the worm post.  And of course, why wouldn't I?

Are you ready to rumble????????

OK, does everyone have their strategies ready to go? I myself think I do, but then again maybe not......... I had picked out a great South African sleeper that was going to cinch my early rise to the top of the worm and then, well, he's not listed in the predicted line-up, so I ditched him. Took myself some Faf du Plessis, cause who doesn't want a guy on the team with a name like that. Michael doesn't understand my fascination, I guess its like South Africa's version of Smith or something. Anyway, Faf du Plessis and I will be worming our way to top just you watch. Ofcourse, I still haven't taken a class on pivoting so who knows. Can you set Faf as the pivot point? Would that help him crack some sixes? Just a suggestion.

Apparently we should be able to get the games through the x-box. So, anyone in town feel free to come on over for a match or two. Maybe an early morning finals party...hmmm.....Actually I think Jolie will be here that day, no better way to get indoctrinated than a 5am cricket match! Will have to do some planning.

So, we kick off the tournament in a few short hours with a match between India and South Africa. They haven't played each other since 2011 or so I've read. And I guess the folks playing now don't much resemble the folks who played then. So....should be a good game. Happy cricketing folks and get your hankies ready cause you'll be eating my dust soon!

And so it begins................... again.

Welcome back folks, glad you all could join me for some cricket fun. The tournament gets underway on Thursday June 6th with a match between India and South Africa. This tournament is a bit shorter than our world cup tourneys. There are two groups of 4 teams. Each team will play one ODI against each other team in their group - so 3 matches total. 2 points for a win, 1 for tie or no result and 0 for a loss. Top two teams in the group advance to a semifinal match. Winners of those move on to the final on June 23rd. For those rookies out there an ODI is a One Day International game. It means that each match will be comprised of 50 overs per side. Slightly longer than the Twenty20 matches but not as long as a test match. If you are still confused check out the cricket 101 link on the right.

I hear rumors of a new face in our midst. Please welcome Jolie. Jolie was a college roommate of mine and still a very dear friend. The tournament gets under way on her birthday – but that should not be any reason to go easy on her – she’s one tough cookie.

So………get your teams together and lets have some fun!

Final sad worm

Lets all take a bow, now the dance is over.

Congratulations go to the West Indies for deciding to show up to the tournament at just the right time. Congratulations also go to Anna for better trade management and a big upset. We've all been Bazingaed.

Our little cricket party was a bit of a flop. Apparently the finals rated a showing on ESPN 2 not 3 like the other games, so we were unprepared. We did manage, after 3 hours or so, to catch the final 30 minutes of the game. Too bad Bob left because I suspect this would have been the perfect amount of cricket for him.

So what happened? Well, hard for me to say not having watched the game. But I will try. Seems like it was a game won in the field. The hitting on both sides seems to have been ho hum. The West Indies opened the batting and their two openers both fell pretty quickly. Gayle went out for a measly 3. But Samuels hung on for a whopping 78 - he must have been the key to Anna's pivot. Their final total 137 for 6. Not great, and certainly Sri Lanka must have felt pretty confidant going into the break. And their first 10 overs seemed OK other than Dilshan's duck. But once the 10th over hit so did the wickets. It was 1 wicket an over from there on out, most of the Sri Lankans put up single digit numbers. And in the end the came up 36 runs short.

So, what happened with us? Michael has put up the "final sad worm". The HoGs were given one last Bazinga, Balls to the Walls fell a little short of the boundry, The Winners certainly came on tough in the end knocking This Is My Boomstick out of the coveted 5th position. The Cantebury Strikers are gainfully employed while The Thought Pads seems to have taken a moment, Ashland beat the Balehouse Busters while The Fours and Sixes managed to hold off The Superheroes. Well done to everyone and thank you for another enjoyable tournament.

We'll be back when the next tourney rolls around, so until then keep plotting strategy and you might want to check out "PivotTable II: Swing into action with PivotTable reports"

Second to last worm

Shock and Awe

I really do not know what to say, and its difficult to speak anyway since I haven't pulled my jaw up off the floor. What the hell happened? The West Indies, who up until now have done squat, absolutely demolished Australia and any hope I had of beating James. They put up 205 runs for Australia to chase with 6 wickets to spare. Gayle alone earned 75 and was not out. He spent the entire game just smacking that ball to the boundaries. Then when Australia got up to bat Watson and Warner fell like matchsticks in the wind. The rest of Australia didn't quite seem to know what to do after that and they all fell in line. The only one who thought maybe he should still be playing cricket was Bailey. He earned a respectable 63 but without the support of the rest of the guys, well, it was just sad.

I also fell like a matchstick to the whiz of a Bazinga. Missy and Bob are both having late tournament surges. Michael is having an "Occupy 5th Street" protest. Finally, Sean made a surprise captain change to Ravi Rampaul who got him 3 wickets!

Finals on Sunday Sri Lanka v. West Indies. Whose coming over to watch?