The men in orange played the men in orange

and it was a battle for orange pride. The men in Orange won!! I mean the real men in orange, Netherlands can certainly hold their heads very high indeed. Netherlands batted first and set a mediocre target of 133. Broad did his best to limit things with a 3 wicket haul. But 133 proved to be enough. With some good bowling and poise on the field the Dutch won by a whopping 45 runs! Both Bukhari and van Beek take home 3 wicket hauls. The English get to take home...well......nothing.

The big match today was New Zealand against Sri Lanka. They were battling for a spot in the semis. Some good bowling by New Zealand kept Sri Lanka's opening inning to a mere 119. 3 wickets a piece for Boult and Neesham. And when New Zealand picked up the bat things started OK, I'm sure they were feeling like 119 wasn't going to be a problem. Then Herath picked up the ball to bowl. He proceeded to retire 5 kiwis on his own! Anyone capitalize on Herath?? New Zealand just couldn't regroup. They were dropping like flies and went all out at 15.3 overs managing only a paltry 60 runs. So Sri Lanka advance to the semis.

One more day of group games. Another pride fest for Australia and Bangladesh and then Pakistan will battle West Indies looking for the last semi slot.

In other news: The Superheros are about to do some slamming of their own. Meanwhile K-Rod is circling Aoife. The Gryllidae have been steadily migrating north. Lord of the Runs has been wiping up lately while the Strikers are in striking distance of some runs of their own.

Enjoy!

Too close for comfort

headache

all this cricket has given me a headache. So, no blog. South Africa won - they will go through. New Zealand won, no big news there. Next up its Pakistan against Bangladesh and Australia against India. Bangladesh need to win in order for Australia to have a chance to advance. So if they lose then Australia is knocked out and the game against India will be for pride. I'm cheering for Bangladesh. Go Tigers!

Historic first ebb!

James is apparently trying to keep it a close competition.

So much cricekt, so little time

In today's first match Australia took on the West Indies and the really needed a win, they did not get one. They batted first and scored a total of 178 -not bad, but nothing to write home about. The West Indies had little trouble chasing it down however and won by 6 wickets. Half century to Gayle - glad to see he showed up.

In the second match Bangladesh was trying not to look to bad against India. They were marginally successful, but not really. They batted first and got to 138. Wah Waaa.... Anamul Haque got 44 - so close but not quite. 3 wicket haul to Mishra. India really had no trouble reaching the mark in 18.3 overs with 8 wickets to spare. Half centuries to both Sharma and Kohli.

So India lead group 2 with 6 points and it looks like Pakistan and the West Indies will battle for the 2nd slot through to the semis. For Australia to go through they'd have to win their next matches and have both Pakistan and the West Indies lose theirs. Actually looking at the schedule that can't happen since Pakistan and West Indies have to play each other in a few days so someone will win. I guess Australia is out, looks like I have a captain change in my future.

Tomorrow New Zealand plays the Netherlands and England plays South Africa. New Zealand and England both need another win to keep them in the hunt. If South Africa win they pretty much guarantee their advancement.

A few notables in our crowd. Mom is making gains on James - will it be enough? Aunt Katy is quietly, oh so quietly passing people in the middle. Watch out for that one. And finally Michael is a mere 31 points behind Catherine. Watch out Catherine or your son will be passing you the sweaty teddy.

Enjoy the games tomorrow.

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