Off the charts

Perrrrrreeerrrrreraaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!!! Shakes fist!

So my dear MIL sent me message this morning to tell me how well Dilshan was doing. I was overjoyed. Anna did not have him on her team - this was looking good for me. I was drafting my victory speech. What my dear MIL did not tell me was that not only did she have Dilshan, I believe he was her captain. And she quietly did not mention that she also had Perera. His 3 wicket haul was my demise. Well done Catherine, well done. Enjoy your time, I'm coming for you.

Bob also had a nice soar today and I see Kathy has joined us! Yeah! Moira? Moira? I see your trade number there as 92 - don't let your Big Mistake, Huge be Humongous, make your trades.

Afghanistan lost to Dilshan, Perera, and the rest of the Sri Lankans. Dilshan got 83 from 56 balls and was not out with a strike rate of 148.21. So well done Sri Lanka.

Two good rivalries tomorrow, New Zealand and Australia (although rain threatens) and England try to save face against South Africa.

Now I don't like either version.  But well done Catherine!

Boom Boom Afridi and the Window Smasher Gayle

The day began with Pakistan showing Bangladesh why they didn't have to bother with the qualifying rounds. Pakistan batted first and 2 guys got half centuries (Shehzad and Hafeez) with Afridi only 1 run away, all of that led to an impressive innings total of 201. Pakistan only dropped 5 wickets with 2 going to both Ahmed and Sunny. And despite Al Hasans 50, Bangladesh came up 55 runs short. 2 wickets each for Amir and Afridi.

The second game was truly something. England opened things up with 182 runs for their effort - a highly respectable total, nothing to sneeze at for sure. Root was close to a half century and they only dropped 6 wickets. And when the West Indian inning opened there was a brief flicker of a win for England. The 1st batsmen fell on ball 2 with a duck. But the second batsman was Gayle, and Gayle did not fall with a duck, in fact he did not fall at all. Gayle earned the first century of the tournament and was not out. He hit the 100 mark with only 48 balls, he had 5 4's and 11 6's for a strike rate of 208.33! Amazing! It only took 18.1 overs for the Windies to shut it down for England.

I know Catherine is home thinking, "that was some fun Cricket, and isn't it just like the English to choke?"

Well, I be hoping some Americans choke........

Tomorrow, or actually today since I am writing this after midnight - don't tell Michael I staid up so late.... there is only one game, Afghanistan v. Sri Lanka. Can Afghanistan build on their momentum?? Can Sri Lank break their losing streak?? Who knows.....

Clean Slate or Combined?

 Clean Slate is ahead in votes

Combined just for fun (but then it's all fun, right?)

What just happened???

India went into this tournament as favorites. But today's game was a shocker. New Zealand batted first and the at first they were dropping like flies. Then the middle order salvaged some runs and in the end they gave up 7 wickets and put up 126. The wickets were spread across the Indian team but Bumrah and Raina both had good looking econ ratings. This should have been a no brainer for India to chase. But the top order was horrible. Sharma, Dhawan, Raina, Singh, all dropped in the first 5 overs. Kohli and Dhoni hung in and there was a sigh of relief but it was a short sigh, VERY short. Kohli went out at the beginning of the 9th and then it was like dominoes. They went all out at 18.1 overs and they were only at 79, 47 runs short! What the what? As Catherine said, they played like grade schoolers. It seems the kiwis put the spin on. Santner had a 4 wicket haul and Sodhi got 3. SO, well done to the all blacks.

Anna was smart enough to put Santner on her team and she soared in the lead of part 2. Who leads the combined game? Don't know, you'll have to tune back in for more.

Tomorrow there are two games, Pakistan v. Bangladesh and England v. West Indies. Should be good.

Is your team quiet as a test match or roaring like a triumph?