Finally the Bride!

England has finally won a major international tournament. Yeah England! Due to Michael's run in the Bay to Breakers we've only just seen the match. Not quite the brutal contest I was expecting but a decent match none the less. Seems Australia never really showed up. They ended their overs with a measly 147. England had some brilliant fielding to hold them to that number. Then England calmly went about chasing that down with three overs and 7 wickets to spare.

What happened in our competition? Well, I won despite my trading gaff. If you go to the fanatsy site right now your team will have been "archived" click on the archived team on the left and then scroll ALL the way to the bottom to find a link to the competition to see how you fared. But, here's the breakdown: I won, Katy S hung in there for 2nd despite not having Pietersen on her team, Michael took 3rd followed by Catherine in 4th. Anna had huge gains to move up into 5th while Missy suffered from her absence and wound up in 6th. Arvinder edged out James and Moira held onto that ill begotten 9th place knocking Henry into 10th. Bob took 11th followed by Sandeep, Paul and the Sweaty Teddy goes to Shan S. Here's your final worm:



Thanks all for another fun tournament. Lets do it again soon.......The Soccer World cup is in a month. Who's in?

Next to last worm

A Twenty 20 Ashes Tourney

Well Australia did it!! How? I am not sure. It was one hell of a match though and as Catherine says it wasn't for the delicate. When I last wrote Australia was trying to chase down 191 and the openers had already fallen. Haddin hung in there for a bit, Clarke and D Hussey didn't do much damage but then came White and finally M Hussey. These two started putting up numbers. White managed 43 and M Hussey a whopping 60. But it was tight, and I mean tight. Australia needed 18 runs in the last over! 1st ball to Johnson, 1 run putting M Hussey on the ball. 2nd ball cracks it for a 6! 3rd ball he also cracks for a 6, then a 4 from the 4th ball. Now they are tied!! only 1 run needed off two balls. and let us again turn to the great commentary of cricinfo,

"19.5 Saeed Ajmal to MEK Hussey, SIX, Australianism prevails! What a great dramatic game this has been. Goose bumps! What a heartbreak for Pakistan. Michael Hussey has played like a dream. Whaddaplaayaaaa! He finished the game with yet another big hit. This is the Twenty20 innings of his lifetime. And what a way to finish it in style. He cleared the front foot and swung the ball over long-on. The while ball disappeared beyond the boundary. The Australian dug out erupted in joy. The Pakistani camp is stunned. U N B E L I E V A B L E. Hussey is mobbed by his team-mates. Clarke envelops him with a hug. The entire squad is out there on the ground. Take a bow Michael Hussey. Respect. "

So there it is Australia takes Pakistan moving them into the final with England. Now the game is on Sunday so you all have a day off to carefully consider your trades. Last chance to make a move. You may want to consider choosing some lesser known players as a way to distinguish yourself. We can't all have the Husseys, Nannes, Tait, Morgan, Pietersen, ............

Michael will post a worm soon so you can more adequately set your goals. Good Luck!

D'Oh!

I was blissfully thinking we had a day off of cricket and I could write the blog during morning nap and leasurly make my trades. Enter Michael, "Hey, isn't there a game on today?" "What? Huh? OOh CRAP!" But never fear, quick trades have been made for me and the twins. you'll still have to wait for morning nap for a thoughtful blog of yesterdays doings.................

OK, kid is asleep. So yesterday England tossed Sri Lanka out of the tournament in quick order. Broad and the rest of the England bowlers kept Sri Lanka to a meager 128 with Mathews the only guy to do anything, he hit 58 runs. The top of Englands order was able to dispatch those 128 pretty quickly and they won in 16 overs by 7 wickets. So England continues to dominate and will definatly put up a good fight in the finals on Sunday.

Meanwhile, todays match is happening right now and it is not looking to good for Australia at the moment. Pakistan racked up a whopping 191 runs with half centuries from both the Akmal brothers. Then their bowlers took out Australias openers in the first 2 overs. So now it is up to Haddin and Clarke to get something going. Keep fingers crossed (you can decide what you are crossing them for)

Just the worm

Ready for the Semis?

Well there is no cricket today but this is your opportunity to really make some wise moves with your team. Lets recap yesterday: India had a strong showing in the opening inning of their game putting up an impressive 163 only giving up 5 wickets. Gambhir (41) and Raina (63) both gave great performances. So Sri Lanka had their work cut out for them. Sri Lankas two openers both went quickly and it didn't look good but then things turned around for them Starting with Dilshan (33)and Sangakarra (46) followed by Mathews (46) and Kapugedra (37). But things were tight right up until the end. With 5 overs left Sri Lanka needed the same number of runs that India had gotten in their last 5 overs. Then they needed 13 runs in the last over. Just 6 balls. 19.1 - 6! 19.2 - 1, 19.3 - 2, 19.4 - 1. Just three more needed. 19.5 - OUT! 3 needed from the last ball. Nehra to Kapugedera, SIX!!! Sri Lanka WINS advancing them to the Semis knocking India out.

The second match was no where near as exciting. I think it is best summed up by the freindly folks at cricinfo, "West Indies saved their worst for last as they were knocked out of their home tournament with a crushing six-wicket defeat by Australia. The hosts were in trouble as soon as the captain Chris Gayle fell second ball and flopped to 105, which their unbeaten opponents eased past in 16.2 overs." So Australia moves on to the Semis.

Here is the way things are: England will take on Sri Lanka on Thursday. Sri Lanka has been playing well but I have to say that England is on a serious rampage and my money is on them. Then On Friday Australia will take on defending champs Pakistan. Pakistan got through (climbing over the dead bodies of South Africa) but their play has been patchy so I think Australia is the team to beat here.

In our humble competition there are many questions to be answered: Will I hold first place? Can Missy and Katy S trust me to care for their teams? Will Catherine or Anna surprise Michael? Will Henry and James stop with do-si-do and make a move? Can Moira embrace Australia and finally get out of 10th place? Does anyone read this thing? What happened to Paul and Bob? I mean really Paul, you couldn't walk, surely you could have plotted cricket moves. Will Michael grace us with his worm?

So take your time, plan you moves, read the cricket news, gear up, harass Michael for a worm and I'll see you all tomorrow. Katy

My loss could be your gain

The sad news (for me anyway) is that South Africa has been eliminated, voted off the island, fired, sent home. I will be playing sans captain for the rest of the tournament. So here's your chance to swoop in and overtake me.

Here's the skinny on todays matches: the first game was Pakistan and South Africa. Here's what the commentators had to say after Pakistan's innings, "South Africa sizzled at the start. The Akmal brothers broke free. Afridi too indulged himself. Langeveldt starred in the end." Umar Akmal scored 51 runs leading Pakistan to a total of 148. South Africa should have been able to beat that with a bit of gumption (and Langveldt certainly had some getting 4 wickets!), but I guess the gumption was in short supply for the rest of the team cause even with AB de Villiers getting 53 they could quite muster enough runs to win. Saeed Ajmal also had 4 wickets so bonus points if you had him. Pakistan are through to the Semis in the E2 slot and will face the winners of group F (probably Australia)

In the second match New Zealand batted first and put up 149 for England to chase. Not a bad total, Pakistan did it with 148. Taylor had 44 runs but nothing to shocking from either side with this opening inning. Then England goes up minus Pietersen who went home to see the birth of his son. Congrats Pietersen. (this by the way cost Michael a trade cause he didn't know. HeeHee) I didn't get to see any of this match but looking at the scorecard it looks like maybe it was a bit blah. No big numbers coming from the English inning either but enough to get them the win and a spot in semis as the winners of group E. They will play the F2 team (most likely Sri Lanka)

In our matches: Big Brother is spending to much time in the outhouse - somebody throw him a magazine. The volcanoes, dusters, and Drag Ons are all having a pivot dance with Jimminy while the Chartham Strikers are taking out Gophers left and right. Then there's the Hillbillies looking to show the Strikersjust how to cook up some Gopher stew. The Mind Magician has put the Chiloquin to sleep and teh Wackey Wanstead Wicket Winners should just give up and take the Right Brothers out for a pint. Here's the worm: