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10 
Symonds not Big Monkey
The row about Harbhajan Singh racially abusing Andrew Symonds by calling him a "Big Monkey" is still raging on, but I've just heard on the radio (so it must be true) that Harbhajan was speaking Hindi and said, "Abey bik mangey, teri maa ki" which means "Beggar, go f*** your mother". Still not very polite, but probably more acceptable. I can believe this. The Aussies grasp of Hindi probably isn't that good...
28 
Twenty20 Cricket World Cup wall chart
The Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa will be upon us in a couple of weeks. Get your wall chart (excel spreadsheet), check the fixtures and support your team!
[remarks 3]
18 
Unhappy Windies
Going up to Lords on Sunday for day 4 versus the West Indies at Lord's (after the small matter of a wedding tomorrow). I'm hoping I won't see anything like this famous moment in cricket history, though it probably reflects quite accurately the current mood in the West Indian dressing room.
It's from the Dunedin match during the 1979-80 tour of New Zealand by West Indies depicting Michael Holding's discontent at an umpiring decision. Photo taken by Owen Jones.
5 
Thrilla in Antigua
England lost another game in the Cricket World Cup yesterday but at least they did it in style. I was following the match on the Duckworth Lewis calculator and we were cruising till the three quick wickets went down... then I must admit they really pulled it out of the bag to come so close to winning! Come on England.
1
Sir Garfield Sobers' six sixes
The feat by Herschell Gibbs the other day was, of course, famously done previously by Sir Garfield Sobers and I found a link to it. Here's footage of the man hitting six sixes in one over against Glamorgan bowler Malcolm Nash in 1968. (If you're not in UK there's a Youtube clip here.)
[remarks 1]
29 
Four wickets in four balls
Lasith Malinga almost got Sri Lanka out of jail yesterday in their World Cup match vs South Africa. If you missed it, watch it here.
26
Super 8s explained
Cricket World Cup 2007 now enters into the second stage called the Super 8s. How does this work? It's explained very well here. In related news, Kevin Pietersen is now top of the batting rankings! Well done Kevin.
20
Peccadillos on pedalos
It's been an eventful World Cup so far with lots of highs like the six sixes in an over by Hershel Gibbs. There have been lows too, such as Bob Woolmer's passing. Pakistan and Scotland are already out, and Andrew Flintoff (so the newspapers say) "got into difficulties" after falling off a pedalo. More than a mere peccadillo really. What's he playing at? England fans have had enough. We don't deserve to win this tournament - teams that display some fight do, like Bermuda, who have players like Dwayne Leverock (pictured) fast becoming legends. He took a truly excellent diving catch yesterday. And Ireland who beat Pakistan deserve high praise - high praise indeed... but not England.
16
Six Sixes in an over
Herschell Gibbs hit six sixes in one over off Daan van Bunge on his way to make 72 for South Africa today.
Though Garfield Sobers has achieved it before, Gibbs is the first to ever do it in a world cup, and it qualifies him for the Johnny Walker Six Sixes challenge, which means he gets to donate a million dollars to charity!
13
Smug
Could Ricky Ponting be any more smug? Somebody, anybody, please please wipe that expression off his face and win the World Cup. South Africa? Sri Lanka? Dare I say England?
[comments 4]
8
Wii want cricket
Update 27/06/08: Big Beach Sports (UK/US) has beach cricket!
Combining two of the topics that have been popular here lately - there seems to be a growing group of cricket-loving gamers who think that the Wii is in desperate need of a cricket game. I agree. In fact if there was a Wii development kit around that I could get my hands on, I wouldn't mind having a go myself. I've seen a demo video of the dev kit in action and it looks quite intuitive...
As a side note, another couple of people got a Wii via my stock checker yesterday, so sign up if you're wanting one too!
[remarks 1]
4
Who will win Cricket World Cup 2007?
Check out who's looking hard to beat in this form guide.
[have your say 32]
2
Where to watch cricket world cup online?
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Update: CricketNext reportedly has rights to stream live coverage so keep checking their site. Also, please check out my Duckworth Lewis calculator which can help you work out who's winning during the games.
Scanning through the list of CWC 2007 licensed broadcasters, it looks as though it's going to be tough to watch live coverage of the teams battling it out if you don't have SkyTV or satellite equipment. The BBC, who were streaming live action during the football world cup last year only have rights to show highlights... I see a couple of broadcasters have internet rights, but you can be pretty sure that they'll be charging for any service or software. Please add a comment if you know any different!
[comments 26]
21 
DL Method explained with worked examples
With the cricket World Cup only a couple of weeks away, I thought I would go through a few Duckworth Lewis scenarios for people wanting to use my calculator to follow the matches.
This page has the text for the worked examples but below are illustrations of what the calculator should look like for each one.
Example 1:
Note that to get the wickets to appear, you need to left click.
Example 2:
To create yet-to-be-played and restricted overs, right click to the earliest ball in the innings that is yet to be bowled (black will then show from that point to the end of the innings), right click again on the ball representing the start of the restricted overs for yellow to appear.
Example 3:
And just because it was so enjoyable, below is what you should have had if you followed the second match of the recent CBS series (described here) just as they'd come back from the second rain break.
16
Australia lose by 10 wickets
Oh dear, that's not very good! Australia might get overtaken by South Africa in the world rankings for ODIs!
11
Commonwealth Bank Series Winners
Yes, England have done it! For the third time in a row they've crushed the Australians (this time using the D/L method). The team need some tougher opposition really, as practise for the Cricket World Cup.
Remembering that this has all been done without Kevin Pietersen, these are good signs!
9
Happy Birthday Glenn McGrath!
Glenn McGrath turned 37 today and to help him celebrate England beat Australia in the first match of the Commonwealth Bank Series finals! A team-mate also hit him on the head with a cricket ball. Maybe that's why he was dropping catches... Poor guy!
7
Cricket World Cup Wallchart
Only a few weeks left now until the Cricket World Cup schedule begins! West Indies 2007 promises to be as exciting as ever and to help you follow it, here's a wallchart for you to print out and fill in as the tournament progresses. (Actually, an Excel spreadsheet version would be better I think... Maybe I'll whip up something over the next few days...)
By the way, my Duckworth Lewis calculator is freely available for use during the forthcoming matches to help discern how each game is going and who's winning. It's not only useful for rain-affected matches!
Update: Here's a link to a site that has all sorts of sporting spreadsheets, including one for CWC 2007 (mirror).
[have your say 6]
3
England Thrash Australia
And when I say thrash, I mean a comprehensive victory. We beat Australia by 92 runs in Sydney!
18 
The Sheikh of Tweak
The Ashes are lost, thanks mainly to Shane Warne who was the leading wicket taker this morning at the Waca. England's latest capitulation means that they're now 3-0 down in the 5 match series, but I wonder if that's a fair reflection on the relative ability of the two sides...
What's contributed to such a poor performance? Take your pick from under-preparedness (Harmison's epic wide at the very start of the 1st Test Match at Brisbane hinted at that), Giles dropping Ponting before he became a centurian at the Adelaide Oval, not picking Panesar till the 3rd Test or key umpiring decisions that were poor (just ask Andrew Strauss what he thinks of his LBWs).
But there's hope. Collingwood, Pietersen, Alistair Cook (almost Boycottesque yesterday), Panesar, these guys have all had their moments and I've probably missed a few other notable performances. Also, in terms of sessions won (if you watch Test cricket that way) England have come away from sessions on top just as many times as the Australians this series. For example, but for a ridiculous hour at Adelaide on the last day, England had won almost every session.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if this Ashes series ends 3-2. Then England will really be kicking themselves. Another prediction - Warne's going to get fined before the series is out for his shameful and unrestrained histrionics after almost every delivery. If wooing umpires in such a way is not bringing the game into disrepute, I don't know what is. Sheikh of Tweak? Histrionic Geek.
21 
War of Words
Two days till the Ashes start and the war of words is heating up.
"I'm going to target Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell" - Glenn McGrath
"The Australian bowling line-up is like Dad's Army." - Ian Botham
"They [England] are in for so much pain, so much pain. Facing the tiger who's tail you've been pulling. Pain, baby." - Russell Crowe
But you're a kiwi, Russell. Stay out of it!
7
Aussie cricketers 'rude' on podium
"The Australian cricket team has been labelled "rude and arrogant" by the Indian media for allegedly pushing aside the Indian board president on the Champions Trophy victory podium."
Read the full article here.
28 
Countdown to The Ashes
Just under 4 weeks now until the first Ashes Test in Brisbane and the Australian propaganda machine is in overdrive! Remember, Ricky Ponting, what happened last time. Maybe they just can't help themselves. The Aussie cricketers seem to like a good taunt about as much as Jose Mourinho likes a good winge. Perhaps it's a sharp tactic. Low, but potentially effective. Sport is, as one of the american Ryder Cup golfers was saying (can't remember who though...) all about momentum and to want to gain some before a ball is even bowled is understandable. After all, it worked extremely well for Muhammad Ali. But let's be honest - the Australian cricket team are hardly Muhammad Ali... about the same age on average, but not in the same league.
28
Delhi Belly
Third and final test for the England cricket team in Pakistan tomorrow. Worried. Even if we win we only draw the series, and from some of the photos I've seen the guys seem to be hinting that the curries aren't really agreeing with them...
7
My nerves are still shot to pieces after watching the second closest test match result in history - an England victory by 2 runs!
For more cricket stats, visit here.
Random link: Learn Shane Warne's five spin deliveries.
[comments]
26 
How to watch cricket
Watching the test match on the big screen in Regent's Park last Sat was brilliant... until England lost the plot...
20 
Media mauling
The media mauling of Australia continues! This is a real treat. Ricky has now warned Pietersen, saying, "I'm sure his techniques will be tested out a lot differently in the longer version." Tested? What, like the thorough examination your bowlers give when spraying deliveries around so much their overs turn into 11-ball epics? Scary.
19
Who is Ricky Ponting?
Ricky Ponting is the Australian cricket captain and I've been following his interviews this Ashes tour.
Sunday, 12th June 2005 - One week into the tour
"Andrew Flintoff is the only England player who could force his way into the Australia side."
Tuesday, 14th June 2005 - After a 100-run Twenty20 defeat by England.
"It's a pretty important game for us now against Somerset and we've certainly got to try and get whatever we can out of that.
"By the time Saturday and Sunday come around there won't be any excuses as far as preparation goes from us.
Wednesday, 15th June 2005 - Australia fail to defend a sizeable 342 runs and Somerset beat Australia by four wickets.
"It's pretty embarrassing."
Saturday, 18th June 2005 - Bangledesh beat Australia by five wickets.
"This is probably one of the biggest upsets in the history of cricket and my worst defeat as captain." ... so far.
Sunday, 19th June 2005 - Pietersen thumps 91 in 65 balls and England beat Australia at Bristol. Ricky gets out first ball. The golden boy of Australian cricket said, "All we have to do, I guess, is make it to the final of this competition - win a couple of games along the way and we'll see how we go."
I'm loving it.
Is this the worst Australian side ever to tour this country? I mean, when was the last time they won a game?
[comments 1]
18
Brian Johnston's "Legover" commentary
Ah, it brings joy to my heart when England win a test match... I found this today - it's a little clip that has also brought joy to many people's hearts (even though it's about an English batsman getting out...). Yes, it's Brian Johnston's famous "leg over" clip.
***Calculate Duckworth Lewis***
6
A bit worried by this decision to make Michael Vaughan England's one-day cricket captain... Granted, he's the world's best batsman, but my Dad's a better fielder than him! Are his tactics in the field going to be any good? Doubtful, very doubtful... I'd vote for Phil Tufnell... actually no I wouldn't, not for captain, but for "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!" I would! I haven't witnessed any of the farcical nonsense but the Daily Mail's article on it was highly amusing, particularly the bit on them needing "medical and psychological evaluation." Go Tuffers!
21
Come on England, come on Nasser. You can do it. You can get a big total and win a test match. Otherwise, like many houses across the UK this coming week, we're all going to be completely gutted...
[comments]
8 
Am watching the test match... how depressing. I'm doing far better than England on this little online cricket game and competition.
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Abdul's inspiration to integrate a sextant into his rifle never really caught on... Via Mr T[add caption 4]
