Still think the Black Cats are worth thinking about. Bond, Vettori and Oram (probably their three best players, or at least two) to come into the side that hilariously defeated the choking convicts today.

Sadly, I think to win it they would need Shane Bond (world's best bowler?) to stay fit, and he has a body made of poppadums.

El Treasurorio wrote:

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I've found much better odds than Muppet at 16:14 CET. (All in decimals-have no idea why they still use fractions) Australia 3.35, South Africa 5.8 (seriously worth a bet), Windies 9.7, India 11, Sri Lanka 11, England 10.5, NZ 11, Pakistan 12.5 and the rest.... 

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I just put them in as a guide, wasn't really suggesting them as a betting option. My preferred betting site is betfair.com, you bet against other betters rather than against the house, and you can choose your own odds, as long as someone else will give you them.

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4/1 would become not 4.0 but 5.0 in decimals - they include your original bet in the decimal, i.e. 1.0.
Thus Australia at 3.35(decimals) would be 2.35/1 (47/20), altogether 0.35 better odds than 2/1....
Ok Class?

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So what happens if they come off for rain a second time?

El Presidente wrote:

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OK - Own up!

Which wag (pre football World cup usage - of course) voted "other"? Would that be Zimbabwe, Kenya, Bangladesh, Holland, Ireland, Scotland, Bermuda or Canada you expect to win the world cup?

We demand an explanation.

-- Edited by El Presidente at 13:29, 2007-02-21

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Err, my finger slipped, I thought Namibia were in it again, Bermuda are playing well these days, one-day cricket's a lottery, I always support the underdogs

Luxury wrote:

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Err, my finger slipped, I thought Namibia were in it again, Bermuda are playing well these days, one-day cricket's a lottery, I always support the underdogs

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 au contraire, bermuda were the whipping boys of the 6-team world cricket league. Scotland and Kenya looked tidy however, while Canada's only hopes lie with that bloke who plays with Cameron Eve who got the faster ever one-day century. Now if he lets rip against England....

Australia have the second worst economy rate for the last ten overs of ODIs over the last year, and as for new call up Stuart Clark, he goes for nearly 8 an over at the death according to a statistical analysis from Cricinfo!

El Presidente wrote:

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Interesting as having Lee and Tait together would have had two genuine quicks, but now the Aussies will have 2 'metronomic' bowlers in McGrath and Clark. I'm not sure if Australia would play the 2 of them together.

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So how do you see the bowling attack lining up? Does Lee's withdrawal mean that Tait's a cert, or will he be competing with Johnson for a place? Is it just a question of deciding between them and between Clark & McGrath?
I can see them possibly playing Clark and McGrath together, on the grounds that pace will be less of a factor on these sluggish pitches we're being promised. Also Ponting has said the biggest problem they have is finding someone to bowl at the death, so will Clark + McGrath in tandem prove too irresistible?
I might be inclined to leave out Bracken, play Johnson instead of Tait, and stick both the metronomes in. That way you'd have some security at the end of the innings, plus some pace and left/right variety.

Incidentally, any tips for not confusing Brad Hogg and Brad Hodge? With Brad Haddin in there as well, the Oz squad is looking a little like a Braddy H version of the Monty Python "Bruce" sketch ("That's going to cause a little confusion")...

El Presidente wrote:

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the fourth bowler will be Bracken who has a good economy rate although he bowled a poor final over in the last NZ match. The 5th bowler will be Watson / Clarke / Hussey/ Hogg etc.

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That last over still rankles, doesn't it!
Is Bracken better than Clark? Agree about his economy rate, but Clark's had a pretty amazing summer. As for Johnson, I've never seen him bowl but everything I've read about him makes him look pretty exciting. He would have made the Ashes squad had he not got injured.
And surely Watson and Hogg will both make every team?

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Incidentally, do you think if I changed my last name to Hughes or Hoggard or something like that, that I could join the Australian team too?

Brad Hogg is a bit of an imposter though - he's actually a George, not a Brad.

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Yeah but fair go mate, can't blame a bloke for tryin' to fit in.

Not sure I'd recommend changing your name to Hoggard though. You may find yourself blocking or padding up to every ball you face, as well as developing a fondness off the field for bread and dripping, whippets, PG Tips, and the "funky flat caps" page of the Littlewoods catalogue.

zimmerframe wrote:

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not sure if India's on to a winner with this but it's newsworthy (just)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_6380000/newsid_6389600?redirect=6389685.stm&news=1&bbwm=1&nbwm=1&bbram=1&nbram=1

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Great clip, but I'd probably be more interested in seeing his "car shaped like a toilet" as that would be pretty unusual to say the least.

 

Angus wrote:

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Can we get Scotland as a winning option up there on its own, please?

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 "Computer says no."

Golcar CC wrote:

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  Angus wrote:

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  Can we get Scotland as a winning option up there on
  its own, please?

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Scotland (n) - a team, thing or item that cannot leave or exit a group.

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Obviously Angus was just having a moment and confusing it with the 6 Nations, where Scotland are right up there with the big gu... oh.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delayed_sleep_phase_syndrome

Muppet wrote:

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a gorgeous young ljubljanka

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"Ljubljanka" - I like that. Is it rhyming slang?

Muppet wrote:

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Getting back to the subject, it seems that those Kiwis will stop at nothing in their determination to play in the World Cup.

This quote from Jacob Oram regarding his injury:

"We've got taping techniques and guards that fit into a batting glove, and I'm confident I'll be fine. If it means cutting the finger off, if that's the last resort, I'll do that, there's no way I'm missing this."

What is the greatest sacrifice that anyone has ever made to be able to play in a match? For example, perhaps some of you LjCCers can share some of the many stories of when you had to show a gorgeous young ljubljanka the door because you had an important cup match in the morning...

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 While I myself have not had this problem, I know of at least one club member who suffered this very difficult choice. You'll be pleased to know, he chose the cricket (and then we lost a narrow thriller) leaving the bemused lady in question wondering how to get home at 7:30 in the morning. It is not in my powers to name and shame the gentlemean in question, but he may pop in and own up, then again he may not.

El Presidente wrote:

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Interesting that as yet, no one has picked the hosts or Pakistan yet every other team has been tipped here. Pakistan are a bit of an enigma, but today lost both Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif, who have been replaced by Mohammed Sami and Yasir Arafat (insert obvious joke here).

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Tried to do something about tea-towel-tampering scandals, but think I'll leave it.
Agree that Pakistan will struggle - but it's so hard to tell which players will have the best time of it as we're being promised new pitches in the Caribbean which won't bear any relation to the pacey ones of old. Maybe Inzamam could have a tournament.
Difficult to tell with the Windies - they seem to be talking themselves up, but I can only see 2 or 3 potential matchwinners in their side. Can't see them doing it for the same reason I can't see England doing it. Plus there's the "curse of the hosts".