FCKING BLOG

The finals are here and the results don’t lie. NSW and T & T, the two most consistent teams of the tournament have made it to the finish.

All of the players have contributed at one point or the other and this has been the standout feature of these two teams. The marquee name for the Cape Cobras,  Herschelle Gibbs flopped all tournament long and when he delivered, it was too little, too late. Ditto for Charl Langeveldt, Cameron White, Brad Hodge and many other big guns.

The previous match between NSW and T&T was at the same venue in Hyderabad and NSW were cruising to victory before Kieron Pollard sank them with his 18 ball 54. Dwayne Bravo was the only bowler from T&T that day to fetch wickets ( he got 3) while Dave Mohammed and S Ganga were economical.

The top order was dispatched early but contributions from Darren Ganga, Ramdin & Darren Bravo set it up for Pollard to finish the innings. Of the NSW bowlers, only Brett Lee and Doug Bollinger had success while everyone else leaked runs but the fielding was sharp enough to run out the three set batsmen.

Philip Hughes and David Warner had also put up the highest opening stand of the tournament in that match, 121 runs in 15.1 overs and the two have really been invaluable for NSW with their batting just like Adrian Barath and William Perkins have been for T&T.

Moises Henriques was taken apart but this is not KKR he’s playing for, it’s a team he takes much more pride in representing, I expect him to hit back with venom today.

Dwayne Bravo is the best bet for the trump player, his bowling had already been outstanding throughout the tournament and he exploded with the bat yesterday, just in time for the final.

Three state sides and a team representing a sovereign nation will compete in the semi finals to decide who goes into the final of the Champions League. Here’s a quick look at the dudes you might want to pick in your team.

Perkins of Trinidad & Tobago is technically a wicket keeper and an explosive opening batsman so he is a better choice than all the other keepers remaining, all of whom have been largely unimpressive.

The bowlers in the semifinal between NSW and Victoria Bushrangers will have a good time on the slow and low pitch at the Kotla in Delhi. NSW’s attack was good even on the Hyderabad pitch while Victoria found the going hard in Bangalore. The spinners of the two sides, Jon Holland & Nathan Hauritz have done well and will enjoy bowling in Delhi.

Victoria’s top order has been inconsistent while Warner and Hughes from NSW have been much more consistent.

The batsmen in the Hyderabad semi final between Cape Cobras and and Trinidad & Tobago will find it easier to slog  but don’t dismiss the bowlers. T&T were in a corner against NSW before Pollard let the crowd smell what he was cooking (Moises Henriques). If the bowlers on both sides hold their nerves despite any assault, this match will surely turn out to be even and exciting.

Charl Langeveldt’s return might see the Cape Cobras get an early breakthrough but they face an explosive roadblock in the form of Lendl Simmons & Kieron Pollard to get through. Then there is Dwayne Bravo to follow.

The Cobras batting too is somewhat  strong with every batsman except for Gibbs having contributed. Henry Davids has been the most consistent while Duminy & Puttick have done one man demolition acts too.

The business end of the Champions League is here and the poseur teams have been deleted. I’m sorry for those guys but they sucked, choked and slogged across line in the wrong tournament. It all happened in a blur but then, this is not a fcking tea party.

I know I must do something productive like tell you who to pick for the remaining matches but let’s have therapy first and yell at those idiots who’ve turned up only to collect their appearance fees. The number of big name failures in this tournament has been huge, big names which mean high valuations, high valuations which mean compromise in team balance and this compromise which could potentially translate into little or no points.

Deccan Chargers:
They clearly looked under prepared for the Champions League. Most of their players had been out of action for too long and they missed the services of Herschelle Gibbs. Gilchrist, Symonds, Styris, Fidel Edwards, Rohit & Ojha were all equally rusty and their failure to launch cost Deccan heavily as the reigning IPL champions made an embarassing first round exit.

Sussex Sharks:
Sussex found the heat too much to handle and they were unfortunately placed in a very tough group with the Diamond Eagles and New South Wales. Dwayne Smith, Luke Wright & Piyush Chawla could not muster enough to haul the team across as Sussex became the second domestic reigning champion to exit the tournament in the first round itself.

Otago Volts:
The Volts came in boasting of the highest strike rate among all teams having posted atleast 189+ runs  in each of their last 5 T20 matches. A lot was expected of Brendon McCullum who had kicked off the IPL in a spectacular way in 2008 to leave his mark on the Champions League too but he couldn’t do anything of that sort. A line up with international players like Aaron Redmond, Nathan McCullum, Neil Broom, Ian Butler & Dimitri Mascarenhas was expected to proceed much further int he tournament but crashed out with two straight defeats.

Wayamba Elevens:
The only team that went out in the first round with a win, Wayamba have no one but themselves to blame. Mahela Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis, Jehan Mubarak & Farveez Maharoof played one bad game against Delhi and they were out of the tournament. They regretted their reckless approach later when they had Victoria gasping for qualification to the net round through net run rate.

These were the teams that stumbled at the first hurdle itself. Some teams made it to the super 8s by the skin of their teeth only to lose their teeth altogether due to the pounding they received in the next round. Read more…

Watching teams that I know shit about lose is quite a relieving feeling. No disappointment to shrug off. Maybe it’s because my fantasy team has been doing well. Or the hot cheerleader close ups.

The Champions League T20 has been fun with the pitches which have made it a contest between the bat and the ball. Hopefully more than a few minds will be changed about ‘the nature of subcontinental pitches’ by the time this tournament is over.

It’ll also valuate the IPL sides skill and sporting value wise never mind how much they cost and slot them in the world order of domestic set ups. Maybe the debate about what kind of domestic system nurtures the best talent will be settled here.

Also interesting to watch will be the difference in the mindsets of players when they play for a home team against when they play for a team that pays them a lot. A lot of IPL & national duds/ perennial benchwarmers/ discards are in this tournament playing for their state teams in the CLT20 so it’ll be interesting to see how they seize their chances on the closest thing to a international tournament they’ll get to play representing a domestic side.

Anyway, the return of international cricket to India and the planning for this tournament meant that I spent a lot of time online changing my team and found this while going through the rest of the site:

He’s no bird but boy can he fly! Brendon McCullum’s electric wicket keeping is only bettered by his explosive batting. Practice your skills with the Otago Volts, Kolkata Knight Riders & New Zealand wicket keeper as he prepares for the Champions League T20 in India.

Catch It Like It's Swine Flu

Click here to go to the Official Otago Volts League

The New Zealand domestic State Twenty20 champions, the Otago Volts have a new sponsor, Dream11, who have promised to feed 100 hundred children for every run the Volts score and for every wicket they take in the Champions League T20.

In return, the Otago Volts players will play some real cricket against the domestic champions from South Africa & the runners up from India who actually played in South Africa.

Then they will play fantasy cricket against Dream11 users in a public league on the site. They’ll probably interact with the users on the message boards, profess their immense respect for other players while justifying selections and omissions.

Some of the international players might be pulled into interesting discussions where they will be asked to justify their decision to play in a exhausting tournament in the middle of a hectic international season. Maybe we’ll see some wit, temper fail or a knack for the gross out. Maybe some’ll actually play and not have a dummy click on stuff for him.

Maybe it’ll be like Star Wars on Page 2 from Cricinfo during the IPL2 & ICC T20 WC. Maybe it won’t. But you might have Brendon & other assorted Kiwis for playmates.

It’s big, it’s overwhelming and it’s coming fast.

The first ever edition of the Champions League T20 is gonna leave a hell lot of people confused by the time it’s done. Teams you already know and teams you might start liking over a period of three games might suddenly be dumped out and you’ll be left stranded without a team to cheer.

Managing a fantasy team for such a tournament  is a chore with all the plotting of transfers with the schedule and that’s where  the  split round format saves the day. In this the different stages of the tournament are split into rounds of 2-3 games. Your team is locked for each round and at the end of the round you can completely overhaul your team. This takes out the whole problem of balancing your transfers and doesn’t cost you for injury substitutions & dumping passengers from your team. Dream11 and Cricket Inc are the two big websites which have this round system as of now.

Cricinfo has a good game on which following up on points is easy but the limited number of transfers in a league stage and the inflated valuations piss off the good work. Specifically when a lot of players drop out due to injuries in a long tournament.

Putting grievances aside, here’s my dastardly dozen for the Champions League T20. It’s the team for the first round hence the selections from only 6 of the 12 teams. The H. Singh is Harmeet Singh from Deccan Chargers, the lucky mascot for the team according to Gilchrist because they never lost a match whenever he was in the playing 11. He’s my 12th man.

FCKing's Dirty Dozen

The Champions League T20 is a giant leap for the fantasy kind simply because of the number of  teams involved. I advise you download the schedule, print it out, stick a copy in your loo, memorize the schedule, do your research and make your bloody changes on time.

Don’t be perplexed by the number of people you have to choose from and don’t be fooled by presence of big names. A lot of players in this tournament are T20 specialists. They’re average if not shit in other versions but awesome in T20.

A rundown on the teams:

Cape Cobras: The South African champs will miss Graeme Smith who had to pull out due to his upper limb dysfunction but they still have Herschelle Gibbs, JP Duminy, Charl Langeveldt & a maniacal South African/Bond villain will to succeed.

Deccan Chargers: The 50 slammin Adam Gilchrist, the innings finishin, hat-trick takin Rohit Sharma, the fast bowlin RP Singh, the fast bowlin, invective hurlin Ryan Harris took the team all the way in this years IPL. Their all round department looks a bit weak with Andrew Symonds coming off a quadriceps injury and no match practice in 3 months and Dwayne Smith choosing to play for Sussex but Scott Styris could fill that gap up. Literally.

Delhi Daredevils: The sight of Sehwag walking out to bat with Dilshan. The carnage. Waves upon waves of charging, barging attacks by Gambhir, & Karthik. Ashish Nehra & Dirk Nannes running in from both ends. Daniel Vettori. Have I painted a picture vivid enough?

Diamond Eagles: The precious stone birds of prey have a lot of T20 stars in their squad, most importantly Ryan McLaren, Boeta Dippenaar, Dillon Du Preez & Morne van Wyk who kept & batted excellently for Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this year.

Speed Blitz Blues (New South Wales): NSW has in its squad a number of Australia players. Among them, their best spinners (Simon Katich) best batsmen ( Brett Lee & Nathan Hauritz) & best pacers (Stuart Clark & Doug Bollinger). They also have under production coming attractions David Warner & Philip Hughes in their ranks, so watch out for them, like, now!

Otago Volts: The electric team, the thunderbolts have in their ranks Nathan & Brendon McCullum, Dimitri Mascarenhas & Aaron Redmond, all players who have had impressive T20 careers. Also in the team are New Zealand national players Ian Butler & Neil Broom.

Royal Challengers Bangalore: They will miss their inspirational Captain Kevin but sidekick Kumble should do just well in this extravagant line up of Dravid, Kallis, Steyn, van der Merwe & Boucher. All the famous names played some role in their road to the final but among the local boys, only Manish Pandey played a substantial role.

Somerset County Cricket Club: Among their ranks are the well known, explosive Marcus Trescothick, the observant, dossier compiling Justin Langer and the not so famous but still explosive wicket keeper Craig Kieswetter.

Sussex Sharks (Sussex County Cricket Club): The team boasts of the big hitting powers of Ed Joyce, Luke Wright & Dwayne Smith backed up by the bowling of Yasir Arafat & Piyush Chawla, two bowlers with enormous experience in bowling in the sub continent.

Isuru Udana will rock this Champions League like he rocked the T20 World Cup

Trinidad & Tobago: The most talented West Indian domestic side has an impressive line up. Stars include the all rounder par excellence Dwayne Bravo, brother Darren Bravo, keeper batsman Denesh Ramdin, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul & Dave Mohammed.

Victorian Bushrangers (Victoria): This is a very strong team on paper and on form. Big hitters Brad Hodge, Cameron White, Rob Quiney & David Hussey power the batting while demon pacemen Peter Siddle, Shane Harwood and crafty leg spinner Bryce McGain make up the bowling attack.

Wayamba Eleven: This is one of the most low profile sides in the tournament but features some of Sri Lanka’s biggest talents. Mahela Jayawardene, Ajantha Mendis & Farveez Maharoof all have proven T20 credentials  while Rangana Herath has dabbled in test cricket. Also in the squad is a celebrity from the T20 World Cup Squad, Butthead from Beavis & Butthead Isuru Udana.

Three of the four favorites for the Champions Trophy are out in the first round itself. South Africa found themselves clinically outplayed, Sri Lanka’s lack of experience outside of home showed while India, already limping with injuries, stumbled in a crucial match and ultimately crashed out of the tournament.

New Zealand kept going despite injuries to key players and England surprised the opposition by actually competing. Pakistan played a calculated game and seized their opportunities while Australia played like the last 8 months never happened.

We will let sleeping dogs lie and have their effigies burnt (in India)/ performances reviewed (in saner parts of the world) and concentrate on your team for the semis.

Australia: Ponting has played with venom and vengeance. Hussey has supported him well and while Watson hasn’t scored any runs at the top, he has chipped in with wickets. Mitchell Johnson bailed them out against West Indies.

England: Andrew Strauss has been spot on with the captaincy and Collingwood has finally put in some effort. Owais Shah & Eoin Morgan have contributed in bursts while the bowlers Onions, Anderson & Broad have been a revelation in discipline.

New Zealand: Guptill & McCullum have taken up responsibility at the top of the batting order and that has seen New Zealand get those good starts. Vettori  & Franklin have been vital with their all round contributions while Bond has reveled as opening bowler. Aaron Redmond’s inclusion in place of Jesse Ryder ought to strengthen their batting.

Pakistan: Mohammad Yousuf & Shoaib Malik have been solid in the middle while Umar Akmal & Misbah have been finishing the innings. The bowling is strong with the return of Asif to the existing line up  of Aamer, Naved & Gul. Afridi & Ajmal have been economical & dangerous.

Considering that Australia recently thrashed England 6-1 and that Pakistan take on their favorite bunny side NZ in the semis, it looks like it’s gonna be an Australia vs Pakistan final. If they learnt anything from their last match, the Australians will not let down even when on top because it doesn’t take too much for the Pakistanis to go on a roll.

The mother of all matches.

A match so tough that the man with balls of steel Yuvraj Singh put his hand under the heavy pitch roller so that his pinkie would be fractured & he could get out of playing the match because he couldn’t take the tension.

A match so intense that Sachin Tendulkar hasn’t slept for the past 2 months because he is busy visualizing his shots.

A match so important that Shahid Afridi lovingly nursed Younis Khan to recovery so that he could lead again lest Afridi lose all the recently earned love because of any potential screw ups.

A match so vital that the even the Delhi Daredevil Wildboyz weren’t up for the challenge. Sehwag dropped out months ago while Gambhir’s late & poorly thought out ‘injury’ might yet get him out of it.

A match which will change the face of the earth so drastically that a robot was sent from the future to give the message to the Indian selectors to select Rahul Dravid in the squad because he is the one who can handle the short ball.

A match so eagerly awaited that Shoaib Akhtar got himself genital viral warts & enemies in the PCB so that he could watch it in HD in the comforts of his house rather than from the unbelievably uncomfortable third man boundary.

A match so crucial that the whole Indian team and all their supporters will be hitting every bar in town, outside town and within a 100 mile radius of town to pick up girls and sleep with them to make sure that they perform at their best on the field.

It’s the match aliens have landed on earth for, chickens have crossed the road for, Bruce Willis has died hard for & Arnie has come back for .

It’s a match I’ve made my fantasy team for. What are you waiting for?

Group B of the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy is a story of consistent underachievers. Between the four of them they have one World Cup victory, two Champions Trophy winners and a joint CT winner. And the millions of semi final and final defeats it took them to get those results.

I.B. #Eine: South Africa
The favourites of the tournament. South Africa have a mountainous pile of reasons why they can win this tournament. Balancing all of them singularly, and rather spectacularly on the other arm of the see saw is their proven Inglourious Chokers tag. But this time something seems different. Will it be their year?
Inglourious South Afrikaners: Jean Paul Duminy, Roelof van der Merwe, Wayne Parnell & AB de Villiers.

I.B. #Zwei: Sri Lanka
The most naturally talented side, they have Angelo Mathews & Ajantha Mendis winning them matches by rolling over of the arm and flicking of the fingers respectively. They need their young batsmen to put in those big match winning knocks. Thilina Kandamby is already staking his claim so could this be the tournament in which Chamara Kapugedara lives upto his promise?
Inglourious Lankans:Tilakaratne Dilshan, Thilina Kandamby, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekara.

I.B. #Drei: New Zealand
Any tournament they go in, NZ are expected to make it to the next round. More often than not this is as the result of the inconsistency of others rather than due to their own abilities. And they’ve made it to the second rounds and semi finals of many tournaments but haven’t had much luck going beyond that. The one time they did get through in 2000, they won the Champions Trophy. This time around too, the Black Caps have a lot of firepower but the question remains, will it go off?
Inglourious Kiwis: Shane Bond, Ross Taylor & Jesse Ryder.

I.B. #Vier: England
The most inglourious story of them all. More than anyone else, England are painfully aware of their own shortcomings in LOI cricket. In the past year they’ve beat a supremely disinterested West Indies & tired South Africa. But they lost very badly to a fighting NZ, a rampaging India & almost 7-0 to a vengeful Australia. To add to their misery, their best ODI players KP & Freddie are out with injuries and not playing this tournament.
Inglourious British: Luke Wright, Joe Denly, James Anderson & Graeme Swann.

The pitch had plenty to offer for the fast bowlers so he was obviously delighted when he won the toss having yelled "Headssssssssssssss!".