FCKING BLOG

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 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.