It was a lot of fun. Could we do it quicker next time?

That about sums it up really. Oh and the vexed question of future participation of the Associates is still on the table. Unfortunately, it seems from comments made by the ICC Chairman that money is talking and the Associates are walking. Disappointing.

We are breaking this into a 2 part series. Bottom 7 this week. Top 7 next week. As always, reverse skating direction.

Scotland

Odds

1500.60

Predicted Finish

13^th

Actual Finish

14^th

Predicted Top Guns

Statistics are career statistics.

Batting – Matt Machan – ICC World ODI Ranking – 98, Games – 16, Runs – 548, HS – 114, Ave – 36.53 and SR – 76.00.

Bowling – Majid Haq – ICC World ODI Ranking – 58, Games – 50, Wickets – 57, BB – 5/54, Ave – 31.73, Econ – 4.46 and SR – 42.60.

Actual Top Guns

Statistics are tournament statistics.

Batting – Kyle Coetzer – ICC World ODI Ranking – 70, Games – 6, Runs – 253, HS – 156, Ave – 42.16 and SR – 89.71.

Bowling – Josh Davey – ICC World ODI Ranking – 79, Games – 6, Wickets – 15, BB – 4/68, Ave – 20.73, Econ – 6.22 and SR – 20.00.

Comment

Didn’t really trouble the scorers but did give the NZ top order a scare in Dunedin. Needed to beat Afghanistan and Bangers and heap further misery on England to make the knockout rounds but couldn’t do any of that in the end. For the most part competitive and really only got poleaxed by Australia which was fair enough given they went on to win the tournament.

Ended up where I thought they would, bottom of the ladder.

UAE

Odds

2200.60

Predicted Finish

14^th

Actual Finish

13^th

Predicted Top Guns

Batting – Khurram Khan – ICC World ODI Ranking – N.A, Games – 10, Runs – 427, HS – 132*, Ave – 53.37 and SR – 83.23.

Bowling – Mohammad Shahzad – ICC World ODI Ranking – N.A, Games – 4, Wickets – 5, BB – 4/26, Ave – 25.40, Econ – 5.29 and SR – 28.80.

Note – Shahzad was reported for a suspect action and didn’t take part in the World Cup.

Actual Top Guns

Batting – Shaiman Anwar – ICC World ODI Ranking – 88, Games – 6, Runs – 311, HS – 106, Ave – 51.83 and SR – 91.47.

Bowling – Manjula Guruge – ICC World ODI Ranking – N.A, Games – 4, Wickets – 7, BB – 4/56, Ave – 19.42, Econ – 4.77 and SR – 24.40.

Comment

Didn’t think they would win a game and they didn’t. As predicted, 242 Australian journalists did mention that Khurram Khan works as an Airline Steward.

Afghanistan

Odds

850.60

Predicted Finish

12^th

Actual Finish

12^th

Predicted Top Guns

Batting – Mohammad Nabi – ICC World ODI Ranking – 57, Games – 45, Runs – 1069, HS – 77, Ave – 31.44 and SR – 89.60.

Bowling – Mohammad Nabi – ICC World ODI Ranking – 32, Games – 45, Wickets – 42, BB – 4/31, Ave – 36.23, Econ – 4.19 and SR – 51.80.

Actual Top Guns

Batting – Samiullah Shenwari – ICC World ODI Ranking – 48, Games – 6, Runs – 254, HS – 96, Ave – 42.33 and SR – 57.20.

Bowling – Shapoor Zadran – ICC World ODI Ranking – 60, Games – 6, Wickets – 10, BB – 4/38, Ave – 26.50, Econ – 5.19 and SR – 30.60.

Comment

Predicted that they would knock over Scotland and that would be the end of it and that is what happened. What I didn’t predict was Hamid Hassan becoming a minor celebrity because headband + war paint + cartwheels is an irresistible combination. He can bowl fast too so there’s that.

Zimbabwe

Odds

450.60

Predicted Finish

11^th

Actual Finish

11^th

Predicted Top Guns

Batting – Brendan Taylor – ICC World ODI Ranking – 27, Games – 161, Runs – 4825, HS – 145*, Ave – 33.27 and SR – 72.50.

Bowling – Prosper Utseya – ICC World ODI Ranking – 43, Games – 160, Wickets – 130, BB – 5/36, Ave – 46.50, Econ – 4.34 and SR – 64.20.

Actual Top Guns

Batting – Brendan Taylor – ICC World ODI Ranking – 20, Games – 6, Runs – 433, HS – 138, Ave – 72.16 and SR – 106.91.

Bowling – Tendai Chatara – ICC World ODI Ranking – 32, Games – 6, Wickets – 10, BB – 3/35, Ave – 34.20, Econ – 5.73 and SR – 35.80.

Comment

Didn’t think they would even beat Ireland and they didn’t. Their batting was competitive with Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams the standouts but their bowling wasn’t up to the same standard. For instance, their only win was against the UAE and the Emirati’s made 7/285. Unfortunately, Zimbabwe has regressed as a cricketing nation. The World Cup didn’t dispel this thought.

England

Odds

9.42

Predicted Finish

Losing Semi-Finalist

Actual Finish

10^th

Predicted Top Guns

Batting – Joe Root – ICC World ODI Ranking – 14, Games – 48, Runs – 1600, HS – 113, Ave – 40.00 and SR – 80.04.

Bowling – Jimmy Anderson – ICC World ODI Ranking – 4, Games – 188, Wickets – 264, BB – 5/23, Ave – 28.84, Econ – 4.90 and SR – 35.20.

Actual Top Guns

Batting – Ian Bell – ICC World ODI Ranking – 28, Games – 6, Runs – 262, HS – 63, Ave – 52.40 and SR – 77.28.

Bowling – Steven Finn – ICC World ODI Ranking – 17, Games – 4, Wickets – 8, BB – 5/71, Ave – 25.00, Econ – 6.89 and SR – 21.70.

Comment

England was very disappointing. Replacing Alistair Cook at the last possible moment with Eoin Morgan wasn’t a promising omen. Neither was Morgan’s form coming into the tournament. I thought they would do much, much better, especially given the favourable knockout draw if they finished at least 3^rd behind Australia and New Zealand in their pool. Their start against Australia was pretty poor but it was the way NZ dispatched them with disdain in their second match which really showed where they were at. Their campaign pretty much ended in disarray with defeats to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Needless to say, they weren’t treated kindly in the English press either.

Ireland

Odds

450.60

Predicted Finish

10^th

Actual Finish

9^th

Predicted Top Guns

Batting – Paul Stirling – ICC World ODI Ranking – 32, Games – 51, Runs – 1726, HS – 177, Ave – 35.22 and SR – 95.14.

Bowling – George Dockrell – ICC World ODI Ranking – 36, Games – 42, Wickets – 51, BB – 4/24, Ave – 27.78, Econ – 4.23 and SR – 39.30.

Actual Top Guns

Batting – William Porterfield – ICC World ODI Ranking – 61, Games – 6, Runs – 275, HS – 107, Ave – 45.83 and SR – 67.23.

Bowling – Alex Cusack – ICC World ODI Ranking – 52, Games – 4, Wickets – 7, BB – 4/32, Ave – 24.57, Econ – 4.58 and SR – 32.10.

Comment

Probably finished where I thought they would, narrowly missing out on the knock out rounds. Looked very promising early on in the tournament with victories against the West Indies, UAE and Zimbabwe but losses against South Africa, India and Pakistan left them in no man’s land. In the end they were a great advertisement for Associate inclusion in future World Cups. Their development continues, hopefully.

West Indies

Odds

17.20

Predicted Finish

Losing Quarter-Finalist

Actual Finish

Losing Quarter-Finalist

Predicted Top Guns

Batting – Chris Gayle – ICC World ODI Ranking – 51, Games – 262, Runs – 8881, HS – 153*, Ave – 37.00 and SR – 84.23.

Bowling – Sunil Narine – ICC World ODI Ranking – 2, Games – 52, Wickets – 73, BB – 5/27, Ave – 26.49, Econ – 4.10 and SR – 38.6.

Note – this was written moments before Sunil Narine pulled out of the tournament.

Actual Top Guns

Batting – Chris Gayle – ICC World ODI Ranking – 52, Games – 6, Runs – 340, HS – 215, Ave – 56.66 and SR – 117.24.

Bowling – Jerome Taylor – ICC World ODI Ranking – 42, Games – 7, Wickets – 17, BB – 3/15, Ave – 19.29, Econ – 5.70 and SR – 20.20.

Comment

Once again ended up where I expected them to end up but by a completely different route, which is often the case. Things looked very dire early on with the loss to Ireland but ended up having a reasonable tournament with wins over Pakistan, Zimbabwe and UAE and losses to South Africa and India. In the end they scraped into the quarter-finals where they were promptly dispatched by a rampant NZ. They would have played better with Sunil Narine in their line-up. Moments of brilliance from Chris Gayle were probably the highlight of their tournament.

What was sweeter than Jelly Bread?

• Pat Richards. Enough said. Maybe I’ll say something later.
• The Dubs. Having the best season since 1975. Now the Playoffs. Love this piece on Draymond Green, the Dubs defensive juggernaut.

What wasn’t

• The Dogs, their lack of respect for the refs and their crowd. The NRL laid a marker down though.

Bill James Award 

For the statistically superior NRL human being.

Jack Bird – Tries – 2, Run Metres – 103m, Try Assists – 1, Tackle Breaks – 9, Tackles – 18, Offloads – 1, Line Breaks – 2, Line Break Assists – 0, Errors – 0, Penalties Conceded – 1 and Good news stories from the Shire since 2013 – 1. 

NRL Tips Round 6

Sharks vs Knights – Sharks (Sharkies certainly turned up to play against the Roosters. Maybe they thought rounds 1-4 were the pre-season. Knights hit speed bumps numbers 1 and 2 with their first loss and Beau Scott’s injury. Sharkies to keep rolling at home…just)

Broncos vs Roosters – Broncos (Roosters just looked out of sorts last week and will bounce back but the Broncos have been building this year and will be too good at Suncorp)

Eels vs Titans – Eels (I choose the Eels with great trepidation because both teams have been up and down. Unfortunately, for Titans fans, the Titans have been more down than up)

Warriors vs Tigers – Warriors (Tigers played out of their skins (or pelts, as the case may be) for 10 minutes last week. Pat Richards was unbelievable especially for someone in his 60s. Warriors should arrest their slide though)

Panthers vs Sea Eagles – Panthers (Sea Eagles were abysmal last week. They don’t seem to be playing for each other. Maybe they are setting the baseline so low to make their Disney-like turnaround even more amazing. Looking decidedly like the end of the road though. Panthers are too good if Manly repeat last week’s shenanigans)

Raiders vs Storm – Storm (Raiders aren’t as bad as people expected. Storm not as good as they once were. Storm should still win)

Dragons vs Bulldogs – Dragons (Dragons were very solid last week and have won 3 in a row now. Bulldogs paid a heavy price for last week’s loss to the Rabbitohs with James Graham, Sam Kasiano, David Klemmer, Brett Morris and Tim Lafai out this week and for many more in some cases)

Rabbitohs vs Cowboys – Cowboys (Teams are lining up to play the Rabbitohs with their injury toll starting to grow. Cows starting to look the goods, finally. Tamou, Taumalolo and Scott laying a significant platform (548m combined last week) for JT. This will be very close but Cows to make it 3 in a row)

Last week – 5/8

Season so far – 23/40

NRL Fantasy Round 6

Trades

Mitchell Aubusson (Roosters) for Jordan Kahu (Broncos) – Aubusson is replacing Guerra in the second row so should boost his productivity.

Lachlan Coote (Cowboys) for Greg Inglis (Rabbitohs) – Coote is starting to lift his productivity + starting to prepare for the Origin period + can use some of the cash in other places.

Starting Team

Robbie Farah (Tigers), Paul Gallen (Sharks), Andrew Fifita (Sharks), Shaun Fensom (Raiders), Corey Parker (Broncos), Tohu Harris (Storm), Daly Cherry-Evans (Sea Eagles), Thomas Leuluai (Warriors), Jack Bird (Sharks), Iosia Soliola (Raiders), Tuimoala Lolohea (Warriors), Euan Aitken (Dragons) and Lachlan Coote (Cowboys)

Bench

Kierran Moseley (Titans), Sam Lisone (Warriors), Solomone Kata (Warriors) and Mitchell Aubusson (Roosters)

Balance of the squad

Rory O’Brien (Dragons), Chris Grevsmuhl (Rabbitohs), Kelepi Tanginoa (Cowboys), Brendan Santi (Tigers), Kane Elgey (Titans), Mitch Moses (Tigers), Eto Nabuli (Dragons) and Edrick Lee (Raiders)

Round 5 Score

787

Current Points

3,950

Current Position

5,893 of 102,363

EPL Tips Match Day 32

Swansea vs Everton – Draw 1-1 (Probably should play a mid-table cup competition at this end of the season. They could call it the Mediocre Cup. Not playing for much else at this stage. Having said that, both teams are playing better of late)

Southampton vs Hull – Southampton 3-1 (Southampton are still right in the mix for European competition next season. A win at home should help their cause)

Tottenham vs Aston Villa – Tottenham 2-1 (Spurs were flat against Burnley last week but should bounce back at home against Villa. Villa are a tougher outing now that Tim Sherwood is around. Christian Bentke’s recent form is helping too. Chalk Harry Kane down for a goal)

Sunderland vs Crystal Palace – Draw 2-2 (Sunderland are right on the brink despite last week’s Tyne-Wear derby win. Palace gaining some serious buzz)

West Brom vs Leicester – West Brom 2-1 (West Brom are obviously in a better position than the 6 teams below them and they will be looking to put another nail in Leicester’s coffin who have a glimmer of hope after last week’s win)

West Ham vs Stoke – West Ham 2-1 (Hammers and Stoke battling it out for 9^th place and bragging rights. Another match for the Mediocre Cup)

Burnley vs Arsenal – Arsenal 2-0 (Burnley is a tough outing at Turf Moor but Arsenal are looking for 8 wins in a row and won’t be troubled. Only team capable of putting any pressure on Chelsea at this stage)

QPR vs Chelsea – Chelsea 2-1 (Chelsea to keep closing out this season. Only 2 losses. QPR won’t add a 3^rd. Charlie Austin will score though)

Man U vs Man City – Draw 1-1 (Man U are looking for 6 in a row and Man City looking to rekindle its title chances which are quickly wilting into oblivion)

Liverpool vs Newcastle –  Liverpool 2-0 (Geordie fans will be thankful that they banked those 35 points so early in the season. They’ve been pretty disjointed for a while now. Liverpool will be looking to resurrect it’s European chances before it is too late)

I’ve adopted the scoring system utilised by Mark Lawrenson on the BBC (a correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth ONE point and picking an exact score THREE points) and even though he wouldn’t know me from Adam we are going head to head all season long. It’s on like Donkey Kong (unless I get a letter from his lawyer or Donkey Kong’s lawyer and then I’m tipping against myself again).

Last week – Me –7 (5 from 11 with 1 perfect score) and Lawro – 7 (5 from 11 with 1 perfect score)

Season so far – Me – 228 and Lawro – 212 (Lawro randomly includes the odd FA Cup or League Cup fixture which is why his score is different on the BBC site)

Fantasy Premier League Match Day 32

Transfer of the week

David Silva (Man City) for Santiago Cazorla (Arsenal) – Cazorla has been quiet of late + he is playing at Burnley this week where goals go to die.

My team this week

De Gea (Man U), Clyne (Southampton), Ivanovic (Chelsea), Terry (Chelsea), Sanchez (Arsenal), Eriksen (Spurs), Downing (West Ham), Hazard (Chelsea), Silva (Man City), Kane (Spurs) and Austin (QPR) with Hamer (Leicester), Zamora (QPR), Bruce (Hull) and McShane (Hull) on the bench.

Current Points

1,688

Current Position

107,695 from 3,484,332

Stay Tuned

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode on Thursday, 16 April 2015 titled ‘2015 Cricket World Cup Review Part 2’