Someone was brave enough, maybe his relative, asked Mr. Bigmoneyford the reason for such extravagance, and the reply was (no matter how much he wanted to say that it was his wife’s wish in bed):

“It breaks my heart to see us at the bottom. I want to take West Indies cricket from the bottom to the top where it belongs.

“The Stanford 20/20 for 20 will be a highly anticipated event, not just because of the prize money, but because of the traditional friendly rivalry that exists between England and the West Indies.”

As Geoffery Boycott would say, “ma grandMUM can hit this with ‘er stick ‘o Rubab”; Mrs. Boycott, could you please wield that massive alchemical stick o’ rubab and smack Stanford’s head with it! PLEASE, for chrissake!

If you have this much of cash leaking out of your safe, then please open thousands of cricket academies all over the Carribean. Maybe he is also doing that. Even then, this much money is not warranted at all, no matter how much Tim May wants to kill me right now.

Post from: EveryJoe

a 10 million pound cricket match – England vs Stanford Superstars

1. Sachin Tendulkar is still not playing
2. Shaun Marsh is a great find, but I think its too early to tell
3. MS Dhoni can lose in T20 (Aussies too would agree)
4. No Team is unbeaten now
5. No team is with zero wins
6. There is a three way tie at the top, with Delhi, Rajasthan and Chennai all on 8 points
7. All the matches are running in Packed Stadia
8. IPL can now be declared a success
9. Some Controversies : Slapgate, Cheatgate
10. Team sixandout supports: still KKR

Later

Post from: EveryJoe

IPL Buzz : Some things I noticed

During the game, there was a moment when Saurav Ganguly (48* then) lofted a ball straight to Greame Smith at deep mid wicket who took a lowly catch. As the Royals celebrated, Ganguly stood his ground and asked, I repeat asked the umpire to refer in upstairs. And ‘upstairs’ said : Not Out. Poetic justice was delivered when he got out three runs later. Huh!

Finally, congratulations to Warnie and the Royals for their fourth successive win. Faith be wit Ganguly and the Night Riders. Or was that Knight. Who Cares? You do? I don’t.

Laters

Photo Credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

SRK Gifts, Rajasthan Wins, Ganguly Cheats!

Sounds good. Would be great if there is stiff competition between the EPL and the IPL and ahem, the ICL about which player goes where. By the way, a little birdie tells me that Mr Stanford has plans to go against the IPL big time. The smile in his face tells you that this man gets what he wants. Who would like to give away 2o million dollars to the winner of one match? But then, these business people have a knack of defying cricket bloggers.

Laters

Photo Credit: Caribbean 360

Post from: EveryJoe

Texan Billionaire gets spending, wants to run Cricket’s EPL

But I am writing this post to actually give you a glimpse of the grand welcome Dhoni and Boys received in Mumbai.

Post from: EveryJoe

That’s what you get when you win…

Everything, so far, has happened as I had wanted it to.

So, while I “bhangra” like Bhajji, you can go read JC’s match account if you missed the action.

Post from: EveryJoe

It can’t better than this– for Harbhajan.

Yuvraj Singh

The six straight sixes he hit has sealed his name in the Indian cricket history. And he can also keep the fastest fifty record to himself for a while.

Brett Lee

Wow, Brett “Brute” Lee is back. I think we need to give him kudos for the superb hat-trick, which also happens to be the first in Twenty20 Cricket, against Bangladesh. Remember, he also has a ODI hat-trick to his name.

Watch it here:

Post from: EveryJoe

Friday Special: Heroes of the Week

Well, first things first, I, and just about anyone else talking about it, got the predictions completely wrong. Now, I’m not so full of it so as to think it was my kiss of death that did for Lancashire and Sussex, but a combined effort from the entire cricketing media (moreorless), was certainly working in Gloucester and Kent’s favour.

Seconds things second, what a great day of cricket! I had planned to keep updating the site throughout the day, but couldn’t tear myself away from the action. 21,000 people in the Edgbaston crowd were treated to some fantastic cricket (not to mention a few million more watching on the TV) – the fact that things didn’t turn out as might have been expected was all the better for it.

I asked for a great day of cricket, and that’s what we got. Which means, hurray, I can say it! Cricket was the winner yesterday*.

Having seen the final, the semi-finals are all but a blur. Lancashire were out of sorts and a fired up Gloucestershire, led by a remarkable innings from Spearman saw them home with more than 3 overs to go. Sussex vs Kent was a similar story, where an innings from Kent captain (and man of the match) Rob Key saw them home relatively easily. If it feels like I’m skirting over the details of the semi-finals, it’s because I am. Put simply, Gloucester and Kent deserved to be in the final and the teams that were tipped for the spots barely turned up. Such is the nature of Twenty20, I suppose, but we certainly were not denied a thrilling final. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Gloucester get off to a slow start. Somehow manage to claw it back. Ryan Mclaren gets a hat-trick. Post a modest total of 140 odd. Kent start well but get pegged back. Handbags and toys thrown from the pram as Rob Key showed his displeasure at getting out. Finish goes down to the last over, with Kent needing 13 from the last 6 balls. The first ball disappears for 4. 9 from 5. Dot. 9 from 4. No ball! Hit for 4! KENT WIN!

Incredible. Not so incredible? Hamish Marshall getting booed as he went to collect his runners-up trophy, considering that he was arguably “man of the day”.

Nevertheless, a fantastic day of cricket.

Post from: EveryJoe

Never underestimate the power of the kiss of death

Andrew Flintoff looks set to play a part for Lancashire, as part of his wider bid to get back in the England side. Jimmy Anderson will be back for Lancashire, and Matt Prior for Sussex.

A Sussex Lancashire final looks most likely, and I’d tip Sussex to pip Lancs in the final. They’ve looked the best all round side throughout the season as Lancashire’s impressive lineup has failed to make a mark on my dodgy memory. It could easily go a totally a different way, altogether, with the likes of Lasith Malinga turning out for Kent and Gloucs are something like at full strength, with Jon Lewis and Alex Gidman in the side.

The ECB really need today to go down with a bang – a day that must be remembered for the cricket, the cricket and only the cricket. They need three close and thrilling encounters to remind the spectators (and critics) why it’s a great game, and to try to brush under the carpet some of the less savoury goings-on that have crept in in recent times.

Hold your hats for a great day.

Post from: EveryJoe

Twenty20 finals today

It’s all a bit boring really and that’s really sad.

Post from: EveryJoe

Englindies / Westingland