Congratulations to England - Twenty20 World Champions

England celebrate after being crowned 20/20 World Champions following today's seven-wicket victory over Australia at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.

It was their first tournament victory in 35 years of ICC limited-over competitions.

Scorecard:
ICC World Twenty20 Final: England v Australia
16th May 2010 at Barbados.
Result: England beat Australia by 7 wickets

England won the toss and decided to field

Australia Innings: 147 for 6 (20.0 overs)
England Innings: 148 for 3 (17.0 overs)

Australia Innings:

S Watson c Swan b Sidebottom 2
Warner run out 2
M Clark c Collingwood b Swann 27
Haddin c Kieswetter b Sidebottom 1
D Hussey run out 59
C White c Broad b L Wright 30
M Hussey not out 17
Smith not out 1
Extras 1nb 4w 1b 2lb 8

Total 6 for 147 (20.0 overs)

Bowlers:

Sidebottom 4.0 0 26 2
Bresnan 4.0 0 35 0
Broad 4.0 0 27 0
Swann 4.0 0 17 1
Yardy 3.0 0 34 0
L Wright 1.0 0 5 1

Fall of wickets:

2 S Watson
7 Warner
8 Haddin
45 M Clarke
95 C White
142 D Hussey

England Innings:

Lumb c D Hussey b Tait 2
Kieswetter b M Johnson 63
Pietersen c Warner b Smith 47
Collingwood not out 12
E Morgan not out 15
Extras 8w 1lb 9

Total 3 for 148 (17.0 overs)

Bowlers:

Nannes 4.0 0 29 0
Tait 3.0 0 28 1
M Johnson 4.0 0 27 1
Smith 3.0 0 21 1
S Watson 3.0 0 42 0

Fall of wickets:

7 Lumb
118 Pietersen
121 Kieswetter

Umpires: Aleem Dar, B R Doctrove, R S Madugalle, B F Bowden

England team: Kieswetter (W), Lumb, Pietersen, Collingwood (C), E Morgan, L Wright, Bresnan, Yardy, Swann, Broad, Sidebottom

Australia team: Warner, S Watson, Haddin (W), M Clarke (C), D Hussey, C White, M Hussey, Smith, M Johnson, Tait, Nannes

After-Dinner Sports Tales - Phil Tufnell

My after-dinner sports tale for this month is one told by the charismatic and controversial Phil Tufnell, the former England cricket bowler with a talent for spinning the ball on the field and getting into trouble off of it.

Nicknamed 'The Cat' for his ability to sleep anytime, anywhere, Tufnell made his debut for Middlesex in 1986. It was here that he developed a reputation for being a cricketer with big talent, but little dedication for the discipline of the game. He was occasionally in trouble for missing practice or minor matches and once missed a game when shopping for a fridge instead.

Despite brilliant bowling figures, once getting 11 wickets for 93 runs, he was an abysmal batter whose career average did not reach double figures. He played 42 Tests and 20 One Day Internationals for England between 1990 and 2001, and 316 first-class matches, mainly for Middlesex.

Tufnell’s larrikin tendencies meant he was later disciplined for numerous offences to do with birds, booze, drugs and generally offensive behavior.
In 1997 on an England tour to New Zealand he unwittingly became the focus for a publicity campaign for a winebar in Christchurch.

Here is an amusing excerpt from an after-dinner speech made by Phil on that infamous incident in New Zealand in 1997

"I woke one morning to find myself plastered all over the front of the local paper for apparently having smoked grass in the gents at an establishment called Bardelli's. By 10 o'clock that same morning a rash of posters appeared around town declaring, 'Tufnell reckons that Bardelli's is the best joint in town.'
It was complete nonsense, of course. I was invisible at the time."

Tuffers' retired from professional cricket 2003 in order to participate in the reality television show 'I'm a Celebrity.....Get Me Out of Here!' from which he emerged as King of the Jungle. He was a team captain on the sports quiz show 'They Think It's All Over', did analytical punditry on Sky Sports and Channel 4, and has made appearances on current affairs programmes, chat shows and quiz shows. He has co-authored a humorous book called 'Phil Tufnell's' A To Z of Cricket' and wrote his autobiography, 'What Now?'

He is extremely accommodating to people who wish to discuss matters with a sporting celebrity.

'Best Bet Summer Special' - The Ashes 2009 with Betfair

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of my guest betting blog. In the second part of my 'summer special' I am switching my attention from rugby union to cricket, and focusing on the current Ashes series between England and Australia.

The Aussies, are of course holders of the famous urn, after their 5-0 whitewash down under in 2006/07. Not that you would think that if you have been following the media circus surrounding this iconic 'cricketing battle.'
The British media seemed to have conveniently forgotten about 'that' series and before a ball had been bowled in anger this series, every broadcast and journalistic column inch had instead been devoted to that famous summer of 2005, when England regained the Ashes for the fist time since 1989.

To the current series:
The opening test in Cardiff re-created some of the spirit of 2005, especially on the last day as Monty Panesar and James Anderson clung on to secure an unlikely draw for England.
It got even better at Lord’s as England buried a 75 year hoodoo to go 1-0 up in the second test of this five match series.

England’s hero on that dramatic final day at the home of cricket, Andrew Flintoff, has announced his retirement from test cricket after this series. Will he go out on a high? Can we grasp the Ashes back from the clutches of the Aussies?

Here are the latest Ashes odds:

Who will win the Ashes?

Australia 11/4 England 5/4

Series score:

England to win:

4-0 54/1 3-0 16/1 3-1 19/1 2-0 8/1 2-1 9/2 1-0 12/1

Australia to win:

3-1 14-1 2-1 9/2

Drawn series:

1-1 4/1 2-2 6/5

Top series run-scorer:

Andrew Strauss 3/1 Ricky Ponting 7/2 Michael Clarke 5/1 Simon Katich 9/1 Paul Collingwood 11/1 Alastair Cook 14/ Brad Haddin 14/1 Michael Hussey 22/1 Philip Hughes 49/1

Top series wicket taker:

Mitchell Johnson 5/6 James Anderson 5/1 Ben Hilfenhaus 4/1 Andrew Flintoff 7/1 Nathan Hauritz 9/1 Peter Siddle 10/1 Graeme Swann 12/1 Stuart Broad 27/1 Graham Onions 41/1 Brett Lee 69/1

Series Specials:

Will there be a hatrick in the series? Yes 15/2 No 1/18

Will there be a double century? Yes 5/2 No 1/3

Will someone get ten wickets in the match? Yes 6/1 No 1/14


My 'best bet' prediction’ for Ashes betting:

I have to admit at the outset I thought the Aussies would come out on top. Though Ricky Ponting’s men are not as formidable as they once were, due in part to the retirement of cricketing legends such as Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Langer and Gilchrist, the Aussie's should not be underestimated.
But with the advantage now lying with England I did wonder whether I should change my mind. However without the likes of Simon Jones and a firing Steve Harmison I just don't think we have enough in our bowling attack to consistently take 20 wickets a test, especially with the continuous doubts surrounding the extent of Freddie Flintoff's knee problems.
On that basis I am going to be very unpatriotic and predict a 2-1 Australia series win at 9/2.

Twenty20 only 50/50 !

An aberrant look into the world of cricket!

ENGLAND's lucrative Stanford Super Series Twenty20 clash is in doubt after the West Indies Cricket Board were left red-faced yesterday, following a High Court arbitration hearing in London found in favour of team sponsors Digicel, the telecommunications company, and against the WICB.

The root of the dispute has been the claim by Digicel, that they have the branding rights for 'the game' between the Stanford Super Stars XI and England, under the terms of their sponsorship contract with the WICB (which they extended until 2012 in July).

However Digicel claim they were frozen out when Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford set up his big-money series, which included a multi-million dollar challenge match for each of the next five years.

Digicel's stance has caused issue with the match organisers, Stanford 20/20, who would rather find their own sponsors for the match.

As a result of yesterday’s ruling The WICB will now have to withdraw its sanction for the lucrative match in Antigua on the 1st November, and Stanford and the WICB are now expected to be locked in talks with Digicel in a bid to reach a compromise.

This could mean the game going ahead without any centrally contracted West Indies players, such as Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, thus making a mockery of the event or it being called off altogether.

The match, inspired by cricket fan Stanford, will conclude a 'Super Series' of games throughout the week involving English Twenty20 champions Middlesex and Trinidad & Tobago.

The winning team will take home $20 million dollars in prize money, making each player a dollar millionaire overnight!

Stanford believes the dispute is an 'unwanted distraction' & the game would still go ahead, however WICB officials have yet to comment on the outcome of yesterday's High Court hearing.

Yesterday’s ruling was also a blow to the England and Wales Cricket Board, who are hoping the Stanford Series goes ahead as they hope the prize money will prevent its players from being tempted by the lucrative Indian Premier League

Robert Andrew Woolmer 1948 - 2007

It is with heartfelt sorrow that such a charismatic, popular, and talented thespian in the shape of Bob Woolmer should die so suddenly at the age of only 58, but to have been 'murdered' is truly devastating news to his family, relatives, friends, fellow students of the game, cricket fans and in fact all sports fans in general.

I ask you, will International competitive sport ever be able to fully recover from this tragedy.

The truth about why he was murdered is still unclear, however there are numerous rumours flying around, as one might suspect under the circumstances.
We are all aware of the corruption/match fixing allegations coinciding with the imminent release of his book, as put forward by many a journalist this past week.
But if it does turn out that corruption has played a part in his death, then how can we the public ever trust the outcome of any sporting event in the future to have been truly genuine.
Most of us like a flutter, as it adds to the interest of the event in question, and as in all sports there are always going to be shock results and outcomes.
Cricket is in the spotlight this next week, but next week it could be football, horse racing, golf, tennis.....whatever.

In professional sport 'greed' is the root of all evil.
People, human beings like you & I will always be susceptible to the lure of making money, even if you already have plenty. It may seem improbable that you will be suspected let alone caught. Who will know if you are not giving your best, not trying your hardest, not bothered if you win, lose or draw - if you can cash in big time.

Nobody.....until one day it all goes wrong, as inevitably it will, and you and/or your family are caught up in something bigger & more dangerous than you can handle!
You may not even have been involved directly. You may have been an unsuspecting pawn in a real life crime.

Mr.Woolmer may not have been involved, but he may have been aware of certain instances where match fixing was apparent in the sub-continent.
Knowing too much about something may turn out to have been instrumental behind his 'murder.'
Information & knowledge are powerful tools and may have proved in this instance to have been as dangerous as taking part in the practice itself!




Sincere and heartfelt condolences go to his wife, Gill and sons Dale and Russell.

He will surely live in the hearts of his cricket fans in England, South Africa, Pakistan and all over the world.



Bob Woolmer
Career History:

1968: Debut for Kent.

1972: One-day international debut for England.

1976: Selected as one of Wisden's five cricketers of the year.

1977: The Centenary Test in Melbourne and England went on to take the Ashes 3-0.
Bob signed for Kerry Packer, and the establishment is not amused.

1984: He retired from first class cricket.

1991: Appointed Director of Coaching at Warwickshire County Club in England.

1994: Warwickshire won 3 out of 4 trophies and were runners up in the NatWest series.
He was appointed coach of South Africa

1994-1999: South Africa won 71% of its one-day internationals, and 10 out of 15 Test series under Woolmer.

2004: Appointed Pakistan's coach.

2007: The Pakistan team crashed out of the World Cup after being shocked by debutants Ireland. Found unconscious in his hotel room in the West Indies and later died in a hospital in Jamaica.



**Please do not make failures and successes on cricket fields a matter of life and death.

Kidney Failure.

The Cricket World Cup is underway in the Caribbean and after reading and hearing all the pre-tournament bumf, I feel confident I can divide the tournament into just three segments, the opening match involving the host nation, the Final itself and most importantly the return of the English team.
As the the TV crews and tabloid happy snappers swarm around the arrivals area of the airport as our prodigal sons return in identical fashion to our footy boys after every major tournament - they may have been defeated (probably in the quarter-finals but not on penalties) but they remain defiant and positive, and every expletive, cliche and excuse under the sun is used to exonerate the players, captain, vice-captain, coach, kit man, dietitian, fitness guru, masseur, therapists, bodyguards, coach driver and so on due to..... the pitches, below par training facilities, exhausting itinerary, extreme heat, dodgy umpiring decisions, injuries, over exuberant fans, insect bites, uncomfortable accommodation, poor sleep c/o late night steel bands across the hallway, poorly educated 'ladies of the night' who were unable to read each member of the touring party a bedtime story and of course sheer bad luck.......yawn!
There's always next time.

Now spare a thought for the World's Biggest Cricket Fan.
His tournament kicks off in under 48 hours time, when on Saturday March 17th India face Bangladesh in Trinidad in their opening Group B game. Mr. Tarun Sharma, 23 a die-hard Indian cricket fan has according to sources threatened to commit suicide by setting fire to himself. The reason for his rather extreme behaviour is that he is not allowed to sell a kidney to raise the stake money for the trip to the World Cup.
Selling body organs in India is illegal unless you are donating them to your relatives and you have the approval of the authorities.....which authorities is debatable. I can't see the Indian Cricket board objecting, but let's for now assume anyway it's some sort of Medical or Government Body.
Sharma said and I quote " I will kill myself if I'm denied a chance to watch the Indians play in the West Indies." He goes on to say, " Anybody can survive with one kidney but you will never get the opportunity to watch India win the Cup in the West Indies"

At odds of generally 7/1 the bookies obviously do not share Mr. Sharma's optimism of
India bring crowned Cricket World Champions.

However how can one begin to compare the value of a body organ with the odds of winning a sporting event.

Now then footy fans. There are plenty of you who regularly spout off about how you would die for your team or club's cause. May I suggest however that it is in fact Mr. Sharma who has actually used this term correctly, in describing what he is prepared to do in his attempt to watch his beloved cricketing nation, or is it simply that he is completely and utterly out of his mind.

Food for thought!