Cricket: Friends Provident Trophy

[kevshat]

Poor day on Friday but hopefully I can start the comeback on Saturday ahead of a full set of fixtures on Sunday. -20 for Friday and now -22.06 for the tournament. Saturday's game isn't on Sky but begins at 12.00.

Northamptonshire 1.72 365" onclick="a(0,266871695,8,11,0,15); return false;" onmouseout=cellExit(this);>1.72 1.72 1.78 1.72 1.72 1.72 1.72 1.83 1.72 1.72 1.72 1.72 1.66 1.72 1.8 1.76 Leicestershire 2 365" onclick="a(0,266871696,1,1,0,15); return false;" onmouseout=cellExit(this);>2 2 2.08 2 2 2 2 1.83 2 2 2 2 2.1 2 2.1 2.04

Best price percentage: 102.2%

10pts Northants to beat Leicestershire 5/6 Corals

Leicestershire come into this match unbeaten in all competitions this season while Northants suffered their only defeat in this competition last Sunday in a rain affected match at Nottingham but bounced back to wallop Ireland on Monday. The winner of this match will go to the top of the group ahead of Sunday's fixtures.

Northants bring the rest of the South Africa exodus into their squad here. Andrew Hall makes his debut for the club while Johannes van der Wath makes his 2nd debut. They'll join fellow South African's Nicky Boje, Johann Louw and Lance Klusener in the side. Monty Panesar is allowed to play if selected while David Sales will hope to get some runs under his belt. Stephen Peters will look to continue his good form from last week.

Leicestershire will be without Jeremy Snape who's still coaching in India but apart from that are at full strength. They rest a lot of responsibility in their 4 South Africans too. Ackerman and Dippenaar with the bat and Kruger and Du Preez with the ball. Jim Allenby and Paul Nixon are solid with the bat though and another South African, Claude Henderson can take advantage of the turning wicket at Wantage Rd.

Now isn't the best time to be playing Northants though with Hall and van der Wath available now and that's a massive boost for Northants. They could actually leave Jason Brown, a serious one day performer out here. Both sides look pretty strong but Leicester have relied a lot on Ackerman this season and if he has an off day they may not be so competitive. Northants suddenly look strong with bat and ball and home advantage gives them a further edge and I think they'll win this one.

[kevshat]

Close but not close enough . Down to -32.06pts now. Going with 3 for Sunday where I hope my fortunes turn round.

Sunday 11 May 2008	Home	Away	BPP
Gloucestershire v Somerset (11:30BST)	2.20	1.86	99.22 %	Details »
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Kent v Sussex (11:30BST)	1.66	2.42	101.32 %	Details »
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Lancashire v Yorkshire (11:30BST)	1.80	2.26	99.80 %	Details »
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Nottinghamshire v Leicestershire (11:30BST)	1.72	2.38	99.91 %	Details »
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Scotland v Durham (11:30BST)	7.00	1.14	101.79 %	Details »
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Surrey v Essex (11:30BST)	1.80	2.25	100.00 %	Details »
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Warwickshire v Northamptonshire (11:30BST)	1.95	2.00	101.28 %	Details »
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Worcestershire v Hampshire (11:30BST)	2.00	2.04	99.02 %	Details »

TV game 1st.

10pts Northamptonshire to beat Warwickshire Evs Boylesports

Northants suffered their 2nd defeat of the season in a close match with Leicestershire yesterday. They've 2 wins and a washout to go with those so they really need a win here to stay in the hunt for the quarter finals. Warwickshire have 2 defeats and a washout from their 3 matches so they too need a win here. Northants won the reverse fixture by 4 wickets 2 weeks ago.

Warwickshire will be without Ian Bell and Tim Ambrose here as England aren't allowing their players to play. Maddy, Carter, Westwood, Trott and Powell would form their top 5 but even that's not the strongest. They look at least one batsman short. With the ball, Zondeki can travel a bit with his pace but Carter and Anyon are fairly economical backing him up. Maddy, Botha and Trott will bowl the rest of the overs.

Northants may have lost to Leicester but with a bit more luck they could have won. Their side looks solid in both departments though. Niall O'Brien has been in good nick with the bat and David Sales, Lance Klusener and Andrew Hall can all score good runs. Nicky Boje is good in both departments while van der Wath and Louw can bat well down the order. Hall, Louw, Klusener and van der Wath are a good seam quartet with Boje and Brown being the spin twins.

Northants look very strong and having beaten Warwickshire already in this tournament they look good things to win again.

10pts Surrey to beat Kent 4/5 Boylesports

Both these sides come into this match having won 2 matches so far. For Essex it's two from two while Surrey's two wins have been from 4 matches. Ironically their two wins have come away from The Oval but a home win shouldn't be too far away.

Surrey will be without Chris Schofield for this match after he fractured a finger in the win at Sussex. Saqlain Mushtaq replaces him in the squad although Usman Afzaal might be the spin option. Chris Jordan is fit to play in this match. Surrey should go in with the same batting lineup after their batsmen played so well at Hove on Thursday night.

Essex will be without their main two players Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara. Cook isn't allowed to play due to the test match on Thursday while Bopara is playing for the England Lions at Southampton. Varun Chopra and Tom Westley are likely to continue with Pettini opening the innings. Ryan Ten Doeschate is in good form and Essex will hope he puts in a good performance here.

Surrey should be buzzing after their win on Thursday while Essex come off the back of a tough Championship match with Middlesex which may have taken something out of them despite them winning it. No Cook or Bopara is a worry and so I'll go with Surrey there.

10pts Leicestershire to beat Nottinghamshire 11/8 Ladbrokes

Leicestershire went two points clear of the field in this group when they beat Northants on Saturday. A win here will pretty much guarantee them qualification into the quarter finals with a game with Ireland still to play. Nottinghamshire are on their tails though and a win here will see them go level with Leicester.

Notts will have to do without Sidebottom and Broad for this match as both are unavailable due to England availability. That means Darren Pattinson and Luke Fletcher come into the squad. Graeme Swann is on England Lions duty so he misses out. Their batting looks a touch weak these days too. Although Jefferson, Wagh and Patel are good players they've all lacked runs so far. Adam Voges gives the batting it's overseas flavour. Mark Ealham will play a crucial role as ever.

Leicestershire will more than likely go in with the same 11 which beat Northants on Saturday. That will mean no place for Matthew Boyce again I suspect. HD Ackerman's great form continued with a superb 139 yesterday and he'll be looking for more runs here. The bowlers were a bit expensive yesterday but it wasn't really a qicket for the quicks. Du Preez, Kruger and Malik will find this wicket more to their liking.

Leicestershire still haven't lost a match this season in any competition so they must be full of confidence. Notts have stuttered to wins in this competition and their 3 absentees are big ones. They've not scored many runs either while Leicester have lots of runs in them and I think given they look the more solid all round side that they'll win this.

[winbet]

I'm on Northants & Leics.

As Kevshat has mentioned Warwicks are missing Bell & Ambrose, while Northants have plenty of good all rounders boosted by Der Wath and Hall who have just arrived.

I am surprised how short Notts are, so have laid them @ 1.67 on betfair. Although Pattinson & Fletcher did well when they came in last week; they are going to miss the experience of Sidebottom, Swann, as well as Broad. Batting has not really clivked yet.

Leics are scoring plenty of runs, with Ackerman especially in great form. They should be priced more like evens for this one.

[TheRat]

Worcester going strong after an emphatic win

[kevshat]

Another close finish didn't go my way so -10 for the day after Northants won and Surrey got battered. One positive from the day is Gloucester's win has pretty much secured their qualification. They probably only need one more win to be sure. -42.06pts for the competition now.

[kevshat]

Friday 16 May 2008	Home	Away	BPP
Ireland v Warwickshire (12:00BST)	5.50	1.22	100.00 %	Details »
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Essex v Kent (14:30BST)	1.88	2.12	100.36 %	Details »
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Just the one for me tomorrow.

10pts Essex to beat Kent 5/6 Totesport

Essex come into this match having won 3 matches out of 3, one of which was over Kent at Canterbury. Kent have won 3 matches as well but they've played 5 matches. Both sides come into this match in good form though, Kent have won their last 4 matches while Essex have won their last 3 domestically. The winners of this match are likely to go on and win the group.

Essex will have Ravi Bopara back in their squad for this match after he missed the Surrey win as he was on England Lions duty. Mark Pettini is in great form with the bat in this competition and ten Doeschate and Foster have had good knocks too. With the ball, Andre Nel will be important as will spinners Middlebrook and Flower. David Masters was exceptional against Surrey and ten Doeschate goes well with the ball in limited overs cricket. Bopara can also bowl too.

Kent's form man is Martin van Jaarsveld. He's in excellent form with the bat and Joe Denly appears to be coming back to form. Rob Key returns as skipper after he was on England Lions duty which means Matt Walker may miss out. Kent will be hoping Ryan McLaren is fit as he's a key man. Yasir Arafat is in good nick with the ball while James Tredwell provides the spin option. Justin Kemp should provide solid middle order runs before Azhar Mahmood provides a late blitz.

Both sides are playing well at the minute but Essex usually have a decent record on their home patch, especially in these day night matches where the ground fills up with spectators. Essex's battering of Surrey last time out is a good form guide and having beat Kent already this season they are the ones to be on here.

[kevshat]

I can't buy a winner in this at the minute . Essex were soundly thrashed so -52.06pts for the tournament now. Next matches are on Sunday.

[kevshat]

Sunday 18 May 2008	Home	Away	BPP
Durham v Lancashire (11:30BST)	1.70	2.37	100.93 %	Details »
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Essex v Middlesex (12:00BST)	1.70	2.30	102.30 %	Details »
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Glamorgan v Hampshire (12:00BST)	2.30	1.70	102.30 %	Details »
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Ireland v Leicestershire (12:00BST)	5.50	1.20	101.52 %	Details »
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Kent v Surrey (12:00BST)	1.80	2.20	101.01 %	Details »
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Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire (12:00BST)	1.55	2.55	103.73 %	Details »
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Scotland v Yorkshire (12:00BST)	5.00	1.18	104.75 %	Details »
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Somerset v Worcestershire (12:00BST)	1.80	2.20	101.01 %	Details »

I'm going with 4 tomorrow. Only short writeup's for a while as I'm temporarily 1 handed .

10pts Durham to beat Lancashire 7/10 Partybets

Durham are always tough to beat at home and look too good for a weak Lancashire side. I said in midweek that Lancashire's batting hasn't fired yet and it still hasn't. Their bowling is weak here too without Anderson, Chapple and Flintoff. Durham are at full strength apart from Neil Killeen but Callum Thorp is a good enough replacement. Durham would've won the reverse fixture but for Steven Croft hitting a 6 off the last ball to win but Durham will get their revenge here.

10pts Essex to beat Middlesex 4/6 Totesport

Essex put in a shocker on Friday night but Kent are on the up so I'll forgive Essex that one. Middlesex have lost by 9 wickets the last two times they've gone to Essex in the longer one day matches. Andre Nel has left Essex now so either Bopara and ten Doeschate will bowl a full 10 overs or Alex Tudor will come into the side. Middlesex have no Strauss as he's with England and after Morgan at 5 their batting tails off bigtime. Tyron Henderson has been brought in cover for injuries which says a lot about Middlesex at the minute. Their bowling attack has a young element to it which can be good but can be expensive. Essex have already beaten Middlesex in the Championship and should make it a double here.

10pts Nottinghamshire to beat Warwickshire 8/15 Bet365

Warwickshire are all but out of the competition having lost to Ireland on Friday. They play a lot of youngsters in this competition and it's not worked yet. Notts will be at full county strength, by that I mean full strength without the two England bowlers Broad and Sidebottom. Swann will replace Ferley from the side who beat Leicestershire last week. Notts need a win to keep Leicester at bay at the top of the group and given the confidence they'll have from beating Lancashire in midweek they should win here.

10pts Worcestershire to beat Somerset 11/10 Sportingbet

Worcestershire go to Taunton at full strength with Hick and Kabir Ali back in their side. Simon Jones is bowling well and at Taunton their batting should score a few runs. Somerset have a top batting lineup but with Magoffin along with Jones and Kabir, Worcester have the firepower to deal with that. Somerset's bowling is the worry. There isn't really a strike bowler and they will struggle to defend a score as they showed at Gloucester last weekend. Worcestershire won the Pro40 last summer so they're a good side and a win here would almost ensure them a quarter final spot so I'll take the Royals here.

[kevshat]

2 from 4 today so a slight loss on the day so now -58.73 for the tournament. Hopefully I can start to turn it round on Tuesday when my team Hampshire take on Worcester on TV.

[kevshat]

Hopefully I can start to turn this around from here.

Tuesday 20 May 2008	Home	Away	BPP
Hampshire v Worcestershire (14:00BST)	2.00	2.00	100.00 %	Details »

Off down to the Bowl tomorrow so I'll have a couple of bets.

10pts Hampshire to beat Worcestershire Evs Stan James

This is a fairly big game for both sides although more so for Hampshire as they're out if they lose in all reality. Worcestershire will still have a chance of qualifying although a win here could see them go top. Worcestershire bashed Hampshire up at New Rd 9 days ago but this will be a different Hampshire side as Mascarenhas, Tremlett and Carberry are all back for the Hawks while Crawley, Pothas and Bond could also return although it's more likely they'll wait until the weekend. Worcestershire are at full strength to and Bumpy Rhodes has confirmed Simon Jones plays here. Trouble with Worcester though is they are struggling to keep sides to low totals and with Hampshire's batting in good nick backed up by a decent attack for once here I'll take the home side to win this one.

5pts ew C.Benham Top Hampshire Batsman 5/1 Boylesports (1/4 1,2,3)

Chris Benham loves the sky cameras, he hit one of the best one day innings I've ever seen in the Pro40 playoff 2 years ago on Sky and earlier this season he hit 54 off 27 against Gloucestershire which was also on Sky. He's one of Hampshire's form batsmen in this competition too having come 2nd in their last 3 matches. He can play both types of innings, the aggressive quick scoring one as shown against Gloucestershire or the steadying innings which he played at Glamorgan on Sunday. With his form for us so far and coming in at 4 or 5 depending on if Crawley plays, the youngster looks an ew bet to nothing.

[TheRat]

We have done well to get over 200 there...........

Anyone got a link for this online? I have looked myself but no luck

[TheRat]

Well done with Hampshire
You have to say considering the position we got ourselves into we messed it up, didn't see the game though

[kevshat]

Ta. Shame Benham ran himself out though. I thought we should've won more easily. You shouldn't have got past 140 really but we let you off the hook. No idea what Gareth Batty was on about though, I was there last night and there was no dew on that outfield . Onto tomorrow.