World Twenty20 Fantasy League
02/06/2009
Fresh from the IPL action, cricket fans can look forward to the World Twenty20 tournament which kicks off this week on Friday 5 June. India are the reigning champs having won the first edition in South Africa when MS Dhoni led his team to victory in a thrilling finale against arch rivals Pakistan. This year???s tournament takes place in England with Twenty20 cricket establishing itself as a hugely popular form of the game especially amongst the fans.
Standard Bank invites you to join in the fun with the launch of our T20 World Cup fantasy league. This is your opportunity to test your cricket skills by managing your own team of global superstars through the two week tournament. The World Twenty20 Dream Teams is now open ??? enter your team at www.superdreamteams.com/cricket
After the hype of the IPL it???s now nation vs. nation with all the top teams keen to claim the world title. Can India win back-to-back world cups or will England rise to the challenge on their home turf? Australia and South Africa also have a point to prove and will fancy their chances in the English conditions, and you can???t rule out Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
The key to success in the World Twenty20 Dream Teams is how you select and manage your team. You can only pick a maximum of 3 players per team in the group stages so you need to spread your selections amongst the top teams that will progress to the knockout rounds. You can make up to 5 transfers before the start of each new round in order to improve your team. It???s important to bear in mind that you are limited to a maximum of 20 transfers throughout the tournament so you don???t want to use them up too quickly.
Fantasy managers should look out for the in form players who can perform with both bat and ball. Your batsmen should be those who bat high up the order and can score at a fast run rate. Look out for bowlers who are economical and take plenty of wickets. A good option is always a batsman who is able to bowl a few overs without being a recognised all-rounder. JP Duminy and Yuvraj Singh are good examples here. Choosing your captain is critical as he scores double points, so all-rounders and wicketkeepers are always popular choices.
The recent IPL tournament is a good indicator of which Twenty20 players are on form with South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis performing well along with Albie Morkel, AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs. Keep an eye on newcomers Roelof van der Merwe and Yusuf Abdulla who also had a good tournament. For the Aussies, new opener David Warner is an explosive talent with Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Bracken all consistent performers.
With India, you are spoilt for choice with RP Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan and Virender Sehwag all top Twenty20 players. New Zealand has Brendon McCullum and Daniel Vettori while Sri Lanka boasts the talents of Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan. And let???s not forget about the other big name players who could feature prominently like Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Kevin Pietersen, Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi.
It???s going to be an action packed tournament so don???t delay. Enter your team now at www.superdreamteams.com/cricket
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Forever Proteas
14/04/2009
Asked and answered. Herschelle Gibbs was under pressure to score runs to retain his spot in the Proteas side and boy did he do it in style, scoring 110 runs from 116 deliveries. The century from Gibbs and the 84 runs from AB de Villiers lead South Africa to a massive 317/6 and a series victory.
The Australian team was unsure of themselves going into the fourth MTN ODI at Sahara Oval St. George???s in Port Elizabeth on the back of two comprehensive losses. The Aussies showed their hand before the game by including Shane Harwood (35) making his debut as the third oldest Australian to make the ODI team.
A further sign of the lack of confidence came when Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and choose to field first, unsure of what a good total was.
Smith and Gibbs started the innings in a nervous and unsure manner, both played at balls that should have been left alone with Gibbs chasing the ball on almost every occasion. Luck was on Gibbs??? side as he made it through the first ten overs though, Smith unfortunately departed early for just 20 runs. The further departure of Kaills (17) brought AB de Villiers and Herschelle Gibbs together.
The pure class of Gibbs started to show, with AB putting in a fine performance at the other end. The Australian bowlers had no answer to the onslaught during the pairs 136-run third-wicket partnership. Gibbs, Morkel, de Villiers lost their wickets between the 38th and 42nd overs, JP Duminy and Mark Boucher ensured that they lower order played a significant role with Duminy scoring 40 runs from 25 balls.
Chasing a total of 318 for victory it was always going to be a huge task, but as usual the Aussies were up for a fight. Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin put in an opening stand of 129; Ricky Ponting was also on a mission with the bat, knocking four fours off Dale Steyn in one over before he was caught by Albie Morkel for 53. The bowling of Roelof van der Merwe must again be applauded for turning the game as he took the wickets of Clarke, Ferguson and Michael Hussey within five overs. Dale Steyn took the key wickets of Ponting and David Hussey, ending the innings with four wickets. Australia was all out in the 46th over for 256.
Over the home and away ODI series South Africa have won 7 and lost 2, with the ODI No. 1 ranking changing a few times. South Africa has now won three ODI series in a row against Australia and retains the ODI No. 1 ranking. Onwards to the ICC World T20??? Forever Proteas.
Shaun Custers
SA Cricket Blog
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SA vs AUS 4th ODI : 2nd Innings
13/04/2009
South Africa Wins The Series!!
The Aussies looked in form at the start of the 2nd innings with Clarke and Haddin keeping up with the formidable score posted by South Africa, ultimately scoring 129 before succumbing to the spin of South Africa's vd Merve and Botha. Together they claimed three wickets in quick succession, jolting the Aussie line up.
Ponting came in a bit slow off the go but seemed to come to life a bit scoring four 4s until he tried to pull a ball over mid wicket and found Morkel's hands instead. A decisive blow for the Aussies which led to a crumbling tail end and in a matter of 4 overs it was over.
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With Steyn taking 4 wickets and vd Merve 3 and the rest falling to Parnell, Botha and Morkel, South Africa won by 61 runs to take the Series!
Well done South Africa!
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SA vs AUS 4th ODI : 1st Innings
13/04/2009
The 1st innings of the 4th South Africa vs Australia ODI Series saw Australia win the toss and elected to bat first.
Cappie Smith and Gibbs came out to defend their wickets against the (slightly off) bowling of Bracken and Hopes. Smith's wicket (20) fell early in the innings, leaving Kallis to do the same (17) all the while Gibbs steadily scored runs and posted his 50 in 62 balls.
The dismissal of Kallis in the 18th over led AB de Villiers to come onto the field. Together Gibbs and de Villiers Blasted their way to a 136 run partnership 20.3 overs long.
Gibbs Finally was taken out by (b)Bracken and (c)Clarke, leaving the field with a standing ovation and 110 Runs off 116 balls for his Team.
A quick dismissal of Morkel(4) and shortly after that AB(84) left Duminy(40) and Boucher(29) to finish off the Innings, which they did in true Protea Style!
Final SA Score:317/6 with a run rate of 6.34 runs per over.
Good Luck Aussies.
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SA vs AUS 4th ODI
13/04/2009
We are all set up for a very exciting game this morning at the Sahara oval in Port Elizabeth.
The weather is a crisp 23° Celsius and the crowd have filled up the Stadium half an hour before game time.
The stakes are high for the Australian side who need to pull of a win if they have any hopes of winning the Series and Maintaining their No.1 ODI ranking.
Although it Seems unlikely that they will with Bracken's less than stellar performance.
Stay tuned for more on what could be the deciding match in the Series.
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