The permalink to this is 666

by mspr1nt on February 7, 2010 · 3 comments

in Australia, General Sweeps, India, South Africa, West Indies

Yesterday I spoke about the dreaded DH. Today I shake my head in dismay. If Jacques Kallis can’t even score 200 on a flat pitch in India he really should just give it up.

I think administrators should just introduce a rule that he has to get out on 150 so that he can save himself the disappointment of getting oh so close every time. Give up.

Graeme Smith, for once, was being an absolute tit when it comes to declaration. He obviously didn’t want to give his record up so he declared before Hashim Amla could get there. How the Saffers are going to take 20 wickets on this pitch is beyond me. They have plenty of runs on the board but they forget who India have batting for them. I don’t need to mention names. You just say the words Indian batting line up to leave people quivering in their boots. It’s going to take something really, really special if they are to pull of a win here.

I have a feeling that this Test is going to end in a disappointing draw. There are no English players involved and only England are capable of epic draws. Could this be the most over-hyped Test of the year? No wonder India didn’t want Tests played here, this is so damn boring.

Meanwhile, on the otherside of the world, the West Indies were humiliated. I wrote a series preview for the West Indies Cricket News site and it seems my watch out for prediction has been spot on thus far. I didn’t manage to catch any of the game but judging by the reports, the Tweets and the scorecard the boys of the Caribbean were well shit.

Are they trying to lul Australia into a false sense of security? Get their guard down and pounce them in the next match? I don’t know. I hope so. I think I was Australian in an English life because I think I criticize the South African team more than most Australians.

Until tomorrow. xoxo

Ms. Pr1nt

{ 3 comments }

Is it too early to say the DH word?

by mspr1nt on February 7, 2010 · 0 comments

in General Sweeps, India, South Africa

Well, I am going to say it anyway. Double Hundred. The Oros Man is very much within reach of it. And he is not ginger so he won’t pull an Ian Bell and be dismissed on 199.

This is the danger with sub-continental pitches being as flat as Kate Moss’ arse. There is so much expected of you. If Jacques Kallis fails to score 200 here he might as well retire from Test cricket. South Africa are on top at the moment so they’re setting up their choking stage. Tie the noose, baby.

Ashwell Prince’s questionable form continues. What’s the solution? And how are the Saffer bowlers going to handle this pitch after the home side toiled all day? Don’t you just wish Hashim Amla was born in India? That would have this so much more interesting.

{ 0 comments }

It’s the battle of the Titans

by mspr1nt on February 6, 2010 · 7 comments

in General Sweeps, India, South Africa

I have a feeling that we might be in for a huge disappointed come the end of this two match Test series. It’s been so over-hyped and the Proteas have been so piss poorly average it’s sickening.

I was meant to do a “why South Africa will win” piece but I am struggling to see that happening. India are a great side and though I am probably one of their biggest critics I know just how powerful they can be. And the best part is that they perform as a team. Unlike the Saffers.

If I am wrong about this then you can all cast your stones but I just do not see South Africa taking 20 wickets on those sub continental pitches. There are no games in Dehli so that rules win by injuring all the players out. Hashim Amla and the Oros Man showed some promise in the warm up game but that’s just a warm up game. South Africa couldn’t even dream of having spinners who can exploit Indian conditions. Instead, they’ll have to rely on their quicks.

The good news, though, like the Fat Captain who is no longer so fat said: India are the ones who have something lose. The number one ranking, of course. We all know rankings are a bunch of bollocks anyway but it still feels damn good saying you are first in the world.

It’s time for the reckoning.

xoxo

Ms. Pr1nt

{ 7 comments }

Interblogactic IPL Battle – Everything You Need to Know

by paddle on February 4, 2010 · 6 comments

in General Sweeps

Remember, YouTube and 3D aren’t the only things new this time.

As promised. 8 IPL Teams, 8 Top Cricket Blogs

Chennai SuperKings: Thoughts from the Dustbin
Deccan Chargers: Paddle Sweep
Delhi Daredevils: Cricket with Balls
Kings XI Punjab: The Cricketer
Kolkata KnightRiders: SportzFreak
Mumbai Indians: All Padded Up
Rajasthan Royals: Aditya’s Blog
Royal Challengers Bangalore: Poshin’s World

come on now, shake hands all of you

AIM

To cover the IPL in a manner never seen before, ever! All the matches to be covered from two perspectives, irrespective of who wins. Thus giving the audience something to collect, and savor this IPL.

Then how a battle? Who is fighting?

Irrespective of who wins the IPL, there will be a winner here, apart from the audience of course. The blog which stays the most popular and consistent in supporting its adopted team, coupled with the performance of the said team in the tournament, wins the Interblogactic IPL Battle (registered trademark, copycats will be fed to Jabba the Modi).

I am confused. Say it in English for Sachin’s Sake:

If you did not get the above, let me break it down for you.

Let us do this through an example. Say, Paddle Sweep is supporting Deccan Chargers. Now the following applies to all participating blogs:

Support
For all the 8 (+2) matches that Deccan play, Paddle Sweep will have to post regarding what happened in the game from a DC perspective. Criticism is great, but do support your team at all times.

Consistency
The post will have to be published anytime BEFORE Deccan play their NEXT game. If it is the final, then the post should be published within 2 hours of the match ending. I repeat, the post has to be after the match has ended and before the next match starts, else it won’t be counted in the battle.

REMEMBER, for it to qualify as a genuine post, the following things must be done:

  1. The post has to be from your team’s perspective. You know what I mean
  2. The blogger has to tweet about the post and add a @paddlesweep somewhere in that tweet. This is very important
  3. This is optional, but popularity does matter. So you may request your readers to come to this blog and Vote for your blog. I repeat, optional. We are not looking for free plugs here.

Popularity
Throughout the battle, there will be voting here to determine the most popular blogger. The voting has already started, but it will be reset on the day of the first match. The current voting is to determine pre-tournament favorites.

Actual Team Performance
Meanwhile, the on-field performance of your IPL Team will continue to affect the fortune of Paddle Sweep.

That should clarify all factors which will contribute to make your blog a winner.

The Points System

Here is the final points system, for every game, Say between Blog A and Blog B supporting Team A and Team B respectively:

Condition

Blog A

Blog B

Team A Wins

+100

0

Team B Wins

0

+100

There is a Tie

+25

+25

Blog B doesn’t post

+200

-100

Blog A doesn’t post

-100

+200

Team A has player with best strike rate (min 30 runs)

+40

0

Team B has player with best strike rate (min 30 runs)

0

+40

Team A has player with lowest economy rate (min 2 overs)

+40

0

Team B has player with lowest economy rate (min 2 overs)

0

+40

 

So who will finally win?

Though it might seem now that the ultimate winner would be from the team which wins the IPL, but that might not turn out as true. You have to be consistent in posting. Remember it is for the audience. Make your team feel loved.

Final winner will be determined by adding up all your points ( a leader board will be maintained and actively refreshed during the IPL), and adding to it the total number of runs scored by your team multiplied by your popularity factor.

Remember, the interim leader board will not feature the popularity factor, only the total points till that stage.

Here is the equation:

Blog A’s final score = (sum of points from all games) + (total runs scored by Team A in the entire IPL Season * total votes received by Blog A at the end of IPL / total votes received by all teams)

in easier terms:

S = (sum of points) + (total runs * votes for blog A / total votes)

I am not including wickets because this is T20, and I make the rules here.

Again I repeat, let’s create sports blogging history. Any queries, do tweet @paddlesweep or email me at feedback[at]paddlesweep[dot]net

{ 6 comments }

Michael Clarke stripped of captaincy…

February 3, 2010

….of the Cute XI.
The cricketing world was shocked on Wednesday morning when the news broke that Michael Clarke had been sacked as captain of the Cute XI.
The news came following poor grammar usage on the popular social networking site Twitter where Pup used the term “would of” instead of “would have”. It is believed that [...]

by mspr1nt Read the full article →

the branding

February 2, 2010

Yes, this is about the IPL Blog Wars Thingy.
We call it the Interblogactic IPL Wars Season 1
It now has a logo. Here it is:

Go ahead, place it on your blog, remember to give the linkback as http://paddlesweep.net/tag/inter-blog-ipl-battle/ so that all the posts are there at one place.
The above is just optional. If you do not [...]

by paddle Read the full article →

here come the saffers

February 1, 2010

The South African cricket team, caretaker coach and all, have finally landed in Nagpur, where they would be playing the tour game as well as the first teat, albeit at different stadia.
They looked all upbeat, based on the press photos, with the skipper looking his healthy best. Going by the headcount done specially on our [...]

by paddle Read the full article →

Overheard in Pakistani dressing room….

February 1, 2010

…this is politically incorrect and very offensive.
Yousurf (stroking his beard, looking bemused): Shahid, why did you do what you did earlier?
Afready (eating an apple): What are you talking about Yousurf?
Yousurf(now starting to tug on his beard and get annoyed): The ball. You know we don’t make things like that obvious.
Afready (chewing the apple chunk he [...]

by mspr1nt Read the full article →

battle lines

February 1, 2010

the battle lines have been drawn, the points system revamped, though that would be posted a bit later.
For now, savor the moment looking at the impressive ensemble we have managed to gather.
This IPL, YouTube will not be the only innovation. 8 Blogs will, for the first time, collaborate to give the best possible no holds [...]

by paddle Read the full article →

are you a writer?

January 31, 2010

of course you are..
Do you love cricket?
I hope you do..
Back to the first question. Yes, you are a writer. Everyone is, you cannot deny that. So if you are one, then why don’t you exercise your right to write.
I will tell you where to write.
Here.
Cricket Sadist Monthly.
It is an upcoming cricket magazine.
You don’t have to [...]

by paddle Read the full article →

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