The Village Cricketer » Stanford 20 20

DJ Sammy, rags to riches

thevillagecricketer — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 20:14:55 +0000

A few years ago, Darren Sammy played a handful of games for Barnes CC’s first XI in the Middlesex Premier League. At the same time, I was heroically leading the third’s to bottom of the table relegation mediocrity. The teenage DJ, at that time, was pretty much broke, surviving on an MCC Young Cricketers allowance. Now he is a dollar-millionaire, having been one of the surprise packages in the Stanford Superstars team, and the man that sent Kevin Pietersen’s stumps flying. He deserves the cash.

Harmison can win £500k by reviving old form

thevillagecricketer — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:53:17 +0000

England are scrambling to get to a hundred. As Jimmy Adams has just said, “in any form of the game, wickets will slow you up.”

I’ve found some hope courtesy of the Independent, and Youtube below.

Mind you, Samit Patel’s just been run out. Bugger.

Oh dear

thevillagecricketer — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 22:45:06 +0000

74-8 currently. Not looking good for England. Hopes currently are with Samit Patel and Stuart Broad.

I didn’t predict a winner before this game, because it was simply too close to call. Nothing to do with skill, experience or ability, it is all on bottle. If England get 100, Stanford’s Superstars will still need some bottle to get them home.

Spoilt cricketers having a whinge

thevillagecricketer — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 21:47:38 +0000

So, you are lucky enough to play cricket for England. Therefore, you don’t have a proper job. You get paid for doing what the rest of us pay good money to do for fun, and what we pay big money to watch live or on TV. You’ve got a shot at winning half-a-million quid. You’ve got an all expenses paid trip to the Caribbean, for you and the missus. So what do you do? Well, Graeme Swann aside, it seems that most fancy a bit of whinge. Crisis talks about the antics of Texan billionaire Sir Allen Stanford - that’s the chap paying the bills – fondling their women and entering their dressing rooms. After an early start, a long day at work, being stuck in traffic, its cold, wet and dark, I’m afraid I don’t have much sympathy. Controls your wives and get over it. You don’t need the money.

Stanford pitches

thevillagecricketer — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 22:14:00 +0000

Watching England v Middlesex in the Stanford 20/20 tournament. This pitch seems to have some pace, Stephen Finn’s got a couple to go through head high, while the one used for the game between the Stanford Superstars and Trinidad & Tobago was a far slower, lower affair. Apparently that one had more than 40 hours worth of work done on it with the heavy roller, which seems to have squashed all the life out of it. The slow, low one is the pitch that will be used for the big $20million match. Nasser Hussain reckons it’ll be the strong, “whackers” of the ball that will suit it.