Links : Champions League, Swann, ICC

• Dominic Cork is never shy of an opinion but he is right that English cricket will suffer from not being included in the T20 Champions League. Of course his Hampshire would have qualified after winning the T20 this year.
• Graeme Swann is blaming his cat getting stuck under the floor boards and having to get a screwdriver for driving while over the limit. Its such a ridiculous excuse its probably true.
• An ICC World XI will play some matches in Pakistan though there is no word as to when.

Ponting aims first barb

It is an running joke that came painfully home to roost four years ago but with another Ashes series down under looming the Aussies are once again aiming for a 5-0 whitewash.

Admittedly fed the line by a journalist, captain Ricky Ponting responded to the suggestion that his side could repeat 2006's 5-0 triumph by claiming "it's absolutely possible".

We shouldn't be surprised at this as the Australians are renowned for their bullish confidence and they will use that in the media to try and out-psych the opposition before a ball has even been bowled.

Glenn McGrath predicted 5-0 wins ahead of virtually every series, although he had to wait until his last one for it to come true. That tour was a black mark in the English history books and one they hope not to repeat.

But while McGrath could make those predictions knowing he could help inflict some of the damage, Ponting will not be able to call upon the services of the quick bowler this time round. Neither will he be able to field the likes of Shane Warne, Matthew Hayden or Justin Langer, who have all retired since the last Australian Ashes series.

Australia's confidence exists for a reason and although they will rightly start as favourites in the Ashes betting - they have only lost one Test since they relinquished the urn last summer - they must surely admit in private that England carrying a significant threat. Andy Flower's men have shown their win last year was not just a flash in the pan with a hard-earned draw in South Africa and a wins over Bangladesh and Pakistan this summer.

Batting collapses and a failure to adapt to the conditions were the principal reasons for Aussies' failure last year, if England do the same down under, then Ponting's confidence will not be misplaced. The cricket betting certainly suggests the home side will be hard to beat.

Still, those words could well come back to haunt him if things don't go as planned.

Kiwi’s hammer Indians

The one day triangular tournament in Sri Lanka kicked off this week with an emphatic win for New Zealand over India. The Kiwi’s won the match comfortably by 200 runs in Dambulla. Scott Styris and Ross Taylor put on 190 runs for the fourth wicket as the Black Caps were bowled out for 288 after choosing to bat first.

India collapsed in reply, 88 all out was their fifth lowest one day total. Daryl Tuffey was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand with 3-34, he was backed up well by Kyle Mills and Jacob Oram who claimed two wickets a piece.

Cricket Betting pundits note how the Kiwi’s innings didn’t get off to a good start as they slumped to 28-3 in the seventh over, Praveen Kumar and Ashish Nehra looked dangerous with the new ball to put pressure on the New Zealand top order. Taylor, who is captaining his country after regular captains Daniel Vettori and Brendan MaCullum were rested for the tournament, saved the innings with help from Styris. Taylor hit eight fours and a six in his innings of 95, while Styris reached 89 off 95 deliveries, including nine fours and a six. Both batsmen fell in quick succession and the tail failed to deliver and the Black Caps were all out for 288 in 48.5 overs, Nehra finishing as India’s best bowler with 4-47.

India would have been confident of reaching the total when they started their innings, that confidence was short lived as Tuffy tore through the top order. Tuffy was also responsible for running out India’s captain M S Dhoni. Mills claimed the key wicket of Virender Sehwag for 19 as India exposed their tail after only 20 overs. Jacob Oram and Mills again cleaned up the India tail end to skittle the Indians all out for 88 after only 29.3 overs. The series continues on August 13, when the Kiwi’s face another battle against the Cricket Odds with a match against the hosts Sri Lanka.

Links : KP Nuts, NZ, Sachin

• Andy Flower has said KP needs to find a new county next year if he is to remain involved with the England team. Hampshire don't want him anymore and haven't picked him for T20 finals day. Would anyone want him though? KP has also been warned about having meetings with the disgraced former IPL supremo Lalit Modi.
• New Zealand crushed India in their ODI in Sri Lanka, India made just 88. Are they Pakistan in disguise?
• Staying with India Sachin Tendulkar all-round greatness is lauded by the Guardian who say he will not be surpassed.
• Bears bowling coach Graeme Welch remembers his debut as a player back in 1994.

A new beginning

Its about time this blog received a facelift (to bring it in line with my other ones) however the post frequency has dropped a lot this year. There are 2 reasons for this, one is the World Cup which made the cricket season seem totally strange to me for some reason and i've had trouble getting back into "cricket mood". Another reason was that i couldn't see any point in just rewriting existing news stories.

So lets try something different, a regular digest of items of interest and some commentary.