Well NZ were crushed by India. They still have a faint chance of making the semis if Zimbabwe beat Sri Lanka. While stranger things have happened in this World Cup, I’m not holding my breath…
As for the Aussie domination issue, I agree it has been a spur for other teams to improve their game, to the benefit of all. Before this tournament I thought the gap was closing quite rapidly, but the Aussies seem to have found another gear, despite the Warne distraction.
So, are the shots you play pre-determined or can you actually respond once the ball is bowled? For the most part, I go with my pre-determined gut feel but sometimes pick on loose balls down the leg-side…I usually find my stumps castled when I decide to play the ball on merit (especially with the crazy fast bowler)
An interesting revelation, but not completely unexpected(to me).
The figure quoted as an average is staggering. I don’t think anyone can now say that assuming match fixing is more than occasional is a cynical view.
The World Cup has been already decided. Only a few know by whom.
I am pretty predetermined - my tactics are as follows (after pressing space to start the run-up):[ol][li]Note the length of the delivery (Short/Good/Pitched Up), and move my fingers to the appropriate row of the keypad (Short = 7,8,9; Good Length = 4,5,6; Pitched up = 1,2,3)[]Look at the yellow dot that indicates where the ball is pitching (Off, Middle, Leg) and press the appropriate key on the keypad (Off = Left; Middle = middle; Leg = Right).[]Hope I have the timing correct - this is the real bugger, with the Fast bowler you have to press almost as soon as the yellow dot appears, while with the Spinner, you have to wait a good half a second before pressing.[/ol]It is quite possible to get shot selection wrong, as it is not always easy to decide on the spur of the moment whether a ball is pitched on Middle or Leg (for example) - my bread and butter shot is short on the leg-side off the fast bowler - I can pull that for six most times, and the one I cannot get right is the cover drive, I get a single at best…[/li]
Grim
Wow! The clever key positioning is something I completely overlooked. Now I see why the 9 strokes are not an overkill. My problem was using more than 3 strokes per delivery type. That is, I use 5, 7, 8, 9, and even 4 for short balls. I use 2, 3, 4, and 5 for pitched up balls… you get the idea.
My bread and butter stroke is the short ball by the fast bowler straight down the pitch which is pummeled for 4 or 6. And, most of the times, the good length ball that follows that would be on the legside – perfect for the on-drive for four. I never realised there was a yellow indicator on the pitch… so I had to guess the direction too.
I have also never been able to cover-drive for 4.
I’m not sure about your tactics. I’ve observed that the yellow dot is often inaccurate. Many times, the line of the ball is something else altogether. About your keypad usage as related to pitch/line, that was my instinctive feel the first time I played the game. But you can get 4s using well-timed 4 on a pitched-up/off stump and 6 on a pitched-up/middle stump. But it’s hard for me to play that way, since I’m strongly left-handed and the keypad is on the right side. Hard to be cautiously reflexive rather than impulsive.
Meanwhile in the real world…
Australia 37/2 in the seventh over. Gilchrist walked after a bat-pad before the umpire gave him out!
An Australian batsman walking!!! What’s the world coming to?? Perhaps this is eveidence of Gyan9’s betting conspiracy.
Congrats to grimpixie for conquering that fiendish game. I gave up after almost an hour and only making it to the third scenario…
Latest update - Aus 51-3 12.2 overs
**
Grim
Ain’t that hard once you discover that short balls have to be beaten like a red-headed stepchild. You can, in fact, play Boycott-type defense on the other balls. Anyways…the last scenario is the one I need multiple tries for, as the spinner can be wily at times.
On the Gilchrist dismissal, is it possible he thought he was declared out?
Latest News:
Sri Lanka: 22-1 (5 overs) v Australia 212-7
213 seems to be achievable, although the early loss will hurt… but I wouldn’t be betting too heavily against the Aussie bowling attack.
Grim
Sri Lanka 7/113, and fairly deep in the mire.
It’s not just that Gilchrist as an Australian walked, he’s the wicketkeeper. Shocking. The last time an Australian 'keeper did something sporting was when Rod Marsh urged Trevor Chappell not to bowl THAT ball.
The India-Kenya semifinal is on, the rain is holding off, and India are currently 100/1 from 25.1 overs, batting first. If the rain continues to hold off, they should have little trouble making it through.
Bold prediction: Collins Obuya will be the first Kenyan to take 100 Test wickets.
India should make it without too many problems. But I like the way the Kenyans marshall what they have.
India won comfortably, setting up an India v Australia final. Should be a good game if India’s batsman get some runs.
I don’t think the rest of the Australian team have their stories straight about the Gilchrist walk. Ricky Ponting is claiming that Gilchrist didn’t realise that the umpire had given him not out, and wouldn’t have walked if he had, and that Australian policy would remain as batsmen standing their ground.
Gilchrist, however, is saying that he thought he was out, and that he feels that sportsmanship needs to be brought back to the game, and was really making a statement to a couple of pommy batsmen (Vaughn and Hussein maybe?) who the Australian team feels should have walked during the Ashes series.
I wonder who is right?
-Bubba.
I’d be willing to bet that when Gilly walked into the sheds he didn’t tell his skipper that he heard the call of ‘not out’.
Then again, from the inordinate number of replays that have been shown on that one, Gilly hung around for an awfully long time making his mind up…
I call India. Have to say I’m biased
Well not long to wait now. Hopefully it’ll be a good game.
Go India!
Australia 359-2 after being sent in
Not a bad exibition of batting.
Tendulkar can explode and India still might not win.