NSW FIXED ODDS

Winner
Odds updated at 09:42:53
Pays on Official Result 01:30 Fri 23 Oct 2009
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
21671 Deccan 6.00 $
21672 Delhi 6.50 $
21673 Victoria 7.00 $
21674 New South Wales 7.00 $
21675 Cape Cobras 9.00 $
21676 Eagles 15.00 $
21677 Somerset 13.00 $
21678 Sussex 13.00 $
21679 Otago 13.00 $
21680 Trinidad and Tobago 15.00 $
21681 Wayamba 9.00 $
21682 Bangalore 9.00 $

GROUP A
Deccan Chargers (India)
Shoaib Ahmed, Azhar Bilakhia, Fidel Edwards, Adam Gilchrist (c), Ryan Harris, VVS Laxman, Pragyan Ojha, Venugopal Rao, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Harmeet Singh, Scott Styris, Tirumalasetti Suman, Andrew Symonds, Chaminda Vaas

Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies)
Samuel Badree, Adrian Barath, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Rayad Emrit, Daren Ganga (c) ,Sherwin Ganga, Dave Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, William Perkins, Kieron Pollard, Lendl Simmons, Navin Stewart

Somerset CCC (England)
Omari Banks, Jos Buttler, Zander de Bruyn, Wes Durston, James Hildreth, Craig Kieswetter, Justin Langer (c), Ben Phillips, Arul Suppiah, Alfonso Thomas, Peter Trego, Marcus Trescothick, Max Waller, Charl Willoughby

GROUP B
Diamond Eagles (South Africa)
Ryan Bailey, Jandre Coetzee, Cornelius de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar(c), Dillon du Preez, Dean Elgar, Reeza Hendricks, Alan Kruger, Adrian McLaren, Ryan McLaren, Victor Mpitsang, Rilee Rossouw, Thandi Tshabalala, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Morne van Wyk

New South Wales Blues (Australia)
Aaron Bird, Doug Bollinger, Stuart Clark, Nathan Hauritz, Moises Henriques, Phillip Hughes, Simon Katich(c), Simon Keen, Brett Lee, Steve O'Keefe, Ben Rohrer, Daniel Smith, Steven Smith, Dominic Thornely, David Warner

Sussex Sharks (England)
Yasir Arafat, William Beer, Ben Brown, Piyush Chawla, Joe Gatting, Rory Hamilton-Brown, Andrew Hodd, Ed Joyce, Chad Keegan, James Kirtley, Robin Martin-Jenkins, Christopher Nash, Dwayne Smith, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy(c)

GROUP C
Cape Cobras (South Africa) Derek Brand, Ryan Canning, Henry Davids, Jean-Paul Duminy, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Herschelle Gibbs, Claude Henderson, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Justin Ontong, Vernon Philander, Francois Plaatjies, Andrew Puttick(c) , Stiaan van Zyl, Monde Zondeki

Otago Volts (New Zealand)
Nick Beard, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Craig Cumming(c), Derek de Boorder, Mathew Harvie, AD Mascarenhas, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, James McMillan, Warren McSkimming, Aaron Redmond, Hamish Rutherford, Greg Todd, Neil Wagner

Royal Challengers (India)
Balachandra Akhil, Rajesh Bishnoi, Mark Boucher, Rahul Dravid, Jacques Kallis, Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Anil Kumble(c) , Manish Pandey, Dale Steyn, Ross Taylor, Robin Uthappa, Roelof van der Merwe

GROUP D
Dehli Daredevils (India)
Rajat Bhatia, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Gautam Gambhir(c) , Dinesh Karthik, Mithun Manhas, Glenn McGrath,Amit Mishra, Dirk Nannes, Ashish Nehra , Aavishkar Salvi, Pradeep Sangwan, Virender Sehwag, Owais Shah, Manoj Tiwary , Daniel Vettori

Victoria (Australia)
Aiden Blizzard, Aaron Finch, Shane Harwood, John Hastings, Brad Hodge, Jon Holland, David Hussey, Andrew McDonald, Bryce McGain, Clinton McKay, James Pattinson , Robert Quiney, Peter Siddle, Matthew Wade, Cameron White(c)

Wayamba Elevens (Sri Lanka)
Ishara Amerasingha, Sameera de Zoysa, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Shalika Karunanayake, Jeevantha Kulatunga, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Farveez Maharoof, Ajantha Mendis, Jehan Mubarak (c), Thissara Perera, Isuru Udana, Mahela Udawatte, Michael Vandort, Chanaka Welegedara

October 9, 2009

New South Wales 144 for 6 (Katich 53) beat Eagles 91 for 9 (Ryan McLaren 40, Clark 3-12) by 53 runs

After a smorgasbord of hitting in Bangalore, the ball dominated proceedings in the first game of a Friday double-header in Delhi. Simon Katich followed his decision to bat with some sparkling strokeplay and though Eagles hit back in the last seven overs a total of 144 proved more than enough. Arguably the strongest bowling attack in the tournament, spearheaded by Brett Lee and backed up by the accurate Stuart Clark, blitzed the Eagles who limped to 91 - the lowest Twenty20 score at the Feroz Shah Kotla - thanks largely to Ryan McLaren's 40.

Katich took one look at "a typical wicket without a blade of grass" and decided to bat, and found himself in early after Philip Hughes missed an ugly heave. Katich relied on timing instead of force, taking three fours off Dillon du Preez: not one shot was crude, yet each raced away to the boundary after being struck with superb wristwork and placement. Ryan McLaren was welcomed with a drive through extra cover and an effortless six off Katich's pads; again, these shots were unique for their placement rather than ferocity.

It was an approach David Warner struggled to adopt, swinging and missing regularly. He managed three fours in one over off Shadley van Schalkwyk in which he peppered the long-on, deep cover and midwicket boundaries, but his timing was nowhere as fluent as Katich's. Thandi Tshabalala's offspin and Ryan Bailey's slow-medium deliveries slowed the pace and accounted for Warner's wicket, a result of his frustration.

From here the Eagles fielded with vigour and took all but one of the chances that came their way, never letting their tempo slip. A six off Tshabalala took Katich past 50 in 37 balls but he fell soon after Warner, chipping van Schalkwyk to long-off. Bailey continued to tie down the batsmen, allowing just ten runs in his four overs without conceding a boundary. Tshabalala's figures were spoiled by two sixes from Moises Henriques, who looked capable of taking the score past 150 but fell in the 18th over to a good catch at backward point. NSW proceeded to lose two wickets in two balls and finished with 144.

The Eagles' task was made all the more difficult when Brett Lee got hold of the new ball. Finding a little bit of swing, and good pace and accuracy, he got Rilee Roussow with a full ball in front of leg stump in the opening over. Adrian McLaren responded with a couple of brusque boundaries off Doug Bollinger but was run out when Katich threw down the stumps from mid-on and wickets kept falling to peg the Eagles' ambitions back. Morne van Wyk picked out short midwicket with a cross-batted shot to Stuart Clark's first ball, Boeta Dippenaar chipped to mid-off, Dean Elgar danced down and was stumped off Nathan Hauritz, and when Katich ran out Bailey, the Eagles had slumped to 36 for 6.

The Eagles weren't finished just yet. Ryan McLaren took up the cudgels with a massive six off Steve Smith and a delicate paddle for four off Lee, but also had to farm the strike to shield the tail - and that's not exactly easy in Twenty20 cricket. Clark never let the foot off the gas and capped an excellent evening with 3 for 12 from four overs, featuring masterful changes of pace and length, so key to this format.

Katich followed a fine effort with the bat by effecting two direct hits and taking a catch, as NSW showed why they are one of the favourites. Unlike their fellow South African representatives Cape Cobras, the Eagles pulled well below their weight against a formidable attack and slick fielding.

October 9, 2009

Victoria 100 for 3 (Quiney 40) beat Delhi Daredevils 98 for 8 (Manhas 25, McKay 3-17) by seven wickets

A similar story to yesterday's panned out at the Feroz Shah Kotla, with another Indian team failing to capitalise on home conditions and crowd support. Delhi Daredevils - under new captain Gautam Gambhir - were comprehensively beaten by Victoria, for whom Clint McKay led a devastating seam attack, in the opening match of Group D.

The win capped off a remarkable day for the Australian participants, after New South Wales pummelled the Eagles a few hours earlier at the same venue.

Delhi had been left to look like outsiders against an attack that was relentless on a track with consistently uneven bounce, and which made run-scoring quite problematic. Gambhir had not bargained for such a dismal showing after choosing to bat and Delhi just managed to scrape past the second-lowest Twenty20 score at this venue, recorded by the Eagles earlier.

The signs that a devil might just be in the pitch were first seen in the third over. The ball from Shane Harwood kept low, Gambhir was slow in getting his bat down in time and his off stump went cartwheeling.

Virender Sehwag attempted to stamp his authority at home by smashing boundaries off successive Harwood deliveries, but was superbly caught and bowled by McKay in his first over off a mistimed shot on the leg side. McKay followed it up by getting Owais Shah caught behind for a duck.

The Victorian fielders were always alert, keeping the batsmen on their toes. A moment of indecision from Tillakaratne Dilshan had Dinesh Karthik scrambling for safety at the bowler's end. Cameron White swooped in from cover and threw it back to Andrew McDonald, who took the bails off in a flash.

The situation called for Dilshan to play the anchor role and he was relatively sedate till the 16th over, when McKay - who seemed to be enjoying the conditions - lured him out and removed his off stump. Mithun Manhas tried to make the most of his run-out reprieve, but a suspected hamstring injury did not augur well for Delhi and Harwood broke through his defences to send him back for 25. McDonald capped off a superb display by castling Bhatia and Sangwan in the final over. However, there was more disappointment in store for the partisan crowd.

If there were any doubts about the pitch during and after Delhi's innings, Rob Quiney settled them in style. Dirk Nannes, bowling to his state team-mates, was handed no favours, as Quiney belted the ball past him to the mid-on boundary. Nannes' new-ball partner Ashish Nehra fared no better and was carted for a four and a six in his third over. With 32 on the board in the fifth over, Delhi were in a state of panic and bewilderment.

The introduction of legspinner Amit Mishra did not prove fruitful immediately, with Quiney attacking him from the start. Mishra was dispatched for six over long-on in his very first over, and the second and third deliveries of his next over disappeared for ten runs. Mishra persisted with flight and bowled Quiney next ball, the batsman failing to connect while trying to work to the leg side.

Brad Hodge, who had been watching the pyrotechnics from the other end, was cleaned up by Dilshan two balls later, but with Victoria racing to 55 for 2 in the ninth over, Delhi needed a pre-Diwali miracle. Dilshan and Mishra, bowling in tandem, managed to stifle the runs but Victoria had been delivered a productive start, and could afford to sit back.

Even Rajat Bhatia's dismissal of David Hussey with a slower one did little to instill confidence in Gambhir to try out Pradeep Sangwan's left-arm seam. It didn't make much difference, for Aiden Blizzard ended the innings on a high, smashing Bhatia for a six over long-on.

October 11, 2009

New South Wales 130 for 2 (Hughes 62*, Henriques 51*) beat Sussex 95 for 8 (Henriques 3-23) by 35 runs

New South Wales, the champions of Australia's Big Bash, were the first team from Group B to secure passage, with points carried forward, to the second round of the Champions League. They did so by showing tremendous adaptability in both their matches on slow Delhi pitches with low bounce. Phillip Hughes and Moises Henriques quickly assessed what a competitive total would be on such a surface - only 130 was needed today - and their bowlers, fast and spin alike, bowled a dangerous stump-to-stump line, snuffing out Sussex's chase with early wickets and extremely few Powerplay runs.

The game was won for NSW during the 90-run partnership between Hughes and Henriques. Hughes played the patient innings while Henriques used the long handle to telling effect. Both batsmen reached half-centuries but, despite being extremely well set, were unable to provide the slog-over thrust needed to take the total towards 150. That they were unable to do so was more an indictment of how difficult batting was on this surface than a criticism of their power-hitting skills.

Just how tough Sussex's chase would be was evident in Brett Lee's opening over of the chase. Bowling fast and straight, Lee pitched one on a length: the ball stayed low, ripped through Ed Joyce's defence, and crashed into the middle of off stump. The total of 130 had suddenly grown in stature.

NSW's innings was in strife at 40 for 2 and they had reached only 50 at the half-way stage when the acceleration came. Hughes hit the first six in the 11th over, muscling Piyush Chawla with a flat bat over long off, and Henriques, who was dropped at cover a few balls later, struck the second, slog-sweeping over deep midwicket. NSW took 17 runs off the 11th over and appeared to be back on track. Henriques had struck three sixes during his cameo against the Eagles and began to do a repeat, launching Rory Hamilton-Brown over extra cover and clearing the long-on boundary off James Kirtley.

The batsmen scored 45 runs between overs 10 and 15 and, with eight wickets in hand, a score of 150 was probable. There were no boundaries in the last four overs, though, the most eventful delivery being the beamer from Dwayne Smith that crashed into the wicketkeeper's helmet, and NSW had to settle for less.

It isn't often that a team scores merely 130 in a Twenty20 match despite having eight wickets in the bank but it was that sort of a pitch. It got lower and slower as the day wore on; the batsmen struggled to find timing and had to stay vigilant to keep out the occasional shooter. Robin Martin-Jenkins' first delivery of the match set the tone as it thudded into the bottom of David Warner's bat. The Sussex bowlers rarely wavered from the straight-and-narrow line, hoping they would hit if the batsmen misjudged the pace and bounce. It was a method NSW's attack would implement with success.

After Brett Lee's searing opening spell of 2-1-3-1, which included Joyce's wicket, Doug Bollinger and Henriques kept the batsmen quiet. Sussex had scored only 26 off the Powerplay and, so when Simon Katich gave the ball to Steven Smith as soon as the fielding restrictions were lifted, Rory Hamilton-Brown charged the young legspinner immediately. He advanced and swung across the line but was beaten by flight and turn, leaving Daniel Smith with an easy stumping.

The chase was floundering at 26 for 2 and Dwayne Smith adopted a similar approach against Steven Smith. He swiped repeatedly across the line and was beaten. He eventually connected and sent the ball rapidly to the long-on boundary but Sussex needed him to contribute substantially. However, on a pitch that needed batsmen to remain watchful and balanced, Dwayne Smith moved towards leg to manufacture room to guide Bollinger to third man. He missed and was bowled. Sussex's bad situation grew worse when Henriques struck with successive deliveries to reduce them to 64 for 5 and it became dire when two more fell with the score on 68.

Henriques ended an excellent match by dismissing Andy Hodd and finished with figures of 3 for 23 to go with his match-winning half-century.

October 16, 2009

Trinidad & Tobago 171 for 6 (Pollard 54, Ramdin 23) New South Wales 170 for 4 ( Hughes 83, Warner 63) by four wickets

It's said that you can win or lose a Twenty20 game in a blink and Kieron Pollard, batting like a man possessed, proved the adage right by engineering a stunning win against New South Wales.


'It's not over until it's over' is another of those cricketing clichés that is not always held to account but tonight was the night for clichés - in a Hyderabad minute, everything changed.

NSW unleashed their two dynamites, David Warner and Phillip Hughes, who propelled them to 170, which seemed more than enough at one stage but Pollard, with a violent 18-ball 54, crafted a remarkable comeback in Twenty20 history.


The chase never seemed to be going anywhere after the top order had combusted and when Darren Bravo was run out, the equation read: 80 from 42 balls. Game over, surely? But everything changed in stunning fashion as first Denesh Ramdin and then Pollard played out of their skins to turn the game on its head.

It all began in the 14th over, bowled by Stuart Clark. Ramdin pinged the midwicket boundary twice before he lifted the spinner Steven Smith in the next over for a boundary over extra-cover and a slog-swept six over midwicket. However, Ramdin fell in the next over and once again, NSW were the favourites or so one thought.

If it started in the 14th over, the game-breaker was the 17th over in which Pollard simply went berserk against the medium-pace of Moises Henriques and looted 27 runs. The second ball disappeared to long-off, the third was sliced over point, the fourth, a full toss, was collected by a spectator beyond midwicket boundary, the next, another nervy full toss, was picked up from behind deep square-leg boundary, and the last delivery flew to third man. Game almost over.

If there was any doubt, it vanished when Simon Katich handed Henriques the responsibility of bowling the 19th over and Pollard finished off the chase with a couple of bludgeoned sixes.

NSW had done everything that they could till Pollard's whirlwind innings,. The bowling was disciplined and the batting was led from the front by Warner and Hughes. With only a few deliveries into the contest it was clear that pace on the ball was going to be fodder for both batsmen, especially when T&T didn't possess anyone with real speed. Warner and Hughes stayed adjacent to the line and threaded the off-side with their punches, cuts, and muscled drives.

T&T had to switch to plan B and Daren Ganga quickly brought on the spinners and medium-pacers with the ability to take pace off the ball. It worked initially as NSW slowed down from 50 in six overs to 77 in 11. The two spinners in operation at that period were the chinaman bowler Dave Mohammed and the accurate offspinner Sherwin Ganga, who both took the ball away from the left-handed openers. Both batsmen managed to prevent the adrenalin rush from kicking in and played out this period intelligently with dabbed singles and twos.


They knew Ganga had to change his bowlers at some point and the opportunity to break free came in the 12 th over against the legspinner Samuel Badree. Unlike Sherwin Ganga and Mohammed, Badree was guilty of overpitching his flighted deliveries and Warner took full toll: Two disappeared over long-on and long-off and as Badree, in trying to adjust his length, slipped in long-hops, Warner crashed them to square-leg and swung the last one over midwicket. Twenty-four runs were looted in that over and the run-rate had shot up again.

Ganga did the obvious by taking out Badree and bringing back his two best spinners. Mohammed picked up Warner's wicket and teased Hughes with his variations but Hughes knew he had to just wait for the seamers to return. And when they did, he hit them around the ground. Ravi Rampaul, who had given away three boundaries in the first over of the innings, was carted to the point and straight boundaries by Warner while Henriques lofted Lendl Simmons to long-on and to midwicket boundary.

Hughes was as unconventional as ever; those feet never seem to get in line but his bat does as he slashes and carves it around like a sword. There wasn't a single "beautiful" shot in the traditional sense of the word but then there is nothing traditional about Hughes' batting. However, there was, as ever, quite bit of skill in his violence. A shot that stood out from the general massacre that he was attempting to unleash was as deft and skilful as it gets: Rampaul almost slipped in a yorker on the middle stump in the 19th over, perhaps a touch short of the blockhole. Hughes had opened his stance, waiting to bludgeon it, but on seeing the length, he crouched back, opened the bat-face and guided it deliberately to left of backward point and to the boundary.

Hughes would have thought he had done enough to be the hero for the day but Pollard had decided to seize the day.

October 17, 2009

New South Wales 112 for 4 (Warner 40) beat Somerset 111 for 7 (Clark 3-15) by six wickets

On a pitch that offered bounce and some movement, Stuart Clark led a disciplined bowling performance to restrict Somerset to a below-par 111 which New South Wales knocked off without breaking a sweat in Hyderabad. With this crushing win NSW have joined their Australian counterparts Victoria in the Champions League semi-finals.

It was a must-win game for NSW and they came to the party in style. Brett Lee bowled with fire, Clark was as canny as ever and David Warner unleashed hell as NSW sealed the chase in 11.5 overs. Warner got them off to an explosive start, carting boundaries all around the ground. There were couple of cut shots that stood out for his dexterity in finding the gap in a packed off-side field but the highlight was a six off Omari Banks, the offspinner. Warner backed away a touch and was actually beaten in flight but lunged out to chip it all the way over the extra-cover boundary. While the batsmen indulged themselves, the win was set up by some fine bowling from Clark and Lee.

Clark was steady as ever with his back-of-a-length deliveries, getting them to cut either way. He was introduced into the attack in the fifth over and swung into action immediately with a double strike. He induced Craig Kieswetter into holing out to mid-on and had Justin Langer swinging without control to deep midwicket.

In the next over, Clark got one to kick up from short of a length and had James Hildreth top-edging an attempted pull to fine leg. Arul Suppiah was run out in the same over and Somerset slipped from 24 for 0 to 39 for 4, a position from which they never recovered. Clark could have had another wicket but he dropped Zander de Bruyn off his bowling.

It might have been Clark who did the major damage, but the platform was laid by a hostile spell from Lee, who didn't shy from using short deliveries and troubled both the openers. He got away swing and bounce as he went hard at them. Doug Bollinger gave away a few fours but Lee yielded just four runs from the first two overs. The pressure eventually told on the openers who tried to break free against Clark and threw their wickets away. Lee returned in the end overs to pick up a wicket and kept a lid on the scoring.

This tournament is the farewell song of Langer, who is retiring from competitive cricket after this game, but nothing has gone right for him. The reflexes seems to have slowed down and today, he was beaten for pace on quite a few occasions. However, there was one little moment that reminded you of the past: Bollinger had served him a short delivery on the free hit and Langer swiveled to unfurl a crunchy pull to the midwicket boundary.

But there was little else to celebrate for Langer and his men as the ruthless NSW machine rolled along without any trouble.

Clinical New South Wales thrash Victoria

October 21, 2009

New South Wales 169 for 7 (Warner 48, McKay 3-27) beat Victoria 90 for 9 (Henriques 3-11)

There was no nerve-jangling, last-ball finish today, like there was when New South Wales pipped Victoria twice to win last season's Big Bash. Instead, the Australian champions delivered a clinical performance on a difficult Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, one that ensured the first semi-final of the Champions League was one of the most one-sided matches of the tournament.


On the same pitch where fewer than 200 runs were scored in the match between Delhi Daredevils and Cape Cobras a day ago, the NSW openers David Warner and Phillip Hughes provided a powerful start, which allowed them to post 169, far more than the 110 Victoria captain Cameron White had hoped to limit them to. A tough chase became virtually impossible when offspinner Nathan Hauritz, who was given the second over, struck twice in three deliveries, getting rid of Victoria's openers.


The build-up to the highly anticipated contest between the Australian sides centered around how difficult the track would be for power-hitting and, when Hughes was struck on the arm by a bouncer from Peter Siddle in the second over, it seemed the batsmen would have toil for their runs.


Warner, though, doesn't toil for his runs. His Australia call-up and an IPL contract were results of his ability to tear into bowling attacks and he did just that in front of a disappointingly thin Delhi crowd. The stand-out feature of his innings was his straight-hitting on a pitch with low bounce: both his sixes were clean hits over long-off and he started the onslaught with a searing flat-batted swipe past the bowler, Shane Harwood, in the third over.


That boundary began a prosperous period for NSW. Warner was sublime, bludgeoning 25 runs off ten deliveries he faced from an off-colour Siddle. He rounded off the Powerplay with a lofted straight drive over Siddle's head and launched him to the extra-cover boundary to take NSW to 56.


Victoria got a lucky break in the next over, when Warner was run out attempting a suicidal run after Hughes pushed the ball to point. A livid Warner stormed back to the dug-out, falling two short of a well-deserved half-century.


Hughes had coasted through the Powerplays but switched to top gear after that dismissal. Most of his shots started with him getting the front foot out of the way, whether he crashed the ball past point, caressed it through extra cover, or bludgeoned towards midwicket. He had scored 20 off his previous seven deliveries when he was foxed by Clint McKay's back-of-the-hand slower ball, which batsmen have found extremely hard to pick in this tournament.


Daniel Smith, promoted to No. 3, and captain Simon Katich kept the momentum up, picking off boundaries early in the over and working the singles. Victoria did manage to restrict the runs towards the end though; the only boundaries in the last five overs were a couple of innovative paddle-scoops to fine leg from Ben Rohrer.


The only thing that prevented New South Wales from entering the semi-final unbeaten was a stunning 18-ball 54 from Trinidad & Tobago batsman Kieron Pollard. Victoria needed something similar but Hauritz's blows, followed by Lee's dismissal of Aiden Blizzard, made their task incredibly hard.


After the Powerplay, Victoria had limped to only 17 for 3, and even their experienced and highly-rated duo of White and David Hussey couldn't pull off a rescue act. It was a slow and painful slide to an embarrassing defeat for Victoria and they didn't even manage three figures. White had predicted at the toss that it would be a "hell of a chase" whatever NSW managed; he couldn't have imagined a more hellish chase.

Deserving teams set up summit battle

October 22, 2009

Friday, October 23
Start time 20.00 (14.30GMT)

Big Picture

The Champions League Twenty20 gets the final it deserves: two champion teams at the peak of their prowess will clash for the trophy. None of the hyped IPL sides made it and none of the weaker teams managed to sneak in. The two finalists couldn't be more contrasting in nature. It's easy to use the obvious comparison of professionalism vs flair for the title clash between New South Wales and Trinidad & Tobago but it would be a mistake. T&T's flamboyance stands out from a mile, of course, but it's the case of a disciplined structure that has allowed the players to express themselves.


And again, NSW's discipline sticks out easily but they possess players such as Brett Lee and their two dynamic and unconventional openers, Phillip Hughes and David Warner, who ooze flair. It is in fact a battle between a disciplined team that has added flair and a team oozing style that has added some structure and order.


NSW in many ways have already shown that they are the most organised team of the competition while T&T, the winners of three regional one-day titles and the Stanford 20/20 prize, have shown that they are the team to beat. It's game on.

T&T possess dazzling batsmen like Adrian Barath, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, William Perkins and canny medium-pacers in Bravo and Ravi Rampaul and they have easily the best spinner of the tournament in Dave Mohammed and a very miserly one in Sherwin Ganga. It's almost a perfectly balanced side especially when you add in the sensible Daren Ganga, the most vital cog in the wheel, who has done an admirable job in ensuring that the adrenalin rush of his exuberant team-mates never goes overboard.

For their part, NSW possess the most destructive openers in Warner and Hughes and good middle-order batsmen in Simon Katich, Moises Henriques, Ben Rohrer and Daniel Smith. The bowling has been led by the fiery Lee, the canny Stuart Clark, the steady Doug Bollinger and the vastly improving Nathan Hauritz. They have adapted to the different surfaces thrown at them and have come out on top. It's perhaps no coincidence that NSW's sole defeat came against T&T. That night it took an out-of-the-world knock from Pollard to defeat them and NSW would like to think that lightning can't strike twice.


Watch out for ...


Katich and Daren Ganga: When you think of Twenty20, you don't think of either Ganga or Katich but it's these two men who have done a stand-out job in leading the sides to the finale. Ganga has channeled the manic energy of his flamboyant team-mates well and has made all the correct decisions in the field. If only Ganga was a more dynamic batsman, he could well have led West Indies. Similarly, if Katich, who of course is a far better batsman than Ganga, had managed to get a consistent spot in the powerful Australian side, he could well have led the national side at some point.

Adrian Barath and Kieron Pollard: Twenty20 cricket can be a tricky platform to judge real talent but Barath, in two sparkling innings, has shown that he has the talent to play for West Indies. He indulged himself in the last league game and played a sparkling cameo in a pressure-cooker scenario in the semi-final.

Pollard didn't have to extend himself with the bat after that unbelievable assault against NSW but has continued to chip away with his bowling. He has the power game to match Dwayne Smith and Ricardo Powell but unlike them, he seems to be more disciplined in his craft. Rarely does he swing wildly across the line and seems to possess the temperament to choose the bowlers to take on.

Brett Lee v T&T's top order: He mostly just gets two overs with the new ball but he has bowled with venom to get the early strikes for his team. He has got swing and has not been shy in using the short ball. He will be given the licence to go after the flamboyant T&T top order and it should make for a fascinating watching experience.

Hughes and Warner: We know they can be almost violent in their strokeplay. They even conquered the slow pitch of Delhi to unleash hell on their opponents. The last time the two teams played each other, it was the offspinner Sherwin Ganga and the chinaman bowler Mohammed who kept these two left-handed openers relatively quiet. Ganga started with spin in the semi-final; will he go for it again to try upsetting the rhythm of the NSW openers?

Dave Mohammed The best spinner of the tournament has left everyone wondering why he is not playing for West Indies. He has tormented the batsmen with his guile and variations and pleased the crowd with his celebrations. Will his special shoe-phone celebration be unfurled in the final? He has the ability to spin it away from the left-handed openers and is likely to pose a few problems.


Quotes

"We were a little off in the game against T&T. It came at a good time and it didn't cost us too badly and instead motivated us to make sure we went up a gear in the remaining games and that showed [in the semi-final]"
NSW's captain Simon Katich says they were spurred on to higher things by their defeat against T&T


"The atmosphere is conducive to learning, so the players have the opportunity to express themselves. They are taught self-governance."
Colin Borde, the T&T manager, sums up the positive mood in the camp.

"As batters, every single batter is aware as to where he needs to be after a particular over. We are hitting those targets very easily as a team."
Daren Ganga reveals his team's strategy

NSW v Trinidad&Tobago

T20 Fnl NSW-TrnTbg Hd2Hd 24/10 - Head to Head
Odds updated at 10:30:01
Pays on Official Result 01:30 Sat 24 Oct 2009
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
47037 New South Wales 1.65 $
47038 Trinidad & Tobago 2.20 $


T20 Fnl NSW-TrTbg HiOpnPshp 24/10 - Highest Opening Partnership
Odds updated at 17:07:08 01:30 Sat 24 Oct 2009
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
47039 New South Wales 1.75 $
47040 Trinidad & Tobago 2.00 $


T20 Fnl NSW-TrnTbg Most Sixes 24/10 - Most Sixes
Odds updated at 14:25:27
Does Not Include Super Over 01:30 Sat 24 Oct 2009
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
47041 New South Wales 2.40 $
47042 Tie 6.50 $
47043 Trinidad & Tobago 1.90 $


T20 Fnl NSW-TrTbg MtcDcksO/U 24/10 - Number of Match Ducks Over/Und
Odds updated at 16:37:39
Does Not Include Super Over 01:30 Sat 24 Oct 2009
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
47044 Over 1.5 Ducks 2.45 $
47045 Under 1.5 Ducks 1.50 $
47046 Batsman must be dismissed Suspended $

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T20 Fnl NSW-TrTb MtcRunOutsO/U 24/10 - Match Run Outs Over/under
Odds updated at 17:06:56
Does Not Include Super Over 01:30 Sat 24 Oct 2009
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
47047 Over 1.5 Run Outs 2.30 $
47048 Under 1.5 Run Outs 1.57 $


T20 Fnl NSW-TrTbg Hi1st6OverScore 24/10 - Highest 6 Over Score
Odds updated at 17:06:40 01:30 Sat 24 Oct 2009
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
47049 New South Wales 1.80 $
47050 Trinidad & Tobago 1.93 $

T20 Fnl NSW Most Runs 24/10
Odds updated at 12:54:36
Bet refunded if player not in Final 11 01:30 Sat 24 Oct 2009
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
47073 HUGHES Phillip 3.75 $
47074 WARNER David 3.75 $
47075 KATICH Simon 5.00 $
47076 HENRIQUES Moises 6.50 $
47077 THORNELY Dominic 8.00 $
47078 SMITH Daniel 8.00 $
47079 ROHRER Ben 9.00 $
47080 KEEN Simon 13.00 $
47081 SMITH Steven 13.00 $
47082 OKEEFE Steve 41.00 $
47083 LEE Brett 51.00 $
47084 HAURITZ Nathan 67.00 $
47085 BIRD Aaron 101.00 $
47086 CLARK Stuart 151.00 $
47087 BOLLINGER Doug 251.00 $


T20 Fnl Trndd&Tbgo Most Runs 24/10
Odds updated at 12:56:24
Bet refunded if player not in Final 11 01:30 Sat 24 Oct 2009
Sportsbet No. Selection (default) Price Amount Total
47088 BARATH Adrian 5.00 $
47089 PERKINS William 5.00 $
47090 SIMMONS Lendl 5.00 $
47091 BRAVO Dwayne 5.00 $
47092 GANGA Daren 6.00 $
47093 BRAVO Darren 7.00 $
47094 POLLARD Kieron 8.00 $
47095 RAMDIN Denesh 13.00 $
47096 STEWART Navin 21.00 $
47097 GANGA Sherwin 26.00 $
47098 EMRIT Rayad 34.00 $
47099 MOHAMMED Dave 81.00 $
47100 BADREE Samuel 101.00 $
47101 NARINE Sunil 101.00 $
47102 RAMPAUL Ravi 101.00 $