Congratulations to England - Twenty20 World Champions

England celebrate after being crowned 20/20 World Champions following today's seven-wicket victory over Australia at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.

It was their first tournament victory in 35 years of ICC limited-over competitions.

Scorecard:
ICC World Twenty20 Final: England v Australia
16th May 2010 at Barbados.
Result: England beat Australia by 7 wickets

England won the toss and decided to field

Australia Innings: 147 for 6 (20.0 overs)
England Innings: 148 for 3 (17.0 overs)

Australia Innings:

S Watson c Swan b Sidebottom 2
Warner run out 2
M Clark c Collingwood b Swann 27
Haddin c Kieswetter b Sidebottom 1
D Hussey run out 59
C White c Broad b L Wright 30
M Hussey not out 17
Smith not out 1
Extras 1nb 4w 1b 2lb 8

Total 6 for 147 (20.0 overs)

Bowlers:

Sidebottom 4.0 0 26 2
Bresnan 4.0 0 35 0
Broad 4.0 0 27 0
Swann 4.0 0 17 1
Yardy 3.0 0 34 0
L Wright 1.0 0 5 1

Fall of wickets:

2 S Watson
7 Warner
8 Haddin
45 M Clarke
95 C White
142 D Hussey

England Innings:

Lumb c D Hussey b Tait 2
Kieswetter b M Johnson 63
Pietersen c Warner b Smith 47
Collingwood not out 12
E Morgan not out 15
Extras 8w 1lb 9

Total 3 for 148 (17.0 overs)

Bowlers:

Nannes 4.0 0 29 0
Tait 3.0 0 28 1
M Johnson 4.0 0 27 1
Smith 3.0 0 21 1
S Watson 3.0 0 42 0

Fall of wickets:

7 Lumb
118 Pietersen
121 Kieswetter

Umpires: Aleem Dar, B R Doctrove, R S Madugalle, B F Bowden

England team: Kieswetter (W), Lumb, Pietersen, Collingwood (C), E Morgan, L Wright, Bresnan, Yardy, Swann, Broad, Sidebottom

Australia team: Warner, S Watson, Haddin (W), M Clarke (C), D Hussey, C White, M Hussey, Smith, M Johnson, Tait, Nannes

After-Dinner Sports Tales - Phil Tufnell

My after-dinner sports tale for this month is one told by the charismatic and controversial Phil Tufnell, the former England cricket bowler with a talent for spinning the ball on the field and getting into trouble off of it.

Nicknamed 'The Cat' for his ability to sleep anytime, anywhere, Tufnell made his debut for Middlesex in 1986. It was here that he developed a reputation for being a cricketer with big talent, but little dedication for the discipline of the game. He was occasionally in trouble for missing practice or minor matches and once missed a game when shopping for a fridge instead.

Despite brilliant bowling figures, once getting 11 wickets for 93 runs, he was an abysmal batter whose career average did not reach double figures. He played 42 Tests and 20 One Day Internationals for England between 1990 and 2001, and 316 first-class matches, mainly for Middlesex.

Tufnell’s larrikin tendencies meant he was later disciplined for numerous offences to do with birds, booze, drugs and generally offensive behavior.
In 1997 on an England tour to New Zealand he unwittingly became the focus for a publicity campaign for a winebar in Christchurch.

Here is an amusing excerpt from an after-dinner speech made by Phil on that infamous incident in New Zealand in 1997

"I woke one morning to find myself plastered all over the front of the local paper for apparently having smoked grass in the gents at an establishment called Bardelli's. By 10 o'clock that same morning a rash of posters appeared around town declaring, 'Tufnell reckons that Bardelli's is the best joint in town.'
It was complete nonsense, of course. I was invisible at the time."

Tuffers' retired from professional cricket 2003 in order to participate in the reality television show 'I'm a Celebrity.....Get Me Out of Here!' from which he emerged as King of the Jungle. He was a team captain on the sports quiz show 'They Think It's All Over', did analytical punditry on Sky Sports and Channel 4, and has made appearances on current affairs programmes, chat shows and quiz shows. He has co-authored a humorous book called 'Phil Tufnell's' A To Z of Cricket' and wrote his autobiography, 'What Now?'

He is extremely accommodating to people who wish to discuss matters with a sporting celebrity.

'Best Bet Summer Special' - The Ashes 2009 with Betfair

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of my guest betting blog. In the second part of my 'summer special' I am switching my attention from rugby union to cricket, and focusing on the current Ashes series between England and Australia.

The Aussies, are of course holders of the famous urn, after their 5-0 whitewash down under in 2006/07. Not that you would think that if you have been following the media circus surrounding this iconic 'cricketing battle.'
The British media seemed to have conveniently forgotten about 'that' series and before a ball had been bowled in anger this series, every broadcast and journalistic column inch had instead been devoted to that famous summer of 2005, when England regained the Ashes for the fist time since 1989.

To the current series:
The opening test in Cardiff re-created some of the spirit of 2005, especially on the last day as Monty Panesar and James Anderson clung on to secure an unlikely draw for England.
It got even better at Lord’s as England buried a 75 year hoodoo to go 1-0 up in the second test of this five match series.

England’s hero on that dramatic final day at the home of cricket, Andrew Flintoff, has announced his retirement from test cricket after this series. Will he go out on a high? Can we grasp the Ashes back from the clutches of the Aussies?

Here are the latest Ashes odds:

Who will win the Ashes?

Australia 11/4 England 5/4

Series score:

England to win:

4-0 54/1 3-0 16/1 3-1 19/1 2-0 8/1 2-1 9/2 1-0 12/1

Australia to win:

3-1 14-1 2-1 9/2

Drawn series:

1-1 4/1 2-2 6/5

Top series run-scorer:

Andrew Strauss 3/1 Ricky Ponting 7/2 Michael Clarke 5/1 Simon Katich 9/1 Paul Collingwood 11/1 Alastair Cook 14/ Brad Haddin 14/1 Michael Hussey 22/1 Philip Hughes 49/1

Top series wicket taker:

Mitchell Johnson 5/6 James Anderson 5/1 Ben Hilfenhaus 4/1 Andrew Flintoff 7/1 Nathan Hauritz 9/1 Peter Siddle 10/1 Graeme Swann 12/1 Stuart Broad 27/1 Graham Onions 41/1 Brett Lee 69/1

Series Specials:

Will there be a hatrick in the series? Yes 15/2 No 1/18

Will there be a double century? Yes 5/2 No 1/3

Will someone get ten wickets in the match? Yes 6/1 No 1/14


My 'best bet' prediction’ for Ashes betting:

I have to admit at the outset I thought the Aussies would come out on top. Though Ricky Ponting’s men are not as formidable as they once were, due in part to the retirement of cricketing legends such as Warne, McGrath, Hayden, Langer and Gilchrist, the Aussie's should not be underestimated.
But with the advantage now lying with England I did wonder whether I should change my mind. However without the likes of Simon Jones and a firing Steve Harmison I just don't think we have enough in our bowling attack to consistently take 20 wickets a test, especially with the continuous doubts surrounding the extent of Freddie Flintoff's knee problems.
On that basis I am going to be very unpatriotic and predict a 2-1 Australia series win at 9/2.