Author Archives: shumpty77

The Monday Multi

March 23, 2015 By in Shumpty Speaks, Shumpty's Punt Tags: , , , Leave a comment

It is a bit of a slow day sport wise in the US but here is a 3 leg multi that should keep punters interested today:

Leg 1: The Charlotte Hornets to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves by between 1-10 points in the NBA.

Leg 2: The Vancouver Canucks to cover the line (-1.5 goals) against the Arizona Coyotes in the NHL.

Leg 3: The Dallas Mavericks to defeat the Phoenix Suns by between 1-10 points in the NBA.

This multi should pay around $20 for each dollar invested.

As always:

  1. Please gamble responsibly.
  2. Whilst all care is taken with these tips, no responsibility vests for losses incurred.

Cricket World Cup: And then there were four! 

March 21, 2015 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , Leave a comment

The Cricket World Cup has reached the knock out phase and after the quarter finals Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand have made it through to the final four!

To be honest I think most people would have said at the start of the tournament that these were the four teams who would make the semi-finals and given how they dominated their respective quarter final opponents the favouritism that has vested in these teams has been well founded it would seem. 

Here are some initial thoughts on the coming semi finals: 

New Zealand v South Africa (Eden Park)

Home ground advantage vests in the Black Caps, as it has the whole tournament, and one expects that they will be backed by yet another delerious crowd.  Both sides have much to prove in this fixture given that both of them have been regular “bridesmaids rather than the bride” in the Cricket World Cup in the past. For two teams who have some of the most explosive batting in the tournament in their line ups it is strange to say but I think this game will come down to the respective bowling units of each on what is a postage sized ground in Auckland.  Boult v Steyn, Southee v Morkel, Vettori v Tahir are all match ups that make the mouth water.  

I am going to stick with the home team in this game: I tipped at the start of the tournament that they would win the tournament and nothing has changed after their performance in the quarter final.  

Australia v India (Sydney Cricket Ground)

These teams have played so much this summer that they must be getting sick of each other by now! The crowd at the SCG will be heaving but one wonders whether Cricket Australia is worried it will be an Indian supporting crowd given the sudden “Wear Gold” campaign that has popped since Friday night’s victory.  The batting line-ups, again, of the two teams appear to be evenly matched.  It is in the bowling that the key differences appear.  Mitchell Starc is head and shoulders the best fast bowler in this game.  On the other side of the ledger are two excellent spinners in Ashwin and Jadeja.  The premier bowlers being so different the pitch could effect the outcome of this game.  

This fixture is very hard for me to pick.  My heart says Australia but my head is leaning towards India.  I might reserve the right to hold judgment at this stage until just before game time when the pitch has been reviewed.  

I can not wait for these two fixtures: they will be much closer than the quarter finals and one expects that the cricket will only get better! 

Cricket: Mustafa Kamal it is time go and go you must NOW!

March 21, 2015 By in Shumpty Speaks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

India and Bangladesh fought out the second quarter final of the Cricket World Cup on Thursday.  India won the game moderately easily after amassing 302 batting first, an innings anchored by a 137 run innings from Rohit Sharma.

Sharma’s innings had a tone of controversy about it: on 90 he hit a waist high full toss in the air that was caught.  However, the umpires decided, as the laws of cricket prescribe, that it was a no ball and Sharma was judged to be not out.

In a game where Bangladesh only scored 193 and, frankly, were outplayed in all aspects of the game that should have been the end of it.

It wasn’t though because Mustafa Kamal made these comments on Bangladesh TV:

“There was no quality in the umpiring. It looked like they took the field after it (the outcome) was pre-arranged,” he alleged.

“I cannot represent the Indian Cricket Council. If someone has imposed a result on us, in that case no one can accept it,” added Kamal

Who is Mr Kamal you ask? Well he is the President of the International Cricket Council.  That’s right: this is the man elected by the members of the ICC to lead the Council.  He just called the umpires in the second quarter final, Aleem Dar and Ian Gould (two of the best in the game), match fixers and cheats.

Yes, the CEO of the ICC, David Richardson, has come out in the strongest possible defence of the umpires and yes, Mr Kamal has stated that he was commenting as a fan of the game and not the president of the ICC.

However, frankly, the context of the comments means absolutely nothing! This is not some bloke in the pub or on social media blowing up about a bad umpiring decision.  This is the president of the governing body of the game of cricket internationally saying that the umpires are cheats.  That is just not acceptable no matter the excuse and no matter how much the CEO of the ICC bites back about those comments.

This is simple: Mustafa Kamal CAN NOT be the president of the ICC for another second.  Every second he remains the president of the ICC there is a question mark around the integrity of the umpires in question, the Indian team and, more broadly, the game.  He must go! If he does not do it of his own accord then the ICC should convene a meeting of its board immediately (not after the World Cup is over), via phone if necessary, and vote Mustafa Kamal out as president for bring the game into disrepute.

Mustafa Kamal: your comments are disgrace, against the Spirit of Cricket and defamatory.  Do the right thing and quit for the good of the game.