Cricket themed games

The imminent start of the new English cricket season will be welcome news for all fans, although cricket fans are more fortunate than some sports enthusiasts, in that there are generally matches being played somewhere in the world that they can follow – and bet on if they are so minded.

However for fans in the UK, the county cricket season is particularly important, and already people are wondering whether Warwickshire will retain the title they won last year, but whether you are a fan of English County Cricket or of international cricket, you should enjoy the slots game The Umpire Strikes Back.

As the name indicates, this is a slots game which is designed to be liked by fans of the game in any country – not just England. However the classic pub style that many features of the game replicate will certainly make it a nostalgic treat for any cricket fans in the UK who also fondly remember playing fruit machine games in pubs. Continue reading “Cricket themed games”

SECOND CENTURY

Nick Compton scored the second century of his test career on the first day of the second test match against New Zealand which is being played at Basin Reserve, Wellington.

Compton was not the only centurion for England on Thursday. Jonathan Trott also got to the three figure mark and because of the brilliant knocks of these two batsmen; the England team was in a very good position at the end of the first day’s play.

Earlier in the morning, Alastair Cook lost the toss and his team had to bat first under the overcast conditions. But, the Kiwi fast bowlers were not able to create that much impact with the new ball. They didn’t attack the stumps enough.

The two English openers played with a cautious approach in the first few overs and because of that, the runs were coming slowly.

The first England wicket fell on the first ball of the 11th over when the score was 26. Alastair Cook was the first batsman to return to the pavilion. It was a slower delivery from Neil Wagner and Cook was not able to read it. He ended up chipping the ball in the air and the fielder at mid on took an easy catch.

But, after that first wicket, it was hard work for the Kiwi bowlers. They bowled a few good deliveries, but, they didn’t hit good areas consistently which allowed the English batsmen to get their eye in.

After getting set, both Compton and Trott played some gorgeous looking shots. Especially, the cover drives played by these two men were fantastic to watch.

Compton and Trott put up a 200-run stand for the second wicket. Both of them completed their hundreds during the partnership.

Compton was dismissed in the 74th over when the score of England was 236. He was caught by Ross Taylor off the bowling of Bruce Martin.

No more England wicket fell in the remaining overs of the day’s play and England was at 267 for 2 after the completion of 90 overs.

Trott and Kevin Pietersen were the two not out batsmen at the end of the day’s play.

From Cricket to Poker

Creative people often speak of “cross-pollination”, or how their interest in a particular field improves the quality of their work in another. It’s like Steve Job’s skill on calligraphy influencing the development of the Mac, the first computer with beautiful typefaces. This phenomena, however, is not limited to artists and computer geeks. Athletes, too, cross-pollinate. It’s not uncommon now that an athlete would excel in more than one sport.

Shane Warne, affectionately called Warnie by his fellow Australians, has been playing cricket since his youth, and started playing professionally at 23. In 2006, he made a record 700 Test wickets, until it was broken by Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka who made 708 the next year. Continue reading “From Cricket to Poker”