week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.   959 wwe84                    421 srini701
 2.   958 paper_aero               617 Howie72
 3.  1806 N-Bomb                   865 srini701
 4.  1193 paper_aero               633 ozzz2002
 5.  1334 srini701                 853 ozzz2002
 6.  1127 srini701                 703 wwe84
 7.   
 8.  
 9.  
10.  
11.   
12.   
13.  
14.   
15.   
16.  
17.  
18.  

    

• One of cricket's greatest ever all-rounders Jacques Kallis announced his retirement from Test cricket just before the 2nd Test against India. The top ranked Test team gave him a fitting farewell by playing with intensity and fire throughout the 5 days and despite weather intervening on the first 4 days, India just could not hang in with the hosts. Kallis scored a century in his final Test innings, Steyn was all fired up after a mediocre first Test and with most of the team pulling their weight (except Amla), South Africa were deserving winners of the match and the series.
  
  
• England showed some rare fighting spirit for the first days of their Test but it was business as usual on the 3rd Day Chris Rogers, Nathan Lyon, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson (again) all had a fantastic Test as Australia take a 4-0 lead. 5-0 is very much on the cards in the New Year....Promises to be a cracker of a Test series between South Africa and Australia in February.
  
  
• Only 2 of us managed 1000+ scores this round. srini701 made it back-to-back HoFs and moved up one spot up the ladder, while gtho4 also moved past Sypher in the standings.
  
  
• paper_aero almost broke his spoonless streak, but wwe84 just about helped him maintain his streak with a slightly worser team this round. In the bargain, N-Bomb raced past both of them with another very good round to become our new leader here.
  
  The next round starts on December 31 (new series with Pakistan taking on Sri Lanka), so please lodge tips for that Test at least even if you wish to retain your team for the last Ashes Test.
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 43 and counting: 5 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +3 (last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Sypher - 42 and counting: 6 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +1 (last spoon in round 26 of 2010-11)
  paper_aero - 24 and counting: 6 (2013-14) + 18 (2012-13) (spoon in last round of 2011 comp)
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.   959 wwe84                    421 srini701
 2.   958 paper_aero               617 Howie72
 3.  1806 N-Bomb                   865 srini701
 4.  1193 paper_aero               633 ozzz2002
 5.  1334 srini701                 853 ozzz2002
 6.  1127 srini701                 703 wwe84
 7.  1224 BxBarracuda              730 paper_aero
 8.  
 9.  
10.  
11.   
12.   
13.  
14.   
15.   
16.  
17.  
18.  

    

• Australia completed only the 3rd ever whitewash in the history of Ashes with another 3 day drubbing of a listless England...Andy Flower and Alistair Cook still want to continue to remain at the helm and rebuild the team...what choice do they have??
  
  
• Angelo Mathews played a captain's role in both innings and helped an out-of-practice Sri Lanka hold Pakistan to level terms in their first Test.
  
  
• Angelo Mathews as "trump" was a monster pick by BxBarracuda, who takes this round's HoF award because of that. His reward? He stays put in the cellar
  
  
• gtho4 and Sypher again switched places while Ozzz2002 and srini701 also switched places again. We had a host of "DNP"s in our teams, thanks to Pakistan, but Ozzz again takes the cake. This time, neither of his 2 selected Englishmen took the field, otherwise, he may well have taken the HoF
  
  
• paper_aero has a second consecutive poor round, but there's nobody to save him this time. He takes his first spoon in 24 rounds, and that leaves us with 2 spoonless streaks going in this comp over the years.
  
  Kallis > Tendulkar .....that's a debate for another day and another thread I am willing to take up, if the "instigator" is willing to participate
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 44 and counting: 6 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +3 (last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Sypher - 43 and counting: 7 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +1 (last spoon in round 26 of 2010-11)
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.   959 wwe84                    421 srini701
 2.   958 paper_aero               617 Howie72
 3.  1806 N-Bomb                   865 srini701
 4.  1193 paper_aero               633 ozzz2002
 5.  1334 srini701                 853 ozzz2002
 6.  1127 srini701                 703 wwe84
 7.  1224 BxBarracuda              730 paper_aero
 8.   630 gtho4                    257 ozzz2002
 9.  
10.  
11.   
12.   
13.  
14.   
15.   
16.  
17.  
18.  

    

• Sri Lanka got the better of Pakistan as Saeed Ajmal was bettered, and could not weave his web of "doosras" anymore. Can Pakistan bounce back? They have one more Test to do so.
  
  
• gtho4 kept faith in his first Test team and it paid off, as Mahela Jayawardene scored a big hundred. gtho4 picks his first HoF for the season and switches places with Sypher (again!)
  
  
• Ozzz2002 picks up another spoon and switches places with srini701 (again!!)
  
  
• Halfway through the season and nobody's threatening to run away with the comp this season! wwe84 again slips past N-Bomb for the lead, but at this stage, it still looks a wide, wide open comp!
  
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 45 and counting: 7 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +3 (last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Sypher - 44 and counting: 8 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +1 (last spoon in round 26 of 2010-11)
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.   959 wwe84                    421 srini701
 2.   958 paper_aero               617 Howie72
 3.  1806 N-Bomb                   865 srini701
 4.  1193 paper_aero               633 ozzz2002
 5.  1334 srini701                 853 ozzz2002
 6.  1127 srini701                 703 wwe84
 7.  1224 BxBarracuda              730 paper_aero
 8.   630 gtho4                    257 ozzz2002
 9.   669 wwe84                    212 BxBarracuda
10.  
11.   
12.   
13.  
14.   
15.   
16.  
  

    

• This thread was actually posted as Round 10, but with the original round 9 (5 ODIs between England and Australia) going on till January 26, it didn't make sense to hold the results of this round back. The ODI series becomes round 10 now.
  
  
• Sri Lanka went to the defensive extremes on the last 2 days of the Test and it cost them dear, as Pakistan, with nothing to lose, went on the offensive on the last day of the Test and chased down 300 to tie the series 1-1. There were some good performances, not from our "usual suspects", but from people like Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali and Mohammad Talha (who??)
  
  
• wwe84 picked up another HoF to extend his lead at the top of the ladder, while gtho4 and ozzz2002 also had good rounds there. Poor BxBarracuda managed to have 3 of his selections watch the action from the sidelines this Test and he ends up with his first spoon
  
  
• But quite a few of us would be glad this particular series is over and out of the way. I have a feeling N-Bomb and paper_aero would both fancy their chances in the remaining rounds now.
  
  The next 2 rounds promise to be the game-changers this season in our comp. I expect some serious movements in the ladder here once the 10 ODIs are tabulated and scored. This comp ain't over yet
  
  A new round begins January 27 if the series between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka goes ahead, otherwise we wait till February 4 for the next round.
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 46 and counting: 8 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +3 (last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Sypher - 45 and counting: 9 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +1 (last spoon in round 26 of 2010-11)
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.   959 wwe84                    421 srini701
 2.   958 paper_aero               617 Howie72
 3.  1806 N-Bomb                   865 srini701
 4.  1193 paper_aero               633 ozzz2002
 5.  1334 srini701                 853 ozzz2002
 6.  1127 srini701                 703 wwe84
 7.  1224 BxBarracuda              730 paper_aero
 8.   630 gtho4                    257 ozzz2002
 9.   669 wwe84                    212 BxBarracuda
10.  1730 srini701                 796 ozzz2002
11.   
12.   
13.  
14.   
15.   
16.  
  

    

• The first of our "swing rounds" is done and it has brought about a lot of turbulence in the table here Australia won the 5 match series 4-1 but the series was a little more close than the scoreline suggests. To add to the woes of some of our players here, Australia rested some of their "big guns" once the series was decided!
  
  
• srini701 had a dream team this round with his trump player Faulkner having a great series. As a result, srini leaps off the near bottom on the table to podium position, his highest placing all season!
  
  
• Howie72 also had a great series and he also moves to his highest position all season.
  
  
• paper_aero slipped badly this round and he will have some catching up to do now, while ozzz2002 managed another spoon.
  
  The next round is another swing round, with the 5 match India-New Zealand ODI series coming up. We also have 2 fun rounds with Bangladesh coming up and all these rounds are set to change our table further
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 47 and counting: 9 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +3 (last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Sypher - 46 and counting:10 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +1 (last spoon in round 26 of 2010-11)
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.   959 wwe84                    421 srini701
 2.   958 paper_aero               617 Howie72
 3.  1806 N-Bomb                   865 srini701
 4.  1193 paper_aero               633 ozzz2002
 5.  1334 srini701                 853 ozzz2002
 6.  1127 srini701                 703 wwe84
 7.  1224 BxBarracuda              730 paper_aero
 8.   630 gtho4                    257 ozzz2002
 9.   669 wwe84                    212 BxBarracuda
10.  1730 srini701                 796 ozzz2002
11.  1925 srini701                 935 ozzz2002  
12.   
13.  
14.   
15.   
16.  
  

    

• World No. 8 New Zealand THRASHED and toyed with a horribly listless "World Champions" and World No. 1 India in their 5 match ODI series The Indians couldn't bowl a single decent ball and take out Kohli and Dhoni, they don't have a batting line up that can play outside the subcontinent And to think India will be "defending" their title a year from now at the same place! God Save us
  
  
• On the positive side, our second "swing" round here sees both srini701 and ozzz2002 complete their respective journies...one north-bound and the other south! srini701 has a second successive great round and another HoF, as he displaces wwe84 at the top of the ladder. ozzz2002 has a second consecutive poor round, adds another spoon to his tally, and allows BxBarracuda to jump over him in the cellar!
  
  
• With 2 rounds of Bangladesh to come up and with the lead at the top not too much, this still is a very open competition! Still feel anybody in the top 6 can be on the podium by the time the final round is done!!
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 48 and counting:10 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +3 (last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Sypher - 47 and counting:11 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +1 (last spoon in round 26 of 2010-11)
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.   959 wwe84                    421 srini701
 2.   958 paper_aero               617 Howie72
 3.  1806 N-Bomb                   865 srini701
 4.  1193 paper_aero               633 ozzz2002
 5.  1334 srini701                 853 ozzz2002
 6.  1127 srini701                 703 wwe84
 7.  1224 BxBarracuda              730 paper_aero
 8.   630 gtho4                    257 ozzz2002
 9.   669 wwe84                    212 BxBarracuda
10.  1730 srini701                 796 ozzz2002
11.  1925 srini701                 935 ozzz2002  
12.   615 ozzz2002                 361 wwe84
13.  
14.   
15.   
16.  
  

    

• I wonder why Bangladesh continues to be a Test team! Very rarely do they even draw a Test, much less win it...it was no different against Sri Lanka now as the Lankans hammered them by an innings and a 1000 runs with everybody getting runs and everybody getting wickets!!
  
  
• wwe84 sure will have plenty to complain this round. 3 of his 5 players did not even play and he picks up a spoon to slip a little further behind leader srini701.
  
  
• ozzz2002 is not complaining....he had to wait till the Bangladesh team started playing to finally land his first HoF for the season, and this helps him exchange places with BxBarracuda again...first he was playing musical chairs for the top spot with wwe, then with srini for near bottom, and now he is playing musical chairs with BxBarracuda for the cellar position
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 49 and counting:11 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +3 (last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Sypher - 48 and counting:12 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +1 (last spoon in round 26 of 2010-11)
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.   959 wwe84                    421 srini701
 2.   958 paper_aero               617 Howie72
 3.  1806 N-Bomb                   865 srini701
 4.  1193 paper_aero               633 ozzz2002
 5.  1334 srini701                 853 ozzz2002
 6.  1127 srini701                 703 wwe84
 7.  1224 BxBarracuda              730 paper_aero
 8.   630 gtho4                    257 ozzz2002
 9.   669 wwe84                    212 BxBarracuda
10.  1730 srini701                 796 ozzz2002
11.  1925 srini701                 935 ozzz2002  
12.   615 ozzz2002                 361 wwe84
13.  1980 Sypher                   733 wwe84
14.   
15.   
16.  
  

    

• Bangladesh managed to draw the second Test against Sri Lanka with lots of hundreds in the match. Kumar Sangakkara had a fabulous match, scoring 424 runs (the 3rd highest ever in a single Test match) while Sakib Al Hasan continued his good form with both bat and ball. Meanwhile, India had their chances but the New Zealand bowlers turned out to be better. Brendon McCullum continued his amazing Test form against India (both his 2 double centuries in Tests are against India) while Kane Williamson continued his form from the ODI series to notch another hundred. It was India's 10th loss in the last 13 overseas Tests stretching back to June 2011
  
  
• Sypher made all the noise in this round here. He picked BOTH Sangakkara and McCullum to be his trumps and boy, did it pay off! Sypher scored close to 2000 points in this round alone to jump up a couple of spots to be in podium position now....wwe84 picked up a second consecutive spoon to drop to his lowest all season...
  
  
• Meanwhile, N-Bomb has hit the 50 mark in his spoonless streak while Sypher will join him next round if he avoids the spoon...
  
  
• srini701 may be breathing easy at the top, but all podium places are still up for grabs...the Australia-South Africa series which forms the last leg for the season will decide the podium places.
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 50 and counting:12 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +3 (last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Sypher - 49 and counting:13 (2013-14)+ 18 (2012-13)+ 17 (2011) +1 (last spoon in round 26 of 2010-11)