week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.    1526 illiniman14                     1016 ozzz2002
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• A warm welcome to ElfTwinkle, who returns to the tipping comps after a lonngggg silence... You were missed in many comps here And a hearty "welcome back" to the rest of us who lined up for the 12th edition of this competition....NOBODY has ever retained their title in this comp, so N-Bomb has a tough task ahead of him. He's also on a massive spoonless streak stretching back more than 5 years, so all the pressure this season will be on him
  
  
• illiniman14 has started the season with a bang, with both his trump players doing really well, and he skips away to a small lead at the top ahead of paper_aero. The new "supersub" rule introduced this year has come into play right away....ozzz2002 had Vernon Philander scoring for him in place of his original pick of Rohit Sharma. gtho4 had mixed luck with the new rule. He had Amit Mishra scoring for him in place of Bhuvaneswar Kumar/Morne Morkel (both of who did not play). His other Test side also had 2 players (Corey Anderson and Hamish Rutherford) who did not play, but his supersub of Peter Siddle also did not play Howie72 also had a player (Rohit Sharma) and a supersub (Duminy) who did not take the field Maybe we will get better with this rule as the season progresses.
  
  
• The opening round saw one small streak coming to an end. ozzz2002 went 19 rounds without a spoon but takes home the first spoon for the year.
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless and other streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 67 and counting: 1 (2015-16) + 13(2014-15) + 15(2013-14)+ 18(2012-13)+ 17(2011) +3(last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Howie72 - 29 and counting: 1 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 14 (last spoon in round 2 of 2013-14)
  srini701 - 28 and counting: 1 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 13 (last spoon in round 3 of 2013-14)
  wwe84: Last HoF round 9 of 2013-14...22 rounds without a HoF
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.    1526 illiniman14                     1016 ozzz2002
 2.    1473 ElfTwinkle                       990 gtho4
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• Lots and lots of rain meant the second Test between India and South Africa was a one-day affair 4 days were lost to rain and this probably affected our scores here a lot The Australia-New Zealand Test was also affected a little by rain but not before some massive batting performances by David Warner (again ), Steve Smith, Adam Voges, Kane Williams (again ) and above all Ross Taylor, who broke a 111 year old record of the highest score on Australian soil by a visiting batsman (and whom NONE of us picked here ) The Test also saw one of the most wayward and fiercest fast bowlers of his generation, Mitchell Johnson call it a day on international cricket.
  
  
• Not one of us retained their position here from last round as we alllllll played a nice round of musical chairs ElfTwinkle took home the round's HoF to zoom up the table, and there were movements up north for Howie, ozzz2002 and N-Bomb as well, while paper, srini and gtho4 all went the other way. paper_aero and wwe84 did NOT lodge trump players for the round so their last named trumps continued (for wwe, it was a straight switch between Steyn and Morkel).
  
  
• gtho4 continued his tradition of naming just one team for the whole series, and again ended up with a bunch of players and substitutes who did not see any action...he takes the round's spoon as a result and moves into the cellar. Will he lodge a team for the 3rd round? (same teams 3rd Test)....let's wait and see
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless and other streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 68 and counting: 2 (2015-16) + 13(2014-15) + 15(2013-14)+ 18(2012-13)+ 17(2011) +3(last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Howie72 - 30 and counting: 2 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 14 (last spoon in round 2 of 2013-14)
  srini701 - 29 and counting: 2 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 13 (last spoon in round 3 of 2013-14)
  wwe84: Last HoF round 9 of 2013-14...23 rounds without a HoF
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.    1526 illiniman14                     1016 ozzz2002
 2.    1473 ElfTwinkle                       990 gtho4
 3.    1288 paper_aero                       511 ozzz2002
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• Interesting and historic week of cricket. The first-ever day-night Test was trialed at Adelaide with a pink ball and Australia duly won it in 3 days....top score in Test was 66! India ended South Africa's 9-year run of staying unbeaten away from home on some rank turners, with some of the finest batsmen in current cricket being made to look silly...top score in 3 Tests to date...85
  
  
• paper_aero takes home the HoF in a round dominated completely by bowlers even as the top 2 on the ladder hold on to their spots. Few of us continued our musical chairs from the last round. N-Bomb managed to score more points through his supersub than some of his regular picks this round ozzz2002 unfortunately was not so lucky and he takes home his 2nd spoon in 3 rounds
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless and other streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 69 and counting: 3 (2015-16) + 13(2014-15) + 15(2013-14)+ 18(2012-13)+ 17(2011) +3(last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Howie72 - 31 and counting: 3 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 14 (last spoon in round 2 of 2013-14)
  srini701 - 30 and counting: 3 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 13 (last spoon in round 3 of 2013-14)
  wwe84: Last HoF round 9 of 2013-14...24 rounds without a HoF
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.    1526 illiniman14                     1016 ozzz2002
 2.    1473 ElfTwinkle                       990 gtho4
 3.    1288 paper_aero                       511 ozzz2002
 4.     834 N-Bomb                           426 ozzz2002
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• It was an incredible Test match for various reasons....not a game for the statistical-minded or the fans of big hits and all....South Africa lost, but it was one heck of a "blockathon" they displayed for close to 2 days to try and draw the Test...they played 143.1 overs in their second innings to score...143...the lowest by ANY Team in the history of cricket after playing over a 100 overs! It may have been painful, but sure was engrossing to watch! (see scorecard above for the batsmen who gamely tried to save their team)
  
  
• N-Bomb takes home the rounds HoF and takes his spoonless streak in this competition into the 70s now...super-sub scoring this round: Amla for gtho4 in place of Harmer. ozzz2002 wins his 3rd spoon in 4 rounds.
  
  
• After the end of the "first set" of this season's comp, gtho4 and ozzz2002 are already drifting away from the pack, wwe84 and srini701 are gamely trying to stay afloat, paper_aero and N-Bomb are running hard and very much in the mix, but it is the trio of ElfTwinkle, illiniman14 and Howie72 who are threatening to break away and make this a comp between themselves....
  
  Next round of the competition involves some new teams (Sri Lanka, West Indies and England shortly)....round 5 includes the 2 Test matches starting from Thursday (Dec 10) in New Zealand and Australia, so please do remember to lodge fresh teams (this last bit to gtho4 )
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless and other streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 70 and counting: 4 (2015-16) + 13(2014-15) + 15(2013-14)+ 18(2012-13)+ 17(2011) +3(last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Howie72 - 32 and counting: 4 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 14 (last spoon in round 2 of 2013-14)
  srini701 - 31 and counting: 4 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 13 (last spoon in round 3 of 2013-14)
  wwe84: Last HoF round 9 of 2013-14...25 rounds without a HoF
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.    1526 illiniman14                     1016 ozzz2002
 2.    1473 ElfTwinkle                       990 gtho4
 3.    1288 paper_aero                       511 ozzz2002
 4.     834 N-Bomb                           426 ozzz2002
 5.    1194 ozzz2002                         783 srini701
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• West Indies dished out an apology of a Test match....Australia erred in giving the Windies the pride of their summer schedule...they would have been better off playing the New Zealanders...or did the Australian Board think Messrs Viv Richards, Lloyd, Lara, Greenidge, Holding, Ambrose and Walsh et al were all going to come and play them? And to think there will be 2 more rounds of the same fare Going to be tough picking the Australians in our teams here as you never know how many are actually going to get a chance to bat or bowl against these hapless guys the next 2 Tests
  
  
• Sri Lanka were a little better than their Caribbean counterparts, but could not stop New Zealand from winning....the Kiwis are now unbeaten in 12 Tests at home since 2012....the usual suspects all performed well, but ozzz2002 takes the cake for picking Martin Guptill to deliver....ozzz gets into the HoF column this round....srini701 expected Steve Smith to feast on the Windies bowling, but it was Voges and Shaun Marsh who did so. We therefore have one more name falling off the "streaks" list this round, leaving our current leader Howie72 huffing and puffing to stay ahead of illiniman14 and also keep his own streak going....Defending champion N-Bomb had a second consecutive good round, and is trying to make up ground on the leaders....wwe84 is now without a HoF entry in this comp for over 26 rounds
  
  
• Supersubs scoring this round: Herath for ozzz2002 (in place of Dilruwan Perera) and Siddle for gtho4 (in place of Carol Brathwaite)
  
  Next round of the competition is the second Test between Sri Lanka and New Zealand....if you dont lodge a team, your team from this round will continue to score for you.
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless and other streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 71 and counting: 5 (2015-16) + 13(2014-15) + 15(2013-14)+ 18(2012-13)+ 17(2011) +3(last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Howie72 - 33 and counting: 5 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 14 (last spoon in round 2 of 2013-14)
  wwe84: Last HoF round 9 of 2013-14...26 rounds without a HoF
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.    1526 illiniman14                     1016 ozzz2002
 2.    1473 ElfTwinkle                       990 gtho4
 3.    1288 paper_aero                       511 ozzz2002
 4.     834 N-Bomb                           426 ozzz2002
 5.    1194 ozzz2002                         783 srini701
 6.     697 N-Bomb                           411 gtho4
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• Kane Williamson scored a century in the second innings of the Test and 2/3rds of the field here heaved a collective sigh...he was the trump for 6 of the 9 people this round and had scored only 1 run in the first innings....maybe our standings would have looked a little different had he failed the second time too As it is, there is absolutely NOTHING to separate the top 3 (top 4 actually as the difference between 3 and 4 is less than 200 points) with half the season gone Probably the first time in the last 6-7 seasons we have been this close in our comp!!!
  
  
• N-Bomb and gtho4 take their second HoF and spoon of the season respectively. Only one Supersub scoring this round: Ross Taylor for srini701 (and he didn't do a great job of it )
  
  Next round of the comp is the Boxing Day Tests in South Africa and at Melbourne. Please do remember to lodge your tips for that round as they are fresh teams.
  
  Merry Christmas to all!
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless and other streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 72 and counting: 6 (2015-16) + 13(2014-15) + 15(2013-14)+ 18(2012-13)+ 17(2011) +3(last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Howie72 - 34 and counting: 6 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 14 (last spoon in round 2 of 2013-14)
  wwe84: Last HoF round 9 of 2013-14...27 rounds without a HoF
  
  

week   Hall of Fame               Wooden Spoon

            
 1.    1526 illiniman14                     1016 ozzz2002
 2.    1473 ElfTwinkle                       990 gtho4
 3.    1288 paper_aero                       511 ozzz2002
 4.     834 N-Bomb                           426 ozzz2002
 5.    1194 ozzz2002                         783 srini701
 6.     697 N-Bomb                           411 gtho4
 7.    1285 wwe84                            733 illiniman14 
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• South Africa proved they are on a downward spiral, losing the first Test against England in a rather tame manner. Somehow it never looked like they were competing, even on their own home turf as England surprisingly looked the more hungrier, eager lot. Down under, West Indies did tad better than their first Test showing but still could not stop Australia from cantering to a comfortable series win...
  
  
• wwe84 snapped his streak of "HoF-less" rounds in some style here in our comp, with some wonderful picks and trump selections...his last HoF in this competition was over 28 rounds and more than 2 years ago...
  
  
• Most of us went for David Warner and De Villiers as our trumps....poor illiniman14 would have wished he did too after a tragic implosion by BOTH his trumps this round...Hazlewood and Alistair Cook both did not turn up for the Tests, and illiniman falls to his lowest this season as a result of that first spoon. N-Bomb becomes just the 3rd man this season to ascend to the top spot after another very steady round...his spoonless streak is still onnnnnn......
  
  Supersubs scoring this round: ozzz2002 seems to have mastered the supersub rule the best here and is making the best use of it...he had 2 players (Shaun Marsh and Gary Ballance) who did not play the Test but had 2 supersubs who did better than most of the regular players (Nathan Lyon and Steve Finn). paper_aero had Steyn scoring for him instead of James Anderson this round.
  
  Next round of the comp is the New Year Tests between these same teams and if you don't want to pick afresh, the teams in this round can continue to score (but I know of AT LEAST one of us who would want to change his trumps in a jiffy )
  
  Wishing you and your loved ones a year filled with joy, peace, happiness and good health…..and looking forward to some more great fun competitions for another year... HAPPY NEW YEAR!
  
  *************************************************
  spoonless and other streaks running:
  N-Bomb - 73 and counting: 7 (2015-16) + 13(2014-15) + 15(2013-14)+ 18(2012-13)+ 17(2011) +3(last spoon in round 24 of 2010-11)
  Howie72 - 35 and counting: 7 (2015-16) + 14 (2014-15) + 14 (last spoon in round 2 of 2013-14)
  wwe84: Last HoF round 9 of 2013-14...27 rounds without a HoF