a blog about a lot of things

I like World Cup, quite a lot, and think it's the best of all the tournaments that exist in football and very possibly in all of sport (at least for any tournament focused on one sport since the Olympics is amazing because of the variety). So I'll be trying to figure out how likely each team is to get out of the group stages and how far they'll probably go if they do. All the odds are from  www.bet365.com  which is the site I use most for trend spotting in sport (it's like my sport-Bloomberg). Group C Colombia - The injury of Falcao has reduced Colombia from being able to potentially match any team in the world (by outscoring them while conceding a lot of goals probably. The defence isn't the best) to being another team teams would rather avoid but no longer fear. Even though he's expected to go to the World Cup, he's not fully fit and well short of any match experience. Many of Colombia's players are playing in Europe and should have exp...

Duckworth-Lewis method – how statistics and cricket combine The Duckworth-Lewis method (D/L method) is a mathematical way to calculate the target score for the team batting second in any form of limited overs cricket match. It is usually used when the match has been interrupted by weather. It is generally accepted to be a fair and accurate method of setting a target score or at least it is the most fair and accurate method to have been developed thus far. However as it is a predictive statistical method and as such tries to create what would have happened had the game continued uninterrupted it obviously will create controversy for supporters. The D/L method was devised by two English statisticians , Frank Duckworth and Tony Lewis . The D/L method is relatively simple to apply, at least when compared to several other statistical methods but requires a published reference table and mathematical calculations. As with most statistical derivations, however, the D/L meth...

It would be no exaggeration to say that the West Indies, by reaching the semi- finals of the T20 World Cup, exceeded the expectations the majority of their supporters had at the beginning of the tournament. While they lacked the impetus to get them into the final, their unpredictability surprised teams who were expected to dispose of them easily and they showed from their first match that they were a team with enough ability to beat anyone. This unpredictability defined the entire tournament and no team had a more up and down tournament than the eventual champions Pakistan. While it can be said that it was a good tournament for the West Indies it would be irresponsible to ignore the factors that caused the moments of poor play while magnifying the moments of brilliance. The matches won by the West Indies were all due to the performance of one or two individual players, showing a dependence on someone taking matters into their own hands rather than a collective effort. In T20 it is ...

When the West Indies take on England tomorrow, the match will have taken on the aspect of a knock out tie. Irrespective of what occurs in the final group match between South Africa and India, the winner of this match will be joining South Africa in progressing from the group. It is a far cry from the expectations that pre-tournament favorites South Africa and defending champions India would easily qualify from the group. The South Africans have lived up to their billing. India has been outplayed by both England and the West Indies, who now hold their fate in their own hands. Before the start of the tournament the West Indies were accused of being lethargic and unfocused by several prominent figures of the England media. With wins over India and Australia, the team has answered such criticism by showing that they can play as well as anyone and are capable of beating the best teams. The team is not known for its consistency however and the main issue will be whether the West India...