Champions League 2013

No appetite for Faisalabad Feckwits V Otago Buttmunchers then or the rest of the potentially rigged 20/20 bunfights?

Man Utd being tested by Leverkusen. City look like outdoing last season's points total after one game...

MU cruised it in the end.

Oh, THAT Champions League!

Yeah, the one real cricket fans are more likely to care about...

I'm just disappointed that the Hyderabad Bumspankers got through. Gotta hate the IPL teams.

I take it no English teams this year...

Considering there're two FC matches left, no.

Should've sent the Unicorns.

The Perth Scorchers have dominated local lineup the Gujrat Cricket Association XI to win by 93 runs in the side's final hitout ahead of Monday's Karbonn Smart Champions League Twenty20 opener.

A young Perth squad fed off a fierce sun that had the temperature tickling 40 degrees and tormented their rival's bowlers to set the intimidating total of 202.

The Scorchers bowlers then constricted with pace and struck with spin to have the hosts struggling to chase, with just 44 runs at the halfway mark of their innings.

Three caught-and-bowled wickets from Ashton Agar and Ashton Turner had the Scorchers on top at 3-42 and 5-87 before their rivals brought up the ton with only two overs in hand, finishing at 5-109.

Agar finished as his side's only multiple wicket taker, 2-3 from two overs, both caught-and-bowled efforts that showed tremendous reflexes.

The Scorchers enter the Champions League brimming with self-belief under the mantra of "no fear" from coach Justin Langer and the free-flowing play against their state-side rivals on the outskirts of Ahmedabad reflected that.

Perth is relying on a band of unheralded - yet promising - talent, with six of the side's first-pick players unavailable.
Injuries grounded Pat Cummins (back), Mitchell and Shaun Marsh (hamstring) in the leadup to the tournament, while the refusal of release of Alfonso Thomas from Somerset and the IPL duties of Mike Hussey and Nathan Coulter-Nile had a further trio out of the lineup.

But, against a local side accustomed to the testing conditions, it was the Scorchers' youth that led from the front.

Hilton Cartwright top scored with a swashbuckling 66 not-out that included six fours and three ground-clearing sixes, the third of which was still on the rise as it rocketed over the sightscreen near long off.

Skipper Simon Katich was steady as he played the Gujrat spinners with ease, belting four boundaries in the sixth over after having been dropped on the second ball.

Katich retired on 58 in the 14th over, allowing the dangerous Cartwright to come to the crease.

Ashton Agar retained his high-order spot after impressing in Darwin and came in at first drop to score a quick-fire 36, with five fours and a six.

Wicketkeeper batsman Sam Whiteman was impressive in his short end-of-innings stint, belting two sixes from his first two balls and finishing with a single.

The constricting and patient bowling of the Perth side then had victory all but secured within the first few overs as the required run-rate blew out to an unmanageable equation for Gujrat.

- See more at: http://www.perthscorchers.com.au/news/2013/09/20/scorchers-dominate-practise-match#sthash.JewXBQSy.dpuf

I am rushing to that link.

That Pozuelo is some good. Has a bit of the Iniesta about him, which is the highest I can praise a forward-pressing creative midfielder.


If you don't know Pozuelo, he plays for a little team called Mar de Cisne in the Far Northern Division of the Spanish league.

Swansea have 6 (or is it 7) Spaniards, against Valencia's 4.

Yeah, he's none too Xabi...

Where's cricket's Europa League by the way?

International cricket....

Scorchers manage to not lose their first game ...

Ditto their opponents.

Yaaaaayyyy!

More rain.

they're playing now

heat choke

I guess both Oz franchises will come last in their pools

So what's the moral of the story? Only Dubber sides can win the Champions League on behalf of Aus?

scorchers should beat tendershit but they'll struggle to get near broom

How are the Rawalpindi Ratpunchers doing?

PeterCS wrote:How are the Rawalpindi Ratpunchers doing?

As badly as the Jaipur Johnnies and the Calcutta Cun . . . . . .never mind!!

clown sighting in jaipur ...dressed in black ...bent finger ...no idea ...