Day #18: Irish Cream almost tips England...

That was the third consecutive win for England against a weaker opposition. To that extent England cannot complain that their fixtures have been loaded as badly as West Indies might crib.

At this stage England seems to be a 2.5 member team. Collingwood, Flintoff and half-of-Monty. Vaughan will hope that another 3 or 4 at least will come to the party against the stronger sides.

Ireland and KP flattered to deceive; the latter to a higher degree than the former.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...
(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to the previous question: O-O (King Side Castling) and O-O-O (Queen Side Castling) are used in standard notations of Chess moves

Reasonably easy one! Again the current top-3 got it right. Anand Re, Ganesh TCS and Guru.

Today's question:

• Which country's map map is given at the top of this post?

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performers.

Until the next one...

Day #17: Back on track, Windies actually!

All too familiar story. In a classic sinusoidal wave pattern that the West Indies form exhibits, they are currently moving towards the trough after the initial crest of beating Pakistan. I will not be surprised if they lose to one of the less fancied teams (that is an euphemistic expression for the minnows; forgive the weekend-political-correctness). In the end, they might go back on the upward motion against England in the last Super 8 game. But then it should be all over with Aus, SA, NZL and SL taking the four slots for SFs.

Did you notice the almost seven-foot-tall Oram bowls at around 110 kmph? You could feel the strain that he is going through to reduce the pace :-) Also, did you notice the knuckle ball that Bond has mastered? Another import from baseball.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...
(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to the previous question: 23 (Z=10, E=1, P=3, H=4, Y=4, R=1) A zephyr is a slight refreshing wind.

Reasonably easy one! 3Ms got it right. Madhuri, Malur and Muthiah. The funny thing that I notice nowadays is that more and more people are trying to crack these without googling. Hence there were a few 20s and 21s... Now I know why Gandhism worked. Good Show Guys.

Today's question - another easy one for TGIF:

• To which classical board game are these symbols associated with? O-O, O-O-O. And what do they refer to?

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performers.

Until the next one...

P.S. I came across Zephyr when Harsha Bhogle - the rags-to-riches sports commentator from India - posed the same question to his co-commentators. Of course, he got blank stares - or should I say stony silences ? ;-)

Day #16: Machang Malinga!

You must have been in that position; your favourite sports team in doldrums - be it Yankees lagging behind by 3 home runs in baseball(agreed that it does not happen that often); Man U trailing by 2 goals at half-time (again agreed that the frequency is very less); India requiring 100 runs in ten overs (again agreed that it DOES happen often)...

And what does the romantic in us want at that time - a miracle; a grand-slam, a hat-trick, six-sixers in an over - just to turn things over. Thereafter, your beloved team can do the needful :-)

The Sri Lankan supporters (including our dear Mandira on Sony TV)must have prayed for That Miracle against the proteas today. The slinger answered those prayers ...well almost... Four wickets in four balls... dream stuff.

If Malinga is said to have a maligned action, then Kallis has a much maligned one-day batting reputation. But today he put such criticisms in proper perspective i.e. threw them into the dustbin. On a Sri-Lankan-Pitch, Kallis played the waiting game to take SA all the way. No wonder, everybody except the SA selectors and their team management bray for his blood; for they know what Kallis is worth - Gold all the way!

The Oz-WI game went predictably; Lara flash; Ozzie power. The only interest was the margin. If WI had scored just three more runs, Yadavalli would have walked away with the booty. Better luck next time.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...
(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to the previous question: Saudi Arabia

Another tough one! Guru & Polap got it right. There were some really funny answers: Bhutan, Nauru, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Vatican City etc. Good try, folks.

Today's question - an easy one, I guess:

• How many points would you score in scrabble if you place the word ZEPHYR on the board? No double/triple letter/word bonuses; just plain points.

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performers.

Until the next one...

P.S. For those who are linguistically challenged, Machang can be roughly translated to Cool Dude/Bro (Origin: Sinhalese; spoken by a majority in Sri Lanka)

Katarina!!!

In the midst of the cricket world cup, we are missing out another important world event that is happening in Melbourne. The FINA World Aquatic Championships where a couple of days back, if I am not mistaken, four world records were broken. Phelps, Thorpe and all... 'Fish'y folks...

While I was contemplating about this event and comparing with the more sedate and colonial happenings in the Carribean (including a murder!), received a great email this morning.

Boris (my secondary school class-mate, bench-mate, fight-mate, sight-mate) wrote to say that his 13-year-old daughter Katarina Roxon has become the world record holder in 1500m freestyle swimming under the S9 category. Read more about it from this website.

Boris is one of the greatest athletes that N Krishnaswamy Mudaliar Higher Secondary School, Vellore, Tamil Nadu India had ever produced, I would think. I would even rate him as one of the better ones that came out of Vellore. His affinity to physical fitness used to be legendary and so was his interest in painting/colouring etc. His English used to be impeccable (am sure it still is, unless the Canadians have Frenched it!) and Tamil - sorry to say!

I still remember one of the science teachers teaching us about blood groups, nutrients etc. and said the following: "If you compare Boris' blood and this fat guy's blood, no marks for guessing whose blood will be thicker!" Probably we were taught science by the wrong guy :-))

I am extremely happy that he has inculcated the same zeal towards physical fitness and the excellence in sports in his children as well.

Good luck & Best Wishes to Katarina for her Beijing attempt!

Wake up guys! Smell the coffee!!!

P.S. Oh, I forgot! Boris goes by the short name, "Leonard Rasmus Boris Roxon" and tries to call himself Leonard Roxon nowadays while practising physiotherapy and coaching his kids!

Super 8 Individual Game Guess Rules

1. Please send in all your entries by 8.30 pm SGT to lnspatta@gmail.com
2. Please ensure that you give both the ranges, run-margin & wicket-margin
3. Please do not invent your own margins; stick to the published ranges shown below
4. If you are using Excel to track your guesses, when you cut-and-paste, please use Rich Text for pasting; the PCX format is painful from gmail.


Run Margin Ranges:

Between 1 to 50 runs (both inclusive)
Between 51 to 100 runs (both inclusive)
Between 101 to 150 runs (both inclusive)
Above 151 runs (151 and Infinity inclusive)

Wicket Margin Ranges:

By 1 to 3 wickets (both inclusive)
By 4 to 5 wickets (both inclusive)
By 6 to 8 wickets (both inclusive)
By 9 to 10 wickets (both inclusive)

Number of runs scored in the first innings of the match:

Less than 125

126 - 175

176 - 240

241 - 300

301+

None of the above

Each guess costs 5.00 [same as before]

Let the games begin....

Super 8 Consolidated Position

Super 8 numbers were calculated as follows:





For each group, the correct team + correct position will give you 2 points.


If you got the correct team and the position is wrong, then you get 1 point.





That way, Biju and Sakthivel cracked it by getting 12 points (except of course not getting Bangladesh and Ireland). Boy, have they swept it or not!

There were a total of 22 guesses for the Super8 positions. I added a bonus of 10.00 for the winners from the ZBank kitty, giving the winners a total of 85.00 each.

Tcheussss...

1000 n.o.

Today marks a momentous occasion, as the number of distinct visitors to the blog crossed 1000.

You might find my cynical comment in one of my eeearlier posts on reaching 100. Thanks to the world cup and other trash, seems like the blog is attracting about 60 new visits everyday, not to mention the multiple refreshes during the day.

Thanks again for the wonderful support.
With a whole month to go, I am confident of making it to 2K by the end of WC2K7.

Chus.

WC2K7: Semi-Finals Lineup

All you have to execute are the following simple steps:

1. List down the four teams that will go into the Semi-Finals of the WC2K7, in the correct order.

Partial points will be awarded if you have guessed the correct team but wrong position.

For your reference the teams that have made into the Super 8 are:

• Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand (all have a head-start because they carry 2 points into Super8)
• South Africa, Bangladesh, England, Ireland (uphill task; but not insurmountable)

Send in the guesses by Tuesday 27th March 2007, 8:30 pm SGT

Each guess costs a tenner. (10.00 only)

Of course, you know where to send the stuff :-)

Day #13: Bonglades Jinnobad!

The bongs held their nerve and have entered the serious party now. Bermuda did raise a billion hopes for a brief while but they were off by a 'wide' margin in the end. You can't blame them. Well, if you want to believe Greg Chappell then you can't blame anybody. So much for all the baloney about accountability.

Heard on the grounds: After seeing his son's school losing a weekend cricket game, one of the parents, in a failed-attempt to lift up the son's morale, said, "Don't worry son! After all it is a game. Now, don't go about killing your coach for that!". Black humour at its worst.

Bob Woolmer - may your soul rest in peace and our heartfelt condolences to his family and supporters.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...
(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to yesterday's question: 18:32:43.64 (arrived as 180/5.5 minutes and converted appropriately).

That was a real tough one looks like. No one got it right. Only two attempts. Anand Re got the hour & minutes right. Goes onto show our reliance on Google for almost anything in life :-()

Today's question - an easy one, I guess:

• Which is the only country in the world, where there are supposedly, no cinema houses?

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performers.

Until the next one...

Day #12: Power Ozzies

That was two heavy-weight champions exchanging punches as if there was not tomorrow. To tell the truth, each ferocious hit was felt in the drawing room. Exhilarating. Of course, you don't chase down 350+ every day though SA is the only team to have done so. This seems to be the trailer for what would come again in the last match of the tourney.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...
(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to yesterday's question: Syonan Simbun is The Straits Times from Singapore. (Force?) changed its name to a m0re Japanese mast-head during WWII.

That was from Singapore history - a reasonably tough one... Only three cracked it . Anand Re, Sivasubs & Muthiah. Good history guys!

Today's question: (Google will not help you on this, I am sure; a calculator will, perhaps.)

• What is the exact time between six and seven in the evening when the two clock hands meet each other? Answer in the following format: HH:MM:SS.nn (the seconds corrected to two decimal places)

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performers.

Until the next one...

Day #11: Tribute to Captain Haddock

*(^&$^ Billions of Blue Blistering Barnacles %$#@)*

Various wounded parties had sent SMSs since this morning about what they would like to do to Team India.

Msg#1: Indian team kidnapped for a ransom of
INR 500 million else they will be burnt with kerosene. Please contribute
liberally. I have already given my 20 litres of kerosene
:-(

Msg#2: Thanks to Dravid and Team for returning
early home just in time to help our youth for their year-end board examinations!
[Do they really want it? From the way this team learnt its lessons, I would not be surprised that such students will only get a big duck - not dissimilar to the Sachin and Dhoni ducks!]

Oh, by the way, Windies won Ireland...

If Kenya beat England today, then all the minnow bashers will have serious indigesion because of having to eat their own words again and again and again (one 'again' for one minnow!)

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...
(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to yesterday's question: JII, STAR, TADAWUL, BUX are the stock market indices in Indonesia, Italy, Saudi Arabia and Hungary. Check them out here.

Looks like that was another tough one... Only two cracked it fully. Anand Re & Rohit; Muthiah just mentioned that they are stock market indices.

Today's question:

• Which current day newspaper changed its name to Syonan Sinbun during World War II?

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performers.

Until the next one...

P.S. Some changes in the winnings yesterday; thanks Siva* for your honesty.

Day #10: Black and Orange

Kiwis in desperate form; The Associate Cup Final#3 fizzled out (Zim & Ire served a cracker and Ken swamped Can). Davison and Doeschate did create their own parties. Can't wait until the big ones start...

Tonight is the night of reckoning for India and Sri Lanka. One wag was quipping, "It depends on who wants the money more? Sri Lanka or Bangladesh!" The guy was sure that India will flex its economic muscle to get into the next stage.

There was another thought:
If India gets out of the cup at this stage itself, then both BCCI and PCB will quickly, quickly (you have to read those two 'quicklies' quickly :-) organize a 5-match series between India and Pakistan - only to draw all the advertisers away from the World Cup to India. Very Interesting!!!

If you think that we are rich and don't have much to do but to dabble in betting, then read this.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...
(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to yesterday's question: Citric Acid (Orange) & Malic Acid (Apple) - Both of them cause the sourness in the respective fruits albeit at varying degrees.

Looks like that was a tough one... Only two cracked it. Guru and Anand Re. There was one half-right - Citric Acid from SivaSubra.

Today's question:

• JII, STAR, TADAWUL, BUX - What are these? Full explanations please.

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performers.

Until the next one...

Day #9: So long, Inzy & So hot, Sanath

Definitely parity is being restored to the competition. Bangladesh looked flat and lost. Pakistan looked flat and won. One was probably over-celebrating and the other over-mourning. I don't want to go into the regular drivel about cricket being the great leveler and time being the great healer... Tell me something new.

Yes, I have something new [keep your brick-bats ready :-]

Received the following prediction from at least ten people in the last week or so. I am sure you would have seen this already.

Year 1981
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died

2 years later India won the world Cup!!!

Year 2005
1. Prince Charles got married
2. Liverpool crowned Champions of Europe
3. Australia lost the Ashes
4. Pope Died

2 years later will India win the world Cup?????

In fact, somebody had included Italy winning the football world cup as well in this series of events. Some creative (desperate? foolishly-optimistic?) mind had indeed pulled these facts together and put them into correlation with respect to an Indian win this year. I am sure there are other such 'coincidences' that are floating around in the net which are predicting an Irish victory this year. Actually nothing new in all this.

My earlier sentence was to entice you to read on ;-)

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...

(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to yesterday's question: DENY

(As I had mentioned, there could be many more. There were some interesting answers! If you deny my LBW appeal, I will kill you! I didn't do it, I didn't do it! so on.. Getting creative, eh? Nice ones...)

Looks like that was an easy one... Six people got it right: Muthiah, Guru, SivaSubra, Ganesh TCS, SVK and Anand Re for the right answer.

At this stage, on a rough glance, I see that Anand Re, Guru, Ganesh TCS are leading the pack in this trivia pursuit.

Today's question:

• If you mix a glass each of orange juice and apple juice which two organic acids will be mixed together?
  
  Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performer.

Until the next one...

P.S. Yesterday's numbers had to be slightly changed due to a clerical error on my part. Apologies for that.

Day #8: On Form

Look at that! Everybody guessed that SA will win by 151+. So much for the minnow upsets.

What really got suppressed in all the bad news about Bob Woolmer was the Freddie incident(s?).

Having undertaken such night-long binges a few times in life, I can fully understand what was going through Freddie's mind when he took that sea-scooter into the ocean early in the morning. The hotel staff must have mistaken his condition for inebriatedness (is there such a word?). In reality Flintoff was just going into the sea to fish. You see, after having lost the match against the no-flighters, he must have figured out that at this rate England can't defeat Kenya as well and an early flight-back + early retirement was probably looming large. So our man must have decided that the next best thing to hurling a red cherry down the pitch is to hurl the nets into the sea to harvest fish. Smart man, Freddie. Alas! such noble intentions remained just that.

For the records SA and NZL thrashed Scotland and Kenya respectively.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...

(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to yesterday's question: CREST

(Roman Hundred: C Others: REST; CREST; Ride to the top follows naturally)

There were a few CLIMBers. Better luck next time! Well done Guru and Anand Re for the right answer.

Today's question:

• For an old & easy one from the school days. Apparently there are only three words in English that end with the letters -eny. Larceny and Progeny are the two. Which is the third one?

[of course as one studied biology, Philogeny and Ontogeny also happened; but they don't qualify; Really try this without googling! The answer will be really fun.]

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performer.Until the next one...

Day #7: An apology of world records

Firstly, apologies.

I had to restate the figures today due to an accounting error on Day 5. Yadavalli's losses were over-stated (5.00) and so were the profits of Niranjan, Pichu, Ramesh L and Sharath (1.25 each). We would like apportion partial blame on the El Nino effect and complete blame on the computer system which was wrongly designed & implemented by various vendors from India, Phillippines, China, Russia and all the other outsourcing destinations. We have also initiated discplinary actions against the directors involved and they have voluntarily accepted the offer to take a few hundred million bucks to retire in fame, shame and relative penury.

Now that is out of the way, there is not much to report on the world cup; except that the WI v Zimbabwe game was boring except for a few million Windies fans (boy! they know how to enjoy life!) and a couple of world records for would-be minnows India. For the statistically inclined, India scored the highest runs in a World Cup game and won by the highest margin in ODI history. Of course, the India game was boring for the whole world except for 15 Indians and a few Ozzies. No points for guessing who I am referring to.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...

(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to yesterday's question: It is the PUCK. The 'ball' that is used in ice-hockey.

Again, quite a few got this right: Subra, Krish, Ganesh TCS, Anand Re, Guru, But that was an easy one. People were even throwing reverse questions at me referring to Stanley Cup etc.. Well done guys.

Today's question:

For a change, crack this cross-word puzzle today.

• Roman Hundred and others; Ride to the top (5)

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performer.

Until the next one...

P.S. The webdings apology at the beginning of this post can be checked out on word after cut-and-paste. If it sounds Enron-esque, then it is not the intention but only due to right corporate governance induction. If your Microsoftly-challenged, please contact your nearest MSFT support.

Bob Woolmer

A hard and high-pressure job has taken its toll again.

Over the last couple of weeks one has encountered more than the regular share of bad news.

First it was Denis Meyer, the ever-green personality of Singapore cricket. Then it was Venkat, a well-known gentleman from SIFAS, SDBBS, Hindu Centre and DB. And now this. All sudden heart attacks.

I remember reading about Bob Woolmer in his tour to India with MCC in 1977. Apparently he used to say, "I like bowling or batting; I can't be standing idle doing fielding!" But then wasn't he the man who re-defined fielding during his coaching stint with Warwickshire and South Africa? To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, Woolmer was the change that he wanted to see in the world.

Somewhere in all this, I think that there is a lesson for all of us. May be a silent minute today would help us understand that...

Day #6: MIN NO; Max Yes!

Things are settling down to a nicety. People are crunching numbers & indulging in all sorts of permuations and combinations on figuring out how India will get into the Super 8.

In Tamil there is a very nice proverb :

கண் கெட்ட பிறகு சூரிய நமஸ்காரம்!! (very loose equivalent to Bolting the barn doors after the horse has bolted!)

Not the least being the ideas about certain individuals from BCCI talking to people in Bangladesh Cricket and Sri Lanka Cricket to ensure that things go well for the New Blues.

Well anything is possible in cricket - or rather, in the cricketing world ;-)

As predicted both Australia and England have gotten through their minnow quota without much ado. (What ever happened to John Davison? Turning out to be that one-match wonder :-()

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...

(Just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Pure quizzing!)

Answer to yesterday's question: They are all types of clouds.

A very interesting quip from Peruri was that Nimbus is Harry Potter's broom, Stratus is the company that produces(d) fault tolerant computers, and Cumulus and Cirrus are some obscure Roman warriors :-) Of course, he knew the correct answer.

Quite a few got this right: Subra, Krish, Peruri, Ganesh TCS, Anand Re (he was teaching his daughter about clouds in Science I believe. See? You get your knowledge from all corners of life.) Good show.

Today's question:

• What is round, 1 inch thick, 3 inches diameter, made of vulcanized rubber and rhymes with probably, the most-used four-letter word? Now, Erase Lewd Thoughts!
  

Keep the answers rolling into the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performer.

Until the next one...

P.S. I was heartened to have received several SMSs yesterday saying that they were refreshing the blog many times to get the latest position and asking me why it was getting delayed and they started asking at 8:00 am! High Enthusiasm. High Expectations. Period.

Day #5: Ladega tho Jeetega! Nahin Ladega tho?

Does Pepsi have a back-up ad? Will be needed from next Saturday; even from coming Monday, the wag next to me quips...

Do Pakistan players have good home insurance?

Sorry for the delay in providing the details. Today's umpiring was good except that it was one of the hottest days to do the games in Singapore.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...
(just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Just pure quizzing; Reply to regular email ID pls!)

Answer to yesterday's question: These physical units were named after them.

• Energy (Bangladesh and Ireland had them), Force (the force was definitely with them!) and Pressure (Ind and Pak felt it really bad!) Sorry, too distraught! Could not keep cricket out of this :-(
  

Congrats to Subra and Ganesh TCS for getting it right!

Today's question:

• What are these? Nimbus, Cumulus, Stratus, Cirrus...
  

Keep getting the answers rolling in to the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performer.

Until the next one...

Day #4: Gibbs - The Million Dollar Baby :-))

(Revised)

Johnny Walker definitely has to crawl today, after giving away million dollars for that one mad 30th over Gibbs onslaught. The thesaurus ran out of words of murder. Check this nice commentary effort by the Cricinfo guys.

Funny that the entire guessing world was split down the middle on the all-blacks win. And the interest was also pretty high! If only the kiwis had lost another wicket, a few people would have made some good numbers. But then, England could have won... Ifs and buts...

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...

(just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Just pure quizzing; Reply to regular email ID pls!)

Answer to yesterday's question: Batavia refers to Jakarta.

Only Anand Re got it right. Good Show!

Today's question:

• Apart from the fact that they were great scientists, what is common between Joule, Newton and Pascal?

Keep getting the answers rolling in to the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performer.

Until the next one...

Day #3: Ireland for World Cup, anyone???

Be Gor, they did it!

After missing some million chances, Ireland managed to tie everything ane everybody - I really mean EVERYBODY: their own players, the Zimbabwean players, those tearful lovelies in spaghetti tops, (by the way, I can't take them ladies crying; the landscape becomes ugly) Kevin Curran (who was the guy sitting to his left? Looked like he would join the lovelies any time - in crying I mean!) and not to mention bleary-eyed mua.

Of course, Bermuda lost the match by getting caught under their own weight. Literally, I say! Probably they are the heaviest side in the circuit led by the fantastic Leverock. He was under the cosh yesterday though! You don't get to wield it everyday, maan!

It was the 3rd tie in WC history and all ties have involved an African team; Zim joins twice-tied SA. Thanks to Holding for that useless trivia. By the way, did any one notice that Holding was studiously avoiding pronouncing the name MPOFU? And I hear that he had special coaching to pronounce Zimbabwe and Matsikinyeri :-) I have a vague suspicion that MPOFU is an acronym for some anaconda-long name!

Honouring the Irish, the Zbank has decided that there will be no winners for the Zim v Ire match. The losers' money will go into a kitty for the most consistent in the pool; by way of points. So from today, you will find the points tally in the consolidated statement.

Anand Re, Fernu, Polap, Laks, Siva* and Ramesh L - Special thanks for giving up your share of $2.86 each, from this match to the kitty.

Rajesh: Thanks for the idea.

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...

(just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Just pure quizzing; Reply to regular email ID pls!)

Answer to yesterday's question: PQRST refers to the heartbeat in an Electrocardiogram form.

Laks & Ganesh Kumar got it right. Didn't know that it stands for five different things until now. Check it out here.

Today's question:

• Which modern-day city had the ancient name of Batavia?

Keep getting the answers rolling in to the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performer.

Until the next one...

Day #2 - Ken also Can!

Well...

What did you expect?

• David Australia indeed slew Goliath Scotland
• Kenya canned Canada

Has anyone seen the fantastic Singlish movie called "Army Daze? It was supposed to be a take on the NS in Singapore . There was a delightful dialogue in that movie where one of the boys introduces himself succinctly to his room-mates: "I am Kenneth. Ken also Can!" Wicked! Of course, I am digressing as usual...

Still there was the odd romantic who thought that Canada will win...Cows can't fly yet, dear!

Managed to get the sheets attached to the post itself. Saves a few clicks for you guys...

Please remember to follow the requests!

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia...

(just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Just pure quizzing; Reply to regular email ID pls!)

Answer to yesterday's question: Portia of course. Malur, Krish, Rambo were the first three to revert with the correct answer. There is a portfolio management system called Portia that is being used by modern-day Shylocks aka banks!

Today's question:

• Which common human biological phenomenon is referred to as PQRST?

Keep getting the answers rolling in to the usual mailing address. Three prizes at the end of the world cup for the best performer (No, sorry! Can't publish the results for that everyday! I love opaqueness in this regard!)

Until the next one...

Of Margins, Ranges, PCXs...

A few requests:

1. Please send in all your entries by 8pm SGT to lnspatta@gmail.com
2. Please ensure that you give both the ranges, run-margin & wicket-margin
3. Please do not invent your own margins; stick to the published ranges shown below
4. If you are using Excel to track your guesses, when you cut-and-paste, please use Rich Text for pasting; the PCX format is painful from gmail.


Run Margin Ranges:

Between 1 to 50 runs (both inclusive)
Between 51 to 100 runs (both inclusive)
Between 101 to 150 runs (both inclusive)
Above 151 runs (151 and Infinity inclusive)

Wicket Margin Ranges:

By 1 to 3 wickets (both inclusive)
By 4 to 5 wickets (both inclusive)
By 6 to 8 wickets (both inclusive)
By 9 to 10 wickets (both inclusive)

Mode of first dismissal of the MATCH:

Bowled
Timed Out
Caught
Handled the ball
Hitting the ball twice
Hit Wicket
Leg Before Wicket
Obstructing the field
Run Out
Stumped
None of the above

Day #1: PAcKed with WInd

Okaaaay!

That was an overwhelming response from all and sundry - will let you to decide on who is the sundry in our illustrious list of competitors.
With the sort of an upset victory from Windies (54 runs margin), we are off to a very good start to the Cup.

As the old cliche goes, it was down to one shot to the boundary, that would have made the difference between winning and losing in our Pool!

Before you go and check your stuff...

Congratulations to Ramesh L for being the first winner of the SriG Pool 2007! And that is a hefty win. For the record, Ramesh said that the margin will be 66 runs and he did not even bother to give the wicket-margin!! Oh, by the way, he just won $110 :-)) Ramesh & all, Please see my instructions elsewhere!

There is some problem in uploading pictures into the blogger.
So I had to indulge in web calisthenics (and I can assure you that I have a bad back and neck now - so much for insufficient knowledge).
So, please check the latest standings at my Picasa Album

Have Fun!

Now for the Can-You-Do-It-Without-Googling Trivia... (just to show that there is life outside cricket, however small! No points; Just pure quizzing; Reply to regular email ID pls!)

* Who is the heroine of the Shakespearean play - The Merchant of Venice and what is the link between her and modern-day banking ?

Until the next one...