da jogodeouro： The day’s most interesting moments on and off the field
da bet sport： Andrew Miller in Antigua02-Apr-2007
It’s hard to pinpoint just what’s so irresistable about Shane Bond but there can be no two ways about his efficacy © Getty Images
Shot of the Day
Tamim Iqbal batted like a puppy on a leash for the first 35 balls ofhis innings, visibly straining to cut loose but holding himself backat the behest of his master, Dav Whatmore. Finally, in the 12th over -James Franklin’s first – he’d had enough. First up came a clunking cutthat whistled through point for four, then two balls later he was offdown the pitch in a reprise of his India innings. He didn’t quite getto the ball however, and was forced into a late adjustment,under-edging a cut through fine leg. Set a field for that!Hangtime of the Day
The problem with West Indian cricket, so we are led to believe, isthat NBA basketball is poaching all the tallest and most athleticyoung men in the region. In their absence, it was left to SaqibulHasan to demonstrate why the shorties just don’t cut the mustard.Though he leapt heroically to intercept a clipped drive from HamishMarshall at mid-on, and held his shape in the air for an age, hemanaged merely to get a fingertip to the chance, and the moment waslost.Déjà vu of the Day
It’s hard to pinpoint just what’s so irresistable about Shane Bond.His run-up is hardly the most thrusting ever seen, and his pace – froma distance – seems a notch or two below the Malingas and Taits of thistournament. But time and again he just gets it all spot on, and hisstartled opponents are too slow to adapt as the ball hustles throughtheir defences. Against England in St Lucia, he struck with the thirdand sixth balls of his second spell, en route to figures of 2 for 19;today he struck with his first and sixth of his second spell, forfigures of 2 for 15.Lost leprechauns of the Day
They danced and they sang and chased their pots of gold, but there wasno doubt about it. The posse of five puzzling Irishmen at midwicketcould not have been more out of place had they been riverdancing at areggae concert. It was widely assumed they’d misread the itinerary anddecided “D2” matches were the place to be, but in actual fact itturned out they were just passing through en route to Barbados, wheretheir all-conquering “D1” heroes take on Australia next Friday. Not soIrish after all.Indiscreet photo opportunity of the Day
No, it wasn’t Percy Sonn with his pants around his ankles (althoughthat would at least have proved he still exists – the only thing lowerthan the attendances at this World Cup has been his profile … whereis he?). Instead it was the sight of the reserve umpire, BillyBowden, who spent several minutes of the New Zealand innings sat bythe sightscreen, tapping the ground with a white stick. The suspicionsof a generation of international batsmen have been confirmed.Dead-horse floggers of the Day
Even as they presided over yet another hopelessly over-policed andunder-attended non-event, the ICC’s scandalous obsession with thebottom line shone brazenly through the corporatized gloom. Up on thebig screen, as regularly as they dared to promote it, flashed thedemand:
“Buy the official World Cup song, ‘Game of Love andUnity’, at outlets around the ground”Love and unity? Just who do they think they are kidding anymore?
