Sporting Index | The Mole

Andrew Strauss and James Anderson might've thought that a trip to Bangladesh was beneath them (which is frankly ridiculous) but what does it matter when England have the choice of, what looks like, some class players from other nations. Few may have seen it live but the second ODI in Mirpur was a classic and much to the benefit of the client who bought Irishman Eoin Morgan's runs at 44 for £100 before the toss. Most of the build up chat has been about one of the other foreigners in the England dressing room, Craig Kieswetter, and this has undoubtedly benefited Morgan, who came in at number five to save and win the game. The Tigers sensed a first international win against England after notching 260, their highest ever score against the visitors. Coming in at 68/3 the Dubliner was there at a time when the home side had just nudged ahead as favourites. But the Middlesex man began to steady the ship with some seriously fine shots. And when the predictable England mini-collapse reared its ugly head once again, Morgan stepped up, stayed cool, got his ton and finished the match with a stunning six as England won with just seven balls left. A knock of a 110 meant a 66 point profit for our man (£6,600) and elevated Morgan as the only cricketer in history to score One-Day centuries for two different nations.

I'm not sure what you think of international rugby on a Friday night but I think it's fantastic. Oh to be in Cardiff last Friday night to see the French come to play. The town must've been buzzing before the game. One punter who wouldn't have been buzzing after the game was one who bought French Multi-Points at half-time when les blues had signalled their intent and class by going in 20-0 to the good at the break. Cue our man to have a nibble at the Multis, buying at 285 for £10 (1st half pts x 2nd half). Depending on which side your money was lying, the second half consisted of either slack play from France or great pressure from Wales. A brace of penalties and a converted Leigh Halfpenny try put the Welsh back on track as the French penalty count began to rise. The client must've wondered what he had done wrong in a previous life as France were simply unable to wrestle back the control they had in the first period. Incredibly, the punter was looking at a zero make-up if France failed to score. That thought stayed in his head until the 70th minute when Frederic Michalak put a pen over the posts and seven minutes later Parra did the same to kill off the game. Williams sent the Welsh home with a smile at the end but that made no bones to the punter. With a final make-up of 120 and a loss of £1,650, he left Cardiff on the next train to Piecesville Arizona.

Premier League Oh my God! Chelsea will kick themselves if they don't win this title. It's been theirs for the taking all season but are those off-field scandals having an effect? Will Ancelotti live to rue those boys who just can't keep it in their pants? The Blues are down five points on our Premier League Championship Index to 44-47.

Meanwhile Arsenal kept up the pressure on Chelsea with an impressive 3-1 victory away to Stoke. The Gunners have closed the gap at the top to just three points. And with Burnley, Hull and West Ham up next, Arsene Wenger must surely fancy his sides chances of bringing the title back to N1. Arsenal are up four points on our Premier League Championship Index to 38-41.

Six Nations France (just about) maintained their 100% start to the new Six Nations campaign in their game of two halves encounter with Wales. Are we set for a French Grand Slam? Les Bleus have moved up 3.5 points to 58-59.5 on our Six Nations Outright Index.


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