Thetownend.com

Surprised no one has brought this up yet :D, following the mighty sussex victory yesterday, they and somerset qualify for the first champions league in India in october,  here is the draw......

Group A
Deccan Chargers (Ind)
Somerset Sabres (Eng)
Trinidad & Tobago (WI)

Group B
New South Wales Blues (Aus)
Diamond Eagles (SA)
Sussex Sharks (Eng)

Group C
Royal Challengers Bangalore (Ind)
Cape Cobras (SA)
Otago Volts (NZ)

Group D
Delhi Daredevils (Ind)
Victorian Bushrangers (Aus)
Wayamba (Sri)


I am sorely tempted to go out for the first 2 games, but would mean i would have to have 1 dialysis session in delhi. There is an indian nurse at my hospital so tomorrow im going to ask her about the standard of dialysis out there.

The new south wales team seem to have half the australian test team in them

Katich
Hughes
Jaques
Warner
Clarke
Brendon McCullum
Haddin
Watson
Bracken
Brett Lee
Hauritz
Clark
Bollinger

but saying that they hardly pulled up daisys in the 20-20 world cup.

COME ON YOU SHARKS!

Fair play to Sussex. I thought Kent would win it as they seem to get to the finals day every year.

You can bet Dwain Smith will have to play for his IPL side, rather than Sussex, and that Somerset will be the whipping boys due to no Tresco.

someone has told me the IPL side have the final say but smith has put it in writing he wants to play for sussex.

Was this the same Sussex team that got beat at Lords by the mighty Hampshire recently?

yes and the same sussex side that has won 9 trophies in the last 8 years including back to back county championships oh and is unbeaten in the pro40, little clubs eh? where the fuck were the mighty hampshire yesterday?

Wouldn't that be delhi-asis KOT ?

ok neville try as i might i really dont get that?

It was supposed to be a pun on dialysis, but never mind.

So writing a letter or not, Smith will be playing for them.

watson plays for queensland not nsw

Cool could have sworn it was NSW, smith is in the argus today saying he wants to play for sussex. I cant go which is a fucker, flights are only £300 return, however looked into dialysis facilities and not good. Sussex kidney unit had 7 people go to india last 2 years, 3 came back with hepatitis and 2 didnt come back. Dont quite fancy them odds.

 Good to see Somerset cane Sussex tonight in the Pro 40....Kieswetter will oust Prior from England wicket keeping duties in 2010.  Brilliant show tonight...Prior may keep his place as a bat though, and we can have a batting line up consisting solely of Saffas.

Enjoy tonights game? Luke Wright getting a golden = priceless.

It is safe to say i am not one of sussex's biggest fans,but what they've done in the past few years is pretty special. Every team has they're good run...

I think its called a hangover, they were drinking until sunday night in brum.

From the New Zealand Herald

Champions League players to choose their team

NEW DELHI - Players who qualify for more than one team at the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League in India during October can choose which side they will represent.

Organisers clarified the player rules today for the October 8-23 tournament that features 12 provincial teams from seven nations. Several players, including New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, are contracted to two Champions League teams. The event's governing council has allowed both teams to list the players in their provisional squads, after which the player will have to make his decision.

"Players will be given 24 hours to determine which team they wish to represent," said Dean Kino, a member of the governing council. "These rules ensure that players will have a choice, subject to existing contracts, of who they represent."

The council says if a player chooses to represent a team that isn't from his home country, then that team must pay US$200,000 ($303,214) compensation to the home side.

Kino said the compensation package would create significant interest in the lead-up to the final squad announcements. Players eligible to turn out for multiple teams include McCullum, Nathan Bracken, Dirk Nannes, David Warner, Cameron White, Andrew McDonald, Herschelle Gibbs, Farveez Maharoof and Dwayne Smith.

India will have three teams in the competition, with Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils joining Bangalore in the lineup. Australia will play Victoria and New South Wales, South Africa will field Cape Cobras and Diamond Eagles, Trinidad and Tobago will represent West Indies, Otago will be New Zealand's nominee and Sri Lanka will enter Wayamba.

McCullum is eligible for both Otago and New South Wales. Sussex Sharks and Somerset Sabres will be the two English teams after the recently concluded domestic Twenty20 championship.

"In addition to US$6 million in prize money, each team is guaranteed a US$500,000 participation fee," council chairman Lalit Modi said. A total of 23 matches will be played at three Indian venues: Bangalore, New Delhi and Hyderabad.

There are four preliminary groups containing three teams apiece. Two teams from each group will advance to an eight-team round-robin league. The top four teams will then move into the semifinals.

The T20 Champions League was scheduled to begin last year but was postponed in the wake of terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Group A: Deccan Chargers (India), Somerset Sabres (England), Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies).

Group B: New South Wales Blues (Australia), Diamond Eagles (South Africa), Sussex Sharks (England).

Group C: Royal Challengers Bangalore (India), Cape Cobras (South Africa), Otago Volts (New Zealand).

Group D: Delhi Daredevils (India), Victoria Bushrangers (Australia), Wayamba (Sri Lanka).

So the good news people is that this is going to be live on eurosport, starts on thursday, have to say im dead excited.  Oh and dmr eat your fucking words about dwayne smith. Oh and reg eat your fucking words about somerset in the pro 40, champions yet again.....

eurosport 2 on thursday i think??

Has Banger travelled?

Somerset paid for losing a match to the weather... >:(  however I'll take staying in Div 1, over winning a couple of one day pots any day.

It has started by the way on eurosport 2, dont expect any conversation out of me for the next 2 weeks.

bangalore v cape town at the moment. bangalore 36-1 from 5.5 dravid starting to wind his arms up.

cracking opening match 9 needed off last over.

fuck me duminy looked invincible.

I worry for sussex and somerset out here.

Enjoyed that, could have done with a few more upskirt shots of the dancing girls, but a minor point.

I thought the same, although naturally I'm not too concerned about Sussex, but for the likes of Trego, Suppiah, Hildreth, it is an opportunity to show a wider audience what they can do.

By the way for those of you that dont have eurosport 2, all the games are on the eurosport player online.

I personally think the two English county sides are in a no lose situation. This tournament is really to make it look like the IPL sides are the best,as they've thrown money on 'star' players, so by the SA side winning yesterday, it put a smile on my face.

New South Wales, should go well.

scandalous that dirty dirk is playing for an indian franchise and not the vics

The Vics don't mind, they're getting 200k for him supposedly, which is nice money if you can get it.

  :) Mighty Somerset shove their sabres up Gilchrist's and Symonds arse...sweet.

Somerset won off the last ball tonight, and at the moment no IPL side has won a game yet !!

This'll be a one off Tournament then! Still, Somerset winning with Langer, Tresco and Kieswetter all scoring under 20 is a suprise.

aye, hoping for a somerset v vics final

Got to say the NSW bowling attack is pretty impressive.

Not good seeing a 20 year old leggie who gives it a rip, and apparently bats at 6 for the state side. Has Bollinger got a wig, or has he had a Shane Warne?

woke up yesterday morning saw the sussex line up and was amazed by the end that we hadnt lost more heavily. was almost like our reserves. hopefully yardy, wright and beer get a sniff tomorrow.

Bollingers hair looks like its stuck on. :D

HaHa Somerset showing how shit they really are, hammered by T&T.

Sussex game looking good right now, a tie. extra over each.

fuck me im shitting it. fantastic come back . come on sussex!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Oh excellent.

A super over.

Have Sussex batted their's yet?

Boom.

Six.

sussex need 10 from the over to win. wright and smith. thsi is worse than a fucking penalty shootout

Required run-rate is now 12 an over

All over in 2 balls.

First Stephen Gately, then the speedway, now this.

I don't think I can cope with much more :(

fucking heart breaking. gutted. fuck off.

It's a bit like getting to a penalty shoot out and missing all your spot kicks.

And we know what that feels like  :(

 :wotjump:

You suck Gilchrist...Symonds...Lehman....Zummerzet la la la.

fair play, indian teams have een fucking woeful, wish we had one in our group

Shame Sussex didn't make it...the dear old county system gets a lot of flak, but I loves it.

Could have done with both sides getting through, and another Sussex/Somerset final.

we missed yardy and wright in the first game badly. Hope somerset go all the way but new south wales look the bollocks.

Tres is on a plane home. Thought it was going well from that point of view until then, really sad for the guy that he just can't seem to get around it.

fuck me he must be bad, didnt he have his wife and family out there with him?

BBC Story seems to suggest not, but I thought they were.

I read that his family went with the team, while Tres flew out a few days later, when they were settled.

Think the family were staying in Dubai.

Except Delhi, who've got an exciting top3, steady middle order and experienced bowling attack.

Somerset and and Sussex may aswell have stayed at home,

Delhi, NSW and Victoria have decent sides, Cobra's look ok, but Duminy will fail eventually.

Think this Tournament's been shit though, not as good as the IPL.

Trescos family left saturday, he felt fucked monday, did pretty well to get out there at all. Somerset just got trounced and are out.

  ::) Somerset beat Deccan chargers....IPL champs. Sussex came close, there'll be young players like Hildreth....Waller...H-Brown...Gatting, who'll now have more of an idea of the standards they need to get to...got to be good.

Good to see the likes of Katich, Clark, Hauritz and Bollinger humiliated by Kieron Pollard.

I'd buy Brett Lee a beer though if I met him in a pub....top man.

Blimey, that Henriques chap got a bit of a spanking by Pollard there, 54 off 18 balls!

i saw Pollard innings this morning he smacked Henriques for about 30 in 9 balls brilliant knock

cracking semi final on at the moment between trinidad and cape cobras

T&T need 28 off two overs. Bravo and Ganga at the wicket- Pollard next in. Boom Boom!

no they dont 22 from 3 overs

Hmm, I can't count to twenty. That's poor really.