Ireland v France: Match Preview

Republic of Ireland
Fifa ranking: 34
Manager: Giovanni Trapattoni (Italy, 70)
World Cup finals: 1990 (quarter-final), 1994 (2nd round), 2002 (2nd round)
Star player: Robbie Keane.
Chances: Trapatonni has performed wonders to get Ireland this far but the draw has been cruel. Ireland were unbeaten in the qualifiers but scored only 12 goals – Italy, Bulgaria and even Cyprus scored more.
Losing Liam Miller and Shane Long will not help their cause, but a two goal lead in Dublin may be necessary.
France
Fifa ranking: 9
Manager: Raymond Domenech (France, 57)
World Cup finals: 1930 (1st round), 1934 (1st round), 1938 (quarter-final), 1954 (1st round), 1958 (3rd), 1966 (1st round), 1978 (1st round), 1982 (4th), 1998 (winners), 2002 (1st round), 2006 (beaten finalists)
Star player: Nicolas Anelka.
Chances: Domenech is not popular in France and failure against the Irish will end his reign. Missing the injured Arsenal defender Gaël Clichy and Bayern Bunich midfielder Franck Ribery will not help his cause.
The feeling in France is that Domenech has failed to take advantage of world class players.

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Browns Going With Brady Quinn?

Betting Online Games - The current Cleveland Browns are big underdogs for their Monday Night game against the ex-Cleveland Browns (the Baltimore Ravens), currently listed at +11.

The Browns are expected to announce a starting QB later today and citing sources, ESPN is reporting that Brady Quinn will line up behind center.

Cleveland has its work cut out for it as Baltimore has been a machine when favored by more than 8-points, going 19-2 straight up and 14-6 against the spread.

Monday night’s Total is set at 39.5.

I have lost command over the team: Younus

Younus Khan, who stood down as Pakistan captain yesterday, said that he took the decision after he felt that he had no command over his teammates.


"I met the chairman today and told him I needed to rest," Younus told a leading cricket website. "I told him I feel as If I have no command over this team. And if a leadership has no command over its players, what is the point of continuing to lead? I also told him that the last 3-4 months have been very trying times for me, not just with the cricket but all that has happened outside it. I need time to get myself together now."

It has been learnt that at least eight or nine players in the Pakistan team, were unhappy with Younus and they voiced their concerns to PCB chief Ejaz Butt after the Champions Trophy.

Younus, that time also, quit captaincy but PCB officials did not accept his resignation and asked him to continue as captain. - Gambling Online

India-Australia 7th ODI delayed due to rain

Betting Online - The seventh and final One Day International between India and Australia was delayed due to persistent rains in Mumbai on Wednesday.

With heavy rains showing no signs of relenting, the match is unlikely to go ahead.

The final decision is expected at 5 p.m. IST, which is the cut-off time. Both the teams have been instructed to stay inside the hotel.

The square and the surrounding areas have been put under cover and the wet field is soggy.

If the match is abandoned, Australia will win the series 4-2 after coming back strongly from a 1-2 deficit and went on to win three consecutive matches to pocket the series.

The unrelenting rains have been lashing Mumbai from Tuesday night and converted the D Y Patil stadium, the venue of the match, into a water pool.

The Indian morale hit a low following successive losses at Mohali, Hyderabad and Guwahati against what is essentially a very inexperienced Australian bowling line-up.

A victory in Mumbai could have be the ideal tonic for India before they lock horns with Sri Lanka in the longest format of the game from November 16 in Ahmedabad, but that would be possible only if weather gods do not play spoilsport.

The rains, which started just past noon on Tuesday, did not allow the Indian team to practice while the Australian team managed to do theirs in the morning.

The main reason for India's slump against an injury-ravaged Australia is lack of consistency in both batting and bowling. - Sports Gambling

While the Indian top order has fired only in fits and starts, with the blazing hundreds from skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar, who also completed 17,000 ODI runs in the process, being the shining beacons, the bowling too has not performed in total.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 ODI Schedule(Timetable)- Logo- Host: Inidia, Srilanka & Bangladesh

Betting Odds - Bangladesh will host India in the first match of the 2011 World Cup, the International Cricket Council have announced.
India, set to stage 29 of the 49 matches across eight venues including a quarter-final, a semi-final and the final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, will tra-vel across the border for their first match on February 19.

Sri Lanka, the other co-hosts, will stage 12 matches – including a quarter-final and a semi-final – while Bangladesh will host the opening ceremony on February 17 and the remainder of the matches, including two quarter-finals.
The 2011 tournament will be a week shorter than the 2007 tournament in the Caribbean.
Sri Lanka will unveil two venues during the course of the tournament – Hambantota and Pallekele – and will take on Canada in their first match at Hambantota on February 20.

Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara is of the opinion that the two new venues would boost cricket in Sri Lanka. - Gambling Online

“Everybody in Sri Lanka is excited about the new venues,” he said.

“Pallekele [situated in the hill country of the Central Province] is just outside Kandy, and Hambantota is situated close to a beach.”
Pakistan, stripped of hosting rights over security concerns, will play their group matches in Sri Lanka and travel to India only if they reach the knockout rounds.

Click to download the schedule for the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup