We Bet! (Badly)

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Matt H in Opinion

Back when we were young and stupid, we decided to have a go at this betting lark. Like Ian Bell against New Zealand, the results have been mixed at best. So what’s still in the pot guys?

Matt H: I had several near-misses in the first Test, but managed to get something correct by predicting the  draw. The second Test can be glossed over quickly (England not scoring more than 435, Kevin Pietersen not scoring a hundred), but the third match was better (ish). Hamish Rutherford scoring more than 2.5 boundaries in the first innings was easy money, whilst future legend Joe Root outscored Dean Brownlie with a -4.5 handicap to bag me a winner. Sadly, England’s first wicket partnership let themselves and, more importantly, let me down by being outscored by Rutherford and Peter Fulton, whilst Bell’s utter failure to score 50 in his first innings cost me bad. The git.

Nichael Bluth: I did actually have a plan not to dive in for the first Test, but to accumulate some knowledge of form and all that malarkey before diving in for the second. This was then postponed slightly, meaning I had to go all in for the third Test. And, er, then I got busy for a few days – the cat won’t brush itself – meaning that I completely missed the boat. Still, I did technically come out level, which I think might be enough to actually win this little competition. In the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king. Or something.

James K: My pre-series bullishness rather came back to haunt me, so much so that I failed to win a single bet. England to win 3-0 went up in smoke within about two hours of the first day, Dean Brownlie rose to the challenge of being tipped as his side’s leading run scorer by averaging 24 and not making 50, and Ian Bell fell an agonising 83 runs short of the century I needed him to make in the first innings at Eden Park. On the plus side, I foresaw such an eventuality so held some of our agreed kitty back to make sure I had some money left at the end for charity. Essentially, I put all my eggs in the England thrashing basket and ended up having them smashed all over my face instead.

Matt Larnach: In retrospect my failure to win any of my stated bets (there were a few that were unstated, as they were made on the exotic market and were mostly concerned with post-match activities that best go unreported on on a respectable website like this) was that I played it too safe. In gambling, as in life in general, stupid risks are the proven path to success, and there can’t be many more risks stupider than throwing massive wads of cash on Peter Fulton top scoring in both innings of the third Test. Having taken this lesson on board I hope my Ashes betting will yield far greater reward. In particular I am eying up the odds for David Warner to be Australia’s highest wicket taker in the series. Money for rope.

Matt H: So we’re all pretty hopeless then, aside from Nichael who’s hopeless and forgetful. We need a new tactic and fresh approach, possibly looking at more predictable markets. Does anyone have contact details for any bookmakers in Pune? We’d love to get in touch.