The Silver Fern

Update time: Given that for the first 3 games the winners were picked by 9%, 11% and 7%, high scoring was never on the cards. @Corkscrew had 4/5 winners selected by going the home team 1-8 but had no categories so only 35 points. @ACT-Crusader had the best score of 40 followed by @Hurrycanes (38) & @Canes4life (37) who only picked 2 matches but had 3/4 categories. All of ACT Crusader, @KiwiMurph @Chris @mikedogz @dogmeat @george33 picked 3/5. The very worst score was @NTA with 6 and @mikey07 managed 8.

ACT Crusader now leads by 12 from @hydro11 with KiwiMurph in 3rd. In the TSF Cup, @BorderJB sneaked his replay with @Winger but was knocked out in the next round. 16 people are into the next round.

In the battle of the unbeaten teams, South Island made it 4/4 against Blues A and in the battle of the unwinning teams, Canes Black thrashed Blues B.

The notable missing tipster is @dK who has been playing since we started back in 2006 - does anyone have a direct contact route?

Results are in https://thesilverfern.com/tipping/ - I did do a write-up but accidentally lost it all and don't have time to write it again!

It's tipping time everyone

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@KiwiMurph said in ICC Champions Trophy 2025:

Ravindra in full flight is incredible to watch - some of those shots he hit wow.

A really enjoyable team to watch is this Black Cap ODI team.

Give it everything in the final. Santner is a terrific ODI captain supported by a lot of smart cricketing brains so we have a real shot.

Hopefully the medics can get Matt Henry's shoulder right for Sunday

Santner seems like a very calm guy and happy to talk to other players to discuss the tactics. And he's at the peak of his bowling powers. Guys like Phillips and Bracewell are very handy to have - you don't want them coming into bat too early and you don't want to have to rely on them bowling 10 overs - but they can contribute in all areas. Having 4 spinners is a real bonus - they aren't as dangerous as India's spinners though. I think the Black Caps need to bat first to have any hope - or bowl first and hope Dubai delivers a seaming greentop!

That's pretty much the perfect ODI performance for the Black Caps - even down to players getting out at the right times. Important to give Phillips enough time (but not too much time) to bat at the end.

Scoreboard pressure by the spinners then squeezed the South Africans until the wickets fell. Wasn't that impressed with Miller's century at the end - he seemed to bat cautiously in order to make the chase impossible and then cashed in at the end. Not all his fault as wickets were falling at the other end but I detected he wanted a performance for himself out of it.

This is the goal of the season

Arsenal with no strikers score 7 at PSV. Odd!

@Donsteppa said in NZ Cricket:

Probably inevitable, but still gutted. Our junior numbers are up by 34 overall since the start of the 23/24 summer, and girls numbers have about doubled. Free to air coverage of mens and womens games has definitely helped.

Hopefully Sky pushes quite a few of the games to Prime (Sky Open, whatever).

@nonpartizan Correct - https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/australia-tour-of-england-scotland-netherlands-and-denmark-1989-61353/scotland-vs-australians-409446/full-scorecard

Bowled by Tim May.

My final effort for the day - which Scottish international goalkeeper once scored 4 in an international?

(His career was in the 1980s and 90s)

@nonpartizan said in EPL 2024/2025:

The answer is Trevor Brooking - winning goal scorer of the 1980 FA cup.

Yes it is. It's a cute question.

Also it was a statistical oddity that Preston and Burnley had never met before in the FA Cup. In the 1950s, Leeds were drawn at home to Cardiff in the 3rd round three seasons in a row and all 3 of them finished 1-2.

@nonpartizan said in EPL 2024/2025:

@Cyclops said in EPL 2024/2025:

I'm pretty sure Beckenbauer did that double.

Yup.

Didier Deschamps

My favourite football question - old but good

1979: Sunderland
1981: Villa

Who was it in 1980?

Actually Everton 1969-70. Took them to 7, level with Man U, Liverpool & Arsenal. Yes, there was a 4 way tie until Arsenal won it in 1970-71 and then Liverpool took over in the 1970s

You've got 6 between you - Preston, Sunderland, Aston Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United. One more to get and the most recent club to achieve it although still a long time ago.

It's quiz Monday and as we're getting historical. List the 7 clubs that have at any point held the record for most titles won (either solely or jointly). Preston obviously as they won the first one - but can you name the other 6?

For anyone who didn't see this incident on Saturday - feel a bit sorry for the keeper here, he's going to get notoriety for only this.

https://x.com/nocontextfm1/status/1895823135339147522

Even though this South African team looks stronger than this Australian team, I still think that Indian game was a good game to lose.

And Sunderland wanted to be a founder member of the football league but weren't allowed as they were too far away!

@nonpartizan said in EPL 2024/2025:

@Bovidae said in EPL 2024/2025:

The last team was in the EPL as recently as last season.

Sheffield utd?

Yes that's the one. I don't think of them as a title winner - although 1897-1898 is a bit early even for me.

Preston v Burnley was the very first match of the first football league in 1888. Apparently they didn't think about points being awarded until after the game as they wondered how they would rank the teams in the league.

And not Preston are into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup to play Aston Villa - and those 2 were champions and runners-up in the very first season.