Your World Cup Cricket Predictions

[tohfay]

The excitement of the WC is building strong and I have a website for each of us to participate by making our predictions for every level ofthe tournament.

Checkit out: http://cricket99.hypermart.net

Pakistan all the way!

[ghalib]

O.k....its a little too early but here goes my predictions:

The matching fixing should begin a couple of days before the semis. (Ofcourse this only holds water if paki make it semis)

I predict waseem taking a bigger cut than last world cup and may demand the gamblers for a 5% cut.

If India and Paki square off in the semis, I predict waseem will initiate the bargaining on behalf of all the players.

If they square off in the finals, then the management of both teams will conduct the bargaining.

If pakistan reaches the final with a team that is not from Indiana Sub-continent, then expect waseem to take a a hefty cut in his gambling. It might be 15% to 25% less than the teams from Indian Sub-continent.

Above all, its too early to predict the average take of some team members but will have an update before the the semis begin.

[durango]

South Africa is the `satta' favourite
By Rajnish Sharma

NEW DELHI: If you are taking a wager with a friend on the World Cup, you'd do well to eavesdrop on your neighbourhood bookie's phone talk. The buzz is:chances of our team bringing home the World Cup are really slim. That's the verdict of the satta bazar.

As of now, the clear satta bazar favourite is South Africa followed by Pakistan and Australia. Even for the India-South Africa tie on Saturday ``Hamara Bharat'' hasn't found very many backers among the gamblers.

Worse, Sachin Tendulkar has been dumped by the punters, whose money is on Australian Mark Waugh for slot of the highest scorer in the current World Cup.

In the world of betting, smaller the odds, the higher the perceived chances and, therefore, lower - but assured - the returns. Conversely, higher the odds, the lower the chances and higher - but uncertain - the returns.

So, the odds for winning the cup are 10:4 for South Africa, 10:6 for Pakistan and 10:7 for Australia. For the Hove tie against India on Saturday, South Africa's are ranging between 10:1 and 8:2.

Heavy betting is going on in areas like Karol Bagh, Gujranwalan Town, Greater Kailash, Paharganj and the Walled City. A Gujranwalan bookie said: ``For a big event like the World Cup, where huge amounts are involved, the rates offered are almost the same all over the country. We are in constant touch with our counterparts in other cities.''

A Delhi police crime branch official said: ``People from as far as London and Dubai are betting in Delhi which has emerged as major centre for satta. The sattorias (satta organisers) here have networked themselves very well.''

The bets are taken on phone (including cell) only; but access is restricted. You should either be known to the sattorias or come through ``personal contacts''.

Satta market insiders say the amount of money staked on the World Cup runs into several crore and ``it may surpass all previous records''.

Bets are being laid on all sorts of things - the Cup winner, highest wicket taker and scorer. The categories are headed by Glenn McGrath and Mark Waugh, followed by Sachin Tendulkar and Brian Lara.

``Shoaib Akhtar is not likely to be successful in England where the situation favours the Australian players. People have put large amounts on Alan Donald and Shaun Pollock also,'' the bookie added.

Money is also being put on matches where India is not playing. The amount however, is much less. Money has also been put on whether India will qualify for the super six category and the semi-finals.

Sources said the rates will fluctuate according to India's performance as the tournament progresses.