Maximus

LAME. PATHETIC display by the Blackcaps tonight. Only Ferguson (brilliant) and Sears (passionate) came out of it with any credit. Boult a huge disappointment leaking so many runs. Fielding not up to our usual high standard amd Santner vatting#3 was appalling; would've been better if he'd opened - to keep a left and right hand combo at the start. Stupid, and couldnt hit it off the block, while they scored 20 off the 1st over. At least it tells us something about who's up to world-class T20 standard: Allen, Conway, Williamson, Mitchell, Ravindra, Phillips, Santner, Ferguson, Milne, Henry, Sodhi, Southee, Boult, Sears. Fitness query over M Bracewell. Jamieson is out. They'll probably have to take Chapman, mebbe Young and/or Latham or Clarkson. Without Ferguson, Williamson, and/or Mitchell we'd be lucky to make the top 4 in the Caribbean. Southee and Boult look to be on borrowed time to me. MM

not even Max can explain some of his selections

Iris. Papyrus, Cyrus .... MM

but not The Mustelid...looks fab in the black 'n white esp with Mrs W by his side in the cheekiest, slinkiest cocktail dress you could imagine. MM

Look, peeps, the Blackcaps beat Australia at the SCG in the last T20 World Cup encounter, so dont think for a moment that we'll be smacked. They (OZ) nearly ALWAYS take a while to adapt to our pitches- as we do to theirs - so Max is predicting a 2-1 T20 Series win to the Blackcaps. We'll get smacked in the Tests, I reckon. No Boult, no Jamieson. no Henry....how the hell are we going to bowl them out twice? With spin?? 'Rourke, Wagner, Southee the mainstays, not destructive enuf UNLESS it swings all over the shop at the Basin. If it does, Starc will have field day, or two. I just cant see us being ruthless enough to bowl them out twice. Hope I'm wrong. And I'd love to see Southee take 10 in the match at the Basin, but his recent form doesnt encourage that hope! MM

tke Rees. LB is doing a great job building up these unbeatable Ozzie raiders ...but the Blackcaps are never better than when they're given bugger-all chance. Max doesnt give a toss about the result of the T20 hit and giggle smash-up ...but if we have prepared the right kind of pitches for our bowlers, we could surprise them. MM

hey, you leave my teamie alone please, Rees MM

My suggestion has nothing to do with the current state of Max Factory or this particular Comp...i iit's a suggestion for future Comps ...and the idea was first mooted months ago, How about this? Make the Triple Joker 'open slather' ie you can play it once per Round against any team. BUT if you choose to play it against a team ranked 3 or more positions lower than your team on the Points Table, there is Triple Jeopardy...ie your team stands to lose three points if you lose your head-to-head. Rationale: Teams ranked highest will always look for the teams ranked lowest (on the theory of an 'easy kill' with triple points the reward). Get it wrong and it costs ya! MM.

The obligatory one point deduction will darken the mood in the Factory tea room... As the Mustelid reaches for another Panadol in a Factory with no light, no power, no candles and only a smidgeon of Hope ...he offers the following suggestion for consideration for future comps: If you get the Triple Joker play all r-r-rong you get penalised accordingly. After all, it's about Risk and Reward, so highest reward (+15pts for 5-0 victory) should also mean highest risk. How about 3-2 loss = minus 1pt 4-1 loss = minus 2pts 5-0 loss = minus 3pts Imagine a team leading the Comp by, say, 8-10pts with a couple of rounds to go and a TJ in hand...to play it or not to play it becomes a big question, keeps things tres tres interessante for the chasing teams, even those struggling near/at the bottom. MM

Max Factory, thankee

the double joker up our sleeve and intending to use that to good effect next week to stake our claim to be Minor Premiers. The Factory stand in our way of achieving that rumour goin round that the Factory is in liquidation, Howie ...HIC ! MM

After trudging into the Crying Room, Max suddenly thought of Jen aka Jenlove and wondered how she (and Sir C) are getting on in Asia visiting the fandamily, so..we raised a toast to Absent Kats and Other Friends, then slapped a few bob EW on Jennilala in the last at Flemingtown. Good girls. MM

shoulda gone to the third session ...$15 ...Max knows how to cop a bargain outta NZC

Time to down tools, brothers and sister, and head to the Crying Room again where the Moet flows freely in a pathetic attempt to stop Max dreaming of idiotic French comic strip heroes and Rayzor-sharp killer BBQs. Congrats, KAOS .wa.a.a.a.ay too good. MM PS: Yes, Rob, I know where the key to the Crying Room is...the flockin' security guy told me I'm here so often I may as well have my own key.

woo hoo ...capn Max leads by example with a riffingly royal quinella (see what Maxi did there?) ...only to fall further behind as his Rayzor Sharp rival (see what Maxi did there?..has the same two as a BBQ. Well done Raymondo ... MM

Yes, of course the Basin is the best venue..ny question was why they couldnt have the forethought to erect extra temporary seating, given the strong demand. Surely they could make room for a mere Mustelid and couple of mates. MM

This week's Sausage Roll Allocation all went to TAB HQ, Zig! MM

looks like 'normality' hath been restored by the plonkers at TAB MM

ridiculous to have sold out first 4 days...clearly a poor choice of venue given the Trans-Tasman rivalry and a rare chance to see Ozziess play Test cricket in our backyard. Whats the capacity of the Basin and why have they not put in extra seating? MM

more likely those fat-face bookies were all pummelling the poor sausage machine at the same time

TAB down hopefully not out for too long!

silly Max. Wrote down 2,5 for you instead of 2,3. Bad luck old boy but nice of you to give Max a head start...on revealed form he's a lot like Devon Conway... MM

PJ Ray had the winner. Needs a $31 credit adjustment ? MM

you too, Ray...always a tough ask getting $1 ahead of you!! MM