Other / Richard Douglas / 10 April 2009 /

Richard Douglas finds little consolation in the fact he is the only Betting.betfair.com columnist to have permission to use a swear word in his weekly column as he goes about trying to work out what the sport of pelota entails. Plus a quick look at the betting for this week's upcoming matches.

As proud as I am to have the only Betfair feature with a swear word in its title, there needs to be a change of name this time.

Perhaps we should not have "what the bloody hell is pelota?" but "how in the name of the Lord God Almighty can you find out about pelota?".

Blasphemy is always the way to go in trying circumstances I tend to think.

This is a traditional Spanish sport with many variants. Scour the internet as I have and you will find versions using two walls, three walls - even church walls. The method of propelling the ball can range from a bucket-like scoop, a net and a bat to your open hand.

Search YouTube and you'll find a mixture of skilled professionals hurling the ball at horrific speed and amateurs injurying themselves in classic "You have been Framed" style.

This is a particularly Spanish pastime and my four-word vocabulary based on a holiday in my late teens - hello, beer, bed, please - really has not done me much good. Thank goodness for Google's translate feature.

The main Betfair market involves Pelota Mano which is basically pelota with the bare hand or the lightest of protection for your palm. Apparently (and unsurprisingly) swollen mitts are a mark of committed play.

The rules and scoring are a little like squash. A ball of up to 100 grams, traditionally made of wool around a hard core and covered with leather, is received and then hurled at a wall.

In full court singles the ball is allowed to bounce anywhere inside the court. Singles inside "four and a half" after the ball hits the front wall it cannot bounce any further back than a line painted between numbers 4 and 5 on the left-hand wall. This version is relatively new and was specifically developed to attract a new fanbase.

The Jai-Alai (the one with the scoops) sells itself on being the fastest sport on earth. It uses a ball whose weight is between 125g and 140g yet it is hurled up to 190 mph.

Obviously Pelota Mano is not that pacy. But the aggression required means it is hardly for the faint-hearted. At the start of April, Abel Barriola ruptured medial knee ligaments in a game and had to undergo surgery. He will not be seen on the court (or fronton to se the correct terminology) for the best part of six months. It is a huge blow to the sport given Barriola topped the overall rankings in 2008 by some margin.

This weekend Agirre ([1.4]) takes on Penagarikano ([2.2]) in round two of the Manomanista Championship, the main knockout tournament. The market seems pretty fair. In his last fixture Agirre humbled Laskurain 22-7 in dramatic fashion. A run of 15 unbeaten points saw him secure comfortable passage into the next round of fixtures. Penagarikano is down in 45th place in the rankings, well short of his opponent's slot at No 30.

On Sunday, Inigo Pascual ([3.1]) takes on Xala ([1.34]). It is 15th v 20th in terms of rankings, however Pascual has form after coming back from 12-2 down to squeeze home 22-18 against Aitor Zubieta last week.

Before that Xabier Urberuaga ([2.6]) takes on Begino in the game of the weekend. The former is fifth in the rankings and possess the high win ratio - 85 per cent. In addition Urberuaga is a player on the up having won the Second Division title in 2007 and come through a stunning first round game last week. Julen Retegi led 18-9 with victory in sight but reportedly lacked power in his left hand trying to close out the game.

Leiza ([1.4]) looks poor value against Berasaluza ([2.32]) on Sunday. The latter is an athletic 25-year-old with a beast of a serve. In his straightforward 22-11 victory over Eulate last week he hit one serve up at 122mph and regularly reached 116mph. His heart-on-his-sleeve approach and ever-smiling nature also means he'll have the crowd behind him. Meanwhile his win percentage, 76.92, leaves him ranked at No 6, a full 29 places above Leiza.

So there you go. I doubt you're ready just yet to go out and find a suitable venue to take on your mate at any of the many forms of this fascinating game but hopefully you now have a better understanding of the basics. Who knows though, come the summer and a burning desire to go out and get fit before your annual two week break in the sun somewhere and you may find yourself doing the rounds inquiring "Pelota anyone?"

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: