Cricket world cup discussion thread

What a cracking Draw.

India have the toughest route to the final. SA and Sri Lanka should be a cracking semi.

Nice to see Harper and De Silva not officiating any quarterfinals. they have both had shocking WC's thus far.
 
Why is everyone assuming that England are going to blow in this WC.The tournament is reknown for teams that start badly and end up winning the trophy.Let's face it England are good at applying pressure and defending low totals(they almost did it against Bangladesh).Don't be surprised if SL fold under the host country mounting pressure.England have much less to lose.
 
DrYes said:
Why is everyone assuming that England are going to blow in this WC.The tournament is reknown for teams that start badly and end up winning the trophy.Let's face it England are good at applying pressure and defending low totals(they almost did it against Bangladesh).Don't be surprised if SL fold under the host country mounting pressure.England have much less to lose.
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Yip!! I did say if they beat SA they might win the cup...
Im also not sure why everyone thinks NZ is a walk over, they kicked the Proteas out before, in their home country...
 
DrYes said:
Why is everyone assuming that England are going to blow in this WC.The tournament is reknown for teams that start badly and end up winning the trophy.Let's face it England are good at applying pressure and defending low totals(they almost did it against Bangladesh).Don't be surprised if SL fold under the host country mounting pressure.England have much less to lose.
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Quite simply put, England have been playing poor cricket through the WC.They are going to be blown away by Sri Lanka.
 
wallsend said:
Quite simply put, England have been playing poor cricket through the WC.They are going to be blown away by Sri Lanka.
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Don't be surprised if they 'click' at the right time post a good score if they bat first and then bundle SL out of the WC.It has happened and it can happen.
 
AND so to the World Cup quarterfinals. Few would have doubted that SA would make it this far, but fewer are willing to say how much further they might go.

No one should begrudge the doubters their commitment phobia. Too often South Africans’ faith in their team has been misplaced.

Eventually, unfulfilled hope hardens, sometimes into cynicism. We have yet to reach that sad state, but we have learnt to hide our hope.

I don’t need to guess at the level of edginess that will prevail at a television set near you on Friday, when SA play New Zealand in Dhaka.

You see, I know the feeling only too well from personal experience.

But I can tell you with conviction that no Proteas team I have known first-hand has understood itself better and been more ready, willing and — most importantly — able to do what it takes to win.

Those are vital buffers against the fear of failure that separates champions from mere contenders in the stubborn, selfish navel-gazing business that top-class sport can become.

Faf du Plessis said much of the same yesterday, albeit differently.

Talking about the Black Caps, he said, "I’m not too worried about what they’ve got. If we bowl well, if we field well, and if we bat well, we’ll win the game."

Do not mistake that for arrogance. It is evidence of that shining place players reach when they realise that they need to make victory happen rather than wait for other teams to falter to defeat.

In SA’s case, the team they have waited for is their own. They have wasted too many opportunities to win by waiting for everything to go wrong. Of course, it duly did exactly that.

I am happy to report that this is no longer the case. This SA team rose from what would have been a destructive defeat before, against England, to prove that the mighty Indians are about as unsinkable as the Titanic. Then Bangladesh were made to flounder and founder without a trace.

The Proteas invite further comparisons to an iceberg.

They are sharp and dangerous, and we have seen but the tip of what they are capable of. Moreover, I have yet to hear of an iceberg melting in 12 days, which is when the final will be played in Mumbai.

The inclusion in the squad of players like Du Plessis, who carry no baggage from World Cups past, is a reason for the icy, calm, calculated cricket the Proteas are playing.

Another is the acceptance of those who have come, seen and been conquered in previous tournaments that sometimes their younger, less experienced team-mates might know better.

You don’t, in the words of that tired dressing-room cliché, find experience on the supermarket shelf.

But if the sell-by date on one bottle of milk in the supermarket fridge tells you it’s fresher than another, which would you buy?

In this dressing room, that kind of thinking is nothing short of profound; revolutionary, even.

It is to the credit of the greybeards and the youngsters that they have been able to forge so strong and successful a bond so seamlessly, and that they have been able to do so in a short time.

Whoever thought South African teams were proud of their adherence to a plan, come hell, high water or the exposure of that plan as a good way to lose, will have to think again.

These Proteas are flexible, imaginative and unflappable. Do not doubt their bona fides as champions in waiting.

Right about now, fellow South Africans, we should wave our hope in the air like we just don’t care.
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Telford Vice
http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=137831
 
Just checking on bet364...
SA have the BEST odds at taking the cup :D (interesting as well that NZ the worst :)
SA followed closely by India, then Sri Lanka and Australia.
http://www.bet365.com/home/default.asp?bet=1&script=mainpage.asp
WC_Win.PNG


Bookies have a SA vs. IND as a final.

I know the bookies are not the ultimate judgment, but interesting non the less.
 
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wallsend said:
What a cracking Draw.

India have the toughest route to the final. SA and Sri Lanka should be a cracking semi.

Nice to see Harper and De Silva not officiating any quarterfinals. they have both had shocking WC's thus far.
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Harper is a third umpire in one of the games. He is still unable to screwup the reviews...:(
 
DrYes said:
Why is everyone assuming that England are going to blow in this WC.The tournament is reknown for teams that start badly and end up winning the trophy.Let's face it England are good at applying pressure and defending low totals(they almost did it against Bangladesh).Don't be surprised if SL fold under the host country mounting pressure.England have much less to lose.
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In the T20 WC, maybe. Australia hasn't lost a world cup match during the 2000s, so I'm not sure where this bad starters = good finishers idea comes from :)
 
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CodeMaster said:
Just checking on bet364...
SA have the BEST odds at taking the cup :D (interesting as well that NZ the worst :)
SA followed closely by India, then Sri Lanka and Australia.
http://www.bet365.com/home/default.asp?bet=1&script=mainpage.asp
WC_Win.PNG


Bookies have a SA vs. IND as a final.

I know the bookies are not the ultimate judgment, but interesting non the less.
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So they have they have the Pakis at 6/7?
Mmmm that might work...

I hope the Pakis dont throw the game tomorrow...
 
[Quattro];5800413 said:
So they have they have the Pakis at 6/7?
Mmmm that might work...

I hope the Pakis dont throw the game tomorrow...
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so when Pakistan win they brilliant. when they lose they threw it?
 
[Quattro];5800611 said:
80% of the time yes...
How long have you been watching cricket for? 2 years?
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that's a pathetic outlook to have as a supporter. most of us here banter that they "throw matches" but do you seriously believe that any match they lose is a result of them "throwing it"??
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
In the T20 WC, maybe. Australia hasn't lost a world cup match during the 2000s, so I'm not sure where this bad starters = good finishers idea comes from :)
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You're right apart from Australia those teams that have generally struggled in the tournament have in most instances reached the final or have won it.I'm referring to Pakistan,Sri Lanka NZ and England.
 
Massive result, and keeping the good habits
by Faf du Plessis 22/03/2011, 07:50

So, it’s New Zealand in the World Cup quarterfinals on Friday and another big test for us. As I’ve said before, who we play is irrelevant and we need to focus on our game. We believe that if we play to our potential, we can beat any of the sides here.

Let’s talk about that Bangladesh game, though. Even though we were already through to the quarterfinals, it really was some result, especially with guys like Lopsy and Wayne coming into the side, after sitting out the early games. It was massive for us, as we didn’t just want to breeze through the game. Even when we had them four or five down for nothing, there was a big push to keep the good habits and keep doing those things that’ll stand us in good stead, going into the quarterfinals.

The performances of guys like Lopsy were a massive plus for us. Before we came over here, we said that that was something we wanted to focus on, because there’s always the danger of the guys not playing and not being on the same wavelength as the guys who are. But, the guys who have sat out have been excellent – even AB, who is as good a 12th man as you’ll get.

That’s been huge for us, as we’ve wanted to play for each other and wanted everyone to do well. Lopsy is obviously a quality bowler and has been bowling well over the last 12 months, so he obviously has a lot of confidence. But, it just shows you what depth we have in our squad. Whoever plays in the quarterfinal or rather, the guy who doesn’t play, will know that he’s sitting out because it’s best for the team on the day.

With regards the bowling performance against Bangladesh, the key, for me, was the aggression, as opposed to pace. Our bowlers really went hard at them and didn’t bowl many bad balls. As a batting unit, I got the sense that the Bangladeshis felt under pressure to score runs and that’s been a feature of our bowling at the World Cup. We’ve bowled sides out all the way through and I think the other sides see that, as we’ve got so many wicket takers.

For me, I was obviously chuffed with my knock, particularly as I hadn’t played in Bangladesh before. The wickets are definitely different from India and the one on Saturday had a grey, charcoal kind of tinge to it. At first glance it seems like something completely different from what you’ve been playing on your whole life and that was the first thing I noticed.

From very early on we could see that it was going to be very slow, so it was nice to get first use of it, as opposed to batting second on a difficult wicket, as we’d done in the games against England and India. So, we knew that anything above 250 would be a good score.

From a personal point of view, it was nice to get more time at the crease, coming in at number five, as a result of AB being rested and Morne van Wyk dropping down to six. And the kind of knock I played is what my role actually is, particularly with two spinners bowling in tandem. My role is to keep the scoreboard ticking along with plenty of singles and I was able to do that against the Bangladeshis, finding the gaps rather nicely. I feel I’m in a good space now with my batting, heading into the quarter-final.

Batting with Jacques for a lengthy period was also such an experience. The biggest thing I picked up was how calm he remains. I’m pretty calm myself, as a batter, but he’s extremely calm. That’s even when the bowling side bowls a maiden or a couple of dot balls. You can just see that it doesn’t faze him and he knows that he’ll catch up eventually. He could have five or six dot balls and then play an unbelievable shot for four.

He’s a great one to learn from playing under pressure and that’s something I’m learning – that there’s often more time than you think

Going forward now, the big thing is to keep doing the things that have worked for us and not to change, unnecessarily. Also, not to put pressure on ourselves, because it’s a quarterfinal. In fact, we feel that if we play the way we’ve been playing and play to our potential, we’ll win the game. In my experience of playing in finals and semifinals, if you just keep doing the basics, you’ll be fine.

Away from the cricket, we haven’t done too much, although in Dhaka, there was a Nandos about 20 minutes drive away. The boys were all over it, having spent the past month eating curry after curry. So, for the two nights before the game and the night after the game, we all put our orders into the team manager and the food was delivered to the hotel. We didn’t have a big celebration after the Bangladesh game, but there was a team “social” – a few drinks with the boys. It’s to make sure we keep enjoying each other’s success and that we don’t just head off to our rooms. I can tell you, it’s no chore – we’ve got a really close unit.

Chat to you after the New Zealand game.
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from his blog on supersport
 
wallsend said:
that's a pathetic outlook to have as a supporter. most of us here banter that they "throw matches" but do you seriously believe that any match they lose is a result of them "throwing it"??
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Depends on how they lose.
The NZ game last 10 overs, Akmals catching, Akhtars bowling... that was a throw.
The WC against Aus 20Twenty, was not a throw...

England series, well we all know what happened there, but in general they have the stigma of throwing games/not pitching.
 
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