Official ICC 2015 CWC thread

ZCFOutkast said:
Doubt if I've watched a match that feels so close&exciting yet resulted in a 64 run loss. Years ago that was the equivalent of a hammering!

But this is what the CWC is all about. The best taking on the best. Malinga showed Clarke&everyone why all should be greatful he's not fit enough to play Tests. Watson fought for his place in the side admirably. Dilshan brutally took on Mitch Johnson. Starc changed ends and finding neither swing nor wickets, only more of the treatment Johnson was receiving. Arguably the most innovative captain pushed to the limits and finding no answers while committing errors. Best fielding side being pierced with ease and struggling to stop flow of runs, errors forced off them. No one had the answer to the batting genius of Sangakkara. In the end it took Faulkner's clever bowling against their tired minds&bodies. That certainly brought Clarke to life. Excellent run-out, inspired field settings, before injury denied us further sightings of Sri Lanka's future greats. No disrespect but Maxwell was just being Maxwell.

Australia are beatable. That's what I saw in this match. Plus, SL are a genuine threat. They've spent a lot of time in those conditions, and their seniors - Mahela, Sanga&Dilshan have the necessary motivation to drag them over the line.

Interestingly, the amount of time India have spent in these conditions as well, seems to have taught their bowlers how to maximise their talents here. All of a sudden thay have no weakness. Pakistan seem to be peaking at the right time too, and their batsmen should feel confident that they can get 260-280 now, and they have the 4 seamers to defend it against anyone.

It would be an absolute traversty if a sub-continent side wins this CWC, but I'm gonna stick my head out and say 2 of them will make the semis at least.
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Well said. I reckon the only teams that are capable of winning the WC without issues are SL, India, Australia and NZ.
 
stefan9 said:
Knockoutsage is what matter. We have been kings of the groupstage is countless world cups and not done anything in knockout stage.

Also reference pakistan 1992, rained save them from going out of the tournament vs england in the groupstages they went on to beat the same england in the final.

Its all about peaking at the right moment.

We do need to address this chasing problem. Or AB needs to win 3 tosses and bat first ;P
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In 1992 Pakistan weren't that great and won, in 1999 Australia weren't that great and won.
There is hope.

AB needs to relax a bit, he seems a bit too stressed to be the captain and it seems to rub off on the team.
He doesn't seem to have much confidence in his team mates.
Maybe Hash should take over there.

I still think Johan Botha should be captain, but anyways...
 
Pegasus said:
In 1992 Pakistan weren't that great and won, in 1999 Australia weren't that great and won.
There is hope.

AB needs to relax a bit, he seems a bit too stressed to be the captain and it seems to rub off on the team.
He doesn't seem to have much confidence in his team mates.
Maybe Hash should take over there.

I still think Johan Botha should be captain, but anyways...
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From what I understand of him he's one of the smartest sportspeople. I think he should trust himself because that seems like the problem, not his lack of confidence in his team-mates (Clarke took Mitch off, AB would'v ekept him on in the same situation, plus he gave tailenders the strike often). He's a little too modest in his personality, so some arrogance will help. I don't think Amla should take over the captaincy. We need him to focus on laying a foundation each time.

Johan Both 'n boer maak 'n plan. Maybe. But he's rather panicky too, and not shy to shout at his team-mates. Sadly our players sensitive. But no doubt he would've been a leader. This side has none. Just look at how much help Angelo Mathews has. Even Kallis would've folded his arms. Generally our players have tended to leave you be. All the more reason why Polly was allowed to burn by himself. No wonder Graeme Smith had to look after himself. Ab has to look after himself too.
 
Pegasus said:
In 1992 Pakistan weren't that great and won, in 1999 Australia weren't that great and won.
There is hope.

AB needs to relax a bit, he seems a bit too stressed to be the captain and it seems to rub off on the team.
He doesn't seem to have much confidence in his team mates.
Maybe Hash should take over there.

I still think Johan Botha should be captain, but anyways...
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Once Botha lost his ****ra he wasn't good enough anymore to make the side on merit. Can't have a captain who can't make the starting 11...
 
stefan9 said:
Once Botha lost his ****ra he wasn't good enough anymore to make the side on merit. Can't have a captain who can't make the starting 11...
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He's doing pretty ok in Australia (Where the world cup is being played.).
 
http://m.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/845301.html
I see a growing army of my Cricinfo "arch-enemies" are increasingly agreeing with me each day. I can't believe those who accused me of malicious reasoning are now insisting that AB bat at 3 and wait for it "he must stop hiding there"
Posted by Cpt.Meanster at March 8, 2015
Forget about Martin Crowe's letter. I am gonna write a letter to you AB. First of all, remove De Kock as an opener. Let Du Plessis open with Amla. Second, play two spinners Phangiso and Tahir in Sydney, Adelaide etc where the Qfs and Semis will be played. Lastly, Don't hide down the order. You must bat at no.3 no matter what and keep Miller after Duminy for insurance. That's it. My letter is done. Good luck for the reminder of the tournament.
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How sad must one's life be to care about the comments section on cricinfo...
 
Two spinners in Sydney? They got clobbered yesterday, whilst good pace bowling like Starc was unplayable.

...and yes AB may havew to move up order if they drop QdK, but not if they had a decent opener doing his job
 
P!ss poor bowling from England, Extras has now scored the same amount of runs as the Bangladesh openers combined!
 
Pegasus said:
He's doing pretty ok in Australia (Where the world cup is being played.).
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Even before he lost his ****ra, the only reason he made it before Petersen was his captaincy ability, but his stats in both bowling and batting department was worse than Petersen (at that time). And I think we can agree that Tahir is better than Petersen, atleast in ODIs he is.

I saw that Botha was playing well in the BBL where he also captained, so maybe he addressed the deficiencies with his bowling action.
 
Bighit said:
Doesn't Botha have a stat of having the best winning record as a captain against Oz?
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What I liked about him was he was willing to make changes during a match when things weren't going his way. As opposed to the other captains who seemed to go into shock
 
MickeyD said:
Extremely highly rated by the Aussies. They cannot fathom why SA ditched him.
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News 24 article from December says it's because he didn't play his cricket here, to which Botha answered that he can't understand why Boks can play overseas; yet still be selected.
 
imranpanji said:
What I liked about him was he was willing to make changes during a match when things weren't going his way. As opposed to the other captains who seemed to go into shock
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I agree with you. I really don't rate AB as a captain, and in the current setup I world rather see Faf as captain. AB goes into his shell when under pressure, and can't innovate. Faf, like Botha, is at least willing to take some risks. AB is also too diplomatic in his captaincy, and feels the need to carry everything on his own shoulders, including the mistakes of the team.
 
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