South Africa ignored our dire warnings and went ahead and included Andre Nel in the team. They will pay for this. Soon. Maybe as soon as the semi-final. Despite the presence of Andre Nel in the bowling line-up, England, taking a leaf out of India's playbook, imploded spectacularly. They made a mind boggling score of 154 and South Africa knocked it off without breaking a sweat.
England's first wicket fell when the score was 9 runs in the 8th over. That's right, 8th over. Whatever one might say about the English performance on the cricket field, one has to admire their stubbornness with sticking to their "plan". What was the "plan"? To bat sedately for 20 overs without losing wickets ("back to the basics" approach) and then accelerate like hell in the last 15 overs.
They got the "bat sedately" part right but the "not losing wickets" and "accelerate in the last 15 overs" parts - not so much. It was a disgrace that Ravi Bopara, who has looked much better then at least 5 of their star players, batted at number 7. Mind you, that was a promotion. He batted at number 8 in the earlier matches. Stupid and highly moronic.
England was one of the dark horses of this tournament back when the world cup started last century. They were coming to the Windies after beating Australia and having won the VB Championship. The team has a good bowling attack, some in-form batsmen (Bell, KP, and Colly), Monty, and Flintoff. It's sad that they couldn't all play well in the same match. Forget about the 'all' part, even if three of their players played well, they would have done well.
Today's performance was truly depressing. We were pumped up for a great tussle between England and SA. What with this game being a virtual quarter-final and on top of that there was this whole sideshow of KP and Smith. This could have been a great match. Unfortunately, only one team showed up for this match and that team was not England.
On the bright side(?), England will play more matches in this world cup than India and Pakistan combined. Furthermore, all cricket lovers have a great cricket match with nothing at stake to look forward to:
England Vs West Indies.
That game is going to rock! Everybody will score centuries and then all the bowlers will take hat-tricks. Mark your calenders. It's the must see match of the tournament. You heard it here first.
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
New Zealand Vs South Africa, Super Eights
We predicted this. Well...not in so many words but we did say this:
The thing about NZ is that they use the limited resources they have very efficiently. Shane Bond is the best fast bowler on the planet right now. This guy is awesome. BCCI should use the money it has to make Shane Bond a citizen of India. India can use him. What we like about Bond is not that he is a great fast bowler but the fact that he is such a nice guy. After beating Kallis every ball in an over, he stood and smiled at Kallis after each ball. The best part was that it was not a mocking smile. It was a smile of a man who felt the batsman's pain. It was a very sympathetic smile. How can one dislike a guy like that?
Anyway, after Bond smiled for 10 overs, he finished with figures of 10 overs 1 maiden, 26 runs and 2 wickets. Great bowling from Bond. NZ bowled very well and contained SA to 193 runs. This total would never trouble the Kiwis. All they had to do was stay at the wicket and they would get the required runs.
Fleming and Styris did just that for the most part and then McMillan took them home. With this win, NZ is in the semi-finals. Not a big deal since they have been in a lot of semi-finals. This world cup, they have a very good chance of making it to the finals. We are rooting for them.
SA on the other hand, now have to play a 'quarter-final' match against England to get to the semi-finals. England have a pretty good chance at winning that game. That would be fantastic. Bad Karma is a bitch.
"...Andre Nel was not dropped despite our recommendation. South Africa is going to pay for that. Soon."SA did not drop Andre Nel for this match and paid the price. Serves them right. They really should have dropped Nel for Langeveldt. Langeveldt is a much better swing bowler and would have liked to bowl on the green top in Grenada.
The thing about NZ is that they use the limited resources they have very efficiently. Shane Bond is the best fast bowler on the planet right now. This guy is awesome. BCCI should use the money it has to make Shane Bond a citizen of India. India can use him. What we like about Bond is not that he is a great fast bowler but the fact that he is such a nice guy. After beating Kallis every ball in an over, he stood and smiled at Kallis after each ball. The best part was that it was not a mocking smile. It was a smile of a man who felt the batsman's pain. It was a very sympathetic smile. How can one dislike a guy like that?
Anyway, after Bond smiled for 10 overs, he finished with figures of 10 overs 1 maiden, 26 runs and 2 wickets. Great bowling from Bond. NZ bowled very well and contained SA to 193 runs. This total would never trouble the Kiwis. All they had to do was stay at the wicket and they would get the required runs.
Fleming and Styris did just that for the most part and then McMillan took them home. With this win, NZ is in the semi-finals. Not a big deal since they have been in a lot of semi-finals. This world cup, they have a very good chance of making it to the finals. We are rooting for them.
SA on the other hand, now have to play a 'quarter-final' match against England to get to the semi-finals. England have a pretty good chance at winning that game. That would be fantastic. Bad Karma is a bitch.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
West Indies Vs South Africa, Super Eights
South Africa kicked West Indies out of the world cup. We have one question for Brian Lara after this defeat: What was the deal with the last powerplay? Why didn't Lara take the third powerplay? Did he forget? was it intentional? or was he hoping that the umpires would forget? Whatever the case might be, the way WI played, they did not deserve to get ahead in this tournament. Their game, barring the game against Pakistan, has been very insipid. The team has been playing very bad cricket. They knew going into this game that this was a make or break game for them. If that doesn't inspire a team to pick it up a notch then the team doesn't deserve to win.
However insipid WI played, AB DeVilliers played an inspired knock and in the process hit his first ODI century. More importantly, from S. African point of view, batted himself into form. In a space of 14 balls, AB scored about 50 runs (when he went from somewhere in his nineties to 144). It was a brilliant batting display and he knocked the stuffing out the West Indian bowling attack. The knock against SA is that they play a very formulaic brand of cricket and that their cricket lacks flairs. But this in this match, SA's batting display was all about flair. It had a very unkallisque like batting from Kallis who hit another half century (81 runs in 86 balls). Seems like all the criticism seems to have gotten under the big man's skin.
There is not much to say about West Indian batting. Chris Gayle flattered to deceive, Lara failed, Chanderpaul failed, Sarwan played the 'Captain on the sinking ship's deck' even though he is not the Captain, and that was that.
The match was over by the time SA's innings ended. A very one-sided match and a boring one too. Andre Nel was not dropped despite our recommendation. South Africa is going to pay for that. Soon.
However insipid WI played, AB DeVilliers played an inspired knock and in the process hit his first ODI century. More importantly, from S. African point of view, batted himself into form. In a space of 14 balls, AB scored about 50 runs (when he went from somewhere in his nineties to 144). It was a brilliant batting display and he knocked the stuffing out the West Indian bowling attack. The knock against SA is that they play a very formulaic brand of cricket and that their cricket lacks flairs. But this in this match, SA's batting display was all about flair. It had a very unkallisque like batting from Kallis who hit another half century (81 runs in 86 balls). Seems like all the criticism seems to have gotten under the big man's skin.
There is not much to say about West Indian batting. Chris Gayle flattered to deceive, Lara failed, Chanderpaul failed, Sarwan played the 'Captain on the sinking ship's deck' even though he is not the Captain, and that was that.
The match was over by the time SA's innings ended. A very one-sided match and a boring one too. Andre Nel was not dropped despite our recommendation. South Africa is going to pay for that. Soon.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Bangladesh Vs South Africa, Super Eights
This was great win for Bangladesh. Much greater than the one against India. We are most happy that Andre Nel, despite a fiver fer, did not win the match for SA. Thank God for small mercies. It was excruciating watching the Bangladesh innings as Nel took wickets at regular intervals. All our pain vanished when Ashraful started to open up. There were three cheeky boundaries where Ashraful, trusting his hand eye coordination, moved across the off stump and glided the fast bowlers past fine leg.
If those boundaries were cheeky, his square drive off Langeveldt was the shot of the match. That was a glorius hit. We envy the high Ashraful must have got when he hit that shot. That was a shot of a man in full control of his batting. He squared up to a fullish ball on the off-stump, opened up the face of the bat and drove the ball beautifully past Point. What a shot. Mortaza pitched in with a great cameo and contributed 25 very useful runs. Ashraful's masterly 87 took Bangladesh to a very respectable total of 251 in 50 overs.
South Africa were completely outplayed. They lost wickets regularly and at no stage looked like they were going to win the match. Rafique and Razzak were brilliant and consistently troubled the batsmen. These guys can teach the dart thrower (Harbhajan) a trick or two.
SA should have won the match. Like the brilliant L.Sivaramakrishnan said: "They need a big partnership". Actually, L. Siva is a very bad commentator and is very irritating (not as much as Ranjit Fernando though) and if he figured it out that to win a cricket match, a big partnership is needed, South Africa must have figured it out too. Or maybe we are giving the Saffies too much credit.
SA didn't get the big partnership they needed to win the match because Andre Nel failed. Andre Nel should take complete responsibility for this loss and retire from cricket. SA was well on its way to victory and were cruising along at 132 for 7 when Nel joined Gibbs at the crease. What was needed was a big partnership to see SA home. What they got was Nel getting out for 1 run. Instead of a "big partnership" SA got a "very small partnership" between Nel and Gibbs (5 runs). That is not acceptable.
Andre Nel can't help himself. He is a bully and will not retire from cricket. Therefore, SA must do the right thing and drop him from the team. Andrew Hall would have given SA the "big partnership" they needed.
We are happy that Bangladesh beat SA. SA is much bigger scalp than India. Now everyone can stop talking about Bd beating India and instead, focus on Bd beating SA.
We are pumped for tomorrow's match between Ravi Bopara and Australia. Should be fun.
If those boundaries were cheeky, his square drive off Langeveldt was the shot of the match. That was a glorius hit. We envy the high Ashraful must have got when he hit that shot. That was a shot of a man in full control of his batting. He squared up to a fullish ball on the off-stump, opened up the face of the bat and drove the ball beautifully past Point. What a shot. Mortaza pitched in with a great cameo and contributed 25 very useful runs. Ashraful's masterly 87 took Bangladesh to a very respectable total of 251 in 50 overs.
South Africa were completely outplayed. They lost wickets regularly and at no stage looked like they were going to win the match. Rafique and Razzak were brilliant and consistently troubled the batsmen. These guys can teach the dart thrower (Harbhajan) a trick or two.
SA should have won the match. Like the brilliant L.Sivaramakrishnan said: "They need a big partnership". Actually, L. Siva is a very bad commentator and is very irritating (not as much as Ranjit Fernando though) and if he figured it out that to win a cricket match, a big partnership is needed, South Africa must have figured it out too. Or maybe we are giving the Saffies too much credit.
SA didn't get the big partnership they needed to win the match because Andre Nel failed. Andre Nel should take complete responsibility for this loss and retire from cricket. SA was well on its way to victory and were cruising along at 132 for 7 when Nel joined Gibbs at the crease. What was needed was a big partnership to see SA home. What they got was Nel getting out for 1 run. Instead of a "big partnership" SA got a "very small partnership" between Nel and Gibbs (5 runs). That is not acceptable.
Andre Nel can't help himself. He is a bully and will not retire from cricket. Therefore, SA must do the right thing and drop him from the team. Andrew Hall would have given SA the "big partnership" they needed.
We are happy that Bangladesh beat SA. SA is much bigger scalp than India. Now everyone can stop talking about Bd beating India and instead, focus on Bd beating SA.
We are pumped for tomorrow's match between Ravi Bopara and Australia. Should be fun.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Ireland Vs South Africa, Super Eights
Well, that was not unexpected. In a rain delayed (again) match, Ireland made 152 in 35 overs but thanks to Messers Duckworth and Lewis, SA had to make 160 in 35 overs to win the match. In the end, SA won easily.
Ireland were outplayed but were not outclassed. They are showing a lot of commitment in all their matches and if they continue to play like they did today, they will not be going home without a win in the Super Eights. In the very important match between Bangladesh and Ireland, the Irish have the edge and have a very good chance of winning. We are very glad that this match is one of the few matches that has been sold out (Pakistan and India were 'supposed' to be playing this match).
Jacques Kallis reminds us of Ravi Shastri in his heyday. He plays the very important role of being the anchor for the team. This angers a lot of fans but is ultimately very important to win matches. Ravi Shastri used to be booed all the time in India for his slow knocks but he used to stick around and do the necessary dirty work to see India home.
Enough about this boring match. We are looking forward to tomorrow's match between England and SL. This is a very important match for both sides. If SL wins this match, they will have 6 points and assuming they win their match against Ireland, will have a total of 8 points. That will book them a semi-final berth.
England have 2 points from beating Ireland. Assuming they beat Bangladesh, they will have 4 points. They need another 4 points to book their semi-final berth and will be playing SL, WI, SA, and Australia for the 4 points. That makes this game an almost must win for the English side.
Hopefully, rain won't play spoilsport tomorrow and we will get to see the whole match.
Ireland were outplayed but were not outclassed. They are showing a lot of commitment in all their matches and if they continue to play like they did today, they will not be going home without a win in the Super Eights. In the very important match between Bangladesh and Ireland, the Irish have the edge and have a very good chance of winning. We are very glad that this match is one of the few matches that has been sold out (Pakistan and India were 'supposed' to be playing this match).
Jacques Kallis reminds us of Ravi Shastri in his heyday. He plays the very important role of being the anchor for the team. This angers a lot of fans but is ultimately very important to win matches. Ravi Shastri used to be booed all the time in India for his slow knocks but he used to stick around and do the necessary dirty work to see India home.
Enough about this boring match. We are looking forward to tomorrow's match between England and SL. This is a very important match for both sides. If SL wins this match, they will have 6 points and assuming they win their match against Ireland, will have a total of 8 points. That will book them a semi-final berth.
England have 2 points from beating Ireland. Assuming they beat Bangladesh, they will have 4 points. They need another 4 points to book their semi-final berth and will be playing SL, WI, SA, and Australia for the 4 points. That makes this game an almost must win for the English side.
Hopefully, rain won't play spoilsport tomorrow and we will get to see the whole match.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
South Africa Vs Sri Lanka, Super Eights
What a match! Unfortunately, we didn't watch a single ball and we weren't even close to a computer to follow the score. From all the reports we have read this was a cracker of a match. Malinga is a freak of nature and would have felt right at home in 19th century when round-arm bowling was all the rage and W.G. Grace was hitting round-arm bowling all over the ground. Malinga would have given the great man a stiff challenge...we think.
Anyway, if you are reading this blog you probably know more about this match then we do. To redress that situation we are watching the match now and might (or might not) have more pithy comments after our viewing.
If you were like us and do not know what you missed, Langeveldt took the first 5 for in this world cup, Malinga took 4 wickets in 4 balls and South Africa won the match by a hair's breadth. Here is the match report and here is the scoreboard.
Having grown up watching batsmen trash bowlers without regard, we love it when bowlers dominate a match. The best match of the world cup so far? we will answer that question after we watch the match.
Update:
It was an engrossing match. The last 5 overs were fantastic. Graeme Smith said that SA were on top for 95 overs of the match. We disagree. SA was on top for about 75 overs of the match.
Anyway, if you are reading this blog you probably know more about this match then we do. To redress that situation we are watching the match now and might (or might not) have more pithy comments after our viewing.
If you were like us and do not know what you missed, Langeveldt took the first 5 for in this world cup, Malinga took 4 wickets in 4 balls and South Africa won the match by a hair's breadth. Here is the match report and here is the scoreboard.
Having grown up watching batsmen trash bowlers without regard, we love it when bowlers dominate a match. The best match of the world cup so far? we will answer that question after we watch the match.
Update:
It was an engrossing match. The last 5 overs were fantastic. Graeme Smith said that SA were on top for 95 overs of the match. We disagree. SA was on top for about 75 overs of the match.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Australia Vs South Africa, Group A
As we write this, Australia is cruising along at 78-0 after 10 overs. South Africa won the toss and put Australia in to bat. Australia is off to the races. Will they hit 500 today? and more importantly, can they defend whatever runs they make.
Nice calling and running between the wickets. Great shot from Gilchrist, but Langeveldt gets his boot on it and saves 4 runs. Gilchrist is pissed with Langy's temerity, so the next ball is deposited over the ground for a huge 6. What a shot. Score now 84-0, 11 overs.
Andrew Hall into the attack now. What a shot!!! Great shot! came down the pitch and blasted the ball through extra covers. Great timing. What a way to get to his fifty. The village idiot playing really well. Nice comeback from Hall.
The Australian running between the wickets is top notch. We have an idea, they should hire Ganguly, who is the BEST runner between the wickets, to help their running get to the next level. Meanwhile, Haydos is going berserk. He just hit a flat six over mid-off. The trick to getting Hayden out is simple: The wicket-keeper needs to ask him math questions. Due to his double digit IQ, math questions are hard for Hayden. He gets confused easily. If the wicket-keeper can irritate Hayden enough, Hayden will get out.
Gilly is gone! Nice catch by Gibbs - easy catch at backward point. Gilly was surprised by the bounce of the slower ball and was not able to keep it down. Australia now 106 for 1 after 15 overs. Monkey boy will walk in. Oh Joy. Monkey boy and the Idiot batting together.
Update 1:
What a shot! 4. Nice shot between cover and mid-off. Hayden is middling everything and when he is not hitting boundaries, he is running sharp singles. Australia don't know what they are missing - they need Ganguly as their running coach. As an act of kindness, maybe we can send Ganguly over - free of cost. We just heard a very important tidbit: Gibbs doesn't like throwing up the ball after he takes a catch. He gets rid of it quickly.
Will South Africa save itself a little bit by getting rid of Ponting quickly? We will see, meanwhile, Hayden hits a boundary over cover. Hayden is batting beautifully. Another nice shot over mid-on. He is in great form. He is on 81 and Australia crusing along at 123-1 after 17 overs.
Update 2:
Holy cow! Hayden could be making the fasest 100 of the world cup. This is terrible news. Where is Ganguly when you need him? We are, of course, rooting against Hayden getting to that hundred. It's bad enough that another aussie form Canada has the record. One dot ball.
Meanwhile, Ponting is rotating the strike. Coward. If you are brave, show us by batting instead of rotating the strike to your in-form partner. Indian batsmen are brave. Spanking shot by Hayden for 4 and then he takes a single. He is on 90 of 59 balls. Australia now 140-1 after 19 overs.
Update 3:
Hayden 91 off 60 balls. 9 runs from 6 deliveries to get to the fastest hundred. WOW!!! Ponting just hit a massive six. What a batsman! what a shot! Now a straight drive over the bowlers head for a 4. Oh boy. He is looking dangerous. Thank God the power plays are over. It's time to stanch the flow of runs.
Hayden 92 of 62 balls. 93 of 63 balls. 94 of 64 balls. This should be interesting: the greatest spinner in the entire galaxy (GSEG) Graeme Smith is on. Can Hayden get to his 100 against the GSEG? Yes, he can! Hayden now 100 of 66 balls. What a shot! great six. Well done Haydos. Nice 100. Fastest 100 in the world cup. So, we lose this small battle too. Never mind. We will prevail in the end. Australia now 166-1 after 23 overs.
Update 4:
Kallis is on now. OUT!!! Hayden gone for 101, great batting. Easy catch to Gibbs. Clarke is in to bat. Fastest 100 in the world cup history. Good batting Hayden, Now keep your mouth shut and we will be fine.
There, we couldn't have said it better. Alec Stewart just gave a 5 minute discourse on why singles are important and why Australians are so good at taking singles. Wish Ganguly could have heard Alec Stewart. Great running between the wickets. Australia now 177-2 after 26 overs.
Update 5:
Nice shot from Ponting. Easy 4. Just chipped it over mid-wicket.
What an effort by the third man. The ball was racing away and Pollock dived to make a great stop.
Not much happening except for a run-out chance, a hard catch, and a inside edge to the boundary. Australia now 203-2 after 31 overs.
Update 6:
Clarke is cutting loose. A boundary followed by a six. The six was very well hit. Hit over between the bowler and mid-off. Nice shot. Australia at 214-2 after 32 overs.
Ntini into the attack. Ponting is scared of him. Coward. Just takes off for a quick single. Clarke is terrified of Ntini. He doesn't want to face him either. He wants a quick single which wasn't on.
AB de Villiers (AB from now on) is a great fielder. Trust us. Clarke going for everything now. Australians have obviously decided to go after Kallis. 2 balls-2 fours. Kallis is very angry and this ofcourse terrifies Clarke who gets off strike by taking a single. Coward. Face him if you have the courage.
Ponting got lucky. Andrew Hall just couldn't reach that ball. Four.
Great shot by Ponting. jumped down the pitch and smacked it for a 4. This brings up his 50. Nice innings. It would have been perfect if he hadn't taken all those singles and still made the 50. Australia 239-2 after 35 overs. Australia on their way to 400 here.
Update 7:
Clarke plunders 10 runs from Langy including 2 fours. Pollock back in to the attack. Clarke is looking to take on Pollock. This will be fun. This is a batsman's paradise. SIX. Clarke gets to his 50 in style. Another six. This time Ponting. Beautiful shot. This man can time the cricket ball. These batsman are making Pollock look like a Nets bowler. Maybe it's time for GSEG to come back into the attack. Change of pace and all that.
Everything going Australia's way so far. 284-2 after 39 overs. What else can go wrong for the Saffies? Gibbs can drop a catch. Get out of here! Gibbs never drops a catch.
Well, he does just that. It's an easy catch too. Clarke lucky to be still batting. 288-2 after 40 overs. 400 is on. If the Saffies can put up a fight, this will be a good match.
Nothing in the pitch for the bowlers. Bowlers like Ntini and Pollock are being treated with contempt and disdain. Sucks.
Update 8:
300 up for Australia in 40.2 overs. Beautiful shot. Square driven for a lovely 4 by Clarke. Monkey boy just lost his bat. He came down the pitch to hit Kallis out of the ground and the bat slipped from his hands. Looked like an idiot running to the non-strikers end. Nearly killed Clarke too.
Clarke is swishing at everything now and so is Ponting. The difference is Ponting's slogs are placed into the gap giving him a boundary while Clarke is smashing balls directly to the fielders. 318-2 after 44 overs.
Clarke hit a great sixer and then Ponting tries to do the same and he is gone. Out! Out for a very well made 91. Great effort. That's what captains are supposed to do. Lead from the front and play great innings. Great batting by Ponting. Australia 341-3 for 46 overs.
Update 9:
Clarke is gone for 92. Runout. All that running finally caught up with him. If he had followed Ganguly's tenet of not running singles he would not be gone without his century. Serves him right! Hussey now in.
While we were talking to a friend, a lot happened (couple of boundaries and some manic running) and then Hussey holed out to deep cover. Australia 357-5 after 48 overs. Saffies have done a decent job in the last few overs.
We shouldn' have said that since Symonds smashed a four. Now, it's Shane Watson's turn. He moves to the off stump and places the ball to deep fine leg for a four. Nice shot. Watson does it again! moves to the off stump and hits the ball this time over mid-wicket. Another 4. Australia 373-5 after 49 overs.
Last over coming up. Nice ball from Andrew Hall. Dot ball. Barry Richards says: Dot ball is like gold. Another dot ball. 3 balls left. Can Shane Watson finish things off in style? no. 2 runs off 4 balls. Last two balls coming up. Symo gets 2. Great running between the wickets. Symo is great. Got him the last ball of the game. Nice ball. Just 4 runs of the last over. Australia 377-6 in 50 overs.
Can the Saffies do it? They have the batting line-up. The question is if anyone can do a Hayden for the Saffies.
Update 10:
Great start from SA. A four and a six in the first over. 10 of the first over. Great shot by AB. Rocked back on the back foot and hit the short ball over mid wicket for a 6.
Tait (of the"I am not at full pace" fame) on now. Fast-around 91 mph. AB on fire. Great on drive. 4 runs. SA now 18-0 after 2 overs.
Things have slowed down a little. But SA taking a lot of singles. Looks like they need Ganguly's help too. When will these teams learn that taking singles is not the answer. Tait is all over the place. He still isn't at full pace though, that might be the problem. SA 30-0 after 4 overs.
What a shot! Smith charges down the wicket and strikes a mighty blow. 4 runs. Tait will be out of the attack soon. He is proving ineffective. My spider sense is tingling that can mean only one thing - we will see McGrath soon. Nice shot again. Smith straight drives Bracken down the ground for another 4. SA 40-0 after 5 overs.
Update 11:
My spider sense was right. McGrath into the attack and is being given a warm welcome by AB. 2 fours from 2 balls. Nice shots. Make that 3 fours in 3 balls. WOW! This is very soothing after India's loss yesterday. 12 runs from the over. SA 52-0 after 6 overs. What a great sight - McGrath is already shaking his head.
Amid the mayhem, Bracken bowls a good, tight over. Just 2 runs of the over. Great come back from McGrath. Just one run from his over. SA 55-0 after 8 overs.
Shane Watson into the attack now. Ponting is moving his bowlers around. Great fielding. Hayden stopped a sure 4. That really pisses off Smith. He swings his bat and gets a 4. 63-0 after 9 overs. Sweet shot. Smith punches McGraths ball straight down. Nothing wrong with the ball just good batting. Another four, this time it is AB who pulls McGrath over square-leg. SA 73-0 after 10 overs.
Ponting takes the second power play. Maybe Ponting shouldn't have. Huge shout for catch behind. Bucknor says no. AB still there. AB hits a 4 to celebrate Bucknor's decision. 79-0 after 11 overs. Ponting misses a run out chance. Did he just drop the world cup? Smith mis hits a pull shot but it still goes to the boundary. Super shot!!! Smith dances down the pitch and smacks it over Watson's head. Watson is getting hammered. AB gets to his 50. Good innings. SA 96-0 after 13 overs.
Update 12:
AB hits another 4. This is a battng paradise. Great commitment from the Australians. They are throwing themselves at everything and great running from the Saffies. Ponting is trying to think. We can spot Ponting trying to think from a mile away - the hand starts pulling on his chin. McGrath is shaking his head. This is lovely. SA 106-0 after 14 overs.
Tait is back into the attack. Even McGrath is thowing himself at the ball. Why can't the Indian team do the same? Hogg is into the attack now. What can he do? Smith sweeps Hogg for a four. Smith's 50 is up with that. Good innings. SA 118-0 after 16 overs.
SA is doing a good job of getting a boundary every over. Great running between the wickets from AB and Smith. They get 2 runs where India would not have attempted a single. SA doesn't get a boundary this over because AB hit a big six. 134-0 after 18 overs.
Symonds into the attack and bowls three good balls. This angers AB who then smacks three fours from the next three balls. AB is on fire. Hogg continuing at the other end. Another pull shot for 4 and then great running between the wickets get SA a brace. Ponting looks worried.
SA 154-0 after 20 overs.
Update 13:
Direct throw from the boundary and AB is run out for a brilliant 92. What a throw!! Shane Watson threw down the stumps from the boundary. Great fielding. Will this change the match? Kallis in. This is a very entertaining match. Ponting takes his third power play in over 23.
Good over from Tait. Just 5 runs from that over. SA 171-1 after 23 overs. Watson bowled a bizzare over: 5 wides and then Gilchrist moved up to the stumps, the next ball hit the cap behing Gilchrist (5 runs). It was good over but it still cost Australia 11 runs. Smith has a case of cramps and AB comes back into the field as Smith's runner. SA 184-1 after 25 overs. Smith walks off the field. SA is in a spot of bother now. Gibbs is in. If he fires, this match is over.
With Smith out of the field this game is slowly meandering. Two new batsmen at the crease. Kallis needs to start opening his shoulders. Good bowling from Tait and an unlucky over from Hogg. SA get to their 200 in the 29th over. Asking rate is climbing up and it's around 8.3. SA needs some boundaries. 203-1 after 29 overs.
Update 14:
Great shot by Kallis. Late cut Hogg to the boundary. Beautiful shot. The game is moving slowly right now. One of the batsmen needs to get going. SA 213-1 after 31 overs. Australia's game to lose at this point.
Gibbs is six and out. Brilliant bowling from Hogg. The wrong 'un does Gibbs in. Hogg on fire. Australia is on top here. Great entertaining match. McGrath, the coward, is bowling to the newly arrived batsman and gets Ashwell Prince. Bowls a slow bouncer and Prince hits straight into Hayden at backward square leg. SA 223-3. SA is missing Smith. They lost momentum after he left the field. Boucher is in.
Australians have really tightened up their bowling. It also doesn't hurt when the best fielders in the world are backing up the bowling. Hope the Indians are watching this game. Not that they would take away anything from this because fielding well is an alien concept for the Indian team. 231-3 after 35 overs. Kallis needs to start hitting. NOW.
Tait cleans up Boucher. Fast in-swinging yorker cleans up Boucher. SA in trouble. Justin Kemp is the new man in and SA is 256-4 after 39 overs.
Update 15:
Great shot from Kallis. In the slot and Kallis does no mistake in putting it away. SA needs 12 runs an over from now on. Tait strikes again. Kemp is gone LBW. Great bowling. Fast and straight. Smith comes back to bat. Australia will be really disappointed if they lose now. Smith is gone. Hogg gets him. Great bowling from Hogg and Tait. SA 267-6 in 41.3 overs.
The SA batting shows no urgency. Kallis is batting like he has all the time in the world. What is going on? Tait is bowling with venom and fire. Has he reached his top speed? Nice bowling. Great yorker. Kallis does well to keep his wicket intact. Another yorker. Great bowling from Tait. Finally, Pollock get Tait away for a boundary. SA 277-6 after 43 overs.
Out!! Kallis gone. Tried to hit Hogg out of the ground and Clarke holds on to an easy catch. This game is over but since it's not India playing we will hang around for the final rites.
Update 16:
Andrew Hall comes in for Kallis. Hogg and Tait have been a revelation. Brilliant bowling from them in the last 8 overs or so.
Watson comes on and cleans up Shaun Pollock. SA is collapsing under the weight of the required run rate. Maiden wicket for Watson. He doesn't deserve that. Hogg or Tait do. SA 279-8 after 45 overs. Another wicket falls. Langeveldt is cleaned up by Bracken. Nice bowling.
Australia wins by 83 runs. SA all out for 294. Great effort. Nathan Bracken cleans up Ntini with another yorker.
Final Thoughts:
The delight on Ponting's face as SA's last wicket fell made him seem almost human. Australia won emphatically over SA. Australia was the better team in this match and outclassed SA.
SA started well in response to the target set by Australia. Hayden set up the total with the fastest century ever made in a world cup. Hayden was fantastic but this was not the greatest ODI knock ever, like the commentators seemed to suggest. South Africa's reply stuttered with the loss of AB de Villiers (run out to some fantastic fielding and throwing). Smith was great too but had to leave the field at a critical phase (cramps) of the game.
Australia availed themselves of the opportunity given by SA and applied pressure with some tight bowling and fantastic fielding. Hogg and Tait bowled brilliantly. Australia is looking good for a third championship.
SA's lack of bowling options hurt them. They don't have a quality spin bowler to bother anyone and their bowling attack has no variation. SA can beat any team except Australia.
At this point in time, SL and New Zealand are the only teams that can beat Australia and we will be rooting for them actively.
A very entertaining match with some great batting. No help for the bowlers though even though the Australian bowlers did a lot better than the South African bowlers.
Nice calling and running between the wickets. Great shot from Gilchrist, but Langeveldt gets his boot on it and saves 4 runs. Gilchrist is pissed with Langy's temerity, so the next ball is deposited over the ground for a huge 6. What a shot. Score now 84-0, 11 overs.
Andrew Hall into the attack now. What a shot!!! Great shot! came down the pitch and blasted the ball through extra covers. Great timing. What a way to get to his fifty. The village idiot playing really well. Nice comeback from Hall.
The Australian running between the wickets is top notch. We have an idea, they should hire Ganguly, who is the BEST runner between the wickets, to help their running get to the next level. Meanwhile, Haydos is going berserk. He just hit a flat six over mid-off. The trick to getting Hayden out is simple: The wicket-keeper needs to ask him math questions. Due to his double digit IQ, math questions are hard for Hayden. He gets confused easily. If the wicket-keeper can irritate Hayden enough, Hayden will get out.
Gilly is gone! Nice catch by Gibbs - easy catch at backward point. Gilly was surprised by the bounce of the slower ball and was not able to keep it down. Australia now 106 for 1 after 15 overs. Monkey boy will walk in. Oh Joy. Monkey boy and the Idiot batting together.
Update 1:
What a shot! 4. Nice shot between cover and mid-off. Hayden is middling everything and when he is not hitting boundaries, he is running sharp singles. Australia don't know what they are missing - they need Ganguly as their running coach. As an act of kindness, maybe we can send Ganguly over - free of cost. We just heard a very important tidbit: Gibbs doesn't like throwing up the ball after he takes a catch. He gets rid of it quickly.
Will South Africa save itself a little bit by getting rid of Ponting quickly? We will see, meanwhile, Hayden hits a boundary over cover. Hayden is batting beautifully. Another nice shot over mid-on. He is in great form. He is on 81 and Australia crusing along at 123-1 after 17 overs.
Update 2:
Holy cow! Hayden could be making the fasest 100 of the world cup. This is terrible news. Where is Ganguly when you need him? We are, of course, rooting against Hayden getting to that hundred. It's bad enough that another aussie form Canada has the record. One dot ball.
Meanwhile, Ponting is rotating the strike. Coward. If you are brave, show us by batting instead of rotating the strike to your in-form partner. Indian batsmen are brave. Spanking shot by Hayden for 4 and then he takes a single. He is on 90 of 59 balls. Australia now 140-1 after 19 overs.
Update 3:
Hayden 91 off 60 balls. 9 runs from 6 deliveries to get to the fastest hundred. WOW!!! Ponting just hit a massive six. What a batsman! what a shot! Now a straight drive over the bowlers head for a 4. Oh boy. He is looking dangerous. Thank God the power plays are over. It's time to stanch the flow of runs.
Hayden 92 of 62 balls. 93 of 63 balls. 94 of 64 balls. This should be interesting: the greatest spinner in the entire galaxy (GSEG) Graeme Smith is on. Can Hayden get to his 100 against the GSEG? Yes, he can! Hayden now 100 of 66 balls. What a shot! great six. Well done Haydos. Nice 100. Fastest 100 in the world cup. So, we lose this small battle too. Never mind. We will prevail in the end. Australia now 166-1 after 23 overs.
Update 4:
Kallis is on now. OUT!!! Hayden gone for 101, great batting. Easy catch to Gibbs. Clarke is in to bat. Fastest 100 in the world cup history. Good batting Hayden, Now keep your mouth shut and we will be fine.
There, we couldn't have said it better. Alec Stewart just gave a 5 minute discourse on why singles are important and why Australians are so good at taking singles. Wish Ganguly could have heard Alec Stewart. Great running between the wickets. Australia now 177-2 after 26 overs.
Update 5:
Nice shot from Ponting. Easy 4. Just chipped it over mid-wicket.
What an effort by the third man. The ball was racing away and Pollock dived to make a great stop.
Not much happening except for a run-out chance, a hard catch, and a inside edge to the boundary. Australia now 203-2 after 31 overs.
Update 6:
Clarke is cutting loose. A boundary followed by a six. The six was very well hit. Hit over between the bowler and mid-off. Nice shot. Australia at 214-2 after 32 overs.
Ntini into the attack. Ponting is scared of him. Coward. Just takes off for a quick single. Clarke is terrified of Ntini. He doesn't want to face him either. He wants a quick single which wasn't on.
AB de Villiers (AB from now on) is a great fielder. Trust us. Clarke going for everything now. Australians have obviously decided to go after Kallis. 2 balls-2 fours. Kallis is very angry and this ofcourse terrifies Clarke who gets off strike by taking a single. Coward. Face him if you have the courage.
Ponting got lucky. Andrew Hall just couldn't reach that ball. Four.
Great shot by Ponting. jumped down the pitch and smacked it for a 4. This brings up his 50. Nice innings. It would have been perfect if he hadn't taken all those singles and still made the 50. Australia 239-2 after 35 overs. Australia on their way to 400 here.
Update 7:
Clarke plunders 10 runs from Langy including 2 fours. Pollock back in to the attack. Clarke is looking to take on Pollock. This will be fun. This is a batsman's paradise. SIX. Clarke gets to his 50 in style. Another six. This time Ponting. Beautiful shot. This man can time the cricket ball. These batsman are making Pollock look like a Nets bowler. Maybe it's time for GSEG to come back into the attack. Change of pace and all that.
Everything going Australia's way so far. 284-2 after 39 overs. What else can go wrong for the Saffies? Gibbs can drop a catch. Get out of here! Gibbs never drops a catch.
Well, he does just that. It's an easy catch too. Clarke lucky to be still batting. 288-2 after 40 overs. 400 is on. If the Saffies can put up a fight, this will be a good match.
Nothing in the pitch for the bowlers. Bowlers like Ntini and Pollock are being treated with contempt and disdain. Sucks.
Update 8:
300 up for Australia in 40.2 overs. Beautiful shot. Square driven for a lovely 4 by Clarke. Monkey boy just lost his bat. He came down the pitch to hit Kallis out of the ground and the bat slipped from his hands. Looked like an idiot running to the non-strikers end. Nearly killed Clarke too.
Clarke is swishing at everything now and so is Ponting. The difference is Ponting's slogs are placed into the gap giving him a boundary while Clarke is smashing balls directly to the fielders. 318-2 after 44 overs.
Clarke hit a great sixer and then Ponting tries to do the same and he is gone. Out! Out for a very well made 91. Great effort. That's what captains are supposed to do. Lead from the front and play great innings. Great batting by Ponting. Australia 341-3 for 46 overs.
Update 9:
Clarke is gone for 92. Runout. All that running finally caught up with him. If he had followed Ganguly's tenet of not running singles he would not be gone without his century. Serves him right! Hussey now in.
While we were talking to a friend, a lot happened (couple of boundaries and some manic running) and then Hussey holed out to deep cover. Australia 357-5 after 48 overs. Saffies have done a decent job in the last few overs.
We shouldn' have said that since Symonds smashed a four. Now, it's Shane Watson's turn. He moves to the off stump and places the ball to deep fine leg for a four. Nice shot. Watson does it again! moves to the off stump and hits the ball this time over mid-wicket. Another 4. Australia 373-5 after 49 overs.
Last over coming up. Nice ball from Andrew Hall. Dot ball. Barry Richards says: Dot ball is like gold. Another dot ball. 3 balls left. Can Shane Watson finish things off in style? no. 2 runs off 4 balls. Last two balls coming up. Symo gets 2. Great running between the wickets. Symo is great. Got him the last ball of the game. Nice ball. Just 4 runs of the last over. Australia 377-6 in 50 overs.
Can the Saffies do it? They have the batting line-up. The question is if anyone can do a Hayden for the Saffies.
Update 10:
Great start from SA. A four and a six in the first over. 10 of the first over. Great shot by AB. Rocked back on the back foot and hit the short ball over mid wicket for a 6.
Tait (of the"I am not at full pace" fame) on now. Fast-around 91 mph. AB on fire. Great on drive. 4 runs. SA now 18-0 after 2 overs.
Things have slowed down a little. But SA taking a lot of singles. Looks like they need Ganguly's help too. When will these teams learn that taking singles is not the answer. Tait is all over the place. He still isn't at full pace though, that might be the problem. SA 30-0 after 4 overs.
What a shot! Smith charges down the wicket and strikes a mighty blow. 4 runs. Tait will be out of the attack soon. He is proving ineffective. My spider sense is tingling that can mean only one thing - we will see McGrath soon. Nice shot again. Smith straight drives Bracken down the ground for another 4. SA 40-0 after 5 overs.
Update 11:
My spider sense was right. McGrath into the attack and is being given a warm welcome by AB. 2 fours from 2 balls. Nice shots. Make that 3 fours in 3 balls. WOW! This is very soothing after India's loss yesterday. 12 runs from the over. SA 52-0 after 6 overs. What a great sight - McGrath is already shaking his head.
Amid the mayhem, Bracken bowls a good, tight over. Just 2 runs of the over. Great come back from McGrath. Just one run from his over. SA 55-0 after 8 overs.
Shane Watson into the attack now. Ponting is moving his bowlers around. Great fielding. Hayden stopped a sure 4. That really pisses off Smith. He swings his bat and gets a 4. 63-0 after 9 overs. Sweet shot. Smith punches McGraths ball straight down. Nothing wrong with the ball just good batting. Another four, this time it is AB who pulls McGrath over square-leg. SA 73-0 after 10 overs.
Ponting takes the second power play. Maybe Ponting shouldn't have. Huge shout for catch behind. Bucknor says no. AB still there. AB hits a 4 to celebrate Bucknor's decision. 79-0 after 11 overs. Ponting misses a run out chance. Did he just drop the world cup? Smith mis hits a pull shot but it still goes to the boundary. Super shot!!! Smith dances down the pitch and smacks it over Watson's head. Watson is getting hammered. AB gets to his 50. Good innings. SA 96-0 after 13 overs.
Update 12:
AB hits another 4. This is a battng paradise. Great commitment from the Australians. They are throwing themselves at everything and great running from the Saffies. Ponting is trying to think. We can spot Ponting trying to think from a mile away - the hand starts pulling on his chin. McGrath is shaking his head. This is lovely. SA 106-0 after 14 overs.
Tait is back into the attack. Even McGrath is thowing himself at the ball. Why can't the Indian team do the same? Hogg is into the attack now. What can he do? Smith sweeps Hogg for a four. Smith's 50 is up with that. Good innings. SA 118-0 after 16 overs.
SA is doing a good job of getting a boundary every over. Great running between the wickets from AB and Smith. They get 2 runs where India would not have attempted a single. SA doesn't get a boundary this over because AB hit a big six. 134-0 after 18 overs.
Symonds into the attack and bowls three good balls. This angers AB who then smacks three fours from the next three balls. AB is on fire. Hogg continuing at the other end. Another pull shot for 4 and then great running between the wickets get SA a brace. Ponting looks worried.
SA 154-0 after 20 overs.
Update 13:
Direct throw from the boundary and AB is run out for a brilliant 92. What a throw!! Shane Watson threw down the stumps from the boundary. Great fielding. Will this change the match? Kallis in. This is a very entertaining match. Ponting takes his third power play in over 23.
Good over from Tait. Just 5 runs from that over. SA 171-1 after 23 overs. Watson bowled a bizzare over: 5 wides and then Gilchrist moved up to the stumps, the next ball hit the cap behing Gilchrist (5 runs). It was good over but it still cost Australia 11 runs. Smith has a case of cramps and AB comes back into the field as Smith's runner. SA 184-1 after 25 overs. Smith walks off the field. SA is in a spot of bother now. Gibbs is in. If he fires, this match is over.
With Smith out of the field this game is slowly meandering. Two new batsmen at the crease. Kallis needs to start opening his shoulders. Good bowling from Tait and an unlucky over from Hogg. SA get to their 200 in the 29th over. Asking rate is climbing up and it's around 8.3. SA needs some boundaries. 203-1 after 29 overs.
Update 14:
Great shot by Kallis. Late cut Hogg to the boundary. Beautiful shot. The game is moving slowly right now. One of the batsmen needs to get going. SA 213-1 after 31 overs. Australia's game to lose at this point.
Gibbs is six and out. Brilliant bowling from Hogg. The wrong 'un does Gibbs in. Hogg on fire. Australia is on top here. Great entertaining match. McGrath, the coward, is bowling to the newly arrived batsman and gets Ashwell Prince. Bowls a slow bouncer and Prince hits straight into Hayden at backward square leg. SA 223-3. SA is missing Smith. They lost momentum after he left the field. Boucher is in.
Australians have really tightened up their bowling. It also doesn't hurt when the best fielders in the world are backing up the bowling. Hope the Indians are watching this game. Not that they would take away anything from this because fielding well is an alien concept for the Indian team. 231-3 after 35 overs. Kallis needs to start hitting. NOW.
Tait cleans up Boucher. Fast in-swinging yorker cleans up Boucher. SA in trouble. Justin Kemp is the new man in and SA is 256-4 after 39 overs.
Update 15:
Great shot from Kallis. In the slot and Kallis does no mistake in putting it away. SA needs 12 runs an over from now on. Tait strikes again. Kemp is gone LBW. Great bowling. Fast and straight. Smith comes back to bat. Australia will be really disappointed if they lose now. Smith is gone. Hogg gets him. Great bowling from Hogg and Tait. SA 267-6 in 41.3 overs.
The SA batting shows no urgency. Kallis is batting like he has all the time in the world. What is going on? Tait is bowling with venom and fire. Has he reached his top speed? Nice bowling. Great yorker. Kallis does well to keep his wicket intact. Another yorker. Great bowling from Tait. Finally, Pollock get Tait away for a boundary. SA 277-6 after 43 overs.
Out!! Kallis gone. Tried to hit Hogg out of the ground and Clarke holds on to an easy catch. This game is over but since it's not India playing we will hang around for the final rites.
Update 16:
Andrew Hall comes in for Kallis. Hogg and Tait have been a revelation. Brilliant bowling from them in the last 8 overs or so.
Watson comes on and cleans up Shaun Pollock. SA is collapsing under the weight of the required run rate. Maiden wicket for Watson. He doesn't deserve that. Hogg or Tait do. SA 279-8 after 45 overs. Another wicket falls. Langeveldt is cleaned up by Bracken. Nice bowling.
Australia wins by 83 runs. SA all out for 294. Great effort. Nathan Bracken cleans up Ntini with another yorker.
Final Thoughts:
The delight on Ponting's face as SA's last wicket fell made him seem almost human. Australia won emphatically over SA. Australia was the better team in this match and outclassed SA.
SA started well in response to the target set by Australia. Hayden set up the total with the fastest century ever made in a world cup. Hayden was fantastic but this was not the greatest ODI knock ever, like the commentators seemed to suggest. South Africa's reply stuttered with the loss of AB de Villiers (run out to some fantastic fielding and throwing). Smith was great too but had to leave the field at a critical phase (cramps) of the game.
Australia availed themselves of the opportunity given by SA and applied pressure with some tight bowling and fantastic fielding. Hogg and Tait bowled brilliantly. Australia is looking good for a third championship.
SA's lack of bowling options hurt them. They don't have a quality spin bowler to bother anyone and their bowling attack has no variation. SA can beat any team except Australia.
At this point in time, SL and New Zealand are the only teams that can beat Australia and we will be rooting for them actively.
A very entertaining match with some great batting. No help for the bowlers though even though the Australian bowlers did a lot better than the South African bowlers.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Netherlands Vs Scotland, Group A
Netherlands upset Scotland in their last match of this world cup. Scotland was considered the favorite by no less personage than Graeme Smith. On an aside, if South Africa loses to Australia it will be Graeme Smith's fault. Why? Because he was predicting winners in a match he shouldn't have been concerned with instead of focusing on straightening out Andre Nel.
Thanks to Graeme Smith, Netherlands was motivated and played with an intent to prove the greatest spinner in the world, Graeme Smith, wrong. Couple of noteworthy things:
1. The captain of the Netherlands, Luuk van Troost, dropped himself. We kid you not. He dropped himself because he was not performing well. What a guy! The force is strong with Luuk. His midichlorian count must be off the charts. On an another aside, where the hell did Lucas come up with this "midichlorian" crap? The "Force" was so much cooler till Lucas started explaining it.
2. South Africa beat Scotland by 7 wickets while Netherlands beat Scotland by 8 wickets. Eat that, Andre Nel.
Thanks to Graeme Smith, Netherlands was motivated and played with an intent to prove the greatest spinner in the world, Graeme Smith, wrong. Couple of noteworthy things:
1. The captain of the Netherlands, Luuk van Troost, dropped himself. We kid you not. He dropped himself because he was not performing well. What a guy! The force is strong with Luuk. His midichlorian count must be off the charts. On an another aside, where the hell did Lucas come up with this "midichlorian" crap? The "Force" was so much cooler till Lucas started explaining it.
2. South Africa beat Scotland by 7 wickets while Netherlands beat Scotland by 8 wickets. Eat that, Andre Nel.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Scotland Vs South Africa, Group A
South Africa beat Scotland in its Group A match. It has to rankle the South Africans that they could not bowl out Scotland. We think that there is something to all that talk about "uni dimensional" bowling. When Graeme Smith is the main spin option for a team, they have to be worried.
The main thing for the South Africans is that AB de Villiers had a good stint at the batting crease. Now, all their main batsmen have spent some time in the middle and are among the runs. Good for them. We don't want to root for South Africa mainly because we can't stand Andre Nel. In case somebody is wondering why we don't like Andre Nel it's because he is a drama queen.
For the greater good of humanity we are putting aside our personal dislikes. We will be rooting for the South Africans to kick the stuffing out of the Evil Empire and bring peace to the cricketing fraternity. Er...just win the damn match against Australia, okay?
The main thing for the South Africans is that AB de Villiers had a good stint at the batting crease. Now, all their main batsmen have spent some time in the middle and are among the runs. Good for them. We don't want to root for South Africa mainly because we can't stand Andre Nel. In case somebody is wondering why we don't like Andre Nel it's because he is a drama queen.
For the greater good of humanity we are putting aside our personal dislikes. We will be rooting for the South Africans to kick the stuffing out of the Evil Empire and bring peace to the cricketing fraternity. Er...just win the damn match against Australia, okay?
Friday, March 16, 2007
Netherlands Vs South Africa, Group A
Six sixers in an over. We were planning on spending a lot of time on that but somehow we don't feel the urge to say anything about it. It is a great achievement, but...
This world cup, in its early days, has already served up several delights: The tied ODI, six sixers, fastest 50 in the world cup and who knows what else might happen before we are all done with the minnows. Any guesses?
Anyway, the South Africans destroyed Netherlands. After the carnage was over, Netherlands had to come out to bat. They probably would have liked to curl up and rock themselves to sleep. How is this good for Netherlands? What have they learned from this game other than to stay out of Herschelle Gibbs way? Now these poor sods have to play Australia.
This world cup, in its early days, has already served up several delights: The tied ODI, six sixers, fastest 50 in the world cup and who knows what else might happen before we are all done with the minnows. Any guesses?
Anyway, the South Africans destroyed Netherlands. After the carnage was over, Netherlands had to come out to bat. They probably would have liked to curl up and rock themselves to sleep. How is this good for Netherlands? What have they learned from this game other than to stay out of Herschelle Gibbs way? Now these poor sods have to play Australia.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Other Warm-Up Matches
Australia spanked England
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka
Pakistan beat South Africa
Some Observations:
We don't think that Australia solved its bowling problems. Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson went for a lot of runs. Hogg did manage to bowl well but we don't think he is going to be this consistent in all the games. Stuart Clark bowled himself into the playing eleven and McGrath was steady. The best bowler in the side seems to be Shaun Tait. It will be interesting to see what the Australians will do with Shane Watson.
Panesar bowled exceedingly well but we don't think he is going to see much action in the world cup. Jamie Dalrymple, though a mediocre spinner, will be in the playing eleven because of his batting. England needs some help in the lower order. They have the same problem as Australia - being too top-heavy.
Though Sri Lanka lost, they shouldn't be worrying too much. Their only concern should be Mahela Jayawardene's batting form. With Malinga, Vaas, and Murali, they have a well-rounded bowling attack and can hope to do well in all conditions?
Pakistan looked very good. We are very afraid of Pakistan - especially when everyone discounts it. The way pitches have been playing, spin is going to be a major factor and Pakistan has good spin bowling options. Revamping their batting order might be the best thing they did for the world cup. Younis, Yousuf, and Inzi get the most time in the middle and they still have Shoab Malik and Afridi to shepherd the tail.
South Africa did not look good. Looks like they are struggling on slow and low pitches. Their lack of a good spinner might haunt them throughout the tournament. Their bowling attack is good enough to win against most teams but not Australia.
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka
Pakistan beat South Africa
Some Observations:
We don't think that Australia solved its bowling problems. Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson went for a lot of runs. Hogg did manage to bowl well but we don't think he is going to be this consistent in all the games. Stuart Clark bowled himself into the playing eleven and McGrath was steady. The best bowler in the side seems to be Shaun Tait. It will be interesting to see what the Australians will do with Shane Watson.
Panesar bowled exceedingly well but we don't think he is going to see much action in the world cup. Jamie Dalrymple, though a mediocre spinner, will be in the playing eleven because of his batting. England needs some help in the lower order. They have the same problem as Australia - being too top-heavy.
Though Sri Lanka lost, they shouldn't be worrying too much. Their only concern should be Mahela Jayawardene's batting form. With Malinga, Vaas, and Murali, they have a well-rounded bowling attack and can hope to do well in all conditions?
Pakistan looked very good. We are very afraid of Pakistan - especially when everyone discounts it. The way pitches have been playing, spin is going to be a major factor and Pakistan has good spin bowling options. Revamping their batting order might be the best thing they did for the world cup. Younis, Yousuf, and Inzi get the most time in the middle and they still have Shoab Malik and Afridi to shepherd the tail.
South Africa did not look good. Looks like they are struggling on slow and low pitches. Their lack of a good spinner might haunt them throughout the tournament. Their bowling attack is good enough to win against most teams but not Australia.
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