World Cup review - Part 1 - Australia, Bangladesh, England, India & Ireland

28 years ago, I was rudely woken up by relatives screaming "We have won the World Cup". It is quite likely that Saturday's final between India & Sri Lanka also ended around the same time as that game in 1983. I was well awake this time around!

I can't recall exactly when I started following cricket with a lot of interest, but I definitely recall watching games from the 1985 World Championship of Cricket in Australia keenly. I did watch at least 1 day's play of the India v Pakistan test at Chepauk in 1987 and definitely remember Azhar taking a blinder of a catch. I can't recollect if it was off a spinner (Maninder) or off a medium pacer (Raju Kulkarni), most likely the latter since I didn't bunk school, and the last day of the test was on a Sunday. The 1987 tied test at Chepauk enthralled me. A few months earlier, I had read an account of the final over of the Brisbane tied test. Around the same time that the India v Australia game was coming to an end, with India in a winning position (50-odd runs to get with 5 wickets in hand), I was at my music class, and wondered aloud if a tie was possible. Needless to say, I got thrashed when umpire Vikram Raju's finger went up.

Back to the present though. The final was an excellent exhibition of classy batting by Jayawardene, who I still believe to be over-rated in comparison to Sangakkara, nice partnerships (Sangakkara-Dilshan, Mahela-Samaraweera & Mahela-Kulasekara, Gambhir-Virat & Gambhir-Dhoni) and a fair amount of power-hitting at the end.

Now that the tournament has ended though, teams & individuals need to introspect into whether they have achieved what they set out to.

Australia needs to take a serious look at their approach to grooming spin bowlers. Under Ricky Ponting's captaincy (possibly because of his limitations when it came to playing spin bowling in tests), the only time he used "spin" with some degree of seriousness was when he was washing his clothes. They've never identified any sort of backup options for Shane Warne other than Stuart "watch-me-bowl-a-half-tracker" MacGill. They need to find at least 1 more young batsman to play alongside Watson, Clarke & Ponting. It is rare for Aussie ex-captains to play on for too long after they've quit as captain. While Ponting may play on until the 2013 & 2014 Ashes, it is quite likely that he'd have quit ODI cricket by then.

Bangladesh need to have a rethink about their domestic cricket structure, and ensure that the top 25-30 players get a lot more exposure to cricket against first-class teams from countries that are better than them. It's quite obviouso that the talent is there, but they're not progressing beyond an odd upset every World Cup and getting thrashed by the rest of the stronger sides. Given their proximity to India & the vote that they bring to India's table at the ICC, I can't understand why they don't engage in some quid pro quo for test & ODI tours to India, and for IPL sides to pick their players.

England performed extremely well against the stronger sides, but lost it against the weaker ones (and barely survived against West Indies). This seems to indicate that it isn't a skill problem, but an inability to understand how to play limited overs cricket. Constantly complaining about the schedule doesn't get them anywhere. The Ashes-World Cup schedule was known well in advance, and they had the better part of 3-4 years since the 2007 World Cup to have a squad of 20-odd quality players to pick from. They have the bowling. Anderson, Broad, Ajmal Shahzad, Tremlett & Swann are a pretty handy lineup. But the batting is far too unidimensional with Strauss, Trott, Bell and Collingwood providing at least 2 too many 'bat 30+ overs' batsmen & only Pietersen, Bopara and Morgan providing the flair.

India won despite a bowling attack that was under threat of being smacked around every game, and a fielding unit (barring 2 or 3 players) which was ever willing to help opponents convert 1s into 2s, 2s into 3s, routine saves into 4s, etc. There's absolutely no doubt that they were the best side of the tournament, and they defeated all the top sides barring South Africa (England, perhaps conveniently, don't count). Yet, players like Virat Kohli & Sreesanth need to think about their game, and what they want to achieve. It is bizarre that Kohli, at 22, is unable to adapt his game to a situation where he goes in at #6 with a couple of overs left to go. He has to realize that he may not go in at #4 with 30 overs to go every time! Similarly, Sreesanth needs to realize that this was his 'last chance saloon'. He only had 2 opportunities to prove that he can be an effective #2 or #3 bowler in ODIs, and he fluffed up both times. If his strength is around generating late outswing, why did he pitch it so short on a very flat batting track in the final? Ashwin has most likely become the 2nd choice spinner, and I'd expect that he gets a lot more games over the span of the next 6-10 months to show that he can do a good job.

Ireland had at least 2 opportunities other than the game against England (v Bangladesh & v West Indies) to show that they should be given many more opportunities to compete against good sides, and also that a World Cup was better off with them than without them.

Labels: 2011, 2011 world cup, australia, bangladesh, england, india, ireland, replica, world cup

Thus spake Jagadish @ 3:11 am | Sledge/Read 132 sledge(s)
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2007: The year of the minnows?

For the first time in over five seasons, 2001/02 being the last time this happened, Mumbai will not feature in the semi-final stage of the Ranji Trophy. Saurashtra will join Delhi, Baroda & Uttar Pradesh in the semi-final lineup.

I've always felt that the Ranji Trophy really needed to be fine-tuned to ensure that states didn't have multiple teams representing the region (Baroda, Saurashtra & Gujarat; Vidarbha, Maharashtra & Mumbai; Andhra & Hyderabad) as well as a revamp required to exclude the likes of Services, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Saurashtra, Jammu & Kashmir and Goa purely on the basis of their past performance over the 70+ year history of the Ranji Trophy. So, Saurashtra's success is a surprise to me, and makes me eat humble pie.

Perhaps 2007 is the year of the 'minnow': Saurashtra reaching the semi-final of the Ranji Trophy (who knows, what'd happen next!), Tasmania reached the Pura Cup final, Durham fell short of eventual County Championship winners Sussex by just 4.5 points, Zimbabwe beat Australia at Twenty20 while Ireland & Bangladesh created major upsets at the World Cup.

Labels: australia, bangladesh, baroda, durham, india, ireland, minnows, mumbai, ranji trophy, saurashtra, semi-final, sussex, tasmania, twenty20 world cup, uttar pradesh, zimbabwe

Thus spake Jagadish @ 6:02 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Ireland Wins Again!

Irish cricket continued to make impressive strides when they comprehensively defeated Bangladesh today in Barbados. The Irish were cheered on by thousands of supporters, including a strong contingent of locals. Electing to bat first on a bouncy wicket, the Irish built a competitive total of 243/7. The foundation for the total was laid by openers, William Porterfield and Jeremy Bray, who put on 92 for the first wicket. Man of the match Porterfield made 85. The Irish were aided by dropped catches and missed run out chances by the Bangladeshis who were ragged in the field. Even with the missed chances the Bangladeshis still were able to record 4 run outs as the Irish pressed for twos and quick singles when the boundaries dried up in the middle of the innings. A quick fire 48 off 44 balls by Kevin O'Brien and 30 off 23 by captain Trent Johnston revived the innings at the end and helped Ireland to post the challenging score.

Bangladesh lost wickets early and often in reply as they struggled against the Irish seamers. When Boyd Rankin had Mohammad Ashraful 5th out caught at fine leg, the writing was on the wall as Bangladesh were only on 102. 67 runs later the innings folded on 169 to give Ireland a commanding 74 run win. The Irish bowlers might just be starting a new dance fad called "the funky chicken" as Johnston and now Dave Langford-Smith have been doing the strangest wicket-taking celebratory dance I've ever seen on a cricket pitch. (See a picture of Langford-Smith's dance here)

Of note is that Ireland (on 2 points) now leapfrog Bangladesh in the Super Eights table and are currently in 7th position due to their superior net run rate. Bangladesh, who now has officially been eliminated from semi final consideration, languish at the bottom of the table. The West Indies are tied with Bangladesh and Ireland on 2 points, but still have an outside shot at the semi finals. However, it is also highly possible that the once proud team from the Caribbean could end up fighting Ireland and Bangladesh for that last placed spot in the Super Eights table.

(Cross posted from Rain, No Play)

Labels: 2007 world cup, bangladesh, ireland, world cup

Thus spake Sean @ 3:14 am | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Ruthless Aussies through to Semis




Glen McGrath courtesy of 50ISO100

In the remodeled Kensington Oval in Barbados, the Aussie machine became the first to seal a semi final place with a ruthless demolition of the Irish team. Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss, but instead of opting for batting practice for his team, he sent Ireland in, and it was all over before lunch.

The Irish had no answer for the pace and bounce of Shaun Tait nor for the accuracy and skill of Glenn McGrath. Both finished with 3 wickets a piece as Ireland were reduced to 2 for 3 and then 12 for 4. The wily veteran McGrath proved that he still has some fire in his bowling when he fell Andrew White with a rising delivery that hit the batsman in the helmet. McGrath now leads the World Cup with 18 wickets. Ireland were eventually dismissed for 91 in 30 overs, with some late order batting by John Mooney (23) making the score half decent.

It was then a race to finish off the match before lunch as Mike Hussey, in need of time in the middle, and Adam Gilchrist opened the batting and took the fight to the Irish bowlers. Hussey was more subdued, while Gilchrist (34 off 25) demolished the bowling. When Aussie born Trent Johnston had Gilchrist bowled, he gave a celebratory jig that was the highlight for the Irish bowlers. Andrew Symonds then entered and picked up where Gilchrist left off. A massive six pulled into the new Greenidge and Haynes stand by Hussey finished off the match. The entire match lasted just 42.2 overs.

Australia's final position will be determined by their final two matches: the biggies against Sri Lanka on Monday and New Zealand on Friday. Today South Africa plays New Zealand, another game with semi final implications. A win by New Zealand would seal their place, while a South African victory would go a long way to confirming South Africa's semi final place, and it would also officially eliminate the West Indies.

(Cross posted from Rain, No Play)

Labels: 2007 world cup, australia, ireland, ruthlessness, world cup

Thus spake Sean @ 7:44 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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A headline writer's wet dream

Ireland to move out of Zimbabwe!

A previous one I made up - Windows to be retired!

Labels: headline, ireland, pun, zimbabwe

Thus spake Jagadish @ 6:27 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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SA beats Ireland

There isn't much to report...

SA beats Ireland convincingly, but it does not make up for the 83 run defeat yet, because SA's nett run rate is still -0.3. SA really would've liked to see that run rate at 0 after that game, but credit to the Irish for really bowling well.

When the batsmen went after the bowling, they got out. (See De Villiers, Gibbs and even smith to some regard).

Kallis was clinical, and I was glad to see him unbeaten in the end (which moves him to the batsman with the highest average in this world cup). Prince's 47 was really impressive, and he looks good back in the side. Peterson didn't perform badly against Sri Lanka, and can be somewhat unlucky, but since the test series even Prince has looked an in form man. And he still looks to be one.

Kemp has not impressed so far, and maybe next time they'll leave him out for Peterson, who does add some variety on a pitch that doesn't assist the seamers.

I still say that SA's attack is pretty good on the right wicket, if all goes well on the given day, SA can beat any team (even if they score 434)...

Labels: ireland, kallis, south africa

Thus spake Reenen @ 12:41 pm | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Cultures Clash at Sabina




It was a clash of cultures at Sabina Park on Saturday as a presumably Irish fan mooned a section of the Jamaican crowd in the West Stand. Jamaica is famously anti-homosexuality and the crowd responded by chanting TOK's "Chi Chi Man" song, in which the lyrics call for the death of homosexuals (chi chi man). The man, pictured above, in the light blue shirt, was removed by police officers, possibly for his own safety.

I'm not sure what started the incident, but a loud "NOOOO!" was heard above me in the stands. Turning to look behind, there was this man about ten rows back, bent over with his rear facing the crowd above (thankfully, not in my direction). He then proceeded to expose his rear to the agitated crowd. The band in the stands started playing "Chi chi man" and the crowd joined in in singing the song. Undoubtedly, the man had no idea that the crowd was actually calling for his death as they "called down fire" on him and branded him a homosexual. One line of the song states "Chi chi man fi dead and dat's a fact".

Seemingly energised by the crowd's reaction the man ran up the stands towards them, only to see every male in the vicinity scatter from him. He then ran back down to his original position and threatened to moon them again before a police officer advised him not to do it, presumably for his own safety. The spectacle continued until a senior officer came and had the man removed to the cheers of the crowd. I must hasten to add that the man was not attacked in any way and the crowd seemingly enjoyed the back and forth more than anything else.

Another Irish fan will have to fork over $100,000 Jamaican dollars (or approximately US$1,500) or face 30 days in a Jamaican jail, as he ran on to the field when bad light and rain stopped play. His friends reportedly said that he thought the match was over and came out to celebrate. Hopefully those friends of his will help him pay that fine, or he will certainly leave World Cup 2007 with some bad memories!


(Cross posted from Rain, No Play)

Labels: 2007 world cup, ireland, world cup

Thus spake Sean @ 7:13 am | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Double Shocker!



In probably the most stunning day of cricket in the history of the World Cup, Pakistan crashed out of the World Cup at the hands of associate nation Ireland and favourites India were cut down by unfancied Bangladesh. India are now in serious danger of bowing out in the group stage.

Labels: 2007 world cup, bangladesh, india, ireland, pakistan, world cup

Thus spake Sean @ 6:56 am | Sledge/Read 4 sledge(s)
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Éireann go Bràch!

The minnows at this World Cup have so taken one of two options:

• Capitulate miserably, for (near-)record margins. See Bermuda, Scotland, and the Netherlands.
  
• Fight hard and show more nous and spirit than some would expect, giving themselves a real chance of progressing. See Kenya, Bangladesh, and, most thrillingly, Ireland.

Listening to Ireland beat Pakistan was nerve-wracking beyond belief, and I'm not Irish or Pakistani. Ireland needed one an over, with the field up, and still they didn't score many. But Pakistan gave them crucial runs in extras, which is absolutely unforgivable. There's no doubt that Shoaib and Asif would have ripped Ireland to shreds, had they been drug-free. Their target was almost exactly the same as England's win at Trent Bridge, and this again featured an heroic partnership for the eight wicket, even if it was less than 21.

Ignoring more ties, Ireland can only fail to go through if Zimbabwe don't lose their remaining two matches. Pakistan can only go through if Zimbabwe and Ireland beat West Indies, and they beat Zimbabwe. West Indies should go through as group winners, with Ireland second.

It's been a bad day for other 'foreign' sports in Ireland. The rugby team were very unfortunate to finish second in the Six Nations, and their ex-captain, now a manager, slated the recent football squad selection. Cricket isn't even Ireland's fourth sport. By participation, it falls behind hurling, Gaelic football, rugby union, football, and maybe even hockey. I'm lost for words to describe the scale of this achievement.

By contrast, Bangladesh beating India seems also a normal result. Assuming that the subcontinental teams in that group all thump Bermuda, it could well come down to the games against each other - and possibly even run-rate. One thing's almost certain, though: Asia and Europe will both lose two of their four participants after the group stages, with the other two progressing.

Labels: 2007 world cup, ireland, minnows, pakistan, upset, world cup

Thus spake Geoff @ 4:32 am | Sledge/Read 4 sledge(s)
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Aussie laced Ireland tie with Zimbabwe: A warning signal for Pakistan?

Labels: 2007 world cup, ireland, pakistan, world cup, zimbabwe

Thus spake Unknown @ 2:25 pm | Sledge/Read 1 sledge(s)
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It's a Tie!



In Jamiaca, Irish cricket came of age on the world stage today as Ireland snatched a thrilling tie from Test nation Zimbabwe. In front of rowdy supporters, some of whom dressed as Leprechauns and danced in a congo line as Zimbabwean wickets fell, the Irish lived up to their billing as a "minnow" to watch.

Jeremy Bray carried his bat for a masterful 115n.o that was the backbone of Ireland's 221/9. In reply Zimbabwe looked set for victory at 203/5 in the 44th over before a late clatter of wickets did them in. It was clear, however that the Irish players did not give up, and they fought their way back into the match. With each Zimbabwe wicket, the Irish crowd grew more energetic.

Zimbabwe entered the last over needing 9 to win with only 1 wicket in hand. Stuart Matsikenyeri, who top scored with 73n.o. and number 11 Ed Rainsford got 7 off the first 5 balls leding up to the climatic final delivery. Instead of trying to get a single, Matsikenyeri heaved a mighty blow, missed the ball, and stayed planted at his crease, while Rainsford ran down the pitch and was run out, leaving the scores level. It was the third tie in World Cup history and the result means that a loss by Pakistan against either of these teams will mean that the Pakistanis will be going home.


Big Dwayne Leverock

In Trinidad, Bermuda, despite their mauling today, losing by 243 runs, are becoming fan favourites. Leading the way for them is Dwayne Leverock, the policeman who weighs about 120kg (265 pounds) and it's not all muscle. Despite his girth, he proved to be quite nimble in the field and gave a jig when he took a wicket. The Bermudians took 3 outstanding catches, but dropped too many routine ones as Sri Lanka piled up 321/6. Lasith Malinga with his beach blonde locks, was impressive as he peppered the Bermudians with his 90+ mph deliveries. He wasn't quite as fast as Shaun Tait yesterday who got over 92 mph while Malinga topped out at about 91 mph. Malinga demolished the Bermudian top half with 3/10 as the Bermudians folded for 78.

Incidentally, this match replaces Australia's demolishing of Scotland yesterday as the second largest margin of defeat in a World Cup. Maybe those critics of the minnows being in the World Cup had a point.

Tomorrow will see a big match in St Lucia as New Zealand will battle England, while South Africa will play the Netherlands in St. Kitts.

(Croos Posted from Rain, No Play)

Labels: 2007 world cup, bermuda, ireland, sri lanka, world cup, zimbabwe

Thus spake Sean @ 7:34 am | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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