Sporting An Opinion

Two years ago, Bangladesh shocked the world by beating Australia in an ODI. Today, they would be hoping for a similar performance but Australia on current form is the runaway favourite! There are conflicting signals coming from both camps with Ponting dismissing any lack of focus or intensity while Bangla captain Habibul Bashar says that the Bangladeshi gameplan is not dependent on Australia! Strange as that sounds, it may be best for Bangladesh to play their own game!

The Bangladesh team has shown some good batting prowess in the tournament so far and they need to be clear about their plan. Bat first or second, they cannot afford to lose early wickets. At the same time, they also cannot afford to let the Australian bowlers get on top and contain the scoring rate for the pressure created by this would only lead to wickets and eventual annihilation!

Australia at the moment are looking and playing the part of being world champions and Bangladesh is perhaps too small to stand up to them. Heck, even South Africa couldn’t manage that! So long as Australia doesn’t play suicidal, they should win on a canter. But then again, Bangladesh has beaten India and is in the Super Eight at their cost. This could also be a good opportunity for Australia to give some of the other members in the squad a chance. Mike Hussey could use the opportunity to come higher up the order and get a chance to face some more bowling. Andrew Symonds could also use the opportunity to spend some more time in the middle with the bat.

Can Bangladesh even stem the flow of records? In the last six matches, Australia has scored in excess of 300 every time they have batted. If they bat first again, 350-400 is possible. Chasing that down would be nigh impossible for Bangladesh. Their bowling does have some teeth, but not enough to cut through the strong Aussie batting. Masrafe Mortaza would be their best bet for a good start and they do have a couple of handy spinners to make good of a start.

What is Bangladesh’s best result? A win of course, but if they lose (which they most likely will), a margin of under 50 would do them great deal of good. Even South Africa could not bring down the margin of loss to under 50!

England versus Ireland may enthuse supporters of Rugby or even football, but in cricket, on paper anyway, it seems like a huge mismatch. England the powerhouse; Ireland the minnows who are lucky to be here…

Had things in the first round gone somewhat to plan, it would have been Pakistan playing England instead of Ireland. And England may well be relieved about not having to play the Asian powerhouse. But they cannot take the game lightly. They have made the Super Eight without any points having lost to New Zealand and need to beat South Africa, West Indies, Sri Lanka or Australia. Not easy and they would do well to take two points and up their run rate as much as possible against Ireland and Bangladesh.

For Ireland, this has been an incredible ride. A win over Pakistan and a tie against Zimbabwe means that they have truly earned their place. But they would also do well to ‘know’ their place. Without trying to be demeaning, Ireland are the whipping boys for the six big teams. By that, they should not roll over and play dead and an upset today could well mean goodbye for England. But a repeat of their performance against Pakistan may not be that easy to do.

England’s main problems lie in their batting. So far, only Collingwood and Pietersen have shown any signs of having adapted to the conditions and pressures of the tournament. They need Flintoff and one of the top three (Vaughan, Joyce and Bell) to score consistently and at least bat around Pietersen and Collingwood to ensure that they put up competitive scores.

On the bowling front, things have been marginally better, but once again, there is too much pressure on a couple of guys. Flintoff is almost expected to pick a wicket with every ball as is Monty Panesar. Liam Plunkett has shown glimpses of what he can do but others including Jimmy Anderson need to put up their hand and fast. What are they chances England is missing Steve Harmison?

It’s not a must win game for England from a survival point of view, but it’s a must win game from an advancement point of view. The difference is subtle and England needs to appreciate that quickly. A loss will not knock them out and a win won’t get them through. But one result will push them closer to elimination while the other, closer to qualification for the semi-final.

Stephen Fleming must be thinking when he will catch his lucky break. If the bowlers are the usual suspects for injuries, this time, it’s his batsmen that have let him down! But not without some help from the bowlers. Shane Bond broke Lou Vincent’s hand and Ross Taylor’s hamstring has been pulled. Vincent must be an especially bitter loss after he had fought his way back into form with a century.

Despite that, however, New Zealand has a decent enough side to challenge the West Indies on their home turf. That the Windies would be playing for the third day running won’t help the home team, but New Zealand are not complaining! With two guaranteed wins against Ireland and Bangladesh up for grabs, they just need to ensure they win a game against West Indies and maybe their bunny team Australia! The semi-final spot is theirs for the taking!

The West Indies need a bolt of lightning from the blue to lift their chances. They were fairly lucky to make it to this stage with two points but still need to win a few to make it further. Their lacklustre performances so far are hardly confidence-arousing and could well continue if Lara spends more time commenting on the crowd support rather than focusing on what ails his players. And what ails them is completely mental.

If playing at home cannot ensure them wins, the Windies really don’t deserve to go any further. Winning a tournament at home has always been tough but getting to the semis has been easier (England and South Africa being the exceptions!).

Over-simplifying the West Indies problems, all they need to do is field better, bowl better and bat better. Of course, everyone knows that but it’s still not happening, is it? The batsmen seem to dislike the sun for they are always in a hurry to return to the comfort of the dressing room.

Jokes apart, though, if the Windies can beat the New Zealanders today, it would be just the shot the Super Eights needs. Else, the semi-finalists may just be decided before the last few games are played.

The West Indies have to back themselves to score the 323 runs since the reserve day would now be used and they will also get similar conditions to bat in. The bowling may be better than their own but the real difference will be whether anyone can play a really big innings like Hayden did.

In the second Super Eight match, Sri Lanka plays South Africa and the South Africans would be desperate to win today since they have no points to their credit at the start of the Super Eight having lost to Australia in their last match. Sri Lanka, on the other hand are upbeat after their win over India and will be a tough team to beat. Picking a winner in this one would be rather tough, but one would have to say Sri Lanka thanks to the match winners like Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya in their ranks.

South Africa has played well, but the bowling is one-dimensional at best and if Ntini fails to take early wickets, there is a chance the opposition could just run away to a huge score like Australia did. And a batting line-up like Sri Lanka just needs to ensure there are no early wickets lost.

South Africa will seem favourites on paper, but the Sri Lankan juggernaut looks good enough to roll on all the way. Sangakkara may have missed out in the last match, but he is good enough to recover quickly.

For South Africa, it’s important that Gibbs and Kallis return to form as quickly as possible. Smith can’t continue to keep the batting going on his own for too long. Kallis has shown glimpses of what he can do but against the big boys, it will be even more important that he performs.

An exciting match on the cards as will all matches coming up. Let’s hope the weather can stay clear.

Australia takes on the West Indies today in the opening Super Eight fixture and the World Cup is truly underway now. Brian Lara is keyed up for his team’s key clash against the reigning champions and today’s performance from the Aussies will be the first indicator whether they still have the fire to complete their hat-trick.

The Aussie tactics over the years have been clear and they are known to target the main player of the opposition. But Brian Lara is not one to be disturbed by such announcements. He has seen it all in his 15-plus years of playing international cricket. “It is the thing that actually drives me - that the opposition is going to come after the so called key player,” said Lara referring to the Australian tactics.

Today’s match should be an interesting one since the Australian bowling and West Indian batting are both slightly under par! Australia is relying heavily on Glenn McGrath and Nathan Bracken and hoping others play their part while the West Indian batting depends on Lara, Chanderpaul and Gayle. Two of the three are out of form at last count!

Writing off the Windies, though, would be foolish. They are a determined and talented bunch and have recovered from a hiding at the hands of India in the warm-up game. And now, having seen India crumble out after that performance would have given them even greater confidence.

Australia has so far looked the part of being the World Champion. They have won all their matches convincingly and barring a spectacular loss of form, should win easily. For today’s match, though, they may need to start slightly circumspect considering the opposition is neither Scotland now Holland! It didn’t matter really even when the opposition was South Africa!

Ricky Ponting has begun the mental games in all earnest but Brian Lara is not biting yet. What the team strategies would be will depend largely on the pitch conditions but one does expect the West Indies to bowl first and make any use of the morning conditions possible.

After two weeks of lead-up, this is the real thing. Four weeks to go for a (new?) world champion to be crowned.

The first two weeks of the World Cup were expected to be an extended practice session but have instead thrown out two big names: India and Pakistan. And in their place come Bangladesh and Ireland who may not give the big six any trouble, but rather just the odd scare! So with the major six teams virtually guaranteed two wins in the Super Eight, it really comes down to who can hold their own against the rest! Let’s look at all the contenders (yes, all eight!).

Australia: Still the favourites and especially after their win over South Africa, their chances look better than ever. Can anyone beat them? New Zealand has shown the aptitude but that was at home. England beat Australia in Australia, but since then, they have had problems of their own. South Africa is expected to beat them and maybe on a bigger ground, could well do so. Sri Lanka is in good enough form to beat anyone, but against Australia, it’s more a question of confidence than skill. At the moment, a spot in the final looks assured! Team Australia

South Africa: They may not have lived up to their number one billing against Australia, but they are a good team, albeit predictable. They miss that one enigmatic performer, that outstanding talent who could make the difference… a Shane Bond, or an Andrew Symonds or even a Kevin Pietersen. Herschelle Gibbs is as close as they can get, but he delivers rather rarely these days. They are still strong enough to make the semi-final, though, but no further. Mental toughness is still lacking and the bowling looked fairly ragged against Australia. Team South Africa

Sri Lanka: The win over India would have given Sri Lanka a lot of confidence. For one, they eliminated one of the biggest teams and a team that had just beaten them convincingly. For another, they showed strength of character and a team spirit that is a must to win at such a tournament. Their batting looks great, bowling outstanding and fielding stupendous! Can they be stopped? Only by the devils in their mind! Team Sri Lanka

England: In some ways, they have a chance. But in all practicality, they don’t seem to have the drive that is needed. Recent events that showed a lack of team spirit have further dented confidence. Freddie Flintoff returned to take the English home against Kenya, but the bigger teams in the Super Eight will be a different proposition altogether. Semi-finalists? Really outside chance. Team England

New Zealand: They were in great form against Australia and also have the mental upper hand against them. Should the two meet in the final, many may just bet against Australia! Much of New Zealand’s strength lies in the number of utilitarian players they have. Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum… all do dual roles and as a result, the batting and bowling line-ups are long. They have a good chance to go all the way provided they don’t shoot themselves in the foot. Team New Zealand

West Indies: They haven’t looked good enough and the pressure of playing at home will get to them sooner or later. The troubles lie at the top of the order with Chris Gayle not coming into any sort of form. Chanderpaul played well against Ireland, but that can’t say much! Lara, Sarwan and Samuels have all done well in the past but they need to put together a string of good performances over 3 weeks to make it further. Doubt if they can do that. Team West Indies

Bangladesh: They have played well to make it thus far, but this where they will find themselves out of depth. One will be the pressure of consistent matches and the other of the opposition. Most teams will look at a Bangladesh match as a good chance to up their run rate and the Bangla boys may just suffer. Well done, but they will not go any further. Team Bangladesh

Ireland: A tie against Zimbabwe saw them through to the second round at the expense of Pakistan. Had Zimbabwe won on that day, Ireland could well have gone home and Pakistan, through. But a win over Pakistan deserves to be rewarded and a place in the second round is what they will have to show for it. Once again, they will be the whipping boys even for Bangladesh. A couple of good matches will do them no harm and they should be realistic about their chances. Team Ireland

To sum it up, Australia and Sri Lanka would be worthy finalists with Sri Lanka having a good chance to win the tournament on current form. New Zealand would be the third favourites while anyone else would be a big surprise!
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It’s been over a day since India lost to Sri Lanka and although die-hard fans will continue to harbor hopes of India going through if Bermuda can beat Bangladesh, the real question is whether India wants to go through in such a manner? What will the repercussions of such a loss be in Bangladesh and the cricketing world?

The team is still in the Caribbean and one suspects they are ready with bags packed. One also suspects they are praying very hard! But it will be a hollow entry and all it would do is extend the lifeline to many of the players in the team. If Bangladesh does win (which it really should), there are some changes to be expected. Necessary or not, these changes are a must to appease the public in India.

Rahul Dravid may well be replaced by Sachin Tendulkar as captain and coach Greg Chappell may not see his contract being renewed. Also expect a campaign against a foreign coach rearing its head again after this debacle! Indian or foreign, one hopes it’s a coach who has a strong heart and can get his way with the players!

The post-mortems in the Indian and world media about India’s performance have begun and the cry for someone’s head will only get louder. Let’s hope there are no silly retirements in light of this poor showing. Tendulkar, Dravid, and Ganguly still have some years left in them. Even if they can’t be around for the next tournament, they would do well to stick around and ensure there is a good core in place after they have gone.

There is a surge of emotions across India has already shown what this means to the fans and they are baying for blood! Administrators and selectors had chosen the best squad and there is no mistaking that. It all went wrong on the ground. It definitely needs asking how India and Pakistan lost to two minnows on the same day.

Questions will also be raised about the preparation and fingers pointed at the endorsements the players undertook just before the tournament. None of this will be seen with practical eyes and for a few days, this will continue to boil. There is no formula for success in the days ahead and changes are inevitable. Let’s just hope there is some method behind the madness that is definitely going to follow.

There will be many reasons Indian fans will come up with after India’s exit about how it’s a good thing after all. They can now enjoy the other key matches like today’s Australia versus South Africa and the second round of matches that will feature Ireland and Bangladesh. An upset each would really spice things up.

After the first round of matches, Sri Lanka has risen up the favourites list and now sits alongside South Africa and Australia with New Zealand a distant fourth. England and West Indies should be the other two teams in the Super Eight but they really don’t have much chance on current form.

Today’s match (AUS v SA), though, promises to be a needle match since these two teams won’t play each other until the knock out stage of the semi-final or the big final. And there are more than just two points at stake. There’s confidence, momentum and the upper hand to be gained.

Sri Lanka’s win was impressive for more reasons than one. They had already qualified and although Bangladesh’s win over India upset their calculations briefly, they came back and won against India to ensure nothing went wrong for them. India, for their part, had a quick Caribbean visit and will perhaps now start preparing for their tour of England in June or so.

What will happen to Greg Chappell? Is this the end of the road for Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly? Will we see them again in four years? Is there a successor for Dravid? Two bad losses in seven days have thrown the team into turmoil.

No such problems for some of the other teams, though. Although the tournament was designed to ensure that the big eight got through with some good practice games, it has seen two of the biggest teams in India and Pakistan exit. The television viewership (a large chunk of which is from the subcontinent) will certainly take a beating and this won’t be good news for sponsors or the tournament organisers.

But India’s performance has gone to prove that they were mentally under-prepared and the thumping win over the West Indies in the warm-up match only provided false hope. In the end, it is the West Indies that’s going through with a 100 per cent record and India is on their way home. There really is no point pinning too much hope on Bermuda beating Bangladesh and it’s best to accept that India is coming home.

If you really love cricket, it’s best if you told yourself that the cricket would still be good. Only India won’t be a part.

Friday the 23rd could either be known as an outstanding day in India’s World Cup campaign or it could be thought of as a day as inauspicious as Friday the 13th! Unfortunately, it does have the same ring and sound to it! Without sounding defeatist, one has to acknowledge that the task facing India is an uphill one with Sri Lanka looking in World Cup-winning form.

India’s batting has come good in the previous match but that was a Bermuda bowling attach without the fire that Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan, Lasith Malinga and Fervez Maharoof will come with. And then there’s the small matter of an in-form Sanath Jayasuriya and Kumara Sangakkara.

India has a few things to sort out before the match. They have already tried two opening partnerships with neither coming good. For a big match like this, though, the decision will not be easy. There will be the temptation of pushing up Tendulkar to open with Ganguly but his batting down the order against Bermuda was inspirational to say the least. Opening with Uthappa will offer some more leniency down the order, but India will need a good start whether they bat first or second.

Which brings us to another major problem: bat first or second? The easiest option will be to lose the toss and not have to make the decision. But should India win the toss, batting second would give India a better chance on two fronts. One, they can use the early morning pitch and second, have an exact idea of what to do when they bat.

It is important for India, though, to go into the match with a positive frame of mind keeping in mind recent successes against the Sri Lankans. Unfortunately, these were achieved against a team without Murali or Vaas. And Jayawardene was also out of form then. All these things have changed and India has a much tougher task ahead. Are they up to it?

The big three of Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly need to score and India has to ensure early wickets whether they bowl first or second. Sounds simple and all the theories and plans will now need to be put to test. Today could well be the day when India is either sent packing back home or kickstarts their campaign. Let’s not even worry about the Bermuda versus Bangladesh match.

It’s the end of the road for Pakistan and cricket fans will certainly rue the fact that this enormously talented team could not stick around for the next stage of the tournament. For the moment, though, all attention is on the events surrounding the death of their coach Bob Woolmer. Latest reports suggest that there was evidence of foul play and strangulation and/or poisoning have been cited as one of the methods. The events, whatever they may turn out to be have once again brought to the fore the underbelly of cricket.

If we though the cricketing world had risen above the events of the match fixing imbroglio, Woolmer’s death may once again point to the strong connection between betting and international cricket. And rumours that it may have been the betting underworld that could have killed Woolmer makes this even more murkier.

Once again, off-field events have highlighted that no amount of measures are enough to keep all unwanted elements away from the game. And if Woolmer was killed because he was reportedly going to expose the betting syndicate involved, things start to look even more grim. For now, they even have access to the players and officials at such close quarters.

While off-field events may well be dominating the World Cup related headlines at the moment, the on-field action is heating up as well. Pakistan’s going home and as are most of the minnows. Ireland, though, will be around for another month battling it out with the big boys and another upset may not be entirely out of question. Bangladesh is the other minnow who is giving sleepless nights to the big boys, especially India and while this augurs well for the game, it’s something to think about for the broadcasters and other sponsors of the World Cup.

If India gets knocked out, there is more than just pride that is lost. Big monies are riding on the Indian team and everyone from the TV channels to the various sponsors of the team and the tournament stand to lose a lot. For the moment, though, India needs to focus on beating Sri Lanka and not worry about all the external factors.

Groups A and D are already decided with South Africa, Australia, West Indies and Ireland going through. Group B is in turmoil that is well documented! But it’s Group C that no one seems to be talking about. There is a possibility here that England may be knocked out and Kenya goes through. Sure England are a better team but they are currently in flux and unsure of their combination. Kenya has nothing to lose and an all-out performance by them could well see the English gasping to catch up. It’s an outside chance, but it’s possible! The two play on March 24 and it will definitely be interesting to watch how that pans out!