Sporting An Opinion

Today, March 21, 2007 is going to be a big day for India in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. Although India does not play today, a lot would depend on how things go between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka who face off in Trinidad & Tobago today. There really are only three scenarios:

Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh
This seems the most obvious outcome and will then make the group very interesting with the second round places not being decided until March 25 when Bangladesh plays Bermuda. But again, the margin of victory would be of interest to India. For India’s sake, SL needs to beat BAN by a very big margin; one big enough to make even a huge win for BAN over BER look pointless. But that’s for India’s sake, really! For their own sake, they just need to win! And then India would need to beat SL comfortably to see Bangladesh fall further behind on the net run-rate.

Bangladesh beats Sri Lanka
Now this would truly open up some possibilities. For one, it would put Bangladesh in the best position to qualify and even a close win over Bermuda later in the week would see them through and with two points! But this scenario would turn the India v Sri Lanka match into a knock out game with the loser certainly going home.

Washout/Tie
If today’s match is washed out or tied, it doesn’t help India much since it allows both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to go ahead of India on points. For India, this may help: if the Bermuda v Bangladesh match ends with a point being shared and Sri Lanka has beaten Bangladesh, India may just have a better chance of going through. Of course, India needs to beat Sri Lanka for any of this to be of consequence, but assuming that happens, then the rains on Sunday could well make Group B clearer!

Whatever the outcome, the task for India is clear: beat Sri Lanka by a hefty margin. What happens in the other matches won’t really affect them in that case. Ah, but if Bangladesh can beat Sri Lanka, then the fruits of a successful task on Friday are more assured!

The final leg of the first round of matches promises much excitement and potential heartbreak for cricket fans. While some groups have already been decided, there are some key matches that would decide how the teams shape up in the next round.

Australia and South Africa are certain to progress from Group A with SA expected to confirm this by beating Scotland on Tuesday. And then there’s the biggest match of the first round between the two top-ranked ODI teams in the world. Yes, there will be two points up for grabs that the teams will take with them, but more than that is the psychological advantage because at the moment, these two teams look the most probable opponents in the final.

New Zealand versus Kenya seems like a straightforward match, but a Kenyan win could throw group C wide open. And then, England’s loss to NZ may not seem as big a deal! But NZ should win that one and barring and English loss to Kenya, NZ and England should be safely through to the Super Eight by March 24!

Group D is all done and dusted with hosts West Indies and Ireland going through. But the match between these two top teams of Group D will decide who starts the Super Eight with two points already in the bank. West Indies are favourites, but Ireland is a team on a high. Man to man, they may not match the Windies, but can just as easily cause another upset.

One group that is still unsettled is Group B with Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh all having a chance of going through. In the most expected scenario, it will come down to the net run-rate and Bangladesh will then have the advantage of knowing exactly what they have to do to go through when they play Bermuda on March 25. That, interestingly, is the last of the group-stage matches and could well decide the fate of India and Sri Lanka!

Right from the start, this has been touted as one of the most “open” World Cups and how true it’s proving to be. Australia and South Africa apart, none of the big teams have shown the expected form and ruthlessness when playing the lesser teams. And the minnows have shown that they are not here to just make up the numbers. Their flair, charisma and sheer commitment has been a pleasure to watch. The next four days promises some outstanding cricket and even the lesser games will have a part to play in how the tournament shapes up.

Links: Latest News | World Cup Schedule | Key Moments

 
The 2007 Cricket World Cup has taken a rather sad and somewhat bizarre turn with off-field events. While some are related to Pakistan’s loss to Ireland, others have more to do with indiscipline. All the same, the focus has shifted away from the cricket and all talk (almost all!) is currently hovering around Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer’s mysterious death, Inzamam ul-Haq’s resignation and the drunkenness of Andrew Flintoff.
 
Woolmer was obviously under tremendous pressure following Pakistan’s exit from the World Cup. That he was diabetic and suffered from other health problems was not known to the rest of the world. Woolmer’s death will be a huge loss to the cricketing world and more so to Pakistan. He was known as a visionary coach and his work the South African team helped them to become one of cricket’s superpowers. Woolmer had slightly strained relations with some players in the Pakistan team, especially with Shoaib Akhtar, but everyone is mourning his loss.
 
For the Pakistan team, things could not have become any worse. With no real heir-apparent in sight to succeed Inzamam ul-Haq, the PCB would have preferred he continue as captain for a little longer at least. But now, they need to make a quick decision. The obvious choices are Mohammed Yousuf and Younis Khan.
 
England may have lost their first match to New Zealand but that apparently wasn’t any reason to stop partying or drinking. Andrew Flintoff, Jon Lewis, James Anderson, Liam Plunkett, Ian Bell and Paul Nixon were seen partying away into the wee hours of the morning following the team’s loss to New Zealand and as a result, Flintoff was dropped from the match against Canada and also stripped of his vice-captaincy.
 
This is not the first time that Freddie has been caught “with his pants down” (metaphorically speaking, of course!) and he was warned at least four times in Australia to cut down on his partying. Obviously he did not heed. As for the others, they were apparently coaxed into going by Freddie and were allowed to play against Canada. This incident also means that Flintoff may never become the first-choice captain for England. Over the last year or so, this was a job, which was his for the taking, but a captain cannot be as indisciplined as this, according to coach Duncan Fletcher.
 
It really cannot get any more bizarre, unless of course, India now loses to Bermuda and Shoaib Akhtar is flown in as stand-in captain for the last Pakistan match. The first one is still a possibility, mind you!

 
For all of us who wrote off the eight minnow teams, Saturday was a huge slap. Not only did Ireland and Bangladesh beat the big boys India and Pakistan, they have also vindicated the ICCs belief that the smaller teams need to play the bigger ones more for such results. Perhaps Indian and Pakistani fans may feel hard done but the two teams that beat them did play very well.
 
Bangladesh has promised a lot for a very long time and this could just be their year. Back in 1983, India was considered no better than Bangladesh is today when they went on to lift the Cup. Perhaps 2007’s Bangladesh is 1983’s India! And a win over Sri Lanka in their next match could well upset the balance of the entire group and further emphasise the progress they have made.
 
Ireland would have to be the biggest surprise of the tournament so far. Pakistan was expected to walk all over them but their bowling left the Pakistan batting in tatters. That Pakistan had been suffering from infighting didn’t help their cause either!
 
Bob Woolmer has apologized for Pakistan’s debacle but chose to blame the batting more than the Irish bowling. Inzamam has gone so far as to call this the worst day of his cricketing career. Perhaps it is a sentiment that Rahul Dravid would agree with as well. He was gracious in defeat, saying, “Credit to them. They came out and played some shots and their opener got them off to a very good start so that set them up well for the game,” but the task ahead is much tougher and now there is competition from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to make it to the second round.
 
Saturday would perhaps be known as the day of the minnow with two major upsets. It would also be interesting to note how the interest levels in the subcontinent are affected now that there cannot be an India-Pakistan match in the World Cup. The two teams had faced off each time since 1992 and this year will break the rivalry! They have only themselves to blame, really!

 
Day 4 of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 was the first to be affected by rain and England paid the price for an up-and-down pitch. More than the pitch, though, it’s the facilities in the Caribbean that have left much to be desired. Sure the grounds and the stadia are outstanding, but the groundstaff have normally taken more time than they should when responding to urgent needs.
 
A wet outfield left the teams waiting for the start in the England v New Zealand match and an unnecessary half hour was lost. Thankfully, that did not translate into lost overs.
 
Earlier in the week, there were reports that the practice facilities at the Sabina Park ground were not ready for the Pakistan v West Indies match and players had to go elsewhere. These are the bare minimum requirements that most would have thought are ready.
 
The pitches on display in the first few matches have been even-paced and offered something for batsmen who want to play their shots and bowlers ready to bend their backs. But as time goes on, these may dry out and the later games may throw up some low-scoring matches.
 
India takes on Bangladesh today and kicks off their campaign. One of the favourites to win the Cup, India will be followed well through the Caribbean and is expected to walk all over Bangladesh. Being one of the Test playing nations, much is expected of Bangladesh but one doubts how much they will deliver. After their shock win over Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup, they have struggled to make an impact on this stage.
 
With Herschelle Gibbs setting the bar (and a very high one at that) with the bat, there is a new buzz whether indeed a total of 500 is possible in this tournament. All signs point to a possibility in the first round for after that, no matter what the size of the ground, the quality of the bowling will also be consistently better. The run feasts will continue for a couple of weeks more before the standard of scoring is brought back to normal levels!

Zimbabwe has been in international cricket for a long time. And during this entire tenure, barring perhaps as couple of years in the late 1990s, they have been minnows. Sri Lanka was once a minnow. As was India (yes, face it). But India and Sri Lanka have moved up and are now the big boys. True Zimbabwe has not played for as long and when they were looking like a side that could move up, they were hit by political problems that jeopardized their existence in cricket altogether. Contests - Predict MoS | Predict MoM
 
So are they still part of World Cricket only because of their legacy? Because they were there before Ireland and Canada and Kenya? Is there no merit-based system that would allow Ireland or Kenya to replace them as a Test playing nation? The question is how long should a minnow be a minnow? If after more than 25 years of playing international cricket, Zimbabwe is still among the bottom-feeders, there is a need for change. Of late, all their cricket has been against Bangladesh and they barely won that too.
 
There was also the curious case of Bangladesh being offered Test nation status and how badly it has backfired is there for all to see. Which is why performance based systems may just be the answer. But we are not worried about who are the Test playing nations at this time. We would like to ask how long should Zimbabwe be allowed direct entry into the World Cup? Why should they not be asked to qualify? Honestly, had they been made to play the qualifiers, they perhaps would not have made it to the Caribbean. And it would not have surprised me to see some others fail too!
 
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Sri Lanka’s welcome return to form almost didn’t happen. Mahela Jayawardene was indeed lucky to be dropped on 0 off the first ball he faced. He made Bermuda pay but can he make India pay? Will India give him a second chance? With all due respect, India does have a better bowling attack than Bermuda! But Sri Lanka would be rather pleased with their margin of victory and the emphatic nature of it.
 
The bowling looked good, but there were still some chinks in the batting that could easily be exploited by better teams. They need to watch out!

Team Pages  - Bangladesh | Bermuda | Canada | Ireland

 
Australia has made a rousing start to their title defense with the annihilation of Scotland and confirmed to the world that they are indeed serious contenders for the title.
 
All their hiccups against New Zealand seemed like they were sorted as Gilchrist and Hayden got them off to an outstanding start and the came Ricky Ponting who scored his 23rd ODI hundred and propelled the Aussies to a competitive total. Ponting’s innings, in fact, has raised questions whether he really is the best batsman in the world. And despite his statement that it is Tendulkar, neutral followers would be inclined to think otherwise.
 
Glenn McGrath was the other highlight for Australia with his usual accuracy and he also managed to surprise the Scottish batsmen with his pace and bounce. But the fact is that he is the strike bowler for Australia and no one else. Certainly not Shaun Tait who sprayed the ball all over the place and in general looked like a rabbit caught in the headlinghts!
 
Contrary to belief, Scotland wasn’t all that bad. Although they were bowled out for 13-odd, they showed some fight. And had it not been for the last three overs in the Australian innings that cost over 50 runs, Australia could well have been held to a score of under 300. But that’s experience!
 
For Australia, there is the one small problem, though: the middle order. Clarke, Hussey and Watson didn’t look very confident and it was Brad Hogg who hit out in the last few overs. But there is enough time before their match against South Africa to correct this. Bottom line for the main teams: don’t write Australia off!
 
Kenya and Canada was the other match and after an initial hiccup, Kenya showed their greater experience and rallied through to trounce Canada by seven wickets. Steven Tikolo (72) and Maurice Ouma (58) were the main men as they ensured Kenya did not suffer a collapse!

More often than not, an event rarely lives up to its reputation after a lot of hype. But the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 lived up to all the billing it received it received in the first match at least. Batting first, the West Indies struggled but Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels ensured there was no disaster like the one against India in the warm-up game. They never batted together, but ensured that the West Indies total reached a respectable and challenging 242/9. The finish to the innings was rather emphatic too with a six off the last ball. Full Scorecard

The Pakistan bowlers promised much, but could not deliver everything. And they paid for it dearly. Too many extras and far too many loose balls coupled with some average fielding put them in a poor position.

The Pakistan innings got off to an exciting start with a six off the second ball of the first over but the very next ball saw the wicket, a rather fortuitous one, with Imran Nazir edging a straight one to Denesh Ramadin. Two more wickets followed including the reliable Younis Khan, but captain Inzamam ul-Haq and Mohammed Younis were showing signs of recovery.

Inzi definitely did better in the first match as compared to the last World Cup where he failed to make double figures in six matches! A good sign, one must say! But the Pakistan batting has failed and although one should not judge them on the basis of just one game, we have to since this was their most important match of the first round. A loss to Zimbabwe now (not impossible, mind you) could well end all hopes!

The most heartening sight of all, though, was the crowd who got vociferously behind their team. And the West Indies seemed to respond to their support too. Even when the Windies was bowling, the crowd was loud and in true Caribbean style, totally engrossed in the proceedings on the ground.

Unfortunately for the tournament, a classic match like the first one will be followed up by an excessively one-sided one between Scotland and Australia. Elsewhere in the Caribbean, Kenya will play Canada and although this seems like an even game on paper, Kenya is the favourite to win!

 
The months and years of waiting is finally over and the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup kicks off tonight with the opening match between Pakistan and the hosts West Indies.
 
All the preparations of the last few months will now be put to the test as the best in the cricketing world fight for the biggest prize. So let’s start by focusing on the opening match.
 
Who has the strength? Pakistan gave a good account of themselves in their warm-up match against South Africa and would be riding high on the confidence from that win while at the other end of the spectrum is the West Indies who suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of India. But being the home team, they will have to recover quickly and start afresh.
 
The West Indian strength is batting and they need to bat first to put on a good score. Defending a total may be easier when they have a large score on the board.
 
For Pakistan, they need to get some consistency in their ranks. It is imperative for them that captain Inzamam ul-Haq gets into form and quickly. The same applies to Mohammed Yousuf and Younis Khan, the two senior players in the side.
 
For both teams, the bowling looks suspect, although Pakistan are slightly better blessed but it will be a battle of the batsmen when vying for the first blood. What both teams also need to remember is that this is their biggest game in the group stages and a win here is almost a guarantee for making it to the next round. The next two matches will be over a period of 15 days and against lesser teams that won’t give them the necessary match-practice before the Super Eight.
 
On the basis of current form, one would have to give Pakistan the advantage and say they are favourites to win but home advantage can be a funny thing. As can Brian Lara! Let the games (finally) begin!

South Africa does have a good reason to panic. And their histrionics on the pitch are only going to make things worse for them. They came to the Caribbean having just been ranked No. 1 in the world and beaten India and Pakistan convincingly in the preceding series. But the first warm-up game exposed some of the chinks in the batting when away from the comfort of home. Although SA did manage to win that game, there was no such respite in the second match. Pakistan was not going to make a meal of a target of 200 and they won by seven wickets. But that’s not important, is it?

It’s the SA attitude. They are starting to blame everything and everyone but themselves. In fact, they even went to the extent of stopping play to complain about the pitch. Well, they can’t do that once the tournament starts. They can’t continue to whine and cry like this. If it’s a bad pitch, it’s bad for both teams (mostly!). To make matter worse, the Pakistan batsmen handled the pitch rather well. So it’s safe to say that SA need to hit the panic button!

India, on the other hand, gave the West Indies quite a thrashing. Munaf Patel showed why he is so highly regarded with his measly figures of 4 for 10 in 6 overs. Irfan Patan got three wickets, but he never looked like the threatening Pathan who would curve the ball uncomfortably for batsmen. The only time he did show some control and skill was when he had Marlon Samuels leg before wicket. To be fair, he did fox Lara with a well-disguised slower one, but he still doesn’t look convincing. Virender Sehwag continued along his merry ways and one can’t help but feel that he thinks he won’t be dropped from the team. Ever. On current form, he should not be in the playing XI next week.

Australia was adequately dominating over England who has to think rather hard as to what exactly they were doing out there. From 2/112, they collapsed to 197 all out. The good news is Michael Vaughan is back in form and Ian Bell looks like he can bat again. The bad news is none of the others thought much of making the most of this opportunity and threw away their wickets. Shaun Tait did the damage for Australia picking up 4/33, but he still conceded far too many in the context of the game. Australia’s final margin of victory was five wickets, but it should have been much bigger. Another irresponsible batting display from the middle order cost them valuable practice before the big match.

Sri Lanka must be wondering what in god’s name has gone wrong with their team. Sure they lost by just 18 runs and Upul Tharanga scored a fine 106, but the bowling conceded far too many to a team that had just been beaten by Bangladesh! Sri Lanka has serious problems in the batting department too especially with captain Mahela Jayawardene. Maybe he should drop himself down the order… and though Sanath Jayasuriya was missing, Sri Lanka did not look like a side that could have won.

The practice matches are now out of the way and the real action starts in just three days. South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies would be in turmoil. Not sure if England cares; after all, this is not the Ashes! Australia, India and Pakistan look the most sorted and settled of all the teams… is there a title winner in the three?