Sporting An Opinion

The upsets have started. But as Stephen Fleming put it, they were lucky this wasn’t a group stage match. Bangladesh, though, would be overjoyed with their performance and despite it being in a game that doesn’t count they would not think any less of it.
 
Mashrafe Mortaza and Abdur Razzaq stunned New Zealand and it was thanks to Jacob Oram’s 88 (still with all fingers intact), that they managed to post a somewhat respectable 226. But a good start and Mashrafe Mortaza’s fine 30 with the bat saw the Bangladeshis overhaul the New Zealand total and throw their preparation into turmoil. Coming on the back of a 3-0 win over Australia, New Zealand promised much and perhaps this is a timely wake-up call that nothing can be taken for granted.
 
Elsewhere, India was adequate as they beat the Netherlands by a substantial 182 runs, Australia was strong enough to defend 290 and win by 106 runs against Zimbabwe while Pakistan got their act together to win by 77 runs against Canada.
 
The Australians could not have been entirely happy with their preparation for a score of 300-plus was expected of them against Zimbabwe. To add to their woes, Bracken and McGrath (who had identical figures of 5-2-8-1) have proved beyond doubt that they are the containing bowlers and perhaps not the wicket-taking ones. And Shaun Tait continues to struggle for wickets.
 
India’s batting looked dodgy, to be honest, and it was a rejuvenated Dravid and the reliable (at World Cups!) Tendulkar who got them to safety. Irfan Pathan looked like he wants to perform badly, but he just didn’t look penetrating enough with the ball and against better batting line-ups, he will be taken to the cleaners. Pathan bowled around 122kmph (average) and barely swung the ball to trouble the batsmen. If this continues, his pace is ideal for the top batsmen in the world to take him apart. But there may still be some value in having him in the team instead of Dinesh Kaarthick because their batting abilities seem matched. Irfan could bowl an over or two if absolutely necessary!
 
Pakistan continues to struggle with its opening pair with bat and ball! Inzamam’s 59 would have allowed the team a sigh of relief for he is their most experienced and best batsman. Mohammed Hafeez, though, shone brightly as he picked up 3/10 after having topscored with 61. But letting a team like Canada get to almost 200 and within 77 runs of their target would have raised a few questions. There’s time, though, to sort it out before the opening match against hosts West Indies on March 13.
 
In all the matches so far, the pitches have not looked “Word Cup standard” and have offered a lot of assistance to the bowlers, especially the spin variety. In India’s match against the Netherlands, the pitch looked like it was broken and the amount of seam movement that S Sreesanth got was prodigious to say the least.
 
The initial matches are good signal to most teams for reconsidering their combinations and resetting targets when batting first. On the small evidence of the first two days of matches, the bowlers will perhaps enjoy this World Cup and the team whose batsmen bat more responsibly might be the one to go all the way.

Now, then. What’s going on here? The warm-up matches have begun and there was almost an upset or three! What is the world is wrong with the World’s top-rated team? Perhaps Shane Warne was correct in assessing South Africa as “one-dimensional”.

Playing the minor might of Ireland, South Africa collapsed to 192 all out. Had it not been for Andrew Hall’s 67*, the may well have been shot out for less than 100. They were 91/8 at one stage. 69 runs from the top eight batsmen just doesn’t cut it. And the bowler’s weren’t the best either, now, were they? Langeveldt did pick up 4/31, but hey… Ireland managed 157 and the margin of victory was just 35 runs. Lots of introspection ahead.

England’s margin over Bermuda was substantial, though. A win by 241 runs is almost like saying an innings’ win in an ODI! But the batting desperately needs to tighten up. There were some starts, but a few big ones are needed. Sri Lanka too had a fairly easy time of it winning by 159 runs against Scotland. Everyone played their part, but Captain Mahela Jayawardene would feel he missed out scoring only 8. There is one more chance!

The West Indies, though, were run rather close by Kenya. A Marlon Samuels 100 saw them post 268 (which, if you ask us, is not good enough) and the only reason they won is because the opposition was Kenya and not New Zealand or worse, Australia! The bowling too left a lot to be desired… for all of Michael Holding’s talk about the minnows, the West Indies should have been able to skittle them for much less!

The initial performance by these three teams (Bermuda excluded) shows that the minnows can make a difference and offer interesting and exciting cricket. The question now is whether they can do so consistently. The odd off-day is allowed, but if this was a flash in the pan, Holding is correct. Else, he should maybe eat his hat. And we’ll join him!

There are certainly a lot of loose cannons in world cricket, especially on the administrative side! Last week, the ICC chief Malcolm Speed got himself into a spot when he decided to comment on the Pakistan pace duo of Mohammed Asif and Shoaib Akhtar. A couple of days ago, Dilip Vengsarkar ensured everyone knew why Sehwag was in the team (“because the captain wanted him!”). One seriously wonders what makes these guys shoot of like this without provocation. Is it that they are looking for their 15 seconds of fame? That wouldn’t seem plausible considering both gentlemen in question get enough press. Is it just carelessness? One would be inclined to think so.

Anyways, moving to action on the field, March 5 is finally here and that means the warm-up matches will start. Teams will get an idea of what to expect with the pitches and who is ready and who isn’t. Andrew Symonds had a net session on Sunday that undoubtedly lifted the Australian spirits.

Elsewhere, though, the South Africans had a bit of a scare with Herschelle Gibbs and Justin Kemp suffering injury scares. South Africa’s team doctor Mohammad Moosajee, however, said that the players had been X-rayed and both returned clear. That’s the only hitch with the upcoming warm-up matches. It can be dangerous for players and an injury at this stage completely heart-breaking and unnecessary.

Most experts and former players have come up with their lists of semi-finalists and two teams seem to be definite to make it that far according to these experts: Australia and India. The other two have included Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa. England have only received an outside chance while Pakistan are lucky they are not being tagged as minnows!

One hopes that the off-field distractions would now reduce as players prepare for a six-week tour that will decide the World Champions. Unfortunately, the practice matches are not available on TV!

There is growing uneasiness among all teams gathered in the Caribbean and understandably so. The World Cup officially kicks off next week, but for two weeks after that, there’s just one key match per team. For the fans, there are just four important matches. Here are the dates to remember and the matches that will be worth following in round 1:

March 13: West Indies v Pakistan (Jamaica)
March 16: England v New Zealand (St. Lucia)
March 23: India v Sri Lanka (Trinidad)
March 24: Australia v South Africa (St. Kitts)

Of all these teams, Pakistan would consider themselves unluckiest. They start their campaign with the most important match in the first round and they stand to lose momentum by the time they play next in the Super Eight stage. Their chances of winning are also not the best with the West Indies enjoying the home advantage and having had a better time of it lately. In the 12 days or so between their first match and the first Super Eight match (assuming they finish second in Group D), the will play Zimbabwe and Ireland. Bob Woolmer has a task on his hands.

For the betting inclined, here are the current odds as published by Ladbrokes: Australia 9/4, South Africa 4/1, Sri Lanka 7/1, West Indies 7/1, England 8/1, India 8/1, New Zealand 8/1, Pakistan 12/1. Australia is obvious favourites despite their recent form. South Africa is a close second, Sri Lanka and West Indies third followed by England, India and New Zealand and finally, Pakistan. For Pakistan to really make an impact, they would need an Imran Khan to lead them. Inzamam doesn’t quite fit the bill there.

Among the minnows, Zimbabwe has fallen below Bangladesh. What this means is matches involving Bangladesh may have better cricket than those involving Zimbabwe. May be true! Bermuda has very long shot at the cup and to be honest, I don’t know why we should even consider these teams! Well, here are the odds in any case: Bangladesh 200/1, Zimbabwe 250/1, Kenya 500/1, Scotland 500/1, Canada 1000/1, Holland 1000/1, Ireland 1000/1, Bermuda 2000/1.

These odds would have changed a bit by the time the Super Eight starts and there is little doubt that any of the minnows would be involved in those matches. For one, there are no games that are being forfeited and no walkovers to give free points to the minnows. As Ian Chappell rightly said, this is the most open World Cup in a long time (perhaps since 1992) where more than four teams have a real chance of winning.

It’s just that there’s a two-week wait after the start for the real action!

The action at the Cricket World Cup is well and truly beginning to heat up. A majority of the teams have landed in the Caribbean, the umpires’ lists have been announced, India is taking commandos with the team and the police in Trinidad are threatening to go on strike! Now it feels like a big event!

Among all the commotion going about at the moment as to whether facilities are ready, is enough security in place for all players and teams, whether Akhtar and Asif have realty doped, the umpiring lists have gone by unnoticed. What has also gone unnoticed is the fact that the ICC has taken the power of awarding a match to either side (in case of any eventuality) from the umpires and handed it over to the match referees. Not that the umpires would go about gifting matches on a whim, but it is a sign of things to come and another power, albeit minor, being wrested from the umpires.

Percy Sonn, the ICC President, said, “The Board’s decision reflects the fact that the match referee is the chief executive of the match, the person who has overall responsibility for the way the game is played and officiated. This decision does not, however, detract from the on-field role of the umpires and they would, of course, still remain an integral part of the process of awarding a match in those circumstances.”

Anyways… this had to happen and for all you know, there may not be a single on-field umpire by the 2011 World Cup. Just intrusive cameras! 

Speaking of umpires, there will one gentleman missing this time around. David Shepherd, who had umpired in the last three World Cup finals along with Steve Bucknor will not be around. And this itself is a major change! Bucknor, for his part, would be hoping he doesn’t have to stand in the final. Not because of the pressure, but he would be hoping the West Indies make it to the final! There’s a wish.

Almost all teams have now arrived in the Caribbean at their locations and we are just a few days away from the warm-up matches. It’s a catch situation, these warm-up games, for a team won’t want to look weak and neither would want to give away too much of its strategy. It’s time the games began!

December 31 was the deadline for all facilities at the World Cup to be ready but in true laid-back Caribbean style, most venues (except St. Kitts and Nevis) are still work in progress! It’s not as bad as it sounds, though. The work remaining at these venues is minimal and relates to electrical fittings, sewage work and in some cases, the crucial air-conditioning.

Teams could make do with or without air-conditioning for a while, but what about the conditioning of their players? Michael Vaughan, for instance, is about to make his third comeback in almost as many months! But this time, he seems to have made a wise decision naming Andrew Flintoff the stand-in captain even before England depart for the tournament. Vaughan played a few matches here and there during the Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia, but was hardly impressive. Flintoff initially seemed to be withering under the responsibility of captaining, but came to terms with it at the right time leading the team to victory in the finals.

Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, too seems to be suffering from an anxiety attack. He has suddenly remembered his performance from 2003 when he managed only 21 runs in 9 matches! But this time around, he is captain and a lot is expected of him. Thankfully, he is also getting into form! “I know my personal contribution has not been that great during the last six months or so, but I am looking forward to get back among runs,” said a circumspect Jayawardene. Captains do seem to be having a tough time of it!

But one personality that seems ready for the World Cup is Bob Marley’s ghost! Well, not so much his ghost, but a tour guide who is all set to show visitors to Jamaica around Marley’s old home in Trench Town. It was here that Marley had written his famous song, “No Woman, No Cry”… wonder what captains want to ensure there is “No Cry”!

Say what you will about their character or the legality of their bowling actions but Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif do seem to be making a difference to the Australian team. While the two struggle to make in time for the World Cup, there are many who are trying their best they don’t! And what business Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden have addressing this issue is anyone’s guess! Perhaps just because they are Australian, they think they can talk about anything.

So Symonds has shot his mouth off with complete disregard to the orders he has been given by Cricket Australia. “We’ve been told to be very tightlipped. But put it this way: imagine if it was one of us. Imagine if it was Matty Hayden or someone else. Imagine what the world would say. I’ll leave it at that,” he said. Okay Symmo. For your benefit, tightlipped means stay quiet. Purse the lips so tight that no sound escapes… especially words!

It amuses me no end that for a team in a bit of strife, Australia continue to lord over the others. Sure they are defending the title, but for an injured player who may not play the first month of the tournament, that’s a lot of talk! For the pace duo, though, there is opposition from within Pakistan too. Javed Miandad, the ever-opinionated, has suggested that Pakistan forget about the two pacers and continue with their campaign. Fair suggestion and one that may benefit the Pakistan team.

By the way, did we tell you what Hayden has to say about the affair? Mind you he’s being tight lipped: “It’s a laughable point among our players because we’ve worked very hard to be clean athletes. It’s ludicrous and it’s not fair.” To be honest to Australia, they did keep Shane Warne away when he tested positive and Hayden’s pointed comment unconsciously includes Warne in the list of ‘unclean athletes’!

Speaking of Shane Warne, Imran Khan has raised a cry for him to be included in the Australian side. “Had I been the captain of Australia, I would have asked Warne to be there for the World Cup,” Imran said. “I would have told him to forget the retirement thing. He fits very well in the one-day side considering the situation.” With or without a drugs test, Mr Khan?

The view from the Pakistan team about the two pacers is interesting. Captain Inzamam ul-Haq seems to think they are injured. Serious! He said he was “hopeful about them becoming fit enough before the World Cup”. Fit? Don’t you mean clean? Maybe he should chat a bit with Symonds and Hayden!