ICC T20 World Cup

wp_rathead

FUCK YOU RAIN!!

first you ruin our summer..
..then you knock us out of the cricket.. AGAIN

Sparks43

Anyone else feel that there is a little bit of a conspiracy against us:mad:

Vic Marks, BBC Test Match Special
"Don't let the Irish hear this, but the tournment organisers will be pleased that the Windies will go through to the Super Eights, but it's not by the right route."

Rascasse

Good to see the ICC getting plenty of stick for organising this during one of the rainy seasons in Sri Lanka. October is the 2nd wettest month of the year so plenty of D/L in the Super 8s then. Clever.

booth70

It's been a rubbish World Cup so far dominated by rain and one sided matches.....hopefully the super 8's will be more interesting.....weather permitting:(

actua11

The weather is a shame. A world cup is supposed to be the pinicle of the format, but has been reduced to abandoned games, single digit overs-a-side matches and even T20 d/l method results, all in whats supposed to be the fast paced, quick, exiting format of the game. The relatively poor attendances show the effect this has had. As said above sadly for us the WIndies are through so all the big names will be in the super 8's so hopefully that'll kick start the tournament and vindicate the tournament organizers, though that's for the weather to decide....

I think the weather is also responsible for a missed opportunity from our perspective. There is always a little boost in profile when we comeback with at least one decent result from a tournament, however today a rain affected elimination from the tournament did little to put the team/sport on the general public's radar, though in the build up I did notice a slight increase in general awareness of the tournament, just would've been nice to have something to help carry on that momentum.

KevIRL

Surely it cant be to hard to have a reserve day for every match in a T20 tournament.

riffmongous

KevIRL wrote: »

Surely it cant be to hard to have a reserve day for every match in a T20 tournament.

No because they'd rather have the top teams play each other over and over in a long, drawn out super 8s stage :rolleyes:

the groutch

yeah, there's a definitely still a whole "us" and "them" feel about the tournament.

if there is one positive to be taken, it's the wins over Zimbabwe & Bangladesh in the warm-up games, showing ourselves again as the "best of the rest".

riffmongous

the groutch wrote: »

yeah, there's a definitely still a whole "us" and "them" feel about the tournament.

if there is one positive to be taken, it's the wins over Zimbabwe & Bangladesh in the warm-up games, showing ourselves again as the "best of the rest".

That's true, even in the group stages while we certainly didn't look good we were way better than the truely awful Zimbabwe. Afghanistan went from exciting to terrible and Bangladesh also got hammered in their first game.

HonalD

the groutch wrote: »

yeah, there's a definitely still a whole "us" and "them" feel about the tournament.

if there is one positive to be taken, it's the wins over Zimbabwe & Bangladesh in the warm-up games, showing ourselves again as the "best of the rest".

This is a big positive. I know it's an anti-climax and we didn't do ourselves justice but we ate at the top table again and like the taste of it...or something like that!

booth70

the groutch wrote: »

if there is one positive to be taken, it's the wins over Zimbabwe & Bangladesh in the warm-up games, showing ourselves again as the "best of the rest".

Not sure it is a positive....winning warm-up games that is.....Wouldn't read too much into that given that Ireland were beaten 3-0 by Bangladesh at home in an official T20 series only a couple of months ago!!

Rascasse

Bang V Pak on at the moment looks like a good one. Bang need to beat Pak by 30 something to go through. Currently going at over 9/o and only 2 down.

Would be nice to see at least one of the big names knocked out (I wouldn't consider Bangladesh a big name).

Rjd2

Arrest this man:eek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaYIdS5ehfc

KevIRL

What a finish to Sri Lanka v New Zealand match, the tournament badly needed that

Rascasse

Jesus that is some first over even by Englands standards.

0WW000

KevIRL

Eoin Morgan tearing it up here, although was that the best 6 save ever just now by Russell?

Rascasse

Went out after about 5 overs into England's innings and it looks like I missed the excitement.

You have to question why Morgan is in at 5. Yeah he went through a bad patch and lost his test place but to have him at 5 is mental.

Also Hales. Should he even be in the side, let alone opening? Oh yeah I forgot, he's Broads BFF. A straight swap of Morgan and Hales in the order would improve England greatly.

Still fancy the Windies to do well. Not sure who'll be the other team from this group in the semi.

booth70

That Morgs innings was something special....pity it came in a losing cause

Why do England continue to persist with the likes of Kieswetter?!.......Bring back Prior and of course KP as well please and England will be a half decent team!

Two good games today as the World Cup finally takes off!

HonalD

Rjd2 wrote: »

Arrest this man:eek:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaYIdS5ehfc

I should have put a bet on that happening....wait it was Pakistan....;)

Rascasse

HonalD wrote: »

I should have put a bet on that happening....wait it was Pakistan....;)

Yeah when you have the Akmals in the team its natural to be very skeptical. In the field the Pakistanis were a bit pedestrian, enough to make me suspicious.

Phil Brown got a good shot of this drop. Shocker.

TheDrog

Rascasse wrote: »

Went out after about 5 overs into England's innings and it looks like I missed the excitement.

You have to question why Morgan is in at 5. Yeah he went through a bad patch and lost his test place but to have him at 5 is mental.

Also Hales. Should he even be in the side, let alone opening? Oh yeah I forgot, he's Broads BFF. A straight swap of Morgan and Hales in the order would improve England greatly.

Still fancy the Windies to do well. Not sure who'll be the other team from this group in the semi.

they moved him down because they need someone to score quickly at the end

Rascasse

TheDrog wrote: »

they moved him down because they need someone to score quickly at the end

Pretty pointless if you have a habit of losing early wickets. Looking at the order now after KP's (and Cook, Bell & Ravi's) departure you have a load of kids with little experience. Early wickets = big pressure on those that come in 3rd/4th/5th = more wickets.

Move Eoin up to opener. Move Broad ahead of Patel too.

Finally, BRING BACK KP.

booth70

SA lose a match they should have won comfortably.....no surprises there then.....some great hitting by a no:10 against some rubbish death bowling by SA

India on the other hand looked about as hopeless as England did the other nite

Australia and Pakistan look the best two teams so far

Rjd2

booth70 wrote: »

SA lose a match they should have won comfortably.....no surprises there then.....some great hitting by a no:10 against some rubbish death bowling by SA

India on the other hand looked about as hopeless as England did the other nite

Australia and Pakistan look the best two teams so far

No idea why AB did not have Duminy and Botha bowl instead of "all rounder" Albie and Kallis in the last few overs. Both spinners had kept it really tight.

Oh and Afridi's "innings":P

Impressive from Australia, Watson is playing amazing these days.

Rascasse

The Pak v SA was probably the best one I've seen so far. SA really looked off against the Pakistan bowlers going at about 4 an over before managing to push to 133. At that point I thought Pak would make that with overs to spare only to see them pretty much collapse too. Great partnership by Akmal and and Gul to save it in the last few overs. Fun match to watch.

SL v Windies pick of todays matches. Should be a good one.

Dozen Wicked Words

Kieswetter out without offering too much resistance again, might be time for England to rethink their wicketkeeper position now.

Rascasse

dooferoaks wrote: »

Kieswetter out without offering too much resistance again, might be time for England to rethink their wicketkeeper position now.

I agree 100%. Kieswetter not played well in a while and with Bairstow isn't a bad keep.

From Cricinfo, Kieswetters last 10 innings (all this month):

4 v New Zealand
0 v West Indies
35 v India
0 v Afghanistan
10 v Pakistan
8 v Australia
50 v South Africa
1 v South Africa
25 v South Africa
33 v South Africa

6 out of 10 he scored 10 or less and only single 50. Not good enough as an opening batsman and his glove work leaves a lot to be desired too.

booth70

Australia v South Africa should be a cracker......SA need to win to stay in the competition I think.....SA to bat first

India v Pakistan looks a great match up as always on paper....but India have been an absolute shambles both with their batting and bowling and since winning the T20 World cup in 2007 have yet to win a Super 8 match!....can't see them turning over Pakistan but I suppose I can live in hope!

booth70

94/5 in the 16th.....Awful batting from SA today.....need their bowlers to come up with something special

Rascasse

Shane Watson having a great tournament. India and SA out if Pakistan win.

booth70

India have won their first Super Eight game since the IPL began in 2008!

Surprised that India did not try and finish this game off quicker to try and improve their Net Run Rate.....There could still be a 3 way tie for 2nd place in this group if Australia beat Pakistan and SA beat India on Tuesday

TheDrog

Rascasse wrote: »

I agree 100%. Kieswetter not played well in a while and with Bairstow isn't a bad keep.

From Cricinfo, Kieswetters last 10 innings (all this month):

4 v New Zealand
0 v West Indies
35 v India
0 v Afghanistan
10 v Pakistan
8 v Australia
50 v South Africa
1 v South Africa
25 v South Africa
33 v South Africa

6 out of 10 he scored 10 or less and only single 50. Not good enough as an opening batsman and his glove work leaves a lot to be desired too.

Wouldn't be surprised if he makes way if and when KP comes back, both Bairstow and Buttler can keep, alternatively one of those 2 will be dropped and he'll bat well down the order.

Giggsy11

booth70 wrote: »

India have won their first Super Eight game since the IPL began in 2008!

Surprised that India did not try and finish this game off quicker to try and improve their Net Run Rate.....There could still be a 3 way tie for 2nd place in this group if Australia beat Pakistan and SA beat India on Tuesday

Had no hopes on the game but was surprised by how well we played.Spinners did the trick, Yuvi was very good for part timer but it was Ashwin who was the star in the bowling.

On batting, I have never seen a batsman as comfortable as Kohli playing Ajmal. He read every ball very early, he had so much time as he read the ball from the hand rather than pitch. It was great to watch.

After the match, KP said he will ask Kohli how he picked up the ball so early, wouldn't be surprised if he did.

Finally we won first super 8 match and kept our record against Pak going. They have never beaten India in world cup game

Rascasse

NZ out. Can't help feeling like they choked.

Eng V Sri Lanka now. England need to win to go through (wouldn't count on it).

Edit: Kieswetter dropped along with Bresnan and Briggs. Bopara, Dernbach and Patel are in.

Dozen Wicked Words

Well Derbach and Patel were fairly awful, but then not many England players can hold their heads high. A shame they didn't defend their trophy with a bit more spirit.

England's form in all forms of the game hasn't been great recently, doesn't bode well for upcoming series.

Rascasse

dooferoaks wrote: »

Well Derbach and Patel were fairly awful....

Bit harsh on Patel no? He did score nearly half of Englands runs and had an entertaining partnership with Swann.

booth70

dooferoaks wrote: »

Well Derbach and Patel were fairly awful, but then not many England players can hold their heads high. A shame they didn't defend their trophy with a bit more spirit.

Well if Patel with 67 off 48 was awful dunno how you would rate the perfomance of the other 10 players in the team!!:(.....unless of course you actually meant to say Dernbach and Bopara!!

Meanwhile one of the two perenially overhyped teams in every world cup i.e SA are out and I reckon they will knock the other one...i.e India out tonite as well

Dozen Wicked Words

Still consider Patel is picked as a bowler, and he bowled pies. Bit maybe it was a bit harsh.

booth70

Time for Dhoni to be sacked as Indian captain......they needed to defend 121 today and who does he bowl....Rohit Sharma ahead of his premier spinner Ashwin:mad::mad:

Hopefully the likes of Gambhir and Sehwag never play a T20 international for India again

Both India and SA have been hopeless all tournament and have been rightfully sent packing

So it will be Aus v WI and Pakistan v SL.....The best four teams are in the semi finals IMHO

Giggsy11

1 bad day against Aussies and we are out of the WC.

Giggsy11

booth70 wrote: »

Time for Dhoni to be sacked as Indian captain......they needed to defend 121 today and who does he bowl....Rohit Sharma ahead of his premier spinner Ashwin:mad::mad:

Hopefully the likes of Gambhir and Sehwag never play a T20 international for India again

Both India and SA have been hopeless all tournament and have been rightfully sent packing

So it will be Aus v WI and Pakistan v SL.....The best four teams are in the semi finals IMHO

I disagree. Were just class apart against England and Pak. Won against SA, struggled a bit against Afghanistan. Apart from the match against Aussies, India played well in this WC.

booth70

I had my money on Australia until today:(.......if Watson and Warner go early the rest don't seem to have a clue

You can say all you want about Pakistan but they have now qualified for their 4th semifinal in a row.....have the potential to beat SL and win the whole thing

West Indies need Gayle to fire and fire big and I think their best chance of winning against Australia would be if they chase rather than defend a total

SL.....perennial finalists in recent world cups...2007,2008,2011...but maybe their time has finally come to win

Too close to call I reckon;)

manafana

4 teams left now little bit on all four here : http://www.olbg.com/blogs/post.php?id=403885


pakistan can cause an upset, judging from womans game this will be one for spinners again.

Rascasse

Some last over there. 25 off it.

Aussies need 206. Not sure they'll do it.

Dozen Wicked Words

Rascasse wrote: »

Some last over there. 25 off it.

Aussies need 206. Not sure they'll do it.

Fantastic batting, and hopefully it will be enough.

Rascasse

All over now with the Aussies 6 down.

Hopefully Gayle plays like that in the final.

booth70

That was shambolic from Australia:(.....the two matches that Watson failed in they got hammered in both

SL v WI should be a good final though....as a neutral I want both teams to win:)

Dozen Wicked Words

I think I want the Windies to win the t20, but would a win be to the detriment of the other forms of the game there I wonder? Particularly with Gayles disinterest in the longer forms for so long. It would be a shame if there was NEVER going to be the prospect of seeing a ferocious West Indian Test team if they put all their eggs in the T20 basket. I suppose the "glass full" answer would be any tournament win for them would reinvigorate the whole of cricket there.

Beasty

Just been watching the replay. I'm just delighted to see the Windies doing so well. Hopefully this gives them a base for other forms of the game, and will encourage a new generation of players to come through.

I reckon Gayle is likely to play in the final even if injured - he showed himself capable of incredible shots even when carrying the injury today

Rascasse

Horrible innings so far from SL. Quality bowling and fielding from Windies.

West Indies were my favorite to win this at the start but took to the semis to get going. They really do know how to play T20 - if only they could play the longer formats to the same standard.