Ireland played their last match of the Cup yesterday and today's match will be the last for Bangladesh. They are up against the West Indies, a team that will be looking to salvage some pride after their disastrous run in the Super Eight stage. It will be interesting to see the line-up for the Windies, if skipper Brian Lara will play or not. Wish Lara steps up and lights up this World Cup with his brilliance, even though it will be a little too late.
Our predictions:
Bangladesh v/s West Indies
AKG: West Indies
MJV: Bangladesh. If they bat first, a score of around 200 would be a fighting total to defend once their three left-armers come on to bowl. The shot selection of some of their batsmen, including the classy Mohammed Ashraful, is awful. Aftab Ahmed is a dozen runs and done kind of batsman at the moment.
Match scheduled to start at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).
Showing posts with label West Indies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Indies. Show all posts
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
SHOWDOWN - SUPER EIGHT - MATCH DAY 13
Hosts West Indies take on the recently dethroned World No. 1 team South Africa in a crucial encounter today. The Windies desperately need a win to stay alive in the tournament, while another loss for South Africa after the defeat to Bangladesh will add to the excitement in the scramble for semi-final berths. However, South Africa face a stern test against the West Indies. When it comes to big tournaments such as the World Cup and the Champions Trophy, the Proteas have come a cropper against the men from the Caribbean. Lara and Co. will be hoping to once again squeeze out a win against the 'chokers.' Below are our predictions for today -
South Africa v/s West Indies
AKG: South Africa. They will definitely bounce back from the Bangladesh loss. The Windies better watch out.
MJV: West Indies. The time is ripe for the hosts to revive their chances of winning a World Cup. A victory would surely electrify the atmosphere in the islands.
Match starts at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).
South Africa v/s West Indies
AKG: South Africa. They will definitely bounce back from the Bangladesh loss. The Windies better watch out.
MJV: West Indies. The time is ripe for the hosts to revive their chances of winning a World Cup. A victory would surely electrify the atmosphere in the islands.
Match starts at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).
Sunday, April 1, 2007
SHOWDOWN - SUPER EIGHT - MATCHDAY 6
Today Sri Lanka take on the West Indies, with both teams hoping to get their first points in the Super Eight stage. The West Indies will be under pressure, having collected no points so far in two Super Eight games besides the two against Ireland that was carried forward from the group phase. Though they should be confident of a fightback, since the teams the lost to - Australia and New Zealand - have looked very impressive so far.
Sri Lanka will still be on a high even after losing the match to South Africa, with Lasith Malinga's 'double hat-trick.' However, skipper Mahela Jayawardene will need to use the powerplay overs more wisely, and his own form will be a worry if he decides to continue to bat at No.3.
Both team have a fair share of left-handed batsmen and will be relying on the southpaws to fire. Brian Lara has come under criticism for batting lower down the order. Today he should take on the responsibility of nullifying the threat Mutthiah Muralitharan poses.
Enough said, here's our predictions for today.
Sri Lanka v/s West Indies
AKG: Sri Lanka.
MJV: West Indies. Chanderpaul, Gayle, Lara and Samuels are all due for a big score.
Match starts at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).
Sri Lanka will still be on a high even after losing the match to South Africa, with Lasith Malinga's 'double hat-trick.' However, skipper Mahela Jayawardene will need to use the powerplay overs more wisely, and his own form will be a worry if he decides to continue to bat at No.3.
Both team have a fair share of left-handed batsmen and will be relying on the southpaws to fire. Brian Lara has come under criticism for batting lower down the order. Today he should take on the responsibility of nullifying the threat Mutthiah Muralitharan poses.
Enough said, here's our predictions for today.
Sri Lanka v/s West Indies
AKG: Sri Lanka.
MJV: West Indies. Chanderpaul, Gayle, Lara and Samuels are all due for a big score.
Match starts at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
SHOWDOWN - SUPER EIGHT - MATCHDAY 1
The Super Eight begins today, without two big names, India and Pakistan. But the intense rivalry will go on regardless. The astute oracles that we are, we have been proved otherwise in the last few days. This is a chance for redemption. The red hot Australians are making their opponents dance, but will the Windies follow suit? The Windies have home support and a certain Chris Gayle, along with the post-wicket celebration guru, Dwayne Bravo , which could be deterrents to the Aussie arsenal. Both the predictors, Ashok and Mathew think, and pray that the Windies win today!!
1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).
1900 IST on SET MAX (English) and SAB TV (Hindi).
Friday, March 23, 2007
Showdown - Matchday Eleven
Today's the big one. India have to beat Sri Lanka to qualify for the next round. West Indies will take on Ireland in the other match of the day; the Irish will be hoping that an upset win this time around won't have similar repercussions as the last one. Though both the teams have qualified for the next stage, this match is important as two points to be carried forward to the next stage are up for grabs.
So, as usual, our showdown for today.
India v/s Sri Lanka
AKG and MJV: India
Match starts at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English), SAB TV (Hindi) and DD-1.
Ireland v/s West Indies
AKG and MJV: West Indies
Match starts at 2000 IST on PIX.
So, as usual, our showdown for today.
India v/s Sri Lanka
AKG and MJV: India
Match starts at 1900 IST on SET MAX (English), SAB TV (Hindi) and DD-1.
Ireland v/s West Indies
AKG and MJV: West Indies
Match starts at 2000 IST on PIX.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Showdown - Matchday Six
The minnows will not repeat yesterday's events. Thats what both Mathew and Ashok feel. The reason is that the past days events would have made England and Australia double their efforts at annihilation.
Both of us went completely wrong yesterday. The Irish have handed the Pakistani's a rough exit on a day which bristled with the seminal Irish occasion.... St.Patrick's Day.. which we forgot to mention. The Bangladeshi's whipped India, on a day when their energy was amazing, and the Indians looked very sluggish with a Real Madrid like feel about them. Rather play for a winning team than be a member of a higher earning team....
Both of us went completely wrong yesterday. The Irish have handed the Pakistani's a rough exit on a day which bristled with the seminal Irish occasion.... St.Patrick's Day.. which we forgot to mention. The Bangladeshi's whipped India, on a day when their energy was amazing, and the Indians looked very sluggish with a Real Madrid like feel about them. Rather play for a winning team than be a member of a higher earning team....
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
Cricket coverage ... thats not important... it's all about the money!
Hi Folks! In a few weeks viewers in India will watch the Cricket World Cup on Sony's four channels; Set Max, Sony, Sab TV and Pix. Terrestrial broadcaster Doordarshan has signed an agreement with Sony to provide all the matches to its platform. But the blatant commercialization of cricket has meant that new and innovative ways to disrupt the viewing experience have been found by creative people without a conscience. You will have the irritating music with a weird cartoon figure, all excited when the batsmen scores a fifty or the team reaches three figures. The screen will suddenly shrink when the bowler is returning to the bowling mark, give way to a toothpaste ad and then come back to its old form, mid way through the bowlers run up. The national anthem, sung by the team and its supporters, which offered such a wonderful spectacle in last year's Soccer World Cup, is too unimportant for Sony's head honchos. They choose to ignore the national anthem segment during their coverage of the 2003 World Cup. The ad-breaks keep on increasing, and we are getting to see lesser and lesser of the actual match.
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is an innovative way to reach viewers via the Internet. But illegal softwares that broadcast TV channels are doing the rounds. I have used one such software, and I got to watch a Champions Trophy match on an Channel 9, Australia. Edgy display for lack of bandwidth notwithstanding, it was a surreal experience. I did not even notice the ads.
If only greed could be kept at bay!
IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is an innovative way to reach viewers via the Internet. But illegal softwares that broadcast TV channels are doing the rounds. I have used one such software, and I got to watch a Champions Trophy match on an Channel 9, Australia. Edgy display for lack of bandwidth notwithstanding, it was a surreal experience. I did not even notice the ads.
If only greed could be kept at bay!
Saturday, March 3, 2007
WC - Players to watch out for
Nearly 200-odd players will don their national colours this World Cup, all eager and rearing to showcase their talent in a tournament jointly hosted by eight nations, perhaps a record of some sorts. On the relaid tracks and newly-built stadiums in the West Indies, one still has to wait to determine which type of bowlers or batsmen will excel, but this is just an attempt at highlighting the players who may make a mark.
The Debutants
Two-time defending champions Australia goes into this World Cup with pace bowler Brett Lee ruled out and an injured Andrew Symonds hoping to make it in time for the Super Eight stage. The Aussie middle-order will be controlled by the two Michaels – Clarke and Hussey- who will be making their World Cup debut. Clarke, also known as ‘Pup’, might still be considered a youngster but he has already featured in 101 ODIs, and with some success that is. In the absence of Symonds, Clarke may be called upon to bowl his arm over as well; the left-arm spinner has best figures of 5/35 and 6/9 in ODIs and Tests respectively. Having lost on the finisher’s role to his namesake Bevan in the ‘Australia’s Greatest ODI XI’, Michael Hussey will be looking forward to succeeding in this World Cup, and if his ODI average of 66.81 is sustained during the campaign, Australia will surely be in the reckoning.
South Africa is on top of the one-day rankings, and many will be featuring in their first World Cup. Amongst them are AB De Villiers and Ashwell Prince, two players who have performed well in the recent past. De Villiers will most likely open the batting with skipper Graeme Smith, while the left-handed Prince along with Jacques Kallis will be entrusted the responsibility of handling the middle-overs. Both are also good fielders, especially the agile De Villiers, who has also kept wickets for his side in Test cricket.
In a side that boasts of batsmen such as Kumar Sangakarra, Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya, Tilakaratne Dilshan has stood tall and cemented his place. His records may not look that impressive, but he surely is electrifying on the field. He effected four run-outs in the 2005-06 VB Series final against Australia, forcing the home team to concede a rare lead in the best-of three series decider. His off-spin bowling will be handy if the wickets are conducive to spin, in addition to his cool presence in the batting line-up. Lasith Malinga has a round-arm action that looks scary to most even on a television set, more so if coupled with hair streaked in a hue between brown and blond. Sri Lanka’s fastest bowler can be erratic and expensive, but has the ability the pick up wickets, especially with the yorkers.
India brings a relatively experienced squad to this World Cup, with nine of the 15 in this squad having been around in the 2003 edition. The side includes Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the most exciting wicketkeeper-batsman post Adam Gilchrist, the one who made teams realise the all-round potential of a ’keeper in an age where genuine all-rounders are hard to come by. Dhoni may be restricted to a lower middle-order role in this World Cup, but many Indians will sit up the entire night only to watch the lad from Jharkhand clear the boundary ropes. Left-arm swing bowler and a handy bat Irfan Pathan could have done no wrong in his first two seasons of international cricket; however the 2004 ICC Emerging Player of the Year will have to fight the demons of poor form and fitness if he wants to do more than warm the benches.
New Zealand’s Jeetan Patel is no relation of Dipak Patel, the former off-spinner who defied convention when skipper Martin Crowe made him open the bowling for the Kiwis in the 1992 World Cup. The young Patel - an economical off-spinner with a good record to boot - will be hoping that his captain Stephen Fleming will take a gamble and play two spinners, as he would find it hard to win a place in the side ahead of the experienced vice-captain Daniel Vettori. Ross Taylor only made it to Team Black Caps last year, but the exciting 22-year old batsman is a crucial component in the Kiwi top-order, in the wake of Nathan Astle’s retirement.
England may be on the rebound following their convincing win in the tri-series over Australia, but will be looking forward to the return of their star batsman Kevin Pietersen, who injured himself during the tournament. An explosive batsman, Pietersen not only won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year but also the ICC One-Day Player of the Year for 2005. Along with the man of the moment Paul Collingwood, Pietersen will need to fire in order to propel England to its first World Cup. The other man to watch out for will be Mudhsuden Singh (Monty) Panesar. Panesar was the first Sikh to play for England, and has not even played a dozen ODIs for England. But the man whose first scalp in Test cricket is Sachin Tendulkar, will be vying with Daniel Vettori for the title of the best slow-left arm spinner at present in the world.
Pakistan’s unpredictably as a side has even begun before the team takes the field in the West Indies. Their top bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif are under the cloud of dope suspicion, and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq is out injured. Asif is a promising youngster and is a seam bowler who can trouble most batsmen. Shoaib Akhtar will spearhead the bowling if available but it is Shoaib Malik who could well lead the way for the side. A useful batsman, coach Bob Woolmer has smartly used him either as a mainstay at one-down or No.4 or as an aggressive bat lower down to finish off the innings. His off-spin bowling is modelled on the style of Saqlain Mushtaq, effective though not as successful.
The pressure of playing at home will be on Brian Lara and his boys. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo could play an important part in the team’s World Cup prospects. He’s a matchwinner with both bat and ball; his slower ones kick-started a disastrous run for a till then successful Indian one-day side when the team’s last visited the Windies. Jerome Taylor took a hat-trick in the side’s exciting win over the Aussies in the group stages of last year’s Champions Trophy. The Jamaican pacer will be looking forward to repeating that success at home.
The Last Hurrah
At 37, Brian Lara and Sanath Jayasuriya will for sure be playing their last World Cup. It’s a certainty that this World Cup will see many cricketers who will most probably either bid adieu to the game or at least the shorter version after the carnival ends in the West Indies.
This World Cup will see the defending champions say goodbye to Glenn McGrath, perhaps the game’s most accurate bowler since the great Sir Richard Hadlee. It will also be the last one for wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist and his opening partner Matthew Hayden. At 32 and with the phenomenal record he has in recent years, Ricky Ponting might wait to bow out in 2011. Brad Hogg and Brad Hodge might also see their position in the Aussie side handed over to youngsters once this World Cup is done with.
South Africa’s tried and tested players- Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Shaun Pollock- are all in their thirties, and a success here might convince a couple to perhaps walk off in style, at least from the shorter version of the game. Kallis and Boucher will only be 35 and 34 at the next one, so might hang around till then. However, Gibb and Pollock, both 33, will find it a tough battle to survive, more so for Pollock, South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in both forms of the game.
The stalwarts of Sri Lankan cricket over the years – Chaminda Vaas, Marvan Atappattu, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan – along with Russel Arnold look set to feature in the last World Cup of their careers, unless Murali can continue bowling his off-spinners till the island nation hosts the World Cup along with Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in 2011. Sri Lanka is considered a favourite by many, and these five will need to perform if they want to repeat their success of 1996, a side which had Jayasuriya, Murali and Vaas.
Anil Kumble has made his intentions clear for his career after the World Cup. Kumble will quit ODIs for certain. ‘The Big Three’ in the batting – skipper Rahul Dravid, vice-captain Sachin Tendulkar and former captain Sourav Ganguly- won’t be around till 2011 unless they can prolong their careers keeping the target in mind. Ganguly will turn 35 this year and had it not been for the woeful run of the side last year, would not have made it to this World Cup. Sachin Tendulkar may play the World Cup semi-finals on his 34th birthday, if India manages to qualify that is. Injuries have plagued the highest run-getter in ODIs and World Cups; though the team would be hoping that he can repeat the exploits of 2003.
For the Black Caps, 33-year old skipper Stephen Fleming might hand over the reins to a worthy successor after the World Cup. The man at the helm during the Kiwis’ two previous campaigns will be hoping to better the nation’s semi-final finishes in 1992 and 1999.
It’s uncertain whether England captain Michael Vaughan will play in the upcoming World Cup, forget the next one. Interestingly, wicketkeeper Paul Nixon, aged 36, will most likely be playing his first and last World Cup.
Pakistan skipper Inzamam ul-Haq will turn 37 on March 3, and would be looking to erase memories of his woeful run in South Africa, where he scored 16 runs in six matches. Inzamam has been suffering from indifferent form of late, but fans will wish he leaves the stage with many more great innings like the cameo that send the Kiwis crashing out of the World Cup in 1992. It remains to be seen if the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ Shoaib Akhtar will make it to this World Cup, which in all probability will be his last. Although one should not hazard predicting anything about a man involved in more action off the field rather than on it.
Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul will hope to end their careers by doing what no team has achieved before, a win on home soil. West Indies has not reached the finals of the World Cup since their loss to India in 1983. Both Lara - the greatest left-hander of all-time and perhaps of his generation as well- and Chanderpaul’s careers have come at a time when the West Indies slumped from world-beaters to almost minnows. Though the team has had sort of a revival with youngsters performing well under Lara’s leadership, the onus will be on the left-handed batsmen along with Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan.
The Debutants
Two-time defending champions Australia goes into this World Cup with pace bowler Brett Lee ruled out and an injured Andrew Symonds hoping to make it in time for the Super Eight stage. The Aussie middle-order will be controlled by the two Michaels – Clarke and Hussey- who will be making their World Cup debut. Clarke, also known as ‘Pup’, might still be considered a youngster but he has already featured in 101 ODIs, and with some success that is. In the absence of Symonds, Clarke may be called upon to bowl his arm over as well; the left-arm spinner has best figures of 5/35 and 6/9 in ODIs and Tests respectively. Having lost on the finisher’s role to his namesake Bevan in the ‘Australia’s Greatest ODI XI’, Michael Hussey will be looking forward to succeeding in this World Cup, and if his ODI average of 66.81 is sustained during the campaign, Australia will surely be in the reckoning.
South Africa is on top of the one-day rankings, and many will be featuring in their first World Cup. Amongst them are AB De Villiers and Ashwell Prince, two players who have performed well in the recent past. De Villiers will most likely open the batting with skipper Graeme Smith, while the left-handed Prince along with Jacques Kallis will be entrusted the responsibility of handling the middle-overs. Both are also good fielders, especially the agile De Villiers, who has also kept wickets for his side in Test cricket.
In a side that boasts of batsmen such as Kumar Sangakarra, Mahela Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya, Tilakaratne Dilshan has stood tall and cemented his place. His records may not look that impressive, but he surely is electrifying on the field. He effected four run-outs in the 2005-06 VB Series final against Australia, forcing the home team to concede a rare lead in the best-of three series decider. His off-spin bowling will be handy if the wickets are conducive to spin, in addition to his cool presence in the batting line-up. Lasith Malinga has a round-arm action that looks scary to most even on a television set, more so if coupled with hair streaked in a hue between brown and blond. Sri Lanka’s fastest bowler can be erratic and expensive, but has the ability the pick up wickets, especially with the yorkers.
India brings a relatively experienced squad to this World Cup, with nine of the 15 in this squad having been around in the 2003 edition. The side includes Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the most exciting wicketkeeper-batsman post Adam Gilchrist, the one who made teams realise the all-round potential of a ’keeper in an age where genuine all-rounders are hard to come by. Dhoni may be restricted to a lower middle-order role in this World Cup, but many Indians will sit up the entire night only to watch the lad from Jharkhand clear the boundary ropes. Left-arm swing bowler and a handy bat Irfan Pathan could have done no wrong in his first two seasons of international cricket; however the 2004 ICC Emerging Player of the Year will have to fight the demons of poor form and fitness if he wants to do more than warm the benches.
New Zealand’s Jeetan Patel is no relation of Dipak Patel, the former off-spinner who defied convention when skipper Martin Crowe made him open the bowling for the Kiwis in the 1992 World Cup. The young Patel - an economical off-spinner with a good record to boot - will be hoping that his captain Stephen Fleming will take a gamble and play two spinners, as he would find it hard to win a place in the side ahead of the experienced vice-captain Daniel Vettori. Ross Taylor only made it to Team Black Caps last year, but the exciting 22-year old batsman is a crucial component in the Kiwi top-order, in the wake of Nathan Astle’s retirement.
England may be on the rebound following their convincing win in the tri-series over Australia, but will be looking forward to the return of their star batsman Kevin Pietersen, who injured himself during the tournament. An explosive batsman, Pietersen not only won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year but also the ICC One-Day Player of the Year for 2005. Along with the man of the moment Paul Collingwood, Pietersen will need to fire in order to propel England to its first World Cup. The other man to watch out for will be Mudhsuden Singh (Monty) Panesar. Panesar was the first Sikh to play for England, and has not even played a dozen ODIs for England. But the man whose first scalp in Test cricket is Sachin Tendulkar, will be vying with Daniel Vettori for the title of the best slow-left arm spinner at present in the world.
Pakistan’s unpredictably as a side has even begun before the team takes the field in the West Indies. Their top bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif are under the cloud of dope suspicion, and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq is out injured. Asif is a promising youngster and is a seam bowler who can trouble most batsmen. Shoaib Akhtar will spearhead the bowling if available but it is Shoaib Malik who could well lead the way for the side. A useful batsman, coach Bob Woolmer has smartly used him either as a mainstay at one-down or No.4 or as an aggressive bat lower down to finish off the innings. His off-spin bowling is modelled on the style of Saqlain Mushtaq, effective though not as successful.
The pressure of playing at home will be on Brian Lara and his boys. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo could play an important part in the team’s World Cup prospects. He’s a matchwinner with both bat and ball; his slower ones kick-started a disastrous run for a till then successful Indian one-day side when the team’s last visited the Windies. Jerome Taylor took a hat-trick in the side’s exciting win over the Aussies in the group stages of last year’s Champions Trophy. The Jamaican pacer will be looking forward to repeating that success at home.
The Last Hurrah
At 37, Brian Lara and Sanath Jayasuriya will for sure be playing their last World Cup. It’s a certainty that this World Cup will see many cricketers who will most probably either bid adieu to the game or at least the shorter version after the carnival ends in the West Indies.
This World Cup will see the defending champions say goodbye to Glenn McGrath, perhaps the game’s most accurate bowler since the great Sir Richard Hadlee. It will also be the last one for wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist and his opening partner Matthew Hayden. At 32 and with the phenomenal record he has in recent years, Ricky Ponting might wait to bow out in 2011. Brad Hogg and Brad Hodge might also see their position in the Aussie side handed over to youngsters once this World Cup is done with.
South Africa’s tried and tested players- Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher and Shaun Pollock- are all in their thirties, and a success here might convince a couple to perhaps walk off in style, at least from the shorter version of the game. Kallis and Boucher will only be 35 and 34 at the next one, so might hang around till then. However, Gibb and Pollock, both 33, will find it a tough battle to survive, more so for Pollock, South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in both forms of the game.
The stalwarts of Sri Lankan cricket over the years – Chaminda Vaas, Marvan Atappattu, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan – along with Russel Arnold look set to feature in the last World Cup of their careers, unless Murali can continue bowling his off-spinners till the island nation hosts the World Cup along with Bangladesh, India and Pakistan in 2011. Sri Lanka is considered a favourite by many, and these five will need to perform if they want to repeat their success of 1996, a side which had Jayasuriya, Murali and Vaas.
Anil Kumble has made his intentions clear for his career after the World Cup. Kumble will quit ODIs for certain. ‘The Big Three’ in the batting – skipper Rahul Dravid, vice-captain Sachin Tendulkar and former captain Sourav Ganguly- won’t be around till 2011 unless they can prolong their careers keeping the target in mind. Ganguly will turn 35 this year and had it not been for the woeful run of the side last year, would not have made it to this World Cup. Sachin Tendulkar may play the World Cup semi-finals on his 34th birthday, if India manages to qualify that is. Injuries have plagued the highest run-getter in ODIs and World Cups; though the team would be hoping that he can repeat the exploits of 2003.
For the Black Caps, 33-year old skipper Stephen Fleming might hand over the reins to a worthy successor after the World Cup. The man at the helm during the Kiwis’ two previous campaigns will be hoping to better the nation’s semi-final finishes in 1992 and 1999.
It’s uncertain whether England captain Michael Vaughan will play in the upcoming World Cup, forget the next one. Interestingly, wicketkeeper Paul Nixon, aged 36, will most likely be playing his first and last World Cup.
Pakistan skipper Inzamam ul-Haq will turn 37 on March 3, and would be looking to erase memories of his woeful run in South Africa, where he scored 16 runs in six matches. Inzamam has been suffering from indifferent form of late, but fans will wish he leaves the stage with many more great innings like the cameo that send the Kiwis crashing out of the World Cup in 1992. It remains to be seen if the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ Shoaib Akhtar will make it to this World Cup, which in all probability will be his last. Although one should not hazard predicting anything about a man involved in more action off the field rather than on it.
Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul will hope to end their careers by doing what no team has achieved before, a win on home soil. West Indies has not reached the finals of the World Cup since their loss to India in 1983. Both Lara - the greatest left-hander of all-time and perhaps of his generation as well- and Chanderpaul’s careers have come at a time when the West Indies slumped from world-beaters to almost minnows. Though the team has had sort of a revival with youngsters performing well under Lara’s leadership, the onus will be on the left-handed batsmen along with Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan.
Too many minnows fill the Cup?
Michael Holding may have spoken the mind of many a cricket fan when he questioned the logic behind having so many non-Test playing nations or the Associate Members of the ICC – the ‘minnows’ - at the sport’s premier event. This edition of the World Cup will see Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, Kenya, the Netherlands and Scotland vie for honours alongside top-ranked teams South Africa and Australia. Test-playing nations Bangladesh and Zimbabwe will also be playing with the ‘minnows’ tag.
The number of teams playing the World Cup has increased from nine at the1992 edition in Australia to 16 in this year’s tournament. The consequence: a World Cup lasting nearly two months, in contrast to a month-long event for the Football World Cup, featuring 32 teams. And cricket is not even half as popular as football.
Coming back to the minnows, one must not belittle their ability to spring a surprise or two. It has happened in earlier World Cups, and chances are that a repeat will occur in the West Indies. The World Cup might be only chance for most players from these teams to rub shoulders with the ‘big boys’, apart from sharing the limelight.
Bangladesh will be leading the pack this time; though like the others they will need a great effort to overcome their sub-continental counterparts India and Sri Lanka to qualify for the Super Eight stage from Group B. However, the team led by batsman Habibul Bashar and coached by Dave Whatmore – the man who succeeded in guiding an unfancied Sri Lanka to the 1996 title- will take inspiration from their upset win over Pakistan at the 1999 World Cup and another over World Champions Australia in the NatWest tri-series in 2005. The Bangladesh squad for this World Cup only has skipper Bashar and wily left-arm spinner Mohammed Rafique from the 2003 squad, and with an average age of 23.6, has some exciting players such as Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammed Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed to watch out for.
Bermuda is the fourth team in Group B, this being the first-ever appearance at the World Cup for the island nation. Irvine Romaine will lead the side. Key players include English county Glamorgan skipper and batsman David Hemp. The team fared poorly at the recently concluded World Cricket League in Kenya – featuring the top six ICC Associates- and lost all but one of their five matches. The team consists of what many call “unfit amateurs”, surprising for a country where cricket is the national sport. The team has former West Indian cricketer Gus Logie as coach.
Zimbabwe may still play Test cricket, but they are far from the peak that they hit in the 1999 World Cup. A win over India and South Africa saw them reach the Super Six stage, but they missed out on a semi-final berth. Internal strife has plagued the team in recent years, and this team led by 21-year old off-spinner Prosper Utseya lacks the star quality of the Flower brothers, Heath Streak or Henry Olonga. Utseya and Sean Williams are the players to look out for. Coached by former player Kevin Curran – who incidentally played a part in the country’s stunning win over Australia in the 1983 World Cup- will be hoping his young lads can create a amongst the ranks of Pakistan and West Indies, the top sides expected to go through in Group D.
Ireland faces a tough proposition in Group D. The country is the other debutant in this World Cup, and will be hoping that opponents Pakistan, Zimbabwe and the West Indies strike the indifferent form that they are prone to. Their bowlers failed to deliver at the World Cricket League in Kenya, the team ending with one win, though all losses were closely contested. Batsmen hold the key for the side, 22-year old William Portenfield being one of them.
Kenya will consider having done a good job even if they match their semi-final appearance in the 2003 edition. Star batsman Steven Tikolo leads the African side that has Canada, England and New Zealand for company in Group C. Former West Indian off-spinner Roger Harper is coach of the team that boasts of talented players such as all-rounder Thomas Odoyo, leg-spinner Collins Obuya and medium-pace bowler Peter Ongondo. However, the team will miss the services of World Cup stalwarts Kennedy Otieno and Hitesh Modi as well as fast bowler Martin Suji, who is out due to a knee injury. The team’s win over West Indies in 1996 remains one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
Think of Canada and one instantly recalls skipper John Davison’s blitzkrieg against the West Indies. Slotted in Group D, Canada will come up against England and New Zealand – two sides on the back of successes against the Aussies- and Kenya, a semi-finalist in South Africa. Vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Ashish Bagai was named ‘Player of the Tournament’ at the World Cricket League, Nairobi. Former West Indian fast bowler Anderson Cummins also figures in the squad.
Scotland will make their third consecutive appearance this World Cup. Scotland lost to eventual winners Kenya in the World Cricket League in Nairobi, and tops the Associate ODI rankings, which does not include Kenya though. The team has to compete in Group A alongside the top two ODI sides of the world – South Africa and Australia. Scotland won the ICC Trophy, the qualification tournament for this World Cup, in 2005. Gavin Hamilton, the all-rounder who was the star of their campaign in 1999 and later played for England, will play for the minnows in this World Cup.
The Netherlands is the other team in Group A and their match with Scotland will be one to watch out for. Batsmen Bas Zuiderant and Ryan ten Doeschate had a good run in Nairobi and will be hoping to replicate that form against quality bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock. The team is captained by 37-year old Luuk van Troost. The Netherlands’s Nolan Clarke made history at the 1996 World Cup, at 47 years and 257 days he became the oldest player to appear in an ODI when he played South Africa at Rawalpinidi.
Eight ‘minnows’ will be playing this World Cup, in spite of doubts over their ability. However, with so many ‘minnows’ in the fray, it will hardly be a surprise if one or two can pull off an upset.
The number of teams playing the World Cup has increased from nine at the1992 edition in Australia to 16 in this year’s tournament. The consequence: a World Cup lasting nearly two months, in contrast to a month-long event for the Football World Cup, featuring 32 teams. And cricket is not even half as popular as football.
Coming back to the minnows, one must not belittle their ability to spring a surprise or two. It has happened in earlier World Cups, and chances are that a repeat will occur in the West Indies. The World Cup might be only chance for most players from these teams to rub shoulders with the ‘big boys’, apart from sharing the limelight.
Bangladesh will be leading the pack this time; though like the others they will need a great effort to overcome their sub-continental counterparts India and Sri Lanka to qualify for the Super Eight stage from Group B. However, the team led by batsman Habibul Bashar and coached by Dave Whatmore – the man who succeeded in guiding an unfancied Sri Lanka to the 1996 title- will take inspiration from their upset win over Pakistan at the 1999 World Cup and another over World Champions Australia in the NatWest tri-series in 2005. The Bangladesh squad for this World Cup only has skipper Bashar and wily left-arm spinner Mohammed Rafique from the 2003 squad, and with an average age of 23.6, has some exciting players such as Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammed Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed to watch out for.
Bermuda is the fourth team in Group B, this being the first-ever appearance at the World Cup for the island nation. Irvine Romaine will lead the side. Key players include English county Glamorgan skipper and batsman David Hemp. The team fared poorly at the recently concluded World Cricket League in Kenya – featuring the top six ICC Associates- and lost all but one of their five matches. The team consists of what many call “unfit amateurs”, surprising for a country where cricket is the national sport. The team has former West Indian cricketer Gus Logie as coach.
Zimbabwe may still play Test cricket, but they are far from the peak that they hit in the 1999 World Cup. A win over India and South Africa saw them reach the Super Six stage, but they missed out on a semi-final berth. Internal strife has plagued the team in recent years, and this team led by 21-year old off-spinner Prosper Utseya lacks the star quality of the Flower brothers, Heath Streak or Henry Olonga. Utseya and Sean Williams are the players to look out for. Coached by former player Kevin Curran – who incidentally played a part in the country’s stunning win over Australia in the 1983 World Cup- will be hoping his young lads can create a amongst the ranks of Pakistan and West Indies, the top sides expected to go through in Group D.
Ireland faces a tough proposition in Group D. The country is the other debutant in this World Cup, and will be hoping that opponents Pakistan, Zimbabwe and the West Indies strike the indifferent form that they are prone to. Their bowlers failed to deliver at the World Cricket League in Kenya, the team ending with one win, though all losses were closely contested. Batsmen hold the key for the side, 22-year old William Portenfield being one of them.
Kenya will consider having done a good job even if they match their semi-final appearance in the 2003 edition. Star batsman Steven Tikolo leads the African side that has Canada, England and New Zealand for company in Group C. Former West Indian off-spinner Roger Harper is coach of the team that boasts of talented players such as all-rounder Thomas Odoyo, leg-spinner Collins Obuya and medium-pace bowler Peter Ongondo. However, the team will miss the services of World Cup stalwarts Kennedy Otieno and Hitesh Modi as well as fast bowler Martin Suji, who is out due to a knee injury. The team’s win over West Indies in 1996 remains one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
Think of Canada and one instantly recalls skipper John Davison’s blitzkrieg against the West Indies. Slotted in Group D, Canada will come up against England and New Zealand – two sides on the back of successes against the Aussies- and Kenya, a semi-finalist in South Africa. Vice-captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Ashish Bagai was named ‘Player of the Tournament’ at the World Cricket League, Nairobi. Former West Indian fast bowler Anderson Cummins also figures in the squad.
Scotland will make their third consecutive appearance this World Cup. Scotland lost to eventual winners Kenya in the World Cricket League in Nairobi, and tops the Associate ODI rankings, which does not include Kenya though. The team has to compete in Group A alongside the top two ODI sides of the world – South Africa and Australia. Scotland won the ICC Trophy, the qualification tournament for this World Cup, in 2005. Gavin Hamilton, the all-rounder who was the star of their campaign in 1999 and later played for England, will play for the minnows in this World Cup.
The Netherlands is the other team in Group A and their match with Scotland will be one to watch out for. Batsmen Bas Zuiderant and Ryan ten Doeschate had a good run in Nairobi and will be hoping to replicate that form against quality bowlers like Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock. The team is captained by 37-year old Luuk van Troost. The Netherlands’s Nolan Clarke made history at the 1996 World Cup, at 47 years and 257 days he became the oldest player to appear in an ODI when he played South Africa at Rawalpinidi.
Eight ‘minnows’ will be playing this World Cup, in spite of doubts over their ability. However, with so many ‘minnows’ in the fray, it will hardly be a surprise if one or two can pull off an upset.
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