Group B - Pakistan, England, Netherlands

[abhinav_super]

Yep, agreed. It's just like winning World Cup for Holland,when they beat England couple of days before .

 

[Shri]

Well done Pakistan.

 

[kingkallis]

I'm not sure I'd agree with that....

However, I would just say that if the Dutch make 151, they deserve to go thru. Similarly, if Pakistan bounce back well to win this one convincingly, they deserve to go thru....

I agree! If they can defend this total with such a pathetic fielding unit, they surely deserve to be there!

 

[pasag]

Holland in a bit of trouble here, a lot lies on the shoulders of The Great One.

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

Jeez, they just kept on offering chances to Pakistan, and finally they take another one.

Zuiderent and Kervezee looked totally at sea trying to score at a quick rate and were constantly hitting the ball high rather than far. I don't know why de Groothe hasn't been sent out there earlier.

Pftt, and now Borren goes, someone who showed the ability to score quickly the other day. I think it's all over now for the Dutch.

 

[abhinav_super]

49/4 after 9 overs, seems to be in trouble Dutch.

 

[Uppercut]

Climb down from the moral high horse please. Nowhere in my post did I say that Pakistanis are not responsible for their own predicament. They are isolated, and increasingly marginalized. If you don’t believe that, then we just have a different opinion. Also you have missed my entire point. The question is what would be better for world cricket: Pakistan winning or the Dutch advancing? I (with a fair bit of bias of course) say the former. As great as it would be for a minnow to advance, I think Pakistan bouncing back in International Cricket would be more useful for the betterment of the game.

I'm interested- what do you define as "good for world cricket?"

 

[Uppercut]

jeez, they just kept on offering chances to pakistan, and finally they take another one.

Zuiderent and kervezee looked totally at sea trying to score at a quick rate and were constantly hitting the ball high rather than far. I don't know why de groothe hasn't been sent out there earlier.

Pftt, and now borren goes, someone who showed the ability to score quickly the other day. i think it's all over now for the dutch.

rtd?

 

[kingkallis]

If Afridi fails in the end and Butt fails to impress - I would have Afridi open the batting and Fawad playing at No.7 / No.8

 

[KiWiNiNjA]

rtd?

If he plays a blinder...

 

[pasag]

Last man tucker?

 

[abhinav_super]

Well, Afridi can't bat at all.

Butt is much beter then him or else call Jamshed.

 

[shivfan]

This match is slipping away from the Dutch now....

 

[Fusion]

I'm interested- what do you define as "good for world cricket?"

Established nations continuing to matter while minnows further their development. To me, any sport needs its major nations to be viable and competitive. Pakistan are going down the opposite path (due to mostly their own faults of course). Cricket is a global sport competing for the hearts and minds of audiences that have many choices. In order to prosper, Cricket needs to keep its already established base strong, while expanding and growing in other markets. As such, it would be good for world Cricket if Pakistan were to bounce back and become competitive again.

 

[Pratters]

They only play Cricket,Hockey and nothing else.

Squash too.

Afridi is the hero for the day as he takes his second wicket. Really has been superb with his bowling with the Dutch having no answers.

 

[Beleg]

Climb down from the moral high horse please. Nowhere in my post did I say that Pakistanis are not responsible for their own predicament. They are isolated, and increasingly marginalized. If you don’t believe that, then we just have a different opinion. Also you have missed my entire point. The question is what would be better for world cricket: Pakistan winning or the Dutch advancing? I (with a fair bit of bias of course) say the former. As great as it would be for a minnow to advance, I think Pakistan bouncing back in International Cricket would be more useful for the betterment of the game.

moral high horse? on the contrary. I am merely being honest. a lot of this so called marginalisation is nothing more than a figment of the collective pakistani imagination and our tendency to look for scapegoats. the isolation's there for a reason - the gross incompetency of pakistani cricket boards over the years, the financial mismanagement, the internal turmoil, all of 'em add up - cricket doesn't just exist in a bubble. people, in general, judge nations based on their previous track records and ours isn't exactly stellar. have a look around on the forum and read xuhaib's 'support team' thread. there's a reason nobody choose pakistan as their second team.

i contend that your question is completely spurious. better for the whole world? what the bleeding hell... neither of the two outcomes are going to create as much as a ripple in the wider scheme of things. obviously, a dutch win would be FAR more memorable than a pakistani defeat. your attempt at trying to paint a defeat here as the demise of cricket in pakistan is needlessly reactive at best and completely infantile in its predictability.

in this particular case 'betterment of the game' is just a catch-phrase with absolutely no substance. the game as a whole isn't going to lift itself up a notch just because the pakistani team happened to accomplish what was expected of them. the attitude of the pakistani cricketers and the tempestuous nature of pakistani cricketing fans means that a defeat here might lead to a few mock funerals but by and large, we have bigger things to worry about.

a win for the dutch here is definitely going to have a bigger net positive effect on the game in the continent. and to borrow the tired old cliche, it might actually lead to the 'betterment of the game' in the future.

 

[abhinav_super]

Well , I think now Pak and England goes straight away into the super 8's .

 

[Pratters]

Goughy's prediction looks good. Fair play to him.

 

[Uppercut]

Established nations continuing to matter while minnows further their development. To me, any sport needs its major nations to be viable and competitive. Pakistan are going down the opposite path (due to mostly their own faults of course). Cricket is a global sport competing for the hearts and minds of audiences that have many choices. In order to prosper, Cricket needs to keep its already established base strong, while expanding and growing in other markets. As such, it would be good for world Cricket if Pakistan were to bounce back and become competitive again.

That's not what i meant at all. Forget the whole Pakistan thing- what is the ultimate goal of world cricket that all other considerations contribute towards? To be as popular as possible? To make a lot of money? To be competitive and entertaining? What's defined as "good" and "bad" for world cricket?

 

[Pratters]

Agree with Fusion that it is not good for world cricket if Pakistan gets marginilised. Am supporting them to win over Holland today and they are doing it despite some fielding hiccups. Cricket needs a fighting Pakistan side to be in a healthier state than it is.