A great day for the Irish!

[Richard]

No, it turned-out to be incorrect.

It was not an unwise prediction however - many things (statistics included, but not exclusively covered) contributed. Most evidence pointed to Pakistan being the more likely winners. However, trends are not without rucks.

 

[Prince EWS]

No, it turned-out to be incorrect.

It was not an unwise prediction however - many things (statistics included, but not exclusively covered) contributed. Most evidence pointed to Pakistan being the more likely winners. However, trends are not without rucks.

Personally I think it was a poor prediction. Pakistan's form was horrible leading into the game, their morale was low and they had several key players out. Ireland, on the other hand, were on a high, were pumped up for the game and had some players find some form in their previous outing.

Really, you can't argue it and say that Pakistan will win - because the game is already gone and Pakistan lost.

I can't believe I'm seriously arguing about something I've already been proven correct in, so I shan't bother any longer.

 

[Goughy]

I can't believe I'm seriously arguing about something I've already been proven correct in, so I shan't bother any longer.

Wise, wise move. Could go round in circles forever. For the record, you are clearly correct

 

[deeps]

oh man unbelievable! kudos to the irish though they bowled and fielded extremely well and the pakistani's lacked application in their batting.

They are missing alot of their players, but Afridi aside, the rest are bowlers... And expecting akhtar and asif to defend 132 is asking a fair bit (although not impossible by any stretch of the imagination)

Afridi would have made a huge difference. A quick 30 from him would dent the Irish spirits.

 

[Richard]

Personally I think it was a poor prediction. Pakistan's form was horrible leading into the game, their morale was low and they had several key players out. Ireland, on the other hand, were on a high, were pumped up for the game and had some players find some form in their previous outing.

... And they were nonetheless still possessed of many players better than the Irish team have ever come close to being. Which counts for a hell of a lot more... usually.

Really, you can't argue it and say that Pakistan will win - because the game is already gone and Pakistan lost.

I can't believe I'm seriously arguing about something I've already been proven correct in, so I shan't bother any longer.

Eh? What I'm "arguing it" is about what predictions before the game were based on, not what happened in the game. What happened in the game is plain for all to see.

 

[Richard]

Wise, wise move. Could go round in circles forever. For the record, you are clearly correct

He's correct in your opinion, more accurately.

I fail too see the circles that have been travelled so far, however.

 

[Dead Badger]

So you find the prospect of Ireland v Sri Lanka more enticing than Pakistan v Sri Lanka?

I find the prospect of a competition in which the teams that play well go through more enticing than the idea of one in which we decide which are the best teams right at the start, and just let them play amongst themselves. I find the prospect of an upsurge in Irish cricket more enticing than listening to Bob Woolmer stonewall through two months of press conferences. I find the prospect that even the "best" teams are required to earn their place with performances more enticing than the idea of just having them go through as of right.

I mean, why stop at the Super 8s? Just give it to Australia. Or just have them and the Saffers play the final. Who wants to see upsets, right? We like our outcomes pre-determined round here. This is cricket, not football!

 

[Steulen]

I was out in my local Irish pub celebrating St. Pats. All the Irish were still in shock about France nicking the Six Nations, but when the text messages started coming in about the cricket, even the guys who had just before combined the word cricket with a big spat of mucus and rolling of the eyes were whooping and high-fiving. Excellent stuff. When I left home the Irish were 57/3 and I dared not hope.

(...)

Up yours, minnow bashers

 

[jamesicus]

Well, let's see how Ireland fare in the coming C&G...

It remains a shame, though, that we'll have 5 mismatches (and Heaven knows, maybe more if Bangladesh qualify, too) in the Super Eight now. What was shaping-up well to be the best WC since 1992 could now be even worse than 2003.

I see it a little differently, Richard. I think the performances of underdogs, like Ireland in this instance, infuse excitement and wondrous anticipation into International cricket. When the West Indies won their first ever test series against England in 1935 the nabobs of English first class cricket wrung their hands in despair -- the end of classic test cricket they declared, a degradation of the grand old game. I think cricket is always the better for shocks such as this Ireland vs Pakistan match.

Cricket is a very resilient game and usually survives cataclysmic events far better than its followers -- I still haven't got over Bradman's dismissal for a duck in his final test match appearance!

James

 

[Richard]

I see it a little differently, Richard. I think the performances of underdogs, like Ireland in this instance, infuse excitement and wondrous anticipation into International cricket. When the West Indies won their first ever test series against England in 1935 the nabobs of English first class cricket wrung their hands in despair -- the end of classic test cricket they declared, a degradation of the grand old game. I think cricket is always the better for shocks such as this Ireland vs Pakistan match.

Cricket is a very resilient game and usually survives cataclysmic events far better than its followers -- I still haven't got over Bradman's dismissal for a duck in his final test match appearance!

James

Did they? I thought they'd been doing their utmost to help West Indies since the early 1900s; West Indies, indeed, were an excellent example of how to groom a nation for top-level cricket. When admitted, they deserved the status.

Personally I can't see this Cup surviving as a spectacle - it was already on dodgy ground with the problems beforehand.

 

[_Ed_]

I'm really enjoying this tournament so far, today was an amazing spectacle as far as I'm concerned. I loved seeing the sea of green shirts and the jubilant celebrations in the stands after the winning runs were hit, that's something I'll remember for a long time.

 

[jamesicus]

Did they? I thought they'd been doing their utmost to help West Indies since the early 1900s ..........

Yes, my use of nabobs was not very accurate -- on reflection, I believe it was more some of the pundits in the British press that were doing the grumbling. I believe the British cricketing public of the 1930s was generally unfamiliar with the skills and capabilities of the star West Indies cricketers such as Martindale, Hylton, Headley and Constantine. It didn't take long for Lancashire League fans to understand just how good they were when they became professionals in that league.

 

[Richard]

I find the prospect of an upsurge in Irish cricket more enticing than listening to Bob Woolmer stonewall through two months of press conferences.

If this game creates an upsurge in Irish interest in cricket I'm a badger. Ireland have been playing cricket for as long as anyone, and they've had a few sensational results in their time. Let's wait until they start winning more than 1 game out of 9 in the C&G before we get too excited, shall we?

I find the prospect that even the "best" teams are required to earn their place with performances more enticing than the idea of just having them go through as of right.

I mean, why stop at the Super 8s? Just give it to Australia. Or just have them and the Saffers play the final. Who wants to see upsets, right? We like our outcomes pre-determined round here. This is cricket, not football!

Yeah, I mean, why not go to the opposite end of the scale? Why not invite 200 teams to the finals, then we can really expand this Globalisation myth?

The line has to be drawn somewhere - there is a clearer and far more important line between 8 and 9 than there is anywhere else in international cricket.

 

[vic_orthdox]

The point is, that due to the policies used by the ICC and the inclusion of such sides at the WC, it's helping make the difference between 8 and 9 lesser and lesser. It's not going to suddenly happen over a year, especially if teams don't get a chance to perform at the highest level. Publicity about a sport within a minor cricket country won't happen after a win vs Pakistan A, Derbyshire, Western Australia. Getting the sport into the public eye is one of the key steps to helping it progress within a country. And that's what the World Cup achieves.

 

[Richard]

I'll say what I've said several times - including Ireland and Scotland (as 2 of the stronger substandard sides) will have the same amount of good on Globalising the game as will including Nevis or Monserrat. Or Tasmania.

Nor can I truly ever see Bermuda becoming a force, if their population really is smaller than a Toronto suberb. And if these are currently the strongest going around, it doesn't say much for the point in having teams like them at the Cup. If you want expansion (and it's not a given that such a thing's possible) you need to concentrate on areas with genuine potential, and not simply wreck World Cups in the meantime with extrovert invitations. If you want Globalisatian, you've got to be patient. Because, if the Chinas and Argentinas of this World are ever going to be interested, it ain't gonna happen for a while.

 

[luckyeddie]

So you find the prospect of Ireland v Sri Lanka more enticing than Pakistan v Sri Lanka?

I sure don't.

Licks lips

(Tastes of Guinness)

 

[Richard]

?

 

[GIMH]

?

 

[Pratters]

Great to have you back on CW Mr. Sanders..

 

[Swervy]

Personally I can't see this Cup surviving as a spectacle - it was already on dodgy ground with the problems beforehand.

you know where the off button on the remote is????

With respect,leave us lot to be entertained, and you can go to your bedroom, look up each squads averages in certain situations and conditions and work out in your head or on Excel who shoul dbe in the final, and entertain yourself by thinking about that.

I would much prefer the uncertainty of real cricket as opposed to teh cricket played on paper!!!