Group A - India, England, Australia, West Indies

[Mister Wright]

What set Gayle off? Nah, I wouldn't mind knowing either (if there was in fact, anything). But his behaviour was a bit outlandish, and from what I saw, directed solely at Clarke. He repeatedly advanced in towards Clarke between deliveries (when he was fielding) and followed him up and down the pitch in his ear at all times. It wasn't like he was enraged and yelling, but he certainly was incredibly p'd off. At times he made as if he was going to physically restrain Clarke from moving on.

After a while, between deliveries, Clarke was walking away to the other side as Gayle approached him, in an attempt to either defuse or avoid the situation.

Surely it would have to be something serious to wake Gayle up. I wouldn't be surprised if Clarke said something to him. He does seem to be a bit of a chatter out on the field.

 

[Pratters]

No media online has reported any thing on what happened/possibly happened between the two yet. It is weird how the umpires didn't report the incident. Ponting expressed displeasure at it not reported.

 

[Laurrz]

i am stunned...but i believe it... woke up this morning had this strange feeling... was pretty shattered through the day which is quite sad lol... cricket really gets into my life haha.. and its not even the Ashes yet!

anyways the scary thing is that this is Australias absolute best XI i think...oh and Watson needs to pull his head in... he has said openly that he has the right technique as an opener... i'd rather him slow down coz Gilly is there and not go crazy as well... geez... his bowling was good though... but it seems when he is good at one he is **** at the other..which is not wat is needed

Two huge games coming up for us.. England and India , The England one i will be able to watch all of it... but the Indian one only ONE innings

But well done Windies if theres any team i want Aus to lose to it'd be them..

well we can still make the finals... just need two wins.. but that isn't dissappointing...its the fact that we are now def beatable... hopefully Windies beat India so that they will go through and it will between India and Australia if we beat England

looking forward to Saturday should be a good match.... both teams will be really fired up...

 

[honestbharani]

Which of course, no Australian has ever done...

more like, all Aussies always do...



kidding. But seriously, can't imagine Gayle just getting riled up so much because he wasn't getting wickets. Must have been something that was said to him. Still really doesn't excuse his behaviour, which was well over the line but at least it sorta becomes understandable.

 

[Burgey]

more like, all Aussies always do...



kidding. But seriously, can't imagine Gayle just getting riled up so much because he wasn't getting wickets. Must have been something that was said to him. Still really doesn't excuse his behaviour, which was well over the line but at least it sorta becomes understandable.

C'mon mate, if Ponting acted like that you'd want his head on a platter, no matter what was said to provoke him.

And you'd be right too.

Wonder what, if anything will happen.

 

[Xuhaib]

I know England is not taking this tournament seriously but I feel they should really get pumped up for their next game because if they can eliminate Aus from the tournament it would be Rose Bowl 20/20 from last summer all over again.

 

[kodos]

I'd say Englang are taking the Champion's trophy seriously. I mean if they are willing to send a full strength squad to India, they surely are serious abour their participation in the tournament.

 

[Matt79]

Sure its been said, but I bet the Aussies would have appreciated a 45 from 70 balls last night at the top of the order rather than a duck.

I was really keen for Watson to come in for Katich, I hope he has a better game next game!

 

[TT Boy]

If anything it makes it even worse IMO - we've no hope now they need the win!

For sure but Australia will now have the added pressure knowing full well if they lose there gone. We have nothing to lose, they do.

 

[Arjun]

For the Indian team, here are a few hints that matches just completed have to offer.

Australia v/s West Indies– Victory run: Adam Gilchrist, known for his explosive batting, often hitting sixes that put bowling tems on the backfoot, ran lots of singles for his 92. Likewise Michael Clarke. This is something that India's dashers should do a lot more often. They won't get six-hits all the time, so if the ball is not there to hit, it's there to turn over ther strike. Sehwag, in particular, should stop batting for strike rates and start batting for centuries. Likewise Yuvraj.

Australia v/s West Indies– Keeping stocks: The likes of Symonds, Chris Gayle and Brad Hogg are by no means world class spinners, but they serve a purpose. They bowl their stocks of ten overs and support their bowlers well, and take a few extra wickets, which always count. Then they contribute more than a few runs when they come out to bat. Symonds and Gayle, in particular, are frontline batsmen for their teams. All of them are hard hitters and momentum players. The Indians should hold on to Ramesh Powar and use him the same way. Reverting to part-timers to bowl ten overs is counter-productive.

Australia v/s West Indies– Force the pace: Jerome Taylor bowled some stinging deliveries at serious pace. Even on a pitch that offered little to seamers, he turned out to be more than a handful– a matchwinner, with four wickets. He got the dangerous Hussey out quickly and even got a hat-trick, cleaning up the tail. It's a pity the Indians dropped the one bowler who can do that just as well. They can recall Sreesanth rightaway, unless Munaf can add a few meaningful yards of pace.

Sri Lanka v/s West Indies– The final call: The Lankan batting unit folded up like a house of cards touched by a gentle gust of wind in the final overs. Frankly, none of the specialist batsmen can come good only in the final eight overs, which demand frantic running between wickets and some extra big hits to the fence and over. Compare that with the Pakistanis, who set up a surge in the final overs with a chunky partnership, followed by Abdul Razzaq's explosive chunk which won the match. This is where they need rapid runs at positions seven and eight, so they have to use Irfan and Powar judiciously, to capitalise on those overs, rather than send in Kaif, Raina or Mongia who will only mess up the innings there.

Sri Lanka v/s Pakistan– The wrong strike: The Pakistanis erred in sending in Shahid Afridi early, when a wicket had just fallen and the scene was still tense, when batting was difficult. The time required a chunky partnership, not berserk shots. Likewise, the Indians should be careful about batting order issues– whom they send to Number Three or where Dhoni, Irfan or Powar bat, and when.

Sri Lanka v/s Pakistan– Don't give an inch: This is noticed in most matches so far. The fielding, even of the Indians, has been top-notch. Bowling attacks may be ordinary, but a superior fielding unit can enhance them. A few extra runs from the bat may be sacrificed, as long as they save those runs when they're out on the field. The Indians should hold on to Suresh Raina.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Australia v/s West Indies– Force the pace: Jerome Taylor bowled some stinging deliveries at serious pace. Even on a pitch that offered little to seamers, he turned out to be more than a handful– a matchwinner, with four wickets. He got the dangerous Hussey out quickly and even got a hat-trick, cleaning up the tail. It's a pity the Indians dropped the one bowler who can do that just as well. They can recall Sreesanth rightaway, unless Munaf can add a few meaningful yards of pace.

Probably can't, actually. You need ICC approval to replace a player, and that's not given for just "oh, we don't want this guy in the team any more."

So unless they can manufacture some doping allegations around RP Singh , they're stuck with the 14.

 

[Johnners]

Australia v/s West Indies– Keeping stocks: The likes of Symonds, Chris Gayle and Brad Hogg are by no means world class spinners, but they serve a purpose. They bowl their stocks of ten overs and support their bowlers well, and take a few extra wickets, which always count. Then they contribute more than a few runs when they come out to bat. Symonds and Gayle, in particular, are frontline batsmen for their teams. All of them are hard hitters and momentum players. The Indians should hold on to Ramesh Powar and use him the same way. Reverting to part-timers to bowl ten overs is counter-productive.

You've got to be Joking right? Hogg is one of the top ODI spinners, he often takes 2/3 wickets for not many runs, and his average, strike-rate & economy prove that. IMO he should be a permanent fixture in the line-up, instead of being bundled out often and playing Symonds as the top spinner.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

They can recall Sreesanth rightaway, unless Munaf can add a few meaningful yards of pace.[/U].

So you would replace Munaf Patel with Sreesanth if you had to pick the team today?

 

[Poker Boy]

I think England are taking it seriously, they just batted brainlessly on Sunday! Hopefully they've learnt from NZ and WI that if you get into trouble batting first you make sure you bat out the overs - even at 3-4 RPO - and set a score of 200-230 that if you bowl well you can defend - rather than collapse for 130 which you have NO chance of defnding! PS - well done WI - the last two matches have been just what the tournament needed and it would be nice to see WI do well - cricket can't afford a poor WI team as it means the Caribbean loses interest and concentrates on American sports instead.

 

[Pratters]

So you would replace Munaf Patel with Sreesanth if you had to pick the team today?

Yes. He would also kick Agarkar out of the team.

 

[silentstriker]

Yes. He would also kick Agarkar out of the team.

I would have Z. Khan, Agarkar, Munaf and Sreesanth as my four seamers and I'd pick two or three out of those as needed.

 

[Arjun]

Probably can't, actually. You need ICC approval to replace a player, and that's not given for just "oh, we don't want this guy in the team any more."

So unless they can manufacture some doping allegations around RP Singh , they're stuck with the 14.

On a more positive note, they can send him in place of Agarkar with orders to bowl as fast as possible without giving too much away, but frankly, Munaf bowling at full pace and RP Singh holding on to a line and length would be just right. Anyway, the sooner Zaheer returns to the ODI side, the better.

 

[pasag]

You've got to be Joking right? Hogg is one of the top ODI spinners, he often takes 2/3 wickets for not many runs, and his average, strike-rate & economy prove that. IMO he should be a permanent fixture in the line-up, instead of being bundled out often and playing Symonds as the top spinner.

Yeh totally agree there. He is so good and so underrated.

 

[Mr Mxyzptlk]

On a more positive note, they can send him in place of Agarkar with orders to bowl as fast as possible without giving too much away, but frankly, Munaf bowling at full pace and RP Singh holding on to a line and length would be just right. Anyway, the sooner Zaheer returns to the ODI side, the better.

Because if there's one thing Sreesanth has proven with his economy rate of 5.58 after 19 matches, it's that he can bowl fast without giving too much away.

And with regards to Patel, I don't see what he's doing wrong bowl at his present pace. He's been India's best seamer for the last few games.

 

[Mister Wright]

You've got to be Joking right? Hogg is one of the top ODI spinners, he often takes 2/3 wickets for not many runs, and his average, strike-rate & economy prove that. IMO he should be a permanent fixture in the line-up, instead of being bundled out often and playing Symonds as the top spinner.

Even so, I don't think he'll make it to the World Cup. He just isn't used enough.