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*Official* Cricket World Cup in Australia, CWLand and New Zealand
- Thread starter Magrat Garlick
- Start date
dontcloseyoureyes
BARNES OUT
Well done boysss
Right arm fast
State Vice-Captain
great work CW well bowled hoy
ash chaulk
International Captain
well batted marc
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Super Eights: New Zealand v India
at Christchurch
Scorecard
India nearly secured their elimination from the World Cup after another dismal defeat in the World Cup, this time to rampant New Zealanders, who have now overcome two subcontinental opponents in three days. Once again, a Kiwi contributed with a century, this time Nathan Astle, whose 128 not out brought memories of older days. India failed in their containment effort in excellent bowling conditions, allowing New Zealand to pile on 273 for five, despite another grinding knock from Brendan McCullum.
India then fell over. Only Suresh Raina had his sights firmly set on the target, scoring 41 off 40 balls, but when he was deemed lbw to a slower ball from Scott Styris, the innings choked on Jacob Oram. Oram's niggling medium pace found its home at Christchurch, ending with figures of 10-2-26-1, while Shane Bond coupled his two early-innings spell by rounding off Singh and Khan. Mohammad Kaif was left stranded on 60 not out, but probably batted a couple of spots too low in the order, as a reshuffle of the batting order failed to give any help.
New Zealand 273 for 5 (50 overs) beat
India 225 all out (46.1 overs) by 48 runs
Man of the Match: Nathan Astle
Edit: Scorecard appears to be unavailable at present, so have attached it.
at Christchurch
Scorecard
India nearly secured their elimination from the World Cup after another dismal defeat in the World Cup, this time to rampant New Zealanders, who have now overcome two subcontinental opponents in three days. Once again, a Kiwi contributed with a century, this time Nathan Astle, whose 128 not out brought memories of older days. India failed in their containment effort in excellent bowling conditions, allowing New Zealand to pile on 273 for five, despite another grinding knock from Brendan McCullum.
India then fell over. Only Suresh Raina had his sights firmly set on the target, scoring 41 off 40 balls, but when he was deemed lbw to a slower ball from Scott Styris, the innings choked on Jacob Oram. Oram's niggling medium pace found its home at Christchurch, ending with figures of 10-2-26-1, while Shane Bond coupled his two early-innings spell by rounding off Singh and Khan. Mohammad Kaif was left stranded on 60 not out, but probably batted a couple of spots too low in the order, as a reshuffle of the batting order failed to give any help.
New Zealand 273 for 5 (50 overs) beat
India 225 all out (46.1 overs) by 48 runs
Man of the Match: Nathan Astle
Edit: Scorecard appears to be unavailable at present, so have attached it.
Last edited:
age_master
Hall of Fame Member
Great batting from Astle and bowling from Bond.
Nate
You'll Never Walk Alone
Haha, Nathan drops a sitter off Bracken. Coincidence? 
At least I caught Punter. 
Sorry about the poor bowling, should have used the conditions better. Hoy and the rest of the bowlers were outstanding, and Marc was brilliant in the chase. Positive signs, we can win this thing.
At least I caught Punter. Sorry about the poor bowling, should have used the conditions better. Hoy and the rest of the bowlers were outstanding, and Marc was brilliant in the chase. Positive signs, we can win this thing.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Super Eights: South Africa v Pakistan
at Telstra Dome
A scrappy fight at the Telstra Dome eventually saw Pakistan prevail handsomely, though their cricket did little to scare any future opponents. Shoaib Akhtar bowled an abysmal first over which Boeta Dippenaar feasted on, hitting four twos as South Africa rocked up 17 in the first over - helped by an Akhtar no-ball. However, Akhtar hit back, removing Dippenaar lbw and Smith bowled in a magnificent over, and with Jacques Kallis caught off Mohammad Asif, Pakistan had built back. A couple of loose shots by Kallis and Prince then handed the momentum over to Pakistan, as a South African side with the total on 106 for five went into defensive mode.
Umar Gul feasted, bowling a tight line to chip out two for 31, while other bowlers also grabbed wickets: Akhtar continued to redeem his expensive figures by removing Boucher and Pollock, and de Villiers went after a gritty 43. South Africa had totalled 231 for nine, but it looked good on a tricky pitch.
Enter Salman Butt and Shoaib Malik. Salman, who had come in for Imran Farhat after the defeat to New Zealand, played a lovely restrained knock of 79, with eyes firmly set on a rather low target. With South Africa's bowlers rather toothless once past Ntini and Pollock, and the former two bowling a widish line, Salman and Shoaib put on 162, with Shoaib the main aggressor before he was caught behind for 84. South Africa wilted, eventually giving up the runs with four overs to spare.
Pakistan have taken their chance to qualify for the semi-finals, but face a tough run-in including both top teams, CW XI and Australia. South Africa, meanwhile, appear to have lost their way after a good start, but the match with West Indies in four days' time could be a turning point.
South Africa 231 for 9 (50 overs) lost to
Pakistan 232 for 3 (46 overs) by seven wickets
Man of the Match: Shoaib Akhtar
Points table:
CW 6 pts (+1.18), Aus 6 pts (+0.08), NZ 6 pts (+0.07), WI 4 pts (3 games, +0.82), Pak 4 pts (-0.53), SA 2 pts (-0.24), SL 2 pts (3 games, -0.96), Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
at Telstra Dome
A scrappy fight at the Telstra Dome eventually saw Pakistan prevail handsomely, though their cricket did little to scare any future opponents. Shoaib Akhtar bowled an abysmal first over which Boeta Dippenaar feasted on, hitting four twos as South Africa rocked up 17 in the first over - helped by an Akhtar no-ball. However, Akhtar hit back, removing Dippenaar lbw and Smith bowled in a magnificent over, and with Jacques Kallis caught off Mohammad Asif, Pakistan had built back. A couple of loose shots by Kallis and Prince then handed the momentum over to Pakistan, as a South African side with the total on 106 for five went into defensive mode.
Umar Gul feasted, bowling a tight line to chip out two for 31, while other bowlers also grabbed wickets: Akhtar continued to redeem his expensive figures by removing Boucher and Pollock, and de Villiers went after a gritty 43. South Africa had totalled 231 for nine, but it looked good on a tricky pitch.
Enter Salman Butt and Shoaib Malik. Salman, who had come in for Imran Farhat after the defeat to New Zealand, played a lovely restrained knock of 79, with eyes firmly set on a rather low target. With South Africa's bowlers rather toothless once past Ntini and Pollock, and the former two bowling a widish line, Salman and Shoaib put on 162, with Shoaib the main aggressor before he was caught behind for 84. South Africa wilted, eventually giving up the runs with four overs to spare.
Pakistan have taken their chance to qualify for the semi-finals, but face a tough run-in including both top teams, CW XI and Australia. South Africa, meanwhile, appear to have lost their way after a good start, but the match with West Indies in four days' time could be a turning point.
South Africa 231 for 9 (50 overs) lost to
Pakistan 232 for 3 (46 overs) by seven wickets
Man of the Match: Shoaib Akhtar
Points table:
CW 6 pts (+1.18), Aus 6 pts (+0.08), NZ 6 pts (+0.07), WI 4 pts (3 games, +0.82), Pak 4 pts (-0.53), SA 2 pts (-0.24), SL 2 pts (3 games, -0.96), Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
Slats4ever
International Vice-Captain
great bowling hoy burger
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Super Eights: West Indies v Sri Lanka
at Auckland
Sri Lanka took their last chance of qualifying for the Super Eights, beating West Indies handsomely in an entertaining encounter with plenty of match-winning performances, particularly by the batsmen, who took to the conditions splendidly.
Sri Lanka were inserted, and after Atapattu smashed a widish delivery to Bradshaw at mid off, it looked a wise decision. However, Sangakkara and Jayasuriya quietly accumulated runs while the fielding restrictions were on, before Jayasuriya started to cut loose. With his 67th ball, he reached the half-century, then brought up 100 for Sri Lanka shortly afterwards, before smashing Samuels (3-0-25-0) out of the attack. Gayle stemmed the flow of runs somewhat, producing plenty of dot balls but also the occasional six, while wickets didn't fall until the 33rd over, when Sri Lanka had put on 165 for the second wicket.
With Sangakkara gone, Jayasuriya set his sights on the century. It took some time, as the good balls from Gayle and Bradshaw were quietly left alone, yet he still maintained a healthy run rate through boundaries, particularly one massive six into the stands at square leg off Gayle. With Bravo reintroduced, Sri Lanka feasted, and though Jayasuriya eventually chipped a return catch to Edwards, he had contributed 155 to the team total. Jayasuriya shielded Jayawardene from strike in the last over, preventing him from reaching the half-century, but with eight runs off four balls few complained, least of all captain Mahela.
West Indies fell behind the eight-ball from the start. Vaas' first over was not the quickest, but six swinging deliveries right on a line and length bamboozled the West Indian batsmen, especially Gayle, who fell in a similar fashion to Atapattu earlier on in the day. Vaas opened with a wicket maiden; however, this loss brought no fightback. Instead, Sarwan was lbw to Malinga in the next over, and West Indies were one for two.
Lara, who played second fiddle to the flamboyant Sarwan during the Pakistan game, now had to assume the leader role again. He scored some fine runs, but seemed too content with giving a cramped-up Chanderpaul the strike, something which backfired when Chanderpaul fell lbw to Bandara in the 15th over.
That brought Wavell Hinds to the crease, however. Hinds raced into double figures with two fours and two singles, followed up to hit Muralitharan for ten in the next over (including a six), and then hit Bandara for three consecutive boundaries. In the 20th over, West Indies had reached 91 for three, with Hinds on 39 off 20 balls.
However, Hinds had to see the innings shatter around him. Bandara had Lara caught in the deep, only to see Samuels come in and hit another six; however, Hinds struggled as the half-century neared, and it took him 15 balls to move from 44 to 50. The required run rate started to get away again, and Hinds, realising the danger, started to charge the spinners. He did get four boundaries out of it, but it was also to be his undoing; a ball from Jayasuriya sneaked under the bat, through to a diving Sangakkara, and back onto the stumps before Hinds realised what was going on.
With five wickets down and seven an over required for the remaining 20 overs, West Indies faced a mountain. And though Muralitharan had an off-day, he was still good enough to bowl a maiden over to Bravo, who put on a handsome but too slow partnership of 43 with Carlton Baugh. The target flew out of sight - when Baugh was dismissed, West Indies required 61 off 31 balls - and despite Bradshaw hitting Malinga for six, Sri Lanka rounded off West Indies for a 43-run victory.
Sri Lanka 286 for 3 (50 overs) beat
West Indies 243 all out (49.2 overs) by 43 runs
Man of the Match: Sanath Jayasuriya
Points table after 4 rounds:
CW 6 pts (+1.18)
Aus 6 pts (+0.08)
NZ 6 pts (+0.07)
WI 4 pts (+0.40)
SL 4 pts (-0.48)
Pak 4 pts (-0.53)
SA 2 pts (-0.24)
Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
India appear to need a minor miracle.
at Auckland
Sri Lanka took their last chance of qualifying for the Super Eights, beating West Indies handsomely in an entertaining encounter with plenty of match-winning performances, particularly by the batsmen, who took to the conditions splendidly.
Sri Lanka were inserted, and after Atapattu smashed a widish delivery to Bradshaw at mid off, it looked a wise decision. However, Sangakkara and Jayasuriya quietly accumulated runs while the fielding restrictions were on, before Jayasuriya started to cut loose. With his 67th ball, he reached the half-century, then brought up 100 for Sri Lanka shortly afterwards, before smashing Samuels (3-0-25-0) out of the attack. Gayle stemmed the flow of runs somewhat, producing plenty of dot balls but also the occasional six, while wickets didn't fall until the 33rd over, when Sri Lanka had put on 165 for the second wicket.
With Sangakkara gone, Jayasuriya set his sights on the century. It took some time, as the good balls from Gayle and Bradshaw were quietly left alone, yet he still maintained a healthy run rate through boundaries, particularly one massive six into the stands at square leg off Gayle. With Bravo reintroduced, Sri Lanka feasted, and though Jayasuriya eventually chipped a return catch to Edwards, he had contributed 155 to the team total. Jayasuriya shielded Jayawardene from strike in the last over, preventing him from reaching the half-century, but with eight runs off four balls few complained, least of all captain Mahela.
West Indies fell behind the eight-ball from the start. Vaas' first over was not the quickest, but six swinging deliveries right on a line and length bamboozled the West Indian batsmen, especially Gayle, who fell in a similar fashion to Atapattu earlier on in the day. Vaas opened with a wicket maiden; however, this loss brought no fightback. Instead, Sarwan was lbw to Malinga in the next over, and West Indies were one for two.
Lara, who played second fiddle to the flamboyant Sarwan during the Pakistan game, now had to assume the leader role again. He scored some fine runs, but seemed too content with giving a cramped-up Chanderpaul the strike, something which backfired when Chanderpaul fell lbw to Bandara in the 15th over.
That brought Wavell Hinds to the crease, however. Hinds raced into double figures with two fours and two singles, followed up to hit Muralitharan for ten in the next over (including a six), and then hit Bandara for three consecutive boundaries. In the 20th over, West Indies had reached 91 for three, with Hinds on 39 off 20 balls.
However, Hinds had to see the innings shatter around him. Bandara had Lara caught in the deep, only to see Samuels come in and hit another six; however, Hinds struggled as the half-century neared, and it took him 15 balls to move from 44 to 50. The required run rate started to get away again, and Hinds, realising the danger, started to charge the spinners. He did get four boundaries out of it, but it was also to be his undoing; a ball from Jayasuriya sneaked under the bat, through to a diving Sangakkara, and back onto the stumps before Hinds realised what was going on.
With five wickets down and seven an over required for the remaining 20 overs, West Indies faced a mountain. And though Muralitharan had an off-day, he was still good enough to bowl a maiden over to Bravo, who put on a handsome but too slow partnership of 43 with Carlton Baugh. The target flew out of sight - when Baugh was dismissed, West Indies required 61 off 31 balls - and despite Bradshaw hitting Malinga for six, Sri Lanka rounded off West Indies for a 43-run victory.
Sri Lanka 286 for 3 (50 overs) beat
West Indies 243 all out (49.2 overs) by 43 runs
Man of the Match: Sanath Jayasuriya
Points table after 4 rounds:
CW 6 pts (+1.18)
Aus 6 pts (+0.08)
NZ 6 pts (+0.07)
WI 4 pts (+0.40)
SL 4 pts (-0.48)
Pak 4 pts (-0.53)
SA 2 pts (-0.24)
Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
India appear to need a minor miracle.
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Super Eights: New Zealand v Australia
at Napier
Australia were back on dominant form, although the batting performance was perhaps not to everyone's liking at Napier, and Shaun Tait's bowling only scared his team-mates. New Zealand were simply not ruthless enough when it mattered, and that allowed Australia to take an easy win and go back on top of the table.
Australia won the toss, and after a little hesitation Ricky Ponting opted to bat first. It nearly backfired, thanks to a Bond on top form, who had Jaques and Ponting caught early on to see Australia slip to 49 for two. Australia lost wickets at inconvenient intervals, never really allowing any batsman to seriously put the foot on the accelerator, but Michael Clarke managed to do so shortly after registering his half-century. He eased to 64 off 67 balls before being bowled by the unmatchable Bond, while Martyn made a composed 62. Despite wickets clattering at the end, Australia posted a relatively competitive 252 for seven, thought to be about a par score.
That was before New Zealand batted, however. Astle and Vincent stuck around, but never did much useful apart from not lose their wickets, and even that stopped when Jason Gillespie had Astle caught behind to end the partnership for 64. The next partnership was even worse: Bracken tied down Fulton to end with figures of 10-1-26-0, while Fulton's 22 was part of a stand of 66 before he hoiked Michael Clarke to Brett Lee.
Vincent continued to stick around, however, contributing valuable runs at just about the required pace - but it was too late. Ponting refused to bowl Tait for the full quota of overs, having had enough at 8-0-50-0, and though Clarke was not much more economical, he did his job at the death - leaving Vincent stranded on 125 not out, and New Zealand with a taste of a job very poorly done.
Australia 252 for 7 (50 overs) beat
New Zealand 223 for 4 (50 overs) by 29 runs
Man of the Match: Jason Gillespie
Points table:
Aus 8 pts (5 gms, +0.18)
CW 6 pts (+1.18)
NZ 6 pts (5 gms, -0.06)
WI 4 pts (+0.40)
SL 4 pts (-0.48)
Pak 4 pts (-0.53)
SA 2 pts (-0.24)
Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
at Napier
Australia were back on dominant form, although the batting performance was perhaps not to everyone's liking at Napier, and Shaun Tait's bowling only scared his team-mates. New Zealand were simply not ruthless enough when it mattered, and that allowed Australia to take an easy win and go back on top of the table.
Australia won the toss, and after a little hesitation Ricky Ponting opted to bat first. It nearly backfired, thanks to a Bond on top form, who had Jaques and Ponting caught early on to see Australia slip to 49 for two. Australia lost wickets at inconvenient intervals, never really allowing any batsman to seriously put the foot on the accelerator, but Michael Clarke managed to do so shortly after registering his half-century. He eased to 64 off 67 balls before being bowled by the unmatchable Bond, while Martyn made a composed 62. Despite wickets clattering at the end, Australia posted a relatively competitive 252 for seven, thought to be about a par score.
That was before New Zealand batted, however. Astle and Vincent stuck around, but never did much useful apart from not lose their wickets, and even that stopped when Jason Gillespie had Astle caught behind to end the partnership for 64. The next partnership was even worse: Bracken tied down Fulton to end with figures of 10-1-26-0, while Fulton's 22 was part of a stand of 66 before he hoiked Michael Clarke to Brett Lee.
Vincent continued to stick around, however, contributing valuable runs at just about the required pace - but it was too late. Ponting refused to bowl Tait for the full quota of overs, having had enough at 8-0-50-0, and though Clarke was not much more economical, he did his job at the death - leaving Vincent stranded on 125 not out, and New Zealand with a taste of a job very poorly done.
Australia 252 for 7 (50 overs) beat
New Zealand 223 for 4 (50 overs) by 29 runs
Man of the Match: Jason Gillespie
Points table:
Aus 8 pts (5 gms, +0.18)
CW 6 pts (+1.18)
NZ 6 pts (5 gms, -0.06)
WI 4 pts (+0.40)
SL 4 pts (-0.48)
Pak 4 pts (-0.53)
SA 2 pts (-0.24)
Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
CW XI v India
CW XI unchanged for this match, which will be simmed live at around 3pm British time (midnight Sydney time).
CW XI unchanged for this match, which will be simmed live at around 3pm British time (midnight Sydney time).
ash chaulk
International Captain
going to be interesting boys we can really leave india in the dumps
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Super Eights: South Africa v West Indies
at Wellington
West Indies bounced back easily from their heavy defeat to Sri Lanka, condemning South Africa to join India at the wayside in this intriguing World Cup. A professional effort after early setbacks saw the West Indian side go third in the table, while South Africa's batting, once again, failed to be up to the mark.
South Africa had swapped Boeta Dippenaar for Andrew Hall in order to bolster a weak bowling attack; that may have worked, as Hall sent down eight reasonably tight overs, but after Smith and Gibbs put on 51 against some disappointing new-ball bowling from Bradshaw and Edwards, Smith edged behind for 29. With Gibbs gone in the next over, and Kallis perishing lbw to a dodgy decision, South Africa were 57 for three, and never recovered. Bravo came on second-change, digging out two more wickets, and though Hall and Boucher compiled 76 together, they needed to grit out the runs due to the tight line and the five wickets down. Nicky Boje bashed 33, mostly off Bradshaw and Edwards, but the total of 233 for eight looked small.
It allowed West Indies to bring up the runs of urgency - Makhaya Ntini failed to hit the same spot twice, except on his two wides down the leg side, and ended with dire figures of 7-0-55-0. With 43 overs to get the remaining 179, the task was easy enough for Gayle, Chanderpaul and Lara, who all hit half-centuries - Lara an unbeaten one - while Ramnaresh Sarwan provided adequate support, making 31 in a third-wicket stand of 92.
South Africa 233 for 8 (50 overs) lost to
West Indies 236 for 2 (45.1 overs) by eight wickets
Man of the Match: Dwayne Bravo
Points table:
CW 8 pts (+1.38)
Aus 8 pts (+0.18)
WI 6 pts (+0.44)
NZ 6 pts (-0.06)
SL 4 pts (4 gms, -0.48)
Pak 4 pts (4 gms, -0.53)
SA 2 pts (-0.31)
Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
at Wellington
West Indies bounced back easily from their heavy defeat to Sri Lanka, condemning South Africa to join India at the wayside in this intriguing World Cup. A professional effort after early setbacks saw the West Indian side go third in the table, while South Africa's batting, once again, failed to be up to the mark.
South Africa had swapped Boeta Dippenaar for Andrew Hall in order to bolster a weak bowling attack; that may have worked, as Hall sent down eight reasonably tight overs, but after Smith and Gibbs put on 51 against some disappointing new-ball bowling from Bradshaw and Edwards, Smith edged behind for 29. With Gibbs gone in the next over, and Kallis perishing lbw to a dodgy decision, South Africa were 57 for three, and never recovered. Bravo came on second-change, digging out two more wickets, and though Hall and Boucher compiled 76 together, they needed to grit out the runs due to the tight line and the five wickets down. Nicky Boje bashed 33, mostly off Bradshaw and Edwards, but the total of 233 for eight looked small.
It allowed West Indies to bring up the runs of urgency - Makhaya Ntini failed to hit the same spot twice, except on his two wides down the leg side, and ended with dire figures of 7-0-55-0. With 43 overs to get the remaining 179, the task was easy enough for Gayle, Chanderpaul and Lara, who all hit half-centuries - Lara an unbeaten one - while Ramnaresh Sarwan provided adequate support, making 31 in a third-wicket stand of 92.
South Africa 233 for 8 (50 overs) lost to
West Indies 236 for 2 (45.1 overs) by eight wickets
Man of the Match: Dwayne Bravo
Points table:
CW 8 pts (+1.38)
Aus 8 pts (+0.18)
WI 6 pts (+0.44)
NZ 6 pts (-0.06)
SL 4 pts (4 gms, -0.48)
Pak 4 pts (4 gms, -0.53)
SA 2 pts (-0.31)
Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
chooka_nick
International 12th Man
Looking good CW. I'm looking forward to this!
Magrat Garlick
Rather Mad Witch
Super Eights: Pakistan v Sri Lanka
at Hobart
Pakistan threw themselves into the scramble for the last two semi-final places after a polished and quick victory over a Sri Lanka side that was genuinely outplayed. The batsmen put up a feeble performance, and after Muttiah Muralitharan was hammered for twenty in a single over, Sri Lanka were beaten.
First, however, Sri Lanka had won the toss and chosen to bat under sunny skies. It immediately backfired, as Sanath Jayasuriya was caught off a widish delivery from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, and such dismissals were to be common in Sri Lanka's innings. They never quite seemed to get the pace of their innings right, alternately holing out and leaving, and that was to be their downfall - along with good Pakistani fielding, as they held their catches and stemmed the flow of runs.
Sri Lanka's chance of winning rested on the partnership between Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara, who came together at 38 with the change seamers on. After facing out a few overs and taking 60 runs together, Sangakkara holed out to Shoaib Malik, as did the new batsman Kapugedera - and suddenly, Sri Lanka were 98 for four, and Shahid Afridi stood with figures of 0.4-0-4-2. Tight bowling from Afridi followed, as he had Russel Arnold caught in frustration, and not even Chaminda Vaas' brief 30 or the 18 extras helped Sri Lanka to post a respectable total.
In reply, Pakistan were brutal. Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt put on 85 in 13.3 overs - with the first one a maiden - and Salman hit two sixes en route to a fine 54. Pakistan were not concerned with wickets lost, and despite three falling for 17, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq guided Pakistan well to the target, even though the run rate fell somewhat. The win means they're just behind New Zealand in the table, and have everything to play for before tomorrow evening's encounter with CWLand.
Sri Lanka 203 for 7 (50 overs) lost to
Pakistan 204 for 3 (37.5 overs) by seven wickets
CW 8 pts (+1.38)
Aus 8 pts (+0.18)
WI 6 pts (+0.44)
NZ 6 pts (-0.06)
Pak 6 pts (-0.17)
SL 4 pts (-0.66)
SA 2 pts (-0.31)
Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
(also attached are the scorecards and BBB from the CW XI v India game.)
at Hobart
Pakistan threw themselves into the scramble for the last two semi-final places after a polished and quick victory over a Sri Lanka side that was genuinely outplayed. The batsmen put up a feeble performance, and after Muttiah Muralitharan was hammered for twenty in a single over, Sri Lanka were beaten.
First, however, Sri Lanka had won the toss and chosen to bat under sunny skies. It immediately backfired, as Sanath Jayasuriya was caught off a widish delivery from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, and such dismissals were to be common in Sri Lanka's innings. They never quite seemed to get the pace of their innings right, alternately holing out and leaving, and that was to be their downfall - along with good Pakistani fielding, as they held their catches and stemmed the flow of runs.
Sri Lanka's chance of winning rested on the partnership between Marvan Atapattu and Kumar Sangakkara, who came together at 38 with the change seamers on. After facing out a few overs and taking 60 runs together, Sangakkara holed out to Shoaib Malik, as did the new batsman Kapugedera - and suddenly, Sri Lanka were 98 for four, and Shahid Afridi stood with figures of 0.4-0-4-2. Tight bowling from Afridi followed, as he had Russel Arnold caught in frustration, and not even Chaminda Vaas' brief 30 or the 18 extras helped Sri Lanka to post a respectable total.
In reply, Pakistan were brutal. Shoaib Malik and Salman Butt put on 85 in 13.3 overs - with the first one a maiden - and Salman hit two sixes en route to a fine 54. Pakistan were not concerned with wickets lost, and despite three falling for 17, Mohammad Yousuf and Inzamam-ul-Haq guided Pakistan well to the target, even though the run rate fell somewhat. The win means they're just behind New Zealand in the table, and have everything to play for before tomorrow evening's encounter with CWLand.
Sri Lanka 203 for 7 (50 overs) lost to
Pakistan 204 for 3 (37.5 overs) by seven wickets
CW 8 pts (+1.38)
Aus 8 pts (+0.18)
WI 6 pts (+0.44)
NZ 6 pts (-0.06)
Pak 6 pts (-0.17)
SL 4 pts (-0.66)
SA 2 pts (-0.31)
Ind 0 pts (-0.54)
(also attached are the scorecards and BBB from the CW XI v India game.)