***Official*** Road to the 2015 Cricket World Cup

[NUFAN]

POTY? Probably not, but up there in the top 12,000

 

[benchmark00]

Has there been 12,000 posts this year NUFAN?

 

[NUFAN]

Yes. Someone a bit more knowledgeable than me could probably back me up on this but unfortunately I'm struggling to find anyone that fits that category.

 

[Prince EWS]

Has there been 12,000 posts this year NUFAN?

Depends entirely on if posts that were started in 2013 but not submitted until 2014 count.

 

[ajdude]

Depends entirely on if posts that were started in 2013 but not submitted until 2014 count.

if a post is started on NYE 2013 and is submitted on NYD 2016, does that poster gets statistics for 2013, 2014, 2015 or 2016?

also i'm in tears at arjun's post

 

[Daemon]

We looked settled during the CT but it's pretty ****ed now.

Dhawan - No issues here imo
Sharma - Pretty worrying. Other than that monster series he's done **** all to show he can be a successful opener, especially against decent opening bowlers in non Indian conditions. Maybe Gambhir can make his way back. Or Chand even, he did pretty well in the recent challenger trophy.
Kohli - <3
Rahane - It's good to see that they've stopped that experiment of Raina at 4 and dropped Yuvraj as well. Hoping Rahane does well as an accumulator. Looks very pretty when he gets going but I'm not convinced he's suited for the short form of the game, especially in a team that needs to score at least 6 an over every single game. It's either him, Pujara or Rayudu who has to do well and claim this spot imo.
Raina - Used to do a pretty solid job down the order finishing, but of late he's been relentlessly attacked by quicks and has yet to come up with an answer. Another spot that Rayudu can make his.
Dhoni - <3
Jadeja - **** this ****. Does well when everyone has given up on him and turns to **** when people suddenly start having a bit of faith in him. Will never be dropped anyways so cbf.
Ashwin - Just stop doing that pause thing you **** ****. Despite what people think of him as an attacking spinner, after nearly a 100 odis he doesn't even have a 4wh. Would love to pick Mishra ahead of him, but it'll never happen.
Bhuvi - Good for the early breakthroughs, improving in his death bowling and a decent batsmen. No complaints here.
Ishant - Ugh.
Shami - <3


So guys not in the XI who should be around by that time imo - Chand, Gambhir, Aaron, Rayudu, Pujara, Mishra

 

[benchmark00]

Depends entirely on if posts that were started in 2013 but not submitted until 2014 count.

Yes they do.

 

[Contra]

We looked settled during the CT but it's pretty ****ed now.

Dhawan - No issues here imo
Sharma - Pretty worrying. Other than that monster series he's done **** all to show he can be a successful opener, especially against decent opening bowlers in non Indian conditions. Maybe Gambhir can make his way back. Or Chand even, he did pretty well in the recent challenger trophy.
Kohli - <3
Rahane - It's good to see that they've stopped that experiment of Raina at 4 and dropped Yuvraj as well. Hoping Rahane does well as an accumulator. Looks very pretty when he gets going but I'm not convinced he's suited for the short form of the game, especially in a team that needs to score at least 6 an over every single game. It's either him, Pujara or Rayudu who has to do well and claim this spot imo.
Raina - Used to do a pretty solid job down the order finishing, but of late he's been relentlessly attacked by quicks and has yet to come up with an answer. Another spot that Rayudu can make his.
Dhoni - <3
Jadeja - **** this ****. Does well when everyone has given up on him and turns to **** when people suddenly start having a bit of faith in him. Will never be dropped anyways so cbf.
Ashwin - Just stop doing that pause thing you **** ****. Despite what people think of him as an attacking spinner, after nearly a 100 odis he doesn't even have a 4wh. Would love to pick Mishra ahead of him, but it'll never happen.
Bhuvi - Good for the early breakthroughs, improving in his death bowling and a decent batsmen. No complaints here.
Ishant - Ugh.
Shami - <3


So guys not in the XI who should be around by that time imo - Chand, Gambhir, Aaron, Rayudu, Pujara, Mishra

Being a bit unfair to Rohit Sharma (and I'm not his biggest fan either). He did reasonably well in the Champions Trophy and in the Zim/Wi ODIs afterwards. The main issue with Rohit Sharma is that he gets stuck at the start for far too long, and in doing that he not only wastes deliveries before getting out, but he also stops momentum and puts pressure on Dhawan to score runs, I don't mind Rohit's approach in a low scoring game but when you're chasing 250/300+ like we were against SA/NZ then he can't afford to "take his time".

 

[Daemon]

Being a bit unfair to Rohit Sharma (and I'm not his biggest fan either). He did reasonably well in the Champions Trophy and in the Zim/Wi ODIs afterwards. The main issue with Rohit Sharma is that he gets stuck at the start for far too long, and in doing that he not only wastes deliveries before getting out, but he also stops momentum and puts pressure on Dhawan to score runs, I don't mind Rohit's approach in a low scoring game but when you're chasing 250/300+ like we were against SA/NZ then he can't afford to "take his time".

I don't think he's cut out for LO cricket atm. In tests he has the option of leaving the ball but when there's pressure on him to score he has to play at everything. Tends to play on the up a lot and gets a half hearted front food plonk out to anything on a good length and sometimes to deliveries even shorter than that. Got such good hands and seems to have all the time in the world, which can see him get away with poor judgement at times.

 

[Daemon]

And just as I hit enter he gets out. His front foot was out again. Keeps doing that and just transfers his weight back when he realises it's too short. In a test match he could've just left it.

 

[benchmark00]

Mohammad Amir going to play in this thing??

 

[Maximas]

As far as Sri Lanka goes, a similar team to the CT and recent Aus tour would probably be ideal. With Sanga keeping at 3, Matthews able to bowl 10 overs and Dilshan also an able contributor with the ball, an argument could be made for 7 batsmen and 4 bowlers, however I think that leaves the bowling a bit weak, especially because that makes Thisara Perera one of them. I'd probably have him at 7 with four bowlers beneath him.

Mahela and Dilshan should be the openers, because I don't think Kusal or Dimuth are prepared to do the job in Aus, although Tharanga can almost certainly expect a call-up knowing the SL selectors.

Sanga and Lahiru Thirimanne should be at three and four IMO, Lahiru has proved to be an effective ODI player coming in when the team is in trouble, particularly against good fast bowlers in non-SC conditions, he can always be shunted right down the order if no 4 needs to score quickly anyway.

Chandimal and Matthews would be my picks for 5 and 6, Chandimal has had success in Australia in ODIs, and is a versatile player, able to both accelerate and consolidate, perfect for this position IMO, Matthews has always been a good finisher, and his bowling/captaincy seals his place.

no 7 is an interesting one, I reckon the best bet is to pick Thisara Perera there, because he is a fine ODI finisher, but he could go down to 8, and someone like Kusal Perera could come in at 7.

8 and 9 would probably be Kulasekara and the spinner, leaving no 10 to Eranga/Lakmal (probably Eranga) and no 11 to Malinga. But if 7 batsmen are picked Eranga misses out and everyone moves down a spot.

The spinner is an interesting one, I honestly think Senanayake is a better short form bowler than Herath, and I've never really thought of Herath as a particularly good ODI spinner, but he does have a lot of experience and he's very accurate. Not sure which way to go on that tbh.

 

[Cruxdude]

Don't see India going too far in the WC. The bowlers are horrendous and the batsmen have all gone AWOL barring Kohli and Dhoni. Think the batting can still fix itself before the WC but if our bowlers on their best day can only restrict the opponents to 300, there is no way we are winning a lot of games. Considering all that, I would consider this WC a success if we beat Pakistan.

 

[Salamuddin]

Australia's won't win this tournament. Tipping a teary semi final or quarter final exit.

 

[benchmark00]

Australia's won't win this tournament. Tipping a teary semi final or quarter final exit.

How's Brad Haddin going to do?

 

[Salamuddin]

Hey benchy mate thanks for asking. I enjoyed our romantic tryst last week but I forgot to tell you my latest predictions. But now that you asked, I don't think he'll do very well. He got a bit lucky during the ashes but he'll revert to type soon :-). How about another date next week ?

 

[benchmark00]

Sounds good, I'll bring the highlights:

 

[Cabinet96]

Worth a review that.

 

[Shri]

My Squad would be:

Shikar Dhawan
Rohit Sharma
Virat Kohli
Cheteshwar Pujara
MS Dhoni
Ajinkya Rahane
Ravindra Jadeja
Ravi Ashwin
Bhuvaneshwar Kumar
Mohd Shami
Umesh Yadav

Reserves:

Ambati Rayudu / Gautham Gambhir
Dinesh Kartik
Varun Aaron / Ishwar Pandey
Pragyan Ojha / Amit Mishra

Yuvraj and Raina shouldn't be picked. Maybe Yuvraj if he gets into ridiculous form over the year but Raina shouldn't be selected no matter what.

 

[Spikey]

Worth a review that.

yeah good work