World Cup Discussion

[Blewy]

Mixed feelings for Aussie managers Simon Fitzsimmons and Brendon Goff after their win against Sri Lanka today...

The Aussies batted 1st on what looked an ok pitch but fell to 3/19 with the top 3 all failing.. A recovery by Platt and Jenkins took the Aussies to 97 before the wheels fell off.. Jenkins departed for 37 before the Aussies lost their last 6 wickets for 39 runs, AO for a embarrasing 136..

However the day was saved by the bowlers who showed that the pitch was not as good as 1st expected to rip Sri Lanka appart.. Spinners Ramage and Sammels took 8 wickets between them to dismiss Sri Lanka for 127 and ease the minds of the Aussie fans...

After the match Goff told reporters that although very concerned about the batting he was very happy with the bowling display. When quized about the Pitch Goff said he didnt think that it was as bad as what it looked.. He pointed to application as the reason for the low scores, identifying Fred Platts 61* from 68 balls as a demonstration that if you put your head down runs would come....

Australia now take on Minnows Zimbabwe in their next game and will be looking for a much better batting performance...

 

[Mr. P]

Very happy with South Africas performance, particularly the work of the bowlers, who restricted Pakistan to 6/194...good stuff

 

[lord_of_darkness]

Verry Happy with Nz's victory over WI.. Chris Martin was debated tightly before the final lineup was named.. but Co manager Lord was leaning more on Chris Martin playing.. and with the co operation of Manager Kurt.. Christ Martin got a spot in the XI for the 1st match.. and boy did he have a good game! 66 runs and 4 wickets

 

[nibbs]

i'm sure kyle has his reasons...

 

[Mr. P]

Having a second look at the scorecard, got to say thanks to Ian who made the critical change to the side, which was to include E Tate....9 overs 2 wickets and 19 runs later, I can safely say that the right choice was made by the South African management...

 

[bugssy]

sri lankan managers in weird moods after todays opening world cup game.

it is dissapointing not chasing the 136 to win after having put alot of pressure on the aussie side. bugs agreed with manager goff in saying that the pitch lookd no where near as bad as the scorecards showed and that concentration shown by platt was the difference in a tough 1st up game.
bugs malone was very happy with the bowling however batting lacked the killer determination however it was good signs for the rest of the tourney with hopefully alot more happy feelings in the srilankan dressing room.

 

[kears_falcon_9]

Pakistan manager David Kearlsey was alst seen heading into his 7th pub for the night... lol M Ul-Haq not out 45 (101) i cant beleive he batted like that when chasing a total.. anyway unhappy that swe didnt get near the total yes but happy that some boys stood up..

 

[Slats4ever]

I'll second what Mr P said and concur that we are very happy with the performance shown by South Africa overnight against Pakistan.

It was always going to be a tense match and against the home team we had our work cut out. Fortunately the batting was steady on a tough pitch and the solid platform built by the top order allowed Cook and DeVilliers to hit out a little bit.

The bowling was superb however and we used the pitch very much to our advantage. After an expensive start I think that Hamblin, Tweedie and Man of the Match Tate were the difference at the end of the day. To only go for 19 off 10 overs says something about Tate's line and length (aren't you glad we chose him now Mr P ).

Anyways on to the next clash.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Zimbabwe Look For Opportunities
Mørk Pleased With Opening Results

The Norwegian co-manager of the Zimbabwean side, Håkon Mørk, said in an interview to Harare Daily News today that saw opportunities before their first World Cup match at the National Stadium in Karachi on Saturday. "The Aussies showed weaknesses with the bat," Mørk said. "Our lads are upbeat and we definitely think we've got a good chance if we can get in early. Of course, it's going to be a bit different from these humid conditions up in Karachi, but if we just stick to putting the ball in the right areas I'm confident our bowlers can get wickets." When confronted with Australia's bowling strength against Zimbabwe's fragile batting line-up, Mørk replied that "our batsmen know what they have to do - they're very capable of battling out 50 overs and as long as we do our job with the ball the run-rate they will chase won't be too large."

However, Mørk also said that "a loss won't be critical. Our aim is to reach the Super Sixes and to do that we will probably have to beat Sri Lanka and Pakistan, as they were the teams to lose today. Naturally, the Aussies will be a big test and we go in there to win and play as good cricket as we can, but I will try my best to instill confidence in the lads even if we do lose."

South Africa head the group after their reasonably big victory over Pakistan, while Zimbabwe are third by virtue of not having played a game yet. Despite Mørk's big words, few Zimbabweans expect anything but four losses, especially as both Sri Lanka and Pakistan play most of their games at home.

 

[cometer]

England defeat India in opening round thriller


In what was a very bizarre lead up to the opening round of the WCC world cup match India vs England at Mumbai, manager David Comley could only pray for miracles after being forced to be sidelined in bed with illness with no way of contact to the team. Luckily though, the assistant manager, Jamee, was alert and got the team ready and fired up for the match and it didn't disappoint. India won the toss and started very solidly with a hughe 84 run opening stand between Jadhav and Chandrasekhar before Jones got the wicket of Chandrasekhar when he was trapped infront and was given out on 24. Then Jones broke through again very quickly as Darden departed for a duck as the off stump cartwheeled out of the ground leaving India at 2/86. India tried to regroup but Ali broke through for England's 3rd wicket of the match with a splendid catch by Underwood removing the dangerous Jadhav for 60 and leaving India 3/94. From there India regrouped and formed a solid 55 run stand between Dhoni and R Ali but then Gough delivered a breakthough to leave India at 4/149. India then stemmed the tide and ended up making 248 with Wadekar playing an important knock of 45* from only 54 balls.

In return England also started well with Allen and Underwood having no troubles at getting used to each others style of play and put on a 53 run partnership which was very important for the guests to start well. Yet Underwood was brilliantly caught by Darden for 26 off only 25 balls. Boxall and Allen continued forming a decent partnership before both falling leaving the score at 3/119. Piggott was explosive and obviously took every opportunity to continue his late form from the last few WCC season matches as he blasted the Indian bowlers. However at the other end a middle order collapse left us 7/184 and in trouble before the tail wagged with Tudor, Rigby and Ali all contributed to see England across the line with one over left and 2 wickets in hand to win their opening round encounter. Piggott top scored with 80 from 86 balls in a brilliant knock which sees him awarded the M.O.M performance but not to be outdone was Jones Gough and Rigby with their handy bowling and valuable runs.

England now look forward to the next round and for the rest of the tournament and hope the worst of the illness is over.

 

[mikeW]

Blewy mate if i or Nztailender dont get on this weekend can Bangladesh just haave an unchanged team from the one posted for the next game. Thanks mate.

 

[Simon]

Blewy mate if i or Nztailender dont get on this weekend can Bangladesh just haave an unchanged team from the one posted for the next game. Thanks mate.

i think Greg is back from holiday tomorrow, but i cant be sure...

 

[Simon]

Im a bit surprised by Australia's batting, we knew the deck would be good for the bowlers so we strengthened the batting to help post a better total, Karachi wont spin as much so thats something we need to look at, the squad is very flexible and despite the best performances coming with the ball id most likey say if changes were made another quick would be added to the starting XI. I have faith in the batsmen we chose, of course we arent going to continue with under performing players given the players we have waiting in the wings but i cant see the axe being wielded after one batting collapse...

 

[Blewy]

Just a reminder, Team submission for Game day 2 closes tonight at Midnight, so in just under 13 hours from this post...

 

[Mister Wright]

That's unfortunate. He should've been.

I understand that there wasn't time to do so, but I'd have ideally liked to choose the replacement in the team. Best is not going to be getting many people out at One Day International level.

Ah well. That's unfortunate. Kyyyyle, you got some 'splainin' to do...

As co-manager, I'm pleased to confirm a squad that we fully expect to remain competitive.

 

[Blewy]

Guys,

Just a note...

I was asked today about the occurance of a non-submission in the International Season... It will slightly differ from Regular WCC procedures...

If managers fail to submit their side for International games, the result will still count(No Forfeit), however the team will be a random side...

Also the likelihood of the 2 managers holding their positions will be very very slim...
As stated when the International season was 1st started, BOTH managers are as accountable as each other... No excuses...

 

[Blewy]

Well World Cup Gameday 2 has been completed...

Another fantastic day of cricket with some stellar performances...


GROUP A

Zimbabwe vs Australia @ Karachi
Sri Lanka vs Pakistan @ Galle

GROUP B

Bangladesh vs India @ Chittagong
England vs New Zealand @ Tamil Nadu

Pakistan Managers Kears and Cbuts will be under intense pressure to keep their positions after failing to post their squad by the deadline.. More on that soon...

We now move to gameday 3 which will be run on Monday the 26th of September..

Teams to be submitted by Midnight Sunday the 25th of September - Sydney Time

 

[Blewy]

Also Guys, check the injuries on the Site..(Under International Competition)

 

[andyc]

Very good effort there from Zimbabwe. The boys are shattered at coming so close without winning. Hopefully all those teams looking forward to a walk over against Zimbabwe are taking notice.

 

[Blewy]

Yes you had us in trouble there at 5/50 odd but Dawson and Stratton showed the class of player they are and carved out brilliant hundreds....

The bowling was not as good as game one but we did enough to win and i feel we have our best cricket ahead of us, we are warming to the task...