All posts by tom

by Guest Blogger SB Tang

I'm struggling to contain my apathy towards this World Cup and nothing which has happened in Group A has changed that. By the time Australia played an opposition side with a reasonable chance of beating us in a non-rain affected match, Australia, along with every other regular Test-playing nation (that excludes the Zimbots) in Group A had pretty much qualified for the quarters, thus highlighting the success of the ICC's newly restored guaranteed-not-to-eliminate India format. And, despite England's valiant efforts to thwart the intended objective of that format in Group B (and single-handedly revive 50 over cricket in England in the process), the four established Test-playing nations from Group B also qualified for the quarters.

Indeed, such is my enthusiasm for the ICC's never-ending, commercially exploitative tournament format, I'm writing this update in a biergarten in Vienna as I pass the time waiting for the train to the beer-soaked heaven of Prague. Anyway, back to the point, which I believe is Australia's performance so far and our prospects in the knock-out rounds. It's difficult to draw any substantive conclusions from the group stage because the unfortunate wash out meant that we weren't tested until our final group game against Pakistan. And, yes, we lost and it wasn't a great performance from our batting line-up but one bad performance in a meaningless one-day game hardly says anything about a team's prospects of winning three consecutive must win matches -- which is what this World Cup comes down to. It doesn't even particularly matter in what order you face the opposition. The bottom line is that in order to win a World Cup on the sub-continent in this format, you're inevitably going to have to beat one or more of the sub-continental powers at some point -- so I'm not overly fussed that we drew India in the quarters.

What will be of concern to the Australian team hierarchy is the lack of wickets from our spinners and the continued poor batting form of Punter and Cam White, our Unofficial Deputy Vice-Captain and arguably our best one-day batsman since his coming of age on the one-day segment of the 2009 Ashes tour. White's batting form has been mysteriously mediocre ever since he was elevated to the Australian T20I captaincy a few months ago -- another sad example of Australia today somehow managing to slowly morph into England in the 90s. Punter's one-day international and, in particular, World Cup record provide substantial comfort that he will come good when it matters in the knock-out matches. But, as much as I hate to say it as a Victorian, White's position has to be under scrutiny.  Given Tait's excellent wicket-taking form (yeah, his economy rate's been a tad high but that's always been the case with Tait and it's surely a risk one has to accept in picking him) and the potential weakness of certain members of the Indian batting line-up against brute pace and short-pitched bowling, I was surprised to hear rumours that Tait may be the one who'll have to make way if the selectors choose to bring in bowling all-rounder John Hastings. Surely, White should be the one in line for the chop in light of his non-contribution with both bat and ball and Hasting's proven ability to smash it with the bat.

I'm still not convinced by Haddin partnering Watto at the top. If it's a slightly dodgy batting wicket then surely Tim Paine is better equipped technically to play the anchor role next to Watto at the top of the order. The spinners would also appreciate Paine's superior keeping on a turning deck. If it's a flat track and the plan is all-out attack at the top of the order then Paine, with his outstanding domestic T20 record, also appears to be the better option to partner Watto. Haddin's dismissal in the 40s against Pakistan, was another example of his frustrating habit of getting out when well-set in difficult batting conditions and the team needs him to kick on and make a big score.

Our three-ponged pace attack has done its wicket-taking job and Brett Lee, as willing and lion-hearted as ever, has been absolutely immense. Such a shame that his body no longer allows him to play Test cricket. As for our spinners, the combination of a lack of wickets and not exactly frugal economy rates is a concern, but there's not much the selectors can do at this point. In terms of wickets, Krejza and Smith are the most aggressive limited overs spinners Australia has and they're already in the XI. In terms of economy rate, the selectors could bring in David Hussey, who'd also bolster the batting, but that hardly solves the primary problem of taking wickets and, in any event, both Smith and Krejza can bat (even if the latter hasn't shown it up to this point in the tournament). Hauritz would be useful right now (wow, two years ago, I never thought I'd type those words) but he's injured.

It's sad that Punter's chance to win three consecutive World Cups as captain without dropping a single match has now gone but a third consecutive World Cup, particularly one including a win over a hugely-hyped India side on their home turf, would at least go some way to repairing his legacy as captain after a third Ashes series defeat.

We still have every chance of beating India and winning this World Cup -- but then, so does every other side which made the quarters (yup, I'm including New Zealand). If our batting line-up fires (and everything in Punter's World Cup record indicates that he will deliver now that it counts) and we post a good total on the board, then you'd back our bowlers to finish the job. But, if our batting line-up has another one of their by now disturbingly familiar collapses, then our bowlers and, in particular, our still internationally inexperienced spinners will face a grim day at the office.

Finally, a few words about England. First off, well-done to the England players for having the class to go and celebrate with, and congratulate, the Irish lads after their win. Not a great day for the England bowlers who weren't at their best but even if they were, there's not much any bowler can do on a pitch that flat against a batsman in a state of grace like Kevin O'Brien was. You just have to doff your cap to him and shake his hand. As the man himself admitted after the match, he'll never bat that well again, and his international record to date indicates that he'd never batted that well before! Also, let's not forget that the England bowlers have been on tour since November. They got three days at home between the end of the Ashes tour and the start of the World Cup. Strauss has rightly refused to use that as an excuse but there's no doubt that exhaustion would be affecting bowlers like Anderson who bowled their hearts out to retain the Ashes on Australia soil for the first time in 23 years. And for all the boundary balls Jimmy's served up in this tournament, don't forget that he single-handedly dragged England back into their match against South Africa with a lethal mid-innings spell and, in hindsight, that victory was the key to England's eventual qualification for the quarters. It'd be a foolish man who'd bet against Jimmy being decisive for England in the knock-out rounds. 

Second, congratulations to the England selectors whose balls of steel have again paid off. They dropped the Ashes series leading wicket-taker Steve Finn for Tim Bresnan for the Boxing Day Test and were rewarded with a match-winning performance from the Yorkie and a series-clinching win. Heading into England's must-win group game against the Windies, the selectors dropped the leader of their pace attack and their all-time leading international one-day scorer. Their replacements -- the unheralded James Tredwell and the much-maligned jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none Luke Wright -- made match winning contributions as England got the win they needed in their trade mark nerve-shredding fashion. More disturbing examples of England slowly morphing into Australia circa 1995 to 2007. 

All the quarter-finalists have a decent shot at winning this World Cup. But, if I have to back someone, I'll back England. They have the hunger, the right mix of bowlers, a strong batting line-up, an excellent fielding unit and most importantly of all in a knock-out cup ... Lady Luck and a sense of destiny on their side as they complete their ascension as the best all-round cricket side in the world. A few years ago, in the wake of England's 5-0 Ashes humiliation, when some England and Wales Cricket Board suit announced their goal of winning back and retaining the Ashes and winning both limited overs World Cups, I laughed out loud (in my defence, I was hardly alone). I'm not laughing any more. 

You can read more of SB's work here: astraightbat.wordpress.com

By guest blogger Tom Huelin

So after 42 group matches filled with intrigue, suspense and drama if you followed England, tedium, boredom and monotony if you watched anyone else, we now know what we pretty much knew way back on 19th February; the teams that will contest the Cricket World Cup quarter finals.

That may sound patronising to sides such as Bangladesh and Ireland who gave so much to this World Cup In truth however, the way the competition is structured, it was always going to end up with India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, England, Australia, New Zealand and the West Indies contesting the Quarter Finals, and so it has proved.

So who’s in with the best chance of winning the World Cup on 2nd April 2011? Are England genuine contenders, or are they just a tired beast, waiting to be put out of their misery and put to bed by their mummy after a marathon winter of cricket?

Well let’s have a look shall we?

Pakistan vs West Indies, Wesnesday 23rd March 2011, Mirpur

It’s usually Pakistan struggling to qualify, flattering to deceive and putting their fans through every emotion known to man, the role assumed by England this time around. On this occasion though they have topped their group and have just beaten Australia. As build-ups go, you don’t get better than that.

They have Shahid Afridi, the leading wicket taker of the tournament so far, who has 17 wickets for only 11.47. Their batting hasn’t been as reliable, in fact they were bowled out by Canada for just 184, although they did go on to win that game. They also have Kamran Akmal, their wicket keeper, who dropped 2 of the simplest catches of the whole World Cup, off Ross Taylor when he was on 4 and 8 respectively. Taylor went on to make a century in a match Pakistan lost. In the knockout stages, mistakes like that could cost them.

West Indies are almost as ragged as England on the other hand. They have the potential to be a top side, with big-hitters like Gayle, Sammy and the humungous Keiron Pollard, and in Kemar Roach they have a genuinely exciting fast bowler who has 13 wickets at 12.00 so far in the tournament. They also have the chirpiest wicket keeper in the game in Devon Thomas, who is hilarious. A personal favourite of mine in this World Cup!

This should be a straightforward win for Pakistan on the face of it. However, if Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy et al are in the mood, they may just bludgeon the West Indies to victory, but I can’t see it. I think it will be Pakistan who progress.

India vs Australia, Thursday 24th March 2011, Ahmedabad

India play Australia in front of their home crowd with the locals convinced this is their year to lift the Cup. There are signs however that the players are beginning to feel the pressure a tad lately. They have been bowled out in their last 2 games, against South Africa in a game they lost, and West Indies, who they went on to beat, and although they have good batters down to Pathan at seven, and even Harbhajan can score a few at 8, India do have a tendency to crumble quickly when wickets start falling.

Their fielding also is lousy, and if they bat first and Australia have half a chance in a run chase, you wonder whether India will be able to halt the flow of runs.

Australia though are not feared in the way they once were. In the bowling department, Brett Lee is starting to show his age and Tait is temperamental at best. Mitchell Johnson I think we covered sufficiently in the Ashes (“He bowls to the left….” Etc!), and Ponting and Clarke have barely scored any runs between them this tournament, so on the face of it, you wouldn’t give the Aussies a chance in India would you?

Well Australia are one team that you never bet against. Their fielding will be sharp and that will save them runs. They will also keep the pressure on India as long as there’s a chance of victory; India will know they’ve been in a game whether they win or lose. For me, I think India will sneak it, but it should be a cracker.

South Africa vs New Zealand, Friday 25th March 2011, Mirpur

South Africa had a mini-choke against England but otherwise have looked pretty impressive thus far….but that’s half the problem with them usually isn’t it; flattering to deceive early on, only to crash out in the latter stages. This may be a little too early for them to bow out though. I think they will have too much for New Zealand in this match.

New Zealand just don’t have enough to trouble South Africa; the Saffas have an impressive batting line up with particularly De Villiers and Amla shining in the group stages, and their bowlers, particularly Peterson, have produced the goods consistently too.

New Zealand have a few top performances such as Ross Taylor, Brendan McCullum and obviously Daniel Vettori. They also impressively beat Pakistan during the group stages, but I just feel South Africa will have too much for the Kiwis.

England vs Sri Lanka, Saturday 26th March 2011, Colombo

In Sri Lanka. England are going to be destroyed aren’t they?

This game has the highest run scorer in the tournament so far in Kumar Sangakkara, against the 2nd and 3rd highest run scorers in Jonathan Trott and Andrew Strauss. It has one of the greatest spinners of all time, Muttiah Muralitharan, against the best off-spinner in the world right now, Graeme Swann. This promises to be an enthralling encounter.

Although it started well, England’s batting has gone a little down hill since the first few games, coinciding with Kevin Pietersen returning home injured. That said, in their last group game against the West Indies they had a few good knocks, with JT again scoring well in particular. I personally would like Trott to open with Strauss and drop Prior down to no.6, but I fear it’s too late for England to change anything that drastically now, so injury permitting I think it’ll be more or less the same team that played against the Windies, a line-up that looked so much better for a second spinner, James Tredwell, being in it.

Sri Lanka have many match winners with both bat and ball; Malinga, Murali, Jayawardene and Dilshan, and with a home crowd behind them, you would be mad to bet against them, but this England side is made of tough stuff. To hold their nerve and tie against India in probably the game of the group stages, to beat South Africa, to rescue a victory against the West Indies when they’d seemingly given the game away showed cricket with balls, and if anyone could cause an upset against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka in this World Cup, it might just be England. 

It’s been a slow burner this World Cup, that’s for sure, but we’re at the business end now, and there are some exciting games to look forward to in the Quarter finals now, so let battle commence.

You can follow Tom on twitter @tomhue1 and read his blog at www.huetom1.blogspot.com

DAY 1

So Cricket Australia instructed the MCG groundsman ( I refuse to call him a 'curator' as he is neither in charge of an art gallery nor a museum) to prepare a green top wicket. This he did to perfection. Let the record show that I am firmly of the opinion that the home side should prepare wickets to suit their side as this is one of the main purposes of having home advantage. The only flaw in this Baldrickesque plan was that Ponting lost the toss and was thus consigned to bat first.

A combination of excellent bowling together with a rash of poor shots resulted in Australia being shot out for 98, their lowest score against England at the MCG.

Tremlett bowled with hostility and consistently hit that difficult in-between length which prevents batsmen from getting either back or forward. Just such a delivery accounted for Watson. The ball reared from just back of a length, found the shoulder of the bat and looped to Pietersen.

Now if Phil Hughes is a genuine test match opener, then I am favourite to become the next Pope. This would be the first occasion that a lapse Jew has filled this role. Having attempted to get out on several occasions, Hughes finally succeeded in doing so by playing a flat-footed slash at a ball way outside his off stump.

The most impressive feature of England's bowling was the consistency of both line and length. I can only recall of handful of balls bowled on or outside the line of leg stump. This meant that even when the ball failed to swing, few if any cheap runs were being offered. Bresnan's economy rate was under 2 per over. This pressure soon told on the fragile Australian batting order. Undoubtedly the key wicket was that of Hussey who can console himself  that at least he was dismissed by a corker of a delivery from Anderson. the ball pitched on the line of off stump thus requiring Hussey to play at it and then moved fractionally away providing Prior with on of 6 regulation catches. The remainder to the batting was a quite pathetic procession of ineptitude and poor technique against the moving ball. The worrying feature for Australia being that this is happening far too often. Lest we forget, they were hustled out for 88 this summer in their second test v Pakistan.

 In contrast  Strauss and Cook were largely untroubled by the Australian seamers all of whom bowled too short and too waywardly. This allowed both to either leave deliveries pitched too far outside the off stump and then milk the ball through the leg side when the bowlers looked to overcorrect their line. The one exception to this criticism was Siddle who bowled tidily but without a great deal of menace.

DAY 2

Can Australia's woes become any greater? Well, I for one can only hope so but I'm uncertain if they can sink further. During the morning session they at least looked interested in taking wickets and feigned some aggression and  bowled far better than the previous evening. Matters were helped by dismissing both Strauss and Cook which forced both Pietersen and Trott to consolidate. The result was that the scoring rate fell and this at least provided Ponting with a modicum of control.

Post lunch matters plunged to new depths as Ponting divested himself of his last remaining vestiges of self-respect and most of his match fee when he verbally abused both umpires following a referral for a caught behind decision against Pietersen. All technology available was unable to concussively show that the ball had been edged to Haddin and therefore umpire Daar's original decision of not out remained in force. Ponting's show of petulance was more in keeping of that of a vastly over privileged and spoilt child than a captain of a country's cricket team. Am I alone in recalling the mantra that the umpire's decision is final? Ponting's view of events is entirely irrelevant. The ICC has once again shown its lack of spunk in fining Ponting 40% of his match fee for this outburst. The penalty should fit the crime and he should be banned for 2 or 3 test matches. Now it could be argued that such a penalty may be irrelevant as he may be surplus to Australia's requirements in future. However, they principle still applies.

It is difficult for a side to retain its focus once its captain has demeaned himself in such a manner and it was little surprise that England found batting easiest in the final session and achieved a run rate in excess of 4 runs per over. During this period Ponting employed Clarke to rattle through a number of overs to improve the over rate and thereby avoid a further fine. This prompted me to question that together with his earlier fines would it be possible for a player to end a game owing money? A delicious thought. Following this exercise, Smith was introduced to the attack and bowled more utter filth in his 5 over spell than Ian Salisbury managed throughout his entire career. No mean feat, that. 

Balls to Line and Length.

Inspired by this excellent tweet -

niknightingale 

Every time Ricky Ponting gets out, an angel gets a blowjob. #ashes

the sofa threw the hashtag everytimepontinggetsout into twitter. Here are the results - 

prestontowers

 Hussey becomes one step closer to being captain. #wishfulthinking

Sofa_American

  Snoop Dogg gets a little higher.

prestontowers

 Shares in Swisse Vitamins goes down 10c.

prestontowers

 there's another blank stare we don't have to see.

saintcolb

 Australians pray for rain

tenzin_g

 Geoff Boycott's mum catches another ball in her pinny.

hannahastro

 @NotRickyPonting has to think of something witty to say…

ChennaiIPL

RT @Prestwickuk:  Freddy Flintoff gets a free pint #ashes

Green27

  George Osbourne cuts 300 more nurses 200 teachers and kills a baby jesus

NathanJDowd

 a member of the Barmy Army gets even more sunburnt #ashes

thecricketcouch

 Tendulkar punches the air, "Yessss!!"  #ashes

steve_osmond

 Steve Waugh kicks his TV screen in #ashes

ryanidr

  I do a little dance and then make pizza. True story.

PritchMaestro

 clarkes nose goes that bit further up his arse #Ashes

Prestwickuk

 A kid gets a brand new chopper bike #ashes

NathanJDowd

 Shane Warne's teeth get whiter #ashes

steve_osmond

 Douglas Jardine gets reborn #ashes

ananth1606

 Sachin fans become delirious. #ashes @sachin_rt

EmClub

 .......... Tendulkar fans stay happy

PritchMaestro

 David Cameron gets a little less of a posh twat! Still a long way to go yet then... #Ashes

chriswyc

 Warne flips the bird at disgust of not being made captain

djeterg19

RT @Prestwickuk  Kittens swarm the earth in a veritable tsunami of cuteness #ashes

djeterg19

RT @marklandau   the rainforests get that little bit bigger

GhostAtTheFeast

  it spares us hearing another of these jokes...

specter1717

 Shane Warne and Doug Bollinger lose another hair strand #ashes

thecricketcouch

 a village idiot in Texas thinks his twin is out  #ashes

ananth1606

 is trending. #ashes

djeterg19

RT @steve_osmond  i wet myself laughing #ashes

Prestwickuk

 every Englishman gets one year younger #ashes

kristian_22

 England get closer to winning the ashes!!

Pranank

  i win myself a bet #ashes

PtheJ

  the government decide its time for a happiness index

TheTooHugeWorld

 Warney gets a chubby.

OXONAssassin

  He get's that little bit bolder

shivamLM

 north korea and south korea move closer to peace.

meagher99

  test match sofa fill my timeline

thecricketcouch

 collective hair quotient on the field falls.  #ashes

braddrs

 a kitten is saved from drowning

Prestwickuk

 doughnuts rain from the sky #ashes

SteveCorreia

RT @NathanJDowd  Warne is closer to a comeback as captain #ashes

alokpi

 a suicide bomber finds a reason to live.

steve_osmond

 cheap cider turns into champagne #ashes

alokpi

 we get closer to a cure for cancer.

AndyDekka

  The scoreboard's hardly moved since Ponting came in!

Prestwickuk

 Britain gets £1 closer towards getting out of debt #ashes

riprap007

 AndyCoulson has to tell the truth #ashes

Cerebz

 A Warne victim gets some therapy

richirvine

 his arm hair knows it;s in for a proper scratchin'

Prestwickuk

 Kittens swarm the earth in a veritable tsunami of cuteness #ashes

bagrat15

  everyone gets to spit in ponting's hands

marklandau

  the rainforests get that little bit bigger

owenblackhurst

 Shane Warne eats a cheeseburger and high-fives Botham

NathanJDowd

 Warne is closer to a comeback as captain #ashes

BSKneon

 A tendulkar fan cums in his pants

Prestwickuk

 Freddy Flintoff gets a free pint #ashes

steve_osmond

 i wet myself laughing #ashes

Sofa_American

  an entirely new species is found in Papua New Guinua

djeterg19

RT @Prestwickuk  a puppy gets adopted #ashes

djeterg19

RT @madraslover  a lot of people get an orgasm on twitter

Prestwickuk

 a puppy gets adopted #ashes

madraslover

 a lot of people get an orgasm on twitter

Darren_Oakley

 I laugh my f***ing arse off!!!

riprap007

 Clarke has to abandon another half drunk cup of tea #ashes

nevharvey

  10 million people do a little sex wee