Category: Cricket

Cricket World Cup: Day 20 Recap

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Day 20 of the Cricket World Cup outlined again that low scoring matches can be just as entertaining as teams piling on 350+.  Perth witnessed a nervy chase of 183 by India in the only game of the day.  Check out our review of the bowler dominated match below:

Day 20 Results

India v West Indies

India made it to eight consecutive wins in Cricket World Cups by narrowly seeing off the West Indies in the closest thing to a scare they have experienced thus far.  Chasing a paltry 183, India were flailing at 78 for 4 and 134 for 6, and facing an embarrassing defeat to a lazy and uninterested West Indies side.  Enter MS Dhoni, captain cool, who steered his side to a 4 wicket win with an unbeaten 45* with the help of Ravi Ashwin (16*).

West Indies had earlier started their chase in the most bizarre fashion.  Chris Gayle looked unfit and unable (or unwilling) to run singles, making it hard fro Dwayne Smith to get off strike, and hard for his side to build any momentum.  When Smith nicked out, the running only got worse as Marlon Samuels joined Gayle, causing a ridiculous run-out and starting the rot which saw the West Indies limp to 85/7.  Their thrown in the deep end captain, Jason Holder, made his second consecutive half century to add some respectability to the total, however, 182 never looked another.

Until India made hard work of their chase that is.  Dhawan pushed at a widish ball from Jermone Taylor to provide the first glimmer of hope for the West Indies, and when Rohit Sharma received a quality outswinger from the same bowler the match looked alive.

Virat Kohli threatened to take the game away from the West Indies until he hooked Russell straight to long leg.  Rahane, who we picked to take the man of the match honours fell to a controversial decision for the hundredth time on this Australia trip, but Dhoni was on hand to guide his side home and well on their way to the top qualification spot.

India still looking very strong and their perceived weakness, the bowling, has now won them three games in a row.

India 185 for 6 (Dhoni 45*) beat West Indies 182 (Holder 57, Shami 3-35) by 4 wickets

Cricket World Cup: Day 20 Preview

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The Three Big Questions

Any merit to Tendulkar’s 25 team World Cup or Martin Crowe’s 18 team idea?

Batting masters Crowe and Tendulkar have both shared their views recently on the changes needed to the World Cup format.  Both agree that expansion rather than rationalisation are the keys to growing the global game and reducing the gap between associates and their test playing rivals.  The thinking of both deserve merit, and both were tremendous students of the game.  The expansion will take time but it is completely necessary to prevent the one sided wallopings occurring at this stage of the World Cup.  It’s like comparing the exam results of kid who never goes to school with a kid who never misses a class.  Bigger format and short games (40 overs) works.

Is Australia’s new lineup risky? 

We’re presuming that yesterdays team is the team they’ll use in the rest of the competition, save for injuries.   That means Shane Watson misses out, Smith bats 3 and Maxwell at 5.  The move significantly increases the firepower.  Maxwell, Marsh, and Faulkner are an ominous trio to have coming in at the death.  The flip-side is of course the risk of early wickets and relying on the same three to hold an innings together, against their natural games.

How does this World Cup rank with past editions?

Probably one of the best so far.  The associates are competing well at times, the crowds are excellent, and the weather has played its part too.  Some World Cups have been farcical – I’m looking at you 2007, so it’s a refreshing change to see a well run machine with three favourites all playing well and on a collision course.

Today’s Matchup

India v West Indies, WACA (Perth – sunny all day), starts 2:30pm local time

India – $1.41

West Indies – $2.85

A stern cricketing test is exactly what India need to measure their World Cup chances.  Whether they’ll get it from an unpredictable West Indies team, however, is anyones guess.  After making their way through the competition unscathed, and returning to some of their best form, India will be keen to test their game with the different challenges a West Indies team will throw at them.  They’re likely to be: an opening assault on their seam bowlers by Chris Gayle; followed by an even bigger assault on their death bowlers by Darren Sammy and Andre Russell; and steep bounce from the bowling of Jason Holder on the most conducive surface in Australia.

How they cope with the challenges will give everyone a better indication of how competitive India will be in the closing stages of the tournament.  Especially given the interesting quarterfinal position jostling between Australia, Sri Lanka and England.

Today’s Bet

The “probably won’t get a bat but if he does he’ll score a hundred” bet

Ajinkya Rahane hasn’t had much chance in the World Cup so far, but he’s a quality player and just look at the price offered on him for Man of the Match ($19).  We’ll take it.

Odds from Palmerbet.

Cricket World Cup: Day 19 Recap

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Even the associates are beginning to get amongst the runs at the Cricket World Cup, after Scotland and Bangladesh both mustered well over 300 today.  In a World Cup full of runs, and thus subsequent grumbles about the size of the bats, two of the lesser nations treated the Saxton Oval faithful to their share of the runs.

Read more on the solitary game played between Bangladesh and Scotland on day 19, below:

Day 19 Results

Scotland v Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s senior statesman delivered a win for their team against a fighting Scotland effort in Nelson today.  The dominant names of Bangladesh cricket all got on the shortened scoreboard, to see off a Scotland side that were brilliantly led by Kyle Coetzer who made his nations first ever World Cup hundred.

Coetzer didn’t deserve to be on the losing side.  His 156 was an exceptional piece of batting, and more than a hundred more than any of his team mates scored.  He swatted 17 fours and 4 maximums to guide his side to their third-highest ODI total.  While not enough to get them a first win, it was significant enough to earn Coetzer the man of the match award.  Useful contributions came via Macham (35), Mommsen (39) and Berrington (26), unfortunately none of them kicked on, nor were any at the speed required to threaten 350+.

Bangladesh timed their chase nicely; the bulk of it coming from a 139 run second wicket stand between Tamin Iqbal  and Mahmudullah.  Tamin was patient, disciplined and seemed to enjoy batting with the more free scoring Mahmudullah who also earned praise for batting so competently after a late promotion.  Musfiqur, Shakib and Sabbir Rahman then polished off the total with two overs to go.  They made 72 from 72 to win look easy.

The win is important confidence boost for Bangladesh.  The belief that they can chase big targets is a big advantage going into their next match against England, which shapes as a quarterfinal showdown.

Bangladesh 322 for 4 (Tamim 95, Mahmudullah 65, Mushfiqur 60, Shakib 52*) beat Scotland 318 for 8 (Coetzer 156, Taskin 3-41) by six wickets

Cricket World Cup: Day 18 Recap

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Australia made it three scores of over 400 in just five days as they heaped all sorts of misery on a powerless Afghanistan side on day 18 of the Cricket World Cup.  In the day’s other match, Pakistan boosted their chances are quarterfinal qualification with  comfortable win over UAE in Napier.

Read on for more on the two games.

Day 18 Results

1. Pakistan v UAE

Pakistan’s batsman were under about as much pressure as naughty selector Moin Khan in the lead up to this match.  The under-performing batsman had failed to score over 240 in any of their matches prior to batting on the road that is McLean Park – a disappointing return given the ease at which sides have put big scores on the board in this World Cup.  Yesterday was different story however, as Ahmed Shehzad, Haris Sohail and Misha-ul-Haq combined to see them through to a much more respectable, and eventually game winning 339.

The total was always going to be too much for the UAE side, even though they have the tournaments leading runscorer in the midsts.  Shaiman Anwar scored 62 to take his World Cup tally to 270, but found little support from his colleagues.  A cautious approach was taken with emphasis on batting the 50 overs rather than threatening the target.

The win may well ease the tension amongst Pakistan fans, but could also set them up for heartache if they can not carry the form on to the knockout stages. Mohammad Irfan is a concern, he  bowled just three overs  before leaving the field.

Pakistan 339 for 6 (Shehzad 93, Sohail 70, Misbah 65, Guruge 4-56) beat UAE 210 for 8 (Anwar 62, Afridi 2-35) by 129 runs

2. Australia v Afghanistan

Australia set the record for the highest ever World Cup total in their huge win over Afghanistan in Perth in the day’s second game.  Led by breathtaking efforts from David Warner and Glenn Maxwell, the Australians  reached new levels of freakishness, and after a stop start campaign thus far, built some important World Cup momentum.  With Warner at the crease a team total of 500 was looking possible, and an individual 250 on offer, even with some useful yorkers being fired in at times by the inexperienced Afghanistan bowlers.  Warner departed f0r 178, but that just brought Maxwell to the crease who smashed and reversed his way to a brutal 88.  Much like AB de Villiers, the Big Show can score all round the park and outlined his credentials as a quality one day international finisher.

He was aptly supported by Steven Smith, who made the most of his promotion to 3 at the expense of Shane Watson with a composed 95.

Starc, Johnson and Hazlewood then took most of the wickets as Australia skittles out their opponents for just 142.  A 275 run winning margin – the second biggest winning margin in the history of ODI cricket.

Australia 417 for 6 (Warner 178, Smith 95, Maxwell 88) beat Afghanistan 142 (Mangal 33, Johnson 4-22) by 275 runs

Cricket World Cup: Day 18 Preview

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The Three Big Questions

When will a total of 500 become possible? 

The big bats, small grounds, two new balls from each end, and four fielders maximum allowed out of the ring at any one time, are combining to make one day cricket too advantageous for batsman.  The generous new rules have seen a raft of big scores where 300 is the new 220 and 400 is the new 300.  Hundreds come from 31 balls now, and double hundreds are becoming more common.  Soon, 500 will be scored in an one day international, and 400 will be chased down regularly.  The 500 mark won’t be reached during this World Cup but will follow shortly after if the rules don’t even out.

Hero of the Cup so far?

Brendon McCullum’s courageous effort to continued with a badly bruised arm after being pinned by Mitchell Johnson deserves a mention.  So too, the performances of Ireland against the West Indies and Afghanistan against Scotland.  But our favourite hero is the unassuming UAE batsman, Shaiman Anwar.  Anwar’s already composed a half century and a century and leads bigger names like McCullum and Kohli in the top run-scorers charts.  The 35-year-olds a big reason the UAE have been competitive, and for that he’s our hero of the Cricket World Cup so far.  FYI – he’s at $4.50 to top score for his side today.

And the villain? 

Even though David Warner has been relatively unsighted in the World Cup he’s still villainous by nature.  The umpires could also have claim to being villains on a number of occasions – most of all their abysmal effort to deprive James Taylor a possible hundred against Australia on day one.  Neither of them are getting the award though, that goes to the Canberra crowd, where it was alleged they racially abused Imran Tahir.  Not on.

Today’s Matchups

1. Pakistan v UAE, McLean Park (Napier – fine but cloudy), starts 2:00pm local time

Pakistan – $1.08

UAE – $8.00

Pakistan responded well enough to their must win game against Zimbabwe in their last outing, and they’ll need another strong performance today to see off a UAE side that have by no means disgraced themselves.  Pakistan’s brittle campaign needs another win, preferably a big win for net run rate purposes to force Ireland out of the one of the knockout stages places.

They’ll need to drastically improve their batting effort and ensure they give their impressive bowlers something sizeable to defend.   More than the 160, 224 and 235 they’ve put together thus far.

UAE have based themselves in Napier for some time and should be familiar with the conditions after playing many practice matches in the region.  They lost to club sides in those warm up games though, so will be hoping the big stage of the World Cup brings out the best of their players.

2. Australia v Afghanistan, WACA (Perth – scorching hot), starts 2:30pm local time

Australia – $1.02

Afghanistan – $15.00

Australia get the chance for some much needed batting practice in a game that is probably better described as an open wicket practice session between David and Goliath.  No disrespect intended to Afghanistan, but this will be about as one sided as you can get.  The Aussies will be hurting from their New Zealand loss and we expect them to take it out on the hapless tourists.

Afghanistan’s major strength is the seam bowling options they have at their disposal.  Unfortunately, they haven’t been as effective in Australian conditions as they have been in New Zealand. It’s a point that could prove decisive, as Ireland outlined yesterday, without early wickets the test nations have too much depth to not post a huge total.

Today’s Multi

Every Australian batsman is queuing up for a big innings, so it’s difficult to pick one top run getter.  Especially if Afghanistan bat first and get rolled.

Napier’s McLean Park is flat.  It suits Shahid Afridi’s leg skidders so we’ll back him to take more wickets than Sohail Khan at $2.08 + Shane Watson to be Man of the Match (needs Australia to bat first – he has to come good soon doesn’t he, unless he gets dropped for Faulkner?) $8.00 = $16.64

Odds from Unibet.

Cricket World Cup: Day 17 Recap

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South Africa have stormed back into World Cup contention by becoming the first side to record consecutive ODI totals in excess of 400.  Their most recent effort, a dominant 411/4, set up a thumping win over Ireland; their second win of over 200 runs in this World Cup.

The win blew our predictions out of the water, but luckily Kyle Abbot’s four wickets helped us save face and returned a handy $5.50.

Read more about the one-sided Canberra encounter below.

Day 17 Results

South Africa v Ireland

An indication of South Africa’s remarkable betting strength is not evidenced by their back to back 400’s.  Well it is, but it’s made even more incredible considering one of their openers has scored just 27 runs in 4 games.  While Quintin de Kock struggles the others rally; five South Africans have scored hundreds at the World Cup; six players average over 60 and three of those average over 100; four are striking at a rate over 100.

The batting group were at it again against Ireland yesterday.  Hundreds to Hashim Amla (dropped on 10 by Ed Joyce) and Faf du Plessis laid the perfect platform for AB de Villiers Rilee Rossouw and David Miller to exploit the final overs, which they did convincingly.  131 off the final ten was enough to get them past 400 and continue their miraculous net run rate turnaround since their defeat at the hands of India.

In response, Ireland couldn’t muster any of their traditional fighting qualities.  At 48/5 the match was effectively over, however Ireland scraped their way to 210 thanks to contributions from Andrew Balbirnie and Kevin O’Brien.  South Africa’s bowlers all enjoyed a useful stint at the bowling crease.  Abbot was the chief wicket-taker with 4, and Dale Steyn (2-39) and Morne Morkel (3-34) both looked sharp.

South Africa have few concerns for the rest of the World Cup.  They may consider sing Rilee Rossouw at the top of the order and drop de Kock, but otherwise they’ll be confident going forward, especially with Vernon Philander to return too.

For Ireland, their match against Zimbabwe now becomes crucial in terms of qualification for the knockout stages.  They still have a decent chance of making the top 8 given the inconsistent form of both the West Indies and Pakistan.

They will need to move on quickly from this performance though.  They were well off the pace throughout against a very good South African side.

South Africa 411 for 4 (Amla 159, du Plessis 109, Rossouw 61*) beat Ireland 210 (Balbirnie 58, Abbott 4-21) by 201 runs