Tag: Cricket World Cup

Cricket: NZ favourites in seven match series

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Seven matches can tend to drag on.  The hope is that this series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka won’t suffer from the same fate because of its proximity to the Cricket World Cup beginning in February.  Teams will tinker with line-ups, change Powerplay tactics, and generally familiarise themselves with the conditions they will face in the upcoming showpiece.  Those maths make the series an exciting prospect, and given New Zealand’s recent form it should be well patronised by a supporting public.

The Last Time These Two Met

The teams drew a three match series (one was washed out) in November 2013 in the sub-continent, but history shouldn’t count for much after the surprising two-nil result in the test series and the likelihood of significant rotation of the personnel used in this series.  If anything, the teams form in their respective past series give a better reflection of the expected evens; Sri Lanka beat England at home and New Zealand beat Pakistan away. 

The Teams

New Zealand (likely): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum (capt.), 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Grant Elliott, 5 Tom Latham, 6 Luke Ronchi (wk) , 7 Corey Anderson, 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Mitchell McClenaghan/Adam Milne, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Trent Boult

Tim Southee and Ross Taylor have been rested for the first match which allows Tom Latham and Grant Elliot to battle it out in the middle order for the final World Cup spot.  Trent Boult returns to limited overs cricket for the first time in a while, meaning McClenaghan and Milne will in all probability compete for the third seamer role.

Sri Lanka (likely):  1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt.), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Thisara Perara, 8 Jeevan Mendis/ Dhammika Prasad, 9 Nuwan Kulasekara, 10 Sachithra Senanayake, 11 Suranga Lakmal

Dilshan and Jayawardene provide a much needed boost to the Sri Lankan squad.  Their presence will undoubtedly raise the belief of the team; something that is much needed after the test defeats.  Karunaratne may get a chance to open, so Mahela will have to move down the order to accommodate him.  Perara, Kulasekara and Senanayake (and possibly Mendis) are also available.

The Key Players

Corey Anderson – The all-rounder is still riding the coattails of his record-breaking hundred in Queenstown some 12 months ago.  Since then he’s struggled to reach those lofty heights and has struggled for runs in most forms of the game.  The big but though is that New Zealand wickets and small grounds suit his play, Hagley could be where he rediscovers his mojo.

Lahiru Thirimanne – A key piece in the Sri Lanka’s World Cup armoury the stylish left hander found some form in the Wellington test and will be hoping to continue it in his middle order role.  He’s at $7.50 to top score if you willing to take the risk of a middle order play getting enough overs to outscore the others.

The Match Odds*

New Zealand – $1.59

Sri Lanka – $2.35

The Series Odds*

New Zealand – $1.40

Sri Lanka – $2.95

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Luxbet.

The Prediction

New Zealand were devastating with the bat when they batted in Christchurch in the test series.  Brendon McCullum’s fond memories will assist his return to the top of the order and will set the scene for a close win.

Cricket: WI hoping change of pace brings change of fortune

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With one eye on the World Cup, and one on the dodgy weather that has plagued the tour thus far, this T20 series isn’t getting a whole heap of attention.  That may be exactly what the West Indies need to be competitive and sneak a couple of wins ahead of the World Cup.

The Last Time These Two Met

Just one run separated the sides in 2010 when they last met.  Plenty has changed since the North Head match though; Chanderpaul and Sarwan were still playing for the West Indies; Smith and Botha for South Africa.  The overall record between the teams shows us that South Africa usually win but by a small margin. 

The Teams

South Africa (likely): 1 Morne van Wyk (wk), 2 Reeza Hendricks/Rilee Rossouw, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Farhaan Behardien, 5 David Miller, 6 David Wiese/Justin Ontong, 7 Wayne Parnell, 8 David Wiese, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Marchant de Lange, 11 Imran Tahir

South Africa’s squad features a number of players who are not involved in their World Cup campaign, meaning there is an element of future planning evident in the team.  A prime example of that is U19 World Cup winner Kagiso Rabada.  Of the players who have made the 15, there will be plenty of interest in Duminy’s form and fitness, as well as eyes on Miller and Behardien as they look to build some form for the February tournament.

West Indies (likely): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Lendl Simmons, 4 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Andre Russell, 10 Sulieman Benn, 11 Sheldon Cottrell

Chris Gayle is the name that jumps out of the reinforcements that have been summoned to make West Indies more competitive in the T20 series.  After sitting out the test series because of a back complaint, the destructive opener will be looking to build on some exciting form he showed for the Lions in South Africa’s domestic T20 tournament.  Smith, Pollard, Sammy and Russell are the other new faces.

The Key Players

Marchant de Lange – Once destined to play a huge amount of games for South Africa the genuine quick bowler has had his career stall thanks to injury and form concerns.  His numbers rest at just 2 tests, 2 ODI’s, and 3 T20 games.  That’s too few for someone who took seven wickets in his first effort in test cricket.  South Africa will be hoping he can lead the attack in the absence of some of the names they hope de Lange will eventually replace in the test team.

Chris Gayle – The veteran of 193 T20 games owns an incredible record – 14 centuries in all T20 cricket, including a best of 175* (which is, amazingly, better than his highest ODI score).  He’s made a name for himself in the format and has a list of franchises he’s played for longer than most shopping lists.  Expect fireworks from Gayle against the relatively inexperienced opposition attack. 

The Odds*

South Africa – $1.80

West Indies – $2.00

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Ladbrokes Australia.

The Prediction

South Africa’s willingness to rest players may leave them exposed in this series, especially given their form in Australia in the format was less than convincing.  I really like West Indies chances here.  Ladbrokes Australia are offering good money on the win, and good money on the tourists to be ahead after 1 and 6 overs too.

Cricket: Williamson’s runs and Henry’s wickets deliver NZ win

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New Zealand finally settled the long running debate over who was having the better tour between them and Pakistan.  After a tied test series, a tied T20 series, and the first four one layers also being split between the teams, the Black Caps’ 68 run win gave them bragging rights for the flight home.

The final one layer at Abu Dhabi was one of the more one-sided out of any of the games the two played.  In friendly batting conditions New Zealand’s middle order mainstay of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor combined to do the bulk of the scoring.  Williamson completed his eight half-century from his previous ten innings (one of the others was 46) and Taylor made a measured 88 not out to see New Zealand through to 275/4 from their 50 overs.  The wickets in hand suggested New Zealand could have pushed on to a bigger total but without the likes of Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson to clear the rope, 275 had to suffice.

Dean Brownlie continue his puzzling run of form.  His last few bats have yielded 47, 42, and 34 to indicate a level of comfort at the top of the order that could help solve NZ’s World Cup dilemma, but it has frustrated some that he couldn’t completely anchor the innings and score large totals himself.

As Pakistan set about their chase to win the series they immediately found themselves in early trouble when Matt Henry and Anton Devcich reduced them to 38/3.  Unfortunately, the Pakistanis could not find the consistency and momentum to get anywhere near the target – Henry in particular compounding their woes with 5-30.  Henry has already shown a tendency to take bags of wickets – this is his third fourth wicket in just six games – and like Brownlie is now a strong favourite to feature in the reduced World Cup squad.

Haris Sohail top scored for Pakistan, but as has been the case for much of the series, the top order left too much for him and Afridi to do.  Save for game three, the top order for Pakistan just haven’t been able to find form at he same time, with early wickets always curtailing the chances of big scores.  Ahmed Shehzad was the exception in this one, however he wasn’t able to recreate his game three knock and scored only a half century of his own in the disappointing chase.

Cricket continues soon for both sides.  New Zealand host Sri Lanka in 2 tests, 5 ODI’s, and 1 T20 before hosting the rest of the World when the World Cup begins in mid-Feb.  Pakistan on the other hand host Bangladesh and Zimbabwe in two short sharp encounters.

New Zealand 275 for 4 (Williamson 97, Taylor 88*) beat Pakistan 207 (Sohail 65, Shehzad 54, Henry 5-30) by 68 runs

Cricket: New Zealand and Pakistan to finally be separated

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A series decider in a tour that has been shared all the way through was somewhat predictable. Nevertheless that won’t make the decider any less intense where the sides have the opportunity to declare themselves the overall victor of the six-month duel.

Neither side has won two games on the trot in the series, so based on that logic the Pakistan side will be brimming with confidence. They deserve to be too, because in all the games they have lost, they have fought hard (even in the seven run loss the last time they played where the side were heavily distracted). Conversely, the Black Caps’ loses have been emphatic. They seem to have an ingrained consistency that prevents them from being a really good side.

This is likely to manifest again tonight, especially with the inexperienced line-up.

The Last Time These Two Met

Kane Williamson scored an impressive hundred to set up a strong NZ total that ultimately proved too much for the Pakistan line-up. A century to Younis Khan – the oldest player to do so in the history of ODI cricket – and some late fireworks from Shahid Afridi were not quite enough for Pakistan who were attempting to become the first side to successfully chase 300 at the ground.

The Teams

Pakistan (likely): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Ahmed Shehzad, 3 Younis Khan, 4 Asad Shafiq/ Nasir Jamshed, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), 8 Shahid Afridi (capt), 9 Sohail Tanvir, 10 Anwar Ali, 11 Mohammad Irfan

Nasir Jamshed may move down the order or he may miss out altogether after he failed in game four; resulting in Mohammad Hafeez returning to the top of the order.

New Zealand (likely): 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Dean Brownlie, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Luke Ronchi (wk), 8 Nathan McCullum, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Adam Milne 11 Mitchell McClenaghan

Daniel Vettori has already flown home, which opens up an opportunity for Nathan McCullum.

The Key Players

Martin Guptill – The lanky New Zealand opener is often the subject of intense debate in his native New Zealand. There are those that feel a fit Jesse Ryder is a better option for the tournament co-hosts, especially given Guptill’s tendency for sluggish starts. He played himself into a little form with 58 in game four and we’ll be hoping for more crease time to enhance his World Cup prospects.

Mohammad Irfan – Irfan has been impressive in a series that has seen fast bowlers get smashed to all parts. His record of 7 wickets at 26 is among the best in the series, but it’s his economy rate of 5.13 that is making us take note. On grounds that are notoriously difficult to defend Irfan has done a tremendous job.

The Odds*

Pakistan – $1.62

New Zealand – $2.3

*International Cricket odds courtesy of Luxbet. Luxbet have a number of cricket specials on at the moment, in particular, the Big Bash League specials. Visit their site for more details.

The Prediction

The two sides are incredibly evenly matched. Both have batsmen in form, both have handy spin options, and both have seamers that have tested the opposition in the relatively benign conditions. That makes it tough to pick a winner here, but we just feel Pakistan have been more consistent and will get home.

Interestingly, we saw awesome odds for a tied amount of sixes hit by the teams. It’s paying a whopping $7.25 and is well worth a fiver.

Cricket: Sri Lanka humble England in epic farewell

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Sri Lanka yet again proved too powerful for a disappointing England side in the final one day international in Colombo overnight.  Tillakaratne Dilshan was the cricketing star of the match scoring 101 and taking 3-37, but Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were the sentimental stars, playing their final match on home soil.  Neither set the World on fire in this particular game but both are so fondly revered in these parts that it hardly mattered, all that mattered was the farewell and the Sri Lankan win.

For the record, Sri Lanka destroyed England in game seven by 87 runs.  Batting first, the hosts amassed 302-6 from their allotment thanks to the aforementioned Dislhan knock and rollicking fifties from Dinesh Chandimal and Thisara Perera.  The old guard and captain Angelo Matthews added useful contributions and in unison with Dilshan always had the home side heading towards a large total.  Sangakkara did not reach the lofty heights of earlier in the series but when he got to 6 he broke Ricky Ponting’s record of most runs in a calendar year across all formats (FYI, Ponting had 2833 in 2005).

Moeen Ali and Chris Jordan – as he has done through most of the series – were the pick of the England bowlers.  Unfortunately, Ali couldn’t bring the bowling form to his bating.  His premeditated swipe at a straight, innocuous Dilshan ball set the tone for a collapse that would soon become 78-5.  Only Joe Root – again, as he has done all series – showed some fight.  Only the lack of partners got in the way of him putting up another ODI century.  His performances along with those of Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes (notwithstanding the tap he got in this game), and Chris Jordan are the major triumphs of England’s series.

Still of major concern is the form of Alastair Cook.  BBC analyst Simon Hughes commented after the game that the Sri Lankan players appeared to “feel sorry” for the England captain when he was dismissed after a scratchy 32, and even Cook himself has softened his position on whether he’ll captain at the World Cup.  He has hinted that he can have “no complaints” if he is stood down as he has not scored the runs or had the wins he would have liked.

To cap off the farewell and to send the crowd into a fits of joy, Jayawardene and Sangakkara combined to have James Tredwell stumped in the final act of the game.  It wasn’t his first ODI wicket but will probably go down as the most memorable.

Sri Lanka 302 for 6 (Dilshan 101, Chandimal 55*, T Perera 54) beat England 215 (Root 80, Prasanna 3-35, Dilshan 3-37) by 87 runs

Cricket: Cook still the focus of Colombo dead rubber

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The series may have already been lost but that hasn’t eased the pressure on England’s captain Alastair Cook.  Despite assurances from the England Cricket Board, Cook is under immense pressure to turn both his own form and that of his team around.  His own form is woeful, he’s scored just the 87 runs in the series thus far (interestingly, vice captain Eoin Morgan has only scored 86 as well) and his strike rate of juts 67 is worrying.  He needs runs or a win, preferably both.

Sri Lanka on the other hand have a settled captain and a settled middle order.  The evergreen pair of Kumar Sangakkar and Mahela Jayawardene are set to play their last one day international match at their home ground of the Premadasa.  A huge crowd is expected to farewell the two legends and it is only fitting that Sri Lanka deliver them a win for their troubles.  After all 4-2 sounds a lot more commanding than 4-3, and in truth, a more accurate reflection of the gulf between the sides.

The Last Time These Two Met

Kumar Sangakkara gave Sri Lanka the series win the las time the two teams played.  His scores have gradually increased throughout the series, but it would be difficult to expect more of the same from him this time around.  Instead a Jayawardene classic is in the script as he celebrates his last home appearance.

The Teams

Sri Lanka (likely): 1 Tillakaratne Dilshan, 2 Dimuth Karunaratne/Dinesh Chandimal, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (wk), 4 Mahela Jayawardene, 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Lahiru Thirimanne, 7 Seekkuge Prasanna, 8 Thisara Perera, 9 Sachithra Senanayake, 10 Suranga Lakmal 11 Lakshan Sandakan

Sri Lanka need to find an opening solution quickly so will likely give either Dimuth Karunaratne or Dinesh Chandimal a go at the top.  Chandimal’s run in the previous match could give him the edge.

England (likely): 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Alex Hales, 3 James Taylor, 4 Joe Root, 5 Eoin Morgan, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Ben Stokes, 9 Chris Jordan, 10 James Tredwell, 11 Harry Gurney

England could use the dead rubber to give games to other members of their touring squad in a bid to find out more about them including Alex Hales, Harry Gurney, Ben Stokes or Ian Bell, mind you, there’s little more they could find out about Bell.  That could see Moeen Ali and the impressive Chris Woakes miss out.

The Key Players

James Tredwell – The unheralded spinner does not elect much praise for his work but he should.  He’s building a nice reputation as an accurate and economical spinner, and his series numbers thus far stack up well.  His 4 wickets have come at an average of 42, but the impressive stat is the economy rate of 4.33.  An entire run per over better than the second cheapest England bowler (Moeen Ali).

Mahela Jayawardene – Whether he bats four or at the top the right hander is a dangerous prospect.  In this dead rubber he has an excellent chance to audition for a permanent World Cup opening spot, which will in turn solve a difficult conundrum for the Sri Lankan selectors.

The Odds*

Sri Lanka – $1.59

England – $2.36

*International Cricket odds courtesy of BetEasy.

The Prediction

England to steal a pride saving win by 2 wickets. Oh an Alastair Cook is paying $20 to score a century for anyone who is brave enough.