Tag: Recap

Cricket World Cup: Day 23 Recap

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England were sent packing from the Cricket World Cup following an embarrassing 15 run loss to Bangladesh.  In the process, Bangladesh qualified for the knockout stages for the second time in their history and sent the nation into a state of total delirium.  Whereas, England will be on the receiving end of some hefty criticism.

Day 23 Results

Bangladesh v England

It began so promisingly for England.  They won the toss, the ball was swinging, James Anderson returned to form and took two early wickets and then they took their foot of the throat.  From 9/2, Bangladesh were able to recover through the promising Sarkar and Mohammad Mahmudullah.  The pair put on 8 to start the recovery, before Mahmudullah combined with captain, Mushfiqur, in the second signigficant partnership of the innings.  Mahmudullah went on to became the first Bangladesh batsman to score a World Cup hundred with a frantic single, and Mushfiqur thumped 89 from 77 balls to help his side reach a defendable 275.  The total was their best ever ODI effort against England and came without a notable contribution from Shakib.

If England’s bowling began promisingly, so too did their batting effort.  Despite the early loss of Moeen Ali, England were handily placed at 121/2 with Ian Bell and Joe Root looking well-settled.  However, a flurry of wickets instigated by the energetic Rubel Hossain took the wind from the sales and left the chase in tatters.  121/2 became 132/5 (and then 163/6) as the Bangladesh fielding and bowling unit created a cauldron type environment for the English to melt.

Asking too much of Jos Buttler (65) and Chris Woakes (42*), England fell 15 runs short to wrap up their most disappointing World Cup campaign of all time.  Ruben took four wickets including the final wicket of James Anderson to book the quarterfinal spot, and book an early flight home for England.

Bangladesh 275 for 7 (Mahmudullah 103, Mushfiqur 89) beat England 260 (Buttler 65, Bell 63, Rubel 4-53) by 15 runs

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 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 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

Cricket World Cup: Day 15 Recap

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A match between two top tier sides finally went down to the wire in the Cricket World Cup yesterday.  Kane Williamson’s maximum ensuring New Zealand shocked the world best Australians by one wicket in a low scoring but highly entertaining affair at Eden Park.

Keep reading for more details on New Zealand’s one wicket win.

Day 15 Results

1. Australia v New Zealand

The talk of theoretical three hundred strong totals was quickly cast aside as New Zealand and Australia collectively struggled to score 300 runs between them.  The sub par batting performances from both sides, however, didn’t detract from the incredible spectacle that left everyone in attendance satisfied, if a little surprised their day had ended two hours ahead of schedule.  New Zealand got by by one wicket thanks to a nerveless Kane Williamson six off Pat Cummins, despite the bowling heroics of Mitchell Starc at the other end.

Australia’s fast start against a nervous Tim Southee gave no indication of the inept display that was to follow.  At 30-0 off just 2.1 overs, Australia looked destined for a sizeable total.  Even after Aaron Finch was  removed the next ball, they still managed to get to 80-1 with Shane Watson and David Warner going along nicely.  Southee had proven expensive in his opening spell in a display that highlighted the small margin for error at Auckland’s concrete jungle.  But as Australia looked to heap more misery on the Kiwi bowlers, Brendon McCullum pulled a masterstroke by introducing the left arm spin of Daniel Vettori in just the seventh over.  His introduction stifled the scoring rate and caused Shane Watson to err and throw away his wicket, pulling him straight to deep square leg for 23.

Tim Southee removed Davey Warney (as he is affectionately known by all Australian commentators) next ball, an then Trent Boult returned the remarkable second spell bowling figures of 5/1 to see Australia slump to 106/9.  While the bowling was accurate, the batting was horrendous.  Four players getting bowled is disappointing at international level (FYI, New Zealand had the same number later in the night).  Brad Haddin and Pat Cummins managed to add some respect to the total; Haddin made 43 and if he had eked out a few more might have done enough to get his side home.

New Zealand’s pursuit of the small total started off without a hitch.  A Mitchell Johnson no-ball resulted in a free-hit six to Martin Nuptial and the Black Caps were on their way.  McCullum continued his free scoring approach to small targets.  The swing from the hip mentality served him well only until Mitchell Johnson landed a nasty blow on his forearm that upset some of his momentum, but he still managed a 24 ball fifty.  From there New Zealand lost wickets in clumps to accurate, fast insignia of Mitchell Starc.  Starc took the wickets of Taylor and Elliot either side of the lunch interval, and then another two in two when he dismissed Milne and Southee to set-up the thrilling finish.  Australia needed one wicket for a famous comeback victory.  New Zealand needed six runs to win the Chappell-Hadley Trophy.  Mitchell Starc had two balls at number 11 Trent Boult.  Boult survived and Williamson deposited Cummins into the stand to seal a famous win and all but ensure New Zealand a home quarterfinal.

New Zealand 152 for 9 (McCullum 50, Williamson 45*, Starc 6-28) beat Australia 151 (Haddin 43, Boult 5-27, Southee 2-65, Vettori 2-41) by one wicket

2. India v UAE

The second match of the day was a disappointing dull affair as the UAE failed to match their more experienced opponents in all aspects of the game.  Betting first the minnows only mustered 103.  All out in 31.3 overs, without any threat of putting together a useful total.  India’s bowling is on the improve, but it shouldn’t strike any fear into teams, and certainly not all out for 103 type fear.  Nevertheless, that is what transpired.  Ravi Ashwin the star of the show, picking up four cheap wickets and providing the perfect support to Yadava and Kumar who had earlier taken wickets in their opening spells.

The target was knocked off with consulate ease.  Rohit Sharma made an unbeaten half century and Virat Kohli added 33 unbeaten runs to wrap things up with little fuss, little energy exhausted, and no injuries.  The perfect result for the Indians who appear to be getting stronger and stronger.

India 104 for 1 (Rohit 57*) beat UAE 102 (Anwar 35, Ashwin 4-25) by 9 wickets