The Cricket World Cup...Predicitons

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Well, it Starts today in SA and Zimbabwe.


I personally can only see the champions coming from one of 3 teams...
1. Australia
2. South Africa
3. Pakistan


With Australia my prediction overall. South Afrcia do have the advantage of home turf but sometimes that can put more pressure on a team. As for Pakistan, if they decide not play for "the bookies" and the likes of Shoaib Aktar remain fit I could see them as having a chance.

--
BTW, its shockin theres no Terrestial coverage in england for it- and its supposedly their "second" national sport. Never used to mind, but now I dont have Sy Sports in my Aunts house so I'm a bit peeved

PH01

Who voted for Sri Lanka?

Washout

Cant see Australia Losing...altough in one day competion anything an happen...

Personally as my parents are indian...my heart is with India but They have been playing disastourosly

b20uvkft6m5xwg

All this is subject to change given that Shane Warne has been sent home for taking a dieuretic.

I think that will have a big impact on the Aussies, as he is their most experienced one-day bowler.

Cant advocate drugs in sport, but its a shame he wont be playing

Washout

From all the reacton and the way Shane Warne has handled it personally i do believe that he unwittingly took the banned substance...

Its a Shame though as he was meant to be retiring from One Day Internationals after the world cup to concentrate on test cricket. it would have been nice to se him reach the 300 ODI wickets landmark...wont achieve that now

DMC

It didnt affect them today, 310-8 and skittling Pakistan.
He's a loss, but the one thing about the Aussies is that there is always someone good enough, hungry enough and willing to fight for the Baggy Green to replace anyone. Warne is hard to replace, but you can betcha that the replacement isn't too bad!

Aussies to win.

SA were poor on Sunday. WI were are relevation, barring the first 10 overs of their innings. I was a bit surprised by New Zealand yesterday, they must have gotton too used to green tops and 6ft 4in quicks back home. Vetorri is fantasitic, why the hell was he not playing!?!!? Jayasuriya is looking real good for SL.

And also looking at the situation in Zimbabwe, whatever about the situation with the politics, it looked for me quite safe, watching the Namibia game yesterday. But its England that were due to come, that was the test. England should not have gone that route to debate the point. It was all about the morality of it all. It looks like it will be postponed til later in the tournament, which puts England in the same situation as the Aussies; only go if they need to go, if the group is looking shakey. Look at New Zealand. Before, the trip to Kenya was a non-runner. Now, they have lost one game and may go after all.

But I'm glad the games have started. I'm taking 3 or 4 day weeks for the duration of the tournament!

Washout

Originally posted by DMC
But I'm glad the games have started. I'm taking 3 or 4 day weeks for the duration of the tournament! [/B]

Lucky you Mr.

I agree with you about England....If the Zimbabwe match had been later on in the tournament they would have played the wait and see game which is a touch hypocritical....

Look at NZ it was a matter of life or deathfor them to go play in Kenya..Now its a matter of life or death for them to actually now go play that game in order to survive in that tournament.

Speaking of survival anyone see those 2 beamers Waquar Younis boweld yesterday....Nasty Nasty stuff.

WhiteWashMan

i shall have to go with my birth country.
cmon you aussies!

DMC

I dont know....

WI beat SA, NZ lose to SL, SA beat Kenya, NZ beat WI.

Its wide open, group B. Anyone of WI, SA, NZ, or SL could top the group.

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Good win for "Black Caps" today.
As you say wide open:eek:

DMC

What a win by the Black Caps today! (Sunday against SA) Stephen Fleming you gem!

Unbelieveable game of cricket. And it had Richie too.

The Aussies were supreme against India on Saturday. "Total" Cricket. I actually liked the way England played today. They needed the practice, so they didnt go for the juggular with Holland, which is fair enough. They let all their bowlers get 10 overs a piece, and if anything, some batsmen threw their wickets, so others could get a start; Hussain didnt make an appearence, and if he did, he could've come in at 7 or 8.

Pakistan........ Dodgy. Very suspect. All out to Namibia?!?! They'll be ****ed if NRR comes into it.

After seeing everyone play now, my tips for the Super Six are...
From Pool A: Australia, Zimababwe and England.
From Pool B: New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies.

But Pool B is really tight.... New Zealand really need Sri Lanka to keep winning, to make up for the fact that they are not going to Kenya.

Loomer

Woohoo G'wan the Black Caps making me proud.

Fleming you legend

I voted for NZ coz biased but I think Australia have the perfect team and are near unstoppable.

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Fleming was v. impressive it must be said.

Admittedly SA bowled shiite.
Kluesner IMO has lost the plot with the ball- its just knee high full tosses down the leg side....Happy days!!

Washout

India were disgraceful against Australia.

It all really boils down to them not being happy with their contracts with sponsers and such...Its like they are showing no commitment to the team. But if they could just FIRE they are still in with a chance. I have been following india for a long long time now...and it has never really been consistant. The best ive seen them was of course that home series test win against Australia and also the performance in the test series in england last summer as well ass the natwest series.
how can a team be so inconsistant

mike65

Originally posted by PH01
Who voted for Sri Lanka?

That was me! Hey, they're doing okay so far...:)

Mike.

Washout

No Result between Bangladesh and West Indies... Could be lucky for South Africa this result as WI and Bangladesh shared the points

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Yep you're right there Washout.

The proverbial lifeline has been tossed the way of SA...lucky baxturds:p

Loomer

They still have to beat Sri Lanka who are playing really well ATM

b20uvkft6m5xwg

The bbc wesbite has already got the calculators out. Its all explained here...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/cwc2003/hi/newsid_2770000/newsid_2777400/2777499.stm

Washout

Well some interesting cricket today so far today

wont type in anything about the matches as dont want to spoil for those who will be watching highlights tonight without knowing the scores.

I love this Game!!!

DMC

I wont spoil anything for anyone by saying Sri Lanka did beat Canada, but it doesn't bode well for Bangladesh!

Cricket, lovely Cricket.

/DMC pumps up Soul Limbo (and realises its almost 4 years since he last heard that on the telly )

Loomer

I think I could beat Canada IMO

Washout

Jaysus Kenya really threw a spanner in the works yesterday beating Sri Lanka...It busts that group wide open...That SA/SL match is gonna be so so cool.

ANd with Kenya having to play Bangladesh yet imagine them qualifying for the super sixes. and 2 of the four big wigs form that group not making it?????

Edited i did mean the SA/SL match

Loomer

NZ have already played SL you must mean SL/WI or SL/SA

DMC

I dunno, that SL loss to Kenya has thrown it wide open.

Current table.

Group B table

Team		P  W  L  T NR  R/R   Pts 
Sri Lanka	         4  3  1  0  0  1.73   12
Kenya*		4  3  1  0  0  -0.40  12 
West Indies  	4  2  1  0  1  1.03   10 
South Africa  	4  2  2  0  0  2.15   8  
New Zealand* 	4  2  2  0  0  -0.09  8  
Canada            4  1  3  0  0  -1.46  4  
Bangladesh  	4  0  3  0  1  -2.64  2  

Fixtures to come...

Feb 26 New Zealand v Bangladesh, Kimberley, 0800 GMT
Feb 27 South Africa v Canada, East London, 0800 GMT
Feb 28 Sri Lanka v West Indies, Cape Town, 1230 GMT
Mar 1 Kenya v Bangladesh, Johannesburg, 0800 GMT
Mar 3 New Zealand v Canada, Benoni, 0800 GMT
Mar 3 South Africa v Sri Lanka, Durban, 1230 GMT
Mar 4 West Indies v Kenya, Kimberley, 0800 GMT

Tighter than a Ducks arse. One from WI, NZ and SA. Tough call! New Zealand more or less have the handiest, they have still to play Bangladesh and Canada; Sri Lanka will want to win either the South Africa or West Indies match, to be sure of qualification.

I wouldn't want to be a fan of WI or SA. They would really want Bangladesh to do a number on Kenya, I feel. Slim chance of that, though.

Jilm

Anybody playing BBC fantasy cricket?

Heres my 11 (max of 2 from any 1 country)

M Bevan Bat AUS
V Sehwag Bat IND
Y Youhana Bat PAK
B Lara Bat WES
A Gilchrist Wkt AUS
S Tendulkar All IND
N Astle All NZL
S Pollock All SAF
S Bond Bwl NZL
M Ntini Bwl SAF
M Muralitharan Bwl SRI

btw c'mon bloody New Zealand!!

Loomer

mines not too diferent but I made a mess of my transfers

DMC

That went t**s up on me.... :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Washout

The big one for me today lads..actually no wait the second big one forgot about India V Pakastain.


Hope India beat England today though. Almost called in sick to stay home and watch it...now that im at work i wish i did

mike65

Latest score

India 251 for 9
England 82 for 5

Mike.

DMC

Washout

I am such a Happy Camper tonight!
What a performance...it was interesting how theenglish commentaters were trying to blame the loss of the toss but couldnt really after their own performance against Pakastain

DMC

No, the toss is a hugh factor in these day/night games in that part of the world at this time in the year.

TBPH, I dont know why they are playing D/N in this WC, since they are decided on toss. The team batting second has no chance.

Loomer

Holy crap, unless Sri Lanka beat South Africa, New Zealand are out of the cup

DMC

Heh.

With England losing it (yes, Nassar did) today, I can see Pakistan going at it hammer and tongs on Tuesday, coming up short of the Run Rate, and England going through.

Great play from Bichel and Bevan.

Washout

aye your right...ant see zimbabwe winning that one...wouldnt it be gas if that one got rained off and zimb got the 2 points

Im off to india for a lil while today....It will be good to savour the atmosphere there...cant wait

DMC

I see Davison is at it again for Canada... 51 from 25 balls.....

DMC

Looking very good for New Zealand....

A win within 25 overs over Canada, and Sri Lanka batting first in the day-nighter in Durban.

Watch this space.....

DMC

OMG! Will it end like this!

DMC

Ho ho! They're out! I dont believe it! :D

Oh, this takes me back to the 1992 WC, when England played SA in the semi final, the last few overs were so close, when South Africa needed 20 odd of 18 balls, along came a shower, they came back on, 22 off 1 ball :D

Oh joy unrefined! Great to see the Black Caps in the Super 6's.

Jilm

SA, what a sh1te way to go out

but as a kiwi supporter I'll take it

frankly didn't think NZ deserved to go thru after piking out of the Kenyan game, but can't wait to see what the canny Fleming & co will do in the super 6s ...maybe Vettori & Harry opening the batting and same opening the bowling

DMC

And to compound it, they gave Boucher the wrong figure to bat to at the end of the 45th over. 1 short. Someone must have thought that the tie was enough.

To today's last day of action in the Pool stages, looks good for Zimbabwe, at least for 2 points. Its raining heavy showers, so it looks like we wont get 25 overs per innings to constitiute a match, so that will do Zimbabwe nicely, and the English can come home, and go to pre-season with their counties.

b20uvkft6m5xwg

That was calamitous yesterday!!

Who's left that can beat Australia??

Pakistan look like they're going home -
Apart from that the sides left need someone to perform out of their skins to even come close to the Aussies.

As you say DMC, back to Indoor Nets for the english boys:D

DMC

Yep, Zim-Pak game was abandoned , 2 points a piece, and Zimbabwe are in their group

Depending on the outcome of the Keyna game, they could be 1st 2nd or 3rd in their group!!

I'll post up the latest fixture list later.....

Who can beat the Aussies? India could. Teldulkar is in brilliant form, the batting can play around him, and the bowling is looking better than it did at the start of the tournament. I thought that would bring them down, and be 4th in their group, behind Pakistan (yes, I had England as 5th!:D)

DMC

The Super 6 Games.

Mar 7 Australia v Sri Lanka, Centurion, 0800 GMT
Mar 7 India v Kenya, Cape Town, 1230 GMT
Mar 8 Zimbabwe v New Zealand, Bloemfontein, 0800 GMT
Mar 10 India v Sri Lanka, Johannesburg, 0800 GMT
Mar 11 Australia v New Zealand, Port Elizabeth, 0800 GMT
Mar 12 Zimbabwe v Kenya, Bloemfontein, 0800 GMT
Mar 14 India v New Zealand, Centurion, 0800 GMT
Mar 15 Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka, East London, 0800 GMT
Mar 15 Australia v Kenya, Durban, 1230 GMT

Personally, I cant wait for the Trans-Tasman game.

Jilm

Aus 128-7 40.0 ovs v NZ

S E Bond 10.0 2 23 6, best ever bowling figures for a Kiwi in ODI (according to BBC)

Washout

Originally posted by Jilm
Aus 128-7 40.0 ovs v NZ

S E Bond 10.0 2 23 6, best ever bowling figures for a Kiwi in ODI (according to BBC)

And Yey australia still win!! the team never knows when to give up

looks certain india v australia final. as india will play kenya more than likely in the day nighter in durban.
doesnt matter who ausssie play altough they will have to lose some time...lets hope the lose to india in the final.

I was in india there for a week and boy do they know how to celbrate a win...when india beat sri lanka there were fireworks at nighttime. fuppin so so cool.

Washout

New zealand are in dire dire straits.
MY beloved India oh what a transformation from that dismal tour of NZ.

They look like serious contenders to kicking Australia off their throne

DMC

Dont count those chickens yet!

India 23/3 after 6 overs, Sehwag and Sachin are in the pavilion, Dravid and Kaif are at the crease.

Gwan the Black Caps!

Washout

no better batsman in the world than Dravid to settle the ship

DMC

So they won.

But this is the funneh....

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/cricketworldcup2003/overbyover/story/0,12864,914033,00.html

Scott Murray
Friday March 14, 2003

Preamble
It's really simple: India are already through, New Zealand have to win.

Meanwhile, have you ever thought WHAT SORT OF LIFE IS THIS AND WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING BOARDING A TRAIN FOR MOORGATE AT 6.30 IN THE MORNING AND THEN STANDING AROUND FOR AGES WAITING FOR A TUBE WHILE STARING AT A SIGN TELLING YOU THAT IF YOU WAIT FOR FOUR MINUTES YOU CAN BOARD A TRAIN TO UXBRIDGE I'D RATHER WAIT FOUR HOURS FOR A JOURNEY WITH THE GRIM REAPER QUITE FRANKLY AND THEN YOU GET TO WORK AND THEN THERE'S THIS AND I KNOW THE CRICKET'S GOOD AND ALL THAT BUT I'VE GOT OUT OF THE WRONG SIDE OF BED THIS MORNING AND IN ANY CASE IT'S NOT AS IF I'LL WRITE A CRACKING MATCH REPORT AND THEN GET REWARDED BY BEING SENT ON A WONDERFUL ASSIGNMENT AROUND THE WORLD BECAUSE I'LL BE VERY SURPRISED IF ANY OF MY BOSSES WILL READ ANY OF THIS LET'S BE HONEST THEY WON'T ALTHOUGH ON THE OTHER HAND THAT'S PROBABLY JUST AS WELL HEY I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO GET AWAY WITH TYPING THINGS LIKE THIS KIqL!UYS^%$DFLI ZSDSAFC SFE4O92 )(^(*^o"$ bBLKU E875O3 96*&^%o*"$ogb LOOK I'M SORRY THIS ISN'T EXACTLY THE SORT OF QUALITY EDITORIAL COPY YOU EXPECT FROM THE GUARDIAN BUT LOOK AT THE FACTS I'M ADRIFT IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE OF THE WORST CITIES IN THE WORLD SITTING IN FRONT OF THE SAME COMPUTER SCREEN I FACE DAY AFTER INTERMINABLE DAY HELL I COULD BE WAKING UP IN SAY THE MALDIVES OR SYDNEY OR COPENHAGEN OR A CROFTER'S COTTAGE IN SKYE AND GOING FOR A WALK IN THE CRISP MORNING AIR?

No? Only me then. Good.