WORLD CUP 2019

England go into the World Cup as heavy favourites. They look set to use power hitting to smash their way to victory on roads in small grounds. Australia, having followed on its standard taper tactic, will have already come up with plans to counter the big hitters, as will several other sides, but can they carry out those tactics and contain and beat England? England are playing superb cricket but will have a bad day somewhere along the way - the key is to beat them on that day. Here's to an England loss in the semi-final on penalties.

Comments

[I am Not Trampis]

tonee,
there is only one world cup and that was last year.

50 0over cricket where the ball does not swing nor seam.
Boring

[Carrot]

Hello all - yesterday was my 40th birthday and I’m in an Irish bar in Düsseldorf watching the opening match, being served by an former under-19s NSW cricketer, would you believe. Life could be worse! Looking forward to a great tournament, and a great summer of cricket.

[Tony Tea]

You mean the Phoodboll WC? Soccer is not precisely my long suit. The CWC is always good value. (Except for the 2011 edition - I barely saw a ball.)

[Carrot]

West Indies win by seven wickets with 36 overs remaining. You don’t get much more comprehensive than that. They’re the equivalent of the 2015 tournament’s New Zealand I think - completely fearless. If I were a betting man I’d say they were worth a punt for the trophy, they absolutely destroyed England in the one-day series in Caribbean only a few months ago.

[Philsgone]

Poms are the best team, no question. Can we let them have the world cup if we can resecure the Ashes? I would be happy with that. They need something to get them through Brexit after all.

[Patard]

The key to this mashup of the cricketing world's one day heavyweights is all in the anthems. Australia stands without anyone to silently stand indignant whilst our anthem plays whilst Afghanistan will showcase to the world the best of their Bacha Bāzī Bacchanalia dancers.

[Carrot]

I shudder to think what we’re going to do to Afghanistan. It was a horror-show last time we played them, too. They just can’t catch or field for one thing.

[Carrot]

Plucky, Associate-style partnership happening here - including some lusty blows off Cummins, Zampa and Starc. Something to tell the grandkids about, but nothing that’ll make any significant difference. It’ll be interesting to see how Afghanistan grow into the tournament though, and whether they’ll take anyone down. They beat Pakistan the other day, of course.

[Carrot]

Jeez, I wish we had more in our locker than fast and short, sometimes. There’s got to be more to the game than scaring guys out. And as we saw against India in the Australian summer, it doesn’t work against proper sides.

[Carrot]

..... or even against this lot! Cummins. Bloody hell - if you’re getting flayed to all parts by a number 8 and 10 from Afghanistan, then maybe it’s time to change tack?

[Carrot]

Yep, full and straight. It’s amazing how it works sometimes, Pat!!

So, four out of four games so far this tournament have involved a side being bowled out with loads of overs to spare. I guess it’s to Afghanistan’s credit that they’ve scored the highest of those totals to date.

[Carrot]

..... Er scratch that, they’re tied with RSA for that.

[Philsgone]

World Cups are about winning the game. We won. Lets move on to the next one.

[Tony Tea]

The Varks go BANG! First upset of the tournament. Hope the Bangles go well and force the ICC to re-include the minnows.

[Tony Tea]

The typical English grounds reward mishits which gives me the my shits.

[Carrot]

Funny how cricket comes back to bite you - Morgan was asked dopey questions yesterday about whether he took Pakistan seriously following the drubbing England gave them in the tournament preceding the Cup, and then look what happened. Chasing 350 when you’re tinkering with your side and no one cares clearly has a different complexion than when you’re playing for realsies.

Where’s India in this tournament? They haven’t played a game yet, and by the time their first game against South Africa rolls around, most teams will have played two matches. SA will be playing their third match when they play each other on Wednesday. Did Virat have a scheduling clash with a Bollywood cameo and the start of the tournament or something?

[Tony Tea]

Maybe India demanded a late start so that they could get a look at the oppos.

Meanwhile, this from Bob Gottliebsen:

That’s why that election was so important because, in Indian eyes, Australians voted against Indian discrimination.

Nevertheless, at the Cricket World Cup it is highly likely that our team will face racist slurs from the crowd (and perhaps the Indian players). I hope our cricketers have been alerted to the fact that Adani is behind any racist taunts and that Australia voted to proceed with Adani.

I wouldn't put it past heavy hitters in India cosying up to their top cricketers to cook up black ops.

[Carrot]

Great to see the Bangles doing so well. They’ve been decent in the WC since the 2011 edition to be fair, so they’re hardly minnows now. It’s still somehow a surprise to see them get angry when they lose, though - I guess fifteen years of them being dog-ordinary is a hard thing to forget as a cricket fan.

[Carrot]

Two likely semi-finalists facing off, here. I have West Indies as one of the favourites to win the tournament - more so than England. West Indies have an absolutely fearless batting line-up and a very good attack, most of whom are capable of bowling 140+ km/h.

[Carrot]

Cracker-jack game. Shocking umpiring throughout, though - it all seemed to go against the West Indies too, or so it seemed to me. The no ball miss against Gayle and then a marginal lbw call was really ordinary in particular.

[Philsgone]

Someone steps up when thimgs are crook- NCN with the bat, Koo with the ball. Good stuff. Windies bowled 24 wides, so bad umpiring wasnt the sole cause of their defeat. Lets hope its the last time NCN has to bat like that.

[Carrot]

The DRS came to the Windies’ rescue for the most part - with the exception of the Gayle situation - so sure, the umpiring didn’t actually cost them much. It was just a bit embarrassing to see, that’s all! Decision after decision successfully reviewed. It goes to show that even with neutral umpires, that there’s still probably a sort of a “good team” bias. It’s the sort of thing that benefitted Manchester United for years.

[Philsgone]

We have yet to bowl well as a team in this WC. India rode their luck and took us on, but 1-74 from our opening bowler is poor. Around the wicket to batsmen who plunder that line -poor. A captain who wasnt talking to his bowlers mid over to change tactics - poor. Still we live to fight another day.

[Philsgone]

On the other hand, the batsmen spent good time in the middle, the net run rate didnt have too much damage done to it and we batted second and gt over 300. And Bumrah didnt get Finch in te first over.

[Carrot]

Another positive was Maxwell and Carey’s batting - wow. They gave us hope when there was none. The way Maxwell came in and changed the game in particular was amazing. Smith and Khawaja had been scratching around for hours it seemed, we couldn’t buy a boundary and couldn’t get Bumrah off the square. Maxwell came in and hit him down the ground for four off his first ball, and helped himself to fourteen runs next over. He doesn’t look like he’s extending himself at all, though; he hits boundaries the way other guys play forward defensive shots. Carey is a LITTLE more frenetic, but no less impressive.

I think you’re right though, Philsgone - for a “bad” match, it wasn’t that bad. We won’t bowl that badly every time, and hopefully we’ll get a bit more out of our batting. I hope Warner gets rid of the sheet-anchor stuff soon, though - you could argue that it was his innings that cost us the game.

[Philsgone]

If Ussie isnt in the top 3, I dont think there is another place for him. If Stoinis is gone then MMarsh is the only valid replacement.

[Philsgone]

Another good win. Ussie batted very well, Warner getting back to his best. Maxwell was runout becase he took off without looking. It was Ussies call, he said no and the throw hit the stumps. Simples.
No prediction against the Poms. Should be a good game. I would play Lyon to counter Morgan destroying Zampa.

[Tony Tea]

The Poms have a weakness against 150k in-swinging yorkers which skate off the deck.

[Carrot]

It was interesting to see that our bowlers got some movement yesterday. I’m not sure if there’s been any for anyone in particular all tournament. It made Starc nigh-on unplayable at times, hence the result.

[Philsgone]

Good to read the poms are not reacting to 3 losses. Means that they can just fumble their way to an early exit. Fielding is the mirror to a teams soul. They are in purgatory, may end up in hell if they lose the next 2 games. Also, Smith should bat at 3.

[Tony Tea]

The Poms just about have to win the last two matches to make certain of the finals. But they play India and NZ. But Pakistan will probably fall over.

[Philsgone]

Wwe never looked to be in troublr. I liked the 8 bowler strategy as well. And the new opening bowler has taken 7 wickets in two games. and Lyon is as tight as a drum. We look very capable now of defending any reasonable score. Finch only has to win the toss in the semi and final now.
Carey has also come on significantly. I like Finch's leadership, there is an enjoyment returning to this teams performance that they all seem to reflect.

[Carrot]

Right, I’m calling it: this has been a Good Tournament. The cricket and the permutations of who will and won’t reach the semis have been really interesting. Thankfully, for the most part, we’ve avoided 350+ run slogfests that everyone expected, and it’s been great to see the way that the conditions, bowling, fielding and captaincy have played a really important role in recent matches.

I think we want to avoid England in the semis, if they make it at all, that is. A decent result for us would be for the top four to finish Australia, India, England, New Zealand. That would happen if England win against India and NZ; if I’ve got it right that will probably mean that NZ will still stay in the top four on run rate. If that happens, we’ll play NZ in the semi final, and then one of England or India in the final, and at Lord’s where we’ve done well lately. Both semi-finals will be at high-scoring venues, which is why I think it would be good to avoid England; going bananas on flat decked postage stamps has been their thing lately, and I’m not sure we can match their firepower. When there’s a bit more in it for the bowlers, they struggle.

Probably the best outcome is if England beat India and then lose to New Zealand, though. That would probably mean that England won’t qualify, and that we’ll end up top of the table. If India don’t lose a match on the way to the final it might be tough to catch them.

[Carrot]

...... to finish top of the table we’d still need to beat South Africa on Friday of course. That match is a dead rubber as far as semi-final qualification is concerned, but could still have an important say in what happens in the semi finals and final.

[Carrot]

So. India lose. You never want to see England win, but it’s a good result for us provided we can beat South Africa. No one has chased more than 321 successfully this tournament and the highest total chasing has been 333; both those scores came from Bangladesh, who play India on Tuesday and still have the chance to qualify. Everyone has lost at least once now too, which means that no one can emulate our 2003 and 2007 campaigns, and there still isn’t a nailed-on favourite to win the title.

[Philsgone]

A pommy mate of mine reckons India laid down yesterday so the Pakis couldn't make the semis! Nothing like backing your teams win with a conspiracy theory about how the opposition threw the game.

[Carrot]

It’s not a bad shout, actually. India took “laying a foundation with wickets in hand” to ridiculous proportions and were 1/27 off the first ten, and then when Pandya got out with five overs left they didn’t really look that interested in extending themselves that much. It sort of looked a bit like they were saying that they’d give it a go, but wouldn’t be that bothered if it didn’t work out. Not sure what they think they had to gain from that approach, but there we are.

[Tony Tea]

I'm dead set keen to avoid the Poms in the semis. At the moment, if England win they go third, if they lose an Pakistan win they go out. If we win we can still finish second. If we finish top we are unlikely to play England. We need India to lose one of their last two and us to beat SA to guarantee we finish top.

[Carrot]

If we win against South Africa on Friday we will finish top no matter what happens; India had a game rained out, so even if they beat Sri Lanka they’ll still be a point behind. England can still finish fourth if they lose against the Kiwis today, Pakistan need to beat Bangladesh to go above England. It’d be pretty funny if England didn’t go through at all though, as I’m sure we all agree: go Kiwis.

[Carrot]

..... England win by 119 runs. Meh. To get past New Zealand and into fourth place, Pakistan need to beat Bangladesh by 311 runs after scoring 350, or 316 runs after scoring 400. Looks like the semi-finals are sewn up then!

It’s been a bit of race to the bottom lately. First India’s go-slow against England, Bangladesh being not quite good enough against India, West Indies faltering before the line (again) against Sri Lanka and now New Zealand today, who have now lost three in a row. It looks like there are three good sides in the semi-finals though.

[Carrot]

I think that’s our tournament right there. We lost it by ten runs to the team that finished 7th in the last group match. We will lose against England at Edgbaston; it’s tailor-made for their style of game, and you need a middle order when you’re chasing 350. If we’d have played them at Lord’s I’m pretty convinced we would have won, but that’s all academic now.

[Philsgone]

The irony of a rain effeted game and us getting into the final and the hosts miss out will be good, but if the game goes ahead I agree carrot. We will be toast. A great effort fom our blokes to make the semis, and against all common sense a couple of months back. they can have the world cup, we have plenty. The Ashes is out prime target. 2001 was the last tme we won there. Too long

[Carrot]

Well, shit - the Kiwis are through to the final. Who saw that coming? They might not be a bad shout to win it, either - the likes of Henry and Boult will be a handful at Lord’s, it should in theory really suit them.

It IS a good effort that we made it this far, Philsgone - you’re right, and I think a few of us had forgotten about that. After the eighteen months or so that we’ve had, we could have been forgiven for having a pretty ordinary campaign.

[Philsgone]

Can they play two fantastic games in a row. I don't know but we will find out. I think if we get through we will win. If the poms get through...not so sure. Their batting is their weakness and like all teams if they have to chase the pressure will be on their weakest link. Should be a good final. and if we don't get there, I hope they win it.

[Carrot]

I have one wish for today: that Maxi gets some runs. He’s threatened all tournament, and it’d be good to see him come good today.

Oh: and that we win the toss and bat, of course.

[Philsgone]

A captain who gets out lbw if you bowl him an off cutter, 2 allrounders who have batted and bowled poorly. It was going to end in tears at some stage and yesterday was the day. Well done the poms, and the kiwis; a new world cup champion beckons.
Poor selection - Wade and MMarsh should have played. May not have won, but would have got more than 4 runs between them.
Could be the end for Stoinis and Maxxie. They were tasked with getting us in strong positions and very rarely delivered. Carey came of age. Cummins also a bit disappointing
Roll on the Ashes. Both teams will have lots of changes, so har dto pick at this stage

[Carrot]

What? You can’t decide a World Cup on a count back of boundaries! That’s insane! What was stopping them just rolling the dice and having another super over? Throwing in a completely arbitrary means of deciding a world championship on the basis of “don’t worry boys, it’ll never happen anyway” is a ludicrously short-sighted thing to do.

[Tony Tea]

World Cups

Australia 5
England 1*

[Tony Tea]

Law 19.8: "If the boundary results from an overthrow or from the wilful act of a fielder, the runs scored shall be any runs for penalties awarded to either side, and the allowance for the boundary, and the runs completed by the batsmen, together with the run in progress if they had already crossed at the instant of the throw or act."

The batsman had not crossed when the ball was thrown. New Zealand were robbed. The six should have been five. NZ wins by a run (if the subsequent balls went the same way).

[Big Ramifications]

That bit in bold is plain common ense. If 3rd umpy was available thn that's an unforgivable SNAFU.

[Big Ramifications]

FIRST COMMENT since I turned off autocorrect. Was making too many unwanted changes / ignoring obvious errors. I thought long+hard about it. 🙂 GODDAMMIT.

Patard.... Good to know you're still ticking, old clock!

[Big Ramifications]

On review, common sense has nothing it do with it, it's whatever the RULES say.

Had just finished reading a Fox Sport story that intro'd with a remark about how complicated the RULES are.... Was fresh in my mind.

[Carrot]

What’s worse about that overthrows decision is that Rashid should have been on strike afterwards.

The boundaries countback thing is an absolute piss-take, though. There are so many other metrics better than that. Another super-over. A bowl-off. Wickets. Even dot balls. It all adds up to a very tainted result as far as I’m concerned.

..... which, all things said, is not really that bad a result for us “neutral” fans. I was pissed off yesterday, but on reflection I think I’ll dine out on Tony’s asterisk until the day I die. “Oh, the 2019 World Cup? You mean that tournament that you categorically didn’t win? No genuine cricket fan believes in their heart of hearts that England won that game. We’ll just stick to celebrating the victories and titles that we actually won”. Fantastic. Far better than had they have romped home like everyone expected them to.

[Philsgone]

Certaily more talk about this world cup final than the last one. Funny how Starc got more wickets in history and still cant win the man of the seires. Starc was the main reason we got to the semis. Williamson was almost the sole reason the kiwis got to the final, and perhaps thats why he got the MOS.

[Philsgone]

Also its getting to the point where lbw needs to be taken out of the on field umpires hands. Roy would have been out first ball if that happened. The soft decision is irrelevant. The evidence is what you judge the decision on. You can still use the half ball hitting the stumps, though I still havent made my mind up about that

[Tony Tea]

They need to DRS just about everything when the Dharma Bum is umpiring; he's a mobile hat rack.

[Philsgone]

Wikk there be a blog for the ladies Ashes TT?

[Philsgone]

kk is next to ll

[Patard]

182 to win a famous victory.

Here's to the old dart.

[philsgone]

Our no. 6 issue is easy to solve. Ellyse Perry is thr obvious answer