March 16, 2011 issue
Cricket
open... even for Windies!
Tony McWatt
Of the five Group B teams still in with a chance for Quarter-Final qualification, based on their remaining fixtures at this time, India and South Africa are a cinch to occupy two of the four available spots.
England, currently on five points from 5 matches played, have one match remaining against the West Indies which they must win. If they lose they will be effectively out of the tournament for they would have failed to move past either Bangladesh or the West Indies, both of which already have 6 points.
For the emerging quarter-final winners the knowledge will be that they would be just two matches and the same amount of wins away from claiming top honors. The way the competition has gone so far, any of the eight teams that do make it through to the quarters will feel fairly confident of their chances of progressing even further regardless of their opponents. This comes after two weeks of Preliminary Round matches which only served to demonstrate that even the Tournament favorites, such as India, Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa, are not without their respective weaknesses.
For Australia and India the Achilles heels appear to be their respective bowling attacks. India with Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gambir and Dhoni batting well has posted significant 300+ totals which their bowlers have then failed to defend as was evidenced by their tie against England and the loss to South Africa. Australia on the other hand has shown itself to be overly dependent upon its three pronged pace attack of Johnson, Lee and Tait. Although all three have demonstrated their capacity for taking wickets they have also been overly expensive and often prone to bowling way too many wides and no-balls. Against any good batting side there is every indication that the Australians may be found wanting.
South Africa’s apparent weaknesses are almost identical to those of the Aussies. A bowling attack that is overly dependent upon the speed merchants Steyn and Morkel and a batting line-up that has all of its strength in the top four positions but then becomes noticeably weaker thereafter. Much the same can be said for the Sri Lankans who in the end may find themselves having depended too heavily on their captain Sangakkara for runs and their highly unpredictable pacer Malinga for wickets.
So where does all this leave the West Indies and what are their chances of surprising everyone as total unexpected winners? Surprisingly, from this perspective, pretty good... providing there are no more key injuries to prevent them from playing their best team and that those selected perform their assigned roles to the best of their abilities.
Barring any unforeseen injuries, the West Indies lineup for their remaining matches should read as follows, in batting order: Gayle, Smith, Darren Bravo, Sarwan, Chanderpaul, Pollard, Thomas, Sammy, Benn, Russell/Bishoo and Roach. The only debate should be between Russell and Bishoo for the final front line bowling spot.
Given the acknowledged discomfort of teams such as England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa against leg-spin, Bishoo would be a better pick for the West Indies’ penultimate Preliminary Round against the English. If they then progress to the Quarter Final and beyond and are scheduled to meet either the Aussies, Kiwis or Saffies at those stages, Bishoo’s attacking leg-spin should again be the preferred choice.
Against all other opponents, Russell, whose was so impressive in his debut against Ireland, bowling his seamers economically, with sufficiently impressive pace and accuracy, should get the pick instead.
Against sub-Continental teams such as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, he would be the perfect third seamer foil to the wicket-taking abilities of Kemar Roach and the economical medium-pace offerings of skipper Darren Sammy.
With Sulieman Benn’s penetrative left-arm spin, Chris Gayles’ laser like off-spinners and Kieron Pollard’s fairly economical medium pacers completing the roster, West Indies now have a bowling attack capable of restricting even the best batting lineups either to gettable scores or to prevent them from reaching posted totals. Their eventual fortunes in the Tournament however, could well be dependent upon whether their batsmen perform their assigned roles to the best of their talents and abilities.
At the top of the order Chris Gayle and Devon Smith will shoulder the responsibility of getting the West Indies innings off to a sound start. Smith’s role in doing so should be to rotate the strike as much as possible so as to allow Chris Gayle the time to first settle in at the crease before giving vent to his incomparable attacking strokeplay.
The middle order trio of Darren Bravo, Sarwan and Chanderpaul should take it upon themselves to get the West Indies to a position of 150 - 200 for the loss of only two or three wickets by the completion of the thirtieth over. Someone within that top five: Gayle, Smith, Bravo, Sarwan and Chanderpaul also has to bat through the innings with a view to making a hundred. With such a foundation in place Keiron Pollard could them be let loose to launch his power hitting over the remaining 20 overs as he did so effectively against the Irish with his memorable match winning innings of 94.
Out-bat, out-bowl and out -strategize all others! That will be the key to World Cup glory for the eight teams that progress from the Preliminary Round to the Competition’s final stages. Survivor Cricket from here-on until the April 3 Final. Reality TV that should provide highly entertaining and exciting viewing. Go Windies Go!
victory over Canada
74 in 44 balls (6 x 4s + 5 x 6s) against Canada.
New Zealand's in-form Ross Taylor and opener Brendon McCullum blitzed Canada on Sunday, helping to fire the Black Caps into the World Cup quarter-finals with a thumping 97-run win in Mumbai.
New Zealand scored a mammoth 358 for 6 in their 50 overs and it proved too much for Canada, who never looked remotely like challenging the target and ended on 261-9 after their 50 overs.
Canada were in a perilous position at 4-2 before captain Ashish Bagai (84) and Jimmy Hansra (70 not out) came together to put on 125 for the fourth wicket and give the scoreboard a look of respectability.
Veteran John Davison was dismissed in bizarre fashion, run out by a direct hit from wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum as he ambled a single when he was in no danger.
Kyle Mills did the early damage for the Black Caps, dismissing Ruvindu Gunasekera and Zubin Surkari with just four runs on the board but he had to leave the field injured midway through his third over. Jacob Oram took 3-47.
Earlier, stand-in skipper Taylor came to the crease at the Wankhede Stadium in the 30th over with his side on 149-2 after a steady start and injected urgency into the innings.
In one devastating over Taylor, who smashed 131 in 124 balls against Pakistan, took 28 off Harvir Baidwan, smashing four sixes and a four.
He was caught by Hansra off the bowling of Balaji Rao for 74 off just 44 balls, including five sixes and six fours.
Brendon McCullum was the mainstay of the innings, scoring 101 in 109 balls as New Zealand had few problems with the tame Canadian attack.
Kane Williamson (34 not out) and Scott Styris (35) also joined in the onslaught, as the Canadian bowlers wilted, before a stunning cameo of 31 from James Franklin off just eight balls including three sixes and two fours.
New Zealand lashed 31 off the final over.
The pick of the bowlers for Canada was Davison, whose 10 overs of spin yielded 1-30 but they were ragged in the field, dropping catches amid the New Zealand onslaught.
Baidwan went for a whopping 84 runs in his 9.1 overs and Rizwan Cheema was thrashed for 64 off just 4.5 overs.
The victory for New Zealand, without injured skipper Daniel Vettori, took them to top spot in Group A with eight points, one clear of Sri Lanka who were leading the group at the time. But Monday's win over Zimbabwe by Pakistan has placed the latter alongside New Zealand with eight points with an assured berth also in the quarter-finals.
Canada have two points after one win and four defeats.
with Zimbabwe win
Former champions Pakistan sailed into the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe in a rain-affected Group A match at Pallekele stadium on Monday.
Pakistan, set a revised 162-run target in 38 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis formula, successfully achieved that in 34.1 overs on the back of an unbeaten 78 by Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Hafeez (49).
The victory gave the 1992 winners eight points from five matches and a place in the last eight, sending Zimbabwe packing after the first round.
New Zealand, Sri Lanka and defending champions Australia make up the other qualifiers from Group A.
The final group standings will depend on the results of the remaining matches in the first phase. The top four teams will also qualify from Group B.
Pakistan’s target looked tricky as Zimbabwe bowled a tight line and length.
Left-arm spinner Raymond Price (2-21), opening the attack, dismissed opener Ahmed Shahzad (eight) in his second over.
Price and Utseya then bowled two maiden overs before Hafeez and Shafiq - playing his first World Cup match in place of injured Umar Akmal - opened up with some attractive drives.
Hafeez fell one short of his half-century, caught off Utseya after hitting six boundaries during his 65-ball knock.
Shahid Afridi promoted himself to number four but managed just three runs.
Shafiq and Younis Khan (13 not out) saw Pakistan home.
Shafiq hit seven boundaries during his sedate 97-ball knock.
Earlier, seamers Umar Gul (3-36), Abdul Razzaq (1-24) and Wahab Riaz (1-21) removed Zimbabwe’s top four for just 43 after Elton Chigumbura won the toss and chose to bat.
Spinners Afridi and Hafeez, with a wicket each, further derailed Zimbabwe, who at the first rain break were 96-5.
Left-hander Craig Ervine fought a lone battle, hitting a patient 52 off 82 balls with five boundaries for his third ODI fifty, before Hafeez bowled him in his first over.
Chigumbura (32 not out) and Prosper Utseya (18) added 48 for the seventh wicket.
Zimbabwe made a disastrous start, losing in-form Brendan Taylor off the fifth ball of the innings, caught off Razzaq by wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.
Gul made it 5-2 when he dismissed Regis Chakabva off the last ball of the second over, before removing Vusimuzi Sibanda (five) shortly afterwards.
Ervine and Tatenda Taibu added 30 for the fourth wicket before Wahab Riaz, in for Shoaib Akhtar, had Taibu caught off a miscued drive at mid-off by Afridi for 19.
Zimbabwe play their last match against Kenya on March 20.
now pray for Windies win
Bangladesh packed their side with left-handers to whip lethargic Netherlands by six wickets on Monday and stay in contention for the World Cup quarter-finals.
The Dutch were shot out for 160 in 46.2 overs after electing to take first strike on the slow wicket, a target Bangladesh surpassed in the 42nd over with left-handed Imrul Kayes making 73 not out.
Bangladesh’s three left-arm spinners shared five of the six wickets to fall to bowlers with Abdur Razzak leading the way with 3-29 in 10 steady overs.
Skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Suhrawadi Shuvo, who was brought in to replace off-spinner Naeem Islam, claimed one wicket apiece.
Kayes put on 92 for the second-wicket with Junaid Siddique (35) after opening partner Tamim Iqbal was bowled by Mudassar Bukhari off the fourth ball of the innings without scoring.
Shahriar Nafees, one of the five left-handers at the top of the batting order who replaced right-handed Raqibul Hasan, made 37 in a third-wicket stand of 59 with Kayes.
Kayes, who followed his 60 against England with another half-century, was named man of the match for the second time in a row.
Bangladesh joined the West Indies and South Africa on six points, one behind Group B leaders India and a point ahead of England.
A West Indies win over England in Chennai on Thursday will enable Bangladesh ease into the last eight even before their final league match against South Africa in Dhaka on Saturday. But an unlikely Irish win over the Proteas in Kolkata on Tuesday will once again throw open the quarter-final race from the pool.
A sell-out crowd of 18,000 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium, taking advantage of the public holiday declared for the match in the port city, watched the home side demolish the Dutch.
Ryan ten Doeschate top-scored for the Netherlands with an unbeaten 53, but none of the other batsmen managed 30, six failed to reach double figures and four ran themselves out.
Bangladesh, buoyed by their stunning two-wicket win over England on Friday, did not bowl a single wide or no-ball in a disciplined display on the field.
Openers Wesley Barrisi and Eric Szwaraczynski plodded to 28 runs in nine overs, following a tidy opening spell by seamer Shafiul Islam, who conceded just seven runs in his first six overs.
Tom Cooper (29) and Szwaraczynski carried the score to 66-2 by the 23rd over when both batsmen were run out in the space of 13 runs to set the Dutch back again.
Szwaraczynski, who made 28, was unfortunate to be dismissed at the non-striker’s end when Shakib deflected a straight drive from Cooper onto the stumps.
Wicket-keeper Musfiqur Rahim, who had dropped Cooper on six, made amends when he lunged for a wide throw from the deep and threw the ball at the stumps before the batsman had regained his crease.
Shuvo had Alexei Kervezee stumped by Rahim for 18, before Razzak dismissed Tom de Grooth and Atse Buurman in three deliveries to reduce the Netherlands to 127-7 in the 38th over.
Skipper Peter Borren and Adeel Raja also ran themselves out, leaving ten Doeschate stranded at the other end.
These are the results of the 15th to the 34th Matches ending with the Match played on March 15th, 2011. Results of the 1st to the 14th Matches appeared in our previous edition.
15th Match, Group B: Eng v Ireland at Bangalore - Mar 2
England 327/8 (50 ov); Ireland 329/7 (49.1 ov)
Ireland won by 3 wickets (with 5 balls remaining)
16th Match, Group B: Neth v South Africa at Mohali - Mar 3
South Africa 351/5 (50 ov); Netherlands 120 (34.5 ov)
South Africa won by 231 runs
17th Match, Group A: Canada v Pak at Colombo - Mar 3
Pakistan 184 (43 ov); Canada 138 (42.5 ov)
Pakistan won by 46 runs
18th Match, Group A: NZ v Zim at Ahmedabad - Mar 4
Zimbabwe 162 (46.2 ov); New Zealand 166/0 (33.3 ov)
New Zealand won by 10 wickets (with 99 balls remaining)
19th Match, Group B: Bangladesh v WI at Dhaka - Mar 4
Bangladesh 58 (18.5 ov); West Indies 59/1 (12.2 ov)
West Indies won by 9 wickets (with 226 balls remaining)
20th Match, Group A: SL v Aus at Colombo (RPS) - Mar 5
Sri Lanka 146/3 (32.5 ov)
No result
21st Match, Group B: England v SA at Chennai - Mar 6
England 171 (45.4 ov); South Africa 165 (47.4 ov)
England won by 6 runs
22nd Match, Group B: India v Ireland at Bangalore - Mar 6
Ireland 207 (47.5 ov); India 210/5 (46 ov)
India won by 5 wickets (with 24 balls remaining)
23rd Match, Group A: Canada v Kenya at Delhi - Mar 7
Kenya 198 (50 ov); Canada 199/5 (45.3 ov)
Canada won by 5 wickets (with 27 balls remaining)
24th Match, Group A: NZ v Pakistan at Pallekele - Mar 8
New Zealand 302/7 (50 ov); Pakistan 192 (41.4 ov)
New Zealand won by 110 runs
25th Match, Group B: India v Netherlands at Delhi - Mar 9
Netherlands 189 (46.4 ov); India 191/5 (36.3 ov)
India won by 5 wickets (with 81 balls remaining)
26th Match, Group A: SL v Zimbabwe at Pallekele - Mar 10
Sri Lanka 327/6 (50 ov); Zimbabwe 188 (39 ov)
Sri Lanka won by 139 runs
27th Match, Group B: Ireland v Windies at Mohali - Mar 11
West Indies 275 (50 ov); Ireland 231 (49 ov)
West Indies won by 44 runs
28th Match, Group B: Ban v Eng at Chittagong - Mar 11
England 225 (49.4 ov); Bangladesh 227/8 (49 ov)
Bangladesh won by 2 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)
29th Match, Group B: India v SA at Nagpur - Mar 12
India 296 (48.4 ov); South Africa 300/7 (49.4 ov)
South Africa won by 3 wickets (with 2 balls remaining)
30th Match, Group A: Canada v NZ at Mumbai - Mar 13
New Zealand 358/6 (50 ov); Canada 261/9 (50 ov)
New Zealand won by 97 runs
31st Match, Group A: Aus v Kenya at Bangalore - Mar 13
Australia 324/6 (50 ov); Kenya 264/6 (50 ov)
Australia won by 60 runs
32nd Match, Group B: Ban v Neth at Chittagong - Mar 14
Netherlands 160 (46.2 ov); Bangladesh 166/4 (41.2 ov)
Bangladesh won by 6 wickets (with 52 balls remaining)
33rd Match, Group A: Pakistan v Zim at Pallekele - Mar 14
Zimbabwe 151/7 (39.4/39.4 ov); Pakistan 164/3 (34.1/38 ov)
Pak won by 7 wickets (with 23 balls remaining) (D/L method)
34th Match, Group B: Ireland v SA at Kolkata - Mar 15
South Africa 272/7 (50 ov); Ireland 141 (33.2 ov)
South Africa won by 131 runs