2011 Cricket World Cup

Sadly I missed the live coverage of the dream tie between India and Australia, but managed to catch most of the highlights on TV.

The Australian’s looked to be in decent enough form throughout the majority of the game, but India always looked to be in control of the match, barring a few slapstick moments with the bat when two or three of them seemed intent on getting run out.

India’s win put an end to Australia’s incredible run in the World Cup competition which they have won on the last three occasions, they were also beaten finalists previous to that in 1996.

India now face one of  the nations who were originally going co-host the Cricket World Cup, Pakistan in what promises to be another thrilling game of one day cricket.

In today’s third quarter final tie South Africa collapsed dramatically from a comfortable 108 for 2 off 24 overs, to 172 all out.

Some inspired bowling from New Zealand oversaw the collapse with McCullum 24 for 3 and Oram 39 for 4, skittling the South African batsmen who could manage to add 64 runs between them during the final 20 overs.

New Zealand are the dark horses for me, they may not have the same ability in all levels as the remaining teams in the World Cup, but they have so far done everything they have set out to do in a business like manner.

They will now face the winners of the last quarter final to be played on Saturday between Sri Lanka and England.

2011 Cricket World Cup

Pakistan became the first of the host nations of the 2011 Cricket World Cup to reach the semi finals of the tournament following a very public trouncing of the West Indies in Mirpur today.

The West Indies had very little to offer with bat or ball in a dismal showing that saw them bowled out for just 112 runs in 43.3 overs. Chanderpaul was the only batsman to show any form of authority in the innings claiming 44 runs not out.

Shahid Afridi was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers taking 4 for 30, but he was one of three who claimed two wickets in an over as the West Indies innings collapsed around their ears.

The pace bowling attack of the West Indies held little fear for the Pakistan openers who picked them off to reach 50 runs in 47 balls, the body language of the field telling its own sorry story.

Akmal (47) and Hafeez (61) ensured the victory for Pakistan with less than half the allocated overs played, they will now face the victors of the match between India and Australia in the semi finals of the competition.

2011 ICC Cricket World Cup – Quarter Finals – Mirpur

Pakistan 113-0 (20.5 overs) bt West Indies 112 (43.3 overs) by 10 wickets

2011 Cricket World Cup

In terms of sheer excitement the 2011 Cricket World Cup in South Asia has delivered by the bucket load over the last couple of weeks of group stage matches, some of the most recent highlights being another heroic comeback from England against the West Indies, when their backs were firmly up against the wall and facing elimination from the group.

Following that breathtaking match, Pakistan defied all odds and ended Australia’s World Cup dominance with a stunning victory by 4 wickets to upset the holders and on Sunday India crushed the West Indies spirits with a fantastic 80 run win.

There will be more thrills and spills to come during the knock out stages of the tournament over the next fortnight as the best eight teams in the world do battle for the ultimate One Day International prize, with India and Australia providing the battle of the giants on Thursday March 24th from Ahmedabad, the winners of this match will certainly be the favourites to win the 2011 World Cup.

England will face a tough test in their quarter final clash against 1996 champions Sri Lanka who were runners up in Group A, with the chance of a semi final encounter with the winners from New Zealand v South Africa at stake.

The full 2011 World Cup Quarter Final fixtures:

Wednesday March 23rd – Pakistan v West Indies, Mirpur, 08:30

Thursday March 24th – Australia v India, Ahmedabad, 09:00

Friday March 25th - New Zealand v South Africa, Mirpur, 08:30

Saturday March 26th – Sri Lanka v England, Colombo RPS, 09:00

The semi final games are scheduled for Tuesday March 29th and Wednesday March 30th, with the final to take place in Mumbai on Saturday April 2nd.

2011 Cricket World Cup

Yesterday’s Group A match between New Zealand and Pakistan proved to be a cracking game for the New Zealanders, particularly Ross Taylor who celebrated his 27th birthday in sensational style with a stunning 131 not out that included seven sixes.

Riding his luck early in the game Taylor slowly built up his game, producing a majestic late show filled with boundaries and sixes that Pakistan would have died for later in the game.

There was no hiding place for the Pakistan fielders as New Zealand appeared to be blessed by the Gods with a wonderful innings with the bat that saw them score 92 runs of the final four overs, with Taylor smashing 62 0ff 16 balls and Jacob Oram adding 25 runs off just nine balls, finishing on 302-7.

Sensational stuff from the Black Caps and an innings that left the Pakistan team looking totally dejected long before the final ball. So obvious was the body language of the Pakistan team that you felt they might find it difficult to adjust to their own spell with the bat.

The Kiwi’s sensed it too, and set about the Pakistan openers with relish, claiming the first wicket Hafeez for 5 runs. The brilliant bowling continued to pin the Pakistan attack back and the home team were soon struggling at 23 for 4.

At one point it seemed improbable that Pakistan would muster 100 runs between them, let alone have any chance of winning the match. Akmal and Razzaq steadied the sinking ship for a brief period and Gul added a glimmer of hope as Pakistan edged closer to the 200 mark.

But in the 42nd over it was all over and New Zealand took the well deserved points and top spot in Group A.

New Zealand 302-7 (50 overs) bt Pakistan 192 (41.5 ovs) by 110 runs

World Cup – Group A – Pallekele

2011 Cricket World Cup

Since the wonderful comeback by England to snatch the Group B game last Sunday from the fingertips of the SouthAfrican’s , the news coming out of the England camp has not been quite so uplifting.

Injuries sustained during the match in Chennai on Sunday have resulted in the loss of key players Kevin Pietersen and now Stuart Broad from the England squad.

Pietersen has already returned to England after it was discovered that his hernia problem might be worse than he had originally thought, he had struggled in the field against South Africa although he did manage a few overs bowling during the game.

He has already been replaced by Eoin Morgan in the England camp, he of course had been ruled out of the World Cup himself after breaking a finger in the One Day International series in Australia.

Morgan has taken less time to recover than anticipated and the big hitting Dublin born left hander will slip into the team  as the perfect replacement for the hapless KP.

Perversely Morgan played for Ireland in the last Cricket World Cup before defecting to England and was a key member of the England team that won the ICC World Twenty20 last year. He has a batting average of a fraction over 38 from his 61 one day internationals, in which he has scored four centuries and ten 50’s.

Stuart Broad is said to be suffering from a ’significant side strain’ which occurred  during Sunday’s game against South Africa and will return to England for further assessment this week. He is definitely ruled out of any further part in the 2011 World Cup but is hoping to be fit again for the Test match at Lords on May 26th against Sri Lanka.

Broad’s replacement in the squad is likely to be Chris Tremlett who is in South Asia standing by, but this has yet to be confirmed by the England team.

The 2011 World Cup has thrown up some interesting results so far, with no one team completely dominating the competition. For anyone interested in cricket betting the favourites to win this tournament are still India and Australia.

It might be a good time to check out the odds on some of the other teams including England, Pakistan, West Indies and South Africa if you are hoping to bank some money from your bet!

2011 Cricket World Cup

There is never a dull moment for England fans following their team in the 2011 Cricket World Cup in South Asia, in their group matches so far they have beaten the Netherlands in a last minute nail biting display, been involved in the match of the series so far with their draw with co-hosts India and crumbled to an Ireland side that they should have beaten easily.

So, in the fourth Group B match against a South African team who are growing in stature as the competition progresses, what could be expected from the England team?

Winning the toss and choosing to bat first England immediately looked uncomfortable against the spin bowling of Peterson and promptly lost Strauss for nought followed by Pietersen for 2.

Trott steadied the ship for England but Bell was dispatched to the pavilion before he could get going, scoring five runs before falling to a catch from Tahir.

England appeared to be in serious danger of throwing the innings away at 15 for 3 and despite some decent hitting from Trott (52) and Bopara (60) the South African attack will have felt satisfied after a good days work in the field limiting England to a seemingly paltry 171 all out from 45.4 overs.

If England fans were frustrated at their teams efforts with the bat, the torture simply grew worse for the bowlers who were unable to control the free scoring of Smith and Amla as they piled on the runs for South Africa, without so much as a sniff of a wicket.

The omens did not look good but England stuck to the task and were rewarded when Smith was caught by Prior off Swann at 63 for 1.

Broad then bowled Amla and had Kallis caught by Prior in a good spell for England that left South Africa on 82 for 3.

A few overs on and against the odds the game suddenly came back to England, just as de Villiers appeared to be settling at the crease with 25 runs already to his name, Anderson struck and bowled the in form batsman and the innings started to collapse around the ears of the South African team.

In a crazy passage of play, South Africa would lose du Plessis (run out by Bell) and Duminy without adding to their score, followed quickly by the wicket of Peterson with the score at 127 for 7.

England were back in the hunt and could now smell the blood of their prey, Steyn managed to add 20 runs and van Wyk 13, before the final wicket of Morkel fell at 165 all out, off 47.4 overs.

Another edge of the seat thriller involving the England team, and a match brilliantly won by them in the end as they just edged the South Africans over the day.

Andrew Strauss said after the game;

“There are plenty of things we didn’t do well in this game but we got away with a win, sometimes a win is all you need to really kick-start things. We thought the wicket was going to deteriorate but we should have got 230. We’re delighted to win and we move on with high hopes of achieving things.

“We’re definitely doing our bit to advertise the 50-over format but we’d like games to be a little bit less close than they are. We had to respond well after the defeat to Ireland. I thought the guys in the field were outstanding and it puts us back on track in this World Cup and it couldn’t come a day too soon.”

England 171 (45.4 overs) bt South Africa 165 (47.4 overs) by six runs

Cricket World Cup 2011 – Group B – Chennai

Memories of their slender victory over the Netherlands had by that time been forgotten, but today their nearest overseas neighbours, Ireland, hardly renowned for their cricket, wiped the smiles off England’s red faces with a stunning  victory with five balls still to play.

This is the magic of limited over cricket, you get one chance each with bat and ball and on this occasion the Irish led by Kevin O’Brien caused an upset that was never really on the cards.

England had set a substantial 327 for 8 in their fifty overs at the crease, with their four opening batsmen making good scores, led by Jonathan Trott (92) and Ian Bell (81).

2011 Cricket World Cup

It seemed a mountain to climb for the minnows from Ireland but an inspirational innings from Kevin O’Brien (113) assisted by tail enders Cusack (47) and Mooney (39 no), helped in no small way by the whole Irish team, pulled off an unbelievable, even impossible, win.

Mooney’s well timed four off the first ball of the last over was enough to secure the match for Ireland who won the game with three wickets in hand.

Hero of the day Kevin O’Brien said after the win; “Knocking off the greatest run chase in World Cups – it’s pretty much the greatest day in our lives. We believed in ourselves even after losing the other night when we should have knocked off 200 against Bangladesh.”

A distraught Andrew Strauss said; “Things were looking pretty comfortable but we weren’t reckoning on an outstanding innings from Kevin O’Brien – it was pretty brutal and set us back. Our World Cup dream’s not over by any means, we are going to have to bounce back and learn from this but we have hemorrhaged runs in all our games so far. We put down three or four catches today and in the end that’s cost us the game.”

Ireland 329-7 (49.1 overs) bt England 327-8 (50 overs) by three wickets

World Cup  – Group B – Bangalore

2011 Cricket World Cup

Possibly the most exciting World Cup match ever played out in Bangalore on Sunday when the 2011 Cricket World Cup co-hosts and favourites India took on England in their Group B match.

In a game that had absolutely everything, England were left to chase an outrageous 339 runs for victory following India’s sensational innings which included another massive 120 from the run machine Sachin Tendulkar.

Incredibly England’s Andrew Strauss proved how determined he was to spoil the party for India, as he had suggested he would on Saturday, by hitting a career best 158 in a stand that took England to the brink of victory.

But there were more twists still to come in this dramatic match and superb bowling from Zaheer Khan suddenly turned the game on its head when he claimed the wickets of Ian Bell (69) and then Strauss and Collingwood in an inspired period in which he took the three wickets for one run in six deliveries.

A total collapse of England’s batting order appeared to be on the cards as English hearts feared the worst and Matt Prior was on his way back to the pavilion having scored just four runs with England suddenly second best at 289 for six.

But the game had one final twist still to come and some big hitting late on from Graeme Swann and a mighty six off his first delivery from Ajmal Shahzad left England just one agonising run short of causing the biggest upset of the 2011 World Cup so far.

This is what limited over cricket is all about and it is reassuring that England were able to mix it on this occasion with the favourites, and neither team can really complain at the outcome in which they share the points.

India 338 (49.5 overs) tied with England 338-8 (50 overs)

Cricket World Cup – Group B – Bangalore

2011 Cricket World Cup

A minutes silence was observed before this game in memory of the victims of the earthquake in Christchurch on Tuesday, but any hopes of giving their country some happier news was quickly dashed as bitter rivals Australia demolished the New Zealand team in their second Group A match of the tournament.

Putting New Zealand into bat first, fine bowling from Mitchell Johnson and Shaun Tait quickly put Australia in control and had the Kiwi’s struggling at an astonishing 73 for 6. Nathan McCullum led a spirited recovery but New Zealand were finally all out for 206.

The current World Cup holders Australia then put on an outstanding show with the bat, openers Shane Watson (62) and Brad Haddin (55) put on a first wicket stand of 133 to set their team on course for victory.

It took just 34 overs for the Aussies to secure the win by seven wickets, a real confidence booster if it was ever needed. Australia have won the last three World Cup’s and this latest win takes their unbeaten run in the competition to 31 games, their last defeat back in 1999 in Pakistan.

Australia 207-3 (34 overs) bt New Zealand 206 (45.1 overs) by seven wickets

World Cup -  Group A – Nagpur

2011 Cricket World Cup

South Africa sprang a surprise on the West Indies after inviting them to bat first in this intriguing encounter, opening the bowling with spinner Johan Botha to counter the big hitting of Chris Gayle. It proved to be an inspired decision when Gayle was caught off only the third ball of the match.

The Bravo half brothers showed plenty of promise with the bat for the West Indies, particularly the 22 year old Darren who hit a stunning 73, not quite matched by Dwayne who was run out for 40.

The South Africans looked solid in the field and with the ball and when Steyn cleared off the tail enders with a total of 222 on the scoreboard and 47.3 overs completed you had the feeling that they could already smell victory.

But it was no breeze for the South African openers and Amla was superbly caught behind by Thomas for just 14 and his replacement at the crease, Kallis fell almost immediately having scored only four runs and leaving the South Africans looking uneasy at 20 for 2.

And then up stepped the man of the match AB de Villiers with an inspired innings, picking out the gaps in the lack lustre West Indies field with apparent ease in a partnership with captain Smith that would not only steady the ship, but also announced the South African’s intent on going all the way in this competition.

De Villiers smashed his first fifty runs of just 54 balls and the century partnership arrived after 118 balls as South Africa looked dominant and the Windies showed signs of resignation.

South Africa’s fastest World Cup century was achieved by de Villiers in only 97 balls, and despite losing strike partner Smith at 139 for 3, de Villiers and his final partner Duminy remained at the crease to guide South Africa to a well earned victory.

South Africa 223-3 (42.5 overs) bt West Indies 222 (47.3 overs) by seven wickets

World Cup – Group B -  New Delhi