Buzzin Cricket

Former Middlesex and England spin bowler Fred Titmus has died following a long illness it has been announced in a statement from Middlesex Cricket Club.

Titmus made his first class cricket debut in 1949, the youngest ever Middlesex debutant at the time at just 16 years 213 days old. His final appearance for the club came as recently as 1982 when he was attending a match as a spectator and was called into action by captain Mike Brearley. He went on to take 3 for 43 and set up a victory for his beloved Middlesex.

Former Test umpire Dickie Bird said;

“I played against him in county cricket and umpired when he was playing for Middlesex and England. I found him very difficult to get away, his line and length was immaculate – and he still had it at 50. Fred was a fine cricketer, a fine off-spin bowler and a very useful batsman. In that era there were so many off-spinners around in the world and he was up there with the best of them. He was a tremendous character and he’d come out with some very funny stuff.”

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!