Free Republic's 2007 Cricket World Cup Thread

West Indies v Pakistan, Group D, Jamaica
Smith and Bravo come to the fore
The Bulletin by Will Luke

March 13, 2007

West Indies 241 for 9 (Samuels 63, Sarwan 49) beat Pakistan 187 (Malik 62, Smith 3-36, Bravo 3-42) by 54 runs

The West Indies shrugged off any early-tournament nerves with a convincing 54-run win over Pakistan in the opening match of the World Cup at Kingston in Jamaica, with a notable allround performance from Dwayne Smith.

It was an impressive win, not least for their ability to absorb the expectation of hosting their first World Cup. Furthermore, the total they were defending was by no means out of Pakistan's reach. Yet their bowlers - who admittedly are all much of a muchness - hunted in a pack and, unlike Pakistan's, never let the batsmen dismantle their confidence, or their lines.

That they took a wicket with the third ball of Pakistan's reply probably helped, too. Their pack leader for the day, Daren Powell - having been hit for a brazen six the ball before - induced a thick outside edge from Imran Nazir, destabilising Pakistan's fickle confidence. Younis Khan puffed out his chest, but only briefly, and Mohammad Hafeez spooned a catch to Brian Lara. At 39 for 3, Pakistan were throttled by Powell and Jerome Taylor, as Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf chose survival over attack: in one particularly asphyxiating period, a nine-over trough yielded just 13 runs.

The moment the bowlers' control waned Inzamam pounced, bashing three fours of the highest quality and injecting essential pace into an innings which was going nowhere. Enter Smith. His medium-pace infuriated Yousuf who was troubled with consecutive deliveries, before he fell to the sucker-punch in the third, edging him behind.

Inzamam fell soon after trapped lbw and Smith was on a hat-trick when he removed Kamran Akmal. Pakistan's hopes rested on Shoaib Malik, undoubtedly a gifted player but the task - 126 from 18 overs - required rather more than one man's hopeful slogging. Smith's partner in crime was his namesake, the uber-energetic Bravo who added a mouth-watering display of medium-pace, fielding and catching. After removing Iftikhar Anjum, he nonchalantly stuck out his left hand to catch Umar Gul in his follow-through to end Pakistan's hopes, and raise his side's own tournament aspirations.

If anything, their disciplined bowling performance masked a staccato effort with the bat. There were plenty of nerves from their top three - particularly Ramnaresh Sarwan, but if anything he thrives in adversity and deserved a fifty. Without Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, Pakistan's potent duet, Gul and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were Inzamam's strike bowlers but only Gul rose to the occasion, removing Chris Gayle and troubling the top five with a consistently good line.

Rana, whose death-bowling in previous seasons has been irresistibly cruel, was limp and inaccurate and Pakistan had to rely on Iftikhar who didn't disappoint. In fact, the West Indies were constricted to such an extent that even Brian Lara's 37 appeared pedestrian; it was Marlon Samuels who took on the bowlers, launching three magnificent sixes in his swift 63. But with his wicket came the feeling of inevitability, a feeling which morphed into dread when they slipped to 186 for 6.

But this was Smith's day and, with little care for the orthodox, he smashed 32 from 15 balls to the crowd's delight, edging the hosts' total to something resembling a challenge. Fortunately, their bowlers outdid themselves and Smith, in particular, ensured Pakistan didn't have a sniff of a chance. If they play like this for the next six weeks - regardless of how far it takes them - it will be a sight.

Match 1: West Indies v Pakistan - West Indies won by 54 runs
Match 2: Australia v Scotland - Australia won by 203 runs
Match 3: Canada v Kenya - Kenya won by 7 wickets
March 4: Bermuda v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka won by 243 runs
Match 5: Ireland v Zimbabwe - tied, 221-221
Match 6: England v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 6 wickets
Match 7: Netherlands v South Africa - South Africa won by 221 runs
Match 8: Bangladesh v India - Bangladesh won by 5 wickets
Match 9: Ireland v Pakistan - Ireland won by 3 wickets
Match 10: Australia v Netherlands - Australia won by 229 runs
Match 11: Canada v England - England won by 51 runs
Match 12: Bermuda v India - India won by 257 runs
Match 13: Zimbabwe v West Indies - West Indies won by 6 wickets
Match 14: Kenya v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 148 runs
Match 15: Scotland v South Africa - South Africa won by 7 wickets
Match 16: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka won by 198 runs (Duckworth/Lewis)
Match 17: Zimbabwe v Pakistan - Pakistan won by 93 runs (D/L)

Standings:

* = advanced to the next round
X = eliminated

Group A
*-Australia 2-0-0
*-South Africa 2-0-0
X-Scotland 0-2-0
X-Netherlands 0-2-0

Group B
*-Sri Lanka 2-0-0
Bangladesh 1-1-0
India 1-1-0
X-Bermuda 0-2-0

Group C
*New Zealand 2-0-0
Kenya 1-1-0
England 1-1-0
X-Canada 0-2-0

Group D
*West Indies 2-0-0
*Ireland 1-0-1
X-Zimbabwe 0-2-1
X-Pakistan 1-2-0

Today's matches:
Netherlands v Scotland
Canada v New Zealand

Unfortunately, neither of these matches mean anything, except that either Netherlands or Scotland will be winning their first World Cup match ever, and Canada has a chance at getting 1 win at this tournament.

In fact, the only matches in the preliminary round that mean anything are:
India v Sri Lanka on March 23 - The Indians must win if they want to advance
Kenya v England on March 24 - the winner advances
Bermuda v Bangladesh on March 25 - If India loses on 3/23, then the Bangladeshis advance. If India wins, then Bangladesh must win this match to advance.

**Through 3-22-07**

Match 1: West Indies v Pakistan - West Indies won by 54 runs
Match 2: Australia v Scotland - Australia won by 203 runs
Match 3: Canada v Kenya - Kenya won by 7 wickets
March 4: Bermuda v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka won by 243 runs
Match 5: Ireland v Zimbabwe - tied, 221-221
Match 6: England v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 6 wickets
Match 7: Netherlands v South Africa - South Africa won by 221 runs
Match 8: Bangladesh v India - Bangladesh won by 5 wickets
Match 9: Ireland v Pakistan - Ireland won by 3 wickets
Match 10: Australia v Netherlands - Australia won by 229 runs
Match 11: Canada v England - England won by 51 runs
Match 12: Bermuda v India - India won by 257 runs
Match 13: Zimbabwe v West Indies - West Indies won by 6 wickets
Match 14: Kenya v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 148 runs
Match 15: Scotland v South Africa - South Africa won by 7 wickets
Match 16: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka won by 198 runs (Duckworth/Lewis)
Match 17: Zimbabwe v Pakistan - Pakistan won by 93 runs (D/L)
Match 18: Canada v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 114 runs
Match 19: Netherlands v Scotland - Netherlands won by 8 wickets

Standings:

* = advanced to the next round
X = eliminated

Group A
*-Australia 2-0-0
*-South Africa 2-0-0
X-Netherlands 1-2-0
X-Scotland 0-3-0

Group B
*-Sri Lanka 2-0-0
Bangladesh 1-1-0
India 1-1-0
X-Bermuda 0-2-0

Group C
*New Zealand 3-0-0
Kenya 1-1-0
England 1-1-0
X-Canada 0-3-0

Group D
*West Indies 2-0-0
*Ireland 1-0-1
X-Zimbabwe 0-2-1
X-Pakistan 1-2-0

Today's matches:
India v Sri Lanka
Ireland v West Indies

India must win to advance. If they lose, Bangladesh will advance. If they win, then Bangladesh will need to win on Sunday against Bermuda to advance.

If this were an accident or natural causes, then that is acceptable. What is not acceptable is that a member of a team was murdered, when the event planners had supposedly planned security for this event. As we now know, the security was lacking, with the exception of the possibility that Woolmer was strangled by someone familiar (and there was no forced entry into the room-- did Woolmer let his killer in?).

The question we really have to ask to determine whether or not to continue the tournament is "Are the teams safe?"

Updates - Sri Lanka win by 69 runs over India. This apparently doesn't eliminate the Indians, but with as badly as Bermuda has been at this World Cup, consider this all but over for the boys in blue.

Which reminds me -- someone step up the angry mob prevention service in the subcontinent. Meanwhile, this may be good for Pakistan, because the only thing that can comfort them in their elimination and sadness is the fact that India will be going home as well.

West Indies win by 8 wickets (D/L) over Ireland -- pretty easy. Ireland have been on a roll, but nothing like the hot streak the hosts have been on.

Match 1: West Indies v Pakistan - West Indies won by 54 runs
Match 2: Australia v Scotland - Australia won by 203 runs
Match 3: Canada v Kenya - Kenya won by 7 wickets
March 4: Bermuda v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka won by 243 runs
Match 5: Ireland v Zimbabwe - tied, 221-221
Match 6: England v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 6 wickets
Match 7: Netherlands v South Africa - South Africa won by 221 runs
Match 8: Bangladesh v India - Bangladesh won by 5 wickets
Match 9: Ireland v Pakistan - Ireland won by 3 wickets
Match 10: Australia v Netherlands - Australia won by 229 runs
Match 11: Canada v England - England won by 51 runs
Match 12: Bermuda v India - India won by 257 runs
Match 13: Zimbabwe v West Indies - West Indies won by 6 wickets
Match 14: Kenya v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 148 runs
Match 15: Scotland v South Africa - South Africa won by 7 wickets
Match 16: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka won by 198 runs (Duckworth/Lewis)
Match 17: Zimbabwe v Pakistan - Pakistan won by 93 runs (D/L)
Match 18: Canada v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 114 runs
Match 19: Netherlands v Scotland - Netherlands won by 8 wickets
Match 20: Sri Lanka v India - Sri Lanka win by 69 runs
Match 21: Ireland v West Indies - West Indies win by 8 wickets (D/L)
Match 22: South Africa v Australia - Australia win by 83 runs
Match 23: Kenya v England - England win by 7 wickets

Standings:

* = advanced to the next round
X = eliminated

Group A
*-Australia 3-0-0
*-South Africa 2-1-0
X-Netherlands 1-2-0
X-Scotland 0-3-0

Group B
*-Sri Lanka 3-0-0
Bangladesh 1-1-0
India 1-2-0
X-Bermuda 0-2-0

Group C
*-New Zealand 3-0-0
*-England 2-1-0
X-Kenya 1-2-0
X-Canada 0-3-0

Group D
*-West Indies 3-0-0
*-Ireland 1-1-1
X-Zimbabwe 0-2-1
X-Pakistan 1-2-0

Currently, the Bermuda-Bangladesh match (the final one of the opening round of group play) is delayed due to rain down in Trinidad. Bangladesh won the toss and sent Bermuda in to bat first, Bermuda are 6 for 1 wicket in 3 overs so far. This match will likely be shortened due to rain.

India are not officially out, but as I understand the rules, if Bermuda wins this match, both teams would be 1-2-0, and the first tie breaker is a little something called net run rate.

India have a net run rate of +1.206, because they have scored 789 runs in 150 overs of play and have allowed 602 runs in 148 overs and 3 balls. Bangladesh have (through 2 matches) a net run rate of -2.002, scoring 304 runs in 94 overs and 3 balls, and allowing 501 runs in 96 overs.

In other words, it isn't over. Why the first tie breaker is not head-to-head is kind of strange, but hey, it's cricket. And these are the rules everyone agreed to before play began.

Update - the rain still appears to be the big winner today. Bermuda 45 for 4 in 15.1 overs, and the match is currently in another rain delay.

There have been several Pakistan/Woolmer-related threads on FR in the past week. Rather than ping the Cricket List to all of these threads individually, I am going to ping the list once to this post, and list all the threads here.

They are also all keyworded, as all cricket-related threads are, to the keyword "cricket."

Pakistan's cricketers trade pizzazz for (Islamic) piety

Murder claim rocks cricket showcase

Pakistan in turmoil over Cricket Coach's murder

Musharraf Caught in a Sticky Wicket

Sticky wicket of creeping sharia ...

Bangladeshis win by 7 wickets and advance to the Super Eights, but barely -- Hasan and Ashraful steer them home with only 21 balls remaining in the innings. India are eliminated.

The Super Eight teams are, in alphabetical order:

Australia
Bangladesh
England
Ireland
New Zealand
South Africa
Sri Lanka
West Indies

Schedule:

March, Tue 27 Super Eights West Indies v Australia Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St Peter's, Antigua
March, Wed 28 Super Eights South Africa v Sri Lanka Providence Stadium, Guyana
March, Thu 29 Super Eights West Indies v New Zealand Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St Peter's, Antigua
March, Fri 30 Super Eights Ireland v England Providence Stadium, Guyana
March, Sat 31 Super Eights Australia v Bangladesh Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St Peter's, Antigua
April, Sun 1 Super Eights West Indies v Sri Lanka Providence Stadium, Guyana
April, Mon 2 Super Eights Bangladesh v New Zealand Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St Peter's, Antigua
April, Tue 3 Super Eights Ireland v South Africa Providence Stadium, Guyana
April, Wed 4 Super Eights England v Sri Lanka Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St Peter's, Antigua
April, Sat 7 Super Eights Bangladesh v South Africa Providence Stadium, Guyana
April, Sun 8 Super Eights Australia v England Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St Peter's, Antigua
April, Mon 9 Super Eights Ireland v New Zealand Providence Stadium, Guyana
April, Tue 10 Super Eights West Indies v South Africa National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
April, Wed 11 Super Eights England v Bangladesh Kensington Oval, Barbados
April, Thu 12 Super Eights Sri Lanka v New Zealand National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
April, Fri 13 Super Eights Australia v Ireland Kensington Oval, Barbados
April, Sat 14 Super Eights South Africa v New Zealand National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
April, Sun 15 Super Eights Bangladesh v Ireland Kensington Oval, Barbados
April, Mon 16 Super Eights Australia v Sri Lanka National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
April, Tue 17 Super Eights South Africa v England Kensington Oval, Barbados
April, Wed 18 Super Eights Ireland v Sri Lanka National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
April, Thu 19 Super Eights West Indies v Bangladesh Kensington Oval, Barbados
April, Fri 20 Super Eights Australia v New Zealand National Cricket Stadium, Grenada
April, Sat 21 Super Eights West Indies v England Kensington Oval, Barbados

The 4 best teams after this round robin will move on to the semi-finals.

More information which I think shall prove useful in determining what the heck is going on --

World Cup 2007: A guide to the Super Eights stage
Cricinfo staff
March 26, 2007

The Super Eights stage of the World Cup is now with us and there is some uncertainty as to how it works. So, in an attempt to unmuddy the waters, here is a short guide ...

In the Super Eights round, every team plays six matches, against every other team except the side they played in the group stage.

The only points carried into the Super Eights are the two gained from beating the other side that qualified from a team's group. So, the four group winners - Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies - begin with two points from the victory over the second-placed side in their group.

In the six remaining matches, there are two points for a win, one for a tie or a no-result.

The venues for the teams are not based on where they finished in the group stages. They are pre-agreed. This has been done to ensure that those travelling to the World Cup know in advance where their teams will be based.

Qualification for the semi-finals
The top four sides after the Super Eights go through to the semi-finals. First plays fourth in St Lucia on April 25 and second plays third in Jamaica on April 24.

If there is a tie for positions, then they are separated as follows:

The team with the most wins goes through;
if the number of wins are the same, net run-rate - including all matches played in the competition - comes into play;
if - and it is very unlikely - NRR is the same then the team with the most wickets taken per balls bowled goes through.

Weather
Every match as a reserve day although every effort will be made to complete the game on the first day, with over reductions being used throughout. Only if each side is not able to face 20 overs on the scheduled day will the reserve day be used. In the event of the reserve day being needed, the match will be continued and not restarted.

© Cricinfo

Cricket Ping!

Sorry that I've been so lax in posting the second round results so far.

March 27 - West Indies v Australia - Australia won by 103 runs
March 28 - South Africa v Sri Lanka - South Africa won by 1 wicket, with 10 balls remaining
March 29 - West Indies v New Zealand - New Zealand won by 7 wickets (with 64 balls remaining)
March 30 - Ireland v England - England won by 48 runs
March 31 - Australia v Bangladesh - Australia won by 10 wickets (with 49 balls remaining)
April 1 - West Indies v Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka won by 113 runs

So here are the standings:
Australia 3-0-0
New Zealand 2-0-0
Sri Lanka 2-1-0
England 1-1-0
South Africa 1-1-0
West Indies 1-3-0
Ireland 0-2-0
Bangladesh 0-2-0

My initial feeling is that Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand will advance, the remaining spot will be a fight between Sri Lanka, England, and West Indies. Ireland and Bangladesh, should be extremely proud of themselves that they made it this far.

Telling that this thread fizzled out. Down to its last ludicrous moments in the pitch darkness at the Kensington Oval, this was a truly awful World Cup.

Australia were superb, but if a tournament can barely keep the interest of cricket lovers, what message does this send about the game to non-fans?

And over all this hangs the presence of Bob Woolmer.

Cricket has been badly tarnished. I’m sure I’m not the only one with aun unpleasant taste in my mouth.

Thanks, though, for your work on the thread!

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