Caribbean Cricket 2007

Again Again Again Dominating OZ's

2007-05-01T10:54:00.000-07:00

FINAL SHOTS

Final: Kangaroos vs Lions

2007-04-26T03:21:00.000-07:00

This final was expected by every cricket fanatics but no one expected that lankans would be equally good with aussies. As said in my previous post almost the predictions have worked[ tere was nothing new ,everyone would have predicted].First semis was interesting when compared with second one.Dark horses were too dependent on shane bond[they should have thought that he's not james bond],eventhough hewas performing good throughtout the worldcup but he failed to withstand the burden on his shoulders in the semis.If they would have restricted lankans below 250 then it would have been the perfect battle for dark horses.Mahela Jayawardene showed clinical batting performance,he was the one who took the team to a decent and competing score supported by tharanga,sangakara,chamara. Murali and Malinga made dark horses to feel the darker side.As i said in previous post if murali's on top form then any opposition side could feel the devil on it's way to murder you. Srilanka deserves to be in final and they have ability to win the aussies.It would be sleepless night on 28th April.

Second semis was merely dominating game by aussies by thrashing SA it was an complete suicidal attempt by SA.Southafricans would have thought that they could post a high total on board by charging the bowlers in early stages but all those plans were in their dreams.As usual dominators were on top in the second semis and this worldcup was like aussies worlcup as if they are the organisors of the series because there was no other team to rip them , may be in finals lankans could do that job. The key players for aussies to win this worldcup would be all 11 players there's no other way to win this team unless all 11 are punished by the rivals.It would be an another war for lankans apart from civil war ,lankans are capable of doing it again.

SPEED 2 Final

2007-04-26T03:08:00.000-07:00

Shaun Tait and Lasith Malinga both speedsters who are well known for their sling action will be the key players to lead their teams for the celebrations. Malinga who is been talked much in recent years for his action[supposed to be a baseball player] and pace.Malinga's sling action with pace,swing makes opposition clueless to face his deliveries. That's the reason tom moody had made decision[tactics, we will see how good this works] that not to play malinga,vaas and murali in super 8's.Malinga was not consistent till the start of theworldcup but he did give decent performance in this series. Definetly he will be the crucial factor to the aussies.

Shaun Tait[Big Man] who's one of the key bowlers in australian lineup will make this worlcup a memorable one for himself and for the team. When Brett lee was out of the worldcup due to injury everyone was worried about the pace attack in the absence of lee but skipper ponting said that tait will do the lee's job,really those words were true. Tait's bowling would be an added advantage for aussies because Mcgrath would do the rest.Both these bowlers Tait and Malinga are good only when they are in good form if not they will keep the scorecards ticking with the extras.
It would be the good clash between these bowlers.

who will be the BEST in the Final

2007-04-26T03:03:00.000-07:00

--Mcgrath who's hungry to end his last worldcup sucessfully.

--Murali who's hungry for wickets.

who wil WIN the battle

2007-04-22T09:52:00.000-07:00

After a longrun of battle between the 16 teams here is the time for the cricket fans to experiance the real thriller in this world cup. This worldcup is been longest one ever and till super8's it was about 48 matches has been played,it was like soaps on tv sets.It would have been strenuous task for the teams who have been to super8's because of this reason India would have opted out in early stages. There was no thrills,joy,caribbean flavour it was a dumb series but minnows gave remarkable performance in specific Ireland,Bangladesh.

Before the start of the world cup there was much talk about Australia, SouthAfrica,Srilanka, NewZealand and India teams would be contenders for the worldcup.Fortunately or Unfortunately India was out of theworldcup but others teams lived to those words. As far as Australia is concerned they have strongest batting lineup and the bowling is not upto the mark but still they have more chances of winning this worldcupwhen compared with other teams.Then comes the dark horses NewZealand,only team could beat Australia if they are in finals because they are mentally strong and they have already beaten australia before worldcup series so this would be an added advantage.Always asians are unpredictables here is the team Srilanka which has been doing consistently good.Srilanka also have chances of winning this worldcup,only one man Muralidharan could really make difference in this team if he's on the top then i would say itz better the oppositions could dig a hole for hiding themselves.Here is the other team southafrica which could make a unpredictable difference because they struggled to get into semis and inconsistency in batting and bowling but they are capable of winning this worldcup.

predictables:

24th April:NZ vs SL
This would be really interesting match both teams have already played in super 8's.This match would be twister in the worldcup.
25th April:AUS vs SA
Australia could easily win this match

if Sri wins in semis then

if Aus wins in semis then

winner "Australia" //because Barbados(bouncy tracks) doesnt suit for asians

end of worldcup

if Sri wins in semis then

if SA wins in semis then

winner "Sri"

end of worldcup

if NZ wins in semis then

if Aus wins in semis then

winner "50-50 chances"

end of worldcup

if NZ wins in semis then

if SA wins in semis then

winner "NZ"

end of worldcup

**If all these pridictions goes wrong it would be much more interesting than what we expected**

EXIT

2007-03-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

No words to explain for the defeat

2007-03-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

India sets new world record

2007-03-20T06:54:00.000-07:00

India and Bermuda line up before the start to pay their respects to Bob Woolmer who died on March 18

India played virtually perfect cricket - the exact opposite of what they did against Bangladesh the other day - and blasted Bermuda out of the water at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad. A display of creative and powerful batting, where four of the big six fired India to 413, a record total in World Cups and the bowlers then did their job, bundling Bermuda out for 156, winning the game by 257 runs, the largest margin in terms of runs in all ODI cricket. David Hemp resisted with an unbeaten 76 but lacked support from the rest in a one-sided contest.
Irvine Romaine, the Bemuda captain, put India in, and like the other day, when Netherlands put South Africa in, the minnow tasted early success. Robin Uthappa flashed a ball to slip for Dwayne Leverock to defy the laws of physics and gravity to leap to his right and catch at a wide slip position. Virender Sehwag, pushed down to the middle-order, began badly, slashing and missing outside the off stump. But soon he settled down, and began thumping the ball over the off side with the same lack of footwork that has been his undoing in recent times. But the straight strikes down the pitch, and one loft over extra-cover that landed in the second tier, suggested that it would be Sehwag's day. And it most certainly was.

Yuvraj was quick to plant one knee down and scorch the ball over the ropes in the arc from square-leg to midwicket, hitting as cleanly as anyone has in this tournament. Tendulkar, on the other hand, dripped class. He chose just the appropriate shot for each ball, never losing his cool, always playing late. Tendulkar lofted one delectable six over long-off, swept one startling six over fine-leg, and almost unnoticed got to 57. And it's not often that you score 57 off only 29 balls without using brute force.
Yuvraj certainly used excessive force, but not one of his 83 runs, which came off only 43 balls, with seven sixes, came off an ugly shot. Rahul Dravid, who pushed himself down the order, finished the innings of with a six, and India had 413 for 5, something that would have gone some way in erasing the memory of the forgettable batting against Bangladesh.

Zaheer Khan provided the opening, squeezing one through the defences of Oliver Pitcher in the very first over. Steven Outerbridge was the second to suffer, when a delivery from Zaheer jagged sharply back in from outside the off stump and drilled the stumps. A bit of a partnership then held up India's charge, but Munaf Patel, who beat the bat often enough, was a bit fortunate to get on the scoreboard when a ball struck Delyone Borden high on the pad, and the appeal for lbw was upheld. Anil Kumble, playing in place of Harbhajan Singh, had Romaine for a duck when he shouldered arms to a straight one on the stumps. Tucker came down the pitch to Kumble - a risky thing to do at the best of times - and lost his stumps as he swung across the line and missed.
Dean Minors and David Hemp added 43 for the sixth wicket, the best stand of the innings, but Minors was dismissed mis-hitting a pull to mid-off. Lionel Cann was then smartly snapped up by Uthappa in a slightly controversial catch at short cover, where the ball was snatched up very close to the turf. From there on there was little to play for, and Bermuda only managed 156, handing India victory by 257 runs.

Cricket World will miss u BOB

2007-03-19T04:06:00.000-07:00

After Irish team dismissed pakistan out of world cup yet another blow to them because of bob woolmer's death. The pakistan cricket coach bob woolmer was found unconscious in his hotel room. Watever may be the cause of death he's a well known coach than a cricketer. He was the father of modernising the coaching methods in cricket, he used be the coach with laptop. He had the honor of coaching the two test playing nations SouthAfrica ,Pakistan and English county team.Coaching South Africa was his golden ages of cricket and he was an innovator too. He was well known for his wireless hearing invention used in cricket field and it also received many objections. His demise would be really emotional and shocking to SA than to Pakistanis because SA players enjoyed and had a great moments during his period.Pakistan will be playing their last match against Zimbabwe,atleast victory against the zimbabwe will rest his soul.

Tough, but not impossible

2007-03-18T00:50:00.000-07:00

by cricinfo.com

After Bangladesh beat India, the road to the next phase is not merely uphill, it's winding, narrow, has a few landmines buried on the way and without luck progress might be impossible. Going into what the team - and certain individuals - need to do, is best left to Rahul Dravid, the captain, and Greg Chappell, the coach, but the equations are fairly simple.

If India are to have any chance of making it to the Super 8s, the first thing they need to do is beat Bermuda - black and blue - on March 19. Sri Lanka have already handed Bermuda a cricketing lesson they're unlikely to forget that ended in a 243-run walloping that gives them a massive leg up when it comes to net run rates. India need to perform a similar feat, and then wake up fresh and cheery for what was touted as their only tough game of the first phase. On March 23, India will need to beat Sri Lanka to stay alive in the competition. If they do manage the feat - and a defeat to Bangladesh notwithstanding, there is no reason why they can't do so - the job will still not be done. The problem with losing to a team like Bangladesh is that it puts your destiny in the hands of others.

If India lose to Sri Lanka, they can pack their bags and head home. If they cross that hurdle, then they will have to either turn up at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad on March 25 and cheer for Bermuda, or sit with fingers crossed in their hotel rooms. The advantage Bangladesh have is that they are playing the last match of Group B, against Bermuda. At that stage, if all has gone according to plan for India - and nothing has so far - then it will be down to net run rates. And Bangladesh will go into that game knowing exactly what the score is. They will know precisely what they need to do push themselves ahead of India on the charts.

India disappoints the Blue Billion

2007-03-18T00:38:00.000-07:00

The match between India and Bangladesh at Queen's park oval is the perfect example not to underestimate the weaker team.It's the worst performance that we have seen in indian cricket history against a weaker side,if they would have lost against stonger team we people wouldn't have worried that too with minnows is a great insult for a team who are in cricket world for many years.This is the brilliant Bangladesh performance and they deserve to be in World Cup. The bangladesh seamers have read the wicket completely and executed their plan sucessfully. The seamers mortaza and syed rasel made indians to experiance twisters in Queen's park oval, they stood to their perfect line and length and didn't provide room for loose deliveries.The way Sehwag moved to the pavillion is the perfect example of how to play street cricket may be the street cricket would be more professional one.All batsman did play the loose shot but only ganguly and yuvaraj were holding their breath to stay(and save) alive.The indians were looking as if they are the weaker side,indians failed to take advantage in early stage of the match. Even the bowlers disapponted the fans exception for munaf,infact they didn't even equal bangladesh performance. Ok guys it's better to pack your bags and return to india as soon as possible everyone in india expecting the same.Still two more league matches to go letz wait and watch.

Windies fly higher in Jamaica

2007-03-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

The much awaited action started in jamaica with storming performance by Windies against Pakistan. Before the start of the match both teams were equally weak in both bowling and batting. Pakistan had an only one dependable bowler Umar Gul to have a good start,others were just to support the bowling department. Pakistan bowlers failed to do the restriction in total at early stages, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Smith did their construction to 241. Windies made 85 runs in last 10 overs because of inconsistency in bowling attack. Pakistan did lose their early wickets later Inzi and Mohammed yousuf made it to hold for sometime. Dwayne smith who continued his destruction with ball too, bravo and powell also joined his party.Shoaib Malik was trying hard to save the team at last he let off and moved to dressing room.

It was surprise to see Windies performing with energetic young players might be they would have had Jamican rum, it's completely different Windies team when compared with earliar WI teams with experianced players. Pakistan still struggling to find right batting combination,only batting can save this team. Both sides exist with inconsistency in bowling and batting ,only Sabina park wickets has helped Windies to win. Earliar, teams were worried that wickets was not ready during their practice but finally they had an surpise to witness typical Westindian wickets. At present Windies looks like Unpredictable side later matches with stonger teams will show the chances of holding the Cup.

The opening ceremony

2007-03-12T04:49:00.000-07:00

The Cricket World Cup is upon us. The cricketers of 16 nations are gathered at the Greenfields Stadium, Trelawny, the newly-built stadium on the north coast of Jamaica, to take part in the opening ceremony of the ninth Cricket World Cup. We have been serenaded by the Jamaican Military Band, who marched in the formation "CWC 07" and by the singer, Sanchez, who belted out the Jamaican national anthem.

First out are the Aussies, all bleach-blond smiles in their dapper suits and ties. Habibul Bashar leads the Bangladeshis, and the Bermudans come next, tailing a lady in a frighteningly shocking-pink "set-girl costume". Special mention is made of their heavyweight champion, Dwayne Leverock.Canada emerge next, followed by England, who look really rather unamused by all of this. Kevin Pietersen has at least thought to bring his camera.

India look much more cheerful, with Sachin Tendulkar grinning ear from ear.Ireland somehow resist the temptation to jig their way out to the middle. Kenya, in their sharp green suits lead the African contingent. The Netherlands, on the other hand, have found themselves some hideous orange blazers.

As the fireworks erupt overhead, and the shimmering dancers shimmer their way to the exits, it's time for the first act of the ninth World Cup to draw to a close. The Caribbean has started its 50 days of festivities in grand style. Now it's time for the on-field action to begin. Join us here at Cricinfo for live and unrivalled coverage of all 51 matches, starting with West Indies against Pakistan, from Sabina Park, Kingston, on Tuesday.

Clinical Performance by Indians

2007-03-10T09:35:00.000-08:00

This is what Dravid said after winning the second warm up match against WestIndies.Eventhough it was a warm up match, indian bowling was something made us to feel good. Indian team bowling had an inconsistent performance in recent times, recent win against the windies would help them to perform in forthcoming league matches. As for as players performance is concerned everyone seems to be well settled with the condition except sehwag, may be he should settle as early as possible. Even injured pathan has started to show good signs, in last warm up match against netherlands he took one wicket with his well known skill of reverse swing.

Apart from Indian team all other teams did their good job except SA , NZ. Ireland the new born child seems to be the tough contender for the World Cup. Expecting more surprise and lots of action because of newly laid wickets in this WC.

The BIG Showww

2007-03-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

Hey check out this guy his name is Dwayne Leverock from Bermuda who took 2 wickets for 32 runs and also bowled 10 overs in warm up match against England. Definetly he will be among our favourites and Dwayne Leverock will rock with his appearance.

Watzz happening???-Is this HOLI-day trip or World Cup trip

2007-03-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

Yeah many things happening in india and also at caribbean. Our Heros are having a great time enjoying their Holi-day(sorry world cup) trip to westindies. Our team celibrated Holi in montago bay with hot samosas and chenna, people who really enjoyed were our energetic young heros(pathan,sreesanth,dhoni,karthik,uthappa). Offcourse their are the backbone of indian team and there is nothing wrong in relaxing but this should not be regular routine apart from training because it does not create further fitness problem. Actually this world cup will be big oppurtunity to young heros to enjoy scenic caribbean beauty and also to prove themselves.

This is the first time government has decided to send 16 NSG commandos from india to secure indian team for 48 days in westindies. This will boost their confidence and also frighten by the guns from india so this helps them to play well...good mind game by the government....Because of vengsarkar statement about sehwag inclusion on dravid insistence will also helps him to perform with anger...wat a motivation tactics by our indians-great....Eventhough it may not be surprising to sehwag because he would have known it earliar but surprising to us because of media.

Cheeers India...

Injuries force players out of WC

2007-03-01T01:58:00.000-08:00

Team Australia have lost Brett lee and symonds has not yet recovered fully.Australian bowling is not that much strong as there is no warne and mcgrath not at his peak form. England has Michael Vaughan and few other players who are not fully fit .Indian team have irfan pathan who is not 100%fit.Munaf,yuvraj and sachin have few problems. Pakistan have razzaq,shoaib and asif who are out completely. there bowling is very weak now.NZ have oram.Srilanka,SA and WI are teams who does not have any injuries right now.This is the first time during WC were key players are not playing due to injuries.

Indian Army leaves to Caribbean

2007-02-28T08:14:00.000-08:00

Much awaited by billions of fans to witness the world cup 2007 victory has to be fulfilled by 15 solid rocks. The 15 member squad leaves today(28th march)to westindies for a hunt. This time the team looks more energetic with youngsters and also skillful with experianced lads. Our team will be carrying billions of hopes and prayers from india along with their heavy baggages and also with little worries about their family because their houses will be attacked if they fail to do the fair job in caribbean.

As usual we used to have right combination of players for world cup this time too we have it but the only thing is that this combination should work.Expectations are high from Dhoom Dhamaka Dhoni, sweet Little Master, one n only Dada and Viru from batting department and also from Furious zaheer, Chetan Sreesanth,bale bale Bhaji,gentleman Kumble and injured pathan from bowling department.If these expections are fulfilled by these people then the Trophy will be owned by Hindustan. Eventhough there are better teams in this worldcup we should not give 1% of advantage to others teams no matter whether the team is a champion or a chota.Hope this WC will be a memberable one for everyone not like the one that happened in last world cup.

Bye Bye.....

Cheeeers India

New rules for World Cup 2007

2007-02-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

The TV umpire can turn down an appeal for caught behind if the replays show there was no contact between bat and ball.

Among other interesting regulations for the March 13-April 28 event in the West Indies is the provision for moving the matches in case of a dangerous pitch, to continue a match even under a drizzle in certain situations, bowl-outs to break a tie, and powering the Match Referee to suggest suspension of play citing security concerns.

Cricket World Cup 2007 schedule

2007-02-24T08:11:00.000-08:00

Seeded teams:

Australia (A1), South Africa (A2)

Sri Lanka (B1), India (B2)

New Zealand (C1), England (C2)

Pakistan (D1), West Indies (D2)

-top two from each group progress to Super Eight phase.

Group A, St Kitts

14 Australia v Scotland
16 Netherlands v South Africa
18 Australia v Netherlands
20 Scotland v South Africa
22 Netherlands v Scotland
24 Australia v South Africa

Group B, Trinidad

15 Bermuda v Sri Lanka
17 Bangladesh v India
19 Bermuda v India
21 Bangladesh v Sri Lanka
23 India v Sri Lanka
25 Bangladesh v Bermuda

GROUP C, St Lucia

14 Canada v Kenya
16 England v New Zealand
18 Canada v England
20 Kenya v New Zealand
22 Canada v New Zealand
24 England v Kenya

Group D, Jamaica

13 West Indies v Pakistan
15 Ireland v Zimbabwe
17 Ireland v Pakistan
19 West Indies v Zimbabwe
21 Pakistan v Zimbabwe
23 Ireland v West Indies

Super Eight

If any seeded team does not finish in the top two in their group, the non-seeded team qualifying will take their allotted place in the Super Eight fixture list.

27 D2 v A1, Antigua & Barbuda
28 A2 v B1, Guyana
29 D2 v C1, Antigua &amp; Barbuda
30 D1 v C2, Guyana
31 A1 v B2, Antigua & Barbuda
APRIL
1 D2 v B1, Guyana
2 B2 v C1, Antigua & Barbuda
3 D1 v A2, Guyana
4 C2 v B1, Antigua & Barbuda
7 B2 v A2, Guyana
8 A1 v C2, Antigua & Barbuda
9 D1 v C1, Guyana
10 D2 v A2, Grenada
11 C2 v B2, Barbados
12 B1 v C1, Grenada
13 A1 v D1, Barbados
14 A2 v C1, Grenada
15 B2 v D1, Barbados
16 A1 v B1, Grenada
17 A2 v C2, Barbados
18 D1 v B1, Grenada
19 D2 v B2, Barbados
20 A1 v C1, Grenada
21 D2 v C2, Barbados

Semi-finals

24 Super Eight 2nd v 3rd, Jamaica
25 Super Eight 1st v 4th, St Lucia

Final

28 Winner SF1 v Winner SF2, Barbados

TRIO WITH 10000 each

2007-02-23T08:42:00.000-08:00

The indian cricket team will be hoping on these three players to win WC 07 as it begins on 13th march.Each of them have scored more than 10,000 runs in odi.And the most important thing to note is that ,only indian team have 3 players who have more than 10000runs,whereas other teams does not have this advantage.ALL THE BEST FOR THEM.