SabWorld Cup finally at the climax
April 18th 2007 04:33
After six weeks of one of the longest major tournaments in sports, the World Cup cricket semi-finalists have finally been decided.
Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand were all obvious picks and many would say South Africa were as well. As you know, I did not tip the Proteas to make the semis, originally having India there then the West Indies.
The West Indies were my sentimental pick- as hosts and for the best batsman of the modern era, Brian Lara, to retire from one-day cricket on a high. Unfortunately the Windies just do not have depth in their side and too much was left for Lara to do. Chris Gayle has all the talent in the world but can not be considered in the top echelon of players in the world because he is just too inconsistent and his tournament was horrible.
England were also disappointing, particularly against the established nations. I quite liked the look of the English side but like the Windies too much was left for too few. Master blaster Kevin Pietersen and gutsy all-rounder Paul Collingwood had good tournaments but their key player Andrew Flintoff was a disappointment.
Flintoff as usual was excellent with the ball, but is horribly out-of-form with the bat. His batting has been dreadful since the start of the Ashes. Even more worryingly is the future of captain Michael Vaughn. The skipper, coming back from a knee injury, struggled so badly with the bat that he should be dropped from the one-day side.
Vaughn is clearly the best leader in the English team and one wonders if they have any other alternatives but the fact is he just can not keep getting picked in the one-day team. A wonderful Test player he is, but Vaughn has never been a limited overs star, with an average of just 28 and no hundreds in his career.
The semi-final matches have been virtually decided with Australia to meet South Africa and New Zealand against Sri Lanka in the other. I still believe the Aussies will complete their hat-trick of cups and astonishingly claim consecutive unbeaten wins.
The Aussies seem virtually impregnable in their semi-final clash against South Africa- who without a spin bowler lack variety and leaves them exposed. Whilst the other semi is a 50-50 contest.
I was very disappointed in Sri Lanka’s attitude against the Aussies. After basically not paying attention to the past week of this boring cup, the heavyweight contest between the two in-form teams of the tournament had caught my interest back in the event.
So what happened? Sri Lanka basically tanks the match, even though there was the possibility of them still claiming the number one seed. Already without star quick Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka rest their superstar bowlers- Chaminda Vaas and Murali, to virtually hand the Aussies the game.
Why they would do this against the world champions is anybody’s guess. Their final game was against Ireland- the perfect opportunity to rest some key players.
The match against Australia was the opportunity for Sri Lanka to gain a psychological attitude, particularly on a Grenada pitch expected to favour them. Expect now, with the Aussies full of confidence to keep their momentum going and win the cup.
If Sri Lanka bomb out against New Zealand, they only have themselves to blame.
Next article, I will preview the two semi-final matches in depth.
Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand were all obvious picks and many would say South Africa were as well. As you know, I did not tip the Proteas to make the semis, originally having India there then the West Indies.
The West Indies were my sentimental pick- as hosts and for the best batsman of the modern era, Brian Lara, to retire from one-day cricket on a high. Unfortunately the Windies just do not have depth in their side and too much was left for Lara to do. Chris Gayle has all the talent in the world but can not be considered in the top echelon of players in the world because he is just too inconsistent and his tournament was horrible.
England were also disappointing, particularly against the established nations. I quite liked the look of the English side but like the Windies too much was left for too few. Master blaster Kevin Pietersen and gutsy all-rounder Paul Collingwood had good tournaments but their key player Andrew Flintoff was a disappointment.
Flintoff as usual was excellent with the ball, but is horribly out-of-form with the bat. His batting has been dreadful since the start of the Ashes. Even more worryingly is the future of captain Michael Vaughn. The skipper, coming back from a knee injury, struggled so badly with the bat that he should be dropped from the one-day side.
Vaughn is clearly the best leader in the English team and one wonders if they have any other alternatives but the fact is he just can not keep getting picked in the one-day team. A wonderful Test player he is, but Vaughn has never been a limited overs star, with an average of just 28 and no hundreds in his career.
The semi-final matches have been virtually decided with Australia to meet South Africa and New Zealand against Sri Lanka in the other. I still believe the Aussies will complete their hat-trick of cups and astonishingly claim consecutive unbeaten wins.
The Aussies seem virtually impregnable in their semi-final clash against South Africa- who without a spin bowler lack variety and leaves them exposed. Whilst the other semi is a 50-50 contest.
I was very disappointed in Sri Lanka’s attitude against the Aussies. After basically not paying attention to the past week of this boring cup, the heavyweight contest between the two in-form teams of the tournament had caught my interest back in the event.
So what happened? Sri Lanka basically tanks the match, even though there was the possibility of them still claiming the number one seed. Already without star quick Lasith Malinga, Sri Lanka rest their superstar bowlers- Chaminda Vaas and Murali, to virtually hand the Aussies the game.
Where was he?
Why they would do this against the world champions is anybody’s guess. Their final game was against Ireland- the perfect opportunity to rest some key players.
The match against Australia was the opportunity for Sri Lanka to gain a psychological attitude, particularly on a Grenada pitch expected to favour them. Expect now, with the Aussies full of confidence to keep their momentum going and win the cup.
If Sri Lanka bomb out against New Zealand, they only have themselves to blame.
Next article, I will preview the two semi-final matches in depth.
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