WC2007: Super 8

[Will_NA]

Vaughn is not getting runs , but he is getting wicket

That's what he's in the team for..:spy

[irottev]

Ireland put up a decent fight. In a year or two hopefully they will have more xperiance and still to get home in these situations. Batting against spin is a worry for them. Vaughan bowled really well.

Ireland bowled pretty well.

[Damo01]

OMG! if Ireland keep on batting like this...then there might a slight chance they can do it!

[aussie1st]

Johnston is striking them well, just need a few more 6s from him and who knows.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Nice Cameo from Johnston and white comes to an end

[Damo01]

Hahahahahaha! What a show from johnston....got 27 runs and eventually got bowled from Flintoff

[aussie1st]

Ireland last hope in White just got out. With late hitting like that just need the middle order to keep the RRR reasonable.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

End of show , Enland won by 48 runs

[wolf]

Now we can get down to playing the big teams. Good to see Freddie back in form in this match.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Now we can get down to playing the big teams. Good to see Freddie back in form in this match.


Freddie back in form :p he has still not face the maestro yet ;)

Next match we will get some clues about Freddies comeback form

[barmyarmy]

Michael Vaughan is a bowling all-rounder! Who's have known?
For some reason we seem to treat the Powerplays like a test match situation and only try to score boundaries when the field is back...

[manee]

Michael Vaughan is a bowling all-rounder! Who's have known?
For some reason we seem to treat the Powerplays like a test match situation and only try to score boundaries when the field is back...

England need to try and build players during this world cup. Basically, there is too much emphasis on the middle order with the top order doing nothing. Maybe Vaughan needs to go three and Kevin Pietersen can open. I understand that is a bit out there, but England need powerplay runs and need to solve the problem of a 1, 2 and 3 who cannot score more than 40 between them consistantly.

[Sureshot]

Get Bell out, he's scoring runs but a) not a good rate or b) big scores. Get Strauss in imo.

[Leicester Fox]

I loved Bumbles attitude,complete positivity! he'll get a 100 because he's due one. I think it would be too much of a risk to open with Pietersen at this stage of the super 8's,3 he may be able to deal with but the new ball at this crucial stage?

[Drewska]

Get Bell out, he's scoring runs but a) not a good rate or b) big scores. Get Strauss in imo.

I'd rather have Mal Loye or someone...Strauss does what Bell does with less runs.

[Will_NA]

Occasionally, one or both of the openers should just blitz and get us off to an absolute flier (I'm speaking 7 or 8 an over instead of 5 or 5 1/2). Will we ever reach 350 again? I really hope Marcus Trescothick returns

[MUFC1987]

Good to hear that Vaughan bowled, is a good option in my opinion. Joyce is there to up the rate if he stays in, against Kenya he just held an end as the RRR wasn't that high. I'd rather have us bat second though to be honest. Strauss deserves a go, even just as a pinch hitting opener, which he was doing in the last English summer.

[Feelin Blue?]

So England won? Thats a shame. But they only won by 48 runs i hear. So Ireland did pretty good.

[Roofrom50]

It was good batting by Collingwood. Bell and Strauss like someone said, are the same type of player, Strauss does score runs, but very very slowly

[surendar]

Having won by only 48 runs, Well done Ireland :clap They have to work on batting a lots. I really pity them for Lankans game as they wud be clueless against spin magic. Hope Irish ppl get grassy pitches like they got against Pakistan ;)

And regarding England batting, Joyce & Vaughan.. I don't know what they are doing with bat in hand :p Prbly Vaughany can come down the order. Without Colly, England wud have faced a upset i believe.

[m_vaughan]

Some of these matches against the minnows can be real tricky at times and today was one of those days. England were not at their best again, but I think as long as they get the results its fine.

[aussie_ben91]

KP is really p-ing me off. If he really applied himself, he could have at least 7 hundreds by now. Colly to the rescue again. England batsmen getting starts and getting out to silly shots. Where have I seen this before?
He probably would've by now. To go with his 3 centuries his made 2 90's not out aswell and a 77 not out aswell. Not to mention he probably would've reached 3 figures aswell if he didn't get injured by McGrath.

[LA ICE-E]

Ireland played well...they were in it until like the 33rd over of their innings...they bowled well and if Rakin had not cramped up and they could have contained the last 5 overs a bit more that the result would have been much much closer...but good game in all shows they deserve to be there...

[kodos]

England need to try and build players during this world cup. Basically, there is too much emphasis on the middle order with the top order doing nothing. Maybe Vaughan needs to go three and Kevin Pietersen can open. I understand that is a bit out there, but England need powerplay runs and need to solve the problem of a 1, 2 and 3 who cannot score more than 40 between them consistantly.
Why would you place Pietersen under even more pressure by opening him with Joyce? Although England did show in the CB series that they can win without Pietersen and I disagree with some of the comments that they rely on him too much. I would rather have Strauss opening than Pietersen or bring Bell back opening again..

[Hooper]

Bell and Strauss arent attacking enough to open with each other. Just keep the set-up they have now, I dont think Strauss is much of a one-day player.

[manee]

Why would you place Pietersen under even more pressure by opening him with Joyce? Although England did show in the CB series that they can win without Pietersen and I disagree with some of the comments that they rely on him too much. I would rather have Strauss opening than Pietersen or bring Bell back opening again..

Read the post, it was an example, I was merely saying that England need quick runs in the powerplays.

[gary0808]

England got lucky. I'm fin the way England approach the game but their top three maybe except Joyce isn't getting runs to shout about and Vaughan and Bell are both very capable.
I'm a big fan of building a platform with wickets in hand. A lot of the time England lose early wickets and KP, Colly and Fred are left to rebuild.
Sri Lanka will be tough for England with players of attacking intent but Fred and Monty can be turned on for wickets. Vass, Slinga and Murali will trouble England.

Australia-Bangladesh today. Easy win for Australia surely.

[evertonfan]

Sure it wasn't a convincing performance but we won and never looked like losing and that's what counts.

Strauss should come back to open. I'm going to be really cheesy and say that form is temporary but class is permanent; This is definitely true in Strauss' case.

[angryangy]

Bell and Strauss arent attacking enough to open with each other. Just keep the set-up they have now, I dont think Strauss is much of a one-day player.What combination can England use that is attacking? Strauss is a relative slogger compared to Vaughan and Bell. Few of the players that England rely on really look like one-day players.

[evertonfan]

I'm still baffled as to why we dropped Loye. If he can sweep Lee, Tait and Bond for six then i'm sure he could do it against the likes of O'Brien, Codrington and the other medium pacers England have faced so far.

[angryangy]

They may as well have Alastair Cook with them. If he were a seasoned player his stats are a bit lacklustre, but at 22 it's worth a lot more to play him or at least take him to the big events.

[crowsboy]

Aus v Banglesesh anybody think Banglesesh can pull off another upset?

[Hooper]

What combination can England use that is attacking? Strauss is a relative slogger compared to Vaughan and Bell. Few of the players that England rely on really look like one-day players.


There are millions of Players in County Cricket playing Limited Overs, there has to be some attacking batsmen. But Bell,Strauss & Vaughan can be attacking but I beleive they are so stuck into Test Mode and I reckon it really shows in the ODI's. Perhaps Duncan Fletcher is too focused on the longer version of cricket. My England Top 3 would be:

- Joyce
-Bopara
-Bell

Ive only seen little of Bopara, but I beleive he is a good enough batsman to play in the top order if tried. Keep Bell at three, hes solid, and England needs that because it seems that they always lose early wickets. Vaughan might have to bat at 4, and Strauss (in the form hes in) should be left out in ODIs.

[Roofrom50]

What has happened to Trescothick

[evertonfan]

Stress happened.

[Leicester Fox]

lets call Simon Jones up :p he's meant to be playing soon in a warm up for his county

[evertonfan]

I'd rather we didn't. He's nowhere near match-fit.

[etho11]

The Australia VS Bangladesh game is not starting on time due to rain.

[Hooper]

Man West Indies, Has to rain during the WC...

[angryangy]

It's just because of puddles in the crappy outfield. A flat outfield would be good to go.

[Dare]

anyone else think that this world cup was around 2 weeks avay from actually being ready for opening day?

[Hooper]

Why? Because of the weather? You cant have the schedule of a Wold Cup based around weather patterns

[John Adams]

Yea too bad a scientist can't come up with a weather machine huh? I just hope the finals aint rain effected...

[Hooper]

Anyone seeing this? Its like full-scale ground inspection! Who cares just play some cricket!

[angryangy]

Why? Because of the weather? You cant have the schedule of a Wold Cup based around weather patternsNo, but this ground clearly isn't ready for bad weather. If rain stops play at the MCG, we can see play practically a half hour after the rain stops. The Viv Richards ground isn't fit for play several hours after rain stops. There's nothing worse than being unable to play while the weather is fine.

[Dare]

^^ that what i was talking about, it took them 1 hour and 30 mins to get a roller into the stadium.

[rashik007]

lookin at the situation giving the world cup for west indies to host isnt the best idea

[puddleduck]

Wahey, again Puddle gets posted on TMS (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6509779.stm) :) A bit more serious than last time, to show that I'm not just a comedian :p

[aditya123]

Stress happened.Marcus `Stress`cothick !!

[Hooper]

Oh Mate, Havent heard that one before!!!!








.....*Rolls Eyes*

[ZexyZahid]

Finally play is underway. The Australia vs Bangladesh match will be a 22 overs match. Australia won the toss and will field first.

[Hooper]

I dont like the reduction of THAT MANY overs....now its just not cricket...

[ZexyZahid]

There are 22 overs to be played and Bangladesh only scored two runs of the two overs. Not a great start.

[Sagacious]

Good start by Australia, already one wicket down

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Great start from us :clap Piegon equalise with Akram :)

[ZexyZahid]

Tait is really expensive some times. 15 runs of his first over. That ruined the great start of Bracken and McGrath.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Glenn MCgrath break Akram's record , great catch taken too by Bracken :clap

[Sagacious]

Brilliant catch by Bracken, BD 3 down now!

[ZexyZahid]

And McGrath breaks Wasim Akram's record. Congratulations to him.

And he gets another one. :rolleyes:

[Hooper]

Shane Watson - Injured Calf

Has he ever gone through a tournament un-injured? My Goodness.

[aussie1st]

Good thing I didn't wake up early for this one then :)

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Bangladesh are tumbling , Taity got his one :clap

[aussie1st]

Wasn't his best wicket, Bangladesh have been diggin out his yorkers very nicely.

[ZexyZahid]

Bangladesh reached only 104-6 from their overs. Australia should reach this target with ease.

[aussie1st]

Bracken finished off very nicely, he has been back to his best this tournament. If Hayden and Gilly get away this total could be done with in 10 overs.

[irottev]

Watson injured damn. I hope the Aussies sake he's ok, I know what it's like. We have about 4 injuries lol.

[aussie1st]

Probably won't be back again this WC the way his previous injuries have gone.

[Adarsh]

Australia should try and chase this in 10 overs.

[aussie1st]

Baisya first ball in the WC gone for 4 :) Backup well no real aggressive intent from Gilly so far.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Australia should try and chase this in 10 overs.



10 overs not possible :( the outfield is pretty crap :mad:

[aussie1st]

Hayden now starting to fire along with Gilly's streaky 4s.

[MUFC1987]

Watson's injury is a blessing in disguise, your weak link is now gone.

[aussie1st]

He was bowling just fine this WC, very eonomical and has managed some good late hitting.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Super 50 by Gilly :clap any news about Watson :( i hope he get fit :upray

[aussie1st]

Brilliant finish by Hayden, 2 6s the last being the winning runs. Shame he missed his 50.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

We won by 10 wickets :) it would have been great if Hayden got that 50 too :p

[ZexyZahid]

A good win for Australia. Tomorrow Sri Lanka will play against West Indies. It's a must win match for West Indies. But I expect Sri Lanka to win.

[Sagacious]

Aus thrashed BD minnows, great going!!!!

[irottev]

What a thrashing in the end. Gilly and Hayden did it easy. At least they made it entertaining. Hayden continues his amazing form. Easily the highest scorer in the tournament so far!

[masterkhan]

Easy win for Austraila Man they are a strong team

[LA ICE-E]

well, you cant blame bangladesh...the aussies been thrashing everyone in their way...hopefully someone can stop them to make it bit interesting...but bangladesh didn't really play 20/20s before only one and that against zim while the aussies been playing a lot more and they have the power hitters...

WI must win tomorrow and hopefully sri lanka wont be the party poopers

[Will_NA]

They might as well of just given the match to Australia. Australia v Bangladesh in a 22/22? Bangladesh had no chance. They were unlucky

[saisrini80]

A good win for Australia. Tomorrow Sri Lanka will play against West Indies. It's a must win match for West Indies. But I expect Sri Lanka to win.

I feel West Indies are over with the Super 8's. I thought they might go to the semis, but they've proved me wrong. Sri Lanka are a much stronger team, and the way they came back to almost win against South Africa speaks volumes of their resilence. Only a Lara special can save West Indies tomorrow!

[Feelin Blue?]

Whar was the score in Aussies Bangla match?

[rocklara]

Man we're lookin like goners, but I think windies may pull a trick or 2 from the bag... :(

[John Adams]

Easy win for Austraila Man they are a strong team

You have no idea how proud I feel reading that!

Of course we gotta win the WC still lolol

[etho11]

Haydos and Gilly were on fire. Numerous sixes near the end.

[cric_craze]

I was expecting Windies to do very well but I think by tommorow they will be out sadly :( They need alot of fan support tommorow. The fan support they got in Jamaica against Pakistan. I say Pakistan would have won if it wasnt for the huge crowd in Jamaica. Supported them every minute and even when Pakistan lost that game I thought that this World Cup is going to be great because of their fans but it hasnt turned out like that. :(

[irottev]

I'm not writing West Indies off. I half hope they can beat Sri Lanka. 2 losses vs SA and WI would make it tougher for them. They're a dangerous side so I wanna see them miss out really.

[Valaskjalf]

Whats everyone's thoughts on SA?

The other night against SL i was so close to losing my mind when we AGAIN did everything possible to lose the game from a certain win. And another thing....why did SA have such a horrible Net RR when they came into the super 8's?? Before the game against Aus we had a RR of like +5.00 or more and after the game it was all of a sudden down to -1.7? We almost scored 300 runs against them an an 83 run loss isnt THAT huge considering how many runs were scored is it? surely our runrate couldnt be affected that badly after the loss?!

I still think we should reach the semis...but hopefully not end up 4th for the semis cozz for once we should get to the final and not meet Aus in the semis - if we do then its curtains.

[Dare]

WI must win tomorrow and hopefully sri lanka wont be the party poopers

lol if Windies get eliminated than the world cup is over, there arent gona be any fans at the games.

[John Adams]

not meet Aus in the semis - if we do then its curtains.

Another post that makes me feel so proud. :) lol all mean naught if we lose of course hehe

[Valaskjalf]

lol if Windies get eliminated than the world cup is over, there arent gona be any fans at the games.

lol well there already arent any fans at the games, the attendance is pathetic. Definitely the worst ive seen at any world cup

[angryangy]

Whats everyone's thoughts on SA?

The other night against SL i was so close to losing my mind when we AGAIN did everything possible to lose the game from a certain win. And another thing....why did SA have such a horrible Net RR when they came into the super 8's?? Before the game against Aus we had a RR of like +5.00 or more and after the game it was all of a sudden down to -1.7? We almost scored 300 runs against them an an 83 run loss isnt THAT huge considering how many runs were scored is it? surely our runrate couldnt be affected that badly after the loss?!
It's weird, NRR isn't completely carried over from the group stage. However, the group stage NRR doesn't seem correct either, it says the FOR is 835/113.2 - from what I can tell, they batted 40, 23.2 and 48 overs; that's 111.2

[shery_rsa]

can somebody tell me in westindies there its rainy season bcoz 8 matches delayed bcoz of rain

[s2sschan]

What time is the match (WI VS SL) scheduled to start?

Cricinfo says 3:15 pm local time?

[Jaztheman]

lol well there already arent any fans at the games, the attendance is pathetic. Definitely the worst ive seen at any world cup

it isn't cheep for tickets and at least they are in love with cricket they decide to watch it but it has rained alot aswell which has dampened not only the pitch but everybody's spirits.

[Cricketman]

can somebody tell me in westindies there its rainy season bcoz 8 matches delayed bcoz of rain
Its actually in the peak of the dry season.

[puddleduck]

lol well there already arent any fans at the games, the attendance is pathetic. Definitely the worst ive seen at any world cup

It's because the greedy chaps setting the prices decided they would try and grab every penny possible, and the fun police inside the grounds aren't allowing musical instruments unless you get permission first. So basically the many fans who may not be the wealthiest, yet have no doubt supported Windies cricket for decade after decade, are being left out in the cold. Why on earth there isn't some kind of cheap sale of any tickets not yet sold by the time the match starts is beyond me. It's almost as if the authorities don't want the poorer fans from the West Indian islands in the grounds.

[manee]

Yes, it is pathetic.

The attendance for this match though is very healthy, the atmosphere is very good.

[angryangy]

At 2/200 in 36 overs, this game looks to be very much in Sri Lanka's hands and to add insult to injury, the Windies' over rate is behind by about half an hour.

As much as the West Indies are a sentimental favourite for everyone, you just can't deny these Sri Lankans - without doubt one of the best teams we get to see. They are able to do champion things; be it marathon partnerships or devastating spells of bowling. Always exciting when Jayasuriya is on a big innings too, especially when his opponents are afraid to bowl wide of off at him.

[rocklara]

304 to win, and really they're gone...

[Adarsh]

You know what - Dilshan is becoming an awesome batsman. His consistency recently has been outstanding. He comes in late and whether he has to consolidate or accelerate he's doing it very well indeed, much like Hussey was last season. Though he doesn't get huge scores of 100+, he's a very good batsman. Add to that some useful bowling and brilliant fielding, he's very underrated indeed.

[ZoraxDoom]

Yea. I'd have him in my ODI team anytime. Only problem is, with guys like Dwyane Smith, Bravo, Symonds, Samuels, Clarke, Malik, Oram, Dalrymple, Collingwood, etc. who all do the same thing, he tends to get overlooked. He isn't a match winner, but is reliable.

[Dare]

hes a usefull Off spinner and from your list Zorax hes probably the best fielder aside from Collingwood, hes definately Sri Lankas #6 for the future.

[Drewska]

Yea. I'd have him in my ODI team anytime. Only problem is, with guys like Dwyane Smith, Bravo, Symonds, Samuels, Clarke, Malik, Oram, Dalrymple, Collingwood, etc. who all do the same thing, he tends to get overlooked. He isn't a match winner, but is reliable.

I would rate him in the middle. You've got people like Smith, Samuels and Darlymple who are bits-and-pieces players, Malik, Bravo and Dilshan who are good players but don't reallt get to prove it. I'd rate Clarke Symonds Colly and Oram a step above the rest though.

[LA ICE-E]

looks like WI is out of the wc...dead rubbers coming up...

[masterkhan]

Come on sri lanka

[Drewska]

Sri Lanka got an easy victory, West Indies have been shocking in the Super 8's so far. Poor fielding and crap body language. But they still have managed to hammer Murali for some reason.

[Will_NA]

West Indies never deserved to win any of their games which is sad as I was rooting for them (after England of course :p )

[masterkhan]

man west indies are playing rubbish in the super 8 there fielding was rubbish I was just watching droping catching and letting the ball go pass them

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Dreadful performance by Windies through out the World Cup :(

[saisrini80]

I feel that with the entry of Bangladesh, Ireland in the Super 8 and with the dreadful performance of West Indies, this World Cup is losing all its excitement and is becoming one big bore. Even though India and Pakistan exited early, I thought the performance of the teams involved could make the Super 8's and the rest of the world cup interesting.

but nothing of that sort has happened, and now i am waiting for this world cup to finish and see who is the eventual winner!

[LA ICE-E]

well may be for you but isn't for the rest of us...did you not see the double hatrick of malinga?

[irottev]

West Indies had no luck really. Jaysuriya and Jaywardene skied a lot of balls and just fell short. But their body language and stuff was poor. Very loose fielding. Then their batting is just unsettled. They need to get a strong team going and not change it every match.

[genghis_khan]

West Indies performances have really taken a bit out of this world cup.

What's with New Zealand's super 8 fixture?...are they just folowing Australia's?

[angryangy]

I feel that with the entry of Bangladesh, Ireland in the Super 8 and with the dreadful performance of West Indies, this World Cup is losing all its excitement and is becoming one big bore. Even though India and Pakistan exited early, I thought the performance of the teams involved could make the Super 8's and the rest of the world cup interesting.

but nothing of that sort has happened, and now i am waiting for this world cup to finish and see who is the eventual winner!The problem is that there are three teams not putting out; you never get away with having none, though. The interest in this stage is that there are just four finals spots up for grabs and five teams that are playing well enough to take them. Whoever misses out will either be unlucky or brutally beaten.

The downside is that there's a four day layoff between the big games.

[aussie1st]

The Windies have been really disappointing in the Super 8 stage, they had the perfect chance to make a home semi but they have blown that.

[Roofrom50]

Shocking batting by Indies, they really should of won that match, dissapointing once again :mad:

[Sureshot]

We'd have made a better effort last night of that, appauling from the West Indies. Though the scheduling of this WC has been dire.

[Brian Lara_06]

Looks Like the WI are going out :( we should have batted a lot better

[masterkhan]

bangladash are going well come on bangladash you can win this match

[ZexyZahid]

With this rate (3.5 now) they should get over 200 runs. Important thing is that they only lost two wickets by now.

[Dare]

all Bangladesh need to do is batt out their 50 overs. if they can get a decent score up than the bowlers will have somthing to defend.

[Sagacious]

Bd 140-7 , another boring game ;)

[barmyarmy]

Anyone else noticed that Scott Styris looks a lot like Anthony Worral Thompson?

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42756000/jpg/_42756863_styris_afp416.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/940000/images/_941180_thompson150.jpg

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Bangladesh lost their ninth wicket :( , i hope mortaza can also pick up some quick wickets :cool:

[Sagacious]

Bangladesh lost their ninth wicket :( , i hope mortaza can also pick up some quick wickets :cool:

They are simply not good enough to compete at this level PERIOD.

[barmyarmy]

They are simply not good enough to compete at this level PERIOD.

Which is why they beat India in the group stage...

[Sagacious]

Which is why they beat India in the group stage...


I said at this level. Anyway they will beat England, don't worry :p

[jkartik]

Which is why they beat India in the group stage...

well..i would have to disagree there colin.
they beat india in the group stage because india SUCKED !
and atm....they are weaker than bangladesh... :mad

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Which is why they beat India in the group stage...


They beat India , that was quite good fo me :) but that doesnt mean they can beat India every time :noway , after WC India will go to Bangladesh for a series , that time bangladesh will not going to even win a single match .India will rip up every part of them ;)

[barmyarmy]

I'm just saying that they clearly belong in ODI cricket now and to say they are not good enough period isn't fair imo.

[angryangy]

It's funny how often the main batsmen stumble about trying to bat sustainably, then Mashrafe Mortaza or Mohammad Rafique comes in and makes them all look silly.

[LA ICE-E]

They beat India , that was quite good fo me :) but that doesnt mean they can beat India every time :noway , after WC India will go to Bangladesh for a series , that time bangladesh will not going to even win a single match .India will rip up every part of them ;)
hhhmm lets see...so can india beat bangladesh every time? no way because they just lost to them....its like saying india beat australia once but can they beat them every time? no...

what a collapse 105/2 to 140/9.... they had a good start but the collapse...but the last partnership will at least give something for the bowlers to look at but not much... bangladesh looks like WI in the supper 8..they have similar score against NZ too :p

but to criticize bangladesh and say they are not good enough...then you should say WI isn't good enough etc etc...instead of criticizing bang and ireland why not criticize your own teams for not making it...bang and ireland didn't get thrashed in any match any much more than some of the other teams....

[aussie1st]

Scott Styris really has found his bowling form again in this WC. The only problem for NZ now is the opener that will partner Fleming.

[ZexyZahid]

New Zealand now at 71-1. They should chase this down with ease. This win will bring them to the top together with Australia.

[irottev]

Another fantastic effort from our guys! Bond is easily the best bowler in the world at the moment. Another World Class display. He's at his best. Styris and Oram are picking up wickets AND runs recently. Fantastic signs. Only bad thing from the match was Mason's injury. He's out. At least we get Gillespie back now. Other bowlers were restricting enough and made good support.

Fleming finished things off well, great hundred. Really took the attack apart and Marshall provided perfect support. Good to see him FINALLY get some runs. Should really boost him. Fulton was unlucky, tried to get going after a slow start and just didn't get it in the middle.

That really was a thrashing if i've ever seen one. We had control the whole way through.

[siddharth2002]

I think Bangladesh has reached the stature of Zimbabwe of old when they used to play well and win a match or two occasionally. Improvement is there but they will continue to loose until at least couple of their youngsters develop into star players.

Anyone else noticed that Scott Styris looks a lot like Anthony Worral Thompson?

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42756000/jpg/_42756863_styris_afp416.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/940000/images/_941180_thompson150.jpg
Kind of, but who's Anthony ? I'd say Anthony looks more like him.

[Roofrom50]

lol in a way he does. Styris needs the beard tho :p

[Sagacious]

SAF playing Ireland today at Guyana.

Another one-sided match on it's way!

[Hooper]

You never know Sag, they beat Pakistan (Oh yeah, that match was fixed :spy)

[aussie1st]

Ireland did give England a push just lack of experience let them down. They had SA on the ropes again lack of experience meant they didn't get home.

[masterkhan]

South Africa Will beat Ireland anyway
Ireland have 1 out 10 Chance of winning

[ZexyZahid]

South Africa will bowl. And it has just rained. :rolleyes: So this match could be a short one.

[masterkhan]

It always rain in the west indies I wish they play the next world cup in Asia

[Dare]

if im not mistaken the next WC is in Asia.

[masterkhan]

if im not mistaken the next WC is in Asia.
Yeah you right Thanks I can't wait but its 4 Years :(

[John Adams]

Ah I remember 1976 like it was yesterday. Four years is nothin...

[masterkhan]

Ah I remember 1976 like it was yesterday. Four years is nothin...

Lets hope you are right :D

[duded64]

The thing about the west indies is it rains about the same time everyday and the weather is pretty predicable so the icc would of known that,

[Sureshot]

Weather predictable?

No chance buddy. Especially when Guyana has quite a high percentage of rainforest.

[angryangy]

SAF playing Ireland today at Guyana.

Another one-sided match on it's way!And another glorious victory to the weather. 35 overs might actually give Ireland a boost, especially if they get Johnstone and McCallan in the middle at the right time, but anything shorter than 30 would be murderous for them.

[Drewska]

And another glorious victory to the weather. 35 overs might actually give Ireland a boost, especially if they get Johnstone and McCallan in the middle at the right time, but anything shorter than 30 would be murderous for them.

This can give Ireland a bit of help, as Pollock and Ntini are virtually bowled out with a big chunk of the innings to go.

[Cricketman]

Ahaha
I predict Saf Losing D/L method.

[ZexyZahid]

Ireland 63-3. The advantage that Ireland has is that Pollock and Ntini have fully bowled their overs by now. So they don't need to worry about them.

[offdriven4]

lol,looks like langeveldt and hall took that comment personally...

[masterkhan]

so its 152 a good score for a 35 over match?

good start from Ireland

[aussie1st]

Ireland managed the early break through of De Villers which will help. Just need to get Smith and we could have a game on our hands.

[masterkhan]

I relly wish Ireland win this match because that will be the biggest upset ever

[ZexyZahid]

South Africa won easily with 7 wickets. Tomorrow's match will be good to watch. Also if Sri Lanka wins they will be on top of the table, because they will have a better runrate.

[irottev]

SA won easily in the end, but I thought Ireland performed reasonably well. They deserve their spot in my opinion.

They put a good score on the board,but some of the bowlers let them down. Rankin was great yet again.

Not a very convincing win at the end of the day in my books. Big win, but Ireland fought well.

[angryangy]

so its 152 a good score for a 35 over match?

good start from IrelandDisappointing tactically from Ireland, Johnston's big hitting could have got them somewhere, but he barely got to bat before they ran out of time. 200 could have made South Africa sweat. They've got a long way to go if they can't adapt their plans for something like this.

[joseph_25]

Can anyone guess from these super 8 which teams go to semi finals?
In my opinion
Australia
South Africa
Sri Lanka and Ireland will meet the semi finals.
Let's wait and see............

[Sagacious]

huh! Ireland in the semifinals?

It will be SL,AUS,NZL & SAF

[aussie1st]

Ireland still need more experience before they are able to consistency cause upsets.
Tonight game should be interesting, will show exactly where the English are at.

[Sagacious]

^ Murali Vs KP will be interesting

[aussie1st]

Yea that should be very interesting, KP played Warne very well but Murali has a few extra tricks up his sleeve.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Todays match will be an interesting one :) i hope no interuption will take place :upray

Kp vs Murli

Monty vs :rolleyes: :p anyone

[Drewska]

Yea that should be very interesting, KP played Warne very well but Murali has a few extra tricks up his sleeve.

Well last time they played KP won, with two big centuries in the test series last year. Conditions may be different here though.

[angryangy]

Murali has a few extra tricks up his sleeve.His elbow? lolololololol ;)

[evertonfan]

I think that England will only have a chance if they are chasing. But to be frank, I can see Jayasuriya tearing us apart and Malinga and Murali ripping our batting to shreds.

[Drewska]

I think that England will only have a chance if they are chasing. But to be frank, I can see Jayasuriya tearing us apart and Malinga and Murali ripping our batting to shreds.

We should try what we did against Jayasuriya last year, put a bloke in the middle of nowhere on the off-side then bowl the worst long-hop imaginable, and he found the man :p

[aussie_ben91]

Pietersen will take Sri Lanka to pieces. His plays arrogantly against everyone unless his playing Australia. Otherwise, weather it be Test or ODI, his strike-rate is always near 100.

[Drewska]

Pietersen will take Sri Lanka to pieces. His plays arrogantly against everyone unless his playing Australia. Otherwise, weather it be Test or ODI, his strike-rate is always near 100.

I agree with that, well if Pietersen gets it. Pietersen plays best when were chasing as he can hit the 90 odd not out to finish the game off with someone like Colly playing sensibly at the other end. Toss will be a huge factor imo.

[evertonfan]

We should try what we did against Jayasuriya last year, put a bloke in the middle of nowhere on the off-side then bowl the worst long-hop imaginable, and he found the man :p

Botham: "Why on earth is there a man out on the off-side for a short wide long hop? It's terrible field placing."

Jayasuriya finds the man.

Nasser: "There's the man for the short wide long hop and he's out! Well done Ian Botham."

Lol, nice to laugh when we were getting owned. :D

[Drewska]

Botham: "Why on earth is there a man out on the off-side for a short wide long hop? It's terrible field placing."

Jayasuriya finds the man.

Nasser: "There's the man for the short wide long hop and he's out! Well done Ian Botham."

Lol, nice to laugh when we were getting owned. :D

Yep that's the one. Quality stuff :D

[evertonfan]

It's hilarious whenever Botham gets owned. That clip's on Youtube somewhere, find it. Unless the ICC have removed it. :rolleyes:

Back to the game though, any chance of Flintoff repeating what he did the last time he played Lanka in an ODI?

[AndyRAC]

I don't wish to appear pessimistic, but I think todays game could be embarassing for England, if they bat first plodding along at 3.5-4 r/over until the final 5 over bash. Can see Malinga and Vaas ripping top order out then Murali finishing the innings off.

[John Adams]

His elbow? lolololololol ;)

Or his bent sleeve haha funny how Sri Lanka have two bowlers with wierd actions huh? Meh lol

[PhilD123]

It's hilarious whenever Botham gets owned. That clip's on Youtube somewhere, find it. Unless the ICC have removed it. :rolleyes:
The clip's still on youtube:D , was watching it yesterday. Well thats if you mean the Sky Sports package of last summer, and that clip is in there.

Yep, best way to get rid of Jaysuriya, man out anywhere in the offside and put Saj into the attack! It all depends if the big game players can fire today. We have looked like we are going to take wickets with the new ball in the games so far, but during the middle overs, haven't looked like we are going to get too many wickets. It'd be nice if one of the top 3 managed to get a century, but I'm not banking on it.

[Sagacious]

Botham: "Why on earth is there a man out on the off-side for a short wide long hop? It's terrible field placing."

Jayasuriya finds the man.

Nasser: "There's the man for the short wide long hop and he's out! Well done Ian Botham."

Lol, nice to laugh when we were getting owned. :D


That's really hilarious, I had that youtube clip with me, right now I don't have

Can someone find it for me?

Thanks

[treva]

Big game today between England & Sri Lanka.
England need the two openers (whoever it may be) to post a 50+ partnership at least! Also Vaughan needs a big score and we need to not reli on KP and Collingwood to get us up to a respectable total! Hoping to see a 300+ total from England if they bat first and just pray that Jayasuriya does not get going :upray

[John Adams]

Yep I'm gonna enjoy this one :)

[evertonfan]

According to SSN, England are unchanged from the win over Ireland on Friday. Understandable I suppose but i'd rather Strauss play instead of Joyce.

[angryangy]

We should try what we did against Jayasuriya last year, put a bloke in the middle of nowhere on the off-side then bowl the worst long-hop imaginable, and he found the man :plol

It's actually fairly sensible, he's considered to be overbearing through the off side, which causes a lot of bowlers to bowl far too straight at him, allowing him to show them that he's actually pretty hard to stop with on-side shots. In reality he is very prone to over-cooking his off-side slashes, especially when he thinks a ball should be six.

[evertonfan]

England bowling first.

I am both optimistic yet terrified at the thought of that.

[PhilD123]

Yeah I would have liked the experience of Strauss in there. But Joyce will have to show he can do it.

England bowling first is a good thing if we can pick up wickets and most importantly Jaysuriya early on. Otherwise he could rip us apart in the powerplay overs.

[Roofrom50]

Yeah I would have liked the experience of Strauss in there. But Joyce will have to show he can do it.

England bowling first is a good thing if we can pick up wickets and most importantly Jaysuriya early on. Otherwise he could rip us apart in the powerplay overs.
Just like he did against the Windies, killed them in the Power play sessions

[masterkhan]

the match has started and Anderson to bowl

good start from england a maiden over

[aussie_ben91]

Look at the pitch!

[manee]

They are saying it is not nearly as bad is it looks and may even be quite good for batsman.

[masterkhan]

A good Four by Jayasuriya if England can get him out Then England will be happy

[PhilD123]

Sri Lanka progressing slowly, but the wicket of Jayasuriya was so very crucia. I was actually hoping Plunkett would play ahead of Saj, for control but Mahmood's done well.

[John Adams]

Look at the pitch!

Yes the one next to it looks superb, the one when Jimmy was bowling, and yet they play on the crap sand pit lol

[masterkhan]

Sri Lanka Are Playing Slow

[PhilD123]

That Sangakara wicket was crucial. We can't let them have too many wickets in hand, when they arrive at the stage with about 15 overs to spare. Or else they'll be able to cause havoc. Nice to see a Lancs lad doing well for England as always:p!

[treva]

Well great start from England!
Saj Mahmood bowling well although 2nd wicket was a bit wayward...

If we can get em 6/7 down when the last 10 overs come we could be cahsing a smallish total :)

Not getting my sights set too far ahead though :p

[MUFC1987]

Good to see my eternal faith in Saj Mahmood is playing off. His second wicket was a plan though, there's a reason why it was literally his only wide delivery.

[Dare]

i still expect Sri Lanka to set a target of 240+ which would be a handfull for england to chase.

[angryangy]

Tharanga is really making England look much too good here. He had better score an unbelievable hundred.

[Dare]

and he finally gets his first boundary..

i dont really mind his batting at the moment, he and Jayawardene have made steady progress and their run rate is going at 5+ an over. with Silva, Dilshan and Arnold still to come i belive that Sri Lanka can still put up a score thats expected of them.

[PhilD123]

Yes! Big wicket, and of course its Freddie that fires:D! Tharanga should really have gone on to get a big score, but never mind! A couple of wickets now and we're into the likes of Vaas, and while they can still bat, they would be less of a threat in the last 10 overs. Regular wickets are key here to keep the run rate down.

[treva]

Get in, Freddie gets the wicket!
Tharanga well too slow and maybe a blessing in disguise for Lanka...

[angryangy]

Poor effort from Tharanga. It would be a terrible shame if that cost them a huge score.

[Dare]

Maharoof isnt playing btw, if they can ge to Vaas quickly than england have a good chance of vining this one.

[angryangy]

Obviously, any team that takes 4 quick wickets late in the innings gives themselves a good chance of winning.

[MUFC1987]

Now we can run through them.

[treva]

Another wicket, the skipper, Jayawardene!
Try and keep them to 240-50...

[PhilD123]

Hit from Bell! Nice to get Dilshan who's always a danger, early on. Sri Lanka bat quite a way down, but these wickets are so vital as it limits how many risks they can take. It's been a really good bowling performance from England today.

[treva]

Get in, 8 an over to get 250, Hopefully we can keep them to less than that...

[PhilD123]

Get in, 8 an over to get 250, Hopefully we can keep them to less than that...
A couple more wickets and we should really keep them to below 250 easily.

[treva]

yes hopefully, 200 just up and if they only make 230 odd then that is a very good effort from our bowlers.

Now it's up to the top order to get some runs!

[Chimp132]

has anyones skysports 1 cut off ? because mines just gone really slow then cut off to a black screen and hasnt came back, all the other channels work though

[ZexyZahid]

This is poor cricket of those Sri Lankan batsmen out there. They are in the final overs and they didn't even try to hit the ball. And now de Silva is out. :rolleyes:

[treva]

Out!
Freddie with a yorker to dismiss Chamara Silva :happy
230 looks probable...

[PhilD123]

has anyones skysports 1 cut off ? because mines just gone really slow then cut off to a black screen and hasnt came back, all the other channels work though
Mine's fine.

Freddie does the business again with one of his typical death deliveries. SHould be looking to keep them below 240, which will be a job well done aganst a very strong Sri Lankan batting line up.

[treva]

235 a/o very good for England, Need the top order to get us to around 100-0/1 and give us a great chance!

Carn England

[ZexyZahid]

Sri Lanka reached 235. The fate of the match depends on how the top order of England will do.

[PhilD123]

Yep that was great death bowling from Freddie, Saj etc. We should be able to chase that down.

Anyhow in other news, Jon Lewis has gone back home after his wife had problems with pregnancy, Stuart Broad has replaced him.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/6527543.stm

[Chimp132]

i got my skysports back just as freddie got a wicket by the inswinging yorker :D great bowling and fielding performance, now we just have to hope they dont collapse with the batting. does anyone know when england come out to bat ?

[Afridi no 1]

England come to bat at 18 05 GMT

[barmyarmy]

That really was a good bowling display. It seems to be a pretty good pitch.
Ironically the ground actually suits the style of play England have been criticised for i.e. 1s and 2s rather than boundaries.
Everytime SL tried to hit over the top they found someone on the boundary.

[Sagacious]

It won't be easy for England, that's for sure

[barmyarmy]

It won't be easy for England, that's for sure

Let's face it, our top three have 1 ODI century between them...
(and two of them average under 30!)

[Drewska]

Let's face it, our top three have 1 ODI century between them...
(and two of them average under 30!)

Good thing the best ODI batsman in the world is at number 4 :D

[cricket doctor]

Good thing the best ODI batsman in the world is at number 4 :D
..and second best is at number 5. :p

[Sureshot]

We should do this, we are better chasers than target setters particularly with this top 3.

We miss Tres so much at the top don't we?

[Sagacious]

..and second best is at number 5. :p

Did you hire someone from Australia team ;)

[PhilD123]

Vaughan goes cheaply again :( Hopefully thats just a sign of his bad form and not of how the innings is going to go.

[Sagacious]

Meanwhile England lost first wicket

[Sureshot]

We cannot keep playing this man, no matter how good a captain he is.

[John Adams]

But but you don't like his bowling Sureshot? Hehe and Freddie looks drunk...when he was on the field...

[Sagacious]

That was really unlucky, wrong decision by Billy

[PhilD123]

That was really unlucky, wrong decision by Billy
Na, he got a thin nick to it. This problem with the top three is getting really annoying now. I hope Joyce and Bell prove me wrong today, but they cant seem to score runs for toffee in a ODI against one of the top teams, and its just not good enough. The middle order wont be able to fire every time.

[Sagacious]

One more gone, England will surely lose this one...

Good bye England

[Drewska]

This is an absolute bloody joke now, Vaughan just isn't right for one day cricket and Joyce looks ok but then gets out. Where the hell is Mal Loye?!?!

[evertonfan]

I don't care if he's captain, we can't keep playing Vaughan when he's batting like a 9 year old. We are pretty much guaranteed the loss of a wicket in the first 5 overs when he's playing. Joyce hasn't pulled his weight since he scored that 100 either.

[barmyarmy]

Vaughan goes cheaply again :( Hopefully thats just a sign of his bad form and not of how the innings is going to go.

It's not bad form. He's always sucked at ODI cricket!

Joyce on the other hand is in bad form. They'll have to bring Strauss in for the Aus game now.
This is annoying because it was one of the those situations where it was ok for the top 3 to score at 3 an over...

[evertonfan]

This is an absolute bloody joke now, Vaughan just isn't right for one day cricket and Joyce looks ok but then gets out. Where the hell is Mal Loye?!?!

Chilling with his Lancashire teammates in South Africa with a Bud and a massive grin on his face.

[barmyarmy]

Chilling with his Lancashire teammates in South Africa with a Bud and a massive grin on his face.

Yeah and he can stay there as far as I'm concerned. Loye is just as bad as Joyce and Vaughan if not worse.

[PhilD123]

It's not bad form. He's always sucked at ODI cricket!
Fair point! But I mean that he doesn't even look like getting runs at the moment, at least at times in the CB series he looked like he was going to get some runs.

This is ridiculous really. One more wicket and I can't see us getting home, especially if it is that of KP.

And Colin, at least Loye can get us off to a decent start and can get us ahead of the rate!

[Sagacious]

Even Bell started ringing now hehe

[Drewska]

Yeah and he can stay there as far as I'm concerned. Loye is just as bad as Joyce and Vaughan if not worse.

Well i'd take a run a ball 35 from Loye over a 20 ball 7 from Vaughan anyday.

[aussie1st]

One more gone, England will surely lose this one...

Good bye England

Good bye England? They are 2/50 no way this one is over.

[barmyarmy]

Well i'd take a run a ball 35 from Loye over a 20 ball 7 from Vaughan anyday.

Only it wouldn't be 35, it would be 5 or 7.

[evertonfan]

119/2 turns into 133/5. Nice to see England haven't lost their knack of doing the wrong things at exactly the wrong time.

[siddharth2002]

Flintoff's bad form with bat is hurting English now. Its hard to see them going past Super 8's with this setup. Probably the game against Aussies will reveal more.

[evertonfan]

I'm loving the fact that England always seem to want to do everything humanly possible to try and lose a game.

[RoboRocks]

I wish we could go home now.
Play like this against Australia and it will be over by 8 o'clock.
What was Flintoff doing?
There was no need for that.
Poor shot and now it must be the end.