WC2007: Super 8

[siddharth2002]

Regardless of the result, Just gonna say that some people here didn't agree with Nixon's selection for the World Cup whereas he has done exactly what's needed of a Keeper in any team.

[evertonfan]

Have to agree Sid. I'm glad they give Bopara the nod as well; Dalrymple did a great job for us last year but he was always going to be a bits and pieces player.

[borncricketer]

WOW what a game going on, i want england to win! come on England. Saj can bat rite:)

EDIT -
Last ball 3 runs needed, tie on the cards?

[siddharth2002]

Dumb Fernando, pulling out at the last second. he might be trying to test whether Bopara would try one of those leg glances.

[Drewska]

Pathetic from England, should never of needed Nixon to bat anyway. Joke team, we shouldn't be this bad.

[siddharth2002]

Edit - He could have actually tried that shot, the ball was there to be hit but I'd blame Fernando for breaking Bopara's concentration there, totally negative cricket. I hope they bow out in semis :p

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Fernando ends all the drama :) what a classic match it was :hpraise

[Sureshot]

Fernando didn't bowl that on purpose, that's cheating in my book.

Ravi and Nixon fought hard but should never have been in that position after yet another collapse and again triggered by KPs dismissal. He has a tendancy of doing it too, he needs to learn and take some responsibilty, Fred just cannot play slow balls either his form is a pain.

Entertaining game but we should've walked it.

[borncricketer]

OMG Bopara gets bowled on the last ball :O
I wonder if fernando distracted Boparas concentration

What an amazing game, england fans and the team are all stunned but whatever they did well to get here. Just the type of game we needed in the world cup, i hope there are more games like this in what ever is left of the world cup.
From Englands points of view selecting Bopara and Nixon was good for them and i think Nixon is the much needed keeper batsmen that they needed

[Drewska]

Fernando should be reprimanded or something for what he did there, total gamemenship. Ravi should of pulled out then he might of like bowled a Sajid Mahmood classic and we win.

[duded64]

Only it wouldn't be 35, it would be 5 or 7.
we could of done with it tonight ;)

[Sureshot]

Bopara was very impressive, wasn't he?

A case for him batting above Freddie.

[jonah]

Dumb Fernando, pulling out at the last second. he might be trying to test whether Bopara would try one of those leg glances.

He was out of order. Gamesmanship or cheating? Fine line.

All credit to Nicko and Bopara though, almost digging us out of the hole that the upper order got us into yet again. I say promote KP up to 3, even open with him, to try and give us some momentum at the start of the innings.

[Cowburn199]

What an amazing game, kept me on the edge of my seat.
Shame we didn't win though :(

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

OMG Bopara gets bowled on the last ball :O
I wonder if fernando distracted Boparas concentration

What an amazing game, england fans and the team are all stunned but whatever they did well to get here. Just the type of game we needed in the world cup, i hope there are more games like this in what ever is left of the world cup.
From Englands points of view selecting Bopara and Nixon was good for them and i think Nixon is the much needed keeper batsmen that they needed


Well, Fernando done that trick :p quite good trick , I bet any player on that time could do the same ;)

[Drewska]

Well, Fernando done that trick :p quite good trick

Quite a twattish trick aswell. God help him (or maybe not) next time he encounters the Barmy Army.

[barmyarmy]

He was out of order. Gamesmanship or cheating? Fine line.

All credit to Nicko and Bopara though, almost digging us out of the hole that the upper order got us into yet again. I say promote KP up to 3, even open with him, to try and give us some momentum at the start of the innings.

For the Aus game I'd drop Joyce and open with Strauss and Bopara.

[evertonfan]

Could someone clear up what Fernando did for me please? I've been relying on Stevie's dodgy ball-by-ball commentary. :p

Full credit to Nixon and Ravi; Brilliant innings.

[duded64]

Wishful hoping, fletcher seems set on the same team.

[Drewska]

Could someone clear up what Fernando did for me please? I've been relying on Stevie's dodgy ball-by-ball commentary. :p

Full credit to Nixon and Ravi; Brilliant innings.

Ran up for the last ball then didn't release it as too annoy Bopara and detract his concentration.

[borncricketer]

Well, Fernando done that trick :p quite good trick , I bet any player on that time could do the same ;)

Haha i am soo gonna try that this season while playing:p

So i guess with this win i would say the top 4 would probably be Aus, NZ, RSA, and SL

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Haha i am soo gonna try that this season while playing:p

So i guess with this win i would say the top 4 would probably be Aus, NZ, RSA, and SL



I have tried this a lot , and got good results ;)

[evertonfan]

You know what I just realised? There was a 5 ball over earlier on in our innings. ;)

[irottev]

Oh boo hoo, stop crying about Fernando pulling out. It should never have come down to needing runs of the last ball anyway. The Job should have been compelted earlier. It was a poor total and if England can't chase that down, they won't win many more Super 8 games.

I can't believe England messed it up. Bell's runout was unlucky but then England collapsed. Bopara and Nixon actually did well to keep them in the game.

They don't have that killer instinct. They can't fight for 100 overs.

[duded64]

They don't have that killer instinct. They can't fight for 100 overs.
we fought for 99.5 overs :rolleyes:

[evertonfan]

We weren't crying. We were being light hearted in the wake of a dramatic defeat because in case you haven't noticed we are not Pakistan fans and don't search for an excuse for every single defeat.

[duded64]

we would of won if the players swapped teams :)

[Sureshot]

we would of won if the players swapped teams :)


That's what the Romans did wrong.

So are England out of the tournament?

We still have 5 games left, we have to win 3 maybe 4. We really should've won tonight. Just makes me yearn those summer Tests to start again.

[irottev]

Some of you seem to be.

I can understand frustration. But if your going to be frustrated, be frustrated that your players didn't finish the job, not that the opposition bowler possibly lost his run up with all the pressure he was under.

England have Australia, South Africa and West Indies to come. Banglaesh are the only easy beats, and even on their day could stretch a good side. They're going to have to pull off another CB series miracle to stay in contention.

Really, unless there are some big upsets, the semi's look set in stone. SA look like they'll end up facing Australia in the Semi.

[Drewska]

Really, unless there are some big upsets, the semi's look set in stone. SA look like they'll end up facing Australia in the Semi.

Even though they're the best team in the world I think our best bet to get through is ahead of South Africa, as along with us they are the only two team who didn't carry points through with a real chance of progressing. I think it is down between England and South Africa now, Sri Lanka are almost there and it's probably safe to say the Windies are out.

[Cricketman]

I'm going to be bold enough to say drop Flintoff, or drop him down the order. He's becoming pathetic with the bat, somewhat worse than an Irfan Pathan. I'd drop Vaughn to about 11 also. He's just a crap batsman in ODI's. If they can have "pure" wicketkeepers why can't they have pure captains? Although i do support Sri Lanka for the rest of this tournament, my heart went to the English when Ravi Bopara stepped out to bat. What a partnership!
Bell was unlucky, and KP=needs to convert the 30's, 40's, 50's into 100's. Obviously the middle order can't bat once KP is gone, rest for ofcourse Bell and Bopara (Nixon=lower order :p) So he has to take responsibility and get that 80-120, and get that not out. He's supposed to be one of the best ODI batsman in the world (I don't know how many times Hussain said that when KP was batting) so why doesn't he get that 100?
Credit to Srilanka, they played well but then played like India when it came to the death. Made it too close for comfort, couldn't penetrate. Should have gotten more runs on the board, Tharanga was slow and the whole lower order just crumbled. Should have really got that 260.
On the whole, being a neutral spectator i'm happy that an Indian made his mark in the world cup :)
Joyce has failed failed failed and failed, and he's still in the side. What happened to strauss? DROP JOYCE FOR GODS SAKE!

[treva]

Devastated at the loss!
Great game of cricket though and the best since Ireland v Zimbabwe. Unlucky loss but some positives to take before a massive game against Australia!

With that come back today I still think that England have a big part to play in this World Cup...

[MUFC1987]

Looks like we're going to have to go the hard way to reach the semis, but I think we can beat Australia.

[evertonfan]

I do too. I was one of the only people who said we could beat them in CB Series and look what happened. We just need one of those days were everything clicks.

[Punk Sk8r!]

I'm going to be bold enough to say drop Flintoff, or drop him down the order. He's becoming pathetic with the bat, somewhat worse than an Irfan Pathan. I'd drop Vaughn to about 11 also. He's just a crap batsman in ODI's. If they can have "pure" wicketkeepers why can't they have pure captains? Although i do support Sri Lanka for the rest of this tournament, my heart went to the English when Ravi Bopara stepped out to bat. What a partnership!
Bell was unlucky, and KP=needs to convert the 30's, 40's, 50's into 100's. Obviously the middle order can't bat once KP is gone, rest for ofcourse Bell and Bopara (Nixon=lower order :p) So he has to take responsibility and get that 80-120, and get that not out. He's supposed to be one of the best ODI batsman in the world (I don't know how many times Hussain said that when KP was batting) so why doesn't he get that 100?
Credit to Srilanka, they played well but then played like India when it came to the death. Made it too close for comfort, couldn't penetrate. Should have gotten more runs on the board, Tharanga was slow and the whole lower order just crumbled. Should have really got that 260.
On the whole, being a neutral spectator i'm happy that an Indian made his mark in the world cup :)
Joyce has failed failed failed and failed, and he's still in the side. What happened to strauss? DROP JOYCE FOR GODS SAKE!

England do have a pure capitan don't they?

I mean Vaughan can't bat can't bowl, can just capitan good right?

And he's British :)

[RoboRocks]

I would prefer Vaughan to go and Collingwood to be Captian.
He certainly would make a great ODI captian.

[angryangy]

I thought it was a bit ironic that Murali didn't have a very good day, apart from when he was bowling to Pietersen, (1/9 in his first 4 overs, 0/39 in his last 6) just after he'd said he thinks he's the toughest bowler to face. Belief can be a powerful thing.

[MUFC1987]

I would prefer Vaughan to go and Collingwood to be Captian.
He certainly would make a great ODI captian.
Yes, lets burden another allrounder with the captaincy as it worked so well with Flintoff.

There's no point saying that Vaughan should be replaced as there is no available player who is better than him.

[irottev]

Murili aint going that red hot. I think players are finally working him out. He's been expensive lately and less wickets (though he still cleans up tailenders pretty easily)

Vaughan is not opener material, thats the problem. No hundreds. You want your openers to at least get the odd hunderd. His average is a joke really.

Unfortonatly, England don't seem to have too many to replace him and people are calling for Joyce's head as well. Vaughan may be better suited at 3. Then again, it's a place where you really don't want an easy wicket to fall, 2 early ones and your instantly in trouble.

[aussie1st]

Vaughan never has been a good ODI player, all the potential in the world just never has adapted to the ODI arena.

[Damo01]

Looks like we're going to have to go the hard way to reach the semis, but I think we can beat Australia.
I do too. I was one of the only people who said we could beat them in CB Series and look what happened. We just need one of those days were everything clicks.


Things has changed for Australia ever since the Commonwealth Bank and the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy Series. Considering the fact that hayden is in excellent form and a dangerous batsman out there right now throughout the ICC world Cup 2007 tournament because his bashing high score (over 150 runs) he getting lately is becoming phenomenal as a threat to other teams.

I say Australia probably is looking for a comeback against their loss against England, New Zealand and to win the 2007 cup.

[irottev]

Vaughan never has been a good ODI player, all the potential in the world just never has adapted to the ODI arena.

I myself doubt his potential. He's so consistantly bad, that if he scores a 50+ it's a surprise to me. If he was in the Aussie or NZ side, he'd probably be batting at 9. Infact he wouldn't be in the side at all.

[Sureshot]

Some of you seem to be.

I can understand frustration. But if your going to be frustrated, be frustrated that your players didn't finish the job, not that the opposition bowler possibly lost his run up with all the pressure he was under.



So we aren't allowed to show any emotion when we lose a game we should've won?

Oh and he didn't lose his run up irottev, he did it on purpose, grinning all the way, his action was identical to how his normal one is, he just didn't release the ball.

[Drewska]

What happened to strauss? DROP JOYCE FOR GODS SAKE!

We dropped Strauss because he was doing exactly what Vaughan and Joyce were doing, batting slowly then getting out for about 20. In my opinion he isn't good enough but he's the only option with Vaughan and Joyce playing like village cricketers.

[The_gas]

He was out of order. Gamesmanship or cheating? Fine line.

All credit to Nicko and Bopara though, almost digging us out of the hole that the upper order got us into yet again. I say promote KP up to 3, even open with him, to try and give us some momentum at the start of the innings.

Spot on, i think if he hadn't done that, bopara would have at least picked up two runs.

Still we played really well when bowling. Shame our batting let us down. Thats this world cup over for us now.

[PhilD123]

I listened to the last 20 overs of the England innings on Five Live Sports Extra, so haven't actually seen the incident where Fernando pulled out. I am presuming that Bopara actually started playing the shot then?

What a fantastic innings it was by Bopara and also by Nixon, to come back and almost win from the position that was set by the openers and the wrecklessness of KP and Flintoff. I'd like to see Bopara definitely ahead of Freddie in the batting order, last night it would have been good if Flintoff came in with about 5 overs to spare, but because of him batting at six, he came in early and went for another tame dismissal.

[aussie_ben91]

I don't see how Pietersen was wreckless when he batted at a strike-rate of 72 and one spliced off the edge of his bat when he was trying to force one through midwicket.

I've always liked the idea of Pietersen at 3. That's where you play you're best batsman and it doesn't get much better then Kevin Pietersen.

[PhilD123]

I don't see how Pietersen was wreckless when he batted at a strike-rate of 72 and one spliced off the edge of his bat when he was trying to force one through midwicket.
Because he didn't need to do that from the bowling of Murali, he should have waited until the best spinner in the world wasn't bowling :rolleyes: His ego got in the way of England's position.

[barmyarmy]

Because he didn't need to do that from the bowling of Murali, he should have waited until the best spinner in the world wasn't bowling :rolleyes: His ego got in the way of England's position.

I don't agree with that entirely. It was during a powerplay and England clearly felt that had to make the most of it - something they've been criticised for not doing.
As it was in this game they were chasing a small enough target for it to not really matter about the third power play and they could have kept knocking the 1s and 2s. I don't blame KP; he's got 50 again and without that we'd have got nowhere near.

[aussie_ben91]

It wasn't as if he jumped round the wicket and tried to reverse sweep him over deep square-leg for six with basically only one hand on the bat was it? :rolleyes:

[evertonfan]

For once i'm going to agree with Irrotev here. Although Fernando clearly cheated on that last 'ball' it still doesn't deter from the fact that we should have chased that target down before it came to the last ball. And though it was a 2 run defeat the bottom line is that we still lost and are further in the crapper in this tournament. I say we open with Bell and Strauss and put Vaughan at 3 for the Australia game as despite Vaughan being one of the worst ODI batsman ever, he always turns up against Australia.

[irottev]

So we aren't allowed to show any emotion when we lose a game we should've won?

Oh and he didn't lose his run up irottev, he did it on purpose, grinning all the way, his action was identical to how his normal one is, he just didn't release the ball.

You seem to have misread my post. I said feel frustrated, but the ones to blame are your own team in this circumstance. The game even going to the last ball in such an average run chase was bad. That should have been easy. Even if SL had 2 pretty good bowlers, Almost every team has 2.

Needing 3 off the last ball is bad pacing. I'm sure your all over it now anyway. Time to move on.

[PhilD123]

I don't agree with that entirely. It was during a powerplay and England clearly felt that had to make the most of it - something they've been criticised for not doing.
As it was in this game they were chasing a small enough target for it to not really matter about the third power play and they could have kept knocking the 1s and 2s. I don't blame KP; he's got 50 again and without that we'd have got nowhere near.
The thing is though, he'd already hit a four in that over, more 1's and 2's would have made quite a good over having already hit the boundary, especially against a bowler such as Murali.

He's gotta convert 50's into 100's. His last ODI hundred was in the ODI series against South Africa, thats a long way back and he's made a hell of a lot of 50's since then.

[barmyarmy]

The thing is though, he'd already hit a four in that over, more 1's and 2's would have made quite a good over having already hit the boundary, especially against a bowler such as Murali.

He wasn't trying to smack it miles. He was working it to leg and it caught the leading edge as it was the doosra not the off break.

[PhilD123]

He wasn't trying to smack it miles. He was working it to leg and it caught the leading edge as it was the doosra not the off break.
Yeah you're right I guess. No one can blame him for not picking Murali!

[aussie_ben91]

He's gotta convert 50's into 100's. His last ODI hundred was in the ODI series against South Africa, thats a long way back and he's made a hell of a lot of 50's since then.
His made a fair few not outs around the 80s, 90s from batting at 5 though. Should've made a ton against Australia if it wasn't for McGrath.

[PhilD123]

I've just been looking through a list of his innings scores, since the Pakistan tour he has got out so many times between 30 and 70. Just look at this World Cup, he got out after getting to 50 against New Zealand, he got 48 against Ireland when he looked set to get a big one and then again yesterday he gets out after getting to 50 against Sri Lanka.

[angryangy]

Because he didn't need to do that from the bowling of Murali, he should have waited until the best spinner in the world wasn't bowling :rolleyes: His ego got in the way of England's position.I think he went completely the other way. After Bell's run out he got completely defensive against Murali and totally lost his momentum. A player like Pietersen isn't at his best when he allows bowlers to attack freely; he must also attack and show the bowler that the battle will not be conducted entirely on his terms.

[Sureshot]

You seem to have misread my post. I said feel frustrated, but the ones to blame are your own team in this circumstance. The game even going to the last ball in such an average run chase was bad. That should have been easy. Even if SL had 2 pretty good bowlers, Almost every team has 2.

Needing 3 off the last ball is bad pacing. I'm sure your all over it now anyway. Time to move on.


I do blame our own players, but Fernando's pull out did affect the situation, I think.

[MUFC1987]

You seem to have misread my post. I said feel frustrated, but the ones to blame are your own team in this circumstance. The game even going to the last ball in such an average run chase was bad. That should have been easy. Even if SL had 2 pretty good bowlers, Almost every team has 2.

Needing 3 off the last ball is bad pacing. I'm sure your all over it now anyway. Time to move on.
Hang on, are YOU criticising people for the way they react after claiming that England didn't deserve to play in the CB finals, rather than blaming your own team for losing?

Hypocrite.

[Harrypotter_fan]

I think Ravi just lost his calm on the last ball as the ball was in the slot to hit over mid-off

[masterkhan]

Man I really Enjoy the England and Sri Lanka Match

[Hooper]

Yeah it was a good fight back from England, and what about Nixon's reverse sweep for six!

[Sureshot]

Yep, Nixons never going to appease his critics and tbh I still don't think he's quite suited (in Tests I just can't see it working) but he's done his job in ODIs and certainly done better than Jones and Read did, wouldn't you agree?

Really chuffed with how Bopara played too.

[John Adams]

Well I miss seeing Jones tbh. Least he was quiet lol

[Hooper]

Yeah, hes never going to play Test cricket for England and if he does....Shoot me! But he suits the one-day game fine, hes a good runner between the wickets slogs at the death and is a good encouraging keeper.

And in ODI's he has already surpassed Read and Jones definetlly.

[irottev]

Hang on, are YOU criticising people for the way they react after claiming that England didn't deserve to play in the CB finals, rather than blaming your own team for losing?

Hypocrite.

Theres a difference. Sigh. Did I blame the English bowlers for "cheating" and doing things like faking their runup and make stupid excuses like that for losing. Maybe I blamed an umpire, but I remember being critical about a few of our players.

The difference is, I was saying, we SHOULD have beaten England because we were a better side. Some of you are saying, we should have won because the bowler cheated on the last ball of the match. Same thing happened to us, apparantly McCullum "cheated" when he ran out Murili in a recent match. How is it cheatring? It aint against no rules. Blame Murili for leaving his crease, not McCullum for wanting to win the game.

[charith]

For once i'm going to agree with Irrotev here. Although Fernando clearly cheated on that last 'ball' it still doesn't deter from the fact that we should have chased that target down before it came to the last ball. And though it was a 2 run defeat the bottom line is that we still lost and are further in the crapper in this tournament. I say we open with Bell and Strauss and put Vaughan at 3 for the Australia game as despite Vaughan being one of the worst ODI batsman ever, he always turns up against Australia.

Clearly cheated? How was that cheating? Is there a rule that says you can't stop on your run and turn back and bowl? Ok fair enuff you can say that it affected boparara's concentration but wat about the bowler? It was equally tense for him too. I mean wat about sledgin and sayin words into the batsmens ears? Would'nt that affect their concentration too? But am sure you won't whine and groan about that if you lost coz that would be considerd gamesmanship. Comeon people. Grow up.

Wat if bopara pulled out and the situation was vice versa and ENG ended up winning? I wouldn't have had a problem at all. Its tense and none of us can really understand wat the players go through can we?

[evertonfan]

I wouldn't have had a problem if it wasn't intentional, but it clearly was. But who cares anymore anyway? We lost, end of.

[irottev]

I just saw the last over. Fernando only bowled length balls, it isn;t like he was bowling yorkers. The pull out ball, yeah looks intentional.

[angryangy]

Yep, Nixons never going to appease his critics and tbh I still don't think he's quite suited (in Tests I just can't see it working) but he's done his job in ODIs and certainly done better than Jones and Read did, wouldn't you agree?

Really chuffed with how Bopara played too.Yeah, they've been good. One or two good attacking batting recruits (ie, Cook) would really galvanise the top order, as well. I do still think the biggest change is that Read and Jones have been expected to play as batsmen; Nixon is being treated as a no. 8, which gives him a degree of freedom and he is excelling at it.

[Drewska]

Yeah, they've been good. One or two good attacking batting recruits (ie, Cook)

I think Cook would of been a big gamble coming in too this world cup with a lot of players being critised for scoring slowly, and he is our slowest scorer in tests. He did play two good innings at a S/R of 90 against Sri Lanka last year though but was never thought of since.

[Vcassano]

Benning would be good, he is an aggressive opener and has scored a magnificent 189 not out. Even Loye would have been better than Joyce if only to unsettle the bowlers.

[Sureshot]

Cook is an a different class to Joyce, Vaughan and Bell, he should be in the team. How many would say Atherton couldn't play ODIs, yet was relatively successful. Cook is our second most talented batsman after KP imo, he'd be able to play ODI cricket.


Benning?

Well he's an option, very aggressive player, bit of an unknown though.

[angryangy]

I think Cook would of been a big gamble coming in too this world cup with a lot of players being critised for scoring slowly, and he is our slowest scorer in tests. He did play two good innings at a S/R of 90 against Sri Lanka last year though but was never thought of since.Sometimes a bit of a risky assessment like that has to be made. Collingwood is a slow scorer in Test cricket, but can pick the field pretty well in ODIs and probably makes up for any lack of shots with good athleticism.

The thing with a young player like Cook, is you can pick him up now and build him into the kind of player you want. Hayden, Langer and Hussey were all criticised for not having enough shots early in their careers; great players can improve themselves. I tend to think the career internationals should be supported a lot, so they don't end up unfairly pigeonholed like Langer, who ended up being a fine one-day player for no reward.

A more viable ODI option might be that James Benning guy, he opens and seems very hungry for runs. T20 should make it easier to single out the useful ones and you would expect that is an advantage to England.

By and large, though, it seems like England's best one-day players never really make it into the side. A guy like Loye gets no time to prove himself, while a guy like Vaughan gets forever.

[irottev]

Yeah, where the hell is Cook? He can open aye?

Is there any news on Trescothick? England really used to depend on him at the top a lot.

[Sureshot]

Should be playing for Somerset in their warm up games....*toddles off to Somerset site*.


Well Somerset have played a pre season game but their site is one of those stupid premiumtv sites so I can't access the match report.

[Hooper]

I don't think Trescothick will ever play for England again after his last little episode.

[aussie1st]

I was surprised when Cook wasn't put in the ODI side for the CBS. He is a talent and has the temperament to score 100s as shown in his test career.

[Hooper]

But there is perception that he bats to slow.

[aussie_ben91]

Who says that wouldn't change if he was put in the ODI side?

[aussie1st]

But there is perception that he bats to slow.

SR of 86 in his 2 ODI games would say he is capable of scoring at a decent rate.

[irottev]

Good news that Treschothick is playing again. At least it's a start. He's probably my favourite England player. Can't say i'm a big Cook fan, but he is a pretty promicing young batsman.

[Vcassano]

Cook has a List A average of 22.11 and has scored no centuries, with a strike-rate of 68. That is probably why he is not in the team..

[evertonfan]

But there is perception that he bats to slow.

Collingwood bats slow in Test matches but look what he can do in the ODI format. What's to say Cook couldn't adapt in a similar fashion?

[Ponting_14]

Aussies can finish Vaughan

From Robert Craddock in Antigua
April 07, 2007 TWO years ago Michael Vaughan triumphantly raised the Ashes, but Australia has the chance for a major square-up on Monday (AEST) by leaving his one-day career on the verge of extinction.

England will be all but out of the World Cup if Australia wins and Vaughan, who has a dreadful one-day record, is likely to go down with the ship.

If England do not make the semi-finals it is likely Vaughan's one-day career will end, even though he is considered certain to stay on as Test skipper.

Australia is aware that Vaughan, who at times has batted as well as any modern batsmen against it in Tests, is a significantly frailer force in one-day matches.



http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,21517134-23212,00.html

[evertonfan]

And how exactly do the Aussies know for sure that his career is going to end should we lose? They been giving a lump of money to Fletcher or something? :rolleyes:

[John Adams]

I hope Vaughan dun retire soon, I like him :) He was the only Englishman who spoke on air in that 20 20 match early January as well. He's a cool gentleman that looks in charge out in the field :)

Unlike Freddie....lol

[Drewska]

I wouldn't mind him retiring after the world cup as he is basically useless with only his captaincy which is great but you need runs/wickets along with it. But i'm betting for him to get a good score on Sunday as he usually always does, his last one day fifty was against Australia and he has a good test record against them.

[angryangy]

I hope Vaughan dun retire soon, I like him :) He was the only Englishman who spoke on air in that 20 20 match early January as well. He's a cool gentleman that looks in charge out in the field :)

Unlike Freddie....lolWell, this is the whole dilemma for England, isn't it? Their other choices for captain... who else? Trescothick is out of the picture, Strauss can't hold his place in the ODI team and Flintoff has been alienated in more ways than one. Seems like Vaughan's retirement/sacking from ODIs would land the captaincy with Collingwood.

[John Adams]

Hmm yea I guess he's ok. The hero of the last CBA series as Captain huh. May do the team good morale wise lol

I wish Vaughan performed though...

[evertonfan]

I can only hope that Vaughan responds to all this criticism in the way he should do; With runs. If none of our players score a 100 on Sunday then I highly doubt that we'll win.

[Hooper]

Bangladesh are batting first and starting slow again..Why are they slow scorers?

[Will_NA]

Bangladesh are batting first and starting slow again..Why are they slow scorers?

Because they know their limitations. If they try and smash the saffas to all parts, they'll be bowled out in 25 overs for 120

[angryangy]

I can only hope that Vaughan responds to all this criticism in the way he should do; With runs. If none of our players score a 100 on Sunday then I highly doubt that we'll win.I like a good innings as much as the next man, but there's only so much you can hope for from a guy who averages less than 27.

[evertonfan]

Yes i'm of much the same opinion. But you might as well live in hope.

[John Adams]

Nel makes me laugh. If I were the batsman Graham Smith would lodge an official complaint against me coz I'd be :laugh instead of batting haha

[ZexyZahid]

Nel gets three wickets and I believe this is his first match in the World Cup. Personally I didn't understand why South Africa let him play earlier.

[PhilD123]

On the subject of Cook in ODI cricket. I would perhaps give him a go. In the two games that he has played against Sri Lanka he got 39 from 38 and 41 from 54. Not bad for someone who people say would play slow in ODI's.

[Drewska]

Nel gets three wickets and I believe this is his first match in the World Cup. Personally I didn't understand why South Africa let him play earlier.

Probably because he probably will be erratic against bigger teams. I hope he's only in because Hall is injured, Hall has looked v.good so far.

[AusRule]

well the banga's look like their only going to make around 220 which the Saffas should knock of easily but you never know they do have that weird curse in World Cups they have :gundown so the banga's might have chance as i write Ashraful playing a pretty good knock might get them upwards of that

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Ashraful deserve a Hundred , though not so ball left , and he cant go too much aggresive now

Ahsraful gone , he deserved that hundred :crying

[ZexyZahid]

Bangladesh scored 251-8. A good score for them. But if South Africa will start with a good opening partnership Bangladesh's chances are slim. Also Gibbs has been injured.

[AusRule]

Ashraful deserved to make a hundred but wasn't to be and talk about bad luck out on the Devils number 87

[Hooper]

250 aint bad for Bangas! Maybe a competitive game?

[Will_NA]

On the subject of Cook in ODI cricket. I would perhaps give him a go. In the two games that he has played against Sri Lanka he got 39 from 38 and 41 from 54. Not bad for someone who people say would play slow in ODI's.

I agree. He can't do any worse than Joyce or Vaughan. I expected him to be in the CW Bank series.

[angryangy]

Really good innings to watch, catch the highlights if you can. On his day, Mohammad Ashraful plays with an elegance comparable to players like Damien Martyn or Mark Waugh or David Gower. However, it seems like months between those days. Aftab Ahmed's power shots were pretty lusty as well and Mashrafe Mortaza showed his pinch hitting skill yet again.

The downside is, I still don't feel like they'll learn too much from this, I mean the innings was all about playing properly for as long as possible, then stepping up a gear; what will be remembered is a big dominant score at better than a-run-a-ball. They'll each want to be that guy, instead of the guy Ashraful was for most of his innings. Even the way he and Aftab Ahmed went down was too familiar, the shot was good, but the fielder was right under it. Seems like there's not enough tactical training going on.

[masterkhan]

Come on bangladash It would be so good if bangladash beat south africa

[Will_NA]

I want a Bangla win even though I like SA. 250 is an excellent score for them. More than England would make

[Hooper]

More than England would make

No Doubt;)

The Proteas will get this easily though, how bad is Gibbs' injury? Missed that bit?

Man theres swing early!

[Will_NA]

No Doubt;)

The Proteas will get this easily though, how bad is Gibbs' injury? Missed that bit?

Man theres swing early!

Don't underestimate Bangladesh's bowling attack. They are more than capable like they showed against India.

[evertonfan]

England could do with Safrica losing here. Come on Bangladesh.

[Will_NA]

England could do with Safrica losing here. Come on Bangladesh.

We're not gonna get through in their place but their confidence could be hurt. However, it could make them more hungry to win and demolish us :(

[ZexyZahid]

Now this is surprising. Smith is gone early, while de Villiers is still there.

[masterkhan]

Good start from bangladash let hope they keep this up

[Ireland_Rule]

64/3 now, let's hope Bangladesh pull off a shock here, come on Razzak and Rafique!

[Hooper]

64/3 with no Gibbs? Will it happen again? Another minnow Triumph! The slow bowlers are bowling well arent they? the Run Rate is very slow too!

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Cmon Bangla this is your day :)

[ZoraxDoom]

CMON BANGLA!!!! :)
Sakib yet to bowl. RRR above 6 ATM, if Sakib can keep things tight too (You know they are going to go after him), and if the Saffars need more than 90 in the final ten, Bangla are in with a great chance...

PRINCE GONE! :D:D:D
WHOOOOOOOO!!!!
67/4, Aftab is a brill fielder :)

[aditya123]

Bangla are looking good to create yet another upset of the WC which might throw this world cup back wide open !
GO BANGLA GO !!!

[isrararrafi]

Bangladesh is gonna win this for sure :)

[Indyan]

Ooh. Almost got stumped!
Can bangladesh pull off another upset?

[Hooper]

5-87? Its all over now SA!

[PhilD123]

Boucher gone! Thats pretty crucial for Bangladesh. Surely we are going to see the 3rd great upset of this world cup.

And this could help England as if we can beat them and Bangladesh carry on to beat them, then they will have lost 3 games, including the Aussie game.

[Will_NA]

Boucher gone! Thats pretty crucial for Bangladesh. Surely we are going to see the 3rd great upset of this world cup.

And this could help England as if we can beat them and Bangladesh carry on to beat them, then they will have lost 3 games, including the Aussie game.

That's a big 'if', Phil. :p

[Indyan]

Another gone!

[PhilD123]

That's a big 'if', Phil. :p
It is indeed, but I wouldn't bet against it. If we dont beat them then we are basically out anyway.

[Will_NA]

You'd expect us to advance above Ire, Ban and WIn but not above the rest.

Anyway, back to this match. There are still 3 class batsman out there. Don't write saffa off yet

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Where is Mickey Arthur i want to see his face :p

[ZoraxDoom]

Saffars 91/6, RRR now 7.31, Gibbs and Pollock batting.
CMON BANGLADESH! :D :)
What a win. Now an upset against Eng/WI, and beat Ireland, and it would have been a great WC for Bangla :)

[Will_NA]

Saffars 91/6, RRR now 7.31, Gibbs and Pollock batting.
CMON BANGLADESH! :D :)
What a win. Now an upset against Eng/WI, and beat Ireland, and it would have been a great WC for Bangla :)

Ok, don't get too far ahead of yourself! :p

[Hooper]

What a win.

Its not over yet, calm down mate.

[Will_NA]

Its not over yet, calm down mate.

Well, apparently, the rest of the match doesn't matter ;)

[Indyan]

Thats run out! I am sure.

[Drewska]

If Bangladesh win this then this World Cup maybe wide open, seeing as South Africa dropping points here would give England a huge chance of qualifying (as long as we don't lose to Bangla).

[Adarsh]

I really don't see why England should be so happy? If Bangladesh can beat India and South Africa, surely they have a chance of beating England ?!

[Indyan]

Well, even then England would fancy beating Bangladesh more than the Aussies.

[Drewska]

I really don't see why England should be so happy? If Bangladesh can beat India and South Africa, surely they have a chance of beating England ?!

I don't think we do upsets, we do perilously close to upsets :p.

[evertonfan]

England are so happy because it allows us a bit of leighway against Australia in the sense that even if we get beat by them, we still have a chance of qualification.

[Drewska]

And this could give an incentive to someone like Flintoff to get his act together with bat & ball.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

It will be a huge victory for Bangla :happy

[Indyan]

Another one gone!

[evertonfan]

And this could give an incentive to someone like Flintoff to get his act together with bat & ball.

Not as much as a pint of Guiness would. I don't see why they don't just play Flintoff when drunk; He clearly focuses more when under the influence...

That's pretty much it now. It's gonna take something remarkable to pull Safrica out of the crapper here.

[ZexyZahid]

Nel is gone and Bangladesh is very likely to win this match.

[Drewska]

This game is gonna be over before you can say "Freddie Likes Beer" with Ntini and Lagerveldt batting.

[evertonfan]

Well we could be in for a bit of a cheery slog first.

And how do you know Fred likes beer? He might be more of an alchopop man. ;)

[Will_NA]

Not as much as a pint of Guiness would. I don't see why they don't just play Flintoff when drunk; He clearly focuses more when under the influence...

That's pretty much it now. It's gonna take something remarkable to pull Safrica out of the crapper here.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/8452/fredsz2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Flintoff: Das me fif lads, oo nex? (That's my fifth lads, who's next?)

[Indyan]

The question now is can Bangla get a 100 runs plus win?

[F4rrukh]

Bangladesh is playing so good! :eek: (not watching the match, score off cricinfo). They are gonna beat South Africa, I am thinking of supporting Bangladesh from now on..

[sohum]

Great performance by the Bangladeshis. They looked to be at sea in facing the slower bowlers. Should win this one comfortably bar a miracle of miracles. :)

[ZexyZahid]

I will be waiting to see a match of Bangladesh vs England. :)

[rashik007]

yeah we r gonna win this one. Anyone fancies us against england??

[ZexyZahid]

Bangladesh wins with 67 runs! :happy

[rashik007]

yahoooooooooo we won

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Bangladesh won :clap :happy

[Afridi no 1]

Well played Bangladesh :clap

[ZoraxDoom]

I fancy we've got a fair shot against England and Windies :)

[Will_NA]

Any team has a shot against England and West Indies

[ZexyZahid]

Any team has a shot against England and West Indies

This was a great one! :laugh

[Ireland_Rule]

Well played Bangladesh, well done.

[aussie1st]

That more like it, just when it looked like Bangladesh was just making the numbers they produce. Congrats to Bangladesh beaten the number 1 ranked team for the 2nd time.

[Will_NA]

Looks like the tigers are the lion killers ;)

[evertonfan]

Anyone fancies us against england??

I'd say pretty much the whole of England do.

[Oddball]

Sickening day for South Africa. I think of all the cricketers who fought so hard to make SA the proud sporting nation we are only to see a bunch of children ruin it all. I know its only a super 8 game but, i mean, how does a team pick itself up after this. Theres not munch to be happy about in this country and I'm tired of World Cup dissapointments.

Please understand.

[Will_NA]

In the past two years, Bangladesh have beaten Australia, New Zealand and India. Don't hang yourself over this

[Drewska]

In the past two years, Bangladesh have beaten Australia, New Zealand and India. Don't hang yourself over this

Well I think he means South Africa have had such bad luck in the World Cup, and today they come up against a Bangladesh team playing well beyond them selves, leaving South Africa's position in jepordy.

[Will_NA]

I wouldn't panic. They still have to face England, WI, Ireland and NZ. You'd expect them to win at least 3 of them. The again, you would have expected them to beat Bangladesh :p

[cric_craze]

england need flintoff to fire or they'll lose

[sohum]

I wouldn't panic. They still have to face England, WI, Ireland and NZ. You'd expect them to win at least 3 of them. The again, you would have expected them to beat Bangladesh :p
By at least 3, you mean all 3? :p

[kodos]

Despite this loss I still see SA making it through to the semis unless England can win probably 2/3 remaining matches. The big match to me will be SA V England which will probably decide who will make it through to the semis.

This is a fantastic win to the Bangladeshis and to me whenever Bangladesh wins now is by no fluke or by luck. They have already slayed Australia, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and now SA. Ashraful delivers once again and his innings really elevated them to victory much like the game against Aus. but the spin bowlers showed their worth on a turning track.

[irottev]

They only beat us in a warm up game. We have never lost to them in an ODI OR Test. And in the game which did count, we thrashed em!

SA lost. There you go, I've been saying they'll struggle to make the top4. Unfortonatly with the West Indies and England not performing and with tough games ahead, they should still make it. Ntini got walloped. I think SA paid for their silly batting order changes. You get the feeling that they wanted to bash the runs like they have been the last few occasions. Stupid batting.

[aussie1st]

Don't really see why they would change their batting order anyway. Gibbs has already shown he can hit if big and made a 50 batting at 7.

[ZexyZahid]

And congratulations to Australia. They're the number one again.

[sohum]

Don't really see why they would change their batting order anyway. Gibbs has already shown he can hit if big and made a 50 batting at 7.
Gibbs had to come in at number 7 because he was off the field nursing his injured calf for too long when South Africa were fielding, to come up the order.

[Cricketman]

Yahoo Bangla!
Ashraful again slammin the 1's to bits! Gratz to bangla!
I feel better now :)

[aussie1st]

Gibbs had to come in at number 7 because he was off the field nursing his injured calf for too long when South Africa were fielding, to come up the order.

Oh ok make sense then as I didn't get why they would send up Kemp over him.

[Hooper]

And congratulations to Australia. They're the number one again.

I knew that wouldn't last long, Number 1 status!

South Africa can't win the World Cup with inconsistent performances like this. And as Gibbs was saying after the Aussie Game, they need to stabilize their middle order. The top 3 are in good shape, but everyone else has failed with the bat in almost every game.

[rashik007]

Yahoo Bangla!
Ashraful again slammin the 1's to bits! Gratz to bangla!
I feel better now :)

:mad Could u pls not refer us as bangla we prefer bengali or Bangladesh
as know bangla is the name of our language its the same as calling India as Hindi!

[LA ICE-E]

but then aren't people from bangladesh called bangladeshi?


The Proteas will get this easily though
The did get it easily huh?

Well I think he means South Africa have had such bad luck in the World Cup, and today they come up against a Bangladesh team playing well beyond them selves, leaving South Africa's position in jepordy.
I don't think bangladesh played beyond themselves. They knew they can win and they did.

[Hooper]

Well, that was before they collapsed lol. Well, the Bangas made me eat my dust;)

[LA ICE-E]

I hope this will shut the haters up about bangladesh and ireland making the world cup boring. That's not been the case they made it more interesting and exciting. Both deserve to be there. Bangladesh improved a lot and they have a good structure to bring up young talents and have a good u19 team, the futures looking good for them. As for Ireland, they have been producing some talents too, and have a ok structure; its just that england needs to stop "stealing" their talents. But bottom line for deserve to be their and should be proud of themselves, while the haters needs to stop hating.

[Indyan]

Sickening day for South Africa. I think of all the cricketers who fought so hard to make SA the proud sporting nation we are only to see a bunch of children ruin it all. I know its only a super 8 game but, i mean, how does a team pick itself up after this. Theres not munch to be happy about in this country and I'm tired of World Cup dissapointments.

Please understand.
Yeah. Word Cups have been bad luck from SA beginning from 91-92 edition to the last one.

[irottev]

Gibbs had to come in at number 7 because he was off the field nursing his injured calf for too long when South Africa were fielding, to come up the order.

Ahh, thanks. I didn't see it live and just saw the highlights then. SA got a bit hard done by with the umpires when bowling on a few occasions. Then again, they should have made easy work of 250. They fell to some soft dismissals - caught and bowled, caught at midon/off, Smith and DeVilliers being clean bowled by just missing the ball.

[sohum]

Ahh, thanks. I didn't see it live and just saw the highlights then. SA got a bit hard done by with the umpires when bowling on a few occasions. Then again, they should have made easy work of 250. They fell to some soft dismissals - caught and bowled, caught at midon/off, Smith and DeVilliers being clean bowled by just missing the ball.
They just weren't patient enough on the pitch. Their top order crumbled to extravagant shots and their middle order really hasn't had too much work to do.

[Hooper]

And What was with de Villiers' shot, when he got bowled? He normally doesnt do that?! Match Fixing:spy lol

[angryangy]

I hope this will shut the haters up about bangladesh and ireland making the world cup boring. That's not been the case they made it more interesting and exciting. Both deserve to be there. Bangladesh improved a lot and they have a good structure to bring up young talents and have a good u19 team, the futures looking good for them. As for Ireland, they have been producing some talents too, and have a ok structure; its just that england needs to stop "stealing" their talents. But bottom line for deserve to be their and should be proud of themselves, while the haters needs to stop hating.Don't be stupid. The World Cup isn't about winning the odd game, it's about winning a lot of games. Can you honestly say it takes six games to determine whether Bangladesh are one of the four best teams at the world cup? Fair enough they will probably come away as not the worst team, but there's still a long road ahead for the young Bangladesh. We know they have skill and talent, but it is not in use in almost every match, like the best teams. We've seen good innings from Ashraful before, but in between good innings are what any other player would call form slumps.

As for Ireland, they wouldn't have the side they have if they didn't "steal" Australians. This isn't a point of heredity or birthright or pointless nationalism; arguably their best players weren't produced by their system.

[kookaburra69]

ive just seen the highlights of the south africa-bangladesh game,im impressed with the way bangla played,brilliant fielding and great bowling won them the game

congrads to bangladesh:)

[Hooper]

From youtube? lol. Yeah that Pollock Run-out was an absolute bueaty and the way that Spinner with the zinc on his face was running around to field off his own bowling was spectacular.

[LA ICE-E]

Don't be stupid. The World Cup isn't about winning the odd game, it's about winning a lot of games. Can you honestly say it takes six games to determine whether Bangladesh are one of the four best teams at the world cup? Fair enough they will probably come away as not the worst team, but there's still a long road ahead for the young Bangladesh. We know they have skill and talent, but it is not in use in almost every match, like the best teams. We've seen good innings from Ashraful before, but in between good innings are what any other player would call form slumps.

As for Ireland, they wouldn't have the side they have if they didn't "steal" Australians. This isn't a point of heredity or birthright or pointless nationalism; arguably their best players weren't produced by their system.
Uh what?!?! That wasn't an odd game. They have a chance to make it to the semis, i don't count them out on beating any of the teams that are coming up. They might win them, they might not but that's sports. I don't think any team use all their talent in almost every match. Ashraful's been performing since he's been back.

Hmm, They have only 4 overseas players and the rest is homegrown. But still you would do well to read this- http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/wc2007/content/story/287886.html
Really? Then how were they produced?

And how was I stupid, saying that both the teams deserve their spots? Hell no, I'm not. They definitely deserve their spots and have proven it- Irelands been competitive and never giving up while bangladesh just justified their spot by beating south africa. Both deserves their spot more than big money- india and pakistan. But i guess hating like this will never stop. Even if they won the world cup you guys would find to way to take deserved credit away from them.

[John Adams]

Well done bangla, oops I meant bengali, you played like world champs :)

[Ireland_Rule]

Most people who say Bangla and Ireland don't deserve to be in the Super 8 are either Pakistan or India fans who are in denial. Face it, you get beaten fair and square, Bangladesh have proved they deserve to be in the Super 8 and even if Ireland don't win another game, they beat Pakistan and nearly beat Zimbabwe for gods sake!

Oh and you're moaning about Ireland, we have 4 players who were born overseas, what about England? Strauss, Pietersen, Joyce. You're just trying to find an excuse now but Bray, Langford-Smith, Botha and Johnston all live in Ireland and are now Irish citizens.

Oh and about you saying the WC is about winning lots of games, well not it isn't, the game of Cricket has been done a lot of good by teams like Ireland and Bangladesh, a lot of other countries will see this and think they can do the same.

[Oddball]

I wish Lance Klusener would come back.... Justin Kemp is no Lance Klusener, Justin Kemp useless.

[andrew_nixon]

As for Ireland, they wouldn't have the side they have if they didn't "steal" Australians. This isn't a point of heredity or birthright or pointless nationalism; arguably their best players weren't produced by their system.Sorry, but that's just rubbish. The four non-Irish born players all moved to Ireland for non-cricketing reasons. And their best players weren't produced by their system? Ed Joyce? Eoin Morgan? Niall O'Brien?


Oh and you're moaning about Ireland, we have 4 players who were born overseas, what about England? Strauss, Pietersen, Joyce.And Dalrymple.

Of course everyone in Australia's squad was born in Australia weren't they?

[John Adams]

No Andrew Simonds is your kin folk haha

[Drewska]

Pah, Symonds should be playing for us anyway as he has no real connection with Australia being born in bloody Birmingham to Windies parents.

I wish Lance Klusener would come back.... Justin Kemp is no Lance Klusener, Justin Kemp useless.

I agree with that, i've been pushing for The Zulu to come back ever since he had that amazing season with Northants, 6 Hundreds and 30-odd wickets and that's only first class. Kemp seems like the same sort of player but lacks the cricketing brain and class of Klusener, even if he is 35.

[WORLD CHAMPIONS]

Pah, Symonds should be playing for us anyway as he has no real connection with Australia being born in bloody Birmingham to Windies parents.



What u mean by that Roy will play for England :p , he will never ;)

[Hooper]

Pah, Symonds should be playing for us anyway as he has no real connection with Australia being born in bloody Birmingham to Windies parents.



Hes a true blue Aussie having lived here most his life, that's like saying Scotty Styris should be playin' for Aus, but he's a proud Kiwi.

[andrew_nixon]

Pah, Symonds should be playing for us anyway as he has no real connection with Australia being born in bloody Birmingham to Windies parents.It is annoying that he did once sign a document saying that he was comitted to playing for England.

[John Adams]

He's a fisherman in Queensland as well..lol that wasn't cricket related :rolleyes:

[Drewska]

It is annoying that he did once sign a document saying that he was comitted to playing for England.

So we can sew him? :D :p

[Hooper]

It is annoying that he did once sign a document saying that he was comitted to playing for England.


Yeah, I read about that in his Auto-Biography. But he only did that so he could play County Cricket.


And John Adams, What did that post accomplish? lol.

[John Adams]

I wouldnt have a clue, I just didn't want to feel left out haha

But yea I guess he's an Aussie as you say, in heart anyway...

[evertonfan]

It was almost as if South Africa couldn't be bothered batting out 50 overs and wanted it to be done by the 30 over mark with the way their top order played. With the greatest respect to Bangladesh, a lot of the Safricans got themselves out. Of course it was down to the tightness with which the Bangladeshi's bowled though.

I've a good feeling about England today. I feel we might be able to lose by less than 100 runs...

[John Adams]

Englands playing who today?

[Drewska]

I think we might avoid an innings defeat with Bopara's cool head :p.

Englands playing who today?

Peru...who d'you think? Your head been buried in sand the last week :p?

[evertonfan]

Englands playing who today?

Lowly Australia...

[Laanie]

They playing Australia.

Im very dissapointed that the proteas collapsed like that, Im known to be a die-hard supporter, but I dont see them winning from here.

[John Adams]

Peru...who d'you think? Your head been buried in sand the last week :p?

Yea in the sands of time :rolleyes:

now I hope we kick Englands behind lol

Thanks evertonfan and Laanie for your kind replies at least :)

[aus5892]

Carn the Aussies tonight, no KP means no England, although we already knew that.

[Ponting_14]

Anyone got the line-ups for tonights game?

[aussie1st]

Aussies should be Hodge in for Watson rest the same as last game.

[Ponting_14]

Bangladesh ...... me by the way anyone... I put all of my vCash money on SA to win lol :help :eek:

[evertonfan]

Carn the Aussies tonight, no KP means no England, although we already knew that.

Nice to see my joke got through. :p

I'd imagine England will keep the same team as on Wednesday only with Strauss replacing Joyce.

[Ponting_14]

Aussies should be Hodge in for Watson rest the same as last game.

What about England? I hear Strauss is in.

[aus5892]

Aussies should be Hodge in for Watson rest the same as last game.
Hope it's Hodgey, can't believe the idiot selectors dropped him in the first place, "let's drop our most in form batsman for an injury return when we don't even really need the win to get into the Super 8s." But it might be Mitchell Johnson or Stuart Clark if the selectors want an extra paceman instead.

[evertonfan]

Oh please god play Mitchell Johnson; It'll at least give us a chance.

[Hooper]

I think they need a bowler, Symmo wont bowl his seamers, so they will nead a 4th seamer. Or else we will have to rely on spinners in Pup, Roy and Hodgey.

[aussie_ben91]

TBH, if given the chance I can see Hodge doing a better job with the ball then either Johnson or Clark tonight.

Hes a true blue Aussie having lived here most his life, that's like saying Scotty Styris should be playin' for Aus, but he's a proud Kiwi.
I doubt he'd make it into our International side anyway. Smart move on his part.
It's a shame countries are 100% native anymore.

[aussie1st]

Don't think they will decrease the batting especially since Hodgey off spinners have been going alright.

[aus5892]

Oh please god play Mitchell Johnson; It'll at least give us a chance.
This is the guy who destroyed you in the Champions Trophy, despite being quite ordinary. But that is England's batting :p.

[Will_NA]

By at least 3, you mean all 3? :p

There were 4 teams :p

[Hooper]

What spinners were good against Scotland, that's it. I wouldn't want him having to bowl 6-8 Overs.

[aussie1st]

England won the toss and are batting. Hodge in as expected and Strauss in over Joyce.

[aussie_ben91]

Damn that sucks. I was hoping we'd bat first. :(

[Will_NA]

I'm glad Strauss is back but why isn't he opening?

[aussie_ben91]

All of the former cricketers are to nice on Stuart Clark.

[aussie1st]

Looks like Bell will be walking at the bowlers although wouldn't expect him to be walking against Tait ;) Solid enough start from Bracken.

[aussie_ben91]

LOL, Vaughan tries to advance and splits the gap between 1st and 3rd slip.

[Hooper]

Haha! Taity Got Vaughan. Man he cant bat can he?

[aussie1st]

He is no more now :) Good ball from Tait and Vaughan did the rest.

[ZexyZahid]

Vaughan is gone early. When will England drop him? Off course the opposition wouldn't mind seeing him batting.

[aussie_ben91]

This is going to be Tait's day.

[aussie1st]

Looks like it so far, kept it tight and economical. However not even on his day will that ball going way down leg be given ;)

[aus5892]

Good stuff from Taity, early strike is crucial.

[aussie_ben91]

What sort of paddicks are these guys playing on? Geez Louise.

There's a big hump of grass right behind the pitch aswell.

[ZexyZahid]

It would be funny to see Strauss getting a fifty. At least that will give an indication who to drop.

[Hooper]

It wouldnt be funny. I hope gets yorked and made to look a fool.

[aussie1st]

Tait does it again this time to the leftie :) That wild wide actually helped this time!
Wonder what Ponting will do now that Tait has 2 wickets.

[aussie_ben91]

No fifty today. Let's see Tait rip through England and stick it to the poms.

[ZexyZahid]

Taut has gone another one. Strauss is gone!

[Hooper]

Haha Pathetic Top order batting from England, Looks like it will fall on Bell, KP and Colly like always:)

[ZexyZahid]

It wouldnt be funny. I hope gets yorked and made to look a fool.

You were almost right. :clap But it was only an inside edge.

Pietersen is in. Check out what Ponting said about him. And what a coincidence. Tait is still in his opening spell and will face Pietersen.

"If Glenn could hit him in the ribs, break his ribs and have him retire that would be lovely," Ponting said. But Ponting said the main tactic would be to greet the dangerous Pietersen by bringing Shaun Tait into the attack.

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/surfer/archives/2007/04/hit_kp_in_the_r.php

[aussie_ben91]

Kyle Mills, the New Zealand fast bowler, has taken his own aim at Matthew Hayden, calling him a “bully who tends to pick on guys he perceives as weaker players”. “I can't imagine him saying anything to Shane Bond.”
Bhahahah, did Mills not see what Hayden did to Pollock? Who at the time had a rating of over 900.

[Turbanation]

England are Collapsing

[aussie1st]

McGrath being taken to early in particular by Bell. Yet to face KP but it was like he was bowling to KP.

[Eddie]

i'd love tait to be bowling while KP is in, Tait servers-up sooo many 4-balls, KP will most likely fill his boots..

England top order a joke as usual, may as well open with KP he always in within 10 overs these days anyway.

wonder what Alistair Cook is doing right now?

[ZexyZahid]

Turbanation, you've got a funny signature there. After my shaadi I will become a patch. :laugh

Anyway, England will have to rely on Pietersen again.

[IloveGilly]

Pietersen will be the key man as usual.

[aussie_ben91]

Pietersen and Ponting going at it. No better batsman in the world. ;)

[Eddie]

any Aussie's explain why u pick an extra batsman today?

strangely negative tactic?