Story ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies [ICC06]

[The Mongrel]

The Build Up - West Indies v Ireland

Nation: The West Indies
Flag:

Coach: Bennett King
ODI World Ranking: 4
Status: Full Test and ODI Status
Previous World Cups
1975: Won
1979: Won
1983: Runners up
1987: First round
1992: 6th place
1996: Semi Finals
1999: First round
2003: First round


Side to face Ireland
CH Gayle
S Ganga
*BC Lara
S Chanderpaul
RR Sarwan
RO Hinds
?CS Baugh
DJJ Bravo
DR Smith
RPO Nurse
KCB Jeremy

Key Player: Brian Lara

The West Indian captain may be 37 years old, but his efforts last season can not be ignored as the left hander amassed 974 ODI runs at an average of 51, moving him to number three in the world. His captaincy can be lacklustre at stages, but his awesome batting will hopefully be inspiring to the rest of the West Indian top order.

Key Player: Ryan Hinds

A much maligned player the past, Hinds turned his career around in 2006 as he began the transition from bits and pieces Barbados all rounder, to premier West Indian batsman and slow left armer. Was found out a bit at test level with uninspiring efforts, but his average of 40 with the bat and 24 with the ball at ODI level was more than helpful in the West Indies moving to number four in the world.

Key Player: Ramnaresh Sarwan

The most underrated player in the ODI world, Sarwan averages 46 with the bat, but is often overshadowed by the veterans in Lara and Chanderpaul. Averaged 52 with the bat in 2006 with eight half centuries and a high score of 97.

Authors Note: The West Indies are my tip as winners of the World Cup. Not only do the batsman in Gayle, Lara, Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Hinds look a formidable lineup, all the bowlers (Hinds, Bravo, Smith, Nurse and Keremy) averaged less than thirty with the ball last season.

Nation: Ireland
Flag:

Coach: Adrian Birrell
ODI World Ranking: 13
Status: ICC Associate Member
Previous World Cups
The 2007 tournament will be the first for Ireland


Side to face the West Indies
AZ Aitkenhead (ODI Debut)
JP Bray
?NJ O'Brien (ODI Debut)
NE Boseley (ODI Debut)
PG Gillespie
*AR White
DI Joyce
AD Poynter (ODI Debut)
JAM Molins (ODI Debut)
WK McCallan
GJ Thompson (ODI Debut)

Key Player: Andrew White

Ireland's captain and Northants batsman Andrew White looms as Ireland's big weapon when you consider he averages an astonishing 52 in first class cricket. His off spin is also just as handy, and he may be called upon against the West Indian middle order if the pace bowling gets carted.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Lara leads Windies to hometown victory

Simply the best: Brian Lara was all class as he lead the West Indies to a win in their opening match over Ireland. He scored 72* but his partner Ramnaresh Sarwan, pictured, only managed nine.

 

[The Mongrel]

Ponting: "Tait to debut"

Shaun Tait, Australia's young up and coming fast bowler, will make his debut against South Africa says Australian captain Ricky Ponting. Tait, 24, has represented Australia in three test matches, but his bowling has been largely unsuccessful as he averages 50.

"Taity looked very good in the Fox Sports Cup for the Redbacks last year, and now he's fully fit he is going to be a big part of our team," Ponting said. "The group stages are where we can try out some of the younger players, and Taity will get his chance against South Africa, and Marshy will have his shot against the Netherlands."

Sangakkara: "We can improve"

Following Sri Lanka's five wicket victory over Bangladesh, wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara believes his side will need to improve if they are to challenge for the World Cup.

Sri Lanka lost five wickets as they chased down 141, which Sangakkara said was not good enough.

"Our bowling was supurb, but certainly our batting left a bit to be desired," the vice-captain said infront of various media members. "Certainly Jaya (wardene) played well, but myself, Marvan (Atapattu) and Sanath (Jayauriya) would love to improve in our upcoming matches."

Inzamam shocked at stunning loss

Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq expressed his frustration at Pakistan's shock loss to struggling Zimbabwe. In an exclusive interview with Pakistan's Channel 4, Inzamam stressed the point that Pakistan where eager to turnaround their poor showing and win their next match.

"We player poorly, our batting was passable but it (Pakistan's bowling) was just terrible apart from Asif."

Pakistan must win against West Indies on Sunday, and the hosts will certainly be attempting to knock the Pakistan side out. If Zimbabwe defeat the Irish, they will be certain starters in the Super 8s.

World Cup Statistics​

Most Runs: MJ Clarke (Aus): 143
Most Wickets: DJ Cullen (Aus); TK Canning (NZ); Mohammad Asif (Pak), ZE Surkaki (Can): 5
Highest Average (Batting): HH Gibbs (RSA): 124.00

----

 

[kookaburra69]

wow!!! wot would you call this? a quad18thil post???
good story and presentation mate

 

[The Mongrel]

Thanks mate.

vs.

Australia vs. South Africa
April 13, 2007​

Line Ups

Australia
?AC Gilchrist
SM Katich
*RT Ponting
MJ Clarke
MJ Cosgrove
PA Jaques
MEK Hussey
B Lee
JN Gillespie
SW Tait (ODI Debut)
DJ Cullen

Changes: Phil Jaques comes in for Shane Watson after Watson was belted for 36 off his three overs against Scotland, he also picked up one wicket. Shaun Tait makes his one day debut, Brett Dorey makes way after a poor performance with the ball against Scotland.

South Africa
*GC Smith
HH Gibbs
JH Kallis
JA Rudolph
?AB de Villiers
AG Puttick
SM Pollock
AJ Hall
P Joubert
U Govender

South Africa remain unchanged from the side that defeated Holland.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Hall leads South Africa to memorable victory

South African Magic: Andrew Hall lead the way with 4-37 to restrict the Aussies to 252. Andrew Puttick later hit the winning run off Mark Cosgrove.

 

[The Mongrel]

vs.

Sri Lanka vs. India
Group B Match
April 14, 2007
Umpires: Aleem Dar and GE Greaves
Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad​

Line Ups

Sri Lanka
?KC Sangakkara
*MS Atapattu
DPMD Jayawardene
ST Jayasuriya
TT Samaraweera
TM Dilshan
HWHD Boteju
WPUJC Vaas
KMDN Kulasekara
SADU Indrasiri
M Muralitharan

India
V Sehwag
DS Jadhav
SR Tendulkar
*Yuvraj Singh
G Gambhir
?MS Dhoni
Joginder Sharma
Harbhajan Singh
A Kumble
MM Patel
Gagandeep Singh

Changes: Neither side makes any changes.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Murali destroys dismal India

Muralithamagic: The world's best offspinner ran through the Indian batting lineup as he picked up figures of 4-22.

 

[The Mongrel]

vs.

England vs. New Zealand
Group C Match
15 April 2007
Umpires: BF Bowden (NZ) and SA Bucknor (WI)
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia​

Line Ups

England
ME Trescothick
AJ Strauss
KP Pietersen
IR Bell
*MP Bell
A Flintoff
?MJ Prior
AF Giles
AR Davies
SJ Harmison
RJ Sidebottom

Changes: The English make no change to the side that defeated Canada.

New Zealand
PG Fulton
*SP Fleming
CD McMillan
JD Ryder
JDP Oram
NJ Astle
?BB McCullum
JEC Franklin
TK Canning
SE Bond
MR Gillespie

Changes: Mark Gillespie comes in for Daniel Vettori due to the pitch suiting the pace bowlers.

The Verdict: England have a batting lineup which can destroy anyone on their day, but can they handle the bowling of New Zealand? On a pitch which will not help spin, Vettori makes way for Mark Gillespie, with Oram a more useful with his medium pace. New Zealand's batting is deeper than England's, all the way down to Bond who has a first class century to his name. Prediction: New Zealand Impact Player: Kevin Pietersen.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Oram joins the elite

Cool customer: Jacob Oram cemented his place in the New Zealand one day side with a sparkling 105* and 2-42 as the English were defeated in St Lucia.

 

[The Mongrel]

vs.

West Indies v Pakistan
Group D Match
15 April 2007
Umpires: RE Koertzen (RSA), DB Hair (Aus)
Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica​

Line Ups

West Indies
CH Gayle
S Ganga
*BC Lara
S Chanderpaul
RR Sarwan
RO Hinds
?CS Baugh
DJJ Bravo
DR Smith
D Mohammed
RPO Nurse

Changes: Left arm chinaman bowler Dave Mohammed comes into the side for Kerry Jeremy.

Pakistan
Taufeeq Umar
Salman Butt
Younis Khan
*Inzamam ul-Haq
Mohammad Yousuf
Shahid Afridi
+Kamran Akmal
Yasir Arafat
Kashif Raza
Danish Kaneria
Mohammad Asif

Changes: Following the loss against Zimbabwe, Pakistan make one change as Danish Kaneria comes in for Shabbir Ahmed.

The Verdict: The West Indies will be on a high after their victory over Ireland, while Pakistan will be keen to avenge their shock loss to Zimbabwe. Both sides drop a paceman for a spin bowler on a Kingston pitch which will spin. It will come down to which team's spin attack can perform better (Mohammed/Hinds v. Kaneria/Afridi) and which side can get off to a better start with the bat, and form would say the West Indies will do that. Prediction: West Indies Impact Player: Shahid Afridi.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Afridi has Windies in a spin

Back on top: Kamran Akmal hits the winning run for Pakistan as they returned to form against the host nation West Indies.

 

[The Mongrel]

vs.

Netherlands v Scotland
Group A Match
16 April 2007
Umpires: SR Modi (Ken) and Aleem Dar (Pak)
Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts​

Line Ups

Netherlands
TN de Grooth
MWA van Nierop (ODI Debut)
GA Walsh
JJ Esmeijer
JF Kloppenburg
B Zuiderent
*RN ten Doeschate
Amjad Khan
HA Brooker
?J Smits
MAK Raja

Changes: Maurits van Nierop comes into the side for all rounder Daan van Bunge.

Scotland
DF Watts
Rana Haq (ODI Debut)
RR Watson
S Knox
*CM Wright
MQ Sheikh
RT Lyons
GM Hamilton
?DR Lockhart
JAR Blain
Asim Butt

Changes: Rana Haq comes in to open the batting as bowler Gordon Goudie is omitted.

The Verdict: Both sides debut another player each, with Maurits van Nierop and Rana Haq debuting for their respective sides. Scotland were crushed by Australia, but captain Wright put in a good performance with 49. Holland, on the other hand, were abysmal with the bat, and will need to improve to match the Scots. Prediction: Scotland Impact Player: Ryan ten Doeschate.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

vs.

Bangladesh v Bermuda
Group B Match
16 April 2007
Umpires: JJ Crowe (NZ) & IJ Gould (Eng)
Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad​

Line Ups

Bangladesh
Shahriar Nafees
Javed Omar Belin
Naeem Islam
*Habibul Bashar
Rajin Saleh
Manjural Islam
?Mushfiqur Rahim
Arafat Sunny
Ahsanullah Hasan
Arafat Salahuddin
Hasibul Hossain

Changes: No change.

Bermuda
OL Pitcher
AB Steede
IT Dillon
CR Foggo
DWO Morgan
DC Borden
H Durham
*DM Leverock
AS Keegan
?IH Romaine
NB Stafford

Changes: No change.

The Verdict: Bermuda's batting lineup were abysmal against the Indians, all out for a disgraceful 58. Their bowlers restricted the Indian side to 284, but will need to take wickets if they are to defeat Bangladesh. The 'Bangers' didn't come close to the Sri Lankans, losing easily by five wickets, however their batting should hold up easily against the inexperienced Bermudan attack. Prediction: Bangladesh Impact Player: Habibul Bashar.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Bangladesh too good for Bermuda

Tigers on the prowl: Shahriar Nafees hits another boundary on his way to 55 as Bangladesh surged to a 132 run win over Bermuda.

----