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

[The Mongrel]

vs.

India v Bangladesh
Group B Match
22 April 2007
Umpires: SA Bucknor (WI) & KC Barbour (Zim)
Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad​

Line Ups

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

Changes: No change.

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.

The Verdict: Neither side make any change and this is a chance for the Indians to finally show they are capable of making a score with the bat. Bangladesh will also need to bat well to be any chance. Prediction: India Impact Player: Harbhajan Singh.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Shaky India too classy for Bangladesh

Leg Spinning Sensation: Anil Kumble led India to a 92 run win over Bangladesh with Man of the Match figures of 4/16. Earlier, India were all out for 209, but captain Yuvraj Singh insists that the batting will improve in the Super 8 stage.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

vs.

England v Kenya
Group C Match
22 April 2007
Umpires: BF Bowden (NZ) and PD Parker (Aus)
Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia​

Line Ups

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

Changes: No change.

Kenya
CO Obuya
LN Onyango
*SO Tikolo
HS Modi
T Mishra
TM Odoyo
?MA Ouma
JS Ababu
JO Angara
M Sheikh
AS Luseno

Changes: Wicketkeeper Maurice Ouma comes in for veteran Kennedy Otieno who was dismissed for a golden duck in his side's loss to Canada.

The Verdict: England would love to bounce back from their four wicket loss to New Zealand, and must do so here against Kenya. 23-year old Ouma comes in for Otieno, who may have played his last match for Kenya, but one would think England will still be too good. The English attack is vastly different to the Ashes winning side, but one would argue that Ryan Sidebottom should have played for international cricket than he has so far, and he may step up a gear today. Prediction: England Impact Player: Ryan Sidebottom.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Kenyans can't repeat 2003 as England cruise through to Super 8s

Kev-tastic: Kevin Pietersen smashed an unbeaten 92 as England belted Kenya by seven wickets. The surprise packet at South Africa '03 were no match for the English attack who were lead by three wickets to spinner Ashley Giles.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

vs.

West Indies v Zimbabwe
Group D Match
23 April 2007
Umpires: DB Hair (Aus) and RE Koertzen
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
RPO Nurse
KCB Jeremy

Changes: Pacer Kerry Jeremy replaces chinaman Dave Mohammad due to a seamer's deck.

Zimbabwe
S Chioza
K Kulinga
A Maungwa
*GM Ewing
+TT Taibu
J Nyumbu
J Chinyengetere
TN Garwe
HP Rinke
T Mupariwa
EC Rainsford

Changes: No change.

The Verdict: The deck will favour seamers, so it is no surprise to see Kerry Jeremy replace the tadpole Dave Mohammad for this match. The winner of this match will qualify for the Super 8 stage, though Zimbabwe will move ahead if a tie occurs. Prediction: West Indies Impact Player: Gavin Ewing.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Hosts surge into Super 8 stage

Underrated: West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan shows why he is one of the most underrated batsmen in the world as he worked his way to 53* from 66 balls as the Windies beat Zimbabwe by four wickets. Sarwan is pictured here driving Ed Rainsford for a boundary.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

Hughes: In Katich we trust

Australian selector Merv Hughes has come out in defense of embattled opener Simon Katich ahead of Australia's Super 8 opener on Saturday against Pakistan. Katich, who has scored a 31 runs in his three innings in the World Cup so far, has come under constant criticism from Australian media, many of which are pointing out that Phil Jaques, Mark Cosgrove and Shaun Marsh are better options to open with Adam Gilchrist.

Outside a training session today, Hughes said, "Simon's spot is not in jeopardy, he will play against Pakistan.

"He's had three average matches so far, but he averaged 52 last year and was runner up in the one day player of the year. He's going through a lean patch, but hopefully he will be able to hit form this match."

Hughes did say that if he failed again, Australia may look for other options, "There's no doubt, if Simon can't make a score this match, we will have to look for someone else."

Katich has scored 31 runs from at a strike rate of 46.95 so far in the tournament, and averages a shade under 40 for his career with three centuries.

Gibbs to continue his touch

South African captain Graeme Smith has said that Herschelle Gibbs can continue his recent run of good form 231and make himself one of the best batsmen in the world. Gibbs, who has scored 231 runs at an average of 77, is one of the favourites to take out Player of the World Cup, and Smith sees no reason why he shouldn't.

'Herschelle has been brilliant up the top of the order, his agressive hitting is really something you aspire to be able to do. If we win this World Cup, I have no doubt he will have played a huge part in doing so.

South Africa face India in the Super 8 stage opener this Thursday.

Centrebet Markets

All matches up to the second semi-final have been written up, but I'll leave it at that for the moment. Feel free to predict the semi finalists, finalists and winners, or anything else you wish to predict.

That table lists everyone as having played one match, that match was the one they played against the other qualifier from the group stages.

 

[kookaburra69]

nice to see nz unbeaten from its first 3 games,keep up the good presentation mate.

 

[surendar]

Great presentation mate!

What made me suprised was, within just two overs, u reached till this level.. Amazing speed.. I am backing Kiwis to win this one

 

[puddleduck]

Good effort mate, nice presentation and good work.

 

[plympilgrim]

wow what speed there, nice pres well done

 

[Left_Hander]

Nice work here Mongrel. I think Australia will just be to good.

Keep up the good work

 

[The Mongrel]

Thanks for the nice comments guys.

vs.

India v South Africa
Super 8 - Match 1
26 April 2007
Umpires: SJA Taufel (Aus) and B Doctrove (WI)
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua

Line Ups

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

Changes: No change.

South Africa
*GC Smith
HH Gibbs
JH Kallis
JA Rudolph
?AB de Villiers
AG Puttick
SM Pollock
AJ Hall
P Joubert
A Nel
DJ Terbrugge

Changes: South Africa make their first change of the tournament, David Terbrugge replaces the injured Ugasen Govender, who has four wickets at an average of 30 and an ER of 4.48.

Centrebet: India $2.50, Tie $51.00, South Africa $1.60

The Verdict: India have looked far from convincing so far, and South Africa are second favourites to win the tournament. The result of this contest will fall on how India bat and how South Africa fare against the successful spin twins in Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh. The money was poured behind South Africa, but they have drifted due to the injury to bowler Ugasen Govender. However, with Gibbs and Smith in the touch they are in, I'm backing South Africa. Prediction: South Africa Impact Player: Herschelle Gibbs​

 

[The Mongrel]

Tendulkar and Jadhav fire as India begin Super 8 campaign with a bang

SR Magic: Sachin Tendulkar pulls Andre Nel for four as India cruise to an eight wicket victory over South Africa at the Viv Richards Stadium. Tendulkar's 85 was upstaged by Dheeraj Jadhav who posted his third one day century, and unbeaten 110.

----

 

[The Mongrel]

vs.

England v Sri Lanka
Super 8 - Match 2
27 April 2007
Umpires: Aleem Dar (Pak) and RE Koertzen (RSA)
Providence Stadium, Guyana

Line Ups

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

Changes: No change.

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

Changes: No change.

Centrebet: England $3.75, Tie $51.00, Sri Lanka $1.60

The Verdict: Sri Lanka are yet to lose a game and are looking strong, while England look in poor touch, despite winning two games. England were out of their depth against New Zealand and weren't convincing against Kenya, while Sri Lanka are being lead by Muralitharan and Indrasiri who are spinning them into a position where punters are beginning to back them. Impact Player: Kevin Pietersen.​

----