ICC Cricket World Cup - May/July 2019

[Master Khan]

I feel for Pakistan. Their first five games comprises of 3 of the best in the world. The one against the weakest, got rained off and in the other they had a bad day. The points table doesn't do justice to the cricket they have played. They've been much better than the likes of SL. Same can be said for Bangladesh.

But, there's a lesson for Pakistan in this. Regardless of the result this year, they should strive to try and change this image of their's. There's no excuse to games like the one's against WI. All teams lose once in a while when they're expected to win, but not like that. They also need to shed this image of "win the toss and bat because hey, we can't change." The toss was a good one to win and bowling first was the right decision. Sarfaraz shouldn't be blamed for that.

I'm an Indian supporter and I don't know what the result will be this year but I'm fairly confident of making semi finals. I think it spells for their consistency that fans like me can feel that way. I am also sensible enough to know anything can happen after that. But, this reputation and image of "which Pakistan will turn up" does not do justice to Pakistan as a cricketing nation. They can be better than that.

Plus I believe Australia got a bit lucky today because of Pakistan dropping catches and poor fielding, Pakistan should have won this but oh well, in the end the better team that day won which is Australia.
look like Australia, England, New Zealand and India will be going through to the semi finals.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Plus I believe Australia got a bit lucky today because of Pakistan dropping catches and poor fielding, Pakistan should have won this but oh well, in the end the better team that day won which is Australia.
look like Australia, England, New Zealand and India will be going through to the semi finals.

What is disappointing for me is the fact that Australia had a poor day and Pakistan still could not capitalise. In a 100 over contest, no one moment is always the moment. Fielding has been of poor standard from Pakistan for a while. I still think 325-30 was par. What I truly loathe is the inability to finish games of the batters. The shots Azam played today are no different from Kohli. And this was not your average Joe attack. What's the difference between the big four batters of the world and Azam? They finish games when their country needs it and Kohli is a level higher than his other already excellent 3 counterparts which is saying something. Azam needs to cut out the noise from outside about his strike rate. He needs to bat how he knows to bat and gradually improve his hitting ability. That hitting ability is anyway a T20 aspect. His game, as of now is as good as any in this format. It's the mindset. For Pakistan to not have made Australia bowl the full quota of it's fifth bowler is an excellent example of how poor Pakistan are at constructing a chase.

It's not like I have anything personal against Hafeez. But, if at his age he is making these scores and unable to take Pakistan across the line, I rather see Haris Sohail play and try and grow. I have zero complains about Zaman, he will get out like that every now and then, Imam was unfortunate and Malik just got a brute.

 

[Alexei.]

Plus I believe Australia got a bit lucky today because of Pakistan dropping catches and poor fielding, Pakistan should have won this but oh well, in the end the better team that day won which is Australia.
look like Australia, England, New Zealand and India will be going through to the semi finals.

West Indies And NZ will end up in a tie with NRR to decide

 

[Master Khan]

What is disappointing for me is the fact that Australia had a poor day and Pakistan still could not capitalise. In a 100 over contest, no one moment is always the moment. Fielding has been of poor standard from Pakistan for a while. I still think 325-30 was par. What I truly loathe is the inability to finish games of the batters. The shots Azam played today are no different from Kohli. And this was not your average Joe attack. What's the difference between the big four batters of the world and Azam? They finish games when their country needs it and Kohli is a level higher than his other already excellent 3 counterparts which is saying something. Azam needs to cut out the noise from outside about his strike rate. He needs to bat how he knows to bat and gradually improve his hitting ability. That hitting ability is anyway a T20 aspect. His game, as of now is as good as any in this format. It's the mindset. For Pakistan to not have made Australia bowl the full quota of it's fifth bowler is an excellent example of how poor Pakistan are at constructing a chase.

It's not like I have anything personal against Hafeez. But, if at his age he is making these scores and unable to take Pakistan across the line, I rather see Haris Sohail play and try and grow. I have zero complains about Zaman, he will get out like that every now and then, Imam was unfortunate and Malik just got a brute.

I agree that 307 wasn't a really difficult score to chase on this pitch, Australia had a really good start by Warner and Finch after a few drop catches and that did the damage to Pakistan but still Pakistan should have chase this score down after a good comeback by the bowlers in the end.

Hafeez got out to a nice juicy full toss, he should have smash that out of the stadium, most batsman would have hit a six on that ball, but I still think he is decent lower order batsman which Pakistan rely on when they lose wickets early. He played good against England as well.

 

[Master Khan]

West Indies And NZ will end up in a tie with NRR to decide

Well Hopefully tomorrow game between India vs New Zealand don't get washed out because it's a important game as both team haven't lost yet and we can see who is favorites to go through to semi finals.

 

[Bevab]

What is disappointing for me is the fact that Australia had a poor day and Pakistan still could not capitalise. In a 100 over contest, no one moment is always the moment. Fielding has been of poor standard from Pakistan for a while. I still think 325-30 was par. What I truly loathe is the inability to finish games of the batters. The shots Azam played today are no different from Kohli. And this was not your average Joe attack. What's the difference between the big four batters of the world and Azam? They finish games when their country needs it and Kohli is a level higher than his other already excellent 3 counterparts which is saying something. Azam needs to cut out the noise from outside about his strike rate. He needs to bat how he knows to bat and gradually improve his hitting ability. That hitting ability is anyway a T20 aspect. His game, as of now is as good as any in this format. It's the mindset. For Pakistan to not have made Australia bowl the full quota of it's fifth bowler is an excellent example of how poor Pakistan are at constructing a chase.

It's not like I have anything personal against Hafeez. But, if at his age he is making these scores and unable to take Pakistan across the line, I rather see Haris Sohail play and try and grow. I have zero complains about Zaman, he will get out like that every now and then, Imam was unfortunate and Malik just got a brute.

I’m sorry but you’re being extremely critical of Hafeez. The man was their best batsman in the previous game, has actually finished a game versus the South Africans in their last series and has generally been in reliable form with his destructive ability versus spin. He got out to a very poor delivery today but 9 out of 10 times that’s gone into the stands for his fifty. In a side full of accumulators, he’s a player who isn’t afraid to be aggressive. 4 is a bit too high for him probably but he’s the perfect man you’d want coming in at 5 who can score a quickfire 50. Pretty much everyone threw their wickets away today including Malik, I don’t think his dismissal delivery was unplayable. Malik’s also been in very poor for a long time now. He’s probably worth having in the side for his world class fielding and bowling (definitely has been under utilised). The replacement that you’re suggesting for growth is a 30 year old player who is an entirely different type of batsman, not sure of what kind of development could a player on the wrong side of 30 like him undergo.

It might sound strange but the more I see of Azam, the more he strikes me as a player who has lost his concentration at crucial moments which isn’t something you would associate with a batsman like him who always seems to be in control. A truly elite Fab 4 player wouldn’t have taken on that ball from NCN by realizing that the bowler was setting him up. This is another reason why he hasn’t played in the top order for Pakistan in tests either.

Imam’s stats might look good on paper but he’s definitely having an influence on this side with his style of play. Without him, Zaman doesn’t need to go after nearly every ball and Azam also can afford to take his time if needed and actually be more proactive. At best, Imam’s only going to offer a run-a-ball hundred and get dismissed trying to slog due to his lack of a power game. In a team that already has a player like Azam who’s extremely consistent at delivering such performances, he is a liability. On the other hand, Sarfaraz has shown that he’s pretty ineffective batting with the tail by barely shielding them and instead forcing those tailenders to go big. It’d be a lot better to have him open in Imam’s place.

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

I think we played well. The decision to bowl first might not have been the right one, given that we lost. But, it was a very deceptive wicket. It seemed like it was built for bowlers with the green on it, but it turned out to be a batting haven. Regardless of the result tho, this was a fun match to watch. Especially before Starc sapped all the air out if it.

Pakistan NEEDS to improve their fielding if they're going to make it further in the tournament. Their bowling wasn't all that bad, they did go for runs but it is Australia after all. The middle-order collapse of that 50/4 in overs 20-30 is what set Pakistan back, and in my opinion, ultimately became the session where Pakistan lost the game.

On a completely separate, note: I think the winner of that NZ-IND match will decide who tops the pool before the knockouts. The loser will have a complete fall from grace.

Here's an oddly specific, and very bold prediction: Pakistan will be soundly beaten by India (as always) in the next game, then go on to win their last four games and qualify for the knockouts by securing the fourth position with 11 points. This will leave the top-4 as:

1: IND/NZ - 16pts
2: ENG - 14pts
3: AUS - 12pts
4: PAK - 11pts

Don't say this is an unrealistic, or weird prediction. I am well aware of that.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

I think we played well. The decision to bowl first might not have been the right one, given that we lost. But, it was a very deceptive wicket. It seemed like it was built for bowlers with the green on it, but it turned out to be a batting haven. Regardless of the result tho, this was a fun match to watch. Especially before Starc sapped all the air out if it.

Pakistan NEEDS to improve their fielding if they're going to make it further in the tournament. Their bowling wasn't all that bad, they did go for runs but it is Australia after all. The middle-order collapse of that 50/4 in overs 20-30 is what set Pakistan back, and in my opinion, ultimately became the session where Pakistan lost the game.

On a completely separate, note: I think the winner of that NZ-IND match will decide who tops the pool before the knockouts. The loser will have a complete fall from grace.

Here's an oddly specific, and very bold prediction: Pakistan will be soundly beaten by India (as always) in the next game, then go on to win their last four games and qualify for the knockouts by securing the fourth position with 11 points. This will leave the top-4 as:

1: IND/NZ - 16pts
2: ENG - 14pts
3: AUS - 12pts
4: PAK - 11pts

Don't say this is an unrealistic, or weird prediction. I am well aware of that.

So 5 teams will qualify for the finals?

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

So 5 teams will qualify for the finals?

1: is IND or NZ.

 

[SaiSrini]

On a completely separate, note: I think the winner of that NZ-IND match will decide who tops the pool before the knockouts. The loser will have a complete fall from grace.

Here's an oddly specific, and very bold prediction: Pakistan will be soundly beaten by India (as always) in the next game, then go on to win their last four games and qualify for the knockouts by securing the fourth position with 11 points. This will leave the top-4 as:

1: IND/NZ - 16pts
2: ENG - 14pts
3: AUS - 12pts
4: PAK - 11pts

Don't say this is an unrealistic, or weird prediction. I am well aware of that.

I dont think the loser of the IND-NZ will have a fall from grace. Both those teams are extremely well equipped to handle a loss or two and have the capacity to bounce back. I'd agree if you said this about Pakistan or West Indies or South Africa or Sri Lanka, but to me, India/England/Australia/NZ are the teams that can handle losses and not get into free fall.

 

[Bigby Wolf]

I said this during the Eng - Pak series and will say this again - Sarfaraz is pretty average bloke to be playing in the Pakistani team.

How lazy and poor was his runout? Firstly giving the strike to tail ender and then that runout.

 

[abhi_jacko]

I wouldn't say Australia got lucky. One dropped catch and a no-ball can be luck.

Multiple dropped catches, 15+ extras and 25-30 runs given away as misfields is sheer incompetence. Today's game is increasingly technical in all 3 aspects - batting, bowling, fielding - and if you drop the hat in even one of the fields, you very well drop the game. And Pakistan yesterday fudged up in both fielding and batting.

The better team won the match, as simple as that.[DOUBLEPOST=1560401120][/DOUBLEPOST]

On a completely separate, note: I think the winner of that NZ-IND match will decide who tops the pool before the knockouts. The loser will have a complete fall from grace.

What happens in case of a washout Which is pretty much what is going to happen

 

[abhi_jacko]

Continuous showers forecast for today. 1 point apiece for India and NZ

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Continuous showers forecast for today. 1 point apiece for India and NZ

View attachment 222790

Looks like we might have a game. The forecast has shown a considerable improvement over the last few hours

 

[abhi_jacko]

Looks like we might have a game. The forecast has shown a considerable improvement over the last few hours

Where do you check the weather?

I still see the same forecast - chance of precipitation still around 45-70%. Mostly its going to rain with 1-2 hours of respite from the looks of it. We might have a rain curtailed game at best, which would actually be advantage NZ because they have a more destructive top order which can fire from the get go