World Cup 2015

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Warm Up game between Ind and Aus ongoing...
it's an official ODI...though after so much cricket why do these sides need a "warm-up"

India's bowling in melt-down and the two most dangerous guys in Aus side Warner and Maxwell get 100s

Looks like Ind will be chasing 375

4 down for a 100 and asking rate getting to almost 8 for more than 20 overs...
Not impossible but getting very tough.

and should IRE lose that undo their good effort of beating WI.

for an upset a minnow must beat all minnows + one regular side.

Zim and BD now only two left capable of upsetting their way into QF
to their credit.....inspite of conceding 300+ Zim scored 280 odd in their losing effort....so their NRR is not so bad.

and BD have a point vs Aus from the washout

142/4 off 34. Very awkward situation for Balbirnie and Wilson. Need to up the rate but neither can afford to get out yet.

I know Wilson a bit from his Surrey games. He's a steady, sensible player but not a massive tonker. If he and Kevin O'Brien are there for most of overs 40 to 50, Ireland could still do it ....

This would be a reasonable upset, and victory for UAE. For reasons that KPf has mentioned though, I don't think it would have any catalyst type epiphanys for UAE cricket. Would be much better if Ireland could win. UAE players won't see it that way though...

167/4 off 38.

Ireland still in it although I feel they need one big over (say, 16 runs) soon to get that bit nearer the total and spark the momentum to carry them on ....

Not good to lose a wicket there but Balbirnie was just scratching around and we weren't going to reach the UAE total as long as he was still in. Wilson looking good but it's really down to KOB now

Only 12 overs left.
Need to start smacking it out the park

Cmon Kev. Time to shine again.

184/5 off 40 and 50 for the Surrey man. A good knock but he needs to stay there for at least another half dozen overs. With the other main batsmen back in the hutch, Kevin O'Brien won't do it alone ...

I still fancy Ireland do this!

guildfordbat wrote:167/4 off 38.

Ireland still in it although I feel they need one big over (say, 16 runs) soon to get that bit nearer the total and spark the momentum to carry them on ....

ALMOST!

The 42nd yields 13 runs.

72 needed off 8 ... or maybe 5 wickets ... feel UAE now need to bowl Ireland out to win ....

This is a bit tighter than I thought it was going to be an hour and a half ago. The UAE have done quite well in this World Cup so far. Just a shame the ICC are shutting these teams off.

CMON ON IRELAND DAMMIT.
PUSH FORWARD

Sky commentators talking as if Ireland have this in the bag but it's not nearly as straightforward as that.

60 runs needed off 7 overs. That's still quite a few and one wicket now would give things a different look ....

C'mon UAE. Anwar's ton deserves a victory.

59 off 41. Death bowling is such a hard skill with four boundary riders. Almost unfair to expect these semi pros to be remotely decent at it

Big pants cricket from Kevin O Brien. Killed it as a contest with a brilliant cameo

kingraf wrote:Big pants cricket from Kevin O Brien. Killed it as a contest with a brilliant cameo

Not over yet, Raf. Certainly not if Wilson tumbles ... a lot resting on the Surrey man.

23 needed off the last 4 overs - should be in the bag

Great cameo from KOB - a fifty at exactly 200 SR

Awful stuff from Mooney, wtf did he think he was doing

Unintelligent batting from Mooney. He had one job to do - ''Give the strike to Gary'' - but blew it by trying to play boundary shots.

Two boundaries from Wilson in the 48th and then he's gone.

Now it's 11 to win off 13 balls with 2 wickets left ....

Are Ireland going to win? Havent a clue re cricket?

Thoughts?

GunsGerms wrote:Are Ireland going to win? Havent a clue re cricket?

Thoughts?

I've been watching cricket for 25 years and couldn't tell you! This is a nailbiter and will be decided on very fine margins

GunsGerms wrote:Are Ireland going to win? Havent a clue re cricket?

Thoughts?

I think Ireland will win but soooo close!

the "part-timer-ness" of UAE showed second time in a row......same as against Zim..big score, opponent with top half gone and high required RR...and yet they have fallen apart.

Its better for the game that Ireland won...they have home grown players and talent that could transform into a fulltime cricketing nation.

UAE won't go anywhere....part-time subcontinental workers.....no nationals play cricket of any sort in school, college, universities.....no under 19s, no system...just paid part-time recruits.

And worse none of these recruits carry a UAE passport.....just on 2 years renwable visas....still Indian and Paksitani citizens

I don't even know how people who are not citizens of that country can be allowed to play by ICC.

So IRE need to beat Zim and they are through to QF ....big hand for Wilson and Kevin O'Brien...the latter undoubtedly MoM

Great news. Will they beat Zimbabwe? Will they do it the hard way again?

It would be a travesty of Morgan if Ireland make it to the QF and Eng don't

Never in doubt was it?

4 points from 2 games sets Ireland up nicely now

KP_fan wrote:It would be a travesty of Morgan if Ireland make it to the QF and Eng don't

We would all feel really sorry for him in Ireland alright.

You can't blame a man for wanting to further his career.

As for Ireland. Well done to them.

GunsGerms wrote:

KP_fan wrote:It would be a travesty of Morgan if Ireland make it to the QF and Eng don't

We would all feel really sorry for him in Ireland alright.

well he could quit Eng if they failed to qualify and represent IRE in their QF

Well a win is a win and it's 2 points, but that was poor by Ireland and we're going to have to improve. Poor captaincy by Porterfield letting seamers bowl far too many short balls and feeding theUAE batsmen loads of easy runs. Dockerell has been one of the best spin bowlers in the world cup so far and he only bowled 7 overs - why?
Batting poor too with the exception of Wilson and KOB. Must do better

Incredibly exciting game and many congratulations to Ireland.

Especially delighted for Gary Wilson. He's had a raw deal at Surrey (this isn't the thread for that) but he's a good bloke and deserves his day in the sun. Lovely innings full of good sense which was near perfectly judged as it moved from consolidation to acceleration.

Tremendous hitting from Kevin O'Brien which provided vital momentum. Important to note though that it would have been so much more difficult for him if the 5th wicket had fallen, say, 10 overs earlier and he'd had to come to the crease then. Credit to Wilson again for that and also Balbirnie. Don't forget Balbirnie - he was never going to win this game by himself but a quick exit from him could have seen Ireland lose it.

A good call - presumably by skipper Porterfield - to move Dockrell one place up the order and send him in at number 10 ahead of Sorensen. I've seen Dockrell two or three times. Whilst he'll never be a batting great, he's a calm unruffled cricketer and that probably served Ireland well at the close. Dockrell was certainly much better than the daft Mooney who chucked his wicket away and contributed significantly to the late scares when he just needed to stick with Wilson.

I didn't see the UAE's innings but was surprised Ireland left out off spinner McBrine (who had bowled so tidily against the West Indies) and brought in an extra seamer. I think it's the seamers who are the weak link in Ireland's WC squad - they don't have the pace to be generally effective at this level.

Anyway, I'm off now to the Surrey website to see how the marketing guys who write the reports there are claiming this as a victory for the Oval club!

Stella wrote:You can't blame a man for wanting to further his career.

Exactly. He has won the World T20 with England, played in the Test Series that took England to World number one, played the Champions Tropy final and has played in the IPL off the back of his exploits with England in T20s and ODIs. I doubt he has any regrets to be honest

I don't think he'd have done it differently, but I don't inherently think that means he doesn't have any regrets. Given the reasoning behind the departure from Ireland, I do think he'd probably rather have achieved what he did with Ireland. But I also don't think he'd be looking at Ireland being 2 for 2 and thinking he made the wrong decision. Wealthy beyond his most reasonable expectations as a kid, and still going. Not the worst life.

Raf - as the night porter said to George Best when he delivered a bottle of champagne to the one time football great as he lay in his hotel bed with Miss World, ''Mr Best, where did it all go wrong?''.

Random jumble of thoughts...

I am not as pessimistic as some about the long term growth of the game in the UAE. The very make-up of the country means you expect a large proportion of immigrants in all wakes of life, and a number of their players despite not being born in the country can be considered as home grown. They have all worked extremely hard to get to where they are now, and don't deserve some of the patronising comments they have received from some quarters (not on here necessarily).

What is certainly true is that they lack big-match experience; with a bit more composure they could well be 2 from 2. That experience can only come if they get offered more opportunities to play sides at and above their level. Michael Atherton made the excellent point on air that with pakistan now using the UAE as their de facto home turf, it wouldn't cost anything for touring sides to arrange 3 or so ODIs against the UAE either side of the tour.

Unfortunately as long as short-termism is still the name of the game, this won't happen, as the stronger sides have apparently no interest in helping weaker sides improve. In fact the whole issue was summed up by Atherton going decidedly more quiet when his co-commentator at the time made the point that this also applied to European sides like Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands when sides toured England. Of course this would reduce some of the congestion on the England summer front, which is not something Sky (Atherton's employees) are all that keen on. Oh well, vested interests indeed.

It was an interesting match from Ireland. I thought they got their team selection muddled - going in with only 2 specialist bowlers (Dockrell and Sorensen) and a plethora of all-rounders. I would have liked to see Craig Young given a go instead of Cusack, or even McBrine preserved with. Then, I thought Porterfield (who is normally excellent) got himself in a bit of a tangle by delaying Dockrell for so long - in part because Stirling was doing so well and he wanted to keep him on. Ireland will need to sort out their death bowling which has been rather poor in both matches so far - Stirling and even McBrine might be decent options there bowling some darts.

Group B is really wide open. It may come down to NRR. Ireland may need to beat not only Zimbabwe but maybe even one of the others (most likely Pakistan) to get to the quarter-finals. From that perspective (make upsets as unlikely as possible) I guess the ICC format has worked...

From an England perspective, I have no idea what Gary Ballance is doing at number 3. He is not a number 3 in ODI cricket; Taylor was doing so well at 3, it is simply bizarre. Ballance at 5 or 6 IMO would be a better option, he bats down the order for Yorkshire.

However let's not lose perspective, England's two defeats whilst huge have come against probably the top 2 teams in the world on current form. They should still beat Afghanistan (whose batting will (unfortunately) probably prove too fragile), and may very well turn over the Sri Lankans, whose form scarcely looks any better.

Nothing so far has really challenged my view that Australia are fairly comfortable favourites (which doesn't necessarily mean they'll win).

Oh and for what it's worth, I am getting a bit tired of watching teams thrash 12+ runs per over routinely throughout the last 10. I can sense more tinkering with the rules coming, perhaps rather than 4 outside (which is actually IMO quite a good idea for the middle-overs) you could allow 6 outside in the last 10?

Pleased for Gary Wilson. Excellent match...

kingraf wrote:I don't think he'd have done it differently, but I don't inherently think that means he doesn't have any regrets. Given the reasoning behind the departure from Ireland, I do think he'd probably rather have achieved what he did with Ireland. But I also don't think he'd be looking at Ireland being 2 for 2 and thinking he made the wrong decision. Wealthy beyond his most reasonable expectations as a kid, and still going. Not the worst life.

He can always come back and play for Ireland ala Ed Joyce too. The rules in cricket are a little weak IMO.

Oh and for the record I don't really blame Morgan for going off to play for England. Much. I think most would have done the same in his place.

Of course the way the system allows Morgan to play for Ireland one day and switch to England the next, whereas should he wish to switch back he has to wait 2 (formerly 4) years is blatantly unfair, but that's a different matter.

The Tallest with probably the Shortest in the world cup

Mike Selig wrote: ...

Nothing so far has really challenged my view that Australia are fairly comfortable favourites (which doesn't necessarily mean they'll win).

...

Yep, Australia remain my strong tip.

Mind you, only 3 teams have maximum possible points at this stage - New Zealand, India and ... Ireland. Lies, damned lies and statistics, eh?!

Mike Selig wrote:Oh and for the record I don't really blame Morgan for going off to play for England. Much. I think most would have done the same in his place.

Of course the way the system allows Morgan to play for Ireland one day and switch to England the next, whereas should he wish to switch back he has to wait 2 (formerly 4) years is blatantly unfair, but that's a different matter.

It's worth the risk for any Irish cricketer if they feel they're good enough to potentially get a central contract

It's a delicate situation, but I'd say should he wish to come back, Ireland should show him the No Entry sign. Nothing against Eoin, but you want and need playing for your country to be the apex of a players performance (a little idealistic given the pay disparity, and gap in honours possible to play for, I concede). Sends out a horrid message to younger players about flip flopping. Double standards of course, as I have no problem with Geraint Jones turning it out for Papa New Guinea or whoever he plays for. Bite me.

Dearie me that was a lot more grief than it needed to be!

Some frayed nerves this morning let me tell you.

I've no real issue with switchers. At the minute we can't play Tests. When/if that happens I wouldn't want people switching though.

Can anyone explain to me how this R/R thing works?

India have won twice with scores over 300 for a R/R of +2.06
West Indies have won twice, lost once scoring 3 times over 300 for a R/R +1.34
Ireland have won twice with 1 score over 300 and 1 280 for a R/R of +0.34

How can the West Indies be a full point ahead of Ireland?

Eng does somehow seems to get the unfair advantage of getting to choose players from SA, IRE, SCOT, AUS (brother of pattinson),ZIM, WI to play for them
Heck even Saqlain got qualified and announced he was ready to play for Eng......some better sense laced with shame prevailed.

Somehow likes of Sajid mahmoud, Kabir ali, Monty, gurinder Sandhu, Bopara, Ramps do not qualify to play for Ind of Pakistan.

Only UAE has more relaxed rules .....any FC cricketer from subcotintent can apply for, get a 2 year residence via of UAE and start plying for them.

Nachos - Playing off memory here, and. Mike will be a better man for this, but to the best of my knowledge...

- Say Ireland bat first and score 300, their run rate was 6. If UAE were all out chasing for 250 (a run rate of 5), Ireland have a Nett run rate of 1. Ie their innings had a run rate one run run an innings greater than the chasing team.

- If however UAE chase down 300, in let's say 40 overs, their run rate would be 7.5, vs Ireland's run rate of 6, therefore Ireland's net run rate would be -1.5.

So essentially, if the team batting first wins, you simply compare run rates over a fixed 50 overs (ie if you scored 200 off 50 overs or 30 overs, it's still a RR of 4).

- If however the chasing team wins, then they take the run rate the chasing team was scoring at for the course of their innings. ie New Zealand chased down England's 130 in 12 overs, so they were awarded a RR of 11(ish) vs England's 2.6, NZ's nett would be +8ish. Had they taken 20 overs, their run rate would have been 6.5, and the next then 3.9.

So the Windies have a better net run rate because theyve won by larger margins

Thanks Kingraf, it had me all confused there but that makes a lot of sense

guildfordbat wrote:Incredibly exciting game and many congratulations to Ireland.

I didn't see the UAE's innings but was surprised Ireland left out off spinner McBrine (who had bowled so tidily against the West Indies) and brought in an extra seamer. I think it's the seamers who are the weak link in Ireland's WC squad - they don't have the pace to be generally effective at this level.

We miss Murtagh, Johnston and big Boyd alot. It doesn't help that Craig Young (once of Sussex), who can bowl mid 80's has been resigned to the bench by big Phil who has a penchant for bits'n'pieces cricketers. Young has preformed very well (in the majority) over the last year. Peter Chase (played few games for Durham at end of last county season), who is also in the squad, can also bowl mid80's but lacks consistency in his line and length. Graeme McCarter, who got released by Gloucestershire should have been in the squad also, although he doesn't have raw pace he is relatively consistent and better than Mooney or Cusack as a bowler. McCarter is in Australia in case someone gets injured (or breaks curfew!!).

My heart couldn't take today, barely survived it. Two from two, but still think we have to win two more to qualify!

Looking forward to tonight, Up the minnows!