Cricket World Cup group stages, May 30 - July 6

[Arthur Crabtree]

So somebody thought it a good idea to have the Cricket World Cup final, Men's Wimbledon final :d'oh: and the British Grand Prix all on the same day :d'oh:

Good point!

[Arthur Crabtree]

Raining where I am. Forecast is good for Leeds (India) but some rain early on possible in Manchester (Australia) but as that's a PM game, should be alright.

[mikesiva]

I've finally got the time to read through the last few pages of this thread, and I have very little to add to what SP had to say...I think you've encapsulated a lot of my thoughts on the issue.

First, the batting. Yes, Gayle can be a divisive figure among fans, but he is well-supported by fellow players, and given the dearth of upcoming talent, we might as well hang on to him as long as he wants to play for us. Campbell is the next cab off the rank, but his technique is flawed, and I wonder how long it will take before he's discarded, and we have an opening problem again. Yes, Shai Hope scores a lot of runs, but what about his SR? Darren Bravo seems to be a shadow of the player he once was, but I think the West Indies should persist with him, because there's not much else. Ambris scored lots of runs in Ireland, but the jury's still out on him, after he struggled in his few matches in the World Cup. Lewis didn't exactly set the world on fire either. So, who are the contenders? Tage Chanderpaul is not an ODI player - the best he can hope for is to make the Test side. Aside from Campbell and Ambris, and maybe Roston Chase, we're still waiting. At least with Pooran and Hetmyer, there's a couple of batsmen to build a side around.

The bowling. We need a spinner, a leggie, who can play ODI cricket. Let's see who comes to the fore over the next four years. Russell doesn't seem to be fit enough to play games longer than 20 overs. Despite his century, does Carlos deserve a place in the side? Is Allen just a batsman who bowls a little slow stuff? Roach is getting on, and probably won't be around next World Cup. Holder was a bit disappointing this World Cup, but should still be a fixture in the side. However, there's hope that Thomas, Gabriel and Cottrell can adapt a bit more to pitches that are not tailor-made for them. As for Cottrell's celebration, I love it!

I'm not optimistic about a post-Gayle West Indies....

[Arthur Crabtree]

West Indies are essentially already post-Gayle. He mainly turns up for the big competitions. And they didn't do well here with him (as Yuppie says, his fifty over performances are streaky anyway). Gayle has played 20/59 WI ODIs in the past two years. He slows down the running and isn't mobile in the field.

As above, I don't believe in dropping players who are still worth their pace in the side, but if he's not available, then it's hard to keep leaving out a developing player out when CG is free to be picked. If he's available for the next series though and committed to continue, he should keep his place.

Can't drop Hope. He's too slow, but he scores runs. They need to get his SR up, but often WI's problem has been batting the overs and losing early wickets rather than scoring quickly enough.

Maybe should play Holder at seven though and look for another bat.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Meanwhile, a couple of early wickets for Bumrah.

[GarlicJam]

South Africa win the toss, and will bat.

[Arthur Crabtree]

SA giving the Aussies a going over.

No Hamish today though.

[Arthur Crabtree]

From what we've seen in the competition, 250+ should be possible to defend. Runs for Mathews at last. SL have a chance here.

[ianp1970]

SA showing today what they have been unable to in most of their previous 8 matches. Australia will want to chase this 325 to face NZ in Manchester rather than Eng in Birmingham.

[meninblue]

Comprehensive win with 7 wickets and 39 balls left.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Good practice for the champions in waiting.

Aussies might lose too, which'll shake up the semis.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Three fifties, no hundreds so far for Smith.

[ianp1970]

Three fifties, no hundreds so far for Smith.

Doing my single wicket chances further damage. Warner can go a long way to sealing the competition today...

[yuppie]

Nice of SA to finally turn up.

Aus best chance of being WC winners.....win the toss twice.

[ianp1970]

Nice of SA to finally turn up.

Aus best chance of being WC winners.....win the toss twice.

If Aus/Ind/Eng win two tosses and bat well, they'll probably be World champions. NZ could do the same, but would need their openers to step up, and Williamson and/or Taylor to play well too...