2015 Cricket World Cup

[anfield5]

Sangakkara has been amazing, and as he is heading for retirement too.

Is that 4 consecutive hundreds?

Yes it is. He is the only player in the history of 50 over international cricket to do this, overtaking Ross Taylor who hit 3 in a row 14 months ago

[steveaki13]

Amazing record. If he makes it 5 it will be amazing against a better team.

[anfield5]

It will, but remember he did make 104 against Australia as part of his run.

v NZL 39 from (38 balls) sr = 102.63
v Afghanistan 7 (13) = 53.84
v Bangladesh 105 (76) = 138.16
v England 117 (86) = 136.05
v Australia 104 (107) = 97.20
v Scotland 124 (95) = 130.53

TOTAL 496 runs from (415 balls) = strike rate of 119.52 = ASTONISHING!!!

Plus he now has the record number of dismissals in World Cup history with 57

[steveaki13]

Of course, but a high pressure QF will be the 5th if it happens.

Would love to see it.


As for England, wow a big shake up needed.

[anfield5]

How often though do England bottle things in World Cups (and not just cricket world cups)? I wonder if it has anything to do with the stooooooooooooooopid amounts they are paid to play games. Make the players earn their pay and maybe they would have more than they are currently showing.

[journeyman racer]

As an Aussie. I'm confident in saying it's got nothing to do with how much they pay players, but more to do with an overall poor culture regarding sport. When they put their mind to it, they can become a leading or dominant team in any competition.

Their problem is, is that they care more about themselves, their city, town or regions 's success more than the whole country's. They care more about the local football team winning the next derby more than the country winning the World Cup (in any sport).

To back up my point up from the first paragraph. In anticipation of the London Olympics, they wanted to succeed, they were overwhelming with success (even after a slow start). After being beaten up by Australia for yonks in cricket, they applied themselves after 02/03 Ashes, then they beat up the dominant Australian team. When winning the Ashes in England wasn't good enough, then crunched Australia in Australia.

There is no doubt in my mind. If the football team got their act together, they could win Euro2016. This selfish/unpatriotic view may be the reason why Britain has an outstanding history in F1/motorsport. Rather than being attached to the country, it's more about an individual or organisation (race team) that's not tied to a region.

[anfield5]

I agree, my point about money was kinda saying similar things. Sadly many (usually) English players are too wrapped up in themselves and don't have the 'die for the cause' attitude that most Aussie and NZ sportsmen/women have. The same criticism can be leveled at the Indian cricket team. Most of the time they are appalling on tours. NZ always thrash them over here, so do Aus , Eng and most other hosts. They only play well at home.... or once every four years at the world cup. Their perfomances over the last month show just how damn good the Indians are. When England can be bothered they can have the same levels of performance.

[anfield5]

Quarter Finals

1. Sri Lanka vs South Africa
pre tournament South Africa would have been a shoe in in this match, but they havn't looked that good against quality opposition (quality sub-continent opposition as both India and Pakistan have hammered them). Sri Lanka have stepped up and are playing well, but they do depend on Sangakkara. If South Africa play to their best they should still win.

2. Bangladesh vs India
Bangaldesh have shown that they can compete with the elite teams, but India will be just too good for them to cause an upset. (hope I'm wrong because I love the way Banga have been playing)

3. Australia vs Pakistan
In Australia the Aussies will be hard to beat. But Pakistan have looked awesome at times, and easily disposed of South Africa. My head tells me that Aussie will win, but it might not be as strait forward as many are thinking.

4. New Zealand v West Indies
Should be the most predictable of all of the matches. NZ are playing well and last time the Windies played them in NZ it was quite embarrassing for them. Having said that if Chris Gayle fires and can get some support from 2 other batsmen, they do have the ability to win the match.

[journeyman racer]

It didn't occur to me til it was mentioned on radio. But the winner of tomorrow's game will mean a first time WC finalist. So for that reason alone, I'm excited about the final.

But I'm excited anyway, because I still have no idea who will be playing in the final, let alone winning it. There's a certain destiny for Australia. But then, there's a certain destiny for NZ as well! It's just their history isn't as big as Australia's. India have been here all summer and have not beaten Australia once. So the probability of beating Australia for the first time on Thursday is high, rendering the previous results insignificant. SA, so many WC heartbreaks. I think it'll be all the more sweeter for the Saffas to knock off Australia in Australia for their first win.

You can see all scenarios playing out

[anfield5]

Quarter finals went pretty much to script, but good luck predicting the results of the semi's.

New Zealand have beaten South Africa twice in warm up matches before the World Cup, but there was no pressure on so this doesn't mean much. So far in the tournament NZ have done all that has been asked and won every time out, where as SA. have buckled in two games when fast bowling attacks have hit them.
NZ are without their express bowler Adam Milne (out for the rest of the cup) so their fast attack is blunted somewhat.

PREDICTION: Will be won by the team who makes the fewest mistakes. Both are more than able to win the cup. As a NZer I will have to pick NZ, but if South Africa win (which is more than possible) good luck to them and I will be backing them in the final.

Australia vs India. Aus have dominated India in Australia in a recent series, so they will start as clear front runners. As with the first semi though both can win. India unbeaten and untroubled, Aus with one narrow loss to NZ in pool play, both in good form, both with world class players.

PREDICTION: Too close to call, but at home AUS possibly have a slight edge.