Some early impressions of the World Cup being played in the West Indies:
1) Ireland has a very good team. They were lucky to tie with Zimbabwe given that Bray should have been dismissed plum LBW early in his innings but they thoroughly deserved to beat an inept Pakistan. The Irish are good at most sports and who knows, they could make it to test level in cricket.
2) The crowds are poor. Maybe the ticket prices are too high for local people, but 2000 or less for an international is ordinary.
3) Bangladesh has improved but India should not have lost to them. Indian cricket is in disarray and its reputation has been tarnished by Sunil Gavaskar’s sledging of Australia.
4) You’ve got to love the English tabloids; they have a wonderful turn of phrase. The News of the World was quick to spotlight Andrew Flintoff’s embarrassment for being “sunk and drunk” after the team’s loss to New Zealand.
Boozed-up England cricket hero Andrew Flintoff had to be rescued by frantic hotel staff after toppling into the sea in the dark. The former skipper grabbed a pedalo from a beach near the team’s 5-star Caribbean hotel at 4am after an eight-hour bender with team-mates. He dragged it out to sea and was seen rocking it from side to side before it capsized.
5) The current form would suggest Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are the teams to beat.
×0
Shocking news about Woolmer. Ironically his death may save the team from being verbally & physically assaulted (and arrested!) when they return home. The Pakistani crowds’ reaction to the loss was a classic case of “be careful what you wish for…” Maybe this will show them it’s only a game…but maybe not, it’s Pakistan after all.
As for the championship I’d say the final will be West Indies v Australia with the Aussies making it three world cups in a row, due mainly to Ponting’s batting and (surprisingly) astute captaincy.
(Wouldn’t you love to see Ireland beat England, if they manage to meet?)
Twitter: mgorey
says:
Yes, England v Ireland would be a ripper and it could happen. Ireland will probably finish second in their group and England will finish second in their group if they can overcome Kenya on Saturday (that’s no certainty).
If they both make it through they will clash in the final super eight game on April 21.