2015 World Cup - Finals

First topic message reminder :

March

Semi-finals

24 Semi-final 1, South Africa v New Zealand, Auckland (01:00 GMT)

26 Semi-final 2, India v Australia, Sydney (03:30 GMT)

Final

29 Final, New Zealand v Australia, Melbourne (05:30 BST)


* * * * * * * *

Having no clear favourites for the semi's makes for an intriguing couple of games.

Stella wrote:Amla
De-Kock
Kohli
Williamson
Taylor
Morgan
Matthews
Jadeja
Steyn
Broad
Roach

That looks pretty good! From my often bleary eyed, wake up and check what hapened overnight recollections, they are all big names that didn't deliver much. Would be interested to see if Kingraf agrees with your opening pair

Taylor seems an excellent pick as he seemed to spend most of the tournament running out partners without making up for it with a big score himself

Guildford makes a good shout with Afridi as well, to be honest I wasn't even aware that he played in the tournament at all!

kingraf wrote:Little harsh, I'd say, Stella. Faf scored a fifty against the Indians and the Windies, got a start against the Pakistanis, scored a 20-odd not out vs the Lankans, and played a very well composed 80-odd against the Kiwis.

I said he played well??

guildfordbat wrote:Certainly worse players with worse stats in this tournament than Shahid Afridi. However, the ''Boom Boom'' days seem gone. Never reached 30 with the bat and, whilst he bowled a containing line, only took 2 wickets from his 57 overs.

In a similar vein, I'll also give a shout to Kevin O'Brien. Didn't deliver with the bat as hoped and was a major weakness as regards Ireland's bowling.

VTR wrote:

Taylor seems an excellent pick as he seemed to spend most of the tournament running out partners without making up for it with a big score himself

I didn't expect too much from Afridi, and he duly delivered exactly that.

guildfordbat wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Certainly worse players with worse stats in this tournament than Shahid Afridi. However, the ''Boom Boom'' days seem gone. Never reached 30 with the bat and, whilst he bowled a containing line, only took 2 wickets from his 57 overs.

In a similar vein, I'll also give a shout to Kevin O'Brien. Didn't deliver with the bat as hoped and was a major weakness as regards Ireland's bowling.

A good shout, though I would say his reputation is built on a one in a thousand performance vs England 4 years ago. I always thought had a few much more accomplished players, and I see KOB as a bit agricultural to come off very often against the Test nations

Stella wrote:I didn't expect too much from Afridi, and he duly delivered exactly that.

Should he now be known as "Boom Boom and Bust" I wonder?

I think Smith has to be in there for how he performed in the knock-outs. 2 fifties (one unbeaten) and a century setting the game up from no 3.

Maybe I'd swap Faulkner for Anderson in my original side. Not much else. I really liked the way Ashwin bowled during the tournament, for me he was the stand-out spinner.

Other names who failed to live up to their billing: Anderson (James), to a lesser extent Finch and Watson (although both produced crucial innings in the knock-outs).

Kevin O'Brien to be fair did produce the goods against the UAE I think, but I agree by his standards he had a poor tournament - poor knocks against Pakistan and India certainly cost Ireland. Having said that he's played some very good knocks in the past (one in the WT20 against Bangladesh and another to earn a tie against Pakistan in a home ODI - including a boundary off the last ball to seal the tie - spring to mind) so to call him a one-knock wonder is a bit unfair. I think the thing with the associates to bear in mind is that we see them far less often, so there will probably be fewer performances we remember them by.

VTR wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Certainly worse players with worse stats in this tournament than Shahid Afridi. However, the ''Boom Boom'' days seem gone. Never reached 30 with the bat and, whilst he bowled a containing line, only took 2 wickets from his 57 overs.

In a similar vein, I'll also give a shout to Kevin O'Brien. Didn't deliver with the bat as hoped and was a major weakness as regards Ireland's bowling.

A good shout, though I would say his reputation is built on a one in a thousand performance vs England 4 years ago. I always thought had a few much more accomplished players, and I see KOB as a bit agricultural to come off very often against the Test nations

Yep, I was more commenting on the hype still a bit around O'Brien rather than any genuine expectations on my part. He was disappointing for Surrey in last season's t20 - I see he's just signed for Leics, no great loss for us imo.

Watson, considering he was behind Marsh in the pecking order, had a reasonable tournament. Came through the Pakistan game with his head held high, amidst some top class fast bowling.

Mike Selig wrote:
Kevin O'Brien to be fair did produce the goods against the UAE I think, but I agree by his standards he had a poor tournament - poor knocks against Pakistan and India certainly cost Ireland. Having said that he's played some very good knocks in the past (one in the WT20 against Bangladesh and another to earn a tie against Pakistan in a home ODI - including a boundary off the last ball to seal the tie - spring to mind) so to call him a one-knock wonder is a bit unfair. I think the thing with the associates to bear in mind is that we see them far less often, so there will probably be fewer performances we remember them by.

This is my head in hands moment as I was actually there for the one vs Bangladesh!

The ESPN side and DUDXI

http://www.espncricinfo.com/icc-cricket-world-cup-2015/content/story/857187.html

Thanks, Stella. We did well with our sides (assuming we credit ESPN with knowing what's what!).

Annoyed though that I forgot about Philander for the Duds - he seemed to lack fitness and form whenever I saw him. Big mistake by South Africa playing him ahead of Abbott in the semi.

guildfordbat wrote:Thanks, Stella. We did well with our sides (assuming we credit ESPN with knowing what's what!).

Annoyed though that I forgot about Philander for the Duds - he seemed to lack fitness and form whenever I saw him. Big mistake by South Africa playing him ahead of Abbott in the semi.

Yes Philander had a tournament to forget. Abbott over Philander could have swayed the semi final, given how close it was.

guildfordbat wrote:

Mike Selig wrote:

I would ask that we return to debating the cricket.

Team of the tournament anyone?
Guptil
McCullum (C)
Sangakara (wkt)
Smith
De Villiers
Maxwell
Anderson
Ashwin
Starc
Morkel
Boult

I guess you could make a good case for Faulkner, Vettori. Any other glaring omissions?

Certainly, Mike.

Your team looks very strong and highly appropriate.

Much as Ashwin impressed me - and I said the same to msp - he would narrowly be edged out of my XI by Vettori. Both bowled really well. However, I recall some good running and hitting by Vettori in some closing overs together with a wondrous boundary catch which gets him my vote by a whisker.

Also and admittedly I may be getting carried away by one spell which thrilled me and others so much but I would like to find a spot for Wahab Riaz. Maybe at Morkel's expense. I fully acknowledge I haven't looked at the stats so I may well be shot down there but to me the excitement factor comes into it.

OK I am being a bit lazy here but really ; guildford has saved me a lot of typing as I completely concur. (I keep Morkel in the XI , but Wahab is on hand as my first reserve )

guildfordbat wrote:Thanks, Stella. We did well with our sides (assuming we credit ESPN with knowing what's what!).

Annoyed though that I forgot about Philander for the Duds - he seemed to lack fitness and form whenever I saw him. Big mistake by South Africa playing him ahead of Abbott in the semi.

He seems to have double the waistline but half the bowling prowess since he toured England in 2012

Disappointing
Warner
Quinny
Williamson
Ross Taylor
Jayawardene
James Taylor
Mathews
Jadeja
Philander
Anderson
Steyn

Williamson really did disappoint me, as I thought he was the premier #3 in the world heading into the tourney. Some bigger duds omitted (Morgan, Afridi et al) but that's because I had no hope of them doing well in any case.

Hash and Warner were close for the other openers berth, but Warner irritates me more so...

The tournament 11 for me.
Brendon McCullum
Shikhar Dhawan
Kumar Sangakkara
Steven Smith
AB de Villiers
Glenn Maxwell
James Faulkner
Ravichandran Ashwin
Mitchell Starc
Wahab Riaz
Trent Boult.
The only close call for me was between Ashwin and Vettori. Went for Ashwin in the end, also considering all the rest of the attack are left-armers among other things.......
Guptill's knock against Bangladesh was very important in determining the course of the game and would rate that over his bash against the WI. But I thought Dhawan performed in the big games, v South Africa and Pakistan, India's toughest group games and gave decent starts in most other games.

The disappointing 11 would be.
David Warner
Quinton de Kock
Younus Khan
Ross Taylor
Eoin Morgan
Angelo Mathews
Luke Ronchi
Vernon Philander
James Anderson
Dale Steyn
Kemar Roach

VTR wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Thanks, Stella. We did well with our sides (assuming we credit ESPN with knowing what's what!).

Annoyed though that I forgot about Philander for the Duds - he seemed to lack fitness and form whenever I saw him. Big mistake by South Africa playing him ahead of Abbott in the semi.

He seems to have double the waistline but half the bowling prowess since he toured England in 2012

Saw something about SA playing him due to the racial quota or something - Raf was there any truth to that report?

Hi Olly - I don't know if it's true, to be completely honest. I doubt it though. It's unfortunate, but in SA sports there is this, idea, for lack of a better word, that whenever a player of colour fails, they were selected purely because of their colour. I'm not a Vern fan, but that's because he has an expanding waistline, and doesn't always bowl clever in ODI. His actual ODI record stands up to any scrutiny. An average of 23.4 at a RR of 4.6 (the best average of all our seamers except uh AB de Villiers). Abbot had impressed this world cup, but he'd been taken to the cleaners by Gayle and Co earlier this season, and you could understand selectors wanting more experienced heads to play in the Semi's. Got to remember Vern's NZ tour numbers, and consider Abbots failures against the Windies on larger grounds. Add to this the fact that Vern is a part of the senior think tank, and it's clear why he was picked. It's annoying to say the least, more especially when the only person in the touring squad not to get a game was player of colour.

Abbott had a good QF, and was then dropped. Colour related or not, it was a strange decision, which proved costly.

Strange - maybe. But that isn't the matter discussed. Selectors aren't high on Abbot, neither am I, to be honest. I just prefer him over Vern because he isn't a fatty with a hamstring issue. He's record in ODI is middling, to be kind, and given the lack of previous performances like the QF game, I think the selectors doubting thr possibility of back to back good games is fair enough.

Abbot was lucky to make the plane, in any case. Tsotsobe, when fit, was the standout bowler in domestic cricket. Has a better record internationally, and seemingly important for this world cup, is a left armer.

kingraf wrote:Does the cricket forum even have moderators? I nominate myself. I'll only get power drunk when I've gained all your trust, like all good African dictators

You should ask Adam, but us Australian moderators always leave a little rope for certain posters. More of a challenge that way. More fun too.

No honestly, everyone on here behaves pretty well and we all generally tolerate each others sometimes disparate views on the game.
So there is not much need to yield the strap. One or two have passed on (to the Land of v3... by courtesy of yours truly) but you probably wouldn't have noticed their absence.

Mike, I find the "minnows" tag very annoying and disrespectful too. Thanks for expressing your mind on the repeated use of the word.
It gets a little tedious I know. Not a hanging offence though.

I just hope the word is used less and less; until one day it completely disappears from the vocabulary.

The 5th win took a while to sink in. A remarkable achievement really but I wouldn't want to go through that all again. So glad they won though.

Who was the old cricket mod? I haven't seen him on here for a long time.

We had a bloke called Lydneyian and also Biltong chimes in from time to time... but you're right, sure we had a few more. Give me a little time and it might surface again in the memory banks.

Also kiwireddevil (now retired) and Hampo also keep an eye on proceedings.

Fists Of Fury

Yes, Fists.

Fists was / is a good guy who came from the Midlands. I remember he used his Grandad's memories of Rohan Kanhai's time at Warwickshire to support me in pushing for the West Indian's inclusion in our Hall of Fame!

He's still on twitter. An excellent Cricket writer.