The 2023 Cricket World Cup

by Duty281 Mon 18 Sep 2023, 1:09 pm

After the drama-free finish to the 2019 Cricket World Cup, the 2023 Cricket World Cup will finally get under way on the 5th October, having been initially delayed by Covid and then threatened by a Pakistani boycott.

England are the defending champions, and they're also the reigning T20 World Champions. Doubleplusgood, eh? They're looking to be the first nation to win consecutive ODI World Cups since the Aussie vintage of 1999-2007. Biggest adversaries to that are likely to be India, who haven't won a major global competition since the 2013 Champions Trophy, but will no doubt be heartened by the knowledge that the last three ODI World Cups have been won by a host nation.

Five-time winners Australia can never be ruled out, while Pakistan are fueled by a burning motivation to win the World Cup in the homeland of their greatest rivals. New Zealand have made the last two finals - losing the last on boundary count, would you believe? - and will hope to make the final step this year.

South Africa will presumably think they're due to win something, as they've not won a global competition since the 1998 Champions Trophy, while the Afghans will believe they can spin anyone into submission. Bangladesh will be hoping to make a sizable impact at the ODI World Cup for the first time.

Sri Lanka breezed through qualifying and will be encouraged by making the recent Asia Cup final, even if they did get hammered in said final. The Netherlands round off the ten teams after performing minor miracles in qualification, which of course means the West Indies, the winners of the first two ODI World Cups, will be missing out on this tournament for the very first time.

The ten-team format for the World Cup remains as simple as ever. Ten teams all play each other once, and the top four teams in the group at the end of it go through to the semi-finals, where it becomes a straight knockout. 48 matches total. There will be reserve days for the three knockout matches and, if necessary, Super Overs. But you can't win games on boundary count anymore...

Fixtures:

Tournament Odds:

Squad Lists (Teams have until the 28th September to finalise their squads):

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Wed 20 Sep 2023, 11:21 am

No Naseem Shah for Pakistan, injured during the Asia cup. What a great shame

I, and dare I say this, actually quite like the look of South Africa's team, and if I were to have a flutter at the odds Duty has posted, 10/1 appeals to me most for them.

If you put a gun to my head, I'd say India win this though. Strongest side on paper, home conditions, it's really theirs to lose.

For England...a bit unsure of how we will go. We have a LOT of travel, and no two games at the same ground in the groups...which feels like quite a big disadvantage? Hoping we can just make it to the knockout games, and see how we go...but it will be tough, and I feel a lot more unsure about this XI going into a white ball tournament than I have since 2015 really.

by Duty281 Thu 21 Sep 2023, 11:43 am

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/anrich-nortje-and-sisanda-magala-ruled-out-of-2023-odi-world-cup-with-injuries-1399375

Well, South Africa's hopes have taken a big hit. They've lost Nortje and Magala. Nortje a crushing blow. The amount of injuries in this tournament, which I referenced in the 'rest of the world' thread, is ridiculous, and perhaps testament to too much cricket being played.

Southee's undergoing surgery for his thumb problem, so he might also miss the World Cup.

The team that wins the cup will be the team that manages their injuries best.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Thu 21 Sep 2023, 12:55 pm

Duty281 wrote:https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/anrich-nortje-and-sisanda-magala-ruled-out-of-2023-odi-world-cup-with-injuries-1399375

Well, South Africa's hopes have taken a big hit. They've lost Nortje and Magala. Nortje a crushing blow. The amount of injuries in this tournament, which I referenced in the 'rest of the world' thread, is ridiculous, and perhaps testament to too much cricket being played.

Southee's undergoing surgery for his thumb problem, so he might also miss the World Cup.

The team that wins the cup will be the team that manages their injuries best.

Scratch my earlier South Africa dark horse shout from the record please your honour! Not just injuries - but injuries in the same department of the team too. Brutal

by Duty281 Fri 22 Sep 2023, 10:48 am

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66888419

Pakistan have named their squad. The injured Naseem Shah replaced with the experienced Hasan Ali, while Haris Rauf is included despite suffering from a side strain.

by Duty281 Sun 24 Sep 2023, 10:45 am

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/pakistan-change-plans-pre-world-cup-dubai-trip-indian-visas-delay-1399636

Looks like the Indian state are purposely delaying Pakistan. Pakistan still haven't received their visas for travel to India, while every other side has.

by Duty281 Sun 24 Sep 2023, 12:36 pm

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/hasaranga-doubtful-for-world-cup-after-aggravating-hamstring-tear-1399809

And today on the ever-popular 'which key player is injured and will probably miss the World Cup' roadshow, it's the turn of Sri Lanka's number one bowler Hasaranga, with a side dish of Chameera.

Hasaranga was on the mend for a hamstring tear, which caused him to miss the Asia Cup, but he has since aggravated it and will likely miss the majority of the World Cup at best, all of it at worse. Hasaranga was Sri Lanka's key bowler during the Qualifier - where he took 22 wickets @ just under 13. Another big blow for the competition.

Chameera is also in doubt for Sri Lanka. He missed the qualifier event, then missed the T20 franchise competition in August, but seemed to be on his way to recover in time for the World Cup. However he apparently can't get through many overs without discomfort, and has a long history of injury.

On the plus side for Sri Lanka, Theekshana, previously a doubt, is likely to be fit for the World Cup. It's definitely in the category of 'speculative punt', but Sri Lanka are currently 22/1 to finish bottom of the group stage at the World Cup. Worth a nibble with this news.

Could probably get a quality XI out of the injured - Head, Roy (we can sort of squeeze him in as his back injury was a factor), Williamson, Mitchell, Pant, Hasaranga, Axar Patel, Southee, Archer, Nortje, Naseem Shah.

Might be a little light on the batting front, but the bowling is stacked. Patch them up, put them in as an 11th team, and they might make a run for the semi-finals.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Sun 24 Sep 2023, 3:22 pm

Duty281 wrote:https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/pakistan-change-plans-pre-world-cup-dubai-trip-indian-visas-delay-1399636

Looks like the Indian state are purposely delaying Pakistan. Pakistan still haven't received their visas for travel to India, while every other side has.

The organisation of this event, and this treatment, is absolutely embarrassing. Not that the ICC (sorry BCCI, who are the ICC these days) care, as their pockets will be full at the end of proceedings.

by Duty281 Mon 25 Sep 2023, 5:30 pm

Warm-up fixtures for the World Cup begin on Friday. England have got two fixtures penciled in for Saturday and Monday, with the first actual game beginning a week on Thursday. Of course, some sides are still playing other ODI games, with India and Australia playing the third of three ODIs tomorrow (India currently 2-0 up), and Bangladesh doing likewise against NZ (NZ currently 1-0 up).

The 2023 Cricket World Cup 365990.1

by Duty281 Tue 26 Sep 2023, 2:34 pm

Sri Lanka's squad named and they've omitted Hasaranga and Chameera completely, although Sri Lanka do hope, like England do with Archer, to be able to call upon Hasaranga as a late reserve if he makes good progress with regards to his recovery.

by Duty281 Tue 26 Sep 2023, 7:44 pm

Bangladesh have named their squad - the final team to do so - and their notable news is they've omitted Tamim Iqbal, despite him coming out of a very short-lived retirement a few months ago. It would seem it's a situation very similar to Jason Roy, in that Iqbal has been battling a back injury, which caused him to miss the Asia Cup, and Bangladesh have decided not to take the risk. A big decision.

Southee, meanwhile, has had successful surgery for his thumb problem and he will be fit for the World Cup. Whether he actually makes it for the tournament opener, in 9 days time, is another matter.

And the Netherlands had a low-key warm-up versus Karnataka. Astonishingly, the Netherlands, chasing 266, lost their first seven batsmen for ducks and were 3/7 (with those three runs being extras), before recovering to be bowled out for 123. Still, 3/7!

by Duty281 Wed 27 Sep 2023, 8:28 pm

World Cup Predictions:

Spoiler:

Overall Verdict: India, England and Pakistan are my three certain choices to reach the KO stage. The fourth and final place is between Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and South Africa and, to be perfectly honest, not a lot separates them. The various injury permutations, plus form, rain, DLS etc., could alter everything. For now I'd hesitantly plump for Australia, but it's all very narrow. I'd have probably leant towards South Africa if Nortje had been fit.

Once you get to the KO stages, it is then of course all about peaking at the right time and delivering a top performance on two separate days, as England did in 2019 and 2022.

India have the best overall team and home conditions, but their recent KO record is poor, while England are experienced winners who have proven they can do it at the right time, so England narrowly get my vote.

While India and England are the two clear front runners, Pakistan have a very real chance of winning the World Cup also. I think they're a level above those below, so should comfortably make the semi-finals.

Not a lot separates the Australia/Bangladesh/New Zealand/South Africa quartet, and all have a slim chance of winning the World Cup, in my view. One of them will squeak into the semi-finals, possibly by way of NRR, but asking them to win two straight games over two of India/England/Pakistan in the KO stages is a huge challenge, and very much getting into the realm of 'if the stars align'.

I don't believe Afghanistan, Sri Lanka or Netherlands have a hope of even making the semi-finals, never mind winning the World Cup.

Final predicted table: India, England, Pakistan, Australia, South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Netherlands.

Predicted KO stages: India to beat Australia in the first semi-final; England to beat Pakistan in the second semi-final; England to beat India in the final.

Bets I like:

Spoiler:

Happy World Cup. Starts in just over a week.

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Thu 28 Sep 2023, 8:48 am

Nice preview Duty - going to be sitting down and having a proper look into things next week. Very excited, but my initial overwhelming thought is I really just can't see past India's strength and depth in this tournament, especially with the length of it.

by Duty281 Thu 28 Sep 2023, 3:35 pm

Interesting news about the final Australian and Indian squads today.

Australia have included Labuschagne after his late run of form, 421 runs in 8 matches, but not at the expense of Head, as was expected. Instead it's Agar who has been omitted due to suffering a calf injury.

Head is in the squad despite Australia knowing that he will not be able to play any part in the competition for the first half, due to his fractured hand. That's a gamble, carrying a passenger for that long. Australia's fixture list has quite a tough beginning, in that they have to play India in their 1st game and Pakistan in the 4th, so Head's absence will be keenly felt. Marsh will probably open with Warner.

And Agar being replaced with Labuschagne means there's no specialist spin cover for Zampa, and that Maxwell may have to bowl more overs than he originally thought.

Meanwhile India have lost Axar Patel. They hoped Patel would be fit for the competition, but they appear to have given up hope on this. Patel's replacement is Ashwin, who has only played four ODIs in the last six years.

by eirebilly_01 Fri 29 Sep 2023, 12:42 pm

I have South Africa down as my favourites for the CWC. They just seem to have a very balanced side. India, I feel, will struggle with the home advantage and favourites tag.

by KP_fan Fri 29 Sep 2023, 3:14 pm

Hello All,
The world cup is upon us and I believe this will be the most evenly contested world cup...since the 1992 version.
Because the pitches will be flat, far more flatter than what was encountered in Eng(2019) and far less bouncier than in Aus( 2015)
Making it a batter dominated tournament and keeping teams like SL, BD in the running as their batters that need flatness of pitches to thrive and bring their spin bowling/ part-time spinners far more into play.

My Top Pick is Pak.....they have the batting for these flat pitches, have pace inspite of losing Nasim Shah and have spin bowlers who are allrounders.

Favorites to make it to semis in my view

1. Pak for reasons mentioned
2. Aus & 3. Eng
Both have depth is batting i.e bowling allrounders and batsmen who can bowl
and both like to play the brand of cricket where they keep-going unlike the "get set and then accelerate towards the end" approach of subcontinent teams, where they leave runs on the table when setting totals and leave too much for too late when chasing big totals.

Nos 4 thru 8 will be a tight fight between India, NZ, SL, SA & BD
and not in that order of probability..with BD being the outlier and SL my dark horse to make the cut.

Will assess relative probabilities in days to come
There is a lot to write on India which I will as I find time.

Most Fascinating Aspect of this World Cup "Unretiring of Ben Stokes" The 2023 Cricket World Cup 1f601

Turning retiring into a temporal phenomenon.....
" I am retiring for now" as one Pak cricketer said when they were playing musical chairs between Afridi, Younis, Misbah in limited over formats as captain

by Duty281 Fri 29 Sep 2023, 5:42 pm

Very down on India's hopes, aren't you?!

It was the first day of warm-ups today. Afghanistan and South Africa's game was completely washed out, but Bangladesh cruised a chase of 264 to beat Sri Lanka, and New Zealand made relatively light work of a 346 chase to down Pakistan. Williamson made his long-awaited return today and got a 50, that's great news for NZ with the England game under a week away*.

Not sure a lot can be read into results for these warm ups, as it's 15 a side and teams are retiring batsmen and using 7/8 bowlers, but individual performances and finding form could be key.

*Actually, just saw Williamson will definitely miss the opener against England - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66957189

by KP_fan Sat 30 Sep 2023, 7:18 am

Duty281 wrote:Very down on India's hopes, aren't you?!

Not sure a lot can be read into results for these warm ups, as it's 15 a side and teams are retiring batsmen and using 7/8 bowlers, but individual performances and finding form could be key.

Yeah these practice games are really only better than net practice, but no more.

India has one big problem, that they want to play a 6th bowler....inspite of having 5 good bowlers.

Because none of their batters wants to take responsibility of turning the arm over for 3 or 4 overs if needed.
So the 6th bowler is meant to bat at No. 8 and first choice Axar is out was the only one capable of scoring an 20 ball 30 if needed.
Ashwin and Shardul the two potential 6th bowlers...who will bat at no. 8 can hold the bat but Ashwin's forte is test match batting and Shardul too inconsistent.
So in chase if India go 6-down and needing even 32 in last 4 overs the nos 8 thru 11 cannot take India thru.
So I can bet we will lose chasing a game or two and then India will dump the 6th bowler to accommodate an extra batter.....might be too late by then given the expected tightness of the format

Bumrah, Siraj, Pandya, Jadeja & Kuldeep is a formidable 5 bowlers unit and the problem stems from Pandya not wanting to take full 10 over responsibility and as stated above no batter being groomed to bowl 3 or 4 overs although Rohit & Kohli have done that in past and SKY bowled both seam up & Off spin in Ranji as a part-timer with 24 wkts at avg 23.

The pitches are likely to be either absolute Patta belter where even 350 could be chasable
to flat with a hint of support to spin and occasionally seam movement under light where 270 to 280 could be defendable

by guildfordbat Sat 30 Sep 2023, 1:43 pm

Being fair to KP_f (and you might want to bookmark this, KP_f!), I heard Nasser Hussain say on Sky the other week that the issue for him concerning India's World Cup chances was that ''their batters don't bowl and their bowlers don't bat''.

Assuming Nasser and KP_f are right there, I guess a lot will depend on how much India's specialists in one role will have to deliver in another.

Whether this will prevent India emerging as winners, we'll have to wait and see. I don't know nearly enough about the current competitors in this World Cup to make a meaningful evaluation but I suspect that a detailed analysis would find some weaknesses in all.

As for England, I'm uncomfortable that we might be banking too much on Archer becoming and, perhaps harder still, remaining fit if and when a squad member has to drop out through injury. I'm obviously too far away to properly judge but I wonder if his inclusion in the travelling party may be a distraction we would be better off without.

Oh, and whilst I'm here, what's all this about having warm up matches against other teams taking part in the competition? I'm not aware of that happening in World Cups for other sports. Seems very odd. Fair enough to want a run out but play against a local side to whom it would mean a lot and give everything.

by VTR Sat 30 Sep 2023, 6:30 pm

I too find the warm up games a bit odd, but it's worth a look at the Rugby Union World Cup warm up fixtures to see that the cricket fixtures aren't an outlier. The rugby ones I would say are even worse and in some cases resulted in bans for key players for games in the actual tournament

by Duty281 Sat 30 Sep 2023, 6:45 pm

Two such warm up games today, but as both were no results due to the rain, it's fair to say there was little 'warming-up' done.

India/England didn't see a ball bowled, but Australia had enough time for Smith to notch 50 and Starc to land a hattrick, in an aborted 23 over game v the Dutch.

by king_carlos Sun 01 Oct 2023, 11:22 am

I fancy India as favourites. Particularly with home advantage.

1.Gill 2.Rohit 3.Virat 4.Rahul 5.SKY/Iyer 6.Pandya 7.Jadeja 8.Ashwin/Shardul 9.Kuldeep 10.Shami 11.Bumrah

Two all-rounders in Pandya and Jadeja balance the side very well. Kuldeep is bowling quicker now and looking far more dangerous for it. Bumrah is an incredible white ball bowler.

England should also be thereabouts. Their batting is still very powerful but the bowling looks more flawed than 2019 and as said a few times I'm concerned about their fielding.

Head is a big loss for Oz. He's been terrific at the top of the order for them. I quite fancy Starc to have another brilliant CWC though. Player of the tournament in 2015, brilliant in 2019. He lost his white ball form for a bit whilst developing his wobble ball but seems to have found his mojo again. As is often the case they will have 5th and 6th bowlers that can be targeted though.

The Proteas are intriguing. Their ODI batting has been ridiculous recently. Their middle orders ability to maximise the second half of the innings is impressive. Nortje is a big loss though, several of their bowlers don't have much experience in Indian conditions and Jansen is yet to show his batting at this level.

Pakistan will be dangerous with their batting aimed at getting par then a powerful bowling attack. Naseem is a big blow to that strategy but Shaheen is an incredible weapon in the PP. I don't quite see it taking them all the way though.

NZ are hard to call but always seem to be thereabouts with this gen of players! Santner and Sodhi are generally better T20 spinners but still good ODI ones. Boult being back is a huge boost and Henry is in the form of his life. They really need Ferguson to find form for the middle overs though as Santner tends to be economic without taking wickets in this form. They look a very good fielding side to me which is always helpful.

by Duty281 Mon 02 Oct 2023, 12:51 pm

Seems we've got a fair bit of difference. I'm going for England, Eirebilly for South Africa, Carlos and Olly (for now) India, and KP_Fan for Pakistan.

Two more warm-up games being played today, but both being lashed by the rain. I hope it's just India flushing out the last bit of monsoon rain before the World Cup, and not an omen of what's to come. I note the forecasts for the first few games of the actual tournament seem to be dry.

Conway made a good half-century for NZ v South Africa, as did Latham, while Williamson got through another 50-ball innings, so I'm not quite sure why he can't play v England. Bangladesh are 153/5 v England, with Rashid and Topley each getting a couple of wickets. Might not be any further play in that one with the rain currently hammering down.

by Duty281 Mon 02 Oct 2023, 5:56 pm

Bangladesh limited to 188/9 in 37 overs, England used 9 different bowlers! England managed to chase it down in T20 style, going at 8 an over, with Moeen top scoring with a powerful 56 off 39 (six sixes) to boost/cement his chances of starting in the opener on Thursday. Root made some runs, however it was still a struggle for him as he limped to 26* off 40, while everyone around him was striking boundaries.

That was England's last warm-up game. The real business starts on Thursday.

by eirebilly_01 Tue 03 Oct 2023, 11:23 am

Root scored at a slow rate yesterday but he had time in the middle and that is valuable. He is the anchor of the team and that is often required in ODI's.

by Duty281 Tue 03 Oct 2023, 6:21 pm

Final warm-ups concluded today. India and the Netherlands abandoned without a ball being bowled. Australia edging out Pakistan in a 14 run thriller, despite Babar making 90. And Afghanistan fairly comfortably beating Sri Lanka in a rain-reduced game, where Gurbaz's 119 trumped Mendis' 118.

On to the tournament proper on Thursday. Feeling confident about England's chances v a Williamson-less New Zealand.

by KP_fan Wed 04 Oct 2023, 11:22 am

Duty281 wrote:Final warm-ups concluded today. India and the Netherlands abandoned without a ball being bowled. Australia edging out Pakistan in a 14 run thriller, despite Babar making 90. And Afghanistan fairly comfortably beating Sri Lanka in a rain-reduced game, where Gurbaz's 119 trumped Mendis' 118.

On to the tournament proper on Thursday. Feeling confident about England's chances v a Williamson-less New Zealand.

what's Eng starting 11 likely to be?
will they have Rashid and Ali as 2 spinners and Livingstone & Root as part time spinners?

by Duty281 Wed 04 Oct 2023, 11:51 am

KP_fan wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Final warm-ups concluded today. India and the Netherlands abandoned without a ball being bowled. Australia edging out Pakistan in a 14 run thriller, despite Babar making 90. And Afghanistan fairly comfortably beating Sri Lanka in a rain-reduced game, where Gurbaz's 119 trumped Mendis' 118.

On to the tournament proper on Thursday. Feeling confident about England's chances v a Williamson-less New Zealand.

what's Eng starting 11 likely to be?
will they have Rashid and Ali as 2 spinners and Livingstone & Root as part time spinners?

Not completely sure, but it should be something along the lines of: Bairstow, Malan, Root, Stokes, Buttler as a near nailed-on top five. It'll probably be Woakes, Rashid, Wood, Topley from 8-11 (presuming Wood is fit).

And there's two spots to settle which Moeen, Livingstone and Curran are fighting for. I'd have thought it would be Livingstone and Curran, but Moeen's innings against Bangladesh might have tipped the equation in his favour, and of course it depends on what balance England want to go for.

If Moeen does play, he's likely to be a part-time spinner as he rarely bowls ten overs in an innings anymore.

by KP_fan Wed 04 Oct 2023, 11:54 am

Duty281 wrote:
KP_fan wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Final warm-ups concluded today. India and the Netherlands abandoned without a ball being bowled. Australia edging out Pakistan in a 14 run thriller, despite Babar making 90. And Afghanistan fairly comfortably beating Sri Lanka in a rain-reduced game, where Gurbaz's 119 trumped Mendis' 118.

On to the tournament proper on Thursday. Feeling confident about England's chances v a Williamson-less New Zealand.

what's Eng starting 11 likely to be?
will they have Rashid and Ali as 2 spinners and Livingstone & Root as part time spinners?

Not completely sure, but it should be something along the lines of: Bairstow, Malan, Root, Stokes, Buttler as a near nailed-on top five. It'll probably be Woakes, Rashid, Wood, Topley from 8-11 (presuming Wood is fit).

And there's two spots to settle which Moeen, Livingstone and Curran are fighting for. I'd have thought it would be Livingstone and Curran, but Moeen's innings against Bangladesh might have tipped the equation in his favour, and of course it depends on what balance England want to go for.

If Moeen does play, he's likely to be a part-time spinner as he rarely bowls ten overs in an innings anymore.

Stokes has reportedly a Hip-Niggle, I assume Harry brook will come in for him.
two spots to settle which Moeen, Livingstone and Curran are fighting
Lingstone and Moeen it should be given that Eng already has 3 seamers and you won't need a 4th seamer in Ahd

by Jetty Wed 04 Oct 2023, 11:54 am

KP_fan wrote:
Duty281 wrote:Final warm-ups concluded today. India and the Netherlands abandoned without a ball being bowled. Australia edging out Pakistan in a 14 run thriller, despite Babar making 90. And Afghanistan fairly comfortably beating Sri Lanka in a rain-reduced game, where Gurbaz's 119 trumped Mendis' 118.

On to the tournament proper on Thursday. Feeling confident about England's chances v a Williamson-less New Zealand.

what's Eng starting 11 likely to be?
will they have Rashid and Ali as 2 spinners and Livingstone & Root as part time spinners?

Think Malan, Bairstow, Root, Stokes, Buttler, Livingstone, Ali, Curran, Woakes, Wood, Rashid.
Was wondering if there was a super over who would bowl it?

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Wed 04 Oct 2023, 12:07 pm

I have avoided any bets on outright stuff, have to say I am quite concerned about how the weather is going to impact this tournament, seeing how it has put pay to some of the warm up games. Fear we might have a fair few washouts and DLS shenanigans which makes it a bit of a lottery.

Instead I am having some small stakes, long shot bets in some side markets on players I like;

Most Tournament Runs
Heinrich Klaasen (50/1)
Marnus Labuschange (50/1)
Mohammed Rizwan (66/1)
Glenn Phillips (100/1)

Gone for some long shot middle order players for this (obviously openers tend to be shorter odds). Klaasen arguably the best white ball bat in the world at the moment, Marnus should get a gig to start off the tournament and is in form, Rizwan is class and I fancy Phillips will play all games and get promoted from 6 if NZ have any sense.

Most Tournament Wickets
Ish Sodhi (33/1)
Keshav Maharaj (50/1)
Dunith Wellage (100/1)
Taskin Ahmed (100/1)

Aimed for spin options here mainly - Sodhi has gone well in India in white ball tournaments before, Maharaj I think seems to be SA's preferred spin option, Wellage had a good Asia cup, and again can bat a bit so will play mostly you'd think, and Taskin has 21 ODI wickets in his last 11 games for the Tigers.

Afghanistan most runs - Ibrahim Zadran (11/4)
Bangladesh most runs - Najmul Shanto (10/3)
New Zealand most runs - Glenn Phillips (6/1)
(All three in a treble at 112/1 also)

Bangladesh most wickets - Taskin Ahmed (9/2)
New Zealand most wickets - Ish Sodhi (11/2)
South Africa most wickets - Keshav Maharaj (6/1)
Sri Lanka most wickets - Dunith Wellage (6/1)
(All four in an accy at 1750/1 also)

In general, I like India, South Africa and Bangladesh to go well. I see a tough time for Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, who's batting looks incredibly weak to me. England, Aus, NZ and SA all battling it out to lose to India in the knockouts

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Wed 04 Oct 2023, 12:09 pm

Dobell says from what he's heard they're likely to go with the extra seamer in this one so...

Bairstow, Malan, Root, Stokes (Brook if Stokes not fit), Buttler, Livingstone, Curran, Woakes, Rashid, Wood, Topley

by Duty281 Wed 04 Oct 2023, 12:31 pm

That's the XI I'd go for if Stokes isn't fit. Hadn't heard of his injury until now. Could cause quite a headache for future games if Brook comes in and smashes a century!

On the weather it does seem to be a lot better for the next couple of weeks. I think it's towards the end of monsoon season. Hopefully it'll be alright. This tournament was of course originally scheduled to be played in March, before Covid pushed everything back.

by KP_fan Wed 04 Oct 2023, 2:49 pm

for NZ Daryl Mitchel, Chapman should sit out
Southee and Williamson not yet fit I understand.

Gives them Neehsam, Rachin, Santner as allrounders
Boult , Hnery, Sodhi & Ferguson as pure bowlers.....and NZ bowlers can hold the bat a bit.

3 pacers, 2 spinners and Neesham and Rachin can bowl part time seam and spin

by Duty281 Wed 04 Oct 2023, 4:01 pm

Predicted teams on Cricinfo seem to confirm what's been said above:

England: (possible) 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Dawid Malan, 3 Joe Root, 4 Ben Stokes/Harry Brook, 5 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Mark Wood, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley.

New Zealand: 1 Will Young, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Daryl Mitchell, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Tom Latham (capt & wk), 6 James Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Ish Sodhi, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Trent Boult.

It's an interesting opener, but I have to favour England for this game and I do like that team selection. Top six is amazing and I love the bowling variety. England are going to win the World Cup again, lads. It's going to be an important for Root and Bairstow, both trying to rediscover form, and potentially for Brook if he finds his way in at Stokes expense.

NZ are a potential semi-final team - though I've tipped them for seventh, it's a very tight race - however the losses of Williamson and Southee are brutal and are going to be very tough to weather. I like their front-line bowling, especially Boult and Henry, and I reckon Santner is underrated by many, but the 5th/6th bowling options are very exploitable. Key batsmen to watch out for is probably Conway - three centuries in his last nine ODI innings - or Mitchell.

by alfie Thu 05 Oct 2023, 8:12 am

I honestly haven’t a clue what is going to happen at this WC. Partly I guess because I’ve not seen much of the recent warming up type games most teams have been playing - and partly because I have somewhat tuned out after an overdose of cricket for what seems like ages ending with the Ashes at that strangely early time…

Logically India must be a strong chance in home conditions - and Pakistan , mercurial though they are , should also do well. England still have the core of 2019 and some handy new faces but I’m waiting to see how their bowling copes before getting on Duty’s bandwagon…fitness issues too perhaps ? But obviously the reigning champs have to have a great chance again.
Australia I’m also a bit unsure about. Some great players ; but are they all ready to fire this month ? Warm ups didn’t seem to offer anything definitive : let’s see how they are when the serious stuff starts.
Never going to rule out NZ ; but both they and SA seem to have suffered with badly timed injuries so back ups going to be tested. Are the rest making up the numbers ? Maybe : but I’d expect some surprise results along the way in any case. Not going to be doing any gambling with real money on this … PJ’s competition will do me Smile

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Thu 05 Oct 2023, 9:33 am

Surprised by that NZ lineup - massively reliant on Boult and Henry up top to get early wickets, otherwise a lot of bowlers who can be targetted...albeit they will bat deep in any chase though!

by Duty281 Thu 05 Oct 2023, 9:36 am

Brook is in for Stokes, and England have loaded up the batting more than expected with Moeen playing over Topley.

NZ have, surprisingly in my view, opted to bowl first, and England have plundered 12 off the opening over. Pitch looks a batting paradise, boundaries not the biggest. Kiwis have also not played Ferguson.

by GSC Thu 05 Oct 2023, 9:36 am

Jonny getting his eye in for one ball

by GSC Thu 05 Oct 2023, 9:38 am

Bit optimistic that shout but might as well use your reviews I guess

by **Good Golly I'm Olly** Thu 05 Oct 2023, 9:39 am

Duty - reports are Ferguson is out with a stiff back.

Looks like there's about 10 people in the ground.

by Duty281 Thu 05 Oct 2023, 9:41 am

Thanks Olly, that's another blow for New Zealand they can't afford.

Very poor review against Malan. On the attendance, I still don't understand why the host team are not playing the tournament opener, which happens in near enough every World Cup I can think of!

by GSC Thu 05 Oct 2023, 9:42 am

Outfield didn't look great on that boundary dive in the first over.

by GSC Thu 05 Oct 2023, 9:44 am

Surely you'd either put India in the opener or use a smaller ground for this game. Not a great image for the tournament atm

by KP_fan Thu 05 Oct 2023, 9:59 am

Duty281 wrote:Brook is in for Stokes, and England have loaded up the batting more than expected with Moeen playing over Topley.

NZ have, surprisingly in my view, opted to bowl first, and England have plundered 12 off the opening over. Pitch looks a batting paradise, boundaries not the biggest. Kiwis have also not played Ferguson.

sensible ...3 seamers are enough or a bit more than enuf for this pitch and most Indian pitches
2 frontline spinners are a min required and Eng have luxury of Root and Liam as part timers

Eng are rank favorites to win this one...with the start and depth and bowling resources at their disposal

by JDizzle Thu 05 Oct 2023, 10:02 am

No early wickets for NZ and they have to get through 20 overs of part timers. England will want something massive.

by KP_fan Thu 05 Oct 2023, 10:02 am

NZ on the other hand have included Rachin a part time spinner and 2 SLAs in Santner & Chapman
Surprised at Sodhi missing

by KP_fan Thu 05 Oct 2023, 10:06 am

malan has not done his team any favors by eating up balls and not going on

by Duty281 Thu 05 Oct 2023, 10:16 am

Henry bowling five overs in a row in this heat! Goodness. He has bowled an excellent line and length.

Was a very poor shot from Malan. Feet stuck. 51/1 after 10 is a pretty solid platform. Going to need 320+, on the early evidence.

by GSC Thu 05 Oct 2023, 10:27 am

In and out for Jonny. NZ chipping away

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