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Cricket XXV - The long runup to the World Cup


Stubby

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Right, so I'm evaluating the players I have from teams that have already played. A few key questions:



Do y'all think C. Gayle or K. Roach will find form? Or am I better off sticking with Darren Bravo (who seems to be in the slump he was in last WC as well)?



Malinga -- is he going to pull his shit together or do you think he's going to be a costly bowler for SL throughout this tourney?



I've already swapped out my Indian bowler for another one. Just because what the hell.



And of all of the English players, I think I might stick with Woakes. That said, are any of those batsmen/all rounders total butterfingers -- e.g. not gonna rack up a huge run total, and also not going to take wickets or bask in fielding glory?



(this is what I love about playing golf rules. I didn't even think about certain players' fielding potential when I picked my squad and it turns out this is the difference between a nice fat negative score and a positive one.)



ETA: Going back, it's the India-Pakistan game where I really suffered. Ended up in the top-third ranking (23K out of 72K) for points taken in that match. Dammit.


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Gayle will almost certainly find form and score a big century at some point. Likewise difficult to imagine Malinga not tearing through someone's lineup at some point, even if his best days are behind him.



Woakes is reassuringly mediocre, but if you want to bet big on England, you might back Morgan to continue his current form (2 runs in his last 5 innings), or for Moeen to continue his poor form with both bat and ball. I have a sneaking suspicion Root might be rewardingly inept, too.


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Captain Morgan shouldn't get dropped. It would be pretty embarrassing to drop Cookie Cutter only to replace him with someone whose figures are even worse and have to drop him too.



Wait...



So Morgan is a good punt for "keep playing... badly".


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And of all of the English players, I think I might stick with Woakes. That said, are any of those batsmen/all rounders total butterfingers -- e.g. not gonna rack up a huge run total, and also not going to take wickets or bask in fielding glory?

Farhaan Behardien might be worth a shot. His economy rate is not too bad but he is not really a wicket taking bowler. Given the strength of the South African top six, he is unlikely to have too many opportunities with the bat. And even if he does come in, his batting record is not particularly impressive. He is a good fielder though.

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Stirling also looks like a goddamned Hobbit.

Do they look more like hobbits than James Taylor who really does look like he learned the game in The Shire?

Good win by Ireland, first upset of this world cup, though not very surprising. Zimbabwe are doing well and if they win a game against India/Pakistan then things get interesting. If WI can beat SA, India or Pakistan then Group B is really open.

It's a sad reflection of the current state of Caribbean cricket that the West Indies being beaten by Ireland isn't even a surprise any more. I think Ireland have a good chance of qualifying for the quarter finals now although their match against Zimbabwe might be crucial for them since they seem in better form than the Windies.

What started so promisingly with Finn getting a five-fer, including a hat-trick, and the Irish Stumpers have done nothing since.

I think I might have done better out of the last game if I'd actually selected any Irish or West Indian players.

I honestly think the decision to get rid of the associate nations from the World Cup next time round is the stupidest idea. Cricket has to grow, and the ICC should be promoting the game outside of the Test playing nations. The ICC and relevant cricket boards should schedule more games between countries such as Nepal, Ireland etc and the top countries. Look at Nepal and Afghanistan, ever since those two teams have come to the world T20 and World Cup, the interest in cricket has exploded.

A better idea is to change the format, have a shorter pool stage, so if the minnows do get beaten, they go home, if they upset a big team then they get a good chance to go progress further.

I agree it's ridiculous that Ireland could miss the next World Cup (although they could be there since the last two spots are to be decided by a tournament between the best Associates and the two worst Test playing nations). I think 14 teams should be fine, 12 if they insist on reducing the numbers but 10 is too few.

Malinga -- is he going to pull his shit together or do you think he's going to be a costly bowler for SL throughout this tourney?

I think it may take him a few more matches to get back into form, although he might be back by the end of the tournament.

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