Part 2: Visiting Teams
Among the visiting nations, Australia is starting to look better and better. They were quite efficient in dismissing Zimbabwe with most things working out well for them, and their act against NZ was almost flawless. Watson is in the form of his life, Clarke is showing good technique in handling spin bowling and the fast bowlers are packing enough firepower and working exceedingly well as a unit. Though there is plenty of room for the rest of the batsmen to find their fluency against slow bowling, especially in the absence of Hussey, and lacking a front line spinner can not be stressed enough as a serious drawback for the Aussies.
The other thing that is a major worry for them, and what makes for juicy news, is their Captain's well being, both mentally as well as with batting form. There have been enough outbursts in the recent past for both his mental calmness and ability to lead to be questioned. People close to him have continued to show faith in him, and he has received sufficient support from the team and the board. But the broken TV incident seems to be the icing that takes these worries to the next level. The most surprising factor is really the nothingness that provoked this reaction. There was no bad umpiring decision, or a horrible shot selection or even a personal slur from the bowler, it was simply a freak throw from the deep that found the bails with Ponting inches short. Moreover, this was a game against Zimbabwe in the very early stages of the tournament. Nothing to panic about. And yet, a long frustrated-self-mumbling walk and a broken TV later, we wonder if there is something else going on with good ol’ Ricky boy.
Moving on, New Zealand finally had something to look back on other than the horrors of their recent past, but Australia spoiled it again for them. They should feel good about their win against Kenya, but they are kind of back to square one after their ordinary outing against Australia. Against Kenya, Bennett showed that laser-like accuracy is a much-rewarded quality in the sub-continent conditions. Nathan McCullum opening the bowling brought back fond memories from 1992, but fails to be a penetrating option. They would probably have hoped for a better exercise for their batters in the first game, but bowling first deprived them of the opportunity with Kenya imploding for a paltry total. NZ has tried some different things which shows an open attitude and approach towards solving their problems, but very few things seem to be working out for them. Their batters especially the top 4 have to find form quickly if they want to extend their stay beyond the first round.
England looked like amateur school kids on the field. With utter chaos, lack of communication, dropped catches and over throws...they pretty much found every single way to mess things up and invented new ones. What followed though was quite the opposite. They chased down a tricky target with a well thought-out, serene and professional batting performance. Contributions came from almost everyone involved and not from a single handed miracle, though Strauss certainly stood out as the pick of the English batsmen. There could be the argument of the Dutch bowling attack being sub par when compared to some of the other ones the English are going to encounter. But one thing is for sure, they have got a heck of a lot issues to sort in a short time. The game against India on Sunday is going to test them a lot more than what the Dutch did. Broad, Anderson and Swann will go in with a lot of responsibility on their shoulders, and the rest, well they will have to find a way to hold on to catches and somehow try and keep four fielders within the circle!
Watching West Indies play is like visiting Purana Kila, reflecting that it used to be a place where Kings lived, but is now in ruins with nothing but graffiti on its walls. South Africa made easy work of West Indies even when at one stage it looked like we were going to have match at our hands. SA will be extremely happy with their performance, with the exception of Amla and Kallis not getting in the thick of things. But considering the work load that these two batsmen have had recently, it is not entirely a bad thing for others to get an opportunity to carry the innings. And boy did they carry it well. AB continues to show us what a class act he is, while Imran Tahir seems to be a new addition to an already potent bowling attack. This is a team, like in every edition since 1992, that looks like the most balanced side and sure contenders to win it all on paper. Can they believe it though? We will find out soon enough.
So, of the notable visitors, South Africa definitely seems to be the pick of the lot. Kallis provides them that sweet balance to carry formidable attacks both on bowling and batting sides, be flexible enough to carry three specialist spinners (!), while still continuing to be one of the best fielding sides in the world. In the calculating spinner that he promises to be, Tahir is just what the Doctor ordered for them to play a World Cup in the sub-continent. Demons of the past notwithstanding, they should last deep into the tournament. Australia, despite some bad press recently, has a lot of good things going on and they certainly are a close second to SA in my books. England and New Zealand have to sort out a lot more problems than these two.
I certainly did not want to be biased against the associate nations, but the write-ups are really based on performances rather than being influenced by the test playing-minnow divide (That is my story and I am sticking to it).
We should take another look at the teams in about a weeks’ time and try our hand at some predictions to keep things cooking!
Among the visiting nations, Australia is starting to look better and better. They were quite efficient in dismissing Zimbabwe with most things working out well for them, and their act against NZ was almost flawless. Watson is in the form of his life, Clarke is showing good technique in handling spin bowling and the fast bowlers are packing enough firepower and working exceedingly well as a unit. Though there is plenty of room for the rest of the batsmen to find their fluency against slow bowling, especially in the absence of Hussey, and lacking a front line spinner can not be stressed enough as a serious drawback for the Aussies.
The other thing that is a major worry for them, and what makes for juicy news, is their Captain's well being, both mentally as well as with batting form. There have been enough outbursts in the recent past for both his mental calmness and ability to lead to be questioned. People close to him have continued to show faith in him, and he has received sufficient support from the team and the board. But the broken TV incident seems to be the icing that takes these worries to the next level. The most surprising factor is really the nothingness that provoked this reaction. There was no bad umpiring decision, or a horrible shot selection or even a personal slur from the bowler, it was simply a freak throw from the deep that found the bails with Ponting inches short. Moreover, this was a game against Zimbabwe in the very early stages of the tournament. Nothing to panic about. And yet, a long frustrated-self-mumbling walk and a broken TV later, we wonder if there is something else going on with good ol’ Ricky boy.
Moving on, New Zealand finally had something to look back on other than the horrors of their recent past, but Australia spoiled it again for them. They should feel good about their win against Kenya, but they are kind of back to square one after their ordinary outing against Australia. Against Kenya, Bennett showed that laser-like accuracy is a much-rewarded quality in the sub-continent conditions. Nathan McCullum opening the bowling brought back fond memories from 1992, but fails to be a penetrating option. They would probably have hoped for a better exercise for their batters in the first game, but bowling first deprived them of the opportunity with Kenya imploding for a paltry total. NZ has tried some different things which shows an open attitude and approach towards solving their problems, but very few things seem to be working out for them. Their batters especially the top 4 have to find form quickly if they want to extend their stay beyond the first round.
England looked like amateur school kids on the field. With utter chaos, lack of communication, dropped catches and over throws...they pretty much found every single way to mess things up and invented new ones. What followed though was quite the opposite. They chased down a tricky target with a well thought-out, serene and professional batting performance. Contributions came from almost everyone involved and not from a single handed miracle, though Strauss certainly stood out as the pick of the English batsmen. There could be the argument of the Dutch bowling attack being sub par when compared to some of the other ones the English are going to encounter. But one thing is for sure, they have got a heck of a lot issues to sort in a short time. The game against India on Sunday is going to test them a lot more than what the Dutch did. Broad, Anderson and Swann will go in with a lot of responsibility on their shoulders, and the rest, well they will have to find a way to hold on to catches and somehow try and keep four fielders within the circle!
Watching West Indies play is like visiting Purana Kila, reflecting that it used to be a place where Kings lived, but is now in ruins with nothing but graffiti on its walls. South Africa made easy work of West Indies even when at one stage it looked like we were going to have match at our hands. SA will be extremely happy with their performance, with the exception of Amla and Kallis not getting in the thick of things. But considering the work load that these two batsmen have had recently, it is not entirely a bad thing for others to get an opportunity to carry the innings. And boy did they carry it well. AB continues to show us what a class act he is, while Imran Tahir seems to be a new addition to an already potent bowling attack. This is a team, like in every edition since 1992, that looks like the most balanced side and sure contenders to win it all on paper. Can they believe it though? We will find out soon enough.
So, of the notable visitors, South Africa definitely seems to be the pick of the lot. Kallis provides them that sweet balance to carry formidable attacks both on bowling and batting sides, be flexible enough to carry three specialist spinners (!), while still continuing to be one of the best fielding sides in the world. In the calculating spinner that he promises to be, Tahir is just what the Doctor ordered for them to play a World Cup in the sub-continent. Demons of the past notwithstanding, they should last deep into the tournament. Australia, despite some bad press recently, has a lot of good things going on and they certainly are a close second to SA in my books. England and New Zealand have to sort out a lot more problems than these two.
I certainly did not want to be biased against the associate nations, but the write-ups are really based on performances rather than being influenced by the test playing-minnow divide (That is my story and I am sticking to it).
We should take another look at the teams in about a weeks’ time and try our hand at some predictions to keep things cooking!
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