Cricket at the crossroads

A couple of weeks ago, we had a few lengthy discussions about why it is that we found this World Cup boring. It must be understood that we are a pair of die-hard fans who grew up on the game; fans whose earliest cricket-watching memories are those of Imran Khan lifting the coveted trophy in 1992. So if we are left horribly unsatisfied by the sport’s premier event, then how can we expect the Scots and the Dutchmen of the world to chance upon the tournament on TV and suddenly start giving a shit about the sport?

Is it even possible to spread the game of cricket?

Therein lies the strange vicious cycle-esque dilemma. Imagine, for a moment, that the ICC isn’t a money-grubbing pack of wolves, and then ponder its dilemma about the nature of the game itself. Should it try to spread the game to all corners of the world that are even remotely interested, or should it maintain cricket’s status as a strange exclusive club of 9 or 10 countries and leave it at that?

Here’s the catch. The more countries the ICC tries to include, the more boring the World Cup, and the more frustrated people like us get. And the fewer countries it includes, the more it alienates the rest of the world.

Where does this leave ODI cricket?

ODI cricket is at a funny stage in its life. A stage at which it needs to decide its identity once and for all. If it is to stick around, then countries need to be granted ODI status the same way they are given test status, otherwise it is just making it more painful for the rest of us. Besides, just because these teams are in the World Cup doesn’t mean their countries are watching. Take a survey of Canadians and ask them if they even know about their 3 Cricket World Cup appearances. Then ask them how proudly they all watched their team get knocked out in the first round of their only FIFA World Cup. For that matter, Pakistan has won four Hockey World Cups and I’ve never seen a single hockey match from start to finish.

So the way to win these countries over is not to invite them to a boring party, but to leave them at the window looking in on a proverbial bash and trying desperately to get fake IDs. Cricket is an unusually technical game, and the closest it has ever come to being accessible to the casual viewer is twenty20. And let's face it, twenty20 is the only form of the sport that is likely to spread to countries that don’t currently play the game.

Can twenty20 be cricket's savior?

The immense popularity of 20-over-a-side cricket is still a bit disconcerting to the traditionalists amongst us, but its appeal is understandable. It offers sustained excitement and a shorter game that one can actually watch without taking a day off from work. Most importantly however, the shorter time-span makes the game a great leveler. It is way easier for a minnow to win a shorter game against an established team. So if minnows want to play, they should play twenty20s and leave ODIs to the big boys.

Does this mean the rise of the twenty20 and the death of the ODI as we know it? Well, if it does, then so be it. Everything must evolve. As the World Cup and also Cricinfo’s recent list showed, fewer and fewer ODIs are close games these days. As far as tactics go, there isn't a whole lot of mystery left. Teams know how to win from a winning position, so that a 7-hour game is often decided in the first 45 minutes. And if this trend continues, then what’s the point? This is not something we can even blame on the ICC or the television companies, as we have become so wont to do these days.

The ICC is usually blamed incessantly for packing in tournaments close together, but it's interesting to note that nobody is complaining about the twenty20 World Cup which is to be held in South Africa at the end of this year. That's because the cricketing community is yearning for change, excitement, and something to look forward to. Perhaps we are quietly confident, after the series of disappointments that the ODI World Cup became, that the shorter version will be the explosive revival our sport desperately needs.

Cricket needs to either change as rapidly as the world around it - with increased globalization, shorter attention spans, and less leisure time to watch sports - or else stubbornly refuse to ever change and stay put firmly where it is. This slow crawl into the 21st century is neither here nor there, and it’s leaving us all frustrated.

Co-authored by Billu @ www.billu.net

Congratulations Australia - Finally it's over!

Australia were clinical throughout this tournament and they bludgeoned the Lankan bowlers in the final as well. Too bad the weather didn't allow for a complete game, but at least the winner was obvious towards the end. Playing in complete darkness for the last 10 overs was the stupidest thing I've ever seen. This WC has been the worst that I've witnessed.

I guess we'll find out over the next few days about what really went on between the umpires, Ponting and and Jayawardene, but for now, it's all about Australia. They rocked the entire time, they won convincingly and thoroughly deserve the accolades.

Somehow, or the other, the rest of the World needs to figure out just how to beat these bastards...

World Cup 2007 final - Sri Lanka vs. Australia

1300 GMT
Too bad Vaas is being pummeled around a bit. Usually he's the conservative one. This does jar Jayawardene's plans a bit. Also there is no movement on the wicket or in the air. A bit surprising. 46/0 after 10 overs. Australia looking good right now, but this is their lowest 10 over score to date in this World Cup.


1305GMT
Great. Fernando just got smacked by Gichrist for 16 runs. He dropped a really difficult chance too. At least they have Hayden quiet for the time being. Bring on Murali. Oh wait. Murali's on. Cool. Someone out there is listening to me!

Bring me ice cream!

Hmm...that didn't work out as well.

Decent first over from Murali.

1330GMT
God damn Gilchrist. 112/0 after 17 and the 2nd power play is left. This is awful. I think 270 is what they are aiming for. 240+ is difficult to get. Atherton is right. In the shorter form of the game, Australia hold the advantage. They have the big power hitters. Sri Lanka have just Jayasuria and Tharanga compared to Gilchrist, Hayden, Ponting, Symonds, and Watson. And as I write this, Gilchrist smashes another 6. This is carnage...

1507GMT
281/4 is the final score. I guess Sri Lanka did well to restrict the Aussie to under 300. At one point, one assumed a score of 320 was possible. What was interesting is that they scored at 7.5 runs/over throughout their innings. Though the desire was there, there wasn't an acceleration at the end to 9 or 10 runs an over. Anyway, I think Australia have batted Sri Lanka out of this game. I just Jayasuria can get them close.

1631GMT
couldn't. Okay. The Sri Lanka are 100/1 needing 8.16 runs/over. Could this be the game? Can this be the partnership. Sangakarra and Jayasuria are waking up. The last 5 overs have yielded 54 runs. The pitch feels the same to me, but it was strange how Bracken was swinging the ball while Vaaspowerplay is over. These guys need to stay at the wicket and keep getting a boundary every couple of overs. Or someone just needs to go berserk. I volunteer Jayasuria.

This is looking like a great game! The crowd is electric. Wow. This is what was missing throughout the cup. And this is what a Caribbean crowd is supposed to sound like! It's not too late for this crappy tournament to end on a high.

Dammit. It's drizzling.

Oh, and Red Sox - Yankees. Top of the 2nd. Game still tied.

I hate the World Cup Song

Man, dancehall totally isn't my thing, but why the fuck do they have to put the World Cup song on repeat while we're waiting for this match to start.

Play, in this beautiful game
Where the rules and aim
Remain the same
It's the game of love unity

What fool came up with these lyrics? This is pretty dumb. They even got their facts wrong. How do the rules remain the same? Every WC format has been different. Then they add power plays. Anyway, even if they do, what a silly thing to sing about. Does the songwriter even know what cricket is about? I'm sure there are other things to sing about. Like fast bowling, wickets, the pitch, match fixing and nandrolone....

Anyway, this song is pissing me off. Oh, and don't even get me started on that retarded rap about countries and sixers, that's alternating with the WC song, and spit out by two tripped out idiots.

Oh for heaven's sake. Change the CD! I wonder if other markets around the world are getting this shit too? Or is it just us in the US suffering....

Sri Lanka has my support, but Australia holds my bet

Comparing the Aussies and the Lankans isn't terribly hard. Both are two very different teams.

Sri Lanka has a more varied bowling attack. Yet their 4th specialist bowler is the weak link. Australia on the other hand have 4 bowlers, who on the whole, may be a bit more one-dimensional, as compared to the Lankans, but are more effective. Both teams utilize their all-rounders for the 5th bowling option, so they are pretty much even out there.

The glaring difference is the middle order. Sri Lanka's middle order, is nowhere close to Clarke, Hussey and Symonds. Their is an over reliance on Jayasuria, Tharanga, Sangakarra and Jayawardene.

Though I really want Sri Lanka to win, I feel this over-reliance on the top order will be their downfall. But it can't be helped now. I was thinking maybe giving Attapattu a game earlier might strengthen the batting, but its too late for that now. If I were Sri Lanka, I would bat first, because I don't think their batsman can withstand a pressure of a chase against the Australians. Their strength is their bowling, and Jayawardene knows how to utilize his bowlers to apply the pressure and get 10 wickets.

It's going to be tough. The Australians play a brutal game. Sri Lanka is the one team that has looked close to beating the Aussies in this cup. I certainly hope that happens on Saturday...

Is it just me, or has this World Cup been a bit dull?

As an avid fan of cricket, I feel disillusioned with the quality of our sport's premier event. These have been a handful of good games, but nothing much else to speak of. The semi-finals were great cricket matches in their own right, but so much more was expected of them.

One might argue, and say that I am only irritated because Pakistan and India are not a part of the cup, but I don't believe that is the reason. I follow most cricket and watch games that don't involve either country. I think the cricketing world (the bloody ICC) really needs to think about the direction in which they are taking this sport. If people like me, who are born into a cricketing system, are feeling slightly disconnected from the premier cricketing event, then how can we expect new countries and new followers to absorb the game.

Several questions came to mind while discussing this tournament and cricket's state of affairs in lengthy conversations with my friend at Billu.net. These questions will be addressed by us, either in collaboration or individually, over the coming weeks.

1) What is the role of the minnow countries? Is throwing them into the deep end every 4 years really helping them out? Would something regular and structured be more appropriate?

2) Was the format of this World Cup flawed? Was it too middle-heavy (Too many games in a league type structure) with not a lot of room for unpredictability?

3) If the ICC is hellbent upon expanding cricket's reach outside of the traditional nations, then how can it truly attract audiences?

4) Cricket's influence in India, Pakistan, and the West Indies is receding with competition from soccer, rugby and basketball. Should attempts be made to reverse this trend? And if so, how can the ICC go about doing it?

Concept of 'reserve day' doesn't sit well

The West Indies - Australia game, dated March 27th, spilled over to the reserve day on the 28th and was eventually won by Australia by 100+ runs. Now I am not such a big fan of this concept of a reserve day. An ODI cricket match should be played within a single day, or abandoned completely. It is not fair on the teams, for a match to spill over to the next day, because the circumstances are different. According to the rules of the tournament....

From cricinfo...
Every match has a reserve day although every effort will be made to complete the game on the first day, with over reductions being used throughout. Only if each side is not able to face 20 overs on the scheduled day will the reserve day be used. In the event of the reserve day being needed, the match will be continued and not restarted.

Naturally, the biggest difference is that there is more rest for the players to play another day. But what happened with the West Indies was, that they played 3 straight days of cricket during that time which is just awful.

Playing on the second day, the team think-tanks also get more time to think about strategy, to reassess the situation and bowl accordingly. Cricket relies heavily on environmental conditions and the advantage and/or disadvantage of the toss or the conditions is nullified.

I agree that the reserve day is there for the fans, so that we can watch a full 100 overs of cricket. That's all well and good, but it doesn't disguise the fact the match isn't the same anymore.

Super 8's preview and predictions

India's out and it just got a bit more boring

Though, we all agree, they deserved to go, while Bangladesh thoroughly deserve it!

But still, one can be sad that the clash between India and Pakistan is not going to happen anymore. That was going to be one fun match. But there are still some epic games left. I am looking forward to Eng-Aus, NZ-Aus, and especially SL playing anyone. More on this in a few paragraphs.

Is the criticism on this World Cup's format justified?

I read some dude talking about how just 2 bad games in the first round was more than enough to kick a good side out of the World Cup. He concluded that such a format was not the right one for ensuring that the best teams play each other in the super 8's.

Well, that's retarded! This is the World Cup after all, teams should be playing their best and their hardest, and yes, 2 bad days SHOULD be enough to boot a good team. If they're good, then they should under-perform. Pakistan and India obviously didn't play well and were beaten by better sides on that day. So, I think the fellow's argument is a bit skewed and he is probably just hurt.

Bangladesh and Ireland's chances

Pretty much zilch to be honest, but Bangladesh have a shot for the semis. They have the capability of beating England, West Indies and New Zealand on their day. I hate predicting stuff, plus I am nowhere as good as this chap, so I'll just discuss match-ups and leave the predictions up to you.

My final four

No sooner than I said I don't do predictions, here I am telling you who I think the semi-finalists will be. I lie.

Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka.

Yes Sir. That's it. No England. No Ireland. No Bangladesh, and no West Indies. Well, maybe West Indies. It's either West Indies or New Zealand, I believe. But I'll probably change my prediction anyway by the time the semi-finals come around and I find out I was wrong. I'll subsequently edit this entry, announce that I was right in my predictions all along, and that I am the best.

Yeah. That's right. It's not so difficult to edit this blog entry. I have the password.

Who do I want as the WC champion?

Sri Lanka! Yup. I really like these guys. Been a big Lanka supporter for years now. I know you couldn't tell. But lets hope these plucky buggers can bring us the World Cup.

Australia continue the minnow bashing

Oh...apologies to all! Did I just call South Africa a minnow?

I amuse myself. Anyway Mathew Hayden just smashed the fastest ODI century in World Cup cricket. His 66 ball century is also the fastest hundred by an Australian. Bloody hell! Is it just me, or are way too many records being broken this WC?

I am not one for conspiracy theories, but its rather interesting how some bloggers pointed out that Pakistan seemed to play on the most seam-friendly tracks in the tournament. Agreed, that as professionals, those buggers need to be able to play on all surfaces. But knowing the Pakistani tendency to receive a bumjacking on bowled-friendly conditions, I wonder if the authorities thought about it. Seems like the West Indian group has the lowest scores of all the other groups.

I think I am going to copyright the term bumjacking.

Anyway back to the minnow bashing. Kallis just got Hayden out and Clarke walked in.

India on its way out

Bloody hell. Yuvraj just got run out as I was starting to blog about this game. And now Dhoni is out...to a straighter one. Agarkar just walked out.

My goodness. India is on its way out of the WC. This is fucking unbelievable. A WC without India or Pakistan....

It was totally Yuvraj's call. Dravid should have run. Dhoni was plum. Sehwag got out to a freaking good delivery. India have been outplayed thus far. I didn't see how Ganguly, Uthappa and Sachin got out...

I'll watch the replays...

UPDATE 1

India 157-7
Dravid just spanked Malinga for 17 runs. From cricinfo

36.6	Malinga to Dravid, 1 run, fullish, driven to mid-off, the bat-face shut a bit and hence he didn't get power or timing. He was aiming to drive it straight.
36.5	Malinga to Dravid, FOUR, oh ho! Another one. Smashed through backward point. Short and outside off stump, Dravid leans back and cuts it past point.
36.4	Malinga to Dravid, FOUR, brings up his fifty in style. A fierce flick behind square. Full and on the legs, he leant forward and flicked it in the air. Three fours in this over. Dravid is carrying on the fight and the Indian hopes.
36.3	Malinga to Dravid, FOUR, Full and well outside off stump, slashed away to third man. It takes a bit of outside edge and runs to the boundary. Dravid is on 49.
36.2	Malinga to Dravid, no run, on the off stump line, pushed to cover
36.1	Malinga to Dravid, FOUR, full and just outside off stump, Dravid cuts it late, ala Arjuna Ranatunga. Delectable late cut.

OH!! It's over! Dravid just got out...He had no choice. He had to speed up the run chase....

Video of Inzamam-ul-Haq walking away to the pavilion for the last time in an ODI

Tearful, even for us...

Future jobs for Pakistani cricketers...

Not sure who to give credit to for these images. Geo TV I guess? I got this forward from my dad this morning...

Irish spank Pakistanis - St. Patrick's Day massacre

Agreed. Massacre is too strong a word to be associated with such a fun holiday. Anyway, who cares...Pakistan is out of the WC and readers of this blog might think I am going to crawl under my shell, whine and point fingers. Not so my furry friends! Omar Loves Cricket and this blogger had actually predicted, in not so many words though, an early exit for Pakistan from the World Cup. So in my own creepy, pessimistic way, I had prepared for the worst. (What I actually claimed was that Pakistan would be one of the teams that a minnow would upset. I did think we would make the super 8's at least!) On the brighter side, I can focus my attention on all the other teams playing in the World Cup and give an impartial opinion on their progress.

Well, what better timing for Ireland that St. Patrick's day. How cute! Since I don't particularly want to delve on what went wrong right about now, I shall tell you about things that made me happy today. Fear not though, I will be scathing in my criticism of the Pakistani batting line up when I write a thorough analysis in the afternoon tomorrow. I need the night to tone down my response and perhaps make it articulate and eloquent. Tall order.

So random fun story of the day: I was on my way back from NYC after watching the Irish bumjack Pakistan, when I was about to get off at my train station when someone calls my name. Turns out, it was old friend from college. He was on his way to Philadelphia and I haven't seen him in a few years. How bloody random is that?! He is Pakistani too, but has no clue whatsoever about cricket or anything, so I was more than happy (eager and persuasive rather...) to pull him off the train and catch up over a drink. Quite refreshing to forget about the loss, and to reconnect with a friend.

Feel free to post your thoughts and comments on Pakistan's early departure...

Postmortem: Pakistan vs West Indies - Blame the batting, not Rana

Depressing game for Pakistani fans but an exciting victory for the West Indians. Again, I wouldn't be so ticked off if Pakistan had played better. A good game means both sides go back feeling pleased at the performance. But we had the game, and threw it away. The glaring holes in our squad are really beginning to come through. I knew the warm up games over Canada and South Africa didn't mean much and seems like we changed our strategy once again. We are missing Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar like no other.

It's easy for everyone to blame Rana Naveed for the loss. But he was just a part of it, and several players were to blame. So lets not Rana bash excessively and exclusively. Lets also put our bowling aside for a moment, and talk about the selection for the moment.

Though selecting Kaneria might have seemed like a stroke of genius to some, I am not convinced that he should even be part of the squad. I made my reservations to his inclusion quite clear in the past, but have since, been resigned to the fact, that what is done, is done. He is in the squad, will probably play till Afridi is back, and that's the world cup for him. A useless selection.

Kamran Abassi touched upon the second point with regards to this squad. If any of the batsmen gets injured, who the hell will take their place? Yasir Arafat? So weak...

Now Pakistan tried something new today and they must be given credit for it. They chose 4 specialist bowlers, including a spinner, and put faith in their batsmen. It is a good strategy and a sound one. Agreed, 2 of the bowlers were pretty crappy today, but the fact of the matter is, 240 was not unreachable. The batsmen are the ones who should be the ones scoring the bloody runs. Regardless of the bowling, the pitch was still good enough for 240 and they screwed it up.

We ALREADY know our bowling is weak. Which is why we bowl first. Our batting is SUPPOSED to be our strong point. Who was truly shocked that Rana and Kaneria got whipped? Not me. However, I was surprised that the meager pressure of a mere 240 runs completely fingered Nazir, Hafeez and Younis. I can understand a good delivery bamboozling them, and some tight bowling frustrating them. But I have no sympathy for retarded shots. Which brings us to...

Batting

Imran Nazir's time is up. I have joked about the rotation policy in the past, but this dude is a fucking idiot. He is far worse than Imran Farhat, and that is pretty insulting. Someone needs to bumjack him in the dressing room, so he can get injured, so that we can complain and whine to the ICC and send for Salman Butt. We could even help him fake an injury. It's been done before and I am sure there is an SOP lying there somewhere with the manager.

I can't complain about Hafeez. He did as well as he could, but the bugger needs to calm down and take it easy. He needs to stay for 10 overs at least, get his usual 49 runs and then bloody get out. What is the point of having openers who don't even get a bit of the shine off the new ball? What is wrong with the openers? Are they all on crack? Can they only slash and swing?

Our great one-down batsmen, Younis Khan, gets the most blame. Even more than Rana actually. What in the world was he doing? Did you see that shot? What the fuck? Ahh! I was okay with him being in the squad for a while, but dude, after this world cup is over, omarlovescricket is continuing its campaign to get rid of YK from the ODI team.

Yousuf got out to a frigging good delivery. What can one do? Inzi was unlucky with the decision. I think it was going over the wicket. Fuck what Hawkeye says!

Akmal is a choot. I hope Billu.net writes something up about this. I was about to throw my coffee into the aquarium when I saw him get out first ball.

Bowling

Rana is just about as good (or bad) as anyone else who can replace him. My argument is as follows. Can Sami, or Arafat, or even Azhar do a better job than Rana? I think the only advantage is that Arafat and Azhar can bat. Replacing Rana is not going to do the trick. Rana is out of form, but his potential as a bowler is far greater than the rest of them. I think Sami is decent, but even he is very expensive. Apart from Umar Gul, our bowling is bloody toothless in this World Cup, and we must remain resigned to the fact that Rana may just be as good as any other clown on the squad. We have no other choice people!

One could pad up the batting by selecting Arafat or Azhar, but that doesn't improve the bowling at all. Plus it releases the pressure on the batting. The top 6 batsman need to know that one of them HAS to score a bloody 70 or higher. They need to know that after Akmal (arguably before), there is no one else who can bat. Having a batting lineup stretching up till Mars is not the way we will win our games. We have to develop our bowling, give our specialist bowlers a chance to get into their rhythm, and lay the responsibility of scoring runs on the top order.

This squad is pretty weak and the gaps in our strategy are becoming a lot more apparent. Don't be too surprised if we're upset in the next couple of games.

Can Rana Naveed save what he fucked up?

Can Rana Naveed stick around and partner Shoaib Malik for another 15 overs?

All he needs to do is rotate the strike for umm, 80 runs or so...

Will he be able to atone for his bullshit bowling earlier in the day?

Yeah, I doubt it myself...

Pakistan is 129/6 needing 113 off 77 balls at 8.8 rpo. Game over!

UPDATE 1

They don't show the score comparisons anymore. Remember the time when, every 5 or 10 overs, they would print out what the opposing team's score was, at that point in their innings...

Oh, I shouldn't blog. Every time I write something, somebody gets out and it makes me unhappy. Well. Rana is gone. Bowled Bravo.

On the brighter side, at least my update to this entry now has something to do with the title. In case, you don't follow. The answer is no. Rana did not save what he fucked up.

UPDATE 2

Pakistan is fighting till the last wicket. Shoaib Malik just made his 50. That's pretty respectable no matter how you look at it. Some key questions arise.

Why does Iftikhar Anjum look more comfortable on the crease than Younis Khan?
Does Kamran Akmal not look at the field placings before he plays his shots?
Does anyone else get immensely ticked off at Inzamam getting LBW so often? Can't he get bowled a few more times?

170/7 after 44 overs.

UPDATE 3

Now we need about 58 runs of 24 balls. 'Impossible isn't it' you ask? Well, we're reaching that gray area of uncertainty. I've accomplished this score many a time in Stick Cricket, and once or twice at ICC Cricket Captain 2005. But never at Brian Lara Cricket 2005.

What's my point?

It's simple. Video games suck because they present a skewed view of reality.

Ah - the curse of the blogger. Bravo gets another one. Anjum is out. Caught by Lara. I promise I won't blog again till the end of the this match! The hopes of Pakistan rest on my typing fingers.

Pakistan 108/4 versus West Indies

Pakistan needs a 134 runs to win at around 7 runs an over. Inzamam looks calm enough. Mohammad Yousuf just got out to a really nice delivery. He was totally set up for that one. I wish Yousuf had stayed till the 40th over or so. Lets see how this game pans out. West Indies definitely have the upper hand by a mile, but I don't think Pakistan are totally out of it just yet.

Shoaib Malik needs to play his natural game and accompany Inzi till the end. I hope we can make a match of it at least. I'd rather lose fighting than get all out for under a 150.

The crowd seems awesome though. It was interesting to see their reaction when MoYo got out. Perhaps there is a bit of respect/irritation that he broke Viv Richard's record a few month's back.

Our openers are shit as usual. Not much more to say till I write my verdict after the game is over.

Oh well. Inzamam just got out LBW. Maybe I'll be writing the verdict sooner than I expected...

10 hours to go - I am so bloody nervous

Pakistan's opener against the West Indies is in less than 10 hours. I can't sleep! I am so nervous. I want Pakistan to win, but realistically speaking, I don't think we will make the final 4. Anyway, as usual, I am being too pessimistic, so I'll just shut up.

Where was omarlovescricket?
Fans of this blog may be wondering where I disappeared for the past 4 days. Well, its spring break here, and I took to the weekend off to attend to family matters and some other personal stuff. Not that you care, but if you're really bored, you can email me and ask me about my weekend. Jokes aside, I knew, that with the WC starting, I am going to be eating, breathing and umm, chewing(?) cricket for the next month or so. So the best time for a break from blogging is probably right about now!

Update on past issues
I will continue posting the wicket keeping study as it is still incomplete. Some of you were genuinely interested, while others were shocked at how much time I have to waste looking at Excel sheets. I have spent way too long fudging data around, so readers of this blog will indulge in my exuberance for a bit longer. I am still working on those bloody Excel sheets but am awaiting word from Cricinfo about using their database for ball-by-ball data. Fingers are crossed!

A bit of recognition
This blog, and more importantly other fine cricketing blogs, including our pet project, Cricket.bloggers.pk, were highlighted in Pakistan's Spider Magazine which deals with Internet related stuff. Pretty cool right? The review about my blog was amusing though. He wrote "The language used is one that the reader can easily comprehend, which makes the pieces more effective." Hmm! I think he's saying I am a dumb-ass. Maybe I need to spice my writing up a bit!

Pakistan unconvincing in victory over Canada

Which is perfectly fine, because I feel that's all we're going to get from Pakistan if they're going to win games this World Cup. It's hard to analyze the result from the scorecard itself, without watching it live, so I'm not going to indulge in reading between the lines of their performance too much. It was a warm up game for sure, but Pakistan will be concerned that their openers couldn't last 10 overs. But there is a bright side...

Younis Khan has been promoted to opener, which is about bloody time. I think it solves a key issue. For one thing, What is interesting is that YounisYounis Khan has played pretty much as an opener anyway, since our actual openers don't seem to last very long. Secondly, this means we're sending our best players first. I like how Mohammad Yousuf went one-down and Inzi went two down. Not only is this a confidant message to the opposition, but it means our best players get the most time out there in the middle.

Strange that we're experimenting so close to the WC. I would have hoped that we had these plans setup prior to the warm ups.

Anyway, another positive is that Pakistan still bats pretty deep. The loss of Razzaq will be effectively nullified by Azhar Mahmood. Mahmood may not have Razzaq's penchant for the big shots, but Mahmood can be pretty handy himself late in the game.

The negatives are obvious. Rana Naveed sucks and I have no clue what is wrong with him. If our opening bowling can't pierce Canada's armor, then what hope do we have against the rest of the countries? Umar Gul, should have bowled more than 4 overs. I hope he isn't injured. The bulletin didn't say anything though.

We also lost 4 wickets under 100 runs. That isn't cool. Its a nice strategy to send our best players first, but the buggers need to bat the first 10 overs out.

Blame Canada ... but not Pakistan's poor cricket form

Sheila (Kyle's mom): Times have changed, our kids are getting worse
They won't obey their parents they just want to fart and curse

Mrs. Marsh: Should we blame the government? Ms. Cartman: Or blame society?

Boys fathers: Or should we blame the images on TV?

Sheila(Kyle's mom): No,blame Canada, blame Canada
With all their beedy little eyes have packed their heads so full of lies, blame Canada, blame Canada,
we need to form a full assault its Canada's fault.

Courtesy: STLyrics.com

I want to hear Inzi's comments after this game. He might as well quote Kyle's mom in his post match interview, because he sure as hell doesn't think anything is wrong with our side.

South Park aside, Canada are in the process of wiping out Pakistan's top order. That's right. Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf are both in the pavilion. If we lose this game, its going to be pretty depressing and embarrassing. Though, I'd rather lose a warm-up then go down to Kenya.

Zimbabwe and Ireland seem to be equally, if not tougher, than Canada. We're done for.

Sigh...

Pakistan are going to go down this WC. I feel that amongst all the 'giant' test playing nations, we have the greatest probability of losing to a minnow.

Minnows played some interesting cricket today

I like the minnows. They have nothing to lose and everything to gain. They are also incredibly confidant in their own ability. They know their limits and are eager to learn, absorb and enjoy the moment. It's sad that everyone and their mother feels they shouldn't play, because their presence is charming and if we have anything to go by in today's warm up games, we shouldn't discount them with the disdain that they have been getting in the press the past couple of weeks.

Though they may have lost all 4 games today, I think Ireland and Kenya really ought to be proud of themselves. They really gave the South Africans and West Indians a wake up call.

Bermuda may have been thrashed by England by a mountain of runs, but their own 270 pound mountain of an off spinner, Dwayne Leverock, was apparently very impressive. Plus they had England in some trouble before Dalrymple came along.

Sri Lanka were clinical against Scotland, but at least the Scots past 40 overs.

These are the sorts of positives that the minnows must take from World Cup. They are playing the best countries and they are undoubtedly learning a lot. Plus their gameplay today is a sign that they are making the test playing nations think twice and play less casually. Michael Holding and others are wrong in assuming that this experience is useless. Being allowed to play in the World Cup is what these minnows work very hard towards and now that they are here to stay, cricket on the whole will benefit from their growing achievements. We should support them.