AUSTRALIA -
If persisting with Ricky Ponting is the biggest mistake Australians have made, exclusion of a recovering Michael Hussey from the squad comes very close to it.. Hussey, who is suffering from hamstring injury, is expected to be fit for the later stages of the tournament and his absence renders the middle order exposed! Though he should have made it to the original squad along with Michael Hussey, Calum Ferguson has been named as his replacement. Ferguson, a highly talented batsman is apt at anchoring innings and scoring under pressure. Batting him at No.5 (instead of No.7) shall be ideal for the Aussies.
Nathan Hauritz misses out owing to a shoulder injury while the second choice spinner, Xavier Doherty misses out due to back injury which meant Jason Krejza has been called up and shall lead the spin department (Opposition batsmen must be licking their lips! ). Shaun Marsh (hamstring) , Ryan Harris (knee) and Clint McKay (left foot) are other big players missing out owing to injuries, further denting Australia's chances.Peter Siddle also misses the most important ICC event owing to a back injury.James Pattinson and Ricky Ponting have recovered in time from back and finger injuries respectively to represent Australia in the World Cup.
ENGLAND -
The biggest blow to England has to be the finger injury to Eoin Morgan, the linchpin of England's middle-lower order and an excellent finisher. Ravi Bopara, by no means an apt replacement for the former, gets a shot and has been named against him. Matt Prior has been favored to Steve Davies, a very good move by the English selectors as Prior is expected to score quickly in the batsmen friendly sub continental conditions.
A host of players recovering from various injuries have been included in the squad for the World Cup. These include Graeme Swann (knee), Tim Bresnan (calf-strain), Ajmal Shahzad (hamstring) and Paul Collingwood (back spasm). Samit Patel was left out owing to his overweight and lack of dedication towards improving his health and fitness. Chris Tremlett, who has recovered in time from a side strain has been included as a reserve for Stuart Broad, who has managed to recover from an abdominal injury himself!
ZIMBABWE -
Sean Ervine's decision to opt out from the World Cup at the last moment comes as a big blow for Zimbabwe. Ervine, a fine batsman, decided to continue playing for Hampshire where he is well respected and quite popular among the fans. Tino Mawoyo, who had been named as his replacement suffered from a abdominal muscle tear himself and finally, Terry Duffin made it to the squad. The latter's ability to stay at the wicket is undoubted though the challenge for him is to score as quickly as required in one day internationals.
SOUTH AFRICA -
Selectors decision to leave out Albie Morkel from the squad has been influenced far more by the injudicious use of the all rounder by the national coach and captain than his erratic performances at the top level. David Miller and Mark Boucher have also been left out. The exclusion of the latter comes out as a positive and aggressive move from the selectors as they opted for Morne Van Wyk, an exciting opening wicketkeeper-batsman.
Kallis, the world's best all rounder, has been included in the squad despite of his rib injury and is expected to recover in time for the crunch matches.
NEW ZELAND -
The only major team in the tournament that is least affected by injury problems, off late, the Kiwis have been in the news for their uncharacteristic off field behavior.Jacob Oram gets a nod from the selectors despite having an injured ankle. New Zeland is hardly expected to have a major impact on the tournament given even the conditions hardly favor them.
WEST INDIES -
The superpower turned minors, West Indies may spring up a surprise or two as they have match winners in Chris Gayle and Keiron Pollard. The decision to leave out the likes of Brendon Nash, Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor is disheartening but not surprising given the current state of West Indian cricket.Denesh Ramdin is another player who has been ignored for the world cup.
INDIA -
Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik and Irfan Pathan are the major names missing from the Indian squad. Given the inconsistent performance of Rohit and Irfan even after being provided with enough opportunities, the selectors decision to do away with them is a positive one. Also, being the host, India can avail the services of Dinesh Karthik at a short notice in case Dhoni is unavailable to play a match.
Indian medium pace department suffered a major blow when Praveen injured his elbow. Sreesanth has been named as his replacement. Horses for courses is the "mantra" that teams have to follow sometimes and Praveen was the best horse as far as the bowling department is concerned! By no means a tear away fast bowler, Praveen has proved himself good enough as a consistent and impact player over the years and his services shall certainly be missed.
The selectors have done exceedingly well by showing Ishant Sharma the door. Pragyan Ojha is another player to miss out on a berth in the squad.
BANGLADESH -
Alok Kapali's exclusion from the squad is the only major surprising decision apart from the decision to leave out an injured Mushrafe Mortaza (knee) from the squad as far as Bangladesh is concerned.
SRI LANKA -
Leaving out Sanath Jayasuriya was an excellent decision by the Sri Lankan selectors. Depending on a player who has diverted his attention to politics and is a member of Parliament is hardly worthwhile. The same cannot be said of the decision to leave out Chaminda Vaas. A consistent performer and someone who can swing it like a banana in the subcontinental conditions, Vaas's exclusion is certainly going to hurt Sri Lanka.Rangana Herath has been preferred over Suraj Randiv to bring some variety to the spin department.
IRELAND -
Ireland boosted their chances of causing an upset in the tournament by selecting Ed Joyce in the squad, who has been ignored by the English selectors. Joyce, an Irish born England cricketer, decided to play for Ireland and has been given the green signal by the ICC after he sought permission for the same.
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Monday, February 14, 2011
Sunday, February 6, 2011
WORLD CUP 2011
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
o Ricky Ponting (c)
o Michael Clarke (vc)
o Doug Bollinger
o Brad Haddin (wk)
o John Hastings
o Nathan Hauritz
o David Hussey
o Michael Hussey
o Mitchell Johnson
o Brett Lee
o Tim Paine (wk)
o Steven Smith
o Shaun Tait
o Shane Watson
o Cameron White
Many would believe that Aussies, after thrashing England 6-1 in the recently concluded one day series, are once again back to their winning ways and are strong contenders for the World cup. Well, the absence of Ricky Ponting from the dressing room, a fresh captain and comeback of the once, world's best fast bowler are a few factors that played a very significant role in Australia winning the series.The fact that the Australian selectors have stuck with Ponting as the captain for this tournament might augur well for the other teams!
Brett Lee is the key member of this squad and Australia have raised their chances a notch by bringing him back in the scheme of things. Australia have a chance of making it to the semi finals if Lee fires on all cylinders. Hussey brothers form a dangerous pair in the middle order well supported by the perilous White, whose match winning abilities are no secret.
The emergence of Shane Watson as a run scoring machine in the opener's role is due to give all bowlers some headache.A couple of major weak links present themselves though.The first has to be their spin bowling as in sub continent conditions, two good spinners are a must in a side.In Lee,Tait,Bollinger and Johnson, they have one of the best fast bowling line up but to stand the test of sub continental conditions will be a knotty task without quality spin bowling. The other weak link is the captain himself! Out of form with the bat and out of mind since ages, he is one man who ensures an Australian defeat like no other!
BANGLADESH SQUAD
o Shakib Al Hasan (c)
o Tamim Iqbal (vc)
o Abdur Razzak
o Imrul Kayes
o Junaid Siddique
o Mahmudullah
o Mohammad Ashraful
o Mushfiqur Rahim (wk)
o Naeem Islam
o Nazmul Hossain
o Raqibul Hasan
o Rubel Hossain
o Shafiul Islam
o Shahriar Nafees
o Suhrawadi Shuvo
Given the sub continental conditions, much is anticipated off Bangladesh than merely filling up the group space! But for them to come good, they would have to perform well as a team instead of relying on individual performances.
In Shakib Al Hasan, they have a very good all rounder and undoubtedly, he is the key member for Bangladesh. Tamim Iqbal is a dangerous top order batsman and the onus to provide Bangladesh with a quick start shall be on him along with Shahriar Nafees, a solid opening batsman, expected to play the anchor role.On his day, Mohammad Ashraful may prove to be more than a handful for bowlers especially in friendly conditions but his discrepant exploits have meant that he has failed to deliver as much as he promised.
Bangladesh will depend on Shafiful Islam to give them early breakthroughs and on Abdur Razzak, their lead spinner, to keep up the pressure on the opposition batsmen.
ENGLAND SQUAD
o Andrew Strauss (c)
o James Anderson
o Ian Bell
o Tim Bresnan
o Stuart Broad
o Paul Collingwood
o Eoin Morgan
o Kevin Pietersen
o Matt Prior (wk)
o Ajmal Shahzad
o Graeme Swann
o James Tredwell
o Jonathan Trott
o Luke Wright
o Michael Yardy
Thrashed by the Aussies in the recent one day series, the current Ashes winners shall start as no more than under dogs for the tournament.Irrespective of their recent one day record, England have not managed to do exceedingly well in the sub continental conditions.
Kevin Pieterson and Eoin Morgan are the key men for the English team.In Strauss, they have a stable opener backed by the technically sound Trott.But its the way KP dictates terms in the middle overs and Eoin Morgan stupors the finishing touches that shall determine the fate of the English side. The weak link of this team is their fast bowling attack comprising of Anderson, Bresnan and Broad as it is sure to face an acid test in the trying sub continental conditions.
The performances of spin attack (Swann and Shahzad) shall go a long way in ascertaining the impact of this side on the tournament.
INDIA SQUAD
o MS Dhoni (c/wk)
o Virender Sehwag (vc)
o Ravichandran Ashwin
o Piyush Chawla
o Gautam Gambhir
o Harbhajan Singh
o Zaheer Khan
o Virat Kohli
o Praveen Kumar
o Ashish Nehra
o Munaf Patel
o Yusuf Pathan
o Suresh Raina
o Sachin Tendulkar
o Yuvraj Singh
The strong favorites to win the tournament, India go in with a forward-looking and imperturbable leader in Dhoni and a batting line up, envy of every other team in the competition.The fact that conditions are expected to suit the Indian bowlers makes them the leading contendor for the World Cup.
The key member is, as always has been, Sachin Tendulkar. Perhaps his last World Cup, Sachin is expected to come all guns blazing. 21 years of international experience means that he knows more than anyone else when to keep the head down and accumulate and then, shift the gears and take the bowling apart.In Virendra Sehwag, he has a devastating opener to accompany him to the crease followed by the like of Raina, Kohli, Yuvraj and Dhoni.In Praveen, Zaheer and Nehra, India have a "medium pace" attack well suited to the conditions aptly backed up by Harbhajan.
The weakest link of the team is the lack of a fast bowling all rounder, though it may not present itself in the tournament given the advantage the home team enjoys in these conditions.
Watch out for Sachin Tendulkar, as no ball shall ever be played in the same manner again! :)
NEW ZELAND SQUAD
o Daniel Vettori (c)
o Hamish Bennett
o James Franklin
o Martin Guptill
o Jamie How
o Brendon McCullum (wk)
o Nathan McCullum
o Kyle Mills
o Jacob Oram
o Jesse Ryder
o Tim Southee
o Scott Styris
o Ross Taylor
o Kane Williamson
o Luke Woodcock
New Zeland shall consider themselves lucky enough even if they make the cut to the semi finals. A team comprising mainly of tit-bit players, New Zeland is heavily dependent on their captain in almost all the departments of cricket!
Jesse Ryder has to be the key member and the player to watch out for! His phenomenal record in the sub continent means New Zeland shall rely on him to provide them with unswerving starts at the top order.Ross Taylor and Scott Styris for a good pair for the middle order followed by Jacob Oram. Lack of consistent performances and the penchant of delivering lesser than potential is the weakest link of this team.
Also, absence of a quality bowling attack makes things exceedingly difficult as not much is expected from the likes of Southee, Franklin and Nathan in these conditions.
SOUTH AFRICA SQUAD
o Graeme Smith (c)
o Hashim Amla
o Johan Botha
o AB de Villiers (wk)
o Jean-Paul Duminy
o Faf du Plessis
o Imran Tahir
o Colin Ingram
o Jacques Kallis
o Morne Morkel
o Wayne Parnell
o Robin Peterson
o Dale Steyn
o Lonwabo Tsotsobe
o Morne van Wyk (wk)
Perhaps the strongest challenger for the World cup outside the sub continent, South Africa boast of a formidable line up consisting of top batsmen, great all rounders and a fiery pace attack.
In Smith and Amla, they have one of the most delivering opening combination backed up by the world's best all rounder, Kallis. AB De Villiers proves more than a handful on his day and South Africa will count on him and Duminy to soldier in the middle overs.
The key members for this team are Kallis and Amla.If these two get going, it shall be very hard to stop South Africa from surging forward. Morne Morkel and Dale steyn are sure to keep opposition batsmen sleepless though will they deliver consistently in the sub continental conditions remains to be seen. The weakest link is the lack of a finshing all rounder and the absence of Albie Morkel is bound to deter their chances of winning the conpetition.
Also, their spin attack may not be able to keep up the pressure built up by the fast bowlers early on and thus, they may loose the initiative in the middle overs.
SRI LANKA SQUAD
o Kumar Sangakkara (c/wk)
o Mahela Jayawardene (vc)
o Tillakaratne Dilshan
o Dilhara Fernando
o Rangana Herath
o Chamara Kapugedera
o Nuwan Kulasekara
o Lasith Malinga
o Angelo Mathews
o Ajantha Mendis
o Muttiah Muralitharan
o Thisara Perera
o Thilan Samaraweera
o Chamara Silva
o Upul Tharanga
A very strong contender of winning the world cup, Sri Lanka is a team to watch out for. They have perhaps the most arguable legal bowling attack, comprising of Muralitharan and Malinga, also their key members.Jayawardene has to open the innings to provide Sri Lanka with a better chance. A fine all rounder in Angelo Mathews provides a stable look to the side.The weakest link is the lack of a hard hitting finisher. Also, the persistence of the selectors with Kapugedera and the stubborn decision to keep Chandimal out of the squad may very well backfire.
Finally, lack of a thinking and innovative captain might see Sri Lanka struggle in the last leg of the competition.
WEST INDIES SQUAD
o Darren Sammy (c)
o Adrian Barath
o Carlton Baugh (wk)
o Sulieman Benn
o Dwayne Bravo
o Darren Bravo
o Shivnarine Chanderpaul
o Chris Gayle
o Nikita Miller
o Kieron Pollard
o Ravi Rampaul
o Kemar Roach
o Andre Russell
o Ramnaresh Sarwan
o Devon Smith
Perhaps the most fragile and enervate team in the tournament, the current West Indian side and the state of their cricket is best represented by their captain himself who is, by no means, a captaincy material! One of the worst fielding side of the competition, West Indies lack a quality spinner as well.
Gayle is the key member. Pollard may turn it around for them but he may be expecting to find himself in a defensive role more often than not owing to quick fall of wickets at the top!!
Chanderpaul provides stability to the batting. They hardly have any bowler to talk off! The decision of selectors to ignore the likes of Jerome Taylor, Tino Best,Darren Ganga, Lindel Simmons and Fidel Edwards means West Indies shall be fighting for survival right from the word go!
ZIMBABWE SQUAD
o Elton Chigumbura (c)
o Regis Chakabva
o Charles Coventry
o Graeme Cremer
o Craig Ervine
o Greg Lamb
o Shingirai Masakadza
o Tino Mawoyo
o Chris Mpofu
o Ray Price
o Ed Rainsford
o Tatenda Taibu (wk)
o Brendan Taylor
o Prosper Utseya
o Sean Williams
A team that could pull up an upset or two in the initial stages of the competition, Zimbabwe may do well to make the competition more interesting in the group stages!
On their day, match winners like Coventry et al can make a punch and raise a few surprised eye brows. In Utseya and Price, they have a good spin attack while Taylor looks after the all round department.Something as dramatic as reaching the semi final of the competition is not what is associated with this team.
Other than these, Ireland is a team to watch out for their shear commitment and passion towards the game.
o Ricky Ponting (c)
o Michael Clarke (vc)
o Doug Bollinger
o Brad Haddin (wk)
o John Hastings
o Nathan Hauritz
o David Hussey
o Michael Hussey
o Mitchell Johnson
o Brett Lee
o Tim Paine (wk)
o Steven Smith
o Shaun Tait
o Shane Watson
o Cameron White
Many would believe that Aussies, after thrashing England 6-1 in the recently concluded one day series, are once again back to their winning ways and are strong contenders for the World cup. Well, the absence of Ricky Ponting from the dressing room, a fresh captain and comeback of the once, world's best fast bowler are a few factors that played a very significant role in Australia winning the series.The fact that the Australian selectors have stuck with Ponting as the captain for this tournament might augur well for the other teams!
Brett Lee is the key member of this squad and Australia have raised their chances a notch by bringing him back in the scheme of things. Australia have a chance of making it to the semi finals if Lee fires on all cylinders. Hussey brothers form a dangerous pair in the middle order well supported by the perilous White, whose match winning abilities are no secret.
The emergence of Shane Watson as a run scoring machine in the opener's role is due to give all bowlers some headache.A couple of major weak links present themselves though.The first has to be their spin bowling as in sub continent conditions, two good spinners are a must in a side.In Lee,Tait,Bollinger and Johnson, they have one of the best fast bowling line up but to stand the test of sub continental conditions will be a knotty task without quality spin bowling. The other weak link is the captain himself! Out of form with the bat and out of mind since ages, he is one man who ensures an Australian defeat like no other!
BANGLADESH SQUAD
o Shakib Al Hasan (c)
o Tamim Iqbal (vc)
o Abdur Razzak
o Imrul Kayes
o Junaid Siddique
o Mahmudullah
o Mohammad Ashraful
o Mushfiqur Rahim (wk)
o Naeem Islam
o Nazmul Hossain
o Raqibul Hasan
o Rubel Hossain
o Shafiul Islam
o Shahriar Nafees
o Suhrawadi Shuvo
Given the sub continental conditions, much is anticipated off Bangladesh than merely filling up the group space! But for them to come good, they would have to perform well as a team instead of relying on individual performances.
In Shakib Al Hasan, they have a very good all rounder and undoubtedly, he is the key member for Bangladesh. Tamim Iqbal is a dangerous top order batsman and the onus to provide Bangladesh with a quick start shall be on him along with Shahriar Nafees, a solid opening batsman, expected to play the anchor role.On his day, Mohammad Ashraful may prove to be more than a handful for bowlers especially in friendly conditions but his discrepant exploits have meant that he has failed to deliver as much as he promised.
Bangladesh will depend on Shafiful Islam to give them early breakthroughs and on Abdur Razzak, their lead spinner, to keep up the pressure on the opposition batsmen.
ENGLAND SQUAD
o Andrew Strauss (c)
o James Anderson
o Ian Bell
o Tim Bresnan
o Stuart Broad
o Paul Collingwood
o Eoin Morgan
o Kevin Pietersen
o Matt Prior (wk)
o Ajmal Shahzad
o Graeme Swann
o James Tredwell
o Jonathan Trott
o Luke Wright
o Michael Yardy
Thrashed by the Aussies in the recent one day series, the current Ashes winners shall start as no more than under dogs for the tournament.Irrespective of their recent one day record, England have not managed to do exceedingly well in the sub continental conditions.
Kevin Pieterson and Eoin Morgan are the key men for the English team.In Strauss, they have a stable opener backed by the technically sound Trott.But its the way KP dictates terms in the middle overs and Eoin Morgan stupors the finishing touches that shall determine the fate of the English side. The weak link of this team is their fast bowling attack comprising of Anderson, Bresnan and Broad as it is sure to face an acid test in the trying sub continental conditions.
The performances of spin attack (Swann and Shahzad) shall go a long way in ascertaining the impact of this side on the tournament.
INDIA SQUAD
o MS Dhoni (c/wk)
o Virender Sehwag (vc)
o Ravichandran Ashwin
o Piyush Chawla
o Gautam Gambhir
o Harbhajan Singh
o Zaheer Khan
o Virat Kohli
o Praveen Kumar
o Ashish Nehra
o Munaf Patel
o Yusuf Pathan
o Suresh Raina
o Sachin Tendulkar
o Yuvraj Singh
The strong favorites to win the tournament, India go in with a forward-looking and imperturbable leader in Dhoni and a batting line up, envy of every other team in the competition.The fact that conditions are expected to suit the Indian bowlers makes them the leading contendor for the World Cup.
The key member is, as always has been, Sachin Tendulkar. Perhaps his last World Cup, Sachin is expected to come all guns blazing. 21 years of international experience means that he knows more than anyone else when to keep the head down and accumulate and then, shift the gears and take the bowling apart.In Virendra Sehwag, he has a devastating opener to accompany him to the crease followed by the like of Raina, Kohli, Yuvraj and Dhoni.In Praveen, Zaheer and Nehra, India have a "medium pace" attack well suited to the conditions aptly backed up by Harbhajan.
The weakest link of the team is the lack of a fast bowling all rounder, though it may not present itself in the tournament given the advantage the home team enjoys in these conditions.
Watch out for Sachin Tendulkar, as no ball shall ever be played in the same manner again! :)
NEW ZELAND SQUAD
o Daniel Vettori (c)
o Hamish Bennett
o James Franklin
o Martin Guptill
o Jamie How
o Brendon McCullum (wk)
o Nathan McCullum
o Kyle Mills
o Jacob Oram
o Jesse Ryder
o Tim Southee
o Scott Styris
o Ross Taylor
o Kane Williamson
o Luke Woodcock
New Zeland shall consider themselves lucky enough even if they make the cut to the semi finals. A team comprising mainly of tit-bit players, New Zeland is heavily dependent on their captain in almost all the departments of cricket!
Jesse Ryder has to be the key member and the player to watch out for! His phenomenal record in the sub continent means New Zeland shall rely on him to provide them with unswerving starts at the top order.Ross Taylor and Scott Styris for a good pair for the middle order followed by Jacob Oram. Lack of consistent performances and the penchant of delivering lesser than potential is the weakest link of this team.
Also, absence of a quality bowling attack makes things exceedingly difficult as not much is expected from the likes of Southee, Franklin and Nathan in these conditions.
SOUTH AFRICA SQUAD
o Graeme Smith (c)
o Hashim Amla
o Johan Botha
o AB de Villiers (wk)
o Jean-Paul Duminy
o Faf du Plessis
o Imran Tahir
o Colin Ingram
o Jacques Kallis
o Morne Morkel
o Wayne Parnell
o Robin Peterson
o Dale Steyn
o Lonwabo Tsotsobe
o Morne van Wyk (wk)
Perhaps the strongest challenger for the World cup outside the sub continent, South Africa boast of a formidable line up consisting of top batsmen, great all rounders and a fiery pace attack.
In Smith and Amla, they have one of the most delivering opening combination backed up by the world's best all rounder, Kallis. AB De Villiers proves more than a handful on his day and South Africa will count on him and Duminy to soldier in the middle overs.
The key members for this team are Kallis and Amla.If these two get going, it shall be very hard to stop South Africa from surging forward. Morne Morkel and Dale steyn are sure to keep opposition batsmen sleepless though will they deliver consistently in the sub continental conditions remains to be seen. The weakest link is the lack of a finshing all rounder and the absence of Albie Morkel is bound to deter their chances of winning the conpetition.
Also, their spin attack may not be able to keep up the pressure built up by the fast bowlers early on and thus, they may loose the initiative in the middle overs.
SRI LANKA SQUAD
o Kumar Sangakkara (c/wk)
o Mahela Jayawardene (vc)
o Tillakaratne Dilshan
o Dilhara Fernando
o Rangana Herath
o Chamara Kapugedera
o Nuwan Kulasekara
o Lasith Malinga
o Angelo Mathews
o Ajantha Mendis
o Muttiah Muralitharan
o Thisara Perera
o Thilan Samaraweera
o Chamara Silva
o Upul Tharanga
A very strong contender of winning the world cup, Sri Lanka is a team to watch out for. They have perhaps the most arguable legal bowling attack, comprising of Muralitharan and Malinga, also their key members.Jayawardene has to open the innings to provide Sri Lanka with a better chance. A fine all rounder in Angelo Mathews provides a stable look to the side.The weakest link is the lack of a hard hitting finisher. Also, the persistence of the selectors with Kapugedera and the stubborn decision to keep Chandimal out of the squad may very well backfire.
Finally, lack of a thinking and innovative captain might see Sri Lanka struggle in the last leg of the competition.
WEST INDIES SQUAD
o Darren Sammy (c)
o Adrian Barath
o Carlton Baugh (wk)
o Sulieman Benn
o Dwayne Bravo
o Darren Bravo
o Shivnarine Chanderpaul
o Chris Gayle
o Nikita Miller
o Kieron Pollard
o Ravi Rampaul
o Kemar Roach
o Andre Russell
o Ramnaresh Sarwan
o Devon Smith
Perhaps the most fragile and enervate team in the tournament, the current West Indian side and the state of their cricket is best represented by their captain himself who is, by no means, a captaincy material! One of the worst fielding side of the competition, West Indies lack a quality spinner as well.
Gayle is the key member. Pollard may turn it around for them but he may be expecting to find himself in a defensive role more often than not owing to quick fall of wickets at the top!!
Chanderpaul provides stability to the batting. They hardly have any bowler to talk off! The decision of selectors to ignore the likes of Jerome Taylor, Tino Best,Darren Ganga, Lindel Simmons and Fidel Edwards means West Indies shall be fighting for survival right from the word go!
ZIMBABWE SQUAD
o Elton Chigumbura (c)
o Regis Chakabva
o Charles Coventry
o Graeme Cremer
o Craig Ervine
o Greg Lamb
o Shingirai Masakadza
o Tino Mawoyo
o Chris Mpofu
o Ray Price
o Ed Rainsford
o Tatenda Taibu (wk)
o Brendan Taylor
o Prosper Utseya
o Sean Williams
A team that could pull up an upset or two in the initial stages of the competition, Zimbabwe may do well to make the competition more interesting in the group stages!
On their day, match winners like Coventry et al can make a punch and raise a few surprised eye brows. In Utseya and Price, they have a good spin attack while Taylor looks after the all round department.Something as dramatic as reaching the semi final of the competition is not what is associated with this team.
Other than these, Ireland is a team to watch out for their shear commitment and passion towards the game.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
THE ASHES
The Ashes - This is what cricket fans had to say on Cricinfo... And i m loving it!! :D :)
Posted by Ajay Singh on (December 26 2010, 14:27 PM GMT)
d Best Boxing Day start, Ever. HAT'S OFF, 2 TREMLETT & ANDERSON:)
Posted by suresh_sksj on (December 26 2010, 13:35 PM GMT)
Chappell...your UNDER ARM STINKS.....even after 29 yrs of that famous under-arm delivery that you asked Trevor to "Deliver" to NZ.......TILL NOW YOUR UNER-ARM STINKS....guess you cant ask Ricky to deliver an Under-Arm to Eng now....beacuse Eng are on cloud... 9 and too high for your Under-Arm
Posted by Junaid Asif on (December 26 2010, 11:59 AM GMT)
good bye ponting. next test will b ur last
Posted by PYC1959 on (December 26 2010, 09:27 AM GMT)
Get rid of Chappell and Hilditch as selectors, they have NO idea. There is so much talent in Australia and they come up with Smith and Hughes for the biggest series in Cricket........................... Chappell you proved you were a failiure in India and you ...are proving it once again.
Posted by suresh_sksj on (December 26 2010, 08:54 AM GMT)
Ricky...a broken captain, a broken batsman, a broken player, a broken bloke, a broken leader, a broken person, a broken mate, a broken team, with a broken finger......checkmate....mate....all over for you....just call it quits....
Posted by adamgilly on (December 26 2010, 08:41 AM GMT)
shame!!!!!! shame!!!!!!!! SHAME!!!!!!!!!!!! will someone show courage to sack aged uncle ponting.......... brainless cricketer....... hopeless batsman..........may be we will see first instance in crkt history when both captain and vice captain are dropped.............hope that happens........
Posted by praume2001 on (December 26 2010, 07:18 AM GMT)
guru greg chappel is doing to Australia wht he did to India...u Aussies deserve this... U made lot of fun laughin on others all these years...now its ur time to face the music... and the whole world knows...Aussies r the worst loosers... well i hv one suggestion... y dont u guys call Bangladesh team next year boxing day test... but still i m not sure whether u will win or not... hahahahaaha...
Posted by vee_7 on (December 26 2010, 07:17 AM GMT)
ashes gone, abt time for ponting to go... he never was a good captain, just that he was so lucky to have such a consistent flow of such talented players...i think warne would have been the perfect captain to follow steve waugh... if warne can achieve what he achieved with rajasthan royals with a bunch of not so talented players & just by inspiring them, just imagine what he could have done with an aus team with such awesomely talented super players... looking at ponting does not install any confidence... how can he inspire anyone when cant inspire himself... enough of calling ponting as the best captain right now... he is not even the best in australia...
Posted by Mukul Kabir on (December 26 2010, 05:11 AM GMT)
Just recappi...ng: Pointing (the guy with big mouth and small bat) predicted 5:0 in favor of Australia.
Posted by on (December 26 2010, 05:05 AM GMT)
Maybe asking for a juiced up wicket has backfired.
Posted by Achuthan Raman Chari on (December 26 2010, 04:21 AM GMT)
yipeeeee.. tak dat australia!!
Posted by Ks Raghu on (December 26 2010, 01:39 AM GMT)
Ponting has done the first damage - Gettin out cheaply yet again. His second installment - damage as captain is due.
Brilliant!! :P :)
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