Official SDMB World Cup Cricket Thread

[II Gyan II]

Well, the Cricket World Cup will be underway in about 5 hours.

For those who are confused by cricket or don't know how it's played, here's a guide.

The World Cup is primarily being hosted by South Africa. Zimbabwe and Kenya have a few matches scheduled.

This is the 8th World Cup since they started in 1975 on a 4-year basis.

There are a total of 14 teams participating this time. Here's a list and their squads.

The match schedule of the 54 matches is here. In the US, you can only receive coverage through DISH Network. The complete package costs $300. Fret not, they also offer packages for commercial establishments. Chances are, there's a bar or some joint in your town with such an exhibition license.

The 14 teams are divided into 2 pools of 7 teams each. The top 3 teams from each pool will meet in the Super Six. Two teams will be eliminated there and the top 4 make it to the semifinals. The schedule should tell you how the Super Six and further line-up goes.

The winning team gets USD 2 Million. The summary of prize money is here.

As you can probably tell from the links above, Cricinfo's coverage is pretty much top-notch. This is their mainpage for this World Cup. From there, you can visit live real-time scorecards.

Starting with the second post, I post details about the first match and my predictions.

Others, please chime in with your predictions and comments.

People new to cricket are free to chime in with their questions. But, please don't make any "cricket sucks" posts. This is not posted in the Pit.

[II Gyan II]

The first match of the World Cup is

When : Sun 02/09, GMT 12:30 PM
Where : Cape Town, SA
Between : South Africa vs. West Indies

My Prediction: none necessary. SA all the way. I'm surprised Allan Donald is still around. Someone following SA cricket can enlighten. Do they any young blood in the pace department ? West Indies have never really regained their late 70s/early 80s dominance. Their batting collapses this past decade don't inspire much confidence. South Africa remain the standard to judge fielding by, although Aussies will disagree. Jonty Rhodes is playing in his fourth and last World Cup. It was a run-out he effected of Pakistan's Ul-Haq in WC'92 that brought him fame. I hope we see something like that this time around. Overall, short of a near-miracle, I don't see WI having a chance.

[Skip]

Allan Donald has retired from test cricket but still plays in ODI's. He's still helluva fast. We've got some young blood. Mkhaya Ntini is also a bright new pace bowling talent to watch out for. This tournament will show whether he's up to scratch.

[hawthorne]

Ah, the World Cup. The only time one day cricket is worth watching. [Big Kev]I'm excited.[BK]

Do they any young blood in the pace department ?

Yeah, Hayward (who's not in the 15) and Ntini (who is) are both genuine, hostile quicks. Ntini's been around a while, but has developed into a seriously good bowler. He reminds me of Malcolm Marshall. Pollock himself is quick, and even Kallis is fast-medium. SA have plenty of depth in pace.

[gouda]

It'llbe an Aussie - SA final, with SA taking the Cup. Thats my prediction. I felt they should have the last time too.

Oh, and India is going to kick Pakistan's ass

[kiwiboy]

Warning Spoiler....





West Indies won by three runs in a great game. Looks like the Cup's off to a great start. Nice to see Lara back in form (he got 116) too.

[II Gyan II]

Am I glad to be wrong !!!

What a humdinger !!!!


If this match is any indication, this tournament's gonna rock !

Lara is back in form. Klusener is in form. The WI batting lineup slapped me in the face and I'm not complaining. But I've seen such selective performance so it remains to be seen whether this is the start of a consistent roll or an one-off thing.