Smith gone- probably unfortunately. I was hoping if he stayed to 150 Australia would probably win. I think he went at 148 so am still awaiting a good innings from maybe Maxwell?
rest of the bowlers look trundlers compared to wahab but they are not exactly trundlers looking at the speed gun. thats how good wahab has been. 2 catches dropped
Fielding let Pakistan down, but so did batting.
The win was certainly not as easy as the records will indicate.
Assuming NZ beat the Windies tomorrow, it will be Australia versus India in the semis and NZ versus SA.
All should be intriguing.
Disappointing.
Come on NZ. Definitely the team I am rooting for of those remaining.
Wahab and misbah:((
When a review shows that the original LBW decision was incontrovertible, that the delivery was cannoning into middle stump about halfway up, that it would have been a reprehensible howler if he hadn’t been given out, I reckon the umpires should be entitled to confirm the “out” decision with their middle finger, not the index. :eek:
That’s why you want to be an opening batsman- get to use the review before anyone else can.
Finch has a worrying lack of form- as does Johnson.
Guptill gets 237 as New Zealand posts a mammoth score.
Sounds reasonable to me. When I was umpiring a few times I laughed at appeals by the fielding side. I wasn’t trying to be a dick I was just surprised by a clearly ridiculous appeal - an LBW shout bowling right arm round the wicket pitching way outside leg or a catch where the ball has clearly bounced while being juggled. Mostly rather than getting shitty with me the fielding team would be apologetic.
That was an amazing display; second greatest ODI score ever.
Five years ago we would have been happy if the whole side made that score.
West Indies have made 200. Only another 200 to go. With very few wickets.
Vettori can fucking levitate now. NZ by 143 runs, in a clinical dismantling. Dream semi-finals; it’s anybody’s to win now, with the four best teams left standing.
On form, the semi-finals could be spectacular - there’s some awesome batting talent in those four teams.
Is it asking too much for one of them to be actually competitive? There were some great individual performances in the QFs (especially Guptill’s), but all four games were over as contests before the halfway point of the second innings.
The bowling of Wahab last night was pretty spectacular- as good as anything I have seen in this series. In the end Australia won comfortably but he gave it a real edge.
Now we are getting to the stage where balanced sides will be playing each other- that is, strong enough in both batting and bowling.
What does sadden me is the pop gun attack of the Windies-after the magnificent array in the 80’s of Marshall, Ambrose, Holding, Walsh, Garner etc this mob is feeble. And in saying that I mean no disrespect to NZ.
My prediction- Aust versus SA final. Which will probably mean it will be NZ versus India.
I think we will be treated to two epic semi finals. Personally I think they’re both to close to call, but I hope New Zealand get through. They really are the best New Zealand side I’ve ever seen.
Although they have always played good 50 over cricket. They have been in as many CWC semi-finals as Australia - 7. More than any other country.
Since 1996 both Australia and New Zealand have been in the semis 4 times. Meanwhile England and the West Indies have both been in the same number of times as Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
They are certainly the most consistently good side we’ve ever had: time was that once McCullum went cheaply, they would have folded like umbrellas. Now they have a Plan B, and players with the skill and fortitude to execute it: they are playing as a team who know they can win against anyone if they follow the game-plan, and England should be furiously taking notes.
And watching Vettori in his last real hit-out has been a surprise joy; you can tell he’s been waiting almost twenty years for this to happen.
Meanwhile Jesse Ryder makes a drunken acceptance speech in front of his bathroom mirror before angrily smashing it with the bottle and then weeping. Now there’s a player who threw away his talent.