Come on, one man said that said that and he always says that. It’s his stock humorous reply to a stupid question.
We all know a 3-0 win in England is a much more realistic expectation. 3-1 if they serve up one of those “through the top” pitches at the Oval! 
mm
I actually have a horrible suspicion that there’s going to be an announcement after the “final”, to the effect that the preliminary seeding competition has now finished, and we will progress on to the Super 72s, with Australia winning a 1.5 NRR bonus for this exciting new stage of the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007-9. The numbers will be filled out with club sides and girls’ school teams.
So, there goes New Zealand. Yawn. I swear, this World Cup is longer than the Test careers of some Packer-era players.
So far Austalia’s victories batting first have been by an average 160+ runs or, batting second, 8+ wickets.
With our luck we will lose the semi final on the D/L rule.
mm
Well we were totally pwned by Aussie. Stuffed in the league as well. I suspect you’re right Mamboman, only rain can stop the Australian parade.
I’ve got mixed feelings about Lara’s retirement. I’m sad to see him go, as he’s been one of the greatest batsman I’ve ever seen. But on the other hand it’s probably a relief for him to no longer have to try and carry the increasingly weak WI team. Wikipedia’s got a good summary of his career here. .
Well onto the semis.
I reckon Sri Lanka on a good day could take the Aussies. It’ll require all of their batting lineup to fire, but I reckon they can do it. Don’t know if they will, but they can.
As for Lara; well, it’s sad, but sadly fitting to see the great man run out in his last match by the incompetence of a teammate. Telling also, perhaps, that not all of his team came out to applaud him after his final innings. Maybe not his fault that he wasn’t able to congeal a competent team out of the shambles that surrounded him; nor really his fault that he wasn’t as good a leader as he was a batsman - in a happier world he might simply have batted. He did, however, score something like 20% of the runs of the teams he led; no-one could accuse him of not leading by example.
In any case, it’s near tragic that in 4 mere months we’ve lost Warne, McGrath and Lara, three of the best cricketers we’ll ever see, no matter if we live to be 100.
Not being a cricket writer, I shall link to my favourite cricketing blog, King Cricket, for words befitting Lara’s retirement.
Brian Lara’s inside-out drive
Brian Lara and sporting hyperbole
Suffice to say I’m fucking annoyed I had only internet ball-by-ball updates to follow. Almost as annoyed as I am at Marlon Samuels for running Lara out before I could make it to the bloody pub.
Mixed reactions about Lara going. As a batsman he was great to watch. As a captain I don’t think he was that great. I wonder how well he would have gone if he didn’t have to carry the Windies side.
Now the world cup has actually come to a meaningful part
And I see Stephen Fleming has now resigned as NZ one day international captain. Getting to be quite a list.
Sth Africa are failing their psychological exam. They’re 8/107. Smith, Kallis, Prince, Gibbs and Pollock were beaten by their own heads. Kallis in particular.
Back to the couch, lads.
Nah. They need a padded cell.
Surely another captain and/or coach will go after this debacle.
Well, that was … not nice. Not nice at all.
Still, we made the semis, which I didn’t think we would, so I’m still proud of the lads overall (just embarrassed by this last knock).
I’m hoping Sri Lanka win it, meself.
Says you and every non-Australian cricket fan in the world…
After such a long and torturous tournament, it would be just… pointless if the manifestly best team did not win.
The comments above were right, South Africa were beaten before they walk out onthe pitch as they so often are against the Alpha-dog Aussies. The Sri Lankans won’t have the mental baggage, thanks to their tank in the previous game v the Aussies, but if the Aussies bat first it’s gonna look bad for them.
So, how do they organize the tounament next time to make it less bloated and more meaningful?
mm
I would have thought that most of fans (apart from Australian that is) would be supporting Sri Lanka just to see Australia beatn. From the cricket forums that I attend there is growing support for Australia because of what is seen as less than admirable sportsmanship by Sri Lanka throughout the tournament. Such as the gamesmanship with the crucial last ball agaonst England and the deliberate hiding of key players against Australia.
Less than 6 hours to go before the final.
Make your calls.
Australia, not close but not very one-sided either. Though I wish for a Lankan win.
Beefy says–as Ooo Ahh rolls balls past his feet for the last time–that the pitch is a belter, but there may be a bit of movement early on… so the toss shouldn’t be much of a factor.
I hope I’m wrong, but Australia by 7 wickets, or 100 runs.
It’s raining, so revised prediction: Australia to be beaten by 2 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.
Australia by 20 runs or 3 wickets.
It’s raining, but so far it’s still 50 overs apiece.
Biomechanists be buggered, Muralitharan is a chucker.
And a fantastic innings from Gilchrist! Credit where credit is due, although England looked to have him worked out in 2005, when he’s hot he’s hot and if only I was there to see it. A big ton in double-quick time with 21 boundaries altogether. Sri Lanka are not looking good at this point.