With the ODI World Cup over for another four years, it is now time for all and sundry to wade into debate about the players, matches and moments of the tournament. Every news outlet has been spouting their team of the tournament from Cricinfo to the BBC to the ICC themselves. These are pretty facile…
Australia regained the World Cup in front of a packed MCG on Sunday evening after relinquishing their title for just 4 years. Their historic triumph now means they have been victorious in four of the last five tournaments. They secured a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over their Trans-Tasman rivals and looked in control throughout the match.…
Tomorrow sees the final act of what has been a game-changing World Cup. It is a clash between two great Trans-Tasman rivals. Two countries whose histories, heritage and culture are intrinsically linked, will take to the field at the MCG to battle for the honour of being crowned the best ODI side in the world.…
After 5 weeks, 49 matches, and a whole raft of memorable performances, the Cricket World Cup comes to its conclusion on Sunday at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Hosts Australia will be gunning for their fourth world cup in the last 16 years, while their opponents and co-hosts New Zealand are making their World Cup final…
Tomorrow sees the second semi-final of the Cricket World Cup, as undefeated India take on co-hosts Australia at the SCG. I would try and predict the result but that just seems futile when it comes to these sides. All the form in previous meetings would point towards a comfortable Australian victory, but it would be…
When Dave Richardson made his no infamous ‘only 8 competitive teams’ comment, I’m sure he didn’t think it would come back to haunt him as spectacularly as it did. Not only did Ireland cause a few upsets, and Bangladesh make it through to the knockout stages. But also the matches involving the supposed 8 competitive…
Get off Misbah’s back – Pakistan’s commander in chief hasn’t exactly enjoyed an easy ride in the job, with #misbahsfualt frequently trending on twitter. While I’m sure much of it is in good humour, the constant negative media and supporter attention must be having a detrimental effect on him and his team. If Pakistan are…
South Africa v Sri Lanka (Wednesday 18th March- SCG) The first of the quarterfinals pits perennial World Cup overachievers Sri Lanka against the might of South Africa. Sri Lanka head into the knockout stages with some reasonable results behind them, having beaten both England and Bangladesh, but their two defeats to co-hosts Australia and New…
As Ireland make their way home from the cricket World Cup after a pool stage exit, it speaks volumes for the high standards they now set themselves, that they will be somewhat disappointed in their performance over the last month. The opening match victory against the West Indies, while thrilling, did not have the same…
Thank god for that. I can finally fully enjoy this cricket World Cup. England are on the way home, and with them will hopefully depart all my feelings of angst when watching this tournament. The rest of the sides have played during the last month with a carefree attitude that has provided entertaining and gripping…
Under the floodlights in Adelaide today, England confirmed what we all knew already. They’re pretty god damn awful at ODI cricket. By all accounts they were as woeful today as they have been throughout the tournament, and throughout the last 2 years. Hopefully, this will be the wake up call that English cricket needs to…
Tomorrow’s match with Bangladesh really is the last chance saloon for England at this World Cup. Their campaign so far has been akin to a granddad turning up to a rave. Other sides have not just evolved in the last year, they have evolved in the last month. England haven’t moved on since their 2013…
Unfortunately I was unable to catch any of what looked like a very thrilling game between Ireland and Zimbabwe today in the World Cup. However, I was able to keep track of the match via Twitter. Which is fast becoming the main medium through which I follow any cricket that I can’t watch live or…
India are the first side through to the World Cup quarter finals. Their unbeaten World Cup run now stretches to eight matches, their equal longest in their history. The only worry for a suddenly miraculously inform side ahead of the West Indies match was that they happened been tested enough. Thankfully, for both the Indian…
Scotland came into the 2015 Cricket World Cup still searching for their first victory on the grandest of stages. Four matches in, and they are still awaiting their first taste of success. In this sense, the tournament so far has been a failure for the Scots, but in reality, it has been more a case…
India A India seem to have stumbled upon some kind of magic formula. They were simply woeful in the recent tri-series, even managing to make England look like a half decent ODI side on their way to losing all their matches. But since the World Cup has started they have looked like an in-form, balanced,…
Australia B- It’s been pretty difficult to get a handle on the co-hosts in this tournament. They came out of the blocks all guns blazing and dispatched of a woeful England with ease, they then had what seemed like a lifetime to wait before their next match. A rain off against Bangladesh followed by a…
England’s World Cup campaign has been disastrous, there’s no other way to describe it. They have been roundly beaten into submission by the three full member sides they have played, and conceded 779 in 110 overs and taken just 12 wickets. While the batting has taken a lot of flak, and rightly so, the bowlers…
For Day 58 of my 2015 blog challenge, i’ve taken a bit of a cop out. After taking a look at Chris Gayle’s 215 through the medium of graphs and pictures, I thought it was only fair to give AB De Villiers brutal 162 the same treatment.
While many will point in the direction of the life-affirming story of Afghanistan, or the determination of Ireland as the enduring spirit of the World Cup, my focus during this tournament has been slightly less worthy. I have, I am unashamed to say, become a complete ‘Fantasy Cricket’ addict. Sure, I’ve done fantasy games before.…
Jack Vittles 