ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

Ireland 207 all out off 47.5 overs

India 210/5 off 46 overs

India won by 5 wickets


Ireland got off to a terrible start by losing 2 wickets for just 9 runs however Porterfield and Niall O Brien put on 113 runs for the 3rd wicket since Niall O Brien got run out wickets then tumbled regularly as they were bowled out for 207. India start wasn't any better as they lost wickets on regular intervals and Ireland made it harder for them however once Yusuf Pathan came to bat he scored his runs very easily as India won the match with 4 overs to spare.

Canada beat Kenya today in the clash of the Group A minnows. This is the fourth time in a row that Canada have beaten Kenya and it made it Canada second ever win in a World Cup match, it was their 16th match overall today.

No Pietersen, his injury has forced him to be sent home for an operation. Morgan is to come in his place, so with that in mind I would like to see this batting order:
Strauss
Bell
Trott
Bopara
Morgan
Prior
Collingwood/Yardy (depending on the pitch)
Bresnan
Swann
Broad
Anderson

What does everyone think of that team?

A related article - http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/mar...ew-strauss

anyone who thinks england can still win the world cup need their head examining. south africa handed the game to england, england won it but did not win.

I probably haven't confidently thought England would win it at any stage. I have reckoned that any of 6 teams (incl. Eng) could win it, just depends who turns up on the day in the Knockout phase of the competition.

I don,t think england have many options in the batting department, but that middle order looks highly suspect, Bopara, Morgan, Prior? Think i would leave bell where he is and promote Luke Wright as a pitch hitting opener.

i would like to say it,s only Bangladesh but after the ireland debacle, who know,s

The main of the work should be done by the top four and in the game against Ireland, if we had Morgan at 5 then we would of had a better performance with the bat after the end of the Trott/Bell partnership. Morgan is our proven finisher and he gives our batting that something we need and of course if he had been fit from the beginning he would of been in the side from the off.

If I'm being honest I don't see Tredwell or Wright getting a game in this World Cup at all, the squad is on a matchday limited to the other 13. And neither of them may have much chance of an international future. Yes, Tredwell is something of a like-for-like replacement for Swann in terms of being an off-spinner who can bat but there is a real difference in class, if I selected this World Cup squad Adil Rashid would be in for Tredwell to give us the spinning variety of an off-spinner, leg-spinner and the slow left arm of Yardy in the squad.

Morgan did,nt have a great series in Australia, and looked well short of match practice. Wright and Tredwell have performed well in the 20/20 games for england thats why they were included. Rashid is a very good prospect but i,m not sure if he should be subjected to the pressure of a world cup campaign, especially in the sub continent, that really would be a baptism of fire. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are fine players of spin and he could end up having his confidence totally destroyed.

Still think that england middle order looks suspect.

how on earth did South Africa lost from being 120 odd for 3? It was a good bowling performance by England though. They are kind of like Pakistan at the moment. You don't know what type of performance you are going to get from England

England bowled better because the conditions suited them, the pitch took spin and the seamers got a little bit of reverse swing. If that pitch had been another flat batting track i strongly suspect that england would have conceded another 250 plus score. I think SA would have much preferred a bigger total to chase, going after a small total always seems to put them under pressure and as i said before they are known as the chokers of world cricket.

Still all credit to Grahame Smith, very clever to open with Peterson, certainly caught the england batsmen off guard.

New Zealand 302/7 off 50 overs

Pakistan 192 all out off 41.4 overs

New Zealand won by 110 runs


New Zealand got off to a steady start however Ross Taylor unbeaten century and good lower batting boosted the score to 302 which is a good score. Pakistan start was a disastar as they slump to 66/6 and were never in the hunt really.