(11-10-2023 10:21 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  Bangladesh where never in the chase, 49-4 after 8.3 overs, scoring under 6 when they required 7+ their skipper said that they were out of it at the post-match interview. Das was on his own as the only batting contribution that gave his team a chance of scoring at the required rate. They don't have the depth of batting to recover from such a bad start and have no real power hitters in the middle order, England are stacked in that regard, despite having a batmen light in this match. Stokes will add all his experience to the mix when he returns. Although as a non-bowler they don't have the luxury of 6 front-line options. Livingstone proved he is a more than handy option yesterday and looked more dangerous than Rashid.
Pakistan themselves lost 2 early wickets, but still had the firepower in their batting to allow the run-rate to climb. Neither side shone in the bowling department, but modern batmen will target 350+ scores on decent pitches. The white-ball will generally swing for 2 or 3 overs and the sides who utilize this best will profit. It's a very small window which England wasted to an extent. Topley was on the money at one end, but Woakes was poor again, Curran was the only bowler to come out of the New Zealand match with any credit and should've bowled ahead of Woakes.
As the tournament progresses, spin will play a bigger role, but the pitches will vary across the different venues dependent on soil types. Generally, sides are batting first as dew can be a factor.

(11-10-2023 15:50 )hornball Wrote:  Decent effort today from Afghanistan! Again, showed a lack of experience in how to go about setting a target, as all the 'lower ranked nations' do, but set a number that has been competitive in a lot of matches. I actually considered the Aghan bowling attack to be their trump card, but today Pakistan set about ripping that to pieces, and the match was effectively done by the 15th over or so, perhaps even earlier!

(11-10-2023 17:23 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  

(11-10-2023 15:50 )hornball Wrote:  Decent effort today from Afghanistan! Again, showed a lack of experience in how to go about setting a target, as all the 'lower ranked nations' do, but set a number that has been competitive in a lot of matches. I actually considered the Aghan bowling attack to be their trump card, but today Pakistan set about ripping that to pieces, and the match was effectively done by the 15th over or so, perhaps even earlier!

India. Rohit will do that to far better bowling attacks, the game was effectively over after the 1st Power Play. The pitch needed to spin more to give their 3 slow bowlers a chance, only Rashid Khan got enough out of the surface, as a leggie tends to. Siraj had a bad day, otherwise India looked strong, Bumrah is a nightmare tough to stay in against let alone score off. I can't see Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or the Netherlands getting one over the others, Sri Lanka apart.

(12-10-2023 09:34 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  ^^ The South Africa v Australia class has the potential for a close game. In the recent ODI series in South Africa, the Aussies took a 2-0 lead, but the Proteas bounced back to win the next 3. The Aussies will want to bounce back from their defeat against India, losing your first 2 matches doesn't put a side out, but it makes it tough. Stoinis will add experience in place of Green. A big call to replace Carey with the Yorkshireman (Leeds) Inglis. Soth Africa opt for more spin with Shamsi replacing Coetzee.