Top Matches in Feb 2015 atthe #ICCWorldCup2015

Here are some of the best matches to look out for in Feb 2015 at the #ICCWorldCup2015

14th Feb - NZ v SL, #Christchurch
14th Feb - Aus v Eng, #MCG
15th Feb - Ind v Pak, #AdelaideOval
20th Feb - NZ v Eng, #Wellington...
22nd Feb - Ind v SA, MCG
28th Feb - NZ v Aus, #Auckland

Huge games upfront to decide positions in their group.
Bigger excitement awaits in Mar 2015 but book your schedules for these games. They're gonna be one hella exciting stuff, especially the Aus/Eng and Ind/Pak games are massive from viewership and rivalry based!

Eng v Aus is legendary although Aus have always had an upper hand most of the time. In the current context too, the Aussies look too powerful for the Englishmen. Its just that being #MCG and timeless rivalry will make the atmosphere quick electrifying.

Punches will be exchanged but mostly it seems that the Aussies will end up on top in that game!

Ind v Pak is for the generations!

Traditional rivals all these years and players' careers depend on outcome of these games. Such is the intensity!

Surprisingly, all all world cup meetings till date, India have been victorius. That's an amazing stat considering Pak won the cup in 1992 (but lost comfortably to India in a league match). Same in 1999 when they reached semifinals at the world cup but lost to India. They were comprehensively beaten in 1996 quarter finals (another electric game though) and 2011 semi finals. The two teams did not meet each other in the 1975, 1979 and 2007 (both teams were ousted in the first round itself).

Whatever the results, the needle and pressure in an Ind v Pak game is amazing.

Promises to be another mouth watering clash at the Adelaide Oval on 15th Feb 2015. Cant wait to see that match...

Herschelle Gibbs - "You just dropped the World Cup Son"

"You just dropped the World Cup son..." Did Steve Waugh say that? Yes or No .. the debate will go on but it was undoubtedly the defining moment in the 1999 world cup. IF Steve Waugh would have gone at that stage, Australia would have never qualified for the semi finals and SA would have had the best chance to win the world cup. As luck would have it, the best fielder in the side (alongside Jonty Rhodes) had to drop this sitter.

The score card should have read like this
Steve Waugh caught and dropped Gibbs b Kluesner 52

Waugh went to score his typical gritty century and bail Australia out of this game to set up semifinals against? You guessed right... SA again. What happened at Birmingham in the semis? ... is part of cricketing legend!

Sri Lanka Official 2015 World Cup Song - Wonderful!

#SriLanka - Official Cricket World Cup 2015 Song

Simply awesome!!
Just like their team and culture .. its vibrant and colorful!

Always a balanced and powerful side although they are never talked about or rated high as some of the others (India and England are you listening?) who seem to be more media friendly... Probably they need a good PR or a captain like Ranatunga to announce themselves on world stage. 

Great respect for this side. All the best for the world cup!

Australia Day and Republic Day Cricket Clash 2015

#AustraliaDay and #RepublicDay on 26th Jan.
#India v #Australia at the #SCG on 26th Jan 2015

India's last chance really to beat Australia and higher their morale before the #ICCWorldCup2015. Need to really pull up their socks and beat the Aussies.

Australia sitting pretty with 3 wins out of 3 and can experiment.
However, given the big occasion they would definitely want to win this one too!

#Chakde India

Will England Be Fourth Time Lucky?

#England teams have been enigmatic over the years.

They reached 3 Finals in the first 5 editions of the Cricket World Cup, losing on all three occasions

(to West Indies in 1979, to Australia in 1987 and to Pakistan in 1992). Until then, they were a very powerful force to reckon with in one dayers.

The advent of modern day cricket (pinch hitting, powerplays, etc) seemed to derail them completely from the format. Add to that key retirements including Ian Botham, Graham Gooch. Mike Gatting, Robin Smith, etc and their downfall happened pretty sharply over the years.

1996 saw them blown away by a rampaging Jayasuriya in the quarter finals

In 1999, they couldnt reach the #SuperSixes stage (in their home World Cup)

Repeat poor performances in 2003 (South Africa), 2007 (West Indies) and 2011 (India) indicated a big down-slide of this side.

However, with fresh new talent coming in, they have slowly crept up the ladder to top of the tree by 2012. Excellent combination of batting. bowling and all round ability led them to dominate both test and one day cricket for a while.

So, how does it look for them at the 2015 Cricket World Cup?

The team looks settled but low on pure skills. 

Batting:

Morgan, Bell will need to lead talented youngsters in tough situations and crunch moments in tight matches. 

Bowling:

Definitely their biggest strength especially with Anderson and Finn leading that attack. Spin is a worry since retirement of Graeme Swann.

All Round Ability:

Broad, Ali, Bopara should do well to contribute with either bat or ball.

All in all, they need to play well above their potential and ability to win this world cup.

All the best #Poms!

Team England for the Cricket World Cup 2015 

Eoin Morgan

Moeen Ali

Garry Ballance

Ian Bell

Ravi Bopara

Jos Butler

Stuart Broad

Alex Hales

Joe Root

Chris Jordan

James Tredwell

James Taylor

Chris Woakes

James Anderson

Steven Finn

Sri Lanka - The Asian Lions Deserve To Be 50 Over World Champs

#SriLanka: No one other than #TeamAustralia has been as consistent over the last 15 years (since the new millennium). Winners of the previous #ICCT20WorldCup after being on the losing side in finals of all major tournaments including two World Cups, Champions Trophy and T20 Championships.

Sri Lankan sides just look very well organized every time they participate in any tournament. Agreed, they don't have big names to boast of (apart from #Jayawardhane, #Sangakara, #Malinga and to some extent #AngeloMatthews) but they are very compact side. There is no fuss about this team. They go about doing their job professionally and the results are for everyone to see.

From minnows in earlier world cup editions to world champs in 1996 under the legendary #ArjunaRantunga, they have come a long way since. Outplayed in the 1999 edition in England, they bounced back in 2003 to reach the semi finals (where they had Australia in trouble at a stage but eventually lost the game). They went a step ahead in 2007 reaching the finals (again to lose to Australia) and in 2011 (lost to India). Shows their consistency on all types of wickets and conditions. Just that they lack the killer genius of #AravindaDeSilva and #SanathJayasuriya of 1996 to take that one step further.

Personally, I think the Sri Lankans are highly under-rated players. They have not really gotten their due on world stage like the power/rich Indian players, superstar Aussies ad Pakistanis or the media powerful England and SA players have. Maybe their lifestyle, demeanor and laid back approach could be the reason. But their skills are amazing and they should demand their own value by winning this #ICCWorldCup2015. Its about time...

Batting looks solid with Dilshan, Jayawardena, Sanga will guide their youngsters well. Probably the last cup for Sanga-Jaya. Therefore, they'd like to bow out on a high! (just like they did in the T20 final two years ago)

Bowling seems to be a slightly weak area although Malinga and Kulasekhara will bring in all their experience and guile into the fast bowling attack. The Australian and Kiwi pitches will support both bounce and swing. Hence, seamers will rule the roost and they are looking forward to young seamers in Prasad, Lakmal and Perera to come up with the goods.

Spin department is in the able hands of the veteran Rangana Herath. He along with Jeevan Mendis and Senanayake will bring variety to their potent bowling attack.

All rounders will be led by Angelo Matthews. Awesomely talented and fit-for-all situations in a match, he will be a key cog in the Sri Lankan armour if they are to win the cup. Will they?

Team Sri Lanka for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Angelo Matthews
Lahiru Thirimanne
Dinesh Chandimal
Tilakatne Dilshan
Mahela Jayawardena
Kumar Sangakarra
Dimuth Karunaratne
Lasith Malinga
Nuwan Kulasekara
Thisara Perera
Dhammika Prasad
Suranga Lakmal
Rangana Herath
Sachithra Senanayake
Jeevan Mendis

West Indies - Powerhouse to Poor house

1975 and 1979 Champions (still considered by many as the best One day side of all time with names like Lloyd, Richards, Greenidge, Dujon, Roberts, Marshal, Holding, Garner, and the list goes on)
1983: Shock defeat in the finals at the hands of India started their decline in world cricket.
1987: Did not qualify for the semi-finals
1992: Did not qualify for the semi-finals
1996: The gut wrenching loss to Australia from an easy win position in the semi-finals
1999: Did not qualify for the super sixes
2003: Did not qualify for the super sixes
2007: Eliminated in quarter finals
2011: Eliminated in quarter finals

The solid powerhouse that this team once was ... cut a sorry picture in every following world cup.
It became worse in the new millennium.
All throughout that period, there were only glimpses of greatness mostly through Lara, Walsh and Ambrose 

So how does it look for them at the 2015 edition of the cricket world cup?

Batting:
Gayle, Samuels, Darren Bravo, Simmons will need to pull out one special innings after another to upset other teams in their group. 

Lack of middle order stability will be concerning.



Bowling:
Can crank up pace and suprise oppositions. Roach, Taylor, Carter.
Especially the Australian pitches will suit their seamers well.
Spin with Narine is a bright spot but Benn and others looks a bit weak.

All round ability:
Samuels, Gayle, Holder, Sammy, Russell can wield both bat and ball effectively.

Overall, very outside chances considering a lot of factors including their players squabblinh with WICB every other month, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard have been huge omisions leading to lot of criticism. All the best

Team West Indies for ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

Jason Holder
Chris Gayle
Dwayne Smith
Marlon Samuels
Darren Bravo
Lendl Simmons
Darren Sammy
Denesh Ramdin
Sulieman Benn
Sunil Narine
Johnathan Carter
Sheldon Cottrell
Kemar Roach
Andre Russell
Jerome Taylor

Afghanistan - Will This Be A Smashing Debut For Them?

#Afghanistan, debut at this year's ICC Cricket World Cup.
As an associate member from 2001, their journey has been of ups and downs.

However, they qualified for the premier cricket event on account of finishing second in the ICC World Cricket League Championship.

A complete new team throws a lot to ponder. What are their strengths? Weaknesses? Who are the stars? Whether they will be in "awe" of the heavyweight teams or throw caution to the wind and deliver upsets? (Remember Kenya against WI in 1996, Ireland vs Pakistan and Bangladesh vs India in 2007 and Ireland vs England in 2011).



Will be very interesting indeed.
From what has been read and said, this team has good talent and like all Asian teams play and follow cricket passionately. Spin bowling and batting seems to be their key strengths. Playing in Australia is going to be their biggest test no doubt.

The general expectation from everyone would be to see them compete and not just fill up the numbers. Even if they stretch some of the sides in Pool A, it would be a great achievement. Their games against Scotland and Bangladesh would be an interesting watch.

Team Afghanistan for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Mohammad Nabi
Afzar Zazai
Aftab Alam
Asghar Stanikzai
Dawlat Zadran
Gulabdin Naib
Hamid Hassan
Javed Ahmadi
Mirwais Ashraf
Najbullah Zadran
Nasir Jamal
Nawroz Mangal
Samiullah Shenwari
Shapoor Zadran
Usman Ghani
Hasmatullah Shaidi
Izatullah Dawlatazai
Shafiqullah
Sharafuddin Ashraf