Whirlwind World Cup

After four long weeks the group stages of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup have finally drawn to a close and the business end of the tournament has arrived. England fans (and probably some of the players as well) are still stumbling around in a bit of a daze, wondering quite how they have managed to make it to this stage at all. With the first of the quarter finals already out of the way, in which Pakistan claimed a place in the semis at the expense of the West Indies, the top seven ranked one day international teams all remain in the competition. Everything may have gone to plan thus far on paper, but, for some especially, the route taken has been far from smooth. The ultimate outcome is still anyone’s guess, so let’s take a look at the remaining contenders.

Pakistan have already secured a berth in the last four, and have been something of a surprise package. Before the tournament it was widely acknowledged that they had a core of talented players, but doubts were cast about their consistency and togetherness. With the exception of a defeat to New Zealand (largely due to Ross Taylor’s exceptional innings) they have responded positively to their critics. The bowling has been their strength; Umar Gul has led the pace attack well, but it is the spin department that has done most of the damage. Skipper Shahid Afridi remains at the top of the wicket table, with 21 victims at an average of below 11, and he has been ably assisted by Saeed Ajmal and the all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez. The fallible batting line up remains a concern, as does Kamran Akmal’s comical wicket-keeping, but a resounding 10 wicket victory over the West Indies will give the Pakistanis confidence as they move into the next round. A repeat of their shock victory in 1992, however, remains unlikely.

Now we come to the tournament’s great entertainers: England. Defeat to Bangladesh in their penultimate group game left them in need of a win against the West Indies in the final match. At 222-6 in the 42nd over the West Indies looked set to shatter English dreams. With just 22 more runs required, and Ramnaresh Sarwan reasonably well set, it appeared to be only a matter of time. Then, extraordinarily, the last 4 wickets fell for just 3 runs, as Graeme Swann and the unassuming James Tredwell secured the latest great escape. The upshot of this all is that England now face Sri Lanka in a World Cup quarter final in Colombo on Saturday. It is important that they do not get carried away with the idea they are somehow destined to go all the way; there is much work to do be done. The batsmen need to turn decent starts into match-winning centuries, in addition to making better use of the power plays. The fielding is admittedly much improved from the early stages, but the bowling is fragile; James Anderson is some distance short of his best form and Chris Tremlett has struggled on the low pitches. Much, as usual, depends on Swann.

Sri Lanka will go into the match as favourites, and not just because of the home support. Kumar Sangakkara currently tops the runs table for the tournament, and fellow batsmen Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upal Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene all look in good nick and have centuries to their names. With the ball, the pace of Lasith Malinga is a constant threat, whilst the spin duo of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis will be a handful on the Colombo pitch.

Thursday’s quarter final has the potential to be the game of the tournament so far. Holders Australia face co-hosts and favourites India in what the Australian coach, Tim Nielsen, has already dubbed a ‘mini-final’. Australia lost their first World Cup match in 34 in their final group game against Pakistan and India will fancy their chances. The Australian batting has been far from spectacular; they currently do not have a representative in the top ten of the run-scoring charts. Having said that, the pace triumvirate of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson are good enough, and quick enough, to frighten any team. India, on the other hand, will look to their batsmen. The potential absence of Virender Sehwag through injury could be a huge blow, but beyond him Yuvraj Singh is in excellent form and few would rule out Sachin Tendulkar reaching his hundredth international century. Zaheer Khan has also been potent with the ball so far.

Finally we come to South Africa and New Zealand. The Proteas bounced back from the disastrous nature of their loss to England to claim emphatic victories over Ireland and Bangladesh. With AB de Villies and Hashim Amla both in sparkling form they will no doubt be confident. New Zealand, on the contrary, suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in their final pool match. The Black Caps have not thoroughly convinced so far, but have proved that they at least have the capacity to be dangerous with the bat, whilst Tim Southee has been consistent with the ball. South Africa will expect to make it through to the semi-finals where they will face the winner of England versus Sri Lanka.

Get ready for some tense games over the next ten days as the big names try to prove their mettle in the most open World Cup for fifteen years.