The first two weeks of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 are behind us and we are slowly headed towards the business end of the tournament. At the outset, let me add a disclaimer that I have neither watched nor followed all the matches, however am giving my impressions of whatever matches I have followed or watched.
Let me start by expressing my dismay at the incident of the stoning of the West Indies team bus in Bangladesh after they had beaten the home team earlier. There is no question that cricket has a huge following in the sub-continent and the fan following can border on the fanatical at times. Clearly, cricket is viewed as much more than a game and it is pointless to say that whatever happens should be left on the field. Despite the strong emotions attached with the game, it is necessary for all to exhibit restraint in the manner in which displeasure at a bad result is expressed. I hope that this is the last such incident at least in this World Cup if not for the future.
In recent matches, India laboured to beat Ireland and England surprised South Africa. I have covered the India vs Ireland match in an earlier post (India vs Ireland - No Mishaps!). The England vs South Africa match was expected to be won by South Africa and they seemed well on their way when they restricted England to 171 and then Smith and Amla batted their way to a fifty run opening partnership. However, it was not to be and England kept making inroads into the South African batting and clawed their way to a 6 run win. England can take huge positives from this match, however South Africa have to now wonder how they managed to lose from such a dominant position. When Amla and AB deVilliers are at the crease, the South African batting looks rock solid, however their form has glossed over the recent failures of Kallis and the inability of anyone down the order to contribute. The "c" word is again making the rounds and I am sure Smith must be having nightmares about it.
The Irish stunned England earlier in the week and Kevin O'Brien blazed his way to a record breaking century. It remains to be seen whether he can replicate his form against other teams, else it may be a case of promising much and not delivering.
England's batting has looked in good shape, especially the top order. Pietersen is due for a big score and playing Bopara in place of Collingwood is something they should have done a long time ago. Swann continues to impress and remains the best spinner on display in the tournament (yes I know Afridi has been taking all those wickets), despite competing with Muralitharan and Harbhajan Singh, which is no mean achievement.
A lot was expected from Bangladesh, especially after their reasonably assured batting performance against India (their bowling was massacred as it ran into Hurricane Sehwag) and their recent good results against New Zealand. They even managed a reasonable win against Ireland (where their batting had failed), but came badly unstuck against the West Indies.
West Indies in turn have looked good in parts, however consistency has been eluding them in recent years, and they would primarily look towards Chris Gayle to get them deep into the tournament. Other teams handle pace reasonably well so even though Kemar Roach bowled at express pace, he may well find himself without support from the other end.
Pakistan have looked focused on the job at hand and even though they have been inconsistent in their batting (Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq being the exceptions), their bowling (always their strength) has looked good with Afridi being on a roll with wickets by the bagful in each match. Umar Gul, imho, is by far the most under-rated bowler in world cricket and his value to the Pakistan team cannot be underestimated. Pakistan is quietly turning out the team that the eventual winner will need to get past.
Sri Lanka will be ruing their loss to Pakistan, but their rained-off game against Australia combined with being in the group which has Canada, Kenya and Zimbabwe means that there are no concerns about qualifying, however they have to pull up their socks to be a threat in the tournament.
Australia have looked by far the most settled, without being the juggernaut that they used to be in earlier editions. Tait, Lee, Watson and Johnson are all bowling well with Krejza providing spin support. Their batting is what they will be concerned about, especially the inability of Ponting to convert on his good starts. Watson remains the premier all-rounder in the tournament, which should be a wake up call for a certain Jacques Kallis.
Nothing much to note for the minnows, except that Ireland and Netherlands have shown that they are able to compete. Zimbabwe and Bangladesh need to differentiate themselves from the rest and show that not only can they compete, but they can also harbour hopes of winning against the more established teams.
The first two weeks of matches have not thrown up too many surprises, except for Ireland's stunning run-chase against England.
On current form, Afridi looks the most dangerous bowler (especially against weaker teams) and Imran Tahir must be considered the gamble of the tournament so far. In batting, Sehwag has set the standard but Amla and AB deVilliers are not far behind as also Tendulkar and Strauss.
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