It’s been a tedious couple of days. We’ve got Steve James in the Telegraph bemoaning the format of this World Cup tournament, when they can’t actually come up with a decent format of their own (and no, the everyone plays each other route isn’t the answer either – as I’ve said in a previous post. It has major flaws). The Rugby World Cup has similar mismatches and no-one wibbles on about that, but James isn’t going to go down that avenue. We play a few weeks on end, and then get to a QF stage which has only been livened up because Group A was constructed by evil beings (two out of Australia, Wales and England – didn’t two of these three make the SFs last time around, or is my memory that crap?). Oh, I don’t know. It seems fashionable to knock it. Maybe Journos and TV comms people don’t want the horror of an all-expenses paid month and a half’s work watching a great sport in some great locations. Yeah. walk a mile in my shoes and moan about that!
Talking of moans, Bob Willis has dropped the disruptive dressing room line, and the Delhi Daredevil failure trump on Kevin Pietersen. Hands up, I like Willis as a pundit – I know I’m in a minority – but come on sir, this is pure laziness. What KP has done to put people’s backs really up is the muppet line about county cricketers. Because he’s more blunt than the likes of Atherton and in his own day, Willis, about it, and uses an insulting term, he’s the devil incarnate. Please spare me the hypocrisy. Once the vast majority of established test players make the international circuit, they treat county cricket with contempt. Don’t pretend KP is the first one to say it. Stop playing the man, and play the ball. But they can’t, because deep down, he’s saying what they think. It’s much easier to scream “look at him” than address why we can’t have a competition to rival the Big Bash, or to come up with any other ideas.
A reminder to all to complete the World Cup competition. 30 questions, points to be earned, abighead to be crowned at the end. Come on, have a go, it won’t hurt.
For the World Cup I intend having a game thread for as many games as possible. I hope to do a bit of statto work, and also some comment at the no doubt stupidity of some of the comms and the press. We’ve seen it today, with Mitchell Johnson, who really gives off the impression of not being present with all lights functioning, reacting angrily to some phoney baloney stuff from Mr #stayhumble. I can’t be arsed. Life is too short.
There’s not a lot to add really. I’m a little more calm after the events of last weekend, and the dismantling of past works, but still not confident enough to say why and how. I did like Zephirine’s attempt a joining the dots on TFT. In fact, one of my main worries was that the baseball player who I named the character after, and is the face in the pictures, might one day sue for using his image for commercial gain (no, made no money out of it). It was meant as respect and admiration (although one of the pics was his police mug shot) for a man I saw in Vermont trying to get back to the top. He hasn’t. Good try.
Here’s a number for you. 1. The number of players for England who have made a century in a winning cause while chasing a total in World Cup history. Name him.
Being Outside Cricket 
I didn’t realise that photo was someone else… I’m a bit slow. I will be referring to you as Jon Pertwee for the duration of this blog, for fairly obvious reasons.
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I also thought that was a picture of you. And that that was your real name. I guess I haven’t got the hang of this internet anonymity thing…
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That winning WC century?
http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/247504.html
He only did it so everyone would look at him.
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He got out as soon as he reached a hundred.
He should have gone on.
He would have been to blame had the team fallen short.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHnxlhFkarY
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Zim beat Sri Lanka, South Africa look quite hopeless without Steyn and Amla, and Morgan had a horrid time in the middle against Pakistan.
Yup, nothing surprising there.
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1. I knew the picture wasn’t you but didn’t know who it was as I have no interest at all in american football (not soccer)
2.I knew Pietersen was the one good chap who scored a 100 in a winning cause for England
3.I’ll look again at the quiz only if I’m guaranteed to win it because I know people in high places and regularly watch “Eggheads” before dinner
4. Has the CWC finished yet?
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England lose the last warm-up game before the WC. It was the first ODI against a Test-playing nation except India, Australia and SL for over a year.
We learnt:
a) England struggle against good spinners
b) England’s batting looks underpowered compared to other teams.
c) RavBop is horribly out of sorts.
d) Ballance is too stodgy for limited overs’ internationals.
e) The bowling looks decent with the new ball but lacks a wicket-taking threat thereafter.
f) The fielding is no more than okay.
g) Selvey likes big boundaries. Not more than he dislikes Saeed Ajmal though.
Any surprises there?
Pakistan don’t have a great record chasing – it was mentioned they lose 87% of their games when set 250+. They were hammered by NZ and only just beat Bangladesh. Misbah looks in great touch though – wish I’d picked him for my Fantasy League team!
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fantasy team competition link, asap plz, SimonH?
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http://www.alloutcricket.com/cricket/fantasy
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MS:
“Hales, unable to find the width that allows him to free up his arms (Pakistan have done their homework there), was necessarily restrained and managed 31 from 47 balls, the kind of innings for which Alastair Cook was constantly criticised.”
He doesn’t say whether Hales was dropped three times and/or reprieved on review.
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https://twitter.com/KICCACRICKET/status/565199885906219008
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Insularity – again.
Besides, that is begging the question: why did the ECB forward the Australian Ashes by a year? I doubt it was more than happy to help the Aussies prepare for the World Cup, was it?
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Meanwhile, Australia starts to understand a burden we’ve borne for years:
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Do click for the ensuing conversation.
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Gee whiz if that is the quality of his capacity for argument it is no wonder that he is more than a bit precious himself, given that he’s flounced off twitter a few times. What a cretin.
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And now, check out his very first paragraph in the Guardian World Cup preview.
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