ICC Cricket World Cup - May/July 2019

[NILAYSHAH60]

When everyone says we've got to start playing like England or start playing like New Zealand or start playing like India, no - we'll keep playing like Australia because we've won four of the past five World Cups and that's something to be proud of. The boys are aware of it and we know if we stick to the Australian way of playing great cricket... history has shown we'll be pretty good _Justin Langer

 

[Alexei.]

He had a poor Asia Cup and hasn't been with the team for majority of series that Pakistan played after that. He did bowl well against Australia thought. I guess he got 4 wickets in one of the matches he played

Yeah he did well against Australia. I mean he's way better than Hasnain/Wahab imo.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

No basis for Shankar's selection ahead of Pant. If the Indian management has been watching, I hope they realise that chasing 350 will be the norm and I don't see how Pant doesn't become an automatic choice?

 

[Bevab]

No basis for Shankar's selection ahead of Pant. If the Indian management has been watching, I hope they realise that chasing 350 will be the norm and I don't see how Pant doesn't become an automatic choice?

Shankar seems more like a Virat pick, given how easily he seems to rotate the strike. Would also explain why he doesn’t want Dhoni at 4, I remember Kohli getting visibly frustrated at him during the Australia tour for struggling to take singles and it ended up with Kohli trying to slog unsuccessfully.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

No basis for Shankar's selection ahead of Pant. If the Indian management has been watching, I hope they realise that chasing 350 will be the norm and I don't see how Pant doesn't become an automatic choice?

It is easier to say these things now. When selection were made everyone was saying that Pant is more like an additional asset to the team who has no use in this team with DK and Dhoni already being there are wicket keepers and now suddenly the tunes have changed and people have started saying why is Shankar there in the team it should've been Pant but the thing was that everyone backed Shankar to be in the team just before IPL. Also the squads were announced during that time. I mean how will the selectors come to know that Shankar is going to fail in IPL and Pant will perform ? And also IPL is certainly not the basis of selecting players and neither is the recent form of players because a player can perform well for 5-6 matches and suddenly he fails for 10-15 matches. The thing you have to see is the ability of player and the role that is required in the team. Pant is not good at rotating strike which Shankar is and that stands out as the reason for selecting him. I believe jumping on to a conclusion without knowing the right facts is certainly not a wise thing to do.[DOUBLEPOST=1558418825][/DOUBLEPOST]
The ones who are constantly coming up with things like India need to score 350 atleast as they are seeing England do that please go through the above post of mine where I have quoted Justin Langer's comments

 

[Bevab]

When everyone says we've got to start playing like England or start playing like New Zealand or start playing like India, no - we'll keep playing like Australia because we've won four of the past five World Cups and that's something to be proud of. The boys are aware of it and we know if we stick to the Australian way of playing great cricket... history has shown we'll be pretty good _Justin Langer

• Personally feel Australia are massively overrated. They might have won their last two series' heading into the tournament but prior to that, their last series win was versus Pakistan all the way back in January 2017. They've had one of the worst win percentages over the last 4 years in ODIs, rivaling Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
  
• Their batting lineup looks extremely imbalanced. They have three openers in their top 3, and have currently chosen to put their most destructive opener at 3. Khawaja can't bat at 3 due to his inability to rotate strike early on and score boundaries outside of the powerplay. Smith at 4 isn't a good option either. Their entire squad is filled with batsmen who'd rather be in the top order with the exception of Maxi, who bats in the top order anyways for Victoria. And Carey is in the side as a specialist keeper, he isn't going to smash the ball any day down at 7 which means if Maxi gets out (which occurs frequently), they have no one else to score quickly in the death.
• The absence of Handscomb is going to hurt this side a lot. He was the one batsman who offered something different to the side with his ability to rotate strike easily and also score boundaries especially versus spin. A dynamic player like him who could bat easily in the top order as well as the middle order should have been in the squad at least if not the playing XI.
  
• Starc hasn't played a single ODI this year, and wasn't good last year either. I'm not sure if Zampa will be as effective on English pitches as he was in India and Jhye will be a big loss to this team considering how effective he was. I haven't mentioned the fact that the Aussies have usually bowled Stoinis in the death, have I?
  
• The strength of the Aussie side has always been their mental fortitude and ability to handle pressure but in the current format, you need consistency to qualify for the knockouts and that is something I don't think Australia currently have, especially with the team's imbalance in key areas. I wouldn't be surprised if they finished outside the top 4.
  
• And as for how Australia should play like Australia (no idea what that means either), they failed to score 300+ in the last World Cup only when they were chasing and in that group stage match versus New Zealand. The pitches this time are a lot more flatter than they were in the previous tournament for one. Also in the recent Eng-Pak series out of 8 innings', 340+ wasn't scored in only one and that total was just 3 short of a 300. And this was with a Pakistani side that had only Zaman and arguably Hafeez as a reliable hitter (not counting Asif and Wasim here because they aren't close to reliable). If Australia are going to target a score around the 300 mark in most games, good luck to them because they've clearly not learnt any lesson despite being thrashed by England on multiple occasions making this mistake.
  
• India's problem isn't the lack of ability or skill to score 350+, it's their tactical approach to the game that's holding them back. The openers usually only score 50-60 in the powerplay on a pitch where even 70+ is possible. And then, you've got the top 3 batting close to a strike rate of 85-95 because they believe that they'll settle down, take zero risks and go big at the death to compensate. But what happens is that these batsmen lose their wickets inevitably trying to slog around the 40 over mark, our fragile middle order then comes in (which also has a certain keeper who loves taking his time to settle down), struggles to keep the momentum going and we end up with a score of 300-320 which is quite decent, but probably under par or just par on most English pitches. The Indian bowling can be relied on to defend these scores yes, but asking them to defend such scores in almost every game is bound to end in failure at some point. This is why some feel that Pant should have been included as he doesn't fear losing his wicket and tends to hit boundaries on a regular basis to keep the run rate ticking along nicely. Plus, only 4 fielders will be outside the circle during the middle overs in comparison to five during the last 10 which is another reason to try and score more quickly during this phase.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

I don't know what PAK fans think, but I was picking Junaid ahead of Riaz and another wrist spinner for Hasnain!

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Personally feel Australia are massively overrated.

Okay !!! It's your view. But ideally I won't write this side off as they have won 5 WCs and definitely I've made this mistake in the past.

Their batting lineup looks extremely imbalanced.

Still very well capable of scoring 330+

Starc hasn't played a single ODI this year, and wasn't good last year either.

Didn't play much last year either

And as for how Australia should play like Australia (no idea what that means either),

This

The strength of the Aussie side has always been their mental fortitude and ability to handle pressure

India's problem isn't the lack of ability or skill to score 350+, it's their tactical approach to the game that's holding them back

This happens due to the fear that if they try force things they might lose their wickets and if they actually do then think of the consequences and as far as I remember in the last WC the teams who saved their wickets till the end and scored 240-250 in 40 overs more often scored 350+ then teams who went after everything. In ODIs you have the opportunity of wearing out the bowlers of opposition and that's where India has always been good. They failed to do anything only because of instability in their line-up. And this time they are going into the WC with a much more settled line-up. So, I definitely don't see a need to worry over here


A bit off-topic

I like they way you put up things. You post very respectfully and the format in which you put up your points, I mean the pointers format it is just wonderful. Your knowledge regarding the game is just wonderful !!!! You are different from the few members over here who just throw insults at other members on this forum just because they believe their point is being misunderstood or they misunderstand others point and they are too rigid enough to change their attitude towards others

 

[SaiSrini]

• India's problem isn't the lack of ability or skill to score 350+, it's their tactical approach to the game that's holding them back. The openers usually only score 50-60 in the powerplay on a pitch where even 70+ is possible. And then, you've got the top 3 batting close to a strike rate of 85-95 because they believe that they'll settle down, take zero risks and go big at the death to compensate. But what happens is that these batsmen lose their wickets inevitably trying to slog around the 40 over mark, our fragile middle order then comes in (which also has a certain keeper who loves taking his time to settle down), struggles to keep the momentum going and we end up with a score of 300-320 which is quite decent, but probably under par or just par on most English pitches. The Indian bowling can be relied on to defend these scores yes, but asking them to defend such scores in almost every game is bound to end in failure at some point. This is why some feel that Pant should have been included as he doesn't fear losing his wicket and tends to hit boundaries on a regular basis to keep the run rate ticking along nicely. Plus, only 4 fielders will be outside the circle during the middle overs in comparison to five during the last 10 which is another reason to try and score more quickly during this phase.

+100

I am eager to see what approach Rohit and Dhawan take on, in this tournament. Considering the kind of players they are right now (both have established themselves as solid rocks in Indian cricket; more so Rohit). One of the two should assume the aggressor role and keep the scoreboard moving at a pretty hectic pace while the other can get his eye in. Ideally, Dhawan should be aggressor and Rohit the steadying factor. And if the wickets are as flat as they are expected to be, Dhawan has to get off the blocks very quickly. This is where I think KL Rahul would be great as he is someone to get off the blocks very quick and maintain the frenetic tempo. I hope he finds a place in the XI somehow. On these flat pitches, Rahul could well turn out to be a game changer. Bat him at No. 4 behind Kohli.

 

[Alexei.]

I don't know what PAK fans think, but I was picking Junaid ahead of Riaz and another wrist spinner for Hasnain!

Agreed. but I'd go for Usman Shinwari instead of Hasnain. His numbers are amazing and Yasir is more of a Test bowler.[DOUBLEPOST=1558458101][/DOUBLEPOST]England and India might have the best chances of winning this cause their Finishing is very good and reliable. You can rely easily on Dhoni and Buttler to score some quick runs for their teams.

 

[LiveLoveABD]

Every country in the world should take a cue from the World Cup kit England have chosen. Clean, classical and yet so refreshing.

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Bat him at No. 4 behind Kohli

Not a great idea I would say. If he is to play he should play in top 3. He doesn't belong anywhere else. I think we should play both Hardik and Shankar while Dhoni and Jadhav should bat at 4 and 5 respectively

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Every country in the world should take a cue from the World Cup kit England have chosen. Clean, classical and yet so refreshing.

Refreshing ? They've used such a pale colour and it looks so outdated. They could've used much better colours

Australia also used a classical design but it looks so much better. They've used 1985 World Series jersey I mean it's similar to it. I believe Australia has got the best jersey this time around

 

[Alexei.]

Australia also used a classical design but it looks so much better. They've used 1985 World Series jersey I mean it's similar to it. I believe Australia has got the best jersey this time around

I liked WestIndies, India and Pakistan's colours they sticked to their original colours. Everyone else didn't. England suddenly using that light blue, Australia that parrot green, South Africa also not using their Green/Yellow combo.

 

[SaiSrini]

I liked WestIndies, India and Pakistan's colours they sticked to their original colours. Everyone else didn't. England suddenly using that light blue, Australia that parrot green, South Africa also not using their Green/Yellow combo.

India's kit is boring. The same one as their regular ODI kit. A World Cup kit should be different from the regular kit that you use and due to it being a special event, you design a special kit. And nothing wrong (IMO) in changing colors. All you want to make sure is, your kit does not look indistinguishable from another country's kit so as to avoid confusion among the audience.

I actually like England's 2019 WC kit. I like that they've gone back to the sky blue that they used in the 90's but have their stripes designed in a more modern fashion.