The Likely Upset
arahim
rounds to produce an upset. All it needs for one of the minnows to
possibly make it through is just one upset or a few well placed
rainouts. It is probably likely that at least one upset will happen
and maybe one of the minnows will make it through to the super eights.
here are my top picks to cause an upset.
1. Kenya. The nature of the wickets and the nature of their opponents
go in their favor and among the minnows they are decent.
2. Ireland. The only up team in a loser group?
3. Bangladesh. Probably the strongest minnow but they are in a group
with Ind and SL who are probably the best two teams against their kind
of game and specially so on these wickets.
sdavmor
Looking over the groups I agree with your assessment.
This is the WC where the Tigers have the chance to make a statement
and put the minnow tag permanently behind them. It would be good to
seem get through to the Super-8 round and have a strong showing there.
I like their bowling mix. They bat deep, albeit with a lot of youth.
I won't be surprised if they embarrass someone other than themselves.
Ireland has a lot of upside, but will need to rub that Blarney Stone
to generate the luck 'o the Irish to get out of group. Ironically
their longest suit (batting) was what failed them in the warmup vs
RSA. Still, with just a little luck they could be a dark horse. They
certainly have the right attitude, and enough bowling to keep it
tight. If the batting fires I'll be laying in the Bushmills.
Kenya should play everyone close and put a lot of pressure on England
and NZ. I'd be pleased to see them get through since it's important
in terms of their development towards getting test status. Another
successful showing in the Super-8 round (or later...wooo hooo) would
certainly see them knocking on the door for ODI series' against test
teams other than Bangles & Zim.
IMO the best thing about any of the minnows getting to the Super-8
will be the whinging, finger-pointing and grenade-lobbing that will
ensue in the press/ngs around the "big 8" team that crashes and burns.
YMMV. :-)
--
Cheers,
SDM -- a 21st century schizoid man
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NP: nothing
JPD
> The minnows will get 16 games against the big eight in the initial
> rounds to produce an upset.
Possible upsets, in order of probability:
1. Canada d Kenya (14 March). Although neither is a contender, a win
for Canada would be against the rankings and yet not altogether
outrageous.
2. Zimbabwe d West Indies (19 March). I maintain the view that West
Indies is a team consisting of three players, and if those guys fail
and the bowling gets (predicatably) hammered, they can be beaten by
anybody. You can guarantee that Zimbabwe has circled this match on
the calendar as the key to their tournament.
3. Ireland v West Indies (23 March), less likely than #2 above but
still possible for the same reasons, ie, the shallowness of the West
Indies' resources. What if Lara is injured before this game?
4. Bermuda v Bangladesh (25 March). If, as is likely, this is a dead
rubber then Bermuda will be far more motivated than Bangladesh to give
it a red-hot go.
I have considered and disregarded any chance that Scotland might beat
Australia in their opener, or that Kenya could beat New Zealand or
England. However, Arahim's point about the impact of a few well-
placed washouts is a point well made - and a run of poor weather may
expose the format of this World Cup and show conclusively that the
four-team-group format is best left to soccer (which can be played in
the rain).
--
JPD
Craig Sutton
"arahim" <arahim...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1173239815.2...@s48g2000cws.googlegroups.com...
Gumby
"Craig Sutton" <xcxcn...@ihug.co.nz> wrote in message
news:esm2ig$fb7$1...@lust.ihug.co.nz...
arahim
> The minnows will get 16 games against the big eight in the initial
> possibly make it through is just oneupsetor a few well placed
> rainouts. It is probably likely that at least oneupsetwill happen
> and maybe one of the minnows will make it through to the super eights.
> here are my top picks to cause anupset.
>
> 1. Kenya. The nature of the wickets and the nature of their opponents
> go in their favor and among the minnows they are decent.
> 2. Ireland. The only up team in a loser group?
> 3. Bangladesh. Probably the strongest minnow but they are in a group
> with Ind and SL who are probably the best two teams against their kind
> of game and specially so on these wickets.
Number two is a certainty and number 3 might happen as well today.
arahim
Done.