T20 World Cup

[mike]

And now time for something completly different as MP used to say.
Except they seem to have been playing this all year. The mini series
went well, much better than the mini budget, and England with
Wood back managed to defend 2 totals, and looked a lot better
than in the summer. Will they be able to play as well at the MCG?
I doubt whether oz will ever again drop 4 catches after having
england 58-4, but we can hope. Crowds were sparse for these games,
perhaps cos of the weather [first time i've seen oz wearing coats
to a cricket match, some also wore buckets on their heads, perhaps
a local custom?], and no one will remember them if england flunk the
real thing.

mike

[John Hall]

In message <90c5a1e8-e88f-4991...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

Yes, the WC starts tomorrow, though for the first week it will just be
matches between the "minnows" to decide which four out of eight (I
think) qualify to join the big boys. However they shouldn't be
underestimated, as they include West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland.
Rather confusingly, England have their final warm-up match (against
Pakistan again) on Monday, after the WC qualifiers have already started.
--
John Hall
"Home is heaven and orgies are vile,
But you *need* an orgy, once in a while."
Ogden Nash (1902-1971)

[max.it]

This is from the BBC

"The tournament, held across Australia over the next four weeks,
begins with an initial group stage which will decide the final four
teams who will qualify for the main phase - the 'Super 12s'.

Scotland and Ireland are both in Group B, along with two-time
champions West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Sri Lanka and Namibia, who open the competition on Sunday, plus United
Arab Emirates and the Netherlands, make up Group A.

The top two finishers in each group will progress to the Super 12s
where the top eight sides are already waiting.

England are in Group A with Australia, last year's runner-up New
Zealand and Afghanistan, who they face in Perth on Saturday 22 October
in their tournament opener (12:00 BST).

Cricketing heavyweights India and Pakistan are in Group B, alongside
South Africa and Bangladesh.

The teams in each group plays each other once with the top two
progressing to the semi-finals before the final at the famous
Melbourne Cricket Ground on 13 November.

There are two matches on most days during the group stages, largely in
the morning if you're following from the UK."

[John Hall]

In message <22ulkhl9jcp0nlcc2...@4ax.com>, max. it
<m...@tea.time> writes

>Scotland and Ireland are both in Group B, along with two-time champions
>West Indies and Zimbabwe.
>
>Sri Lanka and Namibia, who open the competition on Sunday, plus United
>Arab Emirates and the Netherlands, make up Group A.

Ireland are unlucky, as they're in much the tougher of the two groups.

[max.it]

On Sat, 15 Oct 2022 20:14:02 +0100, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

>In message <22ulkhl9jcp0nlcc2...@4ax.com>, max. it
><m...@tea.time> writes
>>Scotland and Ireland are both in Group B, along with two-time champions
>>West Indies and Zimbabwe.
>>
>>Sri Lanka and Namibia, who open the competition on Sunday, plus United
>>Arab Emirates and the Netherlands, make up Group A.
>
>Ireland are unlucky, as they're in much the tougher of the two groups.

It'll harden them (as we say around here) and if it doesn't harden
them, they're doing it wrong.

max.it

[John Hall]

In message <1i2mkh5bcva5tk06p...@4ax.com>, max. it

<m...@tea.time> writes
>On Sat, 15 Oct 2022 20:14:02 +0100, John Hall
><john_...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>In message <22ulkhl9jcp0nlcc2...@4ax.com>, max. it
>><m...@tea.time> writes
>>>Scotland and Ireland are both in Group B, along with two-time champions
>>>West Indies and Zimbabwe.
>>>
>>>Sri Lanka and Namibia, who open the competition on Sunday, plus United
>>>Arab Emirates and the Netherlands, make up Group A.
>>
>>Ireland are unlucky, as they're in much the tougher of the two groups.
>
>It'll harden them (as we say around here) and if it doesn't harden
>them, they're doing it wrong.

But maybe Group A is tougher than I thought, Namibia having not just
beaten SL but thoroughly trounced them.

[max.it]

On Sun, 16 Oct 2022 08:55:09 +0100, John Hall

<john_...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

>In message <1i2mkh5bcva5tk06p...@4ax.com>, max. it
><m...@tea.time> writes
>>On Sat, 15 Oct 2022 20:14:02 +0100, John Hall
>><john_...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:
>>
>>>In message <22ulkhl9jcp0nlcc2...@4ax.com>, max. it
>>><m...@tea.time> writes
>>>>Scotland and Ireland are both in Group B, along with two-time champions
>>>>West Indies and Zimbabwe.
>>>>
>>>>Sri Lanka and Namibia, who open the competition on Sunday, plus United
>>>>Arab Emirates and the Netherlands, make up Group A.
>>>
>>>Ireland are unlucky, as they're in much the tougher of the two groups.
>>
>>It'll harden them (as we say around here) and if it doesn't harden
>>them, they're doing it wrong.
>
>But maybe Group A is tougher than I thought, Namibia having not just
>beaten SL but thoroughly trounced them.

They beat Ireland recently too

max.it

[Robert Henderson]

A surprise that Namibia beat Sri Lanka but not astonishment because
as far as cricket goes think of Namibia as an offshoot of SA , viz: RH

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia

Namibia (/nəˈmɪbiə/ (listen), /næˈ-/),[15][16] officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. Although it does not border Zimbabwe, less than 200 metres (660 feet) of the Botswanan right bank of the Zambezi River separates the two countries. Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990, following the Namibian War of Independence. Its capital and largest city is Windhoek. Namibia is a member state of the United Nations (UN), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the African Union (AU) and the Commonwealth of Nations.

The driest country in sub-Saharan Africa,[17] Namibia has been inhabited since pre-historic times by the San, Damara and Nama people. Around the 14th century, immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion. Since then, the Bantu groups, the largest being the Ovambo, have dominated the population of the country; since the late 19th century, they have constituted a majority. Today Namibia is one of the least densely populated countries in the world.

It has a population of 2.55 million people and is a stable multi-party parliamentary democracy. Agriculture, tourism and the mining industry – including mining for gem diamonds, uranium, gold, silver and base metals – form the basis of its economy, while the manufacturing sector is comparatively small.

In 1884, the German Empire established rule over most of the territory, forming a colony known as German South West Africa. Between 1904 and 1908, it perpetrated a genocide against the Herero and Nama people. German rule ended in 1915 with a defeat by South African forces. In 1920, after the end of World War I, the League of Nations mandated administration of the colony to South Africa. As mandatory power, South Africa imposed its laws, including racial classifications and rules. From 1948, with the National Party elected to power, this included South Africa applying apartheid to what was then known as South West Africa. In the later 20th century, uprisings and demands for political representation by native African political activists seeking independence resulted in the UN assuming direct responsibility over the territory in 1966, but South Africa maintained de facto rule. In 1973, the UN recognised the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO) as the official representative of the Namibian people. Following continued guerrilla warfare, Namibia obtained independence in 1990. However, Walvis Bay and the Penguin Islands remained under South African control until 1994.

RH

[Mike Holmans]

On Sun, 16 Oct 2022 08:55:09 +0100, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

>But maybe Group A is tougher than I thought, Namibia having not just
>beaten SL but thoroughly trounced them.

I think it's fair to say that was at least slightly surprising.

Cheers,

Mike

[mike]

i'd say very, as SL have just won the asian cup beating the bangles, India and pakistan
along the way.

i didnt see it live but when namibia were 6 down, i'd expect SL to finish them
off for about 100, but they went for about 11 an over after that. Namibia have
got some crazy names in their squad, Divan La Cock, Pikky ya France, and
their reserve keeper is Lohand Laurence.

mike

[mike]

Another good batting perf by england abeit against a Pakistan side
without rizwan and Babar. Iffy start followed by another explosive cameo
by Stokes. Good to see the doc back again, we may need
his bowling as much as his batting, and impressive finishing by Curan
and Brook.

Meanwhile oz had a truly dramatic defeat vs india, needing
only 7 off the last, they lost 4 wickets in 4 balls. Shami looked like
he was going to explode.

Sometime in the summer Moeen said that the team which hits the most 6s
usually wins. I cant remember if he was talking about T20 or the 100, but
while hes probably right most of the time, Scotlands win vs Windies was
an exception to this 'rule' [if it is 1], although it was only 3-1 to the windies.

I think Windies needed 107 off 14 but went into a kamikazi spiral after lewis
was out and look a real mess, even before this WC started with 1 player
left out cos he missed the plane - twice!

mike

[John Hall]

In message <b1511b81-c357-4de3...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>Another good batting perf by england abeit against a Pakistan side
>without rizwan and Babar.

Yep. It might have been closer had Pakistan not turned in o0ne of their
more shambolic fielding displays.

> Iffy start followed by another explosive cameo by Stokes.

Yes, he seems to have worked the rust out of his system.

> Good to see the doc back again, we may need his bowling as much as his
>batting, and impressive finishing by Curan and Brook.

England's only real worries now are that Hales seems out of touch and
that - as has been the case for most of this year - Rashid hasn't been
quite himself. Regarding Hales, I'd be tempted to omit him and have the
side as: Buttler, Malan, Stokes, Brook, Livingstone. Ali, Curran,
Woakes, Wood, Rashid, Topley.

>
>Meanwhile oz had a truly dramatic defeat vs india, needing only 7 off
>the last, they lost 4 wickets in 4 balls. Shami looked like he was
>going to explode.

Not bad as it was his only over. To bowl like that from "cold" was
amazing.

>
>Sometime in the summer Moeen said that the team which hits the most 6s
>usually wins. I cant remember if he was talking about T20 or the 100,
>but while hes probably right most of the time,

It might be different in Australia, where the boundaries tend to be
longer than in most other countries. I heard a couple of comms
discussing this and one suggested that singles and twos might have a
more important part to play than usual.

> Scotlands win vs Windies was an exception to this 'rule' [if it is 1],
>although it was only 3-1 to the windies.
>
>I think Windies needed 107 off 14 but went into a kamikazi spiral
>after lewis was out and look a real mess, even before this WC started
>with 1 player left out cos he missed the plane - twice!

If both WI and SL fail to qualify for the last eight,l which could
easily happen, it will be remarkable.

[David North]

On 17/10/2022 16:47, John Hall wrote:
> In message <b1511b81-c357-4de3...@googlegroups.com>,
> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>> Sometime in the summer Moeen said that the team which hits the most 6s
>> usually wins. I cant remember if he was talking about T20 or the 100,
>> but while hes probably right most of the time,
>
> It might be different in Australia, where the boundaries tend to be
> longer than in most other countries.

In 59 T20Is in Australia that have been won without a super over, the
winning side has hit more sixes 31 times, fewer 20 times, and 8 times
the number of sixes has been equal.

However, the figures for fours are 42, 14 and 3, so that seems to be a
much better indicator.

> I heard a couple of comms
> discussing this and one suggested that singles and twos might have a
> more important part to play than usual.

The figures for runs scored off the bat excluding boundaries are 30, 28
and 1, so that is pretty useless as an indicator on it own.

--
David North

[David North]

Just counting each side's sixes, etc, does not take into account the
fact that the number of runs the side batting second can score is
limited by their opponents' total. Therefore it makes more sense to look
at the rate at which each side scores sixes, etc.

In those 59 T20Is in Australia, the side with the higher rate of:

- sixes won 35, lost 22, and there were 2 where the rates were equal;
- fours won 46 and lost 13;
- non-boundary runs off the bat won 35 and lost 24.

--
David North

[John Hall]

In message <357XtPBRkXTjFwaA@jhall_nospamxx.co.uk>, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes

>England's only real worries now are that Hales seems out of touch and
>that - as has been the case for most of this year - Rashid hasn't been
>quite himself. Regarding Hales, I'd be tempted to omit him and have the
>side as: Buttler, Malan, Stokes, Brook, Livingstone. Ali, Curran,
>Woakes, Wood, Rashid, Topley.

Apparently Topley has turned his ankle over and could be out for the
entire tournament. I imagine Willey or Jordan would come in in his
place; I'd opt for Jordan, his fielding perhaps being the deciding
factor.

[mike]

On Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 2:32:05 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> In message <357XtPBRkXTjFwaA@jhall_nospamxx.co.uk>, John Hall
> <john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes
> >England's only real worries now are that Hales seems out of touch and
> >that - as has been the case for most of this year - Rashid hasn't been
> >quite himself. Regarding Hales, I'd be tempted to omit him and have the
> >side as: Buttler, Malan, Stokes, Brook, Livingstone. Ali, Curran,
> >Woakes, Wood, Rashid, Topley.
> Apparently Topley has turned his ankle over and could be out for the
> entire tournament. I imagine Willey or Jordan would come in in his
> place; I'd opt for Jordan, his fielding perhaps being the deciding
> factor.

yes Topley is out which is a big loss since hes been the most improved
player of the team this year and the most consistant bowler. Hope Wood
doesnt go the same way or rashids shoulder probs reoccur, well
dont panic yet, but they better take the afghans very seriously.

the format this year is certainly producing some competitive and exciting
games for tv, even if they are largely empty stadiums. rather a bowlers
world cup so far.

mike

[John Hall]

In message <834c4504-b057-4009...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>the format this year is certainly producing some competitive and
>exciting games for tv, even if they are largely empty stadiums.

It should be quite a contrast tomorrow, when I imagine that Australia-NZ
should be close to a full house and England-Afghanistan will hopefully
also attract a decent crowd. England's game is in Perth and the second
match, so is on at quite a civilised hour.

Meanwhile, very well done to Ireland. Hopefully Scotland can join them
in qualifying - though I don't know why I should be supporting them,
when I suspect that most Scottish fans would like to see England do
poorly.

[Mike Holmans]

On Fri, 21 Oct 2022 09:58:11 +0100, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

>In message <834c4504-b057-4009...@googlegroups.com>,
>mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>>the format this year is certainly producing some competitive and
>>exciting games for tv, even if they are largely empty stadiums.
>
>It should be quite a contrast tomorrow, when I imagine that Australia-NZ
>should be close to a full house and England-Afghanistan will hopefully
>also attract a decent crowd. England's game is in Perth and the second
>match, so is on at quite a civilised hour.

I'm rather trepidatious about our lot having to deal with Rashid Khan.
Being at Perth will blunt his threat somewhat compared to an Asian
pitch, but he's still the best leggie in the world in this format.

Cheers,

Mike

[mike]

Meanwhile congrats to ireland, after their 1st round defeat they
recovered well. But West indies must be a bunch of clowns; just a
few months ago they humiliated england, but now they
look a shambles!

mike

[max.it]

On Fri, 21 Oct 2022 15:27:24 -0700 (PDT), mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:

Too many celebs.

max.it

[mike]

This WC is certainly more interesting than the last 1. That
last over in the India-Pak match had more twists and turns
than an entire day of test cricket in the 1950s. I was listening
on 5live and even the commentators got confused. Dunno
how ashwin managed to stay so calm, leaving the 'final ball'
for a wide. Crazy stuff.

mike

[max.it]

On Sun, 23 Oct 2022 05:29:14 -0700 (PDT), mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk>

I listened to the final 6 or 7 overs. Imagine being umpire or scorer
in that mayhem.

max.it

[Mike Holmans]

On Sun, 23 Oct 2022 05:29:14 -0700 (PDT), mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:

>This WC is certainly more interesting than the last 1. That
>last over in the India-Pak match had more twists and turns
>than an entire day of test cricket in the 1950s. I was listening
>on 5live and even the commentators got confused. Dunno
>how ashwin managed to stay so calm, leaving the 'final ball'
>for a wide. Crazy stuff.

I couldn't believe the way Pakistan managed to throw that away.

Cheers,

Mike

[John Hall]

In message <fc56070f-e699-484b...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>This WC is certainly more interesting than the last 1. That last over
>in the India-Pak match had more twists and turns than an entire day of
>test cricket in the 1950s. I was listening on 5live and even the
>commentators got confused. Dunno how ashwin managed to stay so calm,
>leaving the 'final ball' for a wide. Crazy stuff.

Unfortunately I'd booked lunch in a local restaurant for 12:00, so
missed the climax, but it was clearly terrific. That's three fascinating
games out of three now, in their different ways, with this one clearly
the best of the lot.

[Mike Holmans]

On Sun, 23 Oct 2022 16:18:33 +0100, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

>In message <fc56070f-e699-484b...@googlegroups.com>,
>mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>>This WC is certainly more interesting than the last 1. That last over
>>in the India-Pak match had more twists and turns than an entire day of
>>test cricket in the 1950s. I was listening on 5live and even the
>>commentators got confused. Dunno how ashwin managed to stay so calm,
>>leaving the 'final ball' for a wide. Crazy stuff.
>
>Unfortunately I'd booked lunch in a local restaurant for 12:00, so
>missed the climax, but it was clearly terrific. That's three fascinating
>games out of three now, in their different ways, with this one clearly
>the best of the lot.

Only just beating Ireland v Scotland a few days ago, though. Some of
us watched most of a dozen games before England turned up. NL v
Namibia was also pretty exciting. So far, this as good a T20
tournament as one could wish for in entertainment terms.

Cheers,

Mike

[mike]

certainly the irish had a good time in the rain today.
England now have to win on friday just to stay in with
a chance. Or put another way Oz have the chance to knock them
out.

mike

[John Hall]

In message <0f043043-3006-4b19...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

NZ now seem strong favourites to qualify, with the winner of England and
Australia most likely to join them, though it's not impossible for SL to
pip both of them, especially if the A v E match tomorrow was to be
rained off. Apparently showers are forecast, so let's hope they stay
away.

[mike]

Yes a rained off match would be the end for england and not great
for oz either.

meanwhile another upset as Zimbabs beat Pak in another last ball
thriller. I was listening to it but I think they needed 11 off the last over,
1 of the mohammeds hit a 4 then took a single so it was 4 needed off 3,
then the other mohammed got a dot, then he was out next ball to evans,
then new batter shaheen was run out.

mike

[John Hall]

In message <c9c11050-2077-46af...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>On Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 8:54:50 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
>> NZ now seem strong favourites to qualify, with the winner of England and
>> Australia most likely to join them, though it's not impossible for SL to
>> pip both of them, especially if the A v E match tomorrow was to be
>> rained off. Apparently showers are forecast, so let's hope they stay
>> away.
>
>Yes a rained off match would be the end for england and not great
>for oz either.

I'd put it the other way round: it would almost be the end for Australia
(with a dreadful NRR) and not great for England either.

>
>meanwhile another upset as Zimbabs beat Pak in another last ball
>thriller. I was listening to it but I think they needed 11 off the last over,

Yep. I was following it, and watched all of the last six or seven overs
or so on Sky.

>1 of the mohammeds hit a 4 then took a single so it was 4 needed off 3,

IIRC it was 4 off 4 and 3 off 3.

>then the other mohammed got a dot, then he was out next ball to evans,
>then new batter shaheen was run out.
>
>mike

India and SA look long odds on now to be the two going through from that
group.

[mike]

On Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 5:07:17 PM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> In message <c9c11050-2077-46af...@googlegroups.com>,
> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> >On Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 8:54:50 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> >> NZ now seem strong favourites to qualify, with the winner of England and
> >> Australia most likely to join them, though it's not impossible for SL to
> >> pip both of them, especially if the A v E match tomorrow was to be
> >> rained off. Apparently showers are forecast, so let's hope they stay
> >> away.
> >
> >Yes a rained off match would be the end for england and not great
> >for oz either.
> I'd put it the other way round: it would almost be the end for Australia
> (with a dreadful NRR) and not great for England either.
> >

with the weather not looking good, its probably going to be
another pitch diff to bat on, plus we could see DLS in operation
again, so I hope Englands match thinking is a bit quicker to
adjust to the conditions than they were against the Irish.

mike

[mike]

I just read that acc to the SMH, Steve Smith may play becos Wade
has covid. Now i know that SS is a good fielder but I didnt realise
this extended to keeping wkt. I think there was a womans match
where a covid player was allowed to play, so it may happen that
Wade gets special dispensation too [spread the lurgi]. Also Starc
is threatening to mankad Buttler.

As my knowledge of the oz media only extends to listening
to ABC commentary, I dunno the truth if any behind these reports.

mike

[Hamish Laws]

On Friday, October 28, 2022 at 8:36:27 AM UTC+11, mike wrote:

> I just read that acc to the SMH, Steve Smith may play becos Wade
> has covid. Now i know that SS is a good fielder but I didnt realise
> this extended to keeping wkt.

Warner and Maxwell have kept in the past, apparently Maxwell was a keeper through most of his junior days and has done it in a few charity games

If I had to pick one of them I'd probably go Warner because Maxwell's bowling is extremely useful to have as an option.

> I think there was a womans match
> where a covid player was allowed to play, so it may happen that
> Wade gets special dispensation too [spread the lurgi]
>

I think the current covid rules allow people to play but they have to be isolated when they aren't on the field of play.

[Hamish Laws]

On Friday, October 28, 2022 at 3:07:17 AM UTC+11, John Hall wrote:
> In message <c9c11050-2077-46af...@googlegroups.com>,
> mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
> >On Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 8:54:50 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
> >> NZ now seem strong favourites to qualify, with the winner of England and
> >> Australia most likely to join them, though it's not impossible for SL to
> >> pip both of them, especially if the A v E match tomorrow was to be
> >> rained off. Apparently showers are forecast, so let's hope they stay
> >> away.
> >
> >Yes a rained off match would be the end for england and not great
> >for oz either.
> I'd put it the other way round: it would almost be the end for Australia
> (with a dreadful NRR) and not great for England either.

Australia still has matches against Ireland and Afghanistan
England still has to play NZ & SL
So Australia should have easier matches after today and might still sneak ahead of the other contenders either by winning more matches than the other teams or really boosting their net runrate

(or Ireland might outplay them and knock them out)

[John Hall]

In message <A$UBOZBusqWjFwl0@jhall_nospamxx.co.uk>, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes

>In message <c9c11050-2077-46af...@googlegroups.com>,
>mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>>On Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 8:54:50 AM UTC+1, John Hall wrote:
>>> NZ now seem strong favourites to qualify, with the winner of England and
>>> Australia most likely to join them, though it's not impossible for SL to
>>> pip both of them, especially if the A v E match tomorrow was to be
>>> rained off. Apparently showers are forecast, so let's hope they stay
>>> away.
>>
>>Yes a rained off match would be the end for england and not great
>>for oz either.
>
>I'd put it the other way round: it would almost be the end for
>Australia (with a dreadful NRR) and not great for England either.

On reflection, I don't think I made enough allowance for England still
having NZ to play. As it's now looking highly likely that E v A will be
rained off, England are probably going to need to beat both NZ and SL to
qualify, which will be tough..

[John Hall]

In message <b89a3bb2-ecac-4892...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>I just read that acc to the SMH, Steve Smith may play becos Wade has
>covid. Now i know that SS is a good fielder but I didnt realise this
>extended to keeping wkt. I think there was a womans match where a
>covid player was allowed to play, so it may happen that Wade gets
>special dispensation too [spread the lurgi]. Also Starc is threatening
>to mankad Buttler.
>
>As my knowledge of the oz media only extends to listening to ABC
>commentary, I dunno the truth if any behind these reports.

Apparently no special dispensation is needed, and both Wade and Zampa
are expected to play - if there is any, that is.

[mike]

Yes its worse for england, becos oz only have to play Ire & Afghan,
and its surely more likely that SL or NZ might beat England, than
Ire or Afghan will beat Oz at home, thats if no more matches are rained
off. Clearly the oz rain gods decided that 2 defeats to england was
enough this season.

mike

[John Hall]

In message <f1583e33-f585-4bd3...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>Yes its worse for england, becos oz only have to play Ire & Afghan, and
>its surely more likely that SL or NZ might beat England, than Ire or
>Afghan will beat Oz at home, thats if no more matches are rained off.
>Clearly the oz rain gods decided that 2 defeats to england was enough
>this season.

I calculate that if every remaining match in the group was to be rained
off, NZ and SL would go through on NRR!

[John Hall]

In message <c61ZjiAUR$WjFwXz@jhall_nospamxx.co.uk>, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes

>In message <f1583e33-f585-4bd3...@googlegroups.com>,
>mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>>Yes its worse for england, becos oz only have to play Ire & Afghan,
>>and its surely more likely that SL or NZ might beat England, than Ire

>>Afghan will beat Oz at home, thats if no more matches are rained off.
>>Clearly the oz rain gods decided that 2 defeats to england was enough
>>this season.
>
>I calculate that if every remaining match in the group was to be rained
>off, NZ and SL would go through on NRR!

As I type, SL have NZ in considerable trouble. Should SL win, that will
really put the cat among the pigeons. I suppose it would improve
England's chances of finishing ahead of NZ but reduce their chances of
finishing ahead of SL, so it's far from clear whether it would be good
for us or not.

[Mike Holmans]

On Sat, 29 Oct 2022 10:00:54 +0100, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> wrote:

>In message <c61ZjiAUR$WjFwXz@jhall_nospamxx.co.uk>, John Hall
><john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes
>>In message <f1583e33-f585-4bd3...@googlegroups.com>,
>>mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
>>>Yes its worse for england, becos oz only have to play Ire & Afghan,
>>>and its surely more likely that SL or NZ might beat England, than Ire
>>>Afghan will beat Oz at home, thats if no more matches are rained off.
>>>Clearly the oz rain gods decided that 2 defeats to england was enough
>>>this season.
>>
>>I calculate that if every remaining match in the group was to be rained
>>off, NZ and SL would go through on NRR!
>
>As I type, SL have NZ in considerable trouble.

That seems to have had the requisite effect on the match as SL have
completely fallen apart since.

Cheers,

Mike

[John Hall]

In message <s52qlh5sp0ik8n9bh...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans
<sp...@jackalope.uk> writes

It did. Falling to 15-3 doesn't seem too bad if the opponents are only
going to manage 8-4.

[mike]

terrible starts followed by spectacular recovery seem to be the norm
in this wet world cup. surprise win for SA vs India; i stopped listening
when they were about 30-3 after 9 overs, but Miller & Markram pulled
it off partly thanks to some fielding errors by kohli and rohit. That must
give some hope to pak who finally won a game, but i expect it
will still be India and SA in the semis.

I dunno when the england game starts but the forcast for tuesday
in brisbane looks miserable - heavy rain.

mike

[mike]

well the rain stayed away and we had a good match, but i have to admit
that i turned it off just before Williamson got out to Stokes. In fact when
Ali dropped Philips I thought we'd blow it especially when he then
smashed poor Rashid all over. But after he was out, NZ had
a terrible few overs as England put the pressure on well.

There was the odd business of the Buttler out that wasnt, well Williamson
clearly spilled it falling over, then they dropped him again on 40. I guess the
damp surface may have made the ball slippy, otherwise it was vintage Jos.
Hales did much to justify his place as well against the best team on form
in the WC so far. It was pretty brave to take it to Southee like that.
But the Doc was left embarrased after nutmeging himself ramping it
up once too often.

Pretty small crowd at the gabba, most were england fans though, perhaps
the sheep are still in lockdown. In fact the only NZ fans I saw were Sikhs,
and Charly wasnt allowed to go to egypt for COP 22 but he made it to the
cricket instead.

mike

[John Hall]

In message <0a214ed2-5708-41aa...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

>well the rain stayed away and we had a good match, but i have to admit
>that i turned it off just before Williamson got out to Stokes. In fact
>when Ali dropped Philips I thought we'd blow it especially when he then
>smashed poor Rashid all over. But after he was out, NZ had a terrible
>few overs as England put the pressure on well.

It was odd that NZ's seamers were poor and their spinners good, whereas
for England it was rather the other way around.

>
>There was the odd business of the Buttler out that wasnt, well
>Williamson clearly spilled it falling over, then they dropped him again
>on 40. I guess the damp surface may have made the ball slippy,
>otherwise it was vintage Jos. Hales did much to justify his place as
>well against the best team on form in the WC so far. It was pretty
>brave to take it to Southee like that. But the Doc was left embarrased
>after nutmeging himself ramping it up once too often.

Yes, trying that shot two balls running was a bit over-ambitious.

>
>Pretty small crowd at the gabba, most were england fans though, perhaps
>the sheep are still in lockdown. In fact the only NZ fans I saw were
>Sikhs, and Charly wasnt allowed to go to egypt for COP 22 but he made
>it to the cricket instead.

The comms on Sky reckoned it was a pretty good crowd, and the shots of
the crowd that I saw supported that.

I was wondering a few days ago if there was a case for playing Jordan
over Woakes because of his fielding, but of course a convenient minor
injury allowed England to bring him on anyway, and he promptly took two
good catches.

I believe England's final group game is at the SCG on Saturday. I don't
know if it was deliberate timing or just serendipity, but a clue in my
paper's cryptic crossword today seemed like a very topical warning to
the England fans: "Our booze brought into SCG brings punishment." (9)

[Mike Holmans]

On Tue, 1 Nov 2022 16:19:53 +0000, John Hall <john_...@jhall.co.uk>
wrote:

>
>I believe England's final group game is at the SCG on Saturday. I don't
>know if it was deliberate timing or just serendipity, but a clue in my
>paper's cryptic crossword today seemed like a very topical warning to
>the England fans: "Our booze brought into SCG brings punishment." (9)

Coincidence. Telegraph back-pagers are composed without knowledge of
the date on which they will appear. Toughies are occasionally composed
with a specific date in mind by advance arrangment with the editor,
but that's pretty rare.

Cheers,

Mike

[John Hall]

In message <1523mhtl2dahhpn50...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans
<sp...@jackalope.uk> writes

You seem surprisingly well-informed about Toughie crossword
commissioning arrangements. Are you a composer yourself or perhaps
friends with one?

[Mike Holmans]

On Tue, 1 Nov 2022 21:24:54 +0000, John Hall <john_...@jhall.co.uk>

wrote:

>In message <1523mhtl2dahhpn50...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans
><sp...@jackalope.uk> writes
>>On Tue, 1 Nov 2022 16:19:53 +0000, John Hall <john_...@jhall.co.uk>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>I believe England's final group game is at the SCG on Saturday. I don't
>>>know if it was deliberate timing or just serendipity, but a clue in my
>>>paper's cryptic crossword today seemed like a very topical warning to
>>>the England fans: "Our booze brought into SCG brings punishment." (9)
>>
>>Coincidence. Telegraph back-pagers are composed without knowledge of
>>the date on which they will appear.
>> Toughies are occasionally composed
>>with a specific date in mind by advance arrangment with the editor,
>>but that's pretty rare.
>
>You seem surprisingly well-informed about Toughie crossword
>commissioning arrangements. Are you a composer yourself or perhaps
>friends with one?

I have been setting puzzles for the Independent for 10 years and the
FT for 7. I've known Elgar for 20 years, since he took up with a woman
I've been watching cricket with for nearly 40.

Cheers,

Mike

[max.it]

On Tue, 1 Nov 2022 21:24:54 +0000, John Hall <john_...@jhall.co.uk>

wrote:

>In message <1523mhtl2dahhpn50...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans
><sp...@jackalope.uk> writes
>>On Tue, 1 Nov 2022 16:19:53 +0000, John Hall <john_...@jhall.co.uk>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>I believe England's final group game is at the SCG on Saturday. I don't
>>>know if it was deliberate timing or just serendipity, but a clue in my
>>>paper's cryptic crossword today seemed like a very topical warning to
>>>the England fans: "Our booze brought into SCG brings punishment." (9)
>>
>>Coincidence. Telegraph back-pagers are composed without knowledge of
>>the date on which they will appear.
>> Toughies are occasionally composed
>>with a specific date in mind by advance arrangment with the editor,
>>but that's pretty rare.
>
>You seem surprisingly well-informed about Toughie crossword
>commissioning arrangements. Are you a composer yourself or perhaps
>friends with one?

.
Hahaa. That made me laugh and then think that I must be old, then I
wondered if I have been here way far too long.
Mike baked a good'un back in the day.
Now try say'n that with your teeth out - said no ventriloquist ever.

max.it

[John Hall]

In message <f993mh9t4qbat1scp...@4ax.com>, max. it
<m...@tea.time> writes

I think I've been here since the group was launched, but my memory is
probably much worse than yours so I often don't recall old posts.

[John Hall]

In message <2l63mhtq29gs0c5gg...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans
<sp...@jackalope.uk> writes

>I have been setting puzzles for the Independent for 10 years and the FT
>for 7. I've known Elgar for 20 years, since he took up with a woman
>I've been watching cricket with for nearly 40.

If the Independent crossword is available to non-subscribers online, I
shall have to take a look at it, if you can tell me on which day your
most recent composition appeared / will be appearing.

[Mike Holmans]

On Wed, 2 Nov 2022 10:21:02 +0000, John Hall <john_...@jhall.co.uk>
wrote:

>In message <2l63mhtq29gs0c5gg...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans
><sp...@jackalope.uk> writes
>>I have been setting puzzles for the Independent for 10 years and the FT
>>for 7. I've known Elgar for 20 years, since he took up with a woman
>>I've been watching cricket with for nearly 40.
>
>If the Independent crossword is available to non-subscribers online, I
>shall have to take a look at it, if you can tell me on which day your
>most recent composition appeared / will be appearing.

I don't know when my next offerings are turning up, but both the Indy
https://puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-crossword-independent/
(where I'm Alchemi) and FT https://www.ft.com/crossword (Chalmie) are
available to non-subscribers.

Cheers,

Mike

[mike]

On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 4:25:12 PM UTC, John Hall wrote:
> In message <0a214ed2-5708-41aa...@googlegroups.com>,

> >
> >Pretty small crowd at the gabba, most were england fans though, perhaps
> >the sheep are still in lockdown. In fact the only NZ fans I saw were
> >Sikhs, and Charly wasnt allowed to go to egypt for COP 22 but he made
> >it to the cricket instead.
> The comms on Sky reckoned it was a pretty good crowd, and the shots of
> the crowd that I saw supported that.

it was good but all the middle and upper stands looked empty so i thought it was
small in numbers.

I thought bangers were terribly unlucky vs india. Unlike england
in the irish match they set off at a tremendous rate thanks to Das,
but then got caught out by DLS anyway.

Only SA left unbeaten, but this is such an up and down WC, partly due
to the weather, i think 8 teams still technically have a chance.

mike

[John Hall]

In message <ntt4mhte9np4snsvo...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans

<sp...@jackalope.uk> writes
>On Wed, 2 Nov 2022 10:21:02 +0000, John Hall <john_...@jhall.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>>In message <2l63mhtq29gs0c5gg...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans
>><sp...@jackalope.uk> writes
>>>I have been setting puzzles for the Independent for 10 years and the FT
>>>for 7. I've known Elgar for 20 years, since he took up with a woman
>>>I've been watching cricket with for nearly 40.
>>
>>If the Independent crossword is available to non-subscribers online, I
>>shall have to take a look at it, if you can tell me on which day your
>>most recent composition appeared / will be appearing.
>
>I don't know when my next offerings are turning up, but both the Indy
>https://puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-crossword-independent/
>(where I'm Alchemi) and FT https://www.ft.com/crossword (Chalmie) are
>available to non-subscribers.

Thanks. I see you decided not to call yourself Manhol.

[John Hall]

In message <P+70qKCv2pYjFwlj@jhall_nospamxx.co.uk>, John Hall
<john_...@jhall.co.uk> writes

>In message <ntt4mhte9np4snsvo...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans
><sp...@jackalope.uk> writes
>>On Wed, 2 Nov 2022 10:21:02 +0000, John Hall <john_...@jhall.co.uk>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>In message <2l63mhtq29gs0c5gg...@4ax.com>, Mike Holmans
>>><sp...@jackalope.uk> writes
>>>>I have been setting puzzles for the Independent for 10 years and the FT
>>>>for 7. I've known Elgar for 20 years, since he took up with a woman
>>>>I've been watching cricket with for nearly 40.
>>>
>>>If the Independent crossword is available to non-subscribers online, I
>>>shall have to take a look at it, if you can tell me on which day your
>>>most recent composition appeared / will be appearing.
>>
>>I don't know when my next offerings are turning up, but both the Indy
>>https://puzzles.independent.co.uk/games/cryptic-crossword-independent/
>>(where I'm Alchemi) and FT https://www.ft.com/crossword (Chalmie) are
>>available to non-subscribers.
>
>Thanks. I see you decided not to call yourself Manhol.

I should have said Manshol.

[David North]

I think it may be 10, although the chances for Ireland and Zimbabwe must be extremely remote.

Ireland would have to beat NZ by a huge margin to finish ahead of them on NRR, and would need Afghanistan to beat Australia.

Zimbabwe would need to beat India by a large margin, and would also need Netherlands to beat SA and no result between Bangladesh and Pakistan. That would leave Zimbabwe, SA, Pakistan and Bangladesh all on 5 points, so if Zimbabwe finished ahead of the others on NRR, they would go through.

[mike]

realistically though, even if Pak beat bangers, they have to hope 1 of the minows beat SA or India,
and similarly SL can only go through if they beat England and NZ or Oz lose. I didnt realise
that Silverwood was coach of SL when they won the Asia Cup. Now hes got the chance
to put england out of the WC! But it could all come down to NRR.

mike

[David North]

On 03/11/2022 17:07, mike wrote:
> On Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 1:53:34 PM UTC, nos...@lane-farm.fsnet.co.uk wrote:
>> On Wednesday, 2 November 2022 at 15:41:41 UTC, mike wrote:
>>> On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 at 4:25:12 PM UTC, John Hall wrote:
>>>> In message <0a214ed2-5708-41aa...@googlegroups.com>,
>>>>>
>>>>> Pretty small crowd at the gabba, most were england fans though, perhaps
>>>>> the sheep are still in lockdown. In fact the only NZ fans I saw were
>>>>> Sikhs, and Charly wasnt allowed to go to egypt for COP 22 but he made
>>>>> it to the cricket instead.
>>>> The comms on Sky reckoned it was a pretty good crowd, and the shots of
>>>> the crowd that I saw supported that.
>>> it was good but all the middle and upper stands looked empty so i thought it was
>>> small in numbers.
>>>
>>> I thought bangers were terribly unlucky vs india. Unlike england
>>> in the irish match they set off at a tremendous rate thanks to Das,
>>> but then got caught out by DLS anyway.
>>>
>>> Only SA left unbeaten, but this is such an up and down WC, partly due
>>> to the weather, i think 8 teams still technically have a chance.
>> I think it may be 10, although the chances for Ireland and Zimbabwe must be extremely remote.
>>
>> Ireland would have to beat NZ by a huge margin to finish ahead of them on NRR, and would need Afghanistan to beat Australia.
>>
>> Zimbabwe would need to beat India by a large margin, and would also need Netherlands to beat SA and no result between Bangladesh and Pakistan. That would leave Zimbabwe, SA, Pakistan and Bangladesh all on 5 points, so if Zimbabwe finished ahead of the others on NRR, they would go through.
>
> realistically though, even if Pak beat bangers,

Whichever side wins that match.

they have to hope 1 of the minows beat SA or India,

Yes, or a no-result in the SA/NL match. BD would need a massive win
unless SA lose.

> and similarly SL can only go through if they beat England and NZ or Oz lose.

or a NR in the Oz match, but there's no sign of rain in Adelaide today
(or tomorrow for the SA/NL match)

--
David North

[mike]

Ok now things are clearer. Those last 2 overs in the oz match were quite something.
Warners dismissal will be replayed on many a tv prog. I did wonder why SS hadnt
played yet. More surprising is India preferring Karthik to Pant: did he fall out with
the management or was he injured?

mike

[Hamish Laws]

On Friday, November 4, 2022 at 10:52:47 PM UTC+11, mike wrote:
>
> Ok now things are clearer. Those last 2 overs in the oz match were quite something.
> Warners dismissal will be replayed on many a tv prog. I did wonder why SS hadnt
> played yet.

Smith's never been more than a borderline 20/20 player, average 25, sr 125

>More surprising is India preferring Karthik to Pant: did he fall out with
> the management or was he injured?

Pant's 20/20 record is his weakest record, average 24, sr 127
Karthik has a 27 average and 142 sr

This year Pant's averaging 26 with a strike rate of almost 137 while Karthik is averaging 20 with a strike rate of 141 so there's not a huge amount between them and you could favor the idea that Karthik is more likely to score fast.

[Mike Holmans]

Karthik's been playing as a finisher this year and has often been
devastating in the last 3 overs.

Cheers,

Mike

[mike]

On Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 5:07:43 PM UTC, mike wrote:
> and similarly SL can only go through if they beat England and NZ or Oz lose. I didnt realise
> that Silverwood was coach of SL when they won the Asia Cup. Now hes got the chance
> to put england out of the WC! But it could all come down to NRR.
>

Well it was another nervous struggle. Stokes looked exhausted at the end, Woakes
kept his head after the Doc and Curran lost theirs going for 6s. The middle order
struggled against the spinners and nearly blew the match. I thought with Malan
injured, Ali should have come in instead of Brook as hes more experienced at
spin, but he didnt do any better. I cant see them beating india like this, they panic
too easily and go for big shots when thanks to Hales and Butler they just needed
1s and 2s.

mike

[Mike Holmans]

On Sat, 5 Nov 2022 05:07:15 -0700 (PDT), mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk>
wrote:

I think they're distracted by their own legend. Morgan liked chasing,
and they did very well with that strategy. But they're so confident of
chasing totals down because they bat so deep that the middle order
doesn't seem to want to keep the foot on the gas after a wicket or two
fall.

Both the matches they've bothered to win were ones in which they
batted first and didn't have a target to engineer a chase round. So
I'd be happier if they bat first in the semi.

Cheers,

Mike

[FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer]

Not really.

Karthik is way over rated as a finisher.

Fans are wrongly extrapolating his IPL exploits to international cricket.

Pant should be in the team in place of Karthik.

Karthik's last 24/25 international T20 matches scores:

Runs Balls
5 4
0 1
11 7
12 17
6 7
41 19
7 13
6 9
12 9
1 1
6 5
10 2
1 1
17 7
46 21
1 2
6 15
7 5


Mediocre overall except two matches.

Karthik is NOT in the best of form.

He even made a stupid blunder by moving away from leg stump to a wide
ball from Mohammad Nawaz and then tried to SWEEP it and got stumped with
the match on line vs Pakistan.

Thankfully, SMART Ashwin left the next wide ball alone, got the scores
tied, made sure India WON'T lose the match and THEN hit the winning runs
on the last ball of the match.

Karthik can't score against spinners like Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali and
Livingstone.

He primarily uses the pace of the ball to score his runs.

India is making a big mistake selecting a 37 yr old Karthik over a young
Pant in T20s.


Pant is in better form recently than Karthik.

26 15
1 5
14 12
24 12
33 26
44 31
14 12
17 13
20 16
27 14


In case the Indian top order falls quickly to Wood Rashid and Woakes, at
least Pant has the skills to rescue India as a middle order batsman PLUS
he is a LEFT HANDER.

[FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer]

[FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer]

As an Indian fan, I still think it is 50-50 for India-England match,
provided India gets their team selection right and include Pant in place
of karthik.


Rohit Sharma's tactics are at best above average. He doesn't improvise
based on the game situation, like Dhoni did.

In the match vs SA a few days ago, Rohit should have bowled Shami and
Bhuvi in the 18th and 19th and Ashwin in the 20th like Pak did with
Mohammad Nawaz vs India.

It almost worked for Pak despite couple of abnormal things like wides
and byes.

If Ashwin had 15-16 runs to defend in the 20th, he might have pulled it
off vs SA.

Kohli is due for a failure mathematically. I hope it happens tomorrow vs
Zimbabwe and he scores a 50+ vs England in the Semis.

[FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer]

Pant is neither injured nor is there a fall out with management.


It's just that Dravid and Rohit are NOT getting the team selections,
PERFECT. Their thought processes are messed up and repeated mistakes in
the last 5-6 months.

India barely won against Pak and BD in World Cup. Lost in Asia cup.

So, they NEED to beef up their batting against a strong England and
hence MUST include Pant in place of Karthik.

Since Pant NEEDS some "match practice", he should be in the match
tomorrow vs Zimbabwe.

[mike]

The other problem they have is if Malan cant play which seems likely.
I think the doc is nursing an ankle prob too, although he looked fine taking
a brill catch on the boundary. I know who the reserves are but
without Malan and bairstow, both mainstays of the side, and seeing
how the rest sometimes lose it under pressure, i wonder if the man
they should turn to is Mr Root, if hes not sunbathing in the UAE!

Rashid was excellent in reining back the SL after the start when Wood
went for 17, and Wood came back well, but I think India have slaughtered
the op spinners in their matches and I expect they will do the same
to ours.

After that very tense ending, there was an equally tense segment
with Hales and Ian ward [not the greatest interviewer] right next
to Morgan.

mike

[John Hall]

In message <746d1776-6b49-48c7...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes
<snip>

>Rashid was excellent in reining back the SL after the start when Wood
>went for 17, and Wood came back well, but I think India have
>slaughtered the op spinners in their matches and I expect they will do
>the same to ours.

The most encouraging thing for England today was perhaps Rashid's return
to form (though Stokes' innings was also very encouraging).

[John Hall]

In message <f52bcb4f-84fb-446e...@googlegroups.com>,
mike <dmik...@yahoo.co.uk> writes

I don't think it was panic exactly. I think that most of the batsmen
just have such an aggressive mindset that they find it difficult to hold
back. Fortunately Stokes played a very measures innings. The other
batsman most likely to do so was probably Malan, so his injury was
unfortunate.

It looked like it was one of those pitches where it was hard to time the
ball once the ball lost its hardness, as the Sri Lanka innings followed
a very similar course to England's. Apparently it was the third match to
be played on the same strip, which for a major tournament and a ground
with a sizeable square seemed a little strange. Fortunately England's
semi-final will be at Adelaide, where they might find conditions more to
their liking than at Sydney.

[David North]

Pant has been batting mostly at 4 this year (today was only the 4th time
he has batted lower in 18 innings), whereas Karthik has been at 6 or 7
in 19 innings out of 22, so I'm not sure that it's a fair comparison.
Karthik is only likely to get a chance to make a substantial score if
most of the top 5 or 6 have failed.

--
David North

[FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer]

True, but purely as a finisher, he failed more often than not in
international T20s.

Karthik just doesn't have what it takes to score runs of spinners Moeen
Ali, Adil Rashid and Livingstone.


Pant has MORE UTILITY than Karthik in the team as a middle order bat, as
a LEFT HANDER and the X-Factor.

Karthik is uni-dimensional and he is 37 yrs old, on his last legs.

Dravid should have told Pant today to take his time, get into the
groove/rhythm and then become aggressive, since India already made Semis.

Instead Pant became aggressive too early and the lack of match practice
for 4 weeks got him out.