I wouldn't mind missing that tournament to be honest. Waste of time.
I wouldn't mind missing that tournament to be honest. Waste of time.
We seem to think this one is a waste of time as well. So many teams in cricket these days are just completely gutless when an away tour doesn't go their way first up. Think sportsmen are a lot less tough than they used to be.
Remember when we won the T20 World Cup last year and then players wailed and moaned about having to stay in Australia and play three 'pointless' ODIs? That sort of thinking is coming back to haunt us.
Toughness is pretty much the antithesis of modern sports thinking, as to contemplate the need for it means you are not completely backing your own skills or executing them or whatever. You are acknowledging the quality of your opponent. Adaptability appears to be discouraged in favour of very specific and set plans. Of course, it's the stats people again.
Which is fine if you're playing in a league with 162 games a season because the percentages will work in your favour eventually, but completely fucking useless for knockout or tournament play.
Another masterclass in 50 over cricket from the hounds. I’m sure it’s down to their robust domestic 50 over tournament.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up6bE90-UR8
The Metro Bank doesn't have a massive and unexplained cake tbf.
Afghanistan
Mon
Random cricinfo comment:
You can almost taste the fear.Jawahar Rajan: "I am not a big fan of Net Run Rate.I think teams on equal points need to play another game to decide who goes through. Also I think the idea of just one game knock out is an old and IMO outdated.We need to have the best of say 3 in the Semis and Finals"
DJ: "@Danyal , Aditya. Cricket is different from other sports. Here the pitch , toss, due, overhead conditions etc etc have a bigger impact on the outcome. A deserving team losing the championship because the opponent got luck with any of the various factors does not seem fair. "Zed: "over the past 5 years or so India has often performed well in tournaments and end up losing SF or Finals. Both Kohli and Rohit has repeatedly said the major tournaments should have best of three."
Glenn Maxwell ruled out of the Eng v Aus game after falling off a golf cart. Trying to psyche us at our own game I see.
David Willey to retire from international cricket after the World Cup. He was the only one of the WC squad not to get a central contract wasn't he? Presumably not best pleased with the snub.
The fact that they were negotiating central contracts during a live World Cup campaign is absolutely insane.
Incredibly close game, this.
Fucking hell, makes our effort look positively herculean.
All this is building towards India fucking the semi-final and I am so here for it.
Santos 53-54 for me.
Another easy win for the Afghans. The charge is on. Gurbaz hasn’t even played well the last few games so he’s due a decent innings against Australia. Mon
I would love them to qualify but they would also get rat-fucked by India in the semi, and we might need two chances for goliath to be slain. Trott powering them to World Cup supremacy over England is quality stuff though.
New Zealand sauntering to 400 here has killed the rest of the tournament stone dead. What a bunch of wankers Pakistan are.
We now need to beat Aus here (no rolling in the aisles) to try and get them 4th and get India the hardest possible route to glory. And to qualify for the CT ourselves, natch.
Not after England win this afternoon and Afghanistan beat Australia in the week.
Even then they've got Bangladesh and a healthy net run rate advantage to see them through. Afghans will have to beat South Africa as well.
If India beat South Africa tomorrow, there’s not really a whole lot they’d be playing for. Can see them half arsing it especially if a win puts Afghanistan through
They don't want Afghanistan through, they'll want someone through who could beat India in the other semi.
Of course they could just balls it up because they're South Africa and that's what they do.
They can do what they want. Nothing is stopping this afghan train.
Even Rashid is on board now. In the fucking bin, Australia, mate.
Pakistan looking in pretty good nick. Zaman 106 off 60 balls so far.
Probably needs to double it after the rain break.
Can't wait to see what we're bowled out for chasing what should be a very gettable score. 135 the central estimate.
As always with Australia, these great lavish helpings of luck getting them to anywhere past 250. Must have been six or seven occasions in this innings when a shit shot in the air fell between three fielders.
Pakistan are probably cooked if the game restarts, need the DLS to get it done for them now.
Can't see Australia really being much of a chance against India, Kiwis are usually the most deadly semi-final opponent, Australia better suited to a final perhaps due to 'heritage'. AUS v SA would be a good semi.
Indians absolutely bang on top of the admin as always.Another update from Shashank. The ground officials believe [cut-off time] is 7pm. The event officials believe it should be 7.40pm since the first innings ended late. Whatever it is, this much is certain. We are not going to have a full chase. So the overs will drastically come down.
Indeed, so, harsh as it might be on NZ, just calling it now is the best case scenario.
Zampa nailed on five-fer here after this ridiculous cameo.
Target would be 335 off 40 or 297 off 35 by my calcs, tricky you would think, albeit Fakhar's had a rest now.
180 in a 20 over match but you have two set bats and 9 wickets in hand. It’s doable.
Bairstow fuelling his critics again before presumably answering them at some point in the future.
Fakhar off on one again. Needless to say I've switched channels.
Pakistan have won, because of course they have. Tournament back on, albeit NZ received a huge NRR boost in defeat which may call it off again.
Well we might have slumped to another pathetic defeat, but by my calculations we have overtaken Bangladesh on net run rate to move up into 9th place and that is very much the real quiz.
EDIT: Nope, still behind them, but make no mistake, we are breathing down their necks.
Last edited by Jimmy Floyd; 04-11-2023 at 04:49 PM.
Fucking useless bastards.
Umpire review for being bowled might be stretching the realms of plausibility somewhat.
Definite WG Grace air of 'they came to see me further an ethnonationalist agenda, not you bowl' with this Indian side.
Umps gave four byes, Kohli screamed at him that he hit it, umps changed his decision to runs. Replays confirmed it was byes. Such pathetic pandering. I've been in that position a billion times (either rightly or wrongly) and you DO NOT change your decision based on a player whining at you. Awful, awful umpiring.
Is it even a question? I'll be taking baths in VB and wanking into cork hats all night if they topple India in the final.
Has Angelo Mathews just been timed out?!
I have never seen that happen at any level of cricket. Utterly mental and inevitable that it happened thanks to an appeal by Bangladesh, the most shithouse team in history.
First instance of it occurring in international cricket apparently. It's only happened 6 times in the history of FC cricket!