Cricket World Cup group stages, May 30 - July 6

[The Professor]

WI v Pakistan at TB tomorrow. Hard to pick a winner. I'd guess WI. Obviously WI if Gayle comes off.

I feel the same way with regards to closeness but I'd give Pakistan the edge because of IUH and Azam.

[The Professor]

WI v Pakistan at TB tomorrow. Hard to pick a winner. I'd guess WI. Obviously WI if Gayle comes off.

I feel the same way with regards to closeness but I'd give Pakistan the edge because of IUH and Azam.

Either way it's at Notts so 800 runs in offing.

[bigfluffylemon]

Good win, in the end. Have to say I am more relieved than anything else, but it is great to get off to a win against a strong side. England have a habit of losing their opener (2015 and 2007), or otherwise starting badly vs an associate (Netherlands gave us an almighty scare in 2011, then we tied with India and lost to Ireland), so just by beating a top 4 side we've arguably already exceeded the previous 3 world cups...

England are often accused of having no plan B, but I think they disproved that here. Against this bowling attack, this wasn't a 350 wicket - they batted smartly, Stokes especially, to put on a defendable total, and then bowled and fielded pretty well. Much has been said of how England's bowling attack is the weak link, but they are not terrible - while they often go for runs, they do take wickets. As I pointed out a week or so ago, England still have a 2-1 win ratio batting first in the last couple of years, which goes up to more than 3-1 if they get a total of 280+ on the board. Yes, their bowlers aren't great at defending lower totals, but that's going to be true for every side - if you're out for a sub-par score, you're going to struggle defending it.

I think it would be a big mistake to think that every match is going to be defined by 350 plays 350. Yes, there will be some, but pitches and conditions will vary. While totals have gone up in the last few years, 300 is still a competitive score most of the time.

South Africa have a strong bowling line-up, and for England to post and defend 300 is pretty good. Add in Archer's bowling, Stokes' all-round performance (especially given he's a form player and has had a bit of a lean trot recently), time in the middle for several bats, and decent bowling from Plunkett and Rashid, and there's a lot to be satisfied about. Bairstow's duck is a bit of a concern as he fell for a particular trap - let's see how many sides copy South Africa and open with the spinner to try and break up England's opening partnership.

[backfootpunch]

Our bowlers are likely better than their stats suggest

75% of the games they play are on wickets where 350 is a good score

On a 300 wicket they showed how useful they are

The weak link in the side atm seems to be moeen, who isn't batting or bowling anywhere near his best, that is why it is so important stokes has come back to form with the bat, as over the last year or two our weakness was the crumbly nature of the 6 and 7

Winning a game when arguably your two best players buttler and bairstow contributed less than 20 runs between them shows just how good the side is

[sussexpob]

Got to play Dawson for me. Ali looks shot

[andy]

Ypu've gotta love the Windies national anthem!


Holder wins the toss Pak will bat first

[andy]

First wicket down! Imam gone legside strange, Cottrell gets the breakthrough 17-1 after 3

[Arthur Crabtree]

Not the WI side I was expecting.

[backfootpunch]

Couple of slightly unfortunate dismissals for Pakistan

The 350+ they will need looking tough now

[backfootpunch]

If I was part of the Pakistan management I'd want an explanation as to why andre Russell was allowed to bowl 6 or 7 bouncers in a row

[yuppie]

I hope they check the Pakistan players phones after this

[sussexpob]

How many times did we concede 300 to this line up? Was it 4 out of 5 games and a score of 297?

[mikesiva]

Wow, I didn't expect this!

Pakistan 105 all out

Pace like fire!

Thomas 4-27
Holder 3-42
Russell two wickets for four runs!
Cottrell 1-18

[SaintPowelly]

Good opportunity for WI to chase this in 10-15 overs and get a healthy NRR

[andy]

If Gayle gets going shouldnt take long..