Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

Presume we're all cheering for the Kiwis.

Hoping this scorecard diversion wil see me through the latter part of Lars Von Trier's epic four hour borefest The Kingdom.

Simmering up nicely.

NZ v Pakistan, not The Kingdom.

Asif Ali winning this solo.

WIndies having a poor comp up to now. I did think it looked like a poor squad, but then they've surprised me before. They may have to rethink. Why Holder isn't in the squad is one of several things that puzzled me when the squad was announced. At the very least they are going to have to shuffle the pack they have

West Indies are toast.

Pakistan win by five wickets and have one foot in the semi finals.

West Indies not out of it yet, but need to win all their remaining games to have a chance, surely?

Pakistan look all but assured of a place in the semi unless Afghanistan can cause a big upset, and even that is unlikely to be enough - surely they'll romp past Scotland and Namibia. Virtual home advantage of playing in the UAE? Apparently Pakistan are undefeated there in T20s since 2016...

New Zealand v India will be massive (also, the scheduling is bizarre - India and New Zealand don't play their second game until after Afghanistan and Pakistan have played 3. Why not swap Afg/Pak and Ind/NZ in the schedule?).

Think Pakistan are basically through already . Even if the Afghans could upset them , Namibia and Scotland won't so they will be either top or second. Be a shock if India missed out but NZ will be thinking : if they can get that game right... Going to miss Ferguson and I think it is a tall order - but this is t20.

Other group wide open but I think West Indies are cooked. Even winning all three (which I'd say is unlikely !) would probably be insufficient , especially with the hit their run rate took against England.

Agree with BFL the scheduling is a bit odd. Several teams have already played twice and Namibia are yet to take the field... Presume it is all to do with grounds allocated before we knew who the last two qualifiers in each group would be. Should keep interest in Group 2 going for a long time though with India/NZ/Afghanistan mostly facing off late in the draw.

Is a pity the day/night games seem to be very heavily influenced by the conditions ; so much so that unless one side is massively superior it may almost be a case of win the toss win the match ? Guess we will see more clearly after a couple more matches.

England / Bangladesh is daytime anyway. Presume Wood will be fit and I guess this may lead to some tinkering with the line-up ; but they have enough options they should be able to put up a reasonably balanced XI whatever they choose. So : any England fans at all concerned about possible banana skins ? Even in the fifty over World Cup there were a couple of early slips ; so I hope they have their minds fully on the job today...

mikesiva wrote:West Indies are toast

What the hell was Lendl Simmons playing at? Looked like a OD innings from the early 1970s

Bangladesh win the toss and bat.

Have a feeling this could be a tricky one for England. Slow pitches and left arm spin don't suit them. At least they aren't chasing under lights though.

bigfluffylemon wrote:Bangladesh win the toss and bat.

Have a feeling this could be a tricky one for England. Slow pitches and left arm spin don't suit them. At least they aren't chasing under lights though.

BD have looked pretty poor recently though, so they need to play well to compete.

Good stats for Woakes. England doing well. Now BD need to get after Rashid, which involves a ot of risk.

Guessing Wood must be injured.

Arthur Crabtree wrote:Guessing Wood must be injured.

A statement applicable at any time.

Slow pitch or good bowling?

Looking good for England, but the death can easily change things.

Livingstone 2-15 off 3 overs