The All New World Cup 2023 Thread.

[Arthur Crabtree]

And the Aussies equalling SA's 399 after some late hitting from Slapsie Maxie. Should consolidate fourth place.

Maxwell makes 106 of the 127 added with him at the crease.

De Leede makes a ton as well.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Maybe this one will be a record WC win...

[sussexpob]

Netherlands will go home happy with a prize scalp, regardless of what happens in the rest of the tournament.

It would appear that batting first is having a dramatic advantage so far in this series.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Maybe this one will be a record WC win...

Yes! Well done you Aussies...

[Durhamfootman]

it'll be interesting to see how England respond. Other teams have got put away their horse and cart and slipped behind the wheel of a sports car, but I fear that the only car left for England will have once been owned by Charlie Cairoli and his circus

[bigfluffylemon]

How the hell did South Africa contrive to lose to Netherlands?

Looking very grim for England now. Must win every game from here - with India still to play that looks impossible, but to be honest, hard to see them beating anyone unless they turn things around very fast.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Sri Lanka tomorrow. Should give England a chance to turn it around.

Selection will be interesting.

[bigfluffylemon]

One other factor that I wonder about - are England just a bit past it? This is largely the same squad as four years ago. Out of 15 players, 10 are 32 or older, 4 of them over 35. Stokes came out of retirement for this, Moeen's barely played. Where's the depth that was so evident a few years ago?

That said, Australia and India have a lot of veterans too, doesn't seem to be stopping them.

[alfie]

Netherlands will go home happy with a prize scalp, regardless of what happens in the rest of the tournament.

It would appear that batting first is having a dramatic advantage so far in this series.

I thought that too : but on checking I see results are actually about 50/50 so far. Have been a few spectacular performances by sides batting first though - like this one. Suspect batting first is the preferred option if you aim to raise that NRR.

[alfie]

One other factor that I wonder about - are England just a bit past it? This is largely the same squad as four years ago. Out of 15 players, 10 are 32 or older, 4 of them over 35. Stokes came out of retirement for this, Moeen's barely played. Where's the depth that was so evident a few years ago?

That said, Australia and India have a lot of veterans too, doesn't seem to be stopping them.

Not sure age has too much to do with it. As you say , other vets are doing fine. Could be just a little touch of fire missing after many of them have been part of those WC wins in 50 and 20 over ? Really shouldn't be though : you'd think they'd be itching to establish a real legacy.
I do think preparation - or the lack of it - has been a big factor. Blame The Hundred ; or just the packed schedule - with a number of them being three-format players ; and the injuries that have affected a few of them. But it is what it is ; and really shouldn't have them in this situation as they are clearly a lot better than they've shown. Do or die now so I just hope they can lift themselves and at least make a fight for qualification starting with tonight.

[sussexpob]

I agree with Alife to a certain extent, because being 32-34 is hardly an age where you expect terminal or steep decline in modern sport. And its worth noting that in a lot of these players cases, their declines in ODI have been consistent after the World Cup win in 2019, with some exceptions (Bairstow's started in 2021), so people like Roy, Root, Stokes.... their form started to cave in when they were probably still in their 20s.

Having said that, while this might sound silly, I don't rate a players "age" on his on paper age. Players are more like cars, in the fact that its all about miles on the clock - and in that case, England have a lot of players with a lot of miles on the clock. Someone like Ben Stokes or Joe Root might be 31/32, but the amount of playing/captaincy and in Ben's case bowling, means in real terms they are probably much older in terms of motivation, longevity and fitness.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Out- Brook, Atkinson, Topley.

In- Livingstone, Mo, Woakes.

England bat first.

[sussexpob]

Where's the depth that was so evident a few years ago?

I think the simple answer is, England decided to stick with an out of form core of previously world beating players, rather than focus their efforts on on-form new blood. When we actually look at how the new players have performed since the last world cup.....

Denly scored 150 runs in 2 innings, but then never played again
Malan has averaged 60 in the period, and is England's top run scorer
Lewis Gregory averages 58 with the bat, 24 with the ball, but only played 3 games
Sam Hain got two games, including one magnificent 89
Billings averaged 48 in 13 games
Duckett averaged 45 in 5 games, including a 100
Phil Salt averages just under 40 with a mindblowing SR of 132 in 13 games
Will Jacks averaged 40 with the bat, and econ of just 5 with the ball, in 4 games...didnt make the plane
Crawley averaged 37 with SR near 120 in 5 games

The two newer players that made the world cup squad.... Livingstone and Brook.... have the 1st and 3rd worst performances (Banton was second) out of all the batting options that have been tried, but were the ones the team decided to move forward with.

All the newer players highlighted above have outperformed the WC winning core that is still there, bar Buttler....

[Arthur Crabtree]

These squad players generally got to play weaker opposition when the first team was rested.

[Arthur Crabtree]

A better start this time.