[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Sheraz CT: *
NZ has lost a game earlier in the tournament right..by which team?
[/QUOTE]
Sri Lanka
thanks man...i really hope NZ and WI make it to super6 because pakistan has alot of success against them...and i really hope SA gets eliminated
Great match. It is very heart breaking to see South Africa go down once again because of the stupid D&L rule. I thought after the rain break the home team had just given up, the bowling was just 3rd class specially from Klusener. If the opposition needs less runs from more balls than shouldn't give them full toss. First of all he is not fast and he can't swing the ball in the air.
Well all the blame should go on Boucher, if he had caught it, South Africa would have won already. But he is a very good keeper it was just an off day for him.
In order for South Africa to qualify is to beat Srilanka, and also by a good run rate. And Windies have to beat Sri Lanka as well which looks highly unlikely. If New Zealand doesn't cancel their game against Kenya then they are through to the super 6s.
I BLAME South Africa for their loss. They are the local team and knew the weather apttern of Johannesberg around this time of the year. Afternoon showers were on the cards. They won the toss. They should have taken everything into consideration.
Let's not take the win away from the Kiwis who just batted marvelously. I honestly believe they would have chased 306 with balls to spare.
Go Fleming....he is my fantasy team player too.
:D
Well Played NZL.SA was beaten fair and suqare
daymn.......
Afrika can make an early exit...
SHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT
Fleming batted superbly today. I would normally have supported the Kiwis against SA but I really don't think teams which have tried to wreck the WC deserve to go through. ICC comes in for a lot of stick but at least they have looked out for the game and told NZ and England to get on their bikes for a change.
I can't believe this - SA have suffered another shock defeat, this time to NZ - because rain delays caused the match to be halted 2 times, NZ only had to make 226 in 39 overs and they managed that through a century by Stephen Fleming (134)...thank god for the rain then, otherwise NZ would've lost!! (Probably)
Really well played NZ, especially Flemming. I think NZ would have gone on to win this considering the form Flemming was in, and NZ had only wicket down. Nathan Atsle also looked to be in good touch and played well for his 52 not out.
**Has Boucher ‘dropped’ the 2003 World Cup?](http://www.jang-group.com/thenews/feb2003-daily/17-02-2003/sports/s3.htm)
Herschelle Gibbs, they say, dropped the 1999 World Cup. Mark Boucher may just have dropped the 2003 trophy on Sunday. New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was on 53 at The Wanderers when he offered the South African wicketkeeper a simple chance behind the stumps.
Boucher snatched eagerly at the ball and spilled it. A few hours and two cruel rain delays later, Fleming was completing an innings of a lifetime by hitting the winning runs through the off side.
The significance of Fleming’s unbeaten 134 was not lost on his team mates, who began jogging on to the field at the end to congratulate their captain. It’s significance will not be lost on Boucher either. South Africa, who also lost their first game against West Indies, now face a massive task just to make it to the Super Six round, let alone become the first home team to lift the trophy.
Boucher, after missing two catches and a stumping in the earlier win over Kenya, had taken a master-class from former Australia keeper Ian Healy on Friday. Healy is the holder of the record for test dismissals by a wicketkeeper with 395.
Boucher had maintained: “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with my keeping at the moment…People are allowed to have bad days and I had a bad day against Kenya.” Whether the demanding, sports-mad South African public will forgive him two bad days remains to be seen.
In 1999, Gibbs had caught Australia skipper Steve Waugh in the last game of the Super Six stage at Headingley but, starting to celebrate prematurely, somehow lost control of the ball. Waugh had been on 56. He went on to make 120 not out.
Sound familiar? Australia won the game by five wickets, met the South Africans again in a dramatic semi-final, tied but went through on countback. Days later, they were World Cup holders.
For a while, a rumour was accepted as fact, that Waugh had said to Gibbs that day: “You’ve gone and dropped the World Cup, mate.” (Waugh later put the record straight, saying that he had merely told Gibbs that his mistake would cost South Africa that Headingley game).
Gibbs scored 143 out of South Africa’s 306 for six on Sunday but Boucher spoilt the day for him. Gibbs, however, will never blame him. He knows what it feels like to drop a World Cup. Years later, reflecting on his 1999 dropped catch, he said: “In quiet moments my mind goes back…to what happened and I break out in a cold sweat. I’m still suffering from flashbacks which send shivers down my spine.”
**
Is South Africa too good to be true?
The South African team has been talked about as being the 2nd team after Australia as favorites to win the world cup.
I think this is my take on this team. They have a very solid side with great batsman and bowlers but simply don't have the touch when it comes to the big show, i.e. crunch matches like today.
It has been evidenced from their last world cup when they made it past the super sixes and lost in a tight match.
NZ is a very similar team, less talented, but have the same fortunes. I really think Pakistan, Australia, England and West Indies are the four teams who have that edge to make it to the finals or even prove themselves world champions, just because of their lineups and also because of how unpredictable these teams are.
South Africa is a very good team that doesn't have many ways of playing matches. They are a very predicatable side and this is why I think teams will catch on to how they play.
niz_b bhai, yaar itnay thred naa khola karo alag alag :(, banda gum ho jaata hai threads main, woh Umair ka Pool B waala thread haina us smain post ker dena tha... anyways nice observation but it would be easier t label SAs as 'chokers' they have proved it again and again.
It’s quite obvious that this group may also be called, the Group of Death?
I sure wouldn’t like to see South Africa depart, as they are the local team, and bring the World Cup good money with fan support.
Although it’s funny to see a South African painted in Pakistani or Indian colours putting the Australians down.
Sri Lanka are in a little trouble though. They played the weaker teams at the beginning (excluding NZ), leaving the crunch games for the very end of the sceduale. Either this is a benefit or a loss.
Benefit: if they are to win all 4 games, they will be a winning streak giving them confidence to win.
Loss: If they are to lose to WI, it might put them down for their very last game against RSA. Or the possibility of not facing a tough opposition since their first game with NZ. (In between was Ban, Can, Ken).
south africa are rubbish they lost today
I always go for the underdogs but SAF should atleast make it to the semis or the WC wouldn't be the same.
I wouldn't rate England is championship material, they lost some crunch games against Australia in the VB Series, like SAF, they also go down in crunch situations.
As of rightnow, the only team in the world who can win under pressure is Australia. Pakistan can't handle pressure at all.
^ Agreed.
Australia is going to win the World cup and im going down to the bookies to place a bet on it.
New Zealand has good potential. With talented cricketers on their side, they can cause a suprise. It's unfortunate they are not playing Kenya, or the 4pts would be very helpful.
http://uk.cricinfo.com/homepage/index01.html
Injured Collins misses Bangladesh clash
Reuters - 17 February 2003
West Indies fast bowler Pedro Collins has been ruled out of his side’s World Cup Group B match against Bangladesh on Tuesday because of a back injury.
“Pedro has had a problem with a herniated disc in his lower back for over a year,” West Indies manager Ricky Skerritt said on Monday.
"He came to the (World Cup training) camp in Antigua and had no problem after the opening match (against South Africa in Cape Town).
“He’s been feeling some discomfort while bowling in the nets and his injury needs a few days’ rest. But we’re hoping to have him back for the Sri Lanka game (on February 28).”
The 26-year-old Collins took two wickets as West Indies upset hosts South Africa by three runs in the tournament opener in Cape Town on February 9 but was replaced by Nixon McLean for the team’s second game against New Zealand.
Right-arm opening bowler Mashrafe Mortaza, meanwhile, was ruled out of the Bangladesh team after stepping on a ball during training and turning his ankle. He was due to have an x-ray later on Monday.
Team manager Abu Sharif Mahmood Faruque said Talha Jubair would play in Mortaza’s place.
We Will See 