Re: Worldcup Squads
WI named Samuel in their squad.
West Indies squad: Brian Lara (capt), Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Jerome Taylor, Denesh Ramdin, Devon Smith, Lendl Simmons, Daren Powell, Kieron Pollard
Re: Worldcup Squads
SA also named their squad. Very strong indeed but might not be as balanced as WI conditions might need. Lack of a quality spinner wont cancel out their chances but on a featherbed of a pitch it might come to haunt them. Still amongst the top contenders.
South Africa squad: Graeme Smith (capt), Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince, Roger Telemachus
Re: Worldcup Squads
I was looking at the various groups and it seems that India is in the toughest group of all the teams. They have Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the same pool
For me Bangladesh could be a dark horse and can unseat either Sri Lanka or India
Would be interesting to see how that group pans out. The rest I don't see any upsets and the good teams should make it to the super 8
Let us wait and see
Re: Worldcup Squads
^No, I don't see BD beating either Sri Lanka or India. Toughest group is for Australia and South Africa both... I wonder why they matched them together so early in the tournament.
For me, South Africa's chances for the World Cup aren't as great as they're made out to be. The differences in pitches will really show them up, I think.
Australia is certainly more defeatable than they were last time around. If Sri Lanka, Pakistan or to an extent, India score 275-290 and bowl well, they should be able to beat them on the slower pitches using spin options.
Re: Worldcup Squads
BTW, the matches will start around 7:30 pm in Pakistan, correct?
Re: Worldcup Squads
I agree with your point regarding South Africa. BTW Aus and SA are in one group because when seedings and draws were made, South Africa were at number 6.
Re: Worldcup Squads
Binga's out. Huge loss to Australia that. After Bond the man's the best quick in ODI's. Incredible wkt taking rate, and at a fair ave too.
Aus in real trouble now.
Re: Worldcup Squads
^Brett Lee may be a huge asset when he takes quick wickets. But in small grounds, he could have been very expensive. A big loss, nevertheless.
Hopefully, Shaun Tait will play and be carted all over the ground. The guy's quick but he can really spray it. Stuarty Clark is more a Test bowler as his ODI record shows.
Bracken's not bad but his lost that wicket taking ability. McGrath's on the decline. Johnson, I don't know what that hype was about to begin with. He gets Lara and Sachin and suddenly he's the new Lillee.
I am really excited about Australia's vulnerability, especially the bowling. And hopefully, Symonds can wait till the World Cup's over. He gives the team a lot of balance.
Sri Lanka is probably the team we should be worried about. They have a bit of fragility in their batting but they've really improved their pace department (wish we could say that) and, of course, they have a spin genius in Murali.
Re: Worldcup Squads
**India or NZ may win World Cup: Azhar
Cricket News, Live Cricket Scores, ICC Cricket World T20 2016 News & Headlines | Times of India 
**
Re: Worldcup Squads
Only India may win World Cup: Hollowman
Re: Worldcup Squads
Rameez Raja knows international cricket inside out. The former Pakistan captain, who played 57 Tests and 198 One Day Internationals, is now a widely travelled commentator who follows the fortunes of different teams and players. *
*Rameez holds a master’s degree in business, and business it is for him, when he as a microphone in hand.
Shahid Hashmi caught up with Rameez for cricketnext.com and found that the former opener fancied the chances of South Asian teams (India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) in the upcoming World Cup. But he felt they needed to be more consistent to do well in the big event.
As for the Pakistan team, he felt the selectors had no option but to select pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif for the World Cup, despite injuries.
*Shahid Hashmi: How do you rate Pakistan’s chances after their off-colour display in South Africa?***
***Rameez Raja:* The results in South Africa, where Pakistan lost both the Test and One-Day series, have been disappointing. The loss of the last two ODIs decreased hopes for our team, but then the conditions in the West Indies should be similar to the (Indian) subcontinent. So, I expect Pakistan to fight hard, as also India and Sri Lanka. Pakistan are capable of reaching the semi-finals because they have good spinners and all-rounders in the side.**
*Shahid Hashmi: Do you think the results in South Africa would have a bearing on Pakistan’s World Cup performance?***
***Rameez Raja:* Well, to a certain extent the confidence may be low. But having said this, I hope it’s a good wake-up call. Good teams learn from their mistakes and I hope Pakistan will do so too. They are a committed team but have problems with the opening, which just don’t seem to go away. This puts too much pressure on Inzamam (ul-Haq), Younis (Khan) and (Mohammad) Yousuf.**
It is good to see Danish Kaneria back in the team because I feel that after an opening spell from Mohammad Asif we need an attacking option in the middle overs. But at the end of the day, they need to be consistent. They need to define roles for everyone, be positive and play the right combination.
Re: Worldcup Squads
I think the playing eleven should rotate b/w the following depending upon Pitch condition.
For slower and flatter WI pitches:
Hafeez, Nazir, Younis, INZI, Yousaf, Malik, Afridi, Kammy, Kaneria, Gul, Mahmood/Arafat.
For Typical WI pitches:
Hafeez, Nazir, Younis, INZI, Yousaf, Malik, Afridi, Kammy, Rao/Rana, Gul, Mahmood/Arafat.
Only if Rana, Rao, Arafat get injured should Sami be considered.
The reasoning : Sami has some pace, but no control. So on slow/flat wickets he will actually help SA/NZ/AUS/WI hit out in his overs as the "mis directed balls" will come in at a better bounce and pace to hit boundaries.
*So Sami should be tried along with Rao, Rana in the warm up and pre qualifying (pre super 8) matches only. *
Re: Worldcup Squads
‘South Africa stand no chance’ - Shane Warne
SYDNEY: Shane Warne has dismissed South Africa’s chances of winning the World Cup, insisting ***New Zealand and Sri Lanka pose a bigger threat to Australia’s title defence. ***
The retired spinner said South Africa, who recently replaced Australia as the world’s number one ranked team in one-day cricket, lacked the flair required to win the championship in the Caribbean, starting on March 13. “I don’t think South Africa are a chance,” Warne told the Australian Associated Press on Friday. “They’re very regimented. I know they’re rated the number one side in the world at the moment but I don’t think they’re the best side in the world.” Warne, who was named man of the match in Australia’s 1999 World Cup win over Pakistan, said New Zealand and Sri Lanka loomed as the biggest dangers to Australia’s bid to win an unprecedented third straight title. “I just like the way they play,” he said. “I reckon they’re a chance with the small grounds and the way the wickets will play. I’m sure they’ll be a very good chance.”
Australia were overwhelming favourites to win the tournament a month ago before suddenly losing five games in a row but Warne was confident Ricky Ponting’s men would rediscover their form when it mattered.
“I don’t have any doubts whatsoever about the Australian side. They’ll be fine,” Warne said. “It’s just a little bit of a hiccup. If they can sort a few little issues out and get their team right – the one they want in terms of selections – get their bowling right in the middle periods and in the end I’m sure they’ll be fine.”
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\03\03\story_3-3-2007_pg2_11