The Cricket Thread

[acerвιc wιт]

Netherlands = MUNCHED

Up the Aussies. WOOT! Back to back!

[NobodyCares]

Originally Posted by Passion for *9*

Really... mobs were gathering in your hood ? Have things calmed down ?

Yeah , India won so they did......

[NobodyCares]

And Yes India win....run rate higher than Bangladesh.

[radioactivenerd]

Current table Standings

[GreatKalu]

New Zealand and South Africa back to business. They seem to be free of error so far and will be interesting to see how they fair against tougher opposition. Pollock's been miserly according to BBC's commentators. Vettori ... wonder if he still wears glasses.

Damn ... Kiwis looking good.

Edit: Sad news ... I was hoping this wasn't the case, but Jamaican police officials termed Woolmer's death as suspicious

[Italian Tsar]

Woolmer's death has knocked the wind out of everyone's sails. The guy was a great coach, will be remembered chiefly for the work he did with the wonderful South African team of the 90s. He was very forward thinking, and was probably the first high profile coach to realise the role modern technology could play in a team's preparation and South Africa benefited immensely from it.

It was actually quite a coup when Pakistan landed him in 2004, as people thought he was done with day to day coaching. His spell there was mixed, with controversy after controversy erupting even as the team started to resemble a unit with cohesion. But more often than not, it would all be back to square one after months of working. It can happen only in Pakistan cricket. I say this not as an accusation or because I am an Indian, but because that's the way Pakistan cricket has been throughout the years. The abundance of natural talent there is jaw dropping. Especially in the pace bowling department. They just seem to develop speed merchants and reverse swing aces in the snap of a finger.

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India got off to the worst possible start, losing to Bangladesh of all teams. But I have to admit that the Bangladeshis looked 10 times as much driven and inspired than we were on that day. Beating Bermuda was always going to be a formality, but the manner in which we did it was indeed emphatic. Now we have to win the one against Sri Lanka. I'll say our chances are 55:45.

Go India!!!

[radioactivenerd]

Originally Posted by Italian Tsar

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India got off to the worst possible start, losing to Bangladesh of all teams. But I have to admit that the Bangladeshis looked 10 times as much driven and inspired than we were on that day. Beating Bermuda was always going to be a formality, but the manner in which we did it was indeed emphatic. Now we have to win the one against Sri Lanka. I'll say our chances are 55:45.

Go India!!!

Well looking at past records, we have quite a stellar record against Sri Lanka in neutral venues. The only time weve ever lost to them has been in Sharjah (which is hardly a neutral venue), and weve recorded MAJOR thumping wins over them in almost all of our other games. (check out StatsGuru on Cricinfo for details)

Of course SL arent chickens, but i think Bangladesh will find it hard to beat Bermuda by 258 runs. My prediction is we will beat SL, Bermuda will lose to Bangladesh, and it will come down to NRR. Where our huge game against Bermuda will help.

Originally Posted by madtherchot

Edit: Sad news ... I was hoping this wasn't the case, but Jamaican police officials termed Woolmer's death as suspicious

Yup - I read reports that mentioned there being external stress marks around his neck, Indicating choking. All of this is unconfirmed for now though. Lets hope it doesnt urn out to be true, as this will be a major hit to the development of cricket. I really hope ICC takes action aaginst this the way FIFA does, by handing out bans to the Pak cricket team, but that will not happen.
There will be an investigation, and they might find the murderer and arrest him. Isnt going to make anything better.
I highly doubt any non-paki is going to take the coachs job for a LONG time. Pak will have to live with people like Miandad and Salim Malik as coach for atleast the next 4-6 years, as no outsider will want to coach there.

[Italian Tsar]

Originally Posted by radioactivenerd

Well looking at past records, we have quite a stellar record against Sri Lanka in neutral venues. The only time weve ever lost to them has been in Sharjah (which is hardly a neutral venue), and weve recorded MAJOR thumping wins over them in almost all of our other games. (check out StatsGuru on Cricinfo for details)

Of course SL arent chickens, but i think Bangladesh will find it hard to beat Bermuda by 258 runs. My prediction is we will beat SL, Bermuda will lose to Bangladesh, and it will come down to NRR. Where our huge game against Bermuda will help.

We sure know who's the Big Brother in this clash. We've always fancied our chances against them, but I am skeptical of this side's ability to raise its game when really needed. Agarkar should go out and Pathan should come in. Sri Lanka don't have many left handers, so I reckon we can stick with Kumble and keep Harbajan out. And Sachin should bowl more often. What variations he's got!

[radioactivenerd]

This is really depressing. Woolmer was one of the great coaches of his time, and i cant beleive stupid fanatics out there would do this. What the heck is wrong with people?!!?!?

Woolmer MUrder

Im sorry but this has completely killed a lot of the spirit of the world cup for me. How can one care about whether their team goes thru or not when something this bad happens?!!?

Im sorry for Woolmers family, and i REALLY hope whoever has done this is brought to justice.
I'm just disappointed, sad, angry, and perplexed at how animalistic and barbaric some 'humans' can be. Fuck.

[ads216]

This Bob Woolmer murder is the most shocking thing I've heard of. And from what I have been reading quite a few players were involved with the betting syndicates and the Jamaican police want the entire team to remain so they can question them.

BTW the odds of ireland beating pakistan was 125:1 so i guess by intentionally losing the game, some pakistani players and the gambling syndicate must have made a ton of money.

What an absolute disgrace for sport to sink to this level. ICC should be fired for ignoring this issue for so long.

[acerвιc wιт]

Why would they do a stupid thing like that?

Fuckin morons.

[GreatKalu]

Disgraceful! What makes it even more sick is that the murderer(s) were let into the room with Woolmer's consent. I'm pretty sure the public will never know the true/whole story since I bet there's tons of controversy linked to the story.

PS. Anyone watched the Pakistani players' press conference? Apparently each squad member made a speech, etc.

[Passion for *9*]

Hahaha… seems I wasn't all that far from depicting the ugly truth in my post that had been deleted because a certain hate + bias-stricken mod deemed it to contain a 'racial slur' (LOL) while at the same time creaming his pants every time some dipshit is referring to my compatriots as 'germs'…

So it didn't even take a suicide commando, the killa was right there in da house. Again, I wouldn't be surprised if the killer was a team member or s.o. associated with the team, with half of the bunch looking like straight outta al Qaeda

Anyone of the experts here wanna enlighten me about the degree of CORRUPTION in this so-called sport ?

[ORez]

Sadly, this forum can compete with **************.com in the sensationalism it loves to believe in...

[Passion for *9*]

Sensationalism ?

Just the facts + a lil bit of speculation + a rather high likeliness of the latter to be turned into the first rather soon.

[GreatKalu]

Originally Posted by Passion for *9*

Again, I wouldn't be surprised if the killer was a team member or s.o. associated with the team, with half of the bunch looking like straight outta al Qaeda

Well, I wouldn't go to that extent just yet since hardly any information has leaked out. Looks are deceiving since some of the Pakistani players are class acts - gentlemen - and IMO, hardly capable of doing as suspected. Besides, so much for Al Qaeda's threat ... more of an excuse for American leaders + their associates to fulfill their own personal interests with the middle eastern + drafted American citizens bearing the grunt. But of course you knew that ... just felt like mentioning it

Originally Posted by Passion for *9*

Anyone of the experts here wanna enlighten me about the degree of CORRUPTION in this so-called sport ?

I'm no expert, but it's been haunting the game from pretty much every angle. The great South African team of the '90s had no less than five players proven guilty of match fixing as did a Kenyan cricketer. There were some others but I'm not well informed. Obviously, this came about with the increased money involved in the game ...

I'm sure this should be the next development in the investigation, since chances are, the killing should be very closely linked to $$ than lunatic fans due to the easy entry.

Edit: India doing fine so far ... though Sri Lanka are hardly on the ropes. Any stream links since this is, by far, the best match so far ...

[radioactivenerd]

Originally Posted by madtherchot

Edit: India doing fine so far ... though Sri Lanka are hardly on the ropes. Any stream links since this is, by far, the best match so far ...

I cant find a video link, looks like the powers-that-be have done a rather good job of clamping down on illegal streams.

Check out BBC cricket radio. The commentary is excellent, and thats what im following it on.

[Passion for *9*]

Originally Posted by madtherchot

Well, I wouldn't go to that extent just yet since hardly any information has leaked out. Looks are deceiving since some of the Pakistani players are class acts - gentlemen - and IMO, hardly capable of doing as suspected. Besides, so much for Al Qaeda's threat ... more of an excuse for American leaders + their associates to fulfill their own personal interests with the middle eastern + drafted American citizens bearing the grunt. But of course you knew that ... just felt like mentioning it

Ah yea, all those reformed honorable men taking dope + engaging in a lil betting on the side would of course never be capable of committing such a cowardly act. FACT is, there is no evidence of forced entry, nor of a fight inside the hotel room, so he must have known his attacker(s). I'm not saying a team member did it, but I don't rule it out either + no, not based on looks (that remark was just for effect... LOL) (al queda being more or less a CIA invention + all that is a lil too black + white for my liking)

I read a bit about the South African case... With the crazy results during the world cup it doesn't seem far-fetched to think some players are more interested in making a lil (LOL) money on the side than repping their country.

[radioactivenerd]

Originally Posted by Passion for *9*

Hahaha… seems I wasn't all that far from depicting the ugly truth in my post that had been deleted because a certain hate + bias-stricken mod deemed it to contain a 'racial slur' (LOL) while at the same time creaming his pants every time some dipshit is referring to my compatriots as 'germs'…

So it didn't even take a suicide commando, the killa was right there in da house. Again, I wouldn't be surprised if the killer was a team member or s.o. associated with the team, with half of the bunch looking like straight outta al Qaeda

Anyone of the experts here wanna enlighten me about the degree of CORRUPTION in this so-called sport ?

Speculation says that he knew his killer, as there was no mark of tampering with the door, no stress marks on the locks, and no cards swiped except Woolmer's own. Suggesting that he let the person into the room himself. May have been one of the team personell.

As far as corruption in the sport goes, it has had its bad points in the past, but nothing major has surfaced recently. The biggest scandal was in 1999, when two of the biggest stars in India were banned from Cricket for match fixing, and a bunch of major South African stars were banned as well. There is also a widespread beleif that the entire Pakistani team has fixed matches in the past, and continues to do so, however no official ivestigation has ever taken place, possibly due to the corruption and dictatorship within the Pakistani govt itself.

Lastly, making statements like "half look like theyre from Al Qaeda" just because they have beards isnt a very smart statement. You really cant blame people for calling you a racist if you make statements like that. Maybe stuff like this would never happen in Australia or england, maybe it will happen in India and Pakistan. But to write off the entire team based on their looks, definitely isnt helping your claim of not being a racist. I'm trying my best to be civil, and would appreciate you keeping this discussion in the same vein.

EDIT: Just read that your comment about their looks was for effect more than anything else. Could have made your point with better words, but anyway, thats a welcome clarification.

[GreatKalu]

Originally Posted by Passion for *9*

FACT is, there is no evidence of forced entry, nor of a fight inside the hotel room, so he must have known his attacker(s). I'm not saying a team member did it, but I don't rule it out either + no, not based on looks (that remark was just for effect... LOL) (al queda being more or less a CIA invention + all that is a lil too black + white for my liking)

Yeah, the facts aren't looking too good at the moment + chances are, most likely never will. I just think we should give the Pakistani team the benefit of doubt for the moment since they're 'innocent until proven guilty.' I've read that the Pakistani team's press conference was touching + emotional ... so I'm hoping there was some truth in their tears rather than a case of acting.

OT (excuses): Really, about al queda? I thought bombing + invading Afghanistan for 'the war against terror' was black and white + they pretty much confirmed it with Iraq + a whole lot of other reports that have emerged. Latest (and most annoying) of their plots was the 'debt relief' program accompanied with the 'vultures' ... robbing American tax payers money in the name of the third world. That's murdering millions of poverty-stricken people.

Back on topic, Ganguly and Sachin getting wickets ... though the extras are adding up. I've always thought what a great team the Indian batsmen + Paki bowlers would make ... as Arun pointed out much earlier.