Cricket World Cup!

[GhaleonOne]

As for Sri Lanka (G1, you might appreciate this), watching SL play cricket is a lot like watching Brazil play football.

Speaking of Brazilian football, they're showing two matches on Fox Soccer Channel over the next week if you're interested. Brazil vs. Chile at 11AM eastern this Saturday and Brazil vs. Ghana at 1:30 eastern on Tuesday afternoon next week. Plus, tons of European qualifiers over the next week. (England, France, Spain, all the big teams are in action in games that are worth far more than friendlies).

And I wish they'd play some of the cricket WC. Noone has it on at all it seems. I'd be interested in it if I could watch it.

[Kizyr]

England and Kenya face off one another on Saturday--the winner will advance into the Super Eights (probably England, unless they crap out again).

Tomorrow's the big day: Sri Lanka vs India. Sri Lanka have got to win...

And I wish they'd play some of the cricket WC. Noone has it on at all it seems. I'd be interested in it if I could watch it.

The matches are on during the day. If your work computer allows you to watch streaming videos, then you can catch the match(es) tomorrow--the other one is Ireland vs West Indies, which, while both of them are advancing to the Super Eights, might prove an interesting match. KF

[GhaleonOne]

I'm sitting here watching Fox Soccer Channel and they cut in from Jamaica. Apparently they're saying Bob Woolmer was strangled to death. They're launching a murder investigation. This is a huge scandal in the making. They've got a press conference on it right now from Sky Sports News. I'm sure if you search around BBC sports or something you'll find something on it.

[Kizyr]

I'm sitting here watching Fox Soccer Channel and they cut in from Jamaica. Apparently they're saying Bob Woolmer was strangled to death. They're launching a murder investigation. This is a huge scandal in the making. They've got a press conference on it right now from Sky Sports News. I'm sure if you search around BBC sports or something you'll find something on it.

It was the top story on BBC, and it's still casting a shadow on the entire World Cup.

There were some calls to cancel the World Cup on account of this, but that won't happen... It's continued after Woolmer's death already, and the Chief Exec of the ICC says it won't happen. Personally, I agree--canceling the World Cup will turn a bad situation worse with giving you people mourning Woolmer and a load of upset fans, canceled tickets, and depressed economy from the loss of expected revenue from hosting the World Cup (think of the investment that went into revamping stadiums that would go to waste). I strongly doubt any fan of cricket would've wanted that.

Anyway, Sri Lanka defeated India today. If Bangladesh beats Bermuda, which is nearly certain, we'll advance. I'll reserve my enthusiasm for then. KF

[Kizyr]

I almost forgot to gloat!

BANGLADESH IS IN THE SUPER EIGHTS!!!

We beat India and Bermuda, and advanced out of our group (hey we lost to Sri Lanka, but still). This is our first time we've advanced into the Super Eights; I think this is gonna do a lot for Bangladesh cricket in the future... And our team's young, so we might be back in 2011 with an even stronger force!

Anyway, here's how the Super Eights work: you have 8 teams that advanced from the group stages. Each of them will play against one another and only 4 will advance out of there (teams that already played each other in the group stages don't have to play again against one another, but the points for the victor of that match do carry over).

My prediction is that it's going to be something like this:
1) Sri Lanka
2) Australia
3) South Africa
4) West Indies
5) New Zealand
6) Bangladesh (yes we'll beat the English)
7) England
8) Ireland

Then the final will be Sri Lanka vs Australia, in which case Sri Lanka will edge out ahead on account of their incredible bowling.

Now, I hope I'm wrong and Bangladesh is in the top four (how incredible would that be...). But this I think is the most probable scenario.

Bangladesh's first match is against Australia on March 31st. It's going to be the toughest match yet. Let's go Tigers! KF

[Ignignokt]

Your primitive earth sports are meaningless.

On the moon we have sports that you cannot even comprehend.

Because the gravity on the moon is one-sixth that of earth. That's why we're so much more advanced than you are.

[Kizyr]

THE MOON SUCKS! KF

[Kizyr]

Ok, there's a two-day break in the games right now...

First, I'm decided now... Cricket is my favorite sport, above soccer. Don't get me wrong, soccer is a lot of fun and excitement, and it's an amazing game--and I can get really involved in watching a soccer match. But I've had a lot of fun just following the cricket matches so far and, with its stats, run-rates, strategies, and everything, it's plenty of enjoyment to follow any given match throughout the day. Plus, the international scene is the main ground for cricket (even though you have the UEFA cup and Copa de Libertadores going on right now in soccer...).

Anyway... moving on. I'm still following Sri Lanka and Bangladesh very closely. Bangladesh have been doing poorly... two bad losses to the Aussies and Kiwis, and the next match is versus South Africa on Saturday. Another loss will probably upset this team and, since we're so affected by attitude, it might put the Tigers in a downer for the remaining matches which they do have a good chance to win (versus Ireland and England, in particular, and maybe even the West Indies).

But Sri Lanka have been a lot of fun to watch, as usual. They're about the only side that are great to watch when fielding/bowling as they are when batting.

In their first match against South Africa... South Africa was batting last, and with 5 overs (30 balls) remaining, they only needed to make about 5 more runs to win (they were, I think, 205 for 5 wickets). Malinga, one of the best spin bowlers there is, comes up and, amazingly, takes out 4 wickets in 4 consecutive balls (never been done before in World Cup cricket). Within two overs he completely turns the game around in Sri Lanka's favor and puts South Africa at 207-9 in the 49th over--meaning that, if South Africa gets three more runs then they'll win, but if Sri Lanka got 1 more wicket then they'd win.

It was really tense... Unfortunately, South Africa shot one to the boundary for a four, and won the game. But, nonetheless, it was an incredible match. And Sri Lanka's whole never-say-die attitude is one of the reasons they're my favorite team (besides Bangladesh of course).

That whole never-say-die attitude apparently carried over to their game against England yesterday, only it affected the English side instead. I had to leave work and quit watching when they were in the 43rd over or so of the last innings--by then, England was batting and had still like 70 runs to make within 7 overs (so 10 runs per over, which is an incredibly difficult rate). It's pretty much in the bag for Sri Lanka, so I left work then.

But I caught the text update, and apparently in the last 7 overs, England started feeling the pressure and fired away ball after ball to the boundary, and were making like 8, 10, 11 runs per over. By the last over, they needed 12 runs off the last 6 balls--difficult, but not impossible. They managed to post 10 runs, and lost by an amazingly-narrow 2 runs. Of course I'm happy Sri Lanka won, but I gotta admire the Brits' resolve that took them up to the final over with still a great chance at victory--even if I'm not too fond of the team.

The English have another bowler, Mahmood, who was like the star of the match. I'm wondering why I didn't notice him before; lots of the focus thus far has been on Monty Panesar (another good spin bowler for the English). ...and the negative focus on Flintoff, who's a good fielder and vice-captain as long as he's away from the bottle. KF

[GhaleonOne]

First, I'm decided now... Cricket is my favorite sport, above soccer. Don't get me wrong, soccer is a lot of fun and excitement, and it's an amazing game--and I can get really involved in watching a soccer match. But I've had a lot of fun just following the cricket matches so far and, with its stats, run-rates, strategies, and everything, it's plenty of enjoyment to follow any given match throughout the day. Plus, the international scene is the main ground for cricket (even though you have the UEFA cup and Copa de Libertadores going on right now in soccer...).

Blasphemy!!!! And for the record, UEFA Champion's League is actually the top tier competition. UEFA Cup is the secondary European tournament. It's confusing. There's tons of Cups and Tournaments at club level. Both domestic and international. Those are all club teams, but many play international club tournaments, rather than just within their own national league. That's been a big fight, whether international football is as important as club football. To the point that when players like Michael Owen have been injured in the World Cup and other international duties, the clubs that own their contracts sue for compensation from FIFA, EUFA, the FA, and other football governing bodies. And in some ways, they have right to that compensation, since they're forced to let their players play in those competitions, even though the clubs pay their wages.

[Kizyr]

Blasphemy!!!!

Well, let's put it this way... Soccer is the best sport, but cricket is my favorite sport. Soccer's great since it's simple and straightforward, easy to understand, and easy to get into--all you need is some people, a ball, and a field. But there's a lot of work that goes into playing the game well. That's why I think it has such international appeal.

Cricket is a great sport for a whole host of other reasons. But, understandably, it's rules-heavy and it takes a little while to get used to the flow of the game, and where the strategy lies. But once you understand that, the game really starts to shine. You can have things like an aggressive defense, as well as offense, and the game is set up so that you can take risks here and there to get ahead, but the consequences can cost your side if you mess up. And, even though it seems long and drawn out, there are a lot of occasions when the game can completely turn around in the span of 5 or 10 minutes.

And for the record, UEFA Champion's League is actually the top tier competition. UEFA Cup is the secondary European tournament. It's confusing. There's tons of Cups and Tournaments at club level. Both domestic and international.

Dangit, you get all confusing now!

... And in some ways, they have right to that compensation, since they're forced to let their players play in those competitions, even though the clubs pay their wages.

I kind of see it their way, really. But, there is a windfall benefit there. If a certain player (say, Thierry Henry) gains a huge amount of fame for his national team, then it's likely that he'll draw in new fans for whatever club he plays for back in his own, domestic league. But, it's still a loss and risk that a team would have to take to give up a player during then. KF

[Kizyr]

BANGLADESH BEAT SOUTH AFRICA!!!

Ok, I'm so ecstatic I can't figure out how to translate any jargon. So bear with...

Now, South Africa is ranked the #1 team and they well deserve it--their best batsman, Gibbs, got a 36 off of 6 balls earlier in the World Cup, meaning six consecutive sixes. No one's ever done that before. So they're good. So, Bangladesh managing somehow to beat them is an incredible feat.

Bangladesh were doing okay in the first part of the first innings (they were batting first). They gradually started picking up the pace and suddenly one of their younger players (Mohamed Ashraful) managed to hit 87 runs off of 83 balls, and brought their run total up to 251 for 8 wickets. South Africa can match that, but the Tigers put in all their bowling effort and got them all-out in the 48th over with only 187 runs.

The ironic thing is, I wasn't even able to watch this match today! I had some stuff going on, and I figured Bangladesh was never gonna win against the top team in the world. So I was out most of the day and caught the text update in the evening when they were in the final few overs. This always happens! When I don't watch a match, the Tigers do incredible.

But anyway, yeah... We beat one of the best teams of the world. Let's see if the Tigers can't keep up the momentum and, maybe, just maybe, advance into the semifinals...

I might just try and fly down to the West Indies if that happens... KF

[Kizyr]

Ok, well... Bangladesh lost to England, and then we lost to Ireland. We had a chance against England but, since our batting was so awful, our run-rate was too low to defend very easily. Even though England took about 45 overs to get there.

But Ireland, man... It's almost embarrassing, I don't want to think about it. Good show for Ireland, though, since with this victory they earn the right to play Test-playing nations. It must be good to come off the downer that was losing really badly to Australia (the match was over before lunchtime).

Right now, Australia is playing Sri Lanka. This should be a preview of the final World Cup match, too. The Aussies are the odds-on favorite, but I'm personally going for Sri Lanka all the way. I think they'll be the ones to win the entire cup this year. They got off to a rough start, but once Jayawardene (captain) and Silva were up, they pulled an incredible partnership to skyrocket their run-rate. Both got bowled out, but I think they can still post like 250 runs in their innings for Australia to match.

Only thing that'll make this real difficult for Sri Lanka is that they're resting two of their best bowlers: Muralitharam and Malinga. Malinga (my favorite cricketer of this cup) has an ankle injury that he's recovering from and will be out for this game and the next, and the coach is resting Muralitharam in order to prevent Australia from getting any practice against him--apparently, both sides are predicting themselves to be in the finals against one another as well. KF

[GhaleonOne]

You know, I saw like 100 people up at the largest university in town playing cricket out in the parking lot next to the baseball stadium. I was in shock. Never actually seen someone play it here. In fact, I've only seen rugby played in person like 2-3 times here. It's just not that common. When I saw them playing cricket I did a double take and about ran a red light. Very cool that a lesser known sport in American apparently had enough to play a full game around here.

[Kizyr]

Well, Bangladesh is out, finishing 7th out of 8 in the Super 8s (but at least we advanced into the Super 8s, which is more than can be said for Pakistan and India--ZING!).

But my other favorite team, Sri Lanka, is kicking ass right now. They shot right up to the Finals, like I knew they would. Their match yesterday versus New Zealand was simply brilliant. They lost two wickets early, one for Tharanga (a brilliant batsman), but the captain Jayawardene managed to carry the team the rest of the way through to post an amazing 290 run total for New Zealand to try and beat in the second innings. Come the second innings, Sri Lanka was on fire yet again, taking wickets left and right to get the Kiwis all out after 41 overs with way over 100 runs still yet to go.

So now they will probably face off the biggest guys in cricket, the Aussies, this Saturday. Australia look unstoppable and haven't lost a World Cup cricket match since, like, 2001. Sri Lanka lost against them during the Super 8s, but it was a strategic loss: they didn't want the Aussies to get any practice against their best bowlers Muralitharan, Vaas, or Malinga (my personal favorite). But all three of them will be back this Saturday to take the Aussies down for once and upset their chances at a 3rd WC victory in a row.

Australia's actually playing South Africa right now. I don't really think Proteas (SA) will win, but let's hope they give 'em a good fight. KF