Lyon bowls his 9th over, the 41st of the innings, Santner tries to clear Warner, Warner jumps up with his left hand and drops it. Maxwell covers his mouth.
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Starc continues with the 42nd over from around the wicket.
He hits the stumps. Ferguson out for a duck.
NZ 9/144 (41.1).
Wicket maiden.
ODI World Cup.
Santner hits Lyon for 6 in his last over. The fielder, spectators and ground staff all look for the ball. They find it eventually.
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Starc looks for a 5th wicket in his last over.
He has 4/26 (9).
And he gets it. Santner holes out to fine leg.
NZ all out for 157 (43.4). Oz win by 86 runs.
Boult & Starc took 9 wickets.
Boult took a hat-trick, including the wicket of Starc. Starc was on a hat-trick, but Boult defended it safely!
In the Eden Park 2015 WC game, they took 11 wickets.
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Starc looks for a 5th wicket in his last over.
He has 4/26 (9).
And he gets it. Santner holes out to fine leg.
NZ all out for 157 (43.4). Oz win by 86 runs.
Boult & Starc took 9 wickets.
Boult took a hat-trick, including the wicket of Starc. Starc was on a hat-trick, but Boult defended it safely!
In the Eden Park 2015 WC game, they took 11 wickets.
If we keep pretending India & NZ are certainties to join Oz in the SFs (India almost is, NZ less so), the odds of making the SFs after Pakistan's very narrow win are:
England 38%
Pakistan 46%
Bangladesh 12%
Sri Lanka 4%
If India beat England in the next match, the pressure on England will be almost unbearable.
England 38%
Pakistan 46%
Bangladesh 12%
Sri Lanka 4%
If India beat England in the next match, the pressure on England will be almost unbearable.
I will be able to bear it, K, although it might be better for Australia if England were to beat India, at least.
As for the Aussies, never in doubt. Khawaja may have played the least entertaining one day innings for Australia in World Cup history but his runs were absolutely invaluable. He made over half NZ’s score on his own. Our 3 openers are now all in the top 10 run scorers in the competition. Admittedly, Warner and Finch are 1 and 2 and Khawaja is 10th - but runs are runs.
Meanwhile, Australia has 2 of the top 10 wicket takers in Starc (24 at 15.54) and Cummins (12 at 27.25). (Smith presently tops the bowling averages, of course and Finch has a bowling average of 20, so Australia is the only team to have 4 bowlers with averages of 20 or less.) Of the players who have bowled at least 30 overs in the tournament, Starc’s Average is best and Behrendorff (8 wickets at 16.75) is second best.
Australia was 5/92, NZ finished them off with a hat trick and NZ still were almost forced to follow on. There is a gap in class.
As for the Aussies, never in doubt. Khawaja may have played the least entertaining one day innings for Australia in World Cup history but his runs were absolutely invaluable. He made over half NZ’s score on his own. Our 3 openers are now all in the top 10 run scorers in the competition. Admittedly, Warner and Finch are 1 and 2 and Khawaja is 10th - but runs are runs.
Meanwhile, Australia has 2 of the top 10 wicket takers in Starc (24 at 15.54) and Cummins (12 at 27.25). (Smith presently tops the bowling averages, of course and Finch has a bowling average of 20, so Australia is the only team to have 4 bowlers with averages of 20 or less.) Of the players who have bowled at least 30 overs in the tournament, Starc’s Average is best and Behrendorff (8 wickets at 16.75) is second best.
Australia was 5/92, NZ finished them off with a hat trick and NZ still were almost forced to follow on. There is a gap in class.
England win toss, bat.
For England, Roy & Plunkett in, Vince & Ali out.
For India, Pant in, Shankar out (injured).
The pitch is a fresh one, so your intrepid correspondent fears it may be one for the flat-track bullies.
India are wearing their alternative clothing to avoid the colour clash with England.
For England, Roy & Plunkett in, Vince & Ali out.
For India, Pant in, Shankar out (injured).
The pitch is a fresh one, so your intrepid correspondent fears it may be one for the flat-track bullies.
India are wearing their alternative clothing to avoid the colour clash with England.
Shami beats the batsman and Dhoni botches the take. More dismal wicket-keeping.
But Nasser H. says even Jack Russell would have struggled with that one.
Bairstow is riding his luck, with his defective bottom-hand technique. Two edges for 4 already.
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India's economy rate in the first Powerplay in this tournament is more than a run better than the second-placed team. Oz is not in the top five!
Oz's new-ball bowling has often been very bad.
But Nasser H. says even Jack Russell would have struggled with that one.
Bairstow is riding his luck, with his defective bottom-hand technique. Two edges for 4 already.
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India's economy rate in the first Powerplay in this tournament is more than a run better than the second-placed team. Oz is not in the top five!
Oz's new-ball bowling has often been very bad.England 0/47 (10).
Both sides are playing two wicket-keepers today. But two good wicket-keepers would be much better than four bad ones. We know why they do this, of course. It's all about the batting, especially the power hitting.
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With Roy back and a very flat pitch, England are back to their flat-track bullying "best".
Both sides are playing two wicket-keepers today. But two good wicket-keepers would be much better than four bad ones. We know why they do this, of course. It's all about the batting, especially the power hitting.
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With Roy back and a very flat pitch, England are back to their flat-track bullying "best".
Being top of the table is meaningless on its own. It depends who finishes fourth.
England have not suddenly lost their flat-track bullying ways, so it's better for all other teams if they are knocked out of the SFs, because you cannot know whether the pitch will be a 400 pitch.
Oz probably want to match up with NZ in the SFs, but we don't know where NZ will finish. It could just as easily be Oz qualifying 2nd and NZ 3rd as Oz 1st and NZ 4th, so why not India 1st, Oz 2nd, NZ 3rd and either Pakistan or Bangladesh 4th?
England have not suddenly lost their flat-track bullying ways, so it's better for all other teams if they are knocked out of the SFs, because you cannot know whether the pitch will be a 400 pitch.
Oz probably want to match up with NZ in the SFs, but we don't know where NZ will finish. It could just as easily be Oz qualifying 2nd and NZ 3rd as Oz 1st and NZ 4th, so why not India 1st, Oz 2nd, NZ 3rd and either Pakistan or Bangladesh 4th?
Last edited by K on Sun Jun 30, 2019 9:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.