Thetownend.com

Starts tomorrow...not much buildup but as it's about eight years long, there's plenty of time to get excited.

England seem to have dived under the radar with Morgan withdrawing through injury and the continued selection of Luke Wright (that should bait Mex nicely...) whilst South Africa are being built up hugely ahead of their inevitable Semi-Final choke.

Anyone caring about this? I probably wouldn't if there wasn't a Cricinfo fantasy game, those things are fiendishly addictive.

Not yet but will get into it as it goes on.......very open and plenty of runs will be scored by all i think.
Would cap a memorable 12 months if we could win it.

Sri Lanka as winners for me. I'll watch some of it.

I fancy us to go well, Rav the chav is better than Morgan anyway, Broad looks absolutely unbelievable with the ball given how much cricket he's missed, KP's world class and opening is a great idea, Trott's the perfect no 3 for the sub continent, we've got the best spinner in the world coming back.

I reckon we'll lose in the final, to either the Aussies or Saffas, India will have their standard blow up.

Oh, and if anyone else wants to join this Fantasy League, the League PIN is 19732

http://espncricinfo.fantasyleague.com/Index.aspx

So, which pile of shit will Pakistan lose to?

Whoever's got the deepest wallet?

Um, us, today.

 The ICC have really killed this tournament off before its started. Can't see there being too many more...

Decent enough start for India, Sehwag gets 175 and they end up setting Bangladesh 371 to win. No upset on the cards here then.

Three games in, three minnow teams comprehensively smashed. I hope for the Tournaments sake at least one of them manages a couple of wins...ideally Ireland as they seem to be our Feeder Team!

Just watched some of thie first innings against Netherlands.
What a load of shit we were.
Truly embarrassing fielding - dropped catches, a comedy moment when Petersen and Andersen both watched a skied ball drop in between them, one wicket that wasn't a wicket because there weren't enough fielders in the circle - I could go on.
Hopefully we are getting all our bad play out in the first match,  :hmmm:

Well, we snuck home. Just. Very fucking just.

Ireland making things interesting here. Yet again its the bowling seems to be letting us down.

Fair play to Kevin O'Brien though, 90 off 42 balls and counting  :o

Pretty sure Ireland are going to win this.

Losing to Eire would be a little embarrassing...

Fair play to the Irish...we nicked their best player yet still can't beat them.

Oh dear.

I'm not blaming you, but today was your fault.

Morgan wouldn't even be Ireland's best player shut up Reg.

Beaten on the day by a once in a lifetime knock, just gotta take it on the chin.

What a load of shit England! May as well get the plane home now as we wont beat SA and even wins over Bangledesh and West Indies won't be enough as we only tied with India when we should have won as well. Rubbish.

If Ireland had better, they'd be playing for England...England unlike Ireland, failed to pick a Somerset player and paid the penalty....George Dockrell will no doubt play for England along with the likes of Jos Buttler.

Pre-tournament Graeme Swann said he thought Morgan was the best one-day bat in the world and I don't think he would be far wrong

Morgan would be their best ODI player but not by much, and you could quite easily make an argument for him being ours as well, certainly he's the least replaceable part of the team as we're currently doing a terrific job of proving.

But obviously I echo Reg's Somerset thoughts- not sure we can really claim credit for him just yet as he's not played but the thought is there- and England should have at least one of Kieswetter, Hildreth, Trego and Buttler, Somerset dominated the 40 Over competition before a choke of which the Saffers would be proud.

who are you suggesting would be close?

morgan is world class.
daylight second with no international class players
niall o'brien and ed joyce both very good first-class cricketers
then guys like porterfield, rankin and stirling are very talented players, but with plenty to prove
the rest are club cricketers... and that includes ko'b

Joyce was the one I had in mind, agree Morgan is better and will be much better in future but always thought Joyce underrated.

According to chris gayles twitter, bangladesh fans threw stones at their coach

For me it's Morgan that we've really missed in this tournament. I've no doubt he'd have closed the game out for us against India he's a specialist at that. Our middle order has been piss poor so far in the 3 games we've played. We should have beaten India in the position we were in and we should have got more against Ireland. Morgan has been a huge loss. Of course it also helps if your fielders can actually catch a ball or if your bowlers can actually bowl in a straight line as well.

Great quote from the cricket highlights

The West Indies team coach was stoned today.......tell us something we dont know :D

Of all the big sporting world cups, the cricket equivalent is easily the worst, and has been for some time.

Having said that, England's 3 games thus far have offered cracking value for the neutral.

I think the early stages are always a bit shite. This one is going straight into the knock out stage though rather than that su[er 6 bollocks we've seen in recent world cups. Should be some cracking games once it hits that point as teams will have no choice but to go all out for the win.

Well there was another exciting England game. Huge win for us as well. Means that we should be able to make the quarters now if we can beat Bangladesh. Poor batting but this time the bowlers did well.

 Saffas bottled it again....see they've got their own ringer Tahir in now, which I suppose is fair enough, given our record.  Think Tahir will make them very decent in tests for the next couple of years, although not sure when we play them.

I said before the tournament that it was open. Every side has it's strengths and weaknesses, and it could come down to the survival of the fittest due to the length of the tournament.

Pietersen injured and coming home

if morgan gets clearance (have heard somewhere that if you leave the squad you can't come back in but we shall see) i reckon it strengthens the squad

Agree Boeta. Pietersen is just garbage these days.

I would say the same too, although he did bowl some good overs yesterday - mind you that is not the reason that he has been in the team.

Broad out as well now?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/9417890.stm

That would be a blow imo after Sunday's match

massive blow

Fuck me the kiwis are knocking pakistan for six in this last few overs

95 in 5 overs

You have to wonder why so many players are getting injured. Too much cricket these days. There was no break after the australia tour. I know Broad is an exception given he wasn't there for much of it but he was probably rushed back for the WC. Tremlett did well down under but on these pitches it's a risk. It's not as if we're going to win it anyway really so oh well.

Getting punished by bangladesh :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

fucking cunting useless

who the fuck this bloke is wearing jimmy anderson's shirt i don't know

what a fucking bunch of shitcunts

Did we  win then?

Yeah bossed it, lads

Im going for a curry later, the waiters will be pissing themselves all night i suspect.

Jimmy Anderson, youre a white boy, not a wide boy.

What a fucking mare!

It's funny how it's the smaller/lesser teams we've played shite against this tournament. The likes of Holland, Irelend and Bangladesh. Proves the point that these players think it's already in the bag before the game even starts....complacement and above themselves. I've glad they have been embarassed twice and I really hope Banglasdesh get through to the knockout stages because this England team is a joke and doesn't deserve to get through. Overpaid and over rated wankers.

Remind you of a football team we all know

Windies today, win or a plan home. I don't particularly think we'll win, but Jonathan Trott is currently 27 off 12 balls, which has to be a sign of the apocalypse.

Going well today

134-5 :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

151-6.

At least they'll get a bit of time off.

Was about to post something similar

Can't blame them. Professional Sportsman or not, 4 days at home since October for the ones involved in all forms (Strauss, Swann, Prior, Bell, Anderson) is absolutely ridiculous and the greedy bastards at the ECB should shoulder the blame for this.

ooops. not looking like we'll make 50 overs is it.

If we can stay out there for the full 50, then could be a competitive total....think it's the same pitch as v Saffas.  Windies will always give you a few wides, overthrows etc.

We bat to 10, windies have fuck all, keep the faith

Fair play to Luke Wright - not played in WC yet, had a lot of criticism and comes in when we are under a lot of pressure - now on 43 off 53.

Top work Nick, any words you'd like to say about Gayle?

Fuck - I should have kept my mouth shut. >:(

Silly shot, but great knock under pressure

Nick ya fackin jinx.

The whole of the West Indies team are playing really well they should get all the runs they need in about 10 overs - will that do?

238-9

the bowlers have their work cut out.

243 all out from 48.4 overs..

Gayle making this look tricky.

Gayle out game on.

Look on the bright side.

When England lose today, at least it means we won't have to suffer the humiliation of being thrasher by those smug bastards from down under.

118-5.



I'm not saying anything else. ;)

Unbelievable.  Again!!!

Well I didn't see that one coming 4 overs ago!!
Am I right in thinking that we are still not definitely through?

Yep.  We need either South Africa to beat Bangladesh or WI to beat India to ensure we go through.

never doubted them

 :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick: :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

What a great game - England are making this World Cup - as usual with any English sport nothing is ever easy 

Dont be silly...we won by 18 runs :D

Maybe we're doing it deliberately and want to play them. We beat them in the T20 World Cup and we thrashed them in the Ashes and we want to become the first side to beat them at a 50 over WC for 12 years.

With Bangladesh on 29-4 we should be through to the quarters today.

Aussies on the verge of losing their group game against Pakistan to finish 2nd in the group.

If we finish 3rd in our group, we'll play them in the quarters.

Aussies have now actually finished 3rd in their group due to NRR.

We're now likely to play Sri Lanka or Pakistan.

Pakistan made light work of the first quarter final then.

Glad we won't be meeting them until the final.  ;)

Yardy latest to return home, suffering from depression.

When I saw the headline "Yardy returns home" I thought it was a conveniently timed injury, but for a second England Cricketer in a fairly short period to suffer from depression- without wishing to pre-judge the causes of Yardy's particular problems- really highlights the ridiculous pressures that have been put on the Touring sides this Winter.

Hope he recovers fully.

In slightly brighter news, Aus v Ind today, there'll be hell to pay if the Indians don't win.

And Boycott can go fuck himself over his stupid ignorant comments about yardy.

cracking match at moment between india and aus.

Yeah India looking strong so far in the run chase. Incredible how Tendulkar still so good at 37.

What did boycott say?

Tendulkar out now

Just seen it.

What a cunt

It's weird cos Boycs was very sympathetic when Tresco had the same problems.

To be fair to Boycott he's right about Yardy from a cricketing perspective

This match is going to the wire.

 Well done India for thrashing the Convicts....looking forward to a summer of Test cricket. England need to test themselves against tougher opponents than Ponting's streak haired and over tatooed losers.

To be fair I haven't heard Boycs comments, but if its not about his cricketing skills, then hes a grade A Cunt

Basically said something along the lines of 'Depressed is he? He must have read my comments about his bowling'

Tactless certainly from Boycs but he did go on to express sympathy at Yardy's condition. Just a poor choice of wording.

As for the cricket itself, good win for India sets up a great looking semi against Pakistan. Imagine the atmosphere will be hostile to say the least.

Boycott is a cunt.

Seems to forget he got done for assaulting a woman

Haven't heard what Boycott said but it can hardly come as a surprise that he holds antiquated views on something and that his life revolves around Cricket.

India v Australia was an excellent game, made more fun by watching it in a pub full of mad Indians: Tendulkar getting out nearly emptied the place.

Expect that was also Brett Lee's last game, and possibly Ponting. Both true greats, one will be remembered fondly by all around the world, the other will not.

I feel sorry for Yardy. It's not helped my the amount of International cricket there is. In cannot be much fun living out of a suitcase, moving from city to city for months on end, which the England cricket team seem to face. They have been on the road except for a coupe of days since the beginning of November, nearly 5 months ago. I hope he gets over his depression and gets better soon.

Doesnt really apply to Yardy though does it, he doesnt play test cricket and isn't always in the ODI set up either.

Just finnished watching the highlights. Loved the excitement of the crowd and the emotion of the Indian players. This WC is so much better thanks to the abolishion of the 2nd group stage (made the UEFA Champions League a poor product as well). Cant wait for the big game on saturday, it feels like a great tournament, and its great to still be supporting England in it!

As for Yardy, he might be prolific in County Cricket, but you need class in international 50 over cricket. Always thought bowlers who basically relied on 'total variation' do work up to a point (same as Adam Hollioake). IMO the bigger the game, the more batsmen tend to concentrate, thats why the big games produce so many more close finnishes and I think its also why mix it up bowling like Yardy's doesnt work on the big stage (just a theory).

So, dont rate Yardy myself. But in his defence I would say that India is always a really tough tour. Things can easily get on top of you. Not just getting ill, the heat and humidity. Things like the child poverty, the begging and leppers. If you walk down the street with a can of coke the kids will surround you in the hope of getting some, and the state of some of the beggars is utterly depressing. The cities are so crowded and hectic out there, if you walk home at night you have to step over people sleeping rough in the middle of the pavements. And you cant get away from spicy food, everything is spicy, even if you go for a pizza! I was only in Mumbai for a week and I was relieved to get out.

tend to agree with most of the posts above, but two disagreements:
1) brett lee a true great?? very good yeah, but very lucky to play as many test matches as he did. overrated by both waugh and ponting ahead of other domestic bowlers who would have recorded better numbers

2) spence... the only flaw in your pretty much flawless post is that yardy isn't and never has been a profilic domestic bowler in one-day cricket in county cricket.. averages 48 or so! shows the difference opening up between ODIs and T20 (where yardy still has a role because economy > wickets in t20 where as in odis they need to be balanced). flower wanted to pick samit patel over yardy anyway prior to the tournament but he failed all the fitness criteria they set him

If you like cricket give Testmatchsofa.com a listen

I've gotta stop watching the Saffas in pressure games, I've almost wet myself laughing for the last hour of their innings

That was wonderful. They get so upset about the chokers tag, but they live up to it every single time.

Jacob Oram was terrific, and Guptill's fielding is unbelievably good.

Yeah it has made for very enjoyable viewing.

SA have still never won a knockout match in a world cup  :D

Big chance for England to get to the final now if they can step up their game. Bif if though.

I thought the way NZ destroyed Pakistan's attack marked them out as a dangerous team.

Wouldnt want to be anywhere near Graeme Smith tonight.

Judging by this:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?xl=xl_blazer&v=2JMdk9Oybk4

Rob Shepherd and Alan Brazil can fuck off too. Pair of cunts.

Fair fucking play to Ronnie Irani.

COME ON ENGLAND!!

Looking forward to this.

Same here - though I doubt we will win.

Going to be multi-tasking today - watching cricket on TV and listening to match on my laptop!!

Real tough one to call....it is similar to South Africa,Blackcats........Sri Lanka are favourites but in England are capable...like New Zealand.
Swindon Kick off at 1?

Yes - match at 1 but unless we are well and truly thrashed cricket will still be on then won't it?

Hope so....is the Sri Lankan anthem the longest in the world! ;D

Great start winning the toss and batting first.

For me its a also a great decision to put Bell up top with Strauss (dont let us down!). This isnt a thrashers pitch and we need these 2 (probably our 2 best batsmen in the side?) to play themselves in and bat long.

 :D  

Sorry thought by the question mark you were implying I wouldn't need to multi-task  :hmmm:

Here goes........lets be positive.

First time England have played a World Cup knock out game since 9th March 1996, when we lost to?


Sri Lanka.

Agreed Spencer, frustrating to see him caught batting with the tail too many times, hopefully he can get a few for us today. Going to need to set a pretty hefty target i think.

Only doubt Ive got about todays team is Tremlett. Really like him as a test bowler. But I dont think he has enough variation for one day cricket. He needs a wicket early in his first spell or I think he will go for 7.5+ an over.

Wont matter if we score 350 :D

Strauss needs to calm down, it doesnt matter that Bell has got to grips with the pitch and the spin much quicker than Strauss. Back yourself!

Straussy needs to get walking now, bowled by a part-timer's long hop. Argh.

Dissapointed in Strauss. He should have just tried to score singles and support Bell.

Ah, now Bell's gone. Trouble!

Strauss looked all at sea though - just didn't cope with the spin at all...

Bell looked like he was settled and going well - Come on Trott !!!!

Is it me or does Bell often get out to what looks like simple catches

Painful viewing and weve not even seen Murali yet. Bell was the only one who was managing to get bat on ball. Very frustrating.

Well the Sri Lankans certainly won't be chasing a big total !

Only thing I can take any solace from is New Zealand yesterday !!!

We need a solid 30 overs batting and really get amongst them with the ball.....

Dont enjoy watching Trott, but he is just what England need, determined and practical.

Hopefully I wont have jinxed him like I did Bell on facebook an hour ago.

240-50 looks like a fairly competitive total on this, but we're going to struggle to get that at this rate.

240-250 would be a pretty mammoth total looking at it so far - I think we will struggle to hit 200 to be honest - although I hope I am very wrong !

I think its going to be like an old fashioned 50 over game where we go mad at the end. Wright and Prior do come off occasionally.

Wright does bother me though - he is pretty much all or nothing ....

At last - Bumble on the mike :)

Arse !

Why did Bopara bother reviewing that ?  My missus would have given him out !!!

Would a bit of glove have saved him? Not sure what the laws on that are?

Well out though. Bopara did well to get 30.

He did....but Morgan should be in before him in my opinion.

who is this cock going on about our slow scoring?! We know its slow, fuck off.

Think it might be a kiwi. They are fairly graceless winners at times.

7 an over for the last five, we're speeding away now. Jonathan Trott just pulled out a reverse sweep!

Trott going well - it's definitely looking brighter than 45 minutes ago......

Morgan must make them pay!

Fair play to Trott, keeping the innings together. Couldnt believe Nasser criticising Trott for taking 87 balls for his 65. Who else was going to get the runs?

Here we go!

Oh fuck......

Fuck me that was a poor shot...last over maybe for that kind of shot.

Quick fire 50 by Prior would be sweet.

Didn't think we would get to 229 - fair play to them....

Let's get in amongst them with the ball and setup a semi final against the Black Caps !!

It's a defendable total but I think 250 is a fair score for that wicket.

Prior's keeping is starting to regress again, excellent.

Unfortunately being ripped apart by their batting - we SO need a wicket !!!

68-0 after 13 overs, it's not looking good at the moment.

But this being England, you just get the feeling that somehow they will take it down to the last few overs even if they don't manage to win it.

I'm going to watch England v Sri Lanka in a ODI in the summer - hope it's not as one-sided as this one is at the moment.

Agreed. Letting one of Bopara's go through his legs for 4 was pretty low.

Ive been watching England since about 1998, weve quite often been dismal with the bat, but I dont think Ive ever seen a more complete humiliation of our bowlers in a big game.

Very dissapointing.

Sehwag starting very strongly here against Pakistan. 38 from 23 balls so far.

EDIT: Out two balls later. Ha.

Pakistan currently 89-2 (20 overs) chasing India's score of 261.

Could be crucial for Pakistan with Younus Khan  at the crease.

Tell you what, I wouldn't fancy being the Umpire that gives a close decision here...Gould gave Tendulkar out earlier, now that was fucking brave!

Has anyone been watching the IPL on ITV4?  That female presenter they have is filthy hot!

Only Morgan seems to be getting a game of the English players for KKR.

The IPL is a waste of time and just a chance for the players to earn a quick buck. I'd much rather our players were warming up here in England for the test series this summer with their counties getting used to the conditions. But the ECB have tried stopping them before and rather predictably the players threw their toys out of the pram because they wouldn't be getting their pay cheque.

The IPL might be a waste of our time....but it is Indian money that is currently driving world cricket and that means limited overs stuff.  The ECB went for a strategy of developing more Test grounds, when the rest of the world aren't much bothered by Test cricket....see Chris Gayle. This strategy, together with a recession has seen the counties racking up massive debt.  A down side of this, is an inabilty to attract the best players, for anything other than a 20 over slog for a couple of weeks.

Still the summer has always been played out against a backdrop of some sort of crisis, so I dare say cricket will survive....looking forward to the first Test v Ceylon