England v Kenya - Game 23

Kenya 177/10 in 43 overs (Steve Tikolo 76) lost to England 178/3 in 33 overs (Joyce 75, Pietersen 56*) by 7 wickets

A virtual knock out game as the winner would be progressing to the next round. Kenya mustered only 177 runs and got pretty easily rolled over by a determined english team. This was the first game for Flintoff following his suspension in the previous game due to his late night pedalo adventures following England's loss in their first game against NZ.

With this win, England progress past the first round of the WC for the first time since 1992. One has to really feel for Kenya. Semi-finalists in 2003, they have hardly played any ODI's against test-teams since. Steve Tikolo after this game, pleaded for more matches for Kenya against top teams. I don't understand the mindset of the ICC. They want to globalize the game but they hardly give any of the associate teams a chance to play cricket against test teams. Throwing the smaller teams into the deep end of a WC will not work. You've got to give them games throughout the calender year.

Someone please instill sense into Malcom Speed's brain.

South Africa v/s Australia - Game 22

South Africa v/s Australia (Group A) at St. Kitts

Australia 377/6 in 50 overs (Hayden 101, Ponting 91, MJ Clarke 92) beat South Africa 294/10 in 48 overs (AB deVillers 92, GC Smith 74, JH Kallis 48, Hogg 61/3) by 83 runs
Match home

After months of build-up and talking up their respective team's chances, the heavyweights from Australia and SA finally swung into action in this super-charged Group A encounter in the small ground at St. Kitts. Australia batted first and bullied their way to 377 runs (their highest score in a WC). Hayden scored a majestic 101, in the process smashing the fasting WC 100 of 66 balls. This was Australia's 5th successive 300+ score.


Having failed to defend their last 2 300+ scores against NZ, there must have been a few nerves in the Aussie camp when SA started their chase. This was further compounded when SA openers flayed 160 runs in 20 overs and it looked like we could well have a repeat of that match from Johannesburg. A direct hit by Clarke from the boundary followed by Smith's bout of cramps changed the complexion of the game. Smith retired hurt, Kallis couldn't force the pace according the demands of the situation and suddenly the world champions turned the squeeze.

After being in the hunt till about the 25th over, SA eventually fell way short of the target. Australia carry 2 points from this win to the super 8's and look in terrific shape for their 3rd successive WC! As for SA, despite their loss they should still be favorites to reach the semis atleast.

West Indies v/s Ireland - Game 21

West Indies v Ireland (Group D) at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

Ireland 183/8 in 48 overs (JP Bray 41) lost to West Indies 190/2 in 38.1 overs (Chanderpaul 102*) by 8 wickets
Match home

Ireland and West Indies having already qualified for the Super 8's from this group, this match held significance to see which team would carry 2 points forward to the next stage. Having sneaked a tie with Zimbabwe and just gone past the line against Pakistan, the irish finally ran out of luck against the hosts. West Indies hardly broke a sweat in their run-chase in the final Group D match. The Irish fans thought had a great time. In the absence of both India and Pak, these folks are truly adding color to this WC!

the show will go on

When I started this blog, I was hoping to cover Team India's journey deep into the world cup. I had hoped to spend more typing hours writing about india's progress into the super 8's and then the semis atleast. However, Team India is deservingly out of the World Cup and I am pretty sure everyone out there has his/her own theory on what went wrong.

On the brighter side, there are some exciting matches to look ahead to, some fascinating cricket to be played by good teams. The WC might be poorer with india's exit but the beauty and the unpredictability of the game is intact.

The show must go on!