Under an hour to go before the opening match of the World Cup 2007, the excitement is unbearable. The match is too close to call. I would put my money on West Indies; With Pakistan, you never know which eleven shows up - the club cricketers or world beaters. The Pakistan point has been debated by Pundits and amateurs alike and everyone is unanimous on that. If Pakistan has a chance of making it far into the tournament, they will need to win this match. Pakistan was a strong contender for the last World Cup and for 35 overs they looked like they would beat Australia. Soon after, Andrew Symmonds demolished their bowling and with that their cup hopes vanished into thin air.
Pakistan need to start well, otherwise their shoulders will droop and their bodies will wilt. They need to stick together as a unit and Inzamam needs to actively motivate his troops, a point made by Mukul Kesavan on his blog Men in White at Cricinfo. They need the two Y's and Inzamam to contribute with the bat. Shoaib Malik, Afridi and Azhar Mahmood should do well as all rounders. They have the skill and experience. Afridi needs to contribute with the bat. The somewhat inexperienced bowling line up will be a weakness, but there is unquestionable talent and ability there.
The West Indies couldn't have asked for the World Cup at a better time. Their team is good enough, contrary to other opinions, to win this world cup. They have beaten Australians two times in the last year and competed very fiercely against them. They did however lose on two occasions at the final of a championship against Australia. They have also played well at home in the Caribbean over the last two years. Their batting line up is strong, they have the best ever opening partnership in ODI Cricket in Gayle and Chanderpaul. Sarwan, Lara, Samuels and Bravo make a very strong middle order. The pyrotechnics of Dwayne Smith in the late overs and an able batsman in Dinesh Ramdin should complete a strong batting line up. Never mind that batting collapse against India a few days ago. They are a good batting unit. The key for them has been the overs that Gayle, Samuels, Smith and Bravo contribute - they can easily bowl between 25 to 30 good effective overs between them. This means that even if one of the mainstream bowlers has an off day, Lara has choice and a good quality choice too! Lastly their bowlers Taylor, Powell and Bradshaw need to pick up early wickets and bowl well.
I can't wait for the show to begin!!!!!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
The Gala Opening Ceremony
The most open world cup ever, as BBC and many other analysts put it, started with a bang yesterday at the Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium, near Montego Bay. For the first time in a few weeks I skipped the Simpsons episode on FOX to watch this ceremony, blasphemous as it may seem Cricket comes ahead of everything in life.
Getting back to the program itself, this was clearly the best opening ceremony ever at the Cricket World Cup. This ceremony has now set the benchmark for the tournaments ahead, both in terms of the quality and the passion. The evening started with Music and live performances being performed by some of the local artists and some International artists - most of whose names I can't recall. The Dancehall Reggae legend Sean Paul was among the performers and his performance was below par-didn't seem to have enough passion. Then came the march of the teams onto the Stadium, each lead by their captain and a maiden? Then there were speeches by the dignitaries followed by the players' oath and umpires' oath taken by Lara and Bucknor respectively. Finally, the great Sobers declares the Cup open. It must have been hard for the committee to decide upon one great West Indian Cricketer to bestow this honour onto. I can think of at least five other cricketers among us today who would have deserved it just as much.
Then came the cultural performances, a bollywood style dance rendered by some West Indian women. I must admit this was as good as any I saw from the Indian dance troupes. There was a serenade, according to the announcer, a homage to the Caribbean colonial heritage- the women once again dressed in beautiful Victorian dresses with umbrellas shading their head. Very Aesthetic! Then followed a Carnivale style celebration, didn't realise that the some of the West Indian nations had Carnivale style celebrations. Finally, an event of this magnitude cannot ignore Jamaica's greatest son Bob Marley. A homage to him was paid by his old playback singers I Three. I am sure I've forgotten a lot of details, but the ceremony is a great start to what will undoubtedly be the best Cricket World Cup Ever!!!!!!
Getting back to the program itself, this was clearly the best opening ceremony ever at the Cricket World Cup. This ceremony has now set the benchmark for the tournaments ahead, both in terms of the quality and the passion. The evening started with Music and live performances being performed by some of the local artists and some International artists - most of whose names I can't recall. The Dancehall Reggae legend Sean Paul was among the performers and his performance was below par-didn't seem to have enough passion. Then came the march of the teams onto the Stadium, each lead by their captain and a maiden? Then there were speeches by the dignitaries followed by the players' oath and umpires' oath taken by Lara and Bucknor respectively. Finally, the great Sobers declares the Cup open. It must have been hard for the committee to decide upon one great West Indian Cricketer to bestow this honour onto. I can think of at least five other cricketers among us today who would have deserved it just as much.
Then came the cultural performances, a bollywood style dance rendered by some West Indian women. I must admit this was as good as any I saw from the Indian dance troupes. There was a serenade, according to the announcer, a homage to the Caribbean colonial heritage- the women once again dressed in beautiful Victorian dresses with umbrellas shading their head. Very Aesthetic! Then followed a Carnivale style celebration, didn't realise that the some of the West Indian nations had Carnivale style celebrations. Finally, an event of this magnitude cannot ignore Jamaica's greatest son Bob Marley. A homage to him was paid by his old playback singers I Three. I am sure I've forgotten a lot of details, but the ceremony is a great start to what will undoubtedly be the best Cricket World Cup Ever!!!!!!
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