cwc 2011.

sup peeps.
this is my first entry to the blog for 2011. i figured seeing as it's my first day back at uni, i should find somethin to deter me from doing my homework. so what better way than writing about sports haha

figured id kick things off with a quick take on the cricket world cup taking place over in the sub-continent. we got off to a bang with sehwag blasting and thumping his way to 175 against the hapless bangladeshis. few days prior to that he said his new goal was to bat the full length of an international one day match. he fell agonisingly short by being dismissed in the 47th over, if memory serves me correct. since then, the majority of matches have been heavily one sided or a snooze-fest between the minnow nations.

we did however witness a thrilling draw between the indians and england. india posted 338 and you would have though that they'd be in the box seat playing on their home turf. however, england challenged with a great captains knock of 150 odd from strauss. eng required 34 runs off the final 3 overs and got there with their tail wagging brilliantly. it was more so india's failure to execute a successful "bowling at the death" plan which forced them to lose this match. a crazy incident about that game was that the legendary shane warne predicted, on twitter, that this match could be a tie. odddd.

i could ramble and rave about ireland's great win against the poms where they looked down and out when the situation was 222 runs required off 150 deliveries. but we'll simply say that england fucked that one up and gave it to the irish on a silver platter.

it seems that the poms have been involved in all the headline-grabbing matches thus far. they produced a win against the south africans that forced the media to bring up the chokers tag for the south africans. after a commanding performance by their two spinners, petersen and tahir, the south africans merely had to chase down 171. yet the pressure and small total wreaked havoc with their mindsets and they fell 6 runs short. there must surely be question marks hovering over the heads of the tournament favourites.

our beloved australian team hasnt been challenged as yet. 2 easy victories against zimbabwe and new zealand have however given them much needed confidence after suffering losses in the 2 warm up matches. on saturday, we took on the might of sri lanka. it was billed as a potential finals match. however, the rain gods played their hand and put an abrupt halt to the match. if i was in sri lanka's position, i would have gone for the win knowing the rain was coming and that only 30 overs were possible. they won the toss so could have dictated the game on their own terms. they could have gone for broke and put up a competitive total in approx 13 overs and then declare. that would given them around 12-14 overs to bowl us out. on a pitch with a fair bit of turn, they should have made a real fight and put a scare through our camp by continously being on the front foot. maybe im just an attacking player when i play the game, but it's the world cup and success often follows after taking calculated risks. clearly they wouldnt have bowled australia out but having them 4, 5 or 6 down for not many within 15 overs would give them a massive psychological edge coming into the finals series.

i cant wait for these nonsense group stage matches to finish up. then we'll be constantly watching matches of a high calibre and thrills. im gunna back the lankans to take the glory. they have 4 players of absolute quality and if all 4 are on song then look out. these players are sangakarra, jayawardene, malinga and murali. add dilshan to that list and it becomes very imposing. for us, we need krejza to start taking 3 or 4 wickets a game to be be right up there for the challenge. the title is anyones for the taking. whether it be south africa, england, india or the two mentioned before, but all that remains certain is that there are plenty more twists and turns to evolve before the tournament is done and dusted.