The Belated Cricket World Cup Thread

[AlBDamned]

Well there goes the cracker, was really hoping for at least a competitive game, now those aussies are gonna be sniffin their own farts for the next four years.

LOL, you know that'll be the case, unless Sri Lanka stuff them of course. Would be great if they did but they'll have to play better than they did against the Kiwis. (Bad luck by the way, BV).

Also, I was laughing so hard this morning reading the BBC's commentary. They've taken to calling Hayden "The Hulk" and writing all sorts of references to him. It's highly amusing (or was at 4am Aussie time anyway).

 

[Blue Velvet]

(Bad luck by the way, BV).

Beaten by a better team. There's always next time and of course, there's October in France. But that's another thread for another day.

 

[jbernie]

Hey jbernie - I am a fellow Aussie in Denver. Any idea where we can watch the final?

Not too sure, there is a local Aussie Rules football team (Denver Bulldogs?) and they had a feed for the AFL grand final, I am oncall this week so at best I will be "watching it" via the baggygreen website.

There is also a good group of Aussies up in Ft Collins, though haven't seen any emails from them about watching the finals. I think Dish network carries the work cup but it is a US$200 ppv, no idea if they offer a $15 deal for just the final though.

Otherwise, i guess look around for any good English pubs, if they exist.

 

[jbernie]

Well there goes the cracker, was really hoping for at least a competitive game, now those aussies are gonna be sniffin their own farts for the next four years.
/Walks away with head down.
It was a legendary bad World Cup for us.

I was really hoping the Sth Africans would put on a good show, I didn't want the Aussies to lose, but a top notch game would have been good for the fans. Unfortunately the very few top games (ie. England vs WI for the last Super 8 game) are dragged down by too many non event games. A good look at the scheduling is in order for next time around.

Maybe split the super 8 into 2 groups of 4, for a quicker round robin and then the top 2 from each group move on? #1 in one group plays #2 from the other group. That or just pull the finger out and go for 2 games a day. I really wonder if the crowds were so poor because of the extended length of time required and most only wanting to spend 2 or 3 weeks down there only if they got to see the finals. I took a 3 week vacation to the West Indies for the Cricket World Cup and didn't see any game passed the first round. Not a great return on your hard earned $$$.

Will be interesting to see how Sri Lanka does on Saturday, will their 'tactics" really work? Or will it be another farce. It doesn't matter who wins, the game needs to be close and exciting to ensure the ending is the best possible.

 

[jbernie]

Beaten by a better team. There's always next time and of course, there's October in France. But that's another thread for another day.

Actually, for that World Cup, Australia does not look good at all. So chin up you Poms, Kiwis and Sth Africans, all is not lost.

 

[Bunks]

Not too sure, there is a local Aussie Rules football team (Denver Bulldogs?) and they had a feed for the AFL grand final, I am oncall this week so at best I will be "watching it" via the baggygreen website.

There is also a good group of Aussies up in Ft Collins, though haven't seen any emails from them about watching the finals. I think Dish network carries the work cup but it is a US$200 ppv, no idea if they offer a $15 deal for just the final though.

Otherwise, i guess look around for any good English pubs, if they exist.

Thanks mate - have exhausted all my options I think!

The wife has insisted we go away this weekend so I don't think I'll even follow it on the net......I get the impression that the interest in Oz (and some other Aussie bloggers may confirm this?) is pretty low anyway. Reminds me of 2003 - no-one really cared then either!

I think we put so much focus on getting the Ashes back that this WC has taken a back seat. We should still win it though.

As for the RWC, I noticed the Aussies are struggling a bit! Will the Kiwi's choke again though? I must confess to being from that part of Australia that has a little interest in the run forwards but throw backwards game!

 

[Bigheadache]

Thanks mate - have exhausted all my options I think!

The wife has insisted we go away this weekend so I don't think I'll even follow it on the net......I get the impression that the interest in Oz (and some other Aussie bloggers may confirm this?) is pretty low anyway. Reminds me of 2003 - no-one really cared then either!

I think we put so much focus on getting the Ashes back that this WC has taken a back seat. We should still win it though.

As for the RWC, I noticed the Aussies are struggling a bit! Will the Kiwi's choke again though? I must confess to being from that part of Australia that has a little interest in the run forwards but throw backwards game!

Actually people cared a bit in 2003 as it was the first time we went through unbeaten, its was when Symonds came of age, and the final was a great batting performance. Aussies were unbeaten, but some of the games were great IIRC, such as Symonds saving us against Pakistan, and Bichel saving Australia against England. Also the TV coverage was a bit better with more games on free to air.

2007 has been a joke and like you say, no one cares. The gulf between Australia and rest of the world is a joke - I don't think the any of the Aussie tailenders (Tait, bracken, McGrath) have had to put their pads on and go out to bat yet. The tournament's dragged on, the free to air coverage sucks with only the super 8 Australian games shown, and even if you have cable tv, the games aren't close enough to bother staying up from 1130pm to 6am to watch them.

 

[jbernie]

WOW! Gilchrist went crazy on the Sri Lankan bowling, 149 of 104. Amazing innigs, shame I can only see i in text format online.

With a shorten match of only 38 overs per side i would be feeling confident if it wasn't Sri Lanka we were facing.

The rain is a pain but wow what an innings.

 

[Jasonbot]

Man this game is weird! Just look at that score That shouldn't even be legal...

 

[jbernie]

Looks like Sri Lanka put up a decent fight, the total was a pretty tall order given the shortened game, but I admit to being more than a tad worried early on as they started to pick up the run rate, 50 from 5 always makes a good dent.

Though just getting home the end seems to be kind of suited to the tournament, a bit of a farce. I guess in the end the better team did win but I'm glad the Sri Lankas made a go at it.

 

[cazlar]

I'm from Oz but living in the US, and spent most of the morning trying to find a working web stream. Eventually found an audio stream from the UK, which along with cricinfo's text commentry was enough to get a good idea of the game. Imagine my surprise after stopping listening when they called it for light, to see they had come back to play in the dark!

Yay for the Aussies, but overall a very lacklustre tournament. Maybe it's because I haven't had it on TV, but I can't say it's been as enjoyable as it should have been. Too long, not enough great matches, a death, and to end it it finishes in a farce. Oh well, I hope the next one is better...

 

[AlBDamned]

Though just getting home the end seems to be kind of suited to the tournament, a bit of a farce.

Yup. Jonathan Agnew's word's summed it up. It was a completely underwhelming tournament finished off by a farce of umpire call.

Congrats to Australia though. They are a truly awesome cricket team.

 

[5683565]

my two cents...

Australia always deserved to win, great team, congratulations... (Kiwi-Upbringing here, so that's hard to say).

However, what a s*** final, and piss-poor effort on the guys running the show. They start late on a dark day and can't figure out that it might just get a little darker later on?

I know it's difficult (due to annoyed crowd etc.) but I would have preferred to wait a couple of days for some decent weather, it's a final after all. Easy for me to say that though, not being there and everything.

 

[BoyBach]

I think it's safe to say that the best team in the world won.

The Aussies were simply awesome throughout the tournament.