Saturday, June 21, 2014

Cook vs Warne

Two captains who have been accused of being negative, boring, defensive, and uninspiring.

Both captain in Tests and ODIs and don’t play T20s internationally.

Both had a 9-1 Test record as captain in Test Cricket at one stage.

Both have beaten nine different ODI sides in series or more.

Both can be traditional batsman in approach.

Both have been leading their sides in ODIs since May 2011.

Misbah: 23 50+ in his last 40 innings (40 years of age)

Cook: 9 50+ in his last 40 innings (29 years of age)

Alastair Cook has publicly hit back at Shane Warne’s comments after continuous attacks, saying the attacks are personal rather than constructive.

Warne has criticised Cook a lot, but nowhere near to the level Mohammad Yousuf has targeted Misbah unnecessarily.

This is what Misbah needs to do to Yousuf. He should have done it a long time ago.  

Sometimes not standing up for yourself is a sign of weakness, when the grudges become alarmingly obvious, something needs to be done and Yousuf needs to know he can’t get away with such distasteful comments.

Now, Shane Warne is arguably the greatest spinner ever. 708 test wickets tell you all you need to know.

Mohammad Yousuf is not up to Shane Warne’s level, nowhere near as a player. He is not in the ICC Hall of Fame. He would struggle to get into an all-time Pakistan XI.

If Cook can hit back at Shane Warne. Then Misbah shouldn’t worry about hitting back at Mohammad Yousuf.

Every successful captain has a right to unleash his anger at unwarranted criticism, at least once during his captaincy. Misbah hasn’t taken his chance in this. 

Friday, April 11, 2014

Preferred England Side for 2015 CWC

Cook (C) = Star Performer
KP = Star Performer
Bell
Root
Morgan
Bopara
Butler (WK)
Broad
Tredwell
Finn
Anderson = Star Performer

Reserves

Tim Bresnan
Bairstow (WK)
Reece Topley
Samit Patel

Further Reserves

Alex Hales
James Taylor
Adil Rashid
Chris Jordan
Chris Woakes
Azeem Rafiq
Nick Compton
Michael Carberry
Will Rhodes
Matthew Fisher
Ben Duckett
Ben Foakes
Jamie Overton
Matt Prior
Craig Kieswetter 

Prediction: Best campaign for them since 1992
Finish first in their pool
KP reintegration possibly key 
Best chance of winning their first World Cup
My personal favourites 

Preferred Blackcaps Side for 2015 World Cup

Williamson
Guptill
Taylor - Star Performer 
Brendon ©
Anderson
Ronchi (WK)
Vettori - Star Performer 
Nathan McCullum
Southee
Mills
Mitchell Mcl - Star Performer 

Star performer = tipping for a successful tournament on home shores

Reserves

James Franklin
Adam Milne
Trent Boult
Hamish Rutherford

Further Reserves

Jeetan Patel
Ryder
Fulton
Munro
Sodhi
Hira
Wagner
Butler
Watling
Bruce Martin 

Prediction: Semi Finalists
Win 4 out of six group games
Win Quarter Final at home

Friday, March 14, 2014

3 Key Players by team for WT20 2014 + Top Performers Verdict

West Indies

Gayle
Samuels
Narine

Pakistan

Ajmal
Hafeez
Shehzad

India

Yuvraj
Jadeja
Ashwin

England

Bopara
Morgan
Butler

South Africa

Tahir
ABD
Dumminy

New Zealand

Brendon
Ross Taylor
Nathan McCullum

Bangladesh

Shakib
Tamim
Nasir 

Afghanistan

Nabi
Shenwari
S Zadran

Sri Lanka

Malinga
Mendis
MJ

Ireland

Dockrell
Sterling
Kevin

Hong Kong 

Chapman
Nizakat
Aizaz Khan

Zimbabwe

Taylor
Utseya
Mazakadza

UAE

K Khan
-
-

Nepal

Don't know

Australia

Warner
Watson
Hogg

Netherlands

Mudassar
Ryan
-

Potential Upsets at CWC 15

England vs Bangladesh
Afghanistan vs Bangladesh
West Indies vs Ireland
Zimbabwe vs Ireland
Afghanistan vs Scotland (because of Scotland's previous WC experience)

New Zealand vs Bangladesh
Pakistan vs Ireland

Predictions of Finals

World T20

West Indies vs Bangladesh
West Indies vs Pakistan
Pakistan vs Bangladesh
West Indies vs Sri Lanka

World Cup 15

England vs South Africa
England vs India
England vs New Zealand
New Zealand vs India