3rd Test: Confident Aussies take on Englishmen at Edgbatson

After the shocking display at Cardiff, Aussies came back to their own in Lords and that is the way it should be.

Aussies take on England in Edgbaston, starting today.

With Rogers and Warner providing a brisk start at Lords, Aussies could find further form in Smith. With Nevill taking the glove work, the batting has further strengthened. The one missing it out has been Clarke and England has been getting the better of him in both the Tests. This could be a cause of worry for Clarke and the Team Management.

While it is huge welcome to see Mitchell Marsh into the Test reckoning, he needs to perform with the ball as an all round replacement for Watson. By roping in Nevill and Marsh, Aussies have injected youth into the team XI and this is a good development.

We had indicated at the beginning of the series that apart from Root and Cook, England is not capable of threatening Aussies and this was proved in the 2nd Test match.

Bairstow is far better player than Ballance and his role at No.5 is really important.Bell is very fortunate to have his place in the XI and this Test match will be a make or break in his Test career. Lyth, since his debut, has not shown to be a potential worthy of playing in this important series and this match will require an important career breaking knock to retain his place. England has stacked itself with batsmen and if the bowlers fail again, it is bye-bye Ashes for Englishmen.

The first two Tests were played on surfaces lacking in pace and bounce. The key factor at Edgbaston will be the pitch which had so much grass on the pitch. but the likelihood is that cover will be shaved off before play. But the ground staff personnel have used hot lamps that is used for cultivation of cannabis. The toss may prove crucial - England won the toss and the match in Cardiff and Aussies won the toss and the match at Lords.

My Playing XI:

Australia: Warner, Rogers, Smith, Clarke, Voges, Marsh, Nevil, Starc, Johnson, Hazlewood, Lyon

England: Cook, Lyth, Bell, Root, Bairtsow, Stokes, Butler, Moeen Ali, Wood, Broad, Anderson

Aussies all set to take home Ashes Series

Ever since Aussies won the World Cup in April, the focus had immediately shifted to the Ashes series to be played in England.

Such has been their focus, that they had sent their full fledged team to West Indies, knowing well the incapacity of the West Indies Team. Result: Aussies completed that 2 match series under 7 days with a thumbing win.

Now the 1st Ashes match starts off at Cardiff today.

The difference between the two teams is the left arm swing bowling from Aussies in the name of Johnson and Starc. With Hazlewood in the limelight off late, well supported by Watto and Lyon, these Aussies formidable bowling attack looks and offers much more solid and depth.

When our eyes shifts to their batting - it rings alarm bell to any opposition and more so to England. With Warner, Roger, Smith, Clarke, Watto, Voges/Marsh in the batting lineup, England will need to be better prepared to capture 20 wickets in this match.

When I look at England, the team, atleast on paper, looks rusty and shaky.

But for their captain Cook and along with him, Root, Stokes and Butler, their batting does not look that formidable. If Bell does not get going in the first match, it is more likely that he will be replaced.

Their bowling, other than Anderson and to an extent, Wood, does not look that encouraging either.

Pitch and conditions

There is a decent bit of grass left on the surface and the spin might come onto play later in the match. Thus Moeen Ali and Lyon will have their work out in the 2nd innings. 

Clarke, might put the opposition on to bat and straight away to take a hold of the series.. Looks like an interesting toss is on the cards.

My Playing XI

England:

Cook, Lyth, Ballance, Bell, Root, Stokes, Moeen Ali, Buttler, Wood, Broad, Anderson

Australia:

Warner, Rogers, Smith, Clarke, Voges/Shaun Marsh, Watson, Haddin, Starc, Johnson, Hazlewood, Lyon

Pakistan elevate to 3rd in ICC Test Ranking

Perseverance has finally paid off for the new look Pakistan.

The time Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Asad Shafiq took over the mantle, the batting looked solid and with the veterans Hafeez, Younis Khan and Mishbah providing the much required support, Pakistan has got good batting display.

Yasir Shah in his only 10th match has already claimed 109 wickets and he is a good find for Pakistan. With Pakistan having faster bowlers at their peril, Pakistan can only climb on bowling front too..

And all these plus the able support of wicketkeeper batsmen Sarfaraz, Pakistan has been elevated to the 3rd rank.

It was much disappointment to see Sri Lanka slip in this series. Sri Lanka, like India, normally performs very well in their home conditions. But, when Herath sucks, Sri Lanka gets clueless and this was very much evident in this Test series. 

Sri Lanka, looked solid on the batting front, but, it is the bowling that has caused ripples in the series.

 

India slip to 4th Rank in iCC Test ranking

The Bangladesh-India one-off drawn test match played in the monsoon season at Bangladesh has allowed Indians to slip to the 4th position in the ICC Test rankings.

Alright, Kohli is a fan of 5 bowling attack. Is his team balanced in such a way is capable of producing results? If yes, should he have gone with 3 spinners rather than 3 seamers? Is dropping Pujara at the behest of Rohit Sharma, a call in the right direction?

In the context of rubbing energy and aggression to all players, has Kohli, made a critical change in the just one-off test match? I would certainly say yes to this. To me, the future of Ishant Sharma is completely at stake and with a dead pitch such as the one played at Fatullah, Karn Sharma could have been a better attacking option.  What has happened is that too many overs got consumed by operating the seamers at one end and little they did to impress the fact that they are capable of taking 20 wickets in this Test match. Thus 8 wickets fell to spinners and the 3 seamers combined could muster only 1 wicket. 

But I did like the attacking field set by the captain. It is still his early days and too much should not be said at such a short notice..

The person who impressed me most was Ashwin. The way, he looped the ball everytime, showed that he has now got back his original style of off-spin bowling. I have'nt seen him bowling the carrom ball. Bhajji did not impress me at all. He got away with some poor line and length balls and if he continues in same vein, we will be seeing the last of him shortly.

From Bangldesh's perspective, I like the batting of Litton Das. He reminded me of Roy Dias of Sri Lanka.  He has got a perfect defense technique and I am sure that he has got a great career ahead of him.

Aussies too hot for West Indies to handle

All Aussies need is 6 1/2 days to complete the 2 Test series against West Indies - In the process they have made a clear underlying and a strong statement to Englishmen ahead of the Ashes series.

Such is the performance of the Aussies team, that baring Taylor, Bishoo and to an extent Holder, none of the West Indies could face the heat of the Aussies bowlers. That West Indies crumbled to 144 in the 2nd innings speaks the line and length with which Aussies exploited them.

Having said that, baring Bravo and Samuels (in the 1st match), West Indies, did not have seniors in the side capable of facing a strong steadfast Aussies. They rather played with a 'B' team who were very circumspect right from the word 'go'.

West Indies and Ramdin have got a lot to ponder. They need Gayle, Lendl Simmons who can take the batting form to the opposition. When players like Bravo, Naraine and Pollard are in the team, the complexion of the team will surely change.

Thus for the sake of cricket staying in West Indies for a longer duration, it is high time someone in the West Indies Management raise their head, bring the Management and the IPL players into one common platform and make these gentlemen play for West Indies Test team.

Sabina Park awaits Aussies clinical performance

Having completed the 1st Test inside 3 days, Aussies will look for a more clinical performance with the bat especially from the top order, as they take on the West Indies in their 2nd and final Test of the Test Series played in West Indies.

Aussies will want to make a statement to the Englishmen before the start of the Ashes series and would certainly want a better performance to rout the West Indies under three days again. 

Aussies will likely to retain the same XI but for Rogers who will miss out due to his injury. With Rogers missing out, Shaun Marsh will yet be a given an opportunity to cement his place for the ashes series.

West Indies, but for Bishoo, does not head in the right direction and lack of support from the other end meant that Ramdin had to settle with what resources he had to have in the 1sr Test. 

West Indies have been surviving with the aggressive intent in their 80s and 90s. With Lendl Simmons, Sunil Naraine and Chris Gayle not available even for selection, Simmon, the coach, has lots of job on his hand. 

Firstly, he needs to desperately rope in Dwayne Bravo, Pollard, Lendl Simmons, Naraine and Chris Gayle into the reckoning and forcing them to play a test match. Till such time, this happens, one can continue to see a skilled side drowning further in the face of adversity.

But for now, Simmons needs to ensure that the shot selection in the 2nd test match is much better and so is the catching.

The pitch at Sabina Park will offer more turn than what we saw in the 1st Test match. Yet, the West Indies might can go in with an unchanged attack..

New Look India play for ICC Rank

The one-off test match to be played at Fatullah, will be exciting in many ways - 

Firstly, to see Kohli as the full time captain. Secondly, to see Bhajji bowl in tandem with Ashwin. Thirdly, to see Litton Dass to keep wickets in his debut match and lastly to see grass on the wicket.

Kohli, off late has been rubbing his energy to all his team members. This was very much evident when players like Rahane and Bhajji commented before the start of this series. That the BCCI has sent the full strength is in itself a great sign that they are looking to top the ICC Test Rankings with a heavy schedule ahead this season.Thus the full strength team comprising of Vijay, Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli, Rohit, Rahanae is a dreadful combination for any opposition and more to Mushfiqur Rahman. He already  has a huge challenge ahead of him even before the test match has begun - taking 20 wickets is really going to be nightmare

Though it is bound by grass, the pitch is unlikely to show wear and tear atleast for the 1st 2 days. The team that wins the toss will surely elect to bat first and make the most of the situation. 

My Playing XI:
India: Murali Vijay, Dhawan, Pujara, Kohli, Rahane, Rohit, Wridhmaan Saha, Aswhin, Bhajji, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar

Bangladesh XI:
Tamim Iqbal, Kayes, Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib ul Hasan, Dass, Sarkar, Hom, Hussain, Islam, Shahid

1st test:England Vs New Zealand at Lords: Confident NZ starts favorites

New Zealand have been on the upswing since the arrival of McCullum at the helm of affairs. With World Cup performance to boot, New Zealanders will feel akin to their home weather and conditions while facing England at Lords

England, on the other hand, are in their opposite direction. With an early exit in the World Cup campaign followed by a dampened performance against West Indies and with a series of off-field instances, England has been completely at the back foot. 

For ever shouldering the reins is Anderson and with his inconsistent backup from the other end with the likes of Broad and Stokes, it is going to be a tougher proposition even to draw a blank in the first Test.

Given all these background, the toss will be crucial for both the captains. With the pitch offering to be dry for all 5 days and with swinging conditions expected for the 1st few sessions, captains winning the toss would elect to bowl and claim the zest for the remainder of the series.

On paper, New Zealand starts favorites. With ever reliable Southee, Boult, Anderson and Henry to offer swinging support, McCullum, will be tempted to bowl first on winning the toss as the English's top order is vulnerable to these conditions.

My Playing XI:

England: Cook (c), Lyth, Ballance, Bell, Root, Moeen Ali, Stokes, Buttler(w), Broad, Jordan, Anderson

NewZealand: Latham, Guptill, Williamson, Taylor, McCullum(c), Anderson, Watling(w), Craig, Henry, Southee, Boult

Aussies set to lift the World Cup 2015

We had predicted on March 7th 2015 that Australia will face Newzealand in the finals on March 29th at Melbourne and it turned out to be true... (Please read: Our Quarter final, Semi-Final, Final World Cup Predictions)

Aussies are all set to lift the coveted World Cup title and retain the No. 1 spot in World Cup ODI rankings when they face New Zealand tomorrow for the finals at Melbourne.

Aussies have peaked at the the right time in this World Cup series and there is no stopping them to clinch this trophy.

The difference in the outcome of this match will be the on 3 left arm quicks in Starc, Johnson and Faulkner. Hazlewood, Watson and Maxwell will provide the supporting role with substance. 

There is also a matured and sensible batting approach from Aussies in Finch, Smith and the rest have learnt to play around these two batsmen. Watto, has also stuck form at the right time.

NZ, has been playing on smallish grounds so far in this tournament and suddenly playing at the biggest ground will surely take lots of toll - Yes, the generally short boundary sixes in NZ will be accepted gleefully by the deep fielders in Melbourne.

NZ has also got only 1 left arm quick in Boult and the are others are found to be ordinary outside their home conditions.

Go Aussies for the final kill....

2nd Semi-Final: India Vs Aussies: Aussies set to run India down

Australia take on India in what is going to be a thriller of a match.That it will be played at SCG will give Indian fans to think that Indian spinners are going to run Aussies down,since it will be the same surface that Aussies played against Sri Lanka. 

But wait... Aussies have other ideas...this pitch that has been rolled very well does and look very hard and the groundsmen says that it will be a belter of a match. Aussies will focus more on control and weakness of the Indian batsmen. We have been mentioning in our column that how left arm quicks have played an important role in this tournament and by the way Aussies have them in plenty - Johnson, Starc and Faulkner. The trio plus Hazlewood is enough to torment Indians and move to the finals.

Aussies will roar this match and sledging will be at its peak. They will target Virat Kohli to remove him early and unfortunately India needs Virat till the end and his emotions have to be in check.

Indian fast bowlers have performed exceedingly well and along with Ashwin have formed part of  the indispensables so far in this series. Will this combination be under threat? Yes, to a large extent. With Warner, Finch, Smith, Clarke, Maxwell and Watto and along with it their aggression, it takes more than the bowling skill to keep Aussies in check.

Nothing should take away India's performance from a come-from-behind victories after their miserable show in Test Series and Tri-Series not so long ago.

So, this match could end up being more of a mind game than being physical alone.

1st Semi-Final: SA Vs NZ: Upbeat NZ all set to secure 1st final debut

Neither teams have experienced the ultimate World Cup ecstasy. But, based on current form and agility, the fingers point to New Zealand to make their 1st ever World Cup Final debut.

NZ will be wary of the fact that they blew it away against Pakistan in a semi-final World Cup clash in 1999. This World Cup has seen resurgence of Black cats with the performance of Boult, Williamson, McCullum, Corey Anderson, Vettori and now Guptill have all taken the team to the situation they are in today. All NZ would need is continuation of this form for 2 more matches.

The Bowlers are in form with the home conditions plus left-arm pace bowling of Boult who is penetrative and accurate has been a nuisance to the batsmen throughout the tournament. He could be the difference of the two sides and has already taken 19 wickets at a meagre 3.81 runs an over. Vettori, without any notice has taken 15 wickets at 4.21 an over with Anderson 11 wickets and Southee 15 wickets, forming the total formidable bowling lineup.

The batsmen are in good nick too - Guptill has been their latest hero after his heroics against West Indies and is their leading scorer with 498 runs, followed by McCullum 269, Williamson 216  and Anderson 173. If McCullum adds to the bite at the top of the innings, NZ can be scoring very heavily. 

The bowler that NZ need to worry about facing will be Imran Tahir who has taken 15 wickets at 4.20, with Morkel 14 at 4.04 and Steyn 10 at 4.50. Imran Tahir has bowled with a lot of energy and purpose in this tournament. It is the economy rate that should worry South Africa. 

This tournament has seen batsmen struggling against left arm bowling. But unfortunately, their left armer Parnell, has been well short of confidence. 

Amla, other than the century against associate country, have performed below par and this should be a cause of concern for the Proteas. It has thus been AB all the way scoring about 417 runs in this tournament.

With the wicket offering bounce and pace, South Africa are going into this match with only 3 pacers and 2 spinners. They cannot offered to add the fourth fast bowler in Philander as this will affect the overall balance of this team.

This is a big pressure situation. NZ is all about courage, determination and aggression, playing in front of their home crowd. This will have a final word against the team who is capable of being skeptical, wilt-under-pressure. 

Weather:

It looks bright and can expect a full day's play tomorrow.

My Playing XI:

NZ:

McCullum, Guptill, Williamson, Taylor, Elliot, Anderson, Ronchi, Vettori, Mills, Southee, Boult

SA: 

Amla, de Kock, Faf du Plesis, AB, Duminy, Rossow, Miller, Abbott, Steyn, Morkel, Imran Tahir

4th ICC QF: NZ Vs WI: Aggressive NZ all set to derail WI

New Zealand will be eyeing for their 7th consecutive win of this edition of the ICC World Cup.

They will be facing West Indies at Wellington tomorrow.

Looks like there is a slim chance of hope for West Indies to rope in Gayle for tomorrow's match as he has still not recovered from the injury. With 93 runs scored in six matches, Dwayne Smith might get his last chance of his career at the cost of Gayle's injury.

The batting already looks grim and without Gayle at the top, this team would collapse like a pack of cards when they face the music of Southee, Boult and Mline.

After the last match against Ireland in the group stage, Benn should get a nod ahead of Kemar Roach so as to have a more balanced side for WI on the bowling front.

Corey Anderson has been an important part of the NZ package by scoring 158 runs and at the same time capturing 10 wickets. McCullum has sorted the 5th bowler issue by using Anderson and that to me, looks a more balanced side. Vettori with his agile and experience has come good with some great performance with the ball.

NZ will continue showing their aggressive intend and make the most by advancing to Semi-Finals.

Weather

The weather will look great through out the day with no shower predicted.

My Playing XI:

New Zealand:

McCullum, Guptill, Williamson, Ross Taylor, Elliot, Anderson, Ronchi, Vettori, Southee, Mline, Boult

West Indies:

Gayle/Smith, Carter, Charles, Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Ramdin, Sammy, Russel, Holder, Taylor, Benn

3rd WC QF: Home conditions and crowd favor Aussies

It is going to be Australia's all-round display Vs Pakistan's batting power led by Sarfraz Ahmed.

But, the absence of Irfan is certainly going to hurt Pakistan with his skid and steep bounce and this will cause a huge blow to Pakistan's progress to the Semi-final.

With the pitch prepared for this match appears tinged with green, seamer Ehsan Adil will be preferred to Yasir Shah. Aussies don't like to play wrist spinner and by not choosing Yasir Shah could be huge bonus for the Aussies. 

The top order for Pakistan is unlikely to change. If Aussies are able to remove Sarfraz quickly, their batting display will crumble under pressure, similar to what we saw against India, West Indies and Zimbabwe.

Aussies, on the other hand, are wary of the fact that the conditions at Adelaide will suit them more. Warner and Finch have had a quiet tournament thus far and it is the right time to prove their mettle. Their batting prowess sees them till No.10. 

Left arm bowlers have continuously threatened in this tournament and Aussies have got 3 of them for pace and bounce and this proven method is going to be too much for Pakistan. 

Surely, an Indo-Aussies Semi-final is on the cards.

Weather:

The weather will look fine through out the day with 28 degrees.

My Playing XI:

Australia: Warner, Finch, Smith, Clarke, Watson, Maxwell, Haddin, Faulkner, Johnson, Starc, Cummins

Pakistan: Shehzad, Sarfraz, Sohail, Misbah, Umar Akmal, Maqsood, Afridi, Wahab, Sohail, Rahat, Eshan

India expected to go past Bangla in style

The planner must have expected England to be playing in front of the MCG crowd for the 2nd Quarter Final clash and it turned out to be Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has played a game against Sri Lanka in this very ground during the qualifying round. They had lost the match due to problems in field placings and dropped catches.

Bangladesh has fared very well in the qualifying rounds and they deserve to be in the last eight. They have played some fearless cricket. To beat England as they did at Adelaide was quite convincing.  They have batters who have been in the side for more than half a decade and on top of that they have Mahmuddulah who has scored 2 centuries in a row that has taken the team to where they are right now. Tthey have Sarkar, Shakib-Al-Hasan and Mushaquir Rahman who have all had decent series so far in this World Cup. It is now the turn of Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes to show their class. Tamim Iqbal has already been a proven customer during the 1st World Cup tie against India in 2011.

With the return of Mashrafe Mortaza to the team, their bowling department will look slightly stronger. 

But all these are not going to stop India from going past them in style, as Bangladesh team is going to face the defending champion on the same ground, where Sri Lanka beat them quite convincingly.

India have topped the group with some excellent individual performance and they have played as an unit. It is time for Kohli and Rohit Sharma to show their mettle once again.

I would have Axar Patel as a possible replacement to Jadeja, as Jadeja was found wanting in most of the matches.

Pitch

The pitch for the quarter final is the same one that was used in the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka tie in the group game. Its expected to be flat and full of runs.

Weather

Some showers are forecast for Thursday afternoon and evening and even this comes in the way, India will still come on top because of their full points secured in the group games

My Playing XI:

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal, Kayes, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahman, Sabbir Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Mashrafe Mortaza, Rubel Hossain, Taskin Ahmed

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Dhoni, Ashwin, Axar Patel, Shami, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav

Chokers tag apart, South Africa stands firm favorites for their quarter final clash

It is going to be a battle between Sri Lanka's top order batting and South Africa's middle order batting, going by the way things have shaped so far..

With their back against the wall, especially, after their loss to India and Pakistan in their group stages, it looks like SA have started to rebuild their team .whereas SL have been in fine form with the bat through out the tournament. 

SL's main weakness is their bowling attack and this could be the deciding factor for advancing to the next stage of the tournament. SL have lost its matches to New Zealand and Australia because of their lack of quality bowling options.

Stacked with all rounders have tasted SL with both success and failures. Here too, they are stacked with all-rounders in Dilshan, Mathews, Perara, Mendis. A tight games such as these, there will be a need for a quality player.

It has been Dilshan, Sangakarra and Thirumanne all the way through this series and even if two of them fail, the other batsmen will be exposed quite early and that will surely be a ploy that SA will want to adapt to.

With the chance of Herath missing the quarter-final looking 50% grim, it will cause an alarm bell for SL further badly and more so, because, this match is to be played at Sydney.

On the other hand, it has been a quite tournament for Hashim Amla and de Kock. If that changes, then SA can look for a huge score. With AB, Millers, Faf du Plessis, Russowv, and Duminey to follow, SA will have a great day with the bat.

With the pitch to offer some assistance to the slow bowlers, Imran Tahir and Duminey will be a good bowling option to tie SL down.

I only pray that AB does not bring himself to bowl.

SA are wary of the 'chokers' tag and their loss to India and Pakistan comes under this umbrella. No doubt, yet, tomorrow's match, weather permitting, should not have any cause of anxiety for SA as their top batsmen are due for a big score and their bowling attack are much stronger than that of SL.

Weather for tomorrow's match

There is a chance of rain tomorrow, and according to the rules, if this match is tied or no result, then the team that finished in the higher position in the pool stage shall proceed to the semi-finals. And even in this case, SA are firm favorites as their NRR is higher than that of SL.

Toss factor

Toss should not be a concern as Sydney has seen teams chasing in excess of 300 plus. But, again, SA will be wary of chokers tag, so they would prefer to set a target.

My Playing XI: 

SA: Hashim Amla, de Kock, Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, Miller, Duminey, Russowv, Philander, Morkel, Steyn, Imran Tahir

SL: Dilshan, Thirumanne, Sangakarra, Jayawardne, Kusal Perara, Mathews, Thissera Perrara, Prasanna, Kulasekara, Malinga, Lakmal