EVERYBODY WARMED UP

The warm-up matches are nearly over and almost all the teams have given a run to each of their squad members. One warm up game remains though; it is England versus Pakistan at Fatullah to be played on the 18th. All the teams now fly to Dhaka to attend the opening ceremony at the Bangabandhu national stadium as we have a one day break from the on field action.

Today I will have a look at all the team’s warm up performances and analyze the results. I will point out the positives and negatives to emerge plus the players who starred.

AUSTRALIA: The Australians played their two warm up games at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore. They played on a pitch that had good bounce and carry for the fast bowlers and massive turn for the spinners. The two losses would not be great for the team confidence but at the same time they do not need to worry too much. They have just arrived from Australia after beating England 6-1 and have been very consistent in the ODI format over the last two years. Two minor blimps are not signals to press the panic button. However, they do have questions before them. Firstly, they haven’t been able to play spin bowling very well. Their batting line-up crumbled against India the other day and against South Africa they weren’t able to get momentum when Peterson, Botha and Tahir were bowling. Secondly, their own spin bowling has to get better. Krejza gets good turn but can drop it short at times and Smith isn’t really preferred for his bowling these days. The positive for them is the return of Ricky Ponting. He has batted well in the two games and got two fifties. This should do his confidence a world of good.

INDIA: If the first warm up against South Africa was won by the bowling, the batting did the trick in the second. There were a few concerns about the Indian batting after the first warm up game but they have been relatively eased after the performance against New Zealand. Against Australia, with the exception of Sehwag and Pathan nobody looked like staying in the middle but all that changed at Chennai when Gambhir, Kohli, Raina and Dhoni all came good. Gambhir and Kohli laid the foundation by ensuring wickets don’t fall in the middle overs and after they went back to the pavilion Dhoni and Raina were at their destructive best. The question now arises regarding who will play, Yuvraj or Raina? Yuvraj did not bat against New Zealand but he has been doing very well as a left arm spinner. We have to wait and watch if this will help him pip Raina for the spot. The spin bowling is doing great, no problems with that. The problem is the seam bowling. Nehra, Sreesanth and Munaf have been expensive and only Sreesanth has looked really effective. Dhoni said that the fast bowlers were going easy in order to avoid niggles but with Zaheer coming back who will he drop from the three mentioned above.

SRI LANKA: The Lankan Lions have looked in great control in the two warm up games. The first game against the Netherlands was a walk in the park for them. All the batsmen got runs and the bowlers were amongst the wickets. Their first major test was against the West Indies where they conceded 281 but Malinga, Murali, Mendis and Herath bowled well and were amongst the wickets. All their batsman got decent starts with Sangakkara, Dilshan and Samaraweera making fifties. This solves one problem for them. They can choose Samaraweera over Silva as the former has got fifties in both games. Dilshan is looking in ominous form and I wouldn’t like to bowl to him when he is in such knick. Strong start for the Lankans, let us see how they will perform in the big matches. I think it will be a huge task to beat them.

SOUTH AFRICA: Like the Lankans South Africa have looked in great control of their two warm up games. Their first assignment was against Zimbabwe which they won by eight wickets. Their second game was against the Aussies in which their bowlers were fantastic. The thing that strikes me is that all their spinners have been very effective in the two warm up games. Botha, Peterson and Tahir have been great as they have picked up wickets and haven’t conceded too many runs. In the final eleven, I think Botha and Peterson would get the nod mainly because of their batting abilities. The batting has been about the top order as they have chased down the two targets easily. Graeme Smith, Duminy and Kallis have looked in good touch plus the runs are continuing to flow from Amla’s bat. He is their key for them in this World Cup. The fast men have been at their brilliant best with Dale Styen leading the way. With batsmen in form, good spinners and a very threatening bowling attack, the Proteas look good to shed the “chokers” tag. Will they?

WEST INDIES: Inconsistency has been associated with the West Indies team for quite a while now. Some batsmen have looked good in one game while the other have done well in the other. The positive thing for them is that Sarwan, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo go into the tournament with at least one good hit in the middle. If Chanderpaul and Barath can get back form then their batting looks strong. Russell and Roach were good against Kenya but they would have to do the same against the bigger teams. Sri Lanka chased down 282 with relative ease against them which highlights the fact that the men from the Caribbean are struggling with their bowling. Benn was good against Lanka picking up three wickets and I think he should be selected ahead of Miller in the final eleven.

NEW ZEALAND: The Kiwi’s haven’t been in good form for a long time now and that has continued in the warm up games. They amassed the runs against Ireland but could not bowl them out cheaply. In the process Ireland reached 279. Their bowling struggled against India as well where they could not break the partnership in the middle overs and couldn’t prevent the outburst from Dhoni and Raina later on. Their batting has been fairly decent with Guptill, McCullum, Ryder and Franklin getting runs. Styris, Oram and Vettori can contribute with the bat anytime. The only question is, if they are able to set a total will they be able to defend with their bowling. They have some good bowlers but they haven’t been in their best form. Most of their bowlers are attacking wicket takers and if they are able to get some form as the tournament progresses then I see New Zealand surpassing various people’s expectations.

BANGLADESH: Bangladesh walked past Canada in the first of their warm up games but were halted by Pakistan in the second. Bangladesh have a set of very talented cricketers who need to find consistency. Against Canada their bowlers i.e. the spinners and the pacers alike were very effective. With a paltry total they eased home losing just one wicket. Against Pakistan they conceded 285 but some of their bowlers were amongst the wickets. The batsmen were not able to handle the Pakistan bowling and feel way short of the total. I again emphasize the strength of their left arm spinners who have done well in the warm ups. Overall, Bangladesh have to find the consistency and ensure that all their departments perform on a given day.

England and Pakistan are yet to play their final warm up so it would be appropriate to review their performances after the 18th. England got past Canada today. A man called Rizwan Cheema bludgeoned 93 of 60 balls which included five big hits. Didn’t I pick him as a player to watch out for?

I am really looking forward to the opening ceremony. It is great to see all the teams dressed up and standing together holding their flags high. The ceremony will be lit up by performances from Bryan Adams, Shankar-Ehsan-Loy and Sonu Nigam. Lots in store…Can’t wait any longer….