Thursday, March 10, 2011

England re-group to face Bangladesh

The Englishmen would have mixed feelings in their camp; it’s been an action packed week for them. The loss to Ireland hurt their pride and they bounced back to produce a splendid performance to beat the Proteas. Their bowling has been ordinary throughout the World Cup and came across as their weakness, but out of nowhere Stuart Broad bowled an inspiring spell picking 4 wickets and ably supported by a 2 wicket haul by Anderson. The Proteas were bowled out for 165; post that, grim news for England as they lose Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad for the rest of the tournament. Broad suffered a side strain in the match against the Proteas and Pietersen has been detected with a hernia and returns home for surgery.

England are in the thick of things and against Bangladesh the replacements Tremlett and Morgan get the ideal opportunity to settle in before their crucial match against the Windies. Bangladesh on the other hand is shell shocked after their dismal performance against the West Indies and would look at re-grouping themselves. Playing at home they would like to showcase a better performance and Shakib Al Hasan will expect nothing less from his side. As expected the Castrol Predictor forecasts a comfortable 70-30 win for England based on their recent head to head record between the two sides.

A lot of Irish cream for the Windies

We’re at the halfway stage in the World Cup and we have been treated to a few surprises. It’s difficult to pick a team that is in sublime form and is perceived to be unbeatable. Unlike the reign the Kangaroos had in the earlier World Cups. The 27^th match is to be held at Mohali between a passionate Irish team and an inconsistent West Indies side. Ireland has been competitive in all their encounters so far and if they can spring another upset then they will be very much in the reckoning for a quarterfinal berth. Being aware of their potential the Windies will be on their toes and would like to be rubbish all claims that they are at the lowest ebb of their cricket. Kemar Roach has coerced the audiences to take notice of them with superlative bowling spells against Netherlands and Bangladesh.

This match could turn out to be an interesting one as both teams have some strengths and have the potential to be competitive. If Chris Gayle fires at the top then it would dent the morale of the Irish as he can single handedly take the game away. The West Indies have talent in their side but they need common sense to prevail and be more tactical in their approach to the game. The Castrol Predictor forecasts a close win, 58-42, in favour of the Windies due to slight difference in team strengths. It could turn out to be a see-saw battle if the Irish continue strong and give the Windies a run for their money.