CWC

Coaches World Cup? What has been going on with the coaches has been of more interest at this tournament than the cricket itself. First there was Woolmer's murder and all the speculation that went with it and I suppose this will be still there few weeks from now when the world cup is done and dusted. Next there was all the debris from the Chappell fallout which also will have some more repercussions over the coming few weeks. Now the next storm rising seems to be, "What Will Whatmore Do?" Already there are uneasy movements starting in Bangladesh trying to retain him. Moody has also commented on other jobs and probably in the next few days Fletcher will be the coach no more. Maybe they should give the trophy to the last coach standing. They have provided the larger part of the entertainment anyway.

Captains' Logs

1. "Army of Vaughn: Winless" by Vaughn
2. "St. Patrick's Day Massacre" by Inzamam
3. "Lara Hara" by Lara in Urdu (Lara Lost)
4. "Bangle Bungle" by Dravid

Fletcher's Autobiography

After the World Cup experience here are the names he is considering for his book.
1. Duncan Donuts or How Many Important Games We Won
2. Confessions: I Took Woolmer's Missing Manuscript
3. Sartorial Selections
4. Charismaless Campaign
5. Freddie, Take Me With You on the Pedalo
6. Losing Ugly
7. We Shall Fight Them ... Not
8. I Met My Gallipoli
9. Our Finest Hour: That's the Best We Could Do
10. Shameful Fight, Shameful Flight

Chappell's Autobiography

Here are the ten names Chappell is considering for his autobiography on the Indian experience
10. Vicious 2007
9. Gang and Gully Warfare: How I Lost the Battle for the Hearts and Minds
8. Chappell Desecrated
7. O Brother Where Art Thou?
6. Wright was Right
5. PowerPoint to Powerless Point
4. Power, Pawar, Powar: I am Confused
3. Quit India Movement: Why I had to Leave
2. Habits of Unsuccessful Coaches
1. Confessions: I Took Woolmer's Manuscript on Coaching but it was too Late

England's End

With todays defeat to Sri Lanka, England must now consider their world cup realistically over (Their overall odds falling to 33/1). It also practically puts Sri Lanka in the semifinals. Had they lost today, two such close losses may have proved emotionally crippling. West Indies also, though mathematically still alive, are also done. Some of the rest of the games will decide the matchups in the semifinals, the rest are now so much junk.

The Last Good Day

The last good day of cricket in this world cup was more than two weeks ago when Pakistan lost to Ireland and India fell to Bangladesh. There have been may be three games of some interest since then. Much more of note has been off the field. First Woolmer's death, Inzamam's retirement; the drama whether Pakistan will stay on and play its final game; the revelation that Woolmer was murdered and the rampant speculation and finger pointing in its aftermath; Now the fallout from India's fall seems to be taking center stage nearing its crescendo with a Tendulkar-Chappell dual on the horizon. Before this is done and the second salvo of the Woolmer case is over (Pakistani investigator leaving for Jamaica) one can only hope that the Super Eights are over and some interesting cricket can start.

Interesting Games

On March 25th I wrote about the likely upsets in the Super Eights. After seven games into the Super Eights it looks likely that apart from one or two other games these may turn out to be the only exciting games. So here is my list of most likely upsets.

For the purposes of upsets I will consider
TIER I: Australia, South Africa
TIER II: Sri Lanka, New Zealand
TIER III: West Indies, England
TIER IV: Bangladesh, Ireland

Most likely upsets
For TIER I teams.
1. South Africa-Sri Lanka
2. Australia-New Zealand
For TIER II teams unlikely. However Sri Lanka-New Zealand game might be crucial for who will face Australia and who will face South Africa in semis. If they had their wish I think Sri Lanka wants to face South Africa and New Zealand wants to face Australia.
TIER III teams
1. England-Bangladesh
If Bangladesh can finish sixth or better they should consider their campaign a very good success.
For England and West Indies reaching the semis would be a huge success.
For Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand anything less than a semi spot would be a disappointment.

Super Yawn

The Super Eights at the Cricket World Cup have been a big yawn. Of the seven games so far only one has been somewhat interesting (South Africa- Sri Lanka). The margins in the rest are indicative of the problem. The smallest victory by wickets was by seven wickets, by runs 48 (the other two were by above a hundred runs). The first round had some interesting games with all the upsets. Nothing interesting would have been lost had the tournament proceeded to the semifinals directly.