Right, that’s it from me. Pool B is shaping up to be absolutely fascinating. And it continues on Wednesday with UAE v Ireland, a game Ireland must win to maintain their quarter-final trajectory. I’ll be back here for that, but in the meantime stick around on site for the reports and reaction from Canberra. But for now, cheerio!
West Indies win by 73 runs (D/L method)
A comprehensive win for the West Indies, thanks to that incredible record-shattering assault from Chris Gayle. But Zimbabwe should not be too disheartened, even if their death bowling remains a major concern.
WICKET! Chatara b Miller (Zimbabwe 289 all out)
Miller returns in an attempt to end this final pair, who are just beginning to irritate West Indies. He flings down a couple of wides and then gets flipped over midwicket for a couple by Chatara, but finally gets a straight one to beat the bat to bring things to an end.
44th over: Zimbabwe 285-9 (Chatara 14, Kamungozi 6) Chatara (whose name, when pronounced by Allan Border, sounds like one of the Thundercats) cuts Gayle away for four as the bowler drops a tad short. And a few balls later the No11 fetches another dragged-down effort and carts it to cow corner for four more. Belting shot, and probably time for Gayle to take a rest.
43rd over: Zimbabwe 276-9 (Chatara 9, Kamungozi 2) Chatara top-edges Taylor over the keeper’s head for another couple, then dabs behind square for a single. A couple of balls later he gives Taylor the charge and only just manages to get himself out of the way.
42nd over: Zimbabwe 271-9 (Chatara 5, Kamungozi 1) Gayle once more and he fires down a couple of wides. He gets a few opportunities at the No11 Kamungozi, but can’t get the wicket.
41st over: Zimbabwe 266-9 (Chatara 4, Kamungozi 0) Zimbabwe shouldn’t be too disheartened by this. It’s been a very decent effort from the batsmen.
WICKET! Chigumbura c Gayle b Taylor 21 (Zimbabwe 266-9)
Chigumbura has played nicely here – he’s pretty handy for a No8. And, obviously, just as I type that he drives straight to (of course) Chris Gayle at wide mid off.
40th over: Zimbabwe 262-8 (Chatara 2, Chigumbura 19) Gayle continues. We have a quick run-out review from a scurried single, but Chigumbura is home safely. The Zimbabwe captain then tonks Gayle down to cow corner for four despite a valiant diving attempt by Carter to make the save.
39th over: Zimbabwe 256-8 (Chatara 1, Chigumbura 14) Chatara starts to head to the wicket, then realises he’s forgotten his helmet. Taylor makes a point of welcoming him with a couple of bouncers.
WICKET! Panyangara c Ramdin b Taylor (Zimbabwe 254-8)
Too good for Panyangara this. Taylor wobbles one outside off stump and the batsman can only dangle an uncertain prod at the ball. A glove through to the keeper and that’s the end of that.
38th over: Zimbabwe 254-7 (Panyangara 4, Chigumbura 14) Gayle again and those remaining in the ground wait for more magic. Do they have it here? Chigumbura is hit on the pad, the appeal goes up, but the umpire says no. West Indies, reading the script, opt for a review. It looks to be turning past leg stump but Hawkeye shows about 45% of the ball hitting. Not enough. Chigumbura celebrates with a huge six wide of long on. Cracking shot.
37th over: Zimbabwe 244-7 (Panyangara 2, Chigumbura 6) Taylor once more, and he’s looking to use the yorker as much as possible. Chigumbura does well to dig out one for a single and Panyangara follows suit.
36th over: Zimbabwe 240-7 (Panyangara 0, Chigumbura 3) Brilliant stuff from Gayle who now has figures of 2-0-5-2 to add to his 215 from 147 balls earlier.
WICKET! Matsikenyeri lbw b Gayle 19 (Zimbabwe 237-7)
Chris Gayle Chris Gayles. And Chris Gayle traps Matsikenyeri Chris Gayle in front of the Chris Gayles. The umpires finger goes Chris Gayle. Chris. Gayle.
35th over: Zimbabwe 237-6 (Matsikenyeri 18, Chigumbura 3) The TV broadcasters keep flashing up the “at this stage the West Indies were …” graphics in an attempt to prove that “this game is ON” but Gayle’s remarkable assault in the last 10 overs makes those comparisons irrelevant. Zimbabwe are still battling away though – Matsikenyeri heaves Russell out to cow corner for four. Nine from the over.
34th over: Zimbabwe 228-6 (Matsikenyeri 10, Chigumbura 2) The Zimbabwean captain comes to the crease faced with the prospect of Gayle and His Golden Arm. Four from the over.
WICKET! Ervine b Gayle 52 (ZImbabwe 226-6)
Joy of joys, here comes Chris Gayle. And, of course, he’s got a wicket. Ervine looks to sweep and is bowled behind his pads.
33rd over: Zimbabwe 224-5 (Matsikenyeri 10, Ervine 51) Russell returns but the Zimbabwean foot is still on the gas. Matsikenyeri finds the rope for the first time, then Ervine brings up his half century with a well-placed pull. If you missed it earlier on, there was a brief rain delay so Zimbabwe are chasing a revised 363 from 48 overs. They need another 139 runs from 90 balls.
32nd over: Zimbabwe 213-5 (Matsikenyeri 4, Ervine 46) Darren Sammy trundles into the attack for the first time. Ervine, very much on the attack, plants his front foot and flicks him to square leg for a couple then finds the gap on the cover boundary for four. Eight from the over.
31st over: Zimbabwe 205-5 (Matsikenyeri 4, Ervine 39) Miller returns. Ervine takes Zimbabwe to the 200 mark by stepping away to leg and driving firmly through the covers for two. Then there’s a huge reprieve as a lofted straight drive goes wrong – Taylor, running round from long on, drops a fairly straightforward chance on the boundary and the ball plops apologetically over the rope for four.
30th over: Zimbabwe 197-5 (Matsikenyeri 3, Ervine 32) Shot! In fact, it’s almost shot of the day from Ervine. This is majestic – a stride down the pitch then an imperious flick of his toe to send the ball whistling into the stand at midwicket. It followed a neat drive for four. Matsikenyeri, meanwhile, is close to playing on but escapes with a single, and Ervine latches onto a short ball and pulls meatily for four more.
29th over: Zimbabwe 181-5 (Matsikenyeri 2, Ervine 17) With blood in the water, Holder brings back Jermain Taylor, who beats Matsikenyeri with a beautiful yorker then wangs down a dismal leg-side wide. And another. Matsikenyeri looks skittish in the extreme here, but he gets off the mark with an edge down to third man that would’ve been gobbled up by second slip.
If you only looked at the run-rates, Zimbabwe not doing too badly Zim 177/5 http://t.co/PyWEmpSuM4 #WIvZIM pic.twitter.com/5A9VGFJBON
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 24, 2015
28th over: Zimbabwe 177-5 (Matsikenyeri 0, Ervine 17) The required rate is up over nine an over now, but this has been a very decent effort thus far from Zimbabwe. Raza, Taylor and Williams have all impressed and now Ervine has settled nicely. It’s going to be a losing effort, but they’ve shown enough to suggest they’ll be a factor in this group.
WICKET! Williams c Smith b Holder 76 (Zimbabwe 177-5)
That’s that. Holder continues and he maintains the nagging, awkward length that has served him well so far. And he’s bagged his third wicket. Another well-directed short ball finds the top edge of Williams’s pull and Smith takes the easiest of easy catches at midwicket.
27th over: Zimbabwe 174-4 (Williams 75, Ervine 15) Samuels enters his ninth over. Of the 77 played in this game, he’s batted or bowled in 59 of them. Ervine sweeps firmly for four – it’s been a very productive shot for Zimbabwe in this innings – then pulls hard for four more as Samuels drops far too short.
26th over: Zimbabwe 164-4 (Williams 74, Ervine 6) Holder brings himself back into the attack. And he keeps the batsmen to three singles.
“If West Indies get the jitters they can always bring on Gayle,” writes Ian Copestake. “In fact today he should pick lottery numbers and announce them on Twitter. Share the magic, I say.”
25th over: Zimbabwe 161-4 (Williams 72, Ervine 5) Samuels again and he’s firing them in now. Williams dances down the track and clumps him back over his head for four, then pulls to cow corner for for two.
For comparison, after 25 overs West Indies were 107-1. That’s the sort of stat that twists your melon (man).
24th over: Zimbabwe 152-4 (Williams 64, Ervine 4) Russell overpitches and Williams clubs him sweetly wide of midwicket for four. A sweet clubbing – like being hit over the head with a bunch of daffodils. He pulls couple more out to Simmons on the boundary and after the over calls for the physio, who trots out and begins stretching his hamstrings. Williams’s hamstrings, obviously. Not his own. That would have been rather poor form.
23rd over: Zimbabwe 143-4 (Williams 57, Ervine 2) Samuels rattles through his seventh over in double-quick time. Just two singles bookend it.
In other news, Moeen Ali has just joined popular social media site ‘The Twitter’:
Pleased to have finally joined Twitter, time to get following people and see what the fuss is all about! #myfirstTweet
— Moeen Ali (@MoeenAli) February 24, 2015
22nd over: Zimbabwe 142-4 (Williams 56, Ervine 2) Just to bang on about that DRS decision for a moment, isn’t it a bit unsatisfactory that a decision on a catch like that can be overturned on fairly flimsy evidence, yet an the bowler can’t get an lbw decision overturned when the 49% ball is ripping out a stump?
Anyway, Taylor goes to a very fine half century with a chop behind square for two. It has taken him only 39 balls. Russell then over-steps for a front foot no ball. Williams fails to get the free hit off the square. But the bowler has overstepped while delivering so he gets another free hit. Which is a wide, so it’s another free hit. This time Ervine connects and thunks him down to long on for a one-bounce four.
21st over: Zimbabwe 130-4 (Williams 48, Ervine 1) It’s hard to see exactly why that not-out decision was overturned – the evidence looked far from conclusive to me, although there was the merest suggestion of a deflection from the thumb pad when looking from one angle. Ervine gets off the mark immediately with a rather skittish single. Williams then misses out with a ball that Samuels drags down, but he nabs a single from the last to keep the strike.
WICKET! Taylor c Ramdin b Samuels 37 (Zimbabwe 126-4)
Samuels continues and from the first Taylor gets a sweep wrong. The ball loops up and Ramdin collects. The fielders half appeal, half celebrate, but the umpire is unmoved. West Indies call for the review immediately and there’s a chance that it flicked the thumb on the way through to the main connection with Taylor’s forearm, but surely not enough evidence to overturn the decision? Oh, he’s given it. Well, that’s a bit of a surprise.
20th over: Zimbabwe 126-3 (Williams 45, Taylor 37) An over or two overdue, Holder has seen enough of Nikita Miller and Andre Russell enters the fray. He sends a bouncer whistling past Taylor’s ear. And with some well-directed short stuff he restricts the batsmen to just four from the over.
19th over: Zimbabwe 122-3 (Williams 42, Taylor 36) Samuels (4-0-27-0) continues and fizzes a couple in on Taylor’s toes, but Williams plants his front foot and clubs another sweep past square leg for four. He rattles on to 42 from 31 balls.
18th over: Zimbabwe 115-3 (Williams 36, Taylor 35) Taylor bottom-edges through the keeper’s legs for a single, and Williams follows it up with a quite glorious checked-drive for four more through extra cover. Another reverse sweep produces another boundary, Taylor this time making use of the shot.
There's serious batting talent in this Zimbabwe line-up. I still have them down to knock over a more fancied team. #CWC15
— Dileep Premachandran (@SpiceBoxofEarth) February 24, 2015
17th over: Zimbabwe 105-3 (Williams 31, Taylor 30) Another boundary off Samuels, with Williams clubbing him away to the cover boundary where the fielder just fails to keep his foot from the rope when making the stop. This pair are looking good …
… and cue inevitable collapse.
16th over: Zimbabwe 98-3 (Williams 26, Taylor 28) Miller continues. An escape for Williams as a huge top-edge on a sweep drops well short of the man at deep backward square. He celebrates the reprieve with a thunking reverse sweep for four. That takes this pair to the 50 partnership at better than a run a ball.
15th over: Zimbabwe 92-3 (Williams 20, Taylor 28) Shot! The left-handed Williams skips down the track and drives Samuels smartly through the covers for four. Whatever the gameplan for Zimbabwe, they certainly can’t allow Samuels to simply churn through his overs at five an over. Williams sweeps hard again for four more. Eleven from the over.
14th over: Zimbabwe 81-3 (Williams 10, Taylor 27) Brendan Taylor has settled very nicely now. He drives Miller over the top of cover for four, beating Sammy’s dive on the rope, then cuts for a single. Williams has also been fairly busy – only three dots so far in his innings.
13th over: Zimbabwe 73-3 (Williams 6, Taylor 21) Samuels has a fascinating bowling action – it’s as if his batteries are running out as he approaches the crease. Five quietly taken from the over and given the situation that’s fair enough. There strikes me as little point in slogging and slashing to 180-odd all out in a forlorn and misguided attempt to reach this target. Better to play the long game, surely, even if it goes against the buccaneering spirit.
12th over: Zimbabwe 68-3 (Williams 5, Taylor 19) Miller continues and he continues to find a bit of turn. The batsmen nudge and nurdle sensibly, before Taylor launches a lovely slog-sweep (although the word slog there does the shot a disservice) over deep backward square for six.
11th over: Zimbabwe 58-3 (Williams 3, Taylor 11) Marlon Samuels, fresh from what is surely the most overshadowed 133 in ODI history, makes it a double change. It’s right-arm-take-as-many-singles-as-you-like, and the batsmen add four to the total.
10th over: Zimbabwe 54-3 (Williams 2, Taylor 8) Nikita Miller gets a chance to turn his arm over and he finds a hint of turn. Taylor attempts a reverse-sweep and is a touch fortunate to see the ball spit away off his pad. They sprint through for a couple of leg byes.
9th over: Zimbabwe 50-3 (Williams 1, Taylor 7) Jerome Taylor continues and Brendan Taylor rather uncomfortably chops away for a couple then thick-edges for a single. Williams gets off the mark and brings up the Zimbabwe 50.
8th over: Zimbabwe 46-3 (Williams 0, Taylor 4) I had just written an entry pointing out how good Raza was looking, but also conceding that it was likely to be the OBO Kiss Of Death. If you put the mockers on someone and nobody reads it, does it still lead to their inevitable dismissal?
WICKET! Raza c Simmons b Holder 26 (Zimbabwe 46-3)
Taylor nurdles the first of Holder’s fourth over down to fine leg for a couple. Holder responds with a couple of deliveries so vicious they should be kept behind a perspex screen where they can ramble out fava beans and chianti. The second flies away for four leg byes, a third goes for two wides. Raza then steps away to leg and tries to flail the bowler over the top, but instead sends the ball straight down the throat of Lendl Simmons at wide third man.
7th over: Zimbabwe 36-2 (Raza 25, Taylor 1) Taylor rumbles in to Taylor and Taylor stays watchful as Taylor finds a tight line and length. Then Taylor drags one past Taylor’s pads for a wide and Taylor gets off the mark, squirting Taylor to third man for a single.
6th over: Zimbabwe 34-2 (Raza 25, Taylor 0) Shot! Sikander Raza has played a couple of beauties in this innings and this is another cracker – a tippy-toed backfoot drive to send Holder whistling away through the covers for four. And he follows it up with a heave to cow corner for four more!
5th over: Zimbabwe 26-2 (Raza 17, Taylor 0) With things already looking pretty bleak for Zimbabwe, Brendan Taylor, the class act in the batting lineup, strides to the crease.
The first in a (very) occasional series: Things You Might Be Better Or At Least As Good At As Chris Gayle. No1: 10-pin bowling:
I'm always a winner. Check C.. pic.twitter.com/YHGE1j0GPM
— Chris Gayle (@henrygayle) February 10, 2015
Updated
WICKET! Masakdza lbw b Taylor 5 (Zimbabwe 26-2)
Masakadza edges Taylor low in the direction of first slip, but he plays it with soft enough hands to see the ball drop safe, Raza smites another boundary over the top of cover, but then Masakadza is whupped on the pad bang in front. It could not be more out. Could. Not. Be. More. Out. But Masakadza wastes the review before the inevitable walk back to the pavilion dugout.
4th over: Zimbabwe 20-1 (Raza 12, Masakadza 4) Jason Holder once more. Raza, looking busy at the crease, scuttles through for a quick single. It’s a very tidy over from the captain, though, just two from it.
3rd over: Zimbabwe 18-1 (Raza 11, Masakadza 3) Taylor finishes his over with a couple of dots. The rain delay means Zimbabwe are now chasing 363 from 48 overs.
“I think Chris Gayle has just hit more 6s in one innings (16) than England have so far in this tournament (9),” writes Ian Reynolds. “Playing a different game.” True, although to be fair in that innings he scored more runs than any other player has in total in the tournament so far.
The players are back out. Good stuff.
“Any idea, if Zimbabwe get at least 20 overs, what the D-L required score for them might be?” wonders Ravi Nair.
Give me a second. Right so it’s Z(u, w) = Z0(w)[1 - exp{-b(w)u}] … carry the one …
So Zimbabwe’s revised target after 20 overs is … More Runs Than They Will Have.
The old rainfall radar shows a big blob of heavy stuff over Canberra at the moment, with a decent amount of lightning around, but there’s no giant band of precipitation in the vicinity. The good news for the West Indies is that the players should be back out fairly soon. The bad news for Zimbabwe is that the players should be back out fairly soon.
2.3 overs: Zimbabwe 18-1 (Raza 11, Masakadza 3) Taylor steams in again through what has become some pretty heavy drizzle in Canberra. And in fact the players are going off.
2nd over: Zimbabwe 16-1 (Raza 11, Masakadza 1) It was a decent ball that did for Chakabva, just seaming in a touch to beat the outside edge. It’s probably a bit superfluous to point out that it’s not exactly the start that Zimbabwe needed. Shot! Raza goes over the top of cover from the last for another boundary. That was glorious.
WICKET! Chakabva lbw b Holder 2 (Zimbabwe 11-1)
Here comes the captain, Jason Holder. His job – and he has been under a bit of pressure – has been made a lot easier by the Gayle knock. Raza, though, carts him square on the off side for the first boundary of the innings. There’s a big appeal as Chakabva is struck on the pad … nothing from the umpire. But the captain reviews. It’s straight enough; height is the only thing that can save the batsman … and it doesn’t. Hawkeye says the ball is hitting middle stump three-quarters of the way up.
1st over: Zimbabwe 6-0 (Raza 2, Chakabva 2) Raza gets off the mark straight away, dabbing Taylor firmly into the covers for one, and Chakabva nudges to deep square leg for a couple. Taylor, who took three for 15 against Pakistan in West Indies’ last game, then slings down a wide as he searches for his line.
Out come the players. Jerome Taylor with the new ball in hand …
Another Gayle stat: he has become the first man to score a Test 300, an ODI 200 and a T20 100.
A couple of things to occupy you in the innings break:
- Here’s the full story of Gayle’s blunderbuss of an innings.
- And here’s the latest edition of our Cricket World Cup podcast, featuring Geoff Lemon, Russell Jackson, Izzy Westbury and Chetan Narula.
Glad we talked on the podcast about how West Indies have no batting and are a shambles. http://t.co/S0xUZqdd64 #CWC15
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) February 24, 2015
Chris Gayle, ladies and gentlemen. So then, to recap:
- Gayle scored 215 from 147 balls – the third highest ODI score ever and the highest ever seen at a World Cup.
- Gayle’s first 100 took 105 balls. The second 100 took 34 balls.
- His 16 sixes in the innings equals the ODI record.
- And he survived a review by the skin of his teeth from his first ball.
- The partnership between Gayle and Marlon Samuels of 372 is the highest ever in an ODI.
- Samuels ended up with a piffling 133 off 156 balls.
- All of which means that the West Indies have set Zimbabwe 373 to win.
- So it was a pretty special knock.
It means the Windies have racked up scores of 304, 310 and 372 in their three games so far. They failed to defend the first against Ireland, comfortably held off Pakistan from the second … Zimbabwe might be better off forgetting about trying to win this and concentrating on getting as close to 300 as possible for run-rate purposes.
So that’s the end of the innings. I’m not sure where to begin, from 0-1, the West Indies finish with an enormous, surely insurmountable total. Chris Gayle, who was probably out to the first ball he faced, ends up with 215 from 147 balls. “I’m getting a bit of cramp now,” he says on the telly. “I needed a chance, got a break and made the most of it.” It’s the first ever World Cup double hundred. He equalled the ODI record for the most sixes.
Marlon Samuels, who partnered him, finishes with an excellent 133* from 156. He accelerated beautifully after starting so stodgily. Together, he and Gayle put on a world record 372 runs, scoring 100% of their sides runs. I’ve not checked, but surely they’re the first to do that in a completed 50 overs?
John Ashdown will be the man to guide you through the chase. Email him at john.ashdown@theguardian.com with all your thoughts on how Zimbabwe might do this. Because I haven’t the foggiest.
Cheers for reading and for all your emails. Bye!
Wicket! Gayle c Chigumbura b Masakadza 215
50th over: West Indies 372-2 (Samuels 133, Gayle 215) Chatara will bowl the final over of this remarkable innings. Can Gayle take the sixes record all for himself? He drives the first ball for a single down the ground, before Samuels pulls a short, slower ball from outside off, over mid-wicket for six. Ball four is carved over cover for two more; Gayle has two balls to take the record. A full toss is slogged up in the air, it lands safely for two and it’s a no-ball on height. Yep, well above waist-height that. Another full-toss, another no-ball on height and it’s pulled away for one. That’s a second no-ball on height, which means Chatara has to be withdrawn from the attack for the final two balls and Masakadza will have to bowl them. Samuels drives for a single to cover and Gayle will face the final ball. Can he get that 17th six? No. Rubbish. He’s caught at cover off the final ball and goes for an astonishing 215.
Updated
49th over: West Indies 356-1 (Samuels 125, Gayle 209) Pranyangara comes round the wicket, very wide on the crease and Samuels dispatches a full-toss down the ground for four. The next one is full, outside off and driven elegantly over cover for six! That might be the shot of the day from Samuels, opening the face and carving it away. He goes over extra cover next – it drops short of Ervine but then runs through his legs and away for four. Two more down the ground bring up the 350 partnership. 350 partnership! The final ball is a half-volley, lifted straight for a magnificent six.
Incidentally our World Cup podcast is now live. Listen to it later on, OK? This is too much fun.
48th over: West Indies 334-1 (Samuels 103, Gayle 209) And now Samuels gets to his 100 with a flick round the corner for four. Another two runs, then Samuels hammers the penultimate ball down the ground for a single to take the partnership to 332 – the highest partnership in ODI history.
47th over: West Indies 325-1 (Samuels 96, Gayle 207) Panyangara is into the attack, as much as it can be called that. A couple of bad wides bookend a couple of decent dots to start with, then a Samuels single brings Gayle back on strike. Aw and he can only punch a single. Full and wide and this is very good death bowling, in fairness. Oh no then a full-toss, another front-foot no-ball. The batsmen took a single though so it’ll be Samuels on strike for it. 95 not out... but he can only drive for two.
Bit of reaction for you here. Incidentally this is the first ODI 200 by a non-Indian.
“How brilliant! We can all say we were ‘there’ when Gayle did it,” writes Ian Copestake. “Ticking this one off your bucket list, then?” asks Ravi Nair. “‘My name is Dan Lucas and I have OBOed a Chris Gayle special. Put that in your pipe and exhibit it in an art gallery!’”
@DanLucas86 That last 50 took twelve balls. Twelve. That's inhuman.
— Chris Deeley (@ThatChris1209) February 24, 2015
Updated
Chris Gayle scores the first ever World Cup 200
46th over: West Indies 317-1 (Samuels 93, Gayle 205) Chatara returns. Samuels takes the single. Can Gayle get to 200 here? A slow long hop pushes him six closer as Gayle equals the record for the most sixes in an ODI – 16 of them. A single to point moves him to 197; Samuels will be eyeing his own hundred here but, quite frankly, that’s secondary. Sorry, Marlon. A full toss, a brilliant drive through cover and that’s the double. Fair to say he’s back in form. Four from the final ball of the over; Gayle’s second hundred took just 32 balls.
45th over: West Indies 300-1 (Samuels 90, Gayle 190) Samuels knows his role here: he pushes a single down the ground off the first ball so the show can begin. Williams is too short and gets pulled over mid-on, then too full and slogged over square leg for back-to-back sixes. Make it three in a row when the bowler goes round the wicket and gets slogged over mid-wicket. That takes him to 189, the highest score in World Cup history. A single apiece from the final two balls takes the score to 300. This has been an absolute pleasure to watch.
44th over: West Indies 279-1 (Samuels 89, Gayle 171) It’ll be spin from both ends as Kamungozi comes on and a single down the ground brings up the biggest ever ODI partnership in West Indies history. The leggie drops short and the inevitable happens, Gayle pulling over mid-wicket for six more. Short again, pulled to mid-wicket again and it’s between the two fielders for four more. This is Chris Gayle’s highest ever ODI score now, beating the 153* he made at Bulawayo 12 years ago. Kamungozi goes fuller and Gayle sweeps for a flat six. Over mid-on with the final ball and that’s 21 from the over.
“I like the x-factor question the commentators posed, [which player has the greatest X Factor at the World Cup” writes Ian Copestake. “Gayle can sing and dance so he should defo win, but I hear Maxwell is a very good watercolourlist.”
43rd over: West Indies 258-1 (Samuels 88, Gayle 151) Jesus Christ they’ve brought the non-spinning spinner Sean Williams on. This could be horrible. Gayle is going after him with the slog-sweeps, but can’t pick out the gaps. A couple from the fourth ball of the over bring up his 150. That’s actually a very tidy over from Williams, going for just seven.
42nd over: West Indies 251-1 (Samuels 85, Gayle 147) Samuels carves the first ball of Chigumbura’s over over cover for four. The Zimbabwe captain is looking for yorkers here, but sends down back-to-back leg-side wides. Round the wicket he comes and sends down a third on the spin. Oh dear, he overcompensates and flings down a fourth, off-side this time. Finally he gets one on target and it’s a full-toss that Samuels punches for a couple. A single brings Gayle on strike and Chigumbura responds with the fifth wide of the over. This is shocking bowling, although as I write that Gayle is forced to dig out a good yorker. The final – 11th – ball of the over is flicked over square leg for six more that brings up the 250 partnership.
“So how many sixes has Gayle hit so far?” asks Ravi Nair. “I heard somewhere that the World Cup record was just six in an innings?”
That was his 10th. The record was David Miller’s eight against, er Zimbabwe, nine days ago.
From here, you'd think 320 would be a great total. But with Chris Gayle on 141, even 400 isn't out of reach. #CWC15 #WIvsZIM
— Dileep Premachandran (@SpiceBoxofEarth) February 24, 2015
41st over: West Indies 233-1 (Samuels 78, Gayle 141) 55-0 from the batting powerplay, which is pretty well perfect for the West Indies. Over the last three years, Zimbabwe have gone for a shade under 8.5/over in the final 10 overs. They’re going to take the pace of the ball here as Masakadza returns. It’s not a bad idea, just two from the first three balls but then the fourth is driven for a solid, punchy four through point, off the front foot by Samuels. Excellent shot and repeated the next ball, although this time he can’t get it wide enough of the man at cover point. Just the one for that, then. Seven from the over wouldn’t be too bad; alas the final ball is a juicy half-volley that Gayle slams straight back over his head for another six.
Updated
40th over: West Indies 220-1 (Samuels 72, Gayle 134) A rather harsh wide on height to begin the over – it looked like a good bouncer to me, beating Gayle’s cut. Oh dear, then Gayle goes big, gets caught at long-on but it’s a no ball! Two runs and a free-hit, which is also caught. Two more jogged runs while the ball hung in the air. Gayle then miscues over point for another pair. Another wide, down leg and this is turning into a nightmare for Panyangara: remember when I said he had a solid 1-17 from his first five overs? From 6.2 he has 1-44. A dot ball bumper then Gayle gives the bowler a reprieve by taking a single to get off strike. Samuels cuts for one more, then Gayle pulls square and clears the stands! Oof.
39th over: West Indies 203-1 (Samuels 71, Gayle 121) Samuels gets four runs streakier than Erica Roe, off the inside edge as he backs away and down to fine leg. A pull, swatted to mid-on for a single brings up the 200 partnership from 236 balls. This is the West Indies’ biggest ever in World Cups. A good slow bouncer is then missed by Taylor and the batsmen jog through for a bye. The wheels are looking a wee bit rickety here. A full-toss, a misfield at deep mid-on and the two ensuing runs make it eight off an over that really didn’t warrant that many.
38th over: West Indies 195-1 (Samuels 64, Gayle 121) A double change as Panyangara, with a solid 1-17 from his first five overs and a nice look to his bowling, is back. I big him up like that and he starts with a slow long hop that Gayle hammers off the front foot through mid-wicket for four. He goes down the ground next up but doesn’t get hold of it and it drops just short of Masakadza on the long-on boundary.
“There’s been a Gayle century but no excitement? Has he nurdled his way to three figures?” asks Ian Copestake. It’s coming Ian: after running two from that last ball, Gayle is caught off the next one... by a crowd member at mid-on. Six more. Ooh and then a leading edge, which drops just out of reach of the bowler diving at short mid-on! They run a single and then Samuels gets in on the act, whipping a short, wide one through point for four. A single finishes the over and it’s gone for 18.
37th over: West Indies 177-1 (Samuels 59, Gayle 108) Chatara returns. His first five overs contained a lot of good stuff, but there was the odd loose ball that Gayle dealt with mercilessly; now well set and scoring at pretty much a run per ball, you fear what will happen to Zimbabwe if the bowlers lose their discipline in the closing stages again.
He's got his hundred, it the Power play, and Gayle looks ready to rumble. This could get X-rated. #CWC15 #WIvsZIM
— Dileep Premachandran (@SpiceBoxofEarth) February 24, 2015
This is a really good over though. Just two from the first five balls, the fifth a bumper that hits Samuels on the upper arm after he goes through with the pull shot too quickly. He follows with another dot and that’s brilliant from Chatara. Time for drinks.
36th over: West Indies 175-1 (Samuels 58, Gayle 107) Powerplay time then and dear god please let us have some excitement. Masakadza, strictly medium pace, will carry on and Gayle punches down the ground for a tidy century, his first since August 2013. He got very, very lucky with the first ball he faced but since then it’s been pretty much nerveless. Time to cut loose now, yeah Chris? He tries, clumping a pull out to the mid-on rope but finds the fielder on the bounce and only brings a single. Much better with the final ball, clipped off his pads, over mid-wicket and another brilliantly muscular six. Kinda spoiled a good over from Masakadza, that.
35th over: West Indies 165-1 (Samuels 56, Gayle 99) Yep, Raza into his final over, all 10 on the spin. Can Gayle get to his hundred here? He works the first ball of the over to mid-on for one then Samuels whips it square for the same result. One more down the ground and Gayle is 99. And there he will be at the start of the powerplay as Samuels sees off the rest of the over. Raza finishes with a fine 0-45.
34th over: West Indies 162-1 (Samuels 55, Gayle 97) I guess the plan for the Windies is to remain at the crease until the power play. Presumably, the idea that they could just take it now hasn’t occurred to them. Gayle takes a single to move to 96, just his second run in the last 12 balls he’s faced.
33rd over: West Indies 158-1 (Samuels 53, Gayle 95) Raza continues and it looks like he’ll bowl through. It’s accurate stuff, keeping Gayle tied down. Indeed it’s an excellent maiden. To a well-set Chris Gayle. Outstanding stuff.
32nd over: West Indies 158-1 (Samuels 53, Gayle 95) Accurate wicket-to-wicket stuff from Masakadaza and the batsmen are happy to just work it around for the customary boring-middle-overs four singles.
31st over: West Indies 154-1 (Samuels 50, Gayle 94) The West Indies have stepped the run-rate up to 8.5 in the last five overs. Samuels moves to within one of his fifty and in doing so brings up the 150 partnership, before Gayle edges wide of the keeper for a couple to move within one hit of his hundred. Samuels then whips a single square for his 26th ODI fifty. It’s not being harsh to say it’s not been his best, especially with rain around.
30th over: West Indies 149-1 (Samuels 48, Gayle 91) Eight an over from here gets 313 and that’s probably the minimum the West Indies should be looking for. 330 is a real possibility and that’s discounting Gayle doing something mad. Samuels probably needs to rotate the strike a bit better, mind, as Gayle is providing all the impetus here. Four singles from the over and Gayle goes into the 90s.
29th over: West Indies 145-1 (Samuels 46, Gayle 89) Samuels backs away to leg again but again finds the fielder, bringing up the 100th dot ball of this partnership. He turns Raza around the corner for a single, then Gayle flicks the next ball from off stump, over mid-on for his fifth six. His forearms are a thing of wonder. A dreadful wide down the leg-side, Taylor can’t take it and they take a bye too. It looks as though he’s struggling to grip the ball out there and he sends down another wide, this time to Gayle. 14 runs come from an eight-ball over.
28th over: West Indies 131-1 (Samuels 45, Gayle 79) Hamilton Masakadza, playing in his first World Cup 14 years after his ODI debut, is the seventh bowler into the attack. He’s got a Paul Collingwood-esque action but, to give you some idea of how threatening he looks, is probably down on the Durham man’s pace. Gayle punches a single to cover to move to 9,000 ODI runs. It looks to me as though the rain may have eased off a touch. Another misfield at extra cover allows a single, the third one of the over, from its final ball.
27th over: West Indies 128-1 (Samuels 43, Gayle 78) The covers are on standby and I reckon we’ll be going off sooner rather than later. Raza throws up a full toss but Samuels can only punch it for a single. Gayle then nearly chops on going for the pull, but gets the bottom edge into the ground and away for a single. Two through cover for Samuels, one more down the ground, a punch to mid-off by Gayle and a misfield at mid-wicket allowing a seventh run from the over off the final ball.
26th over: West Indies 121-1 (Samuels 38, Gayle 76) A wide one and Gayle hammers a cut straight at the point fielder, before a misfield at extra cover allows them one. The umpires are having a look at the sky now as the rain is coming down heavier. Samuels takes another single then the bowler drops short and Gayle slog-sweeps over mid-wicket for six, then hammers another straight over the bowler’s head. Someone needed to pick up the run-rate with this weather.
With rain about in Canberra it's puzzling to why Marlon Samuels is batting at 42.1 Strike Rate? #WIvZIM #WCC15
— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) February 24, 2015
25th over: West Indies 107-1 (Samuels 37, Gayle 63) A blessed boundary from Samuels as he steps back a long way to leg and hammers a cut through cover. That was needed as this is seriously pedestrian batting right now – just eight runs from the previous four overs. Three singles from the other five balls of the over.
24th over: West Indies 100-1 (Samuels 32, Gayle 61) A change of bowling and it’s the leg-spinner Kamungozi into the attack. He’s quick for a wrist-spinner and as such isn’t getting a lot of turn here; it’s probably a bit generous for Shane Warne of all people to be calling him a leggie. A couple of singles and the second, to Gayle, brings up the 100 partnership from 138 balls. It’s flat, straight, innocuous stuff from Kamungozi but accurate enough to keep them to two.
23rd over: West Indies 98-1 (Samuels 31, Gayle 60) Gayle pushes a single from Raza’s first ball and he seems content to reign it in for now. Pun unintended. Samuels, hitherto struggling to get the all-rounder away, uses his feet to try and work it around the pitch but he can’t get it away.
22nd over: West Indies 96-1 (Samuels 30, Gayle 59) To clarify, it’s only spitting down and we’re not going to be going off just yet. Apparently a storm has been predicted for around about now. Cue Gayle force jokes from Shane Warne in the commentary box. Five before the fifth ball of the over is delivered.
Is it me or does Gayle's upper body look nowhere near as massive as it has done?
— Iain O'Brien (@iainobrien) February 24, 2015
I don’t know, he still looks like he could play inside centre to me. He only gets the one from an accurate over, though.
21st over: West Indies 95-1 (Samuels 30, Gayle 59) The rain is starting to come down now. Raza is bowling from so wide round the wicket to Samuels it’s almost a no ball. He’s accurate though, his darts on leg-stump tucking the right-hander up and keeping his strike rate down – 30 off 66 as he pushes a single down the ground.
20th over: West Indies 92-1 (Samuels 29, Gayle 57) Gayle comes down the track to Chigumbura, who spots him coming and straightens. Gayle counters the counter though by just turning it round the corner and getting it down to long-leg for four. He then pushes a single to shortish extra cover. The bowler comes back with a good bouncer to Samuels, that obviously didn’t have much pace but was well-directed and had the element of surprise. A push out to deep cover from the final ball brings one more. A good partnership this after the chaos of the first over of the innings.
19th over: West Indies 86-1 (Samuels 28, Gayle 52) The floodlights are on now, as Raza continues. He should have had Samuels in his first over but the fielder mistimed his dive and it hit him on the top of the hands. A trio of singles.
18th over: West Indies 83-1 (Samuels 27, Gayle 50) After a drinks break, Chigumbura resumes with a big front-foot no-ball. The free hit is wide outside off and full; Gayle obviously deposits that one over the extra cover boundary for six without even middling it. He follows this with a punch down the ground for a couple and two balls later punches a single to mid-off for a single, which takes him to his first half-century since August from 51 balls. 10 from that over.
“Why the heck are Windies proceeding at such a crawl?” asks Ravi Nair. “Are they intending to score 200 in the last 10 overs or summat?” I wouldn’t put it past them, given their tendency to hammer death bowling and Zimbabwe’s poor form in overs 41-50.
17th over: West Indies 73-1 (Samuels 27, Gayle 41) Sikandar Raza, the all-rounder, is into the attack with a bit of off-spin. He’s round the wicket to the right-hander and races through his over. Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot, wide and then a drop! He pushed this one wider, across Samuels and the cut went straight to gully who put down a pretty straightforward one diving forward.
16th over: West Indies 72-1 (Samuels 27, Gayle 41) Still no slip in place and Samuels runs a single down to third man, easy as you like, before Gayle knocks one down the ground for two. I tell you, I’ve seen more exciting overs.
15th over: West Indies 69-1 (Samuels 26, Gayle 39) Some news from elsewhere: South Africa’s Vernon Philander has been ruled out of their next match against the West Indies. Here, Williams tosses one up and Gayle crunches it straight back past him for a single to long-off. That’s a big ol’ straight boundary, 91m, which makes Gayle’s earlier six over it rather impressive. After three more singles, Gayle goes down on one knee and hammers an aerial slog sweep for four to square-leg.
14th over: West Indies 61-1 (Samuels 24, Gayle 33) “Go on, have a go,” the bowler doesn’t say, although he might as well as he sends them down in the slot inviting Samuels to play his beloved cover drive. There’s not a lot in the way of catchers, mind. Chigumbura strays on to Samuels’ pads and gets worked square on the leg-side for a couple. Then, to prove a point perhaps, Samuels slashes and edges through the vacant slip cordon for two more to third man.
13th over: West Indies 57-1 (Samuels 20, Gayle 33) Dockrell, Sohail... Williams? The latter is looking to become the third left-arm spinner to dismiss Samuels in this tournament, although it’s probably generous to call the Zimbabwean an actual spinner. He’s offering little danger here, getting worked for five singles and sending a wide down the leg-side. Those dark clouds are looming now and it appears to be affecting the broadcast, which is juddering.
12th over: West Indies 51-1 (Samuels 18, Gayle 30) Elton Chigumbura makes it a double change, bringing himself into the attack. Looking at the replays of Gayle’s six in that last over, perhaps the most pertinent thing is the dark storm clouds brooding on the horizon. Chigumbura fires a wide down the leg-side, handing over the 50-partnership in inauspicious fashion. Samuels works a single to mid-wicket and Gayle leaves the last couple alone.
11th over: West Indies 49-1 (Samuels 17, Gayle 30) Can someone please send Quentin Tarantino/Harvey Keitel a load of money so I never have to see him in character as Winston Wolfe selling car insurance ever again? Anyway, with the powerplay done, Sean Williams comes into the attack with his left-arm darts. The Manuka Oval is a good ground for the spinners, with its big boundaries, so it makes sense to get them on reasonably early. He offers Gayle a short long hop, but Gayle can only pick out the point fielder. Never mind, as he launches the final ball of the over, one that turned only negligibly, down the ground, over long-on and a long way back for the first six of the match.
Updated
10th over: West Indies 43-1 (Samuels 17, Gayle 24) Chatara is bowling from very wide on the crease to Samuels and he forces the batsman to sway with a short one angled in towards the face. Samuels comes back well though, slashing a cutter that’s a fraction wide through cover to the boundary. That’s all for the over though.
9th over: West Indies 39-1 (Samuels 13, Gayle 24) A huge swish from Gayle deposits clean air miles out the ground. The ball, on the other hand, goes through to the keeper. Gayle then chips to mid-wicket for a couple. Since October 2012, Zimbabwe have the best economy rate of any side to have played 30 ODIs in the first 10 overs and the worst in the final 10. The second worst, by a fraction? You know who the second worst are. Gayle hammers another pull to the mid-on rope, where it’s cut off for two. The final delivery sees Panyangara take another tumble and he needs to be careful he doesn’t do himself a mischief.
8th over: West Indies 35-1 (Samuels 13, Gayle 20) After taking some tap from Gayle in his last over, Chatara will be relieved to be bowling to Samuels. After four dots the right hander takes a leg-bye, then Gayle gets the sole run off the bat for the over with an edge along the ground to backward point.
“Morning Dan!” Morning, Ravi Nair! “This is such a rotten match to call because I want both teams to do well. Can’t stand the thought of the once-mighty Windies being beaten, but still want plucky underdogs Zimbabwe to win. I don’t know what to think. Hoping your wish for a Chris Gayle special comes true so we can forget about the result and just enjoy the mad-good batting.”
Go with the head, not the heart, in that case, Ravi.
7th over: West Indies 33-1 (Samuels 13, Gayle 19) It looks as though Panyangara is bowling a bit wider to Gayle, slanting it across him as opposed to the straighter stuff he’s sending down to Samuels. Presumably he feels Gayle is more likely to miscue one into the off-side and muller him off the pads. I say that, but he beats Samuels outside off but falls over in his follow through. That’s the third time today he’s done that. Samuels mistimes a cover drive for one and that’s a much better over for Zimbabwe.
6th over: West Indies 31-1 (Samuels 12, Gayle 18) Gayle on strike and he absolutely nails a cut through cover point for four. It wasn’t that wide but he hit it so cleanly and with perfect placement to beat the cover fielder’s dive. You know I’ve always wanted to OBO a Chris Gayle special and he looks in the mood earlier on than usual today. His average of just 19 since January 2013 suggests he could use one too. Down the track he comes again and whips a good length ball off his pads and over square leg for four more. Fourth ball he goes again, hitting it high in the air with no timing at all but Chigumbura, running back, can’t quite get there. He takes two, then pulls for a single to mid-on off the final ball.
5th over: West Indies 20-1 (Samuels 12, Gayle 7) Samuels wears another very accurate, sharply rising delivery from Panyangara, then gets beaten on the inside by one that nips back in off the pitch. This is lovely bowling. His next ball is overpitched though and driven for a lovely four to long-off by Samuels.
4th over: West Indies 16-1 (Samuels 8, Gayle 7) Twitter seems pretty unanimous in condemning Hawkeye, it seems. Gayle takes advantage of his lifeline by stepping down the track to Chatara’s second ball and lofting it just over the mid-on fielder for four, before pulling square for a single. The bowler comes back well though and has Samuel’s falling over one outside off. Samuels takes one more single.
“Re what appears to be the latest DRS mistake,” writes Geoff Foley, “is some of the problem attributable to the grounds themselves being used? There was a similar furore recently at Hagley Park where the ball tracking didn’t look to be that great. Perhaps the operators are still figuring out how best to place the cameras etc at grounds that don’t regularly host internationals?”
It’s a good question and one that I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to. I would think that it’s not possible to place the cameras at a uniform height across the grounds, but I don’t know how accurate the adjustments they presumably make are.
3rd over: West Indies 10-1 (Samuels 7, Gayle 2) Panyangara is right on the money here, angling it in and getting the ball to pitch in line; the batsmen can’t get it away here and Samuels plays out five dots, before reaching for the over’s first wide one and clumping it down the ground for the innings’ first four.
2nd over: West Indies 6-1 (Samuels 3, Gayle 2) Tendai Chatara will take the other new ball and he beats Samuels’ outside edge first up. Samuels then dabs a single down to third man. Shane Warne can’t believe that the LBW appeal against Gayle was going to bounce that high, over the stumps and to the naked eye it does look as though Hawkeye has been very generous to the batsman.
No wonder India do not trust the technology of the DRS system….
— Paul Newman (@Paul_NewmanDM) February 24, 2015
Another big shout against Gayle here as he plays around a straight one, but that’s pitched outside leg. Chatara is bowling with a bit of nip here, getting good carry through to the keeper. Three from the over, two to Marlon Samuels and a leg-bye.
1st over: West Indies 3-1 (Samuels 1, Gayle 2) Here we go then, Panyangara to open the bowling to Smith... and that didn’t last long. Shall we try again? Panyangara to bowl to Marlon Samuels – by some distance the Windies’ best batsman but another who could do with some runs. He’s not far off going first ball either, getting an inside edge down to fine-leg for a single. The ball that did for Smith kept slightly low, but it was more down to the batsman playing for swing that wasn’t there. Gayle comes on strike and there’s a big appeal for LBW first ball. An inside edge, I reckon, but Zimbabwe are reviewing. Ooh he’s missed it! I reckon this is out... no! It’s clipping the top of middle but umpire’s call. That’s a massive let-off for the opener. He drives airily at the fifth ball and misses, then clips the sixth in the air between mid-on and mid-wicket. Christ this is a wooly beginning.
Wicket! Smith b Panyangara 0
Second ball and the hapless Smith misses a straight one! The first ball of the innings swung away from the right hander, this one just went straight on and through the gate. What a start for Zimbabwe!
Bugger me, I have an actual email, from Krishnan Patel: “Hello Dan, I’m probably the only other TV audience apart from you. I promised to myself before the tournament began that I’d cheer on Zimbabwe in this match. I’d give you reasons but the W.Indies team displaying no intent to sing their anthem/team song (sounded like the latter to me) is one such reason. These are class A mercenaries and lets hope Zimbabwe comes up with the required spirit”
The players walk past the actual trophy. What’s the point?
The teams are out. Smith and Gayle will take guard once the anthems and cringeworthy countdown have taken place.
An upset on the cards today? Can’t see it myself, but then I’m far more familiar with the West Indies team than the Zimbabwe one.
@DanLucas86 @FirdoseM Zim is looking a balanced team this time
— पहाड़ी भुला (@rawatneer54) February 24, 2015
There’s a lot of talk on Sky about Chris Gayle’s poor form. By my reckoning, the bigger problem is Dwayne Smith: after 101 ODIs, the 31-year-old opener averages 18.85 and offers next to nowt with the ball. How on earth has he managed to play 101 ODIs with that kind of record?!
The teams in full:
West Indies: CH Gayle, DR Smith, MN Samuels, JL Carter, D Ramdin†, LMP Simmons, DJG Sammy, AD Russell, JO Holder*, JE Taylor, NO Miller
Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza, RW Chakabva, H Masakadza, BRM Taylor†, SC Williams, CR Ervine, S Matsikenyeri, E Chigumbura*, T Panyangara, TL Chatara, T Kamungozi
For the West Indies, Darren Bravo and Sulieman Benn are both injured, so in come Nikita Miller and Jonathan Carter.
Zimbabwe bring in Stuart Matsikenyeri for Chamu Chibhabha, who made a half-century against South Africa but picked up a knee injury.
Time to bring out the classic:
The toss
Elton Chigumbura calls heads, loses and Jason Holder elects to bat. No surprises there, despite the humid conditions.
This, courtesy of my Antipodean colleague Geoff Lemon, is something I urge you to get behind:
Here's a petition to keep Associate teams in the 2019 World Cup. Getting some traction. Hello, ICC. https://t.co/gQGfgeIs6g #CWC15
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) February 24, 2015
Weather report: It’s dry, but cloudy and humid. Cricinfo are reporting a 50% chance of rain. I will not be happy if it rains.
Preamble
Morning folks. Let’s talk about received wisdom, yeah? Received wisdom says that 300 is a par score in ODI cricket. With bats weighing three tonnes and edges the width of a cargo plane, 8-inch boundaries and ICC regulations stipulating that bowlers must have at least one limb shot off, Robocop style, before the mandatory powerplays (in which fielders must be blindfolded), batsmen have never had it so easy; there’s no excuse, in other words, for your openers not to blast 160 off 14 deliveries and for your team to be in triple figures before 70% of spectators have taken their seats.
Now, as part of my job description as a cricket writer of sorts, it’s my obligation to tell you that received wisdom is utter bollocks. 300 remains a very good score on the whole, one that will win you the match more often than not.
Credit is due to the West Indies, then. A hapless, misfiring, mismanaged joke of a side, who would be funny if it wasn’t so sad and pathetic in light of their golden years. So says – ah – received wisdom. They may only have a 50% record from their two matches in this tournament, but – and this is, admittedly, largely thanks to excellent performances from their middle order – they have passed 300 both times. An outstanding performance from Ireland’s batsmen saw them off in the opener but they followed this up with a mightily impressive dismantling of Pakistan. Received wisdom is that their recently vanquished opponents are the wildcards who might get knocked out in the first round or could win the whole damn thing; but are the Windies the new Pakistan?
Today’s other team is Zimbabwe. Obviously – you knew that already. They too have won one and lost one, beating the UAE with precisely as much efficiency as you’d expect and giving South Africa (who, with two brilliant batsmen and two very good ODI bowlers, aren’t actually all that) a bit of an inconvenience if not a scare. They’re definitely not going to win the tournament. They probably won’t get out of the group. But if the Windies are the new Pakistan, and if the top order continues to flounder, then Zimbabwe are more than capable of making this group genuinely exciting with a win today.
Zimbabwe, the West Indies and Ireland. Possibly Pakistan, too. All are capable of beating the others on any given day and this is one of the few beauties of one-day cricket. Much has been written about the pointlessness of the overlong group stages, but bunching that lot together is, along with England’s laughable wretchedness, easily the best thing about the first 943,762 days of this tournament. Jason Holder’s team are the favourites today and a win would stand them in very good stead to qualify for the quarter-finals, but a defeat would pave the way for a mad, unpredictable, fun dash to get through.
Play gets underway at 3.30am GMT or 2.30pm Canberra time. The toss will be in about half an hour or so. It’s an important one too, as only one side has successfully chased here since the turn of the century (Sri Lanka, against India, in 2008, for those of you who give one).
