World cup thrown wide open in both groups

The true value and the quality of the newball bowlers especially with the Duke’s ball, in this competition, has proved vital for most teams. Ambrose bowled magnificiantly in his ten-over opening spell and Walsh used all his experience to put New Zealand under pressure. The young apprentices, waiting in the wings, Reon King and Mervyn Dillon are learning quickly from their peers on how to be successful and respected as future West Indies fast bowlers of quality.

In the words of former New Zealand captain Jeremy Coney, who was comenting on the match, “it is very difficult trying to hit throat balls on the up through the covers!” The bounce that all the fast bowlers extracted from the pitch made life very unpleasant for the Kiwi batsmen. Craig McMillan received a nasty blow on the side of his head as he tried to duck a short pitched delivery from King. It reminded of the time when I played in west Indies during the 1985 tour of Jamaica. At that time, a newspaper article summed up the situation nicely. “Normally Sabina Park is a peaceful place ona Sunday afternoon, but for the Kiwis, it was a place like hell, as the ball whistled through the air, exploded off the pitch like bombs and the batsmen jumped around the crease in obvious discomfort, much to the delight of every partisan crowd.”

New Zealand struck back with two early wickets, but they lacked the real fire power to put the Windies under pressure, with Brian Lara starting to show some glimpses of form with 36 before hitting out for the third time in this competition. It appears that Lara wants to dominate the bowlers and play shots as though he is in a hurry to end matches before they go the distance. It is an admirable approach, but one that could prove to be more costly as the tournament progresses. At this stage, Lara has failed to set the tournament alight.

The whole World Cup competition has been thrown wide open in both groups. The Australians needed the Kiwis to win today to put the Windies under more pressure to qualify for the Super Six. Pakistan already have the maximum sixpoints and New Zealand are expected to beat Scotland to also go to six points. It would be a real bonus for the Kiwis if they can beat Pakistan next Saturday.

The Windies, currently on four points, are also expected to beat Scotland which will take them to six points also, with the Aussies after three matches, still stuck on two points. The Aussies should defeat Bangladesh to go to four points, but it makes the Australia and Wets Indies match at the weekend crucial. If the Aussies lose that match they will exit the tournament. My pick is for Pakistan, New Zealand and West Indies to go through the next round.

In group A, the loser of the India and Sri Lanka match will probably have an early trip home. India will also need to beat England, but Sri Lanka have a slightly easier opportunity to get points when they should defeat Kenya. Zimbabwe has the hardest task to qualify even though they have four points because they need to beat England or South Africa — a tough assignment. South Africa, England andIndia could be the top qualifiers in the group. A win for Zimbabwe over England tomorrow is not good news for India’s or Sri Lanka’s chances of qualifying for the Super Six.

Pakistan and South Africa are virtually assured of the Super Six place. Both teams look very impressive and are the best all round teams in the competition. Both teams have shown that when placed under pressure, they have the skill and the mental toughness to get back on track and win tight matches.