England failed to defend their modest total of 210 against the Kiwis in the match at St.Lucia. Batting first the English batsmen got themselves in a hole in the initial overs losing quick wickets in the initial overs.
England opened with the left hand-right hand combination of Ed Joyce and Michael Vaughan but couldnt get off to a flying
start as expected. Joyce departed early and the side then lost quick wickets. It was then left to Pietersen and Collingwood to rescue the team with a solid partnership in the middle overs. Pietersen made solid 60 runs while Collignwood gave him good company with a useful 31.
The team found some light at the end of the tunnel
with a more than useful partnership between wicketkeeper Paul Nixon and Liam Plunkett who made sure that the team crossed the 200 hundred mark with a mix of some lusty hitting and good running.
The Kiwi reply too didnt begin on a blazing note with the side 
losing three wickets in the initial overs. But the New Zealand side buoyant from the 3-0 thrashing of the Aussies, carried forward the momentum and aggression and cruised along without losing any more wickets. It was the cumulative effort of Scott Styris and Jacob Oram who saw the team home in the 41st over itself with Styris scoring a fantastic 87 off 113 balls and Oram scoring 63 off 83 deliveries.
All in all, it was proved again that the team losing early wickets is bound to lose the advantage as it was clearly evident in the case of England. For a team batting first, the mantra’s got to be caution mixed with aggression, unfortunately for England the learnt worked on only one part of it and perished!
the hosts made a cautious start. Chris Gayle departed early for two pouched behind the wickets by wicket keeper Akmal who had a busy day at the office! Sarwan and Chanderpaul steadied the innings with watchful shots interspersed with some scorchers!
he was capable of. But then the very next ball he edged a ball to the keeper also proving what he
was capable of! Younis Khan too departed early and then it was upto the captain Inzamam and Mohammad Yousuf to steer the ship. But Dwayne Smith spoiled their party as he picked up their wickets and let the ‘cat among the pigeons’!
wickets right from the start. The openers were back in the pavillion even before the score crossed 20. Only Lara offered some resistance while the other batsmen failed to show any application and resilience.
disciplined effort and were led by Munaf Patel who
scalped four wickets for just 10 runs. Munaf is back from injury and looks fit for the World Cup. His fitness was a cause for concern but his performance in the warm up match would serve as an assurance to all Indian cricket fans! He bowled with great control and discipline not to mention the pace which was consistent all throughtout.
Patel was able supported by Irfan Pathan who gave glimpses of the same swing in his bowling that had gone missing a few months ago! He seems to have learnt his lessons well after sitting out for more than a month and playing domestic cricket!
fire yet again. He got out in the trademark fashion fishing for a swining delivery outside the off stump and perished without troubling the score!! Dinesh Karthick and Robin Uthappa steadied the innings and finished off the match without any more hiccups.
those injured are back in the squad. The team’s batting would revolve around its trio- Sachin, Dravid and Sourav who would lay the foundation of success in the Caribbean. The bowlers too are finding the
rhythm and there is a certain variety in the spin duo of Kumble and Harbhajan with some part time options in Sehwag. Sehwag though has still not proven his form and has one more chance to redeem his ’sword edge’ aggression in the practive game against the hosts on Friday. Led by the positive captain Rahul ‘ Wall’ Dravid, the team looks in good shape in this tournament.
campaign in Caribbean. A fine aggressive batsman up the order, he can also bat in the midlle order with relative ease. Apart from a gifted and talented batsman, he can also bowl with equal felicity and to be true, I have not seen a Indian spinner turn the ball as much as Tendulkar in both versions of the game. The hopes of a billion people are pinned on this master batsman who could be playing his last World Cup in Caribbean this time.
batsman, Ganguly is the second highest run getter after Tendulkar in One Day cricket. An aggressive opener, he has reinvented himself in this one year by developing his leg side game too. He is a delight to watch when it comes to his off side shots which he plays through precise timing and thumpin arrogance. A useful bowler, Dada can be useful on seaming tracks and is said to have a golden arm!
finisher in the one day format of the game. A fabulous stroke maker, he has the gift of finding the gaps with precision, ease and power. Also an electric fielder in the infield, Yuvi has taken many memorable catches in the past.
have shown signs of favoring the slow and spin bowlers and in this light, Harbhajan could be really effective. His turn and bounce have troubled batsmen all over the world and they would be vary of the Turbanator for sure!
to exit from One day cricket. So, all the more
reasons for him to be hungry for success! His forte his is discipline, line and length bowling which gives very little opportunities for the batsmen to score. A fantastic temperament, he is a spinner with the mindset of a fast bowler which makes him doubly effective!
