All sorts of storms hit the ICC Cricket World Cup this Friday. First, one Mr Brendon McCullum ripped apart the English bowlers to score the World Cup’s fastest half ton in 18 balls and wind up the match, in New Zealand’s favour, in just 12.2 overs!
Next came on breaking news, the prospect of a match washout on Saturday, this time due to an actual cyclone heading towards Australia’s northeast coast. The weather department said the wind speed would be 295 km per hour and the resultant torrential rains would wash away the Australia-Bangladesh match at Brisbane on Saturday.
While, as skipper Michael Clarke who was to make his comeback with this tie said, the match is least of the issues, what with locals stocking up and scurrying for cover in anticipation of widespread dislocation. However, the ICC is working closely with authorities in Queensland to somehow save the match, even if that means it will be rain reduced and start late.
“As there is no reserve day for pool matches, we will continue to prepare in the hope that the match can go ahead. The ICC match officials will make a decision on the match tomorrow (Saturday) based on conditions at the time,” an ICC statement said.
The match can still go ahead with a delayed start if necessary. A match can be successfully completed if each side has minimum of 20 overs which means that it is still possible to achieve a result with a start after the scheduled innings break.
Tickets will be refunded if the match is abandoned without a result or there are fewer than 25 overs bowled in total.
Back in Melbourne, meanwhile, the Indian cricket team practised full and hard at the MCG on Friday to ward off the storm that the South Africans are building up with their pacers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander.
Steyn bowled for around 45 minutes and facing his consistent pace were David Miller, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock. He bowled a bouquet of deliveries including short ones, full balls, slower ones and even bouncers.
In the Indian arm department, things don’t look as good. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, recuperating from the ankle injury, has been taking it easy at the nets, mostly not bowling or bowling listlessly. By the looks of it, he seems to be an unlikely candidate for the Sunday match.
Jadeja, too, was seen with a shoulder icepack, hopefully precautionary. Ashwin, who got a rap on the elbow the other day on Umesh Yadav’s bowling, preferred to bat rather than bowl at the nets on Friday and he, too, sported an icepack.
But it was Virat Kohli, refreshed after his walk on the beach at St Kilda on Thursday and, of course his zany hairdo, who was the cynosure of all bowlers, swinging his willow masterfully for close to an hour. looking dapper in his new hairdo, India’s mainstay has been putting the bat to the ball skillfully.
Even former greats from SA acknowledge Kohli’s might with the bat as also the fabled line-up of batsmen India have.
Writing his column for the ICC website, former South Africa captain Graeme Smith said Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s team would back itself to chase down any target. “Within its top-order constituents of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Vitrat Kohli, India has three of the most prolific batsmen over the past couple of years. Raina seems to be finding form with the bat at the right time with two consecutive scores of 70 plus. (Ravindra) Jadeja has a fair average and healthy strike-rate but has historically fared poorly on quicker tracks and has been struggling for form coming into the tournament,” he pointed out.
He said, Sunday’s match would be a duel between the bat and the ball. “The Proteas will know the importance of striking up front early so not to allow the top three to set a platform for the middle-order,” he added.