This world cup was designed for the batsmen. The pitches are true and bouncy, with little lateral movement in Australia, and the ball comes nicely on to the bat. The troublesome spinners hve been clinically removed by the ICC, giving the batsmen additional relief from the guiles of Saeed Ajmal, Sunil Narine, to name just the top 2. Pakistan and West Indies have cause to feel hard done by - both bowlers are very capable of turning matches on their own.
In a tournament where nearly 300 sixes have already been hit, only one spinner has 5 wickets in an innings. The balance is clearly in favor of batting, and all the best batters have been enjoying themselves. We have already seen some fantastic innings, with the top billed stars all living up to their billing.
For India, Virat Kohli had a fantastic 100 against arch-rivals Pakistan. Dhawan is having a nice run after a dry spell. Rahane played a gem of an innings against South Africa after Raina's heroic 60+ against Pakistan. Dhoni made a near half century under pressure against a West Indies attack for once bowling at international class.
Misbah has hit 2-3 more 50s while looking determined not to break his record of ever making 100. Sangakkara has hit 3 hundreds back to back, and looking indestructible.
For South Africa, AB DeVilliers had that awe inspiring 160+ score against the West Indies. He is on a different plane by himself right now. He plays shots that other batsmen can not even imagine, and he makes it look easy. Hashim Amla is simply amazing, like a Rolls Royce, and every time he bats, his team win. The rest of SA order is yet to fire, but they will at some point soon. Roussow's 60 the other day was a sign of what could happen.
Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams for Zimbabwe have been sublime with more than 250 each in the tournament so far, and they are going home! Such is the quality of batsmanship on display that a team with more than 500 runs from just 2 of their batsmen has been eliminated.
The crazy Afghan Samiullah Shenwari has been playing a fantastic rear guard against nearly every team, and led his team to its first win against Scotland.
Scotland had that astounding innings from Coetzer, and still lost to Bangladesh.
For England, Joe Root has been playing Cricket while the rest have been soaking up the sun and holidaying. There have been serious calls in the media to "Bring the boys back home."
For Australia, Warner has been explosive at the top, while Maxwell has been explosive at the death of the innings. Maxi's 100 today was unbelievable. Steve Smith is alright, and so is Michael Clarke with his fun 50 today.
Chris Gayle's 200 was superbly entertaining while seeming effortless. The most astounding fact about his 200 was not that the first 100 came off 105 balls, but that when the score crossed 200, the number of deliveries read 138. Gayle went from 100 to 200 in 33 balls. Talk about fastest hundreds. Samuels, Sammy, Holder and Russell have solidity at the death for the West Indies to get to competitive totals despite repeated top order collapses.
Ireland had a century the other day, from Ed Joyce, and Niall O'Brien's batting against the West Indies in that famous win was breath taking.
Even the UAE brought a remarkable talent in Shaiman Anwar who has batted beautifully against everyone and looked capable of walking into other top teams.
Seems like there have already been more 100s and more 150+ scores at this world cup than in any previous world cups, and scored at a faster clip. 4 150+ scores already, and against quality bowling. The strike rates on display this tournament are just unbelievable. The batsmen are scoring like runs are running out.
The variety in styles is also amazing. Baz just hits through the line with unbelievable power. AB DeVilliers hits shots everywhere on the ground. Maxwell uses his wrists to hit sixes. Sanga, Dilshan carve the field with the precision of surgeons, bestowing death by a thousand cuts. Gayle hits sixes only in the zone between square leg and mid-on with unbelievable power. Kohli, Smith, Root, are inventive strokeplayers capable of dismantling any plans made to get them out. Amla is smooth and sharp. Misbah has thick skin and looks to run fast and bludgeon any bad balls. Dhoni is the same, with 50% more power and speed. They each score in their unique ways, and they score heavily and fast.
The best of them have multiple gears. They are capable of biding time before exploding, and only Baz and Maxwell have looked like they have no need to get their eye in.
The cup is getting to its knock out stage soon, and it should be interesting to see how the batsmen fare as the pitches get old and the Australian summer draws to a close. Its raining sixes this summer.
In a tournament where nearly 300 sixes have already been hit, only one spinner has 5 wickets in an innings. The balance is clearly in favor of batting, and all the best batters have been enjoying themselves. We have already seen some fantastic innings, with the top billed stars all living up to their billing.
For India, Virat Kohli had a fantastic 100 against arch-rivals Pakistan. Dhawan is having a nice run after a dry spell. Rahane played a gem of an innings against South Africa after Raina's heroic 60+ against Pakistan. Dhoni made a near half century under pressure against a West Indies attack for once bowling at international class.
Misbah has hit 2-3 more 50s while looking determined not to break his record of ever making 100. Sangakkara has hit 3 hundreds back to back, and looking indestructible.
For South Africa, AB DeVilliers had that awe inspiring 160+ score against the West Indies. He is on a different plane by himself right now. He plays shots that other batsmen can not even imagine, and he makes it look easy. Hashim Amla is simply amazing, like a Rolls Royce, and every time he bats, his team win. The rest of SA order is yet to fire, but they will at some point soon. Roussow's 60 the other day was a sign of what could happen.
Brendan Taylor and Sean Williams for Zimbabwe have been sublime with more than 250 each in the tournament so far, and they are going home! Such is the quality of batsmanship on display that a team with more than 500 runs from just 2 of their batsmen has been eliminated.
The crazy Afghan Samiullah Shenwari has been playing a fantastic rear guard against nearly every team, and led his team to its first win against Scotland.
Scotland had that astounding innings from Coetzer, and still lost to Bangladesh.
For England, Joe Root has been playing Cricket while the rest have been soaking up the sun and holidaying. There have been serious calls in the media to "Bring the boys back home."
For Australia, Warner has been explosive at the top, while Maxwell has been explosive at the death of the innings. Maxi's 100 today was unbelievable. Steve Smith is alright, and so is Michael Clarke with his fun 50 today.
Chris Gayle's 200 was superbly entertaining while seeming effortless. The most astounding fact about his 200 was not that the first 100 came off 105 balls, but that when the score crossed 200, the number of deliveries read 138. Gayle went from 100 to 200 in 33 balls. Talk about fastest hundreds. Samuels, Sammy, Holder and Russell have solidity at the death for the West Indies to get to competitive totals despite repeated top order collapses.
Ireland had a century the other day, from Ed Joyce, and Niall O'Brien's batting against the West Indies in that famous win was breath taking.
Even the UAE brought a remarkable talent in Shaiman Anwar who has batted beautifully against everyone and looked capable of walking into other top teams.
Seems like there have already been more 100s and more 150+ scores at this world cup than in any previous world cups, and scored at a faster clip. 4 150+ scores already, and against quality bowling. The strike rates on display this tournament are just unbelievable. The batsmen are scoring like runs are running out.
The variety in styles is also amazing. Baz just hits through the line with unbelievable power. AB DeVilliers hits shots everywhere on the ground. Maxwell uses his wrists to hit sixes. Sanga, Dilshan carve the field with the precision of surgeons, bestowing death by a thousand cuts. Gayle hits sixes only in the zone between square leg and mid-on with unbelievable power. Kohli, Smith, Root, are inventive strokeplayers capable of dismantling any plans made to get them out. Amla is smooth and sharp. Misbah has thick skin and looks to run fast and bludgeon any bad balls. Dhoni is the same, with 50% more power and speed. They each score in their unique ways, and they score heavily and fast.
The best of them have multiple gears. They are capable of biding time before exploding, and only Baz and Maxwell have looked like they have no need to get their eye in.
The cup is getting to its knock out stage soon, and it should be interesting to see how the batsmen fare as the pitches get old and the Australian summer draws to a close. Its raining sixes this summer.
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