Favourites to win the CWC 2018

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sloandog
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Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by sloandog »

Who are we all backing to win the 2018 CWC?

My choices are between England and Pakistan.

Pakistan seem to have unearthed a few gems in the past 18 months, all in and around the age of 22/25.

With the ball they have an abudance of young fast bowlers coming through; Shaheen Sha Afridi, Shinwari, Hashan Ali, Mohammed Amir being the most potent of the lot.

Batting wise there's a nice mix of youth and experience which is beginning to show dividens. Imam Ul Haq looks to be one hell of a find up top, Fakhar Zaman has duly taken over the role of pinch hitter from Sharjeel Khan and is averging in the 50's! When was the last time Pakistan had two openers averaging 50 in ODI cricket..? Saeed Anwar is the only opener close.
Then the middle order is as solid as it gets, with Babar Azam and Harris Sohail showing their class in this series, backed up by the experienced heads of Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Haffeez and Safraz Ahmed. I think they have a really good chance of doing something special in England next summer, with the squad they have and the players theyre moulding, adding to the fact they are all realtively young. Their fielding has been on top form, too, which has been refreshing to see.

sloandog
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Re: Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by sloandog »

I haven't even mentioned young Shadab Khan, either

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zimbos_05
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Re: Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by zimbos_05 »

My heart can't sway from South Africa, and the recent series with Aus gives me a lot of hope. If they can keep their three seamers fit, that is a potent bowling attack. All three of Steyn, KG, and Lungi have been bowling really well lately and constantly up and around 140+. The worry is in their batting for me. Seem to be a bit short in that department and almost relying too much on 2 or 3 guys to score. Granted those 2 or 3 are quality players who can definitely put in the yards. Fantastic knocks from Faf and Miller the other day.

England and Pakistan like you say have been in some good form though. Pakistan seem to have all the combinations there, it would just be about if it came together for them. I like England too because they have been in some decent form and are playing at home. Conditions will be a big factor I reckon and I may be wrong, but sub continent teams have tended to struggle in England

Kriterion_BD
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Re: Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by Kriterion_BD »

Pakistan are massively over rated here. 3rd best ODI team in Asia are not winning the WC next year. If they hit form, they might challenge for a semi-final spot, but it will be tough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjtuZBykSzM (Noreaga - Blood Money Part 3)

sloandog
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Re: Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by sloandog »

Kriterion_BD wrote:
Tue Nov 13, 2018 2:23 am
Pakistan are massively over rated here. 3rd best ODI team in Asia are not winning the WC next year. If they hit form, they might challenge for a semi-final spot, but it will be tough.
And yet they won the champions trophy in England..
They stand a far better chance than the Tigers, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

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Re: Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by sloandog »

zimbos_05 wrote:
Mon Nov 12, 2018 10:25 pm
My heart can't sway from South Africa, and the recent series with Aus gives me a lot of hope. If they can keep their three seamers fit, that is a potent bowling attack. All three of Steyn, KG, and Lungi have been bowling really well lately and constantly up and around 140+. The worry is in their batting for me. Seem to be a bit short in that department and almost relying too much on 2 or 3 guys to score. Granted those 2 or 3 are quality players who can definitely put in the yards. Fantastic knocks from Faf and Miller the other day.

England and Pakistan like you say have been in some good form though. Pakistan seem to have all the combinations there, it would just be about if it came together for them. I like England too because they have been in some decent form and are playing at home. Conditions will be a big factor I reckon and I may be wrong, but sub continent teams have tended to struggle in England
South Africa I reckon are nearly there in terms of getting their best combination sorted.
Rabada, Ngidi and Dale Steyn are going to be there. Steyn especially has been taking wickets for fun in recent ODI's and clocked up at 152 (94mph) in the last ODI. Dwayne Pretorius, Andile and Chris Morris are going to be fighting it out for an all-rounders spot, but I think Abdile will get the nod. In fairness to the bloke, his variations in the shorter formats, and the fact he bowls with a wobbly seam could work to his advantage in England. Morris is fast but he's now 31, with his ODI bowling average in the 40's! He's hardly kicked on. Dwayne Pretorious is better fit and a safer option, as he's a genuine batter and a wicket taker with the ball.

Batting wise, they need to get rid of Hendricks and open with Markram and De Kock. I think Reeza is way off the mark in terms of being an efficient modern day opener in ODI's. Amla at 3, Faf, Miller and Duminy in the middle and Klassen and the allrounder to follow. Shamsi is cannon fodder and shouldn't be amnywhere near the squad.

I'm still backing Pakistan though. I think they have a stupidly exciting crop of players right now, who are all hitting their straps. Shinwari and Sheen Afridi are the kind of finds you can only dream of. Like seriously, two kids bowling 90mph, and left arm? Sound familiar...?

Kriterion_BD
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Re: Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by Kriterion_BD »

sloandog wrote:
Tue Nov 13, 2018 9:23 am

And yet they won the champions trophy in England..
They stand a far better chance than the Tigers, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Completely different format. They won the tournament winning just 4 games...2 of them against a terrible Sri Lanka side (who are now the worst of the 5 Asian sides), and against South Africa who will choke against just about anyone. There only meaningful wins were the games against England and India in the final, so yeah hats off for that as it totally beat my expectations. But I don't see them doing anything close to that again, especially when everyone will be looking out for them.

My current list of the 10 sides in order of their chances at the WC next summer:

1) India - imperfect side but they have the pedigree
2) England - best ODI team in the world cup, insane batting capabilities, poor bowling unit
3) Australia - will have Smith and Warner back
4) New Zealand - most well rounded side IMO, safest bet to make the semis, but lack the pedigree
5) South Africa - decent team, but will choke when push comes to shove
6) Bangladesh - solid top order, solid bowling unit but not good enough to threaten for a final 4 berth
7) Pakistan - overrated team
8) Afghanistan - shoddy batting, weak pace attack
9) West Indies - will just edge out Sri Lanka
10) Sri Lanka - could very well finish the tournament winless
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjtuZBykSzM (Noreaga - Blood Money Part 3)

sloandog
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Re: Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by sloandog »

Kriterion_BD wrote:
Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:11 am
They won the tournament winning just 4 games...2 of them against a terrible Sri Lanka side (who are now the worst of the 5 Asian sides), and against South Africa who will choke against just about anyone.
I don't really care who they were playing, they played well and beat the sides they had to. They played some exciting cricket in that tournament, and I still think the squad they have currently in the UAE Is better than their winning champions trophy squad. I think you're doing them a disservice personally.

Aditionally, If you think the West Indies are going to be down and out, think again. In Asia, sure, they'd struggle. But in Enagland on those pacey decks I'm calling it now that they'll do well. How can you say Afghanistan and Bangladesh are going to do better in those conditions..? You've seen yourself how shit the Tigers pace bowling is on a flat deck (referring to the SA series) and they rely heavily on the big three to fire. You've got that winning order completely wrong, especially with Australia. They've just come off their worst ever ODI run, and you put them above SA and NZ..? Crazy

Kriterion_BD
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Re: Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by Kriterion_BD »

sloandog wrote:
Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:25 am


Aditionally, If you think the West Indies are going to be down and out, think again. In Asia, sure, they'd struggle. But in Enagland on those pacey decks I'm calling it now that they'll do well. How can you say Afghanistan and Bangladesh are going to do better in those conditions..? You've seen yourself how shit the Tigers pace bowling is on a flat deck (referring to the SA series) and they rely heavily on the big three to fire. You've got that winning order completely wrong, especially with Australia. They've just come off their worst ever ODI run, and you put them above SA and NZ..? Crazy
I might tweak my rankings but at the moment this is how it is, IMO.

Australia will have Smith and Warner back. And given that they have 5 titles, they will always have the mental edge over NZ and choke Africa. On top of that the Aussie pace attack is as strong as anyone's. They might say I'm under-rating them, but the truth is right now they don't have much support for Smith and Warner.

Everyone's pace attack will be shit on those flat English decks where 481 can be scored.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjtuZBykSzM (Noreaga - Blood Money Part 3)

sloandog
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Re: Favourites to win the CWC 2018

Post by sloandog »

Kriterion_BD wrote:
Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:50 am
sloandog wrote:
Tue Nov 13, 2018 10:25 am


Aditionally, If you think the West Indies are going to be down and out, think again. In Asia, sure, they'd struggle. But in Enagland on those pacey decks I'm calling it now that they'll do well. How can you say Afghanistan and Bangladesh are going to do better in those conditions..? You've seen yourself how shit the Tigers pace bowling is on a flat deck (referring to the SA series) and they rely heavily on the big three to fire. You've got that winning order completely wrong, especially with Australia. They've just come off their worst ever ODI run, and you put them above SA and NZ..? Crazy
I might tweak my rankings but at the moment this is how it is, IMO.

Australia will have Smith and Warner back. And given that they have 5 titles, they will always have the mental edge over NZ and choke Africa. On top of that the Aussie pace attack is as strong as anyone's. They might say I'm under-rating them, but the truth is right now they don't have much support for Smith and Warner.

Everyone's pace attack will be shit on those flat English decks where 481 can be scored.
Pakistan's pace attack is on level pegging with the Australian pace attack right now, without a doubt. Starc and Hazelwood are on fire I'll give you that, but Hasan Ali is just as good, and Mohammed Amir should never be written off in English conditions.
I still stand by what I said in the fact that the West Indies will enjoy the wickets in the UK. Powell, Darren Bravo and Shai Hope are all classy batters who enjoy the pace on the ball, and then the likes of Lewis, Gayle and Heymyr with thrive under conditions where they won't have to worry too much about the seaming ball, depending on the weather. The wickets here over the past 3 seasons (as you say) have been flat as a pancake, especially the big commercial grounds like Old Trafford, Lords and the Oval. Smaller county grounds may provide the odd green seamer but generally speaking I think the Windies will do well. They also have a more than handy pace bowling attack, especially now Oshane Thomas has been unleashed.

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