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Any predictions or discussion about matches. Please be nice and stay on topic.

So many key players out with injuries...surely all this T20 nonsense is playing a role in getting guys hurt.

Naseem Shah, Anrich Nortje, Ebadat Hossain, Tim Southee possibly, Kane Williamson partially...just a partial list of injured players. Will be interesting to see if anyone gets hurt during the tournament as its a long one.

Tamim Iqbal left out of the BD side…still not fully recovered from the back injury. I suspect there may be more drama or politics involved.

Chameera and Hasaranga miss out for Sri Lanka.

Lord knows why, but I have a feeling South Africa might do well this tournament.

eugene wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 27, 2023 1:49 am

Lord knows why, but I have a feeling South Africa might do well this tournament.

Saffers are looking strong. Especially their batting.

Kriterion_BD wrote: ↑

Wed Sep 27, 2023 12:34 am

Tamim Iqbal left out of the BD side…still not fully recovered from the back injury. I suspect there may be more drama or politics involved.

Chameera and Hasaranga miss out for Sri Lanka.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/shak ... an-1400294

slcricfan1 wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 28, 2023 1:56 am

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/shak ... an-1400294

I mostly agree with Tamim here.

1) Tamim claims he never said he would play matches selectively or not more than 5 games.

2) Even if he did, Shakib has been picking and choosing which series he plays since 2017. On top of that he will make the annoucement at the last minute. He has no business to criticize Tamim for doing what he's been doing for the past 6 years. At least Tamim has an injury...Shakib just takes trips to the US to visit his family.

3) Shakib should have kept his mouth shut and not make a spectable on the eve of a World Cup. There's already enough controversy with Tamim being left out without being an unnecessary drama queen.

4) The only point I semi-agree with Shakib is that Tamim should have been willing to "bat down" the order if that was something the team management suggested. Even if this was a meaningless bilateral, you should be willing to do whatever is necessary for the team. I will say Tamim makes a valid point that he's never batted outside of opening, and that is an important factor, but no one is above the team, not Shakib and not Tamim.

I had already lost a lot of respect for Shakib, but I've lost a lot more during this debacle. He's a good player, perhaps even great but his attitude is just a shoddy as his batting technique.

Back to actual cricket:

This is my current World Cup 2023 Power Rankings based mostly on current form, but slightly taking conditions into consideration:

1) India
2) England
3) South Africa
4) New Zealand
5) Australia
6) Pakistan
7) Sri Lanka
8) Bangladesh
9) Afghanistan
10) Netherlands

Just a couple of months ago, I would have had Bangladesh at 6...but both Sri Lanka and South Africa have really been on a tear lately. I will still say, if BD can gel...they can still finish in the top 5 or 6, but they will really have to improve by leaps and bounds from their current level. It CAN be done, but the odds are long.

I've just suddenly been hit by an intense wave of excitement about this world cup (despite Bangladesh's bipolar form).

slcricfan, what are your plans for the WC? how about sam_ahm and crimsonavenger (is he still around?)?

anyone else going to be following?

Strictly on topic now BD’s Monira Khatun seems to be off Facebook