World Cup 2019, Days 11-13: Rain and Australia the Winners

 

World Cup 2019

Days 11-13: Rain and Australia the Winners

June 12^th 2019

The relief was palpable. After two days that were drowned in the storm system that is affecting north-western Europe and whose effects have spread further south – the Pyrenees have enjoyed heavy snowfalls and good skiing conditions… in mid-June!!! – despite the virtual wipe-out of cricket elsewhere in England, Taunton stayed miraculously dry.

On Monday, South Africa and the West Indies got onto the pitch, albeit briefly. The little play reinforced the suspicion that the West Indies pace attack is going to be an important factor in this tournament and that South Africa have major problems. The point for a rained-off match keeps South Africa alive for one more match: if they win their last five games, they will qualify for the Semi-Finals however, there will not be many takers for bets on South Africa’s chances; indeed, Afghanistan may well be looking at the encounter in Cardiff, on Saturday, as an opportunity to open their account. It is not hard to see where the South African problems lie: Hasim Amla has 25 runs from 3 innings, Aiden Markram has 61, of which 45 came in a single innings, there have been just 3x50, with a highest score of 68 – in other words, poor starts and no punch lower down the order. In contrast, the West Indies bristled with threat and surely would not have let a second opponent off the hook. In Saluting Sheldon Cottrell, the West Indies also surely have the most popular player in the tournament, at least with the neutrals!

No such luck for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Bristol is a lovely city, but the weather was just awful. Even though the radar showed that the heavy rain was clearing, the drizzle never really stopped and the match was, fortunately, put out of its misery early. With their very negative Net Run Rate, Sri Lanka desperately need some middle time and a couple of wins.

So, Australia v Pakistan. Even if the expectation was for an Australian win, drama was expected on the way and, even if the scorecard says that Australia won comfortably in the end, it was thanks to the bowlers pulling the chestnuts out of the fire once again just when things started to look difficult. With the openers scoring at almost 7-an-over and Australia 189-1 after 28.3 overs, Pakistan would have been resigned to chasing 400. What happened though was another sign to the Australia-watchers that the balance of the side is not quite right: they will get to the Semi-Final, but need to do much better if they are to go further. The scoring slowed. David Warner holed out and 277-4 with 8 overs to go should still have become 350 but, Australia did not even see out their overs, losing 6 wickets for 30 runs in seven overs of Mohammed Amir-inspired mayhem.

Even so, 308 to win was a decent target against a fiery new ball attack. Pakistan fans will reflect that, had they taken their chances, it could have been a lot fewer, this though was a day when their team veered erratically between brilliant and bumbling, with not much in between. The chase seemed well under control. The Required Run Rate was not large. There were plenty of wickets in hand. “Don’t Panic, Mr. Mainwaring!” might have shouted the Pakistan coach, fearing what was to come. All it required was more, steady pursuit of the target. Pakistan though, do not seem to do steady. 136-2 became 160-6 and it looked all over as a contest. 200-7? Chance to get back to the hotel for an early evening exploring the Wild West, Taunton style. However, Australia’s support bowling has already looked like their Achilles Heel in the tournament and here too, it blinked: Sarfaraz Ahmed and Wahab Riaz went after the bowlers and the unthinkable began to look all too possible. An increasingly nervous Aaron Finch had to bring back Mitch Starc, staking everything on getting a wicket and Starc obliged with two in three, legal deliveries, while Glenn Maxwell, who had come in for some rough treatment, finished the Pakistan innings with a brilliant run out.

And breathe.

Six Pakistan batsmen reached 30. The highest score was 53. In contrast, Australia’s openers scored 82 and 107 respectively. In the end, that was the difference between the sides; with big runs in the bank, the collapse, when it came, was not so critical.

So, Pakistan go into Sunday’s match against India knowing that they can ill-afford another defeat. Before then, we have two, high-stakes matches: India take on New Zealand and England play the West Indies. One of those four sides is likely to miss out to Australia for a Semi-Final place and these two matches will give a strong indicator which it may be. India have two games in hand over a number of their rivals and will play them in quick succession: two wins and they will have one foot in the Semi-Final.

Barring a Lazarus-like revival from Pakistan, those Semi-Finalists look almost certain to come from Australia, England, India, New Zealand and West Indies.