WC Higlights

[Slax]

Best team:Kenya - Although we won Kenya were the big winners. They beat respected sides, made the semi and were never really flogged byt anyone including us. Deserve test status now at the expense of Bangladesh who were pathetic.

Best Batsman: Tendulkar - really only failed in the final chasing quick runs.

Best Innings: Brian Lara v South Africa - set the tone of the tournament for SA in a match everyone thought they'd win after setting a good total.

Best Bowler: Chiminda Vaas - 23 wickets more than anyone else, was really the main reason SL made the semi.

Best Spell: Andy Bichel v Engalnd - destroyed their whole batting line up. Hounorable mentions to Brett Lee and Chaminda Vaas for their hat-tricks.

Best Catch: Drakes great catch to get out Davidson when he was bealting the WI bowlers everywhere.

Best Umpire: Billy Bowden - jsut a classic I want to see more of him. In some onesided matches provided more entertainment with his signals than the players did.

 

[Fall Out Boy]

Originally posted by Slax

Best Bowler: Chiminda Vaas - 23 wickets more than anyone else, was really the main reason SL made the semi.

Disagree on this one.

Vaas bowled well, but his wickets tally was inflated by his matches against the minnows.

Against the minnows he took 12 wickets @ 6.75
Against the rest he took 11 wickets @ 22.72

Compare that to Glenn McGrath, and you see who was the better bowler throughout.

McGrath:

Against the minnows he took 7 wickets @ 6.70
Against the rest he took 14 wickets @ 19.42

Against genuine opposition, McGrath was the better bowler.

 

[GOALden Hawk]

Best team:Australia - so far ahead of the rest it was embarrassing. To go through undefeated in a form of cricket that is so unpredictable is a remarkable effort.

Honourable mention to Kenya who were superb, and Canada.

Worst teams:Bangladesh - should be banned from international cricket until they get fair dinkum, a disgraceful effort.

Pakistan - Very ordinary.

Best Batsman: Ponting - did it when it mattered and made plenty of runs before hand. Just beats Tendulkar.

Best Innings: Ricky Ponting v India - you won't see a better innings that that in a decade.

Andrew Symonds v Pakistan - were in real trouble until that knock, and probably saved his career.

John Davison v West Indies - Explosive stuff, chanced his arm and it came off spectacularly, great to watch.

Best Bowler: Chiminda Vaas - Agree, did it on his own really.

Best Spell: Andy Bichel v Engalnd - destroyed their whole batting line up. Hounorable mentions to Brett Lee and Chaminda Vaas for their hat-tricks. Can't argue again.

Best Catch: Drakes great catch to get out Davidson when he was bealting the WI bowlers everywhere. Agree again - in fact there weren't many great catches come to think of it, but that was an absolute pearler.

Best Umpire: David Shephard - For telling Waqar to get stuffed.

 

[Kenny_01]

Best Team: Australia
Worse Team: Bangladesh
Best Innings: Andrew Symonds v Pakistan, Tendulkar v Pakistan
Best Bowler: Brett Lee
Best Spell: Bichel v England, Nehra v England
Best Catch: Drakes
Best Umpire: Shephard

 

[Pig's Pride]

Best Innings: Ricky Ponting v India - you won't see a better innings that that in a decade.

[/B]

Cometh the hour cometh the man.

Wally always says that.

I normally hate him but it's a good quote.


I'm off to the pub.

 

[Slax]

I have to agree GOALden Hawk with the worst teams Bangladesh left the ICC with egg on their face over how bad they were and the fact the ICC said they wouldn't grant test status to anyone else for 5 yrs. I forgot about the Waqar incedint but definitely was memorable umpiring.

 

[LordLucifer]

Re: Re: WC Higlights

Originally posted by phatandphreaky
Disagree on this one.

Vaas bowled well, but his wickets tally was inflated by his matches against the minnows.

Against the minnows he took 12 wickets @ 6.75
Against the rest he took 11 wickets @ 22.72

Compare that to Glenn McGrath, and you see who was the better bowler throughout.

McGrath:

Against the minnows he took 7 wickets @ 6.70
Against the rest he took 14 wickets @ 19.42

Against genuine opposition, McGrath was the better bowler.

I thought as much myself, Vas did seem to get some easy wickets against the weaker teams of the tournament. However, every team had to play a few minnows so he just made the most of it.

And Kenya were sensational, the way they celebrate a wicket was really great to watch. They narrowly beat Billy Bowden for the most entertaining onfield antics.

 

[davers11]

Best team: Without any doubt it is Australia. To win the World Cup without a hiccup is an amazing achievement.

Worst team: Bangladesh, it is a disgrace that they have test status.

Best batsmen: Sachin Tendulkar. Extraordinary. Would of loved to have seen him make the final interesting but it wasnt to be.

Best Innings: Ricky Ponting v India - To make good bowlers look absolutely 2nd rate in the pressure cooker of a World Cup final makes this knock 2nd to none.

Best Bowler : Brett Lee. I think his performance at the business end has to put him ahead of the others.

Best Spell: Probably Andy Bichel v England, but i really did like the ferocity of Shane Bond's spell v Australia.

Best Catch: Vasbert Drakes for sure, what an absolute ripper. That bloke from Kenya took a ripper as well but i cant remember what his name was or who it was against.

Best Umpire: Steve Bucknor, he is always good.

 

[EagleBlue]

What about best runout ?????

Has to be Bichels effort to run out DeSilva in the SF, especially the tumble afterwards. (I reckon thats how he hurt his shoulder !!!)

 

[Slax]

Who ran out Gilchrist with the direct hit from the outfield? That'd have to be the best run out of the tournament.

 

[luthor]

How about the best Sixes?

Gotta be Ponting by a mile.

Three of the EIGHT that he hit in the final were three of the best I've ever see.

The one handed swipe over mid-wicket was like a baseball shot , and the one he hit off Harbajan-Whatsisface looked like a pefect nine iron to the green, except it landed in the third tier of the grandstand. Fantastic.

I can't exactly remember, but at least 4 of his 8 sixes must have come from full tosses.

I played cricket for 12 years and had a few clues about batting but the ONE thing I could never get close to mastering was hitting full tosses (anything above lollypop pace) for 6.

The thing about a 135km/hr full bunger is that its travelling down when the bat contacts it. It's just not that easy to hit it in an upward trajectory with any power or timing.

But Ponting made it looke like shelling peas.

An amazing skill.

I'll never knock Ricky Ponting again.

 

[mattyc2422]

Best team:Australia, but Kenya came along in leaps and bounds.

Best Batsman: Tendulkar. Failed in the final, but overall he can be counted upon.

Best Innings: Pontings knock versus India - Unbelievable good. Brian Lara's ton. Brilliance
Best Bowler: Dare I say it, but Lee raises a case regardless of economy rate.

Best Spell: Andy Bichel v England. BANG - one gone. BANG - there goes another. And so on.
Best Catch: Drakes, followed by Lee's C&B.

Best Umpire: Billy Bowden - Love the signals.

 

[nolsey77]

Best team: Australia special mentions to India who were at a very low point when they lost their pool match against Australia.

Best Batsman: Tendulkar no contest but Gibbs was doing well until Mr Polock forgot to add 1.

Best Innings: Steven Flemings innings Vs SA

Best Bowler: Brett Lee, stepped up when Dizzy went home.

Best Spell: Shane Bond vs Aus

Best Catch: Drakes,

Best Umpire: Steve Bucknor

 

[The Hippie]

Highlights for me were some of the blokes who copped a caning on this board and whose places were questioned, but who all stepped up and played crucial roles at times. Bevan, Martyn, Lee, Hogg and probably most important of the lot, Symonds. Without that big hundred in the first game against Pakistan, we could have been under as much pressure as South Africa after losing their first game.

I would've added Bichel to the list, but most people wanted him to get a run, as opposed to most of the rest, who had their knockers and would have been dropped if some had been selectors.

 

[Kenny_01]

Originally posted by Slax
Who ran out Gilchrist with the direct hit from the outfield? That'd have to be the best run out of the tournament.

Arnold for memory.

 

[royal]

Best Screw Up - South Africa and the D/L method.

 

[GOALden Hawk]

Originally posted by luthor
How about the best Sixes?

Gotta be Ponting by a mile.

Three of the EIGHT that he hit in the final were three of the best I've ever see.

Yeah, they were brilliant.

The only one bigger than that I can remember is Mark Waugh hitting it over the roof at Perth a few years back - that went MILES!