World Cup prediction thread

[eth-dog]

And NZ losing to India would never happen. India are shit.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

And NZ losing to India would never happen. India are shit.

India aren't shit, I think they're just in a bit of a funk and aren't that suited to these wickets.

 

[Angus Young]

And NZ losing to India would never happen. India are shit.

I thought they were too but hell they are playing well now

 

[eth-dog]

I thought they were too but hell they are playing well now

Yeah, I thought SA would smash them.

 

[UnitedWarrior93]

India are a better ODI side than RSA, I thought it would be close but I knew India would beat them.

Australia, NZ and India are the 3 top teams

 

[Angus Young]

India are a better ODI side than RSA, I thought it would be close but I knew India would beat them.

Australia, NZ and India are the 3 top teams

Agreed... followed by SA. So i expect these 4 teams to play in the semis.. its hard to predict who win it atm but im sticking with Australia for now.

 

[Whiskers]

Teams have bad days, like SA did. Doesn't take much to change a result.
Next time SA will win but I guess there won't be a next time because Aus/NZ will go bang bang and they won't meet again.

 

[DT_fanatic]

Teams have bad days, like SA did. Doesn't take much to change a result.
Next time SA will win but I guess there won't be a next time because Aus/NZ will go bang bang and they won't meet again.

No they won't.

 

[RohitSharma]

India vs Australia final, with Dhoni lifting the world cup. #wewontgiveitback

 

[Angus Young]

Australia to beat India in one semi and win and NZ to play South Africa in the other semi..

Final: Australia V NZ or South Africa

Australia to win

 

[Justinpa1]

Quarter Finals
New Zealand d Ireland Wellington
Australia d West Indies Adelaide Oval
South Africa d Sri Lanka SCG
India d England MCG

Semi Finals
Australia d India SCG
South Africa d New Zealand Eden Park

Final
Australia d South Africa MCG

 

[eth-dog]

Quarter Finals
New Zealand d Ireland Wellington
Australia d West Indies Adelaide Oval
South Africa d Sri Lanka SCG
India d England MCG

Semi Finals
Australia d India SCG
New Zealand d South Africa Eden Park

Final
Australia d South Africa MCG

How did South Africa make the final when NZ beat them in the semi?

 

[CheekyMonkey]

How did South Africa make the final when NZ beat them in the semi?

NZ were disqualified after surveillance cameras captured footage of McCullum wanking into de Villiers' gatorade.

 

[footy75]

Australia

 

[footyfan1978]

Not a bad effort by Sri Lanka today, all things considered.
But still looks like Australia, New Zealand and South Africa to me and good to see a few Aussies that needed some decent batting in middle got some touch. The fact that Warner, Finch and Faulkner essentially misfired yet we still got a big score kind of sums up the challenge stopping Australia with our batting. Need another bowling spell like Boult to get deep into our order before the late order makes a mess of the scoreboard for opposition. Probably Watson batting in late order is not what opposing sides wanted to see. I'm sure they were happier when he was out of side. Clarke and Smith set platform and when they went out the next guys simply stepped up tempo and even when they went out Haddin did not miss a beat and continued to create havoc. We still need to improve on our bowling though. Johnson has copped some stick at times but still looks like he can knock a few batsmen over any moment and probably will time one of his better games for a final. Really hoping Cummings gets over his minor injury and three strike bowlers in team is what I want to see. Feel more confident Faulkner got through another game bowling a few overs and must be 100% over side strain now. To see Clarke and Faulkner out there looking in no discomfort is very pleasing for our chances.
Just need to see Cummins get over his concern and we have a fully fit squad which is ideal with knock out stage just around the corner. Mitch Marsh is apparently 100% so that is good news if he is ever needed again in this World Cup.

 

[Gibbke]

NZ v Windies - gut feeling there will be a lot of depressed Kiwis next week...improved Windies bowling, a standard which the Kiwis have not been subjected to with one notable exception v Australia, and then there's Chris Gayle...
Aus v Pak - If this game was in the subcontinent, I'd be very, very worried. Pakistan playing well, but we should take them...
SL v SA - SA always have this air of imminent failure about them, but it won't happen in this game against SL's weak bowling attack, no matter how many tons in a row Sangakkara can make...
Ban v Ind - Nothing to hang your hat on here. Well done this tournament, Bangers, but have a nice flight home...

Semis:
Australia v India - I tipped this game for the final before it all started, but we won't get that because of the draw. Forget all you saw last January in the whatever it was called practice series with England, and the tests before it - the only thing on the minds of the BCCI is winning the WC, and they'll take a penultimate step towards doing it here against us on a wicket in Sydney that will suit their slow bowlers. India, unless it rains in Sydney the day before and our bowlers are gifted a seaming track...
Windies v SA - Can AB repeat his recent lubeless *******ing of the Windies bowling attack in a game that actually counts? Will Gayle come to the party and do what he's usually done for the Windies on the rare occasions where they are playing off for a big prize - be a star? Could be the match of the tournament. SA, but don't be too surprised...

Final:
Good teams lose games and learn lessons to take with them the next time they face that opposition again. SA learned plenty a few weeks ago when outmatched by India with the bat, and you know they aren't that bad on any given day. They love the MCG. Time to break the choker's curse...!

Alternative SF Outcomes:
The Windies are a real dark horse, and Australia will probably be TAB favourites over India. Could be an unexpected WI v Aus final, which would be really cool, but I couldn't imagine the Windies repeating their T20 heroics from a few years ago. If Australia play SA, I'd give it to us again, and if the Indians got the Windies, they'd probably take it out...difficult to see the Windies knocking off three big guns in a row...

Wife told me about five months ago that we would be going to Melbourne (from near Cairns) on the 28th of March for her cousin's wedding. So of course I said ok, called an emergency sweet talk meeting with my boss the next day to give me the Monday to fly back, and then bought a ticket for the final...

 

[The Speaker]

The Windies are no sleeping giant.

 

[Shiv]

Windies are overrated IMO. Batting without gayle is pathetic at the moment and gayle had one big innings against zimbabwe...i wouldn't buy into that innings too much. Bowlers are hit and miss, although they should get some assistance in NZ so they could be a bit troubling. I just think the NZ bowlers will rip apart the windies batting line up.

 

[eth-dog]

New Zealand will destroy the West Indies.

 

[footyfan1978]

Reading some of the genuine predictions before the tournament started on first few pages. Interesting how all that predicted the group stages did not see Bangladesh making it. Quite a few predicted West Indies to miss out at the expense of Ireland. Did not happen. Ireland were worthy team in World Cup though and least they did knock off a full member country like West Indies but it was not enough.

Pretty content my own prediction of Australia, New Zealand and South Africa being the three serious contenders is on track. Some may think India is now but still do not consider them a serious threat to win the final. Still see it as being Australia versus New Zealand at the MCG.
South Africa have to get through a likely path of Sri Lanka at SCG and NZ over in New Zealand. If they make it they will be a worthy opponent and be a great final but think that one of these two finals before hand will see them fall short yet again. However, if they made it would be a great final. We probably will see an upset or two before the final but still more than likely the Aussie v Kiwi dream final is on track to happen.

 

[Gibbke]

It's just a nagging gut feeling for me in regards to the Windies and Kiwis. We're at a stage where the WC is now only just starting. The entire tournament so far (and indeed, the entire season of ODI cricket going back a year) has been a complete waste of time as far as qualifying for the finals goes, with realistically only one match of any consequence going against the expected pattern and causing disruption to the final eight - England v Bangladesh. The Irish win over the Windies was negated by other expected results anyway, so here they all are, eight test teams equally lined up now with absolutely no advantages over each other except the home grounds for us and NZ. Straight knockout, with all of the easy previous hitouts now counting for nought. Ask NZ how important it is to go undefeated through a WC tournament at home...! Ask England, India, us in 2007, NZ and Pakistan in 1992 (I remember a glorious day in 1992 where Launceston opened the David Boon stand and Tasmania celebrated by belting the f### out of Pakistan six weeks before they held up the WC) how important "form" is before going into the business end of the tournament...

 

[KiwiRoo]

India are still well in this

Their bowling has improved, and their batting is pretty formidable especially with Dhoni coming back into form

Still big question marks over their fielding and the strength of their tail. They can be 6 out all out

 

[CheekyMonkey]

picked the 'bleck kepps' (my kiwi accent) to win it many months ago, and i'm still sticking to my guns. best team in the comp

i'd like to see australia win, but our batting lineup doesn't really inspire confidence, we either go big or collapse for nothing. understandable when you have streaky batters like warner, maxwell and watson in your top 6. at least our bowlers can't miss, and pakistan is the worst batting lineup in the world at present.

i said south africa will get knocked out by sri lanka; i'm still sticking to that. SL match-up well against the saffers. it's a pointless contest though, as neither team can beat NZ in the semi at eden park.

i absolutely f***ing hate the f***ing indians right now, and i want to see them get absolutely f***ing stuffed. unfortunately, it won't happen in the QF, bengladesh will shit themselves in such a big occasion. i'd like to think that australia will smash the daylights out of india in the semi, but i'm also scared that the ICC, a subsidiary of the BCCI, might give them an shit subcontinent type wicket which won't suit us. and lets not forget that many in our team have IPL contracts, which opens the door for potential fixing. i will cry if we lose this game.

either way, NZ wins the tournament and nets me a tidy profit

 

[MWPP]

Heart says N.Z, head says Australia (I'd be ok with this) or India (gulp).

 

[Angus Young]

mmmm I can't see NZ beating Australia at the MCG.... different story if t's India

The World Cup is finally getting exciting..

sticking with Australia but im nervous about India in Sydney... Dhoni scares me