VB Series - Australia, Pakistan, West Indies

[admin]

Please, add your thoughts about the tri-nation one-day series to this thread. A frank exchange of views is welcome as long as those views aren't trite and designed to irritate - that they are backed up with reasoned argument and/or facts.

Schedule     VB Series

Date          Match               Venue 
Jan 2005 
Fri 14       Aus v West Indies    Melbourne
Sun 16       Aus v Pak            Hobart 
Wed 19       Pak v West Indies    Brisbane
Fri 21       Aus v West Indies    Brisbane
Sun 23       Aus v Pak            Sydney
Wed 26       Aus v West Indies    Adelaide
Fri 28       Pak v West Indies    Adelaide
Sun 30       Aus v Pak            Perth 
Feb 2005 
Tue 1        Pak v West Indies    Perth 
Fri 4        1st final            Melbourne
Sun 6        2nd final            Sydney
Tue 8        3rd final (if req)   Adelaide

[Beny]

Originally Posted by Admin

A frank exchange of views is welcome as long as those views aren't trite and designed to irritate - that they are backed up with reasoned argument and/or facts.

Gee mate, I must be hanging by a thread.


This is another thread that is talking about the possibilitys of changing the set up of the series.
http://www.world-a-team.com/showthread.php?t=1662

[admin]

Humour is always welcome on this site Beny. As Tony Grieg said to Michael Clarke, "Keep doing what you're doing." I'll hang on to one end of the thread as long as you don't let go of the other, okay?

[Paoli]

The VB Series was a little longer in recent seasons. Is the change due to the 3-match ODI series vs. New Zealand?

[Shaka]

I don't want to put a hex on my team, but I think this series will be well contested. Right from the start I was always pretty much looking forward to the ODI's as Pakistan's best chances of competing on a more even scale. With key pace bowlers out the tests proved one sided but Pakistan has been able to put out a more than useful ODI side recently, not to mention it's the main form of cricket we have been playing for a while. A lot will depend whether Shoaib Malik is cleared to bowl though as he has been a key player for us over the last year. If he is we can put out a pretty well balanced side which bats a long way down. While we have a shortage of batsmen who can hang around for the long run, most of them are very capable of quick 40's and 50's, and bowlers like Malik, Razzaq and Afridi not only tend to bowl better in the shorter game, they are very destructive batsmen too.

West Indies are also a very strong ODI side these days and have had some impressive results lately not least in England culminating in winning the ICC trophy. I look forward to seeing them.

Australia of course will be overwhelming favourites, and I guess there will be a few new faces in the team with the likes of Shane Watson featuring more. I still have a feeling if they played their test team that would probably be their best 11 though! Gilchrist coming in at no 7 isn't too shabby at all.

Anyway, look forward to what is shaping up to be an exciting series between 3 of the more explosive sides around. Should make for good viewing!

[vvvrulz]

Indeed, it should be great viewing, both Pakistan and the Windies have a lot of flair, which alone doesn't cut it in the test arena, but should be able to give the Aussies a go in the ODI stage. I'm cheering on the Windies !

[Rachael]

Just logged on and found this:

Toss: Australia A
 Umpires: IH Lock and BNJ Oxenford
 TV Umpire: SD Fry
 
 Australia A innings (20 overs maximum)                          R   M   B  4 6
 JR Hopes                                 b Shoaib Akhtar        8  12   8  1 0
 *+BJ Haddin                              b Shoaib Akhtar        2   5   5  0 0
 BJ Hodge              c Taufeeq Umar     b Mohammad Khalil     13  14   8  3 0
 MEK Hussey            c Azhar Mahmood    b Iftikhar Anjum      21  28  17  2 1
 DJ Hussey             c Shoaib Akhtar    b Abdul Razzaq        50      43  4 1
 CL White              not out                                  45      32  4 1
 MJ North              not out                                   5       5  0 0
 Extras                (b 5, lb 2, w 1, nb 10)                  18
 Total                 (5 wickets, 18.5 overs)                 162
 
 To Bat: DJ Thornely, NW Bracken, DG Wright, SW Tait.
 
 FoW: 1-9 (Haddin, 0.5 ov), 2-27 (Hopes, 2.1 ov),
      3-39 (Hodge, 3.4 ov), 4-69 (MEK Hussey, 8.3 ov),
      5-148 (DJ Hussey, 17.4 ov).
 
 Bowling                      O      M      R      W
 Shoaib Akhtar                3      0     24      2 (2nb)
 Mohammad Khalil              3      0     29      1 (2nb, 1w)
 Iftikhar Anjum               4      0     23      1
 Abdul Razzaq                 3      0     22      1
 Shahid Afridi                2      0     23      0
 Azhar Mahmood                2.5    0     20      0 (1nb)
 Mohammad Hafeez              1      0     14      0
 
 Pakistanis team:
  Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Hafeez, +Younis Khan, *Inzamam-ul-Haq,
  Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi, Azhar Mahmood, Taufeeq Umar,
  Mohammad Khalil, Iftikhar Anjum, Shoaib Akhtar.

You'd back the first team to find something from somewhere to get toa competitive total... but it will be interesting to see if the 2nd string Aussies can dig themselves out of this hole!

ps. how on earth does Pakistan leak runs at nearly 9 an over to a 2nd string side who are losing wickets ata prodigious rate?

[Shaka]

It's nothing unusual to be honest, Pakistan has a habit of finding ways to keep the game interesting these days

Interesting that Shoaib is playing though. I was under the impression he was going to miss the warm up games. Incidentally Rachael, there's a dedicated thread to the warm up games in the Pakistan forum.

[Maranello]

Originally Posted by Rachael

ps. how on earth does Pakistan leak runs at nearly 9 an over to a 2nd string side who are losing wickets ata prodigious rate?

Its a 20-20 "game" Rachael, so a run-rate of 9 for the team batting first is par for the course, and I wouldn't say they were losing wickets at a prodigous rate, 5 wickets over the "innings" is not bad. This really is not cricket, more of a circus so anything could have happened...

[Seamer]

Rachel, don,t be surpised if those "second stringers" are the one,s flogging Englands "first stringers" in a few years time.