·
Hosts
get their campaign off to flying start, posting 331-6 in 50 overs
Updated
Saturday 14 February 2015 06.07 GMT
Still, no need for total doom and gloom just yet. Thanks for joining me - I’m off to feel real again.
Updated at 8.47am GMT
WICKET! Herath c Milne b Anderson
13 (Sri Lanka
Herath’s through this shot early and he can only find Milne at cover.46th over:
Valiant efforts from Lakmal and Herath but gloriously in vain. It’s only really for run-rates’ sake that the pair are offering some resistance.
45th over:
Ewww, nasty blow as Milne hits Herath straight on the forehead of his helmet. Almost right on the badge, just above the peak. There is some concern, but Herath seems fine and assures the
Milne finishes his 10 overs with figures of two for 56.
44th over:
Herath with a boundary through point, as Southee sticks to over the wicket and can’t get one to move back into the leftie.
43rd over:
Lakmal is a dying breed - a useless No.11. Milne needs to bowl straight but he’s persisting on just wide and Lakmal’s swinging for the fences (and missing). He then surprises everyone with a smart cover drive for one.
42nd over:
Mathews goes and is followed soon after by Malinga.
WICKET! Malinga c Ronchi b Southee 0 (Sri
Lanla 217-9)
Routine, really - Southee puts it on a fourth stump line, Malinga dabs it
and Ronchi does the catching.
WICKET! Mathews c Vettori b Southee 46 (Sri Lanka
Well, that’s all from here. Mathews tries to go big but he only serves to launch
the ball high and not very far, as Vettori runs in and takes the catch.41st over:
40th over:
Mathews goes over the top of the off side for four. He gives himself room again but can only find the fielder at mid-off, before scampering a single. Southee nips one across Herath, that he is played and missed.
39th over:
Kulasekara goes and Mathews responds with a sharp cut behind point for four. It’s all over bar the shouting, unless Mathews can evoke the spirit of Melbourne 2010.
WICKET! Kulasekara c Elliot b Anderson 10 (Sri Lanka
A wild slash skies in the air over cover and Elliot, running in from the
rope, takes a smart catch.
Corey Anderson celebrates his wicket of Nuwan
Kulasekara during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup match between Sri Lanka and New Zealand
Updated at 5.25am GMT
38th over: Southee makes a return and Kulasekara’s trying to slash him away through point. Mathews then flails him awkwardly McCullum at mid off, who does brilliantly to chase the ball down and reel it in from the rope. Short ball next up and Mathews crashes that for four to the legside boundary.
37th over:
Over 10 an over needed from here as Corey Anderson, the difference maker, is handed the ball. And he should have a wicket. Kulasekera edges an off-cutter from around the wicket, which should be a routine catch to
36th over:
Mathews trying desperately to conjure something, but his forays are being curtailed by Milne, not least when the Sri Lankan tried to get outside leg stump and ended up getting one at his toes. An edge to third man raises a sigh, which quickly dissipates. Mathews gives himself room but can only find cover for a scampered single.
35th over:
Vettori with his 10th over on the spin. It’s been a bit of a masterclass, really; varying his pace based on the batsmen and beating the outside edge on a few occasions. Just two runs off that and he finishes with 2 for 34.
34th over:
Milne looks to have Kulasekera caught behind. But Erasmus has doubts as to whether it’s a clean catch taken by Ronchi and asks for a review. It looks like the ball bounces off his fingers rather than the turf, as he reaches down for the ball, but there’s enough doubt for Erasmus to give it not out. Glorious on-drive from Kulasekera finishes the over and takes us to a drinks break.
33rd over:
Mathews calls for the batting power play, as Nuwan Kulasekera joins him at the crease. A handful of straighteners and dippers keeps him honest. Vettori metronomic.
32nd over:
Asking rate is over nine an over and
WICKET! Mendis c Ronchi b Milne 4 (Sri Lanka
Mendis gets a thin edge through to the keeper. It’s given not out first,
before being overturned on review, thanks to Snicko.
WICKET! Karunaratne b Milne 14 (Sri Lanka
Milne absolute does the left-hander for pace. Little movement from around
the wicket, but enough on the angle to take out off stump, through bat and bad.31st over:
Vettori into his eight over, all on the bounce. His second ball of the over drops short and Mathews is on it straight away, crunching it through midwicket for four.
30th over:
Adam Milne replaces Boult and hurries Karunaratne into his first real shot of aggression. He doesn’t get anything more than an under-edge on his swivel pull, for one, before Mathews returns the strike to him. He’s more convincing for the fifth ball, with a timed push through mid-wicket for two.
29th over:
Lovely delivery from Vettori, gripping and turning past Mathews outside edge, who was committed on the front foot. The
28th over:
Karunaratne deals in singles comfortably while Mathews is given a working over for his troubles. He does well to keep out two fine, inswinging yorkers.
Boult finishes with figures of 2 for 64 off his 10 overs.
27th over:
Five runs here - four singles and a wide - as
26th over:
Tidy over from Boult; around the wicket to the right-handed Mathews and over the wicket to the other-handed Karunaratne. Six runs off the over, as the required rate approaches eight.
Updated at 4.14am GMT
25th over: Chance for Vettori to sneak a few dots in, especially now that the ball is older and not coming onto the bat as well as it was. He drops his last ball short but gets away with conceding just two as the point boundary rider cleans up.
24th over:
Classy response from Sangakkara as he punches lovingly down the ground for four.But his attempt to force the pace sees him charge into a Boult yorker, meeting it on the full with his pad and he’s sent on his way, after a brief interlude for a review. Mathews to the crease and he nicks his first ball. But there’s no second slip and it runs away forfour.
WICKET! Sangakkara LBW Boult (39)
Sanga goes to charge Boult, but the ball is very full and hits him on the
full, in front of middle and off stump. It’s reviewed, but it’s dead.
Sri Lankan batsman Kumar
Sangakkara walks off the field after being bowled by New Zealand
Updated at 4.32am GMT
23rd over: Thirimanne undone by 14cm of swing according to the ball-tracking widget. Soon, Jayawardene’s done by a greater amount of negligence, as he just to dab away a ball that he should have left well alone.
WICKET! Jayawardene c Ronchi b Vettori 0
(Sri Lanka
Tame dismissal that’s flipped this one. Jayawardene just hangs his bat out
in a loose push, edging through to Ronchi.22nd over:
Boult’s third over of this spell sees him changing up the pace - starting quick and then trying to cut one at Thirimanne’s toes. It’s dealt with well before Sangakkara chops down for another single to third man. Positive running sees a smart two taken, as Thirimanne cuts behind point. But he’s on his way soon after, as Boult takes out his off stump. Emphatically.
Updated at 3.57am GMT
WICKET! Thirimanne b Boult 65 (Sri Lanka
A gorgeous yorker, which checks into Thirimanne, takes out his off stump.
Big, big wicket.21st over:
Kane Williamson is into the attack, looking to turn the ball away from the lefties. He was called for chucking last year and was then cleared in early December. The control isn’t quite there and the batsmen bring up their fifty partnership in 47 balls.
20th over:
Sangakkara joins Thirimanne in taking the aerial route down the ground, walking at Boult and just clearing a diving McCullum at mid off, for four. The pair then settle for some singles for the rest of the over. Good batting.
19th over:
Elliot starts with a slower ball that Thirimanne pushes into the offside for a single. The over is finished with a slower ball, but this time Thirimanne picks it early and hits through the line of the ball, back over the bowler’s head, for four.
18th over: Sri Lanka 97-1 (Thirimanne 51, Sangakkara 21)
Boult back into the attack, presumably for a brisk two over spell. Not a good start, though, as he strays onto Sangakkara’s pads and, well, you know the rest. Better, next up, and this one looks like it might have shaped in a touch, through the air. A couple of singles and a direct hit (safe) finish off the over.
17th over: Sri Lanka 91-1 (Thirimanne 50, Sangakkara 16)
Grant Elliot now with the ball. Think this is a good move; some wicket to wicket stuff to rebuild some pressure and get the ball stopping in the pitch. And yep, there it is - Thirimanne goes hard at a ball that isn’t there and just manages to get it over the head of McCullum. The skipper, at a short-ish cover, might have jumped too early. A single brings up Thirimanne’s 50 off 45 balls.
And now a drinks break.
16th over:
Couple of singles and then, my word, a sumptuous cover drive from Sanga. Typical really; back knee to the floor, bat finishing over his right shoulder. A glorious fourfollowed by a deft one, around the corner, as Milne drifts onto the pads. A skewed edge allows Sanga to finish with a single.
15th over: Sri Lanka 74-1 (Thirimanne 46, Sangakkara 3)
Good control from Vettori, here. While
14th over: Sri Lanka 69-1 (Thirimanne 44, Sangakkara 0)
Milne searching for something here. Not quite sure what as he sends one wide down the legside, allowing Sangakkara a sighter. The next one is a better length and line but is left comfortably. A bit of “will they, won’t they” sees Sangakkara almost stranded in the middle of the pitch, as he’s sent back by Thirimanne. Luckily, the throw from Guptill was off.
13th over: Sri Lanka 67-1 (Thirimanne43 , Sangakkara 0)
Bit of indecision leaves Thirimanne scampering to the non-strikers end, but Milne’s throw is off target. More variations in length for Vettori, as the batsmen look to take singles off every ball. It’s this tactic that leads to the breakthrough, as Dilshan tries to turn a ball too early and can only dink the ball back for a simple return catch.
12th over: Sri Lanka 64-0 (Thirimanne 41, Dilshan 23)
Milne’s looking for the stumps, but Dilshan clamps down, wrists and all, to get the ball into the legside for a single. Lovely shapes from Thirimanne, as he uses Milne’s extra pace to punch aerially over cover four four. Milne goes short and Thirimanne does even better - helping the ball high over third man for another four. Dilshan finishes the over with a two into midwicket.
11th over:
Change of tact now as Vettori comes into the attack. Dilshan and Thirimanne knock the ball around for singles off every ball, bringing up the fifty in 64 balls in the process. Smart stuff from these two and a good platform in pursuit of
10th over:
Here we are then! Adam Milne, the Shane Bond clone, is brought into the attack and has Dilshan hopping to stay on top of a ball that takes his outside edge and bounces 40 yards away, just in front of the fielder at third man. Thirimanne manages to squirt a full ball into the leg-side for a single, before Dilshan forces the ball into the legside for two.
“They get to the ball quicker than our blokes,” says Dilshan, over the stump mics, as the Black Caps scramble for every inch in the field.
9th over:
If you ever receive a distressed call from a fielder stuck up a mountain, just send Dilshan. He’s found another three in this over, though manages to scamper a single as the third can only parry his drive in the air. A waft from Thirimanne is followed by class, as he guides a nice shot behind point for another four.
8th over:
Glorious, this; Thirimanne gives himself room and flails Boult, inside-out, through cover for four. Boult over-corrects and Thirimanne reads it, hanging on the back foot and playing him behind square on the legside for another four.
7th over:
Dilshan finds yet another fielder and, just when it looks like New Zealand were building towards a self-inflicted Sri Lankan mistake, Southee releases the pressure with a bit of a naff short-ball that Dilshan can roll his wrists on for four through square leg. A muffled shout a few balls later as Southee gets one through Dilshan for what looks to be an inside edge. Erasmus says no and McCullum decides against the review. Snicko says it was all pocket.
6th over:
Bit aerial from Thirimanne and there are a few shouts of “Catch it!”. I couldn’t figure out how I’d phonetically relay those cries in text. “Ketch et!” could have worked, I suppose. Better from Thirimanne, as he hits through the line of the ball for FOURdown the ground and then immediately gets off strike with a dab to third man. That’s cricket, is that. Boult, around the wicket to Dilshan, moves one into the right hander, before it pitches and seams away, past his outside edge and off stump. Done.
5th over:
“Your reference to Inbetweener’s Jay gave me an indelible image of a bowler wearing a snorkel,” writes Ian Copestake. The less context given to that reference, the better.
Dilshan’s looking a bit agitated. He finds the middle of his bat, but Brendon McCullum does brilliantly at cover to turn a certain boundary into just one run. Dilshan gets back on strike and is falling away to the offside as he attempts to work a good length ball the other way. He’s ticking, and not in a good way.
4th over:
Thirimanne times the first ball of the over, well, into the offside for a single. Boult tries to cramp Dilshan for room and, at the first sign of width, Dilshan edges safely to third man for a single. Thirimanne then waves a bumper over his head.
3rd over:
Difficult to comment on the skies of
Here he is. Trent Boult. One of the finest bowlers in the world. And Thirimanne greets him with a back-foot drive through cover-point, which Guptill fails to bring back into play without disturbing the boundary sponge (FOUR). No sign of swing as of yet for the Jay from the Inbetweeners lookalike. Dilshan gets the strike and throws his hands at a wide ball, under-edging it between the keeper and his stumps for a jammy four. Nicks the strike with the last ball.
1st over:
Southee’s opening up, with the left-handed Thirimanne facing up first. Some pretty solid drives - one checked - are then followed by a looser punch that squirts short of slip for the first run. Dilshan flicks his first ball from middle and leg to the legside for a couple.
And we’re back underway...
A few basic errors from Sri Lankans today. I include myself in that.
Toyed with the idea of taking a nap and waking up for the final 10 overs of the opening innings, thus freshening myself up for the chase, before moving into
Sure, I’ll know how the pitch plays, appreciating the fact that there is turn out there and the odd ball held up for the seamer. But by the time those tid-bits prove useful - I’d earmarked overs 13 to 28 - my bloodshot eyes will struggle to decipher just how committed Thirimanne is on the front foot. And most of you deserve better than that.
Ah well. It’ll still be fun, though.
New Zealand
And that’s the Kulasekara takes the final over, and he starts it with a bouncer that
WICKET! Anderson
c Lakmal b Kulasekara 75 (New
Zealand
49th over:
Ronchi, anticipating a yorker, charges Malinga, only to find that it wouldn’t have been a yorker if he hadn’t charged so far down the pitch that it became one. He digs it out for a single. An
48th over:
Kulasekara is back, and
New Zealand, Sky inform me, have never lost a ODI when they’ve scored 300 or more runs batting first at home (W14 D1).
47th over:
(Not a) WICKET! Ronchi b Malinga 16 (New Zealand
Malinga, in his best over of the match by a very long way, outfoxes Ronchi
with a slower delivery, but replays show he landed his front foot very
fractionally long, and the batsman is beckoned back to his crease for a free
hit!46th over:
Lakmal bowls, and
45th over:
Malinga returns, and he continues to look surprisingly poor. Ronchi glances a poor second delivery off his hip and to the boundary, and then lifts the fourth behind point for four more. Add a sprinkling of singles and it’s a 10-run over. Given that one of Malinga’s overs today went for 24, it could be worse.
Updated at 1.33am GMT
44th over: Lakmal’s penultimate over.
WICKET! Elliott c Thirimanne b Lakmal 29
(New Zealand
Lakmal bowls a full toss, and Elliott tries to launch it over mid-wicket and
instead launches it directly to midwicket, where Thirimanne barely have to move
as the ball arrows into his hands.43rd over:
Kulasekara returns, and his first delivery is hoiked through the covers for four by Elliott, swatting across the line. A single and a pair later, New
42nd over:
Malinga continues, and for all that he’s looked some way from his peak today he’s got plenty of time to play himself back into form in this tournament. He doesn’t always get his length right here, but the line’s decent enough, he varies his pace well and restricts the batsmen to singles. Four of them, to be precise.
41st over:
Into the final 10 overs we roar, and Lakmal’s over starts promisingly enough for
Corey Anderson flicks one away for a single. Photograph:
Phil Walter/Getty Images
Updated at 1.10am GMT
40th over: Radar very much on – in that there are no horrible wides. There are four singles off the over, and there would have been a boundary had
39th over:
Lakmal bowls, and
38th over:
Malinga bowls. And bowls. And bowls. There are three singles in the over, and three wides. Meanwhile, my email is playing up – if you’ve sent me something in the last hour or so, can you please have another go. I’ve not been ignoring you – I can see that you’ve emailed, but there’s not content.
Lasith slings it down the wicket. Photograph:
Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 1.02am GMT
37th over: Dropped! Dilshan bowls his last, Elliott hits big over long on, but it’s too close to a fielder and … it’s totally misjudged and goers for six! Chandimal just dived too fast, too soon, and the ball flew between his hands and his face. A few moments earlier
36th over:
Herath, Lakmal and Mendis have brought
35th over:
Dilshan’s over brings three singles, and its completion heralds a whirling umpire-arm, and a powerplay.
34th over:
Updated at 12.40am GMT
WICKET! Taylor
st Sangakkara b Mendis 14 (New
Zealand
Not perfect wicketkeeping from Sangakkara, who fumbles the ball, catches it
between arm and chest, regathers and then takes off the bails. A clean catch
would have given the batsman no chance at all and saved the TV umpire quite a
bit of bother, but even after the fumble the bails are off just in time.
Too late Ross! Photograph:
Anthony Phelps/REUTERS
Updated at 12.59am GMT
Has Taylor
He could be caught behind, he could be stumped, either way, he looks in
trouble!
Updated at 12.35am GMT
WICKET! Williamson c Karunaratne b Mendis
57 (New Zealand
What a catch! What a super catch! Williamson goes down on one knee and
smites the ball towards the long-on boundary, only for Karunaratne, running to
his right, to take a super diving catch, and as soon as Williamson find his
form he finds a fielder!
Updated at 1.00am GMT
33rd over: Williamson calms himself a little, takes a couple here, a single there, doesn’t go for anything big. Then, off Dilshan’s final delivery, he scores an accidental boundary, trying to work the ball through midwicket and calling for two, only to find he’d hit it too sweetly and he had four. Meanwhile, it looks like there’ll be no flogging:
Updated at 12.37am GMT
32nd over: Hello Kane Williamson, and welcome to the party! Kulasekara’s second delivery goes over midwicket for four, and the third goes down the ground for six, where it’s caught one-handed by a sturdy orange-clad supporter, whose celebrations – with several nearby fans joining in enthusiastically – are quite the sight. He’s promptly led away by a steward, suggesting that catching the ball results either in public flogging or some kind of tasty reward. In the space of five deliveries Williamson goes from 37 from 54 balls to considerably more impressive 50 from 59.
Quite the sight. Photograph:
Anthony Phelps/REUTERS
Updated at 1.05am GMT
31st over: Dilshan returns, and restricts the batsmen to four runs. We’re in an interesting place here, with
30th over:
Williamson hits the ball, quite hard, in the direction he intended, and is rewarded with four runs.
Interesting assertion, Mr Pringle. I can’t say I was previously aware of Fourmyula’s work, but having now listened to some of it I can only say I disagree in the strongest possible terms.
29th over:
Kulasekara returns, and Williamson is dropped! The batsmen have traded a few singles when Williamson tries to power the final delivery over cover. But it goes a bit low and the fielder, stretching, gets his fingers to the ball but can’t hold it. It would have taken a phenomenal effort, or a very tall fielder, to take that, but still, close.
28th over:
Mathews returns, and after
27th over:
The good news for
Updated at 12.02am GMT
26th over: Herath bowls, and the scoreboard continues to tick slowly upwards. Meanwhile, is it possible to look at this tweet from the ICC without noticing the empty seat right there in the foreground? And also the other empty seats? I’m being picky, obviously – these are exciting times, and that is a pretty full ground – but still, there’s a spare seat, rightthere.
25th over:
Some of you may be wondering what’s currently atop the
Herath returns, and Williamson hoiks the ball high over midwicket, perfectly safely, for four.
Updated at 11.55pm GMT
23rd over: Lakmal’s bowling splendidly well, though Guptill struck his first delivery for a fine and indeed final boundary, and he’s not far off tempting the still-tentative Williamson into something inadvisable with his final delivery.
WICKET! Guptill c Sangakkara b Lakmal 49
(New Zealand
And now Guptill’s gone, a run from a half-century! Sangakkara takes it in
full flight, horizontal to the ground and three feet in the air, suddenly
looking alien-wowingly good once more.22nd over:
The first 10 overs went for 77, and the 12 since for 55.
Angelo Mathews of Sri Lanka
Updated at 11.51pm GMT
Williamson has made a nervous start and still hasn’t settled, and the poor deliveries are no longer being relentlessly punished. One, wide and full, is worked to third man but too close to a fielder, and yields just a single. It’s the only run of the over.
20th over:
Herath hits Guptill’s pads, and Nigel Llong’s shaken head prompts a lengthy discussion among the Sri Lankans, who eventually decide not to review the decision. Quite right too, the ball was on its way over middle stump. Every other delivery goes for one.
19th over:
Guptill slaps Lakmal’s first delivery square with considerable force, but finds a fielder. Later, Williamson goes after a wide one and inside-edges, safely, wrong-footing Sangakkara and earning himself a four.
18th over:
Herath, reliable as ever, keeps the batsmen honest. They take a single each.
17th over:
Dropped! Lakmal’s first delivery of the day, and Williamson’s too, finds the batsman’s edge and flies low to Sangakkara, momentarily into the glove and then out again. The aliens are not impressed. Williamson eventually gets a single off the last.
16th over:
A bad moment for superstitious people worldwide. Or good, depending on how you look at it.
WICKET! McCullum c Mendis b Herath 65 (New Zealand
The captain’s innings is over! McCullum hits down the ground again but he
doesn’t get enough on it and Mendis takes the catch a foot from the rope.Jeewan Mendis clings on for the first wicket of the
2015 World Cup. Photograph: Anthony Phelps/REUTERS
Updated at 11.48pm GMT
15th over: Dilshan bowls, and other than the moment McCullum crunches the ball through the covers and runs three, it’s a pretty quiet over.
14th over:
Guptill drives Herath through the covers to take
13th over: New Zealand 97-0 (Guptill 31, McCullum 60)
The batsmen help themselves to a boundary each from Mathews’ over, Guptill’s his first since over five. “If those aliens seem like the sort that would be impressed by meaty clouts, I might send McCullum,” writes Marie Meyer. Well if they get to answer some kind of online-dating-style questionnaire, that might indeed change the people we choose to match them up with. I always think those man-mountain rugby union forwards are quite impressive.
Updated at 11.05pm GMT
12th over: New Zealand 87-0 (Guptill 26, McCullum 55)Herath’s first ball goes for a couple, but his second goes into McCullum’s pad, provoking an extremely enthusiastic but nonetheless unsuccessful appeal, the ball being on its way down leg side. Much the same happens off the next delivery, only the appeal is less enthusiastic. So McCullum hits through square for a couple, bringing up his 50, and then thwacks the next with great viciousness down the ground for four.
New Zealand
Updated at 11.46pm GMT
11th over: New Zealand 78-0 (Guptill 26, McCullum 46)A better, tighter over from Mathews, denying the batsmen space and conceding just the one run.
Updated at 11.00pm GMT
10th over: New Zealand 77-0 (Guptill 26, McCullum 45)Herath slows things down in a very literal sense, and a becalmed
9th over: New Zealand 74-0 (Guptill 25, McCullum 43)
Just the one boundary from Mathews’ second over, a pretty poor delivery appropriately dismissed by his opposite number. A great start for
8th over: New Zealand 68-0 (Guptill 24, McCullum 38)
Malinga’s first delivery to McCullum is another slower one, but it arrives at the batman at hip height, and he dismisses it to fine leg for four. The next delivery is a no ball, and sent through midwicket. The third is straight and harmless, and McCullum slams it down the ground for the tournament’s first six. The fourth isn’t much better, but the Kiwi captain mistimes this one and it doesn’t go very far. The fifth is an improvement, but the last two also go to the rope, the last a clip off his ankles through midwicket, all timing. McCullum has 38 off 21.
7th over:
Mathews decides to make a change, and that that change should be him. He succeeds in putting the brakes on
6th over:
This is a pitch full o’runs. There’s been little sign of the ball moving in any unpredictable manner, and despite the drizzle the ball’s moving fast through the outfield. So Malinga digs into his big bag of tricks and unleashes a looping slower delivery (presumably not intended to be quite so loopy) that totally befuddles McCullum and would have brought the World Cup’s first wicket had it only looped an inch or so to the left before thwacking the batsman in the thigh.
5th over:
Phwoar. Guptill gets consecutive boundaries, tickling one to fine leg and pushing the next past point, before working the last through midwicket for three. His hogging of the strike thus continues – he’s 23-8 up on balls faced.
Martin Guptill tees off. Photograph:
Marty Melville/AFP/Getty Images
Updated at 11.49pm GMT
4th over: A good over from Malinga, which had brought no more than a couple of singles, ends badly when he’s spotted overstepping, giving Guptill a free hit (replays show the decision was extremely harsh). Malinga slams in a fine yorker, but Guptill gets it away and runs a couple.
“Could you please ask Russell Jackson how he intends to reimburse the tens of loyal readers who believed his claim that ‘McClenaghan might be the best ODI bowler you’ve never heard of’ and that he ‘should rank among the favourites to claim the most wickets in this tournament. Not that the bookies seem to have noticed,’” asks George Wright. “I, for one, take PayPal. (Also, do you know if he’s injured or just not picked?)” Simply not picked, sadly – Milne got the nod instead.
3rd over:
After Guptil takes four deliveries to work a single, McCullum tickles his first just past the chap at short third man and off for another boundary, earning him the right to block the last. He’s faced five deliveries, and Guptill 13.
Um, Craig Bellamy does a lot of good work for charity?
2nd over:
Malinga’s first delivery is tucked off his pads by Guptill for a couple, and the same batsman works the fourth ball along the floor through midwicket, though its progress is blocked a yard or two before the rope. That brings McCullum back on strike and his second delivery, like his first, is sent through the covers for four. Malinga ends his over with a slower delivery that foxes McCullum and ends the
“Morena Simon (Māori for ‘morning’ in case you’re wondering),” writes Ray Burkhill. Morena Ray. “We’ve had weeks of dry weather and baking sunshine here in
1st over:
The World Cup has begun! Kulasekara takes the ball. And Guptill, playing his 100th ODI, watches the first couple of deliveries before the first score comes from the third – a wide. A leg bye later, McCullum faces his first delivery and slams it through the covers for four.
“Evening Simon,” writes Simon McMahon. Evening. “Oh boy, this feels very exciting, the World Cup, a really open tournament. With added
The players are out (again)! This is actually happening*.
* hopefully.
Crikey, that’s bold. He’s great, obviously, but are there truly only nine superior human beings (or less) in all humanity? Obviously Graham Taylor is one of them, but who else?
The drizzle has departed, so they’re going to have another go in a couple of minutes.
It's raining!
They’ve come on, sung their anthems, and gone off again. It’s not raining
very hard, so hopefully the delay will be brief. There are a lot of woolly
jumpers, padded coats, thermal hats and the like among the crowd. Even a few
blankets in evidence.A blanket, earlier. Photograph:
Anthony Phelps/REUTERS
Updated at 10.18pm GMT
This is better, particularly as
The
Good stat, this. At least on first reading …
However, this is only the fourth ODI here. The first two saw Scotland beat Canada and then Kenya in World Cup qualifiers last January, both having lost the toss, and the third was a match between these sides last month, which New Zealand won by three wickets (restricting Sri Lanka to 218 and knocking off the required runs with 42 balls remaining).
Paul Allott reports that “there’s a little bit of drizzle around” and that it’s “absolutely freezing”. It’s about 12C currently, which isn’t much more than in
A presumably chilly Maori man warms up the crowd. Photograph:
Ross Setford/AP
Updated at 10.23pm GMT
“I’m ever so slightly over excited about all this,” enthuses Steven Pye.
“Weeks and weeks of waking up to find England rebuilding at 154-5; being
slightly grouchy during daylight hours because I’m tired and England’s
rebuilding from 154-5 inevitably ends at an under par 223-9; hours of trying to
explain to my eight-year-old that in the distant past England used to be good
at one day cricket.”The advantage of football’s total dominance of British childhoods is that it’ll make our kids genuinely impressed if
I suppose that was a good toss for the neutral – with New Zealand heavily fancied against an out-of-sorts Sri Lanka, and conditions perfect for bowling this morning, there was a little carnage potential had it gone the other way. Here’s the
Sri Lanka
Dilshan “is alright” and “will play”. “You’ll never get used to this kind of
weather but it’s not an excuse.”Brendon McCullum says he would also have chosen to bowl. “The guys are just excited about getting into the World Cup. It starts today. We’ve got to make sure we executed our game plan. If we do that, we’ll be hard to beat.”
It’s nice to have
played some cricket in New
Zealand
Dilshan has been caught on camera having his ankle strapped, and then
limping off.The fans are arriving, and I’m expecting a coin to be tossed any minute now.
Two words leap out, from all the pre-match guff about this opening game of the 2015 World Cup, and they are these: light rain. For that is what is forecast in
Particularly memorable tournament openers, in no particular order:
1. Argentina v Cameroon, football World Cup, 1990
One of the great upsets in all of sport. Unforgettable.
2. Hewitt v Karlovic, Wimbledon, 2003
The only
3. South Africa v West Indies, cricket World Cup, 2003
Eventually dramatic,
Any other suggestions?
Updated at 9.25pm GMT
Elegant and assured, Sri Lanka
His quiet nature means that Sangakkara is often
overlooked, even though his Test record as a specialist batsman is streets
ahead of supposed betters like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting.
He’s seen it all, on track to bringing up his 400th ODI appearance during the
Cup. He can control any situation and bat any length of time. More than that,
he has a point to prove after losing the last two World Cup finals. Sangakkara
wants this badly. Stay tuned.
You can read the full article here.Or if you like your previews a little bit more old-school, this was 12 years ago.
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