ICC World Cup 2011

[DexteR]

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Welcome to the SD Cricket World Cup 2011 Central. Here we are going to discuss everything related to the Cricket World Cup 2011 which is to be played in India - Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from February 12 to April 2, 2011 (Warm-up Matches start Feb 12th, 2011 and Group Matches start Feb 19th, 2011.)

I would like to bring all the news and happenings related to the ICC World Cup. You are also encouraged to share news, your knowledge and insight as we move along.

This Video below will help you know more about the schedule, venues and more about the ICC World Cup.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BSmMNN0BaQ"]ICC World Cup 2011[/ame]

[DexteR]

acha bowler lagta hai

I have seen him bowl in domestic games. let me tell you this boy will not go down without impressing. He is as good as Muhammad Amir.

chalo maja aye ga harta hua dekh ker

Aapi buri baat hai. Dua kernay ka time hai yeh

[LoViNg IrFaN]

ab us ki age hi nahi fast bowling kerne ki
phir bhi tek hai

he is my fav and still he is fast and furious
agr fitness level sahi raha uska to bht destructive bowler ho sakta hai

[Sadaf Gondal]

mujhe nahi lagta, dosro ki tara hi ho gaya
jaisay anwar ali tha or mohammad irfan
sub kete the bhuat ache hain
bari ++++++ bowling karwai

[DexteR]

Muhammad Irfan tou sirf iss liye laye thay k uski height 7 feet hai. Uski bowlong kabhi bhi deadly nahi rahi. Anwer Ali bhi under 19 world cup k baad koi remarkable performance nahi dey saka.

Anwer Ali
45 matches 159 wickets at an average of 27.88

Junaid Khan
35 matches 167 wickets at an average of 21.32



Junaid Khans' Profile at espncricinfo
At U-19 level Junaid Khan was among of a crop of the most promising young fast bowlers in recent years, alongside Mohammad Amir. Good pace and better stamina and an ability to move the ball around if the conditions are right, Khan finally made it to national contention when he was called up for Pakistan's 2011 World Cup squad as a late replacement for Sohail Tanvir.

Junaid Khan is from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and has built up an impressive domestic career with Abbottabad, for whom he debuted in January 2007. The record acquires greater sheen given that Abbottabad are among the weaker sides on the circuit. Those performances have led him to Pakistan A selection, for whom he has been impressive in two series now, never less than when taking nine wickets in a 'Test' against Sri Lanka A in Hambantota in September 2010.
Cricinfo staff February 2011

[Sadaf Gondal]

Organisers confident of safe World Cup
NEW DELHI: With Pakistan scratched from the itinerary and peace descending on Sri Lanka, there is a growing feeling that the spectre of terror is no longer stalking the World Cup in the subcontinent like it did 15 years ago.
In 1996, the last time the region hosted the event, Australia and New Zealand preferred forfeiting preliminary matches to playing in Colombo barely a week after a massive blast had killed 80 people in the Sri Lankan capital.
Since then, bombs have gone off claiming lives in Colombo, Karachi and Mumbai though nothing shook the cricketing fraternity more than the 2009 attack on the visiting Sri Lankan players in Lahore, killing five police and injuring six cricketers.
The Lahore incident prompted the ICC to shift World Cup matches out of Pakistan, while Sri Lanka’s three-decade civil war ended in 2009 with the defeat of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Both augur well for the February 19-April 2 World Cup, according to columnist Ashok Malik.
“In such a situation, I don’t see any extraordinary security threat to the World Cup,” Malik told Reuters.
“In today’s world, every sports event in every country faces these issues. Have no illusion, the 2012 London Olympics would be under similar threat as well. But to be fair, I don’t think there is any specific threat to the World Cup.”
“There are no matches in Pakistan and I would say Sri Lanka is at its peaceful best in 30 years because the LTTE is now virtually non-existent.”
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat shared Malik’s optimism.
“With the (peaceful) situation in Sri Lanka and the fact that we got (World Cup matches) now in three countries, I believe it will be a major success,” Lorgat said Tuesday.
“Those are realities beyond our control. Those are not issues that we can foresee or dictate.
“We’ve got, I believe, adequate security measures in place. We are now a lot more mature and have got the expertise to prepare adequately on security arrangements. So it’s not an issue that troubles me as much as it did in the past.”
Tournament Director Ratnakar Shetty also spoke positively.
“Security is not at all a concern. Now that all the governments have extended full support, everything is in place,” Shetty told Reuters.
“Most countries bring their own security advisors though it’s not mandatory. But there is no worry, everything is being taken care of.”
[Courtesy The News International]

[Sadaf Gondal]

Sri Lanka wary of World Cup minnows
COLOMBO: Ace Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan said Wednesday his team should not lower their guard against smaller teams in their quest to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.
Sri Lanka are in Group A with defending champions Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya, with the top four sides qualifying for the quarter-finals.
“Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, we know these teams, who the players are, and their form. But we don’t know about Kenya, Canada and Zimbabwe and they can cause a surprise,” Muralitharan, 38, told reporters in Colombo.
“We can’t call these smaller teams minnows anymore, because they have surprised stronger teams in the past.”
Record-breaking Muralitharan, who has retired from Tests and will leave one-day cricket after the World Cup, said he felt no additional pressure to do well in his last outing.
“Nothing extra. The pressure is always the same. Without pressure, we can’t perform. It is always good to win,” said Muralitharan, the world’s leading wicket-taker in both Test (800) and one-day (519) cricket.
Sri Lanka, champions in 1996 and runners-up in 2007, are co-hosting the showpiece event with India and Bangladesh, with the opening match in Dhaka on February 19.
Skipper Kumar Sangakkara said the team was upbeat about playing most of its matches in front of home crowds.
“It’s important for us to start off well,” Sangakkara said.
He said the players were “raring to go” despite not spending much time at two new home venues in Pallekele in Kandy and Hambantota in the south. Persistent monsoon rains scuppered the team’s plans to practise at the venues.
“We would have liked to have more practice under lights in Pallekele and Hambantota, but it’s been raining,” the wicketkeeper-batsman said.
“We will read the pitches now, like any other team, as the game progresses. The main thing for us is to be consistent.”
Sangakkara said the team was unlikely to make any major changes and the batting line-up would remain the same.
“In bowling, we will make one or two changes, but the rest will more or less remain the same,” said Sangakkara.
[Courtesy The News International]

[Sadaf Gondal]

‘Cup format favours top teams’

NEW DELHI: The format of this month’s cricket World Cup was tweaked to give India and other big teams a better chance of advancing in the tournament, a top organiser said on Wednesday.
Tournament director Ratnakar Shetty described the early exit of India and Pakistan from the last World Cup, played in the Caribbean, as a “disaster” for the event and said the format was altered to avoid a repeat.
The quarter-final format, first used in 1996 before being discarded, has been revived this time to ensure each team plays a minimum of six group-stage matches even if they do not make the next round.
In the 2007 World Cup, teams were divided into four groups of four each with the top two advancing to the Super-Eights league round before the semifinals.
In the upcoming tournament, the 14 teams are in two groups with the top four in each qualifying for the knock-out rounds.
“In the 2007 World Cup sponsors, broadcasters, West Indies board — all lost money. The format was changed in a way that it gives the top teams a chance to compete,” Shetty said.

[Sadaf Gondal]

‘Cup format favours top teams’

NEW DELHI: The format of this month’s cricket World Cup was tweaked to give India and other big teams a better chance of advancing in the tournament, a top organiser said on Wednesday.
Tournament director Ratnakar Shetty described the early exit of India and Pakistan from the last World Cup, played in the Caribbean, as a “disaster” for the event and said the format was altered to avoid a repeat.
The quarter-final format, first used in 1996 before being discarded, has been revived this time to ensure each team plays a minimum of six group-stage matches even if they do not make the next round.
In the 2007 World Cup, teams were divided into four groups of four each with the top two advancing to the Super-Eights league round before the semifinals.
In the upcoming tournament, the 14 teams are in two groups with the top four in each qualifying for the knock-out rounds.
“In the 2007 World Cup sponsors, broadcasters, West Indies board — all lost money. The format was changed in a way that it gives the top teams a chance to compete,” Shetty said.

[Sadaf Gondal]

Besieged Pakistan eye World Cup challenge
KARACHI: With three key players banned for corruption and their homeland a no-go zone for international cricket, Pakistan face a mighty challenge if they are to win a second World Cup.
That’s the view of Imran Khan, the legendary captain who led his country to the 1992 world title.
He believes that the bans handed out to opener Salman Butt and new-ball bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir will hit Pakistan’s chances.
“Without Amir and Asif — currently two of the world’s best bowlers — our attack is not potent,” Imran told AFP.
Pakistan’s build-up to the World Cup has not only been marred by the spot-fixing scandal, but also by the uncertainty over the selection of wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, former captain Shoaib Malik and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria.
All have been under suspicion but only Kamran got clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), while the other two were not selected in the 15-man squad.
To make matters worse, the PCB delayed naming the captain for two weeks, raising doubts that one-day captain Shahid Afridi may be replaced with Test skipper Misbah-ul Haq.
It was only after Pakistan won their recent one-day series in New Zealand 3-2 that Afridi was retained.
But Imran still believes Pakistan can surprise if they play above their potential.
“Pakistan are a very unpredictable side,” he said. “They will have to play out of the ordinary to make a mark at the World Cup.
“I fail to understand why they delayed naming the captain because Afridi is the only player who can pull the team together, both as player and as captain.”
Former spinner Iqbal Qasim said Pakistan can shake up the whole tournament.
“Pakistan are the only team in the world who can do anything, shake up the whole tournament by beating any top team and can also give a 440-volt jolt to their fans by going down to any team,” said Qasim.
Pakistan’s build-up for the 2003 and 2007 World Cups was similarly chaotic, resulting in first round exits on both occasions.
Despite having a balanced squad, Pakistan lost to minnows Ireland in the West Indies four years ago.
A day after the shock defeat, their English coach Bob Woolmer died at the team’s hotel in Jamaica in mysterious circumstances.
Jamaican police initially treated the death as murder and questioned the Pakistani players before declaring Woolmer had died of natural causes.
Afridi is hoping for a less-chaotic World Cup this time around.
“We have our full attention focused on the World Cup,” said Afridi, who played only one match in the 2007 World Cup because of a ban.
“We have a balanced team and if we play to our potential nothing is impossible.”
Without experienced batsman Mohammad Yousuf, not selected due to a lack of fitness, and Shoaib Malik, Pakistan’s batting looks fragile.
Veteran batsman Younis Khan will be the mainstay in a line-up which has exciting talents in Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shahzad and Asad Shafiq.
Former captain Wasim Akram believes Afridi and Abdul Razzaq hold the key.
“If the top order gives Afridi and Razzaq a good platform, then they can be ruthless in the death overs,” said Wasim, who also termed bowling as the weak link.
Controversial paceman Shoaib Akhtar has a last chance to bow out on a high.
He missed the last World Cup in the wake of a doping ban and fitness problems.
Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz and Razzaq can share the new ball with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and left-armer Abdul Rehman will assist spinning all-rounders Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez.
“After the first stage, it’s anybody’s game and when it comes to knock-out matches, Pakistan can knock any team out on their day — they are a very dangerous team,” said Wasim.

[Sadaf Gondal]

Netherlands look to surprise big teams

COLOMBO: The Netherlands are hoping luck, obscurity and good preparation will help them spring a surprise on bigger teams as they start their fourth World Cup this month.
“We come in a little bit under the radar and most big teams don’t know too much about us. I think it can do us a favour, can cause an upset in our favour,” skipper Peter Borren, 27, told reporters in Colombo.
Under the New-Zealand born Borren, the Dutch have won five of their last 12 One-day Internationals, including one against Bangladesh last July. They also stunned hosts England in the 2009 World Twenty20.
“It’s going to be a serious challenge for us to beat the Test-playing nations,” said Borren. “But we have a fairly strong batting line-up that can hopefully help us win a game or two and get us past the first round.”
The Dutch, who trained in Dubai and India for the past few weeks, face India, Bangladesh, South Africa, England, the West Indies and Ireland in Group B.
Four teams from the preliminary group will advance to the quarter-finals.
The Netherlands, who competed in the World Cups of 1996, 2003 and 2007, have not beaten a Test-playing side in the tournament, but boast wins over Namibia and Scotland.
One of the mainstays of the batting will be big-hitting Es+++ all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate, 30, who was snapped up by Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders for 150,000 dollars.
In 27 ODIs, Doeschate has scored 1,234 runs at a formidable average of 68.55 with three hundreds and eight half-centuries. He has also taken 48 wickets.
“We need lots of luck,” said Doeschate. “We have lost some seniors since the last tournament. The challenge for us this time is to focus and try and win every game.”
Borren said the team will also bank on Tom Cooper, a South Australian cricketer who qualified to play for the Netherlands through his mother, who is Dutch.
Cooper made his Netherlands debut in June last year and scored three half-centuries in his first three games. In 10 matches, he averages 65.44 with one century and five 50s.
“We won one match each at the last two World Cups and we definitely want to improve that record,” said Cooper.
Borren said the lack of matches against the Test nations was slowing his team’s progress.
“We need more opportunities to play,” he said. “It’s not easy coming into tournaments like this to face the big teams. We can’t change things, but the top sides should also play more often with us.”
The Dutch will play two warm-up games against Kenya and Sri Lanka, before taking on England in their first World Cup match in Nagpur, India on February 22.