The World Cup 2011 thread : Discuss all logistics, venues, suggestions, tickets, coverage here

[Zero_Unit]

WC pitches Worldcup is drawing near and it will be very exciting. Recently me and my friend was discussig about the pitches for the WC11. I know that our batting line up is stronger then our bowling line up so I told him that we should have batting friendly pitches for the WC. He said he wants bowling friendly pitches which help the spinners because a lot of the teams outside of sub continent strugles to play of the spinners in a slow pitch (a perfect example would be NZ). So our discussion stoped there and neither one of us was happy with the others dicision. So What do you ICF'ers think. Batting or Bowling friendly pitches for the WC venus in India? And what kind of pitches are you expecting from the Srilankans and the Bangladeshis?

[fineleg]

Get spinner friendly pitches for WC2011. That will give India and perhaps SL the best chance.

[Ram]

Our best bet is preparing pitches that assist spinners, just look at what happened the last time the WC was held in the subcontinent in 96. Lanka won, clearly because a) the emergence of Jayasuriya, K'rana at the top order and the reliability of Aravinda, Ranatunga, Gurisinghe and Hashan Tillekaratne in the middle and b) the strength of their spin bowling attack that comprised of Murali, Dharmasena and J'suriya. If anything, their pace attack, with the odd exception of Vaas, did little of much significance else. We should follow a similar template to chart a path to WC glory - Rely on our batting and spin bowler. It has been proven time and time again over the last years that pacers a MASSIVE liability in ODIs in Indian conditions. And this inference is not limited to any particular side or group of bowlers. Even Dale Steyn was not spared the last time he was here. We already have the strength in batting, but somehow the team is reluctant to place all its wagers on spin because of the new PP rule, oblivious to the fact that the spinners have done a BETTER job of keeping the runs down in fielding restrictions. This, despite the fact that, on an average, 33% of all overs bowled by Indian spinners is bowled by part-timers. Here's where i think having slow pitches that assist our spinners will come in handy for us. I think our batting is pretty competent by itself to carry us into the knockouts. But its in those sudden death matches where we HUGELY risk elimination by having those flat-beds where essentially any team with a half-decent batting line-up can rake up a 330+ score. And no matter how good your batting is, there's always a high element of risk chasing a 300+ score under lights in India. However, having spin-friendly pitches could potentially mitigate this risk of inevitable high scores, significantly increasing our chances of victory, not only because our batsmen are superior in handling spin bowling, but we have a literal army of spin bowlers whose ability to bowl under fielding restrictions have been honed thanks to 3 editions of the IPL. We should leverage that strength and back them to deliver the cup. Unfortunately though, given all the pressure for advertises and corporates to have high-scoring matches, I see none of this happening. There will be plenty of high scores, at least for matches in India.

[Sachinism]

But our spinners are Bhaji and Jadeja :((

[fineleg]

But our spinners are Bhaji and Jadeja :((

Sehwag, Yuvi, Raina too (maybe Ashwin instead of Johneja)

[jf1gp_1]

In you look at important first round games 1. India plays Bangladesh in Mirpur (spinner friendly and we should do well) 2. England in mohali (its Feb so dont know what to expect), 3. SA in nagpur ( if you ignore that one instance when we got a green wicket ; it should be a batting shootout ) 4. WI in chennai ( we should win this one)

[Sachinism]

In you look at important first round games 1. India plays Bangladesh in Mirpur (spinner friendly and we should do well) 2. England in mohali (its Feb so dont know what to expect), 3. SA in nagpur ( if you ignore that one instance when we got a green wicket ; it should be a batting shootout ) 4. WI in chennai ( we should win this one)

Eng match is at Eden Gardens

[cowboysfan]

its so bad that i wish we were playing all our matches in sri-lanka.:((

[Sir john]

ICC names Castrol as partner The International Cricket Council (ICC) and Castrol, the world's leading lubricant company, announced an agreement that makes Castrol the official performance partner of ICC with a unique presence at all ICC cricket events for the next five years. The agreement awards Castrol a worldwide rights package from 2010 until 2015 and will include the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, other ICC tournaments and the World Cup 2015. Castrol moves from hockey to cricket.:((

[Castro]

This group is not easy. Bangladesh and Ireland have got the potential to beat good times. England and South Africa have got a great side and India has a jinx over West Indies in tournaments (check the last two-three champions thropy group games). India need an attacking spinner. Bhajji needs to be attacking and India will need plenty of luck and consistenty if they are to win it.

[Zero_Unit]

Australia' date=' 4 in a row?[/quote'] Hell no! their torch lit out ... time for India to take it (hopefully)!

[suma25]

Didnt know where else to post this Racing against time????? wankhede stadium renovation/upgradation pic courtesy : mumbai mirror

[Sir john]

we always late in completing any kinda work. :yay::yay::yay::yay::yay::yay::yay::yay::yay: when we will able to manage/complete any work in given time :hmmmm:

[ludhianvi]

Racing against time????? wankhede stadium renovation/upgradation pic courtesy : mumbai mirror

wow, when completed, that's going to look like a great stadium with all those tiers and it will seem like the crowd is very near to the players. It is going to have a demoralizing effect on the opposition.

[Lord]

wow' date=' when completed, that's going to look like a great stadium with all those tiers and it will seem like the crowd is very near to the players. It is going to have a demoralizing effect on the opposition.[/quote'] we may have to wait till 2015 for that:haha:

[girishk14]

This shud never happen again I dont want to bring back haunting memories. But I never want to see this again till i give up cricket , and 2011 should be a total contrast to this Not a single indian in the top 40 runscorers http://stats.espncricinfo.com/wc2007/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=2403;type=tournament

[Gunner_Mania]

I dont want to bring back haunting memories. But I never want to see this again till i give up cricket , and 2011 should be a total contrast to this Not a single indian in the top 40 runscorers http://stats.espncricinfo.com/wc2007/engine/records/batting/most_runs_career.html?id=2403;type=tournament

what has this got to do with logistics or venuses?

[Ranjha]

No Indian game in Chandigarh unless India reaches second semifinal maybe? This sucks..I was gonna be in Punjab aroudn that time.

[gaurav92]

I will be there for the SL v/s NZ game at Wankhede

[Ranjha]

I will be there for the SL v/s NZ game at Wankhede

sl games are boring but atleast its worldcup so congrats.