Forum Topic

Worth a punt...

Zimbabwe to qualify from the group stage of the Cricket World Cup,starting next week.They are in a group with WI,Pakistan and Ireland and may never have a better chance.They are ranked 10th and WI 8th.Can't see them going any further though.

Keith Iddon ● 6662d8 Comments

Couldn't agree more - why we aren't doing something instead of sitting around saying how awful it all is God alone knows. Still time is not on his side, the question is can the country and the people outlast that b*****d?

Vanessa Smith ● 6650d

rotfl

Keith Iddon ● 6650d

I'd love to be your bookie Keith! I suppose holding the mighty Irish to a draw they'll be looking for easy wins against West Indies and Pakistan now.

Andy Jones ● 6652d

The way the rankings work for ODIs Zimbabwe are effectively bottom. The only wins they have had in recent years are against Bangladesh who they play more than anyone else and even then they normally lose to them. The last time they played the Windies they were bowled out for 85 and lost by 9 wickets.What Mugabe did to cricket in Zimbabwe may not be his greatest crime but I still hope that his team gets completely humiliated. The destruction of the sport in the country is symbolic of the madcap racist policies of this dictator. Fingers crossed that their performance is so dire that it serves as a catalyst for the overthrow of this evil man.

Mike Hardacre ● 6660d

Can't see anyone outside the top 8 getting through to the next stage. If Bangladesh, who beat NZ yesterday, were in the WI/Pakistan group in place of Zimbabwe then there might be an upset as on their day Bangladesh could turn over either the Pakistanis or WI. As it is, Zimbabwe, coming off the back of a home series loss to Bangladesh, have Slim Chance and No Chance - and Slim has left town.

Ken Collins ● 6661d

Windies blow hot and cold - remember they surprised a lot of people when they won the ICC Trophy in England in 2004. They are quite capable of losing to Ireland and beating Australia.

Richard Greenhough ● 6661d

Not sure the Windies are that good,Mike.Can't get odds from the local bookies for qualification from the group unless it's to win the group,which I can't see them doing.

Keith Iddon ● 6661d

You may be unaware but following the political turmoil in the country many of the country's leading players are no longer being selected and the team Zimbabwe will field will be the inexperienced one that has been trounced in every game they have played in recent years. The apparent small gap in the international rankings between them and the West Indies is totally illusory. The Windies are on home ground and have some great players apart from Lara. In fact in this group Zimbabwe may even struggle to beat Ireland who gave South Africa a decent game recently. Ireland did actually beat the West Indies at cricket in the seventies but I think that may have had a lot to do with the entertainment they gave Clive Lloyd and his team the night before.

Mike Hardacre ● 6661d