The rain delay probably didn't help India, but well done to New Zealand, even though they are remarkably dull and efficient and know how to grind out results.
West Indies will always be my team, but I kind of wish they hadn't demolished Pakistan in that first game - an Australia/England and India/Pakistan pair of semi-finals would've been fantastic.
Given what India had to do with the bat today that was a poor performance under pressure from very good Kiwi bowling and fielding. Vamos NZ!
Don’t know what Mark Butcher was on about in criticising the pitches. Some of the games in this tournament have been classics because of the tricky conditions, today included. Who wants to see endless run fests?
Yes - real skill comes from defending a small total. If you're chasing 350then it all goes a bit IPL with the ball clearing the boundary rope with monotonous regularity.
You also get to see the art of fielding and catching under pressure; the third discipline but absolutely match saving/winning under the right circumstances.
So a tad under 4 and a half an over against the Aussies to win the World Cup get to the finaldata:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
Either they'll walk it this afternoon or collapse in spectacular fashion.
Place your bets...
Horrible little run chase this. Plenty in it for the bowlers.
I actually liked that from Roy. Nowhere near the bat or glove, not in a million fudgeing Thursday's. Umpire was a muppet. Shook his head, then raised a finger, then took it down, then raised it again. What's that all about? Bottled it IMO. Roy was furious, rightly so. Come on England, don't get rattled, just cruise on to VICTORY!
Dharmasena should lose some of HIS match fee.
Eleven wins on the bounce at Edgbaston!
Brilliant performance that from England. Absolutely battered them.