Now the 42-game group stages are over, here is an XI from the best players whose World Cup is over, featuring at least one player from the six knocked-out sides.
Imrul Kayes
Whilst Tamim fired only briefly, his less obtrusive opening partner was the nearest Bangladesh had to a reliable batsman. Seldom over-adventurous but with a good range of shots deployed sagaciously, Kayes provided the backbone for their successful chases over England and the Netherlands, winning the Man of the Match award in both games. In his own words,”I believe in the idea of hanging in there instead of making a 10-ball 30” – making him almost the antithesis of Tamim.
Ed Joyce
His long-awaited return to Ireland colours was a disappointment in many ways – how Joyce will rue his soft dismissal against Bangladesh. But his 84 against the West Indies, which begun with consecutive boundaries, was testament to his class: he is surely the most aesthetically pleasing batsman any of the associate nations possess, with his cover drive evoking that of David Gower.
Collins Obuya
He is remembered for his sharp-turning leg-spin in the 2003 World Cup, when he took 5-24 in the victory against Sri Lanka. Obuya’s bowling has since subsided, but he has reinvented himself as a top order batsman of genuine quality, as 243 tournament runs illustrates. It was a great shame he ended 98* against Australia, after he had handled Tait, Lee and Johnson with the assurance of a Test player.
Niall O’Brien
O’Brien will be extremely frustrated reflecting on this World Cup: he made starts in every innings but only once past 50. O’Brien’s relish for a challenge was illustrated by hitting Morne Morkel for six over long-on, one of the shots of the tournament, and an average in excess of 40 shows the quality of this most industrious of cricketers.
Ashish Bagai (wicket-keeper)
Bagai was one of the best wicket keepers on display in this World Cup, keeping with poise and vivacity to seam and spin alike. And with the bat he was easily Canada’s best player. Elegant and never overawed, he took them to victory over Kenya, and then scored a commanding 84 at almost a-run-a-ball against New Zealand.
Ryan ten Doeschate
Ten Doeschate came into the tournament with a reputation as the best associate player in the world, and, with a century that fused brawn and finesse against England, he quickly went about justifying it. Though runs proved harder to score thereafter, he chipped in with a half century in difficult circumstances against Bangladesh, before ending the tournament with another magnificent hundred. His wicket-to-wicket bowling also troubled England.
Kevin O’Brien
Critics will say he only played one innings of note, but what an innings. O’Brien 113 against England – including 45 off 15 balls during the batting powerplay – was a knock for the ages. As a display of brutal, calculated hitting it was phenomenal: and it was fitting he ended Ireland’s tournament with the six that sealed victory over the Netherlands.
Shafiul Islam
Belying his ODI average of under 6, and three ducks in five innings this tournament, Shafiul proceeded to smash Swann and Anderson down the ground en route to raiding England for a match-winning 24*. His pace and reverse-swinging venom previously claimed 4/21 to clinch a tight victory over Ireland. But, like his team, Shafiul was damagingly inconsistent, leaking 124 runs from 14 overs in Bangladesh’s three defeats.
George Dockrell
Dockrell’s control and big-match temperament – remarkable for an 18-year-old mark him out as a special talent. In the intense pressure of the opening game in partisan Dhaka, Dockrell’s wonderful 10 overs, in which he returned 2-23, ought to have secured Ireland victory. Thereafter, he only continued to impress, with the only shame that his skipper didn’t trust him to bowl to Kieran Pollard. What odds him representing England in 2015?
Ray Price
The man with the most theatrical expressions in world cricket illustrated his guile and skill with some admirable performances, notably 2-21 of eight overs against Pakistan, and was equally effective opening the bowling or bowling in the middle overs. Nine wickets at less than 19 deserved better support from his disappointing compatriots.
Harvir Baidwan
Canada’s bustling seamer was impressive throughout, making up for a lack of express pace with nagging consistency and a touch of late movement. He will be rightly proud of his haul of thirteen scalps – three more than any associate bowler managed - which included Brendan McCullum, Shane Watson and Younis Khan.
Showing posts with label Niall O'Brien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Niall O'Brien. Show all posts
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
Wednesday, 25 April 2007
What next for Irish cricket?
Ireland playing in the Friends Provident Trophy was a nice idea. But, after their World Cup exploits, it seems completely futile for them to play county opposition.
They would benefit from the experience; but, the problem is Ireland will only be playing a shadow side. Niall O’Bren, Eoin Morgan, Boyd Rankin, William Porterfield and Andrew White are the future of Irish cricket – all are under 26. But each have county contracts, meaning they will be missing for huge periods of Ireland’s games.
Equally, the increasing fixture list the ICC is organising for the developing nations, combined with Ireland’s rise to full ODI member status, means Ireland can have plenty of games to look forward to in the future, starting with a triangular tournament against the West Indies and Holland this summer.
And, obviously, those who haven’t secured a county contract have only a finite amount of times at their disposal. Trent Johnson, though he has since decided to continue, admitted to having doubts due to fixture congestion. Ireland have been playing non-stop since January and there is a limit on how much leeway bosses will give players, and, indeed, how much free time players are prepared to give. And the last thing Ireland need is to force committed amateurs to give up the game.
The future for Irish cricket is undeniably extremely bright. Though helped by their experienced foreigners, the performances of their young, home-grown players was very encouraging, with Rankin and Niall O’Brien both showing they have the quality to become fine ODI players. With Kevin O’Brien, who has the makings of a very useful county one-day player, William Porterfield, who is fighting to gain a contract with Gloucestershire, Eoin Morgan, richly talented but a little overawed at the World Cup, and 21-year-old Gary Wilson, the reserve keeper at Surrey, the talent pool runs deep.
What Ireland need now is to expose their best players to more international cricket. The board should pressurise England into playing, as they did last year, a game against them each season. Meanwhile, it is ridiculous that Scotland, a side who have displayed little of Ireland’s potential (their best players, unlike Ireland’s, are over 30), have a one-day international against a touring side, India, while Ireland do not. Given the reluctance of counties to play their best sides against touring opposition, why not allow Ireland to play them, on days when all their county players would actually be able to play? If Ireland continue to improve, it could also be worthwhile to allow them a first-class game against a nation touring England, which would certainly be a more interesting spectacle than seeing a virtual county second XI going through the motions.
There is now little to be gained for a shadow side playing low-key games against county opposition. This was highlighted by the absurd situation of Ireland’s Niall O’Brien playing for Kent against his country last season.
They would benefit from the experience; but, the problem is Ireland will only be playing a shadow side. Niall O’Bren, Eoin Morgan, Boyd Rankin, William Porterfield and Andrew White are the future of Irish cricket – all are under 26. But each have county contracts, meaning they will be missing for huge periods of Ireland’s games.
Equally, the increasing fixture list the ICC is organising for the developing nations, combined with Ireland’s rise to full ODI member status, means Ireland can have plenty of games to look forward to in the future, starting with a triangular tournament against the West Indies and Holland this summer.
And, obviously, those who haven’t secured a county contract have only a finite amount of times at their disposal. Trent Johnson, though he has since decided to continue, admitted to having doubts due to fixture congestion. Ireland have been playing non-stop since January and there is a limit on how much leeway bosses will give players, and, indeed, how much free time players are prepared to give. And the last thing Ireland need is to force committed amateurs to give up the game.
The future for Irish cricket is undeniably extremely bright. Though helped by their experienced foreigners, the performances of their young, home-grown players was very encouraging, with Rankin and Niall O’Brien both showing they have the quality to become fine ODI players. With Kevin O’Brien, who has the makings of a very useful county one-day player, William Porterfield, who is fighting to gain a contract with Gloucestershire, Eoin Morgan, richly talented but a little overawed at the World Cup, and 21-year-old Gary Wilson, the reserve keeper at Surrey, the talent pool runs deep.
What Ireland need now is to expose their best players to more international cricket. The board should pressurise England into playing, as they did last year, a game against them each season. Meanwhile, it is ridiculous that Scotland, a side who have displayed little of Ireland’s potential (their best players, unlike Ireland’s, are over 30), have a one-day international against a touring side, India, while Ireland do not. Given the reluctance of counties to play their best sides against touring opposition, why not allow Ireland to play them, on days when all their county players would actually be able to play? If Ireland continue to improve, it could also be worthwhile to allow them a first-class game against a nation touring England, which would certainly be a more interesting spectacle than seeing a virtual county second XI going through the motions.
There is now little to be gained for a shadow side playing low-key games against county opposition. This was highlighted by the absurd situation of Ireland’s Niall O’Brien playing for Kent against his country last season.
Friday, 13 April 2007
Preview: Australia vs Ireland
Ricky Ponting is looking for Australia to impose themselves once more and Ireland will have a tough time preventing them from doing so. The Aussies have lost through complacency before, but Ireland really are aiming for respectibility from this encounter. Trent Johnston leads his new nation against his old and along with Dave Langford-Smith and Jeremy Bray, he will be looking to prove that he has what it takes to play at this high level.
Ireland have not looked like winning a Super Eight game so far and that is unlikely to change. Unlike Bangladesh they really are out of their depth, although the likes of Boyd Rankin and Niall O'Brien can really look to kick on their careers after this tournament. Ireland will hope that Andre Botha will return to aide their cause. They will need all the quality they can get, even if Australia rest key players. A first game for the talented Mitchell Johnson could be on the cards, while Andrew Symonds will be looking for his first major innings of the tournament if promoted.
Prediction: Australia no sweat.
Players to watch: Andrew Symonds and Trent Johnston.
Ireland have not looked like winning a Super Eight game so far and that is unlikely to change. Unlike Bangladesh they really are out of their depth, although the likes of Boyd Rankin and Niall O'Brien can really look to kick on their careers after this tournament. Ireland will hope that Andre Botha will return to aide their cause. They will need all the quality they can get, even if Australia rest key players. A first game for the talented Mitchell Johnson could be on the cards, while Andrew Symonds will be looking for his first major innings of the tournament if promoted.
Prediction: Australia no sweat.
Players to watch: Andrew Symonds and Trent Johnston.
Saturday, 24 February 2007
2007 Season Preview: Northamptonshire
In the build-up to the new county season, we are running fans' county previews, beginning with Northants. Do feel free to email one to cricketingworld@hotmail.com, in the same format as the preview below.
2006 in a nutshell:
It was an average season for Northants in 2006, that saw us win only 1 C and G tie early on and some poor championship form gave us a bad start to the season. In June Kelper Wessels got sacked as coach and we never looked back - we qualified for the Twenty20 quarter-finals, came 3rd in the Pro40, and even our championship form picked up. Lance Klusener was our star man, basically running the show.
2007 prospects:
I am hopeful for 2007, we have a good group of players, and, with a fine captain and captain, this may even be the year in which we finally win a trophy.
Batting:
I am disappointed to lose Bilal Shafayat after only 2 years at Northants. He was a key batsmen to us and was averaging nearly 50 in first class games until he had to fill in with the gloves, due to Riki Wessels' injury. We have two good overseas pros this year: Johan Van der Wath (South Africa) and Chris Rogers (Australia). We shouldn’t lose these two to international duty and they could play a key role - Rogers was superb last season hitting two double hundreds and a triple hundred. Meanwhile, Lance Klusener batted exceptionally last season. Uzman Afzaal, Stephen Peters and the reliable Sales should complete the batting order with Wessels or Niall O’Brien in at 5, 6 or 7 with the gloves.
It will be interesting to see who emerges as the regular gloveman; Wessels has done a good job in the last couple of seasons, but O’Brien has international experience and do we let a capped international play 2nd team cricket? Wessels starts as favourite to play because O’Brien was only brought in for cover, but an impressive World Cup could even it out for O’Brien. It is anyone’s guess at this stage who will play. This is a hell of a one-day batting unit and not a bad one in the Championship arena. Rob White will play a part too, mostly in the one-day tournaments in which his huge hitting can be very effective.
Bowling:
A virtually new look bowling line-up all together. Out - Phillips, Nicholson. In - Logan, Browning (youth and 2nd team player), Dawson.
Sadly, it seems Monty Panesar won’t be in the team much more, going on to international hero status. This means we have signed Richard Dawson from Yorkshire as our 2nd spinner - he will certainly play in the majority of games. Richard Logan looks a half-decent signing and I am looking forward to seeing how he does. Browning probably won’t play too much as he is only 18 and will play a lot of 2nd team stuff.
Put these new bowlers with the old Jason Brown, we have a respectable line up, with Van Der Wath opening the bowling and Klusener putting in a few overs.
Probable Championship side:
Peters
Rogers
Afzaal
Sales (capt)
Wessels / O’Brien (wk)
Klusener
Van Der Wath
Wigley/Crook
Logan
Dawson
Brown
With our powerful batting line-up, I feel we have every chance of winning the Pro40 competition. In the Championship, promotion will probably prove elusive, while the Twenty20 is anyone's guess. Considering Northants' penchant for starting the season slowly, though, do not expect much in the C & G Trophy.
Key Man:
Got to be Lance Klusener. He is a legend down here already. Had a great season last season and we are hoping for much of the same. He plays as a batsmen in Championship cricket now, just bowling as a fill-in. He can still hit it a mile when he gets going, although his inconsistency in one-day cricket is slightly frustrating. However when he is at his best in one-day cricket he is a match-winner: last season he almost single-handedly won us a few games, in both formats.
Rising Star:
Tough one. Ryan Nelson looks good at only 19, although I doubt it very much that he will break into the first XI. It will be experiance all the way, much like last season.
Captain and Coach:
Very pleased with the captain, David Sales, who is in his benefit year. He is a top batsmen and a good captain, can’t ask for any more than that. David Capel took over for the last third of 2006 and you can’t fault him. Our form went up and he gets on well with the boys. A million times better than Wessels.
2006 in a nutshell:
It was an average season for Northants in 2006, that saw us win only 1 C and G tie early on and some poor championship form gave us a bad start to the season. In June Kelper Wessels got sacked as coach and we never looked back - we qualified for the Twenty20 quarter-finals, came 3rd in the Pro40, and even our championship form picked up. Lance Klusener was our star man, basically running the show.
2007 prospects:
I am hopeful for 2007, we have a good group of players, and, with a fine captain and captain, this may even be the year in which we finally win a trophy.
Batting:
I am disappointed to lose Bilal Shafayat after only 2 years at Northants. He was a key batsmen to us and was averaging nearly 50 in first class games until he had to fill in with the gloves, due to Riki Wessels' injury. We have two good overseas pros this year: Johan Van der Wath (South Africa) and Chris Rogers (Australia). We shouldn’t lose these two to international duty and they could play a key role - Rogers was superb last season hitting two double hundreds and a triple hundred. Meanwhile, Lance Klusener batted exceptionally last season. Uzman Afzaal, Stephen Peters and the reliable Sales should complete the batting order with Wessels or Niall O’Brien in at 5, 6 or 7 with the gloves.
It will be interesting to see who emerges as the regular gloveman; Wessels has done a good job in the last couple of seasons, but O’Brien has international experience and do we let a capped international play 2nd team cricket? Wessels starts as favourite to play because O’Brien was only brought in for cover, but an impressive World Cup could even it out for O’Brien. It is anyone’s guess at this stage who will play. This is a hell of a one-day batting unit and not a bad one in the Championship arena. Rob White will play a part too, mostly in the one-day tournaments in which his huge hitting can be very effective.
Bowling:
A virtually new look bowling line-up all together. Out - Phillips, Nicholson. In - Logan, Browning (youth and 2nd team player), Dawson.
Sadly, it seems Monty Panesar won’t be in the team much more, going on to international hero status. This means we have signed Richard Dawson from Yorkshire as our 2nd spinner - he will certainly play in the majority of games. Richard Logan looks a half-decent signing and I am looking forward to seeing how he does. Browning probably won’t play too much as he is only 18 and will play a lot of 2nd team stuff.
Put these new bowlers with the old Jason Brown, we have a respectable line up, with Van Der Wath opening the bowling and Klusener putting in a few overs.
Probable Championship side:
Peters
Rogers
Afzaal
Sales (capt)
Wessels / O’Brien (wk)
Klusener
Van Der Wath
Wigley/Crook
Logan
Dawson
Brown
With our powerful batting line-up, I feel we have every chance of winning the Pro40 competition. In the Championship, promotion will probably prove elusive, while the Twenty20 is anyone's guess. Considering Northants' penchant for starting the season slowly, though, do not expect much in the C & G Trophy.
Key Man:
Got to be Lance Klusener. He is a legend down here already. Had a great season last season and we are hoping for much of the same. He plays as a batsmen in Championship cricket now, just bowling as a fill-in. He can still hit it a mile when he gets going, although his inconsistency in one-day cricket is slightly frustrating. However when he is at his best in one-day cricket he is a match-winner: last season he almost single-handedly won us a few games, in both formats.
Rising Star:
Tough one. Ryan Nelson looks good at only 19, although I doubt it very much that he will break into the first XI. It will be experiance all the way, much like last season.
Captain and Coach:
Very pleased with the captain, David Sales, who is in his benefit year. He is a top batsmen and a good captain, can’t ask for any more than that. David Capel took over for the last third of 2006 and you can’t fault him. Our form went up and he gets on well with the boys. A million times better than Wessels.
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