Bangladesh Vs West Indies 2011 Cricket World Cup Match Preview

West Indies and Bangladesh will have their eyes firmly trained on quarterfinal berths when the two sides meet in a must-win group B match of the ICC Cricket World Cup on Friday.

ESPNSTAR.com will be showing ALL the games of the tournament LIVE and in full. There's now no excuse to miss a minute's action thanks to www.espnstar.com/cwclive - ENJOY!

Click  Here to see the list of countries where LIVE and FREE ICC CWC STREAMING is available

Follow these links to find out all you want to know about the Teams, Star Players, Captains, Statistics,Factoids, History, Venues and of course the Fixtures of the ICC Cricket World Cup.

MATCH PREVIEW

West Indies team manager Richie Richardson is full of optimism ahead of his team`s clash with Bangladesh in Mirpur, despite being below the co-hosts in the official International Cricket Council`s one-day rankings.

An era of struggle has seen the Windies` stock fall to such an extent that they are not considered automatic favourites to beat Bangladesh.

But Richardson is not thinking about that and, in fact, the former West Indies captain is demanding success in the competition on the whole.

"To win every single match, that's my target. To win the ICC Cricket World Cup," he said.

"I am very confident that we can win this ICC CWC. I am very positive. We are playing positive cricket, the guys are improving every day, and I am feeling very, very confident."

Richardson, who also represented Yorkshire during his career, was defiant that his players do not fear anyone.

He added: "We are ready to tackle any opposition, any spin attack, any pace attack, any team. We are prepared to take them on. We are positive and intend to go out there and play positive cricket.

"It's always difficult playing against a home team on their turf. Obviously they know the conditions really well, and they have the home support - we have beaten people all over the world, so we are not worried about that."

The West Indies have a win and a defeat to their name after their opening two matches, the same record as Bangladesh, and Richardson did acknowledge the crunch group B match will not be easy.

"Every match is a challenge. Every team is difficult - we are not taking any team for granted," he said.

"Playing in Bangladesh is a bit tough, but we believe we have the ability, and we certainly have the belief now that we can beat Bangladesh."

Meanwhile Bangladesh spinner Abdur Razzak is hoping the wicket will suit the hosts after their spinners struggled in the opening games.

He said: "Hopefully we will get some turn on this pitch - we did not get enough in the first two matches. This one looks like it is going to turn, but then you can't say for sure before you actually play on it."

Razzak also claimed that he is ready to face destructive opener Chris Gayle in the upcoming match, adding: "I am absolutely ready to take on Gayle. There is no way you can take a step backwards or you could get pushed over. It does not help if you go on to the back foot."

Teams:

West Indies: Darren Sammy (capt), Chris Gayle, Devon Smith, Darren Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kieron Pollard, Devon Thomas, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, Kirk Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Devendra Bishoo.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Shahriar Nafees, Raqibul Hasan, Mohammad Ashraful, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Mohammad Mahmudullah, Abdur Razzak, Rubel Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Suhrawadi Shuvo.

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI) and Steve Davis (AUS)

West Indies vs Bangladesh in ODIs/World Cup

ODIs

West Indies have won eleven and lost three out of 16 played (NR 2) out of 16 played. Winning % 78.57 for West Indies and 21.42 for Bangladesh.

World Cup

West Indies have won both the result-oriented games against Bangladesh out of three played.

Kenya had no answer to Lasith Malinga

Lasith Malinga announced his return to full fitness by storming his way to an unprecedented second World Cup hat-trick with an exhibition of yorker-on-demand bowling that proved too much for Kenya's tail at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. The visitors imploded to 142 all out despite dogged half-centuries from the Obuya brothers, who enjoyed plenty of fortune in a determined 94-run stand that kept the varied threats of Sri Lanka's bowling at bay for nearly 30 overs. Sri Lanka's batsmen barely had to break a sweat in the chase, finishing it off in 18 overs.



The Obuyas weren't exactly convincing - testing every edge of their bat, surviving close lbw calls, regularly air-driving outside off and rarely reading the spinner's variations - but hung on obdurately to take Kenya into triple-digits. A solid platform was in place when they had hauled Kenya to 102 for 2, but Malinga's burst demolished the tail as the final eight wickets were blasted out for 40 runs. None of the other Kenyan batsmen made it past single-figures.

The Kenyan collapse was rapid: it took only 22 deliveries for them to go from 127 for 4 to being bowled out. Muttiah Muralitharan started it off by getting the set batsman David Obuya to slog-sweep to midwicket.

Then it was Malinga time. Jimmy Kamande barely found his bearings after being struck by a toe-crusher, and decided to go for a single when the ball was only a couple of metres away from him. Chamara Silva pounced from midwicket and did a passable imitation of Jonty Rhodes from 1992 to crash into the stumps and dismiss Kamande.

Tanmay Mishra was next, becoming the first victim of Malinga's hat-trick after missing a full delivery on leg stump to fall for a 13-ball duck. It was the final ball of the over, and Malinga gave Peter Ongondo the warmest welcome possible to the tournament in the first ball of his next - a yorker that uprooted middle. The staggered dismissals meant many in the crowd weren't aware that Malinga was on a hat-trick. He steamed in and middle stump was dismantled again next ball, the clueless batsman this time was Shem Ngoche.

Attention then shifted to whether Malinga could repeat his outrageous four-in-four from the 2007 World Cup, but he sprayed a wild delivery for five leg-side wides. Elijah Otieno defended the next ball, but that was followed by another unstoppable yorker from Malinga that thud into leg stump to end Kenya's innings. Malinga had taken four in five legal deliveries to finish with 6 for 38.

A tiresomely familiar tale seemed set to play out earlier in the afternoon when Kenya slid to 8 for 2 in the third over. Nuwan Kulasekara and Malinga removed the openers cheaply with their favourite weapons - Kulasekara getting Maurice Ouma with an inducker, and Malinga dislodging Seren Waters with an inswinging yorker that left the batsman on his knees.

The Obuyas ensured there wasn't a repeat of Kenya's house-of-cards performance against New Zealand. Kulasekara gave away only nine runs in a constricting six-over opening spell, but Kenya were more at ease against Angelo Mathews, who was taken for a couple of boundaries.

Sri Lanka brought on the spin of Ajantha Mendis in the 14th over to break the frustrating stand, but though the batsmen weren't sure which way the ball would turn, they survived his bag of tricks with some dour defence. Kumar Sangakkara then turned to Muttiah Muralitharan to get the wickets, but though there were leading edges and outside edges, Murali couldn't break through, with the batsmen negotiating him with a series of sweeps.

It was painfully slow progress from the Obuyas, and after more than two hours of defiance, it was that most deadly of weapons that separated them - a Malinga yorker. Some more of those left Sri Lanka chasing a tiny target in front of a raucous Colombo crowd.

The fans had even more to cheer when Sri Lanka batted, as Tillkaratne Dilshan provided a typically fast start with an array of punches through cover. He picked up a couple of boundaries in three successive overs to power Sri Lanka to 51 in the sixth over. Upul Tharanga, who started sedately, then joined the party with three fours in the next over. Dilshan fell short of a half-century, but Tharanga went on to make 67 with a string of lofted boundaries in the batting Powerplay to hasten the finish, and push Sri Lanka to the top of the table on net run-rate.

England vs Ireland ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: Preview

Bangalore: After snatching a thrilling tie against favourites India, a rampaging England will look to mow down minnows Ireland and pocket the crucial two points when they meet in a group B match of the cricket World Cup on Wednesday.


After an unconvincing victory against Holland in their opening match, England were in sniffing distance of a memorable win over India on Sunday but the English team almost threw the chance before holding on to an astonishing tie.


Having three points from two matches, England are placed just behind India in the table with the only thing separating them being the run-rate. Andrew Strauss' men would hope to notch up a huge win tomorrow to get to the top.


England's batting has fired in both their previous encounters where they chased down 292 against Holland and scored 338 against India and skipper Strauss would want another solid performance from his batters.


However, the bowling has been a bit lacklustre as they have been leaking runs galore. James Anderson produced the worst World Cup performance by and Englishman when he gave away 91 runs in 9.5 overs, while Stuart Broad's replacement Ajmal Shahzad bled 53 in eight overs against India.


Save for Tim Bresnan, who took 5-48, none of the other bowlers, including spinners have been very successful.


Ian Bell, however, defended the bowlers and said England team are now a genuine World Cup contender.


"I think the conditions have been very hard for the bowlers. The batting team has to score heavy to defend. It was a fantastic performance by Tim (Bresnan) on a surface like this. He is in incredible form," Bell said.


"We were chasing 338 and I do not think so many teams in the past would have done that. We have got the quality in bowling and we were 100 per cent right in our fielding too.


"We can be a threat to the other teams in the World Cup if we start playing collectively as a group. As a team we can match anyone," Bell said.


Ireland, on the other hand, didn't have much to take home from their match against Bangladesh, their first match of the World Cup.


Ireland's bowlers fared better than the batsmen as they dismissed Bangladesh for 205. But the team was let down by the batsmen as they failed to chase down the total and it would take a mammoth effort if they have to salvage any hope of an upset tomorrow.


"We have to bounce back. We can't let it (defeat against Bangladesh) bother us. We have to leave the batting here and move on to Bangalore," Skipper William Porterfield said.


Interestingly, Ireland will have the services of some of the regulars of English county circuit such as Ed Joyce, who was granted special dispensation by the ICC to play for the country of his birth at the last moment.


Joyce, who was dropped by England after the side's dismal showing at the 2007 World Cup, will be joined by Somerset spinner George Dockrell tomorrow.


Bell also reckoned there are some dangerous players in the Ireland side who can spoil their party.


"We know a fair bit (about Ireland). These days a lot of those guys are respected on the county circuit. They have earned respect in international one-day cricket and there is a lot of experience in their side from county cricket.


"It's a game we're looking forward to and will have to play well in. It is not a game we can turn up and just coast. There are some dangerous players in that Ireland side," he said.

Squads (from):

England: Andrew Strauss (capt), Kevin Pietersen, Jonathan Trott, Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood, Ravi Bopara, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Michael Yardy, Ajmal Shahzad, James Tredwell, Luke Wright


Ireland: William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Niall O'Brien, Kevin O'Brien, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, John Mooney, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Gary Wilson, Andrew White, Ed Joyce

Umpires: Aleem Dar (PAK) and Billy Bowden (NZL)

TV umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)

Match referee: Roshan Mahanama (SRI)

Match start: 1430 IST.

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 11 Runs : World Cup 2011 Scorecard

IMAGE AND ARTICLE COURTESY : CRICINFO, ESPN, STAR SPORTS, @AFP

MATCH SUMMARY : Pakistan 277 for 7 (Misbah 83*, Younis 72) beat Sri Lanka 266 for 9 (Silva 57, Afridi 4-34) by 11 runs.

Anyone out there who still thinks Pakistan are not dangerous contenders for the World Cup? With tremendous poise and skill in the middle overs, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan propelled Pakistan, who were on a tricky 105 for 2 in the 21st over, to a strong 277, before Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akthar produced bits of magic to derail the chase. Chamara Silva threatened to pull off a thrilling heist with a flurry of boundaries, and Nuwan Kulasekara made one heroic last-ditch effort to reduce the equation to 18 runs from the final over. Umar Gul, however, held his nerve to steer Pakistan home and end a mesmeric exhibition of high-quality cricket in Colombo

Pakistan’s innings had everything: rapid start, brain fade, tranquil middle overs, fabulous end-over bowling from Muttiah Muralitharan, who gave only five runs from two batting Powerplay overs, and finally a Misbah blitz, with 32 runs flowing from the final three overs, which eventually made the difference.

The chase too nearly had it all: two inspired moments bursting with imagination and skill from Shoaib and Afridi, two failed stumpings, a dropped catch and a late surge from Silva, who woke up too late after a painstaking start.

In the 21st over, Shoaib produced a crafty offcutter, slightly slower and darting in from outside off, to breach the defences of Mahela Jayawardene and leave Sri Lanka stuttering at 95 for 3. In the next, Afridi ripped a loopy leg break that dipped rapidly on Thilan Samaraweera, who was sucked out of his crease and left stranded as Kamran Akmal effected a smart stumping. Akmal later missed two leg-side stumping chances to let off Kumar Sangakkara, on 22 and 33, off Abdur Rehman. The first one kicked more than Akmal anticipated and he had no excuse for the second. Rehman, himself, dropped a sitter to reprieve Silva. However, the twin blows had left Sangakkara with too much to do, especially with Silva struggling to get started, and he fell by holing out to long-on. Silva then stirred from his slumber to reduce the equation from 88 from 47 balls to 46 from 24. He slog swept Rehman for two fours and pulled Gul and Shoaib for more boundaries before he was stumped. Kulasekara took over the baton, whipping a 14-ball 24 but the task proved beyond him.

India vs England at Bangalore : ICC World Cup 2011 Preview

IMAGE AND ARTICLE COURTESY : CRICINFO

 

The build-up and hype ahead of this match has been huge and we are still barely into the second week of the World Cup. This was always going to be one of the marquee clashes of the tournament, and even though it has been moved away from Eden Gardens to the slightly less daunting Chinnaswamy Stadium, that hasn’t dulled the anticipation. You only need to see the unfortunate pictures from outside the ground during the week, as locals rushed for tickets, to know how desperate they are to watch their team.

However, there are two sides taking part and England are insisting they can use the expectation being piled on to the hosts in their favour. From a purely cricket view, the stadium switch won’t have disappointed Andrew Strauss’s team because, both on and off the field in Bangalore, conditions will be slightly less hostile than could have been the case in Kolkata.

Yet England’s record against India in their own backyard makes for grim reading. They have won one of their last 13 completed ODIs in the country, going back to the 5-1 drubbing in 2006 and the 5-0 scoreline in 2008, before the series was cancelled due to the Mumbai bombings. In between they were also thrashed at the 2006 Champions Trophy. On one hand the odds say they are due a win, but on the other the statistics make damning reading. If they want to spoil India’s World Cup party the key will be containing the power-packed top order. Virender Sehwag set down the gauntlet with 175 against Bangaldesh and was backed up by Virat Kohli’s fine hundred. Sachin Tendulkar was cut short on 25, while Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni didn’t even need to bat. It’s a daunting prospect, but England have shown they can rise for the big occasion. Whatever happens, let’s hope it matches the expectation