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Home   /   Cricket Weekly Column #1 World Cup: Round One Roundup
Posted on by Riley Taylor

By Riley Taylor (@rileyttaylor21)

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Welcome to the first edition of Overtime’s Cricket Weekly Column, where every week we look at the weeks biggest cricket stories and games.

With the Cricket World Cup getting underway on Thursday, May 30th, Overtime will be covering each week’s fixtures and then creating a best eleven from the weeks play.

This week it’s a bumper issue of Cricket Weekly with 10 games to cover!

Thursday May 30 England v South Africa at The Oval

England: 311/8 (Stokes 89, Morgan 57, Roy 54, Root 51, Ngidi 3-66, Tahir 2-61, Rabada 2-66)

South Africa: 207 (de Kock 68, van der Dussen 50, Archer 3-27, Stokes 2-12, Plunkett 2-37)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8192

With all eyes on the world’s number one team on home soil, there may have been a lot of pressure for England to perform in the World Cup opener.

Jason Roy and Joe Root made well-constructed fifties but neither batsman could push on as they fell in consecutive balls.

Captain Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes put together the highest partnership of the game (106) to steady the ship. Morgan notched his 46th ODI half-century before he fell for 57 to hand the momentum back to South Africa in the final overs.

However, despite the wickets of Buttler(18), Moeen(3) and Woakes(13) falling around him Stokes made a confident 89, proving the doubters wrong. Some late hitting from Liam Plunkett (9 not out) and Jofra Archer (7 not out) guided England to a strong total on a tough batting surface.

England bowled well but they were certainly helped by Hashim Amla being forced off the field after taking a blow to the head from a short ball off the impressive Jofra Archer.

The Barbados-born seamer got reward from his bowling when he dismissed Aiden Markram (11) and du Plessis (5) in quick succession.

Quinton De Kock (68) and Rassie van der Dussen (50) made South Africa’s only major partnership (85). But when De Kock was out caught at fine-leg by Root this started the rot for South Africa.

Pretorius was run out for one by Stokes before the Durham all-rounder took a catch off Moeen to dismiss JP Duminy (8). Stokes topped off his extraordinary fielding display when he caught Phelukwayo (24) by launching himself horizontally towards the boundary and clinging on to the ball with an outstretched right hand.  

Plunkett then removed Amla (13) when he returned and when Stokes was brought on he removed Rabada (6) and Tahir (0) to get England off to the perfect start.

MOTM: Who else but Ben Stokes. 89 runs, two wickets and some exceptional fielding capped off a superb day for the all-rounder.

Friday May 31 West Indies v Pakistan at Trent Bridge

Pakistan: 105 (Fakhar 22, Babar 22, Thomas 4-22, Holder 3-42)

West Indies: 108/3 (Gayle 50, Pooran 34no, Amir 3-26)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8193

Pakistan are always a team that are always impossible to predict ahead of a big tournament ever since their Champions Trophy win in 2017 despite being large underdogs.

But going into the World Cup, they were coming off the back of a 4-0 series defeat to England and a 5-0 defeat to Australia.

This was the side that turned up to game versus the West Indies as they were routed out by the short ball thanks to the fast bowling-quartet of one-day debutant Oshane Thomas, captain Jason Holder, Andre Russell and Sheldon Cottrell.

Only two Pakistani batsmen passed 20 as they amassed their second-lowest World Cup score.

In response, Mohammed Amir removed Shai Hope (11) and Darren Bravo (0) in back-to-back overs before Chris Gayle (50) and Nicholas Pooran (34 not out) took the West Indies to within touching distance.

Gayle was eventually out to give Amir his third after he still managed to hit a half-century despite an injured back. Shimron Hetmyer joined Pooran and the two young West-Indians guided their team home.

MOTM: Oshane Thomas – a superb one-day debut for the fast bowler, his spell tore apart the Pakistan innings and setup a win for the Windies.

Saturday June 1 Sri Lanka v New Zealand at Cardiff

Sri Lanka: 136 (Karunaratne 52no, Kusal 29, Ferguson 3-22, Henry 3-29)

New Zealand: 137/0 (Munro 73no, Guptill 58no, 0-11 Ajantha)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8194

Sri Lanka have had many an issue in one-day cricket leading up to this world cup. Whether it be a late change of captain or controversial changes to their World Cup squad.

Their last visit to England saw a whitewash in all formats for the Sri Lankans and they did not fair well in the prior warm-up games as they were well beaten by South Africa and Australia.

This form carried over to their opener, with the New Zealand bowlers wreaking havoc with only three Sri Lankan’s reaching double figures, with Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry the pick of the bowlers both taking three wickets each.

Ferguson looked good and bowled at a fierce pace, adding to the impressive fast bowling displays that the tournament has produced so far.

New Zealand were ruthless in reply with Martin Guptill and Colin Munro dismantling the Sri Lankan bowling attack, as they polished off the game by 10 wickets.

MOTM: Matt Henry – it was close between him and Ferguson, but a strong opening spell saw him remove Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera and Kusal Mendis early on which set a strong tone for New Zealand’s bowling.

Saturday June 1 Afghanistan v Australia at Bristol

Afghanistan: 207 (Najibullah 52, Rahmat 43, Cummins 3-40, Zampa 3-60)

Australia: 209/3 (Warner 89no, Finch 66, Gulbadin 1-32, Mujeeb 1-45)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8195

The dark horses of the tournament in Afghanistan came up against an Australian team who have hit form at the right time.

With David Warner and Steve Smith returning from their one-year bans, all eyes were on how they would perform going straight back into the Australian team.

It was to be the Australian bowlers to make the perfect start as Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc dismissing both Afghanistan openers for ducks.

Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis ran through the middle order despite resistance from Najibullah Zadran (51), Rahmat Shah (43) and Gulbadin Naib (31).

Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman put on a valuable 39-run partnership to give Afghanistan a sniff before Cummins returned to polish off the tail.

In reply, Aaron Finch (66) and Warner (89no) took apart the Afghan attack despite a hesitant approach from Warner who finished with a 78.07 strike rate.

Afghanistan captain, Gulbadin Naib got the breakthrough by removing Finch via a slower ball.

However, Warner was able to guide Australia home despite Afghanistan picking up the wickets of Usman Khawaja (15) and Smith (18).

MOTM: David Warner – a concentrated and controlled innings from the returning opener capped off an easy win for Australia.

Sunday June 2 Bangladesh v South Africa at The Oval

Bangladesh: 330/6 (Rahim 78, Shakib 75, Phelukwayo 2-52, Tahir 2-57)

South Africa: 309/8 (du Plessis 62, Duminy 45, Mustafizur 3-67, Saifuddin 2-57)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8196

South Africa looked to bounce back from their crushing defeat to England with a game against the giant killers Bangladesh, a team who defeated England in the last edition of the World Cup.

Bangladesh started well through Tamim Iqbal (42) and Soumya Sarkar (16) but they were both were removed within three overs by Andile Phelukwayo and Chris Morris to get South Africa back in the game.

Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim put on the highest stand of the game (142) to take control, with both batsmen passing 50.

An injury to Lungi Ngidi did not help South Africa’s bowling struggles but Imran Tahir helped their cause by removing Shakib (75) and Mohammed Mithun (21).

Rahim fell for 78 but some late hitting from Mahmudullah (46no) and Mossaddek Hossain (26) pushed Bangladesh to a huge total.

South Africa started slowly in reply and struggled to mount any pressure on Bangladesh as the top six batsmen all got starts but got out before they could push on.

JP Duminy (45) added some late resistance but some excellent bowling from Bangladesh stopped their late charge to take an easy victory.

Pressure is certainly on South Africa now after two defeats from two and there will be questions asked about their when chasing.

MOTM: Mustafizur Rahman – some tight bowling put pressure on South Africa in the run chase and then he executed some perfect yorkers to take wickets.

Monday June 3 Pakistan v England at Trent Bridge

Pakistan: 348/8 (Hafeez 84, Babar 63, Moeen 3-50, Woakes 3-71)

England: 334/9 (Root 107, Buttler 103, Wahab 3-82, Shadab 2-63)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8197

Earlier I mentioned that Pakistan are known for being inconsistent, well this was shown more than ever against England.

After being thrashed by the West Indies it seemed that Pakistan were outside shots.

They started off well at the same ground where they conceded 444 three years ago, Imam ul-Haq (44) and Fakhar Zaman (36) with an 82-run opening partnership.

Both batsmen were removed before Babar Azam (63), Mohammad Hafeez (84) and Sarfraz Ahmed (55) capitalised on poor England bowling and fielding.

Mark Wood and Chris Woakes picked up late wickets to halt progress, but the Pakistanis still built a big total for England to chase.

England’s confidence seemed down after a lacklustre performance in the field. This showed immediately when the often-reliable Jason Roy, who had dropped an easy chance to dismiss Hafeez, went cheaply when he was LBW to Shadab Khan in second over.

England test captain Joe Root watched as Jonny Bairstow (32), Eoin Morgan (9) and Ben Stokes (13) fell cheaply to leave the World Cup favourites in trouble.

Root (107) and Jos Buttler (103) made excellent hundreds to get England back in the game but they both gave their wickets away to hand control back to Pakistan.

Moeen Ali (19) and Woakes (21) struggled to keep up with the rate as Pakistan bowled tightly.

Wahab Riaz then removed them in back to back balls to seal the game for Pakistan and to hand England a reality check.

MOTM: Mohammed Hafeez – He capitalised on Roy’s drop and setup a big score for Pakistan.

Tuesday June 4 Sri Lanka v Afghanistan at Cardiff

Sri Lanka: 201 (Perera 78, Karunaratne 30, Nabi 4-30, Rashid 2-17)

Afghanistan: 152 (Naib 43, Zazai 30, Pradeep 4-31, Malinga 3-39)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8198

The first game affected by rain in this edition of the World Cup saw a tight contest as both sides look to bounce back from heavy defeats.

Kusal Perera (78) was the only batsman to pass 50 for Sri Lanka as a late collapse saw them lose 57 for nine as Mohammed Nabi took four wickets.

Afghanistan in reply did not fair much better as Najibullah Zadran (43) and Hazratullah Zazai (30) were the only resistance as Sri Lankan seamers Lasith Malinga (3-39) and Nuwan Pradeep (4-31) tore through the batting order.

— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) June 4, 2019

MOTM: Kusal Perera – His knock held the Sri Lankan innings together and without it there would not of been a target to set.

Wednesday June 5 South Africa v India at Ageas Bowl

South Africa: 227/9 (Morris 42, du Plessis 38, Chahal 4-51, Bumrah 2-35)

India: 230/4 (Rohit 122no, Dhoni 34, Rabada 2-39, Morris 1-36)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8199

South Africa looked to bounce back from two straight defeats by taking on close favourites India.

On a slow Southampton pitch, India’s bowlers ripped through a weak and low on confidence South African batting line-up, the pair of seamers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar picking up two wickets each before leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal picked up four wickets.

In reply, Rohit Sharma showed why he was being touted for highest run scorer of the tournament with a stunning innings of 122 not out that was both aggressive and controlled.

South Africa did pick up wickets due to the pitch offering something for the bowlers, but India were still able to get home with three overs to spare to pick up a win from their first game.

MOTM: Yuzvendra Chahal – he backed up good spells from Kumar and Bumrah as he ransacked the South African order with superb spin bowling.

Wednesday June 5 Bangladesh v New Zealand at The Oval

Bangladesh: 244 (Shakib 64, Saifuddin 29, Henry 4-47, Boult 2-44)

New Zealand: 248/8 (Taylor 82, Williamson 40, Mossaddek 2-33, Saifuddin 2-47)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8200

New Zealand looked to make it three wins from three as they faced a Bangladesh team on good form after defeating South Africa.

It seemed that the New Zealand bowling would be too much for Bangladesh as Matt Henry (4-47) and Trent Boult (2-44) rattled through the Bangladesh batting order, Shakib Al Hasan (64) the only player to offer decent resistance.

Despite losing Martin Guptill (25) and Colin Munro (24) early, New Zealand looked in control of the run chase with Kane Williamson (40) and Ross Taylor (82) making the runs.

But Bangladesh fought back as New Zealand lost five for 58 to as the Tigers looked to be causing another shock.

However, the tail managed to wag as Mitchell Santner (17no) guided New Zealand home as they went top of the table.

MOTM: Matt Henry – Another award for another stunning spell of bowling from the seamer.

Thursday June 6 West Indies v Australia at Trent Bridge

Australia: 288 (Coulter-Nile 92, Smith 73, Brathwaite 3-67, Russell 2-41)

West Indies: 273/9 (Hope 68, Holder 51, Starc 5-46, Cummins 2-41)

Full scorecard: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/match/8201

The battle of the one-day renaissances ended in a tight affair at Trent Bridge as Australia took on the West Indies.

In tough batting conditions Australia were routed out early on as they collapsed to 147 for six. But destructive hitting from Nathan Coulter-Nile (92) and good support from Steve Smith (73) allowed Australia to build a total that they could at least defend.

West Indies struggled in reply but were not helped by the umpires as Chris Gayle (21) was given out LBW one ball after Mitchell Starc bowled a no-ball.

West Indies looked comfortable up until Shai Hope (68) and Jason Holder (51) were removed before Mitchell Starc then ran through the order with some superb yorkers to snatch victory from the West Indies.

MOTM: Nathan Coulter-Nile – A destructive innings that gave Australia a total to bowl at, he backed up his innings with a good spell with the ball.

After the first week of fixtures, this is what the table looks like: https://www.cricketworldcup.com/standings

Overtime’s Best XI Round One:

  1. David Warner (AUS)
  2. Rohit Sharma (IND)
  3. Kusal Perera (SRI)
  4. Shakib Al Hasan (BAN)
  5. Mohammed Hafeez (PAK)
  6. Ben Stokes (ENG)
  7. Mushfiqur Rahim (BAN)
  8. Nathan Coulter-Nile (AUS)
  9. Mustafizur Rahman (BAN)
  10. Matt Henry (NEW)
  11. Oshane Thomas (WI)

For more cricket content click here: http://www.overtimeonline.co.uk/category/cricket/

Sub-edited by Tony Robertson

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