Cricket World Cup 2015 - Anyone Watching?

Baasha

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2010
1,997
20
81
Just got the ESPN WC 2015 package ($100) for live-streaming.

Works like a charm!

And, what better way than to start off with India vs. Pakistan!

Wheeeee!

Anyone else get the ESPN package?

Who's watching?!?

Chak de India!
 

Baasha

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2010
1,997
20
81
can you watch it on an iPad and then airplay to an apple TV?

well iPad works.. don't have Apple TV.. but that would be a good thing to try..

I'm watching it on my PC...

Watching sub-720P on a 5K monitor..

looks like ass..
 

DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
15,366
740
126
I like the fact that there are only two pools this time, but the delay in matches is ridiculous, one match per week! I hope they would accommodate the matches with the lesser teams during the week and keep the good matches during the weened.

Anywho, India is in good position imo, The result of match with Pak was no surprise but the way they won was amazing!

The one with SA was totally unexpected, wow, what happened to SA?

The third match with UAE will also be a win but I am afraid that 3 wins in a row might get into their heads...

India in already in the playoffs, if you will, so it does not really matter anymore. Real series will being then.

One very disturbing thing is how poorly the teams that bat second are doing, its scary. India was lucky to win the toss in the 1st two games. It will be a real make or break during playoffs. In day-night games the team batting second is always at a disadvantage, they should not allow those during the playoffs, but money talks, that's when the viewership is maximum so I don't think that's gonna change...
 

radhak

Senior member
Aug 10, 2011
843
14
81
how is batting second a disadvantage? stadium has no lights?

It is not, universally. But in some conditions it becomes so.

The matches in this world cup are a mix of day or day/night. The day matches go from about 10 am to 5pm (nearabout) local time while the day/night matches start at around 2pm and go on till 10pm. Obviously these latter need floodlights for the 2nd half of the game.

Just these different timings give you different playing conditions - chasing a target of runs under floodlights is trickier (shadows, uneven lighting, etc), so the side winning the toss might opt to bat first. But at the same time, if there's dew in the grass, the ball gets slippery and difficult to grip and spin, which might offset the problems for the batsmen.

And there are other conditions that impact - wind, rain, grass (or not) on the pitch, how hard the ground is (so balls get dispatched quicker to the boundaries), etc.

Biggest is of course mental - a team that would easily score 300+ when batting first, may falter when chasing 250; all because they let the stress get to them. And that's what has been observed in this world-cup: of the 17 matches till date, only 7 were won chasing. Of course, that is not very one-sided and could get corrected in a day or two.
 

The Green Bean

Diamond Member
Jul 27, 2003
6,506
7
81
Stopped watching the day Pakistan got thrashed by India
Now I will only follow India's matches. To make sure they lose
 

Timorous

Golden Member
Oct 27, 2008
1,727
3,152
136
how is batting second a disadvantage? stadium has no lights?

It really depends on the pitch as to if batting first or second is the best / worst option.

With a green pitch the ball is likely to move around more, especially a new ball, so a good bowling line up can make use of the green pitch and new ball combination to remove the better batsmen from the opposing team resulting in a low run chase. It can obviously backfire if they bowl badly or if the opposing team bat really well so it is a risky strategy.

With a flat pitch the ball is less likely to move around so you want to bat first and try and put up a high total. As radhak points out this puts scoreboard pressure on the team batting second and even if they are the better team that pressure can cause them to falter.

There are other things to consider like weather conditions, the ball tends to move more in overcast conditions vs bright sunny conditions so that can also play into the decision.

There is also the fact that a pitch that has been played on for 20 overs is likely to have a few more undulations in it which a good bowler will aim for to get the ball moving in unexpected ways. In T20 though this hardly makes a difference and is more of a consideration for the 5 day game.
 

Baasha

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2010
1,997
20
81
Man.. India is on a roll.. can't believe they beat South Africa by such a wide margin!

And SA is now on overdrive - thrashing the other teams.

Hmm... finally Indian fielding is looking good.. and Shami seems like a real winner. Ashwin is great as well.

One of the best matches was Australia vs. New Zealand! What a nail-biter! hahaha..
 

Baasha

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2010
1,997
20
81
Lol, the day India plays against Pakistan in WC is the final for us, so we won the WC already, nothing else matters

Shoaib Akhtar's bashing the whole team in an interview/discussion after loss to West Indies were priceless!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me4Rf12TJok

ahhahhah.. Shoaib was awesome!

I think he's safe in Mumbai... if he said that shit in Rawalpindi.. we'd be talking about him in past-tense..
 

tmc

Golden Member
Aug 14, 2001
1,116
1
81
the tournament format is such that these group stage matches are almost meaningless.

once in knock out stage, it is QF, SF and FINAL. so, basically 3 wins get you the world cup.

sucky format!
 

KMFJD

Lifer
Aug 11, 2005
29,685
43,947
136
I watched Australia vs NZ on saturday, i've just awoken from my coma...
 

mmntech

Lifer
Sep 20, 2007
17,504
12
0
It's funny how cricket and soccer are hugely popular in every former British colony except Canada and the United States. I guess we like to be different.

I tried watching five minutes of it and I don't get the point of the game. It's like baseball, but there's bowling. Off to Wikipedia.
 

DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
15,366
740
126
Cricket? I'd rather watch paint dry.

That's why they now have T-20, those matches do not last any longer than a typical basketball or football or baseball games. They are fast and fun to watch.

Cricket has changed over the decades, initially a test cricket was the main form of cricket, which lasted 5 days or more, which was boring and failed to gather audience once TV and broadcasting came along. Then came one dayers which was much faster but still lasted the entire day and was once again not exiting enough for the broad masses, so now they have T-30 which typically last 3 to 4 hours.

This is the one day world cup tournament but they have similar tournaments for T-20 too
 

DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
15,366
740
126
the tournament format is such that these group stage matches are almost meaningless.

once in knock out stage, it is QF, SF and FINAL. so, basically 3 wins get you the world cup.

sucky format!

I agree, initially I liked the format as it was less complicated to follow and less chances two good teams missing out the playoffs if you will, but now as I am watching I realize that there are not enough good games and as you said, its just a matter of 3 games.
 

Baasha

Golden Member
Jan 4, 2010
1,997
20
81
It's funny how cricket and soccer are hugely popular in every former British colony except Canada and the United States. I guess we like to be different.

I tried watching five minutes of it and I don't get the point of the game. It's like baseball, but there's bowling. Off to Wikipedia.

LOL.. Both Canada and the US have national cricket teams!

Canada: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_national_cricket_team

US: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_national_cricket_team

Canada was not too bad a few years ago - they didn't qualify this time around.

The US team has no backing yet. Football (soccer in the US) took YEARS of constant promotion, little league type clubs etc. to really take off in popularity here. It requires enormous investment of time and resources. Cricket will be the same - it's fun once you get the basics down - a LOT more variety than baseball etc.

It's more technical and requires far less brute strength than most sports - that's why it's called the "gentleman's game!"
 

Stopsignhank

Platinum Member
Mar 1, 2014
2,339
1,533
136
I have to admit I wish I knew more about cricket. I think I might try to find a video somewhere and see what it is all about. Thanks!
 
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