2011 Call

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/87823338084376577

MCC vs ROW Verdict

MCC will beat ROW on the 5th of July during the bicentenary fixture because:

-More varied batting line up
-More threatening pace options

Misbah's ODI Record vs West Indies

Misbah has 9 half centuries in 15 innings against the West Indies.
Only one of those have come in defeat, that by 2 wickets too only.
96* last time he played against them in a world tournament.

Next game
21st February
Venue: Christchurch in NZ
Day Game

Prediction: Misbah MOM

More

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showpost.php?p=6269564&postcount=128

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showpost.php?p=6269567&postcount=129

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showpost.php?p=6269574&postcount=130

Backing England's Chances

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/219734184388853760

https://www.facebook.com/EnglandWillWinThe2015IccWorldCup

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/434280267562618880

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/215136390541885441

Cautious Call

https://twitter.com/maza786/statuses/451663989475643392

29th March

https://twitter.com/maza786/statuses/449827244954120192

CWC Final 2015

Exactly a year to go.
On this very day next year.
The 11th CWC final.
I'm backing England, NZ or SA to definitely play it.
Not ruling out a Southern Hemisphere victory.
The biggest ODI every 4 years.
The grand game.
For the second time a World Cup final at the MCG.

Great moments in WC finals

Joel Ganer's 5 fer in 1979
Lloyd leading from the front in 1975 
Wasim Akram's bowling in 1992
Mohinder Amarnath's all round performance in 1983
Ponting at his best in 2003
Gilly's brutal assault in 2007
Dhoni's ice cool finishing touches in 2011
Boon's dogged graft in 1987
Warne's heroics in 1999
De Silva sealing the deal in 1996

Random facts:
6 100s in WC finals - Lloyd, Richards, De Silva, Punter, Gilly, MJ
A home team has played only 2 WC finals
Lords has hosted four WC finals
Garner got the only 5 fer in a World Cup final
England lost the 1979 final at home, despite 100+ opening stand in a chase

Final Location By Year

1975 = Lords
1979 = Lords
1983 = Lords
1987 = Kolkota
1992 = MCG
1996 = Lahore
1999 = Lords
2003 = Jo'Burg 
2007 = Barbados 
2011 = Mumbai 
2015 = MCG 

Since Mid 2007-2015

Been 5 World T20s
Been 7 IPLs
Been 6 Champions Leagues
Been 4 Asia Cups
Been 2 Champions Trophies
Been 4 Under 19 World Cups
Been only 1 World Cup - hence the big one, does not came around often

Dark Horses

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/445997082407870464

Eden Park 14th March 2015

On this day next year India play Zimbabwe at Eden Park. I am not ruling out the defending champions posting a record target here. They have a destructive and mightily talented batting line up against lesser bowling, short boundaries and the possibility of needing to score their runs quicker because of NRR with this being the final group game they play from Group B. I feel group B is marginally the easier group of the two, though there is not much to pick between the two.

Calls

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/443838980896063488

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/443839266477850624

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/443839763330904064

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/442330254540300288

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/442696584363782144

Call in Mid 2012

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/219734184388853760

Tipping WI

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/442696584363782144

No Big 3 in Finals

No big 3 in ICC U19 World Cup final 2014
No big 3 in Asia Cup final 2014
I don't think there will be a big 3 in the ICC World T20 final 2014
Can Pakistan make it a treble in reaching finals?

Verdict

5 Best Players in Side

1) Sami
2) Zafar
3) Zia
4) Imam
5) Ghulam

Definitely won't make it

Saif
Raza

My Predictions That Pakistan Will Win ICC U19CWC 2014

https://twitter.com/maza786/statuses/434555249257234433

https://twitter.com/maza786/statuses/434555392211709952

https://twitter.com/maza786/statuses/434555573825052673

https://twitter.com/maza786/statuses/433907769259737088

https://twitter.com/maza786/statuses/429698133459603456

https://twitter.com/maza786/statuses/369489578249314305

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/437187897742356480

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/437250915125710848

https://twitter.com/maza786/status/437310587685834752

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pakistan-U19-Team-For-2012-U19-World-Cup/198721366882053

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=345223062231882&id=198721366882053&stream_ref=10

http://khelopakistanarticles.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/verdict.html

http://khelopakistanarticles.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/re-drafted-previews-of-icc-u19-world-cup.html

http://khelopakistanarticles.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-charm-of-u-19-world-cup.html

http://khelopakistanarticles.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/u19-world-cup-build-up-and-predictions.html

http://www.alloutcricket.com/cricket/blogs/under-19-world-cup-preview

http://khelopakistanarticles.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/harsha-bhogle-to-commentate-at-2014-icc.html

http://pct4ever.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/2014-calls.html

http://pct4ever.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/pakistan-new-season-predictions.html

http://khelopakistanarticles.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/key-players-in-2014-u19-world-cup.html

365 Days Countdown

On this day next year the 11th ICC World Cup will start. Tickets are on sale to the general public, starting from today. Pakistan will play India in their opening match on the 15th of Feb. Of course, never beaten them in a World Cup in 5 meetings but this time they will be defending champions unlike previous 5 occasions when they met Pakistan at a World Cup. Also, South Africa in the same group who we have lost to 3/3 times at the World Cup event, but not met since 1999. West Indies are also in our group who Pakistan tend to lose against in World Cups. Ireland are also in Pakistan's group and they have a 100% record against Pakistan at the World Cup!

It should be an open World Cup and in terms of quality play has every chance of being the best World Cup there has been. But you would think given the conditions teams such as England, South Africa and New Zealand have their best chance of finally winning a World Cup here, teams yet to win one. I personally don't think an Asian team will win it.

Of course, it is a dream to see Misbah as a World Cup winning captain along with Imran, Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Arjuna as other Asian World Cup winning captains. I don't have any doubts that Misbah will deliver extremely impressively, assuredly and consistently as ever as a batter, but I don't think he has the team quality which Imran had to repeat the story last time it was held in that part of the world. They will have their moments and win games, but hard to see them winning it; they will probably crush in a crunch game somewhere like a quarter final. But Misbah's leadership and Misbah's batting are key areas of strength when analysing the team strengths which provide hope.

In Oceania again after 23 years/5 editions, ageing Niazi leading, same PM, but not going to happen this time.

I feel the conditions in New Zealand will suit Pakistan more and they play 2 of their big 3 group matches here as well as a potential quarter final and semi final.  

We will have a lot of activity on this page when the mega event is happening just like we did when Misbah led at the international competitions of the Champions Trophy and Champions League in 2013, in both events batting spectacularly. 

Misbah was on the brink of captaining Pakistan at the 2011 World Cup when the squad during a 6 match ODI series in New Zealand prior to the showpiece event was announced without a captain and there was a lot of educated speculation that the PCB heads were in favour of Misbah captaining as the already Test Captain and now vice captain of the ODI side for the series in New Zealand. Misbah had drawn a test series against the number 2 ranked South African side and won a drought breaking test series in New Zealand which gave Pakistan their first series win after 5 captains, after being named Test captain 4 months before the World Cup with Afridi retired from Test captaincy and Salman Butt suspended. Younis was coming back from serving a ban and Yousuf was also slowly coming back after serving a ban and therefore were unsuitable options at the time for the Test captaincy.

Misbah also won 2 domestic titles as captain in the previous domestic season with Sui Gas to strengthen his case for being the 2011 World Cup captain to go along with his initial Test achievements. He had captained in 2 limited over internationals as stand in 2008 and 2009 respectively, winning both matches. As far as form was concerned, scored 6 consecutive test half centuries in his first two 2-match test series as captain, a record of consistency not bettered by a captain. Also, where reintroduced into the ODI side, scored 2 half centuries in 4 innings during the tour of New Zealand. He was known as one of the smarter men in the team. He was known for his tactical nous.

Afridi on the other hand had lost 6 consecutive T20 internationals, lost 2 ODI series as well as being eliminated from the Asia Cup in the first round. He also ran away from test captaincy, was struggling for form and violated players code of conduct repeatedly as captain despite many warnings. Thanks to commercial pressure and Misbah's performances in the ODI series in New Zealand to give Pakistan victory under Afridi's captaincy, the board reluctantly confirmed Afridi captain for 2011 World Cup at the 11th hour, but he didn't last long. It was less than 2 months after the World Cup when Afridi was sacked as captain following another embarrassing violation in conduct, resulting in Misbah being appointed full time ODI captain. 

I was one of the very few who wanted Misbah leading at the 2011 World Cup instead of Afridi. I can provide evidence by searching through archives. I was desperate that Misbah was appointed captain for the showpiece event and promoted from vice captaincy to captaincy. He was blatantly the better and more assuring leadership option. I applauded Ijaz Butt's decision to turn to Misbah. 

4 years on Misbah is leading at the age of 40 at a World Cup that he himself perhaps thought he would never have played in 4 years ago given the knee jerk reactions in Pakistan's culture with age. That time in 2011 he was vice skipper at age of 36. What a remarkable story it has been for the elder statesmen of Pakistan Cricket. 

Nearly achieved captaincy in 2011 for what seemed at the time was going to be his first and only World Cup and was vice captain instead. But 4 years later, he is playing a second World Cup and as captain this time. 

Originally posted here https://www.facebook.com/king.MUH/posts/662058107173225

Verdict

The tournament historically has been played 4 times in Asian conditions before with Pakistan and India sharing two titles each during the 4 held in Asia. Both of these sides have what it takes to go the distance and both can deservedly hold the tag of favourites going into the 10^th edition of the biggest teen sporting event or under age sporting event. Their form guide and familiarity with conditions make them the powerhouses. Pakistan have won 19 of their last 21 U-19 fixtures including defeating their England counterparts in all eight games they contested in 2013 and played a tri nations tournament and U-19 Asia Cup in these UAE conditions in the not too distant past. India are the defending champions, have the joint highest tally of title wins at the U-19 World Cup and recently triumphed in the U-19 Asia Cup. There is not much to choose between them and luckily for fans they lock horns on the second day of the competition in a televised fixture in what promises to be a mouth watering contest. 

World Cup 2015 Build Up + Predictions

The oldest current ICC World Competition

The richest current ICC World Competition title

Repeated competition format of 2011 

49 Games

44 Days

14 Teams

14 Venues

2 Countries

210 squad players

The 11th ICC World Cup
The 7th ICC World Cup of 50 overs cricket coloured clothing white ball use
The 8th ICC World Cup of 50 overs cricket 

After 23 years it returns to Australia and New Zealand

Current Holders = India

Most Titles = Australia times 4

Last winners in Australia and New Zealand = Pakistan 

A competition that 5 countries have won

Australia x 4
India x 2
West Indies x 2
Pakistan x 1
Sri Lanka x 1

England, New Zealand and South Africa have never won it

England have played in 3 World Cup finals and lost all

New Zealand and South Africa have never played a final

Australia have played in 6 finals
India have played in 3 finals
Sri Lanka have played in 3 finals
West Indies have played in 3 finals
England have played in 3 finals
Pakistan have played in 2 finals
New Zealand and South Africa have played in 0 finals

Australia won 3 World Cups in a row between 1999-2007

An Asian team has played in the last 6 World Cup finals

A hosting nation has only won one World Cup with India in 2011

Sri Lanka have played in 3 of the last 5 World Cup finals

Afghanistan will be playing their first World Cup

Ricky Ponting and Clive Lloyd have both won the World Cup twice as captain

Javed Miandad and Sachin Tendulkar played in a record 6 World Cups

Pakistan have had a different captain for each World Cup since 1999 as have England

Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Akram consider the World Cup win as the ultimate defining moment of their career 

Pakistan, New Zealand and Australia have played the most World Cup semis with 6/10

England have hosted 4 World Cups which is the most and do again in 2019 

2015 is only the 3rd time the ICC World Cup has a quarter final system in place, 2nd consecutive one

Sri Lanka are the only team to reach the last 4 in the last 3 ICC World Cups this century

Australia played in a record of 4 consecutive World Cup finals between 1996-2007

Glen McGrath holds the record for the most wickets in a World Cup campaign in 2007

Biggest Games

Pakistan vs India 
India vs South Africa
Pakistan vs West Indies
South Africa vs West Indies 

Australia vs Sri Lanka
New Zealand vs England
England vs Australia 
New Zealand vs Australia

Predictions

Group Games First (Big Ones)

Sri Lanka vs New Zealand = Sri Lanka
Australia vs England = England 
Pakistan vs India = India
New Zealand vs England = England 
Pakistan vs West Indies = Pakistan
India vs South Africa = India 
Pakistan vs South Africa = Pakistan 
West Indies vs India = India
England vs Sri Lanka = tie!
West Indies vs South Africa = South Africa
Australia vs New Zealand = New Zealand 
Sri Lanka vs Australia = Sri Lanka 

Afghanistan will beat Bangladesh and qualifier 3
Ireland will beat Zimbabwe and qualifier 4 
India will score 400+ vs Zimbabwe at Auckland 

QFs

England vs West Indies = England 
Sri Lanka vs South Africa = South Africa
Australia vs India = India 
Pakistan vs New Zealand = New Zealand

SFs

England vs New Zealand = England
India vs South Africa = South Africa 

Winners England
Runners Up South Africa
Semis: India and New Zealand 

Most Likely to win

1) England
2) India
3) New Zealand
4) Pakistan

Where I think they will finish

1) England
2) South Africa
3) India
4) New Zealand
5) Pakistan
6) Sri Lanka
7) Australia 
8) West Indies 
9) Ireland
10) Afghanistan
11) Bangladesh
12) Zimbabwe 
13) Scotland
14) UAE 

Biggest potential upset

England vs Bangladesh
West Indies vs Ireland 
Bangladesh vs Afghanistan
Zimbabwe vs Ireland 

My World T20 2014 Build Up + Predictions

The most popular international cricket tournament of the year 

The premier international Twenty20 event

A major piece of one day cricketing silverware

One of the biggest Twenty20 carnivals let it be international, franchise or domestic

A world title to play for 

22 days

16 teams

3 Venues

35 Matches

12 preliminary matches

20 group matches

3 knock out matches 

240 Squad Players

The 5th edition of the ICC World T20, so far 4 winners in 4 editions

Held every alternate year as a short fast moving event, barring 2010 when an exception was made to hold it after just a 10 month gap 

Eventually a competition that will be played every 4 years after 2016 

The 2nd consecutive time the tournament is being played in Asia

The last 2 winners of the ICC World T20 have won it after hosting the previous one 

First time in 10 years Bangladesh host an ICC World Event after the 2004 U19 World Cup

The longest World T20 in number of matches

The biggest World T20 in number of participants

Defending Champions = West Indies

Most Finals = Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Most Semi Finals = Pakistan

Winner by year

2007 = India. Finalists = Pakistan. SF = New Zealand and Australia.
2009 = Pakistan. Finalists = Sri Lanka. SF = South Africa and West Indies.
2010 = England. Finalists = Australia. SF = Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
2012 = West Indies. Finalists = Sri Lanka. SF = Pakistan and Australia.

Player of the final by year

2007 = Irfan Pathan 
2009 = Shahid Afridi 
2010 = Craig Kieswetter
2012 = Marlon Samuels

Player of the tournament by year

2007 = Shahid Afridi
2009 = T Dilshan
2010 = KP
2012 = Shane Watson 

Biggest Games

Zimbabwe vs Ireland in preliminary round

India vs Pakistan in the super 10 opener

West Indies vs Pakistan in the final super 10 game

South Africa vs Sri Lanka from Group A

Predictions

Bangladesh and Ireland go through to the main round undefeated

Super 10s

India vs Pakistan = India
South Africa vs Sri Lanka = Sri Lanka
New Zealand vs England = England
Pakistan vs Australia = Pakistan
India vs West Indies = West Indies 
South Africa vs New Zealand = South Africa 
Sri Lanka vs England = Sri Lanka
West Indies vs Australia = West Indies
South Africa vs England = England
Pakistan vs Bangladesh = tie!
India vs Australia = India 
Sri Lanka vs New Zealand = Sri Lanka
Pakistan vs West Indies = Pakistan 

Group Standing

Sri Lanka
England
South Africa
New Zealand
Ireland

West Indies 
Pakistan
Bangladesh
India
Australia

Semis

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan = Pakistan
England vs West Indies = West Indies

West Indies vs Pakistan = West Indies

Final Most Likely to be

West Indies vs Pakistan
West Indies vs Bangladesh
Bangladesh vs Pakistan
West Indies vs Sri Lanka

Most Likely to win

1) West Indies
2) Bangladesh
3) Pakistan

Where I think they will finish

1) West Indies
2) Pakistan
3) Sri Lanka
4) England
5) Bangladesh
6) South Africa 
13) Afghanistan
14) UAE
15) Netherlands
16) Nepal

Player of the tournament prediction

Chris Gayle
Shakib Al Hasan
Mohammad Hafeez 
Sunil Narine 
Tamim Iqbal 
Dilshan
KP
Saeed Ajmal 
Rangana Herath
Imran Tahir 
Raza Hasan 

Marlon Samuels or Sunil Narine player of the final

Leading run scorer = Tamim Iqbal
Leading wicket taker = Sunil Narine
Leading catcher = Pollard

Top 3 leading wicket takers will be spinners!