Category: Uncategorized

Match #12: Bangladesh v England Prediction.

How This Works!

This post is set to go before each match. I briefly breakdown the batting and bowling attack of each squad and how they relate to each other before selecting who I think is going to win. Because cricket can be won by a number of wickets (if you’re chasing) or runs (if you’re defending), I’m simply going to select who I think is going to win outright, not in the manner, or by how many runs, they’re going to win by. Makes sense? (Quickly moves on before acknowledging any questions) Great! Let’s get started!

Bowling:

Bangladesh Bowlers/All Rounders: Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Saifuddin, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan

England Bowlers/All Rounders: Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Liam Dawson

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 bowlers in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better. If a player is marked out, Dale Steyn in this case, they are not included in the ranking, as they are not effecting the match.)

Bangladesh

  • Mustafizur Rahman: 11th
  • Shakib al Hasan: 19th
  • Mehidy Hasan: 23rd
  • Mashrafe Mortaza: 24th
  • Rubel Hossain: 63rd
  • Avg: 28th

England

  • Chris Woakes: 9th
  • Adil Rashid: 15th
  • Mark Wood: 31st
  • Liam Plunkett: 33rd
  • Moen Ali: 41st
  • Avg: 25th

Breakdown: Closer rankings than I expected! Bangladesh’s bowling attack has more than held their own in their opening two tournament matches. Nearly bowling out New Zealand after being greatly let down by their batters. England’s bowling attack is playing about as expected. They let up big scores against Pakistan in every practice match leading up to the tournament, so their previous match numbers shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Advantage: England. Look at these numbers! Here’s how many runs England and Bangladesh allowed after their first two matches:

England: 555 (207 v SA & 348 v Pak) Bangladesh: 557 (309 v SA & 248 v NZ).

Get this! Both teams played South Africa at Kennington Oval, so the ground was the same. The pitch condition may have been a bit different, but it wasn’t drastic. I think part of the South African low score against England has to do with it being the opening match of the tournament. That being said, thanks for briefly nerding out with me!

Batters:

Bangladesh Batters/All Rounders:

England Batters/All Rounders:

ICC Ranking Average: (See rules for bowlers above and replace that with batters. You got it!)

Bangladesh

  • Mushfiqur Rahim: 20th
  • Tamim Iqbal: 23rd
  • Soumya Sarkar: 32nd
  • Shakid al Hasan: 34th
  • Mahmudullah: 49th
  • Avg: 31st

England

  • Joe Root: 7th
  • Jos Buttler: 16th
  • Eoin Morgan: 17th
  • Jason Roy: 18th
  • Jonny Bairstow: 19
  • Avg: 15th

Breakdown: England has the advantage. It’s simple. They probably have the best batting attack in the tournament.

Advantage: England

A final bold and likely dumb take: England wins by more than 50 runs.

Final Prediction: England. It’s a blowout.

Match #11: Pakistan v Sri Lanka Prediction.

How This Works!

This post is set to go before each match. I briefly breakdown the batting and bowling attack of each squad and how they relate to each other before selecting who I think is going to win. Because cricket can be won by a number of wickets (if you’re chasing) or runs (if you’re defending), I’m simply going to select who I think is going to win outright, not in the manner, or by how many runs, they’re going to win by. Makes sense? (Quickly moves on before acknowledging any questions) Great! Let’s get started!

Bowling:

Pakistan Bowlers/All Rounders: Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan

Sri Lanka Bowlers/All Rounders: Jeffrey Vandersay, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Angelo Matthews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perara, Isuru Udana, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 bowlers in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better. If a player is marked out, Dale Steyn in this case, they are not included in the ranking, as they are not effecting the match.)

Pakistan

  • Mohammad Amir: 27th
  • Hasan Ali: 28th
  • Shadab Khan: 29th
  • Imad Wasim: 30th
  • Shaheen Afridi: 55th
  • Avg: 33rd

Sri Lanka

  • Suranga Lakmal: 42nd
  • Lasith Malinga: 47th
  • Nuwan Pradeep: 61st
  • Angelo Matthews: 77th
  • Thisara Perara: 79th
  • Avg: 61st

Breakdown: Which Pakistan team is going to show up? The one that made the West Indies look like the greatest cricket team of all time, or the squad that upset England? The silver lining for Sri Lanka, is that it was their bowling attack that led them to victory over Afghanistan. Gosh that was an ugly match 🤢

Advantage: Pakistan. As much winning momentum Sri Lanka’s bowling attack has, Pakistan has that x100. They’re also more talented, which is important.

Batters:

Pakistan Batters/All Rounders: Sarfaraz Ahmed © (WK), Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Imam ul Haq, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan

Sri Lanka Batters/All Rounders: Dimuth Karunaratne, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Matthews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perara, Isuru Udana, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana

ICC Ranking Average: (See rules for bowlers above and replace that with batters. You got it!)

Pakistan

  • Babar Azam: 8th
  • Fakhar Zaman: 10th
  • Imam-ul-Haq: 15th
  • Mohammad Hafeez: 44th
  • Sarfaraz Ahmed: 51st
  • Avg: 25th

Sri Lanka

  • Angelo Matthews: 40
  • Kusal Mendis: 57
  • Kusal Perera: 72
  • Thisara Perera: 74
  • Lahiru Thirimanne: 84
  • Avg: 65th

Breakdown: I mean, it can’t really go worse for Sri Lanka, can it? Folks, I have some potentially bad news.

Advantage: Pakistan. Here are Sri Lanka’s batting performances from the first and second match. That’s a lot of single digit efforts.

A final bold and likely dumb take:

No Sri Lankan player will go for 0 runs. Hey, that’s saying a lot so far this tournament!!

Final Prediction: Pakistan in an uneventful and fairly easy match.

Match #10: Australia vs West Indies Prediction.

How This Works!

This post is set to go before each match. I briefly breakdown the batting and bowling attack of each squad and how they relate to each other before selecting who I think is going to win. Because cricket can be won by a number of wickets (if you’re chasing) or runs (if you’re defending), I’m simply going to select who I think is going to win outright, not in the manner, or by how many runs, they’re going to win by. Makes sense? (Quickly moves on before acknowledging any questions) Great! Let’s get started!

Bowling:

Australia Bowlers/All Rounders: Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Kane Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis

West Indies Bowlers/All Rounders: Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Shannon Gabriel, Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Jason Holder ©

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 bowlers in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better. If a player is marked out they are not included in the ranking, as they are not effecting the match.)

Australia

  • Pat Cummins: 6th
  • Mitchell Starc: 22nd
  • Adam Zampa: 43rd
  • Nathan Coulter-Nile: 47th
  • Nathan Lyon: 50th
  • Avg: 33rd

West Indies

  • Jason Holder: 39th
  • Ashley Nurse: 49th
  • Kemar Roach: 70th
  • Sheldon Cottrell: 73rd
  • Carlos Brathwaite: 75th
  • Avg: 61st

Breakdown: Okay, okay. The numbers don’t look great for either team, really. We can all agree that both teams have better attacks than what their numbers show, right? West Indies have momentum on their side, especially with the same Pakistan team they shut down, going on and beating World Cup favorites England. Australia is…well, Australia. Rankings mean nothing to them.

Advantage: Australia. But not as distant as the rankings make it seem.

Batters:

Australia Batters/All Rounders: Aaron Finch ©, Alex Carey (WK), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis

West Indies Batters/All Rounders: Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Carlos Brathwaite, Jason Holder ©

ICC Ranking Average: (See rules for bowlers above and replace that with batters. You got it!)

Australia:

  • Aaron Finch: 11th
  • David Warner: 12th
  • Usman Khawaja: 22nd
  • Glenn Maxwell: 25th
  • Steve Smith: 31st
  • Avg: 20th

West Indies

  • Shai Hope: 5th
  • Shimron Hetmyer: 29th
  • Chris Gayle: 46th
  • Jason Holder: 73rd
  • Evin Lewis: 81st
  • Avg: 46th

Breakdown: Breaking down the batters is where we see that the rankings aren’t 100% reliable when looking at these teams. Gayle is far too low, while Andre Russel is not even listed (🤔) .

Advantage: Draw. Yea, okay that’s a copout, sure. But I can’t, in good conscience, pick against the West Indies here. They’re so much fun! *Fine it’s Australia, but that’s no fun*

A final bold and likely dumb take:

Andre Russel has a strike rate greater than 200. Don’t let me down Dre Russ!

Final Prediction: Australia in high scoring, high energy match.

Match #9: Bangladesh v New Zealand Prediction.

How This Works!

This post is set to go before each match. I briefly breakdown the batting and bowling attack of each squad and how they relate to each other before selecting who I think is going to win. Because cricket can be won by a number of wickets (if you’re chasing) or runs (if you’re defending), I’m simply going to select who I think is going to win outright, not in the manner, or by how many runs, they’re going to win by. Makes sense? (Quickly moves on before acknowledging any questions) Great! Let’s get started!

Bowling:

Bangladesh Bowlers/All Rounders: Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Saifuddin, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan

New Zealand Bowlers/All Rounders: Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Colin de Grandhome, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 bowlers in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better. If a player is marked out they are not included in the ranking, as they are not affecting the match.)

Bangladesh

  • Mustafizur Rahman: 11
  • Shakib al Hasan: 19
  • Mehidy Hasan: 23
  • Mashrafe Mortaza: 24
  • Rubel Hossain: 63
  • Avg: 28

New Zealand

  • Trent Boult: 2
  • Matt Henry: 10
  • Lockie Ferguson: 13
  • Mitchell Santner: 26
  • Ish Sodi: 39
  • Avg: 18

Breakdown: New Zealand with a clear advantage on paper here. Luckily for Bangladesh, paper doesn’t win matches! New Zealand put on bowling masterpiece against a struggling Sri Lankan side, where as Bangladesh were able to keep their cool in their first match and stave off an attacking South African squad.

Advantage: New Zealand

Batters:

Bangladesh Batters/All Rounders: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan

New Zealand Batters/All Rounders: Kane Williamson (C), Tom Blundell (WK), Martin Guptill, Tom Latham (WK), Colin Munro, Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, Colin de Grandhome, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner

ICC Ranking Average: (See rules for bowlers above and replace that with batters. You got it!)

Bangladesh

  • Mushfiqur Rahim: 20th
  • Tamim Iqbal: 23rd
  • Soumya Sarkar: 32nd
  • Shakib al Hasan: 34th
  • Mahmudullah: 49th
  • Avg: 31st

New Zealand

  • Ross Taylor: 3rd
  • Martin Guptill: 9th
  • Kane Williamson: 13th
  • Tom Latham: 30th
  • Henry Nicholls: 45th
  • Avg: 20th

Breakdown: Again, clear advantage for New Zealand on paper here. However, only two batsmen for the Blackcaps made an appearance in their opening match, could that hurt the rest of the team? We’ll see. Bangladesh, meanwhile, had an explosive opening match in which everyone got into the action.

Advantage: Bangladesh. Straying a bit from the rankings here. Bangladesh got more players involved against a strong South African bowling attack. New Zealand can’t sleep on that.

A final bold and likely dumb take:

There’s going to be at one duck per innings. I’m going to say Latham for NZ and Mosaddek Hossain. *Shrugs* Ya never know!

Final Prediction: New Zealand in the closest and most exciting match of the tournament so far.

Match #8: India v South Africa Prediction.

How This Works!

This post is set to go before each match. I briefly breakdown the batting and bowling attack of each squad and how they relate to each other before selecting who I think is going to win. Because cricket can be won by a number of wickets (if you’re chasing) or runs (if you’re defending), I’m simply going to select who I think is going to win outright, not in the manner, or by how many runs, they’re going to win by. Makes sense? (Quickly moves on before acknowledging any questions) Great! Let’s get started!

Bowling:

India Bowlers/All Rounders: Yuzendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav

South Africa Bowlers/All Rounders: Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phelukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir, JP Duminy

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 bowlers in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better. If a player is marked out, Dale Steyn in this case, they are not included in the ranking, as they are not effecting the match.)

India

  • Jasprit Bumrah: 1st
  • Kuldeep Yadav: 7th
  • Yuzendra Chahal: 8th
  • Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 17th
  • Ravindra Jadeja: 32nd
  • Avg: 13th

South Africa

  • Imran Tahir: 4th
  • Kagiso Rabada: 5th
  • Andile Phelukwayo: 20th
  • Dwaine Pretorius: 52nd
  • Tabraiz Shamsi: 74th
  • Avg: 31st

Breakdown: Losing both Dale Steyn (for the tournament) and Lungi Ngidi (for the next few matches at least) is devastating for the Proteas. Tack on the fact that they’re already two matches in, while India are coming in fresh and gearing to go. India, meanwhile, is stacked, while, in other news, water is clear.

Advantage: India. Injuries are key here. Tahir and Rabada are both world beaters, but India is simply too deep. Also, South Africa got rocked by Bangladesh, which, yea, doesn’t bode well here.

Batters:

India Batters/All Rounders: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik (WK), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Vijay Shankar, Kedar Jadhav

South Africa Batters/All Rounders: Faf Du Plessis ©, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (WK), Aiden Markram, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, Beauran Hendricks, JP Duminy

ICC Ranking Average: (See rules for bowlers above and replace that with batters. You got it!)

India

  • Virat Kohli: 1st
  • Rohit Sharma: 2nd
  • Shikhar Dhawan: 14th
  • MS Dhoni: 24th
  • Kedar Jadhav: 28th
  • Avg: 13

South Africa

  • Quinton de Kock: 4th
  • Faf du Plessis: 6th
  • David Miller: 33rd
  • Rassie van der Dussen: 50th
  • JP Duminy: 64th
  • Avg: 31st

Breakdown: Tough to go against India here. Kohli is the best in the world. Sharma is coming off a championship run in the IPL. I can keep going…no? South Africa stumbled against England and found somewhat of a stride against Bangladesh, even if they came up short.

Advantage: India.

A final bold and likely dumb take:

Is Kohli hitting a century to start the tournament a dumb take or an obvious one? Is he actually more likely to hit one than not? Asking for a friend here… Okay, let’s go the other way and say Kohli struggles out the gate, continuing his IPL form. Kohli scores under 35 runs this match.

Final Prediction: South Africa.

Wait what!?!? Okay hear me out here. South Africa is better than they’ve been playing. India, for some incredibly dumb reason, is playing it’s first match one week into the tournament. The emotion, the rush of that first match catches up to India here. South Africa get’s a world class performance from their captain, to go along with a dominating performance from Kagiso Rabada. South Africa with the upset here.

Match #7: Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka Prediction

How This Works!

This post is set to go before each match. I briefly breakdown the batting and bowling attack of each squad and how they relate to each other before selecting who I think is going to win. Because cricket can be won by a number of wickets (if you’re chasing) or runs (if you’re defending), I’m simply going to select who I think is going to win outright, not in the manner, or by how many runs, they’re going to win by. Makes sense? (Quickly moves on before acknowledging any questions) Great! Let’s get started!

Bowling:

Afghanistan Bowlers/All Rounders: Gulbadin Naib ©, Aftab Alam, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan , Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari

Sri Lanka Bowlers/All Rounders: Jeffrey Vandersay, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Angelo Matthews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perara, Isuru Udana, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 bowlers in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better. If a player is marked out, Dale Steyn in this case, they are not included in the ranking, as they are not effecting the match.)

Afghanistan

  • Rashid Khan: 3
  • Mujeeb ur Rahmen: 10
  • Mohammad Nabi: 20
  • Dawlet Zadran: 55
  • Gulbadin Naib: 58
  • Avg: 29

Sri Lanka

  • Suranga Lakmal: 42
  • Lasith Malinga: 47
  • Nuwan Pradeep: 61
  • Angelo Matthews: 77
  • Thisara Perara: 79
  • Avg: 61

Breakdown: Not looking great for Sri Lanka 😬. Coming off a match against New Zealand where they failed to get a wicket, it’s not surprising that their bowling attack is ranked poorly. All things considered, even without the poor showing against a talented NZ batting duo, Afghanistan was always the choice here. Their spin attack is effective and sometimes lethal after a fairly strong performance against Australia, all things considered.

Advantage: Afghanistan. By quite a bit.

Batting:

Afghanistan Batters/All Rounders: Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Noor ali Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari

Sri Lanka Batters/All Rounders: Dimuth Karunaratne, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Matthews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perara, Isuru Udana, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana

ICC Ranking Average: (See rules for bowlers above and replace that with batters. You got it!)

Afghanistan

  • Mohammad Shahzad: 38
  • Rahmat Shah: 40
  • Mohammad Nabi: 55
  • Najibullah Zadran: 68
  • Hashmatullah Shahidi: 80
  • Avg: 56

Sri Lanka

  • Angelo Matthews: 40
  • Kusal Mendis: 57
  • Kusal Perera: 72
  • Thisara Perera: 74
  • Lahiru Thirimanne: 84
  • Avg: 65

Breakdown: Honestly, not a great look for either side. Coming into the tournament it was known that Afghanistan would lean heavily on their bowling attack, and here’s why. Sri Lanka’s recent form speaks for itself.

Advantage: Afghanistan. Simply because they’re going up against a weaker bowling attack. This game is one of those that may be incredibly entertaining because both teams are struggling and need a big win. They both have a lot to prove.

A final bold and likely dumb take:

Rashid Khan takes 5 wickets and becomes the leading wicket taker of the tournament for a short time.

Final Prediction: Afghanistan in a surprisingly entertaining match.

Match #6: England vs Pakistan Prediction

How This Works

I briefly breakdown the batting and bowling attack of each squad and how they relate to each other before selecting who I think is going to win. Because cricket can be won by a number of wickets (if you’re chasing) or runs (if you’re defending), I’m simply going to select who I think is going to win outright, not in the manner, or by how many runs, they’re going to win by. Makes sense? (Quickly moves on before acknowledging any questions) Great! Let’s get started!

Bowling

England: Tom Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Liam Dawson

Pakistan: Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Wahab Riaz, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 bowlers in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better.)

England:

  • Chris Woakes: 9th
  • Adil Rashid: 15th
  • Mark Wood: 31st
  • Liam Plunkett: 33rd
  • Moen Ali: 41st
  • Avg: 25th

Pakistan:

  • Mohammad Amir: 27th
  • Hasan Ali: 28th
  • Shadab Khan: 29th
  • Imad Wasim: 30th
  • Shaheen Afridi: 55th
  • Avg: 33rd

Breakdown: England hold the slight advantage in the average rankings. With each team having played one match already, we’ve already seen how the attacks played out. England bowled out a supposedly strong South African attack with Jofra Archer leading the way. Pakistan, meanwhile got walloped by an electric West Indies attack in their first match.

Advantage: ENGLAND

Batting

England: Eoin Morgan ©, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (WK), James Vince, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Liam Dawson

Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed © (WK), Asif Ali, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Imam ul Haq, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 batters in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better.)

England:

  • Joe Root: 7th
  • Jos Buttler: 16th
  • Eoin Morgan: 17th
  • Jason Roy: 18th
  • Jonny Bairstow: 19th
  • Avg: 15th

Pakistan:

  • Babar Azam: 8th
  • Fakhar Zaman: 10th
  • Imam-ul-Haq: 15th
  • Mohammad Hafeez: 44th
  • Sarfaraz Ahmed: 51st
  • Avg: 25th

Breakdown: England played exactly as expected in match one. Going into this tournament it was obvious the bats would lead this squad, and that’s exactly what happened. They’re cruising right now, so much so that their average ranking of 15th seems ludicrous. The only question is: who will be the one to go off this time? Pakistan proved they can score runs in England during the warm up series, but got off to one of the worst starts of the tournament. How they respond against a stronger bowling side is key.

Advantage: ENGLAND. I mean, play the hot hand, right?

A final bold and likely dumb call: The match is in Nottingham. These teams played each other a few weeks ago and England won by chasing down a score of 340. My outrageous take for this match is THREE (3) centuries. Two for Pakistan and one for England.

Final Prediction: England wins a high scoring affair.

Match #5: Bangladesh vs South Africa Prediction.

How This Works!

This post is set to go before each match. I briefly breakdown the batting and bowling attack of each squad and how they relate to each other before selecting who I think is going to win. Because cricket can be won by a number of wickets (if you’re chasing) or runs (if you’re defending), I’m simply going to select who I think is going to win outright, not in the manner, or by how many runs, they’re going to win by. Makes sense? (Quickly moves on before acknowledging any questions) Great! Let’s get started!

Bowling:

Bangladesh Bowlers/All Rounders: Mashrafe Mortaza, Mohammad Saifuddin, Rubel Hossain, Mustafizur Rahman, Abu Jayed, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan

South Africa Bowlers/All Rounders: Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phelukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, JP Duminy

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 bowlers in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better. If a player is marked out, Dale Steyn in this case, they are not included in the ranking, as they are not effecting the match.)

Bangladesh

  • Mustafizur Rahman: 11
  • Shakib al Hasan: 19
  • Mehidy Hasan: 23
  • Mashrafe Mortaza: 24
  • Rubel Hossain: 63
  • Avg: 28

South Africa

  • Imran Tahir: 4
  • Kagiso Rabada: 5
  • Andile Phelukwayo: 20
  • Lungi Ngidi: 25
  • Dwaine Pretorius: 52
  • Avg: 21

Breakdown: Closer than expected at first glance! South Africa lead from the top with Tahir and Rabada both ranked in the top 5. Meanwhile, Bangladesh look to Rahman and all-rounding wizard al Hasan to take key wickets. As always, a lot depends on the pitch.

Advantage: South Africa. It’s hard to pick against Tahir and Rabada. Sure, South Africa got shelled against England, but Bangladesh doesn’t have the batters England do. Speaking of batters…

Batters:

Bangladesh Batters/All Rounders: Tamim Iqbal, Liton Das, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mithun, Sabbir Rahman, Mosaddek Hossain, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah, Shakib al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan

South Africa Batters/All Rounders: Faf Du Plessis ©, Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (WK), Aiden Markram, David Miller, Rassie van der Dussen, JP Duminy

ICC Ranking Average: (See rules for bowlers above and replace that with batters. You got it!)

Bangladesh

  • Mushfiqur Rahim: 20
  • Tamim Iqbal: 23
  • Soumya Sarkar: 32
  • Shakib al Hasan: 34
  • Mahmudullah: 49
  • Avg: 31.6

South Africa

  • Quinton de Kock: 4
  • Faf du Plessis: 6
  • David Miller: 33
  • Rassie van der Dussen: 50
  • JP Duminy: 64
  • Avg: 31.4

Breakdown: Wow, we had to go to decimals to find a winner! With Amla most likely out, that weakens South Africa’s batting arsenal. Without him, they look much more pedestrian. Bangladesh are solid and strong, although lacking much flair.

Advantage: South Africa. I nearly went with Bangladesh here. They played up to par during the last major tournament in England and much of those batters are back. However, South Africa faces a slightly weaker bowling attack and, even with Amla out, are the stronger side because of that.

Final Prediction: South Africa in a close one.

A final bold and likely dumb take: du Plessis will score 70+ this match.

Australia vs Afghanistan Prediction (Match #4)

Putting my picks out in public! This should end well and not embarrass me once, no, there’s no chance of that. (Prepares to delete entire site if I get three losses in a row.)

How This Works!

This post is set to go before each match. I briefly breakdown the batting and bowling attack of each squad and how they relate to each other before selecting who I think is going to win. Because cricket can be won by a number of wickets (if you’re chasing) or runs (if you’re defending), I’m simply going to select who I think is going to win outright, not in the manner, or by how many runs, they’re going to win by. Makes sense? (Quickly moves on before acknowledging any questions) Great! Let’s get started!

Bowling:

Australian Bowlers/All Rounders: Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, Kane Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis

Afghanistan Bowlers/All Rounders: Gulbadin Naib ©, Aftab Alam, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 bowlers in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better.)

Australia:

  • Cummins: 6
  • Starc: 22
  • Zampa: 43
  • Coulter-Nile: 47
  • Lyon: 50
  • Avg: 33

Afghanistan:

  • Khan: 3
  • ur Rahmen: 10
  • Nabi: 20
  • Dawlet: 55
  • Naib: 58
  • Avg: 29

Breakdown: I see your rankings, ICC, but in this case, I’m still going to have to back Australia. Rashid Khan is the best in white ball cricket right now, there’s little room for debate there. Starc’s ranking comes from his lack of recent play due to injuries. I’d take him over anybody, outside of Khan, if in need of a bowler.

Advantage: Australia

Batting:

Australian Batters/All Rounders: Aaron Finch ©, Alex Carey, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Steve Smith, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis

Afghanistan Batters/All Rounders: Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Noor ali Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari

ICC Ranking Average: (Measured by taking the top 5 batters in ICC’s player ratings. Those 5 rankings are then averaged out. The lower the number, the better.)

Australia:

  • Finch: 11
  • Khawaja: 21
  • Maxwell: 24
  • Stonis: 37
  • Marsh: 44
  • Avg: 27

Afghanistan:

  • Shahzad: 38
  • Shah: 40
  • Nabi: 55
  • Najibullah Zadran: 68
  • Shahidi: 80
  • Avg: 56

Breakdown: The clearest of advantages for Australia. Even excluding Smith and Warner in the rankings because of their lack of play due to suspension, Australia dominates.

Advantage: Australia.

Final Prediction: Australia wins by a large margin.

A final bold and likely dumb call: David Warner goes for a half century (58, to be exact) in this World Cup debut. Why not? I don’t expect this match to be too interesting, so let’s try and have some fun with it.

Afghanistan Roster Breakdown

This team has some explosive bowlers, can their batters keep up?

Batters/Fielders: Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Noor ali Zadran

Bowlers: Gulbadin Naib ©, Aftab Alam, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan

All Rounders: Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari

Don’t Sleep On

– Hamid Hassan: The wild boy of Afghan cricket certainly leads the team in edginess. With his headband and warpaint ready to go, Hassan’s play after three years away from the team could make the difference in a few matches.

– Hazratullah Zazai: At 21-years-old, Zazai’s youth and experience on the big stage could be a good thing. Hear me out, youthful bliss can go along way! There’s little pressure on this team as far as expectations go, so Zazai can go out and gain vital experience for future tournaments.

Needed to Make a Run

– Mohammad Nabi: The allrounder had a fairly uneventful IPL with Hyderabad, but look for him to kick off some of the rust during the opening match against Australia.  

–Gulbadin Naib: He’s the captain, that says it all. How he leads the team in the field is key. He’ll need to stay around his 5.5 economy rating and make sure to take his fair share of wickets to keep pressure off of Khan.

Key to the Cup

– Rashid Khan: The golden boy of bowling right now, Rashid Khan needs an otherworldly performance to push Afghanistan into anything more than a few group play wins. Look for him to be a game changer with both bat and ball this tournament.

Why Should I Watch?

On the international cricket stage, Afghanistan is still very young. This is an exciting time to make a splash on the international stage. While a semi-final run seems increasingly unlikely, they do have a match winner in Rashid Khan, who is one of the most electric players on the planet.

How Much Fun is this Team? (8/10)

Rashid Khan. That’s enough.

Best Case:

Major upsets! Afghanistan taking down giants such as England, Australia or India would become the stuff of legend. It doesn’t seem like a run to semis is possible, so one or two big wins will have to do!

Worst Case:

Injuries plague what is a really fun team. Being ranked 10th out of 10 teams means there’s very little in regards to expectations here. Afghanistan isn’t expected to win much, so the only thing worse than that would be those matches being lost due to injuries.