Cricket Tournaments

The same guy refused to walk out when the IPL final took place, yet nothing was said or raised then. For now, when he decides to walk, the alter form of god is bestowed upon him.
A lot has been made of Sachin Tendulkar’s walk the other day against the West Indies at chennai. Along with this, analogies to Ricky Ponting’s stay at the wicket, only depicting the yawning difference that exists between their personalities.

Ponting was not wrong, but Sachin was right!

Something that began way back in 2003 when Adam Gilchrist walked in the semi finals in Sri Lanka, the spirit of the game has come into question especially since two of the generation’s greatest cricketers went their own ways in what they believed to be right.

But has this always been the case?

Indubitably with Ponting, the Australian captain was never the one to walk, it was the umpire’s decision that set him moving. Ponting was pretty candid in admitting the same too. He said “There were no doubts about the nick, I knew I hit it, but as always I wait for the umpire to give me out. That’s the way I’ve always played the game.”

However, the conundrum here is with Sachin. Sachin has not been the alter form of God, all the time, at least when it comes to walking. In the decisive Commonwealth bank first final down under in 07-08 season, Sachin nicked one straight through to Adam Gilchrist. Replays confirmed Sachin had indeed got a nick.

Another instance of the same, was the IPL final. Sachin nicked one through to Dhoni and despite the latter’s regressive appealing, Tendulkar looked the other way playing down the incident. Once again, replays suggested that Sachin had hit the cover of the ball, yet, stay put. It is hard to lay forth anything in the great man’s defense, despite this, his act against the West Indies was indeed laudable.

He is human after all, the best the world will ever see. Never showcase out one’s weakness by comparisons, for statistics don’t add up equivalently to the titles won. That’s something that truly does lie by Ponting’s side.

This is a day Indian fans would not wish to remember. In 1994, Kapil Dev played his last international match, and in 2003, India were thumped by Australia in the World Cup final in Johannesburg.

Kapil Dev won the World Cup in 1983 as India captain , the same being the only instance. He turned out for his last Test match in Hamilton. He finished the Test with just 2 wickets to his name, but had the world record of 434 Test wickets until Courtney Walsh broke it a few years later. He also was a part of the ‘elite’ club as he hit 5248 runs in his 131-Test career. Although Stephen Fleming, one of New Zealand’s all-time best skipper, made his Test debut in this game and scored 92, it was an emotional farewell for Kapil, who would still be remembered as one of the greatest cricketers India has ever produced.

This day, ’03 would have hurt more than 1994, as Sourav Ganguly had a golden opportunity to become only the second captain after Kapil to lift a World Cup. But India ran into a steam engine, an in-form Australian unit in the final.

Ganguly though seemed to have lost the plot at the toss itself, when he astonishingly decided to put Australia into bat on a flat Johannesburg pitch which was a little moist, due to overnight rain. A brave decision had boomeranged big time. Zaheer Khan, the then-young fast bowler bowled a shambolic first over, giving 15 runs and the game was going in Australia’s favour.

A good start by openers Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist set the platform for one of the best ODI innings played ever in cricketing history, let alone World Cups. And that came off the bat of Ganguly’s counterpart, Ricky Ponting who scored 140 runs off 121 balls. He played with such audacity that no Indian bowler was spared off this blitzkrieg. But one cannot forget the contribution of Damien Martyn who hit 88 runs of 84 runs, ably supporting Ponting, despite having a broken finger.

India’s fate was sealed by the end of 50 overs as Australia scored 359/2, the highest total in a World Cup final. Sachin Tendulkar, the highest run-getter of the competition gave India a lot to cheer about with the first boundary he hit, but the next ball he was tamely dismissed by Glenn McGrath. Wickets kept falling at one end despite Virender Sehwag putting up a brave fight, scoring 82 runs off 81 balls. The target was always out of reach for India and a rain break in between did not help much. India crashed out for 234, giving Australia a comprehensive 125-run victory and the World Cup title for the second consecutive time since 1999. Ponting led his men to world domination, just a year after taking over as ODI captain. And this enhanced Australia’s power to become ‘world-beaters’.

Also, today is the birthday of former England captain Michael Atherton who would be duly remembered for his famous tussle with Allan Donald in 1995-96 in South Africa, and his steadfastness with the bat in that series. ‘Athers’ as he fondly referred as, is currently on the commentary team with Sky Sports. And today is also the 9th death anniversary of Ben Hollioake, the English cricketer who expired due to a car accident in Perth, which left a deep impact on the entire team as he was one of the loved and popular members of the team.

A day after Pakistan won an eventful World Cup semi final against New Zealand, England played South Africa in the second semi final at Sydney. England batted first and posted 252 in 45 overs, as the Proteas were 5 overs short. This alongside the flawed D/L method, proved to be disastrous for South Africa. They needed 22 runs off 13 balls and were cruising along, before rain played spoilsport. But post rain, South Africa needed 22 runs off 1 ball! England had qualified for their third World Cup final and were to face Pakistan if they had to win for the first time.

In 2001, India locked horns with Australia yet again at home. But on this day, India won the deciding Test at Chennai by two wickets and thus, the series 2-1. Who would have ever thought of an Indian comeback after Australia won their 16th consecutive Test match at Mumbai by 10 wickets? However, the passionate and young Harbhajan Singh bamboozled the Australians with 32 wickets in 3 Tests, and there could have been no better end to the match with Harbhajan hitting the winning runs off Glenn McGrath as the world champion team led by Steve Waugh was stunned. March 22 could be credited for the beginning of an exciting India-Australia rivalry which has been maintained throughout a decade.

Also this day marked Sri Lanka’s entrance into world cricket as a superpower. They won a Test series for the first time overseas that is against New Zealand. In a span of one year, they won the World Cup.

In 2009, the England women’s team could achieve what the men could not. Winning a 50-over World Cup. They beat New Zealand by 4 wickets in the final at Sydney.

Yuvraj Singh and Virat Kohli

Not often does a team selection prove to a match winning decision. But the one to play Suresh Raina ahead of Yusuf Pathan proved to be a real masterstroke as the left hander held his nerves following some anxious moments for India and saw the team home in the company of the in-form Yuvraj Singh.

All along the tournament, Indian skipper M S Dhoni has been criticised for a number of his decisions and team selections. So it is only fair that he gets his share of praise for the decision to play Raina ahead of Yusuf. And his logic for the decision showed his cricketing acumen in good light. At the post match conference, Dhoni explained, “Since we were falling short of playing 50 overs we thought playing Raina would be a better option than Pathan if we had to play out 50 overs.” Of course all the 50 overs weren’t needed, but Raina’s knock was more than enough to justify his skipper’s decision. The partnership between Yuvraj and Raina killed any hopes Australia had after they got a couple of quick wickets to put India under great pressure.

It wasn’t an easy chase for India considering the conditions weren’t the most favourable under lights. The failure of Virender Sehwag did not help matters, but gritty half-centuries by Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir did. Both Tendulkar and Gambhir batted with a great sense of occasion as India went about chasing the challenging target in a calm manner. That was until Australia hit back with some well-earned strikes and evened the match out. Tendulkar got a wonderful away going delivery from the erratic Shaun Tait while Gambhir who was looking good for a lot more fell after an atrocious mix up with Yuvraj. However, the latter did well to hold his nerves. His found solid company in the form of Raina and two never looked back once they were in.

In the end, India won easily. But it wasn’t as simple as the eventual scorecard suggested. Australia dug out hard batting first after winning the toss. Brad Haddin registered an attacking half-century after the early loss of Shane Watson. But, it was Ricky Ponting’s hard fought century that set up Australia’s challenging total. It wasn’t by any means a return to form knock. He did not time ball well and most of his strokes were edgy ones. Yet, like a true champion, he did not throw is wicket away and kept the scoreboard busy. As his innings progressed, he managed to find the boundary on a few occasions and managed to clear them too. But, it was nowhere as fluent as the 2003 World Cup knock at Johannesburg, from which Ponting had derived inspiration prior to this big clash. Still, his bloody-mindedness was enough to keep him going as he went on to score one of the toughest hundreds of his career and without doubt his last in the World Cups. He found some able support in David Hussey, whose cameo was instrumental in Australia getting those extra runs. Like Dhoni, Ponting also made the decision to bring in the other Hussey ahead of Steven Smith and, although at the end of the day, it wasn’t a match-winning choice, David justified the decision with some big hits towards the end.

Even as it was the Yuvraj-Raina partnership that was instrumental in India’s pulsating win, there was a number of other contributions from the bowlers that should not go unnoticed. Zaheer Khan once again struck with the old ball when Australia were looking to consolidate on the solid platform laid by Haddin and Ponting. He bowled to beautiful slow swinging deliveries to fox first Michael Hussey and soon the woefully out of form Cameron White as India made a comeback into the game.

Man of the match Yuvraj was once again among the wickets with the ball. It was he who ended the dangerous looking knock of wicket-keeper Haddin and also accounted for Michael Clarke, who has an excellent record against India, to keep the bowling side in the game. Also, Ravichandran Ashwin yet again proved his worth as a spinner. Dhoni handed him the new ball for the second time in succession and he did not disappoint, cleaning up the big-hitting Watson just as he was beginning to open up. Later in the innings, his dismissal of century maker Ponting also aided India as he would have cut loose and given further trouble for India. Of course, Ponting was responsible for his own undoing, going for a reverse sweep, which he has probably never attempted in his career. Even so the fact is that Ashwin has a knack of picking up crucial wickets and his selection has certainly bolstered the Indian attack to an extent.

What they desperately need now is for Harbhajan Singh to find form. If he can get among the wickets, the Indian bowling wouldn’t look as bad as many have been describing it. Ditto with Munaf Patel, whose body language is really exasperating and, like on Thursday, if he doesn’t perform well it can have a really bad influence on the team. The puzzle needs to be solved soon since India face Pakistan next in the semis and they need to be at their very best for that mouth-watering prospect.

For Australia, it was a clear cut case of time catching up with them. They had dominated the World Cup for the best part of a decade and gave it their all against India. But, the fact that their best was behind them was evident in the losses to both Pakistan and India. Their rebuilding phase will continue and until then world cricket will be as open as it has even been in the past two decades. For a change, cricket fans are happy that this is not turning out to be another one-sided tournament.

Key moments in India-Australia clash

Shane Watson’s early dismissal by Ashwin

Ponting’s hard-earned ton

David Hussey’s wonderful cameo

Zaheer Khan’s important strikes with the old ball

Sachin and Gambhir’s well-compiled half-centuries

Dismissals of Gambhir and Dhoni in quick succession

The match-clinching partnership between Yuvraj and Raina

Both are attacking openers and are an asset for their teams, especially in the shorter formats of the game. Chris Gayle and Virender Sehwag have so much in common that it might actually be written in a book. But the difference between both of them lies in their attitude towards the game, and this is where I dare say that Sehwag has outclassed Gayle.

Gayle has been West Indies’ lifeline especially after the retirement of Brian Lara. West Indies need to win matches, and for that Gayle has always been under the pump to fire. And he has sometimes taken the pressure in his stride or succumbed to it. He has not won enough matches for his country and the reason clearly is his reluctance to change. The fact that he is 30 now; he is the team’s senior statesman, if not captain. He is the team’s best batsman, and so he has to play the role of the ‘Mr. Dependable’, without really tinkering around with his natural game a great deal.

Gayle may have a wonderful temperament, but his callous attitude and fitness is frustrating to see. He always wants to hit the ball out of the park by the ‘stand and deliver method’. The number of times it works only can be counted on our fingers. If Gayle fails, West Indies is demoralized to a certain extent and as a result a loss lingers.

On the other hand, Sehwag is 31 but has understood the importance of his wicket at the crease with experience. Though India has a strong batting line-up, Sehwag knows that he can be win more matches for his nation if he enjoys his batting a lot more by staying at the crease for a longer period of time. And the beauty of it is that he is still considered to be a threat to any bowling attack in the world, because he is not afraid to play his natural game. He has become wiser and mature and this World Cup has given birth to a new Sehwag, which is good for Indian cricket in the long run once Sachin Tendulkar calls it a day.

Gayle’s very similar in ways to Sehwag. Both rely on hand eye coordination so why is it that Sehwag seems to be more consistent than Gayle?

The Windies dasher must introspect, indeed, a lot can be learnt from Viru’s learning’s. After all, Sehwag too was in the same phase a couple of years back when he was dropped from the team. It’s made him a much wiser man now, benefitting team India eminently.

So change works after all and it is high time for some one like Chris Gayle to learn from Virender Sehwag and become more adaptable in his batting. Maybe that is one of the reasons why he was not picked for the IPL this time around!

As India take on Australia in the second quarter final in Ahmedabad on Thursday, one is not sure who to term as favourites. Traditionally, Australia hold the wood over their Asian opponents, but of late they haven’t been the same side that dominated world cricket for such a long duration of time. Even so, the Aussies would be confident going into the game against India although home conditions would even out the advantage to quite an extent. The SWOT analysis of the two teams would give us a better idea of how the game could pan out.

India

Strengths: The top order batting is undoubtedly India’s greatest strength. In Sachin Tendulkar, they have the best batsman in modern day cricket. Add to it the exploits of Virender Sehwag. If Sachin and Sehwag fire like they did against South Africa, India would be greatly advantaged. The good part is that both are among the runs and have looked exceedingly fluent during their stay at the crease. Yuvraj Singh’s return to form and consistency in the series also has been a great relief for the Indians. If anything, he is only playing with a greater sense of maturity. While his batting has been excellent, his left arm spinners have been more than an added bonus to the team. In fact they have even resulting in game changing moments. It has helped that Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir have also been among the runs, even though it has to be said that the latter has had an average tournament by his standards. Hopefully, he will come into his own against one of his favourite opponents – Australia.

Weaknesses: At the start of the tournament, the Indian batting line up was declared by many cricket pundits as the best in the tournament. Unfortunately, that hasn’t quite turned out to be the case. While Tendulkar, Sehwag and Yuvraj have done the bulk of the scoring, the lower order has struggled miserably, particularly in the power play overs. On three occasions now, the lower order has collapsed without a semblance of resistance and two occasions it cost them badly. The likes of Yusuf Pathan, and Suresh Raina (whoever plays) have to show greater application for India to maintain momentum in the latter overs. And not least of all, M S Dhoni needs to score some runs. His batting has been on the constant decline ever since he has taken over the captaincy. To be fair to Dhoni, he hasn’t been the only Indian captain to suffer a slump since taking over as skipper. However, he still needs to lead from the front and come up with something inspirational for the team, if not with the bat then at least behind the stumps. It is about time for Dhoni to do something significant.

The other major weak point in the Indian team is, of course, their bowling. Zaheer Khan has been sensational, especially with the old ball. However, he has had little in the form of support. Harbhajan Singh has been off colour for most part of the tournament. Khan would want Singh to put up an improved performance and back him. Munaf Patel too, while he has done well, needs to bowl with a greater degree of consistency and accuracy. Having seen both Piyush Chawla and Ravichandran Ashwin, it is clear that the latter is a better bet and India would do well to continue with the off spinner else they would be further weakened in the bowling department. A lot will also depend on the amount of improvement they show on the field, if any.

Opposition: Australia are known to raise their game by notches in bigger clashes and, unless India manage to do the same, the tournament could be all over for them.

Threats: The pressure of playing at home would be immense on India. Although they are used to it, Australia would put additional pressure on India by going hard at the Indians with the mouth as well. They have already begun the war by Mitchell Johnson claiming that they would go hard at Sehwag – in the rib cage. How they handle this could go a long way in deciding the eventual result. It will be an intriguing battle nonetheless.

Australia

Strengths: The Aussies have a couple of genuine match winners in Brett Lee and Shane Watson. If both manage to perform to potential, Australia’s chances of victory would be augmented to a great extent. There are a couple of others too like Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke, who are possibly the most dangerous middle overs pair in limited overs cricket. India would have a tough task stopping the duo if they get their eyes in. While Hussey is adept at rotating the strike and going for the big hits towards the end, Clarke can pierce the gaps with precision and find the boundaries at will. The running between the wickets and fielding of the Australians is also much more superior compared to the Indians, which gives them a distinct advantage.

Weaknesses: Unlike yesteryears, there are indeed a couple of weaknesses in the present Australian team. The biggest problem for them is that skipper Ricky Ponting has not been among the runs at all. Of course he has got the backing of the team, but he will need to deliver against India else the axe might well fall on him. There are definite question marks over the performance of a few others too. Cameron White, who has turned into a big hitting specialist, hasn’t quite been performing up to expectations of late. And he hasn’t done much in this World Cup as well. Like Ponting the team management is backing him as well to turn things around. Time is running out though. Further, in Shaun Tait, they are always playing with a double edged sword. No one can predict what he will dish out against India. The spin department also is a concern as they don’t have a quality spinner although Jason Krejza has done a decent job.

Opposition: India would be playing at home and the crowd might just inspire the Indians onto greater things. It has been proved that this Aussie team doesn’t have the same mental aptitude as some of their previous teams.

Threats: The Aussies would be going all out at India without doubt, but an over aggressive approach could well backfire on them as this Indian side has the talent to thwart them.

The final league match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 between India and West Indies was symptomatic of the problems both teams have been having continuously in the tournament. While India did manage to pull off a win, their batting collapse yet again reiterated that all is not well on the batting front as of now. Okay, it was a slightly improved effort from M S Dhoni and co, but far from enough to inspire confidence going into the knock out clash. On the other hand, the West Indies, like in the game against England, succumbed under self-created pressure and lost a match they should have won hands down. And even though both teams have qualified for the next round, the signs aren’t great as of now unless they really pull up their socks. The only positive for both teams, if one can call it so, is that their opponents Australia and Pakistan have problems of their own and thus aren’t at the top of their game either.

No lessons learnt?

In the game against England, India folded up for 338 after looking good for a score well above 350. Against South Africa, they could have touched 400 had they been somewhat judicious. And then versus West Indies on Sunday, they looked set for 300 plus, but fell well short once again. On all three occasions, India messed it up in the power play, raising serious questions as to whether they have learnt from their mistakes. True, as Dhoni said in jest after the game against West Indies, there was a slight improvement. However, it is far from enough to inspire confidence in the team. Of course on all three occasions, the opposition found a great spell from one of their premier bowlers. If Tim Bresnan did it for England, Dale Steyn was hot for South Africa and Ravi Rampaul was the man for West Indies. On all three cases, the bowler in question ended up with five wicket hauls. However, while the bowlers deserve credit for the same, it has been more a case of poor batting by the Indians, which needs to be sorted out very soon, as early as the next game else it could be all over for the home team at Ahmedabad.

What India need is for one of the set batsmen to bat through, which is what hasn’t been happening. Against England and South Africa, Sachin Tendulkar fell in the power play overs after completing his century whilst in the match against the Caribbeans, centurion Yuvraj Singh departed one ball before the start of it. On all three occasions, India suffered a collapse and, on two of three occasions, it almost cost them the game. South Africa were the only team good enough to capitalise on India’s weakness. And even if Australia went down to Pakistan, they would be do the same against India in the quarter finals on Thursday. The Indians will not get another opportunity then so they better beware.

Ashwin situation

At long last, Dhoni gave his Chennai Super Kings mate, Ravichandran Ashwin a go and the off spinner did not disappoint. Like in the premier T20 league, he opened the bowling and troubled the West Indies batsmen. On the little evidence on offer so far and the confidence the country and experts have in him, he is definitely a better choice as compared to Piyush Chawla, who has clearly struggled since impressing in the warm up game against Australia. Having said that, it would be too early to judge him on one performance considering the fact that it came against a weakened West Indies batting line up, minus the likes of Chris Gayle and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. Even so, it was an impressive effort nonetheless by the Chennai super star, particularly with the knockouts coming up. The effort against West Indies should inspire confidence in Ashwin. He would have been under a lot of pressure following the frenetic roars for his inclusion in the team ahead of Chawla. If picked for the game against Australia, Ashwin could even end up being India’s trump card considering the fact that the Aussies haven’t seen much of him. That said, the task for Ashwin would be that much difficult against the Aussies considering that they are a much better team as compared to the West Indies side.

Windies’ inexplicable collapse

While India managed to find a few answers to some of their tough questions, the Windies once again fell short when they should have gone all the way. Even as the Windies decline has been steady over the years, there has been one chief reason for their poor performance in the ongoing World Cup, and that has been their inability to build partnerships in the middle-order. Opener Devon Smith has done exceedingly well in the tournament, but the others have let him down in a big way. It hasn’t helped that Chanderpaul has not been at his best for some time now. So bad has been his form that the Windies camp have had to ‘rest’ him for a couple of games now. And that isn’t great signs for the team.

The one man who has symbolised West Indies’ woes with the bat has been the other highly experienced batsman in the team – Ramnaresh Sarwan. In both the games against England and India, he got stuck at one end, nothing getting into any rhythm at all. It has been an absolutely sad sight to see a man of such class and talent struggling on the big stage. Sarwan’s struggle only emphasises that there is so much wrong with cricket in the West Indies. Not long ago, he and Gayle were out of the side following the never ending dispute between the cricket board and the players. And ever since he has comeback, he hasn’t looked the same. The fluency has disappeared, he is struggling even to rotate the strike. Of course, he can’t be the only one to be blamed for West Indies’ downslide in the series. But, his struggles clearly mirror those of the team. In his defence, unlike the others, Sarwan at least made an effort to hang in there. But, he found no support at all. And when he tried to hit out, he wasn’t good enough to succeed. It’s really sad to see someone with the talent of Sarwan to struggle in such an obvious manner.

As both India and West Indies head into their quarter final clash, they will have to answer most of the questions raised above. The failure to do so could end their World Cup hopes in a jiffy. Will India and West Indies rise to the occasion? Wednesday and Thursday will provide the answers.

In a scintillating chase which swayed all through, South Africa snuck through, holding their nerve as they beat India in a close tie at Nagpur. Group B gets increasingly interesting with each match making it harder to predict the 3rd and the 4th spots leading into the knock outs. After a thwarting defeat against the West Indies at home, the Bangladeshis looked all but out. But, a fabulous turn around against the English has ensured they too are in with a chance for the quarters. England looked scathy in that encounter and Strauss and co need another “comeback” to stand a chance of going any further this World cup.  
Despite India’s loss to South Africa last evening, nothing has really changed as far as those two teams are concerned and they should make it through to the quarters comfortably. West Indies meanwhile are on an uphill, a solitary win against England or India would see them through as well. Even if they go on to lose both their remaining fixtures, a high NRR (Net Run Rate) serves them in good stead as they look likely to progress to the next round.

India, are currently leading the pack and are cruising their way into the knockouts. Netherlands, despite an impressive start stand no chance this World cup and must improve considerably if they want to make another World cup appearance. Ireland on the other hand, have played laudable cricket but still find themselves in a precarious position. However, they still do stand the tiniest of chances of going through. For that to happen, the Irish have to win and win with huge margins against both South Africa and Netherlands. Despite this, England and West Indies’s results need to go in their favour too. Highly unlikely, I would say.
The real race is between England and Bangladesh. England are a point ahead but are a match short and a win for England still may not do the trick for them, theoretically at least.
Theoretically speaking, even India, West Indies and South Africa may miss out. Here’s how:

How can India be eliminated?
Albeit only in theory, this indeed is a possibility. For this to happen, WI must down India, England must beat WI (with a big margin), Bangladesh must beat RSA, RSA must beat Ireland and Bangladesh must beat the Netherlands.
With this, the WI will top the group with 8 points followed by Bangladesh and South Africa with 8 each and England with 7 (Higher NRR than India).
Only in theory, nevertheless, cricket’s a funny game.

How can West Indies be eliminated?
Not many would have even thought that the West Indies would progress to the 2nd round of the World cup but an impressive couple of weeks and a few star performances has made this happen.
The WI should qualify to the next round but again, could be eliminated. For this to happen, India must beat WI, England must beat WI, Bangladesh must down South Africa and Bangladesh must beat Netherlands.
With this, India will top the group with 9 points, followed by South Africa and Bangladesh at 8 points each and England with 7 points.
The way WI cricket has gone over the past decade, this sure is a possibility.

How can South Africa be eliminated?
One of the favourites to lift the trophy, South Africa too might find themselves out before the knockouts.
For this to happen, WI must beat India, England must beat WI, Bangladesh must beat South Africa, Ireland too must beat South Africa and Bangladesh must beat the Netherlands.
With this, the Windies and Bangladesh will end up with 8 points, closely followed by India and England at 7.
This seems highly unlikely as South Africa must lose to Ireland. Nevertheless, K O’Brien may just have different ideas.

How can England be eliminated?
England after a huge Ashes win have failed to discover form in the One day format. A loss to WI might spell doom for the English
However, a win would not guarantee them a spot either as if India may end up with a better NRR or more points if they beat WI.
Spots are up for grabs. All the action is happening in Group B. The quarter finalists from Group A is a no brainer. I would still have my money on England making the last 4 (from B) with India, RSA and Windies filling up the rest.
Nevertheless, an interesting week lies ahead and England and Ireland will be hoping a lot of other results go their way too.