Group B - Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Bermuda

[TT Boy]

TBF to Bermuda its not a great batting strip. If it was Sri Lanka would have 430 minimum.

[Pup Clarke]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

So are Scotland, Holland, Ireland and Canada.

Bermuda are still a class below those four. On these showings they'd struggle in an English County Premier League.

Bermuda IMO are way below Scotland and Ireland and still quite far behind Holland and Canada.The other associates deserve to be hear but not Bermuda.I'd hardly call Scotland and Ireland "dire" however.At least both of these teams can at least hold a bat and bowl reasonably well.

[Neil Pickup]

I wasn't calling them dire; I was pointing out that the excuse of being amateur didn't hold water to explain Bermuda's incompetence as the other four associates are also amateur, and, as you point out, at least vaguely talented.

[Natman20]

I don't think anyone should be called dire. I think it is racially discriminative and should not be used on these forums.













(Hopes people will stop using 'dire')

[Natman20]

At least the Bermudans show a bit of fight with a couple sixes in recent overs against Murali.

[Natman20]

As I say that there goes Cann.

[Pup Clarke]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

I was pointing out that the excuse of being amateur didn't hold water to explain Bermuda's incompetence as the .

It's not Bermuda's fault that their so bad.They just shouldn't be at the WC.It's as simple as that.They are just going to get embarassed in all three of their games and it really isn't good for cricket or for Bermuda in helping them to develop.

[Evermind]

Originally Posted by Pup Clarke

It's not Bermuda's fault that their so bad.They just shouldn't be at the WC.It's as simple as that.They are just going to get embarassed in all three of their games and it really isn't good for cricket or for Bermuda in helping them to develop.

Their population is 66,000 or so. How far do you think they're gonna develop?

But yes, agreed that they certainly shouldn't be at the WC. There should be at most 4 teams outside the top 8 - Bangladesh for sure, then maybe Kenya, and the rest of them can fight it out for the other 2 places.

From what I see, Bangladesh will no doubt become a fully competent team like SL in the next decade or so. Scotland and Ireland do have a promising future - they have the population and the interest to support the game (history of cricket in the UK - but I'm not sure how much interest the game has historically commanded outside of England). But I'm really not so sure about Bermuda and some of the other teams. Is there a future for cricket there?

[PhoenixFire]

Population means nothing. Australia > India, and they have 983,000,000 more people than them (aprox).

[silentstriker]

Originally Posted by PhoenixFire

Population means nothing. Australia > India, and they have 983,000,000 more people than them (aprox).

Population does mean something. The Australia > India is due to a hundred different things (infrastructure, coaching, boards, no opportunities for kids), and the only reason India is even able to stay competitive is that it has a big population to draw from. It becomes extremely hard to learn how to play proper cricket when 95% of the population only has a concrete road for a ''pitch", a 15-yard open space as a field and a tennis ball to play with.

[crickmate]

still 66,000 is a very low population to select cricketers from.

Originally Posted by PhoenixFire

Population means nothing. Australia > India, and they have 983,000,000 more people than them (aprox).

[Turbinator]

Originally Posted by crickmate

still 66,000 is a very low population to select cricketers from.

Yup population does mean something, especially when it's only about 66 000.

EDIT: Lol, that's less than the suburb I live in.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

Bermuda are still a class below those four. On these showings they'd struggle in an English County Premier League.

You and Dad think along similar lines - he's just said after informing me of the Bermuda result that Exeter CC would give 'em a game.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Evermind

Scotland and Ireland do have a promising future - they have the population and the interest to support the game (history of cricket in the UK - but I'm not sure how much interest the game has historically commanded outside of England).

Every Scot who's ever got good at cricket has wanted to and has played in and for England. There's no reason this should discontinue.

I'm informed by our weekly Brumby that the last decent Irish cricketer before Joyce was 80 years ago.

[Jungle Jumbo]

Originally Posted by Neil Pickup

So are Scotland, Holland, Ireland and Canada.

Bermuda are still a class below those four. On these showings they'd struggle in an English County Premier League.

I was thinking that the other day while watching them bat against England. Their bowling attack is nothing; my village side has two bowlers up and around 80mph, plus has a solid batting lineup. How they beat the other associate nations is beyond me. Surely Namibia, who have put in some solid performances in the South African Provincial Tournaments this year, are much better?