Desi Tamasha

(via Tyler Cowen via Jason Kottke) The Soccer World Cup resulted in a "much needed" baby boom in Germany. U-oh! I hope India does not end up winning the World Cup. Last thing we need is a baby boom.

Labels: germany, soccer, worldcup

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Ian Chappell says that the World Cup could turn out to be a "Well Cup" - the team that's well wins. I think most of the stars will figure out a way to recover in time for the tournament. But here's the partial list of injured players:

• England: Michael Vaughan, Kevin Pietersen, James Anderson
• India: Sachin Tendulkar
• Australia: Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee, Ricky Ponting
• New Zealand: Jacob Oram, Kyle Mills
  
• Pakistan: Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammed Asif, Umar Gul
• S. Africa: Andre Nel
  

Labels: cricket, worldcup

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S. Africa, for sure. Australia, still pretty sure, with some chances of a wobble. The home-team advantage is huge. So W. Indies could sneak through. The fourth team is hard to predict. England are playing pretty well, but they may go back into their shell. Indians are playing well, but other teams are out-preparing them - teams like Sri Lanka. I'd give the fourth slot to Sri Lanka on current form.

S. Africa, Australia, W. Indies, Sri Lanka.

Labels: cricket, worldcup

After New Zealand's exit from the triangular tournament in Australia with a defeat against England, it is pretty much clear that they are not cut out for the big time. Two major reasons why they don't stand a chance:

1. They just don't play enough cricket. They can't deal with pressure and they fold easily. They don't have enough depth and one or two injuries or form issues are enough to break their rhythm completely.
2. They are a tiny country with not enough cricketers. They just won't have enough talent to compete at the highest levels.

So my bets for the World Cup semi-finalists based on current form are Australia, S. Africa, England and India.

Labels: cricket, worldcup

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