David EdwardsWeekend Wrap – World Cup Ends In A Long Drawn Out Process
April 29th 2007 13:10
What I love about this headline is that it’s perfect as a comment on both the final and the series itself. In what should have been a perfect display of the biggest and best one day sides fighting it out for the coverted trophy became such a drag that not even the die hard supporters could keep their interest. But with other contest all around this weekend, why stop at cricket?
But let’s start with the ICC World Cup which finally ended this weekend. In a perfect end to farce that has been the cricket World cup, Australia has beaten Sri Lanka in a rain-effected final. Australia, who on the back of a 149 by keeper Gilchrist, smashed the Sri Lanka side to score 4-281 in the shortened innings of 38 overs. Sri Lanka battled bravely in the first 15 overs, but was interrupted by rain, and had to score an imposing target of 269 of 36 overs, which was never an option. The final score, by the duckworth lewis system was 53 run difference to the Aussies, with Sri Lanka theoretically scoring 8-215 in their innings.
The match has once again proven the upmost dominance of the Australian side in one day cricket, as they have not lost a single World cup match since the semi-final tie in 1999. But as this World cup comes to a close, it will be the absolute debarcle of the competition that everyone remembers, as while many supporters love as much cricket they can handle, this seven week tournament was too much to handle, and will have the ICC going back to the drawing board to find out how the 2010 competition will actually be exciting.
In Round 5 of the AFL both sides in the West have been able to grab victory despite their off-field troubles. Fremantle, who announced today they were fining player Jeff Farmer $5,000 and suspending him until round 13, were able to pull of a last minute thriller against Adelaide, scoring after the siren to take the win 7.16 (58) to 8.9 (57), whilst in Melbourne The Tigers were able to push the Eagles to the brink, getting within four points of the premiers in the final quarter, but at the end were unable to match the juggernaut of West Coast, who were able to keep Richmond winless after five rounds of the season, winning 14.15 (99) to 11.10 (76).
Kangaroos also continued their winning ways, surging Geelong in the first half and holding strong in the final quarter 18.10 (118) to 15.12 (102), the Western Bulldogs almost let their win slip through their fingers as Hawthorn ruthlessly attacked in the final quarter, before holding steady to take the win 16.14 (110) to 13.15 (93), and Brisbane has beaten the Blues in a nail biting shootout. With the lead changing a few times throughout the match, the Lions were able to use a last minute push to their advantage, beating Carlton 21.10 (136) to 18.16 (124)
Melbourne has slumped to 0-5, going down to Sydney at the SCG, losing by 49 points 17.7 (109) to 8.12 (60) win. To top it off, more injury woes hit the Demons as injured player number 15 hits the list, with Matthew Bate injuring his ankle throughout the match, just after Brad Green was left off the starting line-up as he failed to recover from hamstring soreness before the match, whilst n other games, Port Adelaide were able to keep their winning feeling alive, downing St. Kilda in incredibly wet conditions at AAMI, winning by 53 points 14.12 (96) to 6.7 (43), and in the annual Anzac Day clash on Wednesday, Collingwood downed their age old rivals Essendon by 16 points, winning 12,23 (95) to 11.13 (79).
In the NRL The North Queensland Cowboys were able to upset Manly undefeated run this season. The Cowboys surged forward at the start of the match, going into half-time 14-0 before pushing even further to a 30-10 lead. Whilst the Sea Ealges pushed hard to match their opposition, scoring three times in the 11 minutes, they were not able to match the aggression of the Cowboys and marked their first loss of the season, losing 30-26. The Broncos proved this weekend they are not the formidable side this season, losing badly to Melbourne in the Grand Final rematch. The Storm, who now top the table undefeated were unstoppable in their victory, as they surged from the opening minute and were able to score twice in the first 11 minutes of the game. After going into half-time 16-12, the Storm simply outmuscled the tattered Brisbane squad and were able to cruise to victory 28-18.
The Titans have continued their unbelievable start to the NRL competition, thrashing the Eels 38-12. The Titans, lead by co-captain Scott Prince, were able to break from the start, and by half time were leading 22-0 and not looking back. Whilst the Rabbitohs, who are playing a much stronger side than they have for some years, were very disheartened as they watched the Warriors snatched victory from defeat in the final minute of their match, as Warriors winger Todd Byrne scored with 40 seconds to spare and gave New Zealand the win, taking it 18-16.
Penrith has still displayed their unpredictability as a side, losing dramatically to the Canberra Raiders at home 34-18. With some slack defence, Canberra surged late in the 2nd half in a scrappy fashion, and whilst Penrith were in the drivers seat for the start of the match, there was nothing they could do as the Raiders pushed away to win, giving the Panthers their forth straight defeat. The West Tigers shocked critics on Friday night, downing the Bulldogs who were thought to have enough strength to win, yet were unable to match the Tigers agility and fast pace as they went down 34-18. And on Anzac Day, Sydney were able to finally get one win this season, and with it their 1000th victory as a club, as they were able to outmatch the woeful Dragons side, beating them 18-4.
In the Super 14’s Queensland once again slumped to loss to the Stormers, and with it the almost certainty of the competition’s wooden spoon, going down to the Stormers 37-24. The Brumbies were able to keep their finals hopes alive, beating the Canberra crusaders 15-6. The Bulls were also able to keep their hopes on line, thumping the Auckland Blues 40-19. In other games, The Sharks killed the Lions 33 – 3, The Force thumped the Cheetahs 45-17, the Chiefs outgunned the Waratahs 28-23, and Hurricanes edged out the Highlanders, winning by a single point 22-21.
As the Commonwealth Bank Trophy got underway this weekend the Queensland Firebirds took the first round honours of topping the table, downing the AIS Canberra Darters 50-40. The Sydney Swifts kept their undefeated run from last season alive (where they went through the whole season without a single loss) beating the Adelaide Thunderbirds 54-47 in a Grand Final rematch. In other games the Melbourne Phoenix were able to beat their local rivals the Melbourne Kestrals in their first derby this season, edging out to win 46-41, and the Hunter Jaegers were able to lead the entire match to take the victory from the Perth Orioles 56-51.
That’s it for yet another weekend, stay tuned this week as we look at what is next for the Australia cricket squad, check to see how the State of Origin will be shaping up, and above all check out once more what the hell is happening out there in the west.
Until next time, sports minds.
But let’s start with the ICC World Cup which finally ended this weekend. In a perfect end to farce that has been the cricket World cup, Australia has beaten Sri Lanka in a rain-effected final. Australia, who on the back of a 149 by keeper Gilchrist, smashed the Sri Lanka side to score 4-281 in the shortened innings of 38 overs. Sri Lanka battled bravely in the first 15 overs, but was interrupted by rain, and had to score an imposing target of 269 of 36 overs, which was never an option. The final score, by the duckworth lewis system was 53 run difference to the Aussies, with Sri Lanka theoretically scoring 8-215 in their innings.
The match has once again proven the upmost dominance of the Australian side in one day cricket, as they have not lost a single World cup match since the semi-final tie in 1999. But as this World cup comes to a close, it will be the absolute debarcle of the competition that everyone remembers, as while many supporters love as much cricket they can handle, this seven week tournament was too much to handle, and will have the ICC going back to the drawing board to find out how the 2010 competition will actually be exciting.
In Round 5 of the AFL both sides in the West have been able to grab victory despite their off-field troubles. Fremantle, who announced today they were fining player Jeff Farmer $5,000 and suspending him until round 13, were able to pull of a last minute thriller against Adelaide, scoring after the siren to take the win 7.16 (58) to 8.9 (57), whilst in Melbourne The Tigers were able to push the Eagles to the brink, getting within four points of the premiers in the final quarter, but at the end were unable to match the juggernaut of West Coast, who were able to keep Richmond winless after five rounds of the season, winning 14.15 (99) to 11.10 (76).
Kangaroos also continued their winning ways, surging Geelong in the first half and holding strong in the final quarter 18.10 (118) to 15.12 (102), the Western Bulldogs almost let their win slip through their fingers as Hawthorn ruthlessly attacked in the final quarter, before holding steady to take the win 16.14 (110) to 13.15 (93), and Brisbane has beaten the Blues in a nail biting shootout. With the lead changing a few times throughout the match, the Lions were able to use a last minute push to their advantage, beating Carlton 21.10 (136) to 18.16 (124)
Melbourne has slumped to 0-5, going down to Sydney at the SCG, losing by 49 points 17.7 (109) to 8.12 (60) win. To top it off, more injury woes hit the Demons as injured player number 15 hits the list, with Matthew Bate injuring his ankle throughout the match, just after Brad Green was left off the starting line-up as he failed to recover from hamstring soreness before the match, whilst n other games, Port Adelaide were able to keep their winning feeling alive, downing St. Kilda in incredibly wet conditions at AAMI, winning by 53 points 14.12 (96) to 6.7 (43), and in the annual Anzac Day clash on Wednesday, Collingwood downed their age old rivals Essendon by 16 points, winning 12,23 (95) to 11.13 (79).
In the NRL The North Queensland Cowboys were able to upset Manly undefeated run this season. The Cowboys surged forward at the start of the match, going into half-time 14-0 before pushing even further to a 30-10 lead. Whilst the Sea Ealges pushed hard to match their opposition, scoring three times in the 11 minutes, they were not able to match the aggression of the Cowboys and marked their first loss of the season, losing 30-26. The Broncos proved this weekend they are not the formidable side this season, losing badly to Melbourne in the Grand Final rematch. The Storm, who now top the table undefeated were unstoppable in their victory, as they surged from the opening minute and were able to score twice in the first 11 minutes of the game. After going into half-time 16-12, the Storm simply outmuscled the tattered Brisbane squad and were able to cruise to victory 28-18.
The Titans have continued their unbelievable start to the NRL competition, thrashing the Eels 38-12. The Titans, lead by co-captain Scott Prince, were able to break from the start, and by half time were leading 22-0 and not looking back. Whilst the Rabbitohs, who are playing a much stronger side than they have for some years, were very disheartened as they watched the Warriors snatched victory from defeat in the final minute of their match, as Warriors winger Todd Byrne scored with 40 seconds to spare and gave New Zealand the win, taking it 18-16.
Penrith has still displayed their unpredictability as a side, losing dramatically to the Canberra Raiders at home 34-18. With some slack defence, Canberra surged late in the 2nd half in a scrappy fashion, and whilst Penrith were in the drivers seat for the start of the match, there was nothing they could do as the Raiders pushed away to win, giving the Panthers their forth straight defeat. The West Tigers shocked critics on Friday night, downing the Bulldogs who were thought to have enough strength to win, yet were unable to match the Tigers agility and fast pace as they went down 34-18. And on Anzac Day, Sydney were able to finally get one win this season, and with it their 1000th victory as a club, as they were able to outmatch the woeful Dragons side, beating them 18-4.
In the Super 14’s Queensland once again slumped to loss to the Stormers, and with it the almost certainty of the competition’s wooden spoon, going down to the Stormers 37-24. The Brumbies were able to keep their finals hopes alive, beating the Canberra crusaders 15-6. The Bulls were also able to keep their hopes on line, thumping the Auckland Blues 40-19. In other games, The Sharks killed the Lions 33 – 3, The Force thumped the Cheetahs 45-17, the Chiefs outgunned the Waratahs 28-23, and Hurricanes edged out the Highlanders, winning by a single point 22-21.
As the Commonwealth Bank Trophy got underway this weekend the Queensland Firebirds took the first round honours of topping the table, downing the AIS Canberra Darters 50-40. The Sydney Swifts kept their undefeated run from last season alive (where they went through the whole season without a single loss) beating the Adelaide Thunderbirds 54-47 in a Grand Final rematch. In other games the Melbourne Phoenix were able to beat their local rivals the Melbourne Kestrals in their first derby this season, edging out to win 46-41, and the Hunter Jaegers were able to lead the entire match to take the victory from the Perth Orioles 56-51.
That’s it for yet another weekend, stay tuned this week as we look at what is next for the Australia cricket squad, check to see how the State of Origin will be shaping up, and above all check out once more what the hell is happening out there in the west.
Until next time, sports minds.
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