The Champions trophy was in October 2006 and the Paki tour was just before that.
There is a nagging feeling in my mind somewhere that they played some matches just before the Champions trophy on the sub-continent somewhere, maybe a couple warm up matches against Bangladesh or soemthing ...

Well wasn't that a fantastic match. I was certainly hanging onto to the end of my seat

New Zealand played a good games, yet they missed out on crucial wickets with slip ups in the field. Hussey had a fantastic innings, but it was a shame to see Bracken's wicket. He really wanted to be there at the end, but he wanted to end this innings spectacularly!

Can't wait for Adelaide

Much more entertaining that one, Nic And the Kiwis will long be ruing that first dropped catch. That run out chance was almost pure comedy ... at the ground and at my house. It must have sounded like animals having sex as soon as the mix up happened "oh oh oh oh oh!" Couldn't actually find any words until he was given not out.

Watching Australia play has become so very predictable and boring, if you ask me. They will win against any team at any place on any given day!

They just seem to be contriving to make the matches close, that's all...with all due respect to New Zealand and England, I don't think Australia seemed in any danger of losing either of the last 2 matches. Can't see much challenge for them in the World Cup either, unless something truly spectacular happens.

The India- West Indies first ODI was a run-fest on a useless batting track. Don't think it means anything, though the Indians will feel happy to have won a One dayer after a very long time!

The best cricket is again being played in South Africa. Its truly vintage Test cricket between SA and Pakistan.

From the way i see it, Australia have a point to prove at the moment, that they can still play good cricket without Warne, Langer and Martyn in the squad. They need to prove that they're newer and younger players have what it takes to play in, what we know, is an elite squad.

Firstly Srini, I don't understand how a team with Gilchrist, Ponting, Symonds and Hussey in it, boring. I also doubt that the Australia team would deliberately put itself in a position of 3 for a handful of runs in any match, never mind against NZ.

"Boring" as in you know the result of a match well before the last ball. Oooh I love the Aussie team, no doubt about that, and am frankly all admiration for it. Ponting, Gilchrist and Hussey are among my favourite cricketers.

But, I would like to watch a match with at least the anticipation of which team might pull it off. I marvel at the Australians and admire their strokeplay, their big-hitting powers and guts, but there's an air of inevitibility about the whole match. You know that if Gilchrist fails, Ponting won't or if Ponting falls, Hussey won't. There's always somebody to stand up for the Australians and take them to the final post. Any other team has so many match winners?

You don't get that feeling when watching a Lara or a Tendulkar. As a team, Australia is far too superior to any side today. period.

Oh well...watching Federer play now or Sampras at his peak or even Michael Schumacher or Tiger Woods at their best was just the same....guess we just have to sit back and appreciate the genius of these champions, I suppose

I'm with you Srini - it is boring. Sure it's technically brilliant and all that and I could watch Hussey all day long batting or fielding (for his cricketing skill of course ... ) but part of what makes a good game is the mistakes, how teams deal with them and how the other team capitalises on them and Australia just aren't making (m)any.

It is fantastic cricket the Australians are playing and it's great to watch them individually but they aren't great games as such.

New Zealand 210 beat England 120 allout after being 76 for 3 at one stage...margin of win, big, but it was still exciting as you knew both teams had a chance to win the match

I just hope New Zealand can pull the rug from under Australia's feet in their next match...will be nice to see the Aussies lose for a change this season (they haven't lost ANYTHING at all this season after that Champions Trophy defeat to West Indies, did they?)

Please let Aussies keep winning till the WC final (if that it is too much, then till the Semi final!)

Here's some interesting stats on Mike Hussey. He has played 10 ODIs against both England and NZ. His average against England is impressive, it's 106.66. They've only managed to get him out 3 times out of the 7 innings

Against NZ, however, his average is 163.5. They've only managed to get him out twice and they got to bowl at him 9 times and includes a duck.

They don't get to call him "Mr Cricket" for nothing, do they I wonder how in the world could the Aussie selectors keep him out for so long? Or is it a secret ploy by the selectors to ensure that the players will always be hungry to score or take wickets whenever they are picked for the national side?

Another exciting match between India and West Indies. After a run-fest in the first match, a real tricky wicket for the second one! the wins will probably ony boost India's confidence going into the world cup, nothing else.

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the wins will probably ony boost India's confidence going into the world cup, nothing else.

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Even though you're probably right, let's give India a bit of a chance at the WC ? We do have some talented players (Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dhoni, Yuvraj etc) and who knows, if everything clicks, it might be 1983 revisited ??

Though on hindsight, it seems Australia just can't lose without any help from the heavens !

New Zealand did good last night - pretty enjoyable game to watch. I think the plus is that they only lost five wickets and came oh so close to making it.

Austraila and Kiwi final - I don't even think England want to be there, they just wantto get the hell out of here and put it all behind them. And I can't blame them at all.

I thought Jacob Oram was just too good. Pity the Kiwis had to lose a cracker of a match.

Maybe, like ace sodium said, let the Aussies keep winning till the semis of the WC

Aww this thread needs some loving!

Well well well, England goes and wins the first in the finals! Great match and great innings by Collingwood considering the Poms were 3/15 at one stage. No one would have blamed them for laying down and dying then.

Will now make it a cracker of a final series 'cause I think Australia will lift for the second match on Sunday and then it's all down to the game on Tuesday.

In other news - Ponting won't be playing in the three ODI's in NZ before the world cup and Hussey has been named as captain. Yay! Michael Clark is vice captain and listening to the commentators on ABC radio they seem to think that's a good indication of him being groomed for the captaincy when Ponting retires. Interesting.

Can anyone tell me what's the difference between the ICC Champion's trophy and the Wrold Cup? And what does it mean when commentators say "he's playing within himself" ... arrrg drives me mental!

I need some help here! Was watching England playing Australia today and noticed (not for the first time) that the Aust players have numbers on their caps. These numbers are not the same as the numbers on their backs and no one can tell me what they mean. I am asuming it is the number of ODI's or Tests they have played. Can anyone tell me if this is correct?

It's the order they were first selected to play for Australia - so say Ponting has 156 on his cap it means he was the 156th player selected. If two players are making their debut on in the same match it goes on the batting order.

Quite an interesting game on now - rain reduced to 41 over and Australia are 4/50 cahsing 220odd When this game finishes I'll be switching over to SA/PAK

It looks like a lost cause now for Australia. As an English columnist pointed out, it's a bit like running into a burning house to save a baby and coming out with the family dog.

Edited to add: That is England coming to Australia to retain the Ashes and going home with the ODI trophy.

WOW! and WOW!

England beat Australia 3 times in a row!!!! Whoever thought they could do it this summer?

My hats off to the England team for coming back so strongly. I just hope they will keep this momentum going into the World Cup and we should have a really fascinating WC from the Super 8 onwards

Copage had asked "Can anyone tell me what's the difference between the ICC Champion's trophy and the Wrold Cup?"

The ICC in its infinite wisdom, had decided to have a Champions Trophy every 2 years, in years when there is no world cup, in a bid to "promote" the game in developing countries. So you had the first Champions Trophy in 1998 in Bangladesh and the second in 2000 in Kenya.

Then they realised it was getting them enough money and so we had the 2002 event in Sri Lanka, 2004 in England and 2006 in India (where you put on field retired cricketers from 1970s in a match and people will come and fill the stands and show it on TV and you generate millions of diollars in revenue!)

This Champions Trophy is limited only to Test-Playing countries (though initially they had a "qualifying" tournament for non-Test playing members and so had USA taking part too in one event!) and was originally supposed to be a knock-out tournament though now the format keeps changing with each passing tournament depending upon the whims of the organising nation!

Thanks Copago now I understand how the numbers work. Hope you enjoyed the SA/PAK game and did not miss it since it was over so soon. Looking forward to the last ODI on Wednesday.

Well well well!!! Australia are no longer the highest ranked team in ODIs after losing twice to the Kiwis. They were well and truely flogged on Friday losing by 10 wickets for the first time ever and today beaten again although in a much closer match.

We always hear how much depth Aust. cricket has but perhaps it doesn't count much when up against experience of the missing players.

So it's South Africa who is now on top of the ranking. Makes for an interesting start for the World Cup - if Australia get mostof their players fit enough for the WC will they be able to get the confidence back?