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Australia’s second group game in the 2015 World Cup was against Bangladesh in Brisbane. Here are the Liebke ratings for that game.
Tropical Cyclone Marcia
Grade: A+
Totally dominant performance. Despite the radar previously clocking her at more than 150 km/hr, Marcia slowed her pace down for this game. With plenty of cloud cover, she moved it both ways, taking control of the game early and never relinquishing her grip.
For a time, it appeared that a patient waiting game might see Marcia’s pressure let up, but she was not to be denied.
Relentless and overpowering, nobody else had a chance. A Mitch-worthy effort.
Duckworth Lewis
Grade: F
Pathetic stuff from Messrs Duckworth and Lewis, who continue to require a minimum of twenty overs per side before a result can be derived.
Come on guys. It’s 2015. Moan about ‘insufficient data’ or ‘extrapolation variability’ all you like, but I say we should instead get some maverick cricket mathematicians in with the guts to decide a winner based on no data whatsoever. What’s the worst that could happen?
Get cracking, up-and-coming boffins. Your decisions can’t be any crazier than those of the umpires.
Match Points
Grade: D
With the game washed out, both Australia and Bangladesh left Brisbane with one point apiece. This was widely considered most beneficial to Bangladesh, who might have otherwise struggled to get the tie needed to earn that point. But, given Duckworth and Lewis’s shameful cowardice, it was really the only fair way to divvy up the points.
Fair, sure. But not funny. Why not change the points system so that rained out games earn both teams, say, four points instead of one? That would certainly add a much-needed element of meteorologically-derived tension to the group stages of the tournament. Never a bad thing.
England and New Zealand
Grade: B-
One of the advantages to the Australia-Bangladesh washout was that it gave everybody the opportunity to rewatch the New Zealand versus England match from the day before. Where, by ‘everybody’, I mean ‘everybody with access to Fox Sports’.
Those with only access to Channel Nine had to settle for a movie about a plane crash and polar bears that inexplicably wasn’t the first couple of episodes of Lost. And by ‘match’ I mean, of course, some kind of gutter-filth curse word that would make Ian Chappell blush.
The New Zealand-England game once again showed that this current New Zealand team are terrible, terrible tournament dark horses.
It also showed again just how far ahead of all other teams England are in terms of comedy. Collapsing under the pressure of Tim ‘The Enchanter’ Southee to be all out for 123?
Then allowing Brendon McCullum (still number one on the ICC ‘Most Fun Names To Say In A Kiwi Accent’ Rankings) to get within a dozen runs of their target in the nine overs before the scheduled innings break? Comedy gold.
England are operating at a standard of hilarity beyond all other teams.
Pool B
Grade: B+
England’s only comedy competitor in this World Cup now seems to be Pakistan, who brilliantly exploited wicket-run scoring inconsistencies during their game against the West Indies to elicit mass confusion in anybody who tuned in to their innings late.
“1/4? One wicket down for four runs? Not a great start to a run chase. Oh, wait. No… Four wickets down for one run? That can’t be right, surely? Wouldn’t that be the worst start ever in an ODI? Hmmm? Oh, it’s Pakistan batting? Right. Carry on, then.”
Overall, despite the Gabba helping Pool A to prove itself as being clearly superior at this whole ‘pool’ business, it’s Pool B that is proving to be the more interesting of the two.
While South Africa seem destined to finish on top, setting up their traditional World Cup semi-final exit, the remaining six teams in Pool B (Pakistan, West Indies, Ireland, Zimbabwe, United Arab Emirates and Virat Kohli) all have reasonable chances of snaring one of the other three quarter-final spots.
Definitely the pool to watch.
Glenn Maxwell
Grade: A-
Look, I just like to mention Glenn Maxwell in each one of these articles. Because I’m endlessly entertained by him. And even if we didn’t get a chance to see it, I see no reason to believe that he wasn’t wandering around the sodden Gabba outfield, doing something brilliant or insane or, ideally, both.
Shine on, Glenn, you crazy diamond.