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Barring a dramatic turn of events, it looks like the 4 semi finalists are already locked in and its still 2 weeks out from the semi finals. At last there were some tight exciting games on the weekend with South Africa v Pakistan and Australia v NZ going right down to the wire.

It was a strange batting performance by the Australians with the blistering start from Head and Warner, then a period of 14 overs where only 67 runs were scored with Marsh, Smith and Labuschagne not pushing the scoring rate, then the acceleration with Maxwell, Inglis and Cummins. Probably should have been closer to 450 given the start. Josh Inglis has really impressed since coming into the team with both bat and gloves.

Australia then bowled poorly with the new ball and allowed NZ to make all the running pretty much through the innings. Starc and Hazlewood bowled very poorly, Cummins was better and again Maxwell was the pick of the bowlers. NZ have got a special talent there in young Ravindra, he played some glorious shots

mikeh...Starc and Hazlewood indeed bowled poorly, enabling the talented Ravindra to play some glorious shots. Can't believe Boult gets belted for 70 odd off 10 overs, yet  Phillips takes 3/37 off his allocated 10 overs....Smith really needs to deliver or been shown the door...one decent score so far....and that was v the Dutch....

Still some tricky games ahead for Australia. England will want to spoil Australias run and they are also in danger of missing out on the next ICC trophy event which requires them to finish in the top 8 here.  Afghanistan are a real threat with their 3 spinners in the sub continent.
Tough selection between Smith and Labusagne. Australia need more power in the middle order (Green or Stoinis) but Marnus is the best fielder in the team and has made some good scores. Smith has been under par with the bat but you get the sense that he is virtually captaining the team at times and at the very least provides Cummins with a lot of input for decisions on the field
 

NZ seem to be falling apart at the seams.....player wise and performance wise. Sets up a huge match v Pakistan for a top 4 spot. If ever Aust needs to get one over the poms, it will be this weekend. Win that, then Aust will be 90% assured for a finals spot. 

Hopefully Eng will maintain their miserable form, though they are due a few runs and the likes of Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins will pose them no psychological threats...especially after the recent Ashes series.

Geez wouldnt be great if Aust could take a leaf out of SA book and show some faith in Cam Green.....SA young allrounder Marco Jansen is absolutely thriving in this ODI WC....with bat n ball....bowling first, taking wickets, which then helps him with his batting, confidence wise.

New Zealand in danger of dropping out now. They have been blighted with injury and picked up another 2 in this game, they may need to bring in some reinforcements soon. The Pakistan v NZ game on Saturday will probably tell the tale. 
If Australia make the semis I would suggest they confine Maxwell to the hotel in the lead up to the game, then again he would probably slip on the soap in the shower knowing his luck!
Update: Mitch Marsh is coming home for personal reasons, hope all is OK with his family. Looks like the team to face England will be
Warner
Head
Smith
Labusagne
Inglis
Green
Stoinis
Cummins
Starc
Zampa
Hazlewood

I might be tempted to play Abbott and give Hazlewood a rest. That would shore up the batting. Still quite a few options to cover the 5th bowler role although they will miss Maxwells contribution with the ball as much as his batting.

just shaking my head with the Maxwell thing not much else to do really it's that silly
such a waste of great form just when it might matter
and then Marsh goes home so two bits of Dinamite snuffed out
England could win by plenty here no pressure on them

there have been some big totals 
but it's the depth of the some of the small totals that is quite amazing at this level of the game
Sri Lanka getting blitzkrieged for 55 by India is just incredible at this level of the sport 

Another ugly win by Aust.....the Stokes n Woakes show  threatened  to get Eng over the line, but fell short at the finishing line. Zampa keeps Aust bowling attack in the contest....as the 3 BB fast boys stutter their way through games....eeking out the odd wicket and the continuous leaking of runs and short stuff.

Unless Aust implode v Afghanistan and Bangladesh, 3rd spot is secured.....leaving NZ, Pakistan and Afghanistan in a dog fight for that final spot.

I guess on form an India v SA final is the spectacle most cricket fans would love to see. Though both sides have  history of choking in the big moments, especially of big tournaments. 

 

Gee England were very poor. They put themselves into good positions in that game, only to squander it with poor shot selection or loose bowling. Australia were better in the crucial moments but that performance will not scare India or South Africa. It was really Zampa who was the difference, he is shaping up as the best bowler of the tournament after a shaky start. Also his cameo innings at the end lifted the score from 250 to nearly 290
Aussies will welcome back Marsh and hopefully Maxwell for the next game, Green and Stoinis did OK in their place but not enough to keep their place I wouldnt think. 
England probably want to go home but they have 2 more games to play. Hopefully they give some of their young guys like Brook, Carse and Atkinson a run, they might do a lot better than the incumbents

Is it just me or does anyone else think there is a bit of disharmony in the Pommy camp about Stokes and his late on again off again retirement from the 50 over format just for the World Cup?!