To the above mentioned and all other Doubting Thomas' who believed that there is no place for the 'minnows' at the World Cup 17th March 2007 will be a difficult day to come to terms with. Not only have two nations outside the supposedly impregnable fortress that is the "Top 8" proved that they can mix it with the best, they have comprehensively beaten them.
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First Bangladesh beat India by 5 wickets, then the Irish proved that dreams can come true and gave their fans a real St. Patrick's day present by booting Pakistan out of the competition. Does anyone anywhere need any more proof that expanding the game is a worthwhile cause? Can anyone still say that the lower ranked teams do not deserve to be at the World Cup?
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What a great day for cricket this is. To Ireland and Bangladesh: Congratulations, you have just raised the hopes of all players everywhere in the World outside the Test nations that with the right commitment, training and a bit of luck, any team can become good enough to not just play in a World Cup, but compete against the best there too.
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To Matthew Engel, Michael Holding and Ricky Ponting (despite changing his tune just recently) and all the other idiots who said that the Associates do not deserve their status and places at the World Cup. To all those who have made derogatory comments about the standard of Associate cricket, who have made cheap jibes without doing their research. To all the disbelievers and stuffy traditionalists who would keep the game away from the rest of the World: Congratulations to you too. You are now the new joint holders of the Mbuni Award - so much EGG ON FACE, can only come from the biggest bird there is. Lap it up boys, lap it up! And while you are doing so get used to our presence. The Associates are here to stay!
.
First Bangladesh beat India by 5 wickets, then the Irish proved that dreams can come true and gave their fans a real St. Patrick's day present by booting Pakistan out of the competition. Does anyone anywhere need any more proof that expanding the game is a worthwhile cause? Can anyone still say that the lower ranked teams do not deserve to be at the World Cup?
.
What a great day for cricket this is. To Ireland and Bangladesh: Congratulations, you have just raised the hopes of all players everywhere in the World outside the Test nations that with the right commitment, training and a bit of luck, any team can become good enough to not just play in a World Cup, but compete against the best there too.
.
To Matthew Engel, Michael Holding and Ricky Ponting (despite changing his tune just recently) and all the other idiots who said that the Associates do not deserve their status and places at the World Cup. To all those who have made derogatory comments about the standard of Associate cricket, who have made cheap jibes without doing their research. To all the disbelievers and stuffy traditionalists who would keep the game away from the rest of the World: Congratulations to you too. You are now the new joint holders of the Mbuni Award - so much EGG ON FACE, can only come from the biggest bird there is. Lap it up boys, lap it up! And while you are doing so get used to our presence. The Associates are here to stay!
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3 comments:
Well I am sure Kenya will also prove the point that other nations are coming up to dismantle the places the so called super eight of Cricket world. The next time anybody calls the associate countries 'minnows' they will be reminded the performances of Ireland and Kenya.
Indeed Nick the snobs are reeling. I am not a regular cricket fan but I keenly follow every world cup with bated breath, hoping our Kenyan brothers can defeat those traditional cricket powers. Keep up the good work Nick.
this is with regard to the match against new zealand. kenya are a good side but they played really badly yesterday. from the start of the second innings they had no intent of chasing the score. a real dissapointment for people like me who waited up at night to see them play. hope they improve against england but honestly dont think they can make it to the second round.
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