Bugger Boris

BORIS JOHNSON will become the 76th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom tomorrow after he easily beat Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in the Conservative Party leadership election.

Mr Johnson took 92,153 votes (66.1%) from party members to finish well clear of Mr Hunt who had 46,656 ballots (33.5%) cast for him. There were 509 papers rejected.

But, while this was a clear victory for the former Mayor of London among the Conservatives' rank and file, it also means he was elected into position by just 0.14% of the entire population.

During his campaign, Mr Johnson was largely kept out of trouble by his staffers, and yet he still managed to court controversy by refusing to rule out proroguing Parliament until after the Brexit deadline of 31 October - even if it meant the UK the European Union without a deal.

It was little more than three years ago that Mr Johnson led a Leave campaign which promoted sovereignty and urged Britain to "take back control" - but, now, parliamentary democracy does not seem all that important to him really.

Nevertheless, that inconsistency should have come as no surprise to anyone who has followed Mr Johnson's career closely enough.

Once upon a time, American comedian Groucho Marx joked: "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others!"

Frankly, it is a quote which is made for Mr Johnson.

After all, it is now little remembered that - during his time as Mayor of London between 2008 and 2016 - the new Prime Minister was never slow to praise the relationship between the UK capital city and the EU.

Now, of course, it is true that all people, even politicians(!), are entitled to a change in heart - and this is an admittedly cynical view of the situation.

But it seems far more likely in this instance that the wily Mr Johnson recognised the significant political capital which could be gained by opposing his former fellow Old Etonion and then-Prime Minister David Cameron in the EU referendum campaign.

Mr Johnson has never made much of a secret of his ambition to lead the country - and, in 2016, the gamble of his life appeared to have paid off handsomely when a humiliated Mr Cameron resigned in the immediate wake of the referendum.

However, in a month of political mayhem, Mr Johnson's leadership bid failed even to launch as his ally and expected running mate Michael Gove astonishingly announced his own candidacy.

Eventually, Theresa May became PM in unconvincing style - and, less than a year after taking office, she lost her overall majority in the snap General Election which she called in 2017.

For two more years, Mrs May led Britain in ever-decreasing circles, trying repeatedly to force through a compromise deal which ended up being opposed on all sides.

Perhaps things might have been different if Mr Johnson had won the leadership election three years ago. Perhaps Mr Johnson would have called a General Election, won an increased majority, and the first stage of Brexit would have already been completed.

That remains uncertain - especially as the 2017 election coincided with a popularity surge for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, never seen before or since.

If anything, this leadership campaign against Mr Hunt has emphasised some of the weaknesses of Mr Johnson - with his serial avoidance of the issues at hand and his tiresome jokes which appear to appeal only to the slack-jawed and simple-minded.

He was at it again in his victory speech this morning when he declared: "Dude! We are going to energise the country" - but gave no solutions to the main issue of the day or indeed any of the other problems currently facing Britain.

And then - deep sigh - there are the gaffes, of which threatening to prorogue Parliament is only just the latest.

In the past, Mr Johnson has referred to black people in Africa as "piccaninnies" with "watermelon smiles" and gay men as "bumboys".

Meanwhile, in November 2017 in the role of Foreign Secretary, he made a disastrous intervention in the case of a British mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who had been detained by the Iranian authorities.

Mr Johnson told a Select Committee that he believed she had been “simply teaching people journalism” - but these remarks put her at risk since a central part of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe's defence was that she was there on a holiday visiting family.

Four days after Mr Johnson's comments, Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was returned to court in Iran where the then-Foreign Secretary's statement was cited as evidence against her

Rather than gaffes then, these incidents are - at best - misguided or bad errors of judgement. At worst, they are the remarks of a mendacious and discriminatory man who is simply not fit to be Prime Minister.

Regardless of that, Mr Johnson already faces an arithmetical headache with the Parliament which Mrs May has bequeathed him - especially if he attempts to lead Britain towards a No Deal scenario.

Anne Milton - MP for Guildford - resigned from her from her ministerial post just minutes before today's result was announced.

Chancellor Philip Hammond and Justice Secretary David Gauke will surely follow, based on what they have previously said - while former leadership candidate Rory Stewart has vowed to lead the charge against a No Deal Brexit from the backbenchers.

The arithmetic could even get worse for Mr Johnson if - as expected - the Conservatives lose their seat in the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election, held on 1 August.

It is difficult to know what sort of boost, if any, there will be to the Tory campaign following the selection of Mr Johnson.

But it is certainly the case that Britain is now again running out of time, something which was warned against by Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council, on 11 April - the date on which the latest extension was granted.

Since then, there have been 104 days - while there are now just exactly 100 days until the Brexit deadline on Hallowe'en.

So far, with over half of the time since the original Brexit date having elapsed, Britain has achieved precisely nothing.

Worse still, Britain now has a loose cannon of a Prime Minister whose reference from his ex-Daily Telegraph boss Max Hastings declared him to be "unfit for national office".

And yet, tomorrow, Mr Johnson will be settling into Number 10 Downing Street where the difficult work will begin.

CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADERSHIP CONTEST 2019

	1st (%) 13 June	2nd (%) 18 June	3rd (%) 19 June	4th (%) 20 June	5th (%) 20 June	Members
Boris JOHNSON	114 (36.4)	126 (40.3)	143 (45.7)	157 (50.2)	160 (51.1)	92,153 (66.1)
Jeremy HUNT	43 (13.7)	46 (14.7)	54 (17.3)	59 (18.8)	77 (24.6)	46,656 (33.5)
Michael GOVE	37 (11.8)	41 (13.1)	51 (16.3)	61 (19.5)	75 (24.0)
Sajid JAVID	23 (7.3)	33 (10.5)	38 (12.1)	34 (10.9)
Rory STEWART	19 (6.1)	37 (11.8)	27 (8.6)
Dominic RAAB	27 (8.6)	30 (9.6)
Matt HANCOCK	20 (6.4)	Withdrew
Andrea LEADSOM	11 (3.5)
Mark HARPER	10 (3.2)
Esther MCVEY	9 (2.9)
Spoilt ballots	0	0	0	2	1	509 (0.4)
Turnout	313	313	313	313	313	139,318 (87.4)

Rt Hon BORIS JOHNSON MP Profile
Full name Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964)
Birth place New York City, United States
Education Eton College 
Alma mater Balliol College, Oxford
Constituency Uxbridge and South Ruislip (since 2015, maj. 5,034); previously Henley (2001-2008)
Public office
▪️2008-2016 Mayor of London
▪️2016-2018 Foreign Secretary

England win epic Cricket World Cup Final on boundaries

CRICKET WORLD CUP

ENGLAND ARE THE CHAMPIONS

FINAL Sun 14-Jul	10:30	NEW ZEALAND	241-8		15-1 (Super Over)
Lord's		ENGLAND	241		15-0 (Super Over)

▪️ MATCH TIED - ENGLAND won on boundaries scored during the match (26-17)
Player of the match: Ben Stokes (84* & 8*)

ENGLAND won the Cricket World Cup for the first time ever after beating New Zealand on boundaries scored following an astonishing tie in the Final at Lord's.

Even a Super Over could not separate the teams with Jason Roy running Martin Guptill out off the last ball of the match as the Kiwi scrambled back in a forlorn attempt to make the winning run.

In all honesty, it is difficult to know where to start with this epic match. Just how on earth did England win this?

Well, to begin at the beginning - New Zealand won the toss and opted to bat, a decision which looked pretty reasonable despite the overhead conditions. 

Opener Henry Nicholls (55) and captain Kane Williamson (30) cautiously built a steady partnership of 74 following the early loss of Guptill (19).

However, Liam Plunkett has been an incredibly important factor to England's journey to the top of the One-Day International rankings - and the Middlesbrough-born paceman dismissed both set batsmen.

Mark Wood soon joined the party as he trapped a static Ross Taylor in front for 15 although replays would show the ball was bouncing over the stumps.

The Black Caps had already used their review, having earlier foolishly requested the plumb lbw decision made against Guptill to be looked at again.

Tom Latham then attempted to turn the tide - but the wicketkeeper-batsman regularly lost partners at the other end as Chris Woakes and Plunkett finished with three wickets apiece.

At 241-8 off their 50 overs, New Zealand looked a bit short. Out of the six bowlers employed by England, only Ben Stokes went for more than five per over - and he only bowled three overs.

Meanwhile, Jofra Archer - a vital figure in the hours to come - took 1-42 off his full allocation.

The Kiwis, nevertheless, had at least scored 58 runs more than four years ago when they were hammered in the Final against Australia by seven wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Impressively, New Zealand had also defended 239-8 as they shocked India by 18 runs in their semi final at Old Trafford.

By contrast, England had blasted their way to a first Final in 27 years, thrashing Australia by eight wickets at Edgbaston - and, in their previous match to that, had beaten the New Zealanders by the not-so-small matter of 119 runs at Chester-le-Street.

In the Final at Lord's, though, it was always going to be completely different - especially as New Zealand started well with the ball.

Prodigious opener Roy was caught behind by Latham off Matt Henry, and Joe Root soon followed after an uncharacteristically scratchy innings in which he scored just seven off 30 balls.

Captain Eoin Morgan appeared to be faring better, scoring six runs off his first seven deliveries - but he too became bogged down and was out for just nine after he hoicked Jimmy Neesham's first ball to the impressive Lockie Ferguson.

Ferguson produced a superb catch, diving forwards - having already bowled Jonny Bairstow for a patient 36 - and, at 86-4 in the 24th over, England were in deep trouble.

Enter Stokes and Jos Buttler. Finally, England had found two batsmen willing to rotate the strike and make inroads into the chase which had suddenly become mammoth.

The required rate continued to creep upwards, however - and, just as England were preparing for a few last big overs, Ferguson struck again to take the big wicket of Buttler.

Woakes followed in Ferguson's next over before Neesham accounted for both Plunkett and Archer in the 49th.

Neesham nearly also had Stokes' wicket too - but, as Boult took the catch, he trod on the boundary rope - and instead England picked up a vital six runs.

Heading into the last, the hosts still required 15 runs to win, or 14 to tie with Stokes and Adil Rashid at the crease, and Stokes on strike.

Looking to make amends, the Black Caps' main bowler Boult held the ball - and his team's destiny - in his hands and he started well with two yorkers which Stokes could barely get off the square.

But, in response, the Christchurch-born all-rounder turned the tables by smashing the paceman over midwicket for six off the next ball - and the fourth ball then also counted for six in the most extraordinary way.

Stokes smeared a full toss away to midwicket where it was collected - but, as the luckless Guptill lined up a direct hit, Stokes - desperate to make his ground - got in the way, and he inadvertently deflected the ball with his outstretched bat.

The ball trundled towards the boundary - and there was simply nothing New Zealand could do as umpire Kumar Dharmasena signalled with six digits on his two hands, although it has subsequently emerged that he should have only used five.

Law 19.8 advises that the two batsmen must have crossed for their second run prior to Guptill throwing the ball for the run to count.

However, this - in itself - appears inconsistent with the general principle applied in other Laws that all of the play is taken into account on each ball until the ball becomes considered dead - i.e. when it hit the boundary rope.

Regardless, it is to the immense credit of the New Zealanders that they have not collectively made a big deal of the umpiring error - though it can surely only have compounded their disappointment.

Still, despite that, the Black Caps could have won. Boult had two deliveries remaining - and, with the first, he found his yorker length again - but Stokes played it well.

This time, the ball trundled to Mitchell Santner at long-off - and, this time, the run out was enacted as Boult dismissed Rashid by a long way.

England had completed one run, however, and so needed two off the final ball for victory.

Instead, there was another run out, though again England had completed a single before Wood was out well short of a second.

Incredibly, the Final had gone to a Super Over.

Now, England batted first, nominating Buttler and the unbeaten Stokes as their batsmen as Boult again took the ball in hand.

Four runs came off the first two balls before Stokes doubled that with a boundary through midwicket off the third delivery.

The second part of the over followed a similar pattern as three runs off the next two balls were topped off by a four when Buttler found the fence at deep square leg.

England therefore had scored a very decent 15 off their six balls - as Guptill and Neesham came out to bat for the Kiwis.

Archer - the raw 24-year-old Barbados-born fast-bowler had been just about a last-minute pick by the selectors - and yet he was now given the responsibility of winning the game for England.

Rather understandably, Archer started nervously with a wide called off his attempt before he was hit for six by Neesham off only his second legal delivery.

Suddenly, New Zealand needed just seven to win off four balls - but Archer found a fuller length to restrict the Black Caps to four off the next two.

The next ball was banged in short and Neesham, failing to connect on the pull, had to settle for a single, bringing Guptill on strike for the first time in the over - just in time for the last ball.

New Zealand needed two runs to win as Archer again went full. Guptill managed to clip the ball to deep midwicket - but, as the Kiwi batsmen tried in vain to make the 22 yards, Roy found his range and finally finished the contest.

More than nine hours of play featuring 643 balls - including wides, no balls and the Super Over deliveries - had not been enough to separate the two teams on the scorecard.

England had scored 241 runs and 15 in the Super Over - New Zealand had done likewise - and, though it was in the rules at the start of the tournament, the boundary count seems a slight arbitrary next tiebreaker.

After all, right up until the end of the Super Over, all of the runs - no matter how they had been scored - had counted equally.

So, as much of a cop-out as it sounds, this was a Cricket World Cup Final in which a tie should have meant just that - a shared trophy.

England will have still got the plaudits which they have deserved for their hard work over the last four years. 

But New Zealand too would have something to take from this epic occasion, rather than being left only with perhaps indelible scars caused by this absolute heartbreak.

Even a couple of days later, that still seems a little too cruel on the Black Caps.

CRICKET WORLD CUP

 SEMI FINAL RESULTS
 

SF1 Tue 09-Jul	10:30	INDIA	221 49.3	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by 18 runs
Old Trafford		NEW ZEALAND	239-8
SF2 Thu 11-Jul	10:30	AUSTRALIA	223 49.0	▪️ ENGLAND won by eight wickets
Edgbaston		ENGLAND	226-2 32.1

GROUP STAGE TABLE

Pos	Team	W	L	NR	NRR	Pts
(Q)	INDIA	7	1	1	0.809	15
(Q)	AUSTRALIA	7	2	0	0.868	14
(Q)	ENGLAND	6	3	0	1.152	12
(Q)	NEW ZEALAND	5	3	1	0.175	11
(5)	PAKISTAN	5	3	1	-0.430	11
(6)	SRI LANKA	3	4	2	-0.919	8
(7)	SOUTH AFRICA	3	5	1	-0.030	7
(8)	BANGLADESH	3	5	1	-0.410	7
(9)	WEST INDIES	2	6	1	-0.225	5
(10)	AFGHANISTAN	0	9	0	-1.322	0

GROUP STAGE RESULTS

01 Thu 30-May	10:30	ENGLAND	311-8	▪️ ENGLAND won by 104 runs
The Oval		SOUTH AFRICA	207 39.5
02 Fri 31-May	10:30	PAKISTAN	105 21.4	▪️ WEST INDIES won by seven wickets
Trent Bridge		WEST INDIES	108-3 13.4
03 Sat 01-Jun	10:30	NEW ZEALAND	137-0 16.1	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by 10 wickets
Cardiff		SRI LANKA	136 29.2
04 Sat 01-Jun	13:30	AUSTRALIA	209-3 34.5	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by seven wickets
Bristol		AFGHANISTAN	207 38.2
05 Sun 02-Jun	10:30	BANGLADESH	330-6	▪️ BANGLADESH won by 21 runs
The Oval		SOUTH AFRICA	309-8
06 Mon 03-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	334-9	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 14 runs
Trent Bridge		PAKISTAN	348-8
07 Tue 04-Jun	10:30	AFGHANISTAN	152 32.4	▪️ SRI LANKA won by 34 runs  DLS
Cardiff		SRI LANKA	201 36.5
08 Wed 05-Jun	10:30	INDIA	230-4	▪️ INDIA won by six wickets
Southampton		SOUTH AFRICA	227-9
09 Wed 05-Jun	13:30	BANGLADESH	244 49.2	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by two wickets
The Oval		NEW ZEALAND	248-8 47.1
10 Thu 06-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	288 49.0	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 15 runs
Trent Bridge		WEST INDIES	273-9
11 Fri 07-Jun	10:30	PAKISTAN		▪️ NO RESULT - rain
Bristol		SRI LANKA
12 Sat 08-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	386-6	▪️ ENGLAND won by 106 runs
Cardiff		BANGLADESH	280 48.5
13 Sat 08-Jun	13:30	AFGHANISTAN	172 41.1	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by seven wickets
Taunton		NEW ZEALAND	173-3 32.1
14 Sun 09-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	316	▪️ INDIA won by 36 runs
The Oval		INDIA	352-5
15 Mon 10-Jun	10:30	SOUTH AFRICA	29-2 7.3	▪️ NO RESULT - rain
Southampton		WEST INDIES
16 Tue 11-Jun	10:30	BANGLADESH		▪️ NO RESULT - rain
Bristol		SRI LANKA
17 Wed 12-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	307 49.0	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 41 runs
Taunton		PAKISTAN	266 45.4
18 Thu 13-Jun	10:30	INDIA		▪️ NO RESULT - rain
Trent Bridge		NEW ZEALAND
19 Fri 14-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	213-2 33.1	▪️ ENGLAND won by eight wickets
Southampton		WEST INDIES	212 44.4
20 Sat 15-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	334-7	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 87 runs
The Oval		SRI LANKA	247 45.5
21 Sat 15-Jun	13:30	AFGHANISTAN	125 34.1	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by nine wkts  DLS
Cardiff		SOUTH AFRICA	131-2 28.4
22 Sun 16-Jun	10:30	INDIA	336-5	▪️ INDIA won by 89 runs  DLS
Old Trafford		PAKISTAN	212-6 40.0
23 Mon 17-Jun	10:30	BANGLADESH	322-3 41.3	▪️ BANGLADESH won by seven wickets
Taunton		WEST INDIES	321-8
24 Tue 18-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	397-6	▪️ ENGLAND won by 150 runs
Old Trafford		AFGHANISTAN	247-8
25 Wed 19-Jun	10:30	NEW ZEALAND	245-6 48.3	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by four wickets
Edgbaston		SOUTH AFRICA	241-6 49.0
26 Thu 20-Jun	10:30	AUSTRALIA	381-5	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 48 runs
Trent Bridge		BANGLADESH	333-8
27 Fri 21-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	212 47.0	▪️ SRI LANKA won by 20 runs
Headingley		SRI LANKA	232-9
28 Sat 22-Jun	10:30	AFGHANISTAN	213 49.5	▪️ INDIA won by 11 runs
Southampton		INDIA	224-8
29 Sat 22-Jun	13:30	NEW ZEALAND	291-8	▪️ NEW ZEALAND won by five runs
Old Trafford		WEST INDIES	286 49.0
30 Sun 23-Jun	10:30	PAKISTAN	308-7	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 49 runs
Lord's		SOUTH AFRICA	259-9
31 Mon 24-Jun	10:30	AFGHANISTAN	200 47.0	▪️ BANGLADESH won by 62 runs
Southampton		BANGLADESH	262-7
32 Tue 25-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	221 44.4	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 64 runs
Lord's		AUSTRALIA	285-7
33 Wed 26-Jun	10:30	NEW ZEALAND	237-6	▪️ PAKISTAN won by six wickets
Edgbaston		PAKISTAN	241-4 49.1
34 Thu 27-Jun	10:30	INDIA	268-7	▪️ INDIA won by 125 runs
Old Trafford		WEST INDIES	143 34.2
35 Fri 28-Jun	10:30	SOUTH AFRICA	206-1 37.2	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by nine wickets
Chester-le-Street		SRI LANKA	203 49.3
36 Sat 29-Jun	10:30	AFGHANISTAN	227-9	▪️ PAKISTAN won by three wickets
Headingley		PAKISTAN	230-7 49.4
37 Sat 29-Jun	13:30	AUSTRALIA	243-9	▪️ AUSTRALIA won by 86 runs
Lord's		NEW ZEALAND	157 43.4
38 Sun 30-Jun	10:30	ENGLAND	337-7	▪️ ENGLAND won by 31 runs
Edgbaston		INDIA	306-5
39 Mon 01-Jul	10:30	SRI LANKA	338-6	▪️ SRI LANKA won by 23 runs
Chester-le-Street		WEST INDIES	315-9
40 Tue 02-Jul	10:30	BANGLADESH	286 48.0	▪️ INDIA won by 28 runs
Edgbaston		INDIA	314-9
41 Wed 03-Jul	10:30	ENGLAND	305-8	▪️ ENGLAND won by 119 runs
Chester-le-Street		NEW ZEALAND	186 44.5
42 Thu 04-Jul	10:30	WEST INDIES	311-6	▪️ WEST INDIES won by 23 runs
Headingley		AFGHANISTAN	288
43 Fri 05-Jul	10:30	PAKISTAN	315-9	▪️ PAKISTAN won by 94 runs
Lord's		BANGLADESH	221 44.1
44 Sat 06-Jul	10:30	INDIA	265-3 43.3	▪️ INDIA won by seven wickets
Headingley		SRI LANKA	264-7
45 Sat 06-Jul	13:30	SOUTH AFRICA	325-6	▪️ SOUTH AFRICA won by 10 runs
Old Trafford		AUSTRALIA	315 49.5

CENTURIES
166 David Warner (Australia) v Bangladesh
153 Aaron Finch (Australia) v Sri Lanka
153 Jason Roy (England) v Bangladesh
148 Eoin Morgan (England) v Afghanistan
148 Kane Williamson (New Zealand) v West Indies
140 Rohit Sharma (India) v Pakistan
124* Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) v West Indies
122* Rohit Sharma (India) v South Africa
122 David Warner (Australia) v South Africa
121 Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) v England
118 Nicholas Pooran (West Indies) v Sri Lanka
117 Shikhar Dhawan (India) v Australia
113 Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka) v India
111 Jonny Bairstow (England) v India
111 KL Rahul (India) v Sri Lanka
107 Joe Root (England) v Pakistan
107 David Warner (Australia) v Pakistan
106* Kane Williamson (New Zealand) v South Africa
106 Jonny Bairstow (England) v New Zealand
104 Avishka Fernando (Sri Lanka) v West Indies
104 Rohit Sharma (India) v Bangladesh
103 Jos Buttler (England) v Pakistan
103 Rohit Sharma (India) v Sri Lanka
102* Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh) v Australia
102 Rohit Sharma (India) v England
101* Babar Azam (Pakistan) v New Zealand
101 Carlos Braithwaite (West Indies) v New Zealand
100* Joe Root (England) v West Indies
100 Aaron Finch (Australia) v England
100 Imam-ul-Haq (Pakistan) v Bangladesh
100 Faf du Plessis (South Africa) v Australia

FIVE-FORS
6-35 Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan) v Bangladesh
5-26 Mitchell Starc (Australia) v New Zealand
5-29 Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh) v Afghanistan
5-30 Mohammad Amir (Pakistan) v Australia
5-31 Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand) v Afghanistan
5-44 Jason Behrendorff (Australia) v England
5-46 Mitchell Starc (Australia) v West Indies
5-59 Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) v India
5-69 Mohammad Shami (India) v England
5-75 Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh) v Pakistan

All scheduled start times are BST
Full 50 overs batted unless stated
DLS = Result decided using Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method
NRR = Net run rate

Bairstow and Roy send England to the semis

CRICKET WORLD CUP

TEAM-BY-TEAM REVIEW

1 INDIA W 7 L 1 NR 1 NRR 0.809 Points 15

Coach Ravi Shastri (since July 2017)

Most runs Rohit Sharma (647)
Most wickets Jasprit Bumrah (17)

CWC19 results WWXWWWLWW

Group winners India made light work of the opening phase and, in the latter part of last month, regained their position at the top of the rankings. As such, it is no surprise that it is now India - and not England - who have now been installed as favourites for this World Cup. Predictably, the key to the Indians' success has been their rock-solid top three which easily overcame the tournament-ending thumb injury to Shikhar Dhawan who, nevertheless, had already registered a match-winning century against Australia. Altogether, Indian players scored seven centuries in their nine group stage matches - with a World Cup record of five compiled by the prolific Rohit Sharma alone. Opener Sharma is unsurprisingly the top scorer at this World Cup so far with 647 runs at an eye-watering average of 92.42 and it would be fair to say he has outshone even Virat Kohli who holds a still-highly respectable best score of 82 and average of 63.14. The frontline bowlers too have made an impact - Jasprit Bumrah has taken 17 wickets at a cost of just 19.52 each and Mohammed Shami has produced some fine demonstrations of exactly how to bowl against the tail at the death. And so, everything considered, it is frankly very difficult to see a suddenly woefully out-of-form New Zealand getting anywhere near to India in their match which, weather-permitting, is due to be played at Old Trafford tomorrow. Of course, the group match between the teams at Trent Bridge was itself a washout - but even a repeat of that rather undesirable outcome would still be enough to take India to a fourth World Cup Final. 

2 AUSTRALIA W 7 L 2 NR 0 NRR 0.868 Points 14

Coach Justin Langer (since May 2018)

Most runs David Warner (638)
Most wickets Mitchell Starc (26)

CWC19 results WWLWWWWWL

Five-time winners Australia were the first team to qualify for the semi finals all the way back on 25 June after beating England at Lord's - and their long wait for another truly meaningful game perhaps provides the reason why the Aussies took their eye off the ball against South Africa on Saturday, though only just by 10 runs. It is nevertheless a potentially costly defeat as it meant India unseated the Baggy Greens at the top of the table on the last day of the group phase. Australia now face a reinvigorated England in the semi finals on Thursday instead of a New Zealand team which seems to have completely lost its way. Meanwhile, the initial Aussie squad has also suffered from several injuries with Mitchell Marsh, Peter Handscomb and Matthew Wade called up to replace the stricken Marcus Stoinis, Shaun Marsh and Usman Khawaja respectively. Unsurprisingly, off-spinner Nathan Lyon has started the mind-games early by declaring England to be the favourites for the match - but really that would only clearly be the case if the injuries had been suffered by one of the openers or Mitchell Starc. Rather predictably, all three players have been the figureheads of this Aussie campaign - opening pair David Warner (638) and skipper Aaron Finch (507) are in second and fourth place in the run-scorers list, while Starc - with 26 wickets so far - needs just one more to have taken the most by a player at a single World Cup. Forget the defeat on Saturday then - knowing how to win a Cricket World Cup is part of the Australian DNA and this set of players is just as fearsome as their predecessors in the gold and green. 

3 ENGLAND W 6 L 3 NR 0 NRR 1.152 Points 12

Coach Trevor Bayliss (since May 2015)

Most runs Joe Root (500)
Most wickets Jofra Archer (17)

CWC19 results WLWWWLLWW

England captain Eoin Morgan was compelled to resort to cliché when asked to describe his side's performance during the group phase - but, in fairness to him, he could not really be faulted for referring to the last few weeks as like being on a rollercoaster. It had all looked rather more straightforward at the halfway stage, at which point a high-scoring defeat to Pakistan had been the only blip. Ben Stokes had taken an iconic catch in the opening game on the first day of the tournament against South Africa - while Morgan himself now holds the record for the most sixes in a single One-Day International after clearing the rope on 17 occasions against Afghanistan. But, when a shock defeat to Sri Lanka at Headingley was followed up by a worryingly facile reverse against Australia at Lord's, England hopes of a first semi final since 1992 were suddenly hanging by the thinnest of threads. Indeed, the wheels threatened to come off altogether when opener Jonny Bairstow became involved in a spat on social media with former captain Michael Vaughan. Bairstow claimed that he felt there were some observers who were just waiting for the team to fail - but, having finally been reunited with his previously hamstrung opening partner Jason Roy, the Yorkshireman blossomed with back-to-back centuries against India and New Zealand. 
True, matters were never quite out of the hands of the hosts - but, following their wobble, few people were expecting successive victories against two sides who England had failed to beat at a World Cup for 27 years. Certainly, the successes of the past week or so have gone a long way to restoring confidence to a team which, after all, came into the tournament ranked as the world number one. Bairstow looks far more comfortable at the top of the order with Roy instead of the far looser James Vince while Liam Plunkett has sensibly been restored to provide some threat in the middle overs with the ball. A note of caution, however, in that it should be noted that Morgan won both tosses in the last two games and opted to bat first with England having failed to chase on three separate occasions - and, of course, the coin will not always land in the hosts' favour.

4 NEW ZEALAND W 5 L 3 NR 1 NRR 0.175 Points 11

Coach Gary Stead (since August 2018)

Most runs Kane Williamson (481)
Most wickets Lockie Ferguson (17)

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There or thereabouts, always there or thereabouts. New Zealand qualified for a fifth semi final in the last six World Cups and their eighth overall on the back of pretty typical results in which they beat the teams they would expect to beat and lost against or did not play some of the tougher opponents. Certainly now, though, the five successive wins either side of the washout against India at the start of the tournament feel an age away following three consecutive heavy defeats to Pakistan, Australia, and England. Meanwhile, some of the Black Caps' victories were far less comprehensive - Bangladesh were beaten by two wickets in the 48th over, South Africa were beaten in the 49th over and West Indies were beaten with an over to spare by just five runs. Undoubtedly then, New Zealand are comfortably the weakest of the four remaining teams with the ongoing struggles of openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro exemplified by the ease with which the openers from the other three semi finalists are racking up the runs. On a more positive note, skipper and top scorer Kane Williamson has already shown in this tournament against South Africa that he is a genuine match winner, while a bowling attack boosted by the emergence of Lockie Ferguson alongside Trent Boult has enabled New Zealand to chase successfully on four occasions despite it having been far from the preferred option of any of the teams throughout the competition.

5 PAKISTAN W 5 L 3 NR 1 NRR -0.430 Points 11

Coach Mickey Arthur (since May 2016)

Most runs Babar Azam (474)
Most wickets Mohammad Amir (17)

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Pakistan will feel hard-done by after reacting to their customary World Cup defeat to India by winning their last four matches, thereby drawing level with New Zealand on 11 points. Indeed, the Falcons beat the Black Caps, winning by six wickets on the back of a Babar Azam century, and also triumphed against South Africa, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh in their late surge. Earlier in the piece, Pakistan had shocked hosts England in a high-scoring thriller at Trent Bridge - and the campaign spookily mirrored the order of their results in 1992, an edition of the World Cup in which Imran Khan's Cornered Tigers were ultimately victorious. This time, however, the Pakistanis' late run was not enough - although elimination on net run-rate has proven controversial among the more paranoid Pakistan supporters - and even coach Mickey Arthur - who pointed out they would have progressed instead of New Zealand if their head-to-head record had been the tiebreaker. The rules, though, were clear before the start of the tournament - and so Pakistan only have themselves to blame for being ambushed so badly in their first game against a West Indies team which eventually finished ninth and for later chasing so timidly against rock-bottom Afghanistan. At least, Pakistan can still leave their long stay in England with several positives - in particular, youngsters Babar and Imam ul-Haq have shown plenty of promise at the top of the order while teenager Shaheen Afridi looks as if he could forge a fearsome strike partnership with the rehabilitated Mohammad Amir.

6 SRI LANKA W 3 L 4 NR 2 NRR -0.919 Points 8

Coach Chandika Hathurusingha (since December 2017)

Most runs Kusal Perera (273)
Most wickets Lasith Malinga (13)

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Like the girl with the curl right in the middle of her forehead, Sri Lanka were very good when they were good - but, when they were bad, they were horrid. For all their complaints about bowler-friendly pitches, poor facilities and accommodation, and a cramped team bus, the Lions actually performed better than expected for their midtable finish. However, they are also the classic definition of a team in transition. From their magnificent 20-run win over hosts and pre-tournament favourites England, the Sri Lankans - in their next game just seven days later - were comprehensively beaten by already-eliminated South Africa. Of course, still more changes are set to follow with star performer Lasith Malinga due to join the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Rangana Herath in retirement. Nevertheless, the rest of this team has done enough to put to bed a selection policy which has, in recent times, resembled a wildly-spinning revolving door. An exception, though, can surely be made for Niroshan Dickwella who showed his credentials on an 'A'-team tour of India played at the exact same time as he should have been in this squad. 

7 SOUTH AFRICA W 3 L 5 NR 1 NRR -0.030 Points 7

Coach Ottis Gibson (since August 2017)

Most runs Faf du Plessis (387)
Most wickets Chris Morris (13)

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South Africa headed to the World Cup in third place in the rankings but endured the sort of campaign which, in time, will no doubt produce a series of eye-opening accounts in the chapters of the autobiographies of some of these players. In fairness, the Proteas were given a tough fixtures draw with hosts England in their opening match and powerhouses India in their third game. But defeat to Bangladesh in between and a washout in the fourth fixture against West Indies effectively left South Africa needing to win all of their remaining matches from then on. Certainly, their cause was not helped when a flare-up of a long-standing shoulder injury to strike bowler Dale Steyn ruled him out of the tournament without him having made a single appearance. Meanwhile, fellow fast-bowler Lungi Ngidi struggled early on with a hamstring strain and opener Hashim Amla looked a shadow of his former self with the bat. But, just as it looked as if Ottis Gibson's men were heading out limply and not in their usual tragicomic manner, South Africa became involved in the best tussle of the tournament against New Zealand. As ever, the Proteas should have won but did not - as they failed to review a not-given caught-behind against Kane Williamson which he had hit with the toe-end of the bat. Kiwi skipper Williamson went on to make a match-winning unbeaten 106 as the Black Caps scrambled to victory with three balls to spare - and so, South Africa were mathematically out with three matches to spare. With the pressure off, the South Africans belatedly showed their worth by strolling to a nine-wicket win over Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street before narrowly defending a score of 325 against Australia at Old Trafford. In the latter, skipper Faf du Plessis scored the only century by a South African at this World Cup while Rassie van der Dussen grafted hard for his 95. Altogether, though, it was much too little, too late. 

8 BANGLADESH W 3 L 5 NR 1 NRR -0.410 Points 7

Coach Steve Rhodes (since June 2018)

Most runs Shakib Al Hasan (606)
Most wickets Mustafizur Rahman (20)

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Only three men have scored more than 600 runs at this World Cup and only eight men have taken a five-for - but only one player is on both of those lists: Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh. Certainly then Shakib has enhanced his standing as one of the world's best all-rounders - and he was also backed up effectively by his skipper Mustafizur Rahman who took two five-fors himself against India and Pakistan in a haul of 20 wickets. This is a total bettered only by Mitchell Starc - yet there was precious little else from the Tigers at this tournament - and the win for South Africa over Australia in the last group match consigned the Bangladeshis to a place in the bottom three. Undoubtedly, Bangladesh can expect to be more competitive at the next World Cup in 2023 which, on Asian soil, will play to their strengths - but, regardless, they will need altogether far greater depth than they have currently to put up a more serious challenge than this for a place in the top four. 

9 WEST INDIES W 2 L 6 NR 1 NRR -0.225 Points 5

Coach Floyd Reifer (since April 2019)

Most runs Nicholas Pooran (367)
Most wickets Sheldon Cottrell (12)

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It was difficult to know what to make of West Indies in the run-up to the World Cup and it is still difficult to know what to make of them now. First, of course, it must be remembered that the Windies had been - somewhat humiliatingly - forced to qualify for a tournament which they had dominated in its embryonic years - and yet, just before this campaign, Jason Holder's men deservedly drew 2-2 against the then-world number one team England. At the World Cup itself, West Indies simply could not have started any better as they bowled Pakistan out for 105 and won by seven wickets in their first game. However, six consecutive defeats either side of a washout against South Africa left West Indies without any sort of chance of a respectable place in the group phase. The narrow win in the last match against rock-bottom Afghanistan will be considered as little more than the most minor consolation for the men from the Caribbean - although things would have definitely looked rosier if West Indies had got over the line against in similarly tight finishes against either or both of Australia and New Zealand. Still, the fact they did not take either match rather belied a lack of confidence which comes from winning games so rarely - and recently-appointed coach Floyd Reifer has much work to do to rebuild this in the wake of this ninth-placed finish and the impending retirement of talisman Chris Gayle.

10 AFGHANISTAN W 0 L 9 NR 0 NRR -1.322 Points 0

Coach Phil Simmons (since December 2017)

Most runs Rahmat Shah (254)
Most wickets Mohammad Nabi (10)

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Played nine, lost nine - it is hardly an unsurprising result for Afghanistan considering they were facing all of the teams currently ranked above them. Indeed, the outsiders went close against some of their more illustrious opponents, losing to India by just 11 runs before pushing Pakistan into the last over in one of the most remarkable matches of the World Cup. At the same time, though, it is equally true that the Afghans failed to maximise their chances due to some horrific decision-making, both before and during the tournament. In the run-up, Asghar Afghan was sacked as captain and replaced by Gulbadin Naib and then, just two matches into the campaign, the best player in the team - Mohammad Shahzad - was sent home, accused of being unfit. New captain Gulbadin took it upon himself to be a jack of all trades and master of none as he opened the batting and took on some of the most important overs with the ball, not least against Pakistan. However, nothing summed up his World Cup more than him ducking out of the way of a catch in the final group game against West Indies. At least, during that match, there was a spirited 86 from teenage wicketkeeper Ikram Alikhil, the best score by any Afghani player in the tournament. Afghanistan have now reached a critical juncture in their development as a team - and, to compete at the top level, they need better selection from their administrators which brings through more of the likes of Ikram and surely less of Gulbadin.