Cricket World Cup 2015 Fixtures: Updated Schedule, Preview for Upcoming Matches
Hosts New Zealand have been in excellent form early during the 2015 Cricket World Cup, and they'll face their biggest challenge yet when they take on England on Friday in Wellington.
The Black Caps made quick work of Sri Lanka in the first match and decimated the top of Scotland's order, and with England looking shaky in the loss against Australia, another win should be on the cards.
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Bangladesh and Afghanistan will play their opener on Wednesday, while the United Arab Emirates open their account against Zimbabwe, who were thrashed by South Africa in their first match. The schedule for the upcoming matches:
- Feb. 18 Pool A: Bangladesh vs. Afghanistan, Canberra (d/n) (3:30 a.m. GMT)
Feb. 19 Pool B: Zimbabwe vs. UAE, Nelson (10 p.m. GMT, Feb. 18)
Feb. 20 Pool A: England vs. New Zealand, Wellington (Westpac Stadium) (d/n) (1 a.m. GMT)
Preview
Bangladesh likely still remember last year's embarrassing defeat at the hands of Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, and while the former enter the contest as slight favourites, they know all too well they can't sleep on their opponents.
The Tigers haven't played an international match in months but are reportedly working very hard ahead of Wednesday's match, and ESPN Cricinfo's Abhishek Purohit shared this interesting story involving star batsman Tamim Iqbal:
""[If] I'm out [again], I'm out. I'll go away. I'm serious. I'm challenging you, coach." Tamim Iqbal had just been bowled by a yorker from the sidearm device operated by Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha.
[...]The proud batsman's ego had been hurt. Hathurusingha tried to gently talk Tamim out of such potentially distracting challenges but the batsman was adamant.
And for the remainder of his stint, Tamim was not getting out. The faster Hathurusingha slung them in, the faster they went. Cover drives, straight drives, on-drives, pulls, cuts. "Good shots," the coach acknowledged in the end and went on to advise the batsman about mindset and switching on and off during an innings.
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Captain Mohammad Nabi remains the danger man for Afghanistan, and expect the rising nation to attack Bangladesh's vaunted group of batsmen early and often.
You can hardly blame Zimbabwe for losing to South Africa—the Proteas rank among the favourites to win the title, even if their preparation didn't go as planned and other nations have looked better as far as form goes.
Still, the team's inability to nab wickets is concerning. Hamilton Masakadza and Chamu Chibhabha performed reasonably well against South Africa's strong group of bowlers, but their chances of completing the chase had already evaporated when the team gave up 339 runs and captured just four wickets in the first innings.
The UAE are playing in their first World Cup since 1996 and have little to lose—just playing on this level is an experience the team will learn from for the future, via cricket.com.au:
Zimbabwe should bounce back with a relatively easy win against the inexperienced side, but looking at their dreadful bowling performance against the Proteas, don't be shocked if another upset takes place.
The match fans are likely looking forward to the most is Friday's clash between England and New Zealand. The Black Caps have started the tournament on fire—England looked more than just overwhelmed against the Aussies.
Cricket writer Peter Miller is a little concerned, to say the least:
England's bowlers allowed Aaron Finch to open with 135 from 158 balls in Saturday's match before Australia comfortably built their lead in the middle overs.
Meanwhile, the Black Caps enter the match anchored by the powerful group of Brendon McCullum, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and Corey Anderson.
Those four are going up against a group of bowlers lacking a single player keeping his economy under six in their first match, per ESPN Cricinfo. That's a recipe for disaster.
People shouldn't be too pessimistic about this England squad—this is a rebuilding team with little experience on this level and a reputation of struggling Down Under, per Bleacher Report's Tim Collins.
But the odds of Eoin Morgan's men pulling off the upset on Friday? Not good.
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