Cricket World Cup 2015 Tables: Latest Standings, Results and Predictions
The pool stages of the Cricket World Cup are often ignored, as the big nations of the game eliminate the minnows on show.
But as Ireland proved on Monday, you cannot take your eyes off this competition for a single second, as the European side toppled the historic might of the West Indies.
Here, we present you with all of the latest standings in the tournament, as well as the results so far. We also provide you with predictions for the upcoming action:
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| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Run Rate | Points |
| New Zealand | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.62 | 4 |
| Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.22 | 2 |
| Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bangladesh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.96 | 0 |
| England | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -2.22 | 0 |
| Scotland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -3.04 | 0 |
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Tied | No Result | Run Rate | Points |
| India | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.52 | 2.0 |
| South Africa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.24 | 2.0 |
| Ireland | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.618 | 2.0 |
| UAE | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Indies | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.618 | 0 |
| Zimbabwe | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.24 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -1.52 | 0 |
| 1 | New Zealand | Sri Lanka | won by 98 runs |
| 2 | Australia | England | won by 111 runs |
| 3 | South Africa | Zimbabwe | won by 62 runs |
| 4 | India | Pakistan | won by 76 runs |
| 5 | Ireland | West Indies | won by 4 wickets |
| 6 | New Zealand | Scotland | won by 3 wickets |
| 7 | Bangladesh vs. Afghanistan | Bangladesh win |
| 8 | Zimbabwe vs. UAE | Zimbabwe win |
| 9 | England vs. New Zealand | New Zealand win |
| 10 | Pakistan vs. West Indies | Pakistan win |
| 11 | Australia vs. Bangladesh | Australia win |
| 12 | Sri Lanka vs. Afghanistan | Sri Lanka win |
England to Struggle Against New Zealand
The fall of English cricket in the past few years has been sudden and dramatic, with the inventors of the game never being a true force in the one-day format.
And now Eoin Morgan's men must face the tough task of overcoming co-hosts New Zealand after being humbled by an Australia side who cruised to victory.
England know a thrashing at the hands of the Black Caps will mean their third game, against Scotland, could decide their fate in the tournament.
Former England batsman and Sky Sports commentator, Mark Butcher, believes his country will have their backs against the walls when they face New Zealand and that a loss will mean the Scotland encounter becomes a festival of fear:
"Having played so poorly against Australia in the first game, all be it that nobody expected England to turn Australia over at the MCG, you then go along and play one of the other favourites in the competition, New Zealand, and you are 0 & 2 if you lose that one.
Suddenly the Scotland game—something that you would walk through—ends up being something that you really have to concentrate hard on.
At the moment, the way that some of the England players are going in terms of their form, you'd imagine that the nerves would be ramped up to very close to 100 per cent. So it's not going to be straightforward for them.
"
The New Zealanders looked comfortable in their opening game, knocking off a very good Sri Lanka team by 98 runs, per ICC-Cricket.com.
The hosts hit a grand total of 331 runs for just six wickets in Match 1, showing they mean business in this huge opportunity to lift the World Cup on home soil.
But they made much tougher work of Scotland in Match 2, chasing down their opponent's total of 142, than they did against more illustrious opposition in Sri Lanka.
This has lead to questions being asked of the team's top order, as reported by Andrew Fidel Fernando of ESPN Cricinfo.
Martin Guptill could only make 17 runs on the day, with his opening partner Brendon McCullum collapsing on 15 runs, per ESPNcricinfo.com.
This leads to the train of thought that if England can find a good day of play in the field, they could surprisingly hurt their opponents, when the presumption is that the hosts will be comfortable.
England's overall performance levels have been erratic, to say the least, for a very long time. Captain Morgan is himself out of form, and so much will depend on the crease time of Ian Bell.
It is more likely the Lions will once again struggle, as they did against the Aussies, but if the New Zealand team that turned up against Scotland materialises, there could be a huge shock on the cards.
England do have the star names who could turn this fixture on its head, but with their confidence so low, it is questionable whether they can take any opportunities that New Zealand might present them with.
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