Cricket World Cup 2015 Tables: Updated Groups and Predicting Saturday's Results
Two crucial Pool B clashes are on the schedule for Saturday's 2015 Cricket World Cup action, as South Africa take on Pakistan before Zimbabwe face off against Ireland.
The Proteas currently sit second in the pool, two points behind defending champions India, and look like a safe bet to advance to the quarter-finals. Pakistan are one spot further down, tied with Ireland on points but sporting a superior net run rate.
Ireland's poor marks in that category are largely a result of the trashing they took at the hands of South Africa, and Pakistan could be in store for a similar fate. The Irish also have a match in hand, and will like their chances against a Zimbabwe team without injured captain Elton Chigumbura.
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Here's the full schedule for Saturday's action:
| 2 p.m. | 1 a.m. | Pakistan v South Africa | Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand |
| 2:30 p.m. | 3.30 a.m. GMT | Ireland v Zimbabwe | Bellerive Oval, Hobart, Australia |
The current group tables:
| New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +3.589 | 754/110.2 | 649/200.0 |
| Sri Lanka | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +0.128 | 1113/195.4 | 1112/200.0 |
| Australia | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | +1.804 | 910/150.0 | 525/123.1 |
| Bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | +0.182 | 829/148.1 | 812/150.0 |
| England | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.201 | 966/200.0 | 963/159.4 |
| Afghanistan | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -1.953 | 747/199.3 | 1130/198.2 |
| Scotland | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.423 | 854/200.0 | 982/172.3 |
| India | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | +2.246 | 896/158.0 | 685/200.0 |
| South Africa | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | +1.950 | 1335/200.0 | 945/200.0 |
| Pakistan | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.385 | 958/200.0 | 1035/200.0 |
| West Indies | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -0.511 | 1309/248.0 | 1349/233.0 |
| Ireland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -1.137 | 796/145.1 | 993/150.0 |
| Zimbabwe | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.723 | 1067/196.0 | 1221/198.0 |
| United Arab Emirates | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.691 | 875/200.0 | 1008/166.1 |
Predictions for Saturday
The upcoming clash between Pakistan and South Africa has fans around the world buzzing, but that's providing the match will take place to begin with. As shared by PTV Sports Official, massive rain clouds are currently threatening the city of Auckland, where the match will be played:
Should the cricket gods be in a good mood, Saturday's match would have the makings of a special showdown. Pakistan's bowling has been solid so far during the tournament, and the team enters the contest against the Proteas with four bowlers carrying an economy rate under 5.00.
Their mission? Mask Pakistan's horrid fielding and try to limit the damage done by arguably the most in-form group of batsmen in the world. Of the four batsmen leading the tournament in batting average, three play for the Proteas: JP Duminy, David Miller and Rilee Rossouw. AB de Villiers sits just two spots back.
That's scary good, and The Express Tribune's Noman Ansari couldn't help but crack a joke:
The depth and sheer explosiveness of South Africa's batting is incredible, and per ESPN Cricinfo's Freddie Wilde, Duminy and star bowler Vernon Philander will be fit to play:
Unfortunately, he also knows Zimbabwe's Chigumbura won't:
Ireland had looked very impressive during the tournament so far until they played the Proteas, ending up on the wrong side of a 201-run nightmare.
The likes of De Villiers and Duminy have a tendency to make most bowlers look bad, but the Irish really struggled. As cricket writer Peter Miller has already noticed, plenty of Associates have seen their form drop tremendously once they took their first real beating at the hands of a top Test nation:
Zimbabwe are a Test nation—but hardly a top team. They've recorded just one win so far, over a hapless United Arab Emirates team, and like Ireland, they enter Saturday's match with some pretty poor statistics.
Between the two sides, Sean Williams leads all batsmen with a batting average of 64.33. Neither team's bowling is particularly inspiring, with Irish spinners Andy McBrine and Paul Stirling doing a solid job of limiting runs and Zimbabwe's Tendai Chatara the most prolific wicket-taker with seven.
Speaking to Cricket Ireland, Ed Joyce predicted a high-scoring game due to the smaller ground:
"Zimbabwe are a good team and probably on a level with us I think, we’ve had some good games against them in the past few years, in the Twenty20 qualifier last year we had really close game against them.
I think it’s pretty even stevens and hard to call. It’s a good wicket out there, and this ground’s a lot smaller than I remember from the last time I was playing here so I think it should be a high scoring game and hopefully a good one.
"
Ireland's batting seems to have a little more depth to it, and the loss of captain Chigumbura will no doubt hurt Zimbabwe. Add the fact the Irish know they have a great chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals with a win and the added motivation should push them over the top.
As for the other match, Pakistan's bowling could make things interesting, but on current form, you need perfect fielding to go along with prolific bowling to shut down South Africa's attack. The Proteas have their eyes on that second spot in Pool B, and they're going to get it.
Final prediction: South Africa wins big (60+ runs/three wickets), Ireland take a close win over Zimbabwe (Less than 20 runs, less than 10 balls remaining).
All statistics used are courtesy of ESPN Cricinfo.
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