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Brett Lee's remarkable comeback

Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
Brett Lee
Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji pick the best players and the biggest disappointments from the 14 teams at the World Cup.

The Australian team has had an up and down tournament so far and that is easily visible in the contribution of the players.

While Shane Watson continues his good run through the tournament, Brett Lee has also staged a remarkable return to international cricket.

Mitchell Johnson has his good days, and so has the dependable Brad Haddin. Michael Clarke barely does enough without ever making a big difference with his performances.

  • 5 best bowling performances
  • Coming to the disappointments in the squad, captain Ricky Ponting has failed to lead from the front, proving to be an embarrassment. Cameron White is the other shameful act and has been both painful and pathetic.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Skipper Shakib's form only plus point for Bangladesh

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Shakib Al Hasan
    Bangladesh have been thrown out of the contest, but skipper Shakib al Hasan left his mark on the tournament. He was head and shoulders above his team mates with a MVPI of almost 400.

    Abdur Razzak, Tamin Iqbal, Imrul Kayes and Shafiul Islam had their good days, but weren't consistent enough and that's really why Bangladesh are out of this World Cup.

  • Hip Tendulkar dyes hair brown
  • The Bangladeshis were heavily let down by Mahmudullah and Mohammed Ashraful. They have performed brilliantly in the past, but failed miserably when it came to performing on ODI cricket's biggest stage.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Baidwan, Bagai leave their mark

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Ashish Bagai
    Nobody among Canada's best five has a 'Canadian' sounding name.

    Pacer Harvir Baidwan picked 13 wickets, which is no mean feat. Skipper Ashish Bagai also made a name for himself with more than 200 runs against his name.

    Then there's the big spinner Balaji Rao who has improved with every match and made useful contributions.

  • Silly Point: Is Chawla the worst Indian bowler?
  • For John Davison it was a disappointing farewell, but he has illuminated the World Cup stage in his heyday, and hopefully has a promising coaching career ahead of him.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Swann, Strauss answer well to the call of duty

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Andrew Strauss
    Graeme Swann provided enough evidence of the fact that he might be the world's best off-spinner (even if Navjot Singh Sidhu loudly disagrees). The delivery he bowled to dismiss Ramnaresh Sarwan was just one example of Swann's magic.

  • Manu-Mande visit the Mecca of Indian cricket
  • Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott also performed to the task when duty called, although Trott's low strike rate betrayed his Test match pedigree.

    It was sad that England's former captain Paul Collingwood lost his place in the playing eleven. But the reliable all-rounder completely failed with bat and ball.

    And take a look at James Anderson's economy rate -- his best contribution to the team came as a fielder!

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Yuvraj comes to the fore for India

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Yuvraj Singh
    Yuvraj Singh is in magical form and Virender Sehwag is his explosive self (he scored a boundary off the first ball he faced in all his five innings).

    Zaheer Khan has been clinical in his approach and Sachin Tendulkar played just the way you would expect the world's greatest ODI player to play.

    Virat Kohli has batted competently and was easily India's best fielder (see his fielding points).

  • Flashback: Memorable knocks
  • M S Dhoni has scored only 118 runs -- at a strike rate of just over 70 (his ODI career strike rate is close to 90).

    In fact, Dhoni is now looking more like a wicket-keeper batsman (with 90 fielding points, he has more points as a 'keeper than as a batsman).

    Yusuf Pathan's meagre aggregate of 74 runs at a strike rate of 115.6 suggests that he's going for the big shots without giving himself time to settle down.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    O'Brien brothers shine for Ireland

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Kevin O'Brien
    After their stand-out performances for Ireland in the 2007 World Cup, the O'Brien brothers started from where they left off and shone in this edition too.

    Only Kevin has now moved ahead of Niall with his swashbuckling batting (he received a thunderous ovation in the India-Ireland match at Bangalore).

  • Top teams jostle for glory
  • George Dockrell looked a competent spinner (he got Tendulkar's wicket!) and John Mooney bowled well along with taking a lot of catches in the deep.

    Alex Cusack didn't translate his ability into performance, and while Boyd Rankin, bowled at express pace, he doesn't have enough wickets to show for all this effort.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Kenya were abjectly disappointing

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Nehemiah Odhiambo, centre, celebrates with teammates
    Watching Kenya's performance it is hard to believe that the African nation reached the semi-final of the 2003 World Cup!

  • The 2011 World Cup
  • This time they were abjectly disappointing. There were barely any noteworthy performances. Except that Collins Obuya scored a few runs, while N Odhiambo and Elijah Otieno managed to take a few wickets.

    The biggest letdown was Steve Tikolo. Considered a world-class cricketer, Tikolo failed to come to the party and make any contribution what so ever.

    Kenya's former coach Sandeep Patil must find this truly distressing!

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Ten Doeschate, a class act!

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Ryan ten Doeschate
    Ryan ten Doeschate is an outstanding player stuck with his Dutch teammates not quite in the same class.

    With a MVPI of 450, ten Doeschate was in the top 10 MVPI list; he scored over 300 runs, took a fair number of wickets and, best of all, gave England a royal scare.

  • Tendulkar, Ponting re-ignite walking debate
  • Pieter Seelaar looked an impressive spinner, while Peter Borren and Tom Cooper showed that they could bat a bit.

    Alas, the same can't be said of Alexei Kervezee and Tom de Grooth who failed every time they came out to bat.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Kiwis still unconvincing

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Ross Taylor
    The Kiwis have been very erratic. Apart from the wins Pakistan and Kenya, they have failed to be convincing.

    Tim Southee has been New Zealand's outstanding player claiming 14 wickets at an economy rate of just 4.0.

    Brendon McCullum has been consistent without being explosive. Ross Taylor exploded against Pakistan, but has lacked consistency.

    Jacob Oram was an adequate all-rounder and Martin Guptill did his bit.

  • Images: Female fan fare drives World Cup
  • On the hand we have Jesse Ryder, who couldn't even average 20. His strike rate of 74.5 makes one wonder where all his strokes have gone.

    James Franklin is rated highly, but he'd like to forget this World Cup quickly.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Afridi leads Pakistan attack

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Shahid Afridi
    Pakistan's performance is all about the bowling: Shahid Afridi's spin and Umar Gul's guile.

    Take those two away and the team looks much more ordinary.

    Mohammad Hafeez and Abdul Razzaq have done just enough to make it to the top five, and Umar Akmal's batting against Australia gives him a deserved place among the best five.

    For long periods, Younis Khan has been Pakistan's best batsman and Shoaib Akhtar (when available) has been Pakistan's best bowler. However, so far the duo has been disappointing.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Injury stalls de Villiers's good run

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    A B de Villiers
    Considering the form that Hashim Amla has enjoyed this season one would have thought that the opener would have easily made it to the MVP top-five list. But take a look at the list and you'll see he's nowhere among the best in the tournament.

  • Silly point: Sachin's 100 or India's win?
  • In fact, it's Robin Peterson, who, thanks to his all-round abilities, has topped the list among the Proteas.

    Peterson has picked a number of top-order wickets and scored quick runs to fetch South Africa crucial victories.

    A B de Villiers threatened to become the outstanding batsman of this World Cup till injury briefly stalled his run.

    Imran Tahir has been a surprise, and Jacques Kallis rarely fails to perform. Jean-Paul Duminy adds real solidity.

    The biggest disappointment for the team has been skipper Graeme Smith. The other player to make minimal contribution to the team's cause has been 'keeper Morne van Wyk.

    The South African selectors had picked Van Wyk ahead of Mark Boucher, but in hindsight this looks like a completely failed move.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Murali magic still potent

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Muttiah Muralitharan with Tillakaratne Dilshan
    Although Kumar Sangakkara has been Sri Lanka's best batsman, Tillakaratne Dilshan gains the top place chiefly because of one magical bowling spell, though he was unlucky to miss a hat-trick.

    The amazing Muralitharan keeps taking wickets even with injury and Mahela Jayawardene has been efficient without looking to be at his best.

  • Silly Point: Will India play Pakistan?
  • The only puzzle in Sri Lanka's strategy has been the abiding faith in the batting of Thilan Samaraweera and Chamara Silva. They are good batsmen for sure, but appear to be misfits in this imposing Sri Lankan line-up.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

    Pollard, Sammy make list

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Kieron Pollard
    It isn't a surprise to find a true quick bowler like Kemar Roach, and a destroyer-batsman like Kieron Pollard, in the West Indies top five.

    The real surprise is finding captain Darren Sammy on this list. The uncharitable say he doesn't deserve to be in the playing eleven, but Sammy has done pretty well.

  • Most Valuable Player: Yuvraj vs Afridi

    Left-arm spinner Suleiman Benn has made a few notable contributions and Devon Smith has scored some brisk runs.

    However, these efforts haven't been translated into good wins for the West Indies.

    Surprisingly, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul have put a dampener on the Windies campaign with their lacklustre performances.

    They are without doubt, the two technically best West Indian batsmen, but in this World Cup both former captains look lost.

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.

  • Price, Ervine stamp their class

    Last updated on: March 24, 2011 10:22 IST
    Craig Ervine
    Ray Price looked a really good spinner with his low economy rate especially impressive. Craig Ervine scored runs and Tatenda Taibu showed that he was still a decent bat.

    Elton Chigumbura was a major disappointment and one never understood why Regis Chakabva got so many chances. Perhaps Zimbabwe just doesn't have enough quality players.

  • Dream World XI: Sachin, Viru, Yuvi...
  • That's rather sad because from the 1999 till around the early years of the last decade, Zimbabwe looked a pretty formidable squad.

    How many of us still remember that they beat India in the 1999 World Cup, and again reached the Super Six in 2003?

    Runs (scored) Strike rate Bat-pts: Batting points W: Wickets taken Eco: Economy rate Bowl-pts: Bowling points Field-pts: fielding points M: Matches played MVPI: Most valuable player index = sum of batting, bowling and fielding points *Run outs are counted as 1 (wicket) for a direct hit, and 0.5 (wicket) if the fielder is an equal participant in a run out dismissal.