Adil Najam
The 2007 Cricket World Cup does not officially begin until Sunday (March 11) when the opening ceremony will be held. And the first match – between Pakistan and hosts West Indies – does not happen till Tuesday, March 13.
However, in many real ways, the World Cup will begin for Pakistan today (Friday, March 9) when Pakistan meets South Africa – who many consider to be the favorites along with Australia – in a warm-up game. Neither side is likely to – or should – take the game lightly; certainly not Pakistan which is so beset with so many problems.
It would be interesting to find out who our readers think is most likely to win the 2007 World Cup. But given that this is ‘All Things Pakistan‘ we are most interested in your views on how Pakistan will do.
Cast your vote. Ask your friends to do so too. And then jump into the comments section to shout out how you think the Pakistan team will fare. Our only request is that when you vote, try to vote analytically rather than emotionally. Remember, the question is not what you WANT, but what you think is MOST LIKELY.
THIS POLL IS NOW CLOSED. See results of Poll Here.
Some good news finally.
Pakistan beat South Africa quite convincingly today. If that is any indication of things maybe there are a few surprises in store at the world cup. Anyone wants to change their votes?
One thing that may give us a slightly better chance is that no team has a very strong bowling attack in this tournament, even Australia and South Africa have serious weaknesses in this department. So on a good day, if our batting really fires, who knows. But overall, with the present state of our bowling (Rana and Sami being pathetic), our attack is even weaker than other teams, and therefore, if they make it to the semi-finals, that in itself will be quite an achievement.
In a country where the Chief Justice is kicked out in such an abusive and insulting manner. Does anyone care about the performances of these cricketers? Everyone knows that there is no accountability to check anyone, so do whatever is good for you and not for Pakistan.
I guess its true, you’ve got to redefine your idea of success according to your goals. And you’ve got to redefine your goals according to your resources. Now, the Pakistan cricket team’s goals are not anything beyond the semis. Even the semis seem like a far cry looking at their current form and condition. Hence, the sceptic in me says they’ll bow out in the Super 8’s, while my optimistic side says that they’ll make it to the semis. Either way, my goal for my team is to reach the semis. If they do, it’ll be a success.
Pakistan’s team can beat teams like Australia and South Africa by 10 wickets on one day and they will loose from Kenya and Bangladesh in even the worst manner the very next day with the same players.
To be very honest, I’m not at all hopeful that they’ll even qualify this time to the semis.