Who have you grown an admiration for in this world cup?

[veganbob]

I wasn't sold on Bairstow before the World Cup but I am now. Awesome batsman. Fighter. Didn't really rate Imam at all, thought he was going to be another Nasir Jamshed. Got that one majorly wrong. Echo the sentiment about Stokes. Thought he was a bit of a knobhead. His bowling has gone up a level. Used to be very expensive but now he's keeping it tight and piling up the runs. DEGROMMMEND and Pandya are 2 all rounders I was completely wrong about it. Posters from their nations lead me to believe that they were bits and pieces players but nope, both awesome and entertaining all rounders.

I don't know how to feel about Shakib. At first I was like yay, that'll put the ignorant minnow bashing accusations to rest but 600 runs that's ****ing insane from an all rounder. Been rooting for him a lot.

I have a newfound respect for Shami and Amir also.

Carey- Didn't know much about him but definitely impressed, Played brilliantly in pressure situations.

Rohit- Was always an excellent one day batsman but he has gone to the net level this world cup. That level of consistency is almost unheard of at world cup level.

Lockie Fergusen- For all the cr*p our batsmen aside from Kane have played, I feel our bowling has been great. Fergusen has been outstanding and our bowling attack is probably as good as last wc despite no vettori.

shakib - Already had him down as a "great allrounder" but he has gone to "one of the greatest" level. Infact he is in contention for all time world odi xi the way he kept Bdesh in this tourny for so long


Other guys who have performed well like Kane, root, Warner don't really need extra appreciation from me as I have rated them highly for a long time.

 

[Burgey]

Bob, are you really a vegan?

 

[morgieb]

Yeah, Haris should've been locked into the #4 position like 5 years ago. How good was that six down the ground again Boult I think.

Haris got screwed by injuries which cost him about two years.

 

[Malcolm]

Kane - I always thought he was an overrated LO batsman, but not anymore. His 140 odd against SA probably the best 100 of this WC.

Carey - Bevan + Gilly. ’Nuff said.

Finch - Really impressed me, both as a captain and a batsman.

Babar - Always been a big fan of this kid. Now I like him more.

Thoroughly disappointed with Shai Hope, MSD, and Rabada, Pat Cummins.

 

[mr_mister]

Jadeja's fielding

 

[Howe_zat]

Jofra Archer for me, the hype had the effect of making me nervous about him, turns out he’s legit

Shaheen Afridi I thought was going to get belted after Pakistan’s pre tournament series here, he’s stood up well.

 

[ankitj]

Hafeez is a weird one. Always looks a million dollars when he bats... until he hits one straight down deep midwicket's throat off a part-timer.

His career stats are nothing flash. How did he play so many games?

 

[TheJediBrah]

His career stats are nothing flash. How did he play so many games?

He played a lot of for his bowling for a few years there when he wasn't making runs.

 

[trundler]

The same reason why Malik and Afridi played so many. We're very fond of mediocre spin bowling all rounder.

 

[zorax]

Afridi is a legend of the game. Pakistan's single greatest contribution to cricket, ahead of Imran Khan, reverse swing, Wasim Akram, and losing to India in every single World Cup game ever.

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I'd add Aviska Fernando to the list. I'd never heard of him until about 2 weeks ago.

Also Shaheen Afridi really looks a class act

 

[Fuller Pilch]

I'm also looking forward to Blundell's century and two stumpings on debut in the final. Most NZers won't even be able to recognise him during the victory parades when the team gets home.

 

[Prince EWS]

He played a lot of for his bowling for a few years there when he wasn't making runs.

His career stats are nothing flash. How did he play so many games?

Yeah back when he was allowed to chuck to his heart's content he was quite a good albeit unheralded ODI bowler. He was ranked in the top 10 by the ICC for a long time and even managed to be ranked #1 at one point, which is something no-one would guess without already knowing. He held his spot side based on this rather than his batting despite batting in the top order for a while at the start of his career, and between 2013 and 2017 - his peak as a batsman - he played 87 games for an average of 41 as well, so he was more than holding his place as a batsman for that period after he starting getting suspended from bowling.

It was a funny career that doesn't ultimately spit out great averages but he was a very fine ODI player overall when you take all that into account.

 

[Bijed]

Carey - I'd previously viewed him as pretty much just a placeholder whilst the Aus selectors found a 'proper' replacement for Paine/Wade. Has now scored big runs, quick runs and pressure runs.
,
van Der Dussen - Came into the tournament with a big average, but mostly unproven in my eyes. Has showed ability and fight in what has been an awful tournament for his side.

Many others have gone up in my estimation (Roy, Rohit, Shakib) etc but I respected them beforehand anyway

 

[mr_mister]

Malik's good.

 

[Prince EWS]

Everyone was saying Wahab would go at 8 an over but he bowled well with some serious pace and fire, which is even more impressive when you consider the fact that he’s a 34 year old. Was a joy to watch and his overall figures don’t do the bowling justice.

His batting was really fun too.

He's always been capable though. He played better than I expected but it wasn't exactly something we didn't think he was capable of so I'm not sure if he really went up in my estimation. The fact that he's really lifted his game in World Cups twice now might not be a coincidence though.

 

[vcs]

Lyon's another one. Never thought of him as an ODI player at all until Australia started picking him again over the last 6 months.

EDIT : Mind you, I looked up his statistics, and they're still pretty crap. Bowled decently though.

 

[stephen]

Lyon's another one. Never thought of him as an ODI player at all until Australia started picking him again over the last 6 months.

EDIT : Mind you, I looked up his statistics, and they're still pretty crap. Bowled decently though.

He doesn't really get wickets in ODIs but he's good at keeping the runs down. Which seems to be the best that we can hope for between overs 10 and 30 these days.

 

[vcs]

Yeah, he and Cummins are Test cricketers first and foremost. Top players who can do a job in limited overs, but the format doesn't get the best out of them because they get wickets through patience and relentless consistency. Limited overs tends to reward bowlers who have a few variations up their sleeve so that they can get batsmen out when they go on the attack. On flat wickets these days, they just line you up if you get predictable.

 

[Burgey]

Carey - I'd previously viewed him as pretty much just a placeholder whilst the Aus selectors found a 'proper' replacement for Paine/Wade. Has now scored big runs, quick runs and pressure runs.
,
van Der Dussen - Came into the tournament with a big average, but mostly unproven in my eyes. Has showed ability and fight in what has been an awful tournament for his side.

Many others have gone up in my estimation (Roy, Rohit, Shakib) etc but I respected them beforehand anyway

Yeah, one of the few highlights for SA across the tournament.