2007 Cricket World Cup Super Eight stage
Encyclopedia
The Super Eight stage of the 2007 Cricket World Cup
was scheduled between 27 March 2007 and 21 April 2007, and determined the four qualifiers for the semi-finals of the tournament. Matches were held in Antigua
, Bridgetown in Barbados, Georgetown in Guyana
, and Grenada.
Each team carried forward the result from the other team qualifying from its group in the group stage of the tournament, so the Super Eight was essentially an eight-team round robin competition. Two points were awarded for a win and one for a tie or a no result. If teams were tied on points, the team with the most wins was ranked ahead, and if this is also equal net run rate
determined the ranking order.
Abbreviations:
before the tournament began, were eliminated by Bangladesh and Ireland respectively. The other six seeded teams proceeded, with Australia beating the number one rank in the One Day International championship South Africa. New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies also carried one win forward from the group stage.
Note:Ireland did not have an official ODI ranking; they were ranked in this tournament based on their win percentage against associate members and then wins against full members.
To find the record of a particular team, find its row in the table, and then look along the row to find its record against all opponents. (Thus, for example, Australia have won three and lost two against England.)
To find the record of a particular team, find its row in the table, and then look along the row to find its record against all opponents. (Thus, for example, Australia have won 17 and lost five against New Zealand.)
as the ball moved about and deviated off the seam in the early overs. Daren Powell
got the wicket of Adam Gilchrist with an inside edge, while Matthew Hayden
could not score off his first 17 deliveries – then made 158 runs from the next 126 to make the highest innings for Australia in a World Cup match. However, Ricky Ponting
and Hayden scored at above six an over in their partnership, before Ponting was eventually run out
. Hayden added 98 for the third wicket with Michael Clarke
before Dwayne Bravo
broke through, and Andrew Symonds
and Michael Hussey
could not provide more than 15 runs to the team cause. Hussey got out the total at 234 for five in the 41st over, but Hayden eventually led Australia to break loose in the last 10 overs, taking 99 from them despite a 20-minute break for rain. Shane Watson
's 33 from 26 balls also helped push Australia to 322 for 6 after the full 50 overs. This was the sixth successive score above 300 for Australia, a new One-day International record.
Drizzle and wet ground conditions delayed the start of West Indies' reply and the game was eventually abandoned to resume the following day. They lost three wickets in the first 20 overs, and though Brian Lara
and Denesh Ramdin
contributed fifties, they required 105 to win off 28 balls when Daren Powell
was bowled by Shaun Tait
. Earlier, Glenn McGrath
had removed Chris Gayle
, Marlon Samuels
and Dwayne Bravo
for single-figure scores, thus moving within one wicket of Wasim Akram
's World Cup record.
This was the first international match at the new Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
. The stadium was barely half-filled for the game, causing criticism from notables such as West Indies' captain Brian Lara
and commentator Mark Nicholas
.
taking two in his first spell. Tillakaratne Dilshan
and Russel Arnold
built a sixth-wicket stand of 97 in nearly 20 overs, but Dilshan was caught off Makhaya Ntini
's bowling, and then Charl Langeveldt
took three wickets in five balls as Sri Lanka were bowled out in the final over for 209. In reply, Chaminda Vaas
had AB de Villiers bowled
in the first over, but Jacques Kallis
added 95 with Graeme Smith
and 65 with Herschelle Gibbs
, leading South Africa to within four runs of victory with his 86. Then Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga
struck. He became the first bowler to take four wickets with four consecutive deliveries in international cricket, though South Africa managed a run off Vaas in the intermediate over. South Africa now needed three runs to win with one wicket in hand, and eleven deliveries went by before Robin Peterson
got an outside edge to a Malinga ball, which went out of reach of slip and went fine for four.
in six overs, before Ian Bell spent 74 balls making his 31. When Bell got out, the run rate
was slightly above 4; in the final 28 overs it was in excess of 6, with Paul Collingwood
making 90, Kevin Pietersen
48 and Andrew Flintoff
43. Kyle McCallan
was the most economical bowler for Ireland, and also took the wicket of Pietersen.
Chasing 267 in reply, Niall O'Brien
's third One-day International fifty and his second of the World Cup helped Ireland to a total of 139 for six in the 37th over, but despite faster than a run a ball scores from Trent Johnston
and Andrew White
Ireland fell 48 runs short as Andrew Flintoff
took the final two wickets, though they exceeded their previous World Cup record total by seven runs.
and Mahela Jayawardene
added 183 for the third wicket, before Tillakaratne Dilshan
came in and took 39 off 22 deliveries as the final eleven overs yielded 84 runs. In reply, West Indies needed 170 off 94 when Ramnaresh Sarwan
was stumped off Sanath Jayasuriya
; they only got 56 of those, and were bowled out for 190, with four batsmen out in single figures.
revised target to win: 160 runs in 35 overs for South Africa.
. England lost their openers for 0 and 10, but Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen
made a stand of 90 for the third wicket, and Paul Collingwood
joined Pietersen to add a further 25 before Pietersen was caught and bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan
. England then lost two more wickets for seven runs to Dilhara Fernando
, and required 103 off 16.3 overs with four wickets in hand. However, Ravinder Bopara
scored a half-century in his fourth One-Day International innings, as he and Paul Nixon
took England within three runs of victory. However, Fernando returned for the last over, and bowled Bopara off the last ball.
due to injury, Sri Lanka won comfortably against New Zealand.
Bangladesh's loss meant that they could not now qualify for the semi-finals.
2007 Cricket World Cup
The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007, using the sport's One Day International format...
was scheduled between 27 March 2007 and 21 April 2007, and determined the four qualifiers for the semi-finals of the tournament. Matches were held in Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
, Bridgetown in Barbados, Georgetown in Guyana
Georgetown, Guyana
Georgetown, estimated population 239,227 , is the capital and largest city of Guyana, located in the Demerara-Mahaica region. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed 'Garden City of the Caribbean.' Georgetown is located at . The city serves...
, and Grenada.
Each team carried forward the result from the other team qualifying from its group in the group stage of the tournament, so the Super Eight was essentially an eight-team round robin competition. Two points were awarded for a win and one for a tie or a no result. If teams were tied on points, the team with the most wins was ranked ahead, and if this is also equal net run rate
Net run rate
Net Run Rate is a statistic used in the sport of cricket. It is the most commonly used method of separating teams in one-day league competitions, effectively acting as the Cricket equivalent of "goal difference" in football....
determined the ranking order.
Table
The four top teams, depicted with green backgrounds in the table below, qualified for the semi-finals.| Team | Pts | Pld | W | T | L | NR | RF | OF | RA | OB | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1725 | 266.1 | 1314 | 322 | ||
| 10 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1586 | 301.1 | 1275 | 337 | ||
| 10 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1378 | 308 | 1457 | 345.1 | ||
| 8 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1561 | 299.1 | 1635 | 333.2 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1557 | 344.4 | 1511 | 307.4 | ||
| 4 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1595 | 338.1 | 1781 | 337.1 | ||
| 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1084 | 318 | 1398 | 284 | ||
| 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1111 | 333 | 1226 | 242 | ||
Abbreviations:
|
|
Net run rate Net Run Rate is a statistic used in the sport of cricket. It is the most commonly used method of separating teams in one-day league competitions, effectively acting as the Cricket equivalent of "goal difference" in football.... |
|
Teams
Eight teams qualified from the group stage. India and Pakistan, ranked fifth and fourth in the ICC ODI ChampionshipICC ODI Championship
The ICC ODI Championship is an international One Day International cricket competition run by the International Cricket Council. The competition is notional in that it is simply a ranking scheme overlaid on the regular ODI match schedule. After every ODI match, the two teams involved receive points...
before the tournament began, were eliminated by Bangladesh and Ireland respectively. The other six seeded teams proceeded, with Australia beating the number one rank in the One Day International championship South Africa. New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies also carried one win forward from the group stage.
ICC ODI Championship rankings
These were the rankings as of 12 March, before the group stage began.| Ranking | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 128 | |
| 2 | 125 | |
| 3 | 113 | |
| 6 | 108 | |
| 7 | 106 | |
| 8 | 101 | |
| 9 | 42 | |
| 14 | 0% / 44% |
Note:Ireland did not have an official ODI ranking; they were ranked in this tournament based on their win percentage against associate members and then wins against full members.
Previous World Cup record
All matches from 1975 to 2003 are included.To find the record of a particular team, find its row in the table, and then look along the row to find its record against all opponents. (Thus, for example, Australia have won three and lost two against England.)
| vs. | AUS | BAN | ENG | IRL | NZL | RSA | SRI | WIN | All | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | |
| Australia | XXX | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 40 | 17 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Bangladesh | 0 | 1 | XXX | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| England | 2 | 3 | XXX | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 18 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ireland | XXX | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Zealand | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | XXX | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 23 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| South Africa | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | XXX | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 9 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Sri Lanka | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | XXX | 1 | 4 | 17 | 27 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| West Indies | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | XXX | 31 | 16 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
ODI record since the 2003 World Cup
The table includes matches from 1 April 2003 to 1 March 2007, but does not include matches played during the 2007 World Cup.To find the record of a particular team, find its row in the table, and then look along the row to find its record against all opponents. (Thus, for example, Australia have won 17 and lost five against New Zealand.)
| vs. | AUS | BAN | ENG | IRL | NZL New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the... |
RSA | SRI | WIN | All | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | W | L | T | NR | |
| Australia | XXX | 8 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 80 | 28 | 1 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||
| Bangladesh | 1 | 8 | XXX | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 30 | 52 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| England | 6 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | XXX | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 39 | 41 | 2 | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Ireland | 0 | 1 | XXX | 2 | 5 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Zealand New Zealand cricket team The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the... |
5 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 2 | XXX | 6 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 44 | 39 | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
| South Africa | 4 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 1 | XXX | 3 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 51 | 31 | 1 | 5 | |||||||||||||||
| Sri Lanka | 4 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 3 | XXX | 4 | 2 | 55 | 39 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| West Indies | 5 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 4 | XXX | 40 | 48 | 6 | |||||||||||||||
27 March: Australia v West Indies
Australia were put in to bat by Brian LaraBrian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
as the ball moved about and deviated off the seam in the early overs. Daren Powell
Daren Powell
Daren Brent Lyle Powell is a West Indian cricketer who plays first-class cricket for Jamaica. A right-arm fast medium bowler, he has played Test matches and One Day Internationals for the West Indian cricket team. Despite starting his cricketing career as a number 3 batsman, Powell is a genuine...
got the wicket of Adam Gilchrist with an inside edge, while Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Lawrence Hayden AM is a former Australian cricketer, and was signed to the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL until the 2010 season. Hayden is a powerful and aggressive left-handed opening batsman, known for his ability to score quickly at both Test and one day levels.Hayden holds the record...
could not score off his first 17 deliveries – then made 158 runs from the next 126 to make the highest innings for Australia in a World Cup match. However, Ricky Ponting
Ricky Ponting
Ricky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
and Hayden scored at above six an over in their partnership, before Ponting was eventually run out
Run out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
. Hayden added 98 for the third wicket with Michael Clarke
Michael Clarke (cricketer)
Michael John Clarke is an Australian cricketer. He was appointed captain of the Test and ODI teams on 30 March 2011. Nicknamed 'Pup', he is a right-handed batsman, and occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler...
before Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne James John Bravo is a West Indian cricketer. A right-handed pace bowler, Bravo is expected to play a significant role in attempts by the West Indies to return to international prominence in the sport....
broke through, and Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds
Andrew Symonds is a former Australian cricket team all-rounder. A two-time World Cup winner, Symonds is a right-handed middle order batsman and alternates between medium pace and off-spin bowling....
and Michael Hussey
Michael Hussey
Michael Edward Killeen Hussey is an Australian cricketer, a left-handed specialist batsman. Hussey is also widely known by his nickname Mr Cricket. Hussey was a relative latecomer to both the one-day international and Test Australian teams, debuting at 28 and 30 years of age in the respective...
could not provide more than 15 runs to the team cause. Hussey got out the total at 234 for five in the 41st over, but Hayden eventually led Australia to break loose in the last 10 overs, taking 99 from them despite a 20-minute break for rain. Shane Watson
Shane Watson
Shane Robert Watson is an Australian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-handed fast medium bowler. He mainly bats as an opener in international cricket, although he does not do so domestically....
's 33 from 26 balls also helped push Australia to 322 for 6 after the full 50 overs. This was the sixth successive score above 300 for Australia, a new One-day International record.
Drizzle and wet ground conditions delayed the start of West Indies' reply and the game was eventually abandoned to resume the following day. They lost three wickets in the first 20 overs, and though Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
and Denesh Ramdin
Denesh Ramdin
Denesh Ramdin is a West Indian cricketer of Indian descent. He is a right-handed batsman who generally occupies the position of wicketkeeper.He is seen by selectors and fans as a replacement in terms of playing style for Jeff Dujon...
contributed fifties, they required 105 to win off 28 balls when Daren Powell
Daren Powell
Daren Brent Lyle Powell is a West Indian cricketer who plays first-class cricket for Jamaica. A right-arm fast medium bowler, he has played Test matches and One Day Internationals for the West Indian cricket team. Despite starting his cricketing career as a number 3 batsman, Powell is a genuine...
was bowled by Shaun Tait
Shaun Tait
Shaun William Tait is a professional Australian cricketer, who currently plays only in the Twenty20 format. Tait plays domestic cricket for South Australia and is also a representative for Australia at Twenty20 International level; he has also represented his country in One Day Internationals and...
. Earlier, Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath
Glenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century...
had removed Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle
Christopher Henry "Chris" Gayle is a Jamaican cricketer who currently plays international cricket for the West Indies. He captained the West Indies' side from 2007 to 2010. He plays domestic cricket for Jamaica, and has also represented Worcestershire, the Western Warriors and the Kolkata Knight...
, Marlon Samuels
Marlon Samuels
Marlon Nathaniel Samuels is a West Indian cricketer. Samuels made his Test debut in Australia in 2000, and his One Day International debut against Sri Lanka in Nairobi during the ICC Knockout Trophy in the same year....
and Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne Bravo
Dwayne James John Bravo is a West Indian cricketer. A right-handed pace bowler, Bravo is expected to play a significant role in attempts by the West Indies to return to international prominence in the sport....
for single-figure scores, thus moving within one wicket of Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram
Wasim Akram is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricketer and model. who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches....
's World Cup record.
This was the first international match at the new Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is a stadium in North Sound, Antigua, Antigua and Barbuda. It was built for use in the 2007 Cricket World Cup where it hosted Super 8 matches. The stadium usually caters for 10,000 people, but temporary seating doubled its capacity for the 2007 Cricket World Cup...
. The stadium was barely half-filled for the game, causing criticism from notables such as West Indies' captain Brian Lara
Brian Lara
Brian Charles Lara, TC, OCC, AM is a former West Indian international cricket player. Lara is generally regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time...
and commentator Mark Nicholas
Mark Nicholas
Mark Charles Jefford Nicholas is a cricket commentator and former player. He played for Hampshire from 1978 to 1995, captaining them from 1985 to his retirement....
.
28 March: Sri Lanka v South Africa
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat, and lost their first five wickets for 98, with Charl LangeveldtCharl Langeveldt
Charl Kenneth Langeveldt is a South African ODI and Test cricketer. He is one of four Cape Coloureds in the South African side, with the others being Herschelle Gibbs, JP Duminy and Ashwell Prince....
taking two in his first spell. Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan born October 14, 1976 in Kalutara, Sri Lanka is a Sri Lankan cricketer and captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team since April 2011. He has been a member of the team since November 1999, and was also known as Tuwan Mohammad Dilshan prior to his conversion...
and Russel Arnold
Russel Arnold
Russel Premakumaran "Rusty" Arnold is a former Sri Lankan cricketer of Tamil descent. Arnold made his Test debut against Pakistan in 1997 and his One day international debut against South Africa later in the year. Originally an opening batsmen, Arnold has since moved down the batting order...
built a sixth-wicket stand of 97 in nearly 20 overs, but Dilshan was caught off Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini
Makhaya Ntini is a former South African cricketer who was the first ethnically black player to play for the South African team. A fast bowler, he tends to bowl from wide of the crease with brisk, although not express, pace...
's bowling, and then Charl Langeveldt
Charl Langeveldt
Charl Kenneth Langeveldt is a South African ODI and Test cricketer. He is one of four Cape Coloureds in the South African side, with the others being Herschelle Gibbs, JP Duminy and Ashwell Prince....
took three wickets in five balls as Sri Lanka were bowled out in the final over for 209. In reply, Chaminda Vaas
Chaminda Vaas
Warnakulasuriya Patabendige Ushantha Joseph Chaminda Vaas , usually known as Chaminda Vaas, is a Sri Lankan cricketer is regarded as the best fast bowler to have come out of the country - he has been described as the 'most penetrative and successful new-ball bowler Sri Lanka have had'...
had AB de Villiers bowled
Bowled
Bowled is a method of dismissing a batsman in the sport of cricket. This method of dismissal is covered by Law 30 of the Laws of cricket.A batsman is out bowled if his wicket is put down by a ball delivered by the bowler...
in the first over, but Jacques Kallis
Jacques Kallis
Jacques Henry Kallis is a South African cricketer. As an all-rounder he is a formidable right-handed batsman and fast-medium swingbowler. He is one of the greatest all-rounders of all time, being the only cricketer in the history of the game to hold more than 12,000 runs and 250 wickets in both...
added 95 with Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith
Graeme Craig Smith is a South African cricketer and captain of the South African cricket team Test Match side, having succeeded Shaun Pollock after the 2003 Cricket World Cup...
and 65 with Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Gibbs
Herschelle Herman Gibbs is a South African cricketer, more specifically a batsman.Gibbs was schooled at St Joseph's Marist College and then Diocesan College in Rondebosch...
, leading South Africa to within four runs of victory with his 86. Then Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga
Lasith Malinga
Separamadu Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga"...
struck. He became the first bowler to take four wickets with four consecutive deliveries in international cricket, though South Africa managed a run off Vaas in the intermediate over. South Africa now needed three runs to win with one wicket in hand, and eleven deliveries went by before Robin Peterson
Robin Peterson
Robin John Peterson is a South African cricketer who bowls left arm spin. He is also a more than capable batsman, with a first class batting average of 26.35 as of 6 November 2005. His first class bowling average is a modest 36.36, however, and in Test matches it stands at 50.37...
got an outside edge to a Malinga ball, which went out of reach of slip and went fine for four.
29 March: West Indies v New Zealand
30 March: England v Ireland
England won the toss and batted first, but lost both openers to Boyd RankinBoyd Rankin
William Boyd Rankin is an Irish cricketer, from Derry, Northern Ireland. He is a right-arm medium-fast bowler.William is a tall bowler who stands at 6 ft 8 inches and has a distinctive bouncing action in his bowling...
in six overs, before Ian Bell spent 74 balls making his 31. When Bell got out, the run rate
Run rate
In cricket, the run rate , or runs per over is the number of runs a batsman scores in an over of 6 balls. It includes all runs, even the so-called extras awarded due to errors by the bowler. Without extras and overthrows, the maximum run rate is 36 – if every ball were struck for six and, as...
was slightly above 4; in the final 28 overs it was in excess of 6, with Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
making 90, Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
48 and Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
43. Kyle McCallan
Kyle McCallan
William Kyle McCallan, MBE , usually known as Kyle McCallan, is an Irish cricketer. A right-handed batsman and off spin bowler, he has played more times for the Ireland cricket team than any other player, more than 40 caps ahead of the next player in the table, the retired Peter Gillespie...
was the most economical bowler for Ireland, and also took the wicket of Pietersen.
Chasing 267 in reply, Niall O'Brien
Niall O'Brien (cricketer)
Niall John O'Brien is an Irish cricketer educated at Marian College, Ballsbridge. He is a left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper. O'Brien's brother Kevin plays with him in the Irish team...
's third One-day International fifty and his second of the World Cup helped Ireland to a total of 139 for six in the 37th over, but despite faster than a run a ball scores from Trent Johnston
Trent Johnston
David Trent Johnston usually known as Trent Johnston is an Australian-born Irish cricketer...
and Andrew White
Andrew White (cricketer)
Andrew Roland White is an Irish cricketer, who played in the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies, where Ireland reached the Super 8 stage. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-break bowler. He has played with Northamptonshire since 2005, and with Ireland since 2002...
Ireland fell 48 runs short as Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff
Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff MBE is a former English cricketer who played for Lancashire County Cricket Club, England and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings. A tall fast bowler, batsman and slip fielder, Flintoff according to the ICC rankings was consistently rated amongst the top...
took the final two wickets, though they exceeded their previous World Cup record total by seven runs.
31 March: Bangladesh v Australia
The match was shortened to 22 overs a side due to a wet outfield. Glenn McGrath took his wicket tally to 56 after this match.1 April: Sri Lanka v West Indies
The start of the match was delayed due to bad weather, but a full 50-over match was played, which resulted in West Indies' third defeat in four days. Sanath JayasuriyaSanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he played for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1989 to 2011...
and Mahela Jayawardene
Mahela Jayawardene
Denagamage Proboth Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , known as Mahela Jayawardene, is the former captain of the Sri Lankan cricket team. He is a specialist batsman who has a Test average of over 50, and an ODI average in the 30s...
added 183 for the third wicket, before Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Dilshan
Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan born October 14, 1976 in Kalutara, Sri Lanka is a Sri Lankan cricketer and captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team since April 2011. He has been a member of the team since November 1999, and was also known as Tuwan Mohammad Dilshan prior to his conversion...
came in and took 39 off 22 deliveries as the final eleven overs yielded 84 runs. In reply, West Indies needed 170 off 94 when Ramnaresh Sarwan
Ramnaresh Sarwan
Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan is a West Indian cricketer of Indo-Guyanese origin and a member of the West Indies cricket team....
was stumped off Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Jayasuriya
Sanath Teran Jayasuriya is a former Sri Lankan cricketer. An all-rounder, he played for the Sri Lankan cricket team from 1989 to 2011...
; they only got 56 of those, and were bowled out for 190, with four batsmen out in single figures.
2 April: Bangladesh v New Zealand
3 April: Ireland v South Africa
Match shortened due to rain; Duckworth-LewisDuckworth-Lewis method
In the sport of cricket, the Duckworth–Lewis method is a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a one-day cricket or Twenty20 cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstance...
revised target to win: 160 runs in 35 overs for South Africa.
4 April: Sri Lanka v England
Sri Lanka batted first and made 235, bowled out off the last ball with a run outRun out
Run out is a method of dismissal in the sport of cricket. It is governed by Law 38 of the Laws of cricket.-The rules:A batsman is out Run out if at any time while the ball is in play no part of his bat or person is grounded behind the popping crease and his wicket is fairly put down by the opposing...
. England lost their openers for 0 and 10, but Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Pietersen
Kevin Peter Pietersen, MBE is a South African-born English cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional off spin bowler who plays for England and Surrey...
made a stand of 90 for the third wicket, and Paul Collingwood
Paul Collingwood
Paul David Collingwood MBE is an English cricketer. He has been a regular member of the England Test side, was captain of the One Day International team 2007–2008. He is also vice-captain of his county, Durham County Cricket Club. Collingwood is a batting all-rounder, whose batting...
joined Pietersen to add a further 25 before Pietersen was caught and bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan , often referred to as Murali, is a former Sri Lankan cricketer who was rated the greatest Test match bowler ever by Wisden Cricketers' Almanack in 2002...
. England then lost two more wickets for seven runs to Dilhara Fernando
Dilhara Fernando
Congenige Randhi Dilhara Fernando is a cricketer who plays for Sri Lanka. He is a right-handed pace bowler.Dilhara studied at De Mazenod College Kandana...
, and required 103 off 16.3 overs with four wickets in hand. However, Ravinder Bopara
Ravinder Bopara
Ravinder Singh Bopara is an English cricketer who plays for Essex and England. He is the second Sikh to play cricket for England, after Monty Panesar. Originally a top-order batsman, but with his developing medium pace bowling, he is becoming a vital all-rounder...
scored a half-century in his fourth One-Day International innings, as he and Paul Nixon
Paul Nixon
Paul Andrew Nixon is an English cricket player who has played for Leicestershire, England, England A, MCC and Kent. He is a wicket-keeper and left-handed batsman...
took England within three runs of victory. However, Fernando returned for the last over, and bowled Bopara off the last ball.
7 April: Bangladesh v South Africa
8 April: England v Australia
9 April: New Zealand v Ireland
10 April: South Africa v West Indies
11 April: Bangladesh v England
12 April: New Zealand v Sri Lanka
Despite missing top bowler Lasith MalingaLasith Malinga
Separamadu Lasith Malinga is a Sri Lankan cricketer. He is a fast bowler with a rare round-arm action, sometimes referred to as a sling action, which leads to his nickname, "Slinga Malinga"...
due to injury, Sri Lanka won comfortably against New Zealand.
13 April: Ireland v Australia
Australia's win confirmed their place in the top four. Ireland could not now qualify for the semi-finals.14 April: South Africa v New Zealand
This win by New Zealand meant that they had qualified for the semi-finals. It also confirmed Sri Lanka's place in the top four, as only one other team below them could equal Sri Lanka's 8 points.15 April: Ireland v Bangladesh
Ireland's total of 243/7 was their highest in World Cup matches.Bangladesh's loss meant that they could not now qualify for the semi-finals.