New Zealanders are wusses!

Despite Japan moving its game against New Zealand from Tokyo, which is a couple of hundred KM from Fukushima to Osaka, which is much, much further away, New Zealand opted to pull out of their matchup with Japan. Despite Osaka having its own airport, and being totally unaffected by everything going on WAY up north in the Tohoku region.

Japan wanted to turn the match into a charity match, and despite many banners, and teams declaring the football family as one, it seems like as far as New Zealand is concerned, it is one. Just dont ask me to play in your house!  The one time when Japan NEEDED something like this, and New Zealand bail. Despite the game being moved from Tokyo (which is safe) to Osaka (which is safe).

Ah well. 

the JFA decided not to let the match go to waste, and turned it into a charity match, with the Japan national team facing off against a J League All star team.

The national team featured many of the stars of Japanese football, Yasuhito Endo, Keisuke Honda, Nagatomo, and Okazaki.  The J League team featured many of the leagues top stars, including former Japan national players like Shunsuke Nakamura, Seigo Narazaki, and the likes of Tulio, who has not given up getting back IN to the national team. However, one of the biggest stars was Kazuyoshi Miura (Kazu) who has just dropped to J-2, at the tender young age of 44! 

The game itself was not a full-on blood and thunder affair, but it was played with a decent level of intensity, and not surprisingly, Japan had the upper hand against a scratch team that had been formed just a week prior to the game. Even though a lot of the players came from the same teams, it still takes time to get a new bunch of players used to each other, and a new manager.

Before the game, the fans got the chance to donate yet more money and meet some of their heroes outside the stadium on their way in.

Japan opened the scoring with a wonderfully taken free kick from the edge of the box when Endo curled the ball in at the near post.

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In celebration, the Japan national team raced off to their dugout, removing their armbands, and raising them in the air in salute to the deceased, and those still suffering in Tohoku. A touching moment. 

Japan doubled their lead 5 minutes later when Shinji Okazaki was played through to chip the keeper.

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The game stayed that way until the 82nd minute, when Kazu, who had come on at half time to monstrous applause, ran on to a through ball from Tulio, and slotted the ball home to pull one back for the J League team!

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Run through to the 52 seconds mark

The fans where then treated to one of his trademark dances! Not as sharp as it used to be, but at 44, the legs just aint what they where.

Overall, a fun game on the field, full of significance allowing the Japanese a chance to show that the whole nation was supporting Tohoku. It was not lost on those in the shelters, who crowded round TV's to watch, and read those messages of support.

Flags and banners where waved hoping for prayers for Japan, wishing Tohoku good luck, and thanking the international community for its support (apart from New Zealand!). In all, the match was kind of incidental. But it was good to have. Try to get life back to normal, despite all that is going on. 

And from me...

A new Golfing star to cheer!

So, with Golf once more upon us, who do you root for? Tiger Woods? After all, on his day, one of the greatest ever, and maybe he can recapture that form which made him irresistible. Martin Kaymer? The young German who has roared to the top? Lee Westwood? One of the games most consistent performers, a guy who is always there or thereabouts going into the final day?

Maybe even Colin Montgomerie? One of the true legends of the game, having been a leading light of the game since the dawn of time? And the guy who led Europe to Ryder Cup glory?

Or maybe someone from the ladies game? One of the most famous stars to see is of course, Michelle Wie. An undoubted talent, famous for her looks, as much as her ability. Also, she has taken on the men at their own game by taking part in various mens competitions. Something she still does, but now focuses on her game after realizing its a bit daft, given she lacks the power of her male counterparts.

The answer, quite frankly, is no.

You should look no further than Japans "Bashful Prince," Ryo Ishikawa.

This young man took part in his first Tour competition at the tender age of 15, and became the youngest player ever to crack the top 50 in the world rankings. For such a young man, he has achieved a lot. By the age of 19, he already has 10 tour wins, 9 in Japan. He has been on the Asian team in the Royal Trophy challenge against Europe, first Japanese player since the 90's to represent the International team in the Presidents Cup against the US!

He also won the money list in Japan in 2009 with total winnings of 183,520,000 yen (over $1,800,000) In 2010, he came third (just) in the money list, and included a couple of hundred thousand from his successes on the US tour that year.

So, his rise has been meteoric. Is that a reason to support him? Well, he is a handsome young man, credited with bringing more people into the game in Asia (including a lot of girls!) and very much a "Tiger mk 2" in the clean living stakes (This is, of course, before all of the major issues blew up round Tiger!)

However, all that is a good bunch of reasons to wish him well. BUT, the main reason to keep hoping to see this:

Is that he has promised to donate all his winnings from 2011 to relief efforts in the aftermath of the Tohoku disaster. And considering he pulled in about $1.8million, would amount to a serious chunk of change! Also, he will donate a further 100,000yen for every birdie he makes during the year. Last year, he managed 341 on the Tour! 

He wont be short of money. Like I said, he is a handsome young man, with a very clean cuddly image. He has plenty of sponsors and advertising deals, ranging from ANA to cook at home curry! 

However, he is a rising star, and I wish him well. And I do pray for his success this year, not only for his further success, but also for his amazing promise to help!

Champions

Well, it has finally happened. For those of you who read this from beyond the shores of England, or outside Kashiwazaki, then you may not have heard the Big Exciting news emanating from 1 small corner of England! Yes! Manchester are the Premier League Champions! 

Though it is not quite the Manchester you would expect...

No, not that one...

Its THIS one! 

The Manchester Phoenix! Representing the most exciting team in the city! Especially since United have climbed to the top on the back of a lot of lame performances, and City, despite all the money, flatter to deceive! And unfortunately, the EPIHL trophy does not quite have the grandeur of its more illustrious Football cousin, but, its OURS!

The Phoenix rose from the ashes of the Manchester Storm.

The Storm played out of the massive and impressive MEN Arena in Manchester (As it was for a while, the NYNEX). And for approaching 10 years, supplied plenty of exciting Hockey for the fans of the Storm. Culminating with the club gaining its first silverware by lifting the Superleague crown at the end of the 1998-99 season

A further trophy was lifted the following year with the lifting of the B&H Cup, but after that, hockey fans in Manchester began to suffer. The downward spiral had begun, and costs began to hurt the team. Ogden sold its entertainments arm, and AMG took over, and after 1 year subsidizing the team, sold it off. New ownership  took over, and ran the club for a year and half, until costs became too crippling and he had to fold the club.

Up stepped the Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey, and Neil Morris. And after many meetings and much thinking, Manchester came back into the Ice Hockey world, resurrected as the Phoenix. 

Still playing out of the MEN Arena meant the clubs costs where high, and that weighed on the budget, and the club could not attain the same level of success, despite being led by the legendary Rick Brebant, and later that year by Paul Heavey.  The costs became unbearable for Neil Morris who after a public meeting, took the decision to mothball the team as he continued to hunt for land for a smaller, lower cost arena. 

This meant that the Phoenix did not take part in the 2004-5 EIHL season, and due to overruns, could not enter the 2005-6 season. Finally, with the building nearing completion, the Phoenix got its new home (though late) and finally re-started for the 2006-7 season.

3 seasons saw the club under the leadership of (Sir) Tony Hand MBE (The Sir is unofficial. He has not got there, but he should be!) in the EIHL. Even though he built pretty useful teams, and in spite of the EIHL having a "wagecap," (hah!) the Phoenix struggled to really make a great deal of headway against the bigger teams in the EIHL.

Again, costs came in, and saw the Phoenix make the drop from the EIHL to the English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPL from now).

The drop, whilst not universally welcomed, saw the Phoenix find a happier home. In its first year, the club duked it out at the top of the table. Running first for a while, but finally having to settle for third. You can point to a very, very tough Christmas period for the club, with 4 of their squad being selected for Great Britain duty, and a serious injury to the top keeper, Steve Fone.

During the summer, Tony and Neil rebuilt the squad, learning from the lessons of the previous year. In came several new players, Curtis Huppe, Marcus Kristoffersson, Pavel Gomenyuk, and Ladislav Harabin filled the teams 4 import slots, and the team was strengthened further with the addition of the likes of James Archer and Ben Morgan.

This new grittier squad took to the ice and looked to improve on the previous season, and hit the ground running winning their first 4 games to keep up with Guildford at the top. The Phoenix did relinquish a little ground when they slipped a little in game 5, by being taken to extra time by Swindon, and ending up losing on penalties. 

The Phoenix then proceeded to go on a 9 game winning streak which saw them defeat Guildford 3-1 at the Spectrum. Unfortunately, in the double header, the Flames made their way up to Manchester and handed the Phoenix their second defeat of the season.

The Phoenix relinquished top slot in November, with a mini slump, losing twice to the Bison, and once more to the Flames. However, from the end  of November to the end of the year, the Phoenix clawed back to the top, a position they would not relinquish for the rest of the season. They went on a run of 8 wins and 1 loss on penalties. 

The first half of January saw the Phoenix keep the momentum going, only for it come to a grinding halt against Milton Keynes, and Guildford (again). Also, at the end of January, saw the Phoenix begin to suffer from injury and illness. Now, the players where beginning to carry knocks and ailments. Indeed, They where to lose Andrew Sharp to a cut artery, and just as he returns, their star defenceman, Harabin, also went out with a slash to the arm. That saw him out for a month.

After a 6-1 victory over the Bees in the first game in February, the Phoenix went on a rumble. Finally picking up some momentum, the Phoenix set their shoulders, and set off for the finishing line. And as always, the mark of a championship team is to grind out results, and this the Phoenix did. The Phoenix went on a long run (marred only by being dumped from the EPL Cup by the Bison at the semi-final stage) punctuated by Slough, who where also gearing up for their own run. With the excellent Calder, the Jets proved too much for the Phoenix.

The Phoenix however, just had to keep going. The Flames where keeping the pressure on the Phoenix all the way, and it finally went to the last weekend of the season. A point would seal it for the Phoenix. 

By all accounts, about a million went down (going by the number of "I was there's!") to Peterborough. A team the Phoenix had beaten 5 out of 5 times so far in the season. Unfortunately, with pressure on, the Phoenix could not nick the point they needed. Peterborough where determined not to let the Phoenix win it in their barn, and stepped it up, and the Phoenix just could not deliver. You can hear accounts of the game from the official podcast from the game here.

Further comments are available on various controversies over which I cannot comment because I was not there, are available from the latest Phoenix TV episode here.

So, it all boils down to the final game of the season. With an Ice Dome either at, or very close to capacity, the Phoenix took on the Swindon Wildcats at home. The fans themselves where all amazingly nervous! To quote several, "Its squeaky bum time!"

I, being stuck in Japan, was not in a position to join them. However, having watched from afar, I have, in my own way, been willing the team on. However, thanks to the beauty of modern technology, I had regular updates from a fellow fan who was forwarding texts on to me from a friend of hers, whilst she was stuck at work!

Courtesy of me! My ancient phone!

So, the game began. Would the Phoenix buckle under the pressure? Would the Phoenix run away with it? 

Well, I am not going to mince around with this! The Phoenix won. Though it was not easy. (Highlights available from Phoenix TV!) First period saw them take a slightly nervy 2-1 lead into the second period. They also lost the talismanic player/coach/god Tony Hand to an accidental high sticks call. A rule that has infuriated many. Whilst I understand the theory behind the call, I really do think it has lost a lot in practice!

Courtesy of Mr Richard Allan

which then proceeded to be goalless, and then eased to victory in the third. 3 further goals, topped off with an empty-netter and Swindon picking up a consolation.

Cue manic celebrations from fans and players alike! The players had battled all season with the bigger budget Guildford Flames, and managed to haul themselves over the line in first place. Whilst it was not a roar over the line as many would have hoped, the Phoenix, with a manic final heave, lunged over the line. 

Courtesy of Mr Richard Allan

One thing that has marked out this season has been the bond between the team, and the fans. The fans are close to the players, forming one of the largest (if not THE largest) travelling block of fans which I know the players do deeply appreciate.

Courtesy of Mr Richard Allan

Also, the players themselves are a very tight-knit unit. Tony built this years squad on the back of last years, adding some grit, and picking up characters along the way who have added to the squad.

Another mark of the team, is the lack of dead wood. This is my impression only! I will put that in. In previous years, there has been a couple who you do wonder about. For the Phoenix, in the first year, the undoubted skills of Ed Courteney led to lots of goals, but his work ethic on the ice was questioned regularly. In the end, he left the squad, to take up a job with Pepsi. This years squad has pulled together, and fought for each other. The squad was weakened when the Phoenix lost players to injury. However, the squad pulled together and closed ranks. Together, the squad heaved, and kept things rolling.

Courtesy for Mr Richard Allan

All this backed by the most amazing fans in the league! A vociferous bunch who travel anywhere at the drop of a hat, and back the team to the hilt, and go for a drink after!

Courtesy of Mr Richard Allan

Of course, a final mention has to go to Neil Morris. He stepped up so long ago when Manchester hockey was on the verge of dying. He has been the driving force behind the rebirth. I could keep going and detail what this guy has done. Suffice to say, he is a top bloke. Cant say fairer than that.

Courtesy of Mr Richard Allan

And to me. What was I doing with all this going on? Well, as the celebrations got into full swing in Manchester, the Manchester Phoenix Supporters Club (Japan) was sat at my girlfriends place at 4 in the morning with a massive grin softly giggling to myself. Whilst I was not wrapped up in the euphoria of the moment, given all the bad news I have been deluged with here in Japan, it was fantastic to see my team win! 

And we get to keep this shiny pot for a year! Oooh! Shiny!

Borrowed from Manchester Phoenix. Simply because its the best picture of the cup I can find. Dont hate me!

Anyway, I cant join the celebrations back in Manchester, but I can relax, forget all the negative stuff, and enjoy a nice local sake. All the while basking in the reflected glow of what has happened back in the Ice Dome.

Note. Most of the pics on here come from the delightful Richard Allan, more examples of his wonderful work can be viewed here. I advise you to go and ogle.

J League kicks off! Again...

A little update. Good news! The J-League has announced a resumption of operations for the league! Play will start again on April 23! Hurrah! 

There are still many decisions left to make. For example, the three clubs who have been impacted still need to decide what to do. Kashima Antlers, Vegalta Sendai, and second division Mito Hollyhock. 

All of them suffered varying degrees of damage to their home stadia, so need to work out if they can get their home venues can be repaired or should they relocate to venues that are more suitable. It is possible that Kashima may be able to get their stadium back up and running, but for the other two, relocation is looking more likely. Especially with Sendai's stadium being hammered by the tsunami and quake.

However, the J-League has made some other decisions, and others are still to be made. After shutting the league down for a month and a half, that dos leave quite the fixture pile-up. So, it looks likely that this year, there will be no summer shut down as is usual. This is because the summer heat and humidity is a killer here in Japan! Indeed, you can tell what the weather is going to be like by looking at kickoff times! The J League kicks off at the usual 3pm slot at the start, when the temperature is still a bit nippy. But by the shut down, the kick off time is much later. Closer to night, when heat is beginning to bleed away with the sun going down (it doesnt!) 

However, it now looks like kick off times will stay early. In order to maximise how much of the game can be played in daylight, with the league trying to help with the energy crisis. And stadiums do suck up a lot of juice! However, they will switch to later kick offs for July. They have to. It is stupid hot then!

Also, the JFA will have to decide about Japan's participation in the Copa America. After winning the Asian Cup, CONMEBOL extended an invitation to Japan to join the Copa America in Argentina  this year. However, with Japans top league still in action at the same time, will Japan want to send a team?

Finally, after New Zealand pulled out of their friendly (wuss! They moved the game for you, away from the danger area! Not that Tokyo was really IN the danger area...)the J League has announced that Japan will take on a J League all-star team in a charity friendly game. 

So, there you go. Sport is getting back on its feet!

Good. Need something other than all this to think about!

Now it is Baseball's turn to take a hit!

Japans J-League kicked off recently, had 1 round (Albirex at the top of the pile!Woo!) but then suspended operations until the middle of next month at the earliest because of the earthquake/tsunami double whammy that the Tohoku region of Japan was struck by earlier this month (please donate!) .

Now, it is the turn of Japan's baseball league to make a few decisions, and here we go!

Japan has a 2 league structure, governed by the NPB

The professional leagues in Japan feature 12 teams spread round Japan (but with most clustered round Tokyo, and a few in the Kansai region). These twelve teams are then split into 2 leagues of 6. The Central League, and the Pacific League.

The Pacific League consists of:

Chiba Lotte Marines, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, Orix Buffaloes, Saitama Seibu Lions, and the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. 

The Central League consists of:

Chunichi Dragons, Hanshin Fighters, Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Yokohama BayStars, Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and the Yomiuri Giants.

with the recent earthquake in the Tohoku region, the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles have been directly hit, with their home stadium, the Kleenex Stadium in Miyagi, suffering damage in the recent calamity.

This does leave the Eagles in a bit of a bind. The team itself is under no threat, as they where all away south for pre-season training when the earthquake hit. Since then, they have been busy trying to raise money for their affected home area. 

They do, however, have the option to relocate south to their "back up" stadium in Kobe...

So, what has baseball done? Well the Central League is going to start as planned, with no delay. The Pacific League, which hosts the Eagles, has decided to delay the start of play to April 12. Also, they ave decided to scrap all night games in April. This is due to a lot of their teams playing in areas affected by power shortages brought about by the quake knocking out the Fukushima power plant, and affecting many other plants.

It also looks likely that across Japanese baseball, there will be a move to limit night play in order to reduce the demand for electricity in order to help with the current energy problems.

And because this is all slightly depressing, here is something to cheer you up...

Sport answers Japan's call

ell, Japan is still suffering massively with rolling blackouts in Tokyo, and other areas are scaling back mightily in power usage to save from suffering the same fate. Aid is ramping up and getting through in larger quantities to the afflicted areas, and the rescue and clean-up operations are settling down.

Shows of solidarity are being carried out round the world. Caroline Wozniacki dispatched her manager to buy a Japanese flag, which she signed along with her opponent, Victoria Azarenka, at the BNP Barabas Open. They then displayed the flag on court during a minutes silence. Whilst hard cash would be welcome, pictures like this keep the crisis in the publics eye, and hopefully encourages wider support.

Unfortunately, these shows of solidarity have been marred with some celebrities seeking to regain the spotlight by making light of the tsunami. Gilbert Gottfried was fired by Aflac (who do a lot of business in Japan) after he posted several jokes about the tsunami on Twitter. 3 days after. I know comedians are supposed to make jokes, but there is a time and a place, and method in making jokes about such things. Tasteless jokes 3 days after is tantamount to career suicide.

He has not been the only one. The always attention-seeking 50-cent got in on the act. Obviously feeling left out because he was not in the spotlight, also ventured on to Twitter to pass his own comments, making light of the whole thing.

Thankfully, in sports, the vast majority are nothing like these idiots.

The Formula 1 team, Sauber, which features the Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi, will display a message of support as part of the livery on their cars once the Formula 1 season kicks off with the Australian Grand Prix.

Before their game with Juventus, Italian club Cesena wore t-shirts in honour of those suffering from the disaster. After the first half, Cesena found themselves 2-0 down, but then took inspiration from the people trying to re-build their lives in Japan, and battled back to draw the game!

Many Japanese players now plying their trade overseas have also been suffering, being so far from their homeland. This has not stopped them from displaying messages of support. One example being Atsuto Uchida, playing for Schalke, wore a t-shirt in Japanese and German declaring "Dear friends in Japan, in the hope that many lives can be saved, lets stand together!"

At Inter Milan, Yuto Nagatomo did not write on his shirt, but displayed his message of support for his homeland on a Japanese flag, along with the apt line, "You'll never walk alone!"

Indeed, throughout the Football world, before games, a minutes silence has been observed. Also, before Champions League games, banners of support in Japanese have also been displayed.

The support is not just limited to Football. Baseball is getting in on the act. With many Japanese players now plying their trade in the MLB, many of the MLB's clubs are stepping up efforts to raise funds for disaster relief. 

Seattle are offering to match the value of donations made by fans during their opening game, with a guaranteed minimum of $100,000.

San Fransisco has made an immediate donation, are organizing collections, and all monies from their Japanese Heritage Night will go towards disaster relief. 

The Yankees made an immediate donation of $100,000, and altered their pre-season game with the Boston Red Sox into a fundraiser, raising yet more money. 

However, I think the biggest sporting donation, which speaks volumes about the man, comes from Ichiro Suzuki. As a gesture, he donated 10,000,000 yen to the relief fund in the wake of the volcano in Miyazaki. However, his donation of 100,000,000 yen ($1,230,000 at todays rates) dwarfs this. Not only that, but he has just donated the money. No attention-seeking, no press blitz. He has just done it.

Can you imagine 50-cent doing something similar? I cant. Not the amount, and nor the lack of publicity. 50-cent craves the spotlight. He would donate a bit of cash, then go on a press bender bigging himself up.

50-cent may be one of the biggest musical stars at the moment, but "Fiddy," Ichiro is a far bigger man than you.

Ichiro, I salute you.

J League kicks off!

...and shuts down!

The J Leagues 2011 season kicked off a couple of weeks ago, with new teams promoted, a new champion in Nagoya Grampus, and lots of teams losing Japanese players overseas on the back of a successful World Cup run, and the recent victory in the Asian Cup.

Kashima and Nagoya had to claw back to score draws in th opening weekend, whilst other top teams such as Kawazaki and Gamba scoring victories. Urawa is looking to make a comeback, but lost. In the meantime, the top two teams are a slight surprise, with Kashiwa Reysol topping the league on 3 points, and +3 goal difference. The newly promoted side top the league because of the alphabet! K coming before N.

That N standing for my own Albirex Niigata who match Kashiwa for points and goals after seeing off Fukuoka 3-0, in Fukuoka. Not an easy game. Fukuoka are newly promoted, but its a helluva long way to go from Niigata to the south of the country. Just to put it into context. A round trip for Newcastle to play Arsenal is about 1000km. That still falls some 150km short of the distance from Niigata to Fukuoka, one way!

Still, it all got exciting!

Then there was the massive m9.0 earthquake off the coast of Miyagi, and the resultant tsunami.

The damage that has inflicted has been immense. For example, Vegalta Sendai play out of the Yurtec Stadium...

Which has suffered extensive damage.

Kashima Antlers have the Kashima stadium...

Which too has seen damage to its structure. Whilst a lot of the damage seems superficial from what I have seen on the TV, they will still need to do a structural analysis to make sure the structure is sound.

Needless to say, the J-League has suspended operations until mid-April at the earliest. Players from other regions (not that of their club) are heading out, and overseas players are being given permission to head home for an extended break.

The Japan national team games look like they are in jeopardy too. Whilst the national stadium is fine, the nation is suffering rolling blackouts to keep as much power as possible flowing north. It would be obscene to play the Japan games at a fully lit stadium whilst people are having to survive with nothing.

Here is hoping that the nuclear plant can be sorted, and that life can return to normality soon. It sounds daft, but we need sports. It gives people something to hope for in amongst this mess. There is not a lot of grief right now. People are too busy surviving. But grief will come, and sports can play its part in comforting people in a time of darkness.

The London Olympics are racist! Update.

Well, the Iranian Olympic Association complained that the London Olympic logo is racist, since I spelt out the word "zion." I then went on to point out how idiotic such a complaint was on so many levels. 1, it is forming a link where there was none, second, the IOC came out and said there was, in no way, any racism involved, and finally, they have had plenty of time to raise objections to the logo from its launch SEVERAL YEARS ago!

This is an update.

It now turns out that the Iranian authorities have realised how idiotic they where going to look as the only holdouts, and have since said that they will be at London 2012. 

An Iranian official has been quoted as saying:

"Our decision, to partake [in the] Olympic Games, has nothing to do with the UK politicians.

"We will make co-ordination with officials of the International Olympic Comittee and we will participate and play gloriously in London Games."

Er, the Olympics are non-political. Does not matter what the politicians say, my friend. Any complaints about the Olympics? Direct it at the Olympics, not the government. They will back up the games, but cannot get involved. 

In its original letter to the IOC, Iran had called for the Games logo to be withdrawn and its designers "confronted".

With this, I agree. But not for the same reasons. The designers should be confronted for creating something so boring and unimaginative. In the end, its pink. First time I have heard of pink being racist!

So. The Iranians will go to the Olympics. Well, whoopee. Must admit, I really am not that bothered. Not having the Iranians would have meant 1 less team to stare at in the 200 plus teams athletes parade!

The 2011 Cricket World Cup

Well, the Cricket World Cup is rolling on, and I must admit, I am enjoying it! Seen a few games on the ol' t'interweb, and have liked what I have seen. 

This World Cup has not been without controversy, what with the initial hosts Being India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, only for terrorism to see Pakistan stripped of the right to be one of the hosts. THEN, issues to strike India similar to what befell the Commonwealth Games. Delayed construction, corruption, etc.

For example, Kolcatta's Eden Gardens. An amazing venue for cricket. A home for very, very passionate fans, and one of the mecca's of cricket in the world.

Which lost its biggest game at the World Cup. Eden Gardens was due to host the India v England game, which we later went on to see was an awesome game! But due to the stadium simply not being ready, the ICC had to move the game.

And to make it worse, the officials who where charged with the stadiums re-development seemed totally uninformed about how much work needed to be done, and the moving of the game seemed to come as a big surprise!

And many people came out and claimed politics had played a role in stripping Eden Gardens of its right to host one of the biggest fixtures at the World Cup. My answer is simple. You had many YEARS to get ready! Cant leave it to the last minute! Look at the fiasco at the Commonwealth Games! Surely the hint there would have been to step up the pace!

Sheesh.

Ticketing has also been a concern, with crushes of people waiting to buy tickets for later rounds, and getting beaten by the police. In India, they say that this is normal, but it has still led the ICC to change its ticketing policy for the later stages.

Still, the World Cup itself has been quite interesting. IT has had its share of processional victories with the bigger names of cricket thumping some of the smaller nations. New Zealand beating Kenya by 10 wickets (That means they got the same score, but had fewer people "out" to do so). And Sri Lanka defeating Canada by 210 runs (this is just thumping the other side.) The West Indies defeating the Netherlands by 215 runs, who where also beaten by South Africa by 230+!

However, there has been quite a few absorbing encounters. Take the afore-mentioned India v England game. At the start of the game, India where confident. Their batters got into the groove, and scored steadily, including yet another century for Sachin Tendulkar. Something of a folk-hero in India! India eventually went on to score a hugely impressive 338 all out. A score in the one day game that is tough to catch! 

And, England set about doing just that! The lead batters went after the Indian bowling attack, and set England up for the win. Indeed, Strauss and Bell looked likely to carry England over the line! Strauss put on a hugely impressive 158, before being trapped LBW.

With Strauss gone, England then had a slump, with Bell following next ball. England went from bad to worse, and the momentum swung India's way, with Collinwood, Prior, Yardy, and Bresnan all heading back to the pavilion soon after. 

The  game then majestically swung away from India with Swann and Shahzad at the crease. Both Swann and Shahzad dug in and refused to crumble. Giving England a fighting chance. By this point, the number of runs needed was too large given how many balls where left. However, Swann and Shahzad thumped a few for 4, and a few for 6.

So, the game came down to the last ball. After facing 299 balls, India scored 338. After 299 balls, England stood at 337. It all came down to 1 ball. a wicket, India win. A big slog, England win. In the end, improbably, England's tail order managed to scramble 1 run, resulting in a tie! A truly remarkable.

England also featured an another amazing match. Against the minnows Ireland. England set the stage for their victory, with a commanding batting display that saw them give Ireland a daunting target of 327. And the stage looked good for England to win, with wickets falling steadily leaving Ireland on 111-5. 

Then up came Kevin O'Brien. Who was not Kevin O'Brien, but some kind of superman. He set about England's attack like no-one could believe. He got his century in the fastest time in World Cup history! His heroics single-handedly gave Ireland the biggest scalp of their cricketing history, defeating England by 3 wickets. 

Against South Africa, a tough encounter that was "Cricket" rather than a simple slog-fest, saw South Africa bowl England stubborn batters for an tempting 171. 

And in THIS match, it was not England's batting that led England to glory. But its so-far underwhelming fielding. They defended a fairly low score of 171, by forcing South Africa to once again choke, and get skittled out for 165.

There have been other performances of note, New Zealands demolition of Pakistan, Canada and the Netherlands both running some of the bog boys close, Australia doing for New Zealand, and India defeating Ireland, who ran India close.

So, who can win the World Cup?

Who knows!

You have India, currently ranked as the best in the world. South Africa, the number 1 one-day nation. These two are probably the favourites. But then you also have Australia, whilst slipping in the test arena, are still a power to be reckoned with. Sri Lanka is a nation that has won a World Cup, and are always dangerous. New Zealand are beginning to fire at the right time

AND you have the likes of the West Indies, and Pakistan who should never be ruled out. After all, at a World Cup, it is all about 1 game. Not a series. After all, look at what Ireland did to England! And finally, England. Finally, England have begun to roll in the Test arena (see the dismantling of Australia in the Ashes), but after the Ashes, it all went wrong. However, maybe, just maybe, England are getting their game rolling, a titanic battle against India, and a loss to Ireland was followed by England maybe by getting things going properly with a ground-pounding victory against South Africa.

In the end, it will most likely be the likes of India who wins. BUT you cannot rule out anyone from a field of 7 others who are capable of defeating anyone in a one-off sudden-death format.

Good luck to all!

(But mostly England!)