Mahesh wrote:

Rain is going to play a big role in this. Sri lanka is topping the chart slowly. And it seems like even without winning they are getting closer to the top 6. I think world cup should never be played when there is a rain around. I mean it wastes money and also takes things in a pretty bad taste for sure. 

Yes more person said it that it not suitable time for this tournament. It is my opinion that 3 team for top 4 is India, Australia, England. Fourth may be New Zeland, Sri lanka or WI.

anil wrote:

Mahesh wrote:

Rain is going to play a big role in this. Sri lanka is topping the chart slowly. And it seems like even without winning they are getting closer to the top 6. I think world cup should never be played when there is a rain around. I mean it wastes money and also takes things in a pretty bad taste for sure. 

Yes more person said it that it not suitable time for this tournament. It is my opinion that 3 team for top 4 is India, Australia, England. Fourth may be New Zeland, Sri lanka or WI.

I think West Indies the way they are playing are in a better position to reach the top four in comparison to New Zealand or Sri Lanka. New Zealand's today's game against India will depict the picture of their present form. Hope the rains stay away !

You should be prepared to split the points with NZ today. I think India will have 5 points from 3 matches after today's game. The chances are the match will be a no result once again. They should have not organised this tournament in England in the first place.

suni51 wrote:

You should be prepared to split the points with NZ today. I think India will have 5 points from 3 matches after today's game. The chances are the match will be a no result once again. They should have not organised this tournament in England in the first place.

Yes you are spot on with your intuition yet again. The way rain is playing a spoil sport, this is becoming very frustrating every day. If India's next match against arch rivals Pakistan also gets washed away, then it's going to be a huge loss for the fans.

Atleast they should have had full covers for a Marquee event as World cup. Then we could have surely had a truncated game. It is a big disappointment. Hope we can see a shortened game against Pakistan as rain is the forecast on that day as well.

Awful scheduling of match.

The matches should have been scheduled from 2nd half of July where the chances of rain will be less. However since there is Ashes series on cards they put it here.

epraneeth77 wrote:

Atleast they should have had full covers for a Marquee event as World cup. Then we could have surely had a truncated game. It is a big disappointment. Hope we can see a shortened game against Pakistan as rain is the forecast on that day as well.

Awful scheduling of match.

The matches should have been scheduled from 2nd half of July where the chances of rain will be less. However since there is Ashes series on cards they put it here.

Yes you are right. On the other hand, the good news is that at least today's match between England and West Indies is underway. There's no such threat of rain as of now in this match. Few minutes back when I last saw the TV, the West Indies were 175-5 after 35 overs with big hitting Andre Russell on the crease. Initially, the West Indies lost three quick wickets.

It was interesting to see Joe Root bowling after a long time and also straight away among the wickets.

England won comfortably, but that I guess is due to the immature batting of the West Indian players. They are very well capable, but did not wanted to take time to settle which led to their downfall in batting, thereafter it was just a formality.

The interesting thing was what Jason Holder, the captain of West Indies said. He said that his players should have played much better by taking ownership, I think he has included even himself in that list as he got out on 10 by trying to take the attack to the opposition straightaway after coming to back and it backfired.

I suggest all major stadium grounds should have high roofs even if not indoor stadiums. It's not a big task providing artificial cover about 40-50 feet high that saves grounds from getting drenched and also saving spectators from sun and rain. All sides can be kept open for fresh air and this arrangement is neither costly nor technically difficult. They have to provide pillars and erect light roofs made of fiver or similar material with aerodynamic system in place so the roofs withstand air pressure. 

suni51 wrote:

I suggest all major stadium grounds should have high roofs even if not indoor stadiums. It's not a big task providing artificial cover about 40-50 feet high that saves grounds from getting drenched and also saving spectators from sun and rain. All sides can be kept open for fresh air and this arrangement is neither costly nor technically difficult. They have to provide pillars and erect light roofs made of fiver or similar material with aerodynamic system in place so the roofs withstand air pressure. 

This is no doubt a good solution you have suggested. In Wimbledon to counter the rain problem, they have successfully created indoor roofs which can be brought into play whenever there's weather disturbance. Although some tennis players like Djokovic complains about it, others like Federer are pretty happy with this arrangement. In cricket as far as I know there are indoor roofs in some of the big venues in Australia. However, in England although they have the money and the resources, they are very traditional in their approach when it comes to the game of cricket. So, they take a long time to implement new changes. For example, even the introduction of flood lights for international day and night matches was delayed for a long time in England in comparison to some other cricketing nations.

India, Australia & England look good to be in Top 4.

New Zealand may take the 4th spot. Everything looks straightforward as of now, unless Bangladesh sparks a good turnaround.

New Zealand also has played with minnows till now, so it will be interesting to see their progress from its next match.