Welcome to day seven of this increasingly sporadic and dare I say pointless Cricket World Cup diary. Much has happened since my last entry here. England were defeated by a Pakistan side that was completely unrecognisable from the shambles of that West Indies defeat. England can always be relied upon to chuck in a shocker here and there, it is to be hoped that the shocker for this tournament has come early. Any repeat of Monday's sloppiness in a semi-final or final would be a disaster. Meanwhile, it was squeaky bum time for Sri Lanka yesterday as they survived a dismal batting performance to overcome the minnows of Afghanistan. Thirty-four runs is a pretty comfortable margin of victory at first glance but it doesn't tell the whole story of a match that could, and perhaps should, have fallen the other way.
As I type this South Africa are struggling along against India. Faf du Plessis' side are 164 for 7 after 40 overs. Quite what a good score will be on the pitch at Southampton nobody can know, however, what is certain is that defeat for the Proteas would surely mean elimination after just three games and on just the seventh day of the tournament.
The day's second match gets underway as I post this with Bangladesh taking on New Zealand at the Oval. The Tigers did for South Africa on Sunday and so the Black Caps will be taking nothing for granted today. I've gone for a little punt on Kane Williamson and Tamim Iqbal to top score for their respective teams and also stuck a free quid bet on Bangladesh to triumph. Stranger things have happened.
Starting pot: £50
Pending: £4
Winnings: £3.77
Balance: £43.77
