Mixed results at the world cup cricket warm ups 

The warm up games before the main fixtures at the World Cup showed mixed results - some surprises, some predictable- surely an exciting prelude to the riveting cricket set to begin on March 13th. 

In one of the warm up matches on March 6, 2007, Australia defeated Zimbabwe by 106 runs. Electing to bat first, Australia set a target of 291 for Zimbabwe. The runs for Australia came from the blades of Michael Clarke who scored a brisk 82 from 81 deliveries and all rounder Shane Watson who made 81 from 89 balls. However the three quick wickets of top batsmen Ponting, Hussey and Hodge for paltry scores must be causing some concern to the coach especially after their recent slip in form. 

On March 6,minnows Bangladesh stunned the Kiwis by beating them by two wickets at the 3Ws Stadium just outside Bridgetown. Chasing 227 to win Bangladesh achieved the target with two wickets to spare, thanks to two huge sixes by Mortaza off Franklin in the penultimate over! The Kiwis had arrived for the world cup in the Caribbean on a high after defeating world champions Australia 3-0 last month. "We just did not play well; I don't want to give any excuses. It gives us some headaches and I suppose you can say it's a wake-up call before the tournament starts. The only other positive for us is that this was not a pool match but it shows how tough this tournament can be," said Captain Stephen Fleming. 

In another warm up match India beat Holland by 182 runs. Chasing a target of 300, the Dutch crumbled for 118, thanks to some tight bowling by the Indian spinners. However the Indian fans had nothing much to write home about since their famed top order - often proclaimed as the best batting side in the world - failed to click. Woefully out of form opener Virender Sehwag reached double figures but failed to convert the start and gain some match practice prior to the big games. Former captain Sourav Ganguly who bounced back into the team after being out of favor for over a year looked completely out of sorts and could make only 19 before falling. It was left to Captain Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar to repair the innings and they did so in style, adding 116 runs for the fourth wicket. 

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