The World Cup in under way.
The first game was the only one so far, between two majors, viz. West Indies and Pakistan.
But its the other couple of games that intrigued me.
First was the Australia vs Scotland one.
For most of the time that Australia batted, they seemed to give a lot of respect to the Scotland bowlers. Almost like they were playing England or New Zealand! I would have thought that the aggressive Australians would have gone hammer and tongs against the Scots, and posted a really massive total. To totally assert themselves and also give a warning to the rest of the teams. But they appeared to be over cautious. Only Ponting asserted himself. But then he is special. The rest of the chaps, be it Gilchrist, Hayden, or the young stars, Clarke, Hussey, Hodge – they all looked like they were up against Shane Bond or Muralitharan! If not for the cameo by Hogg, the total might well have fallen short of 300.
Now as I am seeing Sri Lanka bat against another minor team, Bermuda, I am seeing almost similar cautious stuff. Sure, they have also topped 300, but they lost a few wickets, and some guys missed out on making a large score for themselves, and also for the team.
WHY is this happening?
Are the senior teams having first game blues? Want to just put a win behind them, than take any chances?
Are they concerned about a possible upset by the junior team?
Is it the world cup factor? Is there too much tension?!
It sure feels that way!
Random Musings 