Draw & Fixtures - How will you handle?

Stats are one thing but understanding your team and surroundings can not be ignored!

 

On the evening of 19 February 2015, one month before World Champs officially kicks off, the World Champs draw and fixture list were released.

World Champs Groups for Pool stages

World Champs Fixtures

Teams and players alike immediately began sizing out their competition. With the calibre of cricketers descending on Barbados it is anyone’s guess where the bragging rights of the 2015 World Champs may lie. We all know that Last Man Stands has some incredibly talented cricketers around the world but anyone who has played Last Man Stands over the years knows that talent only gets you so far. It's those teams who are able to harness their talents as a group while being tactically aware from day one who tend to stand out at tournaments such as this. Knowing how to set your field, bowlers being aware of the general flatness of Caribbean pitches and batsman making full use of the 360 degrees on offer ultimately determines your pathway through the tournament.

While taking on the subject of tactics - captains, bowlers and batsman must also use the fields to their advantage. With all strips at the tournament being the grass variety, the bounce will not be as consistent as it is on your general astro strip. The sizing of the grounds will also vary considerably. With games at 3W’s and Kensington Oval, batsman need to make sure that when they hit the ball  it stays hit. With such long boundaries, we can only predict that cow corner is going to be a busy intersection. Playing under the lights also poses its own difficulties. Unless you have experience under lights, the twilight periods can be the most difficult to play through. Either as a batsman or fielder, the changeover in conditions can cause abrupt changes in the flow of the game.

While you ponder the above and continue to size up your competition – Remember that the scenes below are only a month away.