So after four long weeks and 42 matches, the eight highest-ranked countries qualified from the group stages, and the ICC could breathe a collective sigh of relief. As I wrote yesterday, the Associate nations did play their part in the entertainment, and both Ireland and Bangladesh beat England in memorable fashion. Nevertheless, the only game in Week Four which realistically could have thrown a spanner in the works was Bangladesh v South Africa and that resulted in a resounding victory for the Proteas. Only skipper Shakib Al Hasan managed to reach double figures, even against a second-string bowling attack.
The minnows did provide some excellent individual performances this week. Kenya's Collins Obuya took 98 runs off the Aussies and was unfortunate not to reach his century before the overs ran out. Paul Stirling and Ryan Ten Doeschate both struck hundreds in the Group B 'wooden spoon' decider between Ireland and the Netherlands, while Canada's captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Ashish Bagai creamed 84 in the defeat by New Zealand.
However, several big names also made their mark. For Australia, Brad Haddin hit two fine half-centuries, and Michael Clarke also found some form, albeit against Kenya. A long-awaited hundred from Kumar Sangakkara and four wickets from Muralitharan saw off New Zealand, while South Africa's JP Duminy fell for 99 against Ireland and all-rounder Robin Peterson claimed several cheap wickets.While Shoaib Akhtar announced his post-tournament retirement, his fellow Pakistani paceman Umar Gul reminded the world how good a one-day bowler he can be. The West Indies also reminded us how terrible they can be when apparently winning a run chase, self-destructing against both England and India. Mind you, Yuvraj Singh enjoyed a great match today, striking 113 and taking 2-18 in four overs in the win over the Windies.
However, my Player of the Week is Brett Lee. In Australia's three matches in the past week or so, he bowled just over 24 overs, taking nine wickets for 100 runs. His side may have lost their long unbeaten record in World Cups but, at 34, the affable NSW man looks as effective as ever, whether opening the attack in a Powerplay or stifling late-order momentum with yorkers and seamers. Most of his victims have been bowled, LBW or caught behind, not caught in the deep, suggesting his success has been down to consistently good line, length and movement, not luck. His fielding is as youthful and enthusiastic as ever, too.
In the quarters, Lee will come up against one of the great batting line-ups and will need to be at his best against Sehwag (if he recovers from injury), Tendulkar, Gambhir, Kohli, Dhoni et al. The Australia-India clash is the pick of the fixtures and would have made a great final. It's impossible to pick a winner, so let's hope it's a great match. England v Sri Lanka is intriguing and the winners will probably face South Africa who should have too much class for New Zealand, for whom much hope rests on Taylor, McCullum and the injured Vettori. Like England, Pakistan and the West Indies have been racked by inconsistency in the World Cup. The former have done better than expected, counting Sri Lanka and Australia amongst their victims and losing only to New Zealand. Provided they don't let Kieron Pollard and Chris Gayle take control and pepper the spectators with sixes, Pakistan should progress to the semis. It should be a fascinating week.
