The weekend has come and gone and we saw plenty of the good and bad stuff. Pakistan beat South Africa by 29 runs, Zimbabwe and Ireland both amassed scores beyond 300 and Australia constructed 375 in brutal fashion and claimed an important win. Sangakkara is in unbelievable form – THE FORM OF HIS LIFE! – and we also saw some classic catches, hamstring injuries and we envisioned some interesting quarter final scenarios. Call this a mid week break: here’s a quick look back at the weekend and the guys who either made it or fluffed it completely (we’re looking at you England.)



1.

QUINTON de KOCK: I must have missed something. Quinton de Kock is still opening the batting for South Africa and I’m not sure why? With scores of 7, 7, 12, 0, shit should get real at the selection table when de Kock’s name comes up. Perhaps they don’t have a replacement, which is alarming. But leaving him in the side will hurt their World Cup campaign. Not even a hundred can save de Kock. It’s beyond that. Maybe it’s time de Villiers opens the batting; send de Kock down to number seven. I can just see the hashtags now: #SendDeKockToSeven.

2.

BRENDAN TAYLOR: Even for cricket fans, you’ve probably never heard of Brendan Taylor. He’s the guy from Zimbabwe who’s made the same amount of runs as Hashim Amla (295). On the weekend the middle order bat made a stunning century – 121 (91) – that included 11 fours and 4 sixes. Here’s some other things you might not know about Brendan Taylor. His middle name is Ross Murray (yes, two middle names!). He can keep wickets and he can bowl spin (let’s see him bowl spin with his gloves on!). He is the captain of the Zimbabwe team. He was part of the team that dismantled Australia in 2007. He has a rough-looking head in this photo. He was born in Bombay. Here’s a good feature on him that explains how he became a leader.

3.

MAXWELL: They call him the BIG SHOW and he didn’t disappoint against Sri Lanka on a batting paradise. His 53-ball century was glorious. I can’t think of a shot he didn’t play: over the keeper’s head, down the ground, over extra cover, reverse hitting to third man, dribbles down to fine leg, slog sweeps, shutty-eye-hitty-eye, straight drives along the carpet, calculated edges that went for six. His innings was a bit like a hamburger with the lot. He is now the highest scoring Australian at the World Cup (257) in front of Davey Warner. If you had of told me, that this would be the case prior to the Quarter Finals, I would have sprayed my coffee out of my nose and would have responded with: “you can’t be serious!?”

4.

MAHMUDULLAH: Mohammad Mahmudullah joined the likes of Prince, Sting, Madonna and Cher as people who have excelled in their chosen field whilst only being known by one name by riding the metaphorical cannon – in homage to Cher – that shot England out of the World Cup. Mahmudullah stunned the Poms on Monday by scoring his first ODI ton on the way to helping his team set a total, which England would ultimately fall short of. The right-hander’s hundred – coming off 131 balls – won’t be the quickest century of the tournament, but in terms of importance it will rate up there with the best of them. Perhaps more importantly though, the win gives long-suffering Bangladesh fans – who are fanatical in their support of the team – something to smile at and something to dine out on for four long years.

5.

PETER MOORES: Peter Moores, the English coach (in case you have no idea who he is), has had two attempts at the English job. The first time ended when he was sacked after a dispute with then English captain Kevin Pietersen amid claims the dressing room was unhappy with Moores’ presence. When Andy Flower stood down in 2014, Moores was once again appointed coach of England. At the time Paul Downton, head of English cricket, described Moores as “the outstanding coach of his generation.” Based on what, exactly, is anyone’s guess – his first tenure as coach was less than inspiring and ended in his removal.

“When asked what went wrong, Moores responded with “we thought 275 was chaseable. We’ll have to look at the data.” If it were not for Moores’ serious expression you would have thought he was joking.”

If Downton’s declaration of misplaced confidence in Moores left us scratching our heads, then Moores’ answer at the press conference following his team’s loss to Bangladesh was a genuine ‘what the hell was he thinking?’ moment. When asked what went wrong, Moores responded with “we thought 275 was chaseable. We’ll have to look at the data.” If it were not for Moores’ serious expression you would have thought he was joking. A team that is so often criticised for playing beige, uninspiring and uncreative cricket will look to a spreadsheet to find answers. Upon his return to England Moores once again faces the sack and English fans will be crying: “Give me less of Moores!”

6.

KUMAR SANGAKKARA: When veteran Kumar Sangakkara bats, time stands still – and a good thing too, as time is no longer on his side. He gracefully carves up the opposition bowling attack much like a hand-crafted Japanese knife carves a Sunday roast; effortlessly, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The Sunday roast on the menu this week was Australia’s bowling attack. Sangakkara’s knock – 104 off 107 – made a statement. It may have been in a losing cause, but it put everyone on notice that Sri Lanka have weapons, and their main gun is in red hot form. Sri Lanka appear to be hitting their straps at the right time. They were beaten on Sunday night, but they can take positives out of it. They reached 300 for the third time in a row and took it to the Australian attack – a line up which is considered to be one of the best in the World Cup. If Sangakkara can keep up this kind of touch you cannot discount Sri Lanka.

Compiled by Darren Murphy and Justin Robertson.