A St. Patrick's Day Miracle

Congratulations to the Irish, still the only team in the history of the World Cup who have never lost a match.

Pundits said the pitches in the Caribbean would favor South Asian teams. Some picked Pakistan and India as the most likely teams to pry the cup away from the Australians. But now, stunningly, Pakistan is the first team eliminated from contention (before Bermuda, even!), and India is in danger of following suit.

If Ireland's winning ways continue, it will be interesting to see whether Ed Joyce begins to regret his choice of country. An England-Ireland match-up in the super-8's could be interesting, but England has to beat Kenya to make that happen. After a day where the minnows won 2-0 I'm not going to count on that happening. It's also possible that Ireland could fail to advance if Zimbabwe also beats Pakistan.

A year ago the idea of Pakistan leaving the World Cup without a win was unthinkable, but at this point it can't be ruled out as a possibility. Despite the brilliance of certain batsmen, it's been a tough year for Pakistan's cricket program.