The World Cup has come in two flavours so far - rain and retired hurt. Last week, two games were abandoned without a ball bowled, another one after seven overs (South Africa v West Indies), and one truncated (the highly anticipated India v Pakistan) in the second half because the rain in Britain falls mainly on World Cup games - blame it on Sharda Ugra. Meanwhile, in the games that did happen, players were walking off clutching limbs. It hasn't been the greatest fortnight for the tournament, but the forecast is looking sunnier for this week.

The hit list - teams grapple with injuries to key players at the World Cup
Some mighties have fallen - Dale Steyn and Mohammad Shahzad have already flown home, while more than a few others are dealing with major injury concerns. Shikhar Dhawan sustained a hairline fracture on his thumb in the match against Australia where he scored a century, but is now suspect for the rest of the World Cup. Rishabh Pant has joined the squad as a cover while Dhawan continues to be under observation.

Tahir, de Kock give South Africa first World Cup win
South Africa's first win in the tournament has come five games in, against bottom-of-the-table Afghanistan.

'If they don't want me to play, I will quit cricket' - Mohammad Shahzad
Afghanistan's World Cup run has devolved into chaos after a series of losses, injuries and a mid-tournament selection panel shuffle. Now after Shahzad was ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup with a knee injury, a war of words has erupted with the wicketkeeper-batsman saying he is fit, and board officials claiming otherwise. "Don't do this, Afghanistan," says Andrew Fidel Fernando.

Why a billion people will watch when India, Pakistan play
Yesterday, the World Cup's most anticipated, if sometimes overhyped, rivalry came back to Technicolor life, and Wright Thompson was at ground zero in Manchester to make sense of it all. Osman Samiuddin mused about watching India's two biggest batsman, one who oozes effortless beauty, the other an intense genius honed to within an inch of its life. The ESPNcricinfo mythbusters team sprang into action, breaking down some numbers and misconceptions about this match-up. We also asked some cricketers, writers and senior journalists to pick their favourites from the opposing camp.

Yuvraj Singh: all heart, madbat, white-ball legend, red-ball dreamer
India allrounder Yuvraj Singh, who last played for India in June 2017, announced his international and IPL retirement last week. Sharda Ugra pays tribute to Indian cricket's first millennial, a man of the bright lights and big occasion, with fearlessness, a stomach for the fight, and a lot more besides. She also sat down with Harbhajan Singh, who shared a few anecdotes about the brat, the DJ and the white-ball legend. How well do you remember Yuvraj Singh's career?

'We have to compete, but we can't do that by copying India'
Sri Lanka's captain spoke to Andrew Fidel Fernando about learning on the job, shepherding his players, and making the most of their limitations.

World Cup weather watch: your guide to the soggy scenario
With three abandonments in less than a week, this has already been the most rain-affected World Cup. Alan Gardner answers all your wet-weather questions. Meanwhile, there's one thing Sri Lanka does better than everyone else, says Andrew Fidel Fernando - year after year, the Sri Lanka board successfully hosts series in months afflicted by storms that unload lakefuls of water into their stadia. Why can't other boards take a cue from SLC to tackle rain?

Bend the rules and bring AB back for the World Cup? Why not?
Our commentator-columnist Mark Nicholas gets starry-eyed around two batting greats and wades into the de Villiers debate (while also getting in a round of golf in between).

Keep wickets in hand or go hard? A look at the first 25 years of ODI history
Kartikeya Date looks at how ODI cricket before 2005 approached the question of risking wickets efficiently to score the highest possible total.

'When I had the ball in my hand, I wanted to kill someone'
Once a great South African fast-bowling hope full of rage, Mfuneko Ngam lost out for want of guidance. Now he's hoping to provide just that to future generations of black cricketers, says Sidharth Monga.