World 20/20: India and Australia Looking Good

The major nations of world cricket got under way last night, India playing South Africa in a true heavy weight clash and Australia facing reigning world champions Pakistan. Like before, some thoughts:

India vs South Africa
India won by 14 runs.

Suresh Raina: Another limited overs specialist, Raina currently holds the record for the most ODI’s without a test match appearance which quite honestly simply goes to show how much depth India have to their batting. Yesterday his timing, footwork and ability to hit a ‘long ball’, as they say, were masterful. Who needs Sachin, Sehwag or Gambhir?

Kallis and Smith: Whilst on paper they did well putting on 97 together, in the end there were too many dot balls which meant that De Villiers and Morkel had too much to do in the last 5 overs. Kallis was the less guilty partner but we are not sure about the merits of Smith at 3. De Villiers can give the ball a serious hit and should probably have come in as Kallis was the man still batting.

The Game: Not the most exciting spectacle in the end as the Indian’s always looked too strong. Having watched the South African’s fail to compete we are very worried about our semi final prediction for the Proteas. Our basis for this prediction was that South Africa have one of the stronger bowling attacks around. The absence though of a selection of spinners to slow things down appears to be a flaw in their make up. Steyn, Morkel, Kallis and Kleinveldt’s bowling all ‘traveled’, in cricketing jargon. India on the other hand look strong and. unlike the Protea’s, have quite the selection of slow bowlers. We are not sure this proliferation of average bowling is good for the game of the cricket but it appears to be a crucial element of this tournament. More on that later though.

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Australia vs Pakistan
Australia won by 34 runs

Shane Watson: Brilliant innings from Australia’s opening batsman. Inevitably a great deal of the focus when Australia play is on David Warner, however, last night Watson proved that they have another powerful batsman at the top of the order. Scoring 81 from only 49 balls and hitting 11 boundaries, including 4 cleanly struck sixes, he proved how important he is to this Aussie side.

David Warner: Warner must be the most graceless batsman in world cricket, effective yes, good at 20/20 cricket yes, but we would still not pay to watch him. Classic moment came when he was interviewed during the game and said that he hoped that if he performed well in this format for Australia, he might get a go in the test matches (or words to that effect). Being Australian he obviously still considers test cricket to be the pinnacle of the game, but if he thinks that, in this age of specialisation, 20/20 cricket is a route into the test side he is probably much mistaken!

David Hussey: Brilliant innings of 53 in 29 balls just when Michael Clarke had threatened to push Australia into a quieter middle period. At one point hit 4 sixes and 28 runs off one Mohamed Sami over. For a man who appears to be so thin he might snap at any point, he hits the ball with immense power.

Mohamed Aamer: Figures of 4 overs, 3-23 including one wicket maiden, belie the fact that his young prodigy is only 18 and already Pakistan’s ‘go to’ bowler. We can’t find the requisite statistic anywhere but we are almost certain that no man will have ever bowled a triple wicket maiden in the final over of a 20/20 game. Not only that but on two of the other three balls, Kamran Akmal ran out Steve Smith and Dirk Nannes giving the Pakistani’s an extraordinary 5 wickets in 6 balls.

Australian Seam Attack: We were astonished to find that the Australians had left out the IPL’s best bowler Doug Bollinger, yet on this basis we can see why they thought they didn’t need them. Nannes, Tait and Johnson provide a fearsome three pronged attack, which also has the added value from a neutrals point of view that something is guaranteed to happen almost every ball. None of them are exactly line and length specialists, instead relying on pace, swing and aggression meaning that they will regularly end up with figures similar to Nannes’ yesterday of 3-41 from their alloted 4 overs.

Catches Win Matches: Yesterday’s games demonstrated this amply.

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So after the first 6 games our predictions made before the tournament are looking way off the mark. Sri Lanka go into today’s game against Zimbabwe having to win to qualify, which isn’t perhaps as simple as it sounds with Zimbabwe beating Australia in their warm up games. England then face the West Indies later knowing one win will see them safe through to the Super 8’s. With the Windies already qualified, and England facing a potential banana skin against Ireland on Wednesday, it would make life much easier for their supporters if they did it the easy way. How often does this happen with England though!

A Proper 20/20 Tournament: World Cup 2010

With only two days before the World 20/20 cup gets under way, the Compulsive Hooker thought we would take a look at what we think might happen. It is unlikely that any predictions we make will come off as our track record in this sort of thing is usually appalling.

Contrary to what regular readers might think (and to tell the truth it has surprised us too), we are actually quite excited by this tournament. For us this competition is likely to be what every 20/20 tournament, and indeed any cricket tournament, should be with the focus going entirely on the cricket itself. The IPL of course from a cricketing point of view had its moments, yet it is irrevocably sullied in our eyes by the never ending circus and incredible levels of marketing surrounding it, not to mention the alleged misbehaviour behind the scenes.

With match fixing, or more recently spot fixing, firmly back in the limelight it is crucial for crickets image that this tournament passes by without this particular shadow being cast over it. 20/20 cricket is a game which in many ways lends itself to match fixing, as in the shorter form of the game a wicket or a bad over has a larger significance than in other forms. With less money flying around in the Caribbean, and therefore less temptation to indulge in these nefarious practises, hopefully we can have a controversy free tournament.

And so on to the cricket.

Group D

England: Touted as undercooked by their coach and several pundits in the media, we have a sneaky suspicion that now they have got rid of Mr. Trott at the top of the order, England may surprise a few people. Collingwood and Morgan are key in our opinion, with the Durham man probably one of the single most important players to his team in the whole tournament. With West Indian pitches a far cry from the pacey tracks of old, Swann certainly and perhaps Tredwell could also be important in taking the pace off the ball.
Prediction: Semi’s

Ireland: Having lost their best players in Joyce and Morgan to England, this could be a tough tournament for the Irish. Talking a good game behind the scenes, yet recent results haven’t gone their way and they look limited, particularly in the batting. If the O’Brien brothers don’t fire there is not a great deal else with the greatest of respect to skipper Porterfield who is perhaps more of a 4 day player.
Prediction: Fail to qualify from group stages.

West Indies: Who knows quite honestly! If Gayle and Pollard fire then anything is possible and with the benefit of home support, perhaps this could be there year. On the other hand they are just as likely to lose to Ireland and fail to qualify at all. There is a backbone of quality there with Chanderpaul and Sarwan also being destructive players in this format, yet we worry about them! New coach Ottis Gibson needs a good tournament after their travails against Zimbabwe recently. After Afghanistan, we will be supporting the West Indies as it would be a wonderful boost for cricket in this region.
Prediction: Knocked out at Super 8’s stage.

Group C

Afghanistan: We have detailed their rise on this site before and it is truly one of the most inspiring stories to come out of that war torn country. (Click here and particularly here for more on this). With undoubted talent in their ranks and confidence overflowing it is not a totally far fetched proposition that they could beat one of India or South Africa. Officially the Compulsive Hooker’s favourite team in the tournament, we will be covering their every move.
Prediction: We would like to say Super 8’s but out head tells us that India and the Proteas will be too strong. Lets hope not.

India: As at the last tournament, they go in as odds on favourites and have bags and bags of talent. With Sachin at the top of the order and class acts such as Raina, Gambhir, and Yuvraj Singh it is truly a batting line up to give opposing bowlers nightmares. The bowling however is relatively weak and will be relying on the batting to win them games. Under the huge pressure of expectation as always, we feel that this could be their year.
Prediction: Finalists

South Africa: Crickets perennial chokers have as good a chance as anyone in this years tournament. With quality throughout their ranks and in all departments (providing they get rid of JP Duminy), they should provide India  with genuine competition for top place in the group stages. Look out for Kallis to continue his IPL run scoring antics and prove to everyone that he is not the one dimensional player of legend. Loots Bosman could also be key on as a big hitting opener.
Prediction: Semis

Group B

New Zealand: Solid performers in 20/20 cricket, they are the only people to have beaten Australia this Summer down under in any form of the game. If McCullum and Taylor come off more than once, Oram and Bond stays fit and Vettori continues to weave his magic spells, then they have a real chance. Strength in depth is not their forte, they could suffer if one of these five get injured. Unlike some other sides, the Kiwis will be looking to win matches with their bowling for which Shane Bond in particular is crucial. Probably one of the best fast bowlers of the past 15 years, it is a crying shame he has not played more. As cricket fans it is important to enjoy watching him while he’s fit.
Prediction: Could easily win it, but we are going to go for the Kiwis to be knocked out at the Super 8 stage.

Sri Lanka: Another dark horse with high levels of innate quality that could see them all the way. Sangakarra, Jayawardene and the evergreen Jayasuriya they have plenty of runs in them. Look out for Dilshan and his famous ‘scoop’ shot, though, as in the past year he has lost little in comparison to Sehwag, which is saying something. Murali will keep it tight although it is more than likely that, like India, they will be relying on their batsman to win them games.
Prediction: Winners. Big call but we have to pick someone!

Zimbabwe: Fresh off a brilliant win against Australia last night in the warm up games, and having taken a couple of wins of the West Indies recently, they should not be underestimated. Tiny Tatenda Taibu, Hamilton Masakadza and newly signed county overseas player Elton Chigumbura will be the most valuable players in this side. Andy Blignaut has recently come back into the side after a self imposed exile and will be keen to make up for lost time too.
Prediction: Sadly they having picked the other two sides from this group to go through we must say they will exit at the group stage. Don’t be surprised if they manage to pull something off though.

Group A

Australia: Australia are coming off an exceptional home Summer, only having lost to the Kiwis in any form of cricket. A very effective unit with big hitting capabilities in the shape of David Warner, Shane Watson amongst others, they will be very hard to beat. The bowling is strong with Doug Bollinger in particular looking like he will be a real handful. Johnson too will be a threat, although he is the type of bowler that could end with figures of 3-42 from four overs as easily as not. Look out for Dirk Nannes and (even though we hate to say it) Nathan Bracken too.
Prediction: We hope first round exit, but we think it will be Super 8 stages. Equally it would be typically Australian to go and win the whole thing, yet we have picked the Sri Lankans for that so Super 8’s it is!

Bangladesh: A side that despite having a number of talented players, never quite seem to perform all at the same time. We suspect this could be a tough tournament for Bangladesh unless Tamim Iqbal fires regularly. Shakib will provide control on the bowling side of things, yet in a tough group we feel it will be too much.
Prediction: Group stage exit.

Pakistan: Last years champions and as dangerous a team as you could find on their day, we however feel they will struggle in this years tournament. In fighting has been rife and with several important players banned/retired in a fit of pique, this could be a tricky tournament. ‘Boom Boom’ Afridi captains and remains key to their progress, providing of course he doesn’t get hungry again….
Prediction: Super 8’s. Inconsistency to let them down.