T20 World Cup 2009 – Preview

 

The final of the IPL was a week ago today – andin 5 days time the opening match of the T20 World Cup, between hosts England and the Netherlands, takes place. It really is a crowded international schedule these days.

The previous, and inaugural, T20 World Cup was hosted by South Africa and won by India two years ago. The hype and excitement of that tournament added energy and freshness to the cricket world, yet this years edition has been more understated. That probably has a lot to do with the circus that is the IPL, yet one has to feel that those marketing the World Cup in England could perhaps do a better job. World Cup’s shouldn’t sneak up on you. The IPL should have been the appetizer to the main course, which starts next week. Lets hope the cricket does a better job and all the right noises are made after.

When T20 cricket launched itself onto the world stage it was viewed as pure entertainment, a hit and miss form of the game, and not taken too seriously by those on the field. There was almost a feel that it was more about luck than skill and not much could be done to curtail the individual. It wasn’t cricket – it was glitz. Barely two years since and how things have changed. T20 is very much a skill based, tactical battle, that seems to sharpen skills, rather than deplete them. The cream always rises, and T20 has seen it mastered by the great players, the players who have excelled in Test and ODI cricket, and not the close your eyes and swing variety. T20 is real business and will be fought out by the best players  over the next few weeks.

The favourites for the crown will be the same for any cricketing competition held at this team, no matter what the format. Defending champions India have perhaps benefited the most from the IPL as their pool of players playing at a higher level has increased to one meaning a squad of 50+ players could easily be assembled. Their opening combination of Sehwag and Gambhir didn’t really fire during the IPL andwill be looking for form in England. The early swinging ball may not be to their liking, but both will be looking to get the team out of the boxes fast and not just solidly. There after the hitting power in the Indian squad is phenomenal. Anyone of Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan, Raina, Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma will be able to single handedly build a total. If the batting comes off India will be hard to beat. The bowlers have a less solid look to them. Sharma, Pathan, RP Singh and Kumar will be complemented by the spin of Harbhajan and Ojha, but the key may be the form of Zaheer Khan. Zaheermissed the later part of the IPL with a shoulder njury. India’s success may depend on how quickly he recovers his form back.

Australia go into this World Cup without the favourites tag that has accompanied them for much of the last 15 years. Their squad is solid if not spectacular, but would have benefited from the rest they forced on much of their IPL contingent. The Aussies will be looking to get their hands on the only ICC competition that isn’t there’s right now. They will also be using the World Cup to get them off to a good start to their Ashes series. The dark horse tag, rather than favourite tag, may help the Aussies this time, although they have never been burdened by being favourites.

South Africa crashed out of the last edition with a loss to India in their last 2nd phase group game. It was their only loss in the competition and heir only poor performance. Smith’s men felt hard done by, given that 3 of the 4 semi final teams had lost more than them. They will be looking to get things right this time around, and maybe without the expectation of being hosts or favourites, may have more freedom to carry them forward. The balance of the squad is perhaps the best since South Africa returned to international cricket in 1992. Half the squad didn’t feature much in the IPL and should be well rested. Albie Morkel and Smith had poor showings with the bat last month and will be looking to fare better for their country then they did for their IPL teams. Yusuf Abdulla was the revelation of the first hald of the IPL, leading the wicket table at that stage, before being left out for the returning Brett Lee. He will look to carry on with that form, while at the same time showing the Kings 11 that they should have stuck with him. Abdulla, Albie Morkel, Kallis, Steyn and Parnell all offer swing, while Morne Morkel, with bounce and pace, and the spin twins of Botha and van der Merwe, make the attack a potent and balanced one. JP Duminy and AB de Villiers stared with the bat in the IPL and will be looking to carry that form. The squad boasts some of the best fielders in the world, and carries no real weakness. Solid batting, big hitting, depth, pace, swing, bounce, and spin. South Africa are looking good.

With England looking to make the most of home conditions, and momentum, following an easy convincing series win over the West Indies, and New Zealand always handy on the big stage, there are a fair amount of dark horses to watch out for. Pakistan have had very little cricket and havemuch to prove. The best outside bet however may be Sri Lanka. The seeding for the World Cup is based on the previous edition. This means that if all the top teams get through the opening phase, and they should have little trouble here, the big three favourites, India, Australia and South Africa willfind themselves in the same group, playing for 2 semi final places. Sri Lanka will be in the other group and should have an easy march trough to the semi’s. The batting lineup is a strong one, with Jayasuriya, Sangakkara, Dilshan and Jayawardene all able to adept to the needed situation, and in Murli and Malinga, they have two bowlers who won’t make any total look safe.

Sri Lanka will be hoping that the big three all batter and bruise each other, weakening themselves for a possible semi andfinal show down, while the big three will be hoping that a harder run in, and an easier one for Sri Lanka, will leave them better prepared.

The winners should come from those four. However little will be taken for granted, and with a World Cup crown up for grabs, all will be giving there all to get their hands on the crown. The shorter format leads to greater chances of upsets, so the slightest complacency will be punished. If the weather plays its part we should be treated to some great cricket, hopefully cricket worthy of being the main course to the IPL appetizer.

 

pic from cricinfo.com

India Crush Australia

India swept to their biggest ever run margin of victory in Tests as they beat the number one ranked team Australia by 320 runs. This thrashing was also Australia’s biggest loss since 1990 when the were beaten by the West Indies.

Australia had thus far survived the post Warne/Mcgrath/Gilchrist period without being tested too much. With claims, and hopes, that Australia would struggle without the legendary trio they have actually managed to get on with their tasks and continue winning, be it less brutally then before.

This weeks bruising defeat could tell a different story. Australia are defeated in a Test series very rarely. In this decade only defeats to India, in India a few years back, and the famous Ashes defeat to England in England come to mind. Australia almost immediately wiped away the memory of that Ashes defeat by trouncing England 5-0 18 months later. In any case even when Australia do lose a Test match, on that rare occasion when it does happen, it tends to be in a dead rubber after the series has already been won. This happens more than you’d think.

There are still two Tests left in the series, so Australia still have a chance to win or draw the series. But it is the manner of this defeat that will leave questions about the fallibility of the once mighty Australia. India rescued a draw in the first Test after Australia had been the better side. Many would have expected Australia to power on from there and sweep the series, with India folding as they had done before. But in the face of selection questions, over the aging legends of Indian cricket, India responded in brutal style. They batted brilliantly, in both innings, and restricted the Aussies to modest scores in their two innings, even turning down the option of having Pontings men follow on, as they instead went about setting a daunting target that was never going to be reached.

Indeed there was something very Australian in the Indian approach. The way they never allowed the opposition to recover from a bad first innings, and kept digging the hole deeper and deeper, until Australia had to lay down and give in. This was typified in the Indian second innings, when they batted at over 5 an over, scoring quickly and taking the game further and further away from Australia. Dhoni’s decision to capitalise on the brisk start by his star openers by coming in at three was inspired and full of intent.

India have a selection headache of their own going into the third Test. Kumble, who missed this match, will be fit again, but the  performance of MIshra, on debut, was one of the keys to the victory. Dropping him would be harsh. But the Test captain should play. It’s a hard selection issue and one that will have to be made bravely, with the series perhaps decided by that one selection.

What is paramount though, for India and world cricket, is for India to strike again and not allow Australia back into the series. A strong display is needed by India in the third Test, one that will ensure that the series is won before the final Test. World cricket will be behind India. The strength of Australian cricket will be tested in the two Tests to follow and they will not lay down and allow India to begin their dethroning without a fight.

We’re in for a battle. One that will be watched and enjoyed by all.

pic from cricinfo.com

India Need the “Fab Four” – for Now.

India begin their home Test series against Australia today. The series comes with its fair share of baggage, after the controversies and ill feeling between the two sides that dominated the Test series in Australia earlier this year, a series that Australia won 2-1, but will be remembered more for the public mud slinging that went with each game.

While this series presents India with a chance at revenge, an opportunity to set things right, and gives Australia the chance to show the world that they are still the best team around, with a general feeling that the once mighty baggy greens are a team there for the taking, with a host of retirements to their aging, but dominant team.

While talk has been dominated by references to the last series between the two sides the Indian team have had other media distractions to contend with. The naming of the squad brought about much debate about the inclusion of Ganguly and the “Fab Four” of Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Ganguly, in general. Ganguly’s form of late has not been great. The “Fab Four” have just shown glimpses of their past greatness in recent years and there has been wide spread call for their axing, and for a more youthful Test line up. After the failure of the ODI team in the last World Cup many of the older members of the team, including Dravid, Ganguly and Laxman, have been left out of the ODI and T20 teams, as the selectors have favoured youth.

There have even been whispers that a deal has been struck with some, if not all, of the four, where they will be given this series as one final hurrah, they will be picked no matter what their individual form, and then they will retire. Ganguly has thus far been the only one of the four to announce that he will indeed be retiring after this series.

Former England batsman, and now commentator and writer, Geoffrey Boycott has suggested that the time may be now for the Indian legends to say goodbye. He even went as far as to suggest that one of the reasons for them prolonging their careers may be for the endorsement deals that go a long with being an Indian cricketer. That may or may not be the case, but he does go to make some valid points, such as the fact that Tendulkar now seems to be injured more than he is fit, and that the foursome are not the once awesome force that they once were, and don’t make the impact that is needed by the team to win series. Perhaps the best point that Boycott makes however turns out to be one in favour of their inclusion. There are no better replacements.

It’s all well and good crying out for the inclusion of young blood, but what is the point if these new players aren’t good enough? Indian cricket is blessed with an abundance of potential stars, but are they ready for a Test series? More to the point, are they ready for a series against Australia? Without the baggage of the last series this would be a hard and testing series, as much about mental strength as it is about cricketing talent. With the goings on of the last series this just becomes more intense. It would be asking to much to take away the batting spine of the team over the last decade and throwing in some new players, based solely on domestic form, in what could be the hardest series they will ever play in. That just seems like a recipe for failure, and a potential stunting of careers that have yet to begin.

Ganguly, Dravid, Tendulkar and Laxman have nothing to prove to India or the cricket world. They all have great individual records, with Dravid and Tendulkar having exceptional records. Ganguly is also the most successful Indian captain of all time. Age does however catch up to us all. They can decide how and when they want to end their careers. Shaun Pollock called time on his when he was still at the top of his game and was given a heroes reception at each of his final games during the series against the West Indies. They can go down that path, or they can continue on until they are forced out. Ganguly perhaps saw the writing on the wall and decided this was the way he wanted to leave. A big performance in this series will ensure he leaves as a hero.

If this were a series against a weak team then perhaps it would be the time to begin a new chapter in Indian Test cricket, one without the “Fab Four” and the time to blood new talent would present itself. However against Australia, where the mind needs to be stronger than the body at times, India needs its old guard. What it needs the most though is for them is performance, domination, and a glimpse at the past. If only for one last time.

T20 Tri-Nations Series

Cricket South Africa announced that a Tri-nations T20 Series will be held next year, featuring South Africa, Australia and India.

T20 continues to be the fastest growing brand in the cricketing world, with more and more of the action packed, fast paced, form of the game being demanded by audiences, TV and sponsors, if not the players themselves. The business of sport has made this growth inevitable, even if purists see it as encroaching on the Test and 50 over cricket. But make no mistake, sport is a business, and in the end money will win, and T20 will continue its rapid growth. There was a time, perhaps in the amateur days, with cricket, and sport in general, was about competition and entertainment. Those aspects still exists, but these days there is the business of sport, and the business of entertainment, where huge amounts of money, especially in India with respect to cricket, will form the basis of choosing a direction for the sport. All of this means that next years already crowded international cricket schedule, one that includes a South Africa v Australia series, a South Africa v England series, an Ashes series, the T20 World Cup in England, the IPL, a Champions League for domestic T20 winners, and a date and perhaps venue for the postponed ICC Champions Trophy still to be found, will now need to make room for a T20 Tri nations Series.

The model for the series is yet to be finalised, but is thought to be similar to the Tri Nations Rugby series, featuring South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, where the three teams play each other both home and away. This years Tri Nations Rugby saw each team play 3 games at home and 3 away.

One potential problem that the series will have to overcome is the ICC’s regulations for international T20 games, which says that each country can only play 7 T20 matches a year.

In the end money will speak louder then those worried about over exposure and too much cricket, and the series should go ahead. The inclusion of India in the series means that incoming money will be at a maximum for a cricket series, and this will be the motivation to get the series the green light.

It has not yet been stated whether or not this is a planned annual series, like the rugby edition, but cricket fans should have more cricket to look forward to next year. T20 is expanding, and the entertainment should be growing too.

IPL Auction News

With the rebel ICLmaking more headlines this week, with a host of Bangladesh players, including ex captain Bashar, signing up or set to sign, and the ICL saying they are still awaiting news of their application to be recognised by the ICC, the IPL, the recognised T20 league in India, has announced news of the next set of team auctions.

Although not yet set in stone, the IPL governing body meets in October, the date for the players auction has been earmarked for January 29 next year. The IPL governing body will also discuss the option of increasing the salary cap for players, which currently stands at $5 million.

A new addition to the IPL players selection is the advent of a transfer window for the second year of the IPL.  There will be a one month window before the beginning of the competition where teams can trade players. This extra element to the new season is sure to create even more interest in the period leading up to the action, just as the transfer window does for soccer.

The semi final and final hosts will also be decided. As defending champions the Rajasthan Royals, lead by Shane Warne, will decide where the final will be held, while the losing finalists, the Chennai Super Kings, will choose who will host the semi finals.

Next years IPL will take place from the 10th of April until the 29th of May.

Champions League for Cricket

The cricket world is making full use of the popularity the game is now enjoying by announcing the conformation that a cricket champions league will take place this year. This follows hot on the heals of the world wide success and appeal that the IPL generated.

While soccer has enjoyed a champions league for a long time, with the best teams and best players from the European leagues taking part, and the prize the most sought after in club football, cricket has been slow to join the band wagon. No longer is this the case, and should the event prove to be as successful as hoped it will no doubt be here for the long term.

The event has been confirmed for either India or the Middle East, and should take place over 10 days, featuring 15 matches, in around about September/October this year. There will be a large cash prize for the winners, but teams finishing second, third and fourth will also be rewarded handsomely.

The competition will be made up of the domestic T20 finalists from England, Australia, India (the IPL) and South Africa. Englands T20 competition has just begun and only the two teams from their series are yet to be decided. The finalists there will join Western Australia and Victoria from Australia, the Rajasthan Royals and Channai Super Kings from India as well as the Dolphins and Titans from South Africa.

There are still some finer logistical points to work out, such as which team players who feature in more than one of the competing teams will turn out for. Albie Morkel for example is eligible for both the Titans and Channai and could have his county team Durham involved as well. The right thing would be for him to turn out for his home domestic team – the Titans, but because he is contracted as an overseas player for both Channai and Durham, they will lay claim to him as well. Money may talk louder than morals, as it often does, and don’t be surprised if Morkel is told to play for Channai over the Titans.

Should the competition prove to be a success than future series should involve teams from Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and the West Indies, bringing all Test playing nations into the loop. However with issues over lack of calender time to fit it in, it is likely that they may keep it small, meaning that perhaps only the champions of the domestic competitions and not both finalists will take part in a bigger event.

For now the news is a welcome one for domestic cricket and cricket in general.

Rajasthan Win First IPL

The Rajasathan Royals claimed the inaugural IPL with a close victory over the Chennai Super Kings in the final last night in Mumbai.

Set 164 for victory, Shane Warnes team, got there off the final ball with 3 wickets in hand, to give the team that finished top of the log victory in a game that both sides will feel was there’s for the taking at some stage or other.

In the end though the best team did win, the best team for the duration of the series, and not just on the night. It was Yusuf Pathan who was the man who made the difference, first with the ball when he picked up 3 wickets for 22 runs from his 4 overs and then crucially with the bat, scoring 56 from just 39 balls, with 4 sixes and 3 fours, before being brilliantly run out by Raina.

From a South African perspective, it was unfortunate that Graeme Smith missed the final due to injury, having had an outstanding series with the bat. In general the South Africans have disappointed during this first IPL, but the ones who have performed have done so with much credit, and in so doing where part of the teams in the final, with Albie Morkel and Ntini turning out for the Wessels coached Chennai Super Kings. Shaun Pollock and Mark Boucher were the other South African to perform during the series.

Ntini had a slow start to his IPL career, but when he got going he proved to be a real force with the ball for Chennai, forming one of the best opening bowling partnerships of the series with Gony. In the final Ntini was the most economical bowler in the match going for just 21 runs in his 4 overs, including a maiden. The highlight for him will have been his hat trick in the round robin series.

Morkel has had a fine all round series, contributing with both bat and ball, showing that he is a genuine all rounder, and set to be a star on the international stage. In the final he finished with 2/25 from his 4 overs and scored 16 of 13 balls with the bat, including 2 sixes. He ended just behind Gony as Channai’s second best wicket taker and made contributions throughout with the bat, with an innings of 71 in the round robin stage falling just shy of single handedly gaining Channai a victory. Morkels big hitting has made him a fan favourite in India, and he ended the series as the biggest six hitter, with a distance of 124m.

The inagrual IPL series has been a success and there is no doubt that the future looks bright for this format. Next season the South Africans will hope to make more of an impact all round, but for Smith, Morkel, Ntini, Pollock and Boucher, this was a job will done.

Where was Loots, Mumbai?

The Mumbai Indians failed to make the semi finals of the IPL, after a last ball fumble on Monday, and their season has come to an end. After a poor start, followed by a great run of form that saw them within striking distance of a semi final place, they limped out of the competition with some very poor fielding to blame more than anything else. They will now have time to look back at their campaign and answer some very tough questions, like why didn’t they make full use of the resources available to them? By this I mean why was Loots Bosman not used, not even for a single game?

While some may claim that perhaps Loots was an unknown to the Mumbai Indians staff, unknown to the degree that they were not fully aware of his capabilities, but this is a poor excuse. The number of Australian players who aren’t involved in the Australian team, players like Marsh, Thornely and Pomersbach to name a few, who have been bought and played by their teams shows that the homework done by the teams extends past international cricket and into domestic cricket of non Indian teams. So they should have been fully aware of what Loots had to offer. Failing that they had Shaun Pollock in the team and he would no doubt have informed them of the big hitting batsmans record in this form of the game.

In international T20 matches Bosman has played 3 matches, has an average of 38,5 and a strike rate of 135. Which shows that he is comfortable at the highest level in this form of the game. But its in the domestic Pro 20 Series that Bosman has really excelled. In 30 matches he averages 34,66 at a strike rate of 146,7 and is the only player in Pro 20 Series history to have scored a 100. He has been the top batsman in the competition basically from its inception and he is the type of swash buckling, big hitting, no fear, risk taking batsman that T20 cricket was made for.

Loots opens the batting and this may have hindered him with the likes of Tendulkar and Jayasuriya occupying those births it would have been hard to plead a case for Loots, but with Tendulkar missing the opening half of the series and Mumbai struggling, Bosman should have been given a chance at some stage. Even with Tendulkar in the team the nature and style of Bosmans batting means that he can bat anywhere in the top order, and would have been a far better bet then Dwayne Smith for one of the foreign player roles.

A batsman as destructive and experienced in T20 as Bosman was wasted at the Mumbai Indians and the people in India missed out on some very entertaining, explosive batting, and some good fielding. If Bosman returns next season lets hope the same mistakes aren’t made.

Adopt A Team

In an earlier post I wrote about the support for the IPL teams from outside India has tended to be cast towards the individual rather than actual teams, when I watch the Chennai Super Kings I tend to be indifferent as to whether or not they actual win or lose, but rather am just waiting for Albie Morkel to get into the action and hoping that he does well. While this sort of support has gained momentum throughout the cricket watching world, even in India i’m told, it does take something away from the actual enjoyment of supporting a team.

Whether or not your domestic team are challenging for the title, or languishing far behind, you support them through thick and thin, because they are your team, and that’s what supporting a team means. The individualistic approach may make sense but it does leave a certain empty feel to the whole process, with little emotion behind the results.

It is for this reason that I think all cricket watchers from outside India (and those in India who have not done so) should adopt an IPL team and make them their team, just as you would for an soccer team in England, Italy or Spain, when you don’t hail from that country.

We’re past half way in the round robin stage and are approaching the semi finals so we’ve all had time to get to know the various teams, their players, their approach, and various other aspects we may be interested in, such as the likes of Priety Zinta and Katrina Kaif being the faces of the Kings II Punjab and the Royal Challengers Bangalore. So chose a team and make them yours for the remainder of this series and future IPL series that are sure to come.

I have adopted the the Mumbai Indians as my team. Shaun Pollock has always been my hero and thus it is obvious that I would gravitate towards his team. The Mumbai Indians have, in my view, had the best team spirit in the IPL. They started off losing their first 4 games, have had their captain, and most expensive player, Tendulkar, out injured for the opening 7 games, then had Harbajan Singh banned for the rest of the tournament after their 2nd game, when he slapped Sreesanth. After all that has gone wrong Shaun Pollock took over as captain and has pulled the team together and they are not winning, having won 3 in a row. Even through the losses you could see that the players generally get along and enjoy each other. A lot of other teams have seen players gravitate towards who they are most comfortable with, the Australians stick together, the Sri Lankans and Pakistani’s and so on. When you watch the Mumbai Indians you see them as a team and this makes a huge difference. It probably helps that Shaun Pollock comes from Durban in South Africa, which has the highest density of Indians outside India, and he has managed to keep the spirit and teamwork high. When wickets fall and you see Pollock, Bravo, Jayasuriya, Uthappa and Nehra jumping on each other, you can see the joy and pleasure they feel. The older players have been great role models and points of reference and knowledge for the young Indian players in their squad.

With Tendulkar back they can only get stronger. Hopefully my Mumbai Indians will continue their winning way and get to the semi’s and then have every chance of winning. I’ll be supporting them all the way.

Individuals or Teams

The IPL has moved past the half way point of its round robin phase with each team beginning to play the other teams for a second time, and there is little doubt that the competition has thus far been a huge success.

The IPL does bring about a new twist on loyalties for those outside India. Generally a domestic competition does not hold much interest out side of its national borders. England may disagree with that statement but the truth is most people take a passing glance at county cricket scores every now and then just to check up on how certain players, usually from the county of the person checking, are doing. Most people outside England won’t be able to tell you who won last years various county cricket competitions. The IPL is a different monster. It’s domestic competition in that it comprises teams from various franchises in India, but it has gripped world attention, and garnered viewers and supporters from all over the cricket loving globe.

The twist for those not from India is in who do you support? In India you would support a team geographically or historically, just as you would your own domestic team, however what’s happening around the world during this IPL series is cricket watchers are supporting individuals rather than teams. When I watch an IPL game I take a keener interest in the South African players, and if one team has a South African representative and the other doesn’t then my team for that evening is the one with the South African. This sort of mixed support is happening all over the globe, in Australia, the West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and Zimbabwe - and maybe in England where there sole representative has finally arrived.

When people do pick a team to support (people from outside India, although maybe even people in India) they are once again doing so based on the individual rather than the team. Some on from Cape Town for example, who supports the Cape Cobras in the South African domestic competitions, may follow the Rajasthan Royals simply because Graeme Smith plays for them.

The individual is where loyalties are being formed in the IPL initially with the longer the competition goes on for new bonds developing between outside viewers and teams, with perhaps in a few years international viewers adopting teams as their teams.