While the Ashes will now dominate the thoughts of selectors and everyone else in England, at some point they need to review Twenty20 strategy, writes Richard Hobson in the Times.

The middle order clearly needs beefing up and Collingwood's role as nudger at No5 must be in jeopardy with Luke Wright, if he continues to open with Ravi Bopara, offering sup-port to the seam bowlers. England cannot afford to field a team with James Foster as high as No6 and Graeme Swann at 7, as they did two days ago. But it runs deeper than a tinker here or there. The underlying principle that Test players can adapt to any format must be re-evaluated.

In the Guardian Mike Selvey writes that Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower need to see where 50-over cricket fits in the scheme of things. Is it, despite the limited-overs format, closer to Test cricket than it is to Twenty20 cricket?

Before T20, of course, there was no such question, but since its inception, there has been the underlying feeling that T20 is an entity apart. Strauss maintaining the one-day captaincy is a manifestation of this. Were they to be innovative in their thinking, however, they might now want to take T20 as the blueprint and expand that to fit the 50-over game. Come at it from the opposite direction. It seems the natural thing to do because if England do not view it as such, you can bet your life that other teams will.

England were guilty of fudging their selections, writes Nasser Hussain in the Daily Mail.

I cannot see the logic in bringing Napier into the squad and not giving him a single chance to impress. Not even in a warm-up match. The consequence is that we have learned nothing about the man who has made his name in county cricket with his superb Twenty20 performances as a six-hitting batsman and bowler capable of bowling at 90mph. We simply do not know if he is capable of doing what he does for Essex with England.

Mike Atherton feels England's batting has shown no signs of improvement during the tournament but he is impressed by the bowling of Graeme Swann and the keeping of James Foster. He writes on skysports.com:

The current whisper doing the rounds is that if England play two spinners in the first Ashes Test at Cardiff, it is going to be Swann and Rashid. Time will tell if that is the case but if it is so, then it won't bode well for Monty Panesar's career plan because you'd have to think that there is more to come from Rashid. Similarly, James Foster is in the public eye now too. Everyone's talking about his glove-work and Matt Prior will be thinking 'I'm under pressure when I come back'. Foster's glove-work is exceptional - it has been for five years; every time I've watched him I've been of the mind that he is head-and-shoulders above every other wicketkeeper in English cricket behind the stumps.

England need to heed lessons for their Twenty20 future, especially with regard to their fielding and middle-order batting, Stephen Brenkley writes in the Independent.

June 16, 2009

India needs fixing, not crucifixion

Posted on 06/16/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Defending champions India failed to make it to the World Twenty20 semi-finals and the blame game has begun, with many questioning MS Dhoni's captaincy. Ayaz Memon writes in the Daily News & Analysis that the team needs some fixing, not crucifixion, for a quick recovery.

It is not that an entire set of quality young players has suddenly forgotten how to play, or that the Indian captain -- till yesterday regarded a whiz at man-management and understanding game situations -- has suddenly become a twit. That's a cop-out explanation. There is much that has gone wrong in this tournament but Twenty20 cricket, as we should know, can also be gloriously or agonisingly topsy-turvy as the IPL showed emphatically.

In his column in the Hindustan Times Sunil Gavaskar asks whether there is anyone better who can replace Dhoni? Dhoni is young and is still learning the trade, so he will get it wrong sometimes, he writes.

According to Bobili Vijay Kumar in the Times of India Dhoni is trying to temper his batting improve his defenses and evolve as a complete batsman and that is not working.

India have suffered due to his quiet ways in the middle, in at least two games. The dot balls have ensured that the team invariably fell short of a few runs. There are, no doubt, a few other reasons too: the absence of Sehwag, and his blistering starts at the top; the ineffectiveness of Ishant with the ball and even lack of cohesion within the team.

Twenty20 is for grown-ups

Posted on 06/16/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

	Audacious is the name of the game © Getty Images

Sunday's match between England and India was good enough to convert all but the most curmudgeonly of cricket's followers. With this tournament, and with this match in particular, Twenty20 has shown itself to be a game for grown-ups, writes Richard Williams in the Guardian.

As we saw when Broad and Ryan Sidebottom bowled the final two overs of the match knowing that 12 balls were all that stood between India and the 28 runs the defending champions needed to avoid elimination, Twenty20 is making stringent technical demands on its players. The classic requirement of a sound technique with bat or ball is no longer enough. Now, with every delivery carrying significance, the players need to be endlessly adaptable and audacious, inventing their responses to meet the demands of the moment.

The empty seats at the Lord's pavilion just highlight the snobbery of the MCC members, who still continue to believe Twenty20 is hit-and-giggle cricket, Tim de Lisle writes in the Times.

The game had everything - except a full house. The stands were packed, but on the white benches of the world-famous pavilion there were wide empty spaces. Usually on big-match days, MCC members have to get in early and bag a seat with a newspaper. On Sunday the newspaper could have had a seat of its own. MCC has 18,000 full members, all supposedly united by a love of cricket. Yet only a few hundred bothered to attend the biggest match so far in a vibrant tournament. What was going on? They can't all have been at evensong.

June 15, 2009

Kevin Pietersen drags hosts from the precipice

Posted on 06/15/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

The Times' Mike Atherton looks at England's crucial match against India at Lord's and says Kevin Pietersen has been a bellwether for their fortunes in the ICC World Twenty20.

Some day, England will win a match in which Pietersen plays a minor part. At that point, once they have kicked their addiction to an over-reliance on him, we will know that they are a force in the one-day game.

In the Independent, Stephen Brenkley says Ryan Sidebottom earned redemption as improbably, nervously, deservedly, England defeated India by three runs.

Derek Pringle believes James Foster has been quick to seize his big opportunity in the tournament, and that his stumping of Yuvraj Singh will have done his Test credentials no harm. He writes in the Daily Telegraph that while Foster hasn't shone with the bat, England fans will be grateful that he persuaded England's selectors he could get useful Twenty20 runs.

June 14, 2009

Yuvraj tempers England's hopes against India

Posted on 06/14/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

India may have faltered against the West Indies, but Yuvraj Singh poses a grave threat to England's World Twenty20 hopes, says Steve James in the Daily Telegraph. In defeat on Friday night Yuvraj was sublime, and he rather likes England. There were those famous six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad in South Africa in 2007, England’s sole Twenty20 encounter with India.

Vic Marks writes in the Observer that England will be relying on Kevin Pietersen for runs against India, but the bowlers will also need to do their bit for victory.

Mendis: more than a nice little turner

Posted on 06/14/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

The mavericks of Sri Lanka are putting a unique stamp on Twenty20 with their endless capacity for reinvention, writes John Stern in the Sunday Times. Sri Lankan cricket seems to encourage invention and innovation to a point where it is almost unconventional to be conventional.

Ajantha Mendis' stats are frightening: 34 Test wickets at 23; 64 one-day wickets at 13; 16 Twenty20 international wickets at seven and 155 first-class wickets at 16. Strike-rates and economy-rates are all more than acceptable. In the age of the batsman, these are throwback numbers, the sort of figures one would expect from the days of uncovered pitches.

June 13, 2009

Media outburst at Sehwag a sign of the times

Posted on 06/13/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

The fiasco surrounding Virender Sehwag's injury and his absence from the World Twenty20, as embarassing as it proved for the Indian team, was further intensified by the manner in which it was dealt by sections of the Indian media, writes Pradeep Magazine in the Hindustan Times.

To lend the whole drama a theatrical touch has been Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s holier than thou attitude, where he parades the entire team and even the support staff in front of the media to prove that all is well with his world. He even has a skirmish with a TV reporter but such is his clout, power and popularity that no one dares to criticise him.

In the end, Sehwag has to not just contend with the fact that he may not be able to play cricket for a few months, but also deal with a very hostile media.

Twenty20's revolutionary skills rip up the rule book

Posted on 06/13/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

The Guardian's Mike Selvey is of the opinion that Twenty20 has found its place courtesy of phenomenal athleticism and invention. Since Twenty20 began as an ­English midsummer diversion, says Selvey, its rise has been little short of remarkable.Explosive hitting had started to permeate the game, but it was the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 that was a major landmark.

In the Independent Stephen Brenkley says England are ill-equipped to make a lasting impact in Twenty20 as India await.

If the players are not skilful enough – and they are not – what does that say about the original Twenty20 championship? The oldest and not the best. None of this will have much bearing on the Ashes but England have missed the opportunity to captivate a new audience. No heroes have been made so far and two of the so-called T20 specialists Rob Key and Graham Napier, have barely had a look in.

Richard Hobson writes in the Times that given the emphasis that England are placing on the value of IPL experience — or lack of it — the absence of Graham Napier so far is surprising.

Also in the Guardian, Paul Weaver questions Sachin Tendulkar and Graham Gooch about how special Ravi Bopara actually is. In Tendulkar's words, Bopara "has the talent to do something special" and Gooch, who spotted Bopara eight years ago at an indoor nets, says he has always been a bubbly character, a cocky, confident outgoing lad and that he is far from the finished product.

June 12, 2009

No Pietersen, no Plan B

Posted on 06/12/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

England's over-dependence on Kevin Pietersen is looking really unhealthy and the inconsistency is glaring. If the blasters at the top of the order fail, what next? The ammunition is thin on the ground and a collective headlessness sets in, writes Ian Chadband in the Telegraph. He takes the example of England's sorry effort against South Africa.

The theatre surrounding the man here was irresistible as usual. When Ravi Bopara went in the first over, it was almost a surprise to see Pietersen striding to the wicket. Striding? After hearing his own melodramatic versions recently of his injury woes, surely the mighty one would hobble out there on a Zimmer frame.

Still, as he is never slow in letting us know, he is a man who knows no fear and no pain. He’d played before with a damaged back, broken ribs, a broken hand; and, of course, many times with a broken team.

Why Pakistan should win the World Twenty20

Posted on 06/12/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

In the Times, Simon Wilde makes a strong case for either India or South Africa to lift the World Twenty20, but his heart goes out to a team which needs the trophy more than the rest - Pakistan. The traumatic events in Lahore and the isolation that followed will all be forgotten, at least temporarily, if they can perform against the odds.

It would be in keeping with their mercurial character if the Pakistanis now began to play with real magic. They have a good record at Twenty20 and are in much the easier Super Eight group. A semi-final spot is a genuine possibility - and then, who knows what?

Australia's surprise exit has proved that players who are very good in one form need not necessarily be as effective in another. There is a school of thought, and one that has some strength to it, that a good player will be good in any form, but looking at some of theAustralians, you wondered if they had made the adjustment, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express.

One of the things we learnt from the IPL was that great players in the traditional formats put a price on their wicket and consolidate when things go wrong when sadly, there is neither the time nor often a sound reason to consolidate. Maybe that is where a Ponting or a Hussey haven’t allowed the learning curve to set in. In the absence of Symonds, their best T20 batsman is probably David Hussey but he saw six others bat ahead of him.

June 11, 2009

World Twenty20 repeats the trick

Posted on 06/11/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Dave Tickner, in his blog on Cricket365.com, says the World Twenty20 has, so far, been an enormous hit except for the forgivable blips of the farcical opening ceremony and the ridiculously attired cheerleaders.

We're halfway through the tournament already with the excitement only set to rise over the second week as we race towards the business end of the event.

'Leave them wanting more' is a maxim rarely heard inside the ICC, but international Twenty20 cricket has been allowed to remain a rarity, a treat.

The tournament is the perfect length, and other international T20 contests are rare enough that the format retains novelty at this level and avoids the fate of 50-over cricket.

Dhoni's first major misstep

Posted on 06/11/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Vikas Singh, in his blog in the Times of India, says MS Dhoni's handling of the fiasco surrounding Virender Sehwag's injury represents his first major misstep as India's captain.

Why was the usually articulate captain so reluctant to comment about the fitness of his deputy and one of the team's proven match-winners? That remark only added to the impression that something was amiss. So several publications, including The Times of India, carried articles saying as much.

If that interpretation was incorrect, Dhoni simply had to issue a denial. It would certainly have been reported. Instead, he needlessly upped the ante by getting the entire Indian team to turn up at a press conference and proclaim its unity. That was certainly a dramatic statement to make. But the problem with such grandstanding is that if it backfires, it can leave its architect red-faced.

June 9, 2009

Rejoicing at Australia's exit

Posted on 06/09/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Kiwi blogger Paul Holden is relishing the early exit of the Australians from the World Twenty20. Read him on the Sideline Slogger blog.

There is a rare joy for a Kiwi in seeing the Australian cricket team get thumped twice in a matter of days. It may be perverse, it may be irrational, it may be hurtful, it may be immature, it may be un-Australian - but it does feel good to see the previously all-conquering Australians return to the pack of international cricket.

After crashing out four days into the tournament, Australia's most pressing task is uncovering the attractions of Leicester (where they are expected to spend the next couple of weeks), says David Hopps in the Guardian.

New tunes to keep crowd transfixed

Posted on 06/09/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Giles Smith is amazed at the speed with which a team's fortunes fluctuate in the World Twenty20, and at fans' "notoriously twitchy attention spans". In a hilarious tongue-in-cheek piece in the Times he wonders whether the organisers are concerned that the crowd's attention will slide because of the long national anthems before each match.

And how are they going to stop the audience at home visiting the fridge or deciding to throw it all in and go on YouTube instead? ... It's a genuine worry. Which is why we propose the composing, as soon as possible, of special, shorter format, Twenty20 versions of the anthems. Just a couple of bars from the verse and a chorus, say. Or (still more in keeping) just replace them all with another quick blast of James Brown's I Feel Good - get the job done and then on with the cricket. And then off with the cricket, as short a time as possible later. It makes sense

June 8, 2009

Are you England in disguise?

Posted on 06/08/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

In only one respect was England's victory over Pakistan fortunate and that was that England came up against the one team who had looked even rustier than themselves in the warm-up games, writes Mike Atherton in the Times.

Pakistan’s fielding was horrific and reflected a team short on cricket and confidence. Pakistan’s supporters drifted away long before the end, followed by the inevitable “Are you England in disguise?” As the Netherlands showed, anyone can win a Twenty20 match, and to the relief of the ECB and its marketing department, last night belonged emphatically to England.

Kevin Pietersen is the diva of cricket, Paul Weaver writes in the Guardian. It is not enough that he is respected; he demands to be loved too. He probably had it inserted in his recently drafted central contract. And how the crowd adored him here last night.

Pietersen has been bleeding lately and his blood has marked all our clothes. He has been bleeding since the start of the year, when the captaincy was torn from him. King Lear, who was mad, demanded love from his daughters; Pietersen, it seems, insists it is forthcoming from every­one and his performances feed from that affection.

June 7, 2009

Women in shorts, in the pavilion

Posted on 06/07/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

In the Observer, Will Buckley goes behind the scenes at the MCC at Lord's on the opening day of the World Twenty20.

After the naps were powered there was a sense of disappointment in the Library. "Which Royal have we got?" asked one Member. "The Duke of Kent," replied another. "Jesus." The aura of low key persisted when it was announced: "The opening ceremony has been abandoned for safety reasons." This drew a few groans, but I think a useful precedent has been set for 2012.

In the Library, meanwhile, a Member, who had earlier opened a grand window, decided to sing along to the National Anthem. He got as far as "Gracious Queen" before heavy stares forced him to desist. It was agreed that the Dutch effort was "lovely".

Cricket's continuing evolution

Posted on 06/07/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Tony Cozier, writing in the Stabroek News, while acknowledging that Twenty20 cricket remains the game of the present, says Test cricket's continued survival despite competition from different versions of the sport is an achievement in itself.

It all adds to the appeal of the sport but it is accompanied by a general concern over the impact of such rapid expansion on Test cricket, for 132 years the bedrock of the game.

There is widespread doubt that it can survive the counter-attraction of latest development to its long-held primacy. It is increasingly seen as an anachronism in an age that has no time for a leisurely pursuit extending to five days, six hours a day.

Much to celebrate in Twenty20

Posted on 06/07/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Neil Manthorp, writing on the Supersport website, says the cricketing public in England has taken to the World Twenty20 quite well, despite the frustrating weather and the home team's dismal loss in the tournament opener.

It was still only 11.00am, an hour after the scheduled start of the New Zealand-Scotland match, but Dads were grimly and determindly sipping their first pint of beer - duty called. The difference to most such occasions was that their children were with them. There were children everywhere, completely unburdened by the weather and unperturbably thrilled by the prospect of seeing international cricket - at some point - while they sat cross-legged under the rafters munching the cheese and pickle sandwiches packed for two hours later.

Lose to Pakistan, lose to Eskimos

Posted on 06/07/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

English cricket has plumbed some pretty low depths in its time but defeat by Pakistan would surely set a new level of ignominy that may not be beaten until the Afghans, or Eskimos, visit Lord’s, writes Simon Wilde in Sunday Times.

Pakistan have been deprived of so much cricket of late because of the security crisis surrounding their country and they are simply grateful to be back in the thick of the action again. They are also rebuilding their side and possess some gifted teenagers who won’t die wondering. Twenty20 cricket is for daredevils and risk-taking isn’t in the Anglo-Saxon genes. Without Kevin Pietersen and Graeme Swann, England played a cautious game, while the Dutch were bold and brave.

June 6, 2009

Beaten by total cricket

Posted on 06/06/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

	Stuart Braod should tell himself that in the final moments of England's humiliation, he did nothing wrong © Getty Images

The Dutch victory, which came as England’s fielding completely disintegrated under pressure, was one of the biggest upsets in one-day cricketing history, writes Mike Atherton in the Times.

Where did it all go wrong for England last night? Questions must be asked initially about team selection. With Kevin Pietersen unavailable through injury, the selectors had the perfect opportunity to stiffen an already thin bowling line-up and substitute Pietersen’s firepower by bringing in Graham Napier or Dimitri Mascarenhas. They did neither, replacing Pietersen with Robert Key, who after England’s bright start was demoted in the order and came in late on precisely when a big hitter was needed. Mascarenhas should have played.

Why was England's middle order replete with players possessing no power of stroke, asks David Hopps in the Guardian.

Broad will wonder how victory eluded England. He should tell himself that in the final moments of their humiliation, he did nothing wrong. His reliance on a round-the-wicket approach to the right-hander, slanting the ball across, worked like a dream. All that happened was that he did not get the breaks.

In the same paper, Mike Selvey writes that for Twenty20 the coaching manual has been torn asunder and a new one drawn up for the modern age that would have had The Don blanching.

True to their footballing cousins, the Dutch played total cricket, a brand that mixed equally the lusty slogs of the village blacksmith with subtler shots of the Pro cricketer, of which there are four in this side, writes Derek Pringle in the Telegraph.

The Netherlands have only 5,000 cricketers and that includes the women who play the game, so this was a massive humiliation for England despite Twenty20's ability to make fools of the favourites, and despite the last ball finish.

On cricinfo.com, Andrew Miller writes that England got exactly what they deserved as they dared to treat a global tournament as a side-show.

June 4, 2009

Five-nil England, unless it rains

Posted on 06/04/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Tomorrow at Lord's Paul Collingwood will lead England into the first match of the World Twenty20, a second coming for him in the role and one regained perhaps reluctantly and probably by default. This time around, he, if not his team, might just thrive, writes Mike Selvey in the Guardian.

It is almost certainly that brief time spent with the IPL in South Africa – rather than any overwhelming ambition or belief that, as he is over the trauma that affected his Test career, it is fine to resume the role that contributed to the trauma – which has convinced him that there would be no harm in leading the side again for what is a very limited period of time in any case. This will be more a working holiday than an encumbrance.

In the same paper Kevin Mitchell daydreams about how it would be if an England player gave as his prediction of the upcoming series with Australia, "Five-nil England – unless it rains".

It was Glenn McGrath's serial wind-up – with his own team replacing England of course – and it came painfully true in Australia in 2007, but I would back Ravi Bopara some time soon to mouth those cheeky words. Three Test centuries in a row did much for the Essex batsman's confidence, but they did even more for that of the selectors. They now believe in Bopara as much as he does himself. If he gets in the face of Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson – the only language they understand – anything is possible.

To Mike Atherton in the Times Dirk Nannes, who will spearhead Netherlands' attack in the World Twenty20, is something of a throwback to a time when sport could accommodate men with a varied hinterland, who were not prepared to be suffocated by the blinkered demands of professionalism.

Now it would be impossible for a precociously talented schoolboy to play two leading sports at the highest level because they are funnelled down a specialist path sooner than ever before. Football academies suck in the most talented at 9 years old and spit most out at 16. Cricket is a 12-month option for the brightest and best schoolboys. Eating, drinking and sleeping cricket is the order of the day at academies, which excludes those who would rather dabble at other things for a while, or indeed the late developers.

June 3, 2009

When will luck favour England?

Posted on 06/03/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Lawrence Booth, in his blog The Spin in the Guardian, tries to figure out why England have faltered in limited-overs cricket since the early 90's.

For the rest of the time since England reached the last of their three World Cup finals 17 years ago, their one-day form in global competitions has veered from laughable to execrable with a bit of abominable thrown in for good measure. No playwright could have combined comedy, tragedy and farce more seamlessly.

Paul Weaver, also writing in the Guardian, spells out some of the reasons for Robert Key's selection in England's World Twenty20 squad, despite the batsman not being in the best touch.

He was always popular in the dressing room, especially with Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison, which may not have met with the former coach Duncan Fletcher's complete approval, and he had a nous for the game. Indeed, essentially a championship player, he reinvented himself as a batsman when he became captain of Kent in 2006 to embrace changes within the game.

Meanwhile, Nitin Naik, writing in the Times of India, feels the World Twenty20 offers an excellent opportunity for cricket to regain its popularity in England after the euphoria of the Ashes win in 2005 faded significantly.

June 1, 2009

World Twenty20 won't excite like IPL

Posted on 06/01/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

The IPL has a set a benchmark for entertaining cricket and according to Amrit Mathur in the Hindustan Times, the World Twenty20 is unlikely to match its buzz and hype.

There is no denying that the World Cup is a major event which features the best talent. But it also has sub-standard teams and mediocre players who drag down quality. Ireland versus Bangladesh might be attractive for the ICC but for a fan it is enough reason to reach for the TV remote and switch channels. The reason for the IPL's stunning success is that it produces top quality cricket, and is intensely competitive. The Kolkata Knight Riders may not have finished at the top but,on any given day, are capable of defeating the other seven sides and are stronger than half a dozen teams in the World Cup.

May 31, 2009

List of 20 for Twenty20

Posted on 05/31/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Dylan Cleaver in the New Zealand Herald provides 20 things to look out for at this year's World Twenty20 for all those who pretend they're not interested.

Chris Gayle

Now he's declared his love for T20, the Coolest Man on the Planet would do well to spread that amore. No better player to watch when the muse strikes.

Covers

It is, after all, being played in England, in June.

Ross Taylor

Despite being criminally ignored by Bangalore until the later rounds, he emerged as one of the more explosive batsmen going around - but we knew that anyway.

A successful event following damp squibs

Posted on 05/31/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

The recent predecessors to the World Twenty20 in England were the World Cup in 1999 and the Champions Trophy in 2004 - both damp squibs.There is genuine reason to believe that this time the organisers will get it right and that they will produce a competition which is engaging, entertaining and of its era: part sport, part showbiz, writes Stephen Brenkley in the Independent on Sunday.

Instead of muddling through, they hired Steve Elworthy as tournament director, after his success in a similar role at the World Twenty20 in South Africa two years ago. He intends to get things right from the start. There is no opening ceremony of the shabby kind which got the event a decade ago off to a laughable start from which it never recovered. There will be an opening presentation, short, sharp, spectacular in a low-key fashion. Elworthy cannot guarantee two things which would help in making this World Twenty20 successful: the weather and a decent run by the host nation. With the usual caveats, it seems the first of those wishes will be met and that the sun will indeed shine. The second is much trickier, although at least England have two chances. For the first time in any major team sport, a men's championship is being run alongside that for women. While England's men have been undergoing their usual rollercoaster ride and have been careering towards the ground in Twenty20, the women's team have taken all before them. As world champions in the 50-over format, they have a copper-bottomed chance of further triumph. If England perform as well as expected, they will make a breakthrough into the public consciousness never seen before.

The Observer's Andy Bull writes that the World Twenty20 will be a test of the public's continuing hunger for the game.

There are no £1.50 tickets this time, with prices for the final as high as £90. Still, the matches are being staged in pairs, back-to-back, so if anyone does get momentarily bored, it's no worry. Another match, another six, another wicket will be along soon enough.

Fatigue not an issue with Indian T20 team

Posted on 05/31/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

There is some concern that the IPL would have left the Indian players jaded but the team will have a fairly easy time after the World Twenty20, and will be keen to give it their best. Sunil Gavaskar in the Hindustan Times believes fatigue shouldn’t be a worry for India in the tournament beginning on Friday in England.

He also goes on to talk about plugging the loopholes which ensure a player can turn out for another country after he finds there's no place for him in the national squad despite good performances.

The challenge for India this time is bigger, if not tougher. Lalchand Rajput, who was coach during the triumph at the inaugural World Twenty20 recalls his strategy and planning - in particular, the K.I.S.S. formula - Keep It Super Simple, in the Times of India. His message was: Don’t complicate things and take each game at a time.

...We were riding on the disaster of the West Indies World Cup, so I told the boys that a win would be special.

I gave the example of Edmund Hillary. ‘He was the first to climb the Everest but even today he is remembered first despite many others having scaled the peak. Try to achieve a similar feat, and if you believe, you will’ I told the boys.

May 29, 2009

India have the right mix

Posted on 05/29/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

Defending champions India seem to be favourites for the World Twenty20 in England and Harsha Bhogle feels though the tag can be a poisoned chalice, India do seem to possess the right kind of players. He writes in the Indian Express:

The ideal way to go about it is to have five batsmen, a keeper and a batting all-rounder in the top 7. If there is a second batting all-rounder in that mix, it is even better. No 8 must necessarily be a bowling all-rounder and of the three bowlers, one should be able to bat. India’s top seven are well served on this parameter with Sehwag, Gambhir, Raina, Yuvraj, Rohit Sharma, Dhoni and Yusuf Pathan. Irfan Pathan must be No 8 and with Harbhajan likely to get in, the batting looks like it has enough to counter most situations.

May 24, 2009

New Zealand upbeat ahead of World Twenty20

Posted on 05/24/2009 in ICC World Twenty20

New Zealand's players may not exactly have been on top form during the IPL, but Dylan Cleaver thinks there's cause for optimism ahead of the World Twenty20 next month. He writes in the New Zealand Herald:

Because the shorter the format, the more even the competition ... Because McCullum, undoubtedly New Zealand's key player, rediscovered his form after weeks of futility. Because Dan Vettori will give you four overs of quality spin. And because Ross Taylor can bat with a strike rate of 200 when the muse strikes.

September 29, 2007

The psychological impact of a batting onslaught

Posted on 09/29/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

	Stuart Broad and Yuvraj Singh laugh it off after batsman hit bowler for six sixes in an over © Getty Images

Stuart Broad recently joined the list of bowlers who were hit for six sixes in an over when he was taken apart by Yuvraj Singh in the Super Eights stage of the ICC World Twenty20. The Times of India’s Avijit Ghosh analyses the psychological impact of being on the receiving end of such an onslaught.

London-based sports psychologist Victor Thompson explains. "The main risk is that the bowler will interpret the sixes as evidence that he has failed as a bowler," he says. According to the sports psychologist, a bowler should focus on the challenge and not the threat of the situation to prevent from crumbling psychologically.

"He should analyse his delivery and look for ways to test and beat the batsman. He must keep his body language confident and positive: upright, purposeful, chest high. He should also recall similar situations before where he has had success and shown grit against a challenging batsman. Other techniques can also help but these can give most bowlers a boost," Thompson says in an email interview.

Florida-based performance psychologist John F Murray compares the event to a pitcher getting hammered in baseball. "The effect depends entirely on a player’s experience, self-confidence, maturity and resilience. If a player is high in these factors then catastrophic failure has little effect and the player usually recovers well and may even return with increased confidence and focus," he says.

September 26, 2007

The impact of the Twenty20 win

Posted on 09/26/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

	The future of Indian cricket belongs to cricketers with young and willing legs and arms and uncluttered minds © Getty Images

India's victory at the ICC World Twenty20 has prompted the country's national dailies to remark on the event in their editorials. Here is a collection of opinions:

The Hindu says that it is clear the future of Indian cricket belongs to cricketers with young and willing legs and arms and uncluttered minds. But it warns against the success being blown out of proportion.

There are two clear messages from South Africa for the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The first is that the time may be just right to consider easing out the old guard. The other is that the BCCI must not allow this Twenty20 triumph to lead to a slow cannibalisation of Test cricket.

The Times of India calls for a celebration of diversity that defines this young Indian side.

The Hindustan Times observes that the changing face of Indian cricket reflects a deeper social and political transformation that the country has gone through.

Most sociologists would see this as confirmation of the rise of small-town India: to the multi-storey malls in Rohtak, you can now add the residence of Joginder Sharma. This is the India for whom playing cricket is a vehicle of social mobility, of finally unshackling an oppressive system where the public school tie appeared to matter more than ability. With its uniquely meritocratic approach, cricket could do what few other fields of activity in this country provided: a chance to excel and be recognised, irrespective of one’s lineage.

But it cautions against vieweing cricketers as catalysts of social change.

Don’t forget the euphoria of the 1983 win was followed by the horrific anti-Sikh riots just a year later. 2007 may be a watershed moment in Indian cricket, but beyond the boundary life isn’t quite so smooth.

September 25, 2007

Twenty20 converts the sceptics

Posted on 09/25/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

Peter Roebuck began the tournament as a Twenty20 sceptic. Since then he has discovered that the format has much to offer, as he explains in the Age.

Arguably, Twenty20 is better in small doses but it has stated its case impressively and now must be part and parcel of the program. Apart from anything else, helped by a notably cheerful commentary team, it makes entertaining television.

Jon Pierik writes in the Herald Sun that the way India celebrated their triumph was proof Twenty20 matters.

There is no time to think, just do what comes naturally. Veteran commentator and former England batsman David Lloyd went as a far as describing the celebrations as unprecedented on a cricket field. This sheer delight in winning a tournament most people dismissed can only be a good thing for a sport that hasn't had much to cheer about recently.

Twenty20 is the flavour of the season

Posted on 09/25/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

	The competition has been packaged as any fast food should be: attractively presented for rapid consumption and instant gratification with no pretensions © Getty Images

After the end to an exciting inaugural World Twenty20, Mike Haysman – always a fan of the format – says it’s time for change in his article in SuperCricket.

The ICC can no longer ignore the popularity of the shortest form and needs to accommodate the wishes of their fanatical paying public. This injection is exactly what the game needs to rejuvenate the sport and whilst Test cricket needs to be protected and preserved, the relatively sluggish 50 over game can step aside and allow the new pretender centre stage.

Fazeer Mohammed, writing in the Trinidad and Tobago Express, seems to agree.

From the pulsating curtain-raiser at the Wanderers between South Africa and the West Indies to today's final matching India against Pakistan at the same venue, this tournament has spanned all of two weeks, including two rest days either side of Saturday's semi-finals. Compared to the attention-sapping two-month duration of the last two World Cup events - the International Cricket Council's flagship tournament - the competition has been packaged as any fast food should be: attractively presented for rapid consumption and instant gratification with no pretensions towards the proper nutrition that is needed to sustain the long-term health of the traditional form of the game.

A column in the Indian Express suggests that Twenty20 is not a dumbing down of the game.

Contrary to fears that cricket matches are becoming mindless slog-fests, T20 intensifies scrutiny of the game. Every delivery matters, every shot, every catch, every dive. With such little scope to make amends, freeloaders are caught out immediately.

Remember John Wright’s wry observation that the way limited-overs cricket was headed, any day now all eleven players would be picked for their batting. Most teams already go into ODIs with just four regular bowlers, even three. T20 has reversed that. The last fortnight in South Africa has shown that amongst well-matched teams the fifth bowler matters.

The new face of Indian cricket

Posted on 09/25/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

A new-look Indian team has emerged in the format that’s been a hit the world over, says Somini Sengupta in the New York Times.

Not only was the game different, but the team was unlike those past. Its members played fast and furious. They danced victoriously on the cricket pitch. At news conferences, they spoke Hinglish, a mongrel of Hindi and English that has become the lingua franca of the young small-town Indian.

Although Pakistan may have lost the final, Kamran Abbasi in the Dawn says it was cricket that was the winner at the Wanderers. He also feels that it's a great start for the newcomers at the helm of the Pakistan team.

There is no shame in this defeat even though it might be at the hands of Pakistan’s biggest rivals. Malik and Lawson have revived Pakistan as a force in world cricket. It is an era begun with energy, passion, discipline and much excitement.

September 21, 2007

Time to choke that awful losing habit

Posted on 09/21/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

"The South African cricket team are not a bunch of chokers. We know, because they tell us so," writes Michael Doman on Independent Online. "Yet on Thursday night in Durban they were rudely dumped out of the World Twenty20 by India when they buckled under the pressure of having to chase a victory target of 154 in 20 overs."

The other cry in the wake of South Africa's demise is: Where was Jacques Kallis when needed. Not selected in the squad... and in hindsight perhaps this was a mistake. The people are impatient for success. Yet remember that two of Saturday's semifinalists, India and Pakistan, did not make it past the first round of the 2007 World Cup.

The prodigal son

Posted on 09/21/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

	Rohit Sharma - Next in line © AFP

Rohit Sharma has been talked about for long in Mumbai cricket circles and it was only a matter of time before the whole country would sit up and take notice of him. After his match-winning 50 against South Africa which helped India advance to the semi-finals, his family spent a sleepless night, and they were hardly complaining. Read the full piece in Rediff.

The telephone would not stop ringing and the 15 people assembled in Dinesh Lad's room at Star Line building Gorai in the far suburbs of Mumbai couldn't believe that the boy next door had made it big.

Also read Sandeep Dwivedi's article in the Indian Express.

But Sharma’s friends keep it simple as they can’t stop speaking about last night’s ‘kadak’ knock. They speak fondly about Indian cricket’s newest star, who hasn’t changed a bit and still constantly keeps in touch with them. No doubt, Sharma groaned about his cell phone bill to a journalist recently and asked him to keep in touch through mail.

September 20, 2007

Vision Twenty20

Posted on 09/20/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

Soumya Bhattacharya writes in the Hindustan Times why Twenty20 doesn't seem like cricket to him.

It appears to be not so much a speeded-up, watered-down version of cricket, a sort of cricket-lite for dummies who are incapable of comprehending the complexities and subtleties of the greatest game in the world, but an utter impostor. It has whittled away at cricket’s essence; it has snuffed out its soul; it is unrecognisable as the game I adore.

No harm in big hits but the game's becoming a slogathon

Posted on 09/20/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

Big hits are nothing new, but in his column for the Guardian Mike Selvey says cricket's overdoing it a bit too much. Getting closer to the matter, Selvey's view is that new lightweight bats mean limited-overs cricket is in danger of turning into a predictable slogarama.

There is some phenomenal ball-striking taking place, the size of some of the boundaries notwithstanding. Before Yuvraj Singh's outrageous six sixes in an over off Stuart Broad yesterday, the longest hits so far, presumably measured by laser, have been belted by Pakistan's Misbah ul-Haq off Australia's Nathan Bracken, stunning 111-metre front foot drives both. These, and many of the numerous maximums hit this past week or so, have been the result of perfect striking and supreme confidence; six anywhere, anytime. The bats don't half help, though; these disposable lightweight lumps of willow, all volume and no density. It is these characteristics that still bother me.

Writing in the Hindu, Steve Waugh hopes Mahendra Singh Dhoni's appointment as ODI captain doesn't detract from India's task at hand - qualifying for the semi-finals of the ICC World Twenty20.

Waugh also feels the Australians are taking time to come to grips with the Twenty20 format, and seem to be caught between wanting to play the way they do in 50-over cricket and trying to innovate.

September 19, 2007

Aussies spinning into trouble

Posted on 09/19/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

Australia's insistence on using Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds as their spinners, rather than the specialist Brad Hogg, is hurting them significantly at the ICC World Twenty20, as Peter Roebuck explains in the Sydney Morning Herald.

As the Pakistanis rattled along, Adam Gilchrist must have wished he had Brad Hogg's more potent brew at his disposal. Arguably, Hogg's batting was also missed as the tailenders swished away like a drunken headmaster. Not that it was easy for the Australians to change a team that has been serving them well. Nevertheless, spin has been to the foremost in this Twenty20. As with the film industry, it is often written off but refuses to die. Not for the first time, Daniel Vettori has been as dangerous as any paceman.

Twenty20 is just not cricket

Posted on 09/19/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

	"Why, oh why, KP, couldn't you have kept your trap shut?" © Getty Images

Convincing as Twenty20 cricket has become, it would be dangerous for the game to lose sight of the advantages that are still clear in 50-over cricket, writes Mark Nicholas in the Daily Telegraph.

Twenty20 is exciting because it is condensed. It is the natural heir to the 40-over cricket that quickly established itself in the late Sixties as the "new black" – hip, fast, accessible and satisfying. Previously unseen audiences were as seduced then as they are now. Forty years on, it is obvious to everyone except the people who run the game in England day-to-day, that the 40-over format is a white elephant. In fact, it is more dangerous than that. It is an energy sapper, an injury-sucker and a diversion from the accepted formats that are played everywhere else in the world.

Nicholas also requests Kevin Pietersen to stop bleating and just get on with his game.

In the same publication, Mike Atherton says that Twenty20 cricket is a threat to the game's future. Atherton's view is that the appetite for Twenty20 is insatiable, and he's ready to lay a large wager that eventually 50-over cricket will be rendered extinct as a result.

James Lawton shares similar views in his column in the Independent.

Twenty20 is not cricket. It does not have growth, that sublime building of skill and concentration and timing which makes the Test game so ultimately intriguing – nor much of the declining, but sometimes still visible, fundamental qualities of the game which are offered down the food chain until, as in the crudest making of an omelette, the eggs are smashed in the version which is now having imposed upon it, in another money-grubbing lunge, the dignity of a world title.

In the process, cricket uses up its prime talent with the profligacy of a doomed punter chasing from one casino to another.

Over in the Times, David Fulton feels England's top sports stars are resorting to the blandest of platitudes. Fulton too criticises Pietersen's call to "humiliate" Australia by knocking them out of the World Twenty20 - which backfired spectacularly, by the way - and wonders how KP felt it would somehow serve as an act of revenge for the Ashes whitewash.

September 17, 2007

Maybe it's not so bad after all

Posted on 09/17/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

It has only taken a week for Peter Roebuck to soften his anti-Twenty20 stance. He explains in the Sydney Morning Herald that although he is not yet a convert, he now understands that some good can come from the shortest format of the game.

Above all, the tournament has maintained its momentum. Thankfully, the ICC learnt from the mistakes made in the last long-winded World Cup. Matches have been rattling along so that interest has not wavered. Tickets have been cheap, $4 in the popular areas, and no attempt has been made to dampen spirits. To the contrary, music has been encouraged as well as silly costumes and amusing antics.

Robert Craddock, writing in the Courier-Mail, still has significant reservations.

I find it's like watching that old 1960s television show Combat (with Vic Morrow) where people got shot up at the rate of 100 deaths per minute. Eventually you get to the stage where you go "Oh, another one, anything else happening?" It doesn't push my buttons but you simply have to accept that cricket needs it.

September 16, 2007

50-over cricket should start worrying

Posted on 09/16/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

With the ICC Twenty20 seemingly a hit with the spectators unlike the tedious World Cup in the Caribbean, Michael Atherton ponders the implications for 50-over cricket in The Sunday Telegraph. He says the announcement of the Champions League and the 25% increase in number of Twenty20 games in the next English county season are a portent of things to come.

The appetite for Twenty20 is insatiable. While all eyes have focused on South Africa, there were two developments elsewhere which suggest that eventually Twenty20 cricket could well become the dominant form of the game. I'd certainly lay a large wager that eventually 50-over cricket will be rendered extinct.

September 14, 2007

Rusty Aussies cost punters millions

Posted on 09/14/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

Australia were beaten by a younger, fitter, brighter Zimbabwe outfit on Wednesday, according to Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald.

The Aussies looked leaden. Not so long ago, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist dominated a World Cup campaign. Here, they lost their wickets to poorly executed back-foot shots. Having played practice matches on firmer pitches, none of the Australians timed the ball sweetly, especially off the back foot. Ponting himself played an awful shot, a slog sweep that merely made matters worse. Perhaps the Australians had watched the opening match and thought every ball had to be dispatched into the stands. Certainly the batsmen did not adjust their games to meet the conditions. None of the Australian batsmen played county cricket this winter, and it showed.

Australia’s players weren’t the only ones looking sheepish after the match. Adam Hamilton writes in the Herald Sun that punters around the world lost tens of millions of dollars because of the upset.

"When the Aussies got into $1.01 we still matched more than $400,000. That's the shortest odds possible," Betfair’s Hugh Taggart said. "What's even more staggering is that a further $2.8 million was matched at $1.02. It's safe to assume there's more interest in Twenty20 than we first thought."

September 13, 2007

Exciting, but still awful

Posted on 09/13/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Peter Roebuck says he can't be content with Twenty20 given the nature of the format.

Satisfaction was lacking. Twenty20 tolerates batting without consequence. It is a slogathon. None of the subtleties of the game were seen, the speculations in the stands, the mid-pitch debates. Everyone is a hitter.

Congratulations Zimbabwe

Posted on 09/13/2007 in Zimbabwe cricket

	© Getty Images

There’s not much to cheer in Zimbabwe these days, so you can forgive the state-run Herald newspaper, the only mainstream publication in the country, from going overboard after Zimbabwe’s stunning win against Australia. It was unsurprising that the match is the lead story on the front page.

One commentator noted that now everyone knew why the Australian national side was banned by its government from coming to Zimbabwe for a one-day international series this month.

Zimbabwe had won the hearts of the crowd for their commitment in all departments and it was no surprise that virtually everyone waited for their chance to congratulate the victorious players who went on a victory lap. The electronic scoreboard stayed with the message "Congratulations Zimbabwe" for the night.

Perhaps fortunately, the result came too late for today’s Australian papers, but tomorrow’s are unlikely to be too forgiving to Ricky Ponting’s side.

David Hopps in The Guardian notes:

It was also an embarrassing start for Tim Nielsen, Australia's new coach, whose side were 50-1 on favourites, but who looked unprepared both physically and mentally. They had practiced on the featherbed pitches of Johannesburg and entirely failed to adapt to the more hostile conditions in Cape Town.

In The Daily Telegraph, Simon Briggs says it was down to preparation.

Beset by political troubles, Zimbabwe have suspended themselves voluntarily from Test cricket indefinitely. There are many within the sport who believe they should not be allowed to compete at all until the tyrant Robert Mugabe is deposed. But whatever the real-world backdrop, this team have clearly prepared themselves with great efficiency for this tournament. Their bowling was disciplined, and their batting cool-headed.

September 10, 2007

TV ads Twenty20 style

Posted on 09/10/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

In case you hadn't noticed, there's a World Cup going on. Well, there are two but on this site we'd better stick with the cricket one. So here's a link to the TV ads that have been publicising the campaign for the last four or five weeks in South Africa – and, just like the competition, they've been very well received by the public.

South Africans have also really taken to the domestic version, the Pro20, and our South African colleague Keith Lane tells us he's not seen an empty Wanderers for the four internationals played there.

Nearly time for kick-off, then, but in the meantime enjoy the ads.

September 9, 2007

Why we all love Twenty20

Posted on 09/09/2007 in ICC World Twenty20

	Expect a real carnival in South Africa this September © AFP

Now that all other international commitments have come to an end, all the teams can focus entirely on the ICC World Twenty20. Scyld Berry feels Twenty20 is going international for three reasons - Everybody wants to cash in; the timescale is ideal; and the shorter the game, the more likely a close result. He writes in the Sunday Telegraph

The first Twenty20 World Championship should be the most watchable 'global' cricket event for a decade. It can hardly fail to be. Recent World Cups have been dire because they have comprised far too many countries and therefore far too many mis-matches, while every Champions Trophy has proved a non-event. Such is the appeal that Tuesday's opening game between South Africa and West Indies and the final are sell-outs; and three-quarters of seats overall have been sold, albeit at knock-down prices, the lesson of the last World Cup having been learned.

Simon Wilde is of the same seniment as he previews the the tournament in the Times.

This event should be everything the one in the Caribbean was not – and therefore hasten the march towards 20-over cricket becoming the sport’s dominant short form. At 14 days long rather than 47, it will be blessedly concise.

Ticket prices have been slashed to bring back the masses who were so brutally cold-shouldered at the World Cup. With the most expensive seats for the final on September 24 costing £11 rather than £149, as was the case in Barbados in March, grounds should be full rather than three-quarters empty.

Also read Will Luke's piece on how Twenty20 cricket is true to its roots on cricinfo.com