Twenty20 WC

Don't read too much into this format of cricket.

I've said this before on here - Indian cricketers should decide if they want to be cricketers or actors. The selectors should warn the players of the consequences.
 
There's a lot of talk of England and Australia meeting head to head in the Final. A lot of talk. Then there's the outside possibility that Sri Lanka might just spring a surprise. And that's it.

Personally I can see England finally bottling it and Sri Lanka maybe just edging Australia to the Cup. The other two teams have been too sh*t-hot too soon. Sri Lanka were unlucky last year against Pakistan so this sense of injustice might prove to be the edge they need.
 
Dumpstar said:
There's a lot of talk of England and Australia meeting head to head in the Final. A lot of talk. Then there's the outside possibility that Sri Lanka might just spring a surprise. And that's it.

Personally I can see England finally bottling it and Sri Lanka maybe just edging Australia to the Cup. The other two teams have been too sh*t-hot too soon. Sri Lanka were unlucky last year against Pakistan so this sense of injustice might prove to be the edge they need.
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I think Pak has a decent chance against Aussies actually. The latter's batting have threatened to collapse at times this tournament but saved by one player in lower order. You lot have the bowling to actually finish the job.
 
Well this isn't going so badly, three top line batsmen gone.

Lots of energy in the field too, keeping the pressure on.
 
Didn't watch the first innings, but looks like an awesome job from England.
 
Gary Kirsten, India's coach, has come down hard on some of the Indian players' "fitness and commitment" after his side failed to win a single game in the Super Eights of the World Twenty20, a repeat performance from last year.

Before addressing the team and handing them a dressing-down in the West Indies, Kirsten had a one-on-one interaction with senior players - MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ashish Nehra. Team sources said that Kirsten told the group he was angry to see that even he - a 42-year-old - was fitter than some of the players. Yuvraj and Rohit Sharma got special mention with regards to fitness, the sources said. Kirsten demanded better fitness from the players and gave them one month to show results on that front.

Kirsten also said in the meeting that the players seemed content with the No. 1 ranking in Tests and the No. 2 in ODIs, and were not committed to the team cause in the World Twenty20. It is worth noting that only four of the 15 players present there are sure starters in Test matches: Dhoni, Gambhir, Harbhajan and Zaheer.

While it is not the first time that a coach has lashed out at a team, the timing and the harshness of this dressing-down suggest the severity of the problem, especially coming from a man usually content with the back seat. India's early exit from the World Twenty20, their third such effort in last three global events, has drawn harsh criticism from various quarters, but this coming from the coach is the most damning of all. After last year's debacle too, Kirsten had raised similar fitness and intensity questions. He had blamed IPL fatigue then.

His plea bore little result this year. After a six-week-long IPL, India got a five-day break before their first match in the world Twenty20. Yuvraj, coming back from a wrist injury, played all 14 of Kings XI Punjab's matches. Zaheer sat out of two of India's five matches in the World Twenty20. Zaheer, Gambhir and Nehra missed matches at various stages of the IPL, and Nehra was picked for India even before he had returned to full fitness for Delhi Daredevils.
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Spot on by Kirsten there. Yuvraj's attitude was shocking throughout the tournament, the selectors need to take a bold step and drop Yuvraj. Can't help but think Yuvraj is a waste of talent. With his talent, he should have confirmed his test spot long time ago
 
Dumpstar said:
There's a lot of talk of England and Australia meeting head to head in the Final. A lot of talk. Then there's the outside possibility that Sri Lanka might just spring a surprise. And that's it.

Personally I can see England finally bottling it and Sri Lanka maybe just edging Australia to the Cup. The other two teams have been too sh*t-hot too soon. Sri Lanka were unlucky last year against Pakistan so this sense of injustice might prove to be the edge they need.
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Eerily accurate prediction as usual, Dumpy.
 
Sri Lanka never really had a chance after that.. his predictions are like the kiss of death.
 
England were freaking awesome... hope we break our major international tournement virginity... ICC doesn't count.
 
Great job with bat and ball.

The key to the final (call me presumptuous, as Pakistan are still in the competition) will be not showing Australia any respect or fear. Lumb, Kieswetter, Kp et al have to get after the Aussies and slap it to the fence from the off. England have been impressive in the powerplays throughout the tournament, but let us remember that Australia are a different animal to the other teams England have played.

My fear is though that Broad could be very expensive. He is a giant who gets the extra bounce, but he tends to bang it in far too short and is easily dispatched.
 
Anderson needs to play instead of Bresnan or Broad in the final. He's quick and will get a lot of purchase off that wicket. But they won't make that change because it's a winning combination they have.
 
zing said:
Anderson needs to play instead of Bresnan or Broad in the final. He's quick and will get a lot of purchase off that wicket. But they won't make that change because it's a winning combination they have.
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Bresnan's too useful with the bat to drop him and Broad is probably our best, and certainly our quickest, bowler in the team. They should relly drop Sidebottom for Anderson but they seem reluctant because they insist on having a left armer in the attack, apparently to vary the line of attack or some such guff.
 
He's not 'too useful' with the bat, is he? He looked very mediocre in the 2 games I saw him play, but he did come out and score like 20 odd against NZ, didn't see that game..

If you need a batsman to win you the game playing at 7, I think you'd be in a dire position and would require a batsman of a much higher caliber than Bresnan. In terms of utility, I'd definitely choose Anderson over him. I really think Bresnan's an ordinary bowler.

There's a statistic up on cricinfo saying that a batsman at number 7 on average plays 10 balls per inning.
 
samabachan said:
They should relly drop Sidebottom for Anderson but they seem reluctant because they insist on having a left armer in the attack, apparently to vary the line of attack or some such guff.
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Don't underestimate the effectiveness of a left-armer. Just look at how Nannes and Johnson have performed in this tournament, not to mention Bollinger in the IPL as well. Yes, I'm talking us up. C'mon Aussie c'mon!
 
Fair play to England another good win, the only team that seems likely to stop them is Australia but this England team look the real deal
 
Australia will romp the Pakee's tonight. So that leaves Australia vs England...mmm who to support?

England. Lesser of the two evils. :angel:
 
Utd heap said:
Told you.

We'll smash the Aussies Sunday evening and waltz on with our plans for world domination.

:cool:
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Are you on a wind up or are you generally a tosser?
 
Umar Akmar is an outstanding talent
 
What a performance from the Akmals. Australia will have to go at some pace to pull this out.

191-6
 
zing said:
He's not 'too useful' with the bat, is he? He looked very mediocre in the 2 games I saw him play, but he did come out and score like 20 odd against NZ, didn't see that game..

If you need a batsman to win you the game playing at 7, I think you'd be in a dire position and would require a batsman of a much higher caliber than Bresnan. In terms of utility, I'd definitely choose Anderson over him. I really think Bresnan's an ordinary bowler.

There's a statistic up on cricinfo saying that a batsman at number 7 on average plays 10 balls per inning.
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He is capable of hitting boundaries and that's all that's really important - it is more than enough when the top/middle order are in such fine form. He's also a very tidy bowler in the style of Hoggard - not going to terrify the batsmen but consistently quick and accurate enough that it makes him difficult to get away (Sri Lanka game apart :rolleyes:)

JezChan said:
Don't underestimate the effectiveness of a left-armer. Just look at how Nannes and Johnson have performed in this tournament, not to mention Bollinger in the IPL as well.
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There is a difference between being a left armer and a good bowler. The former are all very good bowlers who happen to be lefties - Sidebottom does not fall into this category.
 
Wow, awesome performance from the Aussies to win that from the position they were in.
 
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