I know many people on this forum don’t like T20 cricket but this is an event happening in Australia over the next 4 weeks so thought Id start a thread. There has already been an upset in the qualifying tournament with Namibia beating Sri Lanka, these things can happen in the shorter game.
As for the tournament proper which starts on Saturday, I think England look like they are a very good all round side. India and Pakistan can never be discounted and New Zealand are always competitive in these tournaments.
As for the defending champs, I think the Aussies will be lucky to make the semis at this stage. They have too many guys in the team who are being picked on their reputations and are not performing. FInch, Maxwell, Stoinis, Wade. It appears to me to be an old mates club with guys like Cam Green, Nathan Ellis, Josh Inglis and Josh Phillipe who have shown some real form at T20 level are not given a chance. Tim David has already played a few useful knocks and shown that he will be a handy finisher. When will the selectors realise that Steve Smith, whilst a great test and 50 over batsman is not suited to this format?
Anyway there will be some generational change after this tournament with Finch and Wade retiring.
The modern reality is this T20 format now finances the game , globally.And is the way for Cricket to break into non Cricket countrys.Its already the second highest rating sport on tv behind Soccer.
Sure CA made a mess of our Big Bash.And almost had Channel 7 sue them, for there mismanagement of the Men’s Big Bash Game.
Australia where more competitive in game 2+3 V England.With our best bowlers selected.We are still experiential in our squad.We where no chance last time and won.
Warners in great knick
Cummings is fantastic at this format
Zampa is a gun Leg Spinner in T20
Mitch Marsh is a freak
Stoinis and David are great batman .Marcus is also a good 6th bowler.
Wade doesn’t appear to be batting well ,bring in Alex Carey.
England look very balanced.
Nz always up thereI
ndia have injuries but will be competitive
With luck Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the West Indies will be dangerous.
South Africa are always the hardest to predict.Normally under perform in T20 and 50 over World Cups but win everything in between,thoes tournaments.
Interestingly GTR both Sri Lanka & West Indies have been knocked off by minnows (Namibia & Scotland respectively) in the qualifying stage.
I favour either India, England or NZ in this T20 WC.
Australia have picked a team of out of form veterans some in Finch, Wade, Maxwell who have gone on for too long!
BH I’m watching Ireland Vs Zimbabwe.Dont think either of these nations are good enough to play competitive Test Cricket.+Nambia and Scotland.There quiet decent at T20.
BH do have any thoughts on Tim David.Dont think he has the technical ability to play high level Red Ball Cricket.But a great story from Singapore/Big Bash/Australia T20.
It’s a sellout in 16 minutes.
India Vs Pakistan at the McG Saturday night.
Will be interesting to see how the team performs against New Zealand on Saturday. They lost 6 for 9 when they were comfortably chasing down Indias score. Only a warm up game but doesnt fill me with confidence that they are in the groove. At least Finch made a few runs but his dismissal triggered the collapse.
Meanwhile the upsets continue in the qualifying tournament with the Scots thrashing the West Indies.
Definitely the wrong attitude to take, but kinda hoping Aust don’t make the semi finals, can’t believe the stubbornness of the selectors here…Finch of course will make a score here and there, but geez his go slow approach piles pressure on the middle order…Smith is just not a T20 player, despite his batting prowess…don’t see Root anywhere near the Eng T20 side. Maxi is and always be hit n miss…sadly the latter of late…bowling wise the big 3 baggy blues will always be first choice on name alone…how Ellis isn’t in the starting 11 I will never know…fingers crossed he gets a run, to prove the selectors wrong.
In this format, there is only one side in it if a team wins the toss and bats well. I am unsure why the selectors are wasting the fast bowlers in an exhibition competition.
Holland need 100 of the last 10 overs V Sri Lanka.Hope they can do it for Ryan Campbell.Does look like a big ask against a first world cricket nation like Sri Lanka
Netherlands couldnt get over the line against Sri Lanka but they have been given a lifeline by the UAE who beat Namibia.
There has been some great cricket in the qualifying round including Scotland beating the West Indies and Irelands exciting run chase. Unfortunately the tournament proper threatens to literally turn into damp squib with the Australian game and the India v Pakistan encounter threatened by the rain band enveloping the eastern states on the weekend.
Where getting smacked by the Kiwis tonight.
Well deserved smacking as well…bowled poorly, batted poorly.. .too many passengers for such a format…no doubt the selectors will keep the faith for the next match on Tues…bridge too far I reckon with that negative run rate to make the semi’s…
Im not sure who is the more clueless at CA- the players, the selectors or Pat’s mate Ronald McDonald or a combination of all 3!
How many times have we told those clowns on here that you have to pick a completely new side for T20 cricket from the other forms and yet they still continue down the path of picking Smith, Cummins, Hazlewood etc whilst everyone bar the CA crew knows Fatty Finch, Wade, Stoinis, Starc, Maxwell, Warner are hopelessly out of form in this format but they still keep picking and playing them!
This T20WC has memories of that disastrous 1992 home World Cup written all over this for Australia and many will be quietly chuckling to themselves about it!
Well done to the Kiwis, they played the perfect T20 game, firstly in having the courage to drop a proven performer in Martin Guptill and selecting a young gun Finn Allen who had no fear of the Australian team and proceeded to smash them to all corners of the ground during the power play. This set the tone for the entire game and New Zealand kept their foot on the throat of Australia for the whole contest.
I think most Australian cricket supporters would not have been surprised with this result given the form line leading into the tournament. This was a team picked on reputation and past performance rather than current pedigree. A reward for the players who pulled off the unlikely victory in 2021 rather than a serious attempt to win this one.If they wanted to be in the hunt for back to back titles where was Nathan Ellis who is by far the best performed Australian bowler in T20 cricket in the past 12 months? Where was Ben Mcdermott who has been scoring runs for fun in the BBL in the last few years. Why was Josh Phillipe not put in the squad as a like for like after Inglis’s unfortunate injury? Just to rub this in he made 80 from 50 balls for WA yesterday. Where were Jhye Richardson and Jason Berendorff from the successful Scorchers outfit? I’m sure there are a few more I have forgotten
Instead we have a collection of has beens or out of form players trying to compete with teams who have actually evolved with the game. It smacks of arrogance and disrespect to the Kiwis who were delighted to throw it back in their faces.
Australias bowling and fielding was dreadful yesterday. Even Hazlewood and Zampa, who are normally tight were bowling pies. 200 was about 30 over par I reckon and after Australia lost a few early wickets, the instruction from the dugout should have been to try and bat out their 20 overs and get as close as possible to protect their run rate but lo and behold guys like Maxwell and David just kept playing unrealistic shots and what could have been just a 20- 30 run loss became a train wreck. You wonder if Ronald Mcdonald said anything to them about game awareness, super coach that he is apparently.
Australias remaining games are against Sri Lanka, England, Ireland and Afghanistan. They will probably(?) win 3 of those but I can’t see them beating England this time around and with their Net run rate that will be tournament over.
It is the worse credentialled batting line-up we have seen for a while, I am afraid. If they are going to play Smith, honestly, it would be better to open and tell him to bat the 20 overs.
90,246 fans just seen an amazing last ball finish at the McG.
There was kaos at the end and Pakistan Captain Babar had a meltdown. The vice Captain had to set the last over fields.
Virat Kohli came to the wicket at 3-30 odd after the disaster of the Powerplay.And played one of the best if not best T20 innings ever.The Indian Emperor has ice in his veins.Hes so cool under pressure.
Even for a dyed in the wool Test Cricket man like myself, that was an incredible T20 WC game last night between India & Pakistan at the MCG in front of 91,000 and probably a billion watching around the world.
To go down to the very last ball is all you can hope for as a neutral viewer.
Kohli turned back the clock with some of his hitting a combination of sublime timing and power!
BH the Victorian Government is trying to organize a India V Pakistan Test Match.Played on the McG as a neutral venue for both teams.So the talk is this morning.
Viewing audience was 1.5 Billion.That excludes villages in India and Pakistan who would listen on transistor radio.
[quote=“gtrxuone post=223261 userid=2215”]BH the Victorian Government is trying to organize a India V Pakistan Test Match.Played on the McG as a neutral venue for both teams.So the talk is this morning.
Viewing audience was 1.5 Billion.That excludes villages in India and Pakistan who would listen on transistor radio.
[/quote]
I am not surprised GTR.
If we in WA actually had a Premier, Sports Minister & Tourism Minister who had any clue on sport we should have jumped on the opportunity ourselves being in closer proximity to both India & Pakistan and being close to their timezone but alas we dont.
The likes of McGowan, Templeman & Cook have no idea how big of an opportunity they have missed there, in fact the Pakis & India play a double header here at Perth Stadium for the T20 WC soon but you wouldnt even know unless you were a cricket fan!
BH that why the Optus, Australia v Sri Lanka match starts at a strange time 7-30 our time,late for a Tuesday night..The telecast beams into India at 4 pm there time.