LEE PAYNE

Category: World Twenty20

  • England are in a World Cup final – I urge you to watch it

    Football and cricket are my two favourite sports, but seeing as Dean Smith’s tactics are continuing to bore everyone at Carrow Road and a World Cup built by slaves is about to kick off in the desert it’s hard to get excited about the former at the moment. So cricket it is. Indeed, cricket is better than football and England are in a World Cup final!

    England captain Jos Buttler completes the demolition of India in the semi-finals

    The T20 World Cup – that is, the global tournament for the short and sweet 20-overs-per-side format of the game – started in Australia on 16th October. The first week saw Ireland, Namibia, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, the West Indies and Zimbabwe compete in two groups of four for four places in the next round. There were shocks – Nambia beat Sri Lanka (2014 winners) in the very first game and Scotland beat the West Indies. The West Indies were actually eliminated in this first round – the 2012 and 2016 champions were out before the tournament had really got going.

    Ireland, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe progressed to the Super 12 stage, where they were joined by Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa in two more groups of six. The top two in each group would go through to the semi-finals. Australia, the hosts and last year’s winners, were thrashed by New Zealand in their first game. Pakistan lost a thriller to arch-rivals India, then were beaten by Zimbabwe to leave them on the brink of going out.

    Australia won the World Cup last year but failed to get out of the group stage here

    The weather was a problem early on. The tournament was being played very early in the Australian spring, so rain caused issues in several games – Afghanistan’s two chances to play at the enormous, world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground were both washed out. South Africa would have beaten Zimbabwe had the rain not come down, a dropped point that would prove very costly indeed. The tasty clash between Australia and England did not see a ball bowled. England were stuttering in a run chase against Ireland before the weather forced an early ending, with the Irish earning a famous win on the Duckworth/Lewis/Stern method.

    New Zealand were the early form horses, but England beat them and then completed a nervy win over Sri Lanka to knock Australia out of their own competition and progress to the semi-finals. On the final day of the Super 12s, South Africa suffered a shock defeat to the Netherlands to open the door for the winner of the Bangladesh v Pakistan match to go through at their expense. That beneficiary was Pakistan, into the semi-finals when days before it looked like they were heading home.

    Pakistan are in the T20 World Cup final for the third time – they won it in 2009

    In the first semi-final, Pakistan fielded superbly and their captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan enjoyed their best opening partnership of the tournament to see off New Zealand. On Thursday, a feverish India-supporting crowd in Adelaide watched on in shock as England chased down 169 without losing a wicket and with four overs to spare. Jos Buttler’s team hit top gear at just the right time, thrashing the much-fancied Indians. It means the tournament is denied the glamorous, money-spinning grudge match of a final that India vs Pakistan would have been, but England and Pakistan deserve to be there. The two sides played out a thrilling seven-match T20 series a few weeks before the World Cup, with England winning 4-3, so hopes are high for an entertaining final and a worthy winner.

    Up to now, the entire tournament has been hidden behind the paywall of Sky Sports, but they have graciously done a deal with Channel 4 so that the final will be live for all to see on free-to-air television. If you’re not a cricket fan, I urge you to tune in – T20 is fast, exciting and England might just win a World Cup. And that’s not something that’s going to happen in Qatar.

    T20 World Cup 2022 – Final
    England v Pakistan
    Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia
    Sunday 13th November 2022, 8am GMT
    Channel 4

  • World Twenty20 2012 review: West Indies are the calypso kings

    The West Indies beat Sri Lanka by 36 runs in Colombo to take the 2012 World Twenty20 title.

    The West Indies are a side who for so long can be seen to be in great decline but always show the potential to pull off a shock. As it turned out, their triumph at the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka wasn’t so much of a shock as a well deserved victory for the best team in the tournament.

    Before the competition began, this blog picked Australia to be the champions, defeating the hosts Sri Lanka to win the tournament in Colombo. I was close – Australia lost to the West Indies in the semis, who went on to pip Sri Lanka to the title.

    It was a tournament that did struggle to get going with the very odd format of having three teams in each group. This meant that poor old Zimbabwe were out, having lost to both Sri Lanka and South Africa in the space of three days, before a lot of the teams had played their first game. This was simply a way to almost guarantee the top Test nations would progress and not be eliminated by an associate team pulling off an upset. Sadly, this meant there was a few dead games at the end of the group stages.

    The Super Eights were where the tournament got going – except for England. England didn’t really mount much of a defence to their title won in the Caribbean in 2010. Dogged by the ongoing saga surrounding Kevin Pietersen, they thrashed Afghanistan in their opener before being pummeled by India and beaten by the West Indies in a game that had Eoin Morgan – who scored 71 off 36 balls – been sent in earlier they would have won. Victory over New Zealand kept their hopes alive but their inability to play spin in subcontinental conditions meant they were knocked out after losing to Sri Lanka.

    The crowds tended to wait for the latter stages of the tournament before making an appearance – a lot of the early games were played in front of almost no one inside the grounds and that was with the cheapest ticket being just 14p. Yes, 14 pence. Their interest grew when the big guns took each other on and when the Asian sides were in action. There was a wonderful atmosphere at the Sri Lanka v Pakistan semi-final.

    The rain didn’t help either. The fact that this event was played in the rainy season in Sri Lanka left a few pundits wondering whether the ICC were here for the cricket or for the cash. At this time of year in that part of the world the rain tends to stay away until the evening – so what did the ICC do? Schedule the matches for the evenings of course. This meant the TV revenue could be maximised, but meant that more than one match was ruined by the weather – most notably Ireland were eliminated without getting a fair crack at the West Indies when the rain brought a premature end to the game and to their tournament.

    The West Indies have had internal struggles recently but no one can deny they have a frightening set-up for Twenty20 cricket. Chris Gayle, who is far more than just a slogger, showed his class by averaging 44 over the 7 matches he played, including a wonderful 75 not out carrying his bat in the semis against Australia. Marlon Samuels carried on his great form for 2012 – not least with 78 off 70 balls when his team were struggling in the final. They do tend to rely on the batsmen to build a massive total though – their bowling wasn’t the best and only spinner Narine was in the top 5 bowlers in the tournament.

    The World Twenty20 was a quick tournament for the game’s shortest format. It’s a bit of fun that isn’t taken too seriously, but means a lot to the players involved. For the West Indies supporters, who have had nothing to cheer since the ICC Champions Trophy victory of 2004, this will have come as welcome relief. We’ll do it all again in Bangladesh in two years’ time.

  • World Twenty20 2012 preview: who will lift the trophy in Sri Lanka?

    The World Twenty20 is the product of the modern era in cricket. T20 was launched in 2003 to boost attendances and interest levels in the English county game, but few could have expected the format to take over quite as much as it has. The first international match took place in 2005 – between Australia and New Zealand – and there are various domestic leagues that have been set up all over the world, most notably the Indian Premier League, which is as much about the money as it is about the cricket.

    In 2007, the first World Twenty20 was held, and was a breath of fresh air. The 50-over World Cup earlier in the year had been a disaster, with dead games, crowds muted by overzealous officials, farcical administration and a ridiculous six-week format. The World T20 in South Africa was completed in 13 days and won by India, a country that had previously been skeptical of this new idea. There were shocks. Bangladesh knocked out the West Indies in the group stage and the hosts fell in the Super Eight stage. We were treated to a showpiece final featuring old rivals India and Pakistan, and India won the trophy in the last over. There was no doubt that the World T20 would be a regular event from then on.

    The International Cricket Council decided that the World T20 should take place every two years, instead of the four years we often see between international tournaments. Twenty20 came home in 2009 with England playing host. There was plenty of drama here too. Ireland edged out Bangladesh to make it to the second round. England were beaten in the opening game by the Netherlands but recovered to make it through. Australia were dumped out at the first hurdle having lost both of their group games – the beginning of what was to be a miserable summer with the Ashes to be taken off them later on. The holders, India, lost all three of their Super Eight games. England lost to the West Indies in a rain-affected match to crash out at the Super Eights again. The final once again featured two Asian sides – this time it was Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Pakistan made up for their failure two years before by winning the final by eight wickets.

    Cricket is not the most organised of sports, and just ten months after Pakistan had won the World Twenty20 at Lord’s, the top cricketing nations were gathered in the Caribbean to do battle once more. This was a result of the need to correct the cricket calendar. The ICC Champions Trophy – “the mini World Cup” – had been postponed in 2008 because of security concerns in the host country of Pakistan and it was decided to make the 2010 event into the World T20, in order to create a two year gap between the 20 over and 50 over tournaments. This one will live long in the memory of supporters over here as it was won, perhaps surprisingly, by England. There were no particular shocks in the group stages, but the tournament was given a boost by the introduction to top level cricket of Afghanistan. Once again, India were defeated in all three of their Super Eight matches to be sent home, but there was a familiar line up in the final with old enemies England and Australia taking to the Barbados pitch. England won by seven wickets, to take their first ever ICC event.

    So, more than two years after England’s triumph in the Caribbean, the team are about to defend their title in the 2012 World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka. The format matches the 2010 edition. Who can we expect to flourish in this one?

    England will be looking to defend the title they won in the West Indies two years ago.

    Group A

    England: the champions, but not the favourites going in. It’s been a difficult summer for the England cricket team with the Kevin Pietersen saga, who was not selected in the squad on the back of the drama. That will be a loss but they do often seem to just get it right when it comes to Twenty20, and could pull off a surprise. I think semi-finals.

    India: need to get back on track in this tournament after poor showings in the last two. They will feel more at home in the Sri Lankan conditions, but I don’t think they’ve got enough to win the whole thing. For me, semi-finals.

    Afghanistan: much will be made of the remarkable achievement in just getting an Afghanistan team to the tournament with all the troubles the country has faced in the past decade, but they won’t be looking for sympathy. They will be aiming for an upset. I can’t see them getting one though, and so it has to be the group stages for them.

    Group B

    Australia: when they crashed out of the 2009 tournament having lost all their group games, captain Ricky Ponting made it sound as if the format was not at the forefront of Australia’s priorities. That changed in the West Indies, though, when they made the final. They’ve got plenty of power players and they could well go far. I think they might just make the final.

    West Indies: you never know what to expect from the West Indies. They are capable of brilliance but at the same time able to play some utterly dire cricket. To pull anything off here they’ll have to be on top form. Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard are capable of huge sixes, but the conditions might not favour them. Let’s see them make the Super Eights.

    Ireland: the Irish are the dominant force in associate level cricket, and have impressed in the last two 50-over World Cups, also making the Super Eights of the last World T20. Sadly I can’t see them getting out of this group, so it might just be group stages for the Blarney Army.

    Group C

    Sri Lanka: the hosts are pretty good at this form of the game and have that added advantage of playing in familiar conditions in familiar surrounding. The 2009 finalists will, in my opinion, join Australia in the final.

    South Africa: the new no.1 side in Test cricket, but have never quite excelled in Twenty20. They’ve got some great players but I don’t think they can be consistent enough to win here. It’s the Super Eights for the Proteas.

    Zimbabwe: after international exile Zimbabwe are slowly making their way towards a return to Test cricket, but they are in such a tough group here it is hard to see them doing anything. They’ll be gone in the group stages.

    Group D

    Pakistan: the winners in 2009 will enjoy the conditions in Sri Lanka. They do, however, always seem one game away from an embarrassment and I fear that could happen here. So it’s a Super Eights exit for me.

    New Zealand: a very good side, but always the bridesmaid never the bride in big tournaments. I think they’ll struggle with the Asian conditions and end up crashing out in the Super Eights.

    Bangladesh: the Bangladeshis might well fancy an upset against New Zealand, but I can’t see them getting out of this group. Group stages.

    According to my predictions, we’ll be seeing Sri Lanka play in a home final against Australia. It’s a real tough one to call. Home advantage can only count for so much and Australia have looked increasingly good in Twenty20 over the last year or so. I think I might just give Australia the nod to add the World Twenty20 to their collection of ICC trophies.

    As with the European football championships earlier this year, sport has a tournament that will hold interest and a format short enough to keep spectators wanting more. So what does the governing body do? Announce their intention to expand the tournament next time around to increase the number of dead group games and add to the number of thrashings handed out to inexperienced associate sides by Test playing giants. That’s right, the 2014 World Twenty20 in Bangladesh will feature 16 teams.

    The 2012 World Twenty20 starts on Tuesday 18th September.