Tag Archives: T20

10 reasons T20 Champions League is a flop show!

During IPL, children stay indoors even during summer vacations and adults suddenly have a sick stomachs and skip going to work so they can catch a game in their city. Nothing like that is happening with T20 Champions League cricket. I thought I will write down 10 reasons why this tournament is a flop show!

  1. No Lalit Modi: Love him or hate him. He did create a buzz and is a marketting genius.
  2. South Africa as Venue: Okay why would someone host the tournament in a place which has just hosted the FIFA World Cup. I means seriously is anyone in South Africa interested in Wayamba Elevens play Bangalore Royal Challengers after they have hosted the greatest show on earth?
  3. South African players are in IPL teams: Imagine if Sachin Tendulkar showed up for Lancashire and played against Mumbai in Wankhede!!! I think South African fans feel the same when Kallis and Steyn show up wearing red for Bangalore Royal Challengers.
  4. Unknown teams: Wayamba Elevens, Central Districts, Lions. Never heard of these teams and probably will not once this tournament is over.
  5. Countries Missing: Domestic teams from England and Pakistan are missing. Traditionally they would have added some spice.
  6. No match fixing scandal: Lets be honest! Now a days for a tournament to be successful it needs a few match fixing allegations to fly around.
  7. No Star Power: No Preity Zinta or Shahrukh Khan tweeting sadly about their teams loss. No bollywood stars pretending to be cricketing gurus. That obviously gets some people interested in watching the matches.
  8. No Sreesanth: Lets be honest we all look at Sreesanth wondering if he would rub some cricketer the wrong way again and get slapped on the face on national television.
  9. Sounds too similar to its Football version: T2o is growing in popularity but seriously I think I will choose UEFA Champions League matches any day over Airtel Champions League. Messi’s 3 goals are much better than Pollards 9 sixes.
  10. Too much cricket: If Indian public watches any more cricket chances are the economy will collapse. So people are getting their priorities right and giving this tournament a miss and working for a change.

So these are the reasons Champions League cricket is a flop show. I am waiting for India vs Australia Test matches next month. Now that is truly a competition between champions.

What will a World cup win mean to each of the semi finalists?

Cricket is a game that always has romance behind it. Small teams beat big teams, reputations are lost and made and teams find themselves in the dumps and manage to rise up from the ashes to become champions. That what a cricket tournament is all about and this ICC T20 World Cup is the same. Here is a bit on the four semi finalists and their prospects and what might drive them to become champions.

Australia has won 4 world cup tournaments in the ODI format along with winning the Champions Trophy twice. They were ranked the no 1 in Test cricket for pretty much the last 15 years until recently when India and South Africa have started to outshine them. There is on silverware Australia has not won and that is the T20 World Cup trophy. So Australia would be desperate to win this time around when their side is probably the most complete and consistent running upto the semi finals.

England has been a surprise in this tournament. They always had talented players but always ended up losing tournaments. When it came to major ICC tournaments unlike Australia which has won almost everything England has a empty trophy cabinet. So this would be a fantastic chance for them to start winning something on the world stage.

Pakistan has had its cricket battered and injured. Sometimes by terrorists who fired bullets at visiting teams and at other times with their captain trying to bite the cricket ball. They are a group of rag tag team which play like champions one day and the next day play worse than a school team. Sometimes they play like both on the same day so they are unpredictable at best but they are defending champions and would love to show the world that they rule T20 cricket again.

Sri Lanka is a fine unit. If you think about their performances they featured in T20 World Cup final last year. They also were runners up in the ODI world cup in 2007. It is obviously talented and have probably the best T20 bowler in Malinga. They would love to win this World Cup and usher in a new era in Sri Lankan cricket like Ranatunga did way back in the late 90s when they won the World Cup.

So that finishes my views on what this T20 World Cup victory could mean to the four finalists. I have a feeling the Australia will end up winners in this edition. So who do you think will win the T20 World Cup?

13th May 2010 21.00 IST England vs Srilanka, Gros Islet – First Semi Final

14th May 2010 21.00 IST Australia vs Pakistan, Gros Islet – Second Semi Final

16th May 2010 21.00 IST Final – Georgetown

Dhoni goes from being Captain Cool to Captain Clueless

India has had a rich history of Batsmen who had wrists of steel and footwork fancier than a gazelle. But they have always had a problem facing short balling and always had a issue with unearthing good fast bowlers. India has always suffered when fast bowlers gave the batting order some chin music but off late India has had the Dravids and Tendulkars to deal with the short stuff and manage.

But the T20 World Cup does not feature these old guys and we have new young breed of batsman who instead of playing a straight forward drive end up playing the scoop. The performance of our batsman must have left MS Dhoni popularly nicknamed as Captain Cool as Captain Clueless.

The curious case of being clueless

MS Dhoni won the toss on two occasions and decided that the pitch had a bit in it for the fast bowlers and so decided to bowl first to get early breakthrough. So far so good, but then India had two pacemen, one spinner and 5 part times spinners.

So India ended up opening the bowling with Harbhajan Singh a spinner and used up his three overs with the new ball on a seaming wicket. So what followed against Australia and West Indies was pretty similar that part time spinners went for sixes and fours all the time and the only respite was when the batsmen thought of taking it easy.

Strangely Indias big win against South Africa came while batting first and that was when Indian batsmen played out the new ball and hammered the older one.

India is pretty much out of the T20 World Cup and will have to beat Sri Lanka and hope that Australia beat West Indies. Too many ifs and buts and frankly not so good for us fans who like a straight forward victory march.

Dhoni is not to be entirely blamed for the bad show as some of the fancied names like Murali Vijay, Y Pathan and R Jadega have hardly made their presence felt.

When Ravindra Jadega bats at number 9 and bowls only 2 overs as a part timer then we are playing with 10 and a half players instead of 11. But then I did warn you that it is Captain Clueless who is picking the team. 😛

Is Duckworth Lewis method unfair in T20 Cricket ?

The ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies has unraveled two new players. No they do not play for any team and don’t bat or bowl or field for that matter. They are not even controversial umpires. They are mathematicians who came up with the Duckworth-Lewis method of calculating target scores in case of rain shortened matches.

Image Link: Rediff

Duckworth-Lewis method is a statistical method which involved calculating progressive scores based of past scores in One Day Internationals along with using wickets in hand as a resource to score more runs later on in the innings.

Take for instance the match between England vs West Indies. England scored a fantastic score of 191/5 in 20 overs. In the second innings it rained and West Indies had to scored 60 runs of 6 overs. So instead of scoring almost over 9.5 runs an over for over 20 overs it left West Indies to score 10 runs an over for only 6 overs.

I think West Indies can count themselves lucky. I think the problem here is that in a T20 match giving wickets a lot of importance as a resource could be counter-productive unlike in ODIs.

For instance even if a team has lost 6 wickets in 15 overs and has scored 120 runs they can still put up 160-170 runs with the last 4 wickets. The last 4 wickets can be more effective in 5 overs of a T20 innings than a 12 overs of a 50 over match.

So do you think T20 cricket need a different way to calculate scores and chuck the Duckworth-Lewis method atleast in this format of the game. Do let me know through your comments.

It is back to catches and sixes at the T20 World Cup

I sat down to watch the first match in the T20 World Cup featuring Sri Lanka and New Zealand. I saw some boundaries and sixes being hit. There were a few catches too but the good news is that when someone dived and took a catch it was a ‘catch’ not a ‘Karbonn Kamaal Katch’ and neither were those big hits over the fences called ‘DLF Maximums’ they were simply called ‘Six’. IPL can truly be forgotten now, its time for International cricket all over again.

The T20 World Cup started off with a thrilling match. The venue was Georgetown, Guyana which is the only cricket ground on the South American continent. The match started of quite slowly reflecting the slow nature of the pitch in the middle. The Kiwis bowled a tight line but a brave and courageous innings by Mahela Jayawardene who scored 81 Runs of 51 balls. Sri Lanka ended up with a low but fighting total of 135/6.

Image credits: Cricinfo.com

New Zealand started of aggressively but were grounded and slowed down but continuously losing wickets. New Zealand finally needed 10 runs to win of the last over and Lasith Malinga was due to bowl. Nathan McCullum the brother of Brendon McCullum the super start T20 batsman decided to arrive to the part and scored of the runs with one ball to spare.

This way New Zealand pick up 2 points and will be expected to top the group as their next match is against Zimbabwe. Sri Lanka now play Zimbabwe and they have to win otherwise they are out of the World Cup. I doubt the Lankans will allow that to happen, but only two days ago Zimbabwe did beat Australia in a practice match.

After the New Zealand vs Sri Lanka match, West Indies squared off against Ireland. Ireland has great memories of winning against Pakistan during the World Cup in 2007. It also was played in the West Indies.

But any such hopes of Ireland were quite easily dashed of by a under strength West Indies who had Chris Gayle, Jerome Taylor and Suleiman Ben on the injured list. Dwayne Bravo led the West Indies and the Windies never really soared with the bat and managed only 138/9. But the West Indies bowling was far too good for Ireland and they were bowled out for a meager score of 68.

Darren Sammy from West Indies took 3 wickets an scored 30 runs and also took 4 catches. No prizes for guessing who was man of the match there.

Tomorrow India take of Afghanistan in St Lucia and Bangladesh take on Pakistan at the same venue.

India’s Afghan challenge will bring back memories of Caribbean disaster in 2007 World Cup

Remember the ICC World Cup in 2007 in the West Indies. India was places in a easy group with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Bermuda. India lost its opening games against the supposedly amateurish Bangladesh team and was knocked out of the World Cup within a week.

Tonight the T20 World Cup starts again in the West Indies and India start of their campaign against another supposedly amateurish team called Afghanistan. Yes, Afghanistan more known for war, bombs and violence has managed to put together a Cricket team and will take heart inspiration from Bangladesh’s upset win over India and try to emulate them.

Somethings that could worry India …

Afghanistan seems to have some decent fast bowlers who can trouble the batsman early on. Sometimes this works in a T20 format where some weak teams can cause havoc in 3-4 overs but not have the ability to match up for 50 over game.

India also has not made things easy they are not playing a single warm-up match. This could be a bit of a issue as the Indian team players were all playing in the IPL and are match fit, but they have not spent time together as a team in match situation. This they will try to figure out in their first game against Afghanistan.

So do you think India will be up for the Afghan challenge or will India get a little nervous? I am an optimist like any Indian cricket fan, so I think Afghanistan has no chance tomorrow against India. 😛


5 Lessons to learn from IPL for Test matches being watched by empty stadiums

There are many who think IPL is far too commercial and I have even heard comments that it is more about money than sports. Those are debates which will keep on being discussed but I went to see an IPL match in Mumbai Stadium recently and I was pleasantly surprised at how good the experience is for someone spending a lot of money to view a game from the stands.

Last time I visited a Test match I had a pretty rough time and spectator comfort was something I was pretty sure the organizers had never even considered. Worse part was I felt like a fool who went to watch a Test match in a near empty stadium.

#1. Buying Tickets

For buying tickets to a Test match you have to go through a great deal of trouble. Most times you have to know someone inside the Cricket Association to get decent seats or take a chance and by tickets. Compare the IPL scenario. Almost a month before the tournament started they put out advertisements and took the help of the internet to make booking tickets extremely accessible.

#2. Food and Beverage facilities

Food and beverages were readily available during an IPL match whereas during Test matches it if very difficult to manage to get decent drinking water. With a ban on carrying water inside the stadium watching a Test match for 6 hours without even water being available at times can be too much for a spectator.

#3. Public Announcements and Interactions

There were many public announcement and a lot of interaction by the security guards and ushers which made things very good for people especially older people. IPL organizers had music being played between overs and also during the breaks. Ofcourse it is fancy to criticize the use of cheerleaders during IPL matches but fact not many cover that interaction of the organizers with the crowd is at a great level.

#4. Selective Venues

IPL matches are played at selective venues only which allows the stadiums to spruce up without worrying if they will host another match. This would be the same if a venue like Brabourne in Mumbai and Kolkatta’s Eden Gardens were assured of a Test match every year. This would allow the local state association to plan for better facilities.

#5. Importance

IPL matches are given importance by various board dignitaries and officials. But when have we see the top honchos of the Board watch a full Test match or watch atleast a full day. If the board give’s a Test Match importance it will automatically take care of the four points I have written above.

So do you agree with me or not? Do let me know by dropping in your comments.

Who will win the ICC T20 World Cup?

The T20 World Cup tournament will start in a couple of days on 30th April and all the big boys of Cricket will try to go all out to win the coveted trophy. This is the third edition and India along with Pakistan have been the previous winners.

So who will win the trophy and become World T20 Champions?

I do not think it is fair to expect Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland to have any real possibilities to become T20 Champs. It might be a miracle to see anyone of these teams to come up to the Semi-Finals.

So that leaves us with 8 teams and here is a analysis of their strengths and weakness.

Australia

Probably one of the most talented teams with great fielding. Australia has not one only one type of International event and that is the T20 World Cup. Knowing the proud Aussies they would be desperate to win. Their weakness could be a lot of youngsters led by a slightly inexperienced captain in Micheal Clarke. But then again MS Dhoni did lead a very young and inexperienced to T20 glory in 2007.

Player to watch out: Doug Bollinger especially after his fantastic performance for IPL champions Chennai Super Kings.

England

I feel England takes limited overs cricket not too seriously and they probably take T20 format even less seriously which of course hampers their ability to win big tournaments. So I would be very suprised to see them win, but then the T20 experiment did begin in England and their county cricketers are quite familiar with the format.

Player to watch out: Kevin Peiterson was very good during the Bangalore Royal Challengers and considering the great batsman he is I wont be surprised he wants to conquer this format.

India

India will be strong contenders with probably the most experianced T20 side thanks to IPL. MS Dhoni continues to be a very good captain but it still is a little weak in the bowling department. India will worry about Yuvraj Singh’s form with the bat.

Player to watch out: Suresh Raina has really blossomed into a big match player and world class fielder. It would be interesting to see Raina do wonders to stake his claim for ODI and Test squads.

New Zealand

New Zealand have always been the dark horses with limited talent but a very professional side. Many of them were with the IPL teams. Their strengths are their professionalism and fielding.

Player to watch out: Brendon McCullum will always be that spark of genius the Kiwis need but seem to be lacking to truly be a champion side.

Pakistan

Pakistan will struggle to defend their title. I feel their side will be depleted after so many players being dropped. Afridi is the captain but even he has earned bad publicity for biting the cricket ball to tamper with it. Pakistan still has incredible talent with in all probability cause some upsets but I doubt will have the consistency to become champions.

Player to watch out: Umar Gul can be dangerous as he showed during last years tournament that a quick burst of wickets can be match winning almost always.

West Indies, Sri Lanka and South Africa

All teams are strong but I still feel they lack the finesse to become champions in the T20 format. South Africa has struggled in T20 almost always and most of their players except Kallis did not have a great IPL. Sri Lanka are probably still rebuilding and look the most promising amongst the three.

West Indies will be playing at home and will be a force to reckon with considering they will have the likes of Keiron Pollard and Chris Gayle.

So who do you think will win the ICC T20 World Cup? I think Australia just might but truly do want India to win it. 😛

Indian squad and ICC T20 World Cup league phase schedule

The Indian Premier League is over and it is back to international nation versus nation cricket. The T20 World Cup starts on the 30th of April 2010. Indian will be led by MS Dhoni who would be full of confidence after leading Chennai Super Kings to IPL glory.

Here are the Groups the teams have been divided into.

Group A Group B
Australia New Zealand
Pakistan Sri Lanka
Bangladesh Zimbabwe
Group C Group D
India West Indies
South Africa England
Afghanistan Ireland

Here is the match schedule for the league phase.

Fri April 30 22.30 IST New Zealand Vs Sri Lanka Guyana
Fri April 30 2.30 IST +1d West Indies Vs Ireland Guyana
Sat May 1 19.00 IST Afghanistan Vs India St Lucia
Sat May 1 23.00 IST Bangladesh Vs Pakistan St Lucia
Sun May 2 19.00 IST India Vs South Africa St Lucia
Sun May 2 23.00 IST Australia Vs Pakistan St Lucia
Mon May 3 19.00 IST Sri Lanka Vs Zimbabwe Guyana
Mon May 3 23.00 IST West Indies Vs England Guyana
Tue May 4 19.00 IST New Zealand Vs Zimbabwe Guyana
Tue May 4 23.00 IST England Vs Ireland Guyana
Wed May 5 19.00 IST Australia Vs Bangladesh Barbados
Wed May 5 23.00 IST Afghanistan Vs South Africa Barbados

All timings are Indian Standard Time.

Indian cricket squad for ICC T20 World Cup in West Indies

MS. Dhoni (capt) Gautam Gambhir (vice capt) Harbhajan Singh
Ravindra Jadeja Piyush Chawla Dinesh Karthik
Zaheer Khan Ashish Nehra Praveen Kumar
Yusuf Pathan Suresh Raina Rohit Sharma
Yuvraj Singh Vinay Kumar Murali Vijay*

*Murali Vijay has been included as replacement for V. Sehwag.

So are you looking forward to seeing countries play against countries again after the massive buzz of IPL? Do let me know by dropping in your comments.

Link: ICC T20 | Cricinfo

Is T20 really the future for Cricket?

India T20 Champions

T20 matches are back on after a very exciting Test series between India and Srilanka. The T20 match in Nagpur was sold out long before the match day.

This points to the phenomenal interest in T20 cricket. Make not mistake about this, I might find Test cricket as the ultimate in Cricket but I am a huge fan of the T20 format.

Why T20 is easier to sell?

The obvious answer to this is T20 is played in 3 hours compared to 7 hours it takes to play a ODI match. Test matches last for 5 days so the advantage of playing a 3 -hour match is quite apparent.

Also most sports marketing experts believe that T20 is an ideal vehicle for getting the sport accepted in US and European markets. The unavoidable 20 second break between every over is a dream come true for most advertisers.

T20 also have got people involved in Cricket who previously did not watch or follow the game much. A huge section of viewers (mainly women) who were not following Cricket previously were addicted to the game during IPL.

The pitfalls of T20…

I don’t want to talk about the pitfalls of T20 cricket from a cricketing point of view but more or less from a administrative point of view.

For instance the theory that T20 is ideal to spread the game in US and Europe sounds a little incredible to me. The game has lost popularity in South Africa, England and the West Indies. Instead of improving the numbers there, would it be sensible to build newer markets?

The United States has never really accepted a game other than soccer to some extent. Baseball, Basketball, American Football are essentially American sports with very little following outside America.

Finally there are many who followed the IPL but were not traditionally cricket fans. The question here is will they return in the next few years. IPL has also had tremendous coverage to their owners who either are movie stars themselves or hire movie stars as brand ambassadors. This works great for a while but is that going to be a model for long term success.

A good case of point is England where T20 cricket started. It brought in huge crowds initially and the interest in Cricket went up. 5 years down the line, England is still struggling to get crowds into stadiums. This points to the fact the T20 might provide entertainment but can it sustain an audience’s interest beyond a few years? Only time will tell.