Twenty20 World Cup Thread

[butchering lee]

where do we put up threads about this tourny?

anyway - popped in to say lol @ oz v zim.

how's that for journalism.

[Vrock]

I'll sticky this thread and we can just use this one as the tournament thread.

Stuff of legends, Zimbabwe out-bowling Australia for a great vicotry. I think the decision not to play Brad Hogg will be one the Aussies will rue, especially if they don't get through.

[gibbs_fan]

LOL. Australia were totally outplayed. If only England can now put in a good performance on Friday and knowck the Aussies out. That will really make this tournament exciting. Come on England

[DomainK]

This thread started two days late. Only shows how interested we all are in T20

[DomainK]

Originally Posted by gibbs_fan

That will really make this tournament exciting. Come on England

That will give me a reason to love T20- Finally there will be a form of the game with a world champion other than Australia.

[acker]

Dont generally like to let 20/20 cricket influence selection decisions in other versions of the game.
But we really need to keep a close eye on Brad Haddin on non Australian pitches.
My personal veiw is that if it is not flat and slow like the SCG he struggles. I think Luke Ronchi is now breathing right down his neck for his spot in the side.

[greg]

I have watched a couple of games so far and the highlight is definitely Australia getting beaten by Zimbabwe

Gibbs and Gayle were superb,but some of the bowling on show has been pathetic.

I think England have a chance to win this competition as our players should know how to play the game as most sides don't have a clue how to bowl in this shorter game and the likes of Kirtley and Broad are very good at 20Twenty.Bring on the mighty Zimbabwe today.

[gibbs_fan]

Good points Greg. I think that you are right in saying that the team/s have no clue on bowling in twenty20. I think the team that learns to bowl the quickest will have a good chance. SA were rubbish. I do not even need to say anything about WI. They should have beaten SA easily after Gayles 117. Zimbabwe have shown that good fielding plays a good part in this format. So we can safely discard India, Pakistan and West Indies from being title contenders.

On the batting front, every team has power hitters and most teams bat down to number 9. It is the bowling that will make a difference and I quite fancy New Zealands attack. Sri lanka's attack is not too bad but had they not lost Murali, I would have them down as favourites. Spinners IMO wont make a difference in this competition (This is SA not India) although I dont think teams cannot afford not to play a spinner in Cape Town. Australia found this out the hard way. Australia and SA have powerful batting but their pace attacks are cannon fodder in twenty20.

I have not seen much of the Indian and English teams in this format so I cannot comment at the moment. England have the most experience in twenty20 so I hope they knock Australia out. Then all the teams will believe they have a chance and maybe then we will see some good cricket.

[Moss]

Good to see Zimbabwe's successful run chase yesterday, and Ponting's acknowledgement that they need to be less complacent.
Chris Gayle was let down by some poor fielding after his magnificent century, and if Bangladesh do well today, then the WIndies have got to be very annoyed with themselves.
Sadly for England, Zimbabwe have done us no favours. Australia always come back from defeat with all guns blazing.

[adamberry]

Originally Posted by gibbs_fan

Spinners IMO wont make a difference in this competition (This is SA not India) although I dont think teams cannot afford not to play a spinner in Cape Town.

I don't think it makes a difference where the tournament is being held, spin bowlers should play a reasonable big part. First and foremost, they're there to take the pace of the ball and make it difficult to hit out of the park. That's why, to most people's surprise, spin became a useful asset in Twenty20. A few dot balls here and there, and eventually the pressure will build on the batsman, causing him to hit out and probably get himself out.

That's why Australia missed a trick in not playing Hogg last night, relying instead on Symonds and Hodge's part-time offies.