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Australia will start as favourites at the Twenty20 World Cup which gets under way in South Africa on September 11.
The team from Down Under is keen to add this inaugural trophy to their vast collection and reaffirm their status as the best team in the world. The Aussies have chosen a near full strength side for the purpose.
The strong batting lineup is full of strokemakers who will thrive in the shortened version of the game. Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symonds will provide the big shots.
Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey will offer balance with their deft running between the wickets and clever strokeplay. The bowling is very strong too.
With Brett Lee back after injury and raring to go, the Australian attack gets an added dimension. Lee will open the bowling with Shaun Tate, who had a wonderful World Cup.
This means that Australia upfront will have an all out pace attack with both bowlers capable of speeds of over 150km per hour. With Stuart Clarke and all-rounder Shane Watson in support, and Brad Hogg offering spin option, Australia’s attack probably is the strongest in the tournament.
Most importantly, Australia’s ruthless approach will be the key to their success. Unlike most other teams, the Australians just need a slight chance to drive in the advantage.
Australia’s biggest challenge could possibly come from England. The Englishmen have been playing the Twenty20 format regularly and their players are adept at it.
England’s form in the 50-over variety has also improved dramatically recently and their performances against India will give them more confidence. England will rely on using their brains rather than brawn. They have only two big hitters in Kevin Pieterson and Andrew Flintoff. The rest will rely on playing around these two players.
England have picked Twenty20 experts like Jeremy Snape, Darren Maddy, James Kirtley and Vikram Solanki which will prove beneficial.
The bowling attack is based on medium fast bowlers who offer accuracy. But by choosing leg spinner Chris Scoffield, England have added much needed variety to the attack.
Scoffield is making an England comeback after years in the wilderness and his progress will be monitored closely. His batting has also improved and he is almost in the all-rounder category.
South Africa is another team who are well experienced in this format of the game. They have a Pro20 tournament which is doing well and the players are skilled in this form of the game.
But South Africa’s selections are already marred in controversy with the experienced Jacques Kallis and Andrew hall not finding a place in the team. Kallis has been vocal in his displeasure while Hall, probably harshly, decided to quit international cricket.
The squad has a good mixture of experience and youth. Many Twenty20 experts have found a place and in Albie Morkel and Justin Kemp, they have two players who can turn around a game at any given time.
Sri Lanka have taken a chance with some players of unknown quality in their lineup. But they still have Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara who are explosive hitters in one-day cricket.
The bowling will be lead by the experienced Chaminda Vaas and the exciting Lasith Malinga. Without spin ace Muthiah Muralitharan, the attack has been weakened considerably but this will provide a good platform for the other young spinners.
India have gone in with a young side which lacks the big names like Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. It seems that the Indian board is not serious about the tournament and India may well end up paying the price for this.
Pakistan have also dropped some big names for the tournament and this may work against them. Their hopes will rest on Shahid Afridi whose quickfire batting is well suited to the format.
The West Indies are on a high these days in limited overs cricket and they will hope to continue this streak in the Twenty20 variety.
New Zealand, as usual, will be a big challenger in the tournament. They have an experienced side and though Stephen Fleming is missing, their batting lineup is strong.
Bangladesh, Kenya, Scotland and Zimbabwe must ensure that they don’t end up as the whipping boys of the tournament.
In this very short version of the game, any team can be the winner if they play well on the day.
By Babu Kalyanpur
babu.kallianpur@tradearabia.net
