Incendiary T20 action

One of the most competitive and unpredictable global competitions commenced in Colombo yesterday with hosts, Sri Lanka, among the favourites, writes Abu George.

Cricket is a game where favourable and familiar home conditions can have a major impact, which means that Asian powerhouses India and Pakistan are also considered to be capable of lifting the trophy on October 7 at the Premadasa Stadium, despite the presence of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) two top-ranked sides, England and South Africa.

The ICC’s recently announced Cricketer of the Year Awards heavily featured Asian cricketers, with seven making its One-Day Team of the Year – the difference between this and the Test team reflecting the importance applied to one-day cricket by the boards of each country. However, while the presence of the 2012 winner, Kumar Sangakkara, on his home turf, should provide the vocal home support with an additional reason to cheer, these provide an indication only of form across the broad spectrum of international cricket.

The shortened and explosive T20 format ensures that a single stand-out performance can be the difference between two teams, meaning that, on their day, even the minnows cannot be discounted. Recent performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL) may serve as a better indicator!

It is a format in which a young unknown cricketer can make a name for himself with a stand-out performance. Ironically, the most lucrative reward for this would be a contract in the IPL! A great example of this would be the ICC’s T20 Performance of the Year Award, which was presented to South Africa’s Richard Levi for his 117 off just 51 deliveries in New Zealand.

In many sports the group stages are there to allow developing or less-wealthy nations the opportunity to gain experience, or revenue, from competition against better players. While this may also be true of the T20 World Cup, the capricious nature of matches means I would not be surprised to see a shock result in the first couple of weeks.

Group A pits the world number one and current title holders, England, against the pre-tournament favourites, India.

With two to qualify from a group of three teams, only defeat against Afghanistan is likely to spell an early exit. 

England’s preparation has been marred by the controversy surrounding Kevin Pietersen. His exclusion deprives England of the Player of the Tournament when they won two years ago.
 
In his absence and despite having eight players from their winning squad, they will rely heavily on youth. Jos Buttler recently showed his potential by taking 32 in one over off Parnell in their last match against South Africa with Hales, Bairstow and left arm spinner Danny Briggs expected to reproduce their county form.

India’s strength lies with their captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, whose tactical nous and position behind the stumps is an advantage, as proven when lifting the first T20 World Cup trophy. With the bat he has the ability to pace an innings and rotate the strike. He will be well-supported by Sehwag and the ICC One Day Cricketer of the Year, Virat Kohli.

They have the ability to pick a number of strong batsmen who also bowl a bit – it will be interesting to see whether this strategy will be successful.

The emotional return of Yuvraj Singh following his battle with cancer will draw much attention. While I hope he succeeds, I wonder whether he will have played enough cricket to be effective. A repeat of his six sixes in one over against Stuart Broad is unlikely!

After all the country has gone through, it is marvellous to see Afghanistan playing in the World Cup and I hope that they are competitive. The Netherlands beat England in 2009 and so their own opening match on Friday is no foregone conclusion.

The focus in Group B will be on Australia although, robbed of Michael Clark, they will depend on the Hussey brothers. Warner and Watson boast some of the best strike-rates in cricket and should achieve consistently high totals. However, doubt remains over their ability to play spin effectively while also lacking in this area with the ball. They have recalled the 41-year-old spinner, Brad Hogg and will depend on him greatly.

While Ireland have the ICC’s Associate Cricketer of the Year, George Dockrell and Paul Stirling the back-up spinner who can also bat, the main challenge will come from the West Indies. Their home wickets are far removed from the hard tracks that encouraged the most feared pace bowlers in the 1980s – Joel Garner and Michael ‘Whispering Death’ Holding. Nowadays, they are slower and dustier, which may be why so many of their side have succeeded in the IPL. 

Narine and Badree boast the unpredictability that keeps batsmen on their back foot and can slow the scoring rate while taking wickets.

In Chris Gayle (290) and Kieron Pollard (206) they have two men who have hit more sixes in this format of the game than anyone else. While they have quality and experience throughout the squad, much will depend on how much they want to win. Can they produce the consistency required to go the whole way?

Sri Lanka, in Group C, bizarrely, also lack some unpredictability in the bowling department. Malinga is no longer the force he once was and batsmen have had a chance to work out Mendis. The key player, with bat and ball, could be Tilakaratne Dilshan. Inventor of one of the most-used shots in T20, the Dilscoop, the home crowds will hope he gets Sri Lanka off to a good start. The ability to create opportunities is crucial to disrupting bowlers and hitting good scores. Strangely, they have only won three T20 internationals at home.

Their main opponents will be South Africa who have added more strength to their squad, allowing flexibility to alter their approach depending on the status of the game and ground.

De Villiers is one to rival Dhoni for captaincy skills while also being fearsome with the bat. In Jacques Kallis they possess the finest all-rounder in the game and Hashim Amla, while failing to possess the devastating power of others, is surely the most consistent batsman around at the moment.

In addition to the pace of Steyn they have the spin of Peterson and Duminy to provide variety.

The main question that hovers over South Africa is that of their ability to perform under pressure. Coach Gary Kirsten has experience of winning with India and provides the calm presence that should help them overcome their label ‘chokers’.

Making up the group are Zimbabwe. While they have been playing well recently they will do well to overcome either of these two.

The final group pits two of the more enigmatic sides against each other. Pakistan, winners of the second T20 final, will be favourites to top the group. Boom Boom Afridi has been more productive with the ball lately, although still has the power to terrorise opposition bowlers.

Saeed Ajmal, who mysteriously  turns the ball both ways, and Umar Gul, with his early reverse swing, mark Pakistan as one of the strongest bowling line-ups in the tournament.

Their weakness appears to be an over-reliance on ageing campaigners, such as Akmal and Malik, who have been more inconsistent in scoring runs.

New Zealand are boosted by the return of Daniel Vettori, although Ross Taylor retains the captaincy. Brendon McCullum boasts more runs in T20 internationals than anyone, although beyond him, Taylor and Martin Guptill, they have little to offer. 

The Black Caps appear to lack the variation in their bowling attack required to lift the trophy although, unlike the Proteas, they always manage a level of performance greater than the sum of their parts.

Bangladesh, in familiar conditions, are possibly the strongest of the minnows. Tamim Iqbal is a dangerous cricketer and Mohamad Ashraful would get into most world teams on merit, although they do not have the strength in depth to go far.

Abu’s prediction:

I expect the title to be lifted by an Asian team due to the conditions. Of these, India look the strongest. Away from the Asian contingent South Africa and the West Indies have strong, balanced squads, although success will depend on their ability to produce their best cricket consistently when under pressure. I would love to see the West Indies lift the trophy as I enjoy the way they play!

The Editor’s predictable prediction: England.