Race For The Twenty 20 Silverware

The race for the Twenty 20 silverware is on, the semi finals aren't far off, and we have a real dogfight, with many favourites of the tournament being knocked out just recently. Tournament favourites; and 2008 World Champions India were knocked out thanks to an upset at the hands of England, so now it has left four teams who can't really be separated from one another, and the fact that it is the shorter format of the game adds to the unpredictability of the whole situation.

With South Africa and Pakistan set to face one another in the first semi final clash at Trent Bridge, followed by Sri Lanka and West Indies at the Oval. There's no telling on who will be knocked out, or of course which side will be the one to hold up the T20 silverware.

South Africa have been tipped as favourites for the first clash, with Mark Boucher claiming that South Africa are prepared in all aspects of their game and they will be prepared, no matter what wicket they will be faced with. Pakistan on the other hand, have had an impressive tournament in terms of their bowlers getting on with the job and putting their hands up when the team has required some spark, Umar Gul in particular. There batsmen on the other hand, have not had the best tournament in the world by a long shot, if they are to make the final they will need to fire.

The West Indies have been impressive throughout this tournament, which all began with their thrashing of the Australians, and they have kept that form going in their recent matches, this semi final berth will surely put a smile on the face of the loyal West Indian fans, who have not had too much to smile about before this tournament. Sri Lanka will come out with all guns blazing; Jayasuriya has found form throughout this tournament and is still playing well despite almost hitting the landmark of turning 40 shortly. That has obviously not affected him on the field though, playing his natural game he has made a huge impact for his team at the top of the order alongside Dilshan, who has at times been breathtaking in the way he has played.

Whoever comes out on top will have to take all their chances; it should be a great end to the tournament.

Twenty 20 Big Bash International Stars Claims

The Australian domestic Twenty 20 fixture, "The KFC Big Bash", has been given the chance to gain more recognition and popularity. Cricket Australia recently announced that each state will be granted US $40 000 to purchase international players, to add to their squads. In addition, the states will be able to approach third party organizations in order to gain larger sums of money to but bigger name players for the tournament.

This decision can be looked at in two ways, firstly the way that Cricket Australia has approached the situation. This approach has been adopted by Cricket Australia, in order to gain a wider audience and attempt to draw greater recognition by allowing big name players a place in the tournament, which is all well and good at first look.

Brendon McCullum was one of the international players used last year

However, the old approach that Australian Cricket have stood by for many years, where they leave the tournament as a competition occupied by Australians has been abandoned. This puts a halt in some circumstances to the development of Australia's future cricketers, which robs them of some vital match time, which could be catastrophic to Australia's already failure to give younger player's more of a go.

Ponting's Men Untouchable No More

Ricky Ponting's men have been knocked out of the ICC World Twenty 20 tournament in England, after succumbing to back to back defeats at the hands of the West Indies and Sri Lanka.

A poor showing from Ponting's men means that they will now spend several weeks preparing for the Ashes series. Now let's have a look at what went wrong for the Australians, firstly the squad was faced with a huge controversy after symonds was omitted from the squad.

Cya later Symo says Cricket Australia
Sadly this squad cannot be referred to as Australia's best possible line-up, many twenty20 specialists were not picked, Dirk Nannes who played for the Delhi Daredevils was one question mark, especially after he finished as the second highest wicket taker in the domestic twenty20 big bash competition here in Australia. However the selectors opted to go with the more recognisable line-up, this backfired once again in

this format of the game, where selectors still have not recognised the need for younger players to be given a go. The Australian domestic twenty20 competition referred to as the "KFC Twenty 20 Big Bash" boasts many great players, with some even being selected in the Indian Premier League as they are solid, and consistent performers at this level. This raises many questions over the selection of players who have had limited experience in this particular format of the game, yes they are solid performers in the test and one day arena, but as far as twenty20 goes they are not quite up to the standards which are required at international level.

Peter Siddle was given a spot in the 15 man squad but was not given a game, which I think was an extremely bad call, as Siddle's presence during the test series against South Africa in the recent months was one of the spearheads in the attack, and lifted the spirits of all his team mates. Australia were clearly outplayed in these two games against these opposing teams, and the necessary changes must be made when this tournament comes around again next year, for Ponting it is a piece of silverware that he may never get his hands on. His international appearances in this format of the game have been limited, and it looks as if his career in this format of the game will not last much longer either.


Australian selectors need to change their squad altogether, and give their younger guns time to work their magic in this format of the game, David Warner is an example of how younger selections pay off, his 63 off 53 balls against the West Indies two days ago was a knock that held the Australian innings together. Last night none of the Australian's got on with the job with the bat, and the bowlers were left to defend a very modest total, and with a Sri Lankan batting line up which boasted the likes of Dilshan and Sangakkara they never really had any hold on the game.

Ponting is left to ponder what could have been

Australian Summer 2009-2010

The announcement of the touring teams and the schedule of the 2009-2010 Australian home summer has brought with it quite an amount of debate.

The lack of cricket available for the Pakistani players is concerning, Sohail Tanvir was just one missing in this years IPL

The two touring teams for this summer are Pakistan and the West Indies, two very capable sides, however two teams who are very inconsistent. Pakistan have been making headlines with the recent bombing of a tour bus which was carrying the Sri Lankan side. Despite the negative political aspects which are bringing down Pakistan, the cricket has been of a very high standard as of late.

The recent series against Australia was an example of this, despite losing the series they still managed to win 2 games in the 5 match series, which is very impressive against the 2nd ranked side in the one day arena. However, the amount of cricket that the players have been involved in is extremely alarming, another concern is that the Pakistani Cricket Board disallowed there players to play in this years edition of the IPL which is quite unbelievable.

This was a huge disappointment not just for the players, or their home country, but for their franchises, there absence was an enormous loss. Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals certainly felt the sting of this ruling from the PCB, as his team mate's in Sohail Tanvir, the leading wicket taker in 2008's edition of the tournament, and the first choice wicketkeeper Kamran Akhmal were absent; his side really could have used these star players especially looking back at how they couldn make a semi-final appearance.

The West Indies on the other hand, are a team that has both young guns and also players who have vast amounts of experience in the international arena. Shivnarine
Chanderpaul is 13th on the all time test run scorers, and his presence is one which can change games. The controversial captain Chris Gayle is both a glorious aggresive opener and leader, and he will be looking to lead his men through what is bound to be a wonderful series against the Australians.

Sure, these two teams might not attract as much attention as what South Africa might have during last season, however we must look at how much the Australian setup has changed over the past few months. The younger players have had to step up and put their hands up in difficult situations, and a new era is here, therefore a new brand of cricket will be played. These two opposing teams will be much more hopeful of defeating the Australian's in their own backyard, a task which was almost unthinkable in previous years.

It may turn out into a real dogfight for the new Australian line up, all that can be guaranteed is the Australian summer is closing in day by day, so get in on the action.

Gayle is sure to cause headaches with his aggressive stroke play