T20 World Cup: Live Matches Discussion

First topic message reminder :

Please feel free to discuss every ball of the 2012 T20 World Cup here.

Who do you think will win?

Interesting. I give Pakistan the upper hand - I'm not sure that Herath and Mendis in particular are the best spinners to exploit this pitch to the full (this is where you want a Swann really).

SL need some serious intensity here- They should jeer up the crowd for every delivery

The Pakistan openers have given a solid if not spectacular start. 26 without loss after 5 overs. If the Pak batsmen don't let the spinners dominate them, they should be through.

Nice jinx

The Pakistan captain is playing an innings like the one he played against India. 3 of 15 balls, he's not the Chris Gayle kind of batsman who could make that up in 3 balls. So not sure this is the right approach from him. Perhaps the pressure is getting to him?
meanwhile Mendis makes an early impact, Nazir gone for 20, 31-1 after 6.

Sri Lanka haven't used much of Perera with the ball in this tournament. That was a bit strange as he was in pretty good bowling form in recent months. But his first over isn't going to plans, Hafeez at last getting a move on.

Game intriguingly poised.

As an aside, Tauffel is being characteristically brilliant. If Australia win tomorrow this is the last we'll see of him...

Yep SL doing well to stay in the game. its on a knife edge

Poor fielding in those last 10 mins or so, two drops and a couple of fumbles. Could be very costly, needless to say...

Mike Selig wrote:Poor fielding in those last 10 mins or so, two drops and a couple of fumbles. Could be very costly, needless to say...

Herath goes, and a golden duck for Afridi ...

One suspects that the Umar Akmal/Gul partnership is the last faint hope.

Edit, so they put Tanvir in a head of Gul just to make me look stupid mutter mutter

2 wickets in 2 balls though, including brain-dead.

SL on top, game not over yet, but definitely on top.

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

Mike Selig wrote:Poor fielding in those last 10 mins or so, two drops and a couple of fumbles. Could be very costly, needless to say...

Herath goes, and a golden duck for Afridi ...

One suspects that the Umar Akmal/Gul partnership is the last faint hope.

PS, 16 years ago today Afridi hit his 37 ball ton.

Umar Akmal needs something special here, 27 off 2.

That last over turning out to be crucial. That and some pretty brainless cricket from pakistan.

Disgraceful behaviour from Umar Akmal as well.

Umar Gul 1 off 5, Sohail Tanvir 8 off 12 including a boundary. shouldn't win tight matches with that many dot balls.

23 off the last over. Frankly after his disgraceful behaviour towards the umpires I'd quite like Akmal to get close, then mess up.

im glad sri lanka are going to win this, dont like pakistan

Mike Selig wrote:Umar Akmal needs something special here, 27 off 2.

That last over turning out to be crucial. That and some pretty brainless cricket from pakistan.

Disgraceful behaviour from Umar Akmal as well.

What'd he do Mike? Cricinfo haven't mentioned anything.

But he can't. Game over. Fairly comfortable in the end. Pakistan just didn't learn. Scoring 10 an over is not about hitting every ball for 6. Not the first time they've made that mistake.

Brainless.

Sri Lanka held their nerve very well. Matthews's cutters proved useful, and Herath bowled a nice enough spell, but it was more poor batting than good bowling TBH.

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

Mike Selig wrote:Umar Akmal needs something special here, 27 off 2.

That last over turning out to be crucial. That and some pretty brainless cricket from pakistan.

Disgraceful behaviour from Umar Akmal as well.

What'd he do Mike? Cricinfo haven't mentioned anything.

Wanted his special green gloves in the middle of the over. Tauffel I presume said "wait until the end of the over". Akmal didn't want to. Walked half-way towards the dug-out gesticulating in obvious dissent, had a row with Tucker on the way and was met there by the 12th man with said gloves. tauffel was obviously very much not pleased. Although professional enough to give a marginal wide in the next over with Akmal on strike.

Mike Selig wrote:Game intriguingly poised.

As an aside, Tauffel is being characteristically brilliant. If Australia win tomorrow this is the last we'll see of him...

Noticed that this is most probably Taufel's last game too (even if Australia don't make the final there is no guarantee that Taufel will be picked). He seemed quite emotional during the hand-shakes at the end - shame that the commentators didn't pick that up, as he's been a pioneer in the professionalisation of umpiring (possible Hall of Fame candidate?). Along with Aleem Dar he's really raised standards considerably - the contrast between those that were around when he started and those coming in now is massive.

Pakistan Out...

Let WI do an upset tomorrow

Shelsey93 wrote:

Mike Selig wrote:Game intriguingly poised.

As an aside, Tauffel is being characteristically brilliant. If Australia win tomorrow this is the last we'll see of him...

Noticed that this is most probably Taufel's last game too (even if Australia don't make the final there is no guarantee that Taufel will be picked). He seemed quite emotional during the hand-shakes at the end - shame that the commentators didn't pick that up, as he's been a pioneer in the professionalisation of umpiring (possible Hall of Fame candidate?). Along with Aleem Dar he's really raised standards considerably - the contrast between those that were around when he started and those coming in now is massive.

You would think that if Australia don't make the final it will be Taufel and Dar; if they do Dar and Gould?

Your post is spot on. Taufel and Dar have been the stand-out umpires of the last 7 or 8 years, and we are now blessed with a lot of quality umpires (Gould, Rauf, Dharharmasena, Davis, Tucker, etc.) coming through. Surely not a coincidence.

I will remember the 2011 WC semi between India and Pakistan for a long time. Taufel's umpiring in that game is the best I've ever seen.

Mike Selig wrote:
You would think that if Australia don't make the final it will be Taufel and Dar; if they do Dar and Gould?

Most likely. I'd say Dar is a certainty, and the other would be Taufel if Australia go out, and one of Gould, Kettlebrough and Rauf if Australia go through.

Broad might be more "experienced" than Starc but having watched the two bowl, I know who I'd rather have. Starc looks like a complete fast bowler to me. Pace, swing both ways, bounce, control, yorkers. What more do you want?

Early days yet but I think our pace stocks look very good at present as well as for the future.

Starc, Cummins and Pattinson are all bouncing out of their skins wanting to play all formats but we'll need to mange them well given the spate of injuries over the last couple of years. This is what CA is attempting to do so that's a good sign.

I'm glad Pakistan are out of the way. They really are our bogey team. Australia fall for it most of the time on spin friendly wickets.
I just hope the 2 'W's take it to the Windies and we can keep the lid on Gayle and Pollard. Hoping for a spectacular close contest.

It would be nice to make both Men's and Women's Finals. Have a feeling though that both SL and England have the edge over our blokes and sheilas.

Starc blows hot and cold from what I've seen so far.

His Yorkshire stint seemed to really help him. He started with a Mitchell Johnson on a bad day-esque display in a televised 40-over game, but really starred after he got settled. Since then he's been in great form.

But before then he tended to be a bit unpredictable, and let Australia down a couple of times at the death during the CB Series.

Starc has had the more standout tournament so far than either Broad or Cummins (who have both had steady events), but I think its far too early to say that Starc's better than Broad. Broad has become an experience campaigner and, save for the 2nd half of this summer, has been very reliable for us now over quite a long period.

Broad has had a decent career so far but has struggled with injury and consistency too. By Australian standards he is nothing incredibly special in the context of the last 30 years especially. The problem here is we are always looking for the 'next McGrath' which is a bit of an unreasonable burden to place on our young seam bowlers.

In a way, the injuries to all 3 (Starc, Cummins and Pattinson) has been a sort of a wake up call (hopefully) for these young inexperienced guys with loads of ability and this was the point I was making about player management above. We are lucky, I suppose, to have at least 3 decent young talented prospects under 22 currently (with more to come) and I just hope that the load is spread evenly and they can all stay fit.

Broad's 170-odd wickets over 6 years is not bad going and he might achieve 300-350 wickets over his career but I'd be surprised if he breaks the 400-450 mark with his 30+ average over the next 6-8 years or so.

Oh. He's not in that 400-450 wicket bracket.

I think it'll be hard for any seamer to get near that again though - Steyn might get close, but those that are there were either incredible bowlers (McGrath) or had extended careers whilst being very good (Walsh).

Seamers now seem to be choosing to play only limited overs and then IPL from 32/33 these days.

On a side note, has Walsh received the credit that is due to him? No other fast bowler over 35 bowled as good and as consistently as he did during the last 3 years of his career, and he could bowl at over 140 KPH even at the age of 38. He's a real legend of the game for me.

msp83 wrote:On a side note, has Walsh received the credit that is due to him? No other fast bowler over 35 bowled as good and as consistently as he did during the last 3 years of his career, and he could bowl at over 140 KPH even at the age of 38. He's a real legend of the game for me.

Walsh is a legend. But Hadlee was more effective (albeit at 125kph) over the age of 35.

Looks like England v Australia for the women's final...

WI were making a challenge but a great catch by Blackwell has got rid of Daley and I think that is about it for their chances. Fielding in the women's game has improved exponentially in recent years ...

Nero gone ...all over. Well done Australia to defend such a modest score.

Think I'd still fancy England in the final.

Very good performance from the Aussie girls. Some tidy bowling and sharp in the field. Ellyse Perry is from just up the road (about 10km north) and went to school close to where I grew up in the leafy north shore.

Agree Alfie, England have set the benchmark and are a pretty accomplished as well as ruthless outfit. Australia is not far behind on today's performance.

It'll come down to who seizes the day but I'd fancy England to have that little bit more experience and a better 'big game' capability under pressure. I'd go England by about 20-25 runs or 4 to 5 wickets.

msp83 wrote:On a side note, has Walsh received the credit that is due to him? No other fast bowler over 35 bowled as good and as consistently as he did during the last 3 years of his career, and he could bowl at over 140 KPH even at the age of 38. He's a real legend of the game for me.

MSP - the merits of Walsh were extensively discussed on the 606v2's cricket Hall of Fame thread some months ago. It was a finely balanced discussion as to whether he merited entry to the HoF - for which the standards set by 606v2 posters are exacting. On the one hand number of wickets and the longevity of his contribution as a fast bowler at the highest level; on the other the point that he tended to be the supporting act to other bowlers. Unfortunately I can't remember whether or not he gained entry.

Corporal, I somehow missed out on those discussions when they were going on.
I think Walsh would make it, He just bowled and bowled and bowled for ever, made the superb bowlers like Ambrose and Marshel even more effective, and in his latter years just carried the WI bowling all on his own, Ambrose wasn't at his deadliest best during the last 2-3 years of his career and the support act wasn't there. And when Courtney called it a day at last everyone asked why? and why not.
He and Chris Martin have been among the greatest entertainers with the bat in the last 3 decades!.

Anyways I hope Chris G bats 15 overs today. That's the only hope for the WI, and perhaps Narine could dispose off those 2 chaps opening the innings for Australia?

Just to set minds at rest : on March 12th Walsh was indeed voted into the 606v2 HOF ...wasn't unanimous , but he got quite enough yes votes.

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

msp83 wrote:On a side note, has Walsh received the credit that is due to him? No other fast bowler over 35 bowled as good and as consistently as he did during the last 3 years of his career, and he could bowl at over 140 KPH even at the age of 38. He's a real legend of the game for me.

Walsh is a legend. But Hadlee was more effective (albeit at 125kph) over the age of 35.

I second that...Hadlee was the most potent...and even deadly bowler at that age even until the day of his retirement.
and we don't know if he was only 125kph...because there were no speed guns.....I suspect he was more in the 125-135kph.

The only other bowler as potent and deadly I have viewed is Akram.

Hadlee was truly the Sultan of Swing

KP_fan wrote:

Pete C (Kiwireddevil) wrote:

msp83 wrote:On a side note, has Walsh received the credit that is due to him? No other fast bowler over 35 bowled as good and as consistently as he did during the last 3 years of his career, and he could bowl at over 140 KPH even at the age of 38. He's a real legend of the game for me.

Walsh is a legend. But Hadlee was more effective (albeit at 125kph) over the age of 35.

I second that...Hadlee was the most potent...and even deadly bowler at that age even until the day of his retirement.
and we don't know if he was only 125kph...because there were no speed guns.....I suspect he was more in the 125-135kph.

The only other bowler as potent and deadly I have viewed is Akram.

Hadlee was truly the Sultan of Swing

In his early days Hadlee was a tearaway, and probably came in at around 140. Post 1980 or so when he deliberately cut down his run up in search of accuracy and longevity I saw him clocked a couple of times in the high 120s (speed guns happened occasionally).

I played against Hadlee in a club match when he was 45 or so (apologies to everyone for re-telling this one ). He hit a ton in 15 overs for HSOB batting first - granted it was a small field, but the 6s were hitting the top of the pine trees on the boundary. Bowling, he ambled in off a few paces, and our opener cover-drove a 4. The next ball he ambled in, and the ball whistled past the nose.

I batted #8, and came in when Hadlee was bowling his 2nd spell (at that point the run rate required was phenomenal). The best I could manage was 2 play-and-misses outside off stump before the over finished. The next over I wound up at the other end, and Hadlee finished us off the over following.

West Indies batting against Australia, and they are 17-1 after 3 overs. Charles the man out, Starc the wicket taker for Australia.

Pleased to see Charles out, I'd have been annoyed had he got runs again through his variety of mistimed and missed swipes with the odd good shot in between.

Gayle playing himself in...

Watson keeping Gayle under check so far. Oh hang on, here he goes, out of town!.

Spin on, Doherty into the attack and there is a an LBW shout right away. Umpire gave it notout, a close call though. Samuels responds with a straight 6.

Dar obviously thought that was bat first on the LBW shout.

Doherty to Gayle would worry me as an Aus fan... First ball deposited into the stands. Too full, got to hit either the yorker or back of a length.

Samuels welcomes Hogg with 6, and next ball there is a stumping referal. He seems ok. and yes he is alright.

Samuels gone. 57-2.

Cummins gets him bowled, with a slower one.

Richard Hadlee was my first cricket hero before I was old enough to realise that I was suppose to cheer on Englishmen.

I can still picture him sleeves rolled up cruising in.

Now I'm old enough to realise I don't have to support Englishmen and current hero Chris Gayle is poised to annihilate.

Dwayne Bravo the new batsman. Australia have done well to keep Gayle away from the strike more often than not.

Think Samuels played too many big shots. Pitch looks a bit slow, bowl back of a length and cutters as much as possible. All the full balls have so far been dispatched (Charles aside).

That Gayle is now the key scarcely needs saying.

Doherty in the slot again. Got to be shorter than that, that's easy for Gayle.

74-2 after 10.