West Indies v England 1st IT20 at Bridgetown.

First topic message reminder :

As you know i have a dislike for this form of cricket but do appreciate the merits of it regarding money, spectators {money}, new audiences {money}, lesser nations {money} and Chris Gayle {also money}.

But if England were to win the WI series 3-0 would that have any effect or not for their WC chances just a few days later?

Or like me you think T20 is a total lottery, and the team that gets the performances, lucky breaks, good fielding on a particular day will be the beneficiaries at the end or like when England won it, KP stood out and made all the difference that year.

England are ranked eighth with SL first, but as always in T20 who could predict a winner?  NZ could be World Champions in this form. Does that not say it all?

WI's won it on SL's tracks last time so the BD tracks should not decide a likely winner.

Sri Lanka	26	2848	129
India	19	1843	123
South Africa	29	2418	123
Pakistan	40	3638	121
West Indies	26	2330	111
Australia	29	2526	110
New Zealand	29	2475	108
England	31	2522	105

But for a total guess who do you think will be this years winner?

Its a mixture of the two though Shiv, and to say KP is Englands only good player in this format ignores that they were missing Broad, Stokes and Root from this line up, and picked some funky players on top. Yet werent hammered. Morgan, Buttler, Hales and (yes Im going to say it) Bopara are all decent enough.

Even full strength they are a pretty poor side now Swann and KP have gone yes, but they are still capable of winning games in this format even with a tin of custard and luke wright in the side.

With Root fit the batting isnt really this issue now, it seems to be the senior bowlers. The part timers (Root and Bopara) end up withe the best figures time and again, whereas players like Dernbach consistently get hammered for little return.
Thats the big change from where they were at when they won the world cup with innovative bowling and Broad on fire.

That is the thing, we call a performing player World Class when in reality there are only EIGHT teams who are of sufficient standard and deemed good enough to at least compete. Are they not all world class?

88 players then, not a big pool is it?

T20 was brought into a failing sport {revenue wise} to inject a fan base. It acheived this just like TV shows do it, marketing for companies, government gimmicks, but they all die a death eventually just as T20 will.

Something better is needed!!


And i would still follow England in any sport know matter what level they descended to, even if they played topless draughts. 

I no you wood. Frisbee cricket?   

An Irishman captaining England... English cricket must really be in a bad place.   

Love T20. England 38/0 after 3 overs.

Just so unpredictable 

Could be 250 here or 160 

Linebreaker wrote:I no you wood. Frisbee cricket?   

Mahogany stands up straighter, i would go with that  

LeinsterFan4life wrote:An Irishman captaining England... English cricket must really be in a bad place.   

Well at least a texter gone  

So more a 160 after being 90ish for none.

T20 such great entertainment.

Who the frig cares. THAT is my point!

And 26 runs from Jordan in the final over, does that not encapsulate T20 cricket  

A wicket maiden from JD. Going to commit harakiri.

Such an humiliating and utter thrashing against a team rankked so low.

NOW. do you get T20?

A crappy team csn beat the big boy in this format.

YOU! decide for yourself!!

And Parry looks good  

Bops gets Bravo, ouch in an effeminate manor   

I think we can call that game over!!

And now five down!!

Bops as done well again 

Can the dirt bag do it? 17 to defend.

So England go into the T20 WC on the back of a convincing    victory and the WI's on the back of a demoralising defeat?

Although a decent third game.

CRAP. T20 is what it is....

JD does it at last   JUST!!!!!!

Come now, skyeman, surely you're not celebrating a marginal five-run win over a WI that was resting both Gayle and Badree!
  
The fact of the matter is that each series was won by the team which is significantly better in the format....

England is significantly better in ODI cricket, so they won the ODI series 2-1....

West Indies are significantly better in T20 cricket, so they won the T20 series 2-1....

But as long as England fans, cricketers, media and administrators continue to dismiss T20 cricket as "crap", then England will continue to struggle in the format. The game has moved on since the last time England won this competition.

shivfan wrote:Come now, skyeman, surely you're not celebrating a marginal five-run win over a WI that was resting both Gayle and Badree!
 

...by an England side missing Broad and Root....and including Dernbach.

What England do lack is a proper spinner. Thats not just a T20 thing, its a cricket thing.

shivfan wrote:Come now, skyeman, surely you're not celebrating a marginal five-run win over a WI that was resting both Gayle and Badree!
  
The fact of the matter is that each series was won by the team which is significantly better in the format....

England is significantly better in ODI cricket, so they won the ODI series 2-1....

West Indies are significantly better in T20 cricket, so they won the T20 series 2-1....

But as long as England fans, cricketers, media and administrators continue to dismiss T20 cricket as "crap", then England will continue to struggle in the format.  The game has moved on since the last time England won this competition.

It's crap, and I know I just don't care.

Maybe I did, a bit, when I was younger but I'm far too old for it now.

Postscript to this match. Following his dismissal for a duck Stokes punched a locker, thereby breaking a wrist and ruling himself out of the WT20.  

Corporalhumblebucket wrote:Postscript to this match. Following his dismissal for a duck Stokes punched a locker, thereby breaking a wrist and ruling himself out of the WT20.  

If only he could channel that anger into his performances on the field*.

* Not including net prectice. I stood about 2 metres away from him in the SCG nets.
He is a fiery customer. The way he treated Bres' throw-downs was probably the same as he treated that innocent locker!

Corporalhumblebucket wrote:Postscript to this match. Following his dismissal for a duck Stokes punched a locker, thereby breaking a wrist and ruling himself out of the WT20.  

   You couldn't make it up!

Stokes is well known as a bit of a fiery individual, I can imagine he'd be quite upset about not just the third game but his performances all series. He'll sort himself out though, he's still young.

Probably does us a favour, ruling himself out the way he's played this series anyway.   

Gayle hits an unbeaten half-century as the West Indies win by seven wickets with four overs to spare....
  
As easy a victory as it gets in T20 cricket....that makes it, in effect, 3-1 to the West Indies. Not quite a lottery, in my books. If it was a lottery, then the score would've been 2-2.

But anyone who knows anything about T20 cricket could've predicted that the Windies would've come out 3-1 victors over four T20 matches. There is a skill-set involved in T20 cricket, and until that is acknowledged, then England will be found wanting in this format....

Of course there's a skill set in T20 - hit and giggle.

yet again we lose to the windies, in spinning conditions!

If you toss a coin for ten times, what are the odds of it being ten consecutive heads? Quite high, i should think!

But still 50/50 every time every time you spin. That is T20. 

England sure have been unlucky recently eh!

Losing Root, Broad and Stokes from what was already a pretty weak side was never going to help. As it is they just look pretty desperate, and Bopara continues to be the most effective bowler. Chuck in a complete lack of self confidence and a gamble on a spinner with no record or experience and another whos just very average and you are taking on the bets in the world with a wet lettuce.

Pretend all we like that this doenst matter, is all luck or whatever but its pretty abject.