Will Twenty20 change cricket forever?

Cricket has shed its image as a dull, unattractive and lengthy sport after the spectacular success of the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship. The event, which ended on Monday with India beating Pakistan by five runs in a rousing finale, created such a stir that Twenty20 is now being hailed as a revolution that will change the leisurely sport forever. There were more thrills and excitement packed into two weeks of non-stop action than in the entire six weeks of the 50-over World Cup in the Caribbean earlier this year. Crowds thronged the three venues in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban as sixes, boundaries and heart-stopping finishes provided a cricketing spectacle unmatched in recent times. West Indian Chris Gayle slammed the first ever T20 century in the September 11 opener, Zimbabwe stunned Australia, Bangladesh ousted the West Indies, Aussie Brett Lee took a hat trick and India's Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes in an over. There was even a tie between India and Pakistan in the league, India winning the bowl-out not by runs or wickets but with a 3-0 football-type scoreline previously unheard in cricket. That two of the youngest and most inexperienced teams in the shortest version of the game outwitted the big guns from Australia, South Africa and England to contest the final only added to the drama. India had played just one Twenty20 international before the tournament, Pakistan only two against major teams, yet the arch-rivals conjured a dream final at the overflowing Wanderers stadium. The champions celebrated in wild style, the losers went out with their heads held high, knowing there was very little to choose between the traditional rivals. Many want Twenty20 cricket to replace the 50-overs-a-side internationals as the limited-overs game complementing Test matches, but all three versions have a place -- for now. Tournament director Steve Elworthy, a former South African Test seamer, said the Twenty20 format will help improve Test and one-day standards. "The change is going to impact all of cricket," he said. "If you can go eight an over in 20 overs, in the 50-over game you can go at six at least. "So 300 in a 50-over game should be a par score. "The impact on Test cricket is going to be just as profound. Teams will be much more positive and think that if we bowl out the opposition and need 200 in the last hour, it's still on because in 20-over cricket we're scoring 200." International Cricket Council chief executive Malcolm Speed admitted the success of Twenty20 had thrown down a challenge on how to balance the world game. "Test cricket we value greatly, 50-over cricket is the financial driver of the game and now we have Twenty20 which has proved immensely popular," said Speed. "It's a great problem for us to have, a format of the game that is so popular with fans, players and broadcasters." Ironically, the tournament was won by a country that had shunned the short version fearing it would sideline the lucrative one-day internationals. Not any more. India will now not only have it's own T20 Premier League but also take part in a $5-million Champions League involving some other ICC nations. India have also been invited by American businessman Allen Stanford to take part in a winner-takes-all five-million dollar T20 game against the Rest of the World in Antigua next summer. Fans can't get enough of it, so Twenty20 is here to stay. source - mg.co.za

India crowned Twenty20 Champions

India have won the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa after a thrilling final in which arch-rivals Pakistan fell five runs short of their victory target of 158 in Johannesburg. They were up against it when Umar Gul (3-28) helped restrict them to 157-5, which Gautam Gambhir's 75 dominated. But RP Singh struck twice early on and Irfan Pathan took 3-16 as a succession of batsmen tossed away their wickets. Misbah-ul-Haq (43) smashed three sixes in a Harbhajan Singh over and one more in the final over off Joginder Sharma but was caught to end an amazing game. It brought a hugely entertaining tournament to a fitting climax and was always likely - after all the teams tied their group game and there was a similar frenzied atmosphere when the latest instalment in their rich rivalry commenced at a packed Wanderers. Gambhir was a figure of calm assurance, however, after debutant Yusuf Pathan and Robin Uthappa perished with mis-timed heaves during a frenetic opening. He placed and timed the ball elegantly, particularly through the covers, as he brought up his fifty in 38 balls. The left-hander put India on course for a formidable total, but Yuvraj Singh - India's hero against England and Australia - never got going as Gul exerted control with his clever variations in pace and length. Gul took a return catch after Yuvraj top-edged a pull and sent skipper Mahendra Dhoni's leg-stump flying as the scoring slowed dramatically between the 14th and 18th overs. Gambhir quite literally hurt Gul's figures by smashing the ball into the scoreboard over the mid-wicket fence but Gul had the last word by having him snapped up at short fine-leg pouched the ball to become the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 13. Sharma collected successive fours off Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Hafeez helped a swipe off Sohail Tanvir over the wide long-on boundary to take the score past 150. But India still had a lot of work to do to clinch their first major silverware since the 1983 World Cup final and deny their neighbours the chance to emulate their 1992 50-over triumph. Their prospects looked brighter when Hafeez guided RP Singh's fifth ball to Uthappa to slip and Kamran Akmal lost his off-stump to an inswinger from the left-arm paceman. But as long as Imran Nazir stayed at the crease the run rate was never likely to be an issue. He battered two fours and two sixes off an atrocious first over from the unruly Sree Santh which cost 21 runs. Younus Khan was nowhere near as convincing, although he managed to get bat on ball to collect successive leg-side fours off Santh to take the team past 50 in the sixth over. The innings then capitulated from 52-2 to 77-6 as Dhoni's bowling changes took the pace off the ball. Nazir, who went into the game with a groin problem and was refused a runner, was short of the crease when Uthappa's throw from mid-off hit the stumps. Younus holed out to mid-on, while skipper Shoaib Malik and dangerman Shahid Afrid, who went first ball, tossed their wickets away with ambitious heaves off Irfan Pathan. The seamer cleaned up Yasir Arafat to end a brief revival but Misbah-ul-Haq swung off-spinner Harbhajan between cow corner and long-on, and Tanvir flicked the returning Santh for two more maximums to provide a massive twist in the tale. Crucially, Santh ended the over by knocking out the tail-ender's off-stump and RP Singh cleaned up Gul with his penultimate delivery. Joginder Sharma was entrusted with the final over and began with a horrible wide and when Misbah battered another six down the ground the game looked up but Misbah's gamble of trying to loft it over the keeper's head backfired horribly. source - bbc.co.uk

Short form gives ICC a brief lesson

The success to date of the Twenty20 World Cup, as much for its brevity and variety as its cricket, has given the International Cricket Council the chance to redeem the real World Cup. As teams advance helter-skelter through this tournament, with as many as three matches a day scattered around South Africa, including some double-headers, the competition will be finished in just 13 playing days when the final is staged here on Monday. This is a far cry from almost two months of the often soporific cricket that dragged itself around the Caribbean this year for the traditional World Cup, which was fittingly decided in total darkness amid complete chaos as Australia claimed a third successive title. To make the 50-over World Cup something that can be enjoyed, not endured, the ICC should reduce it to an elite competition. Instead of the 16-team format, with half the sides ranging from hopeless to marginally competitive, producing too many dud matches, the ICC should expand the Twenty20 World Cup from 12 to 16 teams and reduce the real World Cup to 10 sides at most. The Twenty20 World Cup would still be over inside three weeks and there would be good games on the same day as dud ones. And even with the insistence that there be no more than one game a day played at the real World Cup because of international cricket's overwhelming objective, maximising television rights, the tournament would last little more than a month. This is a view strongly supported by Ian Chappell, as mixed but largely supportive reaction begins to flow from this Twenty20 tournament. "The world Twenty20 has shown that the minnows can compete with the majors to the point where not only are there upsets but where the number of annihilations are likely to be greatly reduced," Chappell said this week. "By concentrating the globalisation of the game purely in this format, the twin problem areas of the last World Cup - a series of uncompetitive matches that take an interminably long time to complete - are immediately overcome." Another former Test captain, England's Mike Atherton, said he had been an enthusiastic supporter of Twenty20 from its inception for revitalising domestic cricket. "But I have always felt that Twenty20 should have remained just that - a vehicle to revive domestic cricket. Fifty-over cricket and obviously Test cricket remain vital to protecting the very essence of the game," Atherton said. The Australia players seem to be enjoying the latest and shortest form of the game, despite last week's embarrassing loss to Zimbabwe. However, all have made it clear that they do not want one-day cricket diminished for more Twenty20 cricket, a view reinforced yesterday by Brett Lee and Stuart Clark. "At the moment, they're probably doing it right as far as keeping it to small doses," Lee said. "If it's played too often, it loses its novelty value, whereas, if it's played at the start of a tour, it's something different. And having competitions like this are great because it has its own little tournament. "I wouldn't want to see less one-day cricket played. If that means an extra Twenty20 game here or there, then fine." Clark agreed, saying: "I'd hate to see 50-over cricket replaced because of what it holds and what it's done to the game, but (Twenty20) is thriving. It's going to become more and more popular the more it's played. "Whether that's international, domestic, or some of these new leagues, it's going to be for the people, and it's going to be great for the crowds." source - foxsports.com.au

Bowlers reign on batting parade

In a game designed for batsmen, it has been Australia's bowlers who have dominated its early matches in the Twenty20 World Cup. While there was some apprehension over whether this would continue overnight against Pakistan in Australia's first match at the more batsman-friendly Wanderers, after three games in Cape Town, the bowlers have been pleasantly surprised. Even in last week's embarrassing loss to Zimbabwe, it was poor batting that cost Australia the game. Although the opponents leading into the Pakistan game have been modest, Australia restricted Zimbabwe to 5-139 before losing on the second-last ball, then England to 135 all out and Bangladesh to 8-123 in big wins. Nathan Bracken, with 3-16, was man of the match against England and Brett Lee's hat-trick earned him that honour against Bangladesh. Stuart Clark's amazing consistency as a Test bowler over the past year, which has seen him shoot into the top 10 on the world rankings after exceptional series against South Africa and England, has been his downfall in the shorter versions of the game. His consistent line and length have made the tall New South Wales seamer too predictable in one-day cricket to become a regular member of the team, allowing batsmen to consistently charge him. While a member of the World Cup squad he played just one match, against Ireland, as veteran Glenn McGrath and rookie tearaway Shaun Tait dominated the competition. It is ironic perhaps that Tait only received his chance in the World Cup because of a serious ankle injury to Lee, and Clark is probably only playing here in South Africa because a lingering elbow problem kept Tait out of the squad. In this competition, Clark has bowled with terrific variation, something he worked on while playing county cricket this winter. "It was one of the reasons why I went to England, to try and do a few different things and work on a few different things," Clark said. "It seems to be going all right at the moment, but I can still get better at it. It's a big key in one-day international cricket, being able to vary your pace." Still coming to terms with the one-day game even though he turns 32 later this month, Clark said Twenty20 was a new challenge. "I haven't played too much Twenty20 cricket, so I've had to adapt and the wickets have been a bit different to what I was expecting. I'm pretty happy with the way I'm going," he said. "Twenty20 cricket is more like bowling at the end of a one-day game - slower balls, better yorkers. There's no magical secret to it, you've just got to be good at whatever you do. "Nathan Bracken and Shaun Tait showed that at the World Cup - it doesn't matter what skill you have, if you do it well, then you're hard to get away." With McGrath's retirement after an exceptional World Cup, Clark is determined to grab his place in the one-day team. "I'd like to be in any team for Australia, it doesn't matter what game it is," he said. So why have Australia's bowlers done so well in the early matches when Twenty20 is a batsman's game? "It's a game designed for batsmen, but the bowlers can really make a difference," he said. "If you can have two to three good overs and not go for many, it can really change the outcome of the game when we bat, so it's not all just batters, there is room for the bowlers - just maybe not too much." source - foxsports.com.au

Greig has Twenty20 vision

Thirty years after he helped Kerry Packer set up World Series Cricket, Tony Greig is up to his old tricks. The 60-year-old former England Test captain and long-serving Channel Nine commentator has signed up as recruiting agent for a breakaway private cricket venture in India. And the first players in his sights are retired superstars Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Brian Lara. Greig and former Australian batsman Dean Jones will join Kapil Dev and Kiran More on the board of the Indian Cricket League (ICL). The league is the brainchild of Indian television mogul Subhash Chandra, owner of India's biggest listed media company Zee Telefilms. He wants to set up a domestic Twenty20 League of an initial six teams in large Indian cities, with big-name international players on their books alongside promising young Indian cricketers. Jones has been appointed operations manager for the new venture, which has yet to be approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), but hopes to play its first matches in November. Greig believes the league is a goer because, unlike World Series Cricket, it will not compete directly with establishment matches. In addition, Chandra is an existing business partner of BCCI and a close associate of senior board members. But if there is a fight, Greig is prepared for it. "It won't be the first," he said. South African-born Greig was sacked as England captain for his role in recruiting the cream of international Test players for Kerry Packer in 1977. "That's probably why they came to me, I suppose, because I've had some experience in this before. I'd like to think it wasn't going to be quite as hectic as the last one. "But who knows? That's really up to Subhash Chandra and the Indian board in the initial stages. I don't particularly think they want a fight with this bloke." One thing Greig is clear on is that the new operation won't cut into his commitment to Channel Nine, where James Packer is believed to have endorsed his late father's guarantee of a job for as long as Greig wants it. Greig said his contract with Nine was a private matter but he had no intention of standing down after nearly 30 years behind the Nine microphone. "You'll have to put up with me for a while yet," he said. "My first loyalty will always be to Channel Nine." source - news.com.au

World Cup will be a huge success

After a disappointing World Cup with ended in farcical conditions cricket officials and players have both admitted that this years inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in September will be a huge success. The Twenty20 World Championship in September is likely to succeed where the World Cup failed by selling out stadiums and luring television viewers with baseball-style hits and games that go to the wire, said David Stewart, a director of the England and Wales Cricket Board. “I’d be astonished if it’s not very successful,” Stewart said in an interview in Barbados. “And if the sponsors like what’s happening in South Africa, TV likes it and the crowds like it, it will be irresistible.” Twenty20 matches, lasting about three hours each, encourage attacking play by restricting teams to 20 six-ball overs each instead of the usual 50. The format has drawn sellout crowds to domestic and international games in England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies. India, which initially opposed the new game, staged its first such tournament this month. The inaugural event, with South Africa as host, will feature 12 teams competing over two weeks, with as many as three games a day. Twenty20 matches come with razzmatazz, including cheerleaders and rock bands, helping to attract young people and women to a sport associated with lunch breaks and rain delays. “In terms of the way the fans see it, it certainly could be” bigger than the World Cup, Graeme Smith, South Africa’s captain, said after his team lost to eventual champion Australia in the World Cup semifinals. “It’s certainly taken off back in South Africa. A lot of people are looking forward to it.” Attention is turning to the September event after the ninth Cricket World Cup, the first in the Caribbean, slumped as a spectacle. Only 3 of the 51 matches went into the final over with both teams harboring a realistic chance of victory. Many games were played before half-empty stadiums amid criticism by officials including South Africa’s Ali Bacher that ticket prices — ranging from $25 to $100 — were too high for locals, who were also angered by restrictions on taking food, drink and musical instruments to stadiums. The April 28 final provided another setback as the end of Australia’s victory over Sri Lanka was marred by confusion. After holdups for rain and bad light, Australia began celebrating its victory before the umpires mistakenly ordered it to retake the field and bowl three more overs in near darkness to an opponent that had accepted defeat. “The farcical final was an embarrassment to anyone associated with cricket,” the former England bowler Jonathan Agnew wrote in his column for the BBC. “What an appalling advert for the game.” Malcolm Speed, chief executive of the International Cricket Council, said the 47-day tournament needs to be shortened by 7 to 10 days. Speed said he expected the World Cup to remain cricket’s premier event, although he did not underestimate the potential of Twenty20. “We now have a new form of the game that can take it to new places and new people and can generate a great deal of excitement,” Speed said. English cricket introduced Twenty20 in 2003, and the format is now the biggest source of match revenue for all 18 county teams outside internationals. Four Twenty20 home games account for more than three-quarters of the $2.5 million annual sales from domestic games at Surrey, England’s richest county team. Since 2005, 14 Twenty20 internationals have taken place, with all 10 Test-playing nations competing at least once. West Indies, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Canada will contest an August tournament in Toronto as a World Championship tuneup. The format’s appeal to younger fans may help attract consumer-based sponsors to a sport traditionally linked with the financial sector, said Nigel Currie, director of Rapport, a sponsorship consultant brand based in Guildford, England. “You’ll definitely see a move towards the fast-moving consumer goods like McDonald’s and Coca-Cola,” Currie said in a telephone interview. “If you look at all the sponsors, they tend to be corporate- or big-business-type elements, which has always been cricket’s thing.” England’s three oldest competitions are sponsored by insurers: Liverpool Victoria, Friends Provident and National Westminster Bank. Former and current players are divided on Twenty20. Critics including the former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding say quick-fire cricket teaches children bad techniques and burns out elite players. source - nytimes.com

Ashes heroes rested for Twenty20

Australia will rest Ashes heroes Stuart Clark and Glenn McGrath from next week's Twenty20 international against England, promoting young Tasmanian Ben Hilfenhaus. Australia today named a 12-man squad for Tuesday night's match to be played before a sell-out crowd at Sydney Cricket Ground. The match is a warm-up for Australia's one-day tri-series against England and New Zealand, which kicks off with a game against England in Melbourne on January 12. Right-armer Hilfenhaus, 23, has taken 10 wickets at 27.20 in the domestic one-day competition this season for Tasmania and will push for selection in the tri-series. The opening bowler has also been named in Australia's preliminary 30-man squad for its World Cup defence in the West Indies in March-April. "The Twenty20 format is an ideal lead up to one-day cricket which is why the selected squad closely mirrors that of the (one-day) series squad," chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said today in a statement. "We have however agreed that both Glenn McGrath and Stuart Clark will not play in this game to best manage their preparation for the second half of the summer. "We're also introducing Ben Hilfenhaus for his first match for Australia following a tremendous start to the domestic season." Australia's squad for the Twenty20 match against England: Ricky Ponting (capt), Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Andrew Symonds, Cameron White, Brad Hogg, Nathan Bracken, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Ben Hilfenhaus. source - theage.com.au

Twenty20 International Rankings
	Team Matches Points Ranking 1 Australia 5 1182 236 2 Pakistan 1 218 218 3 Bangledesh 1 199 199 4 England 4 782 195 5 New Zealand 5 951 190 6 India 1 187 187 7 South Africa 4 548 174 8 Sri Lanka 3 476 158 9 Zimbabwe 1 153 153 10 West Indies 1 151 151   Last updated: Jan 9 2007

Bushrangers crowned Twenty20 champs

The Victoria Bushrangers remain the only state to have won the domestic Twenty20 competition after claiming it for the second time with a 10 run victory over the Tasmania Tigers in the final of the KFC Big Bash at the MCG. Victoria won by 10 runs in front of a crowd of about 30,000 to remain undefeated through two seasons of the Twenty20 format. Paceman Mick Lewis was the star for the Bushrangers, taking four middle-order wickets to restrict the Tigers to 8-150 in reply to what had looked like being a sub-par total of 6-160. The Tasmania run-chase was in early trouble, with openers Michael Dighton and Michael Di Venuto falling in the third and fourth overs respectively to have their side at 2-25. A third-wicket partnership of 45 in 31 balls between top-scorer Dane Anderson (40 from 30 balls) and Daniel Marsh lifted the Tigers to 3-69 in the ninth over. By the halfway point of the innings, Anderson and George Bailey had lifted the score to 3-89 and Tasmania appeared in control, needing 72 from the remaining 10 overs. But Lewis, who had dismissed Marsh in the ninth over, then swung the game Victoria's way with two wickets in two balls in the 11th over. He had Bailey caught at short mid-wicket with the second ball of the over, then Adam Polkinghorne top-edged a cut shot straight to third man to be out for a first-ball duck. New batsman Tim Paine almost became the final victim in a Lewis hat-trick, with the first delivery he faced passing the edge of his bat. From that point, the Bushrangers were able to tighten the pressure on the Tasmania batsmen. The Tigers still had a slim chance when they needed 30 runs off the final two overs, with three wickets in hand. But Lewis, bowling the penultimate over of the match, kept Tasmania to 12 runs from the over and claimed the scalp of wicketkeeper Paine (25 off 27 balls) with his final ball. It ended any Tasmania hope and gave Lewis figures of 4-34. Earlier, Victoria wicketkeeper Adam Crosthwaite rescued Victoria from deep trouble with an unbeaten 52 in 31 balls at the tail of his side's innings to provide the Bushrangers with a competitive total. They had made a disastrous start to their innings to fall to 6-92 in the 14th over, before a salvage mission from Crosthwaite and all rounder Jon Moss, who put on an unbeaten 68-run stand in the final six overs. source - news.com.au

Big Bash crowds up 13%

The Twenty20 Big Bash has proven to be an even bigger hit with fans in its second season. More than 124,000 spectators attended the qualifying rounds of the tournament – an average of 11,277 per match. Last year, crowds averaged just on 10,000. Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland is encouraged by the increased response from Australian cricket fans this summer. “To be averaging in excess of 11,000 per match with the final still to be played is a fantastic result,” said Sutherland. “The Twenty20 Big Bash has not only attracted big crowds, but also attracted new cricket fans ranging from families to young females who seem to appreciate its format, three-hour duration, and non-stop action.” “With the final 24 hours away, we’re anticipating a record crowd and some more exciting action courtesy of the Bushrangers and Tigers.” The Twenty20 Big Bash Final between the Victorian Bushrangers and Cascade Tasmanian Tigers at the MCG starts at 7pm, 13 January (with gates opening at 5pm). Fans can buy tickets at the gate. Fox Sports will also telecast the final live from 7:00pm AEDST (5:00pm WA, 6:00pm QLD, 6:30pm SA). source - sportsaustralia.comBig Bash crowds up 13% The Twenty20 Big Bash has proven to be an even bigger hit with fans in its second season. More than 124,000 spectators attended the qualifying rounds of the tournament – an average of 11,277 per match. Last year, crowds averaged just on 10,000. Cricket Australia Chief Executive James Sutherland is encouraged by the increased response from Australian cricket fans this summer. “To be averaging in excess of 11,000 per match with the final still to be played is a fantastic result,” said Sutherland. “The Twenty20 Big Bash has not only attracted big crowds, but also attracted new cricket fans ranging from families to young females who seem to appreciate its format, three-hour duration, and non-stop action.” “With the final 24 hours away, we’re anticipating a record crowd and some more exciting action courtesy of the Bushrangers and Tigers.” The Twenty20 Big Bash Final between the Victorian Bushrangers and Cascade Tasmanian Tigers at the MCG starts at 7pm, 13 January (with gates opening at 5pm). Fans can buy tickets at the gate. Fox Sports will also telecast the final live from 7:00pm AEDST (5:00pm WA, 6:00pm QLD, 6:30pm SA). source - sportsaustralia.com

Scots target Twenty20 World Cup

Scotland skipper Craig Wright believes his team can secure a place in the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships taking place in September.. The Scots, who head for the Caribbean in March to play in their first World Cup, will first try to qualify for the shortest form of the game's main event. In Nairobi, they will compete in the World Cricket League, where the top two teams qualify for the Twenty20 event. "The guys are certainly up for it," 32-year-old Wright said. Following their short trip to Bangladesh in which they lost both one-day internationals against the Tigers, the Scots continue a busy schedule prior to the World Cup. They have a four-week schedule ahead of the Caribbean, which begins with a four-day ICC Intercontinental Cup clash against the United Arab Emirates. There are four one-day matches against Kenya and Canada in Mombasa before the qualifying competition in Nairobi. Their busy schedule is a factor Wright admits will be new to many of his players. "Other than three or four guys who have played county cricket, not too many of our guys are experienced at playing this amount of cricket over this sort of duration," he told BBC Scotland. "It gives us a fantastic opportunity to go into the World Cup really prepared to put our best show on in that tournament, which will obviously be the most watched cricket that most of us have ever played." source - bbc.co.uk