Slam-bang Twenty20 has injected life in “the gentleman’s game” that was and still is hanging on for dear life by a thread. Tests or the five-day version of the game is revered by two or three of cricket’s original nations but it is still on life support even though some may disagree. The reason it stays afloat is because Twenty20 continues to attract fans across the globe.
Next month fans will get a dose of Twenty20 cricket at its highest level when Australia hosts the month-long Twenty20 World Cup carnival starting on Oct. 16. Excitement has already ramped up as the 16 teams in the competition are on the final leg of their preparations as coaches continue tinkering with strategies and lineups.
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The bookmakers have installed defending champion Australia and India joint-favourites at 4-to-1 followed by England, South Africa and Pakistan. India completed a 2-1 series victory over visiting Australia on Monday in a nail-biter and across the border in Pakistan the home team and England are tied at 2-2 in their seven-match buildup.
Pakistan and England have produced thrills galore for the local fans who had been deprived of international cricket following the bombing of a bus carrying the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009. This is England’s first visit to Pakistan in 17 years and they did not disappoint as the stadiums were jammed.
Next month Australian and visiting fans are in store for quick-fire entertainment and so will the millions who will have their eyes glued on their TV sets. So far more than 500,000 fans from 82 nations have secured their ducats.
As is usually the hottest ticket was for the contest between bitter neighbours India and Pakistan at Australia’s iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on Oct. 23. Tickets were snapped up within minutes of going on sale.
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Even though Australia lost the series to India it appears in much better shape to repeat as champion while India finds itself far from ready to launch a serious challenge. Teams have until Oct. 15 to make changes to their announced squads and you can expect the Aussies to add brilliant all-rounder Cameron Smith to their line-up. Why the 6-foot-7 Cameron was left out in the first place has left many shaking their heads in disbelief. The 23-year-old was arguably Australia’s best player of the three-match series with two half-centuries after being asked to open the batting for the first time in his international career. Green also made his presence felt as the fourth pacer on the squad. Australia will be strengthened with the addition of pace spearhead Mitchell Starc and all-rounders Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Marsh who were out injured. Also returning will be star opening batsman David Warner who was rested for the India tour. India is struggling to find the right combination after its disastrous showing at the last Twenty20 World Cup and Asia Cup where it was clobbered by Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The return of injured fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah and Harshal Patel is a bonus but one will question the selectors’ reason for relegating fast bowler Mohammed Shami to a standby role. Skipper Sharma is hoping seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar snaps out of a recent slump that has been a cause of worry in the final overs where he has leaked runs. Sharma is hoping Kumar will be back to his miserly self when India entertains visiting South Africa starting Wednesday.
Top of the order batsmen Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli and the exciting Suryakumar Yadav are a handful and are hitting form at the right time while Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik also wield hot bats.
On Sunday in Karachi, Pakistan took a sensational three-run win over England in a nail-biter that saw the home team grab three wickets in six balls to stun the visitors. Fast bowler Haris Rauf took three wickets when England required five runs for victory from 10 balls. That included the wickets of Liam Dawson (34) and Olly Stone off successive balls in the 19th over. Pakistan made 166 for four thanks to Mohammad Rizwan who has established himself as the world’s best opening batsman along with his skipper Babar Azam. Pakistan’s batting at the top has been a revelation while its bowling unit has been destructive even without the injured ace fast bowler Shaheen Afridi who is set to return for the main event. He will lead a potent pace attack with Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and Rauf.
With the return of Mark Wood one can expect a solid England fast bowling unit along with Chris Woakes and either Reece Topley, David Willey and Ben Stokes. Skipper Jos Buttler who is sitting out the Pakistan tour will be back in charge in Australia in his usual position as an opener. Others who have impressed with the bat in Pakistan include Harry Brook, Dawson and Ben Duckett and stand-in skipper Moeen Khan.
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