What disaster?

I have been thinking quite a lot about this whole T20 World Cup "disaster" for the South African side and reading all the negative comments that have been going around in the various media channels.

Everyone is dragging up the whole "chokers" tag again and wandering around with the whole "I told you so attitude".

Game 1 - we played India - lost by 14 runs
Game 2 - we played Afghanistan - won 59 runs
Game 3 - we played New Zealand - won by 13 runs
Game 4 - we played England - got thumped by 39 runs
Game 5 - we played Pakistan - lost by 11 runs

We had 1 bad game against England and then two average games against India and Pakistan. The difference between the two sides was effectively one over.

Yes it irritates the shit out of me that Morne Morkel bowls no-balls in ODI or T20 cricket. Yes it irritates the shit out of me that we battle to pace ourselves to score at 10 an over from the word go. It also irritates the shit out of me that somebody would dare to double step Dale Steyn and slug him 90 metres for a six... but these things happen and in T20 it is going to happen on a regular basis.

With due respect if we took on any of those sides in a test or full 50 over ODI match up, our win ratio would be 75% or higher if playing at home and probably 60% or higher playing away from home.

We need to take a look at what we take away from this event:

• Morne Morkel is not an ODI / T20 bowler - let's not treat him as such. Let him mature as a test bowler
• There is a serious argument to let Johan Botha become the dedicated ODI / T20 captain. He has shown he understands the format of the game - let's use his knowledge
• In T20 cricket, where are we going to use JP Duminy? He's a great middle order batter but is he the big hitter that we need with four overs to go?
• I'm a Herschelle Gibbs fan but at some point he needs to deliver the goods

We have to be a little realistic about what this tournament says about SA cricket. It's not the end of the world - hell it is hardly a black mark on our record - its just that we need to understand what we want to do with this T20 side.

Sunday IPL action

Two IPL games on the go today with the Kings Punjab XI taking on the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Delhi Daredevils playing host to the Royal Challengers Bangalore

Knight Riders vs Kings Punjab
T20 cricket is a lottery at the best of times but after the shocking showing from the Kings Punjab on Friday night I can't see how you can look beyond the Knight Riders to win this one.

Our picks for this match
Top Kings Punjab batsman - Youvraj Singh
Top Knight Riders batsman - Sourav Ganguly
Most sixes - KKR

Delhi Daredevils vs Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)

As for the Delhi Daredevils and the RCB, I'm leaning in favour of RCB for this one. Kohli really impressed me on Friday night and I've tipped him to carry on his form.

Top RCB batsman - Kohli
Top Daredevils Batsman - AB Devilliers

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Some odd SA selections to say the least!

Earlier this week South Africa named a number of its shortlists for touring teams to do duty in some up-coming tours:

ICC World Twenty20 Squad (prov)
Graeme Smith (Cape Cobras, captain)
Jacques Kallis (Warriors, vice-captain)
Loots Bosman (Dolphins)
Johan Botha (Warriors)
Mark Boucher (Warriors)
AB de Villiers (Titans)
JP Duminy (Cape Cobras)
Herschelle Gibbs (Cape Cobras)
Justin Kemp (Cape Cobras)
Charl Langeveldt (Cape Cobras)
Ryan McLaren (Diamond Eagles)
Albie Morkel (Titans)
Morne Morkel (Titans)
Wayne Parnell (Warriors)
Vernon Philander (Cape Cobras)
Dale Steyn (Titans)
Rusty Theron (Warriors)
Roelof van der Merwe (Titans)

I'd be a little surprised if either Kemp or Morne Morkel made the final cut here... Kemp's 33 now and while age shouldn't be grounds for exclusion I'm not sure he adds much. Why not take somebody like Thami Tsolekile and an up and coming "skiddy" type bowler like Francois Plaatjies along?

ODI Squad for West Indies Tour
Graeme Smith (Cape Cobras, captain)
Jacques Kallis (Warriors, vice-captain)
Hashim Amla (Dolphins)
Loots Bosman (Dolphins)
Johan Botha (Warriors)
Mark Boucher (Warriors)
AB de Villiers (Titans)
JP Duminy (Cape Cobras)
Charl Langeveldt (Cape Cobras)
Ryan McLaren (Diamond Eagles)
Morne Morkel (Titans)
Wayne Parnell (Warriors)
Alviro Petersen (Highveld Lions)
Dale Steyn (Titans)
Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Warriors)
Roelof van der Merwe (Titans)

Not much more you could have done with this side although I'm surprised that they are not giving more game time to a Mark Boucher backup of some description. I suspect the West Indies are going to get rolled again pretty much irrespective of what side we roll out - why not let some of the youngsters have a run? Should Duminy be there over a performing young batter like Vaughn van Jaarsveld or Steven Cook?

Test Squad for West Indies Tour
Graeme Smith (Cape Cobras, capt)
Jacques Kallis (Warriors, vice-capt)
Hashim Amla (Dolphins)
Johan Botha (Warriors)
Mark Boucher (Warriors)
AB de Villiers (Titans)
JP Duminy (Cape Cobras)
Paul Harris (Titans)
Ryan McLaren (Diamond Eagles)
Morne Morkel (Titans)
Wayne Parnell (Warriors)
Alviro Petersen (Highveld Lions)
Ashwell Prince (Warriors)
Dale Steyn (Titans)
Lonwabo Tsotsobe (Warriors)

Again a similar question about whether or not Duminy should be there (on current form). I don't like Ryan Mclaren as a test cricketer but I seem to be in the minority here so I'll just mumble quietly under my breath...

IPL Season 3 betting

The third season of the T20 cricket bonanza that is the Indian Premier League (IPL) is on its way and it looks like quite an open season this year.

The pre-season odds as supplied by the team at World Sports Betting:

Delhi Daredevils – 3.5 / 1
Chennai Super Kings – 5/1
Deccan Chargers – 5/1
Bangalore Royal Challengers – 6/1
Mumbai Indians – 6/1
Kolkata Knight Riders – 7/1
Kings Xi Punjab – 7.5/1
Rajasthan Royals – 8/1

I am a Deccan Chargers fan so I’ve backed them and the Rajasthan Royals in this years competition.

The Chargers are a quality outfit and surprised that they are not favourites this year but I’ll take those odds thank you very much!

The Royals also surprised me that they were so far out of favour with the bookies. The side includes some quality T20 players including:

• Graeme Smith
• Shane Warne
• Morne Morkel
• Shaun Tait
• Yussuf Pathan
• Johan Botha

Suffice to say they are my outside bet but the Chargers remain my first pick. Bring on the IPL!

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Well this is exciting cricket news!

The Cape Cobras today announced plans to become part of the world’s first global and continental sports franchise, linking up with teams from four other leading cricket nations.

Western Cape Cricket Chairman Mohamed Ebrahim and Chief Executive Andre Odendaal flew to London last night to discuss an agreement which will bring together the Rajasthan Royals of India, the Hampshire Hawks of England, Trinidad and Tobago of the West Indies, the Cape Cobras and one of the top Australian teams, soon to be announced.

The deal will apply to Twenty20 cricket in the five countries.

Details of the planned super-franchise, Royals2020, were announced at a press conference at Lord’s in London this afternoon.

Odendaal said that the partnership would have big benefits for the franchise, the players and the Cobras’ supporters, provided that all the details could be worked out.

“We have been talking about and developing this initiative for well over a year,” said Odendaal. “If formal agreements can be reached in the next few weeks, this new ‘family’ will be opening up a whole new path in cricket. The partners will continue to operate as they do at present in domestic cricket but with the benefits of working together.

Gerald Majola, CSA CEO, said: “CSA endorses this initiative and is confident that all stakeholders will conclude the details.

“This global link up will have benefits for the Cape Cobras through the injection of new funds and new energies that will bring further cricket development to the region and ultimately to South African cricket.

“The parties concerned are to be congratulated on this creative dimension to our sport. It is yet another bonus in this exciting era for domestic players to compete in the global arena”.

Franchise cricket making big strides

I know I have blogged on the subject before but I think it is significant to see how the franchise brands are beginning to become an out and out competitor against the international teams. For those who don't know I had said that I expect franchise cricket to overtake the importance of the international fixtures by around 2012.

This won't be limited to T20 cricket either but will see the franchises playing full length One Day fixtures and most probably test matches.

This T20 Champions Trophy event is already providing a competitor for sponsors money, supporters at the ground, television revenue and even the importance in the players careers.

Players who could be resting are driven to play by the money that is attached to it - at some point this is going to come at the detriment of the national teams as fatigue starts to kick in.

Personally I think we are reaching an intriguing stage in world cricket and I guess if I have to attach my flag to the franchises it will probably be the Deccan Chargers and the Cape Cobras.

Champions League Twenty20 kicks off

JP Duminy has kicked off the Champions League Twenty20 with a stirring 99 off 52 balls to help the Cape Cobras beat the Royal Challengers Bangalore - a good result but its a pity he couldn't do that for the Proteas in recent weeks!!

I have to say that I am a little disappointed in the low-key build-up to the tournament at least in South Africa. Conceptually I think that it is a great idea and a brilliant way to reinforce the franchise brands and yet a lot of people didn't even know the event kicked off yesterday.

Anyway I'm a supporter of the Cape Cobras domestically and I won some nice money supporting the Deccan Chargers last year so I guess I will spread some money around these two teams to go all the way. Thoughts on which teams are looking interesting this year?

Clouds hover over England

By: Tom Mallows

England travel to South Africa with great heart……………..oops sorry wrong sport.

While Fabio Capello’s England football squad will arrive in South Africa next summer confident of making an impact, the same cannot be said of the England cricket team ahead of the Champions trophy in the same country.

The long home summer, stretching from the start of May till end of September, came to a close in the Durham sunshine on Sunday, where England took a crumb of comfort from what was a miserable one-day series. Though even after skittling out the tourists for 176 they nearly contrived to throw it away as once again a middle order collapse gave the Australians the scent of victory. Thankfully Prior and Bresnan finished the job to seal a four wicket win.

With little time to draw breath the squad are on their way to Africa themselves for the Champions Trophy which begins this week.

With issues in the upper order and problems in the bowling attack even the most optimistic of England attack would foresee any other than early elimination. But we also carry with us a foolish optimism that things maybe different, perhaps the win in the North East can inspire the side to a Lazarus style comeback – I’m not holding my breath though.

Elsewhere the hosts South Africa will once again look to shake off their chokers tag, though Graeme Smith’s men clearly have the talent, they maybe hampered by a lack of competitive action since the Twenty/20 World Cup (in June. They begin against Kumar Sangakkara's talented Sri Lankan side. I consider them the two favourites alongside the old enemy Australia, who regained the number one spot during their series with England.

I can’t help but feeling an exciting tournament is needed to breathe new life into the 50 over format. The growth of Twenty/20, the arduous 2007 World Cup and the planned scrapping of the English domestic 50 over game has left many people scratching their heads as to the future of this form of cricket. A few swashbuckling batting performances and some spectacular bowling could inspire new interest in the game.

Sadly, if the past few weeks are anything to go by, that inspiration is not going to come from England.

Freddie Flintoff

As an aside - what do you guys make of Andrew Flintoffs career decision to become a hired mercenary and basically become a full-time free-lancer?

Freddie has never been the fittest guy around and injuries have weighed on him - suddenly he is running around the globe trying to fit in as many ODI and T20 games as possible. Wonder how many other quality international players are going to follow this kind of career path?

It could definately change the way world cricket is played and fit in with the scenario I presented a while back about franchise cricket overtaking international fixtures in terms of importance for both players and fans.

Is Test Cricket In Danger?

By Keith Barret

There has been a lot of talk recently that suggests that there are real problems ahead for Test Match cricket. These dangers appear to be caused by a combination of the increased popularity of Twenty-20 cricket and falling crowds at Test Matches in some parts of the world.

So let's take a look at some of these issues and see what's going on. One point to note is that more and more money is being pumped into the game in India, increasing the importance of this country massively in cricketing terms. It's also the country that has the greatest number of cricket fans in the world.

This is having a big impact on the game as a whole. The great success of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has brought vibrant matches to a large, worldwide audience. It's also clear that crowd levels at Test Matches in India appear to be much lower than those for IPL and other limited overs forms of the game. But does this necessarily indicate problems ahead?

The situation here in England is somewhat different. There's no doubt that Twenty-20 has made a big impact on the domestic game. Crowds have been much larger for these matches than they have in the 4-day County Championship matches. So this might indicate that the longer form of the game is certainly at risk.

Yet nothing is as simple as it may seem. Although county sides may indeed be struggling to attract large attendances to their County Championship contests, it seems that the national team are having no such problems. Attendances at Test cricket here in the UK tend to be impressive and tickets are in high demand.

So what is going? It seems clear that there are different approaches to the game in different parts of the world. Limited overs cricket is really capturing the attention in some parts of the world but Test Match cricket remains the primary form of the game for some viewers, especially in England and Australia.

Is this to be the end for Test Match cricket? It seems hard to believe that it possibly could be, although different countries may place more emphasis on particular forms of the game. There could be associated risks with this, but it may be best that we all simply accept that the newest form of the game provides new opportunities and helps to bring more people into the game.

Anything that makes cricket more popular has to be a good thing. One important set of people in all of this will be the players themselves. As long as they still see Test cricket as being important, it seems certain that this form of the game will continue.

Keith Barrett has written about cricket for a number of publications.

Bloody Pakistan ;-)

I can't believe it! After storming through our early matches South Africa got tripped up by the Pakistani's in the semi-finals of 2009 T20 World Cup.

Honestly I thought we had this tournament in the bag and personally I still believe that we are the best T20 side in the world.... Unfortunately the record book are going to say something very different when the world looks back on this tournament.

I have to tip my hat to Pakistan - they have once again come out of nowhere and are suddenly competing for a handy piece of silverware. Been an intriguing tournament without question.

Umar Gul and those last two overs he bowled were brilliant and I think he has given many international quick bowlers and answer to the question - "How the hell do you bowl in T20 cricket?!"

Great performance from Pakistan!

Hhhhmmmm

No Australia, No England and No India in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.... That's a bit of a surprise there....

England I didn't expect to get there but India have surprised me - thought they were going to put in a more consistent showing....

As I posted a couple of weeks back I put money down on SA, New Zealand, the West Indies and Bangladesh to win the tournament.... Three out of the four semi-finalists is not too bad.

Again good quality spinners have shone in the tournament.... Not quite the IPL but it's great when you're winning!

T20 Day 2

So Holland came through for me and beat the Poms at Lords! Hahahahhaha what a great start to the T20 World Cup - nothing better than watching the English side self destruct and keep letting the underdogs back into the side.

Lots of cricket on today and here are the bets I have placed. Teams haven't been confirmed so check the betting

New Zealand vs Scotland

• Coetzer - Top Scottish batter
  
• Ross Taylor or Jacob Oram to top the New Zealand batting - although Oram would assume that the Scots take a few wickets
  

Australia vs West Indies

• West Indies to win the game
• Dwayne Bravo - West Indies top batter
• David Hussey - Top Aussie batter

India vs. Bangladesh

• Ashraful - Top Bangladesh batter
  
• Top indian batter I spread three bets across Sehwag, Pathan and Jadeja (if he plays)
  

Happy punting

Are we heading for 20/20 overkill?

By Tom Mallows

It may seem a strange time to raise this subject - on the eve of the ICC World Twenty20, where the world’s finest players will compete once more in the newest and most frantic form of the game. But are we fast heading for saturation point?

After all the IPL has only just finished, the English domestic Twenty/20 has just begun, the Champions League awaits in October and the EPL set to start next year.

It is bit like when TV producers hit on a successful idea they assume that viewers want to see more of the same and flood the market with a million variations along the same theme. For example Big Brother was a highly original and successful idea but instead of TV Execs striving to find the next one, they have simply re-hashed the same format which has spawned a million and one different reality TV shows that now clog up our TV schedules.

The same seems to be the case with Twenty/20. The game’s administrators have hit upon a successful, innovative money making idea. It has brought the game to a whole new audience and revolutionised the way many people watch cricket. But like a kid let loose in a sweet shop you can have too much of a good thing, however much you disagree at the time.

Take the English summer for example. It is, of course, dominated by the Ashes series against Australia (and 2009 ashes betting is set to be intense), but the season has begun under a backdrop of empty grounds and poor ticket sales. The West Indies test series began earlier then any other test series in England and it showed when we saw the unusual and uncomfortable sight of a half empty chilly Lord’s on the opening day of a test series. The English counties have also reported a fall in Twenty/20 ticket sales for the opening round of games. You can’t blame the punters though, the early English summer is notoriously unreliable and with bigger matches and warmer weather to come, why fork out now?

It also has an impact from a playing point of view. Chris Gayle’s recent comments about not being bothered about the future of test cricket could spark a worrying trend - indeed the West Indies played like a side not interested in the longer form of the game.

If the game's administrators continue to flood the market with Twenty/20 tournaments the players are going to have to choose what tournaments they want to play in. Now it doesn’t take a genius to work out that they will choose the most lucrative. We could see a situation where players give up playing for their country in order to earn millions in the IPL or EPL.

I hope that the powers that be have noticed this problem brewing and will do enough to preserve the more traditional forms of the game while keeping 20/20 fresh and interesting. If not we could soon see fans walk away from cricket, whatever format it is played in.

T20 World Cup Picks

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while - I think after the IPL final I needed a bit of a break from cricket!

The T20 World Cup kicks off on the 5th of June in England and I guess I have to make some predictions here.

In terms of favourite to win the tournament I was a little surprised to see that the South African bookmakers have priced in India as the favourites followed by SA and then Australia.

Anyway I have placed a couple of bets here for outright winner. On current form I don't see how you can look beyond South Africa and with odds of 4-1 I think they're not a bad bet.

My next favourite was New Zealand - who I genuinely believe are going to be a handful in this tournament - and I got 8-1 on them.

The West Indies are one of those sides that blow hot and cold and bearing in mind that they've had some time in England, putting a few bucks down on them at 14-1 is a fair call I think.

Finally I got offered odds of 80-1 on Bangladesh so I put 5 bucks down on them. I don't have a huge amount of faith on them coming home but T20 is a lottery and might be a bit of fun to follow them and see what comes of it!

IPL observation

I have an observation on this years IPL... T20 isn't a young mans game and experience has counted for a helluva lot this year.




Have a look at the top batters after 6 games - age in brackets:

• Matthew Hayden (37)
• Suresh Raida (23)
• Adam Gilchrist (37)
• Sachin Tendulkar (36)
• Herschelle Gibbs (35)

Obviously runs are pretty closely contested in this format of the game but I think its interesting that apart from Raida, the top batters are 35 and older - so much for smash and bash one day cricket.

Rahul Dravid (36) is also in the mix just below the top 5.

The bowlers were a very mixed bag with Yusuf Abdullah topping the ranks followed by "Slinger" Malinga.... Indian legspin master Anil Kumble was there or there abouts but no clear trend seemed to come through on the bowling front.

In terms of the batters though - I wonder if it is a case that they're not batting with a weight of expectation on their shoulders and are just going out to have a bit of fun or maybe administrators and fans get so wrapped up in "the next big thing" that we forget how much value and experience thes guys bring to the party?

Yeah yeah yeah!

Can you say Deccan Chargers baby!!!!

Gibbs and Gilchrist are loving this format of the game and they're just on top of their game -it's great to watch....

We racked up another hard fought win over the Chennai Super Kings today.... A good weekend of cricket for us.

How cool has it been to watch Shane Warne playing!? The standing (if a little uncultured) joke in South Africa is that Warney likes this T20 lark because the two guys who knew how to play him - Hansie Cronje and Jonty Rhodes - one is dead and one has retired...

Moving swiftly along...

Have to put the boot in again as well here... Freddie Flintoff and KP are the two most expensive players in this years IPL if my stats are correct... and they've contributed how much in runs and wickets?!

Not sure either of these guys classify as the top cricketers in the ODI format of the game... but that's just personal opinion and I appreciate that there is more a "celeb" factor when one looks at KP as opposed to cricketing skills.

To be honest

I have to say that despite my reservations about T20 cricket I've actually spent more time following the IPL this year than last year.

Heck I've even got a favourite team (The Deccan Chargers)!

Looking at the crowds as well, its probably been a good boost for SA cricket and tourism so that should have some economic spin-offs as well ...

... and best of all the cricket has been classy!

The Mumbai Indians and the Deccan Chargers are the top two teams in the competition at the moment and they haven't gotten there with crazy slogging cricket.

Gilchrist, Gibbs and Tendulkar have put on some seriously classy batting displays and while its not really a bowlers format of cricket, there have been some good spells as well.

T20 World Cup

The T20 World Cup 2009 is due to kick off on the 6th of June and I thought it might be a bit of fun to take a look at the various sides and their prospects.

Bearing in mind that T20 is a bit of a lottery and last time around Bangladesh knocked out India and the West Indies incredibly managed to qualify ahead of us on some technicality, the T20 should be a bit of fun.

Group A

• India
• Bangladesh
• Ireland
  

Group B

• Pakistan
• England
• Netherlands

Group C

• Australia
• Sri Lanka
• West Indies

Group D

• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Scotland

There is quite a lot of whingeing about the composition of Group C in particular for obvious reasons and its actually quite interesting because I've put a few bucks down on the West Indies winning the whole thing.... which means ODI specialists Sri Lanka or Australia get knocked out in the first round.

Put some money down on SA as well just to keep things interesting...

Of the sides I reckon those in with a reasonable shout have to be Australia, South Africa, India, New Zealand and the West Indies. I think the rest are really there to make up the numbers.... until Pakistan prove me wrong.

Anybody else out there got any favourites / thoughts for this competition?

Too much cricket?

Well the third ODI between South Africa and Australia is being described as a "Cliffhanger" of a finish in the local media today....

It is great that we've won, but I get the sense that the sides are now just going through the motions. The South Africans are experimenting and giving runs to guys like Parnell and Van Der Merwe which I think is great but maybe 5 ODI's on top of 3 T20's games is just too much cricket.

Like I said on The Baggy Green - Johnson, Ponting, Mike Hussey, Clarke and Haddin have all played an absolute stack of cricket in the last few months and I wonder if maybe they didn't deserve a bit of a break to recharge their batteries.

For us we've been able to call on Parnell, Van Der Merwe, Botha, Gibbs and Albie Morkel who are all relatively fresh which seems to be coming through in our approach to this ODI series.

Everybody can start taking a look toward the T20 world cup after the IPL.