Speed reins in hype over Twenty20

The reception by the public, the media and the players has exceeded our expectations

ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed on the World Twenty20

The meteoric success of the first World Twenty20 will not lead to fewer 50-overs-a-side matches, insists the International Cricket Council.

There have been calls to drop the Champions Trophy event following the successful debut of the shorter format and India's eventual victory.

But ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed told: "We are committed to the Champions Trophy in 2008 and 2010.

"We have a problem of fitting Twenty20 into the international calendar."

There will be another ICC World Twenty20 in England in 2009.

But Speed claimed 50-over internationals - such as the four-yearly World Cup, the Champions Trophy and most limited-overs series between member nations - would not diminish in importance.

He said: "Everyone is very pleased with the success of the [Twenty20] tournament.

"We thought it would be well received in South Africa, and the reception by the public, the media and the players has exceeded our expectations.

"I don't agree with much of the criticism about the last two World Cups, although some of it is valid.

"But in any event we're very pleased that we've had a very successful event."

The World Cup in the Caribbean earlier in 2007 was criticised for having draconian regulations for spectators and half-empty grounds due to high ticket prices.

At the World Twenty20, tickets were cheap, grounds were full, and the fans were allowed to bring in huge flags - which created a spectacular atmosphere for the final between India and Pakistan.

"There were an amazing number of flags," said Speed.

"We try to learn from previous events; the fans seem to want to bring their flags in, and express their patriotism for their country so it was great to see that."

He acknowledged that the ICC faced a challenge to fit a third format of the game into a calendar already packed with Tests and 50-over internationals.

But he confirmed that the next World Cup would be much shorter, down to five weeks from seven.

In addition, the 2008 Champions Trophy would be completed in just over two weeks.

"We are committed to the Champions Trophy," Speed insisted.

"It will be an eight-team event, with two groups of four - a short, sharp tournament with the best teams playing in Pakistan next year in September. I think that will be a great event.

"It's a terrific problem to have, now we have three forms of the game.

"As cricket administrators we are very committed to Test cricket, the primary form of the game - it's important we preserve and maintain that.

Olympic sport?

"Fifty-over one-day cricket has proved to be very popular - we have just seen in England a seven-match series with sell-outs in every venue.

"So far the policy is that we have limited the number of international Twenty20 matches each team can play - three home matches and four away matches in a year.

FUTURE ICC TOURNAMENTS
2008: Champions Trophy, Pakistan (50 overs per side)
2009: World Twenty20, England
2010 : Champions Trophy, West Indies
2011: World Cup, South Asia
2012-14: Two Champions Trophy and one Twenty20, or vice versa

"We'll review that but at this stage we are very comfortable with that formula."

Speed did concede that if cricket ever became an Olympic sport, Twenty20 would be the best format.

But his view that the Champions Trophy will continue, albeit in a shortened format, may well still disappoint many observers of the game.

BBC cricket correspondent Jonathan Agnew said on Monday: "I don't see how they can seriously consider running three global tournaments in a four-year cycle.

"Something has to go and hopefully the Champions Trophy will get cut."

But the ICC was roundly applauded for its handling of the World Twenty20.

The Independent's cricket correspondent, Stephen Brenkley, said on Test Match Special: "I would go so far as to say it's world cricket reborn, and most importantly the players have embraced it as well."

India beat Pakistan in the Final of Twenty20 World Cup

THE bowler was Sharma. It was the last over of a final. A six would have done it. The echoes of history thundered through the souls of every spectator aware of the annals of Pakistan-India matches.

Alas, for Misbah-ul-Haq it was not to be. No Miandad moment for him. Pakistan’s premier batsman in the tournament almost saved his team from a self-inflicted disaster, yet he will regret forever his decision to chip a slowish delivery over fine leg. On such moments are heroes made, fortunes lost, and hearts broken.

After a year that brought Pakistan cricket face to face with every controversy possible, Shoaib Malik’s young team came eyeball to eyeball with rivals India in a World Cup final.

That it was only Twenty20, the Zinger Burger of international cricket, mattered for nothing. What mattered was that Pakistan and India, the best-followed nations in the world, had recovered from their Caribbean limbo dance. Cricket in the two countries had never stooped lower but in Johannesburg it reached a height that nobody could have imagined. When this form of cricket was conceived it seemed ideal for Pakistan’s mentality, particularly the batsmen who often play as if 20 overs are too long. But it is Pakistan’s bowlers who have been the stars of this tournament.

This harks back to Pakistan’s best era in world cricket when its bowlers were always capable of keeping the team in any match. The last few years have seen an unsettled bowling attack, unable to adhere to the basics of top-class bowling. With Geoff Lawson’s arrival the bowlers have rediscovered their radar and ensured Pakistan reached the final and created a winning position.

Once again, Umar Gul was the pick of the bowlers, a mature stallion able to york and bounce the batsmen at will. These are the ancient arts of fast bowling and Gul has mastered them. He won what was supposed to be the key contest of the final, Pakistan’s tussle with Yuvraj Singh, the best batsman in the tournament undone by the best bowler.

The target was straightforward in ideal batting conditions, and Pakistan must have thought the match was won at half-time. But India fought back with tight if unspectacular bowling and Pakistan’s batsmen lost the battle of minds.

Two vital decisions turned the innings in India’s favour. First was Younis Khan’s call for a quick single immediately after Imran Nazir’s request for a runner had been rightly turned down. Nazir was run out, limping a quick single. The second misjudgement was to hold Shahid Afridi back until the pressure was too great for his brain to control the mental explosion.

There is no shame in this defeat even though it might be at the hands of Pakistan’s biggest rivals. Malik and Lawson have revived Pakistan as a force in world cricket. It is an era begun with energy, passion, discipline and much excitement.

Pakistan, India seek redemption in dream final

Pakistan, India seek redemption in dream final

Action begins at 5:00pm (PST)

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 23: The young guns of India and Pakistan will square off in a dream final of the Twenty20 World Championship on Monday at the culmination of a tournament which has changed the face of cricket.

After a clinical Pakistan performance saw off the challenge of New Zealand at Cape Town in the first of two semi-finals on Saturday, India recorded a stunning victory in Durban against the previously all-conquering Australians.

Less than six months after both sides returned in disgrace from the 50-over World Cup, they now have a perfect opportunity for redemption, albeit with vastly different line-ups since their early departure from the Caribbean.

Rookie Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik and incoming India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni have the chance to lift a major trophy after a tournament that has packed in more thrills and close finishes in a fortnight than six weeks in the West Indies.

After another six-packed batting performance propelled his side to victory against Australia, India’s hero Yuvraj Singh declared that a match against arch-rivals Pakistan was the icing on the cake.

“India-Pakistan is always a huge competition. It’s just like a dream for us,” said Yuvraj after smashing 70 off just 30 balls.With fellow master-blasters Dhoni and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi both due to take the field at the batsman-friendly Wanderers here, a sell-out crowd on what is a bank holiday in South Africa can expect another run-fest.Dhoni’s swashbuckling style is in stark contrast to that of his predecessor as captain, Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid, who was rested for the tournament along with India’s other long-time star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly.

After so often being crushed by the weight of expectations from their vast fanbase, India’s new generation has been revelling in the role of underdogs.“We never started out as favourites, nobody expected us to reach the semi-finals,” said Dhoni after victory over the Australians.“You can expect a healthy rivalry over there (against Pakistan in Johannesburg) and a tough game of cricket.”

Victory for Pakistan would be even more unexpected and mark a dramatic reversal in fortunes after a year of hell for India’s neighbours.After a drugs scandal and defeat to Ireland in the World Cup, even worse was to follow with the death in Jamaica of their coach Bob Woolmer who was initially presumed to have been murdered.

Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq then quit, star batsman Mohammad Yousuf was cast adrift for signing up to a rebel Twenty20 tournament and controversy even continued to dog the team in South Africa with controversial speedster Shoaib Akhtar sent home for assaulting a team-mate on the eve of the tournament.

The 25-year-old Shoaib Malik however has been a breath of fresh air, inspiring Pakistan to become arguably the sharpest fielders in the competition.While Inzamam was famously inept between the wickets, Shoaib volunteered to act as a runner when Imran Nazir pulled a hamstring against the Kiwis.

Shoaib has been trying to keep his team’s feet on the ground but believes that victory is within their grasp.

“In Pakistan we have lots of talent which, Insha Allah, we are going to utilise and, Insha Allah, the Pakistan team will be number one very soon.”

Victory over India would make Shoaib the skipper of the first Pakistan team to ever beat their arch rivals in a major international tournament.

The only other time they have played each other in a final was back in Australia in 1985 when India won the World Championship of Cricket in Melbourne.

Teams (from):

PAKISTAN: Shoaib Malik (captain), Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif, Yasir Arafat, Salman Butt, Rao Iftikhar, Abdul Rehman.

INDIA: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Joginder Sharma, R.P. Singh, Shantakumaran Sreesanth, Ajit Agarkar, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla.

Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Mark Benson (England).

TV umpire: Daryl Harper (Australia).Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

ICC World Twenty20

ICC World Twenty20 Super Eights, Johannesburg: New Zealand 190 (20 overs) beat India 180-9 (20 overs) by 10 runs

Daniel Vettori produced a superb spell of spin bowling as New Zealand beat India by 10 runs at the World Twenty20.

Vettori took 4-20 as India squandered a flying start in reply to New Zealand's score of 190 all out in Johannesburg.
Gautam Gambhir (51) and Virender Sehwag (40) put on 76 in 5.5 overs but wickets fell regularly after Sehwag was caught and they came up short on 180-9.
Oram earlier made 35 in a crucial stand of 73 with Craig McMillan for the Kiwis after they slumped from 69-1 to 91-5.
The pair struck seven sixes between them but the innings ended in chaos with four wickets falling in the final over, including three run outs.

New Zealand went into the game, the first Super Eight of the tournament, with a side showing one change to that beaten by Sri Lanka less than 24 hours earlier as off-spinner Jeetan Patel replaced Chris Martin.
But he was confined to the dug-out at the start as Mahendra Dhoni won the toss for India and chose to field first.
RP Singh struck in the second over when Lou Vincent mis-timed an attempted pull and was well caught by Dinesh Karthik diving forward at mid-wicket.
But Brendan McCullum played beautifully off front and back foot, collecting nine fours in his 45 off 31 balls as he and Peter Fulton put on 58 for the second wicket.
The introduction of spin checked their progress as Fulton fell lbw for 21, playing across the line to a doosra from Harbhajan Singh, who then had McCullum taken at wide long-on.
New Zealand had lost their way when McMillan and Oram came together in the 13th over, but sheer brute force served them well as they lifted the scoring rate.
Yuvraj Singh conceded 25 from one over as three sixes disappeared into the crowd and Sree Santh suffered the same fate two overs later before Oram finally lofted a catch to long-off.

India were ahead of the game while Sehwag was at the crease
The final over began with Vettori (15) bowled by RP Singh and Shane Bond, McMillan and Patel were all run out in a final over which turned into a procession.
It was still a daunting target for India, but Sehwag set about the task with two fours and a pick-up over long-on for six in Mark Gillespie's opening over, and Gambhir showed little respect for Bond's pedigree by taking 18 off the next.
Patel fared even worse when he was brought on for the fifth over, conceding 20 as Sehwag hit three fours before driving over extra cover for six and it was a huge disappointment for India when the opener hit a Jacob Oram full toss to mid-wicket.
Vettori took a tame return catch and then struck a crucial blow when Gambhir, having struck a six over long-on to bring up his fifty, attempted a sweep later in the over but only succeeded in gloving a catch to the keeper.
Yuvraj only managed five before top-edging a sweep off Patel to deep mid-wicket and India could ill afford the run out of Dhoni for 24 after being sent back by Karthik.
When Pathan was bowled by a beauty from Vettori which hit the top of off stump, India only had the tail-enders left and although Fulton dropped Agarkar in the deep, it did not matter as New Zealand closed out the victory.
Man of the Match Daniel Vettori:"We did well to put a score on the board. It was quite tricky early on, but Craig McMillan and Jacob Oram got us to a defendable total.
"After their start I wasn't so sure but we pulled it back in the middle and our fielding and bowling was exceptional."
"It's a difficult game for a spinner, particularly with the small boundaries, so you have to be a little bit quicker and invent things at times, and I was lucky enough to get away with it today."
India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni:"We could have restricted them to 15 or 20 runs less and our bowlers didn't do too well at the end. That was the crucial part of the game.
"After the start we got we should have got the runs but in the middle we lost too many wickets.
"In the first match [against Pakistan], the bowlers took the initiative and in this match the batsmen did pretty well, so in the next match I hope we'll do well as a team."

South Africa beat England

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 16: South Africa beat England by 19 runs in the Twenty20 World Cup Group E match in Cape Town on Sunday.

Scores: South Africa 154/8; England 135-7.

Australia beat Bangladesh by nine wickets in the Group F match.

Scores: Australia: 124-1 (M. Hayden 73); Bangladesh 123-8;

New Zealand beat India by 10 runs in the Group E match.

Scores: New Zealand 190, India 180-9 (G. Gambhir 51).

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South Africa Trounce West Indies in the Inaugural Match of Twenty20 World Cup

South Africa beat West Indies in a thrilled inaugural match of Twenty20 World Cup at wanderers on Tuesday.

Earlier West Indies were able to set the target of 205/6 in 20 overs which was later chased by South Africa with the lost of 2 wickets in 17.4 overs.