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England crush Australia in 20/20
By Will 3 years ago, mid-June, 13 Comments »
OK - firstly, let me apologise. It’s not often a fervent cricket fan can celebrate a victory against Australia. Furthermore, it’s not often any such victory against them is ever described as “crushing.” So you’ll forgive my tabloid-style headline, for it is actually true.
After Michael Clarke lost his kit, and Michael Kasprowicz had some cash stolen - both in Leicester, reportedly - this loss against their oldest enemy will hurt (and surprise) them the most. As “Boof” Lehmann said on commentary, “Man, they’ll be hurting big style right now.”
As is 20/20’s very nature, everything happened very quickly. England eventually compiled a reasonable score, but were clearly edgy - several players indicating in post-innings interviews that the pitch was a belter (and it looked as such). Trescothick’s pedestrian 40 (from 37 balls!) was a vital cornerstone, and he looked in very good nick. Kevin Pietersen, man of the match, made a brutal, vital and telling 34 - from just 18 balls. As I’ve said before, it will only take a few innings of brutality/brilliance by Pietersen to oust Thorpe for the first Test at Lord’s and, today, he made another mark in the selector’s heads. 3 comfortable catches and a good innings, in his first game against possibly the best side in history. Nicely done.
Then carnage insued. Pensioner Darren Gough and debutant Jon Lewis (”never knowingly undersold” as David Lloyd said!) ripped out Australia’s top order. By the time Martin had edged Lewis to Trescothick, standing alone in the slips, Australia had crumbled to 31-7. Some key points:
Yes it’s a 20/20. Yes it’s not a 50 over game, or a Test match. But, had Australia won, you can bet most of the Australian media asking: “What’s all the fuss about this so-called New England? Same old, same old.” They’ve lost their first game against England on tour; Australia don’t do things like that, and will be licking their wounds.
I’m not making any more comment about how brilliant England were, or whether Australia were jet-lagged: England had a great day, and Australia had a shocker. But although many will say “Mate, it’s just a warm-up - you wait ’til the Tests”, England have just issued the strongest signal yet that they are well up for this series.
13 Comments »“A nice little taster”
By Will 3 years ago, mid-June, No Comments; be the first!
General consensus of this debut International 20/20 in England, between England and Australia, is it’s a taster of things to come. Both sides seem to be taking it more seriously than the New Zealand / Australia encounter earlier in the year. I’m sure there’ll be some personal battles going on, and I’m sure both sides will be keen as mustard to win it. Looks like a great atmosphere.
(Note to self: must see some 20/20 this year “live”)
No Comments »England win first Ashes Toss of the summer
By Will 3 years ago, mid-June, No Comments; be the first!
Oh stop laughing - I was bound to say it. Yes, England has won the first Ashes toss of the summer. And what a huge psychological advantage it is!
Tongue firmly in t’cheek…
No Comments »England v Australia - 20/20 wicket updates
By Will 3 years ago, mid-June, 5 Comments »
OK so the first mickey-mouse game of the summer, and the first game of this absurdly-exciting series, gets underway tomorrow, in 23 and a half hours time. 20/20 all but passed me by last season - but I did catch a glimpse of Surrey’s win (I think it was Surrey?), and I’m sure I’ll enjoy them this year. I’m still a purist (”Test Cricket is the only true test of a player’s ability” et al), but ODIs have brought great entertainment - and it’s been fascinating to see 20/20 take off.
Although, Australian coach John Buchanan has just stated his concerns over the 20/20 format: I wonder whether his opinion of it will change come September?
I’ll be providing wicket-alerts (and score updates) of this game by email - if you want to receive updates, just leave a comment below. Incidentally, I intend to offer DVD-recorded highlights of Ashes games this year, as I spoke about in February, starting from tomorrow.
5 Comments »RIP 50-over ODIs?
By Will 3 years ago, mid-February, 6 Comments »
I’ve read a lot of discussion and articles on 20/20 lately, some suggesting this be the end of the “traditional” 50 over ODI format. I can’t see this happening myself, but I’m sure the effects of the Twenty Twenty game will creep into ODIs and, eventually, Tests. We’ve already witnessed teams, led by Australia, score quite comfortably at 4/over in the past 3 or 4 years - is it too outlandish to suggest 3/over is sluggish, nowadays? - and I doubt this “average scoring” will increase much in the next 3.
- England were bowled out for 190 in the first ever ODI, hitting only seven boundaries in 39.4 overs - with each over comprising eight deliveries
- Australia won comfortably by five wickets, but their top scorer Ian Chappell took 103 balls to make 60
But…Twenty Twenty, for all its gimmicks and tackiness, does stretch players’ capabilities; they have to invent new shots, be more creative in shot-placements and the “drive” (pardon the pun) to hit boundaries is now even stronger. It is these “mentalities” that could creep into the other forms of cricket if 20/20 continues to be played. Having said all that, and if I’m still blogging in 5 years, I might well have to eat my hat as we watch England score 500 in a day v Australia on day 1 of an Ashes series 
Much debate on Twenty Twenty here. Perhaps my biggest fear or annoyance is how Twenty Twenty makes Cricket even more of a batsman’s game than ever before….
6 Comments »