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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

The Dream Team Twenty 20 - 2009

In our previous article we picked the best individual performances at the World Twenty20. This time round, we identify the players who performed well consistently throughout the tournament and pick the best eleven of the tournament- the Dream Team.

One caveat before we begin our selection- we are looking at players who have participated in at least four matches, long enough for them to have shown consistency over a number of matches. Here is the World Twenty20 2009 Dream Team.

	Tillakaratne Dilshan Batsman	Runs: 317 Strike Rate: 144.7 Castrol Index: 81 An easy selection to begin with- Dilshan was the stand out batsman of the tournament scoring nearly 100 more runs than his closest competitor.
	Jacques Kallis All Rounder	Runs: 238 Strike Rate: 126.6 Wickets: 3 Economy Rate: 7.1 Castrol Index:76 The South African all-rounder showed he can perform at the highest level even in the shortest form of the game finishing as the tournament’s second highest run scorer and leading South Africa’s charge to the semis.
	Shahid Afridi All Rounder	Runs: 176 Strike Rate: 140.8 Wickets: 11 Economy Rate: 5.3 Castrol Index: 89 Another easy pick- Afridi was miserly with the ball throughout the tournament, picked up regular wickets, and came through with the bat in the big matches. Probably the best Twenty20 player in the world at the moment!
	AB de Villiers Wicketkeeper	Runs: 186 Strike Rate: 155.0 Castrol Index: 60 AB was consistent with the bat and the tournament’s best fielder- his stock as a cricketer has risen tremendously over the past twelve months.
	Lendl Simmons Wicketkeeper	Runs: 150 Strike Rate: 137.6 Castrol Index: 64 The young West Indian had a great run with the bat and was also handy with the ball, picking up 6 wickets including a four-for against Sri Lanka. He edged out the likes of Kevin Pietersen and Yuvraj Singh for this spot.
	Kumar Sangakkara Wicketkeeper	Runs: 177 Strike Rate: 108.6 Castrol Index: 36 Not a great tournament with the bat by his standards. Still, he up with a gritty performance in the final, was the best keeper-batsman in the tournament and admirably led his side throughout the competition; which rightfully earns him a place in the Dream Team.
	Dwayne Bravo All Rounder	Runs: 154 Strike Rate:145.3 Wickets:10 Economy rate:8.8 Castrol Index: 74 Stellar contributions from Bravo helped the West Indies make the final four- he delivered with bat and ball including a super all-round display against India at Lord’s.
	Saeed Ajmal Bowler	Wickets: 12 Economy rate:5.8 Castrol Index: 59 The Pakistani off-spinner played a pivotal role for his side, keeping it tight in the middle overs and frustrating batsmen into making mistakes.
	Ajantha Mendis Bowler	Wickets: 12 Economy rate:5.5 Castrol Index: 55 The mystery bowler ended with the highest bowling efficiency score among all players who participated in at least four matches. That means based on bowling alone, Mendis was the best of the lot and he makes it in the Dream Team. Roelof van der Merwe can consider himself unlucky to miss out on, but Ajmal and Mendis get the nod ahead of him. Barely!
	Umar Gul Bowler	Wickets: 13 Economy rate:6.4 Castrol Index: 52 The tournament’s highest wicket taker established himself as the best death bowler in the game. It’s remarkable that he went at just six and a half runs an over considering he often bowled at the end of the innings.
	Wayne Parnell Bowler	Wickets: 9 Economy rate:5.7 Castrol Index: 53 Parnell rounds up our Dream Team. He was the best bowler with the new ball and turned in match winning performances against the West Indies and England.

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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Harsha Bhogle’s take on Finals

sri lanka’s progress in this tournament is a great advertisement for bowlers in t20 cricket. with a slightly shaky batting line up that is over-reliant at the moment on the top 4 they have marched into the final without losing a game. but now they will come up against a side to whom their bowling isn’t a great mystery and who possess a well rounded bowling side themselves.

sri lanka are riding a wave of confidence but will be a bit worried about the fact that they have been propped up by the great form of tillekaratne dilshan. sanath jayasuriya isn’t looking in great form but he is one of the finest big game players and if he plays with freedom in the final, he could give sri lanka the runs they need for their bowlers.

both sides like to bat first and while the toss isn’t that important in t20 normally (it was at trent bridge where, quite frankly the wickets weren’t suitable for a tournament of this nature), on the big day you want to score runs first. it means a great deal for both sides to win this and there will be the extra, difficult to account for, factor of pressure. if sri lanka have to bat second and lose a couple of early wickets pakistan will fancy their chances.

but then you just can’t tell with pakistan. afridi might fire a quick 50 or pop the first ball up in the air. that is why the return of razzak is so important for them. it allows them to bat till no 8 and absorb a few early losses. i have also noticed that shoaib malik is playing a lot of shots early on and maybe the mandate is that younus and misbah will handle a crisis if it arises and that the top three, especially akmal and afridi, will be given the licence to play the big shots.

pakistan are looking the more rounded side but they have to play two opponents; sri lanka and themselves. by contrast the lankans have only to play pakistan.

Harsha Bhogle

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