Greg,thank you for your statesman like intervention. The cold war is thawed.Let the global warming of cricket debate continue unabted.
cheers

cheers

Vinay, a comment of clarification, if I may. In no way was I casting aspertions at you, and for the exact reason you mention: you’re new to The Roar, and I know nothing about you. If any offence was caused then I do apologise, but it was not my intention. You will recall though that it was you that introduced the link between Indian sponsors and India’s draw for this tournament, and not me. As I said in my comment to Spiro, “I think we all hope that wouldn’t be the case, that demands or such were made about India’s draw”. Thanks also to Dave Simpson for providing more detail on the tournament seedings too. By that system, Australia will definitely be unseeded for the next T20WC, and may in fact face a tougher draw than this tournament.

On the subject of the sponsors you mentioned, a number of those, particularly Hero Honda and LG, are long-term ICC sponsors, and have also appeared on the fences at Australian Test venues for several years now (I checked on a few of my photos over the years lst night). For the record, I love a good conspiracy threory, but I am sure there is nothing sinister in their continued involvement.

Additionally, you would have noted that apart from the one comment that seems to have sparked your annoyance with me, that I am actually in full agreement with you, and again, I said as much in my above mentioned reply to Spiro.

Finally, a belated welcome to The Roar. I have read and enjoyed your article this morning, and I look forward to future debate and discussion with you..

Brett – when I wrote “400th recorded comment” yesterday, I very deliberately included the word “recorded”. I am well aware that you are batting well above 260 in terms of comments overall, because often I do not see that beautiful Roar t-shirt with your comments.

To both of you – please keep posting comments!

Now for the other point by the poster. The draw is odd. The seeded teams are the 8 that made the 2nd stage of the Twenty20 last time. Thus based upon Bangladesh’s single win last time they are seeded this time and had a 3 out of 4 chance of facing another lowly ranked team (Ireland). Ireland duly won and look forward to another kind draw next tournament. In this way they may continue to qualify for the super 8 without having to beat another top 8 ranked team. This could be regarded as a an unfair system, however that is the advantage that the top 8 teams started with. One variation touted is that the super 8 should gain prequalification for the next tournament but seedings of the 16 finalists should be based upon world rankings. Yet, if that was the case West indies and Bangladesh would be swapped and the first group stage would have looked fairly bland. Instead we get the romance of Ireland and Bangladesh fighting for a super eight place and a facinating ‘group of death’. At the end of the day I like the format

As to Brett’s conjecture I find it offensive that he should cast aspersions about someone he knows nothing about.

I was introduced to the Roar by Kersi MH and I have known him a long time. He would be the person to inquire about my writing or any other credentials. There is a saying from the Mahabharata that one is judged long after one dies. But he is slandered and crticised every day.

I am all for reasoned and nay even jocular debate. But irony ,I find,is the cheapest form of wit.

Brett, in the true spirit of cricket and sport, I am over whatever you implied or insinuated. Lets move on

Cheers

Sri Lanka have got through with two quicks (but not necessarily express), rotated cleverly with spinners and part-timers. Australia’s attack was right- and left-arm pace, followed by several meds, followed by a spinner and maybe some part-timers. As I’ve said above, that same template has been in operation in ODIs for as long as I’ve been watching cricket…

Brett hits one nail on the head with his statement that “Australia has essentially used ODI tactics (bat first, set big target, attack with pace) since the inception of T20Is and still the penny hasn’t dropped”. With another Roar article today (“Australia lose and drop out of World Twenty20″) I have posted essentially irrefutable statistical evidence for this.

I would like to take issue with the oft-made statement about selecting T20 specialists. Look at the recent IPL, in which players like Hayden, Gilchrist, Kumble and RP Singh were the most successful. There was even the spectacle of The Wall (Dravid) batting Bangalore into the final. These examples prove to me that native cricket skills transfer across all forms of the game. The much mentioned Brad Hodge is further proof of this – far from being a T20 specialist, he’s good in all forms.

Perhaps there’s place for 1 or 2 specialists per side, but that would be about it. Really specialization is in the mind, e.g. quite clearly Chris Gayle is most interested in being good at T20, but in reality he can be excellent at whatever form of cricket he really turns his mind to.

As already indicated, I have said my piece elsewhere (“Australia lose and drop out of World Twenty20″) on what I feel Australia’s T20 problems are.

I have made more progress towards Shane Warne’s mark than I intended to today!

Both Vinay and you are bang on the money, by the way, Australia was completely and comprehensively out-thought and outplayed in both games over the weekend, and yes, a major re-think of T20 selection is clearly required. Australia has essentially used ODI tactics (bat first, set big target, attack with pace) since the inception of T20Is and still the penny hasn’t dropped. Even my third grade side knows the key is building partnerships rather than outright slogging, and taking the pace off the ball rather than all-out pace.

And Vinay, I’ve noted down your “Its like practising on the range. Dont waste the balls just because you have a bucket full.” comment for future reference, that has so many applications, and is so true…

Australia seem incapable of thinking on the run. Sri Lanka opened with Jayasuriya to see if there was some turn. Mendis came on early and Malinga only got one over to start with. Australia on the other hand persisted with Lee and Johnson for four overs. Clarke and Hauritz should have bowled earlier. Michael Hussey dropped a sitter and Ponting for the most part was bemused. 20/20 is no place to reflect and ponder. Like a boxer you have to ride the punches and counter attack. It is changing every ball and you only get 120 balls. Its like practising on the range. Dont waste the balls just because you have a bucket full.

Ponting played a cracking back foot drive off mendis that showed his pedigree. A bit wasted in this twitter,twitter format.

We all know how good Australian cricket is so I wouldn’t worry to much about this lads

http://cricket.yahoo.com/icc/qualification/7/qualifications

By the way, when was The Roar born?

Shay,
I like your system. Ssed the countries by their ranking.. By the current system, Australia was disadvantaged and India is benefitted.

I think Greg (and this is without any certainty) that the “seedings’ are based on the previous T20WC placings (I’m assuming the Super 8 stage), but I don’t know what they were, except that India and Pakistan played the final. Someone has already pointed out on The Roar today that Australia’s early exit now means that they likely won’t be seeded for next months installment of the T20WC (or however often they’re held), but I’m not sure if that means qualifying is required. Ireland and the Netherlands definitely came through qualifying touraments. I will try and track down the policy…

Now as for the 260 comments, that wouldn’t include any that I’ve made without being “logged in” (like this one), as my “other” computer and network doesn’t let me get to my profile for some such reason. So that number would be higher in reality, but if my boss is reading, it would only be a total of 261 comments

In terms of being an equitable draw, you have to remember that when there was “fairer” draws in the 50-over world cups we still had upsets, with Bangladesh and Ireland getting through the group stages in 2007 (at the expense of Pakistan and India)…and Kenya and Zimbabwe getting through in 2003.

I don’t know exactly how the draw works for the T20 WC, but I’m assuming India have an “easy” draw because they won the last tournament.

Four teams would seem sensible, but I guess the organisers want the tournament to be different..and I do like the fact that it’s all over in 15-days.

A complete change of topic: this is my 400th recorded comment on The Roar. I dedicate it not to Brian Lara but to his batting (cricket tragics will immediately understand why). The aesthete and the lover of Shakespeare in me finds so much in Lara and his batting that confirms cricket as the greatest sport of all. In modern times he is exceeded in these respects only by Shane Warne, but I have a while to go before I reach 708!

Incidentally, some other running tallies: Spiro Zavos 1019 comments, Brett McKay 260.

The format for this tournament is ridiculously poor. Australia are in a group with West Indies and Sri Lanka (all three are among the best 8 teams in the world), while India are matched with Bangladesh and Ireland (two of whom certainly aren’t). Surely the simplest seeding mechanism would have avoided this! To add to that, the Super Eights groups are not based on who finishes first or second in their groups, but they are pre-determined so that, for example, the Windies-Sri Lanka game will now be completely meaningless. If they are going to make a world championship, they should take it seriously – how about three groups of four, with top two and two “lucky losers” making the Super Eights? How about two pools of six, everyone gets five games each, then go to quarter-finals?

That all said, I still can’t take International T20 seriously, and it seems by some results over the weekend, that neither can some countries. As Nick said above there is FAR too much cricket now, and more and more T20 is nothing more than a cynical cash-grab. I’ve written previously, and maintain this stance, that T20I could easily be dropped without so much as a ripple of discontent, with the IPL being the main international tournament of the short-from game. And the success of the South African-hosted IPL series shows the potential to take the series on the road. ring in the best players from all corners, in a stand-alone window, and in different countries in alternate years.

In my mind, there’s no better indication of how people see T20I and the T20WC than the completely underwhelming response to Geoff Lawson’s article this morning….

Not “virtual” end, but actual end. You can’t qualify with a record of played 2 lost 2.

“One shock defeat and a strong team is left gasping for breath. There is hardly an escape route.”

Of course there is. You can do what England did, select a better-balanced team and give your next opponents a thrashing. Or you can do what Australia did . . .

After all the gloating over England’s “humiliation”, it’s rather pleasing to consider that England will be competing in the next round while Australia get to enjoy the delights (?) of a fortnight’s holiday in Leicester. And — unless they manage to change the rules before next time — Australia will be faced with the ignominy of being unseeded for the next T20 WC. Ho hum!

australia 3 england 1

P.S. There is too much cricket now, there are three world cups in a cycle (two twenty20, a 50 over) and now talk of a Test ‘Championship’ over a four year period…

As I write this, Australia are 79-5 off 12.3 overs against Sri Lanka.

Personally I think it would be great if smaller nations got through the tournament and it’s fantastic when these smaller nations achieve shock results. Ireland are now through the super 8′s today after beating Bangladesh, which is the second time in a row they have achieved this feat in the 20/20 world cup.