Boring Twenty20 final brings no real drama
Roar Rookie By katelorimer, 18 May 2010 katelorimer is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Australian Cricket, Cricket, england crricket, Twenty20
The World Twenty 20 Tournament has come to an end, with England winning their first major trophy in the 20 and 50 over format. But I have a beef with the way it unfolded. And I’m not talking about a beefy Botham.
The semi-final between Australia and Pakistan should have been the final: it had the drama, the improbability, the hero, the villian, and the nail-biting suspense.
In the final, Australia let England run the game from the toss, and were unable to muster the same energy and determination to overhaul the momentum.
There was no fluctuations, improbabilty, and drama.
I never felt at any stage like the result would not go England’s way. This does not make a final.
A final of a major tournament needs a game like the one against Pakistan – it needs suspense. It needs to appeal to neutral fans who do not care about who the winner is, but the manner in which the victory was achieved.
A one-sided game does not reflect the excitement that Twenty20 cricket is marketed to supply.
Of course, teams must be ruthless, and England were right to never let Australia into the game. But in a format that statistically gives the victory to the team that won the toss, how can we expect to ensure that every match goes down to the wire?
Because when you get to the final stages of the tournament, the big name players have the ability to turn the tide.
We shouldn’t be afraid to drop out of form players. As there is no time to “find your form,” you should be subbed by those who have performed. Maybe an interchange system is a discussion that needs to be raised off the back of such a boring final.
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The Crowd Says (7) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
- Explore:
- Australian Cricket, Cricket, england crricket, Twenty20
May 18th 2010 @ 1:51am
Viscount Crouchback said | May 18th 2010 @ 1:51am | Report comment
It’s sport, not theatre. You can’t write the lines in advance to guarantee suspense.
May 18th 2010 @ 3:39am
Colin N said | May 18th 2010 @ 3:39am | Report comment
“The semi-final between Australia and Pakistan should have been the final: it had the drama, the improbability, the hero, the villian, and the nail-biting suspense.”
This makes no sense, as does most of the article. Are you implying that England weren’t the best team in the tournment. Were you writing this article when Australia were waltzing their way to world cup crowns, dominating the Ashes for several years etc? The reason why these games become memorable is because they are very rare.
I would be very surpised if you just watched sport to watch an exciting, close contest, because how often does that happen? I would hope you watch sport for the quality of performance, as well as to support your team.
You have to admire the quality of cricket which England played throughout the tournament, which in itself deserves admiration
They were very unlucky against the West Indies, but after the group stage, dominated every other side in the competition.
May 18th 2010 @ 10:49am
SamSport said | May 18th 2010 @ 10:49am | Report comment
What rubbish. The reason the match wasn’t exciting was Australia. Had Michael Hussey not done what he did in the last over of the semi- then the same thing could probably be said of that game. May not have been a great final,, but at least the best team won and the lights didn’t go out.
May 18th 2010 @ 3:22pm
Brett McKay said | May 18th 2010 @ 3:22pm | Report comment
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Kate, but yeah, no…
May 18th 2010 @ 3:34pm
Vinay Verma said | May 18th 2010 @ 3:34pm | Report comment
Kate,see below stats for teams batting first and second. Not much either way. Your statements perhaps need some more research.
Results in Twenty20 matches Total results Won by team batting first Won by team batting second
All Twenty20 internationals 142 67 (47.18%) 75 (52.82%)
Involving top ten teams 101 50 (49.50%) 51 (50.50%)
In Twenty20 World Cups 52 28 (53.85%) 24 (46.15%)
T20 World Cups, top ten teams 40 21 (52.50%) 19 (47.50%)
keep at it ,don’t get discouraged,it takes courage to write in the face of criticsm.
May 18th 2010 @ 3:47pm
Hansie said | May 18th 2010 @ 3:47pm | Report comment
In truth, most finals in most sports are a disappointment. Think of AFL grand finals, how many grand finals in the last 20 years have been great? Similarly with the NRL. Most SuperBowls are a disappointment. As spectators, we can only pay our money and hope for the best. As a fan of Australia, I was happy that we at least made it out of the first round this time!
May 18th 2010 @ 10:44pm
Rowdy said | May 18th 2010 @ 10:44pm | Report comment
So, Kate, you presumably hated the years when Australia were routinely thrashing poor teams ?