Pakistan v South Africa T20 series preview

There will be plenty of subplots when Pakistan and South Africa take the field in the first of two Twenty20 matches in Abu Dhabi. Some eyes will be on Graeme Smith to see how he handles being back in the ranks after resigning the captaincy in this format, others will be on the form of players in coloured clothing as the World Cup approaches, but most will be on Pakistan as they begin life after the controversial tour of England.

The match-fixing saga continues to hang over Pakistan cricket, with the news that Mohammad Asif has dropped his appeal against his suspension dominating the build-up to what should be an interesting contest.

Its more immediate effect was shown in England, when the Pakistan squad bounced back to take a five-match ODI series to a decider. If that siege mentality is maintained, then the Proteas might struggle in conditions that suit the 2009 World Twenty20 champions more.

This increased determination to succeed is offset by the loss of Asif, Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir, three first choice players who are hard to replace in any format. The emergence of Asad Shafiq in England will soften the blow of Butt’s absence and it is likely to be trial by spin for South Africa, with major roles expected for Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman and captain Shahid Afridi.

United Arab Emirates is Pakistan’s home venue nowadays, but Abu Dhabi is not a fortress for them. They have played 14 ODIs at the Sheikh Zayed stadium, winning eight and lost both their series at the venue last year, against Australia and New Zealand by a 2-1 scoreline. This is their first Twenty20 match at the ground.

South Africa have won all four Twenty20 matches since the world event in the Caribbean, albeit against West Indies and Zimbabwe, but this will be a stern test for a team in transition under the guidance of new captain Johan Botha. A win apiece would perhaps be an outcome that both teams would settle for.

India: T20 team to beat

The second edition of the ICC World Twenty20 is less than a month away and most of the squads have been announced. It has been a long time since a major global tournament has started without Australia being favorites, but that is certainly the scenario on this occasion.

India are the team to beat. They are the holders and are even stronger than they were in winning the inaugural tournament in South Africa in September 2007.

The two Indian Premier League tournaments that have taken place since that event have exposed India's players to Twenty20 cricket far more than their rivals and it would be no surprise if India commenced a stranglehold on what could become the most prized trophy in world cricket . Their younger generation of players are getting vital exposure to the format, alongside the world's best players.

Many of those players are India's own. Some overseas stars have lit up the IPL, notably Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Lasith Malinga, but the quantity of Indian star performers stands out. It is telling that Australia's best Twenty20 players have retired from international cricket. Australia might be thinking of calling Hayden and Gilchrist into their side again.

India's T20 world cup squad is full of big hitters . MS Dhoni, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan and adaptable stroke makers like Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir. Crucially they have bowlers experienced in the format, adept at out-thinking batsmen when the slog is on. Spin is vital in T20 and Pragyan Ojha could be the slow bowler of the tournament.

The short nature of Twenty20 matches means surprise cricket results are more likely and there are of course plenty of match-winners in other squads, but it would be a major surprise if India's all-star line-up did not retain the world Twenty20 trophy.

Brothers did it

Hussey brothers for Australia against NZ and Pathan brothers for India against SL did well to make sure their teams win the game...

Michael Hussey and David Hussey ensured the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy is alive by winning the 4th ODI and levelling the series against NZ with one more ODI to play where as Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan took India to a thrilling win against Sri Lanka in a T20 match. No one might have thought India can win the match until Pathan brothers came to the crease. They completely changed the complexion of the game and won the game for India....

It's a rare happening(on the same day) and it was really nice to see these partnerships....well done Hussey bros and Pathan bros...

Day/Night test cricket

Wouldn't it be fun to watch the final hours of test cricket at night after coming home from work.

Keeping in mind the amount of damage T20 is causing to Test Cricket and as popularity of test cricket is decreasing among spectators , it seems to be a better idea to implement day/night test cricket.

Cricket Australia has been very keen to introduce the day and night tests. But the major problem in this kind of tests is to find a ball that can be used for 80 overs and make sure that it does not lose its visibility under any the circumstances.

Positive points :

1. There won't be any instances of game being stopped due to bad light.
2. This move would allow more people to watch at grounds and on television.
3. Hot and humid climates can be avoided.
4. Bad light would no more be a problem.

Negative Points:

1. Teams bowling at night may have problems with the ball. But as it is a 5-day game, it won't effect the game much as the other team may also get into the same situation to bowl during the night.
2. Changing the ball to suit the day/night cricket.
3. Color of the ball.
4. Fielding may be difficult in presence of dew factor. There will be a lot mis-fields as the ball easily slips away from hands.

2nd and 3rd problems are solved by Cricket Australia. It has been trying to host Test matches at nights for the long time. CA commissioned the CSIRO in July to manufacture a revolutionary all-conditions ball suitable for Tests in Australia played from 1pm to 9pm. Cricket Australia is assured that it is possible to develop a suitable ball for day-night tests.

Australia and Pakistan are going to become the first teams to play a night Test next November in Adelaide according to a report.

I think a bit of thinking should go in before putting this idea into practice.

any thoughts?

Was Dhoni right?

India was shocked to hear that Dhoni had offered to resign from the captaincy following Irfan Pathan's inclusion ahead of RP Singh.

The rift between captain and the selectors is not new. Almost all countires have been facing the same situation, especially Pakistan. But the main concern here is the leak of selection report.

Dhoni took charge of India as a captain during T20 world cup last year. In one year, he has become the captain for India in all formats. India has been very consistent and winning the series under his captaincy. He might have thought that the team is completely under his control as he has not faced any problem with his captaincy till now. This might have lead to the rift between Dhoni and the selectors.

No doubt he is a talented batsman and a good captain. But Dhoni has a long way to go before he reaches his potential as a captain. Dhoni has been safe as India is winnig the matches. If India starts to lose, then Dhoni has to face a lot of criticism. If you are in good form, people praise you and if you lose your form, the same people will criticise you.

The best example is India's 2007 World Cup failure. Dhoni was out of form in that tournament and the fans damaged Dhoni's under construction house in Ranchi. Selectors need to back if you lose your form and if you are under pressure. So Dhoni needs to calm down a bit and has act with restraint.

There was only one captain who took complete contorl of his team selection. It was Imran Khan of Pakistan. Selectors would not say a word when Imran picks the team. It was largely due to his all rounder qualities with which he was able to lead his team successfully.


If the captain can decide who should be in the team, and who should not be, then what is the use of selection committee? I am not saying that the captain should not be given a chance in picking the team. The captain and the coach should be given a chance in picking the team. Consider a player's recent performance, his ability to play on any kind of surface in any situation while picking him.

What do you guys say?

What say now, Ponting?

Ponting felt that Dhoni and his side are better suited for T20 than Tests.

Dhoni made his point clear to Ponting during VB series and Border-Gavaskar Trophy. So Ponting, do u really think u were right?

Who wants to be Stanford's millionaire?

A Match can change their life.....Yes I'm talking about Stanford T20. After a lot of publicity and practice matches, the final showdown is here. The US $20 million match between England and Stanford Superstars is all set to begin on Saturday, 1st November.

The winner of the match takes all the money. The losing team gets nothing. The player who takes his team to victory will be a hero. If a player commits a mistake and if his team loses the match, everyone in the team has to suffer. And all of them see that player as villian who cost them $20 million.

This match is going to be an interesting one. But it won't at all do good for the game of cricket. There is a famous saying "Money is the root of all evil". And that's the case with these Twenty20's.

If Stanford really wants to help West Indies cricket why doesn't he directly involve with the board and give the money directly to the West Indies board.

Twenty-20 is for money, fun and excitement. Twenty-20 surely destroys the Test cricket. Test
cricket is the best form of the game and ICC must fo something to protect test cricket.

Everyone thinks Twenty-20 is always exciting, but unless you get a close match, games can be as uninteresting as in any other forms of cricket.

When will Yuvraj learn?

India Blue won the the recent NKP Challenger Trophy. But Yuvraj Singh's contribution to the team's victory was almost nil. He was out for some poor shots in this series. He doesn't seem to be learning from his mistakes. He was trying to play too many shots too early in the innings.
His place in the team is going to be in danger. A lot of talented youngsters are there waiting for the place in the national team. Yuvraj must be aware of this and he has to perform to keep his place safe.
Yuvraj was in the form of his life one year ago. He was named as the man of the series in three consecutive series against South Africa (joint with Graeme Smith), against Pakistan and England. He scored three centuries and four half-centuries in fifteen matches in those 3 series. It helped him to make it into the top ten of the ICC ODI batting rankings.
Though he is there in the international cricket for around 8 years, he is yet to make his mark in the test cricket. Though he got many opportunities in tests, he did not utilize them. He already lost his place in the test team. And if you consider his recent ODIs, he scored 72 runs with an average of 14.40 in 5 matches against SriLanka. He struggled a lot against the spinners. And it's still the main concern for Yuvi.
In the last 12 months, he has not played a big innings. He scored 840 in 27 matches with an average of 35.00. After his successful performance in the T20 world cup last year, Yuvraj has been playing that kind of shots in all formats of the game. He was trying to hit every ball out of the ground. It's going to be difficult for Yuvraj to keep his place safe in the team(atleast ODIs) unless he changes his attitude.
C'mon Yuvi...you are a match winner...make a strong come back...