10 years since the first Twenty20 international. Eden Park 2005. Treated as a bit of late evening fun.

On this day the unfancied Northants won the Friends Life T20 finals day at Edgbaston, a rare title for the club. They defeated Essex in the semi final and the 2003 winners Surrey in the final. Unfortunately, they were unable to play in the Champions League due to the schedule of the county championship last year and they haven't been able to back up their performance levels this year, after the success they tasted last year.

Natwest T20 Blast: Freddie Available for Lans Selection

Flintoff's return reminds me of SKW coming back to play BBL after 5 years without a game on Aussie soil. More dramatic though.

Gary Kirsten - T20 Coach

Lost all nine World T20 super eight games in 2009-2012 with either India or South Africa.
Finished in last place with Delhi Daredevils at the IPL 2014.

More World T20 Facts

Winning Captain by year

2007 = Dhoni 
2009 = Younis Khan 
2010 = Paul Collingwood
2012 = Darren Sammy 

Host by year

2007 = South Africa 
2009 = England 
2010 = West Indies 
2012 = Sri Lanka
2014 = Bangladesh 
2016 = India
2020 = Australia
2024 = England 

5 Coaches in 5 World T20s for Pakistan!

2007 = Geoff Lawson
2009 = Intikhab Alam
2010 = Waqar Younis
2012 = Dav Whatmore
2014 = Moin Khan 

5 different coaches in 5 World T20s. Remarkable for a tournament played every 2 years and even after 10 months in one instance with 2010.

My World T20 2014 Build Up + Predictions

The most popular international cricket tournament of the year 

The premier international Twenty20 event

A major piece of one day cricketing silverware

One of the biggest Twenty20 carnivals let it be international, franchise or domestic

A world title to play for 

22 days

16 teams

3 Venues

35 Matches

12 preliminary matches

20 group matches

3 knock out matches 

240 Squad Players

The 5th edition of the ICC World T20, so far 4 winners in 4 editions

Held every alternate year as a short fast moving event, barring 2010 when an exception was made to hold it after just a 10 month gap 

Eventually a competition that will be played every 4 years after 2016 

The 2nd consecutive time the tournament is being played in Asia

The last 2 winners of the ICC World T20 have won it after hosting the previous one 

First time in 10 years Bangladesh host an ICC World Event after the 2004 U19 World Cup

The longest World T20 in number of matches

The biggest World T20 in number of participants

Defending Champions = West Indies

Most Finals = Sri Lanka and Pakistan

Most Semi Finals = Pakistan

Winner by year

2007 = India. Finalists = Pakistan. SF = New Zealand and Australia.
2009 = Pakistan. Finalists = Sri Lanka. SF = South Africa and West Indies.
2010 = England. Finalists = Australia. SF = Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
2012 = West Indies. Finalists = Sri Lanka. SF = Pakistan and Australia.

Player of the final by year

2007 = Irfan Pathan 
2009 = Shahid Afridi 
2010 = Craig Kieswetter
2012 = Marlon Samuels

Player of the tournament by year

2007 = Shahid Afridi
2009 = T Dilshan
2010 = KP
2012 = Shane Watson 

Biggest Games

Zimbabwe vs Ireland in preliminary round

India vs Pakistan in the super 10 opener

West Indies vs Pakistan in the final super 10 game

South Africa vs Sri Lanka from Group A

Predictions

Bangladesh and Ireland go through to the main round undefeated

Super 10s

India vs Pakistan = India
South Africa vs Sri Lanka = Sri Lanka
New Zealand vs England = England
Pakistan vs Australia = Pakistan
India vs West Indies = West Indies 
South Africa vs New Zealand = South Africa 
Sri Lanka vs England = Sri Lanka
West Indies vs Australia = West Indies
South Africa vs England = England
Pakistan vs Bangladesh = tie!
India vs Australia = India 
Sri Lanka vs New Zealand = Sri Lanka
Pakistan vs West Indies = Pakistan 

Group Standing

Sri Lanka
England
South Africa
New Zealand
Ireland

West Indies 
Pakistan
Bangladesh
India
Australia

Semis

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan = Pakistan
England vs West Indies = West Indies

West Indies vs Pakistan = West Indies

Final Most Likely to be

West Indies vs Pakistan
West Indies vs Bangladesh
Bangladesh vs Pakistan
West Indies vs Sri Lanka

Most Likely to win

1) West Indies
2) Bangladesh
3) Pakistan

Where I think they will finish

1) West Indies
2) Pakistan
3) Sri Lanka
4) England
5) Bangladesh
6) South Africa 
13) Afghanistan
14) UAE
15) Netherlands
16) Nepal

Player of the tournament prediction

Chris Gayle
Shakib Al Hasan
Mohammad Hafeez 
Sunil Narine 
Tamim Iqbal 
Dilshan
KP
Saeed Ajmal 
Rangana Herath
Imran Tahir 
Raza Hasan 

Marlon Samuels or Sunil Narine player of the final

Leading run scorer = Tamim Iqbal
Leading wicket taker = Sunil Narine
Leading catcher = Pollard

Top 3 leading wicket takers will be spinners!

Womens Cricket History in Loughborough | 5th July 2013 | My PCT Status

West Indies - ICC World T20 Winners 1 Year On

Gangnam Celebrations For The West Indies

Written on 08/10/12

There is a huge sense of joy for West Indies amongst the cricketing circles as they have been in the doldrums for a while. This triumph could see the spark of a revival in West Indies cricket and the world game will be all the better for it. They have a reputation to pride on and build on with their invincible test side of the 70s and 80s. With all the turmoil, disputes and internal problems they have faced it’s pleasing from a neutral perspective to see them smiling, dancing, singing aloud and enjoying each other’s company.

Darren Sammy has taken plenty of stick with his bits and pieces cricketer tag, questions regarding his place and usefulness in the side, but even after triumphing as a world cup winning captain, he doesn’t take it out on anyone. We could certainly do with more characters like him. As a leader he is tactically astute, knows how to get the best out of his players, keeps the side together and is now letting the results do the talking.

Marlon Samuels played a brilliant hand yesterday night in Colombo. West Indies got off to a shaky start, but he absorbed pressure, counterattacked, backed himself & took one of the finest fast bowlers in this format to the cleaners. He is one of the most watchable and versatile players in the world game and was instrumental last night and throughout the tournament & that’s evident with him being named in the side of the tournament today for his consistent contributions.

Your 2012 WT20 Playing XI?

---

World T20 2012

Mine is

1) Chris Gayle

2) Shane Watson

3) Mahela Jayawardene (C)

4) Kumar Sangakkara (WK)

5) Marlon Samuels

6) Luke Wright

7) Yuvraj Singh

8) Lasith Malinga

9) Saeed Ajmal

10) Ajantha Mendis

11) Mitchell Strac

Notable omissions: Brendon McCullum, Kohli, Narine, Finn

West Indies on the rise

ICC emerging player of the year 2011 was a West Indian

ICC emerging player of the year 2012 was a West Indian

IPL 2012 player of the tournament was a West Indian

They have comprehensively defeated New Zealand in all forms of the game at home (8-1)

They drew an ODI and T20 series at home against Australia

During the year they had a batsmen number 1 on the test rankings at Chanderpaul

They indisputably have the best Twenty20 player in the world aka Crystal Gayle

Asian Cricket Looking Healthy

Sri Lanka have featured in 4 WC finals in the last 5.5 years

Pakistan is the highest ranked Asian test side & Asia Cup winners

India are holders of the ODI WC and U-19 WC

Stats

In both the 2009 and 2012 T20 final the score was 0-1 after the first 5 balls, 4 dots followed by a wicket

In both the 2007 and 2012 T20 WC the first delivery of the tournament went to the fence for 4

Both of the previous 2 winners of the T20 WC have won it after hosting the previous one

In 2009 and 2012 the winner of the final lost the super eight game against the same opposition

West Indies only won 3 of their 7 matches in conventional style, including the semi final and final

Stats Round-Up Ahead of Semi-Final Clash Author: Maaz; Views: 1057; Comments: ; Date: 3-10-2012, 10:54;

Pakistan have played Sri Lanka, 9 times in this format winning 6 and losing 3

Pakistan has a 2-1 record against them in T20 WCs 

Pakistan has a 2-1 record against them in T20s played in Sri Lanka

Pakistan is the only side to reach the final 4 of the World T20 in all editions

Australia and Sri Lanka are next in line with 3 appearances

Sri Lanka have only beaten Pakistan once in WCs (WCs and T20 WCs) 

Shahid Afridi has been awarded Man-of-the-match in 3 Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka 

In all of those man-of-the-match awards Afridi has scored a half century with 3 of his 4 half centuries in this format coming against the Islanders

Pakistan has won 16 out of 25 WT20 matches

Pakistan has a 38-23 record in their favour across all internationals played in this format since their debut in Bristol 2006

Mohammad Hafeez has only lost 3 in 10 Twenty20 internationals as captain

Pakistan and Sri Lanka have met in 20 internationals over the last year with Pakistan winning 9, losing 6 and 4 tests were drawn with 1 ODI having a no result

When Pakistan and Sri Lanka played in the 2 match Twenty20 series in early June, both teams won 1 each with the side batting first successfully defending fewer than 150 at Kandy

Dav Whatmore was coaching Sri Lanka when they triumphed in Lahore in 1996. He’s now coaching Pakistan when they are 2 wins away from triumphing in Colombo 16 years later.

When they last met at an ICC world tournament, Pakistan won in Colombo on Saturday 26th February 2011 by 11 runs with Shahid Afridi being adjudged man-of-the-match for a 4 wicket haul.

Pakistan in ICC men’s tournaments since 2007 WT20

2007 World T20 = Finalists 
2008 Under-19 World Cup = Semi finalists
2009 World T20 = Winners
2009 Champions Trophy = Semi finalists
2010 Under-19 World Cup = Finalists
2010 World T20 = Semi-finalists
2011 World Cup = Semi-finalists 
2012 Under-19 World Cup = Quarter Finalists
2012 World T20 = At least semi-finalists

Barring the recent disappointments of the junior side in Townsville, Pakistan have reached 8 semi-finals in ICC tournaments over the last 5 years

Faysal Bank T20

CLT20 2013 Squads

Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Sachin Tendulkar, Dinesh Karthik, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Ambati Rayudu, Aditya Tare, Rishi Dhawan, Abu Nechim, Akshar Patel, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Mitchell Johnson, Glenn Maxwell

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, M Vijay, Wriddhiman Saha, R Ashwin, S Badrinath, Imtiaz Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohit Sharma, Michael Hussey, Dwayne Bravo, Albie Morkel, Jason Holder, Faf du Plessis, Chris Morris

Rajasthan Royals: Rahul Dravid, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Ashok Menaria, Dishant Yagnik, Vikramjeet Malik, Rahul Shukla, Pravin Tambe, Siddharth Trivedi, Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, James Faulkner, Kevon Cooper, Shaun Tait

Brisbane Heat: Joe Burns, Daniel Christian, Ben Cutting, Peter Forrest, Dom Michael, Chris Hartley, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, Matthew Gale, Chris Lynn, Alister McDermott, Cameron Gannon, Alex Kemp, Kemar Roach, Chris Sabburg

Perth Scorchers: Ashton Agar, Michael Beer, Jason Behrendorff, Ashton Turner, Liam Davis, Brad Hogg, Burt Cockley, Simon Katich, Mitchell Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Joel Paris, Alfonso Thomas, Tom Triffitt, Adam Voges, Sam Whiteman

Titans: Jacques Rudolph, Henry Davids, AB de Villiers, Farhaan Behardien, Heino Kuhn, David Wiese, Eden Links, Ethy Mbhalati, Rowan Richards, Mangaliso Mosehle, CJ de Villiers, Graeme van Buuren, Morne Morkel, Roelof van der Merwe, Marchant de Lange

Highveld Lions: Temba Bavuma, Gulam Bodi, Quinton De Kock, Neil McKenzie, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Ethan O'Reilly, Hardus Viljoen, Rassie van der Dussen, Alviro Petersen, Aaron Phangiso, Dwaine Pretorius, Jean Symes, Imran Tahir, Sohail Tanvir, Thami Tsolekile

Trinidad & Tobago: Denesh Ramdin, Rayad Emrit, Jason Mohammed, Nicolas Pooran, Sunil Narine, Evin Lewis, Samuel Badree, Navin Stewart, Shannon Gabriel, Yannick Ottley, Adrian Barath, Sherwin Ganga, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Bravo

Faisalabad Wolves: Misbah-ul-Haq, Asif Ali, Ali Waqas, Khurram Shehzad, Mohammad Salman, Waqas Maqsood, Samiullah Khan, Asad Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Ehsan Adil, Hasan Mahmood, Jahandad Khan, Farrukh Shehzad, Imran Khalid, Ammar Mahmood

Otago Volts: Nick Beard, Michael Bracewell, Neil Broom, Iain Butler, Mark Craig, Derek de Boorder, Jacob Duffy, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, James McMillan, Jimmy Neesham, Aaron Redmond, Hamish Rutherford, Ryan ten Doeschate, Neil Wagner

Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan, Parthiv Patel, Cameron White, JP Duminy, Dale Steyn, Darren Sammy, Biplab Samantray, Thisara Perera, Karan Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Ashish Reddy, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Anand Rajan, TBC

Kandurata Maroons: Lahiru Thirimanne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Upul Tharanga, Thilina Kandamby, Kumar Sangakkara, Shehan Jayasuriya, Chamara Silva, Milinda Siriwardana, Dilhara Lokuhettige, Dhammika Prasad, Ajantha Mendis, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Lahiru Jayaratne, Dhananjaya De Silva, Suraj Randiv

2014 ICC World T20 Logo Launched Posted on April 8, 2013 by abdullahhaider2013214 | Leave a comment

2014 ICC World T20 Logo Launched

Posted on April 8, 2013 by abdullahhaider2013214 | Leave a comment

The 2014 ICC World T20 to be held in Bangladesh.

The 5th ICC World T20 logo was launched this weekend.

The 2014 ICC World T20 to be held in Bangladesh will be hosted between the 16th March and 6th April next year.

It will be the longest World T20 both in terms of matches and the number of participants.

Pakistan have won 16 out of 26 matches at ICC World T20s.

Pakistan are the only team to reach the final 4 in the 12-team event with 100% consistency so far in the past 4 editions.

Pakistan have a strong record in Bangladesh for tournaments
2000 Asia Cup = Winners
2004 Under 19 World Cup = Winners
2008 Tri Series = Winners
2012 Asia Cup = Winners

Surely we can expect them to reach the semi final or final again?

The 2014 ICC World T20 qualifier will take place in October 2013. UAE will be hosting the event for the 3rd time successively. This tournament will be different to the previous 3 World T20 qualifiers because as many as SIX teams will get the chance to qualify for the finals in Bangladesh April 2014. In the past 4 editions of the ICC World T20 only 2 associates or 3 in the case of 2009 have been allowed to participate in the world finals. 2009 was an exception because Zimbabwe didn’t participate during the event in England. Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and one of the associates will make up one of the four groups at the ICC World T20 2014. This is the 2nd largest ICC tournament currently with the ICC-19 World Cup with both consisting of 16 teams, previously the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies also compromised of 16 teams.

Generally, it is regarded that more associates in the World T20 is better than the World Cup because this is the best opportunity for them to develop and potentially cause a few upsets. In the main World Cup, however if there are not that many teams playing the title loses it’s value. This is the challenge the ICC faces of balancing the two.

Previous World T20 qualifying winners:-

2009 = Ireland and Scotland

2010 = Afghanistan

2012 = Ireland

Associates at the ICC World T20

2007 = Scotland and Kenya

2009 = Ireland, Scotland and Holland

2010 = Ireland and Afghanistan

2012 = Ireland and Afghanistan

2014 = left to be decided

Wolves to Play Champions League 2013 Author: Analyst Maaz; Views: 986; Date: 1-04-2013, 02:23;

Most Titles

Sialkot = 7

Lahore = 2

Faisalabad = 2

Rawalpindi = 1

6 Associates Can Play in 2014 ICC World T20 Author: Maaz; Views: 837; Date: 28-11-2012, 09:14;

The 2014 ICC World T20 qualifier will take place in October 2013. UAE will be hosting the event for the 3rd time successively. This tournament will be different to the previous 3 World T20 qualifiers because as many as SIX teams will get the chance to qualify for the finals in Bangladesh April 2014. In the past 4 editions of the ICC World T20 only 2 associates or 3 in the case of 2009 have been allowed to participate in the world finals. 2009 was an exception because Zimbabwe didn't participate during the event in England. Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and one of the associates will make up one of the four groups at the ICC World T20 2014. This is the 2nd largest ICC tournament currently with the ICC-19 World Cup with both consisting of 16 teams, previously the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies also compromised of 16 teams.

Generally, it is regarded that more associates in the World T20 is better than the World Cup because this is the best opportunity for them to develop and potentially cause a few upsets. In the main World Cup, however if there are not that many teams playing the title loses it's value. This is the challenge the ICC faces of balancing the two.

Previous World T20 qualifying winners:-

2009 = Ireland and Scotland

2010 = Afghanistan

2012 = Ireland

Associates at the ICC World T20

2007 = Scotland and Kenya

2009 = Ireland, Scotland and Holland

2010 = Ireland and Afghanistan

2012 = Ireland and Afghanistan

2014 = left to be decided

Bangladesh are proposing to host the finals across eight different venues over 20 days with over 50 matches to be played. This will be the longest ICC World T20 in terms of number of participants and number of encounters played.

Prediction of qualifiers: Afghanistan, Ireland, UAE, Scotland, Canada, Holland

Pakistan at WT20 2012 Author: Maaz; Views: 965; Comments: ; Date: 9-09-2012, 09:09;

Jeremy Coney, Sourav, Wasim Akram and Shane Warne have all backed Pakistan's chances to lift the trophy. Pakistan fans can take plenty of hope and optimism from this. 4 successful former captains of their respective countries feel Pakistan might do it again.

Stats

Pakistan have won 12/20 matches in T20 WCs
Kamran Akmal and Shahid Afridi are the two Pakistan players playing their 4th T20 WC.
Pakistan have won 5 series and lost 5 series with 1 drawn since the 2010 T20 WC
Pakistan have played the most T20 games since the 2010 T20 WC
Pakistan have only chased above 150 once in T20s

One of the Favourites?

Jeremy Coney, Sourav, Wasim Akram and Shane Warne have all backed Pakistan's chances to lift the trophy. Pakistan fans can take plenty of hope and optimism from this. 4 successful former captains of their respective countries feel Pakistan might do it again. 

Pakistan’s targets should be as follows:

1) Reach the knock outs/semi-finals and maintain their record of being the only side to reach the semi-finals as many times as they have or even better in all 4 editions.

2) Win at least 4 games during the competition and make their mark in the tournament and provide some memorable moments to take away from the competition for their own confidence and of course their passionate fan base

3) Win the initial preliminary pool where they will play New Zealand and Bangladesh. Pakistan obviously should qualify for the super eights, but they top the initial group and try to go into the super eights on a high, having gone further than New Zealand and Bangladesh in the initial stages.

4) Beat India, the old foes, in a world cup encounter which they have not done to date let it be 50 overs or 20 overs. Overcome the mental block which should put them in better stead of delivering against them in tournaments to come down the line. Even if they do not beat them, if they can win the televised warm up encounter on the 17th of September, the day before the tournament officially gets under way, that will be somewhat of a consolation.

5) Overcome the semi-final obstacle which has been their undoing in the last 3 world competitions over the last 3 years.

Why we can expect Pakistan to have a successful campaign:

Experience – Pakistan have played more internationals than any other country at this level. Numerous players in their side are playing their 3rd or 4th WT20 so they know what it’s like playing in one and what they can expect and what needs to be done to have a good competition from a team perspective.

Conditions – It’s the first time the WT20 is being held in Asia and the conditions should aid the Pakistanis, particularly given they have played a lot in Sri Lanka over the last couple of years or so. This should give them an advantage and added confidence.

Preparation – Going into this WT20 Pakistan have played many in the time gap between the previous one and this one. They have just recently completed a 3 match series with Australia in familiar conditions and many of their squad members have been playing in the SLPL before that.

Spin attack – Spin will be a crucial factor during this tournament and Pakistan has plenty of choices and quality in this department. It’s Pakistan’s biggest strength and for this competition it’s a great strength to have with the nature of the wickets.

Coaching Staff – Dav Whatmore is highly qualified and experienced. He’ll know how to perform impressively in Sri Lanka better than many. Julien Fountain has been drilling the fielding unit hard and Mohammad Akram is keen to work with the seamers as a newly appointed bowling coach. Pakistan has all the tools in the coaching unit and the players can use their services to enhance their performance.

Excuse my pessimism, but why Pakistan will not win the tournament

Captaincy change – To go into a WT20 with a captain that has only captained in 2 series was a risky move. Hafeez has credentials and has led well, but is still relatively untested. Time will tell whether continuing with Misbah would have been a better choice, but I am not going to hesitate in saying Pakistan’s chances would have been higher if they had continued with their test and one day captain in this format as well and he can consider himself unfortunate to be replaced so soon to an ICC world competition which every captain wants to lead their side in and if his performance and results are anything to do by, he deserved to lead his side in as well.

New coaching staff – You’re strength can also be you’re downfall. With so many new coaches coming in all at once it can be difficult to build a side and develop a thorough understanding as this requires time and continuity. Pakistan will be short supplied as far as this is concerned.

Group of death – Pakistan’s super 8 groups is likely to compromise of South Africa, India and Australia. Pakistan will need to be at the races during the super eights if they are to progress and they cannot afford more than one slip up. None of the 3 previous editions have been as hard as this. Pakistan will also be pushed hard in the initial 3 team group by two sides who are capable of giving them a competitive game and even beating them.

Batting Fragility – The shorter the format, the greater are the woes of Pakistan’s batting. I recently selected my fantasy side for the competition and not one Pakistan batsmen was in it. Pakistan does not possess any stand out batsmen in contrast to other countries. The talent is there, but in many cases they lack the consistency or maturity to get noticed. They have boundary hitters and attacking players and it usually makes entertaining viewing, but they struggle to control their emotions and can easily get carried away. Temperament is an issue, even in the shorter format this ‘T’ is a significant trait.

Form Guide – For a side who are supposedly pioneers of this version of the gentlemen’s game, they have not been all that impressive in the lead up to this World Cup, losing several T20 series. When Pakistan lifted the title in 2009, their form guide leading up the tournament was the opposite. Can you expect to win the competition with such indifferent results?

Won 2-0 vs. Australia July 2010 in England

Lost 2-0 vs. England September 2010 in England

Lost 2-0 vs. South Africa October 2010 in UAE

Lost 2-1 vs. New Zealand December 2010 in NZ

Lost 1-0 vs. West Indies April 2011 in WI

Won 2-0 vs. Zimbabwe September 2011 away

Won 1-0 vs. Sri Lanka November 2011 in UAE

Won 1-0 vs. Bangladesh in November 2011 away

Lost 2-1 vs. England in February 2012 in UAE

Drawn 1-1 vs. Sri Lanka in June away

Won 2-1 vs. Australia in September in UAE

Key Players

Ajmal – How many more times are we going to have to praise him? The best, most feared, most valuable player in the world. Since January 2011 he has taken 171 international wickets which is considerably higher than anyone else. Ajmal recently has over taken Shahid Afridi as the leading T20 international wicket taker. It was a disgrace to see him not short listed for ICC test cricketer of the year and ICC cricketer of the year. PCB are right to feel angry and we should support their planned boycott of the ICC annual awards dinner. 

Hafeez - At any sporting capacity it is important that the captain leads by example and sets the tone. Hafeez hasn't lost any of the 2 T20 series he has captained in and has made a good start as a captain. I consider him as a nagging bowler, decent fielder, active thinker, but a mediocre batsmen. However, in this version of the game his 20s and 30s can be accepted. The best all-rounder in the side. He should try to bat the bulk of the overs and make one of the bigger contributions to the team total as the anchor role. I personally would not like to see him open, but he has opened for 2 years running now and is likely to continue, so let it be. Many left handed batsmen should dread facing him as we have seem him make some of the very best batsmen look foolish. It's admirable how he has gone from playing division 2 league cricket in Liverpool to captaining Pakistan. Hafeez is a prime example of never losing faith and rising from failure.

Afridi - Afridi is Pakistan's talisman as we all know, but he is not the force he once was with the bat and has been bowling very average this year. The former captain is recovering from injury and I am not hopeful of him having a good competition from a personal point of view. However, as the man who was player of the tournament in the 2007 edition, MOM in both the semi final and final in the 2009 one and captained Pakistan in the 2010 one, as always the expectation levels will always be high when he is playing. However, as Pakistan showed in the recent series against Australia, they are capable of coping and delivering without him and there is still life to this team when he is not around. Pakistan can take a lot of confidence from this. 

Gul - Missed the 2010 T20 WC due to injury. In both the 2007 and 2009 T20 WC, was Pakistan's leading wicket taker. The senior pacer has shown signs of form and rhythm which Pakistan can take plenty of heart from. If he gets the radar going, can be unstoppable. High class bowler in this version of the game, one of the very best. 

Tanvir - T20 specialist who performed impressively in the SLPL. Playing his 3rd T20 WC. Knows how to bowl at the death, vary his pace and slog them out of the park. However, a liability in the field and tends to give away plenty of extras through front foot no-balls and wides. 

World T20 2012 - Spin Is The Key Author: Maaz; Views: 377; Date: 5-09-2012, 06:26;

NAME	RANK	RATINGS
Graeme Swann	1	744
Saeed Ajmal	2	739
Johan Botha	3	715
Ajantha Mendis	4	710
Shahid Afridi	5	704

Throughout the short history of Twenty20 cricket, slow bowlers have been a revelation. Pace off the ball has been a wicket taking option and also an option which controls the flow of runs. Many at first thought spinners would be dispatched out of the park when the county circuit introduced the first domestic twenty20 competition in the summer of 2003, but instead spinners have out-bowled and out-performed the pacers. Majority of the highest wicket takers and highest ranked bowlers in Twenty20 cricket are spinners at the international level. Here in sub continental conditions during the 4^th international t20 championship, spin will have an important say and be the most influential factor in the tournament. This refers not only to bowling spin well, but also tackling it when holding a bat in hand. This will be the slow bowler’s World Cup. Spin undoubtedly will be the most crucial factor and aspect of the games and there are many fine bowlers and players of spin of show.

Spinners have been effective for a number of reasons. This includes, an element of complacency from batsmen to think they can take them on and hit them out of the park and in the process providing more chances for spinners to take wickets and get their confidence going. Also, generally the smartness of spinners in varying their pace and experimenting with different angles to keep batsmen guessing. Spinners have adapted to mastering the format and deserve credit for that. They bowl at a quitter passage of the game when the field is back and batsmen are content on knocking the singles which perhaps is one of the reasons the economy rates are as good as they are, but nonetheless when they bowl in the restrictions they also keep things tidy as batsmen are not used to facing them with the hardness of the new ball which tends to skid on. With the shortness of the run ups, it’s difficult for batsmen to think on their feet when attacking and trying to be pro-active as they get through their overs incredibly quickly and don’t give you much time at all in between deliveries. Some bowlers with high arm releases like Bhaji and Botha have also developed a Yorker and with their short run this can be difficult for batsmen to set themselves and counter-act it.

Twenty20 cricket is about boundaries and wickets for me. Generally the side who hits more boundaries and takes more wickets should win the game. However, it’s important to understand the importance of a dot ball, bowling as many as possible and stopping singles in the field, but also trying to reduce the percentage of dot balls when batting and playing as many scoring shots as possible to keep the scoreboard moving. In doing that, you develop a rhythm and boundaries become easier to come by. It also keeps the bowlers under some sort of pressure, knowing that runs are continuously being leaked with ease against them and the team.

Many sides use a ‘boundary an over strategy’ where they try to find the fence at least once in an over and take singles around it. In doing that, they already achieve a productive 7 or 8 an over. Sometimes when the opponents are bowling well and are hard to get away and the percentages are not in your favour you have to hold back and restrict yourself to singles and back yourself to score boundaries and make up for it against other bowlers at different other stages of the innings.

Twenty20 cricket is about expressing yourself, its action packed eventful drama in a short time scale. Obviously, you have the license to play you’re shot and free yourself up in such a format, but it might be an idea for teams who do not play spin particularly well to hold back and play the waiting game against the spinners, trying not to give their wickets away and target the quicker men in the restrictions at the start where scoring will be a lot easier or when they come back at the back end. In doing so, they are ensuring the innings doesn’t go pear shaped and they give themselves maximum opportunity of taking advantage of the pacers where they feel more comfortable, but also ensure they limit the damage spin can do. Teams can easily counteract that by opening the bowling with spin and bowling more overs of spin and possibly playing an extra spinner in which case you have to take a few more risks if the innings is to get anywhere.

Pakistan have the best spin attack in the competition. The land of talented fast bowlers is now the land of crafty spinners. Saaed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Hafeez will form a dangerous trio between them. They are the stand out spin attack and should back themselves in these conditions. India have Ahswin and Bhaji and also Yuvraj who are 3 very different types of spinners. This will make it difficult for the batting side to adjust and they also should back themselves in such conditions. Swann is a fine bowler in this version of the game and it’s hard to keep him out of the action with his classical off spinners. Mendis of Sri Lanka could be a real threat, the mystery bowler who holds the record for the best figures in an international Twenty20 game. New Zealand are boosted with Vettori’s inclusion in this version of the game. The highly experienced slow left arm spinner is a nagging bowler and well complemented by the off spin of McCullum who is one of the best around in this format. Sunil Narine who was the player of the tournament in the IPL is running through oppositions as many mystery bowlers do at the beginning of their careers when they are the new kid on the block and largely unknown. West Indies have a magician up their sleeves. Not to forget Brad Hogg, the left arm wrist spinner who makes a come-back at 41 or his IPL teammate Johan Botha.The quality is endless and I expect spin to dominate this 20 day carnival.

I am expecting modest totals of around 140, but with the quality of spin on show, for many sides this might be more than enough. The only concern for spinners is the weather. If they are having to grip a wet ball from a wet outfield this will be challenging to control and in the process batsmen will inevitably get some loose deliveries to put away. The weather at this time of the year is the not the most reliable and we can expect some interruptions during the course of the tournament. For spin heavy attacks, this might be a worry, but they should be prepared to face the worst.