Raynman
June 22, 2009, 09:23 AM
Team by team synopsis for the T20 WC:
PAKISTAN: Kudos and props for winning the tournament. Considering what the nation has gone through, a great win for them. As always they show that when their backs are against the wall, they are at their best. Younis took a little away from the value of a WC win by writing off T20 as a ‘spectacle’. Great performances by Gul, Afridi and the man who seemed to come and change it all with his PP bowling Abdul Razzaq. So much for ICL being a haven for talentless players and has-beens. A+
SRI LANKA: Warriors to the end. Remained undefeated till the moment it mattered, similar to NZ in 92. SL will be relieved to know that their team is in good hands following a captaincy change. Exceeded expectation by making it past the 2nd round and was probably the 2nd best team overall in terms of performance throughout the tournament. A
SOUTH AFRICA: Best team heading into the semi finals by performance in addition to being a pre tournament favorite (tied with India). Lost again when the stakes were high but PAK was the better team that day. Probably a world class spinner away from being the number one threat to win. B
WEST INDIES: Surprisingly successful tournament along with PAK and SL. Good thing they got their after Gayle’s public view on T20 and other forms of the game. (Good to see someone with a high profile having the balls to speak out for T20). Obviously, the Stanford T20 tournaments did bring about some good in their cricket. A-
ENGLAND: Exited with some pride after an embarrassing opening loss to the Dutch. Defeated both the finalists (IND/PAK) from last world cup comprehensively before being taken out by a skilled SA and determined WI. They are more concerned about the Ashes anyways despite being the originators of the game as well as the format. C+
NEW ZEALAND: Thing may have been different with Ryder and Taylor healthy. Thrashed Scotland and Ireland and took SA to the limit but couldn’t keep up with the big winners PAK and SL at the end. C
INDIA: Disappointing tournament despite having probably the most talented T20 roster. Only a minnow basher by defeating Bangladesh and Ireland and losing unexpectedly to WI and ENG. Maybe cricket overkill after a long IPL season but the team did not seem in harmony as the 2007 championship team. D
IRELAND: Success by accomplishing what they set out to do. They gunned down Bangladesh for a second successive World cup and showed promising bowling efforts against PAK and SL. N. O’Brian is a class act and can hold his own against any other WK batsmen out there. B+
NETHERLANDS : Success by winning their first game against ENG. Probably too wrapped up with the RR when playing PAK instead of focusing the same way they did with ENG. Shows promise for growth of Cricket. B+
BANGLADESH : (No need to rehash. See any of the numerous threads available) F
AUSTRALIA: Disappointing tournament all around starting with Symonds’ unceremonious exit. Seems like Ponting just can’t get his arms around the format. Also missing a quality spinner like SA. A team consisting or retirees and out of radar (Gilchrist, Hayden, Warne, Hodge) probably would have brought success (possibly a championship)
C+.
SCOTLAND: Can take the batting performance against NZ back as something to savior which is more than something for BD and AUS. With support from ECB and along with IRE and NED, they can impact the limited overs arena (ODI/T20) in the upcoming years. B-
PAKISTAN: Kudos and props for winning the tournament. Considering what the nation has gone through, a great win for them. As always they show that when their backs are against the wall, they are at their best. Younis took a little away from the value of a WC win by writing off T20 as a ‘spectacle’. Great performances by Gul, Afridi and the man who seemed to come and change it all with his PP bowling Abdul Razzaq. So much for ICL being a haven for talentless players and has-beens. A+
SRI LANKA: Warriors to the end. Remained undefeated till the moment it mattered, similar to NZ in 92. SL will be relieved to know that their team is in good hands following a captaincy change. Exceeded expectation by making it past the 2nd round and was probably the 2nd best team overall in terms of performance throughout the tournament. A
SOUTH AFRICA: Best team heading into the semi finals by performance in addition to being a pre tournament favorite (tied with India). Lost again when the stakes were high but PAK was the better team that day. Probably a world class spinner away from being the number one threat to win. B
WEST INDIES: Surprisingly successful tournament along with PAK and SL. Good thing they got their after Gayle’s public view on T20 and other forms of the game. (Good to see someone with a high profile having the balls to speak out for T20). Obviously, the Stanford T20 tournaments did bring about some good in their cricket. A-
ENGLAND: Exited with some pride after an embarrassing opening loss to the Dutch. Defeated both the finalists (IND/PAK) from last world cup comprehensively before being taken out by a skilled SA and determined WI. They are more concerned about the Ashes anyways despite being the originators of the game as well as the format. C+
NEW ZEALAND: Thing may have been different with Ryder and Taylor healthy. Thrashed Scotland and Ireland and took SA to the limit but couldn’t keep up with the big winners PAK and SL at the end. C
INDIA: Disappointing tournament despite having probably the most talented T20 roster. Only a minnow basher by defeating Bangladesh and Ireland and losing unexpectedly to WI and ENG. Maybe cricket overkill after a long IPL season but the team did not seem in harmony as the 2007 championship team. D
IRELAND: Success by accomplishing what they set out to do. They gunned down Bangladesh for a second successive World cup and showed promising bowling efforts against PAK and SL. N. O’Brian is a class act and can hold his own against any other WK batsmen out there. B+
NETHERLANDS : Success by winning their first game against ENG. Probably too wrapped up with the RR when playing PAK instead of focusing the same way they did with ENG. Shows promise for growth of Cricket. B+
BANGLADESH : (No need to rehash. See any of the numerous threads available) F
AUSTRALIA: Disappointing tournament all around starting with Symonds’ unceremonious exit. Seems like Ponting just can’t get his arms around the format. Also missing a quality spinner like SA. A team consisting or retirees and out of radar (Gilchrist, Hayden, Warne, Hodge) probably would have brought success (possibly a championship)
C+.
SCOTLAND: Can take the batting performance against NZ back as something to savior which is more than something for BD and AUS. With support from ECB and along with IRE and NED, they can impact the limited overs arena (ODI/T20) in the upcoming years. B-