Jarrod Kimber
Batting worries remain for Australia
Nineteen off 21, 11 off 11, 23 off 25, 21 off 25 and 19 off 22. It's a start for Australia, but not much more
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Nineteen off 21, 11 off 11, 23 off 25, 21 off 25 and 19 off 22. It's a start for Australia, but not much more.
Meg Lanning, Jess Cameron, Lisa Sthalekar, Alex Blackwell and Jodie Fields all looked good at times, but none kicked on, in strike-rate or total. It was like they all had an invisible wall they would run into as they approached 25. It meant that the total of 115 was just within reach of West Indies, even without Stafanie Taylor or Deandra Dottin adding anything to the total.
It was the Australian bowlers, led by the miserly Sthalekar and the wicket-taking Perry, who made 115 look far more impressive than it was.
Full postHeavy defeat shows New Zealand slide
New Zealand have been in the last two World T20 finals, losing both, one to Australia and one to England
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
New Zealand have been in the last two World T20 finals, losing both, one to Australia and one to England. They lost to Australia from the last ball, and fought hard after making an under-par score against the English. They were well drilled, well lead and played consistently good cricket. They were good with the ball, in the field or when batting. They were not a team of champions, but a team that played consistently good cricket.
In this tournament they have not.
Having already lost to the West Indies in the qualifying rounds, essentially limping towards the semi-final, they were not expected to dominate the best team in women's cricket, but at least hold their own.
Full postNo second teams anymore
There was a time during the India-SA game when I really suspected that someone was making SA flags out the back of the Prema and selling them for a few rupees
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
There was a time during the India-South Africa game when I really suspected that someone was making South African flags out the back of the Prema and selling them for a few rupees. At first they weren't there, and then suddenly one whole stand was holding up the South African colours. The Pakistani fans were the ones holding the flags, as most of the South African fans had gone home.
During the India-Pakistan game it appeared like four out of five Sri Lankans at the game had adopted Pakistan as their home team. Thousands of fans had Sri Lankan shirts on and were waving Pakistan flags or had their face painted with the Pakistani flag on it. They were as Pakistani as you could get, for just the three hours.
It's been one of the highlights of this tournament. People picking their second country to follow, or following a whole new country just for qualification purposes while supporting them as much as they could, and the cheering of superhuman feats no matter whose team performs them.
Full postWhen Watson fails
Shane Watson has been a visible giant beast in this tournament; everyone has seen what he can do
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Shane Watson has been a visible giant beast in this tournament; everyone has seen what he can do. Everyone one was waiting for him to fail. When he did he managed to bring Australia crashing down with him.
Other than Watson, the Aussie that everyone has been talking about is David Hussey. The most prolific run scorer in domestic T20 history, which is not really much of a history, but still. He's also 23rd on the list of international T20 run scorers. He can bowl right arm fast offspin, and is a demon in the field.
If you were to build the perfect T20 player, you'd build Watson or Chris Gayle. If you were mass marketing T20 players, you'd sell millions of David Hussey.
Full postHe's got the middle order in his hand
This tournament is fast becoming the search for Australia's middle order. It's weak, wounded and clutching rare gems, but first you have to get past the gate keeper
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
This tournament is fast becoming the search for Australia's middle order. It's weak, wounded and clutching rare gems, but first you have to get past the gate keeper. For the fourth time in four matches Shane Watson swatted away anyone who came near the Australian middle order. He has climbed halfway up the World Twenty20 tower clutching the Australian middle order in his large sweaty palm, and will have to be brought down by someone or something special for anyone to see this middle order.
There was a time when Dale Steyn looked like the man who could bring down Watson. Steyn was fast and on song, and Australia barely limped out of the gate. Dave Warner struggled to get bat on ball, Watson was subdued and Steyn seemed to lift Morkel as well. There were plays and misses and the scoring rate was low. South Africa looked confident and Australia appeared meek. The talk started to be about Australia's first real test of the tournament, people wanted to know what were Australia made of. They're made of Shane Watson.
After four overs Australia were 15 for 1 but when Steyn was taken out of the attack, Watson opened up. The next four overs went for 45, and Australia went from nervous to magnificent. Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson and Wayne Parnell all were dealt with like they were pesky net bowlers. Fours were smashed, sixes were cracked. At one stage Watson almost blasted a ball through the rib cage of long off. South Africa collapsed in much the same way Ireland, West Indies and India did.
Full postA true IPL success story
"Don't bowl there to Shane Watson #wt20" said an excitable @cricketaus on twitter. The "there" was a short slow leg spinner outside legstump
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
"Don't bowl there to Shane Watson #wt20" said an excitable @cricketaus on twitter.
The "there" was a short slow leg spinner outside legstump. You probably shouldn't bowl there to any batsman in the world, regardless of skill level or venue. At the moment, you could pretty much bowl anywhere to Shane Watson and he'd find a way to hit it for six.
The first ball of Australia's tournament was a wicket to Watson. In that game he was man of the match. Against West Indies he was man of the match. And today he was man of the match. In the tournament Watson has eight wickets, 164 runs, and three cheques. He also caught Chris Gayle, eventually. We still have no idea how good Australia are, because no team has come close to getting past Watson.
Full post'Neither of you deserve to win'
There is no super speed with a Super Over. Add to that the bail that seemed to have jumped off on its own volition, and the whole process seemed to take longer than the game itself
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
There is no super speed with a Super Over. Add to that the bail that seemed to have jumped off on its own volition, and the whole process seemed to take longer than the game itself.
While the West Indies left the ground mid warm-up, I thought of the only Super Over I could remember. It was oddly a warm-up match between Ireland and the Dutch before the 2009 World T20. Ireland scored 6 for one wicket, with three byes and one leg bye. Then the Dutch scored two off the first ball, and had back-to-back run-outs from the third and fourth balls to lose by four runs. It was brilliantly farcical. But it was like the out-takes that show during the credits.
Those memories didn't last long enough, as now the ICC end of match paraphernalia had to be taken from the field. I wondered about the need for a Super Over. This was only a round-robin match; there was no real reason why it couldn't just be a tie. Ties are cool too. Neither team really deserved to win, the Kiwis couldn't field at all and Sri Lanka took their foot off the gas before they even got to the home straight. Sometimes a tie is fate's way of saying, "hey, neither of you deserve to win this". But this is T20; we must have a result at the end of our three (or four) hours of cricket. This must end cleanly after many minutes of fumbling.
Full postWhy the difference between the men's and women's game?
The opening game of this tournament was held where only one group would be playing, miles from any other side, and against a team that doesn't draw a crowd
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
The opening game of this tournament was held where only one group would be playing, miles from any other side, and against a team that doesn't draw a crowd.
In the first four days of the tournament no major sides played each other.
The group stages are pointless as shown by the fact that West Indies didn't complete a match and still progressed.
Full postIreland, you will be back
Ireland leave the tournament soggy and sick. In their must win game, they never bowled a ball. Ireland cricket has had far better tournaments than this
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Ireland leave the tournament soggy and sick.
In their must win game, they never bowled a ball. Ireland cricket has had far better tournaments than this. It seems odd that two matches, one of which was only half finished, constitutes a tournament.
This is their biggest stage. The one time they can be rewarded for all the work they do when no one is watching, when they can finally pay back their sponsors and help promote cricket in a country that isn't obsessed with it. In the last two World Cups, they've won key matches and some respect. It's harder to do that in a game and a half. The only thing most of the players will take with them is the horrible memory of the gastro they all got.
Full postGet the dictionary, minnows need a new term
Odd terms in cricket seem to be the norm. The original meaning for Chinaman allegedly comes from when an English player couldn't believe he'd been bowled by a West Indian player of Chinese heritage
Jarrod Kimber
25-Feb-2013
Minnow.
Noun
* a small freshwater Eurasian fish of the carp family, which typically forms large shoals.
* a small or insignificant person or organization: the paper is a minnow in the national newspaper mass market
"We're not minnows." Trent Johnston, 2012.
Odd terms in cricket seem to be the norm. The original meaning for Chinaman allegedly comes from when an English player couldn't believe he'd been bowled by a West Indian player of Chinese heritage and said in a largely racist way: "Fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman." If a player said anything like that today he'd hounded in the press and suspended by the ICC. But yet we still call left arm wrist spinners, like Brad Hogg, Chinaman.
Full post