The Cricket Society III

Given that we've just toured and also have the best record in T20 WCs, I'd say its only a shock to the close-minded fans.

It's going to depend on the batsmen, really, so I'm not convinced about our chances. The pitches are so slow that nearly every bowler should have success, it will depend on which batsmen can get set and then play their shots. Pakistan easily defended 122, and Sri Lanka the same for ~130, so I think the likes of Kallis and Kohli will be crucial. I think we'll hear more about the pitches during the SLPL though.

Fair dos, but records don't stand for as much. 'Course they're helpful, but in different conditions it's not certain that teams with good records will play well.

The fact that Pak have recently played in SL, as well as SL being in the subcontinent, will help them a lot. Agree, the SLPL will give a good indication of what the games will be like.

Also, teams like Pak rarely go into big tournaments with 'huge expectations'. In a way, its just less pressure. Generally, they come out successful.

Well... I think we're lacking the middle order stability that made our previous T20 teams so good.

I disagree with the pressure argument tbh. Pakistani fans are fickle and demand victory every single time. People are calling for Misbah and Whatmore to be sacked already and there are huge expectations in Pakistan, regardless of CricIndia's relentless use of the words 'mercurial underdogs', 'dark horses' and 'surprise package' when referring to us. A tiny bit of success leads to massive expectation.

Haven't watched a recent Pak T20 in a while. Can't even remember the squad.

'Cricindia'... Funny guy!
You'd know more. From a non-Pakistani fan, that is the illusion I was under, probably because of Cricindia and also the Pakistani fans that I know.

I think Indian fans, after the England and Aussie drubbing, have had their eyes opened. Any true Indian fans will know that India have slim chances this T20 WC. And that India aren't as great as their fans make out they are.

I think, as with every tournament, no-one truly knows how we'll do. I do think though that we have quite a few players in the SLPL and generally have done well in Sri Lanka in the past, we could get far, but the batting will let us down against the better teams.

I actually think you guys could do very well. Your middle order is strong, and that's what will be required, to keep a 6/7rpo from overs 6-15. Rahane and Sehwag can get you off to a flier, Gambhir and Kohli consolidate, then the likes of Dhoni can accelerate. The weakness of the bowling might not matter as much because the pitches are so slow anyway.

Guess we'll all wait and see. Personally, just have a feeling. Pak are gonna win this year.
For India the first hurdle will be actually qualifying for the 'super eights' or whatever it is after the group stages. Since 2007, we haven't even managed to qualify

IMO, the openers should be Viru-Gauti, and Kohli should be at 3 at any cost. Any lower, and he's sort of a waste. Then have Rohit, Raina and Dhoni at 4,5,6. Rahane will probably only play if Viru doesn't. Gauti's a great T20 opener. Everyone keeps talking about Yuvi being back for the T20 WC, which I think is quite unrealistic. Never know. Don't think BCCI should risk him. Bring him back for the Winter series vs England methinks.

Fair enough about the bowling, but either way, our options are very limited!

Well, it's a tough one. I think Rahane is overrated and will come up very short against quality spin bowling, I remember Ashwin outfoxing him, and also, the pitches will be completely different to what he's faced so far. But then again, he could give you that impetus at the top, whereas Gambhir is a guy who's a great opener but not quite so explosive. Maybe drop Rohit for Rahane, I don't really rate Rohit. As for Yuvraj, well, it depends on what he wants to do himself, if he wants to play, then let him.

I haven't seen too many performances by Rahane to make him worthy of all the hype around him. Yes, he had a good IPL season with RR, but that hardly means much! I still want to see more of him, and I agree that maybe Rohit should make way for him, but I don't see that actually happening.

I love Gauti's batting style. He's great. He never poses a threat like someone like Gayle/Viru/KP or any other 'smash-hitter', but he actually scores at a healthy rate without taking many risks. He hits some beautiful shots for boundaries, rotates strike well too. Only problem is, at times, his running between the wickets is like

I think Yuvi is telling the media that he'll be back by September just to shut them up. I don't think he'll be ready. We'll see. He'll only come back if he's ready. If he believes he is, that's fine.

I've only seen him in the two series against England last year, and IPL. He seems to have a problem putting an innings together, though England's fast bowlers are pretty good so that might be harsh on him, and he did well in IPL. Ohh, is Rohit favoured by the management atm?

Yeah, he was phenomenal last year for KKR, one of the reasons why I liked them. His consistency was just incredible. I have doubts about him on surfaces that don't favour him, but then again, he did score 75 in the T20 07 final, so he's been a good player in the format for ages now.

Ahh okay, I think he'd be a better option than Rohit in any case.

Agreed. Can't remember him much from the Eng series if I'm honest. I know he got a couple of starts, and couldn't carry on. In the IPL, think his performances stood out more 'cos the rest of Rajasthan were pretty crap (barring Dravid and a couple of innings by Owais Shah).

Yeah, Rohit's been give many, many chances. The BCCI always favour Mumbai boys. Which is odd, 'cos Rahane's also a Mumbaikar.

Defo. That's one of Gauti's assets, consistency. He's developed as a player, and works to his strengths. In SL, I'd assume it'll be more about getting quick singles and twos, knowing when to accelerate and take risks in an innings, and picking the right shots for the pitch. All which Gauti assesses quite well.

That's because he didn't do anything! Yeah true, and he definitely faded towards the end as well. Ahh okay, Rohit has great bat speed and all the shots, I just wonder whether he'll ever mature enough.

Yeah, completely agree with all of that. He's a very good limited overs player tbh, and cool under pressure. He seems very focussed at the crease and in general seems like a bit of a tough guy.

Thoughts on Sachin skipping the SL ODI series?

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my Orange Monte Carlo

Australia - Unlikely, have Warner and Watson, but no much after - Decent pace attack, no spin options which are vital in Sri Lanka

England - Without Pietersen, their batting seems weaker. Morgan is good, but no enough explosive batsmen. Strong bowling attack, but yet to shine in a world tournament

India - Strong batting, but not the strongest pace attack. Have lots of spin options who will be economical.

West Indies - Team of T20 specialists, but do they have the consistency and ability to cope under pressure?

Doherty? Lyon? Smith? They have spin options.


Hales anyone?

And strong bowling attack yet to shine in a world tournament? Did you not see the last ODI and T20 world cups? The last T20 world cup in particular, the England bowling performance was easily the best in the tournament.

It will be interesting to see how India's IPL spinners will play. From what I've seen of the IPL (which is admittedly not a lot), they don't really bowl as spinners, prefering to bowl darts than slow spinning balls like Vettori or Murali might.
They are a team of T20 specialists against mediocre IPL opposition (if you don't believe me, look at who Gayle scores his mountains of runs against. Hint - it's not the opening international bowlers) but they have yet to show they're much cop against international opposition (see recent T20 match against England for instance.)

All of them are poor, would you put them aside Ajmal, Swann and Vettori. Smith is in the side mainly for his fielding, his bowling and batting is a bonus.

One innings makes him an adequate replacement for Pietersen?

Apologies, I meant to say ODI world cup in which they conceded 300 runs against Netherlands and over 300 to Ireland, and did not manage to get a wicket against Sri Lanka in the Quarter Finals.

All of them are poor, would you put them aside Ajmal, Swann and Vettori. Smith is in the side mainly for his fielding, his bowling and batting is a bonus.

One innings makes him an adequate replacement for Pietersen?

Apologies, I meant to say ODI world cup in which they conceded 300 runs against Netherlands and over 300 to Ireland, and did not manage to get a wicket against Sri Lanka in the Quarter Finals.

Slow spinning balls are becoming less fashionable in T20's sadly. Bowlers like Ashwin who look to bowl out for less than 20 runs are seen as more useful. Especially with batsmen like Chris Gayle who will see the ball tossed up and smash it out of the park.

How many England batsmen would get into the West Indies side? I said T20 specialist because I am unsure of whether they can play well together. And again, this is the first series in which they have played together (with Gayle, Bravo, Narine etc) so give them time. They will go further than England in the T20 world cup.

Slow spinning balls are becoming less fashionable in T20's sadly. Bowlers like Ashwin who look to bowl out for less than 20 runs are seen as more useful. Especially with batsmen like Chris Gayle who will see the ball tossed up and smash it out of the park.

I'd put them at least on par with the Indian spin lineup at the moment. Granted, the australian spin lineup isn't up there with Pakistan, SL or England, but it's certainly par with the other countries.

One innings (which incidently was the best by an England batsman by some way...) doesn't, but his domestic record in the most bowling friendly T20 competition in the world suggests it won't be a one-off. Losing Pietersen is unfortunate, but you must have not watched any domestic cricket to suggest we don't have any waiting in the wings.

What about bowling SA out for 160 odd? What about pegging the Windies to all out when it looked like they were cruising to a win? In any case, you seem to be looking at the bottom line, not the actual bowling. Ireland did manage over 300 runs, almost entirely due to the stellar innings by Kevin O'Brien. Netherlands did manage nearly 300, but England chased it down easily within

Only in the IPL, where the contest seems to be over who can smash people out of the park more. The best international spinners are Swann, Ajmal, Mendis etc who actually spin the ball. Being economical for 4 overs may be good enough for a domestic IPL side, but it doesn't cut it at international level.

Sri Lanka has very similar conditions to India, which is why such a bowler will be important. I'd like to see Swann tossing up an off spinner to Gayle and seeing how far out of the ground it goes.... It is sad because spin bowling is becoming more based around economical bowling than wicket taking deliveries.

So the Windies players need time to gel before performing? Someone should have told Gayle who's been playing for 5 different T20 teams this year. Didn't stop him averaging over 40 this year. Performance in the IPL (where international players can dominate the mediocre domestic players) doesn't necessarily translate to international performances.