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Related Links Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: India | ||
Like Australia a couple years before them, India approached Twenty20 cautiously and perhaps indifferently until they won the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in 2007. What happened next - the IPL, Champions League, the surge in interest from the BCCI - is well documented. India are a force to reckon with and where Indian fans have had to lower expectations in the past, they can truly raise them with this unit.
Unlike the squad that flew to South Africa two years ago, the one that touched down in London carries way more expectation. Pre-tournament chatter has included talk of India retaining their crown at Lord's on June 21 and much of it is justified. India's rise as a Twenty20 force since that epic September evening has coincided with their rise in Test and 50-over cricket and many of the same players have gained in confidence from their exploits in cricket's shortest format. Some of this squad contributed heavily to the last two IPLs but the test now will be to forget all that and perform against the toughest opposition there is.
The make-up of this squad displays immense talent and the most balanced side of all. A superb opening pair, a trio of three outrageously gifted timers of the ball to follow, a clutch of allrounders, crafty medium-pacers and seamers, tidy spinners and a captain/batsman/wicketkeeper who has balanced the demands of leadership with honing his own game. Every successful team needs a smart leader, and Dhoni has fit into that role with ease. Critics have argued that with Dhoni there's a certain amount of luck involved, but if its luck that helped India win the last CB Series, the inaugural World Twenty20 and bilateral ODI series over Sri Lanka (twice) and England, then don't expect it to run out anytime soon.
With a seven-four win-loss record in 13 Twenty20 India's statistics in this format aren't too hot but they go into the tournament as favourites. India's progression to the second round is an easy task given that Ireland and Bangladesh are their group mates. Once in the last eight they will be a threat to every team, not least because of the manner in which they brushed aside South Africa - a critical moment in their successful campaign - and Australia in 2007. India won the last tournament because of their fielding and bowling. They won three matches defending what would be considered sub-par scores in Twenty20. They have the firepower to repeat 2007.
Strengths
The line-up: Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Yusuf Pathan, RP Singh, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh. These are some of the game's best players and when packed into the same XI - if at all possible - India are a tough team to beat. The top order is excellent, the middle packs weight, the fielding is athletic, the spin cupboard brimming, and the pace department top-rate.
Weaknesses
Fatigue - both physical and mental. All these players have played a lot of cricket, both domestic, international and in the IPL, and there is a concern that a few are carrying niggles. Zaheer Khan sat out the second half of the IPL and India's first World Twenty20 warm-up and he will remain the cynosure of medical eyes until the XI is announced.
X-Factor
Pragyan Ojha may not be an automatic starter but he will keep his captain interested and Harbhajan Singh on his toes. Ojha bowled very well all throughout Deccan Chargers' IPL campaign in South Africa, finishing the tournament with 18 wickets. The stronger the pressure, the better Ojha performed. He came on in leaps and bounds in the IPL, and in his first bowl on English soil this summer he got a lot of deliveries to turn and spit in India's warm-up defeat to New Zealand. Few sides have seen him in action if confronted with tracks that assist spin, Ojha might turn out to be India's wildcard this summer.
Key player(s)
In the midst of a powerful batting line-up, Rohit Sharma stands on his own two feet with an air that says he belongs here. Gifted with plenty of time to execute his shots and hit through the line or off the back foot, Rohit can bat anywhere in the order. He's coming off another successful IPL season, one in which he turned in two match-winning cameos and stunned many with his accurate, effective offspin but, most importantly, showed a flair for leadership and an aptitude to think and evaluate.
Twenty20 form guide
Their form since the World Twenty20 final in Johannesburg reads three losses from four games. Their bogey remains New Zealand, who they have yet to beat in three attempts.
Squad MS Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Pragyan Ojha, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Yuvraj Singh.
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Related Links Player/Officials: Tillakaratne Dilshan | Sanath Jayasuriya |Lasith Malinga | Muttiah Muralitharan | Kumar Sangakkara Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: Sri Lanka | ||
The ICC World Twenty20 represents an opportunity for Sri Lanka to put behind them the miseries of the last few months. The attack on their team bus in Lahore in March and the armed conflicts in the country have meant the team and the nation have had little to cheer recently. Kumar Sangakkara and Co have the chance to give the country some happy moments over the next couple of weeks.
It's Sangakkara's first series as captain, but he has with him a team which has enough matchwinners to make the debut a memorable one. There's plenty of flair in a batting line-up that has, apart from the captain himself, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan. The bowling attack, led by Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga, has the firepower to be formidable in any conditions, and the team has several swift movers, ensuring that fielding is hardly a liability.
With a 13-8 win-loss record in Twenty20 internationals, Sri Lanka also have one of the better stats in this format. Defeats against Pakistan and Australia deprived them of a semi-final spot in 2007, but with such a balanced line-up they have every chance of making the last four this time.
Being in a tough group - Australia and West Indies are the others in Group C - means they must find form immediately and beat at least one of those two teams to move into the Super Eights. If they make that cut, though, they'll find themselves in the relatively easier group, with Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh as possible group mates.
Strengths
A bowling attack which includes Muralitharan, Malinga, and Ajantha Mendis must fancy their chances against any batting line-up in any conditions. Nuwan Kulasekara and Farveez Maharoof should find the England conditions in June to their liking too, which suggests batting teams will be hard-pressed to post big totals against them. Sri Lanka's top four batsmen are a formidable lot too, and Jayasuriya will be keen to prove that his poor form in the IPL was an aberration.
Weaknesses
The top order is superb, but Sri Lanka have been hit in the past by the lack of batting firepower down the order - it's quite revealing that their run rate of 8.85 in the last six overs of twenty20 internationals is worse than the six other top teams. Chamara Silva, Maharoof and the rest of the lower-order batsmen will need to pull their weight and ensure that their late-overs batting isn't a liability.
X-factor
The starts that Sanath Jayasuriya provides with the bat could go a long way in determining how far Sri Lanka progress in the tournament. Jayasuriya's recent form hasn't been flash - he scored 221 in 12 innings in the IPL - but his ability to turn on the switch can never be underestimated.
Key players
Muralitharan is an obvious matchwinner in the Sri Lankan team, but in conditions likely to assist swing and seam, Lasith Malinga could be more than a handful. He had an outstanding IPL, taking 18 wickets at an economy rate of 6.30, but he'll also need to keep an eye on his radar - his 26 wides were the most by any bowler in the tournament.
Twenty20 form guide
Sri Lanka's record in this format over the last 12 months has been patchy - though they've won three out of five, two of those victories were against Zimbabwe and Canada. What will give them more encouragement is the form of their players in the IPL: Muralitharan and Malinga were terrific, while Dilshan was one of the most consistent batsmen and finished with the fifth-highest aggregate.
Squad: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Jehan Mubarak, Chamara Silva, Indika de Saram, Angelo Mathews, Farveez Maharoof, Nuwan Kulasekara, Thilan Thushara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Isuru Udana.
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Related Links Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: England | ||
England's record in major global competitions is less of a millstone, more a long-discarded supermarket trolley at the bottom of the Regent's Canal. Thirty-four years of hurt stopped them dreaming a long, long time ago, not least in Twenty20 cricket, which may only have been around since 2003, but has been developed at a supersonic pace on the subcontinent in the past 18 months. On the eve of the tournament, Sri Lanka's captain, Kumar Sangakkara, emitted a barely suppressed scoff when reflecting on the fact that England actually invented the game. Not for the first time, they forgot to register the patent.
Nevertheless, a lack of expectation can be liberating. Though Paul Collingwood's pre-tournament pledge to "surprise a few people" wasn't exactly Churchillian in its origins, their combination of home advantage and handy momentum should enable them to surpass their feeble efforts in 2007, when Zimbabwe were their only conquests in five attempts. Let it not be forgotten that the last time the world's leading teams were all gathered in this country, for the Champions Trophy in 2004, England reached the final only to be undone by a memorable West Indian run-chase.
The mistakes that England made in 2007 have, on the face of it, been rectified in the interim. Stuart Broad is an older, wiser and better cricketer than the wide-eyed rookie whom Yuvraj Singh slapped for 36 in an over at Durban, while the so-called Twenty20 specialists that sank without trace in that tournament (Darren Maddy, Chris Schofield, Jeremy Snape and James Kirtley) have been superseded by a new breed; men such as Graham Napier whose world-record 16 sixes for Essex against Sussex in 2007 propelled him to the big-time, and James Foster, whose silken glovework, especially when standing up to the stumps, has increased the value of the slow- and medium-paced members of England's attack.
It's not impossible that England will spring a surprise in this tournament, merely improbable. But even that is an improvement on their prospects in years gone by.
Strengths
Home advantage might seem a spurious benefit in a 20-over thrash, but England have at least spent the early part of the summer reminding themselves how to take wickets. Their new-ball attack of Broad and James Anderson are as close to the top of their game as they ever have been, while the confidence in the current squad is best exemplified by the irrepressible Graeme Swann, who fine-tuned his second string by smacking90 not out from 47 balls against Derbyshire last week.
Weaknesses
There's no Andrew Flintoff - and while his impact is less dramatic than in years gone by, his absence does mean four fewer overs of bat-rattlingly accurate pace, and one less go-to man for those crucial overs at the death. And then, of course, there is the question of focus. Are England really bothered with this tournament, or are their eyes already trained on Cardiff on July 8?
(Lack of) X-Factor
In every other format, you would surely have to nominate Kevin Pietersen as England's king-pin. But as the man himself admitted last week: "I'm not very good at Twenty20, am I?" His highest score in 35 matches (international, domestic and IPL included) is 79, against Zimbabwe in 2007. Younis Khan said on Sunday that 120 balls is actually a very long time to bat. You sense that Pietersen, ever manic at the crease and in a hurry to impose himself, hasn't yet allowed himself the time to realise this.
Key player(s)
Regardless of his lack of success (and dodgy Achilles heel permitting), Pietersen is, of course, crucial to England's fortunes. So too is a man who has taken on board many of his same cocky characteristics, Ravi Bopara. He was England's stand-out performer at the IPL with a sensational 84 from 59 balls for King's XI Punjab, and he translated that confidence into back-to-back hundreds in the West Indies Tests last month.
T20 form guide
Six victories, nine defeats, in 15 matches since 2005, though nothing has ever topped that heady first contest against Australia at the Rose Bowl.
Squad: Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Andrew Flintoff, James Foster, Robert Key, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Eoin Morgan, Graham Napier, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, Luke Wright
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Related Links Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: Pakistan | ||
Few sides really need to win - or do very well - the World Twenty20 as badly as Pakistan. Few sides will be as rusty as Pakistan. And few sides are as capable of them of pulling off something special, especially in this format.
Pakistan's travails on and off the field need no repeating. Suffice to say, on the field, they have lurched closer and closer to what was once thought to be unthinkable: a team you have no particular opinion about, a team that doesn't set any pulses racing. For Pakistan, that is a fate worse than defeat, or death. So a triumph here - a good run even - would be as significant a boost on the field as winning a battle against militants off it.
It won't be easy given their rustiness - nobody, not even Bangladesh, has played less international cricket since January 2007 than Pakistan. And they were the only country whose players weren't represented at the IPL; instead they warmed up with a conditioning camp and a hastily-arranged domestic Twenty20 tournament. But for Pakistan, Twenty20 is like finding yourself back in the galli you have played cricket in all your life. The angles, the run-stealing, the yorkers, the spin, the-poor-fielding-with-crucial-moments-of-quality, the big-hitting, clarity emerging only from chaos; as in South Africa two years ago, there is a natural familiarity and comfort with the format.
Additionally, the draw seems so kind to them, it can only be a trick. You would think England - averse as they are to the format and obsessed in this summer of all summers - and Netherlands should be negotiated (though Dirk Nannes on a bouncy, green pitch has headlines written all over it). And, if all goes to form, they avoid Australia, India and South Africa in the Super Eights. Sri Lanka and New Zealand are proper threats where a semi-final place is concerned, but given their records against them, there is no question Pakistan would face them, rather than any of the big three. Once you're in the semis, strange things begin to happen.
Strengths
The variety in their bowling attack: Shahid Afridi's leg-spin is as effective as it has ever been, in restricting runs and taking wickets, and Saeed Ajmal's strangely-trajectoried off-spin and doosra is an unexpectedly useful foil. In Umar Gul, Pakistan have one of the format's very best bowlers, pace or slow. Now they only need for Sohail Tanvir to break free from the shackles of indifference that have gripped him since the start of the year.
Weaknesses
Around Pakistan's batting swarm an uncomfortably high number of question marks. Is Salman Butt really a Twenty20 opener (a strike rate of 94 and one fifty in 13 internationals), given his inability to at least rotate the strike when not finding the boundary? Is Younis Khan cut out for this format - he himself seems unsure about it, hinting recently it may be his last Twenty20 assignment - and if so, what position is best? What is Shahid Afridi's best position, and Kamran Akmal's?
X-Factor
Depending on whether or not they play, Shahzaib Hasan and Mohammad Aamer: Hasan is an explosive opener, mostly unseen, but highly recommended by Rashid Latif. Aamer is the whippy left-armer with Wasim Akram's stamp of approval: a fantastic first-class debut season that has seen his confident rise, his time may come if Sohail Tanvir continues to misfire. Pakistan's history of thrusting unknown names into the mix is long and established.
Key Players
If Pakistan end up doing well here, a number of things will have to have happened. Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi must've taken a fair few wickets, Kamran Akmal must've scored some runs, Misbah-ul-Haq must've played a few remarkably cool hands and Afridi must've played at least one madcap, match-changing innings. Given the form and mood he is in, Afridi could be the real key.
Twenty20 form guide
They looked rusty in the warm-up loss to South Africa but too much should not be read from the defeat. They looked up for it in decimating an admittedly weakened Australia before that, but missing the IPL, crucially, could go either way for Pakistan's players: they may not be as tired as some, but neither might they be as attuned to competitive Twenty20 as others.
Squad: Younis Khan (capt), Salman Butt, Ahmed Shehzad, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal (wk), Fawad Alam, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, Yasir Arafat, Saeed Ajmal, Shahzaib Hasan
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Related Links Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: West Indies | ||
Chris Gayle, the West Indies captain, has made no secret of his enjoyment of Twenty20. In his own words, it "wouldn't be so sad" if Test cricket gave way to the 20-over version and he was considering giving up the longer formats to focus on Twenty20. The way his men played in the Tests and ODIs in England it looked as though he wasn't the only one whose attention span was suited to three-hour games. Expectations will therefore be raised that West Indies can lift for the World Twenty20.
They are in a difficult group along with Australia and Sri Lanka - it's the only group that doesn't feature an Associate side - and therefore they must hit top form from day one. They beat Australia the only time the teams have met in a Twenty20 and they have never faced Sri Lanka.
West Indies have the quite remarkable record of having tied two of their 11 Twenty20 internationals - both against New Zealand - and they have won four and lost five. At the 2007 World Twenty20 they went down to both South Africa and Bangladesh in the group stage and were bundled out in the space of three days.
Strengths
A batting line-up boasting Gayle, Xavier Marshall, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Andre Fletcher, Denesh Ramdin, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard should score its runs quickly. They are all capable of demolishing an attack with clean strikes and opposition bowlers must keep the wickets falling to stop West Indies posting a big score. Throw in Shivnarine Chanderpaul as the man who can anchor one end should wickets tumble and it's a batting order with the potential to scare any bowling group.
Weaknesses
Those who live by the sword die by the sword. West Indies' batsmen can be destructive but they can be just as liable to capitulate dramatically. And it's impossible to predict which version of the side will arrive on any given day. At their best Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor are fine fast bowlers but opposition batsmen's eyes will light up when they see the backup brigade of Lionel Baker, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy.
X-factor
The X-man is the X-factor. Nobody highlights the disparity between potential and consistent performance in West Indies' squad quite like Xavier Marshall. Never one to back down, he has the ability to dominate even the best attacks, as he proved when Australia visited the Caribbean last year. His 36 off 15 balls in the Twenty20 in Barbados set up West Indies' victory over Ricky Ponting's men. Far too many failures fill the gaps between his triumphs but even one matchwinning effort in this tournament will justify his place.
Key players
Gayle is the only man to have scored a century in a Twenty20 international and it came at the previous World Twenty20. Having shown little interest in the Test series in England, he has no excuse now that his preferred format is taking centre stage. At his best, he can win a game in a handful of overs. The question is, after such a lean patch in England, can he reach his best?
Twenty20 form guide
Over the past 12 months, West Indies have won two Twenty20s, lost one and tied one. Importantly, they beat Australia - who they meet in the group stage - in Barbados last year. But their matches have been infrequent and it's impossible to ignore their failure to win a Test or ODI in England this year - much of the personnel remains the same from those longer formats.
Squad: Chris Gayle (capt), Denesh Ramdin, Lionel Baker, Sulieman Benn, David Bernard, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Andre Fletcher, Xavier Marshall, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Jerome Taylor.
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Related Links Series/Tournaments: ICC World Twenty20 Teams: New Zealand | ||
First, the good news. The shorter the format the more competitive New Zealand become. Despite slumping to eighth on the Test rankings they have been World Cup semi-finalists in two of the past three tournaments and matched that achievement at the inaugural World Twenty20, where they were denied a place in the decider by Pakistan.
Now the bad news. Their leading performers two years ago included Craig McMillan, Shane Bond and Mark Gillespie, none of whom are there this time around. But there is an upside: since 2007 they have added a couple of more than handy names to their team with Jesse Ryder and Martin Guptill proving dangerous at international level.
And the other plus is that New Zealand have found themselves in a group with Scotland, meaning along with South Africa they should have no trouble progressing past the opening stage. Then things become less clear-cut. Will a few powerful hitters and an economical A-grade slow-bowler be enough for them to move past more imposing line-ups? Only time will tell. But it's a fool who writes off New Zealand when the 50- or 20-over tournaments arrive.
Strengths
Crafty, high-quality spin is a major weapon in Twenty20 and slow bowlers don't come any cannier than Daniel Vettori. New Zealand can all but guarantee that he will deliver four thrifty overs each match; he has done that in every one of his 14 Twenty20 internationals and the most he has ever gone for is 6.75 an over. Of men who have played ten Twenty20s for their country, only Umar Gul has abetter economy rate than Vettori's 5.35.
Weaknesses
While Vettori contains at one end, the fast men will be required to keep things tight at the other. And that is New Zealand's biggest challenge. Bond, Gillespie and Chris Martin did adequately in 2007 but none is in this squad. A pace attack based around the likes of Kyle Mills, Iain O'Brien, James Franklin, Ian Butler and Jacob Oram won't strike fear into many Twenty20 batting line-ups. To compensate for a lack of firepower they'll need to bowl smart - changes of pace, yorkers, cutters - or else risk an early exit.
X-factor
According to the online Wiktionary, an x-factor is that which has "unknown or unforeseeable consequences". That's pretty much how New Zealand Cricket would define Jesse Ryder. Despite having had behavioural issues in the past and being one of the big flops of the recent IPL, Ryder hasn't often let his country down with the bat. A Twenty20 strike-rate of 137.61 shows his power and if he and the equally dangerous Brendon McCullum can get their side off to a couple of quick starts, it could be the difference between an early departure and a place in the finals.
Key players
Vettori is the most important with the ball, Ryder and McCullum could destroy attacks and Oram has the ability to finish an innings in style. But it's hard to argue that any of those men are more important to New Zealand's chances than Ross Taylor. No. 4 is a key position in Twenty20. If the openers have failed he must be steady without stalling; if they have thrived he needs to maintain or increase the momentum immediately. Taylor has the game to fill that role. He had a good IPL and his barely believable 81 off 33 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders was a highlight.
Twenty20 form guide
Warm-up wins against Bangladesh and Ireland don't reveal much, although the form of Taylor and Guptill in those games was a pleasing sign. More of a positive was New Zealand winning their two most recent Twenty20s, against the reigning champions India in February. Since then it has been an up-and-down time for their squad members. Taylor thrived at Royal Challengers Bangalore, McCullum played a couple of strong innings as captain of Kolkata Knight Riders but was in the firing line as his team failed, while Ryder, Oram and Scott Styris had largely forgettable tournaments. In the meantime, Franklin has enjoyed a productive stint with Gloucestershire and O'Brien has been acclimatising with Leicestershire.
Squad: Daniel Vettori (capt), Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Brendon Diamanti, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum (wk), Nathan McCullum, Peter McGlashan (wk), Kyle Mills, Iain O'Brien, Jacob Oram, Jesse Ryder, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor.
