It’s been an enjoyable ten days. The essence of Twenty20 cricket is entertainment; not the propensity to generate close finishes. We have had only one ‘humdinger’ of an encounter so far; the preliminary game between India and Pakistan. Although there have been other games that come across as close affairs when you look at the scorecard, they have induced smiles more than the urge to bite one’s nails. I hope the promoters have taken note of this. They ought to ensure that this version is utilized sparingly, as a diversion of sorts in a calendar of Test and fifty-over games. A series could either begin or end with a Twenty20 game, with the players aiming to ‘entertain.’Pakistan have gained momentum, and they have it in them to go the distance. I have to say that the Australians have been disappointing. The South Africans have looked good. They will be itching to make up for the 2003 World Cup debacle in front of their home crowd.
An interesting feature of the tournament is the quality of its standout performers. The ‘usual suspects’ have done well, with no unknown figure coming to the fore. Yuvraj Singh is a case in point. Only a class player could have produced the kind of strokes that he did against England.
Most of them were proper cricketing shots, and could only have been essayed by someone who was well-versed in the basics.
The format is heavily loaded in the batsmen’s favor, but trust the bowlers to find a way out! Daniel Vettori and Harbhajan Singh, to name just two, have proved that bowlers can be effective in this format. They will have their bad days, given the notoriously short boundaries, but the mentally tenacious among them will eventually come to terms with Twenty20 cricket. We have already seen the start of this process.
The manner in which Vettori put the brakes on the Indian scoring a few days ago was quite brilliant. The key to bowling effectively in Twenty20 cricket, irrespective of whether you are a paceman or a spinner, is the ability to ‘mix things up.’ The batsmen will take full toll of anything that is predictable. If I were to captain a side in this form of the game, I would tell my quickies to vary their pace, line and length, and hone their yorkers to the point where they can bowl them at will. The bouncer shouldn’t be discounted as a legitimate ‘shock’ weapon. The spinners will do well to adhere to the same principles. The objective should be to keep the batsmen guessing.
I wouldn’t discourage the bowlers to experiment with new tricks and tactics. You never know what may work. This is a new format after all, and we are all learning.
