Can the minnows pull of an upset in this years World Twenty20?

Ireland, Bangladesh, Scotland and the Netherlands will come into the World Twenty20′s as minnows but can any of them pull of an upset this year?

Bangladesh are a team with a pretty inconsistent record in cricket, but despite that, they are team that just love to pull of the shock results.

India and South Africa will never forget the defeats at the hands of the minnows in the 2007 World Cup, and so will Australia, who became Bangladesh’s first high profile international scalp back in 2005.

Then, in the last World Twenty20, they beat West Indies by six wickets in the group stages and who knows if they can do something similar this time around?

Ireland made history in the ICC World Cup two years ago, after they pulled off a stunning three wicket victory over Pakistan. They go into Group A as outsiders, and a victory over India may seem unlikely but in this format of the game, anything is possible. Bangladesh are also in their group, and if they beat them they are almost likely to end up in the super eights.

Zimbabwe won’t take part in this year’s competition, but they did manage to record an incredible victory over Australia in South Africa two years ago. Scotland have both South Africa and New Zealand in Group D, so will need to do something special for a place in the next round.

Netherlands will come into this tournament as the weakest side, but do boast the likes of twenty20 specialists Ryan ten Doeschate and Dirk Nannes so a don’t rule out a surprise victory over England or Pakistan yet.

It looks pretty unlikely that Scotland and Nethelands will manage to pull off anything, but who knows what could happen…

This week’s winners and losers

Winners

England: England eased to a 2-0 ODI series victory this week, now bring on the world Twenty20!

Graeme Swann: Hit a superb, unbeaten 90 off just 47 balls to help his Nottinghamshire side to a eight wicket victory over Derbyshire. Swann’s innings was good timing for the world Twenty20 starting on Friday.

Stephen Parry: The Lancashire spinner took a superb catch on the boundary to remove Australian Adam Voges. The batsmen had upper-cut bowler Glen Chapple, as it was certain that the ball was going to land over the rope for six. Parry then caught the ball as it was bound for a maximum, before flicking the ball up in the air and caught it again after jumping back inside the field of play. To see the catch, click here.

Losers

Middlesex: The Panthers have once again faltered in the South division, as they have now lost three in the trot and their title defence continues badly.

West Indies: Chris Gayle’s side were absolutely dreadful as they failed with both bat and ball and England wrapped up a 2-0 sereis win.

Andrew Flintoff: News that England and Lancashire all rounder Andrew Flintoff will miss the upcoming world Twenty20 is a serios blow fro England, and now they will surely be sweating over his fitness for the Ashes.

Middlesex team is simply not strong enough to defend title

Holders Middlesex have once again faltered in the Twenty20 cup, purely because of the fact that their team is not good enough. If you take a look at their bowling, only Shaun Udal can offer any real threat for a batsman.

Their batting line up against Kent yesterday may have boasted two England internationals but posting only 105 is below standard. In fact, in the 60 overs where they have been batting, Middlesex have only managed 362 runs, about an average of 120 runs per innings. Not looking good for the holders.

It may have been a surprise to many that they are rock bottom of the South Division, with the Panthers being the only team in the whole competition to lose all their games and no other side is even close to matching their really low net run rate.

Elsewhere in the south division, Essex beat Surrey with a ball to space in what was a thriller at Chelmsford. The Eagles managed to chase Surrey’s total of 165-6 after Grant Flower hit the winning runs. Ravi Bopara hit 53 from 41 balls.

Sussex beat Hampshire rather comprehensively, chasing 122 in ease. In the north division, Lancashire beat Yorkshire in the battle of the roses, winning by seven wickets after completing their target of just 112.

Would you like to see Graeme Swann higher up the order?

He may be set to bat at no.9 in the order for England in the World Twenty20, but after yesterday’s astonishing 90 not out from 47 balls should England risk putting Graeme Swann higher up the order?

Swann shared a unbeaten stand of 112 with Adam Voges (45*) in Nottinghamshire’s eight wicket win over Derbyshire yesterday as they managed to chase 158 in under 15 overs.

Swann, who bowls a right-arm offbreak, averages 21 with the bat in this format of the game, with an impressive strike rate of 140.28. He has also scored two other 50′s in twenty20′s.

Should Graeme Swann bat higher up the order? Make your views heard by leaving a comment.

Make your views heard by leaving a comment.

We’re all set for the World Twenty20!

After the successful inaugural ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa two years ago, the tournament is back and this time will be held in England.

In 2007, we saw everything. Things such as Zimbabwe’s shock victory over Australia, the bowl out between Pakistan and India or the dramatic final between where Pakistan suffered heartbreak when they narrowly lost out to India.

The tournament kicks off with a game between England and Netherlands, (don’t expect to many fireworks) but other matches such as Australia vs Sri Lanka are sure to get the mouth watering as both sides contain big hitters.

Expect even more individual masterclass, last time we saw Yuvraj Singh hit six sixes off a single Stuart Broad over and you can’t forget Chris Gayle’s superb 117 off 57 balls.

Below, is the groups A to D. All twelve teams will attempt compete for a place in the Super Eights. The top two of the three in each group are expected to make the next round but in twenty20 cricket, you never know what’s going to happen…

Who do you think will win? Who do you think will struggle? Make your views heard by leaving a comment.

GROUP A

India

Bangladesh

Ireland

GROUP B

Pakistan

England

Netherlands

GROUP C

Australia

Sri Lanka

West Indies

GROUP D

New Zealand

South Africa

Scotland

Welcome to Cricket Analysis

Hi there,

Welcome to Cricket Analysis, the blog where we analyse everything from English domestic cricket to world cricket. It is set to be an exceptional summer’s cricket, which includes the world twenty20 tournament in England and the Ashes series.

Cricket analysis will offer you:

- News and views on the game of cricket.

- Analysis on the English domestic game.

- As well as that, we will also analyse the World Twenty 20 tournament and the Ashes series.

- A look at future tours and matches.

- Plus, much more!