Here’s a team capable of beating the mighty South Africans

As South Africa head into their second Super Eight game against West Indies today, after comprehensively beating England a couple of days ago, they look pretty unbeatable. Many wonder who can beat them in this form, and surprisingly today’s opponents West Indies may spring into mind.

How can a team that has suffered a mauling against England earlier this year, beat, no, thrash Australia before coming back from a tough position to beat defending champions India with 8 balls to spare.

Chris Gayle is no doubt the threat at the top of the Windies order, but Dwayne Bravo with both bat and ball can single handedly win games, just like he did yesterday. He took 4-38 with the ball, before clubbing 66 off 36 balls. Shiv Chanderpaul hit some good shots yesterday, while Ramnaresh Sarwan is always handy with the bat.

Fidel Edwards and Jerome Taylor are good bowlers too, and with the team work and unity they showed against the Indians they can beat the South Africans. Expect more upsets, thrills and spills from this team as the dark horses make a charge for the World Twenty20 cup…

England vs Pakistan: Preview

Date: Sunday, June 7
Time: 17:30 GMT
Venue: The Oval

England came into the tournament as dark horses but that could all change today as a loss against Pakistan will mean the hosts will crash out of the tournament.

Surely, the scripts weren’t written this way. Who would have thought that the minnows that is Netherlands would beat England in the competition opener? Now, as England prepare for a crucial, must win game against Pakistan they could be without Kevin Pietersen.

In the opening game, the performance was poor. They didn’t up and were deservedly beaten. In they play like they did on Friday, then England can say goodbye to the Twenty20 trophy.

Today, they take on a team that’s Twenty20 record is pretty impressive, this was the team that ended up runners up in the inaugural tournament in 2007.

They have the Twenty20 top wicket-takers in Umar Gul and Shaid Afridi, and although their batting is rather hit and miss, the likes of Younis Khan and Misbah ul Haq are dangerous.

But Pakistan have only played two games in seven months in this format, and the conditions will favour England. The conditions will also be more suited to England, what with the swing, so this could James Anderson’s game. Another question is who will England play in this crucial game? Below, we think this is the team that England will put out in the Oval.

England: Luke Wright, Ravi Bopara, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood (c), Dimitri Mascarenhas,  James Foster (wk), Graeme Swann, Stuart Broad, James Anderson, Ryan Sidebottom.

Prediction: The swinging conditions could prove vital in this game. Both Luke Wright and Ravi Bopara are in top form while Pakistan stumbled in both their warm up games. I think England could just sneak it.

Rampant Gayle and Yuvraj set the standards

(Group C, The Oval):
West Indies 172-3 beat Australia 169-7 by seven wickets

(Group A, Trent Bridge:)
India 180-5 beat Bangladesh 155-8 by 25 runs

You don’t need Twenty20 vision to see the difference between Chris Gayle and others, and the same could be said about Yuvraj Singh as both helped thier respective teams to what was some rather comprehensive victory.

David Warner hit a well constucted innings of 63 to help Australia put 170 on the board, after they were 15-3 at one point, but the target was not a daunting one, especially for Chris Gayle. In the Windies reply, Gayle hit the first and third ball for four as some poor Australian bowling was punished, as both Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson were far too expensive.

Gayle hit a match winning 88 of 50 balls, and was well backed up by opening partner Andre Fletcher (53 off 32). Gayle smashed six fours and six sixes including one blow hich went back 105 metres. West Indies won the game with more than four overs to spare.

Yuvraj hit a rapid 41 off 18 to give India a comfortble win as his bludgeoning innings included three fours and four sixes. Guatam Gambhir hit a watchful, but important 50 as India posted 180 in their 20 overs.

Bangladesh’s reply was tame as they finished 25 runs short, only Junaid Siddique offering some resistance with a quickfire 41 of 22 balls.

At the end of the day, it was the innings of both Gayle and Yuvraj Singh which almost certainly won the game for both teams.

New Zealand conquer but well done Scotland

(Group D, The Oval):
New Zealand 90-3 beat Scotland 89-4 by seven wickets (7 overs per side)

No shock this time. Scotland could not do what Netherlands did, but hyey did give it one hell of a go, didn’t they? Hitting 89 off just seven overs was some achievement.

New Zealand were in trouble at one point, but Ross Taylor (22 0f 10) put them on course and they ended up chasing the total with an over to spare. Jan Stander went for 22 runs off the deciding over,

Australia will play West Indies at the Oval, which has gotten underway, then India and Bangladesh have a evening game at Trent Bridge.

Analysis: Netherlands humiliate England

This is what cricket is all about. Who would have thought that a team of part-timers could beat a bunch of world stars, who are playing on their own turf, in the style that they did.

The way they bowled in the last nine overs, allowing England only 62 runs with five wickets falling, before coming out to bat knowing they had nothing to lose. In fact, they batted superbly, slamming four sixes in total in their innings. Compare that to England, who didn’t even manage to go over the rope.

It was also the running between the wickets, that Paul Collingwood admitted that the Dutch did better, that helped win the game. In fact, two of the England bowlers did not even managed a dot ball in their 24 balls.

The game was delayed by 20 minutes, due to rain, which also meant that the opening ceremony had to be abandoned. England’s day did not start well, with the news that Kevin Pietersen will miss out and now they will be sweating over his fitness for Sunday.

Bopara and Luke Wright started the game – and the tournament, in some fashion both hitting quick fire boundaries as the pair wasted no time getting into their stride. Both hit some classy shots, and soon England found themselves on 100 without loss after 11. But the duo failed to hit any sixes, Luke Wright in particular showing the most intent but due to some slower balls from Netherlands, it helped restrict what could have been more.

It was the slower ball which brought about the first wicket, Bopara skying one into the air awarding an easy catch for the Dutch. From then on, England could not manage too many boundaries, but Luke Wright hit a superb 71 as the hosts still looked likely for a score around 170 or 180.

Rob Key, making his Twenty20 debut, was poor, as he showed little intent for the ropes and his running between the wickets was not satisfactory. A few wickets fell and England finished on 162-5. It wasn’t a great score but surely enough to defend against the minnows.

In reply, Netherlands made a bad start. They were 2-1 in the first over,but opener Darron Reekers hit a rapid 20, including one big six to give them some hopes of snatching an unlikely victory. Batsmen De Groot hit 49, and England suddenly sensed that victory was not certain. Run out oppurtunity missed, a difficult drop catch at the boundary and some good running meant that the team in orange needed just seven off six.

Stuart Broad bowled tight deliveries, but in the over he has missed two run out chances and dropped a catch. Last ball, Netherlands required two off one.  When Edgar Schiferli hit the ball back to Broad, he and Ryan ten Doeschate (22), Broad suddenly had a chance at the stumps which missed, and went for overthrows.  Netherlands already ran the single, ran again as England could not retrieve the ball in time.

Netherlands recorded a major blow, winning by four wickets, a result no one would have though possible and this may have been the worst ever day for English cricket.

England will have to beat Pakistan on Sunday, and if they fail, then will be crashing out in the group stages. Netherlands defied the scripts, and all credit to them, but England, in front of their own fans, may say goodbye come Sunday night.

Group B

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	0	2	+0.050
England	1	0	1	0	0	0	-0.050

Biggest upset in history?

Humiliating. Shocking. Thrilling. Everything this game is all about. Minnows Netherlands pulled off a shock result, beating hosts England by four wickets in the final ball. Is this the biggest upset in history? The thing is, Netherlands fully deserved their win. Bowled beautifully in the last nine overs allowing England only 62 runs. Remember England were 100 without loss after 11 overs. From then on, it went pair shaped.

But some terrific batting to follow that on. And a Stuart Broad over throw to award the victory off the final ball, to deny England’s hopes of progressing and even the exciting super over. Holland managed 4 sixes, while England could not manage at least one. It hurts to say it, but the best team won on the day. Now over to Pakistan.

Full Analysis of the game will follow on Saturday…

Group B

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Netherlands	1	1	0	0	0	2	+0.050	163/20.0	162/20.0
England	1	0	1	0	0	0	-0.050	162/20.0	163/20.0

Ones to watch in the World Twenty20

As we approach the much anticipated World Twenty20, Cricket Analysis pick out the players to watch in the tournament who we believe can make a huge impact on the competition. If you don’t agree with some of ours, then feel free to say who is and who isn’t….

Shakib al Hasan (Bangladesh) – Stats don’t lie. Currently the best all rounder on planet, and the fifth best bowler in the world (ahead of the likes of Nathan Bracken, Mitchell Johnson and our very own Stuart Broad), Shakib is a no nonsense player. In the last tournament, Shakib took 4 wickets in Bangladesh’s only win against West Indies.

Eoin Morgan (England) – The most un-orthodox player in the England side, if not in world Cricket. A definite to excite spectators with his raw talent, able to do special things with the bat, slog sweep, reverse sweep and even his own reverse reverse sweep.

Luke Wright (England) – A handy all rounder, who’s ability with the bat has flourished over the years. Hit a fluent, unbeaten 75 in the warm up game against West Indies. He can bowl too, in that same game he managed to bowl nice and straight and was rewarded with a wicket.

Dale Steyn (South Africa) – Has made a rather rapid rise to the international scene, and is looked at as one of the best bowlers. Steyn has the ability to bowl in the mid 90′s and batsmen will struggle facing the tall South African.

Nuwan Kulasekara (Sri Lanka) – The best bowler in limited overs cricket. An economical bowler who can take quick wickets, which can change the whole complexion of the match.

David Warner (Australia) – Big hitters are what make this short format of the game such a spectacle. That is what exactly what this young Australian is. He hit, or bludgeoned rather, a impressive smashed 89 off 43 balls against South Africa in January. This terrific innings was before the batsmen had even made his first class debut for New South Wales.

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