Like a well written book

Written by Mark Smith

Tuesday, 25 September 2007

In terms of the competition, the T20 World Championship got what was very much the right result. Without the experience of Tendulkar, Laxman, Ganguly and Dravid you might have expected India to struggle, but they were very much the best side throughout, and Dhoni showed a surprisingly subtle touch as captain of a very young Indian side with an age profile that augurs well for the future of the Indian team.

The huge hitting of Yuvraj Singh will be the one abiding memory of the 2007 tournament, and will bring Stuart Broad out in cold sweats for years to come. His runs were the crucial difference in the best game of the tournament - the Indian win over Australia in the semi final.

England looked ponderous and one dimensional - the batting tactic appeared to be 'hope KP comes off' - which failed more than it succeeded. The refusal to innovate meant that the one 'six hitting' threat in the team - Dmitri Mascarenhas, was a virtual spectator during two run chases when he could have made a real difference out in the middle.

South Africa choked again in a major tournament - it's becoming a habit. After the 'run out' in 1999 and the farcical miscalculation of Duckworth Lewis in 2003, this time they self destructed when chasing a very gettable target against India. Not only did they fall short of winning the game - they also seemed unaware that they only had to chase a much smaller target to proceed.

NZ, as ever, proved that the sum total was more than the total of the individual parts. They have a worthy successor to Steven Fleming as skipper in Daniel Vettori whose nous and imagination fired his side to the semi finals.

Effectively this was everything that the World Cup wasn't. An exciting tournament packed into a manageable period of time (should the title have been 'Like a well written short story?') so interest didn't wane.The shorter version of the game helped the minnows too - no real one-sided games and yet more evidence that Bangaldesh are nearly there as a credible force. Debutant Siddiqui's hitting against Pakistan was a joy. Isn't it time that one of two of their players were allowed to develop their skills overseas - maybe in the English County Championship?

The crowds were magnificent - helped no doubt by the organizers sympathetic pricing policy. For one reason or another I'd guess that for a lot of people, it was their first ever experience of international cricket. It'll be a hard lesson to learn when they realize that it isn't always this thrilling! Who were those dancers though?

One criticism - why on earth was the final on a Monday?

Comments

Add New

RSS

Chrissy - http://www.catherinejohnsonnov

Unregistered | 2008-02-03 23:11:45

I have to say I have read one finely written story. I think it's so finely written because it's a true story and we all know how great true stories are. I guess because to me, a great story is if you could place yourself in that situation... for me, that makes the story. When someone starts talking about UFOs and aliens and things that are not real to me, i lose interest fast. But being a happily married woman and reading this book, knowing that there's always that possibility that this could happen to you.

Reply | Quote

Chrissy - Shades of Darknees, Shades of

Unregistered | 2008-02-03 23:14:03

This Finely written story is by Catherine Johnson called Shades of Darkness, Shades of Grace - and you can find it by viewing her website http://www.catherinejohnsonnovels.com