Mike Hussey has single-handedly bludgeoned Australia into the World Twenty20 final against England with a miracle final-over performance in the semi-final against Pakistan at Beausejour Cricket Ground.
Needing 18 off the final over the match chasing Pakistan's 6-191, Hussey belted three sixes and a four off spinner Saeed Ajmal as Australia won with one ball to spare.
After storming through the tournament undefeated, it was a victory that never seemed possible after slumping to 4-62 at one stage but Hussey's 60 from 24 balls saved their day.
Australia will now meet England in the final at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday.
Captain Michael Clarke's decision to bowl after winning the toss looked to be a costly call, with brothers Kamran and Umar Akmal blasting half centuries as Pakistan set-up an imposing total.
Australia rarely seemed in the hunt during their chase, especially after lethal David Warner was caught off the second ball of the innings.
Earlier, Pakistan openers Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt (32 from 30) had got their team off to a cracking start in posting the highest total against Australia in the tournament so far.
Morning drizzle had delayed the start by more than half an hour and there were thoughts that the game would not be played at all - which would've seen Australia through to the decider because of their form throughout the tournament.
When Clarke won the toss, he elected to bowl, probably solid in the belief that the Duckworth-Lewis Method favours the side batting second in Twenty20.
But it was a decision that initially proved costly. Akmal and Butt tore into Australia's much-vaunted pace attack of Dirk Nannes, Shaun Tait and Mitchell Johnson.
When all-rounder Steve Smith was introduced sixth over to bowl leg-spin, they duly whacked him for 15 runs. Two overs later, they belted Shane Watson for 16, with Akmal scorching one into the second tier of the players' pavilion. At 0-82 from nine overs, Pakistan were positively on fire.
Then David Warner took a spectacular diving catch at deep over when Akmal tried to bite off more than he could chew. Two overs later, he took an easier one to dismiss Butt and Pakistan had slowed to 2-89.
It was only a temporary loss of transmission. Umar Akmal then came to the fore, belting 56 runs - including three sixes off the one over from Johnson in the 17th - to put Pakistan firmly in the box seat.
Australia started its reply in disastrous style when Warner was caught off the second ball of the innings. Watson got the party started, rattling Mohammad Aamer and Abdul Razzaq for boundaries, but when he holed out for 16 Australia were staring down the barrel of defeat at 2-26.
When Clarke and Brad Haddin were stumped in the space of consecutive overs off the bowling of Rehman and then Afridi, they slipped further into the mire.
Vice-captain Cameron White bravely attempted to rescue the match but when he was caught for 43, Australia's promising World Cup had all but collapsed until Hussey's final-over heroics.
Pakistan chief selector Mohsin Khan on Sunday refused to react on T20 skipper Shahid Afridi's outburst against the selectors as they face exit from the Twenty20 World Cup.
Afridi had said that he and the coach were not consulted by the selectors while picking the squad.
Mohsin said he will speak on the issue only after the tournament is over.
"Let the tournament finish then I will speak in detail about the team's performance and team selection," Khan said.
Sources close to Mohsin said he was not happy with the remarks made by Afridi as he (Mohsin) had unofficially consulted Afridi while finalising the 15-member squad for the World Cup.
"At that time the Pakistan Board had not announced the captain or coach but Mohsin knew Afridi would be captain and had discussed the selection of the team with him so he is obviously surprised by the remarks made by Afridi," one source said.
Pakistan's poor performance has evoked sharp reactions in the country with former players saying all is not well with the team.
"I don't know what has happened but the team has just not shown the commitment and flair. They are capable of doing and they have looked under pressure in this tournament," former captain Rameez Raja said.
Former captain Moin Khan said the players appeared to play with the fear of defeat on their minds.
"I don't know but the fearless approach of our players that we saw in the first two World Cups is missing, they seem to be subdued and not excited about doing well," he said.
Another former captain Rashid Latif said maybe the recent punishments handed out to the players and the leakage of the inquiry committee's report during the World Cup had put more pressure on the players.
With Pakistan's Twenty20 World Cup title defence in complete disarray, captain Shahid Afridi has criticised the selectors for not consulting him before naming the squad.
"We are coming out from a very difficult time after the New Zealand and Australia tours. The selection committee picks the team for us and first they announce the team before naming the captain and coach. To do well in Twenty20 cricket, we need to have some good Twenty20 players in the side," Afridi said after the heart-breaking one run-loss to New Zealand yesterday.
Pakistan are on the brink of elimination after losing their first two Super Eight matches and the all-rounder conceded his side was passing through a difficult phase after the Pakistan Cricket Board had sacked, banned and fined players for their below-par performance and indiscipline in Australia earlier this year.
Defending champions Pakistan have again pulled up a dismal performance in their Match against New Zealand and have virtually thrown in towel during 2010 World T20.
Any level of scrutiny of their performance so far will be waste of time, because the purspose of any scrutiny is to unearth a discernable trend and identify the future plan. However, the way Pakistan play gives an indication that there can be no action plan possible or roadmap can be prepared to improve the performance. However, they still come up with some outrageous results which indicate that there are always 2 Pakistani teams and you never know which one will take the field on any given day or during a tournament. Physicists might be interested as Pakistani performances might be the best proof yet of existence of parallel universes. The evidence exists and we can focus on their performances in T20 World Cups till date.
The first memory of the not so good Pakistani team dates to 14-Sep-2007 when they played against India in the first World T20. After restricting India to 4-36, Pakistan allowed India to reach a total of 141. A modest score by current standards, it was a good score then because World Cup was just taking wings and no one had the knowledge or experience of the format. After a not so bad bowling performance, Pakistan followed India to the end of the match loosing wickets looking disinterested in chase and failing to croos the target. It took a great effort from Misbah to reach the target and the match went into a bowl-out. It was clear that both Pakistani teams were on the ground and have outdone each other during various stages and India were mere participants. However, the not so good Pakistani team took control and failed to hit the stumps in 3 attempts while India scored all 3. It was their own undoing as the bowlers had to simply hit the stumps with no batsman taking guard.
After disastrous performance, the good Pakistani team took field and defeated Australia, Lanka, Bangladesh and NZ to reach final of first World T20.
The final match was a cliffhanger with fortunes swinging one way and the other throughout the match. Just when Pakistan looked out of the match came out Misbah again and smashed bowlers all over the ground. Finally, the good Pakistan team was on the ground and was taking the world cup home... but wait, the second team kicked in and when it was impossible for them to win, Misbah scooped a catch to very thankful Sreesanth who held it and thus accepted the World cup as a gift from Pakistan.
During second edition of World Cup, both Pakistani team took the pitch alternatively. One won the matches with ease against Netherlands, New Zealand and Ireland with ease; while other was shameful in loosing to England and Sri Lanka till they reached semi-finals.
No one knew which way the camel will sit but Pakistan defeated SA during semi-final and avenged their Super 8 defeat against Sri Lanka in final to lift the cup.
This year, not so good Pakistani team has dominated their better counterparts and have pulled one miserable performane after other against Australia, New Zealand and England.
It remains to be seen which team takes field against South Arfica in their last Super 8
The cracks will appear in the team and management. Blame game will begin till scape goats are identified and reprimanded. However, both the Pakistani teams are here to stay because both exist in mind and heart of each Pakistani cricketer.
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis is a frustrated man after watching the pathetic fielding performance by his team during the six-wicket loss to England in their first Super Eight match of Twenty20 World Cup here.
"It can be very frustrating, the way we dropped the catches and the way we fielded," said Waqar after the match.
Pakistan fielders put up a poor show as they dropped as many as five catches in the match, with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal putting down three himself.
Ajmal dropped an easy catch off England opener Craig Kieswetter when he was yet to add anything to the board.
Waqar, also a former Pakistan pace bowler, however, felt that all is not lost for the team but they have to the improve performance in the coming matches if they were to defend the title.
The T20 world cup in West Indies today enters into the Super 8 stage. The first match between Pakistan and England will be played today. The match will surely be an exciting one with mercurial Pakistan taking on England who has been unpredictable in this format of the game. One paper, teams look absolutely similar and it is difficult to pick a winner.
The match will be played at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.
Pakistan had an easy match against Bangladesh. Australia defeated Bangladesh yesterday to ensure that Pakistan goes through. There were certain anxious moments in yesterday's match as Australia was 6 down at one stage with not even 70 runs on board. In the end, Australia's experience and venomous bowling was enough to overcome Bangladesh's charge.
England have had a rough tournament so far as they lost to West Indies by D/L method in match interrupted by rain after a solid batting performance. Rain came to their rescue next day when they could manage only 120 against Ireland. However, a torrential shower ensured that the match got abandoned early into Ireland's innings handing England one point, good enough to scrape through to next stage on better run rate.
Pakistani will have to really improve their bowling and fielding to match up to England. Australia plundered Pakistani bowlers in their last encounter. On the other hand, England has bowled well in the earlier stage with the pace attack in particular well settled. The English batting has also been consistent with Collingwood, Pietersen, Lumb and Kieswetter, the team has solid performers in both in the opening as well as middle order.
Thu May 6 13:30 GMT 13th Match, Group E - England v Pakistan
Thu May 6 17:30 GMT 14th Match, Group E - New Zealand v South Africa
Sat May 8 13:30 GMT 17th Match, Group E - New Zealand v Pakistan
Sat May 8 17:30 GMT 18th Match, Group E - England v South Africa
Mon May 10 13:30 GMT 21st Match, Group E - Pakistan v South Africa
Sat May 10 17:30 GMT 22nd Match, Group E - England v New Zealand
Each team will get 2 points for a win and 1 point for NR.
In case of a tie (i.e. both teams score exactly the same number of runs at the end of their respective innings), a super-over decides the winner. This is applicable in all stages of the tournament.
The ranking in a groupd will be decided based on following criteria:
Higher number of points
If equal, higher number of wins
If still equal, higher net run rate
If still equal, lower bowling strike rate
If still equal, result of head to head meeting.
Top 2 teams from the group will qualify for semi-finals.
Australia made an impressive start to their World Twenty20 World campaign with 34 run victory over defending champions Pakistan. Australians were helped by Shane Watson who hammered 81 from 49 balls.
Despite a lively 41 from Misbah-ul-Haq and 33 off 24 balls from Shahid Afridi, Australia never offered them more than a glimmer of hope.
There was some good bowling, with three wickets each for pacemen Shaun Tait and Dirk Nannes, and outstanding catching from Australia which ensured they kept the upper hand, bowling out their opponents with the final ball.
Along with the resounding display from Michael Clarke's team, the game will be remembered for a remarkable final over to Australia's innings, in which left-arm pace bowler Mohammad Aamer picked up three wickets while Mike Hussey and Steven Smith were both run out.
After skipper Clarke was dismissed cheaply, David Hussey pulled up a 98 run partnership with Watson, who went on to score 84 runs. Australia ended up with a massive 191 on the board. Australia's innings ended in bizarre fashion with a five-wicket maiden but their total of 191 was always going to be tough for Pakistan. Aammer scalped three and the precision in his bowling produced two run-outs. Incredibly, the final over was a five-wicket maiden.
Dirk Nannes, former Netherlands player, teamed up with express pace-man Shaun Tait to give Pakistan early jolts. Kamran Akmal scored a golden duck opening the batting for the defending champions. Both Shaun Tait and Nannes ended up with 3 wickets each. Shaun Tait especially impressed with an economy rate of 5.0 an over.
Even after an attempt at resurrection by skipper Afridi and ace batsman Misbah-ul-Haq, the Pakistan team was always going to fall short. This defeat means that both Australia and Pakistan are likely to progress to the Super 8’s with only one game in the group to be played. Shane Watson was declared the Man of the Match for his explosive 84 and a neat bowling performance.
Brief score:
Australia: 191 (S Watson 81, D Hussey c Fawad Alam b Saeed Ajmal 53, Mohammad Aamer 3/23)
Pakistan: 157 (Misbah—ul—Haq 41, Shahid Afridi 33,S Tait 3/20 D Nannes 3/41)
Utseya bowled Zimbabwe to another impressive warm-up victory ahead of the Twenty20 World Cup, when they stunned World T20 champions Pakistan by 12 runs yesterday.
Utseya collected four wickets for 15 runs from four overs, as Pakistan, chasing 144 for victory from their 20 overs, were bowled out for 131.
The Zimbabweans, who played a series of limited-overs match against the senior West Indies side last month, and just concluded a brief series against West Indies-A, have now installed themselves as the form side.
They are also now one of the teams to watch in the T20 World Cup, after they also edged Australia by one run in their first warm-up match.
The Pakistanis slumped to 33 for three in the sixth over, but the Akmal brothers, Kamran and Umar, steadied the innings with a stand of 34 before they were dismissed within five balls of each other to leave Pakistan 67 for five.
Fawad Alam made 32 and Misbah-ul-Haq scored 21 in a stand of 51 for the sixth wicket before the Pakistanis lost their last five wickets for 13 runs in the space of the last 15 balls.
Earlier, Zimbabwe had a slow start to their innings, but Elton Chigumbura lifted them with a brisk knock of 49 not out off 34 balls. His knock included three fours and three sixes.
Opener Hamilton Masakadza hit a useful 33 with other valuable knocks coming from Charles Coventry (30) and Brendon Taylor (20).
Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi was the most successful bowler with four for 24 from four overs of leg spin.
Zimbabwe have been drawn in Group-B with 2009 runners-up Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
Pakistan started their ICC World T20 campaign on a positive note by winning their first warm up match against Windward Island by 68 runs.
Pakistan were in early trouble after being put in to bat but Mohammad Hafeez struck 57 to propel the defending champions to 160 for seven at the end of the 20 overs.
The visitors were also helped by a short cameo (17 off eight balls) by Misbah-ul-Haq.
Afridi’s men made a poor start losing openers Salmaan Butt and Kamraan Akmal in the initial overs. However, the skipper with Fawad Alam provided some momentum, scoring a 20 each in quick time.
Chasing a stiff target, Windward Island were never in the game once they lost their skipper Johnson Charles to Mohammad Aamer for just 15. All the Pakistani bowlers ended up having a good work-out with Aamer, Afridi , Seed Ajmal and Hafeez picking a scalp each. Keddy Lesporis top scored with 24 for Windward Island.
Pakistan cricketer once again hit by a match-fixing allegation as with the start of the year’s county season, police announced they were investigating two Essex players for ‘match irregularities’ and despite a very precise release by the Essex County the name of Danish Kaneria has been dragged into the media reports as one of the suspect. A news report in Daily Telegraph claimed that spinner would be investigated by police over match-fixing along with another Essex player following incidents in one-day matches last summer. It also said that Kaneria’s future at Essex is now in doubt.
Acxording to the newspaper, Telegraph Sport has been conducting its own investigation for some time and after it had made some queries to Essex Police yesterday morning, the England & Wales Cricket Board suddenly issued a brief statement from Essex Police Friday evening stating that inquiries are currently being conducted into the actions of two Essex players, one of whom is believed to be Pakistan’s leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, in a match last season. Essex Police’s statement read: “Following allegations received about two Essex county cricket players involved in match irregularities, we have initiated an investigation and are working closely with Essex County Cricket Club and the English Cricket Board.”
Investigations are thought to centre upon a televised one-day forty-over match at the end of last season, and, whilst there appears to be no suggestion that the result of the match in question was fixed, it is likely the allegations concern what is called `spot fixing’, whereby the outcome of a minor aspect of a game is fixed. It is thought that the ECB, as well as the International Cricket Council’s Anti Corruption and Security Unit, headed by Lord Condon, were informed immediately upon suspicions being raised, but chose instead to hand the matter over to the Essex Police. Already a number of Essex players are thought to have been interviewed by police, but Kaneria has yet to return to the UK for the County Championship season that began last Friday, his arrival having been delayed last week by the sudden and surprise decision of the Pakistan Cricket Board to hold their RBS Pentangular Cup prior to their summer tour of England. Kaneria is now due to arrive in England on April 29th.
The County Championship season may have begun yesterday in glorious weather yesterday, but this story will rock the game in this country, where followers and administrators have long considered it immune from and above such gambling-related corruption. It does, though, come at a time when there is widespread concern over the return of illegal bookmakers to the game in general. Rumours abound about `spot-fixing’ at the Indian Premier League and it was confirmed there had been approaches to players during last year’s World Twenty20 competition in England, leading to Lord Condon warning at ICC board meetings last summer that cricket was facing its gravest threat since the bad old days of the late nineties and the disgrace of the late South Africa skipper Hansie Cronje. Although very different in nature, the last allegations of corruption to hit county cricket also involved Essex. In 1994 their seam bowler Don Topley, supported by team-mate Guy Lovell, alleged that during a weekend in August 1991 Essex contrived to lose a Sunday League match against Lancashire at Old Trafford in return for being allowed to win the County Championship match (and later take the title) that finished the following day.
Topley himself confessed that he had deliberately under-performed in the one-day match. Initially the allegations were dismissed by the old Test and County Cricket Board, however, the matter was revisited in 2000/01 and an independent inquiry was chaired by Gerard Elias QC . No action was taken. The ECB added last night of the current storm: “As this is an ongoing Police investigation there will be no further comment while the investigation is underway.”
The Pakistan twenty20 team camp training was bolstered with the return of Umar Gul who strained his shoulder during the camp. On Saturday, he rejoined training and also participated in the target matches at Gaddafi Stadium.
The Pakistan team is training under the supervision of former captain Waqar Younis to prepare for the ICC World Twenty20 Cup scheduled to be held in West Indies later this month.
A number of cricketers including Gul sustained injuries when Waqar stressed the players with some field practice which is considered the weakest link in the team. Apart from Gul, Umar Akmal, Yasir Arafat, Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi got minor injuries. But Waqar said that the injuries are not of serious nature that would keep the players out of the team.
Arafat, Fawad and Afridi kept practicing during the camp while Umar Akmal will be joining the team training on Monday.
The Pakistan team will leave for the Caribbean by April 21 to defend the World title under Shahid Afridi. Pakistan won the second edition of the T20 with win over Sri Lanka in the final played at the Lords, England last year and made the final of the inaugural event losing to India.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
5:40 AM
