The Hindu : Sport : The format ensures it is anybody’s game

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The format ensures it is anybody’s game

S. Dinakar

Nottingham: Holland’s sensational last ball victory over host England in a thriller at Lord’s reaffirms what has often been said about Twenty20 cricket — it is the easiest form of the game to cause upsets.

The ICC World Twenty20 opener at Lord’s on Friday is a case in point. England had greater depth and options as a unit, but Holland paced its innings better and a few cameos towards the end took it past the finish line...only just.

Traditionally, Test cricket is the hardest form of the game to ambush a bigger side since it is extremely difficult for a minnow to sustain its level of performance over five days. A 50-over-a-side game provides the lesser side with a greater chance to test or even waylay a fancied opponent but the better team has the opportunity to bounce back somewhere along the possible hundred overs.

Yet, the 20-over brand of cricket represents the best chance for a lesser known side to grab a ray of sunshine.

Part-time bowlers

Much has been said and written about part-time bowlers exceeding expectations in Twenty20 cricket. And the reasons are not hard to find.

Occasional bowlers, generally, find it hard to sustain their levels of concentration and control over longer spells. These men, not used to bowling for lengthy periods, may send down a handful of steady overs and then go for runs.

But then, in Twenty20, they are only required to send down four overs at the maximum. And the part-timers are inflicting serious damage.

Similarly, three-figure knocks are a rarity in Twenty20 cricket. Here, a quick thirty or a forty could tilt the scales. This is again suits the un-fancied sides, which might not possess men with the ability to notch up big scores but have cricketers who could biff handy runs at the crunch.

Since outswing bowling and the slip cordon are largely marginalised in this form of the game — edges off away-going deliveries could crash into the boards — the technique of batsmen from the lesser sides is unlikely to be put under any great test.

Depth

Depth is an essential ingredient in the composition of a side but teams with lesser options can successfully hide chinks in the shortest form of the game.

Twenty20 cricket is a lot about how vibrant your men-in-the-middle are than the number of players remaining in the dugout.

Another aspect favouring the lesser sides is that most of its cricketers are fresh and well prepared. Cricketers from fancied nations could be a touch jaded after their international commitments and a long drawn IPL.

This said, it would be a miracle if any of the minnows make it to the last four stage.

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