mistake.
I again have to admit I didn’t really pay much attention to the beginning of the recent Twenty20 World Cup that took place out there in the West Indies.
Yeah I kind of followed the controversy that surrounded England’s loss to the host via the Duckworth/Lewis method and then getting through after struggling against Ireland due to a no result.
I slightly picked up my interest when England cruised through the Super 8 round. Something wrong here, they’re stuffing teams that would normally beat ’em. Oh well they’ll meet their match soon. But no Sri Lanka completely destroyed in the semi-final. Restricting them to just over 6 an over and then cruising into to reach the total with 4 overs to spare. Bloody hell, that can’t be right.
Then the other semi, well after stuffing Pakistan in the second round it had all the hallmarks of losing to them in the final. Until Michael Hussey hit 60 off 24 balls. Aussies in the final.
Then all of a sudden the Aussies were 8 for 3 and from there bar a bit of late hitting and then a little wobble after Pietersen and Kieswetter lost their wickets, it was a walk in the park and three overs early England were running about, jumping up and down and celebrating finally being a cricketing World Champion.
Throughout that game ex-Aussie captain and now commentator Ian Chappell – who is one of the best commentators about, especially for an Aussie he isn’t too one-eyed – kept saying that England have taken the first scalp in an Ashes year. But Twenty20 has nothing to do with a test match series, one in Australia at that.
Now technically it is a million miles away but that win along with the last Ashes series victory has gone along way to prove, mostly to both sets of players, that Australians don’t have that unbeatable air about them any more. As Shame Warne said yesterday England now thinks “We can beat this lot”. And as much as Twenty20 has nothing to do with tests it happened before 2005, England handed them a stuffing then won the series. But in the Aussies back yard it’s going to be a lot different, we haven’t exactly got a great record there of late.
World Champions in a one day competition. Finally. How many time should this have happened before? Fat Gat’s side should have won in ’87, they had everything else but for that damn reverse sweep. And Gooch’s mob should have come home with the trophy five years later, kept finding bloody fielders with shots.
I’ve probably slagged off the coach Andy Flower on here at some point but congrats are due, finally someone has put together a decent England one-day side. Though of course if the Ashes turn out like the last lot down under I’ll quickly forget this meaningless tournament.