OK, so I was wrong. Somerset did not lose in the Champions League final, but they did lose to the eventual winners, Mumbai Indians. In my mind, it was a shame that the top two sides turned out to be IPL franchises. Somerset and New South Wales gave the Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore a good run for their money, but as so often happens in modern sport, the richest teams tend to win the big prizes and thus become richer still.
Bangalore relied heavily on the massive hitting of Chris Gayle, spraying sixes like confetti, especially over the miniscule boundaries of their home ground, and Virat Kohli. Skipper Daniel Vettori's thoughtful slow bowling was also a factor but strike bowler Dirk Nannes was a disappointment until the last match, when he conceded only 14 runs from his four overs. Indeed, the final itself was a big let-down, not just because it was a low-scoring affair. Bangalore's innings never got going as all the Mumbai bowlers had the measure of Gayle, Dilshan et al, who mustered a single six between them.
In this game and the semi-final, Lasith Malinga was simply brilliant. Poor Peter Trego and Nick Compton had probably never encountered bowling like this, but familiarity made no difference in the final as he topped and tailed the innings in great style. His captain, Harbhajan Singh also enjoyed a fine game, taking 3-20.
However, neither player wins my Player of the Week award.
Instead, I've gone for a man who plundered two huge hundreds in successive games, one of which was lost! David Warner maybe almost 25 years old now but he has played a mere nine first-class matches. Given that his batting average is a very healthy 53, this is a mystery. Maybe his reputation as a Twenty20 specialist runs before him like a storm cloud but recent performances for Australia 'A' may put him in the frame for a Test place should injury befall a Watson, Ponting, Hussey or Marsh.
In the Champions League T20, it showed that his short-format reputation is well deserved. Against the Super Kings at Chennai, he thumped 135 not out in 69 balls, making fellow Aussie Doug Bollinger look very awkward indeed. Three days later, there was more of the same, crashing an unbeaten 123 in 68 deliveries, this time including 11 sixes, three more than Gayle managed in the Bangalore reply. Only Kohli's 49-ball 84 deprived him of the Player of the Match prize. Warner easily top-scored in the tournament, with 328 in a mere five innings at a strike rate of 173 per 100 balls. Having accumulated only one century in his previous 110 T20 appearances, he tripled that number in the next two, and adds my Player of the Week award to his collection of honours. I just wish he gets his chance to play in five-day cricket, although I doubt it would happen in partnership with Shane Watson. Maybe at number six? Anyway, he brought the CLT20 to life and gave non-IPL clubs a little glimmer of hope.
