So England are the series winners after storming the decider against New Zealand by ten wickets. What can we learn from this? That England are back to their T20 best? That the Black Caps are useless? Of course not. This is Twenty 20! Anything can happen in any given match.
Last week everyone was singing the praises of Stuart Broad, whose 4-24 took him to the top of England's all-time (i.e. seven years!) wicket-taking table, along with the middle-order striking of Luke Wright and Eoin Morgan. Four days later at Hamilton, the England skipper's four overs went for a humbling 53 runs, Wright was out first ball and all eyes were on NZ's B-Mac, blazing a match-winning 74. Today, fortunes swung firmly back in the tourists' favour. Broad marked the occasion with 3-15, and the openers Hales and Lumb cruised to victory with more than seven overs to spare.
If there were to be a fourth crash-bang contest, no doubt we'd be extolling the virtues of Guptill, Taylor and Boult and castigating Broad, Finn and Tredwell! That is the nature of the format. It's why the last two world champions were England and the West Indies, not India, Australia or South Africa.
Having slammed T20 for being a bastardised version of cricket, of course I have to accept that the format does favour a certain type of player: strong, confident batsmen, pacemen adept at yorkers, spinners not afraid to mix it up a bit and athletic fielders with quick eyes, feet and arms. England's batsmen are generally a young lot and, while the likes of Bell, Pietersen, Bopara and even Cook are perfectly able to score at a rate of 120+, selectors are willing to push forward Hales, Buttler and cool-headed Morgan. It may also help them gain confidence for the next 50-over World Cup. It certainly won't prepare them for the Ashes! As a Somerset fan, I have long been aware of young 'keeper Jos and his ability to fashion extra cover sixes from good length balls without breaking sweat. However, it's a while since he performed strongly in the Championship. Team-mate and England discard Kieswetter has the edge in the first-class game.
What about the bowlers? Again, a top-class bowler can do the business in any format. Finn and Broad are fine players, and the latter has the added advantage of being able to throw the bat effectively should the men above him fail. Jade Dernbach was the most consistent player on either side in this series, but I don't mean that as praise. Figures of 0-33, 3-38 and 3-36 wouldn't look bad in a Test match but always conceding more than eight an over is hardly a virtue in T20, despite taking some wickets. Tredwell and Patel are no challengers to Swann in the spin stakes, but Wright is OK as an all-rounder.
Given the full availability of all contenders, how many of the Wellington side would walk into England's Test side? Er, Finn and, er, that's it! As for New Zealand, their XI had more of an all-format look about it. However, I still don't understand James Franklin. A very successful bowling all-rounder in first-class domestic cricket, he has failed miserably in Tests and, given his ability to bat AND bowl, he can't help be picked at T20, but again flatters to deceive.
The past week's fixtures can't really predict the outcome of the ODI and Test series, although it always helps the confidence to enter the fray with a win under the belt. Provided Taylor, Guptill and McCullum can be silenced, it should be plain sailing for England, even if Dernbach bowls first change!
