Twenty20 cricket is supposed to be a game for young whippersnappers who can whack the ball, hare around the outfield and deliver toe-breaking yorkers. However, today it was the turn of thirtysomething slow bowlers, whose wily variations of pace and flight spun their respective nations into the World Cup semi-finals.
Top of the pile was Rangana Herath, whose 5-3 in 21 balls looks more like a typing error than genuine statistics in a format where conceding under 25 runs is considered a mark of distinction. And yet this was his first opportunity in the competition, granted only after three nightmares for Mendis. Today, having been bowled out by New Zealand for 119, Sri Lanka looked likely to struggle but, Kane Williamson apart, the Black Caps were bamboozled for 60 all out. Off-spinner Sahithra Senanayake's figures of 2-3 in three overs would be sensational in any other match, but his left-arm partner Herath, recently turned 36, was the star of the show.
Unusually for a slowie, too, none of his five victims fell to a catch in the deep. Instead, all wickets were either stumped, caught behind or at slip, LBW or bowled. That's testament to the man from Kurunegala's skill at luring batsmen to their fate or spotting their early movement and changing length, flight or line to thwart attacking intent. For someone of advanced years in sporting terms and a form of cricket where slow bowling has become essential, Herath has surprisingly played only 40 T20 matches, just seven for his country. Maybe he is seen as too orthodox for the biff-bang game, but today's result demonstrates that experience and a bowling-friendly pitch can combine to magnificent effect.
Herath has now more than 1000 wickets to his name, the bulk of them in first-class cricket. 217 Test victims at 30 apiece ain't bad either, but perhaps today's performance could extend his career in one-dayers as has happened with Saeed Ajmal. In the Group 2 decider against the West Indies, the Pakistani suffered a rare bashing, conceding 41 runs against Bravo and Sammy. However, when his side batted, the Trinidadian duo of Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree were dominant. Like Herath, Badree recently celebrated his birthday, his 33rd, but his late blossoming as a T20 bowler was once again evident. He has taken a wicket in each of his last ten T20 appearances, and today's 3-10 was up there with the 4-15 he produced against Bangladesh last week. In the second over, he induced a rash stroke by Kamran Akmal straight to extra cover, followed by the stumpings of Umar Akmal and Shoaib Malik. Santokie, Russell and Narine did the rest. Of course, as ever, a batsmen (Dwayne Bravo) was awarded the Man of the Match, and now the Windies must be considered short odds to retain the trophy.
Next up, Badree and Herath will be competing face to face. Perhaps it will be the turn of the veteran Sri Lanka batsmen to win the day, but I reckon the carefree Caribbeans are on a roll and will probably advance to face India in the final once more. Forget Kohli and Sharma against Gayle and Samuels; it's about time the media recognised the competition between spinners Ashwin and Mishra versus Badree and Narine.
