World T20 Finals - Windies Double Delight!

In the end, it didn’t really matter that Virat Kohli and India failed to make the World Twenty20 Final. The noise resounding around Eden Gardens as the West Indians produced an incredible finale indicated that a crowd loves entertainers; and for all their inconsistency, Darren Sammy’s team certainly foot the bill!

Yet the celebrations started before the West Indian men had even taken the field. It was some surprise when the women’s team upset the Aussies to claim the first trophy of the day. Meg Lanning played some typically cultured strokes and Elyse Villani matched her half-century en route for 148-5. That is often enough to win, but Stafanie Taylor’s team were not to be out-done. Hayley Matthews made a shaky start before unleashing three sixes, one of them 82 metres. She and Taylor shared a century opening stand but there was still work to do. Eventually, it fell to Britney Cooper to scramble the winning two runs in the last over, and the Windies had completed stage one of Finals Day.

I’d say it was impossible to call the winners of the men’s competition. West Indies had looked menacing throughout, while England sometimes did their usual thing of seemingly trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But this is T20 and any match can be decided by a single innings of brilliance, or even just one decisive over with bat or ball.

Sammy won the toss and probably had little hesitation in sending England into bat. When Hales, Roy and Morgan were back on the bench inside five overs, life looked good for the West Indians. However, Joe Root and Jos Buttler are no mugs, and never over-awed by the occasion. They lifted the score towards respectability before Dwayne Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite ripped out Root, Stokes and Ali inside four deliveries. The total of 155-9 looked distinctly moderate, but this proved to be a genuine contest right to the death.

David Willey kept both openers quiet in the first over, but it was part-time spinner Root who induced skied drives from Charles and Gayle to Ben Stokes on the long on/off boundary. Semi-final hero Simmons was lbw first ball, leaving the side struggling at 11-3. The experienced pair of Bravo and Marlon Samuels proceeded to do what Root and Buttler had done earlier in the evening, but Willey, Rashid and even Jordan managed to restrict the flow of boundaries until Ben Stokes was handed the ball for the final over.

Young Carlos Brathwaite was on strike, with 19 needed. Surely that would be beyond them. But Stokes’ first ball was poor, a leg-stumper allowing the batsman to hoist it into the stands. Then blow me, the second ball was almost identical; this time directed over long on. Stokes looked stunned, but a few yorkers and it still could have been England’s game. Ball three was straighter, but Brathwaite was in the zone; it sailed high and mighty over long off. Of course, Morgan had to bring his field in close but it wouldn’t have mattered had he been allowed to place all ten on the boundary because the match was completed with a fourth successive six!

Cue the now-familiar ‘Champion’ dance, not just by the men but by the women, who raced to the middle clutching their own W20 trophy. What an incredible way to end a competition!

Samuels claimed the Man of the Match award for his doughty 85 not out, but it was Brathwaite whose long arms applied the coup de grace to England’s attack. I reckon justice was done. Kohli may have been named Player of the Tournament for his three half-centuries but the West Indians had different match-winners each time and thoroughly deserved their success.

With the administration of Caribbean cricket in such disarray, I sincerely hope that the West Indies really do kick on from this momentous day, attracting not just the spectators and TV money (sadly vital in this day and age) but also youngsters keen to play the game. The men obviously lead the way in terms of earnings, prestige and marketing power, but I hope the performances of Taylor, Dottin et al also make a splash amongst the women, too.

As for the rest of the competitors in India these past few weeks, the IPL franchises might just be eyeing a few different faces for a change. In particular, New Zealand’s spin duo of Sodhi and Santner worked miracles but English batsmen Roy and Root must join Buttler in the ranks of world-class T20 strikers.

T20 is not known as a format for bowlers, but spinners Samuel Badree and Imran Tahir also enhanced their reputations, as did India’s left-arm seam veteran Ashish Nehra. It was a dismal competition for Pakistan and Shahid Afridi, although I note the skipper has refused to retire completely. Fair enough; there is more money and kudos to be earned in T20 but will he still be around for the next World T20 tourney?

For now, let’s simply enjoy the exuberance of the West Indian victory celebrations. It may be only T20 but such enthusiasm is so infectious!

Team of the Week: Trego tops the bill

When selecting my Eleven I usually rank consistency across the week rather than one good performance. However, the scheduling of fixtures and bad weather in Britain made that strategy difficult! The Test stars will have to wait until next week's pick but last week was mostly about one-dayers and Twenty20.

Of the centurion openers, I've plumped for Alex Hales and Niall O'Brien. The former combined a swift 50 for Notts against Hampshire with a relatively measured 101 for the England Lions versus the Sri Lankan A team. Despite reaching T20 Finals Day for the fifth consecutive season, Hampshire were on the receiving end of another good score in the 50-over competition. Leicestershire's wicketkeeper blasted an undefeated hundred off 72 deliveries.

The international 'A' tournament in England also yielded excellent innings from Jonny Bairstow, featuring 123 and 50 not out in the Lions' contests with New Zealand and Sri Lanka, respectively. However, star man of the week was Somerset's all-rounder Peter Trego. In the Royal London Cup, he produced not one, but two splendid centuries to see off Warwickshire and Middlesex, increasing his career tally of List A three-figure scores by 50%!

Trego's new team-mate Tim Groenewald also starred in the defeat of Warwickshire with a rapid 57 and three wickets, while Yorkshire's Tim Bresnan reminded selectors of his one-day credentials by taking six wickets during the week. Last year's top T20 bowler, Azharullah took 5-38 for Northants against Hampshire, eclipsing five-fors from Palladino and Bollinger.

The CPL is represented by Marlon Samuels, for his vicious hundred for Antigua, Shoaib Malik's all-round contributions for Barbados and excellent economic fast bowling by Ravi Rampaul and Jerome Taylor in the Jamaica v Barbados match.

For the record: Hales (Not/Lions), O'Brien (Lei), Samuels (Ant), Bairstow (+, Lions), Trego (Som), Shoaib Malik (Bar), Groenewald (Som), Bresnan (Yor), Azharullah (Nor), Rampaul (Bar), Taylor (Jam)

Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year

It may seem odd for everyone to want their say on the musings of one book but Wisden is an annual above all others. 150 not out says it all. Cricket's annual yellow bible traditionally selects five stars of the sport in the past year but differs from most other lists in that it excludes players who haven't previously been chosen.

The 2013 quintet are all deserving but the shock is that Jacques Kallis hadn't appeared before. Is it because of his previous failures in England? Is it because the selections tend to focus on the English domestic season? I suspect there is a bit of both but also the Saffer all-rounder's consistency over the years. He has career statistics few can match - ever - but while he has enjoyed many good years, there may often have been two or three other batsmen who have had a great one, and that is all that's needed to win the vote.

His partner in crime on the 2012 tour of these shores, Hashim Amla, certainly could be ignored no longer. He is a colossus of cricket across all formats, with only Michael Clarke (a 2010 choice) rivalling him on the international stage. The third South African on the list, Dale Steyn also somehow evaded Wisden's panel over the past decade but as the undisputed king of fast bowling, his achievements last year made him a shoo-in. Maybe Saeed Ajmal can count himself unlucky for a second year in succession, but the next time Pakistan come to England, a big haul of wickets will surely earn him a place amongst the five.

Marlon Samuels also benefited from a consistent run of high scores against England, along with a 260 against Bangladesh in November, and became the fourth overseas player in the list. Since 1997, the Wisden Five has featured a West Indian only once, when Ottis Gibson and Shiv Chanderpaul broke the drought in 2008, so congratulations to Marlon for flying the Caribbean flag.

The only English-qualified man this time is Nick Compton, whose prolific start to the 2012 summer also earned him an England call-up and Somerset fans like me a headache for the coming county campaign. The top bowler in the Championship, Graeme Onions didn't qualify because he was included three years ago, and the superb Alastair Cook appeared in 2012, his 'annus memorabilis'.

Are there any genuine world stars never to have been amongst Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year? Well, there is no Ganguly, no Sehwag and
neither Hussey brother (despite some prolific summers in the county game). On the other hand there have been some solid county pros whose runs and wickets in a particular season have delivered the Wisden vote if not a lengthy international career. Last year's Alan Richardson, Ian Austin (1999), Nigel Briers (1993) and Tim Munton (1995) spring to mind.

Three months into 2013, are there any obvious candidates for the 2014 Wisden? The Champions Trophy and Ashes will probably produce the leading candidates but Messrs Ashwin, De Villiers and Pujara must be in with a shout. On the basis of two days of the County Championship, maybe James Vince and Chris Jordan should also be dusting off their suits ready for next Spring!

Batting records dominate the week

After all the trashy Twenty20 tourneys and meaningless ODIs, we fans of proper cricket have been spoilt these past few weeks with some intriguing Test clashes. Mind you, the past few days have witnessed some memorable batting performances, mostly I suspect the product of one-day cricket.

First we had Bangladesh debutant Abul Hasan crashing a superb 113 and sharing in the second highest ninth wicket partnership in history. A shame that his day job - opening the bowling - was such a disaster as the West Indies went on the rampage, racing to another 500+ total. Marlon Samuels struck a career-best 260 while Darren Bravo and veteran Shiv Chanderpaul also reached three figures. So far Hasan has conceded as many runs as he scored without taking a single wicket. For all the joyful celebrations after the first day, the home team are facing another disappointing defeat.

Over in Adelaide, Australia raced to their highest single-day score, bolstered by a rapid century from David Warner, another hundred by Mike Hussey and a world record fourth 'double' in a calendar year by Michael Clarke. Not even the Don managed that statistic. Before recovering to grab a five-for today, Saffer paceman Morne Morkel was made to look amateurish and Imran Tahir was left open to ridicule, sending down 23 overs, being thumped for almost eight an over and even conceding several no-balls. For a spinner in Tests that really isn't good enough. Hopefully he hasn't been scarred for life! At least Graeme Smith is demonstrating the toughness required to build a spirited response to the Aussie onslaught, but with Kallis injured, can they bat long enough to save the game?

The first day in India saw no such runfests but with spinners peppering both line-ups, it was the star of the First Test, Cheteshwar Pujara, who again caught the eye. With Sehwag, Tendulkar, Kohli and Dhoni falling tamely to Monty Panesar, the 24 year-old demonstrated the virtues needed to succeed in Test cricket, ending unbeaten on 114. England won't win a match if they can't get him out, reminiscent of Steve Waugh in 1989.

I wonder what Sri Lanka and New Zealand will serve up next week. This week's fixtures have set the bar very high indeed!

Strauss and England in charge again

While the West Indies, and neutral cricket fans generally, must have delighted in the team's competitiveness in the First Test, it was disappointing to see them fold so easily at Trent Bridge. Great for England, of course, and in particular for Andrew Strauss. Two matches, two centuries, two victories. Not a bad few weeks' work. I suspect that he may do a Cook in that a barren spell is followed by a purple patch. Maybe Messrs Steyn, Philander and Morkel will prove harder to get away when South Africa provide the opposition later this summer, but England have reasserted themselves as the top dogs in Test cricket after the awful displays against Pakistan.

With the captain scoring 141 and Pietersen 80, it did not matter that nobody else made big scores. Only Jonny Bairstow failed to reach double figures, which may lead to him being 'rested' for the Third Test, which is a dead rubber as far as the series is concerned. It was the bowling unit which was more impressive. At Lord's it was Broad, here it was Anderson and Bresnan sharing fourteen of the wickets between them. Inswing and low bounce led to six LBWs in the second innings, and there were many additional close shaves before the Windies were finally dismissed for 165.

What about the Windies? Kemar Roach and burly Ravi Rampaul had their moments but some of their bowling was woeful, with Roach conceding 11 no-balls in the second innings. The two bright spots came from Marlon Samuels and skipper Darren Sammy. More than eleven years since his Test debut, Samuels has become the new Chanderpaul, holding a whole innings together with good technique and a healthy dollop of patience. He and Sammy put on 204 for the seventh wicket, each reaching three figures - for the first time in Sammy's case - but that papered over the cracks in the top order. I know Kirk Edwards was unwell near the end, but he, Barath, Bravo and Powell looked mediocre against England's swingmeisters. Even Chanderpaul played into England's hands - literally - when Broad set a leg-side trap for the hook shot which was directed straight to Trott on the fine leg boundary. If his runs are staunched, I doubt whether Samuels can maintain that one-man defiance every time.

Poor Sammy admitted on TV that he was non-plussed as to why the batsmen were failing. Cloning Samuels and Chanders might be a solution, recalling Gayle and Sarwan slightly more realistic, but they are in danger of slipping to eighth in the ICC rankings. A win at Edgbaston would boost morale but if England do rest Broad and Anderson, Finn and Onions would be hungry to show what they can do. Quite frankly, Finn's pace could blow them away.