PlanetCricket
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- Jan 13, 2010
Article by Sylvester -
The tournament that started out badly with a shock loss to Zimbabwe, ended badly with a loss to arch rivals – England. While the media and fans talked about Australia finally bringing over their dominance from the One Day format, the chinks in the armour were showing with each match.
The weak-links that could be spotted well before the final were:
Pakistan match
Ignoring the warmup games which can be hard to gague with players being rested and tested. The first game against Pakistan showed up some weak-links which England would expose in the final. Number 3 is considered to be the most important spot in cricket, a spot where your best player should bat in; one where he has the ability to settle after the early wicket, attack after a big opening stand or even counter attack. In this match Michael Clarke came in at 1/51 after 5 overs, this was a clear situation for him to attack. Instead he left the arena with 2 runs from 3 deliveries. It should be noted that the other important spot – number 4, was filled by David Hussey in this match he made 53 from 29 balls, taking Australia to 191.
The other weak-links spotted from this match include:
After a massive score in the game against Pakistan, some of the batsmen would have been fill of confidence. The match against Bangladesh was the first match which Australia played on the quicker Barbados pitch (the ground where the final was held). This game once again exposed the weak-link at number 3, with Clarke making 16 from 21 balls, leaving Australia 4/52 after 9 overs. As I mentioned above, the number 3 batsmen should be steadying things after the collapse which you could kinda of say he did but they also need to go on and set the tone for the rest of the innings which Clarke failed.
I consider number 4 the next most important spot after number 3, in this match, Brad Haddin was promoted to 4. This is a spot where the batsmen should be able to accelerate when needed, or to stabilize the team after two quick wickets. This was a case for the latter, instead after 6 runs from 9 balls, he decided to play an airy-fairy lofted sweep to leave Australia in even more trouble.
The other weak-links spotted from this match include:
The match against India, saw a new number 3 in David Hussey. He produced the attacking knock that was required after the 100 run opening stand. When the number 4 (Brad Haddin) came in, the score should have ended up well over 200. Instead the score didn’t even make 190, Haddin ended up with 8 runs before getting out. While not all the blame can be rested on Haddin, he certainly played his part in the score not being taken to 200. Shane Watson again conceded more than 10 runs per an over.
This match was a prime example of the weak-links being swept under the carpet thanks to the brilliance of a few players and of course beating India.
Sri Lanka match
This match once again saw Australia’s batting in deep trouble at 5/67. Brad Haddin was moved to the number 3 spot and after 3 cracking boundaries, Haddin couldn’t resist going big again and he ended up leading edging it to the man. Clarke brought himself in at 4 and after wasting 20 balls for his 14, he decided to cut too close to his body and get himself bowled. Once again with the number 3 and 4 contributing nothing, the Australia batting was reduced to 5/67. It took the brilliance of White and Hussey to take Australia to a par 168.
The other weak-links spotted from this match include:
I’m now sounding like a broken record but once again the openers failed and number 3 and 4 offered very little. At 4/62, the Australian batting lineup had once again collapsed. Its no surprises for guessing who the number 3 and 4 were. It once again took the brilliance of White and Hussey to get Australia home.
Shane Watson once again was the most expensive bowler going at 13 runs an over from his two overs. The Clarke weak-link I pointed out earlier came to bite us in the ass in this game, with his only over costing 13 runs at a time where the Australian bowlers were regaining control and the Pakistan worm was heading back into the ground. Now had it not been for Michael Hussey, this momentum shifting point would have been one of the reasons Australia were knocked out of the World T20.
If you were just reading my article, it would be clear as day what would happen in the final and you could even bet your house on it. See Part 2 of my article which includes what happened in that Final and what changes could be made.
More...
The tournament that started out badly with a shock loss to Zimbabwe, ended badly with a loss to arch rivals – England. While the media and fans talked about Australia finally bringing over their dominance from the One Day format, the chinks in the armour were showing with each match.
The weak-links that could be spotted well before the final were:
- Number 3 and 4 failed to contribute in most matches.
- No consistent 3 and 4 combo, Haddin, Clarke and David Hussey rotated between these roles.
- Shane Watson’s bowling was well off the mark.
- Openers never got going in the Semi and Final.
Pakistan match
Ignoring the warmup games which can be hard to gague with players being rested and tested. The first game against Pakistan showed up some weak-links which England would expose in the final. Number 3 is considered to be the most important spot in cricket, a spot where your best player should bat in; one where he has the ability to settle after the early wicket, attack after a big opening stand or even counter attack. In this match Michael Clarke came in at 1/51 after 5 overs, this was a clear situation for him to attack. Instead he left the arena with 2 runs from 3 deliveries. It should be noted that the other important spot – number 4, was filled by David Hussey in this match he made 53 from 29 balls, taking Australia to 191.
The other weak-links spotted from this match include:
- Shane Watson 24 runs from 3 overs, while this is considered a par economy for Twenty/20, but it was a sign of things to come.
- Michael Clarke 14 runs from his only over.
After a massive score in the game against Pakistan, some of the batsmen would have been fill of confidence. The match against Bangladesh was the first match which Australia played on the quicker Barbados pitch (the ground where the final was held). This game once again exposed the weak-link at number 3, with Clarke making 16 from 21 balls, leaving Australia 4/52 after 9 overs. As I mentioned above, the number 3 batsmen should be steadying things after the collapse which you could kinda of say he did but they also need to go on and set the tone for the rest of the innings which Clarke failed.
I consider number 4 the next most important spot after number 3, in this match, Brad Haddin was promoted to 4. This is a spot where the batsmen should be able to accelerate when needed, or to stabilize the team after two quick wickets. This was a case for the latter, instead after 6 runs from 9 balls, he decided to play an airy-fairy lofted sweep to leave Australia in even more trouble.
The other weak-links spotted from this match include:
- Clarke 12 runs from his only over.
- Both openers failed, Australia ended up with 141.
The match against India, saw a new number 3 in David Hussey. He produced the attacking knock that was required after the 100 run opening stand. When the number 4 (Brad Haddin) came in, the score should have ended up well over 200. Instead the score didn’t even make 190, Haddin ended up with 8 runs before getting out. While not all the blame can be rested on Haddin, he certainly played his part in the score not being taken to 200. Shane Watson again conceded more than 10 runs per an over.
This match was a prime example of the weak-links being swept under the carpet thanks to the brilliance of a few players and of course beating India.
Sri Lanka match
This match once again saw Australia’s batting in deep trouble at 5/67. Brad Haddin was moved to the number 3 spot and after 3 cracking boundaries, Haddin couldn’t resist going big again and he ended up leading edging it to the man. Clarke brought himself in at 4 and after wasting 20 balls for his 14, he decided to cut too close to his body and get himself bowled. Once again with the number 3 and 4 contributing nothing, the Australia batting was reduced to 5/67. It took the brilliance of White and Hussey to take Australia to a par 168.
The other weak-links spotted from this match include:
- Both openers failing.
- Shane Watson easily the most expensive going at 9 runs an over from his 3 overs.
I’m now sounding like a broken record but once again the openers failed and number 3 and 4 offered very little. At 4/62, the Australian batting lineup had once again collapsed. Its no surprises for guessing who the number 3 and 4 were. It once again took the brilliance of White and Hussey to get Australia home.
Shane Watson once again was the most expensive bowler going at 13 runs an over from his two overs. The Clarke weak-link I pointed out earlier came to bite us in the ass in this game, with his only over costing 13 runs at a time where the Australian bowlers were regaining control and the Pakistan worm was heading back into the ground. Now had it not been for Michael Hussey, this momentum shifting point would have been one of the reasons Australia were knocked out of the World T20.
If you were just reading my article, it would be clear as day what would happen in the final and you could even bet your house on it. See Part 2 of my article which includes what happened in that Final and what changes could be made.
More...
