ICC World T20 - A fixture-list that is open to criticism (Part 2) – Opinion
For example if http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 would become a must win affair for them, where the chances of the hosts being eliminated loomed high. This means that no team
has the chance of bouncing back after they lose a game, and the minnows would be the ones who would bear the brunt of this terrible fact.
The Monsoon climate in Sri Lanka has threatened to wash out games, where the tie against the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 had the D/L system come into play. This meant that a potentially exciting finish ended up in an absolute farce, with the Australians winning
comprehensively in the end. In light of this, factors such as a reserve day should have been included as one of the tournament’s rules to ensure that prospects for fair play are ensured at all costs. Reserve days in a tournament where there is little breathing
space is of utmost important and given the volatile nature of Sri Lanka’s climate, it is plausible to assume that similar wash outs could well and truly be impending in the Super Eight stages of the tournament. Reserve days however, have their drawbacks, as
teams would then have to revamp their entire strategies in accordance to the pitch and conditions on the very next day, which does not go down too well with many captains.
It is fair to say that one sided affairs have been a feature of this year’s http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 of 2012, which is a grave shame, given that the format tends to sway like a reckless rickshaw and gives lesser formidable oppositions enough leverage of clawing their
way back into the game. Damning signs however, greet this year’s T20 tournament as domestic or international clashes provide ample room for teams to gnaw their way back into contention from precarious situations. Interestingly however, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 still have
a game to play against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, and the belief that the tournament’s minnows were undermining this tournament could well be laid to rest, if an ultimate c**k up takes place at Pallekele on the 25th of this month. Yet the fervent crowd in Sri Lanka,
which yearns to see teams like the West Indies bashing sides like Australia, has only been treated to plenty of entertainment yet very little value at the same time. Competitive cricket is something that this tournament desperately needs.
If one is to compare this format with previous editions of the ICC World T20 which was held in South Africa, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 and the West Indies respectively, opening games and preliminary encounters have featured some of the toughest teams around. The sole exception
was the England vs http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Netherlands-c753 opening game at Lords in 2009, which inevitably led to an upset. Barring that game, all the preliminary matches have featured some of the tightest encounters between teams. South Africa’s opening game versus the West Indies
for example in 2007, was a nail biter and featured some of the most astonishing strokes that the game has ever seen from the blades of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/HH-Gibbs-c1549, which set the Wanderers stadium alight.
Such games however, have not braced the pitches of the Emerald Isle in this year’s ICC World T20 so far, and it needs to be seen whether the Super Eights would live up to the hype that the format of T20 cricket promises to offer. If not, then this tournament
could well be remembered for not having an opening ceremony, terribly one sided affairs and a lack of zip and kick that previous T20 encounters have offered. For any tournament, this is a damning indictment.
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