Paulie does the trick for England
No one would have believed had they been told that England would win the ICC Twenty20 World Cup final. Most would have thought that the Pommies might not even make past the Super Eight but all were stunned when the mother nation defied mother nature to first reach Super 8, then go beyond it into the semi finals and finally winning the grand finale against the unstoppable Aussies!
So what did go in England’s favour throughout the tournament? What did they do right that others couldn’t? There were other sides that were as good as England, some were even better but what made England stand out and count when it mattered the most? What was their super ingredient that helped them defy the odds against the Aussies when the going got tough?
The answer lies in the brilliant selection by the English selectors who went out of their way and dropped players that would have made it to the squad due to their performance. No person in his right mind would have gone for an untried and untested wicketkeeper in Craig Kieswetter with Matt Prior in its ranks. James Anderson would have been an automatic choice into any team he desired, yet he wasn’t even considered, and by leaving out the experienced Andrew Strauss, who is the English captain in tests, the selectors were told to have made a blunder. Their masterstroke was the selection of as many as 6 non-English cricketers in a squad of 15, which also went in their favour!
The untested duo of Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb got England fiery starts throughout the event. The former kept wickets well, at times taking breathtaking catches and then performing with the bat as well. His innings in the final (despite his bizarre dismissal where he missed a fast straight one from Mitchell Johnson) along with many throughout the tournament helped England’s middle-order bat freely, and score runs at will. It goes for Michael Lumb who made his debut just days before the Bangladesh tour in February but has been outstanding ever since.
As for the balling department, the line up of Stuart Broad, Ryan Sidebottom, Tim Bresnan, Graeme Swann and Ajmal Shehzad didn’t look threatening at all on paper, considering Broad was the one who was hit for six sixes in an over by India’s Yuvraj Singh three years back. However like their batsmen, the English bowlers came out as a unit, and bowled accurately without giving extra runs, and taking wickets when it was most important.
Paul Collingwood had a young team and this fact could have backfired for them but it didn’t. How could it have backfired? Well none of the English players except for Paul Collingwood had ever featured in a final of an ICC event, and there too had ended up on the losing side. But Collingwood didn’t lose his cool while playing against the Aussies in the big match, and made his side bowl stronger, bat batter and field amazingly in the grand finale, keeping Australia under pressure throughout!
The most important aspect of the English side was its fielding throughout the tournament. They all remained alert throughout the 20 overs and didn’t let the runs slip by, complimenting their bowlers every step of the way. Graeme Swann’s alert and athletic catch in the slips off Ryan Sidebottom didn’t only help them get rid of the dangerous Shane Watson but also pressurized his opening partner, another in-form batsman David Warner. The whole Aussie side collapsed due to the loss of both the openers, and had the fielders not been alert like they were, who knows the Aussie’s might have made the great escape, and could have even deprived the English of the title they eventually and deservingly won!
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