South Africa vs. Pakistan: A brief comparison of the two competitors’ top players (Part 1)
South Africa and Pakistan meet again to fight it out and decide which is the better cricket team in all three international cricketing formats – Test, ODI or T20 (though by sealing a 6-wicket victory in the 1st T20I between the two teams, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 have shown their dominance in the shortest format of the game to the world.) The series between the two cricketing giants is being played at a neutral venue, the UAE, as Pakistani cricket authorities have not been able to hold international cricketing events since the 2009 attacks on the Sri Lankan visiting team. The political and security conditions of the Asian country have forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to revoke the country’s privilege of being able to host matches. Therefore, the Pakistani cricket team currently hosts all its scheduled home series at neutral venues provided by the ICC or other cricket boards such as the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).
The English allowed the unpredictable Asian team to host its scheduled home series in England against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 the generous offer of holding its scheduled home series against New Zealand in the Black Caps’ own territory.
In preparation for the 2011 World Cup, members of the ICC are focusing on arranging as many limited-over matches as possible. Based on the trend being followed by other international cricketing countries, the Pakistani and South African cricket boards decided to include two T20 encounters, a five-ODI series, and two Test matches in the upcoming Pakistan-South Africa tournament in the UAE.
The first match between the two teams was a T20 match, that took place on the 26th of October, 2010. T20 cricket is a short version of the game, consisting of a 20-over innings played by each side. The 20-over format includes all the latest technology which is incorporated into the game, from the third umpire referral system to the power-play concept.
This short version of international cricket is the real money-making, entertaining kind – it consumes less time to finish, and is quick to show results. Unlike Test matches where the crowd waits patiently for a minor mistake or a player’s loss of concentration, or the 50-over ODI where the crowd’s excitement peaks only during the first and last ten overs of the innings, the T20 game – with its nearly constant out-of-the-park stroke-play – puts the adrenaline rush in the gentlemen’s game.
(To be continued.)
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