The Reverse Sweep

The Best XI of the World T20

Now that the dust has begun to settle following England's triumph, it seems an apt time to select our best XI of the World T20. Most of the picks are fairly obvious, but there are a few close calls and a fairly contentious selection for the all-rounder spot at number seven. We'd like to see this side take on the Worst XI of the tournament that we named yesterday. On current form, the result would be a formality, but you could certainly imagine Michael Clarke's dunces giving the Best XI a pretty close match if form and confidence could be rediscovered.

Anyway, without further ado, here is our side:

Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka): 302 runs, average 60.40, strike rate 159.78, 11 sixes - Started the competition like a train with scores of 81, 100 and 98 not out, but was derailed by the pace of Australia and know-how of England. Despite this the leading scorer in the tournament has more than earned his place in the side.

Craig Kieswetter (England): 222 runs, average 31.71, strike rate 116.84, 11 sixes - You wouldn't have known that this was Kieswetter's first international tournament. Fearless at the top of the order and along with Lumb, crucial in laying the foundations for England's batting. Is not yet the finished article especially with the gloves. Just pips Kamran Akmal thanks to his fifty in the final.

Kevin Pietersen (England): 248 runs, average 62.00, strike rate 137.77, 7 sixes - The Man of the Tournament was reborn and revitalised and had a domineering presence at the crease not seen since Viv Richards' halcyon days. The manner in which he smashed Shaun Tait for six in the final was as breathtaking as it was nonchalant. It all bodes very well for the Ashes.

Cameron White (Australia, Captain): 180 runs, average 45.00, strike rate 146.34, 12 sixes - The man who should be Australia's Twenty 20 captain was the leading six-hitter in the competition. Played a familiar role in resurrecting the Australian innings together with the Hussey brothers after the top order had failed. His innings against Pakistan in the semi-final was nearly as vital as Michael Hussey's.

Eoin Morgan (England): 183 runs, average 36.60, strike rate 128.87, 5 sixes - The excellence of England's top order meant that we didn't see much of Morgan's unorthodox hitting in the latter part of the tournament. But his contrasting knocks in the first two matches against West Indies and Ireland were spectacular and enough to get him in ahead of David Hussey. It looks like the 23 year old Irishman is going to be some player.

Michael Hussey (Australia): 188 runs, average 94.00, strike rate 175.70, 9 sixes - A finisher? Someone to resurrect an innings or put the gloss on an already good score? A big hitter? Take your pick because Hussey can play all these roles with aplomb. His 60 not out off only 24 balls was the innings of the tournament and his strike rate was the best of those that had more than two innings. What a luxury to have Hussey walking to the crease at six or seven.

Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka): 119 runs, average 23.80, strike rate 121.42, 3 sixes, 4 wickets, average 20.75, economy rate 6.91 - A contentious pick maybe, but with Kieron Pollard and Shahid Afridi having poor tournaments, Mathews pips Steve Smith, Tim Bresnan, Scott Styris and Daniel Vettori to the all-rounder slot. Had a good economy rate with the ball and his innings against India helped Sri Lanka into the semi-finals.

Graeme Swann (England): 10 wickets, average 14.40, economy rate 6.54 - The rise and rise of Swann continued. Not only takes regular wickets with his attacking bowling but does so at a miserly economy rate. His spell in the final put another nail in the Australian coffin. The best spinner in the tournament even if Steve Smith too one more wicket.

Stuart Broad (England): 8 wickets, average 17.50, economy rate 6.72 - Mitchell Johnson may have just had better figures, but Broad didn't suffer the aberration that was Umar Akmal's assault on the Australian bowler in the semi-final. In any case, Broad's mostly short of a length bowling was highly effective in the middle and the end of the twenty overs. Mohammad Aamer and Ryan Sidebottom also came close to selection here.

Dirk Nannes (Australia): 14 wickets, average 13.07, economy rate 7.03 - The leading wicket-taker in the competition only made his first-class debut at the age of 29. His bursts with the new ball along with partner-in-crime Tait, blew away most teams except Pakistan in the semi-final and England. On this form, should be in the Aussie one day side too.

Shaun Tait (Australia): 9 wickets, average 14.55, economy rate 5.53 - Despite the ease with which Pietersen played him in the final, Tait was magnificent throughout the competition. His economy rate was one of the best and the Indian top order are still probably having nightmares about facing him on the Bridgetown wicket.

 

Delhi Daredevils revival continues thanks to Karthik

Just as they had done on Monday against Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Daredevils recovered from the loss of three early wickets to post a decent total and then rolled over the Rajasthan Royals to ease to another IPL victory.

In the win over Kolkata, it was David Warner with support from Paul Collingwood who led the recovery. This time it was Dinesh Karthik's with support from captain Gautam Gambhir. Karthik's 69 off 38 balls was a well timed innings that exploded towards the end.

Things seem to turnaround quickly in the IPL. Last week, Bangalore looked the pick of the pops, but have now lost their last two games. Delhi and Rajasthan meanwhile had looked also-rans before sudden improvement has put them both in the mix for the top four.

Yusuf Pathan is Rajasthan's not-so secret weapon and he was held back until the Delhi spinners entered the fray when his side had already slipped 32/4. Pat Man was unable to eat all the bowling monsters this time though and when he departed for 24 off 14 balls, Rajasthan subsided to a 67 run defeat. Amit Mishra shone again as he took three wickets.

So my adopted side Delhi are now second behind the standout Mumbai Indians and with Virender Sehwag hopefully still to fire and Dirk Nannes to come back from injury, I am confident that they will now make the final four.

Perennial underachievers? Huh! Let's hope they don't do a Liverpool and flatter to deceive from here on.

Delhi stun the favourites in Bangalore

Before the match I wasn't confident. My adopted IPL side Delhi Daredevils had lost three on the bounce after a decent start.

They were playing the Bangalore Royal Challengers (or should that be Royal Challengers Bangalore?) who had been the standout side in the IPL so far.

And they were playing in Bangalore where the hosts had not lost. To make matters worse, Delhi lost the toss and were asked to bat; both their victories to date had come when Delhi had chased.

But the real Delhi turned up yesterday. David Warner batted like a daredevil at the top of the order to give his team a good start before AB De Villiers consolidated in the middle and Kedar Jadhav exploded at the end.

183 was a good score, but Bangalore had chased down over 200 only a week before. But Dirk and Umesh Yadav kept it tight at the start, Jacques Kallis was finally proved to be mortal and then Amit Mishra showed his class. Even Andrew McDonald stepped in with two wickets.

So yesterday was a good day to be a Delhi Daredevils supporter and as I have compared before, the synergies with my beloved Liverpool FC are becoming incredible. Perennial underachievers, inconsistent but able to beat the best team in the league on their day.

It's going to be a bumpy ride for the next few weeks.

Now I know how it feels to be a Delhi Daredevils supporter

As I have detailed previously on this blog I am an IPL virgin with this being the first season that I have watched any of the games.

 

Firstly, I had to decide who to support as watching a competition and supporting none of the teams would be alien to me. In the end I decided to plump for the Delhi Daredevils with the mix of Sehwag, Dilshan, Collingwood (if he ever plays) and Nannes proving irresistible.

 

On making my preference known, I was warned by a number of IPL acolytes that Delhi were perennial underachievers and that I should be prepared to be disappointed. Being a Liverpool FC supporter, I have become accustomed to that since 1990, so if anything that cemented my choice.

 

After the first two matches, I started to wonder what all the fuss was about. Delhi won both games fairly easily and Sehwag lit up the second game against the Rajasthan Royals with some typical blitzkrieg batting.

 

But just like Liverpool in recent years, success was soon followed by dismal failure and the Daredevils were well and truly annihilated by Mumbai Indians yesterday.

 

There was the slight compensation of seeing Sachin Tendulkar deliver another batting masterclass. But I don’t enjoy seeing Wayne Rooney or Didier Drogba torment Liverpool, so my enjoyment was somewhat lessened.

 

There was also the sight of Sehwag and Dilshan opening the batting together, which is nearly as good as seeing Scarlett Johansson and Kylie Minogue in bed together. But it was over before it began and Delhi ended up losing by 98 runs – a massive defeat in T20 cricket.

 

I hope it isn’t a precursor to an inconsistent and disappointing campaign. And also not a bad omen ahead of the Manchester United-Liverpool match on Sunday, but I fear it is.

 

Delhi Daredevils and Yusuf Pathan steal the headlines on day 2

I wrote yesterday that my first real taste of the IPL was a bit disappointing; rather like an overdone rib of beef. The opening ceremony was too long and the actual cricket was mundane. Yesterday was much better.

Firstly, we had Shane Warne's Rajasthan Royals pitting their wits against Sachin Tendulkar's Mumbai Indians. It was a fantastic match with Mumbai prevailing by four runs after hitting a mammoth 212/4 in their 20 overs. This was harsh on Yusuf Pathan, whose 100 off 37 balls for the Royals was a quite remarkable knock with brutality and subtleness dovetailing seamlessly together.

These days, the IPL is the only chance we get to see Warne and Tendulkar on the same pitch and Pathan's knock is what T20 is supposed to be about.

The second game was just as good, if only because it saw my adopted side, the Delhi Daredevils beat the Kings XI Punjab. England's forgotten man Ravi Bopara looked in good touch and it was thanks to him that Kings were able to post 142/9. I understand that despite having the likes of Gambhir, Sehwag, Dilshan, De Villiers and Nannes in their ranks, Delhi are the serial underachievers in the IPL. Being a Liverpool fan I know just how that feels, so it seems I have picked the right side. As befits this tag, Delhi made a bit of a dogs dinner of chasing their small target and they were indebted to a captain's knock of 72 from Gambhir that saw them over the line in the final over.

So my second taste of the IPL was much better than the first. Yesterday the beef was cooked to its succulent perfection.