Left field
The Reuters global sports blog
Pakistan stun South Africa to reach Twenty20 final
Pakistan bowled superbly to clinch an outstanding victory over favourites South Africa on Wednesday and reach the World Twenty20 final.
So, more disappointment for South Africa at the semi-final stage and further evidence that Umar Gul (the heroics of Afridi notwithstanding) is the best “death” bowler in this tournament. His spell at the end of the South Africa innings was beautifully delivered and certainly too good for the South Africans … and once again, it was the penultimate over that effectively decided this contest.
It’ll be West Indies or Sri Lanka to face them but they’ll be favourites for the final whoever it is… And who could have imagined saying that after that abject defeat by England earlier in the tournament?
PHOTO: Pakistan’s Mohammad Aamer celebrates after catching South Africa’s Grame Smith during their ICC World Twenty20 cricket semi-final match at Trent Bridge cricket ground in Nottingham, England June 18, 2009. REUTERS/Philip Brow
Will Symonds ever play for Australia again?
Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds is being sent home from the World Twenty20 tournament in England for disciplinary reasons, Cricket Australia (CA) has said.
CA chief executive James Sutherland told a hastily-arranged news conference in Melbourne broadcast on national television that Symonds had been ordered home for alcohol related issues.
Twenty20 is about entertainment, not the result
If the result of a cricket one-day international is forgotten by most fans within a week the shelf life of Twenty20 memories must be measured in Mayfly proportions.
However, that does not mean that there is no value in the smash and crash of cricket’s newest format. Quite the opposite.
Will the Mongoose rule at the World Twenty20?
Cricket never had much of a reputation for embracing innovation but now the stately rhythm of the five-day Test is being elbowed out of the way by the hell-for-leather scramble of Twenty20 perhaps it’s no surprise that the Mongoose bat Stuart Law used on Tuesday has generated hardly a whimper of protest.
Midway through his innings for Derbyshire on Tuesday, Law switched to using the new Mongoose T20 bat, which, we are told, has a handle that’s 33 percent longer than the standard bat, but with hardly anything in the way of shoulder.
from AxisMundi Jerusalem:
Pushing back cricket’s boundary for Israel’s bedouin
For decades, the small number of cricket followers in Israel has been trying to clear up what is so far an unsolved mystery: Why the sport never took off in the country after the British lowered the Union Jack on pre-state Israel in 1948.
Cricket, along with golf, is probably the most enduring bequest of the British Empire to its former colonies, but definitely not in the Jewish state.
Hoggard deserves better
I saw this story and was very surprised. The usually mild-mannered Matthew Hoggard has hit out at his treatment after being dropped by the England cricket side 13 months ago.
“My contact with the ECB has been zero and so I’m completely and utterly not even thinking about a recall,” said the 32-year-old pace bowler, who was part of the attack which beat Australia in 2005.
The age of fat cricketers is over … sadly
Shane Warne didn’t conceal his contempt for coaches during his playing days. Coaches, Warne reckoned, were needed only to transport players to the ground.
In retirement, the great leg-spinner has not modified his views and is scathing, in particular, of the modern obsession with physical fitness.
Sports photo of the week
Here’s Sports Pictures editor Greg Bos’s view: Photographer Phil Brown captured a superb action moment from the cricket match between England and the West Indies. He’s got the ball in the frame, the player with both feet off the ground and a clean dark background to make the image standout.
ORIGINAL CAPTION: West Indies’ Lendl Simmons reacts to an Amjad Khan bouncer during their cricket test match against England at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain March 8, 2009. REUTERS/Philip Brown
Rashid omission shows England are still behind Aussies
While England’s opponents for the famous urn this summer used their last test match to bleed new talent before the Ashes, it comes as no surprise that England spurned the opportunity to do exactly the same with leg-spinner Adil Rashid.
Australia, visibly in decline after a spate of retirements, started the first test match at Johannesburg against South Africa, one of the top test nations, with three debutants.
Passionate crowds key to sport
This week’s attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team means Pakistan will be a no-go area for sports teams for years to come but the country will still be able to “host” matches elsewhere, with a “home” series already lined up against Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
It’s a good solution for the Pakistan Cricket Board, who will keep the team playing and generate much needed cash from the sale of the TV broadcasting rights, but I hope this is not the start of a trend.
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Resident Left Field Expert
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