At an event packed with representatives of top Test-playing nations and cricketing stars, BCCI announced it will launch in April next year its own Twenty20 championship - Indian Premier League (IPL).
This will not only counter the fledgling Indian Cricket League (ICL), but also lead on to a Global Champions Twenty20 league, on the lines of soccer's hugely successful Champions League.
The global league will kick off in October 2008. It will have eight teams - the top two domestic teams from India, Australia, England and South Africa. To be played over nine days, it will have prize money of $5 million, the highest ever for any cricket event, with the winners alone getting $2 million. IPL itself will offer prize money of $3 million.
In another blow to ICL, BCCI also announced that Australian greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath as well as former Kiwi skipper Stephen Fleming, all of whom were being doggedly wooed by ICL, have decided to align with IPL. McGrath and Fleming were present at the press conference, as were Indian mega stars like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble.
Asked about the prospect of an 'amnesty' being declared for players who have joined ICL, as was recently suggested by The Times of India, highly placed officials within BCCI said they were keen on the idea but no decision had been formally taken yet.
BCCI's ambitious Twenty20 plan means that the two legends of Indian cricket, Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, will once again be pitted in rival corners. While Kapil heads ICL, Gavaskar has been roped in to be part of IPL's governing council
BCCI launches T20 league to counter ICL
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe faces a tough test if it wishes to improve on its results at recent ICC events. It will have to overcome the might of both Australia and England in order to progress into the second stage of the competition.
And it will be looking to take inspiration from famous Zimbabwe performances in previous CWC events such as the Duncan Fletcher-inspired defeat of Australia in the CWC 1983, and its famous win over England at the CWC 1992.
A disappointing CWC 2007 campaign saw Zimbabwe lose to West Indies and Pakistan and take part in only the third CWC tie in history, against Ireland.
Stuart Matsikinyeri was Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer in the CWC 2007, with 107 runs, including 73* against Ireland, and his side will rely on him, as well as promising batsman Vusi Sibanda, for runs.
Sean Williams, who scored 70* against host country the West Indies, also showed promise at international level in the CWC 2007, having graduated from captaining his side at Under 19 level just last year.
Elton Chigumbura and Gary Brent were their side’s leading wicket-takers at the CWC 2007, with both players taking three wickets when Zimbabwe was defeated by Pakistan, and they will be key performers.
Zimbabwe’s only experience of international Twenty20 cricket was when it played against Bangladesh last year at the Khulna Divisional Stadium and was defeated by 43 runs. Bangladesh recorded 166 all out, with Prosper Utseya taking 3-25, before Zimbabwe struggled to reach 123-9.
Zimbabwe also suffered a heavy defeat to provincial side, the Eagles, at Kimberley as part of its South African tour last year, being bowled out for just 103 before the home side reached its target off just 11.4 overs.
Zimbabwe: Prosper Utseya (captain), Gary Brent, Chamunorwa Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Keith Dabengwa, Tymsen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikinyeri, Johnson Marumisa, Christopher Mpofu, Tawanda Mupariwa, Vusimusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams
West Indies
After the disappointment of its CWC 2007 campaign, the West Indies will be looking to rediscover its form at the ICC World Twenty20.
But it will need to be at the top of its game to succeed in the tournament, particularly in such a difficult group with host nation South Africa as well as Bangladesh, whose outstanding victories over India and South Africa at the CWC 2007 make it a force to be reckoned with.
Having won its opening game in the CWC 2007 against Pakistan, the West Indies then failed to live up to expectations in the Super Eight stage, putting up a string of hugely disappointing performances.
The West Indies will be looking for Chris Gayle, Player of the Tournament at the ICC Champions Trophy 2006, to rediscover his form after a disappointing campaign in the Caribbean at the CWC 2007. And with the retirement of former skipper Brian Lara, there will also be pressure on captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels to deliver with the bat.
While Daren Powell and Dwayne Bravo had their moments with the ball at the CWC 2007, there was no single consistent performer, or anybody able to deliver match-winning performances such as Jerome Taylor’s display against Australia at the ICC Champions Trophy 2006, where his hat-trick sealed the match.
In its first Twenty20 game, the West Indies enjoyed a thrilling tie with New Zealand, with the match only settled when the Kiwis comprehensively won the bowl-out 3-0.
It then drew a two-match series in England in June 2007. In the opening game, England never really looked like reaching its target of 209, following Devon Smith’s 61 off 34 balls and Marlon Samuels’ 51 off 26 balls, and the West Indies won by 15 runs.
It was a different story the following day though, as England won by five wickets, despite an impressive 61 by Gayle and 42 from Samuels.
The domestic Stanford Twenty20 tournament showed that the Caribbean is passionate about this format of the game and nothing would revitalise spirits in the West Indies more than the team bringing the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 trophy home.
West Indies: Ramnaresh Sarwan (captain), Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Narsingh Deonarine, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Runako Morton, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith.
Sri Lanka
Mahela Jayawardena’s men will be looking to go one step further than at the CWC 2007 and clinch the ICC World Twenty20 title.
Some excellent performances in the Caribbean, most notably from the skipper and Sanath Jayasuriya with the bat, and Muttiah Muralidaran and Lasith Malinga with the ball, helped the Sri Lankans reach the CWC 2007 final against Australia where they just couldn’t curb Adam Gilchrist’s destructive hitting.
Only Matthew Hayden scored more runs than Jayawardene in the CWC 2007, while Muralidaran finished as the second highest wicket-taker behind Glenn McGrath.
In a group with New Zealand and Kenya at the ICC World Twenty20 2007, Sri Lanka’s passage to the Super Eight stage will be far from straightforward, especially as it has played less Twenty20 cricket than some of its main rivals.
Sri Lanka beat England by two runs at Southampton in its first ever Twenty20 game in June 2006. Having made 163 all out, with Jayasuriya scoring 41, England required five runs off the last ball of the game but debutant Tim Bresnan could only manage two runs from a Dilhara Fernando delivery.
In a two-match Twenty20 series in December 2006 against New Zealand, Sri Lanka experienced mixed fortunes, winning a rain-affected match in Wellington by 18 runs (Duckworth/Lewis method) and then losing by five wickets at Auckland having scored a disappointing 115 all out.
Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardena (captain), Dilhara Fernando, Hasantha Fernando, Kaushal Lokuarachchi, Sanath Jayasuriya, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Jehan Mubarak, Muttiah Muralidaran, Kumara Sangakkara, Chamara Silva, Upul Tharanga, Dilshan Tilakarathne, Chaminda Vaas, Gayan Wijekoon.
South Africa
There will be high expectations among the fans of the host nation that South African captain Graeme Smith will be lifting the ICC World Twenty20 trophy in Johannesburg on September 24. Smith, who leads a talented and powerful side, will be looking to overcome the disappointment of its CWC 2007 semi-final display against Australia where its performance didn’t live up to expectations.
Jacques Kallis, with 485 runs, and Smith, with 433 runs, both had excellent tournaments in the Caribbean with the bat, although Kallis and AB de Villiers were the only players to register centuries for South Africa at the event.
Andrew Hall and Charl Langeveldt were the leading wicket-takers for South Africa, which was the only team to have players register five-wicket hauls during the course of the CWC. Hall took 5-18 against England, the best figures of the tournament, Langeveldt took 5-39 against Sri Lanka and Andre Nel 5-45 versus Bangladesh.
Surprisingly, however, the South African selectors did not find room in the ICC World Twenty20 squad for Kallis, Hall, Langeveldt or Nel, rather choosing players that have had successful domestic Pro20 campaigns such as Gulam Bodi, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander.
In the ICC World Twenty20 the South Africans face a challenging group, which contains two other ICC full member countries, West Indies and Bangladesh, giving Smith’s side a chance to gain revenge for their 67-run defeat at the hands of Bangladesh at the CWC 2007.
With more experience of international Twenty20 cricket than other nation, a thriving domestic Twenty20 competition, and home advantage, there are plenty of things in favour of the South Africans doing well at the event.
However, they do have a mixed record in Twenty20 cricket, losing their first International in October 2005 in Johannesburg to New Zealand by five wickets, despite an excellent 61 off 43 balls by Smith.
South Africa then recorded a defeat and a victory over Australia in early 2006, before losing a home match against India in December 2006 by six wickets, with just one ball of the match remaining.
In February 2007 it enjoyed a crushing 10-wicket win over Pakistan, reaching its target of 130 with 8.3 overs remaining, with Smith scoring 71 off 40 balls.
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Gulam Bodi, Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Justin Kemp, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Vernon Philander, Shaun Pollock, Thandi Tshabalala, Johan van der Wath.
Scotland
Scotland will be hoping to build on its disappointing ICC Cricket World Cup campaign in the Caribbean, although it will face difficult tests against India and Pakistan in South Africa at the ICC World Twenty20.
Few players will look back too fondly on their time in the West Indies as Scotland suffered heavy defeats to Australia and South Africa, despite some excellent cricket in parts of those games. Most disappointing of all was the defeat by the Netherlands by eight wickets.
Among the relatively few highlights was Colin Smith’s brave 51 against Australia, while Majid Haq, whose four distinguished victims at the event were Matthew Hayden, Michael Clarke, Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince, impressed with his spin bowling, as did Glenn Rogers.
Led by new captain Ryan Watson, who replaced former skipper Craig Wright who stepped down as skipper at the end of the CWC 2007, the squad has some experience of Twenty20 cricket at county level which it will look to utilise at the ICC World Twenty20.
Dougie Brown, the Warwickshire all rounder, has vast experience of Twenty20 cricket with his county, playing in 27 matches before the start of the 2007 season, taking 23 wickets in total. His county colleague, Navdeep Poonia, and former Yorkshire all rounder Gavin Hamilton have also played Twenty20 cricket in England.
The team qualified for the event following an outstanding campaign at the ICC World Cricket League Division One in Kenya, Nairobi in February.
Hamilton and Fraser Watts starred in the event, both scoring three fifties, while Wright (10 wickets) and Paul Hoffmann (eight wickets) were the leading bowlers.
Scotland enjoyed an outstanding victory over Kenya in the group stages, although it couldn’t repeat its heroics against the host nation in the final when it was defeated by eight wickets. The $US250,000 that the team secured as a result of qualifying for the ICC World Twenty20 will provide funding for the future development of Scottish cricket.
Scotland: Ryan Watson (captain), John Blain, Dougie Brown, Gordon Drummond, Gavin Hamilton, Majid Haq, Ross Lyons, Gregor Maiden, Neil McCallum, Dewald Nel, Navdeep Poonia, Qasim Sheikh, Colin Smith, Fraser Watts, Craig Wright.
Pakistan
The tragic death of Bob Woolmer will still be in the memory when the team travels to its former coach’s country of residence for the ICC World Twenty20.
Facing pool matches against traditional rival India, which should be one of the highlights of the group stages, and Scotland, who it beat by five wickets when the two sides met in an ODI in June 2006, the priority for Pakistan will be to progress to the next round. That’s something it has failed to do in the previous two ICC events.
Without former captain Inzaman-ul-Haq, who retired from the ODI form of the game at the end of the CWC 2007, the team will be looking to rely on the likes of captain Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan for runs, as well as Imran Nazir, whose stunning 160 against Zimbabwe was one of the few highlights of its Caribbean adventure.
Shahid Afridi’s explosive batting is perfectly suited for the short form of the game, as he illustrated on his last visit to South Africa, when he scored what was the eighth fastest ODI fifty at Durban. He should be one of the players to watch at the event.
Pakistan will be also be hopeful of making an impact in the bowling department with the return of speedsters Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who missed the CWC 2007, to the side for South Africa.
Pakistan has enjoyed mixed fortunes in its previous Twenty20 Internationals, defeating England and losing to South Africa.
Three wickets for Abdul Razzaq helped restrict England to 144-7 at Bristol in August 2006, before Mohammad Hafeez’s 46 off 40 balls helped Pakistan to a five-wicket victory, although it was man of the match Afridi who stole the show with a stunning 28 off 10 balls.
However, Pakistan was to suffer an extremely heavy defeat against South Africa at Johannesburg in February 2007 when it was thrashed by 10 wickets.
Pakistan struggled to reach 129-8 off its 20 overs, which the home side then knocked off in just 11.3 overs with Graeme Smith scoring 71* off 11.3 overs.
Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (captain), Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt, Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Rao Iftikhar, Younis Khan, Imran Nazir, Abdul Rehman.
New Zealand
The excellent all round talents of New Zealand with bat, ball and in the field, will make it one of the main contenders for the ICC World Twenty20 event.
Consistent performers at major ICC events, having reached the semi-finals of both the ICC Champions Trophy 2006 and the ICC CWC 2007, it is expected that the Kiwis will feature in the latter stages of the event.
At the CWC 2007, Scott Styris was the star with the bat, scoring 499 runs, while Daniel Vettori and Shane Bond were the leading bowlers, with 16 and 13 wickets respectively, and New Zealand will again look to these experienced players to help them progress in the tournament. In a tough group with Kenya and Sri Lanka at the ICC World Twenty20 2007, New Zealand will try and use all its experience of previous Twenty20 international matches to help it progress. The Black Caps played in the first ever Twenty20 International against Australia in February 2005, which they lost by 44 runs, before recording their first win against South Africa by five wickets in October 2005.
New Zealand also played out the first ever tie in international Twenty20 cricket, against the West Indies at Auckland in February 2006, with the match being decided by the Kiwis’ comprehensive 3-0 win in the bowl-out.
They then drew a two-match series against Sri Lanka in December 2006, at Wellington and Auckland.
New Zealand has a thriving state Twenty20 competition, which was won in February 2007 by Auckland, when it defeated Otago by 60 runs in the final. Chris Harris was the leading run-scorer in the 2006/07 competition, while Ewen Thompson’s 12 wickets made him the leading wicket-taker.
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (captain), Shane Bond, Peter Fulton, Mark Gillespie, Gareth Hopkins, Chris Martin, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Bradley Scott, Scott Styris, Ross Taylor, Lou Vincen
Kenya
Kenya will be hoping to repeat its success of the last time it played at a major event in South Africa, when it reached the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 semi-finals.
Some fantastic cricket by the Kenyans at that tournament, which saw them famously defeat Sri Lanka by 53 runs, before eventually falling to India, helped put Kenyan cricket on the map and it will be hoping to build on its reputation at the ICC World Twenty20.
Solid performances at the CWC 2007, where it recorded a seven-wicket victory over Canada, and respectable displays against both England and New Zealand, will provide Steve Tikolo’s side with some confidence, despite its lack of experience of Twenty20 cricket.
The veteran Tikolo, who became the first Kenyan to score 2,000 ODI runs, will again be a key player for his side, as shown by his valuable half centuries against Canada and England at the CWC 2007.
New Zealand will once again provide opposition for Kenya in a major ICC event, having enjoyed a 148-run win when the teams met in St Lucia at the CWC 2007, while Sri Lanka make up the other team in Group C.
Kenya qualified for the event after it won the ICC World Cricket League 2007 in Nairobi in February, securing not only a place in the ICC World Twenty20 but also a reward of $US 250,000.
Despite losing to Scotland in the group stages of that event, it exacted revenge in the final when David Obuya’s 93, for which he won man of the match, helped the host nation to an eight-wicket victory.
Kenya will be looking to some of its key performers at that event, including its leading run-scorers David Obuya and Thomas Odoyo, as well as Peter Ongondo, whose 15 wickets made him the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, to reproduce similar form in South Africa.
Kenya: Steve Tikolo (captain), Rajesh Bhudiya, Jimmy Kamande, Tanmay Mishra, Lameck Ngoche, Nehemiah Ngoche, Alex Obanda, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Peter Ongondo, Elijah Otieno, Morris Ouma, Ondik Suji, Hiren Varaiya.
Indian Team
The eyes of one billion people will be on the Indian team in South Africa as arguably the world’s most passionate cricketing nation hopes for national pride to be restored following its desperately disappointing CWC 2007 campaign.
A sole win over Bermuda was all India had to show for its efforts in the Caribbean, with defeats to both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka dumping the side out in the first round of the competition.However, there is no doubting the side’s ability with both bat and ball, although it will need to find early form in the ICC World Twenty20 with the draw pitching India against Pakistan in the group stages.
India’s batting line-up is looking a little less impressive than usual without the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, the leading ODI run scorer of all time, Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid, but there are few more spectacular and destructive hitters than captain Mahendra Dhoni, and the new faces in the team will all be looking to make a lasting impact.
The all round abilities of Yuvraj Singh, which saw him nominated for the ICC ODI Player of the Year 2006, will be vital to his team, while in terms of bowling, much pressure will fall on the likes of Ajit Ajarkar and Irfan Pathan, particularly as recent Test centurion Anil Kumble, the leading Indian ODI wicket taker of all time with 337 wickets, retired from the one day game at the end of the CWC 2007.
India was the last ICC full member to debut in Twenty20 Internationals and made an instant impact with a thrilling six-wicket victory over South Africa in Johannesburg, with the winning runs coming off the penultimate ball of the innings.
An unbeaten 31 from Dinesh Karthik, which clinched him the man of the match award, sealed the match for his team with his last-over six proving decisive in a game which saw India needing nine off the final over to win.
With its early CWC exit meaning that a number of leading international players had an unexpected opportunity to take part in their domestic Twenty20 competition, added to the experience gained by players on the English county circuit, and the confidence gained by a recent Test series win over England, India will be one of the favourites for the event.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Ajit Agarkar, Piyush Chawla, Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Yusuf Pathan, Virender Sehwag, Joginder Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Rohit Sharma, RP Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, Robin Uthappa.
England
After a desperately disappointing CWC 2007 campaign, England will be looking to bounce back in South Africa at the ICC World Twenty20.
But Peter Moores' side will have to overcome old adversaries Australia, as well as a young Zimbabwean side, if it is to progress to the latter stages of the competition.
England will look to Andrew Flintoff for inspiration, while Kevin Pietersen, the fastest man to 1,000 ODI runs in history and one of three English batsmen to have topped the LG ICC ODI batting rankings, will undoubtedly be hoping to make an impact in his country of birth in his first appearance in South Africa since scoring three fantastic ODI hundreds.
England's options with the ball are more limited and it will be looking for the likes of Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad, as well as spinners Jeremy Snape and Chris Schofield, to spring some surprises with the ball.
England has played six Twenty20 Internationals with mixed fortunes. It made an instant impact on the sport when it thrashed rivals Australia by 100 runs in its first Twenty20 match at the Rose Bowl.
Paul Collingwood's 46 off 26 balls and Pietersen's 34 off 18 balls helped England to 179-8, before devastating bowling from Jon Lewis and Darren Gough reduced Australia to 31-7, eventually being bowled out for 79 off 14.3 overs.
But in its next three games England didn't enjoy much success, losing to Sri Lanka by two runs and Pakistan by five wickets at home in 2006 and being defeated by Australia by 77 runs at the SCG in 2007
England then lost its opening Twenty20 match against the West Indies at the Oval in June 2007, but Owais Shah then steered his side to victory the following day.
While Twenty20 cricket has been played in England since 2003, central contracts mean that many of the country’s leading stars only have limited experience of this form of the game. Prior to the start of the 2007 county season, Pietersen had played just 14 county games, Flintoff nine while Collingwood made just four appearances in this format of the game.
And that is why England has chosen to select the likes of Darren Maddy, Jeremy Snape and Luke Wright to support some of their biggest stars.
England: Paul Collingwood (captain), Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Andrew Flintoff, James Kirtley, Darren Maddy, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Chris Schofield, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Jeremy Snape, Vikram Solanki, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.
Bangladesh
The young, talented Bangladeshi side shone on the world stage at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 with stunning victories over India and South Africa. It will be looking to have a similar impact at the ICC World Twenty20.
But it will face one of the toughest groups at the event, having to take on host nation South African and the West Indies who were ICC Champions Trophy 2006 runners-up, in the opening stage.
Although there were some inconsistent performances in the Caribbean, most notably in its defeat to Ireland in the Super Eight stage, there were plenty of positives to take from the event with a number of players establishing themselves as household names.
Captain Mohammad Ashraful’s masterful 87 against South Africa was one of the innings of the tournament at the CWC 2007, while Tamim Iqbal’s 51 against India at almost run-a-ball illustrated his potential to have an impact on cricket’s biggest stage.
While Bangladesh rely on its spin bowlers, which will force the batsmen to generate their own pace off the ball in Twenty20 cricket, the pace of Mashrafe Mortaza will undoubtedly cause problems for even the best of batsmen.
An outstanding fielding side, Ashraful’s men will also be one of the teams to watch in terms of athleticism, which will help heap pressure on opposing batsmen which is vital in such a short form of the game.
Bangladesh’s only experience of Twenty20 cricket at international level, prior to the CWC 2007, was a defeat of Zimbabwe in November 2006.
And while Bangladesh may be inexperienced at this level and in the Twenty20 format the fact they have tasted victory over some of world cricket’s super powers in ODI cricket, both at the CWC 2007 and in its famous victory over Australia at Cardiff in 2005, means it will be a team to watch closely at this event.
Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful (captain), Aftab Ahmed, Nadif Chowdhury, Shakib Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Alok Kopali, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ziaur Rahman, Syed Rasel, Abdur Razzak, Farhad Reza, Zunaed Siddique, Nazim Uddin, Mahmud Ullah.
Team Australia
The reigning ICC CWC, Champions Trophy and Super Series winners will be looking to add another trophy to their cabinet when they compete in the ICC World Twenty20 in September.Having performed outstandingly in the Caribbean, where it didn’t lose a single match on the way to its third consecutive CWC title earlier this year, Australia will be the team to beat at the event.And while some of the old guard, who contributed to Australia’s success in both the long and short form of the game for so long, have recently retired, (including Man of the Tournament at the CWC 2007, Glenn McGrath) there is plenty of batting and bowling firepower left in the team.
With a batting order that includes CWC 2007 final centurion Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds and Michael Hussey, there is no shortage of big hitters. Meanwhile, the likes of Shaun Tait, Nathan Bracken and Brad Hogg also enhanced their reputations with excellent displays in the West Indies, and previously-injured Brett Lee, who missed out on the CWC 2007, is itching to get back to international action.
Having played the first ever Twenty20 International match, when they defeated New Zealand in Auckland in February 2005 thanks to an unbeaten 98 off 55 balls from Ponting and four wickets from Michael Kasprowicz, the Australians then suffered a heavy 100-run defeat to England in the build-up to the 2005 Ashes series.
Australia will see host nation South Africa as one of its main rivals for the Twenty20 crown and it has had mixed fortunes against Graeme Smith’s side in this form of the game. In January 2006 the Australians coasted to a 95-run win over South Africa at Brisbane, with Damian Martyn top scoring with 96, but less than two months later they suffered a two-run defeat in a thrilling match in Johannesburg, where Lee couldn’t quite manage to hit 19 off the last over for victory.
Australia then gained revenge on England for its defeat at Southampton in 2005, when it thrashed its arch-rival at Sydney by 77 runs, posting an incredible 221-5.
Australia: Ricky Ponting (captain), Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist, Brad Haddin, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hodge, Bradley Hogg, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Shaun Tait, Shane Watson
Groups and Schedule of first T20 world cup
Groups:
Group A South Africa | West Indies | Bangladesh
Group B England | Australia | Zimbabwe
Group C New Zealand | Sri Lanka | Kenya
Group D Pakistan | India | Scotland
Schedule:
Sep 11: South Africa v West Indies, New Wanderers, Johannesburg
Sept 12: New Zealand v Kenya, Kingsmead, Durban
Sept 12: Pakistan v Scotland, Kingsmead, Durban
Sept 12: Australia v Zimbabwe, Newlands, Cape Town
Sept 13: West Indies v Bangladesh, Wanderers
Sept 13: Zimbabwe v England, Newlands
Sept 13: India v Scotland, Kingsmead
Sept 14: Australia v England, Newlands
Sept 14: India v Pakistan, Kingsmead
Sept 14: Sri Lanka v Kenya, New Wanderers
Sept 15: South Africa v Bangladesh, Newlands
Sep 16-20: Super 8s
Sep 22: Semi-finals, Newlands and Kingsmead
Sep 24: Final, New Wanderers.
About Twenty20
Twenty20 is the newest form of cricket where each team bats for a maximum of only 20 overs a side, with each innings lasting for 75 minutes.
Twenty20 cricket was first introduced at county level by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2003 and such was the success of the format of the sport, the game quickly spread around the world with the first men’s full Twenty20 international taking place in February 2005 between New Zealand and Australia.
The ICC Board agreed to the inclusion of an ICC World Twenty20 competition at a meeting in April 2006.
It was agreed that the inaugural event would take place in South Africa in September 2007, with the second event scheduled for England and Wales during the ICC’s Centenary Year in 2009.
The remaining period up to 2015 will be taken up either by one or two further ICC World Twenty20, depending on the success of those first two events.
The ICC Board also agreed in April 2006 to cap the number of matches each Full Members can play within a 12 month period to a maximum of three home matches, including no more than 2 series.
That decision was based on the desire to preserve the primacy of the existing formats of Test and One-Day International cricket, the view of some Members that Twenty20 should be viewed more as a development tool and the need to ensure player workloads were kept under control.
Twenty20 History
On July 15, 2004, Middlesex vs. Surrey (the first Twenty20 game to be held at Lord's) attracted a crowd of 26,500, the largest attendance for any county cricket game other than a one-day final since 1953.
On January 12, 2005, Australia's first Twenty20 game was played at the WACA ground between the Western Warriors and the Victorian Bushrangers. It drew a sellout crowd of 20,700.
On February 17, 2005, Australia defeated New Zealand in the first men's full international Twenty20 match, played at Eden Park in Auckland. The game was played in a light-hearted manner - both sides turned out in kit similar to that worn in the 1980s, the New Zealand team's a direct copy of that worn by the Beige Brigade. Some of the players also sported moustaches/beards and hair styles popular in the 1980s taking part in a competition amongst themselves for best retro look, at the request of the Beige Brigade. Australia won the game comprehensively, and as the result became obvious towards the end of the NZ innings, the players and umpires took things less seriously - Glenn McGrath jokingly replayed the Trevor Chappell underarm incident from a 1981 ODI between the two sides, and Billy Bowden showed him a mock red card (red cards are not normally used in cricket) in response.
The first Twenty20 international in England was played between England and Australia at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire on the 13th June 2005, which England won by a record margin of 100 runs. On January 9, 2006, Australia and South Africa met in the first international Twenty20 game in Australia. In a first, each player's nickname appeared on the back of his uniform, rather than his surname. The international match drew a crowd of 38,894 people at the The Gabba. Australia convincingly won the match with man of the match Damien Martyn scoring 96 runs.
On February 16, 2006, New Zealand defeated West Indies in a tie-breaking bowl-out 3-0; 126 runs were scored apiece in the game proper. The game was the last international match played by Chris Cairns - NZC handed out life-size cardboard masks of his face to patrons as they entered the ground.
Starting July 11, 2006, 19 West Indies regional teams competed in what was named the Stanford 20/20 tournament. The event has been financially backed by billionaire Allen Stanford, who gave at least US$28,000,000 funding money. West Indies legends also backed the programme, and several "looked after" the teams during their stay in and around the purpose built ground in Antigua. It is intended that the tournament will be an annual event. Guyana won the inaugural event, defeating Trinidad and Tobago by 5 wickets. The top prize for the winning team was US$1,000,000, but other prizes were given throughout the tournament, such as play of the match (US$10,000) and man of the match (US$25,000).
On January 5, 2007, Queensland Bulls played the New South Wales Blues at The Gabba, Brisbane. A crowd of 11,000 was expected based on pre-match ticket sales. However, an unexpected 16,000 turned up on the day to buy tickets, causing disruption and confusion for surprised Gabba staff as they were forced to throw open gates and grant many fans free entry. Attendance reached 27,653.
Twenty20 Rules
Rules
The Laws of cricket apply to Twenty20 with some exceptions:
1. Should a bowler deliver a no ball by overstepping the popping crease, it costs 2 runs and his next delivery is designated a free-hit, from which the batsman can only be dismissed through a run out, for hitting the ball twice, obstructing the field or handling the ball, as is the case for the original "no ball".
2. Bowlers may bowl a maximum of only 4 overs per innings.
3. Umpires may award 5-run penalty runs at their discretion if they believe either team is wasting time.
4. If the fielding team do not start to bowl their 20th over within 75 minutes, the batting side is credited an extra 6 runs for every whole over bowled after the 75 minute mark; the umpire may add more time to this, if he considers the batting team is wasting time.
5. The following fielding restrictions apply:
No more than 5 fielders can be on the leg side at any time.
6. During the first 6 overs, a maximum of 2 fielders can be outside the 30-yard circle.
7. After the first 6 overs, a maximum of 5 fielders can be outside the fielding circle.
8. If the match ends with the scores tied and there must be a winner, the tie is broken with a bowl-out (similar to a penalty shoot-out in football), with 5 bowlers from each side delivering 2 balls each at an unguarded wicket.
9. If the number of wickets is equal after the first 10 balls per side, the bowling continues and is decided by sudden death.
