South Africa under Alrounder80

[Alrounder80]

What bowling tactics did you use for the T20?

Well, I'll tell you exactly what I do but feel free to vary it a bit from mine.
First over I use 3 bars on the default field setting. The next 5 overs of powerplays I have it at 2 bars. The next 10 overs (no matter how settled or unsettled the opposing batsmen are) I keep it at 2 bars and use a custom field consisting of the image attached. The image attached is for pace bowlers and for spinners I simply bring up fine leg. Last 4 overs I go zero bars on the default field and pitch it up. Sometimes I might use this the last three overs if the tailend batsmen are in. Hope this helps!

[Alrounder80]

Line ups for the 2nd T20

South Africa XI
G.Smith
R.Levi
H.Amla
J.Kallis
A.de Villiers(c&wk)
F.du Plessis
A.Morkel
J.Botha
J.Theron
D.Steyn
L.Tsotsobe

No changes after the convincing victory in the 1st T20

England XI:
A.Cook
I.Bell
J.Trott
R.Bopara
E.Morgan
C.Kieswetter
T.Bresnan
C.Woakes
S.Broad
G.Swann
J.Anderson

Same side...




Very disappointing to lose this one.
I was hopeful after Steyn produced beauty another to burst through Cook's defenses for another golden duck. Ravi Bopara played his mist convincing knock and gave Albie Morkel a bit of tap. Trott also played well for his 40 but was scored fairly slowly (35 balls). The score of 146 was by no means above our reach.
After being 65 for 1 we collapsed 84 for 4. Amla batted through but couldn't get the win we needed to seal the series. The young alrounder reminded everyone of Freddie when he picked up 3 crucial wickets and bowled well at the death.
Ravi picks up his first man of the match ad deservedly so.

[Alrounder80]

I've replaced du Plessis for Miller for the 3rd match. England go in with the same side.



We built up a very solid total. Amla once again batted well. I was very happy to see Ablie Morkel smash 46 not out. It included to huge sixes over long on. Botha (22*) also came in at the end and struck a few boundaries.
England were always lagging behind the run rate throughout the innings. With 2 overs left, 22 runs were required and I though that Theron and Steyn would, for certain, win us this one. As it turned out, Theron conceded 12 in the 19th over and Steyn couldn't contain Kieswetter (18*).
Bopara picks up the man of the match award again.

I'll do the series stats later!

[GrahamB]

The two strongest sides in the game from what I've seen so far, but England would have the edge.
Very tough!

[Alrounder80]

The two strongest sides in the game from what I've seen so far, but England would have the edge.
Very tough!

Absolutely, and rightly so as I think they're the better side in real life aswell. I'm backing England all the way in the test series coming up!

[Alrounder80]

Other than Hashim Amla, none of our main batsmen stepped up to the plate. The put in some good performances.
A special mention should go to Swanny. He bowled 4 overs for just 7 runs in the 2nd T20!

Best Batsmen award: Hashim Amla
Solid top order batting. Showed the rest how it was done.

Best Bowler Award: Dale Steyn
Very close call between Steyn and Theron and in the end it was a bit harsh on Theron considering his lesser economy rate. I gave it to Steyn because of his brilliance with the new ball and overall attacking bowling.

[Alrounder80]

Time for the T20 World Cup!
We are in a fairly strong group with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.



Just the one change with Quinton de Kock coming in for unimpressive Vilas as the keeper for the squad.

The resurgent Zimbabwe are my first opponent.

South Africa XI:
G.Smith
R.Levi
H.Amla
J.Kallis
A.de Villiers(c&wk)
D.Miller
A.Morkel
J.Botha
J.Theron
D.Steyn
L.Tsotsobe

No surprise selections.

Zimbabwe XI:
V.Sibanda
T.Mawoyo
B.Taylor
C.Ervine
M.Waller
T.Taibu
E.Chigumbura
K.Meth
S.Masakadza
A.Manyumwa
E.Rainsford

The resurgent Zimbabwe is my first opponent. I won the toss and elected to bat. Levi looked to slug his fourth ball into the leg side only to top edge it into Craig Ervine's hands at midwicket. Amla top scored again with 76 of 45 balls. He really is a class act. He took a bit of time to settle in and soon started taking Kegan Meth and Elton Chigumbura to the cleaners.
Zimbabwe lost a wicket in each of the overs in the powerplays. Despite this, they still manages to get 62-6 after the first 6. Then Chigumbura gave us a slight scare but after being run out, a win was inevitable.
This win guarantees qualification to the Super Eight as Zimbabwe lost their first match to Sri Lanka.

[Alrounder80]

This is effectively a practice game for me.

Justin Ontong come's into the side for his first game under my reign.

Sri Lanka XI:
M.Jayawardene
G.Kanishka
A.Mathews
D.Chandimal
S.Serasinghe
T.Samaraweera
R.Silva
S.Saman
K.Kulasekara
R.Herath
L.Malinga

A fairly convincing win by the Lankans. Malinga really took the life out of the innings with two early wickets. If it weren't for the newcomer, Ontong (35* of 22 balls), the total would be almost embarrassing.
Sri Lanka knocked the runs of with ease. Although there were only 4 balls left, they were always in control with several wickets in hand.

Now let me tell you something astonishing. ENGLAND, the T20 winners of 2010 and number 1 ranked team in T20s, lost to Afghanistan. HOW!?!?! An incredible performance from the Afghans. What's even funnier is that England didn't even qualify to the Super 8s as they lost to India. Disastrous T20 WC campaign for them.
That means my group consists of West Indies, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

[Alrounder80]

I'm up against the Pakistanis who are so far unbeaten in their two games played in the group stages.

South Africa XI:
G.Smith
H.Amla
J.Kallis
A.de Villiers(c&wk)
D.Miller
J.Ontong
A.Morkel
J.Botha
J.Theron
D.Steyn
L.Tsotsobe

Same side as last game.

Pakistan XI:
A.Shehzad
M.Hafeez
F.Alam
Y.Khan
A.Shafiq
U.Akmal
K.Akmal
S.Afridi
S.Malik
H.Azam
S.Tanvir

With 3 or even 4 (if you include Fawad Alam) spinners in the side, scoring in the middle overs will undoubtedly prove difficult.



A team effort with the bat, with no one exceeding 37 runs, lead us to a solid total of 157 for 7. Amla played around Kallis, who struck 3 sweet sixes in during his innings of 37. Dan Miller (32) and Albie Morkel's (17) cameo gave us the boost we needed at the end of the innings. We had decided beforehand to go all out against the seamers and that showed as the two seamers in the side were the most expensive and got the most wickets.
All the bowlers played their part but Steyn is proving so effective with the new ball in T20s. Both Hafeez and Shehzad were knocked over by Steyn in his opening 2 over burst. After Theron bowled Alam through the gate with an inswinger, there was no way back for Pakistan at 22 for 3. Shafiq never really tried for the win (which admittedly seemed, and turned out to be, impossible) but Afridi gave it a good go. He gave Botha some tap and even sent Dale Steyn over cow corner. Apart from Botha and Steyn, Morkel and Theron also picked up two wickets each and we ended up winning by 30 runs.
With this win I'm confident of a place in the semi finals as Afghanistan shouldn't be too hard to beat. They were just thrashed by West Indies by 97 runs. That said, anyone who beats England (fluke or not) should be worthy opponents to any side.

[Alrounder80]

Now for West Indies.

No changes to my XI from the last match.

West Indies XI:
C.Gayle
R.Sarwan
S.Chanderpaul
N.Deonarine
K.Pollard
D.Ramdin
R.Hinds
K.Stoute
A.Russell
D.Sammy
J.Holder

Hmm. I don't mind my batsmen not going on as long as they score their runs at a decent tick. Unfortunately, no one scored quickly. Everyone took some time to get in, and when they tried to attack a bit they lost their wickets. However, credit needs to be given to the Windies bowlers, especially Sammy with very good figures of 4 or 18.
Gayle and Sarwan played cautiously to bring their side home to a comfortable win. Dale wasn't able to pick up an early wicket this time, probably because there just no aggressive intent against him.
Up next is the must win game against Afghanistan.

[GrahamB]

Up next is the must win game against Afghanistan.

That should be tough!

[Alrounder80]

That should be tough!

Haha I hope not!

[Alrounder80]

Good lord, Afghanistan just tied against Pakistan just to prove the win against England was not a fluke. They are officially scaring me now.

South Africa XI:
R.Levi
H.Amla
A.de Villiers(c)
F.du Plessis
A.Morkel
J.Kallis
J.Ontong
Q.de Kock(wk)
J.Botha
J.Theron
D.Steyn

I was quite harsh with my selection for this match. I dropped Graeme Smith after going 7 matches in T20s without a fifty. Levi replaces him. Miller gives way for du Plessis even though he didn't do much wrong! I just felt du Plessis was a useful bowling option especially since he's a leggie. Finally, Tsotsobe was dropped and I brought in the Quinton de Kock as a keeper.

Afghanistan XI:
N.Ali Zadran
K.Sadiq
N.Mangal
M.Shahzad
S.Shenwari
A.Stanikzai
M.Nabi
S.Zadran
M.Ashraf
A.Mazari
H.Hassan

A few danger men in this team that I'm wary of. Noor Ali Zadran is responsible for most of the quick starts Afghanistan have made this tournament. Most notable innings was against England chasing 153 when he scored a rapid fifty. Hamid Hassan has been incredible for them this tournament. He is is currently joint with Dale Steyn as the 2nd highest wicket taker in the tournament with 9.



What an anti-climax. Turned out to be an easy victory. We won the toss and chose to bat first. Amla and Levi (29) started off with a solid partnership of 79. Both were batting circumspectly initially before Amla smashed two sixes in the sixth over. The first one was slightly agricultural as Amla hacked a good length ball over widish long one. The next one a few balls later signified absolute class when Amla moved outside legstump and timed the ball over cover for six. Du Plessis picked up from where the openers left off with a incredible 62 of just 33 balls. We ended up with a daunting total of 190.
With Tsotsobe dropped, I gave Albie Morkel the new ball to be shared with Dale Steyn. Morkel didn't dissapoint after striking in his third ball. A lovely away swinger which Ali Zadran edged going for a slash over point straight into Kallis' hands. We carried on picking up wickets regularly and if it wasn't for some late order resistance from Nabi and Ashraf, the Afghans would have been left with a sorry total.
Let's not take away what has been a inspirational performance from Afghanistan. What I would give to have a career with these guys in ICC2013 (PLEASE CHRIS CHILD).
Anyways, I'm through to the semi finals!

[Alrounder80]

Now in the semi-finals I'm facing New Zealand.

The side is unchanged for me.

Here is New Zealand side

New Zealand XI:
J.Ryder
H.Rutherford
K.Williamson
R.Taylor
M.Sinclair
D.de Boorder
C.de Grandhomme
J.Franklin
J.Oram
D.Vettori
K.Mills

From first looks, they seem to have a very long tail with Vettori at 10 (who has 6 test centuries to his name). I've seen Mills strike a long ball every now and then as well.



A sad way to go, especially after the total we posted.
Levi and Amla made a quick start with 42 of 5 overs when Levi was bowled by Franklin's slower ball. Amla continued to impress with a 62 of 47 balls. Du Plessis also struck the ball cleanly scoring 35 of 22 balls. We struggled to push on in the death overs where Vettori and De Grandhomme bowled excellently. The last over did go for 13 runs of De Grandhomme which got us to 169 for 7.
Steyn, as he so often does for me, picked up a wicket in his first over. Rutherford trapped plumb in front. Williamson and Taylor soon followed with the score being 28 for 3. From this point on wards, New Zealand absolutely dominated. From the next 11 overs, Ryder and Sinclair added 102 runs. Botha, Kallis and Theron were the main victims of the assault. Ryder's century came of only 60 balls. As South Africa often tend to do in important tournaments, we cracked under the pressure!
We are touring Australia next.

[GrahamB]

A sad way to go, especially after the total we posted.

Tough luck there, but you did choose a good side to lose too!