Why was he not given the captaincy?

Ever since they bowed out of the first round of the ICC World T20 tournament in England, the Aussies haven’t been playing too much T20. That is, if you discount the two abandoned T20Is against England at Manchester later, in the same year.

Now, after that long hiatus, Australia will take on Pakistan in a one-off T20I and the difference between the line-ups from the World T20 of 2009 and this game, is as much as chalk and cheese. And the biggest of them all is the fact that Ricky Ponting has decided to call it a day from this cheese-burger format of the game, and allow the reigns to fall in the lap of Michael Clarke.

The change was almost assured after the Aussies bowed out of the World T20 early, for the second time in running. Clearly, the side wasn’t respecting the format as much as they should have and the results were there for everyone to see. And with Ponting having a rather rough time of it with the bat and as a captain, one could be assured that something had to give. And in a deed which reeked of a trade-off that Ponting had with the selectors to prolong his career in the other two formats, he decided to hang his T20 Kookabura bat.

However, I am still surprised by Ponting’s successor in this format. While there is no doubting the talent of Michael Clarke in the sport, there are other issues that Cricket Australia needed to ponder over, and cater to.

For one, there is an issue of Clarke’s recurring back illnesses which has kept him out of a few games in the previous years. Of course, Cricket Australia has a reasonable rotation plan in place, but when one is the leader of the side, the breaks are quite few and far between. Especially, given that Clarke has been tipped to succeed Ponting in both the other, and the more important, formats. This would mean that in around one year or so, when Ponting walks his way into the sunset, Clarke would take on the mantle of leading the side in even the Tests and the fifty over format.

So, how will Clarke be able to manage the three sides and a persistent back trouble then?

Then again, there is as much a case for White as there is against Clarke from taking over. There is every evidence that White is a natural leader, which can be gauged from the fact that he has led almost every side that he has been a part of. Right from the Under-19 days, to getting the role for his first class Victorian side, he has been in the thick of things. And it is not only the fact that he is the captain, he has one of the most amazing T20 records in Australia’s domestic T20 tournament – the KFC Big Bash T20.

Ever since the inception of the T20 tournament, there have been five editions of the same played, and the Victorian Bushrangers have been a part of the finals in all of them. What’s more fabulous is that the side has triumphed in four out of those five finals; White being the captain for all five!

Probably, and so reminiscent of the manner the Australians have been testing their bench strength, one could see White and Clarke shuffle around the captaincy as well. Probably, the selectors are only getting Clarke ready for the main job later. Probably, Clarke does have his sights on an IPL slot sometime down the line...as a captain!

KFC Twenty20 Big Bash in Australia Update for 2010

KFC Big Bash Points Table

KFC Big Bash 2010 Australia

Latest Match Results Read the rest of this entry...

The Australian KFC Twenty20 Big Bash Gets Started Soon

On the 28th of december the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash will set to rock Australia and the world with quality competition.

You may have seen them in the CLT20...

VB Bushrangers
RTA SpeedBlitz Blues

Along with more teams:

XXXX Gold Queensland Bulls
PKF Tasmanian Tigers
Retravision Warriors
West End Redbacks

Dates:

Starts 28th of December 2009
Final played on 23rd January 2009

Watch at T20cricket.Asia soon for an Official Schedule for the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash!

16 Cool Ricky Ponting Wallpapers

T20Cricket.Asia hopes you enjoy this Ricky Ponting wallpaper. He was born December 19, 1974, he has represented the Australian cricket team in in One Day International, Twenty20 International and Test matches. He is also a Tasmanian Tiger in Australian Domestic cricket. He has by far proven that he is a legend of the game regardless of this years Ashes loss. Well done Ricky - keep playing T20! Read more on his Ponting's retirement of T20I.

Rain helps England escape Aussie fury

The in-form Shane Watson sought to give Australia a solid start

A narrow escape is the best way one can describe the result for England. Rain spoiled the Australian party and a chance to go one up in the T20Is, as England stuttered to 4/2 in reply to the tourists’ 145 in the twenty overs on a track that had enough bounce and swing in it to cause multiple problems for the batsmen.

That the track was all juiced up was evident from the fact that England won the toss and immediately inserted Australia in. Shane Watson struggled to retain his form from the test matches, but Dave Warner went on a rampage in the Power-Play. Three wickets did fall for 54, as the centurion from the Scotland game, Dave Hussey was dismissed for a duck as well.

However, that set the platform for Cameron White’s blitzkrieg which saw him get to a 36-ball 55 and justified his place in the side. For long, White has been in the side without having performed to his potential that had seen him crack the fastest century, but this inning of his would hold him in good stead for the rest of the series.

Australia got to 145 in the twenty overs, and then had the English on the mats by getting rid of debutant Joe Denly off his first ball, and then having the woefully out of form Ravi Bopara edge one to the slips which was almost at the thirty yard circle mark!

Rain prevented further play and the two teams go into the second T20 at Manchester with a 0-0 scoreline.

More Photos Read the rest of this entry...

Sri Lanka Dominate the Aussies Out of the T20 World Cup

Match 8 - Group C
Who: Australia v Sri Lanka
Where: Nottingham
When: Jun 8, 2009
Winner: Sri Lanka won by 6 wickets (with 6 balls remaining)

Australia are Out of the Tournament

More Photos  Read the rest of this entry...

How to Buy International Twenty20 Tickets

Indian Premier League 2009 (South Africa)

You can buy tickets for IPL2 online at:

CompuTicket (some later games are selling out so hurry!)

Indian Premier League 2008 (India)

You could buy tickets online for IPL1 from:

• Ticket Pro
  • Bangalore (Phone: 99002 38888)
  • Kolkata(Phone: 098677 48888)
  • Mohali (Phone: 98768 48888)
  • Jaipur(Phone: 99283 38888)
• Kyazoonga
  • Delhi
  • Mumbai
• Bangalore
• Big bazaar
• Cafe Coffee day outlets
• E-zone
• Bangalore Central
• Pantaloons

Or buy IPL tickets from each team's respective stadiums:

• Chennai tickets would be available in M A Chidambaran Stadium,Chepauk Chennai.
• Hyderabad Tickets are available in ICICI branches.

ICC World Twenty20 2009 (England)

Register for Account and Buy Online (official) OR Check my post for discussions.

KFC Twenty20 International (Australia)

Buy online from Ticketmaster

T20 – South Africa Beats Australia at Centurion

On March 29, 2009 South Africa claimed a 17 run victory in the T20 International series against Australia at Centurion.

Australia's Form Far From Best Read the rest of this entry...

Australia All Set for an All-Star Twenty 20

Greg Chappell will take charge as coach of Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) All-Stars team that will fight it out with the Australian XI team. The Twenty20 match will take place on November 14 at the Gabba in Brisbane.

"Cricket fans already know that Twenty20 is an exciting game, but this is their first opportunity to see perhaps the best two teams in Australia compete." said Chappell (cricinfo)

All Stars

Adam Gilchrist (c), Justin Langer, Rob Quiney, Michael Dighton, Brad Hodge, Simon Katich, Dan Marsh, Andrew McDonald, Ryan Harris, Steve Magoffin, Dan Cullen, Brendan Drew (12th man to be named).

Australia

Mike Hussey (c), Matthew Hayden, Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Cameron White, Brett Geeves, Peter Siddle, Shaun Tait, Xavier Doherty (12th man to be named).

player lists to be confirmed

Emirates All*Star Weekend Event Details (Brisbane)

Friday, 14 November 2008 (6.35pm local time) – Emirates All*Star Twenty20 match, GABBA

Sunday, 16 November 2008 (11am – 3pm) – Cricket All*Star Fan Day, Allan Border Field

Monday, 17 November 2008 (6.30pm) – JOHNNIE WALKER All*Star Party, Gallery of Modern Art

Tickets can be bought via ticketmaster.com.au by calling Ticketmaster on 1300 136 122. More information, and ticketing links, can be found at www.cricket.com.au/emiratesallstarweekend

Lalit Modi’s IPL Declared Tremendous Success

Who is He?

Lalit Kumar Modi

What titles does he hold?

- Chairman & Commissioner, IPL,

- Vice President, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)

- Creator of the Indian Premier League

Read the rest of this entry...