Consistency and continuity:

Like has always been the case, the Australian selectors have always been an epitome of continuity. There have been many examples in the past as well, starting from the times of Mark Taylor, and even after Ricky Ponting became the first ever Australian captains in more than half a century to lose two Ashes. The captain did not get the sack, and that was probably because the selectors had faith in the guy.

In fact, this is a trait that runs in the Aussies. Why the players, even the selectors were spared after some shocking selections throughout the previous edition of the Ashes. It was almost a given that the selectors would be given a boot after the Ashes fiasco, but they were persisted with and the side was soon on their winning ways again.

The same logic seems to have been applied to the Clarke, the captain of the T20 game.

Future captaincy prospect?

The other reason why I can think of the continuation of Clarke as a captain is because one gets the sense that he will also take on the responsibility of the role from Ricky Ponting in the other formats of the game once Ponting is done with the game.

Now, personally I think that if Clarke were to be chucked out of the T20I format without being afforded the rightful opportunities, this could end up inflicting some confidence issues on him when he takes on the bigger role of leading the side in Tests and ODIs. And given the way things are, there do not seem too many others in the Australian camp that could take up the role of the captaincy in the other two formats of the game.

But what about back problems?

That is the one point that can be rationally brought into the conversation. Clarke’s career hasn’t been injury free and his back has given him enough trouble to last a lifetime. He has almost quit bowling as regularly as he did earlier, and the question that seems to be worrying some of the experts is that the excessive load of T20 cricket, both, as the captain and a batsman, could make life miserable for the talented batsman. And if Clarke does decide to play in the IPL, things could become even more tough for someone with the back issues.

On a notice?

All said and done, the two T20Is against Pakistan, to be played in England, will be a litmus test for Clarke. Another couple of failures could make him susceptible to a lot of blame again and that could well make it difficult to sustain him as the captain of the side.

So how did the English side manage to turn around the fortunes and clinch the tournament?

Balanced Side:

Unlike many of the other teams in the competition, England went in with the side which had six batsmen, four frontline bowlers and a fifth medium pacer who could wield his willow if needed. The batsmen were expected to their job, but the bowlers were not the worst when it came to holding the bat, whereas the bowling side had three fast and two spin bowlers.

All in all, there was a lot of balance in the side, and the side went unchanged throughout the tournament, except when Kevin Pietersen had to return back to England to attend his child’s birth.

Excellent Fielding:

There have not been too many sides in the history of international cricket, who have won a major tournament without possessing a side that can field rather well. And England was no exception. While their fielding in the entire tournament was good, it was the final that saw them push up to the very next level; the first four of the Australian dismissals were all thanks to brilliant efforts in the field.

Paul Collingwood, the captain, obviously led the way, but even the others were always there to back him. Pietersen was excellent in the outfield, whether it was catching or ground fielding, and in the end, that is where it made a lot of difference.

The Pietersen-Morgan show:

It must be said that apart from the final where Craig Kieswetter finally came to the party, it was the joint efforts of Pietersen and Eoin Morgan with the bat that saw the English never get under pressure. Pietersen did not have a good tournament to begin with, when he was out caught, pulling the ball to the fence, but right through the remaining four games that he was a part of, he managed to exhibit the same kind of form that he had show before the Achilles Heel injury hit him.

Yardy and Swann surprise:

It was a big surprise that when most of the other spinners struggled in the tournament, it was the duo of Michael Yardy and Graeme Swann that dominated the proceedings with some throttling bowling. Swann ended with an economy of 6.5 and scalped ten wickets in the tournament, whereas Yardy had an economy of only 6.8; something that can, at best, be expected out of sub-continent spinners and especially on the Caribbean tracks.

Cool Captain Collingwood:

There can hardly be any doubt that Paul Collingwood played a huge role in the development of the side and his confidence seemed to have rubbed on to the others as well. The best example of his captaincy was when he won the toss in a pressure final and decided to field first, something that took everyone by surprise. However, he backed his bowlers to the hilt and in the end, stood vindicated as Australia slumped to 8/3 and 47/4 in ten overs.

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 Big Bash 2010 Australia

Latest Match Results

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!

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.

Australia are Out of the Tournament

More Photos 

Isuru Udana grabs a sharp caught-and-bowled to remove Michael Clarke, Australia v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20, Trent Bridge, June 8, 2009

Australia troop off the field and out of the tournament, Australia v Sri Lanka, ICC World Twenty20, Trent Bridge, June 8, 2009

Lest We Forget - The Australians are out of the 2009 T20 World Cup.

You can buy tickets for IPL2 online at:

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Indian Premier League 2008 (India)

You could buy tickets online for IPL1 from:

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

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ICC World Twenty20 2009 (England)

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KFC Twenty20 International (Australia)

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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

Australia struggled to a meagre total 8-139 thanks to the spin bowling of Proteas skipper Johan Botha who took 2-16 from four overs. Michael Clarke and David Hussey both scored 27 for Australia. They lost David Warner for 20 and captain Ricky Ponting for 1 in consecutive overs. Opener Clarke was bowled by Botha at the start of the 11th over. The 24-year-old crowd thriller Van Der Merwe entertained the sell-out crowd of approximately 20,000 with a 30-ball innings that included two fours and four sixes. 

South Africa's Van Der Merwe had a great game on debut hitting 48. 

Last four T20 game results between South Africa and Australia

2008: Australia won by six wickets in Brisbane
2008: Australia won by 52 runs in Melbourne
2006: South Africa won by two runs in Johannesburg
2006: Australia won by 95 runs

T20 Squads

South Africa: Johan Botha (capt), Yusuf Abdulla, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Johann Louw, Albie Morkel, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Roelof van der Merwe, Vaughn van Jaarsveld.

Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Nathan Bracken, Callum Ferguson, Brett Geeves, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, James Hopes, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Laughlin, Marcus North, Cameron White, David Warner, Shane Harwood

T20 Cricket Stadiums

First T20 - Johannesburg, March 26

Second T20 - Centurion, March 29