The Indian Premier League has been concluded.
Admittedly I am rather annoyed that the Chennai Super Kings lost the final but well done the Kolkata Knight Riders for chasing down a mammoth total. Certainly made for an entertaining final which was vital given a few controversies that were sparked during the event.
I still maintain that as a domestic league with a few International stars, the tournament is WAY too long.
Most importantly for our sake, here's a look at how the top Australian players went:
Batting:
Cameron White: 13 innings, 479 runs, HS 78, Average 43.54, x5 fifties, x20 sixes
David Hussey: 15 innings, 396 runs, HS 68*, Average 33.00, x2 fifties, x17 sixes
Steven Smith: 14 innings, 362 runs, HS 47*, Average 40.22, x14 sixes
Shaun Marsh: 13 innings, 336 runs, HS 68*, Average 30.54, x2 fifties, x7 sixes
Michael Hussey: 8 innings, 261 runs, HS 56, Average 32.62, x2 fifties, x8 sixes
David Warner: 8 innings, 256 runs, HS 109*, Average 36.57, x1 century, x1 fifty, x14 sixes
Shane Watson: 11 innings, 255 runs, HS 90*, Average 42.50, x2 fifties, x14 sixes
Brad Hodge: 12 innings, 245 runs, HS 48*, Average 30.62, x9 sixes
Bowling:
Ben Hilfenhaus: 9 games, 14 wickets at 16.64.
Brad Hogg: 9 games, 10 wickets at 25.30.
Ryan Harris: 5 games, 8 wickets at 16.25.
Doug Bollinger: 6 games, 8 wickets at 19.62.
Dan Christian: 7 games, 8 wickets at 29.12.
The performances alongside the Big Bash League certainly gives the National Selection Panel the perfect situation to decide upon the players they wish to select for the 2012 ICC World T20.
It was very good to see Shaun Marsh and Cameron White regain their confidence and it was even better to see them play their natural games, despite it being Twenty20 cricket. Their natural temperaments came to the forefront and they looked focused, in control and seemed to really enjoy themselves. Sometimes that is all it takes! Well done boys.
The Hussey brothers delivered the goods for their respective teams and our big hitters Shane Watson and David Warner were able to provide a few firework displays during the tournament. The NSP definitely have a few tough decisions to make on the batting front!
The Big Bash boasted some excellent bowling performances, especially for Brad Hogg. He is eying a comeback into the Australian side for a major ICC event. Since the Big Bash League he has played a T20i against India in Australia and his performances in the IPL - from what I saw on the tele - were good enough to suggest we should give the bloke a go out there. He still has the enthusiasm and no shortage of energy!
Ben Hilfenhaus made a wonderful impact and it's amazing to think that the Big Bash League played a relatively significant role to put him back on the Australian fanatics radar just before getting the recall to the Test side. He will be well aware that he needs to work on his death bowling but the subtle variations to his bowling have FINALLY arrived for the T20 format.
Otherwise Ryan Harris would be my pick but in Ryano's case a lot depends on his fitness. Was also good to see Douggie Bollinger getting some game time.
The bowling will be a tough one for the NSP but they have enough to bring in a good variation of players, especially taking note of the most important Twenty20 event of the season being the Big Bash League.
What's your ideal 14 man squad for the ICC World T20?
Hope you're all surviving the cricket drought!
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9 comments:
Ian,
I was very happy to see these many Aussies do well...The public here was awestruck by the fielding exploits of Steve Smith and the Hussey brothers! My team for the T20 WC would be:
Warner
Watson
Bailey
D Hussey
M Hussey
Cameron White/Steve Smith
Wade
Lee
Hogg
Doherty/Hauritz
Hilfenhaus
Johnson
Hi Joshua,
I am going to sit down sometime and also ponder the squad I would like to see.
A quick glance suggests you've identified 90% of the players likely to be in the side.
All these blokes have the ability to play an epic game of T20 cricket but when in Australian colours there does seem to be a bit of a short circuit somewhere.
All in all, well done.
Nice to hear feedback from someone in India. It seems the boys gained a lot of respect in India and that's brilliant.
Steve Smith was a bit of a superman in the field.
White would be wasted at 6, he needs to be at 3. Ideally dumping Bailey would be the way to go and leave Smith at 6 especially if he carries on his IPL form. But if not then Bailey at 6 and White at 3 will do.
@Sylvester,
Yes, a good correction...White should be no.3..he jus needs lil time to settle in and then he can thrash the opposition..you've also made an interesting point on Bailey...in case hs is dumped(which is very unlikely according to me since he got jus 4 games) who would be the replacement as skipper? Watson??or Warner?...will David Hussey make a decent captain?looking at the way he led Punjab, suggests that he can be considered...
Steve Smith not mentioned in the bowling.
Telling.
Is good fielding enough to keep him in the team?
I'm inclined to agree with you Sly.
To be honest, I almost feel Bails isn't needed. He has been given opportunity for us in ODI cricket and did a reasonably good job in the Windies.
If he can cement his place for the UK tour then I honestly see space for someone in our T20 side, omitting him.
Don't see it happening and wouldn't be upset either way but I do feel Steven Smith should be given a chance. I still feel his bowling is a little underused though in T20.
Hi Kirby,
Long time.
It be enough. We've already seen him play the full time fielding role and it didn't do much for the team in any way.
Still don't think he's ideal for ODIs just yet, but the kid has another chance so I'm pleased for him.
Judging by his IPL performances I'd say he's done enough to show he could be a handy no. 6/7 batsman.
Then there's blokes like Aaron Finch, Travis Birt and Shaun Marsh who deserve a second look go.
Only issue is that these guys tend to go into their shell at international level.
Great article, mate. As always, the Ozzies have rocked the house wherever they've gone. Gotta love'em. Being a CSK fan, my faves were Hussey (Mike) and Hilfenhaus, but I love the other guys too like Watto and Clarke. Binga (Lee) is a great guy, but hardly gets good bounce on the flat Indian pitches LOL. Still a fun guy to watch.
Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Indeed they're an excellent bunch of guys and they know how to entertain. The players seem to be getting better and better as a group!
I get the feeling that there is a very good chance Brett will miss out of the World T20. Let's see though.
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