So, yet another T20 World Cup has concluded. England have established their white-ball supremacy. And if cynics had doubts over their new-age philosophy of ‘continuous aggression’, this title should bury those doubts for good till there’s another revolution. Teams the world over will now look to replicate their ideology, obviously customising as per their own strengths and weaknesses leading to more innovations and entertainment. But till that takes effect, England will savour their second world title win in just over three years.
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Australia hosted, perhaps, one of the most entertaining world cups in recent memories and it gave a sort of a template to follow for others. Here we take a look at the major takeaways from the T20 World Cup 2022.
Spicy Pitches Means More Entertainment
During the entirety of the world cup which comprised 45 matches, only twice a 200-plus total was achieved. South Africa made 205/5 against Bangladesh while New Zealand scored 200/3 against Australia – both matches were played in Sydney. Five times a team scored in the 180s, six times in the 170s. Clearly, this wasn’t a high-scoring tournament. And only two batters scored centuries.
The pitches in Australia didn’t show any apparent bias. Batters had to work hard to get runs. It gave bowlers the freedom to attack consistently. Long boundaries helped too. Batters had to run hard between the wickets. Every single run mattered. And hence the close contests. Even a target of 138 against England, a team that steamrolled India by 10 wickets to enter the final, appeared a tricky one. Why? Thanks to the pitches and of course the Pakistan attack – arguably the best in the competition.
The lesson to be learnt here is: Do not make T20s a safe haven for batters. Make them work for their runs. Keep bowlers in the picture till the last ball has been delivered. The result will be closer contests and more entertainment for the viewers.
England Undisputed White-ball Champions
Is there a doubt? They are the first men’s team in white-ball history to hold the ODI and T20 world titles simultaneously. Eoin Morgan inspired them to a maiden ODI world championship win in 2019 and Jos Buttler, his heir apprentice, did the job in his first year in charge by bringing home the T20 trophy – their second such world title. And with that, England have added another silverware as proof that they have pushed the boundaries and set the benchmark for their competitors.
Subcontinent Teams Need T20I Revamp
India and Pakistan both fell to England in their quest to win the T20 world title in Australia. The loss will rankle both teams for some time and it should jolt them out of their deep slumber since they have been found blissfully living in the old world where conservative cricket ruled the roost. Keeping wickets in the bank, especially in the T20s, isn’t going to help much. Taking risks will pay you rich dividends. With a new, younger crop of a generation ready to take over, India have a perfect setup to kick-start their white-ball revolution.
Pakistan face a similar predicament. They will be the first one to admit how a world-class pace attack was the sole reason they were able to recover from the shocking start and make it to the final. Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam are two of their biggest batting stars but what worth are the runs if they don’t win you tournaments?
Ben Stokes, The Ultimate Warrior
One will not hesitate in choosing Stokes as his/her champion should they ever be locked in a trial by combat. He will fight for you to death, surely. He will adapt. Dig himself out and the team out of crisis and be there to see them over the line. England know this. And that is why there are murmurs of declaring Stokes as the greatest-ever English cricketer after yet another wondrous show. He did that in the 2019 world cup final at Lord’s with a fighting half-century, won England a lost Ashes Test at Headingley with an innings of a lifetime. And on Sunday, at the MCG, even though not at his fluent best and not timing the ball well either, the fighting spirit within him was thriving and eventually, as has happened on several occasions before, the tide turned. He dragged them into a safe zone with a maiden T20I half-century and sealed another momentous occasion.
Impact of Legspinners
Did India miss a trick by not playing legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal? Because the two finalists regularly played Shadab Khan and Adil Rashid during the tournament and both played a vital role in their team’s fortunes. Shadab took 11 wickets at an economy of 6.15 while Rashid finished with four wickets but with an economy of 6.12. In contrast, India relied solely on offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin whose 6 wickets came at an economy of 8.15. The tournament’s top wicket-taker – Wanindu Hasaranga – also happens to be a leggie. One doesn’t have to go far in history to realise that there was a time when India would regularly play two wrist-spinners in white-ball cricket, a strategy that made them one of the dominant force in limited-overs.
Never Rule Pakistan Out
Shades of 92. The phrase was thrown about several times during the tournament as Pakistan resurrected their campaign after being left for dead thanks to their twin defeats in the Super 12 stage. A close defeat to India started their world cup but losing to Zimbabwe must have crushed their collective souls. They opened the door with a fine all-round display against favourites South Africa who did them a favour later on by losing to the Netherlands. The uncanny similarity between their ODI World Cup campaign of 1992 and the T20 World Cup in Australia left romantics wondering if it was written in the stars. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be but Pakistan did prove why one should never write them off.
Give Associate Nations More Chances to Grow
If Namibia’s demolition of Sri Lanka on the opening day of the world cup wasn’t a reminder enough, the Netherlands producing perhaps the most shocking result of the event by knocking out South Africa on the final day of the Super 12 round must have left the who’s who in ICC wide awake. The next FTP cycle has tried to do justice to the 12 full members including Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland. However, the Super League has been done away with (it gave teams like Scotland, Netherlands to compete with the full members) and the FTP does little to address their lack of matches against the full members. This means they are left to fend for themselves. How will they improve if they cannot regularly face the top teams?
Time to move beyond waxing lyrical when a top dog’s apple cart is upset by the unheralded. These performances do prove their immense potential but do little of note to help them advance both in terms of quality and finances.
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