'WT20 on par with WC, Ashes'

Damien Fleming, Anshuman Gaekwad and Graham Ford preview the World Twenty20

The average cricket fan was unsure of what to expect when the inaugural ICC World Twnety20 kicked off in South Africa. The Indians, who were under a new captain and in the absence of the Fab Four and Zaheer Khan, had played just the solitary game while Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa had more exposure to the format.

“The inaugural event was voluntary in terms of participation. In fact the eventual champions India were hesitant about participating at start. Today the event is extremely popular in Asian countries,” ICC’s Communications Manager tells cricketnirvana.com

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni at a press conference in Mumbai on May 29. Tired limbs, jaded minds and a tricky draw have toughened India's path as Dhoni's men defend their World Twenty20 title in England next month. © AFP

The 2007 event did in many ways trigger the much talked about Twenty20 revolution. The grand finale between India and Pakistan was the tenth most watch sports event / game of the year. It was embraced by an estimated global audience of 20 million people.

“This is going to be the BIGGEST event in the history of cricket,” former Australia fast bowler Damien Fleming says. “The buzz in Australia is incredible. Everyone is talking about it, even the women and children. Cricket’s popularity will soar to the next level.”

Finally, a serious event
Former South Africa coach Graham Ford, who had turned down the offer of coaching India during the departure of Greg Chappell, reckons that the 2009 edition of the tournament is all the more important due to the ‘newfound credibility’ of the format.

“I still remember coaching Kent in 2003 when T20 had just kicked off. We were treating it as a joke (laughs) but definitely not anymore,” Ford tells cricketnirvana.com in an exclusive chat.

“At start players were looking at the format as a way to amuse the fans. But now they are taking it just as seriously as anyone else and the credibility of the tournament has rather surprised me. Today it is just as important as a 50-over World Cup or a Test series.”

Fleming complies with Ford’s remarks, saying the Aussies never took it seriously at start.

“You’ve even heard Ricky Ponting say in numerous interviews in the past – Australia never took T20 that seriously at start. But now the way the format has evolved and the manner in which fans are getting into the thick of things, the players are keen on giving it everything. It is surely a serious event today, as important as anything else.”

On level pegging?
The unpredictability of the Twenty20 format has left punters in a spot of hesitation. The last event saw Australia start as favourites but this time around India, Australia and South Africa are all impressive bets to win the tournament. They are inseparable at the moment.

England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, seen here in action at the Indian Premier League in April 2009, was on Wednesday ruled out of the World Twenty20 competition. © AFP

“It is really difficult to pin your money on a winner. We have not seen a single team dominate this format, like Australia dominated ODIs and Tests in the last decade,” former India opener Anshuman Gaekwad reckons.

However Fleming disagrees with Gaekwad…

“At this stage everyone is saying it’s difficult to pick a favourite but I would have to go with India and South Africa. Australia is a good team but I feel we don’t know our combination yet and are struggling with our bowling in the limited-overs format. India and South Africa have the best line-ups at the moment.”

Ford concedes that India, Australia and South Africa are neck-to-neck but refuses to rule out hosts England, who will be captained by the effervescent Paul Collingwood. “Do not count out England since they are playing at home. I can see them do well here.”

The IPL effect
The enormous success of the event has given coaches like Ford an opportunity of assessing oppositions and chalk out plans. “IPL will surely assist the Indians and South Africans, who in all honesty got the best bite out of the event. It would have given the oppositions a little bit of a peak into the kind of talent these two countries posses today.”

An evolving format requires sprouting skills as far as players are concerned. “Like Andrew Flintoff keeps on saying, the IPL has helped players sharpen their skills. These guys will be able to improvise better at WT20 now,” Gaekwad feels.

“The IPL has basically thrown in a new leaf to the Twenty20 revolution. It has given room to captains and coaches to chalk out new strategies. Whoever WAS a part of the event that just concluded will outshine the ones who missed out,” an assertive Ford says

Dark Horse?
“I reckon it is New Zealand and even the West Indies shouldn’t be counted out of any tournament since they have some enormous hitters like Gayle and Bravo,” Fleming feels.

Pakistan will be a team to watch out for © AFP

Gaekwad feels Pakistan will be motivated to do well. “They did not play the IPL and have been kept out of international cricket for a while. Also a lot of teams don’t know what they have in their kitty as a team. So I feel we must watch out for Pakistan. They have a point to prove and will be 110% motivated to perform well.”

Ford maintains that blossoming cricketers like Stuart Broad, Ravi Bopara and Tim Bresnan could make England a real threat to the top teams. “I just see a new energy about this England team. Obviously they will miss Andrew Flintoff enormously but they have some outstanding youngsters and I can sense a good performance for England,” Ford says to sign off.

The event which is set to break all records for cricket TV ratings kicks off on June 5. Stay tuned to cricketnirvana.com for unparalleled coverage and EXCLUSIVE columns by Javagal Srinath, Mickey Arthur, Damien Fleming and former India captain Anil Kumble.