Team of the tournament
and I've been asked to pick my team of the tournament. I know you'll all have different opinions, so feel free to chew over my selections and let me know what you think about them - I won't mind what you say!
The best, most consistent, teams in the tournament were England and Australia. It should therefore come as no surprise that those two nations are well represented.
I didn't feel any of the skippers had outstanding tournaments, so I would probably hand the captaincy of this side to Mahela Jayawardene.
1 and 2 - Mahela Jayawardene (SrL) and Craig Kieswetter (Eng)
Jayawardene was the leading run scorer and one of only two centurions in the tournament - his 98 not out off 56 balls against the West Indies was pure class. Kieswetter edges Pakistan's Salman Butt out of the side, as he hit 11 sixes in the tournament to Butt's four.
Australia's David Warner and Shane Watson were contenders for inclusion with their bullying batting but a disappointing semi and final for both - Warner a duck in the semi and Watson a duck in the final - meant Jayawardene and Kieswetter got the nod.
3 - Kevin Pietersen (Eng)
Pietersen was England's form batsman and was Man of the Match in their first two Super Eight matches, with 73 not out off 52 balls against Pakistan and 53 off 33 against South Africa.
He returned to England to attend the birth of his first child but was able to slot back into the side to stroke an unbeaten 42 off 26 in the semi-final win over Sri Lanka and 47 off 31 in the final against Australia. Rightly named Player of the Tournament.
4 - David Hussey (Aus)
The younger Hussey had a good tournament with both bat and ball. He passed 50 twice, had a strike rate of over 130 and took six wickets with an economy rate of just 5.87. He would be the second spinner in this side to work with Graeme Swann (see below).
5 - Eoin Morgan (Eng)
His shot placement is excellent, he can clear the boundary or cream fours into parts of the ground bowlers don't think possible. Some of his shots, including the reverse sweep, are extraordinary.
6 - Kamran Akmal (Pkn)
Akmal led the way among the wicket keepers with the most dismissals in the tournament.
A hard hitter, he bats down the order here to allow Kieswetter to open with Jayawardene. The other option would have been to have Kieswetter keep wicket, and slot Cameron White of Australia into the middle order.
7 - Mike Hussey
, keeping his cool to smash 6, 6, 4, 6 off the final over of the match as they chased 192 to beat Pakistan. It wasn't the first time he had got his team out of trouble, but his performance in that game was simply extraordinary. He could obviously bat higher in this team if required.
8 - Angelo Mathews (SrL)
Mathews put in a good all round performance with bat and ball and offers a right-arm variation to the two left-arm strike bowlers below.
9 - Graeme Swann (Eng)
Swann was used in the middle overs after the fielding restrictions had been lifted and consistently produced economical spells, as well as taking vital wickets. He finished with 10 wickets in the tournament and an economy rate of 6.54.
Pakistan off spinner Saeed Ajmal was the leading spinner with 11 wickets, but I'm afraid too many dropped catches (remember those howlers against England) and that unfortunate over to Mike Hussey in the semi means he misses out here.
10 - Ryan Sidebottom (Eng)
England's skilful opening bowler has perfected the art of the slower ball and was instrumental in restricting the scoring of opposition teams in the first six overs. He took two early wickets in the final, setting up England for their ultimate victory.
Australia's Shaun Tait was a contender with nine wickets at an economy rate of 5.53 but Sidebottom fully deserves his place.
11 - Dirk Nannes
Nannes won a place in the Australian team after helping the Netherlands shock England in the opening game of the 2009 tournament. He regularly delivers the ball at more than 150 kph and was the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 14.
Comment number 1.
At 17th May 2010, Pete wrote:That is a super 11. You have to feel sorry for Anderson! One of our best fielders and new ball bowlers and didn't make a single appearance. I think this is a sign of how strong the England side has become...
This England 11 should be able to cope with the 50 over format?
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Comment number 2.
At 17th May 2010, SamK wrote:That's a very good team! Personally I would replace Angelo Mathews by Shane Watson.He is bowls well and no questions about his batting! Agree he hasn't had the great semi's and finals.
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Comment number 3.
At 17th May 2010, Mad_for_Chelsea - 606v2 is da best wrote:good team, but can't help but feel it's slightly short of bowling options : if d. hussey gets tonked (or any other bowler in fact) you only have M. Hussey and KP as (creditable) back-up. So yeah, maybe White in for Akmal just for balance.
Other than tha, it's a fine team
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Comment number 4.
At 17th May 2010, Mirpex wrote:The only change I'd make is the one you've already identified. Cameron White for Kamran Akmal at 6. No reason to have two keepers in the side.
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Comment number 5.
At 17th May 2010, mambo wrote:I was thinking the same as the previous poster re the bowling options. I would give the gloves to Kieswetter and play Broad instead of Akmal..
All a bit pedantic really as no side in the world would challenge your selection..
How strange it seems that we are picking T20 sides and not mentioning Chris Gale.....
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Comment number 6.
At 17th May 2010, Reiser wrote:I'm sorry but this team is purely based on batting and bowling figures, yet as people have pointed out these guys have to be fielders as well. To say none of the captains performed is ridiculous, because without collingwood england would not have won.
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Comment number 7.
At 17th May 2010, jvignes wrote:My Team of The tournament is: 1. JAYAWARDENA 2.WARNER 3.PIERTERSEN 4.M HUSSEY 5.RAINA 6.KIESWETTER 7.MATTHEWS 8.SWANN 9.NANNES 10.AAMER 11.SIDEBOTTOM
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Comment number 8.
At 17th May 2010, Jake wrote:Good picks, but David Hussey and Kamran Akmal have only had a couple of good games each. Plus there aren't enough bowlers, having to rely on part timers is what killed India and Australia. Replace D. Hussey with White and play Langeveldt for his wickets.
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Comment number 9.
At 17th May 2010, eirebilly wrote:Kieswetter played well in the final but i would actually have Gayle opening instead of him. I would also replace Matthews with Cameron white as well. Otherwise a very decent team.
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Comment number 10.
At 17th May 2010, Daniel Bysouth wrote:I would have to replace Kamran Akmal with younger brother Umar. With Kieswetter being able to keep wicket, the younger of the Akmal brothers has shown his vast ability under pressure, when coming in down the order.
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Comment number 11.
At 17th May 2010, nigeweir wrote:My team of the tournament would be Lumb, Kieswetter, Pietersen, Collingwood, Morgan, Wright, Bresnan, Yardy, Swann, Broad, Sidebottom, ::)))After all, this team has no weaknesses :)
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Comment number 12.
At 17th May 2010, Billeth wrote:1. Mahela Jayawardene
2. Kieswetter
3. k.Pieterson
4. E.Morgan
5. D. Hussey
6. M. Hussey
7. G. Swann
8. C. White
9. Sidebottom
10. Umar Akmal
11. Nannes
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Comment number 13.
At 17th May 2010, Konrad wrote:I would replace Mathews with Langeveldt. Despite South Africa's failure, Langeveldt had a great tournament and bowls very well at the death.
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Comment number 14.
At 17th May 2010, CloudNineRec wrote:Not too many arguments with that team - I would say:
Jayawardene, Kieswetter, Pieterson, Raina, D Hussey, Morgan, M Hussey, Swann, Sidebottom, Langevelt, Nannes.
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Comment number 15.
At 17th May 2010, randommagician3 wrote:Debateable, the main reason England won was because they had 5 genuine bowlers but you've picked 4? I can't understand why Kamran Akmal is there at 7 instead of White either, why play someone out of position when you don't even need to incorporate a keeper? I would probably go with:
Jayawardene
Kieswetter
Pietersen
Raina
Morgan
White
Smith
Swann
Broad
Tait/ Langeveldt
Nannes
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Comment number 16.
At 17th May 2010, Mark B wrote:For what it's worth, you make some good selections and some strange ones.
I don't see how anyone can argue with the Top 3.
Picking Dave Hussey at 4 is an odd one for me. The reason the Aussies struggled was their seemingly random middle order batting line-up. No regular Number 4 did anything really, and for that reason, and for his fielding captaincy and short burst batting, I take Collingwood. David Hussey can bat at 6, and give us a few overs, as ca Collingwood if needed, while Michael Hussey or Cameron White is a coin toss. Langeveldt had great economy and stroke rates, Aamer was badly let down by the rest of the Pakistan attack, and Nannes was exceptional, even in defeat in the final.
1. Jayawardene
2. Kieswetter (wkt)
3. Pietersen
4. Collingwood (capt)
5. Morgan
6. Hussey D
7. Hussey M/White
8. Swann
9. Langeveldt
10. Mohammed Aamer
11. Nannes
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Comment number 17.
At 17th May 2010, chasmesque90 wrote:I agree with the team and the reasons but I would just like to mention that Shane Watson did not get a duck in the final, as stated, but was in fact out for two runs off three balls (2, dot, out), the same score as his fellow opener.
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Comment number 18.
At 17th May 2010, Anton wrote:Morgan and Kamran Akmal do not deserve their place and should be replaced by White and Kamran's brother - Umar.
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Comment number 19.
At 17th May 2010, kuttaa wrote:no umar akmal or afridi leading wicket taker in all 3 tornamnets just think some1 is against pakistani's here
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Comment number 20.
At 17th May 2010, GreatWhitePathan wrote:Kuttaa - Afridi deserves to be the in the worst XI of the tournament. He failed with the bat and got hammered with the ball in a few games. The only Pakistanis that really performed were the Akmal brothers, Salman Butt, Ajmal and Aamer. The rest i.e. Razzaq, Misbah, Afridi, Asif, Sami, Hafeez, Alam, Latif were all hopeless.
I am gutted after the semi final loss to Australia but Pakistan never deserved to be in the semis in all honesty.
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Comment number 21.
At 17th May 2010, pieandapintduck wrote:Judging by that team of the tournament, Notts will have a cracking side if the england players get released for any domestic 20/20 matches this season. Swann, Sidebottom, Nannes and Hussey are all in that side plus Broad. Be nice to see those line up in the same side!
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Comment number 22.
At 17th May 2010, Tatloaf wrote:Definitely bias against the Pakistani's here kuttaa. How can there be just one player from Pak in the team of the tournament after winning 2 games in 6...
On a serious note, just think Alison picked the wrong Akmal.
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Comment number 23.
At 17th May 2010, SportsFan wrote:I completely agree with your team of the tournament. Already we have had 3 ICC World Twenty20's. I wonder when we are going to have the next ICC World Twenty20? Will it be in 2011 or 2012? Personally I would like to see the World Twenty20 be played every 4 years like the 50 over World Cup, last one was in 2007 and the next one will be next year.
The World Twenty20 cricket has been excellent, the best match by far has to be the Australia vs Pakistan Semi Final. It was one of the best Twenty20 match ever! lets hope we got more of those close and exciting matches in the future!
I've been very disappointed on how South Africa, Sri Lanka, India and West Indies ha performed but at the same time have been impressed by how well both England and Australia played!
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Comment number 24.
At 17th May 2010, stevotom wrote:How can you leave out Michael Clarke? He was awesome...
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Comment number 25.
At 17th May 2010, Matt H wrote:Already we have had 3 ICC World Twenty20's. I wonder when we are going to have the next ICC World Twenty20? Will it be in 2011 or 2012?
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It's 2012. Then 2014, 2016 and so on.
They decided they wanted it like that, but the first two were in 2007 and 2009, so the options were to either have a 1 year gap or a 3 year gap.
And the 50-over World Cup is every 4 years, but don't forget that there is also the Champions Trophy which is another 50 over tournament. So effectively we have a 50 over tournament every 2 years.
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Comment number 26.
At 17th May 2010, dkscotland wrote:I'd have tried to get Vettori in alongside Swann. Two quality spinners is a real advantage in the format and this would give a left right combo of arguably the best two in the world atm.
From the original list I would probably drop Kamran and move Mike Hussey to 6 (too good for No7).
Not too sure I would have David Hussey in the No4 slot but there would probably be arguments against any of the other potentials there.
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Comment number 27.
At 17th May 2010, Dale Dobson wrote:1. Jayawardene
2. Kieswetter (wkt)
3. Pietersen
4. Raina
5. Morgan
6. Wright
7. M Hussey
8. N McCullum
9. Swann
10. Mohammed Aamer
11. Nannes
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Comment number 28.
At 17th May 2010, Robbie C wrote:Great team but personally I would swap David Hussey for Chris Gayle, purely for Gayle's explosive hitting at the top of the order. I'd open with Gayle and Kieswetter and have Jayawardene and Pietersen at 3 and 4.
That gives another spinner to back up Swann if needed and Gayle is the biggest 6-hitter in the game at the moment when on form.
Plus if he does get out, you still have Jayawardene to come in within the first few overs to stabilise things.
Other than that no complaints from me.
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Comment number 29.
At 17th May 2010, Jibzi786 wrote:My team would be:
1. Mahela Jayawardene (C)
2. Craig Kieswetter (WK)
3. Kevin Pietersen
4. Umar Akmal
5. Angelo Mathews
6. Eoin Morgan
7. Mike Hussey
8. Greame Swann
9. Mohammad Aamer
10. Dirk Nannes
11. Charl Langeveldt
This was a really tough one, because I wanted to bat as deep as possible and have 5 bowlers. As a Pak fan, I thought both U. Akmal and Aamer merited their places because they are still teenagers and performed well under huge pressure. Kieswetter was included first of all because a WK was needed and even though Salman Butt has done fantastic, I still dont think he runs well between the wickets enough (i.e. calling for a run or converting 1s to 2s). I could have included Chris Gayle as he can destroy any bowling attack on a given day and bowls a bit as well but apart from his 98 v India, wasnt consistent enough. Langeveldt shone in a disappointing SA side with his full length deliveries and Mathews has done well as a new ball bowler and a middle-order batsman. Mahela, KP, Morgan, M.Hussey, Swann and Nannes were pretty much easy choices. I also made Mahela the captain of the team for good measure :)
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Comment number 30.
At 18th May 2010, kevan of bahrain wrote:Well I would drop Craig Kieswetter and put in Jonathan Agnew, who does not need Biltong. Then I would transfer Strauss, Lumb, Kieswetter, Prior, Trott and Pietersen "Back Home', as the Local Side in SA seem to be in a spot of bother.
Apart from these minor changes, and sending Broad to a Finishing School in Switzerland, I agree with Alison completely!!!!
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Comment number 31.
At 18th May 2010, DrCajetanCoelho wrote:Alison Mitchell has shown fine wisdom and insight in selecting a well balanced Team of the Tournament. All those eleven gallant performers were successful in bringing to the fore many of the cricketing virtues we love to watch from bowlers, fielders and batters. World class Mahela Jaywardene is a consistent performer in every version of the game and can bat comfortably in any position. Giving him the captain's armband was the logical thing. Well done.
Dr. Cajetan Coelho
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Comment number 32.
At 18th May 2010, peteb wrote:has to be
1 kieswetter
2 jayawardena
3 pieterson
4 sangakara
5 morgan
6 riena
7 m.hussey
8 swann
9 bresnan
10 vettori
11 nannes
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Comment number 33.
At 19th May 2010, thereversesweep wrote:Good team Alison, although how could you have left out Cameron White? Here are our best and worst XI's of the tournament:
Best:
and worst:
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Comment number 34.
At 24th May 2010, s0bers wrote:What about Morkel coming in 4 down to hit some of his massive sixes.
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Comment number 35.
At 27th May 2010, hackerjack wrote:Personally I think Broad provided far more than Sidebottom with his variation, ane he gives a more solid batting lineup which would allow you to drop Akmal for someone who can offer a backup bowling arm.
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