Retro Yakking

We’re now down to the business end of the tournament, and the question on everybody’s lips is… will Angelo Mathews finally have a properly printed name on the back of his shirt?

Much more pressing is the question of whether the semi-finals will be affected by the British weather. Forecasters predict showers for most of the UK this week, and officials will be crossing their fingers that Nottingham and London will remain relatively dry allowing the fixtures to take place.

Three matches remain and four teams are left, each of which is in with a fighting chance. South Africa and Sri Lanka have looked very strong in the tournament so far, and are my predictions to progress through to the final.

In Twenty20, however, it really is a case of who turns up on the day, who has that crucial bit of luck or drops that all-important catch. It may not be worth $20,000,000, but Sunday’s final will decide who claims the much more coveted title of World Twenty20 champions.

West Indies have massive experience of the Twenty20 format, it being their favourite version of the game of late, and with Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo have two power T20 figures that could each beat a team individually.

Chris Gayle: a critical figure.

Pakistan could walk over anyone on their day. Umar Gul in particular has been on sparking form, and is capable of troubling the best of the world’s talent with his blistering yorkers.

All of which makes the semis, taking place today and tomorrow, must-watch games for cricoholics and aficionados of the slog everywhere.

Oh, and back to the shirt lettering saga: it seems Sri Lanka are not the only ones having problems. England — or should that be ‘Egland’ — have to take the cake for the worst shirt design of the tournament, at least where adhesive is concerned.

HY,
Wgan, Eggland

PS. You have the right to flame me for the whether/weather pun.

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