Smith looks to cap Test success with T20 triumph

South Africa captain Graeme Smith believes winning the ICC World Twenty20 in England will be the ideal way to show his side are a force to be reckoned with in all forms of the game.
Smith has led his side to Test series wins in England and Australia in recent times and now the opening batsman is looking for fresh success on English soil as South Africa seek a first major one-day trophy since 1998.
"It would be lovely if we could be successful in this tournament or any ICC tournament that is coming up," Smith told reporters at Lord's here on Sunday.
"We have had an incredible period in the last 16 months and the team has achieved so much.
"The confidence is good and we are excited about playing this tournament with the chance to go out and express ourselves. I think there is a lot more talent, flair and confidence among this team than ever before."
Smith and several of his compatriots had the ideal preparation for the World Twenty20 by taking part in the 20-overs-per-side Indian Premier League.
A franchise event featuring many of the world's leading players, the IPL was moved to South Africa at short notice after security fears meant it could not be played in India.
"Cricket South Africa and the country as a whole did a fantastic job in hosting the event at three weeks' notice," said Smith.
"It was an incredible effort and we proved our country?s ability at hosting major events. A lot of our players had prominent roles in a number of the teams which probably wouldn?t have happened if it had been in India and they had good leadership roles among their teams."
Veteran all-rounder Jacques Kallis helped the Bangalore Royal Challengers to the IPL final.
He has, though, sometimes been criticised for slow scoring and an unwillingness to bowl his sharp seamers and Smith said: "Jacques is the one player who arrives here with a point to prove.
"He had a decent performance in the IPL so his confidence his high and tactically how we use him is important. He?s an all-rounder and needs to contribute in all forms."
For many South African players, the combination of international and IPL commitments has led to a fairly intense schedule.
"Mental fatigue is probably our biggest challenge and something we have addressed as a team," Smith, whose side are in Group D alongside New Zealand and minnows Scotland, said.
That professionalism wasn't matched, in Smith's eyes, on Sunday when the Proteas turned up at the Southgate club ground in north London, used by Middlesex for home matches when they are not at Lord's, for a practice session only to discover that their arrival was news to their hosts.
They had to head back to Lord's instead and Smith said: "Even today with the not-so-great training facilities we have had all over the place the guys have still applied themselves."

Ireland set for tough Twenty20

Ireland will be looking to build on their reputation for causing cricket shocks in the World Twenty20 but they face some potentially gruelling encounters against the 'big boys'.
During the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean, they famously beat Pakistan but the scale of the task facing them in this tournament was demonstrated when, during a warm-up match against New Zealand in Derby this week, they lost by seven wickets with three overs to spare.
Given that Bangladesh, one of Ireland's group opponents (the others are India), took New Zealand to the last ball before losing in a warm-up match, the prospects do not look good for the Irish.
However, Bangladesh are an unpredictable side when it comes to the big occasion. At the same, albeit 50 overs per side, World Cup where Ireland beat Pakistan, Bangladesh also famously defeated India.
Ireland coach Phil Simmons, the former West Indies batsman, has retained the bulk of the squad that won the recent World Cup qualifiers tournament in South Africa, with Jeremy Bray coming in for Andrew Poynter and Paul Strling taking over from Eoin Morgan.
Middlesex batsman Morgan has 'defected' to England, highlighting a perennial problem for Irish cricket in that their very best players, as was the case before Morgan with fellow batsman Ed Joyce, are always likely to 'cross the water' in search of greater professional opportunities and the chance to play five-day Test cricket.
Ireland though will be bolstered by the return of experienced bowlers Trent Johnston, Alex Cusack and Boyd Rankin.
And for all that India and Bangladesh will be expected to defeat Ireland, and comfortably too, both will have in the back of their minds the fear of becoming yet another famous scalp for the men in green.

Scotland aim to regroup in World T20

Scotland come into the World Twenty20 desperate to be, at the very least, competitive against the likes of Group C rivals South Africa and New Zealand after some worrying recent results.
In April, the team returned from South Africa with its one-day status intact but without a place at the 2011 World Cup that many had expected them to secure.
Roddy Smith, chief executive of Cricket Scotland, was frank in his asssement of the team's performance, telling the Scotsman newspaper: "There are no excuses. Quite simply, the team's performances have not been good enough."
Scotland, like many nations outside the Test elite, have a constant struggle to retain players.
While the ICC makes laudable efforts to give them more games, team members must decide whether they can afford to take time off from their day jobs, with only three Scotland players on full-time contracts.
But there were encouraging signs during a May 28 Twenty20 warm-up match against Bangladesh where Scotland, although losing by six wickets, did bat through their 20 overs.
Much will depend for Scotland on the form of captain Gavin Hamilton, who played for England on their 1999 tour of South Africa, and Zimbabwe-born batsman Ryan Watson.
He stood down as skipper after failing to guide the team to a top-four finish in South Africa, which meant they missed out on the 2011 World Cup in Asia.
"We are in a rebuilding phase and ... I know we have to give a number of players international experience over the next couple of years," Hamilton told the Cricinfo website.
"However, we have a fantastic and important summer of cricket ahead and it is vital we put in some good performances in the next few weeks."

England get set for Twenty20 without Fred

England have never won a major international one-day tournament and, even allowing for home advantage, it will be a major surprise if they come out on top in the World Twenty20.
English one-day cricket has generally been based on the idea of the steady accumulation of runs, followed by a dash at the finish, and steady, containing bowling by medium-pacers who 'do a job' for their side.
What recent tournaments have shown is the need for wicket-taking bowlers in an era where economy rates are of limited value, given how aggressive modern batsmen are, and batsmen capable of scoring quickly, particularly in the early overs of an innings.
The loss through a knee injury of all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, a dynamic seamer with an ability to get reverse swing and, on his day, a hard-hitting batsman, would appear to have robbed the hosts of a genuine match-winner.
Meanwhile, star batsman Kevin Pietersen's Achilles injury, which ruled the South Africa-born shotmaker out of the recent homne one-day series with the West Indies, also remains a concern.
However, albeit in a 50-over format and against opponents who didn't seem too keen to be on tour, England won that series 2-0.
And emerging England quick Stuart Broad, himself a handy lower order batsman, believes that Flintoff's absence need not spell the end of England's victory hopes.
"We've certainly won well without Fred in the past, but it's important we play good cricket," Broad said.
"He's obviously a very important player for us with bat and ball but players step up and take responsibility when he's not here, that's very important.
"We need to gain confidence of winning without Fred so when he comes back into the side there will be a lot of belief and confidence there.
"Fred is the sort of bowler who gets thrown the ball in an important situation but when he's not in the side someone else gets given the ball and takes responsibility."
But apart from three wins over New Zealand last year, England have not beaten a major nation in Twenty20 cricket since levelling their two match series against the West Indies at The Oval in June 2007.
England's only win at the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa a few months later was against Zimbabwe, with the side losing to South Africa, New Zealand and India.
However, England's squad does now contain players with plenty of domestic Twenty20 experience in Hampshire all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas and Essex wicket-keeper James Foster.
And England coach Andy Flower believes Ravi Bopara can provide the solution to the side's longtstanding problems at the top of the order in one-day cricket which have been an issue since the international retirement of Somerset left-hander Marcus Trescothick.
"You must be able to adapt, have strong hitters and top-class batsmen up front," Flower said in an interview with the Big Hitter magazine.
"Ravi Bopara has shown what a class player can do at the top of the order, which you need against the new ball - not just lower order sloggers thrown in."
England captain Andrew Strauss is sitting out this tournament on the grounds that he does not believe himself to be a good enough Twenty20 player, with the leadership passing to Paul Collingwood.
"I don't think it (Strauss's authority) will be diluted at all," Flower said.
"I still think ideally you would want one captain for all forms but that wasn't to be. We've just got to make the best of that situation."

World weary India poised for title defence

Tired limbs, jaded minds and a tricky draw have toughened India's path as Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men defend their World Twenty20 title in England next month.
The June 5-21 tournament is the latest event for Team India in a non-stop roadshow that began with a full tour of New Zealand in February-April before a five-week sojourn in South Africa for the Indian Premier League.
Dhoni's team returned home for just three days after the IPL before setting off again for England to defend the title they won in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.
Coach Gary Kirsten admitted the heavy workload was a cause for worry, but the former South African opener was confident his wards will rise to the challenge in England.
"The Indian players have been on the road for a long time and the biggest challenge will be mental fatigue," Kirsten said recently.
"But they have enormous pride when representing India and have become a tight unit over the past few months. I am sure they will look forward to reuniting and playing for their country."
The gruelling schedule has already seen aggressive opener Virender Sehwag miss some IPL matches due to a finger injury, while pace spearhead Zaheer Khan is recovering from a sore shoulder.
Skipper Dhoni has been nursing a back strain as a result of being one of the world's busiest cricketers, who keeps wicket, bats and leads his team in all forms of the game.
"I am not worried at all," said Dhoni. "One gets used to the modern day schedule and I am sure we will all be raring to go once the tournament starts."
The road to the semi-finals is no joy ride for the defending champions even though they are drawn with lowly Bangladesh and Ireland in the preliminary round.
Three of the toughest rivals in the 12-nation tournament -- Australia, South Africa and hosts England -- await them in the Super Eights round where the real battle for semi-final places begins.
India had beaten all three in the space of four magical nights in Durban in 2007 to advance to the final against Pakistan, but few are willing to take an encore for granted.
"You can't afford to look too far ahead, there is the first round against Bangladesh and Ireland to get through," said the Indian captain. "We all know what can happen."
During the 50-overs-a-side World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007, India were sensationally knocked out by Bangladesh in the preliminary stage, while Ireland delivered Pakistan a killer blow at the same stage.
"When you are defending champions there will always be added pressure," said Kirsten.
"That goes with the territory of high-performing teams. This team has played in many pressure situations and has shown what they are capable of.
"There is certainly no danger of complacency within the Indian team. We pride ourselves in taking each game as it comes and giving 100 percent on a daily basis."
India have a good Twenty20 record, with eight wins in 13 matches so far.
But since beating Pakistan in the 2007 final in Johannesburg, the Indians have lost three of their five matches, including both games on the recent tour of New Zealand.

Younus hopes Pakistan go one better in World T20

Pakistan captain Younus Khan is confident his team can go one better in the World Twenty20 after finishing runners-up last time to bitter rivals India.
Two years ago, Pakistan lost a nailbiting final against India by five runs in Johannesburg, a loss that Younus insists his team is eager to put behind them.
"We want to win the title," said Younus. "We have the talent, but it's a tough competition where other eleven teams will do their best to finish at the top."
Pakistan are in Group B, along with hosts England and the Netherlands, in first round of the competition which runs from June 5-21.
They take on England June 7 before facing the Netherlands two days later.
The second round Super Eight stages should give Pakistan an easy draw with likely rivals being New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
But Younus is not taking any team lightly.
"We need to be at our best even against the Netherlands because no team is small or big," said Younus who was referring to Pakistan's defeat to Ireland at the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean which sent them packing from the tournament.
That defeat was the start of a dark chapter in Pakistan's cricket history.
Coach Bob Woolmer died at the tournament while captain Inzamam-ul-Haq retired.
Shoaib Malik, who was handed the captaincy after Younus refused to lead the team, restored some normalcy by taking Pakistan to the runners-up spot at the inaugural World Twenty20.
Malik then lost the captaincy after Pakistan's one-day defeat against Sri Lanka earlier this year. That led to Younus taking over the hot seat.
Under Younus, Pakistan lost 3-2 to Australia in a recent one-day series in the United Arab Emirates, but won the one-off Twenty20 match.
Younus said Pakistan's preparations have been satisfactory.
"We beat Australia in the Twenty20 match which was a good morale booster and then had a good conditioning camp and some practice matches which tuned us well for England," said Younus, whose team has the best win ratio in all Twenty20.
Pakistan have won eight of their 11 internationals with two defeats and one tied match.
Pakistan will heavily rely on paceman Umar Gul who has taken the most wickets (24 in 14 matches) in this newest form of the game and with injury-prone Shoaib Akhtar pulled out of the team, his responsibility has increased.
Rao Iftikhar, who replaced Akhtar in the squad, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat and rookie paceman Mohammad Aamir complete the fast bowling line-up.
The 17-year-old Aamir is tipped to surprise with his speed and swing in English conditions.
Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Shoaib Malik lead the the spin department which has the ability to stop runs and take wickets.
Off-spinner Ajmal received a boost ahead of the event when his action was cleared by the International Cricket Council.
Younus hoped his own batting form improves to help lift an otherwise inconsistent line-up which also has opener Salman Butt, Misbah-ul-Haq, Malik Afridi and in-form Kamran Akmal..

Under-performing Bangladesh seek T20 redemption

Given Bangladesh's track record, few rivals will lose sleep over Mohammad Ashraful's men during the World Twenty20 tournament.
The Tigers have lost their last six T20 internationals, 13 of their last 14 Tests and 13 of their last 15 one-day matches, a record that will make even their most ardent supporters squirm.
But write-off Bangladesh at your own peril, as title hopefuls India famously discovered at the 50-overs-a-side World Cup in 2007 when they were knocked out in the first round.
Later the same year, the West Indies suffered the same fate when they lost to Bangladesh in the inaugural T20 Worlds in South Africa and failed to make the second round.
Those two wins in an otherwise dismal international record propelled Bangladesh to centre-stage and sparked a joyous frenzy in the cricket-crazy South Asian nation.
But success continues to elude Bangladesh and it will need a remarkable turn in fortunes for Ashraful's men to excel in the showpiece event of cricket's shortest format.
Bangladesh need to beat either defending champions India or Ireland in the preliminary round to make the Super Eights stage for the second successive time.
"We have a good team suited for Twenty20 cricket, so I am confident we can deliver if we play to out potential," Ashraful said. "We are not scared of taking on the best."
Bangladesh's chief selector Rafiqul Alam said his team's initial target was to repeat the 2007 feat and qualify for the Super Eights.
"I have a lot of confidence in this team which is a nice blend of youth and experience," he said. "The best thing is that the boys have played together for a long time at different levels and know their strengths.
"I am very hopeful that Bangladesh will play some quality cricket in England."
Desperate to see favourable results, Alam and his co-selectors have not hesitated to gamble with raw, young talent for the T20 Worlds.
Among the new faces are two hard-hitting batsmen in Shamsur Rahman, 20, and reserve wicketkeeper Mithun Ali, 19. Ali was picked in the 15-man squad despite the presence of frontline 'keeper Mushfiqur Rahim.
Bangladesh's fortunes will, however, still revolve around their experienced trio of skipper Ashraful, pace spearhead Mashrafe Mortaza and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.
The Tigers will be based in Nottingham where they play India on June 6 and then clash with Ireland on June 8.