Bailey going all out for victory

Australia skipper George Bailey says he plans to throw caution to the wind in the search of victory in the World Twenty20 semi-final with the West Indies on Friday (Australia 4/6, West Indies 6/5 – Match betting with bet365).

The two nations are meeting for the second time in this tournament having clashed in the group stages, the Windies putting 191 on the board before rain washed out the Aussie run chase.

Two weeks on and the expectations of both sides have changed. Australia weren’t expected to get this far given their poor record in the Twenty20 format but, along with Pakistan, have been the stand-out team in Sri Lanka so far.

In contrast, the West Indies arrived full of confidence but only just scraped through to the last four, winning one match in conventional fashion.

The Windies will hope they have saved their best performances for when it counts as they look for their first international trophy.

Chris Gayle (13/8 – Top team batsman) will be vital to the West Indies if they are to get beyond Australia, and Bailey acknowledges they will have to dismiss the big-hitting opener early if they are to reach Sunday’s final.

“Their batting is no doubt their strength,” he said. “If you can knock Gayle over early, it really does put pressure on the rest of their batsmen to step up.”

Australia have won four out of five matches so far and Bailey believes that shows they have just as much firepower as the Windies, with Shane Watson the leading run-scorer heading into the semi-finals.

The Baggy Greens skipper says he is expecting his team to match the big hitting of Gayle and co on Friday.

Speaking on how Australia will approach Friday’s match, Bailey said: “I’d rather see us throw caution to the wind. If we get knocked over, we get knocked over.”

Arthur hints at Hussey recall

Australia coach Mickey Arthur has hinted that David Hussey might be recalled to the side for Friday’s World Twenty20 semi-final against West Indies (Australia 4/6, Windies 6/5 – Match Prices with bet365).

The Aussies qualified for the last four of the Sri Lankan showpiece despite a woeful display in their defeat to Pakistan on Tuesday.

Set 150 for victory, the men from Down Under could only muster 117-7 from their 20 overs, as prolific openers Shane Watson and David Warner both failed to reach double figures for once.

Only Mike Hussey, with 54 not out, put up any real resistance and Glenn Maxwell, who was brought in to replace David Hussey, failed to shine once again and made just four.

The 23-year-old all-rounder has scored just eight runs in his two innings to date and, while admitting it would be tough to drop the youngster after a couple of bad displays, Arthur admitted that discussions would take place as to the possibility of playing two Husseys.

“Experience plays a massive part at the back end of a tournament and Dave has a little bit of experience,” he said. “So we’ll sit down and give it some real good thought over the next two days and come up with what is best.”

Skipper George Bailey, whose time in charge of the 20-over side might well end after this event, has admitted that the Aussies have had “deficiencies at times against spin”.

And, with David Hussey having plenty of experience of dealing with slower bowlers in the IPL, it might well be that he gets a recall against the Windies, with mystery spinner Sunil Narine in the opposition ranks (D Hussey 6/1 – Top Aussie Batsman with bet365).

Finn aims to dampen Gayle force

England paceman Steve Finn insists he is looking forward to his battle with West Indies’ star batsman Chris Gayle in Thursday’s World T20 Super Eight showdown (England & West Indies 10/11 Match Prices with bet365).

Stuart Broad’s men begin the second phase of the defence of their title with a clash against the highly-fancied men from the Caribbean, with games against New Zealand and Sri Lanka to follow.

The Windies have been tipped to go far in Sri Lanka with an array of big-hitting batsmen, including Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo.

But Gayle is the undoubted star and arguably the best 20-over batsman in the world on current form after resuming his international career earlier this year following a year in the wilderness.

He has the ability to take a game away from the opposition in just a few overs and the England players will want to see the back of the Jamaican as soon as possible.

And Finn is aware that, if he can get among the Windies’ top-order stars early in the piece, then it will give the reigning champions every chance of landing the spoils (Finn 3/1 Top England Bowler v Windies with bet365).

“It will be a challenge bowling at one of the best Twenty20 batsmen in the world but it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to,” he said.

“It’s going to be up to me to set the tone against Gayle. My job with the new ball is to put the opposition under pressure by taking early wickets because that stalls any momentum.”

Kiwis won’t get in a spin

New Zealand skipper Ross Taylor is confident that his batsmen will be able to deal with the threat of Pakistan’s spinners in Sunday’s World Twenty20 contest (New Zealand 13/10, Pakistan 8/13 Match Prices with bet365).

The Kiwis kicked off their campaign with a crushing victory over Bangladesh, with star batsman Brendon McCullum hitting an amazing 123.

The Asians got nowhere near their target and the Black Caps are in an excellent position to make the Super Eights even if they lose this weekend (New Zealand 3/1 Semi-Final Stage of Elimination with bet365).

And they are certain to find the 2009 winners a much tougher nut to crack as Mohammad Hafeez appears to have a side tailor-made for the shortest version of the game.

While they possess a number of decent strikers of the ball, it is in the bowling department that Pakistan excel with the likes of Umar Gul and spinners Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi and Hafeez himself.

All three are masters of bowling in sub-continental conditions and have the ability to take clusters of wickets, while rarely being hammered around the park.

But New Zealand have shown that they are no mugs in the 20-over format and it has all the makings of a classic encounter in Pallekele.

Taylor is aware of the class of the opposition spinners on Sunday but feels the fact that they have already had a run-out in the competition should stand his charges in good stead.

“Hafeez and Ajmal have got very good records in the last 12-18 months,” he said. “We have had an insight into the wicket and the confidence from the way we played on Friday, we’ll hopefully take that also.

“We have prepared really well and I am sure we’ll do the same against Pakistan.”

Wright buoyed by England start

England batsman Luke Wright (2/5 World Cup top England batsman – bet365) believes there is still plenty more to come from his side after they made a strong start to their Twenty20 World Cup title defence.

The Sussex all-rounder was instrumental in helping the defending champions avoid a potential banana skin in their opening game of tournament in Sri Lanka, with an unbeaten 99 from just 55 balls helping England to a victory over Afghanistan.

Wright and England are next in action on Sunday when they take on one of the tournament favourites India, in what will be a much stiffer test than the one posed by Afghanistan on Friday (England 11/10, India 8/11 Match Betting – bet365).

Having shone in his side’s opening game, Wright was delighted with the victory and has insisted there is plenty more to come from England.

He said: “I think with a performance like that it shows we are a dangerous side.

“Naturally, the sub-continent sides are always going to be favourites in these conditions.

“But we’ve worked very hard on facing spinners, and we’re quietly confident in the changing room.”

With Afghanistan losing their two group games, England go into their match with India knowing they are through to the Super Eight stage of the World Cup.

Ireland coach out to shock Aussies

Ireland bowling coach Craig McDermott says his side are not in the World Twenty20 to make up the numbers and he has targeted a shock win over his native Australia in Wednesday’s opening Group B clash (Australia 1/12, Ireland 7/1 – Match prices with bet365).

The Irish are rank outsiders for glory in Sri Lanka but are no mugs in the shortest form of the game, holding their own in the 2009 and 2010 tournaments, while they also famously beat England in the World Cup in 2011 – albeit that victory coming in the 50-over format.

There is quite a bit of talent in the squad with Ed Joyce, William Porterfield and Boyd Rankin among the best known and with the most experience of playing at County Championship level.

Australia, who are just one place above Wednesday’s opponents in the Twenty20 world rankings and on offer with bet365 at 13/2 to win the tournament outright, are sure not to underestimate Ireland but it would still be a major surprise if the more established cricket nation does not come out on top.

However, McDermott has described Ireland’s chances of winning as “very good” and insisted they are focused on getting off to a good start in the tournament (Ireland – 200/1 World Twenty20 Outright).

“We’re here to win. Australia will be nervous,” said McDermott in Colombo. “Everybody will expect them to win so it’s going to put them under the pump.”

KP suffers Test snub

While the England (15/2 World Cup 2012 outright with bet365) Twenty20 squad prepare for their World Cup campaign, Kevin Pietersen has been left out of the Test side who will travel to India for a four-Test series in November.

The squad, which was announced on Tuesday, was missing Pietersen, who has not played since the Headingley Test against South Africa last month due to the text debacle which has put the batsman’s future with the national side in the balance.

Somerset’s Nick Compton has been called up to add his talents to the England (8/13 Ashes 2013 outright with bet365) batting line-up in the absence of Pietersen for the tough trip to the subcontinent following the recent series defeat, which saw the Test side lose their place at the top of the world rankings to the Proteas.

National Selector Geoff Miller has been impressed with Compton’s performances at county level this season and believes the 29-year-old will be able to make the step up to Test level.

He said: “Nick Compton has performed well consistently for Somerset in County cricket this season, made big hundreds and shown that he has the temperament and the technique to play at a higher level.”

Meanwhile, Yorkshire’s Joe Root is the other uncapped batsman who has been called up to the side after a strong season with his county, who won promotion back to Division One this summer.

De Villiers keen to shake tag

AB de Villiers says South Africa (5/1 to win tournament outright with bet365) are determined to lose their reputation as chokers and win their first major title at the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka.

The Proteas have suffered a number of dramatic collapses in tournaments since their return from isolation in 1991. In all forms of one-day cricket, they have fallen at the semi-final stage seven times, though they did win the Champions Trophy in 1998.

De Villiers (25/1 top batsman with bet365) admitted the pressure has got to South Africa in the past but insisted his current squad can cope with the weight of expectation.

“I am going to be very honest with you, and I am going to put it up straight up front – we have choked in the past and we know about it. We have had some really bad experiences in the past. But I emphasise the word ‘past’,” said the South Africa skipper.

“So we will approach this tournament differently and we like to win in pressure situations and we are going to do exactly that. We are prepared and excited to take the field.”

South Africa will be keen to get off to a flying start when they take on Zimbabwe in their opening game of the tournament on Thursday.

A defeat would increase the pressure significantly with hosts Sri Lanka awaiting in the final group match two days later.

Broad upbeat for T20 defence

England’s victory in the third Twenty20 with South Africa left captain Stuart Broad buzzing as they prepare for their defence of the ICC World Twenty20 title (England 7/1 T20 World Cup Outright with bet365).

There has been a great deal of doom and gloom around the England cricket team in the second half of the summer as they surrendered top spot in the Test rankings with defeat to the Proteas, while only managing a 2-2 draw in the one-day internationals.

And the performance of the side in the first 20-over defeat in Durham left a lot to be desired.

But, with the game reduced to just 11 overs per side due to rain at Edgbaston, the hosts pulled off a 28-run victory, thanks to 50 from Craig Kieswetter and an unbelievable unbeaten 10-ball knock of 32 by Jos Buttler (Buttler 10/1 Top Eng Tournament Batsman with bet365).

The Birmingham triumph meant that the series ended all square after Monday’s match was abandoned, and the two teams will now head out to Sri Lanka for the 20-over showpiece.

England have not been tipped to pull up any trees on the Asian island this time around, but Broad refuses to be too downbeat and believes the midweek success will have given every member of the squad a shot in the arm.

“Tonight was awesome to see and a great confidence boost for the squad going to Sri Lanka tomorrow,” he said. “To get on that flight with a win under our belt is brilliant.”

The upcoming event has been billed as one of the most open tournaments in years, and Broad agrees that any of the top teams could walk off with the trophy on October 7.

“It’s hard to pick a winner, there’s five or six, he added. “South Africa are a good team as we know from playing them, West Indies have players with experience in IPL cricket, then there’s India and Sri Lanka.

Swann issues hopefuls warning

Graeme Swann feels some of the England (9/2 Twenty20 World Cup 2012 Outright with bet365) hopefuls “didn’t respond well” to pressure in the T20 defeat to West Indies and that “quite a few negatives” need to be ironed out.

The stand-in skipper saw his side collapse to a shock defeat to the Windies in the second of two 20-over slogs, going down by 25 runs at the Oval.

It was a much-changed England team that took to the field, with only Swann, Tim Bresnan and Ravi Bopara offering real international experience to the fold.

But Swann felt the young team still had enough domestic T20 action under their belt to perform better and was keen to offer a warning to those looking to break into the limited-overs set-up.

The spinner said: “It’s a harsh environment in international cricket and you find out a few things about people when they are under the pump. Here, one or two guys didn’t respond that well.

“I’d love to find an excuse for them and say they’re inexperienced but they’re not inexperienced in Twenty20 cricket. I’m blaming the 11 players with the bat because we were pretty appalling.”

England’s next challenge will be a limited-overs series in India (Outright ODI Series – India 8/13, England 13/10), which features five ODI’s and one T20 clash – with the first one-dayer on October 14.