Group C - Australia, Sri Lanka, West Indies

[scorpiogal]

Aus to top this group. Windies to sh*t on their tails unless Gayle shows why he loves t/20 so much.

[scorpiogal]

Oh Holy Mary Mother of God! Thank goodness Aus v WI is on a Saturday!

[andruid]

Is that from Micheal Clarke leaving an arm ball?


If the Windies are ars**** enough to make an effort this group could really get interesting

[aussie]

What really should be Australia starting XI?. Still a big mystery i guess.

Presuming Watson can bowl, im leaning towards this XI:

Haddin
Watson
Ponting
Symonds
M Hussey
Clarke
D Hussey
Hopes
Johnson
Lee
Siddle

- Would pick Siddle over Bracken unfortunately because i reckon having 3, 145K bowlers will be a massive plus againts batting line-ups like India & SA - if Australia get far in the tournament.

- Not fully behind starting Warner, he is too hit & miss for me - more so the latter.

- Hopes could open if they want to save Haddin for the death & he can give useful overs, although batsmen will obviously want to target him. Plus

- Clark... well just stick him @ 6.

- No need for Hauritz, Hussey, Symonds & Clarke to sweak it.

[Noble One]

The opening batsmen combination will prove the most crucial decision for Australian selectors. Vital they get it right, as the IPL and previous international games have shown that a decent opening combination is the difference between a 120 score and a 160+ score. Very difficult for teams to make a comeback from 2/20 after 4.

Any bat out of Haddin, Clarke, Hopes, Watson and Warner may be used for the position.

Watson is the most suited to open. Most likely to score a 50+ score at better than a run a ball. More adaptable than all the other candidates, is actually capable of mixing defence with ability to hit over the top.

Warner is the gamble. If he comes off, 180+ is possible. Has actually shown remarkable consistency over T20 games with Australia, NSW and in the IPL. Not always scoring a big innings, but providing a quick start.

Haddin, Clarke and Hopes all suffer from similar issues. Each batsmen can get tied down at one end early on. They all find it a struggle to pierce the in-field early, totally reliant on a big shot to get out of trouble. Which is not the natural game of any of the three batsmen. I would back Haddin and Hopes over Clarke to actually compile a decent innings.

My preferred combination is:
Watson and Warner

But depending on team selection, the combination may prove anything.

[rivera213]

I feel a bit sorry for the West Indies.

They're crap but are better than Bangladesh and should've been given their spot in India's group imo.

[cricket_village]

I think a very competitive group with lost of excitement. I will go for Sri Lanka and West Indies. Since Australians are not focussing on twenty20 world cup, their main aim is to retain Ashes. So i will go with Sri Lanka and West Indies to qualify for the Super Eight Stage.

[cricman]

They're crap but are better than Bangladesh and should've been given their spot in India's group imo.

Than they should have beaten Bangladesh in the Last World T20's.

[Beamer]

Exactly, our shocking performance in the last 20/20 World Cup is the reason we are in this group.

Our decent 20-20 performances since that event have been completely ignored even though we have won matches against England, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

I'm not convinced that is the right system because it basically means 20/20 internationals outside of this event are exhibition matches only.

[rivera213]

Than they should have beaten Bangladesh in the Last World T20's.

That's only 1 game though.

You can't decide how good a team someone is on 1 game.

If Everton were to beat Chelsea in the FA Cup final- would they be a better team, or just better on that day?

Bangladesh are just a hopeless team and India have been dealt an easy group.

Our decent 20-20 performances since that event have been completely ignored even though we have won matches against England, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

I'm not convinced that is the right system because it basically means 20/20 internationals outside of this event are exhibition matches only.

Exactly, world ranking doesn't work on just 1 event so why do the group seeds?

Strange.

[TT Boy]

Than they should have beaten Bangladesh in the Last World T20's.

Indeed. You can't feel sorry for the Windies. It is their fault they are in this group; they should have won a game in the last WC. Had a great chance as well, they did score over 200 against South Africa and still couldn’t defend it.

[TT Boy]

That's only 1 game though.

You can't decide how good a team someone is on 1 game.

It was two games. They lost to both South Africa and Bangladesh.

[rivera213]

It was two games. They lost to both South Africa and Bangladesh.

You know what I meant- and losing to South Africa hardly means you're a poor team.

[Beamer]

And since then we have been pretty damn good at 20-20. Certainly far better than England, Bangladesh etc, and probably on a par with NZ.

[oitoitoi]

Does just one team from each group go forward? Or is there a second round of 8 teams? Can't remember. If it's 2 I'd pick Aus and SL, but Windies could easily upset either side. Seems silly to have such a strong group when you have India, Bangladesh & Ireland in another.