ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2009Today’s hot tickets are for the ICC World Twenty20 which takes place in England between 5 and 21 June, 2009. The tournament has a big act to follow, as the first World T20 held in South Africa in 2007 was such a massive success. India become champions after a dramatic last over win against Pakistan, and the tournament also drew some of the biggest audiences ever outside a football World Cup or Olympic Games. The most memorable matches were Zimbabwe’s shock defeat of Australia at Cape Town, Bangladesh’s amazing win over the West Indies, and the group stage tie between India and Pakistan that was decided by a bowl out. Then, there was Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes from one Stuart Broad over, and Chris Gayle’s stunning 117 off 57 balls. The 2009 event has a lot to live up to, but the omens are good. In particular, the lead organiser is Steve Elworthy who organised the original event with such success, and plans to build on this with the 2009 competition. 
This tournament will be even more innovative than the original. For the first time in any world cricket event, the event will feature both men’s and women’s competitions. And, learning from the South African experience, the majority of match days will include two, and not three games. This is because the 10am “third game” in South Africa couldn’t be attended by children at school and people at work.Another innovation is that tied games won’t be decided by a bowl out, but will employ the “super over”. Each team nominates three batsmen and one bowler, who then play against each other in a mini-match of one over per innings, and the winner takes all. But, just to show that international T20 isn’t all about grabbing multi-million dollar media deals and corporate kit sponsorships, the England team will wear the ‘Cricket Against Hunger’ logo on the men’s team kit. The men’s competition runs from 5 to 21 June, and includes all nine test playing nations as well as recent qualifiers Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands. The matches will be played at Lords, The Oval and Trent Bridge. The initial stage will have four groups of 3 teams, with the top two in each group qualifying for the “super eight”, then the top four for the semi finals. The women’s competition runs from 11 to 21 June, and includes the eight women’s test playing nations. There will be two groups of four teams, and all the group matches will be played at Taunton. The two competitions will be brought together, when the semi finals days at Trent Bridge and The Oval, and the finals day at Lords will stage the women’s match followed by the men’s game. So, who will win? The bookies favourites are India to retain their champions crown in the men’s game, and for England, the women’s ODI world champions, to take the ladies competition. This could be the second part of an amazing treble for Charlotte Edwards’ team, with the Ashes to follow later this year, but as the 2007 tournament showed, nothing is certain in Twenty20. There will be worldwide TV coverage of the event via Sky Sports, ATN – Bell TV, DirectTV and Willow TV online, and ESPN Star and partners. But, there’s really no substitute for being there to soak up the Twenty20 atmosphere. At the time of writing, around 15% of tickets are still available for prices between £20 and £90. The tactics of Twenty20 cricket have been the subject of much debate, but my favourite story is quoted from England’s Paul Collingwood. On asking his IPL team mate Virender Sehwag his view on IPL tactics and perhaps expecting a profound response, the reply was that the secret of Twenty20 cricket is very simple: “watch ball, hit ball”. You know it makes sense! The 2009 Twenty20 cup could possibly have two more surprises in store. Will we see “disco cricket” at Lords – or would this be a step too far? And, will the tournament even upstage the upcoming Ashes series? Watch this space…
Return from Twenty20 World Cup 2009 to Twenty20 Cricket
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This refreshing initiative is a partnership between the England team and the World Food Programme, which aims to raise awareness about global hunger by using the high profile of international cricket. Soccer fans may spot the ethical similarity with Barcelona FC, who promote UNICEF by shirt advertising at no cost to the charity.
