da gbg bet： Australia begin their quest for another trophy against Zimbabwe in Cape Town
The Preview by Andrew McGlashan11-Sep-2007
Adam Gilchirst will be looking forward to some big-hitting during the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa © AFP
Don’t expect the opening match of Group B to be a cliff-hanger. Forall the talk of Twenty20 bringing teams closer together, you’d have tooperate in minus numbers to bridge the gap between the top and bottomsides in the game. Though Australia have been out of action sincethe World Cup and Zimbabwe have recently faced South Africa, thiswon’t be the match to spring one of the upsets that would throw thetournament open. If anything, it’s the perfect start for Australia,who were given a wake-up call by South Africa in their second warm-upmatch; a chance to find their groove before the tougher challenges arrive.Bat play: Australia’s problem, and it’s a nice one to have, is where to bat allthe fierce strikers to make the most of their power. Logic wouldsuggest that Andrew Symonds, who cracked 70 off 43 balls against NewZealand in a warm-up match, is given as many overs as possible.But Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden form one of the most successfulopening pairs in 50-over cricket, while Brad Hodge is the leading run-scorer worldwide in Twenty20. And now Ricky Ponting has arrived it’s areal squeeze at the top.Zimbabwe’s situation is more a case of who be able topull off a miracle. Tatenda Taibu’s return at least offers someone ofinternational class but he has never really been a batsman to tearattacks apart, and it could be worth asking him to open in an attemptto provide some sort of anchor. Elton Chigumbura has the power toclear the boundaries and can play a floating role depending on thegame situation.Wrecking ball: Australia only know one way to play: attack. Wickets are vital even in 20-over cricket and they will search for them with a strong pace attack. Ben Hilfenhaus, the Tasmanian quick bowler called up to replace Shaun Tait, has impressed during Australia’s warm-up matches especially with his 3 for 11 against New Zealand. Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken appear set to take the new ball, so Hilfenhaus could again force Stuart Clark – who played just one match at the World Cup – to the sidelines.There are no such luxuries for Zimbabwe, who will have to hope that a lack of pace is enough to rein in the explosive Australian batting. Gary Brent takes a senior role with his medium-pace but spin will form a large number of overs. The captain, Prosper Utseya, and left-arm spinner Shaun Williams have shown themselves to be capable performers.Keep your eyes on: A strong wind has picked up in Cape Town so if any of the Australians are hitting with the breeze there could be some huge sixes. Symonds might fancy having a dart for the train tracks.Shop talk: Shane Watson is Australia’s biggest concern as he is still feeling theeffects of the hamstring strain that forced him to delay his arrivalin South Africa. If there is any doubt he won’t be risked as hisattempts at another international comeback are stalled. Worries overMatthew Hayden, who suffered back spasms earlier in the week, arefading after he spent two hours against a bowling machine in an indoornets session with Ponting, who is still trying to get over his jet-lagafter arriving in the country yesterday.Zimbabwe trained enthusiastically at Newlands, but they really arelike lambs to the slaughter. Barring any last-minute slips they canselect from a full squad, but then the pain really could start.Pitching it right: It’s early spring in the Cape and the ground staff have had arace against time get the pitch ready after a record-breaking wetwinter. The surface has come together but it is expected to be fairlyslow, which can make scoring hard work. A cold front is also movingacross the region and, with the match being an evening encounter, thecrowd is going to need to wrap up warm or hope for plenty ofboundaries to dance around to.
da esport bet： Teams
Australia (likely): Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist (wk), RickyPonting, Andrew Symonds, Mike Hussey, Michael Clarke, Brad Hogg, BrettLee, Nathan Bracken, Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell JohnsonZimbabwe (from): Prosper Utseya (capt), Gary Brent, ChamunorwaChibhabha, Elton Chigumbura, Keith Dabengwa, Tymsen Maruma, HamiltonMasakadza, Stuart Matsikinyeri, Johnson Marumisa, Christopher Mpofu,Tawanda Mupariwa, Vusimusi Sibanda, Tatenda Taibu, Brendon Taylor,Shaun Williams.