Tuesday 6th October 2009
Victoria better than Team Australia?
The Victoria Bushrangers' claim they are a better T20 team than the national side. SportsCenter's Achint Gupta examines further.
After their successful defence of the ICC Champions Trophy on Monday, there is no doubt that the Australians are the best one-day team in the world.
However, one form of the game where they are yet to conquer the world is Twenty20 cricket, especially after their first round exit from the ICCWorld Twenty20 in England this year. Runners up of the domestic T20 Big Bash, the Bushrangers believe they are the team to beat.
Australia’s woeful run in Twenty20 cricket has continued after they lost to Team India in 2007 ICC World T20 semi-finals.
The Gayle storm hit them this year and they have failed to impress in the bi-lateral Twenty20's as well. With five loses in their last seven T20 internationals, experts like Sanjay Manjrekar questioned Australia’s seriousness towards T20. But at the same time Australia’s domestic teams have become stronger by the day, So much so that they believe that they are better than Australian team in T20s. On what accounts? Coach Greg Shippherd has the answers
"Australia didn’t take T20 seriously whereas the domestic teams have done very well. You think VB should be sent to World Cup? If that happens hat would be great. We are a great team.
No, Cricket Australia are not thinking of sending Victoria or any other team to the next edition of the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies but if the number of sixes is any yardstick to judge a better team in T20, Victoria has simply stunned the national squad.
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The likes of Robert Quiney, Cameron white and David Hussey have hit 35 sixes in seven matches of the Big Bash in 2008 where they won five matches, whereas Australia struck 30 maximums. That is not very good, considering that the national squad is supposed to be better that domestic teams.
"We are a brilliant side and I think in coming years you will see a lot of Victoria players in the Australia T20 squad," leg-spinner Bryce McGain said.
Victoria and New South Wales are in India for the Airtel Champions League Twenty20 and if one of them manages to win the tournament, the selectors might need to flood the side with players from both those squads.
For a team which is based at the massive Melbourne Cricket Ground, the number of sixes that they have hit in the Big Bash is quite phenomenal. Clearly, Vicotira Bushrangers' claim that they are better than Team Australia in T20 has some meat in it.
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