Twenty20 cricket

I enjoy a test match as much as the next man but I cant pretend to get as much excitement from cricket as I do Football. But all that could be about to change as I have been watching the excellent Twenty20 Cricket World cup. rather than an 8 hour session as in one day cricket or the marathon 5 days of test cricket Twenty20 is a short sharp burst of cricketing skills lasting about two and a half hours. No time for batsman to feel out bowlers its a mad dash for the winning total. Last nights New Zealand South Africa game went to the last ball with the Kiwi's needing a four of the last ball to win. You cant get much closer than that. As a neutral watching it was top class stuff. The England Pakistan game Last Sunday was even more exciting. This time as a England fan I didn't have the luxury of being neutral. Throw in the added pressure of a loss for England which would have resulted in them missing out on the rest of the tournament and you get an idea of the tension involved. That made it nailbiting stuff. In the event it was a famous victory over Pakistan. Who themselves made it to the next round yesterday with a win over the Netherlands. Nerves let the dutch down after finding themselves needing only 151 runs to cause an upset. I would love for England to win it outright and they have as much chance as any other team. But if I was putting my money down I would back South Africa at 5/2 they are good value. For a small country they consistently produce sportsmen and women capable of challenging at the top level in any sport they participate in. The tournament is at the super 8's stage which is the quarter finals to you and me so if you haven't watched any yet start watching I promise you wont be disappointed.