Tony Becca

THE ICC World Twenty20 championship is over.

Based on the crowds, the sight of the people singing, dancing, waving flags and sipping beer, it was, unlike the recent World Cup and definitely so because the restrictions as to what the people, the fans, could do and carry into the stadiums were lifted, an enjoyable affair from start to finish.

The pity of it all was that despite Chris Gayle's magnificent innings of 117 off 57 deliveries, the West Indies were not there to enjoy it - to run around the Wanderers carrying their flag at the end with their fans either running with them with their flags or standing in the stands singing, and dancing and happily waving their flags, and huge ones at that.

But for Gayle's brilliance, the West Indies were disappointing and were beaten by South Africa and then by Bangladesh.

No forgiveness

To lose to Bangladesh even in a Twenty20 encounter should not be forgiven. To lose to South Africa after Gayle's blitz and after scoring 205 was embarrassing. Especially so with South Africa winning, not so much with eight wickets to spare, but also with 2.2 overs or 14 deliveries to spare.

In other words, while other teams were fighting to win chasing targets of about 150, South Africa knocked up 208 runs in 17.4 overs.

Add to that the fact that Bangladesh, lowly Bangladesh, chasing a target of 165, eased to victory with six wickets and two overs to spare, and it shows without a doubt that as feeble as it may be, the West Indies batting was not the problem.

The West Indies problems were bowling and fielding an the selectors could have done nothing about the fielding, they could have done something about the bowling. In fact, when they look at many of the matches, when they look at the statistics, they must be, or should be, kicking themselves for once again not selecting a specialist spin bowler in the squad.

Although the fielding and the catching were so pathetic that it must have been the worst of all the teams in the tournament a catch or two may have turned the tide, and especially so against South Africa, a genuine spin bowler, a slow bowler, may have picked one or two wickets. A wicket or two that, like so many occasions during the tournament when spin bowlers on the other teams, at whatever the cost, chipped in with a wicket or two, could have handed them victory.

It is interesting to note that leg-spinner Shahid Afridi of Pakistan finished with 12 wickets - one behind the leader Umar Gul of Pakistan, and that left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori of New Zealand finished with only one wicket less than Afridi.

It is also interesting to note that Afridi, with four for 19 against Scotland, Vettori, with four for 20 against India, and left-arm spin bowler Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh, with four for 34 against the West Indies, were numbered among the few who took four wickets in an innings during the tournament.

It is also interesting to note that Vettori, at 11.63, finished the tournament with the best bowling average, and that the same Vettori, at 5.33, ended with the best economy rate of all the bowlers on show.

The West Indies may not have won even if they had three specialist spin bowlers in their team. It is also interesting, however, to note that of the four teams in the semi-finals, India and Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand, only Australia, who, like New Zealand, never made it to the final, were without a specialist spin bowler.