Twenty20 World Cup / Ryan ten doeschate / 14 June 2009 / Leave a comment

South Africa are looking ominous but there are plenty of dark horses still in the running, says the Holland and Essex all-rounder.

We are into the meat of the T20 World Cup. All the matches now are crucial to qualification for the semi-finals and the last couple of days have thrown up some fantastic cricket.

India's loss on Friday came as surprise to many, but I reckon that's their one blip for the tournament and now it's out of the way.

Even though they lost yesterday, the West Indies have been very impressive and it's good to see them fairing well when Chris Gayle doesn't perform. Lendl Simmons was magnificent but South Africa always looked in control, with Wayne Parnell delivering another outstanding performance.

Pakistan now look near-certainties for a semi-final spot. Ireland famously upset them in 2007 but even with the unpredictable nature of their recent performances I think Pakistan will make sure they get the job done on Monday.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's injuries have got the better of them which is a real shame as, for me, they looked to be proper challengers.

England have it all to do as they need wins against India today and West Indies on Monday. It's vital that England's top four batsmen fire and I'm expecting something from Rav (Bopara) today. He's in the form of his life and has missed out in his last two knocks so he'll be extra hungry for a score today. However, I still doubt whether England have the depth of boundary hitters that India and South Africa possess and I think this could be their downfall today.

As you would expect, six-hitters are crucial in T20. But, at the same time, innovation has taken on a new meaning in this tournament with Yuvraj's shot over mid-wicket against West Indies illustrating the class and danger he possesses.

It's clear to see that a 'good score' varies widely between Lord's, The Oval and Trent Bridge. The Oval is by far the best ground for T20, both from a pitch and atmosphere point of view. A small boundary can affect a batsman psychologically and this is more often the difference in approach than the size of the boundary itself.

Away from the World Cup the other big cricket story right now is Andrew Flintoff's comeback. His bowling performance for Lancashire against Durham is promising and I think he is essential to England's Ashes hopes. He's a massive figure in English cricket, someone I watch closely and as an inspiring all-rounder.

I have never faced a delivery from him and have only ever bowled one ball to him which knocked out his off stump. To be honest I'll probably leave there if I can, it's a case 'quit while you're ahead'.

Personally, I had a busy start to the weekend. We had a tough session at Chelmsford on Friday morning and I was particularly busy working with the Essex bowling coach on a small technical matter.

I was up early yesterday for a stint on Sky TV's Cricket AM. It was my first time in a studio environment and I really enjoyed the experience. Most of my questions revolved around the Holland-England match which I now think I have exhausted!

Kent keeper Geraint Jones and Middlesex paceman Steve Finn were the other guests and we had a chance to catch up on some county gossip over a fry-up, thereby undoing all the hard work done at Friday's training!

The Dutch boys have been doing some TV appearances themselves back home and it's wonderful to see the attention that cricket is now getting over there. On one talk show Ed (Schiferli) and our captain (Jeroen Smits) had a disagreement after Ed compared our win over England to Lichtenstein beating Brazil in football. 'Bolle' Smits took major offense to that comparison with Lichtenstein!

But then are England the Brazil of cricket anyway? At the moment it looks like South Africa could be taking that mantle this World Cup.