With happy experiences of the 2007 World Cup fresh in our minds-even if we lost at the final hurdle, few would have faulted us if we had great expectations about the Twenty-20 World Cup in South Africa.

Very recently while a revered former Sri Lanka stalwart was having a chat with me on twenty-20 cricket he mused “The hallmark of a good side is their ability to bail themselves out of tight situations”. That quip was really meant about Sri Lanka’s win against Bangladesh, but, now I feel that was a gross overstatement which may suit the marauding Pakistani outfit or the ever dependable Australian cricket machine.