WORLD TWENTY20, Johannesburg:
South Africa 208-2 (17.4 overs) v West Indies 205-6

By Jonathan Stevenson

606: DEBATE Your thoughts on the action

e-mail tms@bbc.co.uk (with 'For Stevo' in the subject) or use 606 or text 81111

18th over SA 208-2 SOUTH AFRICA WIN BY EIGHT WICKETS: Gibbs wants to finish this quickly and he plunders Bravo down the ground for six first up. Second ball he chips over mid-off for a couple-of-bounces four. A devastating end to the game. Gibbs wins it by thwacking Bravo down the ground for another brutish four. Crickey o'blimey, what a start to the tournament that was. I'll leave you with one final tour story. Cheers guys...

"On a military 'tour' of the Falklands we had a quick 40 overs next to a minefield. The odd exploding sheep livens up the dreary middle overs."
Neil, Canada

"I just noticed, you're the first TMS person I've seen to use a nickname for the subject line bit. I found this quite interesting - do the rest of the TMS guys have to follow your lead now?"
Chloe, St Helens

You know what, Chloe? This is Twenty20. The rules are, there are no rules.

17th over SA 192-2: Kemp clips off his hips and into the leg side for four and this is a romp, now. Edwards loses his rhythm and bowls two wides - 27 extras and counting - and the 100 partnership is up, off just 50 balls. The crowd are in terrific voice and no surprise - their boys need only 13 more from 18 balls.

"Nemo from Strasbourg - speak for yourself, matey. Our office administrator just walked by and commented on what a nice, tidy office I have. Could she be any more blatantly suggestive?"
Trevor, Calgary

16th over SA 180-2: Power is the name of this game, Gibbs boffing Samuels past long-off for four before slogging away into the leg side for four more.

"This is spooky! Thank you for posting the picture of Sarah, would like to do my matchmaking bit and invite Sarah and Nigel to the Brewery Tavern. Nigel has picked the pub I manage!"
Graham

15th over SA 169-2: Gibbs is seeing it like a football, whatever his injury, and he steps across his stumps to clip Rampaul for four before carving him away for four more through gully. Kemp wants a bit of that and batters Rampaul way over long-on for six before ploughing a massive maximum over mid-wicket. Brutal over from the South Africans.

14th over SA 148-2: Kemp clips Samuels off his pads for a beautiful four, before playing a sweet late-cut to earn another boundary. This one's going the South Africans way, by my calculations.

Sarah, and a couple of others do I look like Deco? Good question. But I'm gonna have to pass on the answer. Honestly, I don't want to upset anyone. Including myself.

13th over SA 137-2: The extras are now 23, the highest ever in a Twenty20 international. Gibbs reaches fifty by crunching Smith into cow corner for four, top effort from Hersch. Samuels then drops an absolute sitter off Kemp, the ball going about three miles up but going straight through his hands. His punishment is to bowl the next over.

"I live in Canterbury, I am a bloke. My name is Nigel. I can confirm that that picture looks nothing like me. Can you ask Sarah if she will be in the Brewery Tavern on Saturday Night?"
Er, Nigel from Canterbury.

"Stevo - We're lifelong cricket fans sat in front of computers watching a text commentary, how much female action do you think any of us have EVER had?"
Nemo, Strasbourg

12th over SA 120-2: Kemp chops one behind the stumps for four off Bravo before Chanderpaul drops Gibbs on the mid-wicket fence - a difficult chance, but one Shiv would perhaps have expected to take with his high standards.

11th over SA 108-2: Three dot balls to start the over from Edwards, steaming in and on the spot. After two singles, Fido ends with an unplayable bouncer - cracking over from the paceman.

10th over SA 106-2: Gibbs has a runner now, no idea what his injury is though. He swings Bravo for four before Justin Kemp gets an inside edge which also flies away to the boundary. Halfway and the hosts are looking good.

"When on tour in Brighton, one of our players was heard in the middle of the night saying "that's out". A few got up to find our roomate at the top of the stairs, with a "Bucknoresque" finger in the air. What makes the story? He was naked."
Nameless, USA

OK, so I only put that one in to dampen down the Sarah, Canterbury chat. Just calm down guys, OK. Jeez, anyone would think you'd never seen a picture of a woman before. It's not cool and it's not Twenty20, yeah?

9th over SA 93-2: Fidel Edwards and Gibbs brush shoulders, the bowler is properly fired up here. He's bowling some wides and the crowd are on his back, but at over 90mph he's a threat. Gibbs notices mid-off is in the circle for the last ball and promptly puts it over his head for four. Game on in a big way.

9th over SA 88-2 WICKET! De Villiers c Rampaul b Edwards 16: De Villiers is gone now, getting a leading edge and spooning the ball up high into the night sky, giving Dinesh Ramdin all the time in the world to run around to point and take the catch.

"For the rest of us hardworking people in Canterbury who can't get near a TV, I think you have a duty to post that picture of Sarah!"
Graham, Canterbury

Fair point. Fill your boots, Graham.

8th over SA 87-1: AB is in the mood. He smashes Dwayne Smith over long-on for six, then pulls him dismissively past square-leg for four. Add in a couple of wides, a woeful four-wide down leg side and some singles and you've got 20 off the over. Appalling stuff.

7th over SA 67-1: Gibbs is dropped in clamitous fashion on the extra-cover boundary by Dwayne Bravo, the all-rounder trying three times to snare and failing each time. Gibbs makes him pay by launching Powell over mid-on for four.

By the way Marc W - Sarah, Canterbury has just sent a picture and I can assure you, that's no bloke called Nigel. Any more good tour stories, guys? Not long left now, don't leave me hanging...

6th over SA 59-1: The powerplay is over and AB looks like he is beginning to get into the swing of things. Crucial partnership now for South Africa.

6th over SA 54-1 WICKET! Smith c Gayle b Powell 28: Smith clips Powell off his legs for four, but goes next ball, driving into Gaylo's bucket-like hands at cover. AB de Villiers is next up, fresh from slapping the Aussies around at the weekend in a warm-up match.

5th over SA 50-0: Smith smites (cheers JohnB) one through the covers for four, it's belligerent stuff this from the hard-as-nails Proteas captain. Powell is now sliding down leg side, resulting in a couple of wides, before Smith chips one to mid-off that rolls all the way for four.

"I put �20 on Graeme Smith to be the tournament's top scorer this morning. How's my luck?"
Tom Dukes, Muswell Hil

Dukeso, your luck might not be out just yet, son.

4th over SA 36-0: Smith gently strides down the track and swings Rampaul over mid-wicket for a huge six, nearly taking out a couple of the dancers. Now it's Gibbs' turn, heaving a short ball into the leg-side for four more. Some blinding fielding from Fidel Edwards prevents another four, but the hosts are right back in this one.

3rd over SA 20-0: Smith lets loose and pulls Powell away for four. But he looks in real pain and he cannot get anything full in length away. Luckily for him, Gibbs gets down on one knee and loftily swats the ball over cover for a glorious maximum.

"How does she get on with that?! I've been sending Dirs and Fordyce the most witty and interesting anecdotes you could ever imagine. All summer. About getting drunk, falling over, even mentioned girls once or twice. And Sarah, Canterbury gets on with that! HE'S A BLOKE CALLED NIGEL! FIT GIRLS WHO LIKE CRICKET DONT EXIST! Do they?"
Marc W, Aberdeen

Satisfied, Marc?

2nd over SA 8-0: Ravi Rampaul is into the attack and Smith is struggling. He doesn't seem willing to test that hand by lashing out so South Africa have to be content with three singles and a bludgeoning four straight down the ground from Gibbs.

"After that 1st innings, shouldn't it be 'no rest for the wicket?'"
Mark Pearson, Kent

1st over SA 1-0: Smith has had five minutes treatment and will carry on, but he's in big discomfort. Powell is bang on the money and hurries Gibbs into a false shot after the captain nurdles a single. Terrific over which piles more pressure onto the hosts.

"Am I the only one feeling excluded because I've never been on tour and have no witty anecdote to impart?"
Sarah, Canterbury

And to think, I was warned about you. Disappointing, Sarah.

1st over SA 0-0: Daren Powell bowls a cracker to Smith first up, the ball lifting just short of a length and rearing up to hit the skipper on the wrist. Smith requires treatment - and plenty of it. He's in trouble here.

The West Indies are in a huddle, Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs are walking out to the crease and we're good to go again. Blimey, there's no rest for the wicked, is there?

"Went on Tour to Guyana... by boat from Trinidad. It took two-and-a-half days. Bad seas all the way. Of the 18 in the party, about 12 suffered effects of seasickness for days after. No cricket, no drinking. Was it worth it I ask myself?"
Chris

No, absolutely not, Chris. Good story though.

End of innings: West Indies 205-6 If that mayhem is anything to go by, we're in for two weeks of the most spectacular cricket you could ever imagine.

20th over WI 204-6 WICKET! Sarwan c de Villiers b Philander 12: Going for another big one, the captain is caught with one ball of the innings to spare.

20th over WI 204-5: Two dot balls from Philander, top-drawer death bowling this. Sarwan gets a risky two down to long-off before cutting an extraordinary shot over cover point for six. He only had one hand on the bat. Remarkable.

"Can you wish "The Wolues" good luck for their first tour this weekend to Antigua? Perhaps if Chris Gayle is not doing anything he might like to join us, I'm sure we could squeeze him in."
Matt

Course I can, Matt. Good luck mate, I'm sure you'll have a ball.

19th over WI 196-5: Dinesh Ramdin gets off the mark by slapping Van der Wath over gully for a one-bounce four, before nearly taking his team-mate out at the other end by rifling one down the ground for a single. Sarwan then picks up three with a carve down to third man.

19th over WI 188-5 WICKET! Chanderpaul c Boucher b Van der Wath 11: Chanderpaul slices Van der Wath for four past short third man but perishes next ball, feathering behind into the gleeful hands of Mark Boucher.

18th over WI 184-4: Morkel finishes off another terrific over in which he concedes just three runs. The crowd have got lively again - they reckon their boys can knock these runs off and no mistake.

18th over WI 182-4 WICKET! Smith c Gibbs b M Morkel 1: Smith tries to up the tempo again but it's proving difficult at the end of the innings, this time the West Indian holing out to Herschelle Gibbs at long-off.

17th over WI 181-2: Devon Smith joins Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the crease and it is a fine over from Van der Wath, conceding just four from it and finally getting rid of the imperious Gayle.

17th over WI 178-3 WICKET! Gayle c Boucher b Van der Wath 117: Gaylo goes, playing a lazy cross-bat shot up into the air and Mark Boucher moving forward to take a comfortable catch. Hold your head up CG, that is one of the most brilliant innings I've seen.

16th over WI 177-2: Gaylo plays a loose shot, but he's earned a bit of luck and the ball lands somewhere in the offside where there aren't any fielders. 10 off the over from Morne Morkel, not a bad effort at this stage.

"When I toured Holland with the RAF cricket team, I received the white radish award for being the dullest bloke on tour... as a result I have no stories to tell. Sorry."
Perry on train heading for home

Cheers Perry. That's about the most un-Twenty20 email I've ever seen. I dunno.

15th over WI 167-2: Gaylo slams the ball straight onto his right foot and hobbles around the crease for a while. Clearly he was lulling the fielders into a false sense of security, as he violently crashes the next ball for four past long-off before sending the next one miles out of the ground over square leg. A 10th six for the maestro.

15th over WI 155-2 CENTURY: Chris Gayle scores the first century in the history of international Twenty20 cricket with a clip off his legs off Polly for two. Masterful stuff.

14th over WI 152-2 WICKET! Samuels c De Villers b Philander 6: Marlon launches one high into the Johannesburg night sky, but he hasn't got the distance to clear the ropes and AB is on hand at long-off to pluck the ball out of the air.

14th over WI 145-1 WICKET! Smith c Boucher b Philander 35: Having got his eye in, Smith proceeds to take his eye out, so to speak, and goes, wafting and caught behind. Still, they're not exactly in trouble, the Windies.

13th over WI 145-0: Polly's back and he confuses Gaylo with a slower ball bouncer that drifts past the big man's nose at about seven miles an hour. Gaylo takes umbrage at being beaten and proceeds to pound Polly for two absolutely massive sixes into the leg side. He's 98 not out, level with Ricky Ponting's Twenty20 international record. What a way to start the tournament.

12th over WI 131-0: Having seen his bowlers start in pretty poor fashion, Graeme Smith brings himself on. A couple off a thick edge for Gaylo, for whom this game was surely made. He then carves a four through the offside and launches Smith over long-on for the maximum. Dwayne Smith ends the over with a reverse sweep for two. 17 from the over. More rage for Graeme Smith.

11th over WI 114-0: Better stuff from Philo, giving the batters little room to swing from the hip. A single and two twos is all the Windies can muster.

10th over WI 109-0: MM's brother Albie Morkel is on now and there are a couple of wides first up as he strays on to Gaylo's legs. AM then bowls a full toss which Gaylo literally hits out of the ground and into next week. That has to be one of the biggest shots this ground has ever seen. He follows it up by driving through the covers for four. Brilliant, brilliant batting.

"Hi Stevo, when we went on tour, I had to bowl the penultimate over and I conceded 15 wides and four fours. Before the over we were already celebrating cos they needed 48 runs, but unfortunately they won."
James, Beds

9th over WI 93-0: Gaylo smotes Vernon Philander for a big, flat six over mid-wicket, which gets the dancing girls and boys around the boundary up again. 15 off the over and not what the South Africans wanted there. Gaylo has moved into the fifties.

8th over WI 78-0: There are some gorgeous cricket shots being played, none more so than a classical push down the ground by Gaylo for just two. The big man then frees his arms and swings haphazardly down to third man, where AB de Villers tries manfully to take the catch but has to settle for conceding a six instead. MM then bowls a no-ball which gives Smith a free hit. He misses it.

"Evening Stevo, I am in fact the real reason Dirs and Fordyce are driving around France in a winnebago, they just couldn't hack it."
Sarah, Bucks

7th over WI 68-0: Wathy is wafted away by Dwayne Smith for four through the gully area, some much-needed runs for the Barbadian. Having taken a while to get his eye in, Smith rocks casually on to the back foot and creams the last ball of the over for four through mid-wicket. Cracking shot.

"Good God, man, have you no idea? First rule of touring: "what goes on tour stays on tour"."
Jeremy Leese

Sorry Jeremy. Clearly, some people just don't adhere to such values. For the purposes of this clockwatch, let's just be grateful.

"Gayle's tactic at the moment is to lean back and swing down the ground, which he's doing pretty effectively it has to be said."
Jonathan Agnew on TMS

6th over WI 54-0: Morne Morkel is on for Ntini and Gaylo welcomes him to the crease by hammering him for four more. But MM recovers well and eight from the over is no disgrace.

"Excuse me, apart from the fact that Sarah from Canterbury is a virtual friend, you had also better watch out for us northern lasses, quick and slick and that's when we're being slow!"
Chrissy, north Notts x

Chrissy - I'm from Nottingham myself, so I know what you're all about. Really I do.

5th over WI 46-0: Johan van der Wath is into the attack and it's a great start for the 29-year-old, conceding just four singles. Which is the Twenty20 equivalent of a wicket-maiden, pretty much.

Re: my prediction. I know, I'm miles off. Was it ever gonna be anywhere near?

4th over WI 42-0: Gaylo is launching himself into this tournament with avengence. He swings and misses twice at Ntini before hitting two utterly monstrous sixes straight back over the bemused bowler's head. Hands on hips, the opener barely looks bothered.

"I've got a cricket story for you Stevo. There was a house match at my school where the team batting second needed six to win off the last ball and the batsman had a huge slog. You could see the ball was going to land just short of the boundary but the fielder came round from long on, tried to catch it and failed miserably. The ball hit him on the head, gave him a concussion and bounced over the rope for six. Needless to say the fielder in question was not popular!"
Ben, Derby

Guys, these are great stories, but they aren't tour ones. And they need to be quick and slick, remember? Great.

3rd over WI 29-0: Gaylo is already bored of Polly's metronomic accuracy and he whips him over square leg for six big ones. Polly uncharacteristically bowls a wide before the big man swats him away into the leg-side for a one-bounce four.

2nd over WI 14-0: Makhaya Ntini bounces into the attack and beats Dwayne Smith with a jaffer outside off stump. Ntini, sporting a remarkable Frank Rijkaard-esque haircut, is bang on here, until he drops the last ball short and Smith pulls him viciously through mid-wicket for four of your West Indian runs.

"While not strictly a tour story, I once went to watch cricket with a mate and his dad's friends, one of whom happened to be the police officer who had the very night before taken my friend (and us as we were with him) to the police station - for a very minor offence I hasten to add! Awkward doesn't come close."
Sean, Southampton

1st over WI 8-0: Chris Gayle thumps Shaun Pollock's first ball for four through point, which manages to silence the crowd for about three hundredths of a second. This is serious noise. Polly replies with his standard accuracy and the South Africans are cheering dots balls. Which is surely against the spirit of this crazy tournament?

"Give us a prediction Stevo!! Put ya neck on the line!!"
Rob Gray

Fine, I will. I reckon the Windies will get themselves into early trouble, manage to post a respectable total and then the South Africans, driven on by their feverish home crowd, will knock the runs off no bother. There.

"Stevo - I am sitting patiently at Wanderers stadium. The DJ is rocking the house and in five minutes SA will be knocking the Windies batsmen over. SA for the inaugeral World Twenty20 champs."
Patrick, Johannesburg

"You think it's Sarah from Canterbury you have to watch for? There's many a clockwatch correspondant has fled in fear after failing to pay proper attention to Sarah from Bucks. In fact, unless you come up with suitable and uncliched analogy for the West Indian batting collapse, publish an email from every regular ever, AND manage to influence the result in our favour, you might as well just go home now. Welcome, by the way!"
Matt Maltby, London

1651: In honour of Dirso, Fordo and also a quite brilliant book I'm reading at the moment called Penguins Stopped Play about travelling with a cricket team, I want to know your best cricket tour stories. But remember - this is Twenty20. Unless it's quick and slick, it ain't getting in. Whether your name's Sarah and you're from Canterbury or not.

And the teams are in...

South Africa: Graeme Smith (capt), Mark Boucher, Abraham de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Justin Kemp, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Vernon Philander, Shaun Pollock, Johan van der Wath.

West Indies: Ramnaresh Sarwan (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Chris Gayle, Daren Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Marlon Samuels, Devon Smith, Dwayne Smith.

1642: Here's that toss then, masterminded by Ian Bishop. Graeme Smith flips, Ramnaresh Sarwan calls incorrectly and the South Africans are going to have a bowl. Expect a lot of that over the next two weeks as the teams try to figure out what a reasonable score is in 20 overs.

"Afternoon Stevo. Welcome to the carnage that is the BBC clockwatch, good luck to you and one piece of advice... make sure you post Sarah Canterbury's e-mails... or there will be trouble... and hell hath no fury like Sarah Canterbury scorned."
Jamie, Northants

Sarah Canterbury, bring it on.

1633: The fireworks have stopped and the action is almost upon us. Coming soon, the toss...

"The World Twenty20 is difficult to predict. It's like the lottery. If I have to pick a team to win it it would have to be England. The English players are very famillar with this fast food version of the game."
djkbrown2001, via 606

1630: How Dirsy and Tommy F will rue the day they accepted a six-week holiday in France. To think, they could have been sat in an office in Shepherd's Bush creating history. If you're missing them, and I'm sure many of you are...

1627: Today is not a day for soundbites, as a wise man once told us. But I do feel the hand of history upon our shoulders. In time, people will look back at today as the dawn of a bright new era of international cricket. They said cricket could never be cool. Can't it?

1619: Fireworks explode all around the Wanderers in Johannesburg as the South Africans kick off the tournament with a music-heavy opening ceremony. The fans are in fabulous spirits - let's hope they have more fireworks to get stuck into later.

1605: Now then. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. It is with great pleasure that I introduce you to the BBC's coverage of the inaugural World Twenty20 tournament in South Africa. I hope you're ready for two weeks of utter carnage as cricket unleashes its newest competition on the watching world.