With the most controversial season of the Indian Premier
League having come to a close and England beating New Zealand to pulp in the
two test home series, we are almost in time to cheer the top 8 teams in ODIs
competing for the seventh and the last edition of the Champions Trophy. It’s
the same tournament that started out as the ICC Knockout Trophy or also the
Mini World Cup. By way of format, the Champions Trophy is way more challenging
that the ICC Cricket World Cup, which gives the teams few easy matches against
Associate nations to play against. Champions Trophy gives the teams no such
leeway. Only teams that win all their three matches in their group are
guaranteed of a place in the semi finals. Competitiveness is at its best!
Pakistan & England are the only teams that haven’t won
the Champions Trophy since its inception in 1998 in Dhaka.
1998 (Dhaka) – South Africa
2000 (Nairobi) – New Zealand
2002 (Sri Lanka) – India & Sri Lanka (Shared)
2004 (England) – West Indies
2006 (India) – Australia
2009 (South Africa) – Australia
South Africa emerged winners in the inaugural edition in
1998 with some strong all round performances, captained by Hansie Cronje. 2000
edition saw New Zealand finally winning a global tournament, getting ahead of
India who acted as giant killers till the finals with a fresh looking side. In
Sri Lanka in 2002, two best teams in the tournament shared the trophy after
competing in two incomplete finals. West Indies, with a rejuvenated side took
the cricketing world by surprise by pushing other contenders aside with strong
bowling performances. England was the other finalist in 2004. The 2006 edition,
played in India again saw West Indies in the running for the trophy till the
finals. Australia finally emerged victors and got hold of that one trophy
missing from their cabinet all this while. Australia continued their dominance
in the 2009 edition, played in South Africa, by winning their second Champions
Trophy in a row.
South Africa & Pakistan are my pre tournament favourites
(in this order) to win the tournament. These two are the teams with potent
bowling attacks and strong batting line ups (Pakistan, not so much). Pakistan’s
bowling more than makes up for their slightly brittle batting. Though they
would be missing the services of Umar Gul, they have stocked the squad with
good seam bowling options in Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Ehsan Adil & the
intimidating Mohammed Irfan. Saeed Ajmal, world’s best spinner today, &
left arm spinner Abdul Rehman complete Pakistan’s well rounded bowling attack.
Pakistan’s batting does not inspire much confidence. But much will be expected
from Hafeez, Shoaib Malik & Misbah, the captain himself. In Nasir Jamshed,
they have a reliable opener. South
Africa, with a batting line up consisting of Amla, du Plessis, de Villiers,
Miller and bowling attack comprising of Steyn, Morkel, Tsotsobe are surely the
front runners.
West Indies, from their World T20 win in 2012 will look to
make a strong statement in the ODI format with a new captain in place in Dwayne
Bravo and a strong team of performers who can turn a game on it’s head on their
day. They would be looking towards Gayle & Charles for some riveting starts
and depend on Darren Bravo, Sarwan to provide solidity in the middle order.
Pollard remains a crucial cog with this all round skills. Roach, Rampaul will shoulder the pace bowling responsibilities. Newbie Jason Holder
may not get chances in the all rounder heavy side. Sunil Narine will look to
enhance his reputation as a match-winning spinner even in unhelpful English
conditions. If West Indies progress ahead of the first round, Narine would have
played an important part in it. Thus is his importance in the side.
Hosts England are engaged in a three match ODI series
against the touring New Zealand, and faring pretty badly. This must be some
ideal match practice ahead of Champions Trophy. But injury concerns are marring
their run up to their first match versus Australia. Captain Cook has a
relatively good side but England as an ODI side has never lived up to
expectations. Without Kevin Pietersen, the middle order lacks the bite. Morgan,
Trott & rookie Root will be crucial to England’s chances. Bowling though is
a strong point for England. Anderson, Broad, Bresnan & Finn will do the
majority of bowling. Tredwell is expected to fill in when required. Much of
England’s chances depend on solid performances from Cook and combined bowling
prowess of their pacers. They are up against a struggling Australia, Sri Lanka
– team that struggles in unhelpful conditions & New Zealand – lesser known
players with capability of springing surprises.
New Zealand comes into the Champions Trophy without the
services of Daniel Vettori. Brendon McCullum, Martin Guptill & Ross Taylor
will be their pillars. Guptill will enter the Champions Trophy in fabulous
form. New Zealand, high on confidence after beating the hosts in the first two
games and winning the series, will look to carry it forward to the Champions
Trophy. New Zealand were runners up in the 2009 edition losing to Australia in
the finals. They won the cup in 2000 defeating India, with strong performance
by Chris Cairns. They have had this knack of coming good in crucial
tournaments. They will be a team to look forward to.
Sri Lankan side for the Champions Trophy wears a weak look.
Despite the presence of Dilshan, Sangakkara & Jayawardena, the team looks
bare. Bowling will be manned by Malinga, Kulasekara & Herath, but it’s
their batting in English conditions which would be a concern. Their three best
batsmen are coming off a very poor season in the Indian Premier League.
Considering their potential, they were a let down, so was their captain Angelo
Mathews. They have all the reasons to be excited about rookies Kushal Perera,
Dinesh Chandimal & Sachitra Senanayake.
Batsman to watch out for: Kushal Perera (Sri Lanka), Virat
Kohli, Dinesh Karthik (India), Alastair Cook (England), Mohammed Hafeez
(Pakistan), Shane Watson (Australia), AB de Villiers (South Africa), Martin
Guptill (New Zealand)
Bowlers to watch out for: Sunil Narine (West Indies),
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (India), Mohammed Irfan, Junaid Khan (Pakistan), Mitchell
Starc (Australia), Steven Finn (England), Dale Steyn (South Africa)
It is going to be an ideal platform for the teams to
showcase their preparedness for the 2015 World Cup, which is just 18 months
away. Team that wins here takes massive confidence of having defeated best of
teams.
This tournament will miss some important names that have
been a big part of cricket over the last decade. Some of the key players
missing this tournament due to injury and other reasons are: Kevin Pietersen,
Matt Prior (England), Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer
Khan, Harbhajan Singh (India), Jesse Ryder (New Zealand), David Hussey, James
Pattinson (Australia), Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul (Pakistan).
The Champions Trophy won’t be missed much in its absence
after this edition. The format though is challenging and only the best of the
teams can make it through. If similar format is adapted for the World Cup, I
doubt we’d have any useless matches. But for now, let’s enjoy the madness that
is One Day International cricket.