Finally, Some Real Cricket - A Champions Trophy Preview

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.

 Edition wise victors of the ICC Champions Trophy:

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.

 With the new season begins new challenges for the top teams. Their bid to stay in relevance, attempt to build the right team for the 2015 World Cup and of course to kick start the new season with a big win. Though it’s India that’s at the top of the ODI team rankings, it doesn’t top my list of favourites for the Champions Trophy. How? Lets go through the usual grind of analysis of teams, captains, pitches & conditions. Interestingly and in a way expectedly, most teams have selected players keeping in mind the World Cup 2015. Australian and Indian teams almost bear a new look.

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.

 Even though Australia is coming from a 0-4 blanking at India’s hands, they are still a force to reckon with in the ODI format. Clarke has men like Watson, Warner who on their day can change the game around and a bowling line up of sharp, incisive seamers in Johnson, Starc, Coulter-Nile & McKay. What’s exciting about the Australia squad is the inclusion of utility players in Faulkner, Voges, Maxwell & Mitchell Marsh. Australia will be looking forward to go into the Ashes with confidence of having done reasonably well in the Champions Trophy. With no Mike Hussey, he’d be looking forward for more from the likes of Hughes, Khawaja.

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 Lanka & India have off late struggled in unfriendly pitches, away from home. India line up wears an unfamiliar look with the likes of Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj, Tendulkar, Harbhajan, Zaheer missing. Others selected on merit have replaced them. Karthik comes into the tournament as the man in form for India, along with Kohli & Dhoni. India go in with an inexperienced opening combination and a weak set of bowlers. Ishant Sharma, even after 5 years in international cricket hasn’t been able to mould himself into a strike bowler. In Zaheer’s absence, Yadav will lead the pack. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be expected to deliver his promise. He will be a handful on seamer friendly wickets. Ashwin & Jadeja will be used a lot to slow down the pace of the going ons and to fasten over rate. Much will depend on Dhoni, as he too will look to enhance his reputation as one of the best ODI batsman of all time. Also, the team needs to put in a good performance to reinstate the faith fans have in Indian cricket after all what has happened over the past three weeks.

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.

New Heroes Take Stride: India vs Australia Test Series Review

When Bhuvaneshwar Kumar bowled the first ball to David Warner on February 22nd in the first test in Chennai, nobody would've guessed what's to happen over the next 5 weeks. Four test matches over the next five weeks proved how both India and Australia have dominated at home and have been tamed in alien conditions. India could also validate that the home series defeat vs England a few months back was an aberration. Even my prediction of a 1-1 draw was thrown out of the window. After the 2nd session on 2nd day in the first test, Australia had to wait till the 2nd session on the 2nd day of the 4th test to have some iota of grip on the happenings. That's how badly were the Australians outplayed by a good Indian team. Indian team had its own concerns, which looked minute and trivial compared to Australia's.

Bigger Concerns
Australia seemed more affected by the retirement of Ponting and Mike Hussey than India was by Dravid & Laxman's. Australian batting seemed to lack depth when it came to playing spin. Micheal Clarke was the only batsmen who looked in any control while playing spin. Even though Warner & Cowan gave a few decent starts which were undone by some inexplicable shot making and pure lack of skill to play spin. Hughes & Watson looked the most at sea while playing spin. Australia pace battery of Pattinson, Starc, Siddle, Johnson couldn't extract what the likes of Anderson & Finn could for England. Lyon, Doherty & Maxwell weren't as good as Swann & Panesar. In all the 0-4 defeat for Australia against an almost fresh look Indian team raised huge concerns over how Australia will fare over the next 12-18 critical months where they are scheduled to play back to back Ashes.

Disciplinary Issues
Post the battering in the 2nd test in Hyderabad, experts called for wholesome changes in the Australian XI. Common sense would have dictated having Khawaja for Hughes & Johnson for Starc. Pattinson was Australia's most potent bowler in the first two tests. But few days before the 3rd test, Australian coach Mickey Arthur announced Pattinson, Watson, Khawaja & Johnson have been suspended for the 3rd test. This was attributed to non completion of a task given by the coach to list down three ways how each player can improve his performance to help Australia win. Watson reacted to the suspension by calling it "very harsh", and flew to Australia (also for the birth of his son). Pattinson also said the punishment was "too harsh" but later gave in that his act had "let the team down". Clarke stood by his coach and called for more discipline to be a part of the Australian national team. This further weakened the Australian side on a wicket that was best suited to them. I reckon it was silly to drop important players at a time when you need them most. This also to some extent showed how Australians were a little less bothered about the current task at hand and were focussing more on the upcoming Ashes.

Indian Batting
After watching the debacle vs England, Indian batting seemed to go down the similar road in the 1st innings in the first test where both Sehwag & Vijay were dismissed by a menacing Pattinson. Tendulkar & Pujara, later Kohli stemmed the fall of wickets and brought about a resurgence of sorts as Indian batting had failed to cross 400 after the 1st test ve England. Dhoni took over from Kohli, Tendulkar and scored one of the most brutal double hundreds in recent memory. Played the pacers on merit and took the odd risk but was very aggressive against the spinners. His attack would have dented Lyon confidence. If it was Dhoni's brute in the first test, it was Vijay & Pujara in the 2nd test in Hyderabad. Vijay, in the risk of losing his place after a poor show in Chennai made amends with a fantastic stand of 370 alongside double centurion Pujara. Pujara played like he was in a dream. Barely put a foot wrong. The partnership literally pushed Australia out of the match into an embarrassing innings defeat. Selectors decided they had had enough of waiting for Sehwag to fire and dropped him. Dhawan was the natural replacement for Sehwag. Dhawan had to show his mettle at the highest level after having waited for over 7 years. He did and how! He put on along wish Vijay a partnershi of 289 out of which he scored a staggering 187. He was unrelenting but not brutal. His shots oozed class. Only after getting close to his 100 did he step out to Doherty. By the time he was dismissed, he had shattered some records. His 187 became the highest score by an Indian debutant and also the best strike rate for any batsmen to score 150+ on debut. In the fourth test, on an incredibly difficult wicket Pujara played exceedingly well to notch two half centuries and also anchored India home in a tricky chase of 155. Vijay was the other half centurion for India in the Delhi test.

New Spin Twins
Who'd have thunk it'd be Ravindra Jadeja & Ravichandran Ashwin causing most damage to the Australian batting. Ashwin had a horror of a time against the visiting England. His bowling was easily milked and scored off by Pietersen, Trott & Cook. And now, he was the destructor in chief claiming 29 wickets in 4 matches (8 innings). And who partnered him? The million dollar boy and the cricketer every Indian cricket fan loves to hate, Ravindra Jadeja. The boy from Saurashtra made the most of his captain faith in his abilities. His claimed 24 wickets and made Micheal Clarke his series bunny, by dismissing him 5 times in 6 innings. Ashwin started off the series on the right note claiming 7 wickets in the first innings of the first test in Chennai. He had the upper hand over Warner, Cowan, Hughes & Wade through the series. His dismissal of Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson in the fourth test in Delhi showed how much at sea the Australians were against spin and the wickets of Warner & Hughes in Hyderabad & Cowan in Delhi, bowled around their legs, showed how Ashwin was using his skill to think the batsmen out. Harbhajan was the surprise inclusion in the first two tests. He couldn't really spin a web around the batsmen as he did in his heydays. He got a few wickets but wasn't really penetrative. Ojha rightfully replaced him in the Mohali and Delhi tests and bowled his heart out in the opportunities he got. He got to a personal milestone of 100 wickets during the series.

Second Fiddles
Fast bowlers, (medium pacers in India's case) in this series were reduced to playing the second fiddle in most part of the series. Pattinson started the series with a burst to reduce the Indian opening to dust and went on to claim 5 in the innings. Starc was ineffective in the first and second tests. Siddle bowled well within himself, but couldnt penetrate the Indian batting. Indian pacers weren't of any use on the dusty Chennai wicket. Bhuvneshwar Kumar started the second test brightly dismissing Warner, Cowan & Watson in quick succession to hand India supremacy early on in the test. Bhuvneshwar went on to claim important wickets even in the 3rd test in Mohali in the Australian second innings to initiate their collapse. Ishant bowled well in patches but could never bowl effectively enough as the senior paceman in the side. Siddle & Starc found the Mohali wicket to their liking and quickened India's fall after the mammoth first wicket stand. Mitchell Johnson was mediocre in his only outing in Delhi.

Captains
There was a different Dhoni to be seen in this series. He was seen cheering his bowlers, egging them on and at times talking to his team, more than he ever did before. Clear indication of him understanding his role now as a leader of a younger team, having graduated from being just a captain to a team of experienced personnel. Dhoni's 224 in the first test in India set the tone for the Indians and also gave them self belief to knock out the Australians. Dhoni had a moderate series behind the stumps but a fabulous one as a captain. He really needed this win to reaffirm the belief in many a supporter that he still is the best guy around to lead this Indian side. Clarke on the other hand had a nightmarish series at the helm. Though he won the toss all three times (Watson lead in the 4th test) and elected to bat, Australia could never make it count as an advantage. His team struggled to cope with spin and were over reliant on him to play the anchor and the aggressor. He also had the "homework scandal" to handle. It surely isn't a series Clarke would want to remember 10 years down the lane. To add to all other woes, his back injury aggravated and couldnt play the 4th test in Delhi.

Failures
This series was, as fans publicized it, Sachin Tendulkar's last series in India. He could well play the test series in South Africa later this year, but it would be his last international experience at home. He started off the series with a sound 81 in the first innings in Chennai and followed it up with a quickfire innings (studded with two consecutive sixes off Lyon) to seal an India win. But in the next five innings, he couldnt manage another half century. Fans egged him for one final show in Hyderabad, Mohali & Delhi. It wasn't to be. He received heroic welcomes every time he walked in and a sad, dejected send off each time he was dismissed. For Australia, the biggest failure was Shane Watson. Much was expected off the vice captain who was in the side as a specialist batsman. He ended up averaging less than Nathan Lyon, the tailender.

Success Stories
While India found positives from the series in Vijay, Ashwin, Pujara, Dhawan, Jadeja & Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Australia debutants Henriques & Maxwell struggled to get going. Nathan Lyon though after getting dropped for the 2nd test, came back strongly in the 3rd and 4th tests. Lyon claimed 9 wickets in the 4th test in Delhi out of which 7/103 was in the first innings. He had Indians on a hot tin roof with his off spin.

All through the series while India was busy thrashing Australia, the experts and fans were trying to work out a combination for the South African tour later in the year. While the middle order looks settled, bowling and opening are two areas which are still dicey. While Vijay & Dhawan did wonders to their reputations in this series, playing Steyn, Morkel, Philander in South Africa will be a different ball game. How they mould themselves will be interesting to watch.

Australia on the other hand have a lot of 'homework' to do. They need to get their batting combination right. They need to decide if Watson deserves to be a part of the side as a specialist batsman. Siddle, Starc, Pattinson will be effective in English conditions but the batting can not rely so much on Clarke. They need guys like Warner, Cowan, Hughes to stand up and get counted. This series is gone and the Australia reputation has taking a major beating. Australia are not a side to sit back and relax, they will come back hard and just for that reason, the Ashes of 2013 will be a keenly contested one.

India vs Australia Test Series: A Preview

This has to be one of the most under hyped India - Australia series in two decades. India's poor showing versus England in the test series and the whitewash last time they played Australia might be a reason to it. Australia are without Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and their batting doesn't instill the confidence it did 18 months back. Both India and Australia are teams in transition and there is no denying that.

But Australia, even in transition have a confident captain in Micheal Clarke in ominous batting form. A firing opening combination, stable middle order, in form all rounders in Henriques & Maxwell and a strong pace bowling unit. India on the other hand have their struggles beginning right at the top. With Gambhir being dropped and Dhawan, Vijay being included Sehwag will have a new partner to start the innings with. Pujara was in bright form against England and will be expected to hold fort against Australia at no 3. Tendulkar, fresh from a hundred against a strong attack in the Irani Cup will look to pile on runs against the Australians and shut his critics. This series will also indicate how long Tendulkar prolongs his test career. Success in this series could mean Tendulkar could play till India's tour of South Africa to guide a younger side in tough conditions against a tough opposition. But failure here could result in retirement. Kohli will be India's no 5 and will have the task of playing with the lower order. Much expected of him is yet to bear fruit. Dhoni, has been facing enormous criticism for his test batting and captaincy. Outcome of this series will decide if Dhoni will continue to captain the test side or selectors will look for the next captain. Indian bowling without Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav looks bare. Ashwin & Ojha's inability to spin a web around the English batsmen proved they can be dealt with rather easily and aren't penetrative enough even in favourable conditions. Ishant will lead the pace attack and Bhuvneshwar Kumar is expected to debut after impressive ODI performances.

In my opinion India will do well going in with five batsmen, three spinners and two pacers. India's best chance to challenge Australia will be by attacking them with spin. India's line up for the first test in my humble opinion should be: Sehwag, Dhawan, Pujara, Tendulkar, Kohli, Dhoni, Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar, Harbhajan, Ishant, Ojha.

Australia will depend on Warner and Cowan to give them explosive yet steady starts. Hughes will be the more preferred option for no.3 over Khawaja. Hughes' effectiveness against Indian spinners is to be gauged. Clarke & Watson hold the key for Australia in spinning Indian pitches. Matthew Wade, selected over Brad Haddin will have the task of playing with the tail if need be. Henriques, picked over Maxwell for the first test, will take over the all rounder spot vacated by Watson, now playing purely as batsman. Glenn Maxwell will be crucial as the second spinner and a valuable batsman when selected.

Australia will surely have an edge over India with a very strong bowling attack. Siddle, Pattinson & Starc will have taken notes from how Anderson bowled to the Indian batsmen. Indian batsmen won't have good memories of this pace trio who had them hop, jump, duck, fend & edge in faster, bouncier conditions. According to me Starc is the bowler India needs to be most careful of. He is capable of skidding, curving away from and bringing it back to the right hander which is Sehwag, Tendulkar & Kohli's undoing. Pattinson will come at the Indian will all he's got. Good pace, lovely rhythm and good lengths. Siddle is expected to spearhead this attack and is the only bowler who has played in India conditions before. Bowling in Indian conditions will be Lyon's biggest test in his career up till now. If he can emulate some success that Swann & Panesar had against Indian batsmen few months back, Australia will be well served. His experience of these conditions will help. Mitchell Johnson & Ashton Agar will await their chances in the upcoming tests.

Dhoni & Clarke are both in different stages of their captaincy. Dhoni will set out to prove series loss to England at home was an aberration and the Indian team in transition is still good enough to inflict a series defeat against Australia. He also has a point to prove that he is good enough a batsman and wicket keeper to hold his place in the side even if he wasn't the captain. Clarke on the other hand has had a challenging summer at home against South Africa & Sri Lanka and would be looking to win overseas. South Africa inflicted a rare defeat at home on Australia while they easily thrashed Sri Lanka 3-0. Clarke, in contrast with Dhoni has been in phenomenal personal form with the bat. He will be looking to add to his runs tally from 2012.

My call for the series would be a 1-1 draw as neither team seems to have the firepower to outdo the other. India has too feeble a bowling line up to defeat Australia. And Australia, post Hussey & Ponting's retirement will struggle to hand India a series defeat at home. Drawn series would be a success for India while Australia will look to force a win considering how India played against England.

One last word for Duncan Fletcher for whom this might be the last chance to lead India to a win and salvage some pride after an extremely disappointing two years at the top job.

Australia's Next Captain Conundrum

How many full time captains each test playing nation has had in the last decade?
Pakistan - 8, Sri Lanka - 5, England - 5, West Indies - 6, South Africa - 4, India - 5, Australia & New Zealand - 2. Unlike other teams, with the exception of New Zealad, Australia has seen the least number of captaincy changes in the last decade. While New Zealand has had Stephen Fleming & Daniel Vettorri leading the team, Australia has had only two full time captains in this period; Steve Waugh & Ricky Ponting. Adam Gilchrist, Mike Hussey & Micheal Clarke have filled in for them in interims. Australia for that matter, since 1970 have had a long term captain. Starting with Ian Chappell, followed by a short stint of Graham Yallop, Greg Chappell, Kim Hughes, Allan Border, Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh & now Ricky Ponting have upheld the mantle of Australian captaincy.

Australia now are in a transition phase after the retirement of Langer, Hayden, Warne, McGrath, Martyn and Gilchrist. Ricky Ponting too isn't getting younger, his batting form isn't getting any better, his success rate diminishing and retirement thoughts surely would have entered his mind. But the selectors have quite a dilemma ahead of them. The two main contenders for Australia captaincy are Micheal Clarke & Mike Hussey. The latter's age (35) might work against him, but Clarke's form with bat is a crisis in itself.  Not doubting Clarke's talent as a batsman and a fine fielder and utility spinner. But his vulnerability to short balls has been exposed by bowlers around the world. And he surely isn't in the league of all the ex Australia test captains. Mike Hussey sure does seem to have the charisma and is a well respected senior in the team. His title of Mr.Cricket too augurs well for a future Australia captain, but for his age.

If I was an Australian cricket selector, I wouldnt even look towards Clarke. I would either opt for a bowler captain in Mitchell Johnson, already a senior in the team and will ensure he stays focussed for the team benefit or hand it over to Mike Hussey or Brad Haddin for a short period of two years and ensure either of Cameron White or Callum Ferguson trained under them as vice captains. I feel Callum Ferguson is someone with enormous potential and is a player to watch out for in the future.

Author of this post also writes on http://www.isport.in/