BigCrickNan
Chairman of Selectors
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2005
Here is my OWN review of the champions trophy.
With just the two remaining teams from the qualifying round West Indies and Sri Lanka battling it out for top of the group in the preliminary round, and Zimbabwe and Bangladesh going head to head for the wooden spoon, the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy is almost ready to go. This time round the ICC have sorted out the format with two groups of four and the top two progressing to the semi finals and then to final. A lot better than the format in 2004 with groups of three including the likes of the USA and Bangladesh. It's hard to pick a favourite here with Australia having a poor record in the tournament so possibly all eight teams have a chance of claiming the trophy. The two outsiders are probably England and holders West Indies, who have relatively mediocre one days records despite the West Indies 4-1 win over India in the summer.
Australia:
Australias one-day is probably not as strong as it was anymore, but they will be boosted by a revamped Glenn McGrath and an on-form Brett Lee. They have a poor record in the tourament and bowed out last time to England by 6 wickets, showing the first crack in a once perfect teams. They will have confidence from winning the DLF cup, with Lee on top form and some promising showings from Shane Watson from the top of the innings and some much waited for good innings from Brad Haddin, who probably won't get a game after the return of Gilchrist. Mitchell Johnson was another one who shone in the DLF cup with 4-11 to rip away to Indian top order before he was sent home. Could this be their year?
Verdict: Could go all the way but previous showings point to a semi-final exit.
Key man: Brett Lee. In the form of his ODI career during the DLF cup in Malaysia, his lightning pace and now controlled bowling he will be vital if the Australians want the Trophy for the first time.
India:
India have had a mixed year in ODI cricket. It started off brilliantly with the 4-1 victory in Pakistan and an easy walkover against a poor England 5-1 in April. They had a bad time in the Carribean though losing 4-1 and winning the first. Home advantage will help them and especialy the return of form for Sachin Tendulkar. Munaf Patel has had a good year in international cricket and should play a part in each game, and another young players Suresh Raina has been a revolution in the one day arena this year.
Verdict: Could go all the way on home soil.
Key man: Dhoni. If the man is on form with the bat India can beat almost anybody with his blistering hitting at the top or at the end of an innings.
England:
England have a rather shocking ODI record this year. 17 games, versus India, Ireland, Sri Lanka and Pakistan has producted a miserly 4 wins, and one a lacklustre performance against the Irish. Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson will glad to be back, and Duncan Fletcher will be glad to have them. They can not overwork the two in terms of bowling otherwise it could spell bad news for the ashes. Good news for England though it the emergence of young talent: Jamie Darlymple has been a revolution with his calm and powerful batting and his tight controlled off-spin. Michael Yardy also had a good ODI baptism with wickets and runs against Pakistan. They will takes confidence from the two wins to level the series against Pakistan, but they cannot risk playing Saj Mahmood or Rikki Clarke who have proved they are just not good enough.
Verdict: Very tough group for their ODI standards, semi-finals if they are very lucky.
Key man: Andrew Flintoff. The leader, the inspirational one, the captain, too many things you could say about him. Penciled in as a specialist batsman for the first two games and may do some light bowling in the third.
South Africa:
South Africa have had a good year in ODI cricket, conquering the aussies at home 3-2 after that amazing match where they chased down 435. Their batting looks their strong point, twice they have passed 400. Gibbs and Boucher will be crucial as their one day form has been consistent and they both need to carry on to give South Africa a big chance in regaining what the first won in 1998. The bowling has weakened somewhat - Kallis and Pollock have both lost pace. Pollock will need to step up his form with the ball as most of his work this year has been done with the bat.
Verdict: Sem-finals look realistic, but if they hit top form they could win the tournament.
Key man: Mark Boucher. Has had an outstanding year with the bat scoring cool 50's to finish off innings including 147 off 68 against the Zimbabweans recently.
Pakistan
Too inconsistent? Start off the year with being nailed 4-1 at home to India but then having a decent time in Sri Lanka. Younis Kahn looks like the vital batsman for them, the most impressive of the big three in the middle order in ODI's this year. Shoaib Akhtar will need to be at full fitness if he is going to cause problems, and he was helped by playing in the series against England in which Pakistan dropped off and lost a 2-0 lead to tie 2-2. Another play is Kamran Akmal. He had a shocking tour of England with just one 50 and some routine drops which would embarrass a 10 year old girl. He needs to be in some sort of form or Pakistan will have little chance.
Verdict: Very inconsistent, will do well to get out of the group stages.
Key man: Shoiab Akhtar. Spent months on end trying to regain fitness, and now he is fit he must have a good tournament for Pakistan to do well.
New Zealand:
A decent looking one day team, but ageing. Fleming and Astle are starting to get on a bit, but they are still quality batsman. Fleming is also one of the best captains in the game which is why New Zealand have been succesful in ODI's despite not having a perfect squad. Strike bowler Shane Bond should be coming back and the Kiwis will surely need him. Too many injuries have got in his way and at the age of 30 he needs to kick start his career and have a run in the team before injuries totally stop him.
Verdict: Will find it tough with South Africa and Pakistan, could make it through depending who they get from the qualifiers.
Key man: Shane Bond. He has a great ODI record averaging a minute 18, and he must use his ability for the Kiwis to progress.
Sri Lanka
A very good one-day outfit these days and with Tharanga and Jayasuriya on form the can be formidable. The batting will also be bolstered by the return of Marvin Attapattu from injury. Bowling wise they will need Murali more than ever if they want to win the trophy, with Vaas ageing and Malinga who can go off the rader occasionly. Had a great time in England and breezed through the qualifiers, the Lankans could pose a threat to the bigger teams.
Verdict Dark horses. Outside chance of winning on paper, but their recent performances show they have enough to reach the semis at least.
Key man Upal Thuranga. Has been in great form this year at the top of the order and has formed a good partnership with Jayasuriya. He plays well and Sri Lanka could set unreachable targets.
West Indies
Not one of the greatest West Indian team ever, but the 4-1 win over India and reaching the final of the DLF cup shows they have improved. Ramnerash Sarwan is probably the key batsman with his consistentcy and ability to play under pressure. Young Marlon Samuels will also have a big part the play, with his calm and powerful batting combined with his controlled off-spin make him an ideal ODI all-rounder. Not forgetting Lara and Gayle though, Lara needs to find some form in the shorter game but Gayle will be fine after a bludgeoning century against the hapless Bangladesh in qualifying.
Verdict: Probably won't reach the semi-finals but will not go down without a fight as holders.
Key man: Chris Gayle. Gayle has developed into one of the best one-day openers around with his big hitting and his bowling has imrpoved at such that he is now classed as an all-rounder.
With just the two remaining teams from the qualifying round West Indies and Sri Lanka battling it out for top of the group in the preliminary round, and Zimbabwe and Bangladesh going head to head for the wooden spoon, the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy is almost ready to go. This time round the ICC have sorted out the format with two groups of four and the top two progressing to the semi finals and then to final. A lot better than the format in 2004 with groups of three including the likes of the USA and Bangladesh. It's hard to pick a favourite here with Australia having a poor record in the tournament so possibly all eight teams have a chance of claiming the trophy. The two outsiders are probably England and holders West Indies, who have relatively mediocre one days records despite the West Indies 4-1 win over India in the summer.
Australia:
Australias one-day is probably not as strong as it was anymore, but they will be boosted by a revamped Glenn McGrath and an on-form Brett Lee. They have a poor record in the tourament and bowed out last time to England by 6 wickets, showing the first crack in a once perfect teams. They will have confidence from winning the DLF cup, with Lee on top form and some promising showings from Shane Watson from the top of the innings and some much waited for good innings from Brad Haddin, who probably won't get a game after the return of Gilchrist. Mitchell Johnson was another one who shone in the DLF cup with 4-11 to rip away to Indian top order before he was sent home. Could this be their year?
Verdict: Could go all the way but previous showings point to a semi-final exit.
Key man: Brett Lee. In the form of his ODI career during the DLF cup in Malaysia, his lightning pace and now controlled bowling he will be vital if the Australians want the Trophy for the first time.
India:
India have had a mixed year in ODI cricket. It started off brilliantly with the 4-1 victory in Pakistan and an easy walkover against a poor England 5-1 in April. They had a bad time in the Carribean though losing 4-1 and winning the first. Home advantage will help them and especialy the return of form for Sachin Tendulkar. Munaf Patel has had a good year in international cricket and should play a part in each game, and another young players Suresh Raina has been a revolution in the one day arena this year.
Verdict: Could go all the way on home soil.
Key man: Dhoni. If the man is on form with the bat India can beat almost anybody with his blistering hitting at the top or at the end of an innings.
England:
England have a rather shocking ODI record this year. 17 games, versus India, Ireland, Sri Lanka and Pakistan has producted a miserly 4 wins, and one a lacklustre performance against the Irish. Andrew Flintoff and James Anderson will glad to be back, and Duncan Fletcher will be glad to have them. They can not overwork the two in terms of bowling otherwise it could spell bad news for the ashes. Good news for England though it the emergence of young talent: Jamie Darlymple has been a revolution with his calm and powerful batting and his tight controlled off-spin. Michael Yardy also had a good ODI baptism with wickets and runs against Pakistan. They will takes confidence from the two wins to level the series against Pakistan, but they cannot risk playing Saj Mahmood or Rikki Clarke who have proved they are just not good enough.
Verdict: Very tough group for their ODI standards, semi-finals if they are very lucky.
Key man: Andrew Flintoff. The leader, the inspirational one, the captain, too many things you could say about him. Penciled in as a specialist batsman for the first two games and may do some light bowling in the third.
South Africa:
South Africa have had a good year in ODI cricket, conquering the aussies at home 3-2 after that amazing match where they chased down 435. Their batting looks their strong point, twice they have passed 400. Gibbs and Boucher will be crucial as their one day form has been consistent and they both need to carry on to give South Africa a big chance in regaining what the first won in 1998. The bowling has weakened somewhat - Kallis and Pollock have both lost pace. Pollock will need to step up his form with the ball as most of his work this year has been done with the bat.
Verdict: Sem-finals look realistic, but if they hit top form they could win the tournament.
Key man: Mark Boucher. Has had an outstanding year with the bat scoring cool 50's to finish off innings including 147 off 68 against the Zimbabweans recently.
Pakistan
Too inconsistent? Start off the year with being nailed 4-1 at home to India but then having a decent time in Sri Lanka. Younis Kahn looks like the vital batsman for them, the most impressive of the big three in the middle order in ODI's this year. Shoaib Akhtar will need to be at full fitness if he is going to cause problems, and he was helped by playing in the series against England in which Pakistan dropped off and lost a 2-0 lead to tie 2-2. Another play is Kamran Akmal. He had a shocking tour of England with just one 50 and some routine drops which would embarrass a 10 year old girl. He needs to be in some sort of form or Pakistan will have little chance.
Verdict: Very inconsistent, will do well to get out of the group stages.
Key man: Shoiab Akhtar. Spent months on end trying to regain fitness, and now he is fit he must have a good tournament for Pakistan to do well.
New Zealand:
A decent looking one day team, but ageing. Fleming and Astle are starting to get on a bit, but they are still quality batsman. Fleming is also one of the best captains in the game which is why New Zealand have been succesful in ODI's despite not having a perfect squad. Strike bowler Shane Bond should be coming back and the Kiwis will surely need him. Too many injuries have got in his way and at the age of 30 he needs to kick start his career and have a run in the team before injuries totally stop him.
Verdict: Will find it tough with South Africa and Pakistan, could make it through depending who they get from the qualifiers.
Key man: Shane Bond. He has a great ODI record averaging a minute 18, and he must use his ability for the Kiwis to progress.
Sri Lanka
A very good one-day outfit these days and with Tharanga and Jayasuriya on form the can be formidable. The batting will also be bolstered by the return of Marvin Attapattu from injury. Bowling wise they will need Murali more than ever if they want to win the trophy, with Vaas ageing and Malinga who can go off the rader occasionly. Had a great time in England and breezed through the qualifiers, the Lankans could pose a threat to the bigger teams.
Verdict Dark horses. Outside chance of winning on paper, but their recent performances show they have enough to reach the semis at least.
Key man Upal Thuranga. Has been in great form this year at the top of the order and has formed a good partnership with Jayasuriya. He plays well and Sri Lanka could set unreachable targets.
West Indies
Not one of the greatest West Indian team ever, but the 4-1 win over India and reaching the final of the DLF cup shows they have improved. Ramnerash Sarwan is probably the key batsman with his consistentcy and ability to play under pressure. Young Marlon Samuels will also have a big part the play, with his calm and powerful batting combined with his controlled off-spin make him an ideal ODI all-rounder. Not forgetting Lara and Gayle though, Lara needs to find some form in the shorter game but Gayle will be fine after a bludgeoning century against the hapless Bangladesh in qualifying.
Verdict: Probably won't reach the semi-finals but will not go down without a fight as holders.
Key man: Chris Gayle. Gayle has developed into one of the best one-day openers around with his big hitting and his bowling has imrpoved at such that he is now classed as an all-rounder.
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