Champions Trophy - brief history: The first tournament, labeled as a mini World Cup, was staged in Dhaka in October 1998 and raised more than £10 million. The second, in Nairobi, was a commercial success although the crowds stayed away. By the time the 2002 event was held - there was disquiet as it was so close to the World Cup. In 2004 the jamboree moved to England and it became clear the format of group games led to too many meaningless games. By the time the 2006 tournament in India came into view, the event was under fire from some quarters, and at one time there were even hints that India might decline to take part in 2008. 1998-99, Bangladesh: Winners: South Africa Runners-up: West Indies No. Countries: 9 Man of the series: JH Kallis (South Africa) The knock-out format, with eight matches compressed into nine days fuelled the locals' excitement. South Africa won by beating West Indies in the final, although Wisden noted that "it was thus a tournament in which the winning really was less important than the taking part." 2000-01, Kenya: Winners: New Zealand Runners-up: India No. Countries: 11 The format of second edition remained a straight knock-out - and the Nairobi Gymkhana, which had received a million-dollar refurbishment ahead of the event, hosted all games. The only sadness was the lack of local interest, and the suggestions of match-fixing that subsequently surfaced in the Anti-Corruption Unit's report to the ICC. New Zealand surprisingly beat India in the final, thanks to Chris Cairns's 102, but it was a one-off success - their next 13 ODIs produced 11 defeats and just one win. 2002-03, Sri Lanka: Winners: India/Sri Lanka No. Countries: 12 The proximity of the World Cup, less than five months later, poor organization and a revised format that meant most group matches were all but pointless. The ICC also decided to use the tournament to experiment with technology (Pakistan's Shoaib Malik became the first victim of an lbw decision deferred to the third umpire). Sri Lanka and India only sent full-strength sides after contract disputes were settled at the last minute, but Sri Lanka made it to the final after a popular win over an unpopular Australia. However, they shared the trophy with India when both attempts to finish the final were washed out by tropical storms. 2004, England: Winners: West Indies Runners-up: England No. Countries: 12 Man of the series: RR Sarwan (West Indies) The growing weariness with the event was unchecked with it being held so late in season that cricket was all but forgotten by the media. The continuation with the format that had been so flawed in Sri Lanka did not help. Apart from the final and India's matches, attendances were again dire. The final, which witnessed a remarkable comeback by West Indies to defeat England in almost pitch darkness, offered scant consolation after such a poor competition. 2006-07, India: Winners: Australia Runners-up: West Indies No. Countries: 10 Man of the series: CH Gayle (West Indies) The fifth edition, held five months before the World Cup, will be best remembered for Australia's eventual capturing of the one piece of silverware that had previously eluded them. High-priced tickets kept Indian fans away, Diwali season was also a distraction. With the termination of the monsoons just prior to the tournament, the pitches had not settled, and provided bounce and lateral movement - the pitches provided more even contests between the bat and ball, as opposed to the batsman v batsman game that ODIs in India were threatening to become. The steady performances of Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and West Indies took them to the semi-finals. Australia's took the crown in style, winning by eight wickets under the D/L method. "Damien Martyn, who had batted so beautifully in the victories over England and India, once again played his part with a classy unbeaten 47, but it was Watson who ensured that the reserve day would not be needed as Australia's … [Read more...]
Champions Trophy 2009: The Favourites
The Champions Trophy, which, under a new format, will feature the best eight teams. Recent form - over the last few years and in the South Africa where the tournament is being held - is any indication, the winners will be one of Australia, South Africa or India. The stats of teams since the last Champions Trophy back that Australia, South Africa and India are the front runner for the trophy. These teams had won more games than they've lost against the top eight teams since last Champions Trophy. During this period, India has won 11 out of 17 series, Australia have won 6 out of 12, and South Africa have won 7 out of 10 series. The eight ODI teams against each other since last Champions Trophy: Team ODIs W/ L = ratio Bat ave Bowl ave Australia 70 43/ 23 = 1.86 37.12 27.76 South Africa 46 28/ 16 = 1.75 35.37 29.10 India 78 42/ 30 = 1.40 33.87 33.69 New Zealand 55 22/ 25 = 0.88 31.00 34.53 Pakistan 44 20/ 23 = 0.86 30.97 34.15 Sri Lanka 60 25/ 31 = 0.80 28.98 28.58 England 62 25/ 34 = 0.73 28.74 31.40 West Indies 49 11/ 34 = 0.32 27.09 36.91 Above table clearly state that only these three teams been the best everywhere in the last three years having more wins than loss in there bag. Trophy front runner Australia has good record on South Africa soil. One will find South Africa and Aussis record exceptional if look at all the matches played in South Africa since beginning of this decade. Teams in South Africa in ODIs among the top eight since 2000: Team ODIs W/L = ratio Bat ave Bowl ave South Africa 87 58/ 21 = 2.76 37.14 28.04 Australia 27 17/ 9 = 1.88 34.45 29.19 India 14 5/ 9 = 0.55 24.82 35.93 England 14 3/ 9 = 0.33 27.77 27.22 Sri Lanka 17 4/ 12 = 0.33 25.53 39.73 New Zealand 19 3/ 14 = 0.21 27.52 37.07 West Indies 13 2/ 10 = 0.20 28.43 44.35 Pakistan 13 2/ 10 = 0.20 23.98 38.20 The individual batting stats of players in South Africa offer some interesting insights too. For one, it explains - partially at least - why Rahul Dravid was brought back into the Indian team. He leads the averages chart among batsmen who'll be playing in the tournament. If one looks in the table below, the top 8 out of 10 players are from these favourites. Batsmen against the top eight teams in ODIs in South Africa Batsman ODIs Runs Average 100s/ 50s Rahul Dravid 17 737 56.69 0/ 9 Ricky Ponting 22 1031 54.26 4/ 4 Jacques Kallis 113 4080 46.89 6/ 28 JP Duminy 13 398 44.22 0/ 2 Michael Hussey 10 338 42.25 0/ 3 AB de Villiers 34 1159 41.39 0/ 9 Graeme Smith 56 2079 39.98 3/ 16 Herschelle Gibbs 87 2739 34.23 9/ 9 Sanath Jayasuriya 29 899 32.10 2/ 5 Mohammad Yousuf 18 509 31.81 1/ 2 Sachin Tendulkar 26 822 31.61 1/ 4 Kumar Sangakkara 17 404 28.85 0/ 2 Mark Boucher 101 1522 27.67 0/ 5 Michael Clarke 10 243 27.00 0/ 3 Brendon McCullum 12 237 26.33 0/ 1 Paul Collingwood 10 181 25.85 0/ 1 Younis Khan 13 336 25.84 0/ 2 Yuvraj Singh 10 180 22.50 0/ 1 Among the bowlers, most of the wicket-takers have been the fast men. Brett Lee leads the way with an excellent haul of 41 wickets in just 19 games, with three four-wicket hauls and a five-for. Shane Bond and Makhaya Ntini have been among the wickets as well. The spinners have reasonable economy-rates, but apart from Muttiah Muralitharan, they haven't had a lot of wicket-taking success. Bowlers against the top eight teams in ODIs in South Africa: Bowler ODIs Wickets Average Econ … [Read more...]
Champions Trophy analysis: Indian cricket team
After a month's gap before starting a new season, a depleted India played a good cricket against New Zealand to get some momentum and move to No. 1 for one day (on 11th September 2009) in the ICC's ODI rankings. After a month's break, and in their first match of a new season, India has done enough to indicate they are back in business. Team was not able to continue momentum against Sri Lanka. The ongoing series in Sri Lanka will help team to gain much need practice before Champions Trophy. Victory in this month's ICC Champions Trophy would allow 1983 world champion, ICC Champions Trophy 2002 joint-winner with Sri Lanka and the ICC World Twenty20 2007 champion an opportunity to remind the rest of the world how good a side it is. For India it won't be an easy path into the semi-final stage of the eight team elite competition, particularly as India's group features defending champion Australia, former winner the West Indies and reigning ICC World Twenty20 champion Pakistan. Key Players to watch: Let’s have a close look on key players and team strength of India, Pakistan, Aussies and West Indies from Group-A. India has good combination to handle every situation; there are a lot of players to watch like Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Suresh Raina and Ashish Nehra. India and Pakistan the two traditional rivals go head to head at Centurion on 26 September. The Pakistan side has Younus Khan and Mohammad Yousuf. Other players to keep an eye on are Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi and Umer Gul but Yousuf is definitely a player to watch. One can’t label current West Indies team as 'second-string'. Their main strength is top players like Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul. These players had good record against India and had always given performance when India is on the other side. India has good record against Australia in the past Champions Trophies but one can’t take Ponting side for granted. Aussies squad has good players like Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Nathan Bracken, Michael Hussey and Shane Watson. Aussies performance in ongoing series against England proves once again that they are still tough side to beat in ODI cricket. Indian squad for Champions Trophy: M S Dhoni (Capt), Yuvraj Singh (VC), Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Harbhanjan Singh, Dinesh Karthik, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Ishant Sharma, and R P Singh. M S Dhoni: Current age: 28 years 67 days Major teams: India, Asia XI, Bihar, Chennai Super Kings, Jharkhand Batting style: Right-hand bat Fielding position: Wicketkeeper Record: 140 Matches, 4602 runs 138 catches and 43 stumps Award: ICC One-Day Player of the Year 2008 Yuvraj Singh: Current age: 27 years 274 days Major teams: India, Asia XI, Kings XI Punjab, Punjab, Yorkshire Batting style: Left-hand bat Bowling style: Slow left-arm orthodox Record: 237 Matches, 7026 runs 70 catches and 75 wickets Award: ICC Twenty20 International Performance of the Year 2008 Rahul Dravid: Current age: 36 years 244 days Major teams: India, Scotland, Asia XI, ICC World XI, Karnataka, Kent Batting style: Right-hand bat Bowling style: Right-arm off break Fielding position: Occasional wicketkeeper Record: 334 Matches, 10599 runs 194 catches and 14 stumps Award: Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2000 ICC Test Player of the Year 2004 ICC Player of the Year 2004 Sachin Tendulkar: Current age: 36 years 141 days Major teams: India, Asia XI, Mumbai, Mumbai Indians, Yorkshire Batting style: Right-hand bat Bowling style: Right-arm off break, Leg break googly Record: 426 Matches, 16730 runs 129 catches and 154 wickets Award: Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1997 Gautam Gambhir: Current age: 27 years 333 days Major teams: India, Delhi, Delhi Daredevils, India Red, President's XI, Batting style: Left-hand bat Bowling style: Leg break Record: 78 Matches, 2594 runs 24 catches Harbhanjan … [Read more...]
Records
• The ICC Champions Trophy was originally known as ICC Knock Out tournament. It is now changed to the Champions Trophy in 2002. • New Zealand's 347/4 against USA at the Oval in 2004 is the highest score in a Champions Trophy game. • New Zealand won the first-ever match in the history of the ICC Champions Trophy. • New Zealand's 210-run win over USA is the biggest win margin in the Champions Trophy. • India is the first team to score over 300 in an innings in the ICC Champions Trophy. • India's highest score in the Champions Trophy is 307/8 against Australia in 1998 in Dhaka. • England had a miserable run in this tournament, winning only two matches in the first 3 tournaments. • USA's 65 all out in 24 overs against Australia at Southampton in 2004 is the lowest score in Champions Trophy. • Chris Gayle is the highest scorer in the Champions Trophy with 695 runs in 14 innings in three tournaments. • Herschelle Gibbs, Chris Gayle and Sourav Ganguly share the record for maximum three hundreds in Champions Trophy. • Sourav Ganguly is India's highest score in Champions Trophy. He has 665 runs with three hundreds and three fifties in 11 innings. • Nathan Astle and Andy Flower jointly hold the record for most runs in a Champions Trophy match. Astle made 145* against USA in 2004; Flower made 145 against India in 2002. • Craig McMillan holds the record for most 7 sixes in a Champions Trophy match. • Saeed Anwar, Sourav Ganguly and Herschelle Gibbs are the only players with back-to-back hundreds in the Champions Trophy. • Sourav Ganguly holds the record for most scores of fifty or more in Champions Trophy. He had made six in 11 innings. • Sourav Ganguly holds the record for most catches by a fielder in Champions Trophy. He took 12 catches in 13 matches. • Chris Gayle holds the record for most hundred in one edition of Champions Trophy. He made three hundreds in 2006. • Jerome Taylor holds the record for most 13 wickets in one edition of Champions Trophy. • Muttiah Muralitharan holds the record for most wickets in the Champions Trophy. He had 23 at an average of 16.43 from 15 games. • Sachin Tendulkar's 4/38 against Australia in 1998 is the best figures by an Indian bowler in the Champions Trophy. • Kumar Sangakkara and Adam Gilchrist hold the wicket-keeper's record for most 5 dismissals in a Champions Trophy game. While Sangakkara holds record 26 most dismissals in Champions Trophy. • Brian Lara holds the record for most 18 Champions Trophy appearances. While Rahul Dravid holds the record for most 16 Champions Trophy appearances by an Indian. • Kenya conceded 42 extra runs against India, a Champions Trophy record, in 2004. • Virender Sehwag holds the record for the fastest Champions Trophy hundred. He took just 77 balls for his 100 against England in 2002. • Shahid Afridi holds the record for the fastest fifty in Champions Trophy. He took 18 balls to score a fifty against Netherlands in 2002. Author: Mona Gupta, New Delhi … [Read more...]
