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 Cricket warmup matches
There are some warm-up matches before the beginning of Champions Trophy 2009 in South Africa. None of these matches will be given the ODI status and teams will be able to practice before they get into the big tournament. The big game on the Sep 18 is between the Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Pakistan has lost recent series in Sri Lanka so they can back themselves in the Warm Up match. India will be taking New Zealand on Sep 20 in another warm-up match. Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies play two warm-up games while India and South Africa play one. Schedule for the warm up matches: Friday, 18 September - South Africa v West Indies (d/n) Friday, 18 September - Pakistan v Sri Lanka (d/n) Friday, 18 September - New Zealand v Warriors (d) Sunday, 20 September - New Zealand v India (d/n) Sunday, 20 September - Pakistan v Warriors (d/n) Sunday, 20 September - Sri Lanka v West Indies (d) Day-1 Maches review: Pakistan v Sri Lanka: Pakistan warmed up for the ICC Champions Trophy in style by winning there tie against Sri Lanka. Kamran Akmal’s superb 82 and Naved-ul-Hasan’s 5 for 41 help Pakistan to achive 108-run victory against Sri Lanka in Benoni. Pakistan was initially in trouble, slipping to 64 or 3, after the experienced top order pair failed to get going. Opener Kamran and Misbah-ul-Haq revived Pakistan by continuing to score at a brisk pace, and they went on to a massive score after Misbah-ul-Haq and highly rated youngster Umar Akmal made half-centuries. Mahela Jayawardene had called on the top order to fire last week, but it flopped in the face of a daunting target of 307. The biggest contribution from the top five was captain Kumar Sangakkara's 21, which meant Sri Lanka were struggling at 83 for 5 by the 23rd over. Chamara Kapugedera and Angelo Mathews resisted with a 102-run stand but could only bring some respectability to the margin of defeat as they couldn't keep up with the spiralling asking-rate. South Africa v West Indies: In another match South Africa laid down an early marker as they piled up 388 for 4 against West Indies at Potchefstroom. Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy all played superb inning and reached the 80s, while Roelef van der Merwe took four wickets. Duminy was the stand-out batsman with 80 off 49 deliveries and two of his five sixes required replacement balls. Mark Boucher also gave a reminder of his big-hitting skills by smashing 55 off 27 balls, adding 116 off 55 deliveries with Duminy. West Indies' openers made a spirited start but the middle order caved in - with the exception of Darren Sammy who made a fighting half-century - and West Indies limped to 200 before being bowled out. New Zealand v Warriors: While New Zealand start Champions Trophy campaign on poor note in Pretoria, where they lost their opening warm-up game by two wickets to the Warriors. After suffering consecutive defeats against Sri Lanka and India in the Compaq Cup due to batting failures, New Zealand's captain Daniel Vettori had stressed the need for partnerships. They managed one worth 95 for the second wicket between Martin Guptill and Ross Taylor, with both scoring half-centuries, but the rest of the batsmen failed to build on a solid platform - New Zealand were 173 for 2 at one stage. They lost six wickets for 10 runs during a startling lower-order collapse and were dismissed for 237 in the 47th over. The Warriors' opening bowler, Juan Theron, caused most of the damage, taking 5 for 42 in 8.1 overs. The Warriors chase also suffered from the lack of substantial partnerships but all their batsmen chipped in with useful contributions. Their top eight reached double figures with wicketkeeper Davey Jacobs leading the way with 54. Ian Butler took 4 for 53 and Daryl Tuffey claimed 3 for 49 - brought the match to a close finish. The eighth wicket fell with the Warriors needing 24 runs to win but Theron came to the rescue with 21 off 19 balls to ensure victory in the penultimate over. Author: Mona Gupta, New Delhi. … [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...]
