Champions Trophy Final Preview

The Champions Trophy, even though it’s only the Carling Cup of international cricket tournaments, has – partly due to its timing – taken on a disproportionate significance in many people’s minds with regard to the future of 50-over cricket.

Leaving aside wider questions about whether the format is enjoying a renaissance, whether the tournament’s design (which avoids the overkill of most ODI series) is the way forward, and of whether England fans just liked it because their team was winning for a bit and there was no other cricket to watch, there’s also the matter of who the best ODI side in the world is.

Australia’s tournament might be seen as symbolic, with the side which has dominated cricket for the last decade or two facing a series of challenges from various pretenders to their throne. With the exception of the side masquerading as the West Indies (who, to be fair, gave the Aussies a brief scare in their match, reducing them to 171-7 before Mitchell Johnson rescued the situation), most sides seem capable of beating one another, so the Number 1 spot in the rankings could change hands with some regularity over the next few months.

The other finalists, New Zealand, have raised a few eyebrows by making it this far, having been in poor form in the run-up to the tournament, and their progress arguably provides evidence for the fluid nature of the ODI pecking order at the moment. Whilst few will expect them to beat Australia, they did have some success against the same opposition back in February. If the big names perform well, then the Black Caps could spring another surprise.

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Champions Trophy: Group A Preview

The second most prestigious tournament in everyone’s third-favourite format of the game is nearly here. Can you contain yourself? Here are the Group A runners and riders:

• Australia will no doubt have had a confidence boost from driving a steamroller over England over the latter part of the summer, but doubts remain over how they will perform when faced with tougher opposition. Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson are a potent combination with the ball, and there seems to be no shortage of batsmen able to make runs (foremost amongst which, of course, is Ricky Ponting).

• India may be missing Virender Sehwag, but will be amongst the favourites as they look to improve on their last showing at a 50-over tournament, when they didn’t make it past the first round of the 2007 World Cup. Since then, however, India have won an ICC tournament in South Africa – the same year’s World Twenty20 – and there is enough quality in the side to beat any opponent on the right day.

• Pakistan don’t go into the tournament with the best of 50-over form, having lost series against Sri Lanka (twice) and Australia, but players such as Umar Gul, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf retain the ability to produce match-winning performances. Like India, memories of a disastrous World Cup two years ago will be difficult to dispel.

• The West Indies go into the competition still in disarray, with a side full of reserves as the contract dispute rumbles on. Although progress seems to have been made on that front, this competition is likely to be little more than a further embarrassment for the WICB.

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England back to being rubbish after Ashes anomaly

England’s batsmen have failed for the second match in a row, failing for the second time in three days to knock off the required runs after their bowlers had restricted Australia to an unexceptional total. With a large Pietersen-shaped hole gaping in the top order (Matt Prior batting at number three? Seriously?), the home side are in danger of suffering an embarrasingly emphatic series win if they can’t win matches when their opponents play poorly.

The good news for England is that they have plenty of ODIs coming up in the next few months to get some practice in (another five ODIs against Australia, the Champions Trophy in South Africa and then the One-Day element of their tour of that country). Whether or not the opportunity to build a stable and balanced side will be taken, however, remains to be seen.

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England vs Australia: One Day Series Preview

England go into the One Day series against Australia still riding relatively high on the euphoria of Ashes victory, althouhg their confidence must surely have taken a serious knock following their close escape in Ireland and their awful start to a rain-interrupted innings in Manchester on Sunday. The prospect of 7 ODI matches without KP or Freddie may not be enough to keep the interest of the casual viewer (or even the Australian coach), but there is still likely to be plenty of interest from fans keen to sample a little post-Ashes bonhomie from a side which, lest we forget, is actually in good ODI form.

For Australia, the 50-over matches are a chance to salvage something from a disappointing summer of World Twenty20 and Ashes failure. The return of Brett Lee to the side added some potency at Old Trafford, and with him opening the attack alongside Mitchell Johnson, England’s top order will have to show a lot more solidity than has been traditional if the home side are to have any success.

The two sides haven’t actually met in a ‘traditional’ One Day International since the 2007 World Cup, but Australia’s dominance is such that England will do well to win even two or three of the seven matches, particularly without their strongest One Day players.

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Nannes About to Break Through

After making his Victoria debut at the ripe old age of 29, going missing in Middlesex and briefly going Dutch, Dirk Nannes is set to establish himself as a key part of Australia’s One Day attack. Having made his ODI debut yesterday in Australia’s demolition of Scotland, ‘Dirty’ Dirk will be looking to make an impact in the two Twenty20 matches against England in Manchester, and he certainly has the pedigree to do so given his success in the Twenty20 Cup with Middlesex and in the IPL with Delhi.

Of course, I’m hoping he’s on the losing side on Sunday (assuming the fabled Manchester climate allows enough play for a result ), but seeing him in the flesh will be special.

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England Scrape Home

England beat Ireland by a mere 2 runs in a rain-shortened thrller in Belfast, having posted a mere 203/9 from their 50 overs. Oddly enough, Owais Shah saved the day by taking a best-ever 3 for 16 after Trent Johnson had embarrassed England’s batsmen, claiming four wickets (including Trott and Bopara for ducks).

Australia will be hoping for better luck when they take on Scotland tomorrow in their own warm-up match, although it’s hard to see Scotland putting up the sort of fight that Ireland did – the latter beat the former convincingly last weekend.

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What’s Next for Test Cricket?

Now that Australia have slumped to fourth in the ICC rankings, what does the future hold for Test cricket?

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England Have Won the Ashes

Congratulations England, farewell Flintoff, hard luck Hussey, and hats off to young Broad.

It hasn’t been the greatest series ever, but winning the Ashes still means a lot. Of course, it’s all thanks to Monty’s last stand at Cardiff…

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Ashes Almost in Reach

Australia are facing an almost impossible task to avoid defeat at the Oval after Jonathan Trott made an impressive ton on debut as England set the tourists a stratospheric 546 to win.

If any side is capable of making 546, it’s the side that made 674/6 at Cardiff (albeit in very different conditions), and if any side is capable of losing a Test from such a commanding position, it’s definitely England. Nevertheless, the open-top bus is surely booked, the vats of alcohol on their way to the dressing room, and the obituaries for Australian cricket being composed.

The decision by Australia not to include a spinner in their side for the final Test has already come in for a lot of criticism, but it is clearly apparent that Australia have had bigger problems than that throughout the series.

Whatever happens tomorrow (and, if there’s any play, on Monday), there will probably be people who will say this has been a classic series. Based on the quality of the two sides, the general standard of cricket on display and the overall intensity, ‘classic’ would be putting it far too strongly.

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It’s Nearly Time

After all the hype, the mind games and the avian pitch invasions, the Ashes are about to reach their denouement at the Oval.

It might not be as tense as 2005, but cricket fans across the globe will still be calling in sick, scheduling phantom ‘meetings’ that last the same amount of time as the afternoon session, hiding behind the sofa and trying to teach their non-cricket-fan friends and colleagues the intricacies of the LBW rule.

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Ups and Downs for the Dutch

Dutch cricket has had quite a summer – as England can attest – but it will no longer be able to rely on the services of ‘Don’t Call Him Dirty’ Dirk Nannes, who has been called up by Australia (at last) for the Twenty20 internationals at Old Trafford that will follow the Ashes. Although Nannes‘ appearances for the Netherlands do not preclude him from playing for Australia, were he to play for the latter it would mean he was ineligible to play for the ‘minnows’ again for at least four years (by which time he would be 37).

There may be some consolation for Dutch cricket fans in reports that their side may be included in the One-Day competition that the ECB are planning to replace the current Friends Provident Trophy with in their (relative) shake-up of county cricket. Given that Ireland and Scotland have had an involvement in the FPT for some time, this is likely to be welcomed as an opportunity for Dutch players to gain experience against a higher quality of opposition than it the case at the moment.

If that’s not enough to console Dutch fans, they can perhaps take some comfort in the fact that Nannes’ selection for the Aussies has brought pleasure to others…

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Pad Up, It Could Be You

Apparently, absolutely no one has been ruled out of the running for inclusion in the side to play the Fifth Test at the Oval, so make sure you’re prepared in case you get a call next week to say you’re in the squad. Let’s face it, the prospect of you playing for England in the Ashes is no less ridiculous than the possibility of Mark Ramprakash getting a Test recall.

Having failed to explicitly deny the possibility of recalling the world’s biggest Transformers fan, Geoff Miller went on to suggest that picking anyone other than Jonathan Trott would run counter to the “logical thinking” that had seen him installed as backup at Headingley. Given the selectors’ past record, some might say that’s almost a guarantee that Trott won’t play at the Oval.

If Ramprakash were to be brought back into the side, what sort of message would that be sending to those who have toiled in the England Lions squad, or to the many players called up as cover in the past? Probably not an encouraging one, even if it was seen as a last throw of the dice by the home side.

Once again, it seems the English selectors (or, in this case, certainly the English cricketing media – to be fair, the squad hasn’t been announced yet) have only two modes – chummy cosiness with change feared almost as much as it is by Daily Mail readers, and wild panic-driven desperation.

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