The ICC Champions Trophy Tournament will get underway in England on the 1st of June with hosts England taking on Bangladesh at the Surrey Oval in London.
This tournament was initially conducted by the ICC to raise funds for Associate Member countries to develop their cricket. It is now considered a mini World Cup Tournament played once in four years giving countries an opportunity of sizing up their strengths and weaknesses two years prior to the main World Cup. I would endeavour to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the participating Teams prior to hazarding a guess as to who will emerge as winners of this Tournament.
Australia has some aggressive and powerful strikers of the ball in Warner, Finch and Maxwell supported by the more orthodox Smith and Head. They have a battery of fast bowlers in Starc, Hazelwood, Cummings and Pattinson – all capable of picking up wickets. They set very high standards in the field as well.
Bangladesh, an emerging nation in International Cricket, can boast of some good batsmen in Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al-Hasan. Their bowling lacks penetration and fielding is inconsistent which may have a negative effect on their performances.
England has been performing well consistently since the last World Cup tournament and has a line-up of good batsmen in Jason Roy, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. In bowling Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Liam Plunkett and Stokes are pacies capable of taking wickets while Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are two spinners who bowl well in home conditions. Their fielding is exceptionally good.
India is a strong force in limited overs cricket due largely to their players competing alongside with cricketers of repute from other countries in the Indian Premier League. Batsmen of the caliber of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shikar Dhawan, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni make a formidable line up. Bhuvaneshwer Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah will be effective in English conditions. R Ashwin with his clever variations and variety of deliveries will be useful in any conditions. The Indian fielding has improved by leaps and bounds once again due to the high standards required in the IPL.
New Zealand do not have quality batsmen except for Kane Williamson and will tend to struggle against good bowling attacks. Their pace attack of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Matt Henry will be able to exploit the seaming English pitches, but spinners Mitchell Santner and Jeetan Patel won’t be much of a threat to batsmen. New Zealand’s fielding has been consistently good throughout the years.
Pakistan’s batting will revolve around the experience of Mohammed Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. The pace attack could be incisive with bowlers such as Mohammed Amir, Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan. Pakistan’s fielding has been patchy and this is an area of concern for them.
The South African team comprises of very talented batsmen in Quinton De Kock, Hashim Amla, AB De Villiers, FAf Du Plessis and David Miller. The pace attack is sharp with Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel and Chris Morris on duty. In Imran Thahir they possess a leg spinner who takes wickets. The South African fielding has dropped from the usual high standards and will have to improve in order to be competitive.
Sri Lanka’s ODI performances have been ordinary in the recent past. They have some good batsmen in Upul Tharanga, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews and Asela Guneratne who can come good with determination and resolve. The bowling lacks penetration as the seasoned Lasith Malinga is not bowling at his best after injury. Thisara Perera has the potential to shine as an all-rounder if he can apply more thought into his play. Sri Lanka’s fielding too has been inconsistent and it is hoped they would improve in this aspect with all the training that has been done.
After having assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the participating teams, I feel that the sides that are able to take wickets at regular intervals without allowing the opposition to build big partnerships will reach the final stages of the competition. In my view England and India have the best bowling combinations to reach the Final. I favour England to emerge Champions as they are playing at home and are adept at exploiting the conditions in England.
