ICC Trophy - The Official Preview

Followers of the English domestic game were relieved to see that tradition is alive and well in the C&G Final. Worcestershire lost the toss and were invited to bat. An excellent opening spell from Jon Lewis reduced them to 8 for 3 and, in having to rebuild, their first 50 runs took 20 overs. Despite a fine century from Solanki, their score of 236 was never enough to seriously trouble Gloucestershire, who cantered home by eight wickets. Batting first in an English Autumn is never easy, as bowlers are able to exploit the early morning juice in the wicket. Because of that, too many end-of-season cup finals have effectively been determined by the toss. Moving the final forward from the first Saturday in September to the last one in August has only slightly reduced this problem. To my knowledge, no one had considered playing the showpiece final on the last Saturday in September, which is when the final of the ICC Trophy is due to be played.


This year, in what had been the wettest summer since Noah, even the mid-season triangular tournament followed the pattern whereby virtually every game was won by the side batting second. As this month's games are due to start even earlier, the ICC do seem to be pushing their luck in holding their biannual cash cow in England at this time of the year if they are concerned about its standing as a serious cricket contest. The juice factor will be heightened by the earlier-than-usual starts, and it's not hard to see games decided in the first hour as the sides batting first are reduced to 50 for 5. Readers outside of the UK may find that strange after the last two England & India games, but they really were exceptional - a result of the unseasonable heat wave. In recent years, September has regularly been the monsoon season in England, so it may be that several of the games won't be played anyway. If that sounds familiar, then it should do. Two years ago, the trophy was shared by Sri Lanka and India after the final was twice washed out. A repeat this year may see all future ICC tournaments played in Sharjah.


All of which would be a pity, as the tournament could produce some fascinating cricket. And, who knows? If the recent hot weather continues, we might be lucky after all. The presence of only four minnows spread across four groups where only the top team qualifies means that the top 8 are effectively playing quarter finals from the off. Some may not regard this as "fair", and it doesn't guarantee that the best four sides can all reach the semi-finals, but this observer welcomes the lack of games that are either dead or just hopelessly one-sided. Looking at the groups, we will immediately have some intriguing clashes. And if I'm being unduly dismissive of USA, Bangladesh, Kenya and Zimbabwe, the so be it, but it really is hard to see where any of them are going to win a game.


Australia should win Pool 1, although New Zealand have more than once upset them in the past. It would be tough for the Black Caps to depart after the first round, as they are probably one of the best four sides in the competition, but how do you argue against Australia? Ordinarily you would expect South Africa to win Pool 2 easily, but their warm up schedule, which has involved being regularly stuffed in Sri Lanka, seems less than ideal. Whatever is left of their confidence may not survive the drop in temperature when they arrive in England, whereas the West Indies, for all their failings, are at least acclimatised. The outcome of Pool 3 largely depends on which versions of India & Pakistan turn up. A week ago, I'd have backed India, but that was with Tendulkar expected to be in the side. Under Bob Woolmer, Pakistan look as if they are becoming stronger, but this group is still to close to call. In Pool 4, Sri Lanka will arrive full of confidence as winners of the Asian Cup and trouncers of South Africa. Their problem, of course, is that England in September is very different, and I'm going to take the hosts to see them off, especially with Murali absent.


That's as good as the new gets for England though. Their semi-final would be against Australia or New Zealand, either of whom would probably be too strong. Elsewhere I reckon India or Pakistan will be too good for West Indies, which probably gives us a repeat of one of the last two World Cup Finals. India will certainly feel they are due some luck after being denied by forces of nature in both of the previous ICC tournaments (the rain in 2002 was slightly less awesome than Chris Cairns' extraordinary hundred in 2000), but you have to be braver than me to tip Australia to lose when it matters. Currently, the most remarkable feature of the ICC Trophy is that Australia have never won it, and it's hard to see that still being the case at the end of the month. Unless, of course, Ricky Ponting gets unlucky with the toss.


Posted by David