JOHANNESBURG(timesofindia): Once the financial engine driver of the game, One-day cricket will get a definitive chance at restoring its fading aura when South

Africa and Sri Lanka kick off the Champions Trophy at Centurion from Tuesday.

With England having scrapped the 50-over format from its domestic calendar and a largely predictable pattern – coupled with the sheer deluge of meaningless tournaments all blurring into one another – having facilitated the public fascination with Twenty20, these are testing times for One-day Internationals.

What the Champions Trophy, a quick feast of 15 contests between the top eight teams, is hoping to provide is a contest. With the excess having been cut out of the tournament format, fact remains that this is the biggest cricketing event of the year, in spite of the Ashes.

‘There can only be one winner’, scream the adverts across Johannesburg. But a flurry of exciting contests to serve as a reminder of One-day cricket’s varying nuances will be the best medicine for the ICC, which is struggling to secure the long-term future of the format.

Much depends, though, on what sort of match-ups the key teams serve up. South Africa skipper Graeme Smith hit the nail on the head when he said, “The ICC have put a lot of effort into this tournament. You can feel it, but ultimately, it’s how cricket is played that is going to define if the tournament is a success. The good point is that it is short and to the point, and hopefully it can capture the imagination.”

Ground realities offer hope. Day-night cricket isn’t usually played in South Africa at this time of year and the juice and bounce in the pitches will keep even the home team guessing.

The One-day ranking too is expected to change hands and South Africans are hoping to get over the ICC Awards snub by drumming up the ‘cut-throat’ nature of the competition. On the face of it, the hosts, along with India and Australia, are ahead of the pack judging by recent run of form and win-loss ratio in South Africa.

But the more adventurous but wildly exuberant Pakistanis and the wily and well-rounded Lankans too are eyeing the kill, hopefully making for a fortnight of swinging fortunes and memorable highs.

What will be interesting to see, though, is whether captains, enthused by the freshness and bounce in the pitches, break the mould by thinking out of the box in the much-maligned middle overs, from the 15th to the 40th.

Any early break in set patterns will set off the spark that could light up this event, even in spite of the disappointment of having to see the West Indies field a second-string team.

Squads:

Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dammika Prasad, Thilan Samaraweera, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Thushara.

South Africa: Graeme Smith, Johan Botha, Hashim Amla, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Jean-Paul Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Albie Morkel, Makhaya Ntini, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Roelof van der Merwe.

JOHANNESBURG — The pressure will be on South Africa and off Sri Lanka when they clash at Centurion Park on Tuesday in the opening 2009 ICC Champions Trophy fixture.

South Africa need the cup to confirm what the world rankings have been saying for some time – that they are a class act when it comes to one-day international cricket.

But playing hosts in a sporting event is a double-edged sword with victories galvanising a nation and defeats having the opposite effect, especially in a country like South Africa where expectations are invariably sky high.

The least expected of the Graeme Smith-led Proteas is that they qualify for the October 5 final and many South Africans would dream that bitter rivals Australia provide the opposition and are conquered.

While Sri Lanka are good enough to win the 14-day mini-World Cup, it is defending champions Australia, South Africa and India who are most commonly mentioned as potential winners of the two-million-dollar top prize.

Supreme spinner Muttiah Muralitharan needs no introduction and fast medium-pacer Nuwan Kulasekara sat atop the world bowling rankings last week with his famous team-mate sixth.

However, batting could be the Sri Lankan Achilles heel with senior figure Mahela Jayawardene conceding they have been “patchy and inconsistent” in that department at ODI level.

Even minus injured Herschelle Gibbs, the Proteas boast a formidable array of run-getters with Smith, veteran Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers and JP Duminy in the vanguard.

Add the pace and swing of Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell and Kallis and the spin of Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe, who captured four wickets in a warm-up win over the West Indies, and there are solid foundations for optimism.

Pessimists will raise the word that makes Smith see red – chokers – and also express alarm that the team is going into the second biggest ODI tournament after the World Cup without a competitive fixture since April.

The ‘chokers’ tag emanates from reaching eight ICC semi-finals and winning just one – by 92 runs against Sri Lanka in the inaugural Champions Trophy 11 years ago.

Inspired by the batting of late skipper Hansie Cronje and a five-wicket Kallis haul, South Africa lifted the trophy with a comfortable victory over West Indies in Bangladesh.

Since then they have departed at the semi-finals stage three times and failed to get even that far once – five years ago in England they came off second best against the men from the Caribbean in a group decider.

“We have had a good break and the squad is feeling fresh and ready to go. I think freshness may be an important factor in a tournament involving a lot of cricket in a short time,” is the Smith retort to fears of rustiness.

Opposite number Kumar Sangakkara agrees: “Every team in South Africa is a professional unit and whether they have played recently or not won’t matter because you are always in training and up to the challenge of playing.”

Source : Google News – AFP

Former captains Aamir Sohail and Rashid Latif have vouched for disgraced pacer Mohammad Asif’s inclusion in the playing eleven in Pakistan’s Champions Trophy opener against West Indies on September 23.

Both Sohail and Latif were of the view that Asif should be allowed to make his comeback against the Caribbeans to ease him out for the big matches against India and Australia.

“It would be wise to play him against the West Indies so that he gets a feel of international cricket and is ready for the two big matches. It would be injustice if he is asked to play his first game against India,” Sohail said.

The former left-handed opener said he rated Asif as one of the best new ball bowlers he had ever seen in his career and once the selectors have included him in the 15-member squad, he should be played from the start of the tournament.

Latif, who worked on Asif’s fitness during a conditioning camp in Karachi, said the game against West Indies will give the selectors a fair idea about Asif’s fitness ahead of the crucial ties against ties against India and Australia.

Leading his team in a full-fledged series against India and defeating the arch rivals in that is one of Pakistan cricket captain Younis Khan’s biggest aspirations.

“I would love to lead the team in a full series against India as beating them would be a big achievement for me and a big plus in my career,” Khan said.

Talking to media persons at the sidelines of a training camp in Karachi, Khan said he is targeting to win at least one of the next two ICC one-day tournaments.

“Every captain has certain targets in mind, mine is that we must win either of these two major ICC events until I am captain,” The Daily Times quoted Khan, as saying.

He also expressed hope of wining a Test series in Australia, which Pakistan has failed to do so far.

Khan said his team has the ability to create upsets, but players needed to click at crucial junctures and perform to their potential.

“We have the players to win the Champions Trophy or World Cup and even beat Australia in Australia but we need to combine and click together,” he said.

Pakistan, which shares the group with India and Australia in the Champions Trophy, would kick start its campaign in the eight nation tournament against West Indies on September 23 in Johannesburg.

Although the ICC Champions Trophy is just five tournaments old, it has delivered six different winners with England and Pakistan the only unsuccessful top-eight nations.

South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies and Australia won the mini-Cricket World Cup outright and Sri Lanka and India shared the honour after rain ruined two attempts to complete the 2002 Colombo climax.

The finalist batting second always triumphs and the top scorer in three of the four deciders, Philo Wallace of West Indies, Sourav Ganguly of India and Marcus Trescothick of England, finished a loser.

Launched to raise funds for non-Test-playing nations, the tournament has had an identity crisis with as many formats as editions and a name change from ICC Knockout Trophy after the second version.

Tournament history:

1998

The late Hansie Cronje and current squad member Jacques Kallis shone as South Africa beat West Indies by four wickets with 18 balls to spare in Bangladesh for their sole ICC competition victory.

Wallace struck 11 fours and five sixes as he contributed 103 of 245 runs while Kallis claimed 5-30 before an unbeaten 61 from skipper Cronje led the Proteas to 248-6 against an attack that produced no star performer.

2000

Chris Cairns and Chris Harris were the stars as New Zealand recovered from the cheap loss of five wickets to reach 265-6 with two balls to spare and defeat India by four wickets in Kenya.

Cairns (102 not out) and Harris (46) shared a 122-run sixth-wicket partnership to foil India who were indebted to Ganguly (117) and Sachin Tendulkar (69) as they made 264-6 off 50 overs.

2002

Sri Lanka made 244 and 222 respectively in two efforts to complete the final only for rain to play spoilsport with India managing to face just 12 and 51 in reply.

India, dumped as hosts over tax-exemption problems, pipped South Africa by 10 runs in the semi-final highlight of the tournament with the retirement of Herschelle Gibbs (119 not out) triggering a Proteas collapse.

2004

A 71-run, ninth-wicket stand by West Indians Courtney Browne and Ian Bradshaw turned seemingly certain defeat into a two-wicket triumph over an England team inspired by 104-run Trescothick.

Winning skipper Brian Lara said his team drew inspiration in London from television pictures of hurricanes lashing the Caribbean as they reached a 218-run target with seven balls to spare.

2006

West Indies became the first country to reach three Champions Trophy finals, but there was no London-like salvage operation as Australia cruised to an eight-wicket Mumbai success.

Nathan Bracken (3-22) inflicted most damage as the defending champions managed only 138 and an undefeated 57 from Shane Watson lifted Australia to 116-2 when rain intervened and the Duckworth-Lewis method came into play.