Wrong place, wrong time for Trophy
West End – Whose silly idea was it to bring the ICC Champions Trophy to England? There are 10 Test-playing nations playing what is in effect a knockout tournament in a two-week period – a format perhaps more exciting than the World Cup – but the whole thing barely rates a mention.
The aftermath of the Olympics and the start of the Premiership have taken much of the attention, but it is the English malaise that really drags the whole thing down.
It starts at local level, where the Rose Bowl is decked out with extra seats and looks an absolutely world-class facility, but where India are training on the second oval as Hampshire have the main one, and where golfers go about their business nearby oblivious to what is occurring.
It is not helped by the ICC, which has done things a little on the cheap and erred in holding the whole thing in drizzly September when it would have been wiser, if not as cost-effective, to play in mid-summer.
Teams complain about hotels in the middle of nowhere and warm-up games are unpublicised as they might attract more attention than the organisers can cope with. Pakistan played South Africa on Thursday, not before thousands of excited kids but in front of two men a dog and Bob Woolmer at Birmingham’s Walmley Cricket Club. The counties have been left to nudge out the last two weeks of the season unbothered, neither finishing early to allow a single focus nor hosting potentially money-spinning tour matches.
But nowhere is the English malaise more evident than in the media, where all unite in pronouncing this a joke of a tournament that should not be taken seriously. How can anyone claim that a match between Australia and New Zealand, or India v Pakistan, in a meaningful tournament is not one-day cricket at its best? Edgbaston could witness Australia playing England in next week’s semi-final – if the hosts get that far – but we are too busy talking about next summer’s Ashes to notice.
The same happened during the 1999 World Cup, when the final rounds went on unnoticed because England were not good enough to participate. Four years later, South Africa were excited about the tournament just as much as about the prospects of their doomed home team.
India would have loved this tournament, fans would have gone to every game regardless of the opponents, and there would have been a buzz about the whole thing. Unfortunately tax laws got in the way and England stepped in. But a reversion to the original plan for this tournament, playing in a smaller nation to raise the profile of the game, would have been ideal, and allowed the English to continue their naval-gazing.
Stat of the week
Two in fact:
0.027 – difference in net run rate which saw USA qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy.
Minus 4.20 - USA’s run rate in Pool One after their 210-run defeat by New Zealand.
Spotted
India captain Sourav Ganguly walking into a press conference with his cap on backwards. He took it off and re-set his immaculate hair only after pointing out that the logo of team sponsors Sahara is not allowed at ICC tournaments.
Quote of the week
“Our last tournament was last year in April – that’s about 17 months without a single one-dayer. We really feel disappointed. We’re not getting any respect.”
- Steve Tikolo, captain of World Cup semi-finalists Kenya, takes aim at the ICC.
Six sense
1. Again the England and Wales Cricket Board attempted to hide bad news by better headlines, announcing their tour dates for Zimbabwe in an off-hand manner at 4.30pm on Thursday, with the Champions Trophy set to launch. As host-organisers of the tournament they should have had their sights on more positive things, and they should have made a decision on Zimbabwe long ago. It left a bad taste in the mouth.
5. It is good to see the new-look Zimbabwe making England work for an opening win. Perhaps in a few years time they will be able to compete at Test level at home and away again. With all the teeth-gnashing over the 15 rebels it was easy to forget that Zimbabwe were pretty woeful even before white players began to drift away from the side. Without agreeing with the method, perhaps a fresh start was what the side needed.
3. Kenya may have got to the World Cup semi-final by a combination of luck and one-off achievement but they earned status that should have seen them play major teams more often in the last 17 months. They deserve at least to play regularly as an extra team in those interminable one-day series worldwide, and they would come up with the odd headline-grabbing result even now. Leading on from that, the ICC should stop diluting major tournaments by including smaller nations. Get them involved with the big sides out of the spotlight and help them thrive rather than dragging them in every few years and sending them home with their tails between their legs.
4. It is a regular ICC-bash this week. Is it right that the ICC should have an awards ceremony to honour the best teams and players in the world? Shouldn’t it just govern and let someone else worry about that sort of thing?
5. Warwickshire were worthy winners of the County Championship but they were far from charismatic, claiming the title with five wins out of 15 and relying on batting the opposition out of the game. The real culprit, though, is the system of relegating three teams from Division One each season. Get into a bad situation and you are happy to play for a draw rather than risk defeat by attacking.
6. Whacky idea of the week: Get rid of the bowling restrictions in one-day internationals. If Steve Harmison can bowl 12 overs let him. I can see why law-makers wanted to keep five bowlers in a side but their deployment is now a more important tactic than anything else in the game. Just like the recent relaxing of the bouncer rule, a bit of Test style might just help pep one-day cricket up.
