Tym Glaser, Associate Editor, Sports
I'VE ALWAYS stated that one-day cricket is basically a raffle on any given day and that the best player and not necessarily the best team pulls off a victory.
Personally, give me a good, old Test match any day because the only one dayers I care about come around every four years and are called the 'World Cup'. The rest are just money-making, window-dressing to the 'real' cricket.
Yeah, I'm getting crotchety in my old age, perhaps a little like my compatriot Darrel Hair, but so what? Hey, don't get me wrong, I like one-day cricket as a spectacle, but I simply don't think it defines the pure ability and talent of a cricketer as it's just too hit or miss.
However, I'm here to help ya, so I'm providing - at my own expense - a run down of the teams that will be competing in the Increase Capital Considerably (ICC) Champions Trophy.
As an extra bonus, and because it's pretty much a lottery, I'll also provide Final Word odds, cos I'm like that.
GROUP A
AUSTRALIA
Odds: 3/1
THE WORLD champions start the tournament as favourites and justly so. However, how seriously they take the event should be a concern to punters, which just happens to be skipper Ricky Ponting's nickname. The Aussies have their eyes on the big prize of a World Cup hat-trick and may continue to experiment with their line-up and a wealth of talent which could theoretically field two strong sides at this event. In Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Brad Hogg and all-rounders Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson they have the best attack in a batsman-friendly game. With rested Adam Gilchrist returning to the fold they also have a lethal batting line-up which includes Ponting, Simon Katich, Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Symonds and Watson. On paper, the team to beat.
ENGLAND
Odds: 10/1
INJURY-PLAGUED and under-performing, England will be hard pressed to get out of this group which includes arch-rivals Australia, India and either Sri Lanka or the West Indies. They have fine talent in the likes of sorely missed skipper Andrew Flintoff, opener Andrew Strauss, basher Kevin Pietersen, tall quick Steve Harmison and true pro Paul Collinwood, but they have struggled to get the blend right in the one-day game. They just don't seem to have enough fire power to trouble the big guns with the ball.
INDIA
Odds: 5/1
AN ENIGMATIC side which can put a whole lot of hurt on you with the bat if you it. In skipper Rahul Dravid, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Mahendra Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif they boast one of the most talented batting line-ups in any form of the game. However, despite home advantage, the bowling looks a little suspect and big things will be expected from 'The Turbanator' Harbhajan Singh if they want to win in their own backyard.
GROUP B
NEW ZEALAND
Odds:15/1
A DOUGHTY, fighting side but seems just a little short in the talent department. In such an abbreviated tournament they should not be overlooked but it's hard to see them getting past Pakistan and South Africa in this group. Skipper Stephen Fleming is all class and the likes of Nathan Astle, Jacob Oram and Scott Styris can bash the ball all over the park. Daniel Vettori is a fine left-arm spinner and Shane Bond is just plain quick. Styris and Oram are also more than useful with the ball, but it still will be a stretch for the Black Caps to get to the semis.
PAKISTAN
Odds: 4/1
THE LOSS of skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq is a severe blow to this side, but it still possesses enough match-winning talent to make a deep run in this tournament. Reluctant skipper Younis Khan leads a side with great potency and an equal amount of unpredictability.
Khan and Mohammad Yousuf will be expected to anchor a flamboyant but shaky top order. However, if they can put runs on the board, the bowling attack should rock most other sides. Shoaib Akhtar is as quick as they come, Mohammad Asif moves the ball at pace like it's on a string, Naved-ul-Hasan is the mean workhorse, while Abdul Razzaq is a more than useful medium quick. However, the real danger man is Shahid Afridi who can thump the ball a mile and also bowl tricky little legbreaks. Pakistan can go all the way.
SOUTH AFRICA
Odds: 4/1
SKIPPER GRAEME Smith returns to a very strong and dangerous squad after injury. In Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel they boast a potent pace attack - but will that work on traditionally flat Indian pitches? The real strength of this side is in the batting department with Smith, Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs, A.B. de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, Justin Kemp and 'keeper Mark Boucher. A hard team to keep to a low total and they are well-drilled in the one-day game. The team to watch.
WILD CARDS
SRI LANKA
Odds: 12/1
HAD A nice warm-up for the tournament proper through qualify-ing and should come in with all guns blazing. Opener Upul Tharanga has been in ridiculous form with back-to-back tons against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in the qualifiers, but this will be a step up in class. The 1995 World Champions will bank on their veterans to propel them forward. In the batting department that will be evergreen Sanath Jayasuriya, former skipper Marvan Atapattu, current captain Mahela Jayawardene, 'keeper Kumar Sangakkara and superb fielder Tillakaratne Dilshan. The primary wickettaking duties will be left to veteran lefty Chaminda Vaas, slinger Lasith Malinga and spinner extraordinaire Muttiah Muralitharan. A few teams look a little too strong for them right now.
WEST INDIES
Odds: 10/1
A DANGEROUS floater in this field and a side not many want to meet. The defending champs have a potentially superb batting line-up in the likes of Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, the great Brian Lara, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Runako Morton/Wavell Hinds and diminu-tive 'keeper Carlton Baugh.
In Jerome Taylor, Ian Bradshaw and Corey Collymore thay also have a useful strike force to help them defend the title.
However, the middle order of the batting is prone to collapses and there seems to be no real bowling threat in the overs between 25 and 40 to rattle teams after early in-roads are made into opposing sides. Jamaican Gayle is the most important member of the team now, as he can thrash any attack and then come back and keep things tight with his version of offspin, but he needs to find consistency. This team's inconsistency makes it hard to see it coming out of the preliminary round, but then it was not supposed to win last time, either.
FINAL: Pakistan defeat Australia.
