Testing times for one-day cricket

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By Tym Glaser (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-22 09:38

The ICC Champions Trophy bowls off tonight (Beijing time) with the limited-overs cricket game under as much pressure as the host side, South Africa.

Increasingly squeezed between Tests and the juggernaut known as 20/20, the 50-over per side version of the sport faces an unofficial moratorium in SA. If the fans stay away, it could signal the beginning of the end of a game which has already been dumped from the English County schedule.

Also feeling heat are the Proteas, probably the best side in the world in all forms of the game but yet to translate that into serious hardware. Anything less than the trophy would further 'enhance' their reputation as big-stage chokers.

Here's is a brief look at the eight teams chasing the 'mini-World Cup'.

South Africa (5-2): Hosts and solid favorites to lift their second title. Tremendous batting and bowling depth but the Proteas have a habit of underachieving when the spotlight is on. Now's the time for Graeme Smith's side to step up. AB de Villiers may be the world's in-form bat and Dale Steyn the quickest with the ball. Toss in the likes of prolific Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs and veteran 'keeper Mark Boucher and you have the team to beat.

Australia (4-1): Defending champions are coming off a 6-1 thumping of England in their just-concluded ODI series. Ricky Ponting leads a new-look side sans match-winners Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Glenn McGrath but it does include two extremely quick bowlers in Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson and emerging talents like Cameron White, Shane Watson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Tim Paine and Callum Ferguson. The team in gold usually performs well on the big stage.

India (4-1): Batting by the bucketful but the bowling is, as usual, a potential Achilles' heel. The little master, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and skipper MS Dhoni form an intimidating batting line-up. However, it has been exposed by the short ball and the likes of Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh and RP Singh are going to have to excel to keep opponents' totals down.

Sri Lanka (5-1): Dangerous side when its batting clicks. Sanath Jayasuriya, who apparently wants to play cricket until he's 70, remains a dangerous striker but the team also needs consistent performances from Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, skipper Kumar Sangakkara and Chamara Kapugedera to support a strong bowling attack which boasts spin twins Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis as well as the slingy Lasith Malinga.

Pakistan (6-1): The world 20/20 champions are the joker in the pack. Younis Khan's maverick side boasts world-class talent in Mohammad Yousuf, Shaoib Malik and enigmatic all-rounder Shahid Afridi but it's a hard team to trust.

New Zealand (10-1): The cricketing opposites of Pakistan who often punch above their weight. Won the title in 2001 but victory No 2 looks beyond Daniel Vettori's outfit in SA. Paceman Shane Bond's return to the fold boosts an otherwise ordinary attack but the Kiwis will make their mark if inconsistent batsmen like Ross Taylor and Jesse Rider can strike form.

England (14-1): Coming off an Ashes hangover and a dreadful 6-1 whipping by the Aussies in the subsequent ODI series. Without game-changers Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss's side looks lame but simply can't keep performing so poorly, or can it? Bowlers Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Graeme Swann will be the keys to any England success.

West Indies (25-1): World cricket's great embarrassment. With the region's best players absent due to an on-going feud with their cricket board, the Windies have sent out a third-rate side to compete for the trophy. Could not beat mighty Bangladesh in home Tests and ODIs so have no chance in SA.

(Odds from Ladbrokes)