Minnows not to blame for Champions Trophy lull

After a protracted qualification process, the Champions Trophy has reached the knock-out stage that elevates it above other ODI tournaments. Some obvious conclusions can now be drawn about the 12-match group stage: anti-climactic, poorly scheduled and unnecessarily drawn-out.

As an event, it seems the Champions Trophy is still in a state of transition, searching for its identity. At the moment, it is caught between being a straight knock-out carnival, as it was in its previous two incarnations, and a scaled-down imitation of a World Cup. As a result of this confusion the group stage was something of a damp squib, with two of 12 matches totally meaningless and another four effectively so.

If the Champions Trophy is meant to be a condensed knock-out tournament, then half the preliminary games should not be reduced to trivial affairs. On the other hand, if it is meant to replicate the World Cup, then teams must have an opportunity to make up for losing a match. That hasn't happened. None of the losers made it to the semi-finals, as it became clear that despite the pools and name change, the event was still effectively a knock-out with a practice fixture added on for the top teams. This would have been tolerable, perhaps, if the tournament had built up to the decisive group games by scheduling the lesser fixtures first. Instead, in three of the four groups the matches between the strongest teams were played first, leading to an unsatisfactory week-long lull in the middle of what should be a brief, action-packed tournament.

In addition to the extended break in important fixtures, teams were forced to wait too long between matches. South Africa had a week's rest between their first and second games. India had eight days. Pakistan, already eliminated on the first day of the tournament, were forced to wait a full nine days for a meaningless match against Holland, during which time the PCB conducted a review of team performance, sacked coach Mudassar Nazar, made seven team changes and re-appointed Richard Pybus. If a week is a long time in politics, nine days can be a veritable age in Pakistani cricket. The Australians had so long to wait that they took a mid-tournament holiday in the Maldives, and still returned with days to spare before their semi-final!

One could attribute the tournament's loss of momentum to the lack of competitiveness by the developing nations, but it would be hypocritical to high-handedly disparage the presence of Kenya, Bangladesh and Holland when, as their captains have been at pains to point out, they need more matches against quality sides to improve. That being the case, how much sense would it make to exclude them from one of the rare occasions on which they get to compare themselves with the world's best?

The only way to improve is to play better opposition. One really can't lament the failure of Bangladesh and Kenya to be competitive without also highlighting how disadvantaged they are by international scheduling. Obviously, they suffer on the disparity in quality alone. How much more unfair is it, then, to expect them to show improvement when they are afforded so few international matches?

Kenya is not scheduled to play any ODIs between now and the World Cup. Prior to the recent triangular tourney, they had played a mere nine ODIs since the last ICC Knock-out in October 2000. Bangladesh, with the benefit of Test status, had played 12. Can we expect them to progress, and be worthy Champions Trophy and World Cup competitors, without competition?

It would be difficult enough for the top sides to perform without adequate preparation, let alone the minnows who need the experience most. Kenya were only fortunate enough to participate in the recent tri-series with Australia and Pakistan as a result of the series being moved and New Zealand pulling out. Funding and development programs are all very well, but cricket can't truly espouse globalisation without also being prepared to commit to matches against the minnows.

That being said, this is not to support Bangladesh's Test status. "Better opposition" for Bangladesh and Kenya, at this stage of their development, is a relative term. Test cricket is much more unforgiving, in addition to possessing a certain sacrosanct status, than ODI cricket. Increased participation in other nations' domestic first-class tournaments, 'A' team matches and the like would be the more logical first step before being as hastily tossed into the Test arena as Bangladesh have been.

The general dullness of the group stage of the Champions Trophy is really the fault of the greed that nearly saw the tournament undermined before it had begun, not the participation of teams grateful for the competition.

The semi-finals are when knock-out tournaments really come alive and it is now that the Champions Trophy earns its status. One would expect pitch conditions to become increasingly influential, with those teams possessing the most effective spinning options, and ability to score against slow bowling, at an advantage.

The part-time tweakers have a key role. Jayasuriya, Lehmann, Tendulkar and Yuvraj become integral fifth bowlers, and whoever is best able to score from them will be favoured. South Africa's lack of variety might cost them, with the injured Boje or newcomer Peterson the only slow bowlers to call upon.

South Africa are more likely to rely on the discipline and intelligence of their seam attack, irrespective of conditions. Amid the carnage wreaked by Virender Sehwag on a hapless England were indications of what South Africa were likely to attempt in the semi-final. Before he was pounded, Andrew Caddick initially bowled straight and shorter at Sourav Ganguly, restricting his shotplay. Sehwag's edge was found by bowling short of a length, causing him to force off the back foot without getting in line with the ball. One imagines Pollock and company would seek to effect a similar strategy, though it would need to be all but perfect just to contain India's formidable, organised batting.

Sri Lanka have won 41 of their last 50 matches at Premadasa, including 23 of the last 26, and with seven matches having been played there by the time Australia confront Sri Lanka, Muralitharan is likely to be turning the ball square. Australia's batsmen struggled on a slow pitch against Kenya in Nairobi and could not profit against Vettori in their match with NZ. John Buchanan has said the key to combating Murali will be the state of the game when he comes on to bowl, but that somewhat discounts the effectiveness of Chandana and Jayasuriya. Though the reigning World Cup champions are on a roll, Sri Lanka's spinners must fancy their chances of restricting them again.

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