West Indies can certainly win the final Champions Trophy ever, as International Cricket Council continues to engineering its schedules and competitions, to accommodate the more lucrative T-20 series everywhere, and, as suggested last week, to also hope for a return and influence of Test cricket.
In its group, West Indies has to play three 50-overs juggernauts; Pakistan, India and South Africa. Either, can also win the tournament outright!
Pakistan won World Cup 1992, while India are defending 2011 World Cup champions. South Africa are always promising, but never, so far, delivering in major competitions. This could be their tournament!
In cycling terms, this is “Devil takes the hindmost!”
Every game played in group stages of this short competition has immediate consequences; winners will probably advance to semi-finals, losers will, more likely than not, go home after the group matches!
When, being ultra-positive, West Indies gets to semi-finals, experiences from the two warm-up games, against Australia and Sri Lanka, also past World Cup winning teams, will become even more important.
Luckily, most of West Indies players were either involved in Indian Premier League 2013, or in County Cricket, while others are supposedly well practiced, so, overall, West Indies should be in good shape!
West Indies are also fortunate with the first two official fixtures; v Pakistan, Friday 07 June, then v India, Tuesday 11 June; both to be played at the Oval.
It is that actual venue itself, absolutely well-known Kia Oval, in London’s Borough of Lambeth, which has so many unbelievably wonderful memories for West Indians of all ages.
The cricket arena for the first Test ever in England, 1880, was “The Oval”, with the hosts beating Australia by five wickets; legendary Dr. W. G. Grace making a century on debut.
While Lords is always seen as “Home of Cricket”, the Oval was more “Home of the Working Class”, for so many West Indians who had migrated to the UK during and immediately after World War II.
Attending games at “The Oval”, beautiful when the sun comes out, probably the most noisy cricket arena anywhere except Trinidad & Tobago’s Queen’s Park Oval or Australia’s Melbourne Cricket Ground, always presents West Indians with a profound sense of nostalgia!
1976; The Oval; Michael Holding destroyed England with that unprecedented spell of fast bowling on that always flat batting pitch; 14 wicket for 149;, which augmented (Sir) Viv Richards’ majestic 291. West Indies won by 231 runs, and the Test series 3 – 0.
That was also a series with mythical connotations, noted in “Fire in Babylon”, after England’s captain Tony Greig suggested that his team would make West Indies grovel!
1979; World Cup semi-final ; the Oval; Pakistan, always a tremendous threat, in the guise of Majid Khan and Zaheer Abbas, were beating West Indies to a pulp, putting on 166, to get within shouting distance, before yours truly managed three quick wickets, to change the game to a West Indies win!
2004; the Oval; West Indies played England in Champions Trophy final. The visitors were down but not fully out, before wicket-keeper, now selector Courtney Browne, and always level-headed medium-pacer Ian Bradshaw, put on 71, to come back from the brink.
The Oval has always been special to West Indies, cricketers and supporters alike. When India and Pakistan meet West Indies there later this competition, “The Oval” will be rocking!
Pakistan is the dark horse in this tournament. Much of their possible eventual progress will depend on the moods of captain Misbah-ul-Haq and wizened veterans Abdur Rehman, Shoiab Malik, Mohammed Haffez, Mohammad Irfan, Saeed Ajmal and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal. They all have to perform!
India, conversely, must be at least joint favorites, even if they do not normally play well in England. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has done a great job of honing individual-minded players into a team.
Confidence, even impudence, of batsmen Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma have destroyed many oppositions’ psyches, while bowlers Irfan Pathan and Amit Mishra are quite useful.
South Africa is still very much an enigma. They always play excellently, and have all of the proper personnel to beat the world in competitions. To date, though, they have not won anything substantial.
The Proteas are rated as Test champions now, holding that ICC Championship mace, but that was more from accrued performances over months, as opposed to instantly winning a one-off competition.
Graeme Smith, the normal captain, will certainly be missed, but AB De Villiers is a good lieutenant, and with Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, will provide the necessary concrete for their batting, while the best fast bowler in world cricket now, Dale Steyn, will lead their attack. Time will tell if this would be enough!
Both West Indies new ODI captain, Dwayne Bravo, and Head coach, Ottis Gibson, have said that they know that West Indies can win, even if not actually predicting victory, but one day cricket is so fickle.
So, to paraphrase the incomparable movie star-director Clint Eastwood, who turned 83 on May 31, “Come on, West Indies, win Champions Trophy 2013, again, at the Oval. Make our days!” Enjoy!
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I wish the West Indies well. They need to score in excess of 300runs, if and when they bat first, especially if the track is good for batting. Scores of 250runs,is far from enough on good batting wickets in 50 over matches.
When the bowling is good, the batsmen need to rotate the strike.
If Roach is taking wickets, let him bowl his 10 overs.
GO FOR IT WINDIES!
One have to have a good heart to follow Windies Cricket cause when our team is on a high its no holes bared, also when they are on the low side on the cricket field, one must have a good Heart to listen or watch them perform, its a love hate relationship with our team. But the worst problem with our team is their inconsistency, and sad to say this is what I think is going to happen this time around I hope I am wrong cause I`d love them to win the trophy. WEE GO SEE!