ICC Annual Conference finishes

The ICC Annual Conference has just wrapped up and there has been some major decisions made in relation to global events calendar.

• The Champions Trophy has definitely been scrapped from the calendar
• The ICC World Test Championship has been confirmed to be played in June/July 2017 to be hosted by England
• The second edition of the Test Championship has been scheduled for February/March 2021 to be hosted by India
• The Cricket World Cup 2023 is to be hosted by India, after England are confirmed as the 2019 hosts
• The ICC World Twenty20 will now be held every four years from 2016 onwards
• Australia will host the World Twenty20 in 2020, after India in 2016
• The ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015 to be held in Scotland and Ireland
• The ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier to be played in Bangladesh in 2018 and in Zimbabwe in 2022

I think the most glaring thing from above is the power held by the ECB, Cricket Australia and the BCCI. England, Australia and India will be the only countries to host ICC tournaments from 2015 to 2023. The other countries are left to play host to U/19 and women's cricket events.

The decision to restrict the World Twenty20 to every four years is a great decision and will help glut the cricket calendar from this constant 20-20. In regards to the Cricket World Cup, it is no surprise that India will host the 2023 edition, but it will be the first time they will host it individually without any other Asian nation hosting. The ICC have also done their best to help lowly full members Bangladesh and Zimbabwe by giving them hosting rights of the the 2018 and 2022 qualification tournaments. Mind you, what happens if Bangladesh are in the top 8 by 2018? They should gain automatic qualification and not have to qualify, but you never know what crazy loophole the ICC may enforce.

Below is a summary of the ICC events from 2014 - 2023 (the next 10 years)
2014: World Twenty20 (Bangladesh)
2014: Cricket World Cup Qualifier (New Zealand)
2015: Cricket World Cup (Australia/New Zealand)
2015: World Twenty20 Qualifier (Ireland/Scotland)
2016: World Twenty20 (India)
2017: ICC World Test Championship (England)
2018: Cricket World Cup Qualifier (Bangladesh)
2019: Cricket World Cup (England)
2019: World Twenty20 Qualifier (TBC)
2020: World Twenty20 (Australia)
2021: ICC World Test Championship (India)
2022: Cricket World Cup Qualifier (Zimbabwe)
2023: Cricket World Cup (India)

The following are a list of the U/19 and Women's tournaments:
2014: ICC Women's World Twenty20 (Bangladesh)
2014: ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup (UAE)
2016: ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup (Bangladesh)
2017: ICC Women's World Cup (England)
2018: ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup (New Zealand)
2018: ICC Women's World Twenty20 (West Indies)
2020: ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup (South Africa)
2021: ICC Women's World Cup (New Zealand)
2022: ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup (West Indies) 2022: ICC Women's World Twenty20 (South Africa)

It is interesting to note the events by country and further consolidates my point about who is really in charge at the ICC

India: World Twenty20 (2016), World Test Championship (2021), Cricket World Cup (2023)
England: World Test Championship (2017), Women's World Cup (2017), Cricket World Cup (2019)
Australia: Cricket World Cup (2015), World Twenty20 (2020)
New Zealand: Cricket World Cup Qualifier (2014), Cricket World Cup (2015), Under-19 Cricket World Cup (2018), ICC Women's World Cup (2021)
South Africa: Under-19 Cricket World Cup (2020), ICC Women's World Twenty20 (2022)
Sri Lanka: -
Pakistan: -
West Indies: Women's World Twenty20 (2018), Under-19 Cricket World Cup (2022)
Bangladesh: World Twenty20 (incl. Women's) (2014), ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup (2016), Cricket World Cup Qualifier (2018)
Zimbabwe: Cricket World Cup Qualifier (2022)

The other interesting results at Conference were:

• Stonger spot/match- fixing regulations
• Each full member has to play at least 16 test matches in a four year period
• The ODI Rankings and T20I Rankings to cover a four year span with the annual rankings update moved to 1 May from 1 August
• Final decision on Bangladesh's ability to host the 2014 World Twenty20 to be made in August
• Ball tampering clarifications for on-field umpires
• Zing wickets approved to be used in ODI's and T20I's
• A player now only has to wait two years (down from four) to play for an associate after playing for a full member
• Afghanistan have been promoted from an affiliate to an associate member of the ICC

The 16 match minimum is pointless really as even Bangladesh and Zimbabwe play four tests per year. If the ICC were really committed to test cricket they would have made it at least 24-32 over a four-year span. The change in eligibility criteria is also a welcome reduction for countries such as Ireland who could secure the services of Boyd Rankin and/or Eoin Morgan if they go out of favour with England.

Tri-Series set to begin

On the back of the Champions Trophy, West Indies, Sri Lanka and victors India have flown to the Carribbean to take part in this ODI Tri-Series. Unfortunately it does replace a test series between the home side and Sri Lanka. Nonetheless it should be a fiercely competitive series with the majority of each team's squad consisting of their Champions Trophy teams.

India are undoubtedly favourites for the tournament after their impressive winning performance in the Champions Trophy. India have also consequently extended their lead on top of the ICC Rankings to 10 points. Sri Lanka meanwhile made the semi-finals in the Champions trophy and lost to India. Their performances have been patchy of late with a 2-2 draw with Australia followed by a disappointing 1-1 draw with Bangladesh at home. They sit at #5 in the rankings and a successful tournament here could propel them into the top four for the first time in quite a while. West Indies meanwhile exited the Champions Trophy in the group stages after a win against Pakistan, a loss to India, which preceded a tie to South Africa which ultimately sealed their fate in the tournament. The West Indies have a lot of potential in the ODI format, however apart from their drubbing of Zimbabwe earlier this year, their form has been disappointing with a series loss in Bangladesh and a clean sweep in Australia occurring in the past 6-8 months. They will look to play well in front of their home fans and try and re-establish their ranking at 7th, after falling behind New Zealand.

It should be a pretty good contest and I think West Indies and Sri Lanka will be battling each other to meet India in the final.

Squads:
West Indies (Jamaica matches): Dwayne Bravo (c), T.Best, Darren Bravo, J.Charles, C.Gayle, S.Narine, K.Pollard, D.Ramdin, R.Rampaul, K.Roach, D.Sammy, M.Samuels, D.Smith

India: MS Dhoni (c), R.Ashwin, S.Dhawan, R.Jadeja, D.Karthik, V.Kohli, B.Kumar, A.Mishra, S.Raina, S.Ahmed, I.Sharma, R.Sharma, M.Vijay, V.Kumar, U.Yadav

Sri Lanka: A.Matthews (c), D.Chandimal, D.Lokuhettige, S.Eranga, R.Herath, M.Jayawardene, N.Kulasekara, L.Malinga, A.Mendis, J.Mendis, K.Perera, K.Sangakkara, S.Senanayake, U.Tharanga, L.Thirimanne

Fixtures:
28th June
West Indies v India @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

30th June
India v Sri Lanka @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

2nd July
West Indies v Sri Lanka @ Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica

5th July
West Indies v India @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

7th July
Sri Lanka v India @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

9th July
West Indies v Sri Lanka @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

11th July
Final @ Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Australian coach Mickey Arthur sacked

In stunning news today, Australian coach Mickey Arthur has been sacked from his job effective immediately. There are also reports that Darren Lehmann will be the man to take-over, which helps as he has been in charge of Australia A's tour happening at the same time. Captain Michael Clarke is also believed to have lost his selection duties as part of a hierarchy overhaul.

There is no doubt that there has been some fractures inside the Australian team as of late, but I think the major shock arising from this announcement is the timing of it. The fact is the Ashes are due to begin in just over two weeks. For a coach to be sacked after months of planning for this series is certainly significant, and perhaps just how much standards have slipped in the Australian dressing-room over the last few months.

Mickey Arthur's contract was to run until the end of the 2015 World Cup. His tenure has produced reasonable results with 10 test wins and three draws from 19 matches. However the real problems have occurred in the past four months with a 4-0 drubbing from India, homework-gate, the Shane Watson saga, David Warner's misdemeanours, and more recently a group exit from the Champions Trophy.

I think that Cricket Australia feel that Mickey Arthur has lost control of the players and the current situation cannot get any worse. If Darren Lehmann does get the job, I think he will do a good job. That is definitely the general sense around the Australian media and ex-cricketers fraternity today. He has "old-school values" which may help straighten out the Australian team.

There is a press conference scheduled within the hour where Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland is due to appear, which will hopefully result in some clarity on what is another drama-packed day in Australian cricket in the lead-up to the Ashes.
 
Update

After a trio of press conferences, the Australian coaching baton has been passed over from Mickey Arthur to Darren Lehmann. The former Australian cricketer is contracted until the end of the 2015 Cricket World Cup (the original end of Mickey Arthur's contract). In the first press conference, CEO James Sutherland and Team Performance Manager Pat Howard discussed the reasons for standing down Arthur's contract. Essentially Sutherland has said that performance has been substandard over the past few months which has led to this decision being made. If I were one of the journalists in the room, I would have asked him why is then if performance has been poor, then the man in charge of team performance is not getting sacked, instead of the coach.

Next up was Mickey Arthur who was very dignified in his press conference, stating that he still believes that the right group of players is in the Australian team for success. Although I did lose him a bit when he said that Australia were "20 minutes away from something special" in the Champions Trophy. Perhaps a little bit delusional there Mickey. After this, Michael Clarke and new coach Darren Lehmann joined the circus in what was a more light-hearted media appearance. Clarke continued to emphasize how it is a privilege to be an Australian cricketer and their recent performances have let Australian fans down. Lehmann displayed his trademark grin when answering questions and was honest in his statements that only winning will keep him safe in the job. One of the lighter moments was when Clarke asked whether Michael Vaughan's twitter account was hacked after hearing of Vaughan's comment about the new coach galvanising the aussies. 

The past few months has been one of the most chaotic periods in Australian cricket history for all the wrong reasons. Hopefully the Ashes Series starting in a little over two weeks can be the start of a transformation of Australian cricket. Otherwise there could be a few more depressing years for Australian fans on the horizon with more Ashes series' in 2013/14, and 2015, as well as a test tour of South Africa, and a home Cricket World Cup.

India win Champions Trophy

Apologies for the lack of posts over the Champions Trophy tournament. Unfortunately I've been incredibly busy over the past month. Nonetheless I'm not now, so expect a lot more posts in the next couple of months.

India have won the final of the Champions Trophy against England in a match thrown into disarray because of rain. With the ICC stupidly not scheduling a reserve day, the final was forced into a 20-over affair, albeit with ODI rules. India batted first and made 129/7 off their 20 overs with Virat Kohli top scoring with 43, while in-form Shikhar Dhawan made 31. England didn't begin their chase in the best of fashion collapsing to 46/4. Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara contributed with 33 and 30 respectively, however Ishant Sharma snuffed their efforts in two balls in a remarkable 18th over. Sharma ended up 2/36 off 4, after being wicketless for 27 runs off his first three overs. Jadeja picked up the wicket of Buttler in the next over, and with Bresnan being run out, England had lost four wickets in eight deliveries for three runs. James Tredwell needed a six off the last over to win the match, however a dot ball resulted off the bowling of Ashwin.

India have thoroughly deserved this win as they have been the best side of the tournament by far - going undefeated in 5 matches. They have therefore consolidated their lead at the top of the ICC ODI Rankings and created a buffer of eight points to second place England.

This was supposed to be the last edition of the Champions Trophy, however according to a recent article on Cricinfo, there are murmurings that that the tournament may be revived. I agree that the tournament was a relative success with the short and sharp format successful in making all games meaningful. However I don't really see the point of having both an eight team Champions Trophy and a 10 team World Cup. If the Champions Trophy is going to be kept, then you would think then the commonsensical thing to do would be to increase the number of places in the World Cup. Unfortunately we are dealing with the ICC, so this has next to no chance of happening.

Injuries mounting in Champions Trophy

Australian captain Michael Clarke has been ruled out of his side's opening match against England tomorrow with an ongoing back injury. Clarke has battled it his whole career but has had consistent trouble with it this year, including having to miss the first test of his career due to injury. With the Ashes looming on back of this one-day tournament, I think it is safe to say, the Australian management will play it with safe with Clarke and not risk him aggravating the injury further.

Bad news for South Africa with Morne Morkel being ruled out of the remainder of the tournament after straining his quad muscle in last night's defeat to India. It is a bitter pill to swallow for South Africa with Dale Steyn getting injured in the warm-up game, as well as pre-tournament withdrawals of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis.

India beat South Africa in Champions Trophy opener

India 331/7 off 50.0 overs defeated South Africa 305 off 50.0 overs by 26 runs
India defeated South Africa last night in the first match of the Champions Trophy tournament. India started off at a blistering pace with Shikhar Dhawan scoring a century to further strengthen his international reputation. Rohit Sharma, the other opener, scored 65 in an opening stand that was worth 127. South Africa picked up a few wickets in the middle of the innings with McLaren picking up three, albeit being hit for 70 off his 10 overs at the same time. Jadeja hit a quickfire 47* to push India to a big total of 331/7.

South Africa were in all sorts at the beginning of their innings losing openers Amla and Ingram for not many. Robin Peterson played well for his 68, as did captain AB de Villiers (70) but both failed to capitalise. Ryan McLaren provided some impetus at no.8 with 71, however it was not enough as the South Africans fell 26 runs short.

India's next match is against West Indies on Tuesday, while South Africa play Pakistan on Monday.

Last edition of the Champions Trophy all set to go!

The Champions Trophy has been  a much maligned competition over its duration. It started off as a knock-out tournament, went on to include heavily underprepared associates (cough...cough... USA), and has finally settled on its best format. The top eight teams, the major cricketing nations in a short and sharp tournament where all games matter. This last edition wasn't even meant to be in the schedule for 2013, however remained due to the inability for the World Test Championship to get up and running. In 2017 though, the Test event will occur (we think) which has caused the ICC to signal that each format of the game should have one major tournament. It's definitely the right move, however the fact that now there will only be a one-day tournament every four years means greater potential for more T20 matches.

Anyway I move back to the Champions Trophy, and there is much excitement around this year's tournament. All the sides are relatively closely matched and any team could win especially in the tournament format where every game counts. Below I run through the teams and their chances.

England
The hosts are one of the favourites, however their series loss to New Zealand will increase the doubts around them. Home conditions will help especially over the subcontinent teams. Good chance for the final I reckon.

India
They mauled Australia in their last warm-up match a couple of days ago, and will use this tournament to try and take some of the spotlight off the drama back in India. Should make the semis.

Australia
With Michael Clarke in severe doubt with a back injury, and their frailty against swing bowling being highlighted against India, I sense they might struggle. Don't think they will make the semis to be honest.

South Africa
The perennial under-achievers in global tournaments, however they have won a Champions Trophy. Expected to do well and could challenge for the final, although Steyn's potential absence will hurt.

Sri Lanka
In contrast to above, Sri Lanka have over-achieved to an extent (to outsider's expectations) in global tournaments, however I don't think they'll make the semis here though.

Pakistan
Pakistan were lucky to get away against Ireland and are unpredictable; so are therefore quite difficult to assess. Could be anywhere from first-round losers to finalists.

New Zealand
Darkhorses as usual. Series win over England will give them huge confidence. Will be looking at the group match against Australia to try and land a semi-final spot.

West Indies
Their T20 World Cup win last year has so far failed to translate into any dominant ODI form as of yet. Don't think that will turn around yet.

Full Fixtures

Group A

Saturday 8^th June

England VS Australia @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

Sunday 9^th June

New Zealand VS Sri Lanka @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Wednesday 12^th June

Australia VS New Zealand @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

Thursday 13^th June

England VS Sri Lanka @ Kennington Oval, London

Sunday 16^th June

England VS New Zealand @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Monday 17^th June

Australia VS Sri Lanka @ Kennington Oval, London

Group B

Thursday 6^th June

India VS South Africa @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Friday 7^th June

Pakistan VS West Indies @ Kennington Oval, London

Monday 10^th June

Pakistan VS South Africa @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

Tuesday 11^th June

India VS West Indies @ Kennington Oval, London

Friday 14^th June

South Africa VS West Indies @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Saturday 15th June

India VS Pakistan @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

Finals

Wednesday 19^th June

Semi Final #1 @ Kennington Oval, London

Thursday 20^th June

Semi Final #2 @ Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Sunday 23^rd June

Final @ Edgbaston, Birmingham

 

World Cricket Live Update

England managed to prevent a whitewash in the final One-Day International of the three match series yesterday. After England made 287/6 off their 50 overs, New Zealand were bowled out 34 runs short with a few overs remaining. It all came too little too late for England though after already giving up a 2-0 series lead to the kiwis. For those of you who have not seen it, try and get hold of some highlights of Martin Guptill's innings in the second ODI. After scoring a century in the first match, Guptill went even further with an incredible 189*. It was the highest score by a New Zealander in ODI's, as well as the fifth highest overall out of all countries. Despite his patchy performances in tests, Guptill is really shining in the 50 over game.

New Zealand could not have really asked for a better result in the lead up to the Champions Trophy. This series win makes it for the second for the year with the other one being away to South Africa. Their form this year has been quite impressive, and this is being reflected in the rankings with them now overtaking West Indies into 7th place.

England will be disappointed with the their first home ODI series loss since 2009, and it couldn't have come at a worse time, as they are about to play host to the Champions Trophy. They will still go in one of the favourites, however there are now more doubts than before, thanks to New Zealand.