New Zealand win will put Lanka out

Match 10: England v New Zealand, Johannesburg

England and New Zealand comfortably won their last games against South Africa and Sri Lanka respectively, thereby opening up competition for semi-final spots in Group B. A win for England will allow either Sri Lanka or New Zealand with a better net run-rate to play the semi-final. A win for New Zealand will see them alongside England qualify for the semi-final.

Going into the crucial encounter, New Zealand will be without their opener Jesse Ryder who suffered a groin injury while playing against Sri Lanka. However, contributions from the likes of Martin Guptill, Brendon McCullum will please captain Daniel Vettori, who played a match winning role with bat and ball in the last game. For England, Captain Andrew Strauss will be concerned about his own form, however he will hope that Owais Shah, Paul Collingwood and Eion Morgan continue with their sublime form throughout the tournament.

Best bet for England:                                      Owais Shah – 9/10

Paul Collingwood – 9/10

Eion Morgan – 8/10

James Anderson – 8/10

Best bet for New Zealand:                           Daniel Vettori – 9/10

Ross Taylor – 8/10

Brendon McCullum – 8/10

Daryl Tuffey – 7/10

Renewal of rivalry on cards

Match 6: India v Pakistan

India and Pakistan have played 25 times in the last three years but this will not take away the interest and the anticipation that’s building up among not only cricket fans but also players. The Pakistan camp has started the verbal challenge even before the start of the tournament with comments from Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul, however the Indians have played down the hype. The match will also be the first one between the two countries irrespective of the format after the Mumbai terror attacks.

Indians have a lot to ponder with their key player Yuvraj Singh joining Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan on the sidelines. Gautam Gambhir is cleared to play but his fitness is still under cloud. Similarly Younis Khan is set to take the field without recovering completely. Umar Akmal is likely to retain his spot, which will see Imran Nazir sit out and allow a place for Younis Khan. It will be interesting to see at what position Afridi bats considering the effect he can have on the Indians as an opener.

Best bet for India:

Sachin Tendulkar – 9/10

MS Dhoni – 9/10

Harbajan Singh -8/10

Rahul Dravid – 8/10

Best bet for Pakistan:

Shahid Afridi – 9/10

Mohammad Yousuf – 8/10

Umar Akmal – 8/10

Mohammad Ameer – 8/10

This match No match

Defending champions Australia can expect an easy outing in their first match against a depleted West Indies on Saturday. The Australians, however, are little weary and their bodies tired after a grueling four month tour to England. The team has just landed in South Africa and will play their opening game without any warm-ups. Ricky Ponting will look to win this match convincingly with a healthy net run-rate as they will be facing India and Pakistan later in the tournament with only one win required to make the semi-final cut.

Australia will be without the specialist ODI bowler Nathan Bracken who is out with a knee problem and vice-captain Michael Clarke out with a back strain. James Hopes is the likely replacement for Clarke while Peter Siddle will take Bracken’s place in the eleven. On the other hand, West Indies, runner-up in the last edition of the Champions Trophy in India will hope that they bowl first to make use of the conditions to restrict Australia to a low total which is highly unlikely to happen.

Best bet for Australia:

Ricky Ponting – 9/10

Mitchell Johnson – 8/10

Shane Watson – 8/10

Brett Lee – 7/10

Best bet for West Indies:

Gavin Tonge – 8/10

Nikita Miller – 7/10

Andre Fletcher – 6/10

David Bernard – 6/10

BCCI signs new accord with IMG

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally put an end to the contract dispute with IMG over managing the Indian Premier League for the next eight years. The contract was into jeopardy when BCCI secretary N Srinivasan terminated the contract as the fee for IPL 2009 was Rs.33 crore (US$ 6.7 million) compared to the amount initially agreed upon. According to the new deal BCCI will pay IMG Rs. 27 crore (US$ 5.5 million) per year for the next years.

Many franchise owners raised their concerns over removal of IMG and it required the interference of former BCCI chief Sharad Pawar to put the matter to rest. Later it was decided that BCCI President Shashank Manohar will find a compatible solution and present it at the BCCI Annual General Meeting (AGM) on September 28, 2009.

The board also announced that the player’s income in IPL 2009 will be taxable at 15% by South African Revenue service. President Manohar also had a strong word for IPL franchises. “There were reports about franchises having written letters to the board. They have no right to interfere in the internal matters of the board. Such a thing will not be tolerated.”

Sehwag steps down from captaincy

Delhi Daredevils captain Virender Sehwag has decided to step down from captaincy. The recent injury to the dashing opener convinced him concentrate on his batting and led to his decision. Following Sehwag’s announcement the Daredevils management has appointed his opening partner Gautam Gambhir as the new captain.

Gambhir will take in charge from the upcoming Champions League T20 and wicketkeeper batsman Dinesh Karthik has been appointed as his deputy. “I would like to thank GMR for their understanding in accepting my request to step down. Personally, I would like to concentrate on my own batting and contribute to the team” Sehwag said on thanking his franchise owners. The batsman also applauded the decision to elevate Gambhir as captain. “Gautam did a great job of captaining Delhi and also during IPL 2 in South Africa this year. He has shown very good leadership skills and will bring fresh energy into the Delhi Daredevils.”

Sehwag recently expressed his desire to step down from vice-captaincy role of the Indian team and told national selectors that someone else should be groomed from now on to take over the mantle form MS Dhoni whenever the time comes. Gambhir is not new to captaincy, as he led the Daredevils in a few matches during Indian Premier League (IPL) in South Africa when Sehwag was injured. The left-hander also captained Delhi in the domestic tournaments.

Sri Lanka aim at capitalizing on demoralized England

Match 4: England v Sri Lanka, Johannesburg

Sri Lanka will be a happy team to see off the host and now will look at consolidating their semi-final berth with a win over demoralized England which lost to Australia 1-6 at home a few days ago. England will on the other hand look to change their fortunes but to do that they have play out of their skins to overcome spirited Lankans. England should try and knock off the Lankan top order quickly and also play their spin duo Murali and Mendis well.

Captain Strauss should look to bat through the innings while others should try to play around him and keep the momentum going. In the absence of Pietersen and Flintoff, Collingwood and Strauss will be their key batsman while Graeme Swann should strike big in the middle-overs. For Lanka Sangakkara would hope that his most experienced player Jayasuria will strike form.

Best bet for England:                      Paul Collingwood – 9/10

Andrew Strauss – 8/10

Graeme Swann – 8/10

James Anderson – 8/10

Best bet for Sri Lanka:

Tillakaratne Dilshan – 9/10

Kumar Sangakkara – 9/10

Mahela Jayawardene – 8/10

Muttiah Muralitharan – 8/10

Win needed to stay alive for South Africa

Match 3: South Africa v New Zealand, Centurion

South Africa was knocked out in the league stage the last time they staged an ICC 50-over tournament in their country and there are high possibilities that it can repeat if the home team fails to win in their match against New Zealand. A loss in their opening encounter against Sri Lanka leaves them with a little margin for error. The return of opener Herschelle Gibbs will be a big boost for them and will replace Hashim Alma at the top. Bowling needs to be more disciplined and they cannot afford to give away too many boundaries as they did against Sri Lanka.

New Zealand on the other hand will look to capitalize on a rusty South Africans. A committed performance by all their players can see them on the winning side. The Kiwis should be cautious about losing too many wickets too early which they often do and try to build big partnerships. A lot will depend on their openers Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder and the stylish Ross Taylor. The bowling looks well equipped to unleash the conditions.

Best bet for South Africa:             Herschelle Gibbs – 9/10

Graeme Smith – 8/10

Jacques Kallis – 8/10

Roelof van der Merwe – 8/10

Best bet for New Zealand:           Daniel Vettori – 9/10

Ross Taylor – 8/10

Brendon McCullum – 8/10

Jesse Ryder – 7/10

Can depleted West Indies come up with credible show

Champions Trophy 2009, South Africa

Match 2: Pakistan v West Indies, Johannesburg

International Cricket Council’s (ICC) effort to upgrade the quality of Champions Trophy by scrapping the participation of lesser ranked team is into waters with a depleted West Indies team set to take the field. This means that the match is more of a formality with Pakistan getting another outing before taking on arch rivals India on 26th. Pakistan captain Younis Khan might skip the match to give himself more time to heel from the minor finger injury. This will allow Shahid Afridi lead the side for the first time in an ODI.

West Indies players on the other hand, will look to put up some credible show if not as a team at an individual level to cement his place in the regular national team.

Best bet for Pakistan:                     Shahid Afridi – 9/10

Kamran Akmal – 8/10

Umar Gul – 8/10

Shoaib Malik – 7/10

Best bet for West Indies:              Darren Sammy – 7/10

Tino Best – 6/10

Devon Smith – 6/10

Andre Fletcher – 6/10

Home team eye winning start

Champions Trophy 2009, South Africa

Match 1: South Africa v Sri Lanka, Centurion

South Africa has more than one reason to win this Champions Trophy. Their cricket board and players are agitated that none of their players featured in the condensed nomination list for the ICC annual awards despite being the number one Test and ODI team in the world. Another reason is that the home team would like to shed their chokers tag and add some trophy to their kitty. The team will take the field after a long break which means their players are fully charged and will give their best in the opening match against Sri Lanka at Centurion.

On the other hand Sri Lanka will bank on the experience of Sanath Jayasuria and Muttiah Muralitharan to deliver the killer blow to the host. Mahela Jayawardene will be aware of his poor run in the country and would like to rewrite that. It is sure that South Africa will have an upper hand in fielding but a disciplined batting and bowling performance from Sri Lanka can give the ‘Proteas’ a hard time.

Best bet for South Africa:             Wayne Parnell – 9/10

Graeme Smith – 8/10

Jacques Kallis – 8/10

AB DeVillers – 8/10

Best bet for Sri Lanka:                    Tillakaratne Dilshan – 9/10

Sanath Jayasuria – 9/10

Mahela Jayawardene – 8/10

Nuwan Kulasekara – 8/10

Champions Trophy 2009 – Team Preview: New Zealand

The Kiwis are lying low on confidence after their disastrous tour of Sri Lanka where they have lost both Test as well as ODI series without a single win. They have lots to worry about but the biggest of them all is the inconsistency of their batsmen. Three out of their top five – Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, and Grant Elliott – lack experience as well. Vettori should bat up the order at number five, a move that will enable him to control the innings along with other batsmen thus preventing a collapse. The bowlers are in good shape and the return of Bond and Tuffey will make things hard for the opposition in addition to the wily spin bowling from the skipper.

Watch out for:

Ross Taylor when batting at his best is a treat to watch for any cricket lover. The elegant right-hander has the muscle power to clear the rope with easy and he has proven that during the Indian Premier League (IPL) held in South Africa earlier this year.

X-factor: Shane Bond is yet to make a strong statement his in comeback trail and with conditions favoring swing and pace Bond will be New Zealand’s trump card.

Squad:

Daniel Vettori (Captain), Brendon McCullum (Wk), Shane Bond, Neil Broom, Ian Butler, Brendon Diamanti, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Gareth Hopkins, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor and Daryl Tuffey.

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