ICC Champions Trophy Round-Up – England progress

ICC Champions Trophy
As the group stages of the ICC Champions Trophy near their completion, the only team who have definitely booked their place in the semi finals is, somewhat surprisingly, England. It has been an exciting tournament so far, and with upsets and some fine batting on display, the touranment, if nothing else, should allay any fears that the 50-over format is under any threat from its younger brother Twenty20.

Champions Trophy Outright
Australia – 11/4 at Coral
Pakistan – 3/1 at Coral
England – 9/2 at ExtraBet
Sri Lanka – 7/1 at Victor Chandler
England – 8/1 at Victor Chandler
India – 8/1 at at Victor Chandler
New Zealand – 9/1 at SkyBet
West Indies – 250/1 at BetFred

GROUP A
The definite highlight of Group A so far, was the heavyweight clash between India and Pakistan. These old rivals brought out the very best of the game, with Pakistan outplaying the more favoured Indians. A classy ton from Shaoib Malik helped Pakistan, who batted first, towards a good total, with Ashish Nehra being the pick of the Indian bowlers, taking 4 for 55. India, who were missing a couple of key batsmen, struggled, and even the iconic figure of Sachin Tendulkar went very cheaply for 8. That was the big scalp for Pakistan, who had a nervy opening game against the West Indies. India now, need to turn over Australia in order to keep their semi final hopes alive, but having only played one below par game themselves against the Windies, no-one is sure which Australia has arrived in the tournament. Will it be the one full of potential, or the one that possess a lot of potential? The Aussies will be powerful in batting, it will be down to the Indian batsmen to attack what is considered to be a weaker than in past tournaments, Australian bowling attack. The West Indies are already out of the tournament, as expected. Their lack of experience, because they are missing their star players over a pay dispute, has lacked the quality to compete, but haven’t been short on gusto.

Results
Pakistan beat West Indies by 5 wickets
Australia beat West Indies by 50 runs
Pakistan beat India by 54 runs

Remaining Fixtures
28 Australia v India
30 Australia v Pakistan
30 India v West Indies

GROUP B
Talking of upsets, than no-one coming into the tournament would have booked England a semi final place above everyone else. But that is what has happened, after Andrew Strauss and his men knocked off two of the favourites for the trophy. First they beat Sri Lanka by a healthy six wickets, before toppling the host nation, South Africa in a thrilling match. That defeat meant that South Africa have been knocked out of the tournament at far too early a stage on their home soil. The Proteas went into the tournament as strong favourites, and the bookies will probably be rubbing their hands. The much maligned England batting order have actually produced two decent scores, and should be brimming with confidence after their series embarrassment against the Aussies. Perhaps it has all been down to facing a new challenge against some fresh opposition. South Africa’s fate was also undone when they lost to Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tournament. Quite how Sri Lanka went on to lose their next two against England and New Zealand, arguably the weaker two in the group will remain a disappointing mystery. Their place in the tournament hangs in the balance, and will be hoping that New Zealand suffer a heavy defeat at the hands of England. If New Zealand win, they will join England in the semi finals.

Results
Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 55 runs
South Africa beat New Zealand by 5 wickets
England beat Sri Lanka v 6 wickets
New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 38 runs
England beat South Africa by 22 runs

Remaining Fixtures
29 England v New Zealand