Time for cricket’s poor cousin
BACK FROM BRINK OF EXTINCTION
Generally regarded as the poor cousin to the cricket world’s more prestigious titles, the Champions Trophy gets underway on June 1 when hosts England take on Bangladesh at The Oval.
Slotting only in at No 3 on the list after the World Cup and World Twenty20 of the most sought-after limited-overs trophies, the 50over tournament is nonetheless considered a major trophy. And in fact the only major cricket trophy the Proteas and New Zealand have ever managed to win.
After a name change, numerous format-adaptions and changing from a biennial to quadrennial event over the course of the first seven editions, the tournament teetered on the brink of extinction since the last inception in England four years ago before the ICC decided not to scrap the event.
But regardless of the importance that goes along with lifting the trophy on Sunday June 18 at The Oval, Proteas captain AB de Villiers will undoubtedly target success as a major milestone in his unwavering desire to break South Africa’s World Cup hoodoo in 2019. Winning any tournament requires the mental fortitude to hold your nerve in knockout matches and winning a semifinal and final next month should put the Proteas in good stead come the real McCoy in two years’ time.
But before the Proteas get ahead of themselves, they need to negotiate their way out of Group B first and will probably need two wins from their three group matches against Sri Lanka (June 3), Pakistan (June 7) and India (June 11).