A shame but it’s looking as if Fab Four may not hit the high notes this time
Adam Collins and Geoff Lemon cast an eye over this month’s Champions Trophy
The Aussie boys can’t wait for it all to get started as they take a look at the favourites and outsiders
Geoff Lemon: Le Trophée des Champions. The very best eight-team international 50-over knockout competition in the world. It’s the talk of Paris. All of Europe is agog. England’s cricketers are somehow favourites. Australia’s are about to be sacked. India’s were temporarily banned from participating. Bangladesh keeps making stacks of runs, and Pakistan just pulled off one of the most absurd wins of all time in an unofficial warm-up. It is, as the phrase so pithily tells us, all happening. Adam Collins: Isn’t it just. The main criticism of the World Cup is it goes too long. Not this comp, it’s all about urgency. From an Australian perspective, I don’t think we’ve ever taken much notice of it. But this time around, there’s legitimate midwinter interest in how they get on. The backdrop of their industrial dispute means that a win will be claimed as validating the existing pay structure. But if they’re bundled out, it’ll be taken as proof they were distracted. We’re predictably binary like that, us media types. GL: Yes, there’s a marked tendency to confuse concurrence with cause. I saw three black crows by the milk shed last week, then one of my prize cows dropped dead. But perhaps CA brass has put a hex on their cricket team – they’ve levelled just about every other threat. It seems absurd that we’ve got highly paid people in positions of such authority displaying a total inability to even start talking out a resolution. AC: With each passing day the June 30 deadline looks even less secure, which could prompt quite the circus. The player reps have asked Cricket Australia for third party mediation a couple of times now, both rejected. Not a great strategy if seeking common ground with a mob who have 100 per cent union coverage and show no sign of buckling. But this is about muscle, not money. Don’t expect it to be the last time, in Australia or elsewhere. Welcome to the modern age. GL: It’s embarrassing. Like parents punching on at a primary-school soccer game. And it distracts from the cricket, which has the potential to be amazing. Aussie selectors have finally managed to get together a group of bowlers that finally, befits the term ‘pace battery’. Starc, Cummins, Pattinson, Hazlewood, all offering pace and aggression. If that combo comes off, they’ll be a great chance to take out the prize. The only time Australia’s ever won this thing is when Shane Robert Watson carried them there twice, so if you want to replace that presence you need bona fide magic. AC: World Champions after all, so they should be top contenders. As tempting as it will be for them to roll out the Fab Four, it’d be hard to look past Honest John Hastings in the starting XI. He’s born to bowl over here. In the warm-ups Finchy proved that he’s still good for more than throwing a kettle over a pub. Then the usual suspects of Smith and Warner, combined with the chance that one of
the Big Show, Lynnsanity or Stoinis light it up, and it’s a pretty balanced operation. I reckon they’ll brain New Zealand in their opener. GL: I do enjoy the work of the Men in Black, but I have to agree. A bit light on experience and proven performers. Plus as much as they relish playing Australia, when the heat is on in the big games some kind of wilting generally follows. I’m actually picking Bangladesh as the more likely candidate for an upset. Remember last time the Bangles played the Aussies in England? Cardiff 2005. Symonds had a manic Monday, Ashraful walked (like an Egyptian) all over the bowlers, and the win was famous. A while ago now, but a team can dream. AC: That eternal flame burns bright. I want someone to publish an oral history of that night in Cardiff. I think we’re the hacks for that job. They also knocked off the Kiwis in their warm-up frolic in Ireland, which isn’t for nothing. Nor would it be if they topple England in the tourney opener – and by the time anyone reads this, we’ll know if that took place. The biggest game in Group A will be the hosts and Australia. Also at Birmingham, it’ll be bigger than The Beatles on Sunday with Pakistan versus India. GL: Or everything could be decided by the time Australia and England play for pride, having both been knocked out by the Mighty Tigers. They’ve been caning the runs, Tamim Iqbal is in great nick, he loves batting in England, and Bangladesh have more than a few good bowlers if they can put a target out there. I’m utterly Big Kevved about this one. By next week it may all have subsided, but as you know my motto in life is “Ride the lightning”. AC: Over to Pool B, alongside India is South Africa, ranked No.1 in this format, for the tiny amount that is worth. After losing to England in bewildering fashion, it was a decent response next game to have them 20-6 after five overs. A not-so-subtle reminder that SA have the firepower to blast anyone. The Proteas in major tournaments, though. Best we wait a while before getting on their bandwagon. GL: I’d be waiting until a month after the tournament, personally. But it would be nice to see them break that duck. Hashim Amla, fastest to 7,000 runs in ODIs this week, just keeps creaming them. And Kagiso Rabada’s work – I know we’ve all hyped him up as the next big thing, but there’s no next about it. The future is now. Indeed, so is the tournament. Can’t wait to get there. Bonne chance, tout le monde.
Tamim Iqbal is in great nick, he loves batting in England, and Bangladesh have more than a few good bowlers if they can put a target out there