by Shreyas S. Bhide
Had it not been for the Mumbai terror attacks, India would have played hosts to one of the hottest new events on the cricket calendar. Sadly it never got off the blocks. That almost four teams were slated to arrive at the Taj a day after the attacks is a frightening thought.
It though has meant cancellation of the inaugural Champions League Twenty20, a spin off from the IPL. Here’s a indepth look at what we missed!
The mother of all T20 championships is round the corner and it can’t get better and bigger than this. Eight teams, including IPL champions and runners-up Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, Western Australia Warriors and Victoria Bush rangers, South Africa T20 Champions Titans and runners-up Dolphins, along with the domestic T20 champions of Pakistan and England — Sialkot Stallions and Middlesex — will take part in the December 3-10 tournament. The matches will be played in Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore.Sri Lanka’s Roshan Mahanama will be the match referee, whereas Taufel, Baxter and Tarapore will be the three umpires for all the matches in Chennai.Jeff Crowe has been appointed the match referee while Asad Rauf, Harper and Suresh Shastri will be the three umpires for all Bangalore matches.Billy Bowden of New Zealand, India’s ICC panel umpire Amish Sahiba and Marais Erasmus will officiate in all Mumbai matches.India’s S Venkatraghavan has been named the match referee for all the three matches to be held at Brabourne Stadium.
World renowned French jeweler and luxury brand Cartier has sculpted the Winners Trophy to be presented after final on December 10 in Mumbai. It measures 41 cm in height, with a diameter of 31 cm and weigh just over 7 kilos.
Here’s an exclusive look at the performances, past records and key players of the participating teams :
1. VICTORIA BUSHRANGERS
They have won the T20 championship in Australia on three back-to-back occasions defeating Western Australia in the last edition. Their biggest asset seems to be an excellent ensemble of quality all-rounders in the form of David Hussey, Cameroon White, Brad Hodge. Six men have in the team have international experience, including the England Test bowler Darren Pattinson and Australia’s fresh new seamer man Peter Siddle. Dirk Nannes helped both Victoria and Middlesex earn spots in the Champions league thanks to his fantastic left-arm fast bowling efforts.
Victoria play in the tournament opener against Middlesex in Mumbai on December 3. They have also been drawn in the same pool group as the Titans from South Africa and the IPL runners-up the Chennai Super Kings. Ironically, if they reach the semi-finals they could face the Rajasthan Royals led by Shane Warne, another former Victoria player.
Star Player : David Hussey
May spring a surprise : Dirk Nannes.
2. WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Also known as Wetern Warriors, they suffered their first wound, when Michael Hussey decided to play for his IPL franchisee Chennai SuperKings over his home state.Chennai are expected to pay the Warriors a compensation for Hussey. They still have some of their vital players intact - skipper Marcus North, Luke Pomersbach and Luke Ronchi. Ofcourse, both the ‘Lukes’ have played IPL in India and have enough experience of the condition there. But their biggest asset will prove to be Shaun Marsh. Marsh was the top scorer for Western Australia and Punjab Kings XI (his IPL franchisee). He scored a phenomenal 290 runs at an average of 58 and strike rate of 142.15 in the KFC T20 bash.
Star Player : Shaun Marsh.
May spring a surprise : Luke Ronchi.
3. (PRETORIA) NASHUA TITANS
They are South Africa’s MTN T20 Championship winners. Theirs’ is a squad, that has international experience in abundance. AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel, Gulam Bodi, Dale Steyn, Martin van Jaarsveld and Paul Harris have all tasted international cricket. Infact, de Villiers, Steyn, Harris and Morne Morkel have also played for different franchisees in the inaugral edition of the IPL and know the conditions in India well. Lead by Pierre Joubert, the Titans’ hopes for winning the trophy would be pinned on a one crucial man - Steyn, rise to national selection was rapid and his style of bowling is intimidating enough for most of the batsmen who face him. Steyn sprints to the wicket and hurls the ball down with aggression, and often follows with a snarl or side for the batsman. His team would rely on him for those crucial early breakthroughs. Apart from Steyn, the bowling department would benefit heavily from slow left-armer Paul Harris and Morne Morkel, as both have the ability to run through batting orders on their day. The batting display would be led by de villiers and others who could make a mark are Roelof Erasmus van der Merwe, wicketkeeper Heino Gunther Kuhn and Martin van Jaarsveld.
Star Player : Dale Steyn.
May spring a surprise : Martin van Jaarsveld.
4. NASHUA DOLPHINS
Nashua Dolphins is the domestic South African team that represents the KwaZulu Natal Cricket Team. They were the runners up of the MTN T20 championship, having lost to Nashua Titans in the finals. Their skipper is Ahmed Amla, brother of South African International Hashim Amla, who is a middle order batsman and also contributes with his leg spin. The team in the past has thrown up star cricketers for the national team such as Andrew Hudson , Shaun Pollock and Jonty Rhodes. As of now, Hashim Amla, is the only Dolphins player to appear for the national team. Instead of star power, the team relies more on gritty all round performances from most of its players. Their dotty batting is a matter of concern though. Their highest score in the last T20 championship, where they finished up as runners up was 145.
They may not be the biggest fish in the pond, but Champions League is their biggest opportunity to showcase their toiling hardwork.
Star Player : Hashim Amla.
May spring a surprise : Pierre de Bruyn.
5. CHENNAI SUPERKINGS
Led by the affable Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who can’t seem to put a foot wrong these days, Chennai Super Kings had almost lifted the trophy in the inaugural season of the IPL, in the final match, which witnessed an exciting last ball finish. After all the recent exchanges between the Indian Board and Cricket Sri Lanka officials, there were doubts over the availability of Muttiah Muralitharan, but he will has made it to the Champions league squad. Ofcourse they will miss Kiwi all rounder Jacob Oram, who will not be playing because of an injury, but the star attraction will not be any less. Apart from Dhoni and Murali, Hayden, A.Morkel, Raina and ntini add the international feel to the squad. With such heavyweights around, CSK are sure to be one of the top contendors for the trophy.
Star Player : MS Dhoni
May spring a surprise : Albie Morkel
6. RAJASTHAN ROYALS
Winners of the first IPL tournament. They were the underdogs, whom nobody expected to win, but led from the front by an inspired Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals scripted an improptu run in the tournament. The team also saw emergence of raw talent in the form of Yusuf Pathan, Ravindra Jadeja and Swapnil Asnodkar. Apart from the local flavor added by Kaif, Pathan and co. Shane Warne, Shane Watson and Graeme Smith add the international feel and tons of experience to the squad.
Star Player : Shane Warne
May spring a surprise : Swapnil Asnodkar
7. MIDDLESEX
Their pink jersey and kit may look like a fashion disaster, but their on-field exploits in last seasons’ domestic T20 championship were a fry car from any disaster. It was their first big tournament win since 1993, and yet, it wasn’t a single player who stood out. The Middlesex team made it possible by combined team efforts. Everyone contributed some time or the other and some smart captaincy by Ed Joyce added to their opponents woes. Shaun Udal has taken over the captaincy from Joyce after he announced his retirement last month. Though Joyce will be playing in the Champions League, he won’t be the skipper. Their key players include Owais Shah, Ed Joyce, Shaun Udal, Murali Karthik and Andrew Strauss. Its not clear though if Owais Shah will play as he is with the national squad playing the ODI series against India.
Star Player : Owais Shah
May spring a surprise : Murali Karthik
8. SIALKOT STALLIONS
The Sialkot cricket team in Pakistan is also known as the Sialkot Stallions. They were the national champions in 2005-2006 and won Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Championship (Golden League) .They finished as runners-up in 2003-2004 and 2006-2007. Sialkot Stallions also won ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup in 2005-2006, 2006-2007 and RBS Twenty-20 Cup in 2007-2008. Led by national skipper Shoaib Malik, they lost some of their major players viz. Imran Nazir, Naved-ul-Hasan, Shahid Yousuf, Tahir Mughal and Khalid Mahmood.
Star Player : Shoaib Malik
May spring a surprise : Adeel Malik
The names themselves are a great follow up and will make any fan curious and anxious enough to start preaparing for the League from now. The team which hits the perfect balance between attack and defence, smartness and shrewdness will ultimately take home the trophy. At least that was the premise, 26/11 changed all that.
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