Cricket’s first Champions League tournament has still to reach its most important stages, with the first semifinal being played Wednesday. Yet it has already delivered a significant message — although not one that will be terribly palatable to the competition’s Indian hosts.
There is no doubt that the Indian Premier League has had a huge impact on cricket, making a generation of top-class players rich beyond their expectations. It was perhaps not unreasonable to assume that the teams from the best-paid tournament, with their ability to attract the brightest stars from across the world, might also produce the best cricket.
Before the World Twenty20 in England earlier this year, some Indian commentators argued that the national teams playing in it would not be up to the standards of the expensively assembled all-star squads of the I.P.L. franchises.
That argument was rather punctured when India failed to make the playoffs of a tournament won by Pakistan, none of whose players was able to appear in the I.P.L. this year. Now it has been completely deflated by the failure of the Indian teams in the Champions League, the first world championship for the best domestic clubs in the Twenty20 format.
The Indian teams were playing on their home grounds, and able to call upon their international stars. Yet the Deccan Chargers went out in the initial group stage, and the Delhi Daredevils and the Royal Challengers Bangalore failed to reach the semifinals. Their combined record against teams from the rest of the world was won 3, lost 7.
Host teams have historically fared badly in limited-over cricket tournaments. The failure of the I.P.L. teams also raises the question whether franchises — however star-studded — lose out in chemistry to teams who represent a longer-term identity.
It may be no fluke that the best side has been the one representing the strongest identity. Trinidad and Tobago is a national team, albeit one that in international cricket is subsumed under the West Indies flag.
It had not played Twenty20 cricket as a team for more than a year. Its place in the competition dates to victory in a tournament sponsored by the now-indicted financier Allen Stanford.
Trinidad and Tobago was the only team undefeated in the two pool stages. Its one player of world standing is all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker so far. Beyond that its strength is ferociously hard-hitting batsmen.
In its last match it raised the highest total of the tournament so far, striking 214 runs in its 20 overs against South Africa’s Eagles. Navin Fletcher blasted 33 runs from 11 balls. He is part of a line-up typified by Kieron Pollard, who earlier hammered 54 runs from 18 balls to seal victory against previously undefeated New South Wales.
That was a rare moment during the tournament when an Australian team was second-best. Australia’s two representatives, meet in the first semifinal in Delhi on Wednesday when New South Wales plays Victoria. While New South Wales’s opening batsmen Philip Hughes and David Warner have been exceptional, Australian success has been firmly based on strong bowling. Andrew McDonald and Clint McKay of Victoria are well up the list of wicket-takers. Four New South Wales bowlers — are in the top seven most economical regular performers in the tournament.
The best Australian-based bowler of the lot, Dirk Nannes, may be wondering if he made the right choices pre-tournament. He chose his I.P.L. franchise, Delhi, over his state team, Victoria. It certainly is not his fault that Delhi did not progress since he has been one of the bowlers of the tournament, taking 9 wickets for 79 runs in his four matches.
In the second semifinal, in Hyderabad on Thursday, Trinidad and Tobago play South Africa’s Cape Cobras. The Cobras set the tone for the tournament with an opening day victory over the Royal Challengers in Bangalore thanks to a spectacular 99 not out by J-P.Duminy. Their challenge is to stop their opponent running riot on a ground that favors scoring and will stage Friday’s final.
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