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NEWS ICC Champions Trophy 2006>Champions Trophy: The contenders and the favourites 06th Oct 2006 22.35 IST By Manish Kumar A total of ten teams will compete for the ICC Champions Trophy starting in Mohali on October 7. Here is a brief look at the competing teams, their strengths and weaknesses:
Strengths: India will have the home advantage, which will be a big factor in the team’s performance that boasts of one of the best batting orders in the world spearheaded by Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar and Dravid. Harbhajan Singh is in good form and will be very effective on Indian pitches. Weaknesses: Too many changes in the batting order in the name of experimentation by coach Greg Chappell as a result of which Virender Shewag , Yuvraj Singh , Mohammad Kaif , Mahendra Dhoni and Irfan Pathan have run out of form in the run-up to the Champions Trophy and that was one of the main reasons that India performed so poorly in the recently concluded tri-series in Kuala Lumpur. Australia: The undisputed World Champions are almost invincible in both forms of the game and are led by Ricky Thomas Ponting who has a knack of performing well in big matches. The Aussies are the favourites to win the Champions Trophy. Strengths: Adam Gilchrist is one of the most dangerous players the world has ever seen and he spearheads the top order along with Ponting. The Aussie middle order is bolstered by Damien Richard Martyn and Michael Clarke and the hard-hitting all rounder Andrew Symonds . But lately the biggest Aussie strength has come from the discovery of Michael Hussey – arguably the best finisher of the game. The Aussie bowling attack will be spearheaded by the veteran Glenn Donald McGrath who will aided by the fiery pace of Brett Lee who is in terrific form and add to that the emergence of Mitchell Johnson . Weaknesses: The jinx factor that Australia have never made it to the finals of the Champions Trophy, forget winning it. The Aussies also don’t have a quality slow bowler though Symonds can bowl off-spin if the need arises. Pakistan: A very unpredictable team, Pakistan can one day be world-beaters and play less than ordinary the other. Strengths: A formidable batting line-up consisting of Younis Khan , Mohammad Yousuf , bolstered by hard hitters and explosive batsmen like Shahid Khan Afridi and Abdur Razzaq . Bowling looks good with Shoaib Akhtar back in action aided by the accuracy of Mohammad Asif . Weaknesses: Absence of Inzamam-ul-Haq who is serving a four-match ban and the absence of good opening batsmen. With Younis refusing to lead the side in the absence of Inzamam, signs of groupism have surfaced once again. South Africa: South Africa won the inaugural edition of the ICC Champions Trophy in 1998. Strengths: Led by the aggressive Graeme Smith , the Proteas’ tail would be up on two accounts. First, last year they drew a six-ODI series with India 3-3 and secondly have recently notched up two 400-run scores – one of which was chasing against the formidable Aussies. The Proteas’ batting mainstay is Jacques Henry Kallis – one of the best in the world and bowling is spearheaded by Shaun Maclean Pollock – who is second only to McGrath in terms of accuracy and they have one of the hardest hitters of the ball in Justin Kemp and the veteran unflappable Mark Verdon Boucher as their wicket keeper batsman. Weaknesses: Herschelle Gibbs hasn’t been able to ward off the match-fixing ghost that has dogged him since 2000. And it is because of match-fixing allegations only that the Proteas’ competent left arm spinner Nicky Boje isn’t touring India. Sri Lanka: Led by Mahela de Silva Jayawardene , Sri Lanka are in good form in ODI cricket that was evident in their recent 5-0 whitewash of England in England. Strengths: The return of the veteran Sanath Teran Jayasuriya has bolstered the Lankans’ batting as he still has it in him to tear apart any bowling attack. Add to that the copybook technique of Marvan Samson Atapattu , the determination of Jayawardene and the stylish strokeplay of Kumar Sangakarra , and you have a very strong batting line-up and they have the best off-spinner in the world in their team – Mutiah Muralitharan aided by the veteran Chaminda Vaas . Weaknesses: The last Lankan tour of India was disastrous as they were beaten 6-1 in a seven-match ODI series and apart from Murali and Vaas, they don’t have match-winning bowlers. England: England were the runners-up in the last edition of the Champions Trophy in 2004. Strengths: England are led by Andrew Flintoff – the best all-rounder in contemporary cricket who led his team superbly earlier this year on their tour to India. Kevin Pietersen is one of the best hitters in the game and Andrew Strauss and Ian Bell are in good form. Weaknesses: A weak bowling attack and England may have missed a trick in not selecting Monty Panesar for the Champions Trophy and their over-dependence on Flintoff. West Indies: The defending champions. Brian Lara led the West Indies team of no-hopers to the title in the 2004, beating England in the final after being reduced to 147/8 when chasing 218 for victory. Strengths: When on song, there is no better batsman in international cricket than Lara and in Christopher Henry Gayle , the Windies have one of the most explosive openers. Ramnaresh Ronnie Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul complete the formidable four. Weaknesses: The Windies are as unpredictable as the Pakistanis and if their batsmen fail, they don’t have the bowlers to win them matches. New Zealand: The winners of the 2000 edition of the Champions Trophy, New Zealand are led by one of the best captains in the world – Stephen Paul Fleming . Strengths: The Kiwis have the ability to beat any team in the world with batsmen like Fleming, Nathan John Astle , the best left-arm spinner in the world Daniel Luca Vettori and one of the most dangerous fast bowlers in Shane Bond . Weaknesses: The Kiwis don’t have too many match winners and still haven’t been able to fill the void created by the retirement of the charismatic all-rounder Christopher Lance Cairns. Apart from these eight teams, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are also competing for the Champions Trophy and it will be more than a miracle if the minnows go past the qualifying stage. Let the action begin! Also View In-Depth Coverage: ICC Champions Trophy 2006 Team Page: India Team Page: Australia | LIVE CRICKET COVERAGE NEWS ~ Gilchrist has no plans to retire after World Cup ~ Ganguly's new batting approach may cost him sixer record ~ India 'squash the Orange' in World Cup warm-up game ~ Symonds gets a new hairdo for World Cup ~ Dhoni readies himself for stand-up act at World Cup (more in NEWS) FACE-TO-FACE ~ 500-mark a possibility in World Cup: Hayden ~ Minnows add charm to World Cup: Dravid (more in FACE-TO-FACE) COLUMNS ~ Will Sri Lanka replicate 1996 World Cup success? (more in COLUMNS) OFF-THE-FIELD ~ Ganguly again the darling of corporate world ~ Ganguly roped in as brand ambassador of Puma (more in OFF-THE-FIELD) PLAYERS Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble (more PLAYERS) TEAMS India, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Kenya, Holland | 
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