After resurrecting the ICC Champions Trophy from the ashes of the 2012 tournament, which the ICC had previously reported as being the final holding of the tournament, the draw for this year’s event was announced overnight.
While the highlight is a World Cup final rematch between Australia and New Zealand, I was concerned that ICC chief executive Dave Richardson admitted that the draw was fixed in order to get India and Pakistan in the same group.
“No doubt we want to try to put India versus Pakistan in our event”.
“It’s hugely important from an ICC point of view. It’s massive around the world and the fans have come to expect it as well. It’s fantastic for the tournament because it gives it a massive kick.
“What we try and do is make sure that when you add up the rankings of the different groups, they all add up to the same number of points. You can do that in a number of ways. So long as the pools are balanced, it’s silly to avoid [the fixture] when you can fairly cater for it.”
Given the patchy results of both teams recently, there is no guarantee that both will progress to the finals. If they do, there is no guarantee they will be matched up.
Richardson’s denial that this has an effect on the integrity on the tournament is naïve. The draw being changed from the initial format to ensure certain teams play each other has to effect the integrity of the tournament.
Teams play different teams, which obviously means different results, and different teams qualifying for the finals.
Looking at the groups now, you have the first (Australia) and second (New Zealand) ranked sides in one side of the draw, along with sixth (England) and seventh (Bangladesh).
There’s also the third (South Africa) and fourth (India) on the other side with fifth (Sri Lanka). Then there’s the eighth-ranked West Indies excluded, and ninth-ranked Pakistan included.
That’s a very lopsided draw, and serious questions need to be asked about how it could be interpreted as fair.
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