West Indies can certainly win the final Champions Trophy ever, as the International Cricket Council continues to engineer its schedules and competitions to accommodate the more lucrative Twenty20 series everywhere, and hope for a return and influence of Test cricket.
In their group, West Indies have to play three 50-overs juggernauts – Pakistan, India and South Africa. Any of these can also win the tournament outright.
Pakistan won the World Cup 1992, while India are the reigning champions. South Africa are always promising, but have not delivered in major competitions since winning the inaugural Champions Trophy in 1998. This could be their tournament.
In cycling terms, this is “devil takes the hindmost.”
Every game played in the group stages of this short competition has immediate consequences. Winners will probably advance to semi-finals, losers will, more likely than not, go home after the group matches.
Luckily, most of West Indies players were either involved in the Indian Premier League or in county cricket, while others are supposedly well practised, so, overall, West Indies should be in good shape.
West Indies are also fortunate that two of their matches – against Pakistan on Friday and against India on Tuesday – will both be played at the Oval.
It is that venue in London’s borough of Lambeth, which has so many unbelievably wonderful memories for West Indians of all ages.
The cricket arena for the first Test ever in England, 1880, was the Oval, with the hosts beating Australia by five wickets.
While Lord’s is always seen as the “Home of Cricket”, the Oval was more “Home of the Working Class” for so many West Indians who had migrated to Britain during and immediately after World War II.
Attending games at the Oval, beautiful when the sun comes out and probably the most noisy cricket arena anywhere except Trinidad and Tobago’s Queen’s Park Oval or Australia’s Melbourne Cricket Ground, always presents West Indians with a profound sense of nostalgia.
In 1976 at the Oval; Michael Holding destroyed England with a fine spell of fast bowling on that always flat batting pitch. His 14 wickets for 149 was augmented by Viv Richards’ majestic 291. West Indies won by 231 runs, and the Test series 3-0.
That was also a series with mythical connotations, noted in Fire in Babylon, after England captain Tony Greig suggested that his team would make West Indies grovel.
In the 1979 World Cup semi-final at the Oval, Pakistan, always a tremendous threat, in the guise of Majid Khan and Zaheer Abbas, were beating West Indies to a pulp, putting on 166, to get within shouting distance, before yours truly managed three quick wickets, to change the game to a West Indies win.
In 2004 at the Oval, West Indies played England in the Champions Trophy final. The visitors were down but not fully out, before wicketkeeper, now selector Courtney Browne, and the always level-headed Ian Bradshaw, put on 71, to come back from the brink.
The Oval has always been special to West Indies, cricketers and supporters alike. When India and Pakistan meet West Indies there later this competition, the ground will be rocking.
Pakistan are dark horses in this tournament. Much of their possible eventual progress will depend on the moods of captain Misbah-ul-Haq and wizened veterans Abdur Rehman, Shoiab Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Saeed Ajmal and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. They all have to perform.
India, conversely, must be at least joint favourites, even if they do not normally play well in England. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has done a great job of honing individual-minded players into a team.
South Africa are still very much an enigma. They always play excellently, and have all of the proper personnel to beat the world in competitions.
The Proteas are rated as Test champions now, holding that ICC championship mace, but that was more from accrued performances over months, as opposed to instantly winning a one-off competition.
Graeme Smith, the Test captain, will certainly be missed. AB De Villiers, the One-Day captain, along with Hashim Amla and JP Duminy will provide the necessary concrete for their batting, while the best fast bowler in world cricket, Dale Steyn, will lead their attack. Time will tell if this would be enough.
Both West Indies new ODI captain, Dwayne Bravo, and head coach Ottis Gibson, have said that they know that West Indies can win, even if not actually predicting victory, but one-day cricket is so fickle.
So, to paraphrase the incomparable movie star-director Clint Eastwood, who turned 83 on May 31, “Come on, West Indies, win Champions Trophy 2013, again, at the Oval. Make our days.” Enjoy!
• Colin Croft is a former West Indies fast bowler who no writes and commentates on the game.