ICC Champions Trophy: Here shall the twain meet

“I watched that game. It was a long time ago when 22 off 13 became 22 off 1,” said de Villiers,speaking about an event that took place when he was all of eight years old. “I think I was crying that night.” That night,he surely wasn’t alone. These may have been the first drops spilt by South African fans since their re-introduction to professional cricket,but they surely haven’t been the last. Also read: AB expresses tampering concerns

Twenty one years have passed since that semi-final and in that length of time the Roman calendar has ushered in a new millennium,chugging life along. One of the players from that Sydney match is the chief executive of the ICC (Dave Richardson) and another is serving time in jail (Chris Lewis). But one thing has remained a nagging constant. South Africa’s knack of getting themselves into a real muddle in the business end of major 50-over events. Also read: Our target will be to dismiss Hashim Amla quickly,says Cook

But here they are not alone. South Africa have at least earned one star on their cricket kits,having won the only ICC ODI final that they have so far competed in — the inaugural edition of the Champions Trophy in 1998. Their semi-final opponents on Wednesday,England,on the other hand,have played three one-day finals in ICC events — the 1979 and the 1992 World Cups and the 2004 Champions Trophy — and have won none. Also read: England ‘await chokers’ South Africa

While the underachievers,with a sum total of one 50-over ICC trophy between them from a total of four finals,complete one end of the last four in this Champions Trophy,the other end is starkly different. Here sit the real heavyweights,India and Sri Lanka.

Between them,they have made the last three World Cup finals,shared a Champions Trophy and represented one half (or both) in as many as nine ICC ODI finals,including their face-off in the last big 50-over event — the 2011 World Cup. And now they are here again,among the dregs of the 2013 Champions Trophy. Also read: We have enough firepower to beat England

Were the opposite halves of the semi-finals placed on a metaphorical seesaw,the Asian side of the plank wouldn’t rise from the soil. But this very imbalanced distribution is just what has brought this final edition of the Champions Trophy alive. Only one of the powerhouses shall enter the last round and at least one of the nearly-theres will surely and finally get there. Here shall the twain meet.

“We’ve got the opportunity to go into the final of an ICC competition,” said England captain Alastair Cook,letting everyone in the room soak those words. “It’s such an exciting place for a player to be.” Cook for one has never played in the semi-final of a major 50-over event. Special it already may be but he is unwilling to settle for just that. He wants more. A lot more.

“Yes the knock-out part of the tournament begins just now but we’ve almost played knock-out cricket throughout this Champions Trophy. But this is obviously one step towards the final,and we’ve come here to try and win the tournament,” said Cook. “There really have been no easy games so far and getting here hasn’t been easy.” This,though,doesn’t hold true for the semi-finalists for the Thursday game,as India won all three of their matches with comfort and Sri Lanka managed rather well too with two wins. The above statement does,however,aptly sum up South Africa’s progress to this stage.

Lucky break

De Villiers’ side are the only team in the semi-final line-up to sneak through despite recording just one win in this tournament,against Pakistan who lost all three. En route to the Oval,they suffered a loss to India but managed to finally cheat the elements in rain,the Duckworth Lewis system and a tie with the West Indies to slip by on a better over all net run rate.

England didn’t have it easy in their final game either. Had that match here in Cardiff been washed out,which looked rather likely after six hours of no play,New Zealand would have gone through. But a 24-overs-a-side match was ushered in and England survived a Kane Williamson onslaught. Had the ball that dismissed Williamson been called a no ball (Stuart Broad’s landing foot had just caught the chalk on its slip ahead,a decision that could have gone either way during the referral),England wouldn’t have stood a chance. And Cook knows it.

“I didn’t really enjoy Cardiff,the last 10 overs of that. That was as stressful or tense a time I think I’ve had since I’ve been captain,” he said on Tuesday. “In terms of a must-win game,I’m sure that’ll be heightened again tomorrow.”

But this time,hopefully for both England and South Africa,the scares and the drama that tends to unfold are behind them,unlike the last time they met in the semi-final — in the 1992 World Cup — when it all began at just this stage.