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Message: <blockquote data-quote="kudos_utopia" data-source="post: 5545956" data-attributes="member: 90660">Champions Trophy - Wasim AkramIt’s time for some serious fun again  Friday 18th September 2009 By Wasim Akram India already have a title under their belt ahead of it. Australia are already bracing up for the championship in great style and the rest of the world is eagerly looking forward to it. Yes, I am talking about the Champions Trophy in South Africa from September 22. It’s time for serious fun. I know the world is debating on the future of 50-over cricket, but let’s just treat this as a temporary time-pass topic over a hot cuppa. Period. Didn’t critics doubt the future of Test cricket in recent times? I would like to take them on especially after we have had such a fascinating Ashes series. It’s good to experiment with formats. If entertainment is the name of the game, tinkering with playing conditions is sometimes welcome. But experiments cannot be at the expense of skill, application and temperament. Cricket should be a holistic mix of formats and I think the current set-up is just fine from both the public and commercial point of view. I hear Andrew Flintoff is looking for life as a freelance T20 cricketer. He has shunned an incremental one-year contract from the English Board in the hope of making more money playing for various teams in T20 cricket. I hope his body holds up to seek such an ambitious career. But all said and done, the world will remember Freddie, my good friend, for his exploits in Test and ODI cricket, not T20 playing for Chennai! That brings me back to Champions Trophy and those who are questioning its existence. I know there is a lot of clamour for T20 cricket. But in my book, it’s like having a quick snack and moving on. T20 is great fun for sure, but it does not judge a cricketer’s competence level. Any sport that does not measure proficiency and consistent excellence, is just no good. I am excited that ‘long’ cricket will be back in focus. In South African conditions, players and teams with proven ability and calibre will do well. Unlike T20 cricket, an average team will not survive in Champions Trophy. Similarly, a mediocre player will have no place. I was happy to see the seriousness in Dhoni’s face after he won the triseries final against Sri Lanka on Monday night. He wasn’t basking in glory for sure. Certainly not when his younger players dropped sitters and gifted a few runs to the opposition. Dhoni knows he can’t afford these mistakes in Champions Trophy.  Fifty-over cricket requires mental preparation. Fifty-over cricket demands endurance and strategy. Fifty-over cricket commands application. You can’t compare with a slam-bang game of T20. I agree the game tends to become a bit boring during the 15-35 over stage, but that does not mean, give ODIs a boot. It will be suicidal and there are wise men sitting at the ICC. Change, but change for the better. </blockquote>

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