The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy will be the 8th edition of the One Day International cricket tournament. The tournament will take place between the 1st and the 18th of June in England and Wales. This will be a record third time the event has taken place in England and Wales.
A total of 8 teams have qualified for the tournament with England participating due to being the host nation. The remaining 7 places were confirmed using the ICC ODI Championship Rankings as on the 30th of September 2015. At the time, West Indies was outside the top 8 sitting in 9th position and this saw Bangladesh replace them in the tournament.
This will be the first time since 2006 that Bangladesh has participated in the tournament and the first time West Indies has lost their place. The full quota of teams in ranking order are:
South Africa
Australia
India
New Zealand
England
Sri Lanka
Bangladesh
Pakistan
The teams have been drawn into two groups of four for the tournament with each team playing each other once in the group.
A total of three venues will be used to stage the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and they are The Oval, Edgbaston and Sophia Gardens. The latter venue is in Cardiff, Wales, with the other two being in London and Birmingham respectively. The Oval is considered the most prestigious of these grounds and holds 26,000 people.
The top two teams in the group will progress to the semi-final stage, which will see the tournament enter the knockout stages. The winners will go through to the final which will be played on the 18th of June at The Oval.
The ICC Champions Trophy defending champion is India, who won the 2013 tournament. This was the second time India has won the event but the first time they have lifted the trophy alone having been declared joint winners with Sri Lanka in 2002. India defeated England by five runs in the final, which was staged at Edgbaston. India will be hoping for similar support in their opening match of this tournament against Pakistan.
【20137 ICC Champions Trophy Final: England vs. India】
They are slightly under prepared for the tournament with their players participating in the Indian Premier League and the threat of a potential boycott of the tournament due to money will not have helped preparations. However with players such as Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India cannot be underestimated. Even if they do not win the tournament, they make a good bet at 15/8 with bet365 to reach the final.
【2017 ICC Champions Trophy Outright Winner Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 31, 12:00 a.m. (GMT)
Latest Odds: ICC Champions Trophy (courtesy of bet365)
India will play Pakistan in their first match, a team who will want to forget all about the 2013 tournament. Four years ago, Pakistan bowed out of the ICC Champions Trophy at the group stage having lost every match.
Pakistan has made the semi-final of the ICC Trophy on three occasions but has won only 7 of the 18 matches they have played in the history of the tournament. Since the 2013 tournament, Pakistan has done well against the lower ranked teams but struggled when coming up against the likes of England, New Zealand and Australia.
Considering their form coming into the tournament, it is little surprise to see Pakistan out at 20/1 with bet365 to win the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy.
The remaining two teams in Group B are South Africa and Sri Lanka. The most likely of these two teams to progress from the group and challenge in the latter stages is South Africa.
South Africa was defeated by England in the semi-final four years ago and will be aiming to go one better and reach the final this time around. They have won seven of their previous eight ODI series and 15 of their last 17 One Day Internationals and this makes them one of the form teams in the competition. South Africa knows how to win at home and abroad, which makes them a dangerous opposition.
They are ranked as the top ODI nation in the world entering the tournament and can be backed at 7/2 with sportsbook bet365 to win their first ICC Champions Trophy since 1988.
【2017 ICC Champions Trophy To Reach the Final Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 31, 12:00 a.m. (GMT)
Moving to Group A and this contains the 2013 runners-up and hosts, England. The English have yet to win the ICC Champions Trophy despite reaching the final twice and will be hoping to make home advantage count.
They have been impressive in recent ODI matches and have won five of their previous six home series including the most recent one against South Africa in the build up to the tournament. The fact they have made the final on both previous occasions the tournament was held in their country must be considered. With the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes in their line-up, England is going to be very dangerous in this tournament and should progress from Group A.
England is the favourite to win the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy with the bookmakers and is available at 11/4 with bet365.
【2017 2nd ODI England vs. South Africa】
Australia should be the team who will compete with England to finish at the top of Group A. The Australians have won the ICC Champions Trophy twice back in 2006 and 2009 and will be aiming to get back to glory this time around.
Despite losing their latest ODI series in New Zealand, Australia has generally been in good form in this format of the game. They have won eight of their previous eleven ODI series with their only defeats coming in South Africa and New Zealand. Australia is always a tough team to beat and will be expecting to reach the final of this tournament. You can get 3/1 for Australia to win the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and 13/10 for them to make the final.
The biggest threat to England and Australia from Group A is none other than New Zealand. They recently won a tri-series event featuring Ireland and Bangladesh winning three and losing one of their four matches.
New Zealand’s record shows them as being a very strong team at home but one which struggles to replicate that when playing on the road. All their last five ODI series victories have come at home, while they have lost in South Africa, Australia, India and England. New Zealand has the talent to cause an upset in one match but their record suggests it’s unlikely they will make the final and repeat their win from 2000.
New Zealand is priced at 9/1 to win the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy with online bookie bet365, which is about right.
The remaining team in Group A is Bangladesh and they are the rank outsiders to win the tournament at 50/1 with bet365.
Despite having a poor record in previous ICC Champions Trophy events winning just one game from seven played, Bangladesh has improved recently. They have defeated Pakistan, India and South Africa in consecutive ODI series and came second in a recent tri-nations tournament, finishing two points behind New Zealand.
Bangladesh enjoyed a fantastic run of form playing at home but this was ended by England’s 2-1 series win. It would be considered a major shock if Bangladesh was to qualify for the knockout stages in place of either England, Australia or New Zealand.
The performance of individual players can have a huge impact on ODI matches and the best talent in world cricket will be on show.
Two men catch the eye as potential winners of the top batsman award and they are David Warner and Virat Kohli. Warner has scored six centuries in his previous eleven ODI innings for Australia and is available at 8/1 to finish the tournament as top batsman. Kohli has recently returned from injury and scored four 50’s during the Indian Premier League. He will be hoping to build on those in the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy and can be backed at 8/1 to end the tournament as top batsman as well.
Other potential candidates for top batsman include Joe Root (10/1), Steve Smith (10/1) and AB de Villiers (12/1).
【2017 ICC Champions Trophy Top Batsman Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 31, 12:00 a.m. (GMT)
Bowlers can also have a big impact on matches in the ICC Champions Trophy and Mitchell Starc is one name to watch. Starc is the main man for Australia with the ball and has been in good form recently performing very well in the ODI series against Pakistan. Since he missed the IPL season with an injury expect him to be raring to go and the oddsmakers are in agreement as he is on offer at 8/1 to finish as top bowler.
Other names to look out for include Bhuvneshwar Kumar (16/1), Kagiso Rabada (18/1), Mohammad Amir (25/1) and as an outside bet, Mustafizur Rahman (33/1).
【2017 ICC Champions Trophy Top Bowler Odds】
※ Current Odds Date & Time: May 31, 12:00 a.m. (GMT)
With Australia and England tipped to come through Group A and India and South Africa through Group B, we could be in for two very close semi-final games. England has reached the final on both other occasions the tournament was held in their country and home advantage could make the difference for them.
Therefore, it’s not impossible for England and Australia to meet again in the final. As for the chances of that happening, bet365 has it at 5/1 for the old enemies to come face to face at The Oval.
And if that were to be the case, Australia would be the one team England would rather not face in the final and the pressure will be on the hosts to claim their first ICC Champions Trophy final. Australia can take advantage of that and win their third ICC Champions Trophy in four tries.
