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The 2009 ICC Champions Trophy is drawing nearer day by day and is all set to begin on Tuesday 22^nd September. The tournament will showcase the strongest 8 international cricket teams in the world in one hell of a battle for pride and glory.

The Group Stage has been broken down as follows.

Group A

India

Australia

Pakistan

West Indies

Group B

South Africa

Sri Lanka

England

New Zealand

India is tipped to be the winner of Group A. They are coming off of a great run of one-day victories and have recently had some well deserved success over Sri Lanka. They will come up against Pakistan for the first time in over a year and this is bound to be one of the best matches of the tournament.

Australia is currently in England finishing off their one-day series after an Ashes defeat. They have shown some good form in their last few matches to win the one-day series which is currently sitting at 5-0. They will be looking to retain their title and will be hard to defeat.

Pakistan is one of the most unpredictable sides in cricket today. The Twenty20 champions will be looking for more glory, but I don’t believe that they will find it in the Champions Trophy. They are a great team on their day and have the potential to beat anyone however bad days are far more common for Pakistan.

The fourth team in Group A, the West Indies, will be unlikely to make any real challenge for the trophy. I would be surprised if they are able to defeat any of their group competitors. Recently their second string team was defeated at home to Bangladesh in both the test and one-day series.

South Africa will be the team to watch and the most likely to take the Champions Trophy. The tournament is being played on their home turf and they will be keen to win a trophy here after missing out on the 2003 World Cup and then the 2007 Twenty20 World Championship.

Sri Lanka has recently defeated the Pakistan side and will look to continue their impressive form. They are more than capable of winning the Champions Trophy, but will need to keep up their consistency if they are to do well.

England has not been playing well in their last few one-day matches and has been smashed by the Aussies in the one-day series after winning the Ashes. I would not expect them to challenge.

New Zealand is another team that I would not expect to provide much of a challenge. Although at times, they do play rather well and may surprise.

For all the most up to date odds for the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy I would recommend Betfair. They have fantastic odds for all the group matches and many other things to bet on such as opening partnerships and first method of dismissal.

The Indian Premier League is drawing to a close, but that doesn’t mean that the world’s best cricketers can put their protective boxes back in the cupboard and take a few weeks off to recuperate.  Because June 5th will see the focus of the cricketing world change from South Africa to England for the second Twenty20 World Cup. India won the inaugural tournament just two years ago beating favourites Australia and Pakistan along the way to cause something of an upset. But can the team ranked third in the world defend their crown or will Pakistan get their revenge. We take a look at the top contenders and tell you were you should place your free bet from www.sportsbet.com.au

Pakistan $9.00

At $9.00 Pakistan start this Twenty20 World Cup as something of an outside bet. While there is no doubt that Pakistan have talent on the pitch with the likes of all rounder Shahid Afridi and captain Younis Khan, off field problems have knocked the confidence out of the side. The Pakistan backroom staff feel that the squad needs to work on their mental toughness have hired a psychologist to help with their preparations. But I feel that their total lack of cricket this year will mean they go in to this one totally under prepared, so if I am being honest I wouldn’t waste my money on this one.

India $4.00

India start this year’s Twenty20 World Cup as the hot favourites to retain their title and it is no wonder. Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni and Zaheer Khan are all in great form, and the truth is that if they all click they are going to very hard to beat. At $4.00 to win the tournament they are definitely worth a punt, but remember this is Twenty20 cricket and anything is possible.

Australia $4.50

Australia love to win, they love to dominate and in the past they have done just that. They were really disappointed not to make it to the Twenty20 World Cup final in 2007 and will definitely be up for this one. The problem is that some of their big hitters like Matthew Hayden and Shane Warne have retired, Brett Lee is only just coming back from injury and Andrew Symonds has totally lost the plot. So do they have enough to win? Hey this is Australia can you ever count them out. Well worth a free bet.

South Africa $5.00

South Africa recently spent a brief time as the number one ranked test team in the world. They beat Australia in Australia to gain the number one spot only to lose it when Australia beat them 2-1 in the return test series in South Africa. They do have a better Twenty20 record than any other nation but their inconsistency, which also showed itself in the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup, could very well be their undoing. But at $5.00 the Proteas are a decent outside bet.

England $9.00

England have just named Paul Collingwood as their Captain for the Twenty20 World Cup to be held on their home soil. But with Andrew Flintoff dropping out of the IPL with an injury and Kevin Pieterson continuously cracking the shits when things don’t go his way it would take a brave man to bet on them. Then again if Flintoff does get fit in time and Pieterson pulls his head in they might just surprise everybody. Get your free $50 bet at www.betfair.com.au