Left field

Well, cricket’s Champions Trophy is over and we’ve learned some new things while some age-old truths remain, namely number 1 in my list.

1. Australia are the best one-day side
If ever there was any doubt, the Aussies reaffirmed their power by beating New Zealand in Monday’s final. Their key asset is strength in depth. This time it was Shane Watson who won the game with a century but it could so easily have been someone else with bat or ball. Tim Paine impressed.

New Zealand missed injured captain Daniel Vettori badly while other sides are too reliant on one or two players. Graeme Smith did his utmost for South Africa but the hosts went out early and crowds understandably suffered.

2. A shorter tournament format works better
After the long, long World Cup in the West Indies in 2007, administrators may finally have cottoned on to the fact that cricket fans want short, sharp tournaments. South Africa was a success because of two groups of four, two semis and a final.

3. Playing on just two grounds is a good idea, but careful with those pitches
Shuttling between Centurion and the Wanderers cut travel times and costs for players and fans alike but alternating all the wickets was tough and some skippers moaned about their quality. How much does it matter in one-day cricket?

4. England play better when not under pressure
Two shock wins for England at the start of the tournament when everyone expected them to lose. As soon as people started talking about a surprise triumph, they fell away.

5. West Indies dispute might never end
Cricket needs West Indies to be at least able to win one in five games but there seems to be little chance of that at the moment with the contract dispute still raging and top players not competing.

A resolution is needed soon to save part of cricket’s wonderful history.