CLT20 2014: Team of the Week
The Champions League T20 is a little over a week old and the qualifying group has been completed with the Northern Knights and Lahore Lions joining the eight automatic qualifiers in the tournament proper.
With the beginnings of the group stage underway, Bleacher Report has selected a Team of the Week for the first nine days or so of cricket in India.
Click Begin Slideshow to find out who made it into the XI.
1. Kane Williamson (Northern Knights)
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The star of the tournament so far, the classical brilliance of Kane Williamson has quickly risen to the fore. His unbeaten century against the Cape Cobras got the Northern Knights off to the perfect start in Group B having qualified on the back of his strong form in the qualifiers.
2. Mohammad Hafeez (Lahore Lions)
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Lahore Lions’ Mohammad Hafeez has only played one innings of real note, but his captaincy and bowling help him into this team of the week. His 67 against Southern Express helped his team qualify for the main stage of the tournament—he’s also taken a couple of wickets, conceding few runs in the process, and he has shuffled his bowlers excellently through the matches.
3. Suresh Raina (Chennai Super Kings)
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One of the world’s best T20 batsmen has already displayed his prowess in this format, scoring 118 runs in his two innings played so far in the tournament, including an outrageous 43-ball 90 against the Dolphins.
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4. Aiden Blizzard (Hobart Hurricanes)
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Aiden Blizzard's 78 not out for the Hobart Hurricanes against the Cape Cobras was the difference between victory and defeat for the Australian side. Striking five sixes and four fours, the left-handed batsman took the attack to the Cobras’ bowling line-up, propelling the Hurricanes to a convincing six-wicket victory.
5. Umar Akmal (Lahore Lions)
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Perhaps a surprising selection—Akmal has played two good innings so far in the tournament. However, his 38 not out against Mumbai Indians was a match-winning knock under pressure in an intense fixture. He will take the gloves in this team of the week.
6) Ryan Ten Doeschate (Kolkata Knight Riders)
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Ryan ten Doeschate has probably played the innings of the tournament so far. His nerveless 51 not out, hauled the Knight Riders from the jaws of defeat to victory against the Chennai Super Kings in the opening match of the tournament.
He scored just 12 against the Lahore Lions in KKR’s second match, but his sublime 51 is enough to see him sneak into the team of the week.
7. Scott Styris (Northern Knights)
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Four Northern Knights players have made it into this team of the week: Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Scott Styris. Styris is probably the most underwhelming of those to be selected but his subtle value to the Northern Knights should not be underestimated. Styris has taken five wickets in his four matches, including 3 for 21 against the Mumbai Indians in the qualifying group.
8. Tim Southee (Northern Knights)
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Tim Southee’s partner, Trent Boult, is probably the better of the Northern Knights’ new ball pairing, but it is Southee who has had the most success, taking eight wickets in his 16 overs so far. Southee and Boult destroyed the Lahore Lions top order in the qualifying group in a bowling performance that underlined the Northern Knights’ credentials in this tournament.
9. Trent Boult (Northern Knights)
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With Trent Boult alongside Tim Southee, the Northern Knights possess arguably the best opening bowling partnership in global T20 cricket.
Boult has no doubt been assisted by the swing movement that has been on offer, but when the ball is moving like it is, there are few better exponents of it in world cricket than Boult.
10. Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders)
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Sunil Narine is arguably the best player in the world at the moment. His 1-9 against the best batting line-up in global T20 cricket, the Chennai Super Kings, was pretty close to being a perfect spell of modern bowling—and he followed that performance up with 3-9 against the Lahore Lions. He’s only bowled eight overs but he’s an automatic selection for this team of the week.
11. Aizaz Cheema (Lahore Lions)
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Aizaz Cheema is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament so far, with 10 wickets from his 15 overs. Cheema was instrumental in assisting the Lahore Lions' qualification for Group A—his 3-15 alongside Hafeez’s fifty ensuring victory for the Pakistani team in the final qualifier.
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