MAIN Sports Cricket 2009 ICC Champions Trophy

Major teams from 8 countries are gearing up for a winner-take-all tournament held this year from September 24 to October 5, 2009.

Live from South Africa — it's time once again for the ICC Championship Trophy in international cricket.

World class teams will grapple with each other and against defending champion Pakistan to claim the sterling silver prize that is the ICC Champions Trophy, (first introduced as the KnockOut Trophy tournament in 1998) leading up to the biggest prize of all in 2011, the Cricket World Cup.

As current champions, Pakistan was likely seen as host country for the 2008 games last year, but for security reasons the championship was put off until 2009. South Africa was eventually chosen as an alternative location with Wanderers Stadium (Johannesburg) and Supersport Park (Centurion) picked as this year's official host venues.

Tickets for the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy went on sale on Friday, July 25, 2009.

ICC Champions Trophy Groups, Schedule

Group A: Australia, India, Pakistan, West Indies
Group B: South Africa, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England

September
Sept. 22 South Africa v Sri Lanka, Centurion
Sept. 23 Pakistan v West Indies, Wanderers, Johannesburg
Sept. 24 South Africa v New Zealand, Centurion
Sept. 25 Sri Lanka v England, Wanderers, Johannesburg
Sept. 26 West Indies v Australia, Wanderers, Johannesburg
Sept. 26 India v Pakistan, Centurion
Sept. 27 New Zealand v Sri Lanka, Wanderers, Johannesburg
Sept. 27 South Africa v England, Centurion
Sept. 28 Australia v India, Centurion
Sept. 29 England v New Zealand, Wanderers, Johannesburg
Sept. 30 Australia v Pakistan, Centurion
Sept. 30 India v West Indies, Wanderers, Johannesburg

Knock-Out Phase

October
Oct. 2 Semi-final 1: A1 v B2, Centurion
Oct. 3 Semi-final 2: B1 v A2, Wanderers, Johannesburg
Oct. 5 Final, Centurion

ICC Champions Trophy around the Web:

ICC Champions Trophy - The latest news, pictures and press releases leading up to the opening game, along with an archive of information on past tournament scores and winners.

ICC Champions Trophy 2009 - News stories and updates, scores & results, pictures, the full schedule plus complete fixtures.

BBC Sports - ICC Champions Trophy 2009 - Stay tuned for play-by-play live game coverage, video clips & audio reports, complete fixtures, scores, feature stories, opinion pieces, visitor comments, or have your say in the related forums.

ICC Champions Trophy Wikipedia - Historical overview of the Champions Trophy with its history and origins, comparisons in importance with the Cricket World Cup, list of winners dating back to 1998 and related resources.

also see -> Cricket World Cup