The ICC Champions Trophy is a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), second in importance only to the Cricket World Cup. It was inaugurated as the ICC Knock Out Tournament in 1998 and has been played approximately every two years since, its name changing to the Champions Trophy in 2002. The number of teams competing has varied over the years; originally all the ICC's full members took part, and from 2000 to 2004 associate members were also involved. Since 2009, the tournament has only involved the eight highest-ranked ODI teams as of six months prior to the tournament. The ICC intends that the 2013 Champions Trophy will be the last, with its place in the cricketing calendar taken by a new ICC World Test Championship.
Read more about ICC Champions Trophy: Format, Results, Overview
Famous quotes containing the word champions:
“Did all the lets and bars appear
To every just or larger end,
Whence should come the trust and cheer?
Youth must its ignorant impulse lend—
Age finds place in the rear.
All wars are boyish, and are fought by boys,
The champions and enthusiasts of the state:”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)