ICC Champions Trophy Final: 3 Key Battles

James Anderson vs. Bhuvenshwar Kumar Again we have a battle of seasoned professional against relative newcomer. Ask both of these bowlers when their favourite time to bowl is and they would both say: "With a new ball and overcast conditions." With a calm head upon a set of young shoulders, Kumar is settling into international cricket like a duck to water. He has the ability to hassle the world's best batsmen with his swing and consistency; another benefactor from the two new ball rule change. Like his counterpart James Anderson, Bhuvenshwar Kumar is not blessed with express pace, that sees batsmen quivering at the thought of a few throat balls. No, he understands that he will never be Shoaib Akhtar; he knows he has to be much more cunning than that and entice batsmen into an expansive cover drive and get caught behind. England's sultan of swing, Lancashire's James Anderson has been around for years now, arguably the best pace bowler around today. He gives something different from England's other two frontline quickies; he can get the ball to hoop around corners when conditions allow it, or he consistently bowls line and length when conditions favour batsmen. You could argue that his efforts in the sub continent over the last few years have seen him come of age; learning to bowl with an old, soft ball in batsmen friendly conditions. Now his reaping the rewards when he is a brand new ball in England. Conventional new ball swing, at the top of the innings has been missing from this tournament, although many experts had suggested that it may have defined the tournament. But these two exponents of the swinging ball will be key in taking out their oppositions master plan.