Inzamam-ul-Haq's run as Pakistan came to an abrupt and traumatic conclusion © Getty Images

Osman Samiuddin

It's a new dawn,
it's a new day,
it's a new life
For me
and I'm feeling good

'Feeling Good' - Eunice Waymon aka Nina Simone, 1965

A brief dawn in Lahore gave way to the rising of the sun at 5.53am PST today. Six hours and seven minutes later, at Gaddafi Stadium, one day ended in Pakistan cricket with Inzamam-ul-Haq's heated press conference. An hour after that, a new day began with the chairman's press conference.

Four years ago, another new dawn greeted Pakistan's cricket and yet it appears in no better shape today than when Waqar Younis's dysfunctional rabble was dumped out of South Africa. Possibly worse, some contend. Cynicism in these times comes cheap and easy. There is no captain, no coach, no selectors and a chairman who was waiting to resign but now hasn't. Yet hope must be found somewhere.

Well, unlike 2003 axing over half the squad is unlikely and on balance, unnecessary. A changing of the guard felt natural then, in a team still carrying Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar, all of whom had seen better decades.

This Pakistan side, in contrast, is still young; officially (birth records being the imposters that they are here) only three of Pakistan's 15 in the Caribbean are over 30. Outside, Mohammad Asif and Abdul Razzaq also remain twenty-somethings.

The captaincy need not be such a thorny decision either. As leader, the succession plan points to Younis Khan to assume a position he, and everyone else, has been expecting for some time. That is something not oft-said in Pakistan.

Yet, there exists hesitancy within the PCB, also evidenced by the chairman's willingness to defer an appointment for at least a month (though he remains, personally, in favour). Younis appears a widely-backed choice and the logical one too, his Champions Trophy tantrum notwithstanding. Given how rare consensus is locally, should it not be seized upon immediately?

As leader, the succession plan points to Younis Khan to assume a position he, and everyone else, has been expecting for some time

Replacing Inzamam's middle-order presence will take some doing. Pakistan dithered between grooming a middle-order bat and playing an all-rounder in recent times. The uncertainty was without beneficiaries; Asim Kamal was lost, Faisal Iqbal persevered with without feeling, Yasir Hameed sidelined and neither Shahid Afridi nor Razzaq provided any lasting security. Who is to come through? No obvious batting prodigy lies undiscovered.

Domestic cricket is not shielding any exceptional openers either, though if the new selection committee perseveres with one pair for longer than the last one did with any, they might reap some reward. The bowling, when healthy, is in ruder health but there should be concern at the National Cricket Academy that only one player from two successive U-19 World Cup winning sides has managed to play for Pakistan. And Riaz Afridi only played one Test over two years ago.

Within the grand red bricks and plush offices of Gaddafi Stadium, more needs doing. Nasim Ashraf stays on, to the chagrin of many, but also with the defense plea that he had been handed charge of a sinking ship only six months before the World Cup; he maintained throughout that his work was to begin after and now is his chance. People can shout till they're blue that he shouldn't be there at all, but he is now and that can only be changed by the President. With him comes a new management team altogether.

It is unlikely to be so, but the first task should be to find and implement the constitution. It is now, apparently, in "legal vetting" with the Attorney General but whatever the phrase, there is little question that it is something that has been deliberately and persistently sidelined administration after administration. No more. Pakistan has been ad-hoc from 1999, since when un-coincidentally, cricket has been at its maddest.

Nasim Ashraf continues as PCB chairman despite offering his resignation © AFP

The new coach will likely speak the same language as the players, though the criteria should be skills rather than language. Ramiz Raja, who was instrumental in bringing Bob Woolmer to Pakistan, said recently that Pakistan may be able to operate without a coach by giving the captain more power. Given Pakistan's familiarity with dictatorial captains and their failings, the idea is a risky one. Aaqib Javed has been spoken of, and he has valuable junior experience, but he is newly-responsible at the NCA and with Mudassar Nazar, his brief to discover and develop young talent may suit him better.

Even by the exceptionally broad parameters of sanity within which Pakistan cricket operates, these last eight months have been something else; not just traumatic and volatile but ultimately, macabre and disturbing. But it is darkest before dawn, humans love repeating. Pakistan cricket has seen numerous new dawns, but it has not seen this much darkness. The hope, as it now must be, is that it will give way to a dawn that has never before been seen either.

In the first phase of his ODI career, Anil Kumble was next to impossible to attack © Getty Images

Anand Vasu

It is said that the memory span of the average Indian fan is one week, perhaps less. In Anil Kumble's case, that may not be such a bad thing. The last ball he bowled in one-day cricket was a quintessential Kumble rocket. Bermuda's Malachi Jones stood stupefied - and better batsmen have suffered similarly - as the ball pitched in line, hurried inexorably on, and crashed into pad, trapping him plumb in front.

That's the kind of ball Kumble should be remembered by.

Kumble, who announced his retirement from the one-day game today, has not been India's first choice spinner for a while now. But the last few years of his career should not obscure the fact that he was once a one-day bowler who was next to impossible to attack - captains routinely bowled him inside the first fifteen overs when a fast bowler struggled, and then at death - and even harder to counter defensively. If you let him push you back, it was only a matter of time before he nailed you.

The 6 for 12 in the final of the Hero Cup should burn as brightly in mind as the torches that 100,000 Kolkatans held aloft at the Eden Gardens when India won. It should slip no one's attention that he was
the top wicket-taker in the 1996 World Cup, outperforming Shane Warne and Muttiah Muralitharan in the subcontinent.

Just statistically, the evidence is staggering. Till October 20, 2000, he had played 208 ODIs, picking up 274 wickets at an average of 28.56, conceding just 4.20 runs per over. Then, playing against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, he suffered a rotator cuff injury to his right shoulder.

Careers have been ended by lesser setbacks. There were suggestions then that he would never play international cricket again, and even if he did, that he would never be the bowler that he was. That's partially true.

Kumble spent 339 days in surgery, post-operative care, physiotherapy and rehabilitation, mentoring bowlers from the sidelines with one hand
in a sling, till he returned to action against South Africa at Johannesburg on
October 5, 2001. From then to now, in the unequal second half of Kumble's career, he has played 63 ODIs taking only a wicket a game, at an average of 41.03.

It's not surprising then, that Kumble has been in and out of the eleven since that setback. Through further aggravation of the injury, dips in performance or withdrawing himself from series, Kumble has missed an astounding 107 of the 170 matches India has played since
then. In that sense, it has been a career of two parts for Kumble. The second, with the unflattering ODI figures, is when he had all but lost his flipper. It was when the pace and zip had reduced just enough to take him from being lethal to merely threatening.

'Kumble re-invented himself, bowling slower through the air, tossing the ball up more, finding a subtler googly to go with his telegraphed one' © Getty Images

But Kumble the person, just like Kumble the bowler, is not the sort who gives up. He re-invented himself, bowling slower through the air, tossing the ball up more, finding a subtler googly to go with his telegraphed one - little finger pointing in the air like an antenna. He came round the wicket more. And all this worked magnificently in Test cricket. Happily, it coincided with a phase where India's batsmen were finally putting decent scores on the board overseas, which gave Kumble a chance to do his thing, and refute the charge that he was a home-track bully.

Michael Atherton wrote that there were times when he sensed that Curtly Ambrose, hisemesis, was going to bowl a yorker, and shaped to play accordingly, only to find that his off stump flattened anyway.

With Kumble at his best, it was much the same. Like some natural disasters, you could forecast and predict all you liked but, when the strike came, there was nothing to do but run for cover.

When he took all ten Pakistani wickets in an innings in that famous Delhi Test in 1999, the civic authorities in Bangalore promised to name a street after him; they settled for a traffic junction, calling it Anil Kumble Circle. Now, as he calls time on his one-day career, his achievements in the blue shirt should not be belittled just because he has achieved so much more in whites.

Time to retire for Sachin Tendulkar? Ian Chappell thinks so © Getty Images

Ian Chappell

In the fallout from India's early demise at the World Cup one of the major decisions will concern the future of Sachin Tendulkar.

Before anybody else makes a decision on what will happen to Tendulkar the player himself has to have a good long look in the mirror and decide what he's trying to achieve in the game. At the moment he looks like a player trying to eke out a career; build on a glittering array of statistics. If he really is playing for that reason and not to help win as many matches as he can for India then he is wasting his time and should retire immediately.

When you think that for a decade Brian Lara and Tendulkar went head to head in a wonderful battle of stroke play to establish who was the best batsman in the world, they are now worlds apart in effectiveness.

Lara's quick-footed tip toe through a terrific innings against a good Australian bowling attack when the rest of the West Indies top order succumbed easily was in direct contrast to Tendulkar's stumbling effort in the crucial Sri Lanka match. The amazing thing about Lara's brilliant career is the fact that he hasn't changed his style at all over seventeen years. This is a credit to his technique and mental strength, as the aging process generally makes a player more progressively conservative.

Tendulkar hasn't worn as well; his last three or four years have been a shadow of his former self. His double century at the SCG in January 2004 was a classic case of a great player really struggling. He came to the crease out of form and despite amassing all those runs and batting for in excess of ten hours he was no closer to recapturing his best touch than he was when he started out. It was a tribute to his determination but it was a sad sight to see; there are enough average players around that you don't won't to see a class one reduced to that level.

Tendulkar hasn't been as lucky as Lara; the Indian batsman has suffered a lot of injuries in this period where his play has deteriorated and there is nothing that melts your mental approach quicker than physical handicaps. Lara has been relatively free from injury and he certainly doesn't have the weight of numbers riding on his shoulders that Tendulkar does.

However, the population of the Caribbean might be small but they are extremely demanding. Despite all the fuss and the odd controversy that has surrounded Lara's career he has remained himself; this is my game and that is how I play. For whatever reason Tendulkar hasn't been able to maintain his extremely high standards for the last few years and unless he can find a way to recapture this mental approach he's not doing his team or himself any favours.

If Tendulkar had found an honest mirror three years ago and asked the question; "Mirror, mirror on the wall who is the best batsman of all?" It would've answered; "Brian Charles Lara." If he asked that same mirror right now; "Mirror, mirror on the wall should I retire?" The answer would be; "Yes."

	A full house at the SCG ahead of January's Twenty20 international between England and Australia © Getty Images

Daniel Brigham

As the World Cup rumbles on through its marathon six and a half weeks, a slim-line, nubile new kid is swaggering into view. The Twenty20 World Championship, with its promise of sixes, sixes and sixes, is on the horizon. Come September, when the inaugural tournament starts in South Africa, 50 overs may seem an awfully long time in cricket.

Most Test-playing countries still regularly sell out grounds for one-day internationals and matches are spreading into neutral venues to maximise revenue. In 2006, a record 160 ODIs were played - 33 more than in 1996 (a World Cup year), 98 more than in 1986 and 154 more than in 1976.

As this is happening, Twenty20 matches - whether international or domestic - are filling grounds in England, New Zealand, West Indies, Australia, South Africa and Pakistan. Sell-outs in domestic matches were very rare until Twenty20 strutted into town. The last challenge comes in April, when domestic Twenty20 hits India and vast grounds like Kolkata's Eden Gardens will have to be filled. But no one is betting against it - big crowds and big money are forecast.

So how will the ICC strike a balance between Twenty20 internationals and ODIs? If sponsors and the public are as wild about the World Championship - due to last just nine days - as they have been about domestic tournaments and one-off internationals then serious questions will be raised about the future of the 50-over format. In a crowded international calendar, something may have to give.

The ICC's tours programme, which sets out the international calendar in six-year blocks, has placed a limit on Twenty20 internationals. Each side can host just three a year. "There are a number of reasons for the limit," says David Richardson, the ICC's cricket manager. "To prevent overkill and to protect the domestic Twenty20 competitions. We also acknowledge that players are playing a lot of cricket and we don't want their schedules overburdened."

Will the limit ever be lifted? "I'd be surprised if it is to any great extent," Richardson says. "Part of the success of Twenty20 cricket is making sure it can coexist with Test cricket and one-dayers. They're different products and attract different crowds so we want to make sure that all three formats are preserved.

"Very importantly, we also need to preserve the attraction of Twenty20s at domestic level, here it is a great source of revenue and a real growth area. If you have too many Twenty20 internationals then the attraction of going down to see your local state or county play the format will diminish."

Steve Elworthy, Cricket South Africa's commercial manager and the main man behind the staging of the Twenty20 World Championship, believes that the variety of supporters Twenty20 attracts will boost the format's growth internationally. "Crowds tend to be a lot younger which hooks people into the game," he says. "You can watch a full match in three hours, go home or still go out afterwards. It's a different target audience to one-dayers and that's helping it grow very rapidly.

"We're expecting the South Africa matches to be very well supported and there to be a lot of overseas support at the Championship. It's always a challenge to fill a ground in South Africa when South Africa aren't playing, but I'm confident that Twenty20 is the best format out of the three to do this."

The ICC admits that the growth potential for Twenty20 is huge; cue a very happy commercial team. Although the novelty of relentless six-hitting can wear off, it's less of a problem when games can be wrapped up in three hours. Its shortness also means TV viewers are less likely to wander off - good news for advertisers. "Although there is less opportunity for TV companies to sell advertising time," says Richardson, "the fact that marketing guys can sell the format to different sponsors than one-dayers is a real bonus. Although you'll be selling less TV advertising than during ODIs, it will be more expensive."

With the ICC pumping millions into spreading the game globally, the crowd-drawing and moneymaking appeal of Twenty20s could also be enormously beneficial to the emerging nations. Scotland qualified with Kenya for the World Championship by getting to the final of the 50-over World Cricket League in February, but Roddy Smith, Cricket Scotland's chief executive, advocates a separate 20-over qualifying tournament and more Twenty20s for non-Test sides.

"Commercially, Twenty20 is more of a saleable event and you do get the crowds coming in. It would be great if there were more games between Test sides and the smaller nations and I think we will have more TV viewers in Scotland for the Twenty20 Championship than the World Cup."

Although the ICC hasn't considered a qualifying tournament for the World Championship, Richardson believes it will come if the emerging sides - made up mostly of semi-professionals - have time for it.

With the commercial benefits of Twenty20 clear at all levels of the game, Richardson doesn't rule out the possibility of it becoming the dominant one-day attraction. "It's a possibility," he says, "but it's a bit too early to say. Relatively speaking, the 50-over game is still very well supported around the world so we don't want to cannibalise it. I think the connoisseurs will tell you that Test cricket is the main attraction, then 50-overs and then Twenty20. We're very conscious of preserving the traditional forms of the game."

	'Sri Lanka's 11 men came in with a plan an executed it efficiently. They had already made it to the Super 8's but, going by their attitude one would have thought they were on the brink of elimination' © AFP

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

The magnitude of this match, it was said, could have rivalled a World Cup final. The tournament could ill afford India, cricket's cash cow, to crash out so early. Some reckoned there was so much at stake that India, which contributes close to two thirds of the game's revenues, would remain in the competition, even if it involved arm-twisting behind the scenes.

Where these arguments come apart is that they go against the unique power of sport, in embracing passion and fervour, to transcend such petty issues as money power. The advertisement hoardings at the Queen's Park Oval, or for that matter any ground in the world, may have endorsed Indian brands but it was always the effort of the 11 men that would ultimately count. Sri Lanka's 11 men came in with a plan and, crucially, executed it efficiently. They had already made it to the Super 8's but, going by their attitude, energy and desire, one would have thought they were on the brink of elimination.

India weren't outclassed for two-thirds of the match, as they were on this day four years ago when Ricky Ponting trampled them with sheer class in what was a World Cup final. For a clear understanding of the rhythm of this match, one will have to probably rewind a little earlier to the never-to-be-forgotten India-Pakistan clash at
Centurion. The first innings was played out on an elastic band and every time one team nudged ahead, the other came back to restore parity. For a steady hundred from Saeed Anwar, you had plucky half-centuries from Upul Tharanga and Chamara Silva; for Younis Khan's urgent 32, you had a busy 38 from Tillakaratne Dilshan; for Pakistan's 273, you had Sri Lanka's 254.

There the similarities end. Such games need an enforcer, someone who can overcome the strong forces of tension, impose himself on the big stage and steer the match in one direction. At Centurion, that man was Sachin Tendulkar; on Friday, it was Muttiah Muralitharan. It's one of the hardest roles to play, one that requires a touch of genius, but it's for that reason alone that these players are special. Today Tendulkar couldn't play that role - one can argue that he received a very good ball but the fact is he couldn't. Sourav Ganguly couldn't, Rahul Dravid couldn't. They weren't allowed to.

Sri Lanka's recent record against India is nothing short of woeful (winning just two of the last ten completed games) but on the day it mattered, they were on the ball. Chaminda Vaas taunted - his reflex caught-and-bowled off Robin Uthappa was exactly the early inspiration that Sri Lanka needed - before Dilhara Fernando, a late replacement, and Lasith Malinga hustled. Sri Lanka possess the most varied attack in the tournament - the hard graft from Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya combining explosively with the exotic offerings from Malinga and Murali. India were
bogged down by Vaas and pegged back by Fernando before Murali arrived, went round the wicket, unveiled offspinners, topspinners and doosras, made them spin at vicious angles, and took centrestage.

For Dravid, a nightmare was played out in front of him. Yuvraj Singh's run-out encapsulated India's panicky state and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's attempted slash simply left him pale-faced. Sehwag's dismissal was probably the most crucial - he was batting more confidently than he's done in recent memory and should have made the start count - but he too was mired by the Murali menace.

Dravid watched in shock as partners came and left before deciding, with the run-rate soaring, to go for broke. The four successive fours he crashed off Malinga stemmed from frustration, anger and hopelessness. He'd taken over a side and harboured hopes of turning them into hard-as-nails professionals; he'd ended with a most ignominious World Cup elimination.

Several questions need to be asked, including serious ones of Dravid and coach Greg Chappell, but the most galling aspect is that there doesn't seem to be any long-term vision, any honest appraisals. Indian cricket needs a massive overhaul (if a first-round exit doesn't instigate it,
nothing will) but the fact that it's unlikely to happen is even more disturbing. It's not the Indian board's motto yet, but as someone once famously said, "Money can't buy happiness but it can give you the kind of misery with which you can live comfortably."

by Sambit Bal

'If a game starts taking lives, there is something sickeningly wrong with it' © Getty Images

We don't yet know for sure why or how Bob Woolmer died. We shouldn't rush to judgment; it is still possible that it was an accident. It is equally possible he was murdered. And, while conspiracy theorists are working overtime on the motives, it is also quite possible that we will never know the full truth.

And in the event of this not being an accident, it is quite likely that Woolmer was a victim of cricket's seamier side. Either it was the stress, induced by the most obscene and blind expectations of cricket fans who brook no failure, or he was killed by people who felt let down or had something to fear.

Either way, it should serve as a wake-up call to those who run cricket, and those who profess passion for it. If a game starts taking lives, there is something sickeningly wrong with it. But this is not really about Woolmer. We didn't need someone to die to awaken us to a problem. The signs have always been there, it's just that most of us have found it expedient to ignore them. Commodification has been chipping away at the soul of cricket for years, and now the game is the danger of losing its head.

Take the current predicament of this World Cup as an example. The major stake-holders in the tournament - the television channels and major sponsors - risk losing millions, either in cash or kind, if India go out in the first round. They are not the number one team in the world by a mile. Not even number two. They are ranked sixth in the ICC team ratings and, while that might not always be the best indicator of a team's worth, they have not won a competition of note outside the subcontinent since 1985. Yet the fate of the World Cup rides on them. It's a disaster waiting to happen.

Cricket has acquired a dangerous obsession with money, to the extent where it is not a question of a game needing the money to survive or grow but making as much as possible at any cost.

The reason for this is not hard to comprehend. Cricket has acquired a dangerous obsession with money, to the extent where it is not a question of a game needing the money to survive or grow but making as much as possible at any cost. Players have been ground to dust and cricket, the one-day variety in particular, has been divested of any meaning and consequence. It would seem that the administrators have learnt very little from the match-fixing scandal, which was as much a result of greed as of a surfeit of matches that meant little to the players.

Meanwhile, the Indian administrators have managed to market a massive captive television audience to acquire financial muscle that relies little on the capabilities of the national team. As a result the cricket economy has gone ahead of the game, which is struggling to catch up.

It's an economy that relies more on projection and hype than reality. SetMax, the entertainment channel owned by Sony, paid nearly 40 % of the total cost of the ICC rights in the hope of recouping it from advertisers. Luckily for them, India made it to the final of the last World Cup and one Champions Trophy. But that was clearly not enough and Sony didn't even bother to bid for the next set of rights, which have been won by ESPN-Star for US $1.1 billion.

ESPN-Star is a joint venture between Disney and NewsCorp, but there is little doubt which television audience they are banking on. It is an unhealthy dependence. So much should never depend on the performance of one team. Apart from putting unfair pressure on the players, it leaves the cricket economy dangerously imbalanced and prone to huge risks.

The passion of the fans is the biggest strength of cricket in the sub-continent - but it is also its weakness, particularly in case of India and Pakistan. Sri Lankan fans are far more stoic about their team's fortunes and far more accepting of failure, whereas in Bangladesh they are grateful for every little or big victory, be that of the team or individual. But in India and Pakistan, the passion borders on frenzy.

As an Indian, I would like India to win the World Cup. But it might not be such a bad thing for cricket if they were to be knocked out in the first round

In India it is brazenly and cynically fueled by an increasingly sensationalist and populist mass media, which treats cricket as one of the biggest baits to attract advertisers. Instead of providing perspective and being the voice of reason, the media feeds the frenzy and cashes in on it. Stars are built up and decimated. Exaggerated glorification is matched by proportionate vilification. So cricketers are either to be worshipped or denigrated. There isn't a middle ground, a measure of reality, or a sense of proportion.

The reality is that India reaching the World Cup final would be an overachievement. Australia and South Africa possess superior teams, New Zealand have more balance and depth and Sri Lanka are the most improved team in world cricket. India have proven, but ageing, batsmen, a bowling attack that's susceptible to pressure and poor fielders. To be a fan is to dream. But to many Indian fans the dream is the reality.

Nationalism is the bedrock of cricket. But you can't call yourself a true fan if the sight of 17-year old Tamim Iqbal charging down pitch to belt Indian quick bowlers brought you no thrill. Yes, India played below themselves, but every cricket match has a winner. To be unable to comprehend, and appreciate, this runs against the spirit of the game.

Yes, India not making past the first round would be a huge setback. But it would be accorded the status of a national calamity. It will be discussed in Parliament. Television channels will conduct inquests. Effigies will be burnt, cricketers' homes will be attacked, and these will be gleefully publicised. A couple of months ago, Greg Chappell was slapped on the back by a man in Bhubaneswar seeking his fifteen seconds of fame. He was obliged. It could get worse. Someone could get killed. Perhaps someone has already been killed.

As an Indian, I would like India to win the World Cup. But it might not be such a bad thing for cricket if they were to be knocked out in the first round. Cricket needs a reality check. It has an unhealthy, and unsustainable, business model that relies primarily on an increasingly delusional and one-dimensional fan-base. The bubble has to burst for a semblance of sanity to be restored. We must learn to once again enjoy cricket as a game.

Woolmer didn't just embrace innovation, he made it the norm © Cricinfo Ltd

Tim de Lisle

The last time the cricket world saw Bob Woolmer was in the closing minutes of Pakistan's game with Ireland on Saturday. Triumph and disaster, Kipling's twin impostors, were hovering over Sabina Park like a pair of blimps. One set of supporters was already having a ball, dancing and hooting and laughing. Some members of the other set were shortly to go out on the streets back home, chanting murderous slogans. The camera kept going to Bob, watching as Ireland inched to their target. His face was glum, motionless, quite unlike him. Then the game ended, the Irish jigs reached the middle, and the camera found Bob again. He was packing away his laptop. That was more like him.

These days, you often see players and coaches sitting at computers but the idea is relatively new and it was Bob Woolmer who pioneered it. He was the first laptop coach. He didn't just embrace innovation, he made it the norm. After his creativity turned South Africa into the world's second-best team in 1994-99, Australia and England both hired coaches who were thinkers rather than ex-doers. Later, West Indies and of course Pakistan followed suit. Coaching is now recognised as a skill in its own right, quite separate from playing.

Bob's laptop was used to enlighten fans as well as players. He leapt onto the web, launching his own website and blogging on Cricinfo
, and he used email to keep in touch with his many friends. If you mailed him, you always got an answer, however busy he was, and it always ended "kind regards, Bob". He was both a citizen of the cricket world and an English gentleman.

In fact, he was the only major international coach English cricket has produced. As England has more teams and professionals than any other cricket country, it should produce the most coaching talent. But it doesn't. What did Bob have that many fine ex-players didn't?

Bob combined the precision of Ray Illingworth with the warmth of David Lloyd

The first key is in his playing career. In the obits, his playing years got rather crunched and a point was missed. He was a player who reinvented himself. He started with Kent as a swing-bowling allrounder, batting at nine. He saw potential in his own batting, but Kent didn't: they kept him down the order, often below Alan Knott, a gifted improviser but was never going to be a frontline batsman. To prove himself in the top five, Woolmer had to winter in Natal. His Test career followed the same pattern: first picked in July 1975 as a bowling allrounder, batting at eight, he was number five by August, when he made his epic 149 against Australia. By 1977, he was an Ashes-winning number three. Things went awry after that, but he had shown the ability to turn raw material into achievement.

The second key was his personality. If you ever saw him interviewed on television, you will have noticed his cheerful demeanour. Some cricket people are like that on screen and not off. Bob was just like that. It is said of the best players that they have more time. Offstage, they often don't: they are much in demand and can get spoilt by it. Bob always had time for people.

The third key was his attitude. He was tremendously open. "My philosophy," he used to say, "is that your mind is like a parachute - if it doesn't open, it won't work." For someone who had grown up in a county dressing-room in the 1970s, that was a radical point of view. If he sometimes erred on the side of novelty, as with the notorious earpieces, it was a refreshing change from all those leaning the other way.

The final key lay in his handling of people. He was gentle - Allan Donald even used the word "soft". Even when it emerged that Hansie Cronje had betrayed his own team, Bob was sympathetic. The man with "What Would Jesus Do" on his bracelet had done a Judas; the man who could have felt most betrayed managed to be forgiving, if not totally convincing to the more detached onlooker.

Bob combined the precision of Ray Illingworth with the warmth of David Lloyd. His cuddly silhouette was not misleading. In the Seventies, he was one of my favourite players, which can lead to disappointment if you eventually meet, but Bob simply became one of my favourite ex-players. At Wisden Cricket Monthly, I signed him up as an agony uncle for readers who were having trouble with their game. It never felt like talking to an old-timer. He didn't harp on about what happened in his day. As he said in the mantra on his homepage, 'Yesterday is history / Tomorrow is a mystery / Today is the present / A gift to make the most of'.

With a CV that encompassed Kent, Natal, England, Packer, Avondale, Boland, Kent again, Warwickshire, South Africa, several minnow nations and Pakistan, he was the most cosmopolitan of coaches. But, paradoxically, the World Cup was cruel to him. Picked for the England squad for the inaugural tournament in 1975, he broke a finger the day before it began. In 1999, his South African team endured the most agonising of near-misses, losing a tied semi-final to Australia on the strength of a 0.1 difference in run-rate. This time, in a World Cup designed to keep all the good teams in, Pakistan somehow stampeded for the exit. And then came the greatest cruelty of all. Woolmer himself, amenable as ever, said he would "sleep on" his future, and never woke up.

Whether the game did for Bob, we may never know. What Bob did for the game, happily, is not in doubt.

Doing it with style: Trent Johnston hit a six to dump Pakistan out of the World Cup © Getty Images

Dileep Premachandran

The son of James Joyce was instrumental in Ireland qualifying for this World Cup, with two centuries and two fifties in the 2005 ICC Trophy. And before the more literary among you get apoplectic, yes we do know that the man who wrote Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake passed away in January 1941. But by a happy quirk of fate, Edmund Christopher Joyce, Ed to his Irish and English team-mates, was also born to a James, and his 399 runs from five games were the focal point of a campaign in which the next highest scorer for Ireland was Trent Johnston with 183.

Joyce's heroics were proof that Ireland weren't just a team of journeyman pros imported from countries like Australia and South Africa. While the likes of Johnston, opener Jeremy Bray and South African allrounder Andrè Botha have all contributed to Irish cricket's dramatic rise through the associate ranks, Adrian Birrell, the coach, is keen to emphasise that 11 of the 15-man squad were born and bred in Ireland. "Ed was our best
player," he says. "And he now opens for England. So we don't just import talent, we're also exporting it (smiles)."

Under Birrell, who spent 16 years with Eastern Province in South Africa, the different elements have combined together quite beautifully. "When I took over, we were probably ranked 18th or 20th in the world," he says. "Now, we're arguably the strongest associate [nation]. And along the way, we've picked up some major scalps."

Victories over Zimbabwe in 2003 and a Surrey team with eight internationals in 2004 were followed by a defeat of West Indies (2005), their opponents in the final Group D game on Friday. And the disappointment of losing to Scotland in that 2005 ICC Trophy final was offset to some extent by their triumph in the Intercontinental Trophy, a competition in which they have reached the final again this year.

And it's not only the national side that's doing well. At the European Championships in 2006, Ireland were champions at all six age groups from Under-13 to seniors, and according to Birrell, "some of the young boys waiting in the wings are exceptionally good."

Irish cricket has history too. The old-timers still wax eloquent about Dougie Goodwin (5-6) and Alec O'Riordan (4-18), who routed a West Indian team for 25 on a damp pitch at the Sion Mills Ground, south of Londonderry. Over the years, the feat has lent itself to urban legend and the name of Sir Garfield Sobers crops up, but though he was captain on
that ill-fated tour in 1969, injury prevented him from crossing the Irish Sea. It was Basil Butcher that led a side which could also boast of a young Clive Lloyd and the 43-year-old Clyde Walcott.

Ed Joyce was instrumental in Ireland qualifying for this World Cup before England imported him © International Cricket Council

With that history of giant-killings in Irish cricket's past, Pakistan would have been wary last Saturday. But again, the conditions were to play a vital part in bridging the gulf in ability between the two sides. Though the pitch wasn't Sion Mills-damp, there was enough life in it to encourage the seam bowlers. And while both Dave Langford-Smith and the strapping Boyd Rankin were erratic, they produced the odd unplayable delivery.

Botha, with his experience of South African domestic cricket, did even better, exhibiting the mastery over line and length that was such a feature of South Africa's bowling in the Bob Woolmer-Hansie Cronje years. It was like watching Craig Matthews or Fanie de Villiers bowl, and even someone of the quality of Inzamam-ul-Haq was clueless as Botha bowled his eight overs for five runs and two wickets.

Over the course of an unforgettable St Patrick's Day, what we saw was a team where every individual appeared to raise his game, whether it was Johnston with that sensational catch to dismiss Kamran Akmal or Eoin Morgan with superb slip catches. William Porterfield rode his luck for a valuable 13, blocking up one end while the pint-sized Niall O'Brien went for his shots, and after a late wobble, Kevin O'Brien helped Johnston see
it home with a fighting knock.

The bald and affable Jeremy Bray had played his part in the tie against Zimbabwe, scoring a brilliant 115, while Kyle McCallan, the teacher who might now need to take some extra days off, got the fortunate touch that changed the course of a game that Zimbabwe seemed to be have in their grasp.

They may come unstuck against West Indies, but unless things go drastically wrong, there's a Super Eight date with England to look forward to in Guyana a week on Saturday. For James Joyce's son, there will certainly be mixed emotions.

What they say

"But for me the weekend - the whole winter, come to that - was lit up by the brothers O'Brien, that nerveless brace of freckled Celtic redheads who with such serenity and staunch skill at the crease dispatched Pakistan from cricket's World Cup. - Nobody tells it quite like Frank Keating in The Guardian

What the Irish say

"Our fielding is excellent, we have a long batting line-up and the bowling's very good when we get it right. But if you ask me what our greatest strength is, it's the team spirit." - Adrian Birrell talks about his side, and no, he wasn't referring to Guinness or Bushmills. At least, we think not.

Bob Woolmer lived by the theme 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, so concentrate on the now' © Getty Images

Osman Samiuddin

There are occasions when words, or anything else, are not enough. This is one of those occasions.

The last time I met Bob Woolmer was shortly before the team left for South Africa, over a seaside dinner, where, with a few other cricket tragics, we dissected the West Indies series, Pakistan openers, slip catching and South Africa. A dodgy stomach apart, he was much as I have known him over a couple of years.

Our first real interaction had been on Pakistan's tour to India at the beginning of 2005 where, in a Vishakapatnam hotel, we talked, with John Wright, about how to deal with erratic players like Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq (the gist being it was more in the mind than in the body).

In October of that year, a rare bubbly time just before the England series that was to be the highlight of his tenure as Pakistan coach, we had our first prolonged interview. In a lengthy, frank chat in the afternoon Ramadan heat at the National Stadium in Karachi, he said as much on the record as he did off it and a rapport was immediately established. He had been a Wisden columnist and written regularly, which helped.

By then, a year into his job - a year of relative calm - he appeared keenly aware of the country's traditional volatility. He used one of his more prominent catchphrases then: 'Yesterday is history, tomorrow a mystery, so concentrate on the now,' and few axioms apply so aptly to Pakistan. He also chirped Inshallah (god willing) to Pakistan's prospects in forthcoming encounters, having quickly picked up on the time-honoured Pakistani response to uncertainty.

For a journalist he was a dream: genial, a dry wit and rarely flustered. Above all, he was always accessible, in person, on the phone, via SMS and e-mail. He didn't tire of talking cricket on and off the field, ready with a quote or three. Beyond cricket I knew little, but I always felt after he left the Pakistan job, I probably would, over time, continents, countries, e-mails and text messages, uncover more.

What made Bob special: innovative training sessions and a willingness to think beyond the field © Getty Images

People have noted he was media-savvy and, in light of his own coaching website and a regular stream of articles for various publications, it is difficult to argue. Certainly, he read cricket. He always made sure to tell me I was a crap writer and didn't know what I was writing about; very occasionally, he pointed out that I might indeed have made a valid point.

Signs of what made him one of cricket's early super-coaches in the mid-90s were still present, in innovative training sessions and a willingness to think beyond the field. He spoke, in our first interview, of how difficult it was to work around the hierarchical structure of cricket in Pakistan, where the oldest player is often captain and difficult to approach for younger players. Touch football, which Pakistan played in most training sessions, was his way of getting youngsters more comfortable in interacting with Inzamam-ul-Haq and thus eventually to working with him on the field.

Though it wasn't remembered recently, he did make a difference, for a time, to Pakistan and that is achievement enough. Younger and temperamentally fragile players responded initially to his openness, his shunning of dressing downs and embracing instead of a more open, talk-it-out atmosphere. For a phase, Pakistan bubbled; no factionalism, binding forces aplenty, victories on the field and a captain and coach in sync.

Sadly, it fell away after the Oval Test, one of the more significant fall-outs from the dressing room fiasco that day being a cooling in relations between Inzamam and Woolmer. Shoaib Akhtar was a more prominent personnel challenge, though Woolmer wasn't the first and won't be the last to have discovered that.

Outwardly, the sheer madness of the last six months didn't appear to have worried him - c'est la vie he once reasoned merrily - but underneath that surface who knows. He had thought of resigning in August after the Oval Test, since when matters in Pakistan cricket became only more volatile. His future after the World Cup, he said privately and publicly, was undecided but the prospect of finishing a book on his coaching life, from experiences in South African townships to Lahore via much else, was one priority.

No matter now, for what has gone previously, what he did as player or coach, whatever has happened, all of it is irrelevant at this moment. In time, after sorrow and regret, it will become clear that he had done enough with Pakistan, with South Africa, with Warwickshire, with the ICC and with the game to be remembered as an innovative, successful coach and not for a last-game defeat to Ireland. My last interaction with him was through e-mail. He wished me a speedy recovery from illness. I can no longer do the same to him and none of this is nearly enough. God bless your soul Bob.

It's only when players of Associate countries start playing regular top-class cricket that they will make inroads into the Full Member nations © Getty Images

Bob Woolmer

For years the second tier of cricket, known as the Associates, had been languishing in amateur status unable even to beat the county cricket teams in England. However in 2000 the ICC introduced the high-performance programme, which took four nations - Kenya, Namibia, United Arab Emirates and Canada - that had qualified for the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and gave them funding and expert coaching to help and aid their development. Seven years down the line,
the next group of associate nations have now improved beyond all recognition. Scotland, Ireland, Holland, Bermuda, Canada and Kenya make up the high performance nations for the 2007 World Cup.

My view is that the World Cup is a wonderful incentive for these countries to improve their cricket internally and help grow the game worldwide. It is a long-term project that needs all the help it can get. Ultimately, it's only when the players in those countries are playing regular top-class cricket and are paid professionally that they will start to make inroads into the Full Member nations.

In addition, players who were born in the high-performance countries but moved overseas with their parents when they were young are now returning to the land of their birth to help with their experience and to try and gain a place in the team with the World Cup as their incentive. In fact
the ICC has increased the funding 10-fold in order to narrow the gap between the full member countries and the Associates.

The associate countries have been prepared better for this World Cup than ever before and it has started to show in their performances. Ireland, in particular, have shown a rapid improvement, captained by an Australian, Trent Johnston, a medium-fast seamer and, with a number of players who have county experience in England, they have a very good team. Any side underestimating them will be doing themselves few favours.

Ireland recently had South Africa 98 for 8, which means that their bowling is very disciplined. The Irish have six out of seven lefthanders in the upper order and they are young and fit on the field. They are, in other words, a serious banana skin fixture.

All things being equal, international and full time professionals should beat their amateur counterparts 99% of the time. It is that nagging 1% that keeps teams honest and in fact the odds are greater in the six associate member nations because of the time and money spent on them. They now have a full-time four-day competition and at least three to four one-day tournaments in the lead-up to the World Cup.

They are now looked after by full-time trainers and coaches and in order to make the most of this some players have had to take nine months unpaid leave to play. They certainly have the motivation to want to do well.

The acid test, of course, is whether they can maintain their form and are able to deal with the professional cricketers. I find the golf analogy useful when trying to assess the difference (though there are no handicaps to assist). Professional golfers have been known to hit 2000 balls a day each while their amateur counterparts only have an eighth of the time to practice and consequently hit about 250 balls a day - and some of us on average about 1 extra ball a day per annum.

A professional golfer may hit up to 2000 balls a day, an amateur will have time only for 250 while the rest average just one extra ball a day © Getty Images

Practice is relative; it helps as long as it is constructive but the bottom line is that the professional sportsman generally hits far more balls, bowls far more balls and catches far more than his amateur counterpart and therefore should be better skills wise. The Pakistan v Ireland contest therefore should go the way of Pakistan, though it will, without doubt, be a real contest and Pakistan will not be treating this game lightly especially in view of the first game loss to the West Indies.

Strategically, Ireland will try and bowl tight lines and lengths with the keeper standing up to stifle the free-flowing style of the Pakistan batting line up and Pakistan too will try and bring a game plan that will apply pressure on the Irish bowling. The fielding should be of even standard and the bowling of Pakistan, with its variety, should cause the Irish batting some problems.

Despite the efforts of the high-performance programme the result should favour the Full Member nation. Inzamam-ul-Haq alone has played 350-plus matches; add the caps won by the whole Irish eleven, multiply by 10 and they do not have his experience! However all the conjecture and words mean nothing and it will be the intensity of competition that will eventually decide the outcome of this contest.

by Kumar Sangakkara

The Caribbean flavour and passion was on display at the opening ceremony © Getty Images

The much anticipated World Cup got underway with a wonderful opening ceremony in Jamaica featuring a host of West Indian and international stars performing in front of an enthusiastic crowd. It was launched with true Caribbean flavour and passion. The players from all nations could sense the immense pride with which the West Indians have accepted the challenge of hosting the tournament.

For us, the World Cup began with a somewhat tiring 21 hours of flying, from Colombo via Dubai and London, but the sight of beautiful Barbados with its wonderful people and scenic beaches soon had our players rejuvenated. Barbados is an idyllic place - so much so that sometimes you almost had to kick yourself to be reminded that you are here to win the most coveted prize in cricket and not on an exotic holiday.

Our preparation in Barbados involved two practice games along with a few dedicated nets sessions. The practices were held at different venues to the ones that will host the main World Cup games so there was no opportunity to get a first-hand look-in at how the newly re-laid pitches will play. However, the pitches prepared for our two practice games turned out to be very fair - although slower than expected - and were similar to Asian pitches. We will have to wait till our first game to see how the wickets in Trinidad will play.

We lost the final warm-up game against New Zealand but, to be honest, that was not a major concern. The bottom line is that it was practice and we were trying out things rather than just focusing on winning the game. There were some positives and we finished the preparatory stage of the tournament in a confident mood.

We have been preparing with focus and intensive purpose during the build-up to the World Cup. Now that the tournament has begun we see no reason to change the way we train as the attitude of all the players in their approach to practice has been exemplary. Our focus is now to continue and maintain the intensity and purpose with which we train and to leave no avenues unexplored in our quest to win the cup.

This World Cup holds a lot of promise, not only in the sense of a magnificent sporting spectacle, but also performances of some brilliant individual players. First and foremost, as captain and leading batsman, Brian Lara will be carrying the hopes of the entire Caribbean. He will be looking to leave his personal stamp of genius on this his last World Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya too will be keen to put in memorable performances. As two of the most influential players that have ever played the one-day game, this is the ideal stage for them to achieve cricketing immortality.

Upul Tharanga will be one of the players to watch for this World Cup © Getty Images

The Australian side, smarting from their defeats in the Commonwealth Bank and Chappell-Hadlee series, will be looking out for strong batting performances led by Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. Ponting's consistency and form over the past few years have put him right at the top of the list of the world's best batsmen - rivalled only by Mohammad Yousuf with the form he has shown over the past year.

There are some young players to watch in this tournament too and in this regard Sri Lanka is blessed with three of the brightest new stars. Watch out for the likes of Upul Tharanga, Chamara Silva and Lasith Malinga. They are extremely talented and ready to make their own mark on the international stage.

Their first outing comes with our opener against Bermuda, one of the so-called 'minnows'. Personally, I think it is good for more teams to be involved, but as a team it is not for us to question whether or not the smaller developing nations should be playing. Our job is to concentrate on our cricket.

So against the Bermudians we will be taking it very seriously indeed. We are approaching the game with the same intensity that we'd prepare for Australia. We must be fully prepared to execute our game-plans and play the brand of cricket that we want to play in this tournament. We can't wait to start.

by Bob Woolmer

Ramnaresh Sarwan came in to bat as if he had a train to catch © Getty Images

During a game I keep my 'game notes' as it helps me remember the details - the good as well as the not so good moments - of the proceedings. I attach a small example of how they look for your interest.

* Hot morning, cloudless sky, Inzamam [ul-Haq] wins the toss and elects to field first. It is the general consensus that is what we should do. "The pitch is drier than the ones we have been playing on but it is reasonable to think that it will do something," he said hopefully.

* The stadium looks terrific and the warm-ups go well.

* Gul to Gayle, "off we go"

* Very hot conditions. We need towels for the sweat.

* Gul strikes in his second over with Gayle edging to Kamran. Short ball swinging after it pitched and getting big on Gayle.

* Sarwan replaces Gayle and was dropped (very tough chance at second slip climbing and going away from Younis Khan).

* Danny [Danish Kaneria] throws four overthrows while returning it to the keeper - very funny! Except for the bowler.

The opening match of the World Cup was the type of game we can expect from all the sides here. It was a tough, no-holds-barred game. In the end West Indies deserved to win. I had wondered, before the game, if the pressure of the occasion might get to them. I had also wondered if the occasion would spur them on to greater deeds. The wondering is now over.

There were a number of turning points in the game. The first was when Sarwan came in as though he had a train to catch. His aggression might have taken the game away from us but the bowlers held their nerve and a good ball from [Iftikhar] Rao dismissed him. [Marlon] Samuels, after a circumspect start, decided it was time to accelerate and played a gem of an innings in the context of the game a gem. He is a sweet timer of the ball and can also hit it very hard.

West Indies bowlers bowled a good line and length to defend their moderate total of 241 © Getty Images

West Indies eventually totalled 241 on what looked like an excellent track but we thought that they might be 20 to 30 runs short. We needed a solid start, something like 40 for 0 off ten overs would have been great but West Indies were dynamic in the field. They exuded energy as they dived, stopped and caught everything. Their bowlers bowled a superb length and line. Despite having two of the best batsmen in world cricket today the Windies bowlers bowled with consummate discipline and as the run rate went from 4.7 to 7.3 I knew that it was going to be very hard for the lower order to score at such a high rate.

West Indies rose to the occasion and played with pride, passion and steel. Pakistan's effort was good for they worked hard all the time but in the end it wasn't enough. To sum up I will add some more from my notes.

* It is easy to point fingers and I really thought that 241 was a good effort in the field but if you add up all the little things then you can see that scoring 242 to win needed a good start and wickets in hand. Danish's throw and Rao's last over - all these little things add up. Our running between the wickets leaves a lot to be desired and we hardly turned a single into two runs. West Indies bowled with great discipline and two early wickets has not helped our cause.

* Statistically West Indies ran seven more twos, hit seven more sixes, and scored 10 more fours than Pakistan. It quietly highlights why we are behind the eight ball.

Our game against Ireland will be a tough one as they have proved that they are one of the best equipped of the Associate sides and are very keen and well-organised. There will be no easy games in this World Cup.

Andrew Miller

They are the holy grail of cricket selection. Men who can bat and bowl to international standard are the most sought-after accessory of all. The list of all-time great allrounders can more or less be counted on the fingers of two hands, but at one-day international level, ten tidy
overs allied to a half-century equals a potentially matchwinning performance. And that's where these key figures come in.

Andrew Symonds can do it all - batting...bowling...fielding...AFL? © Getty Images

In Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson, Australia have, potentially, two of the most pivotal performers of all. Symonds is a one-day superstar, a batsman of breathtaking power whose heavy-limbed medium-pace and offspin is tailormade for those sluggish middle overs.
Recently though, he suffered a torn bicep which leaves his participation and effectiveness in some doubt, and in his absence, it'll be Watson, a more classical alternative, who'll have to step up. He is better suited to the opener's role, while his seam bowling is brisk without being express, and ever so slightly unproven. Oh, and talking of Australian allrounders, it would be rude to exclude Adam Gilchrist, the wicketkeeper-batsman.

At the 1992 World Cup, England had - at a pinch - eight or nine genuine one-day allrounders in their starting eleven. This time they have just two, although one of them is a leviathan among his peers. Andrew Flintoff was the most economical seamer at the 2003 World Cup, and that was before his game had matured to the extent it now has. Injury permitting, he has it in him to rule this competition, providing genuine pace and relentless accuracy with the ball, and game-breaking strokeplay with the bat. Toiling alongside him will be Paul Collingwood, the star of the show in the recent CB Series. In the form of his life with the bat, it could be his nagging medium pace that comes to the fore on some sluggish Caribbean tracks.

If Flintoff's coming-of-age got Englishmen a bit excited, then the same and more could be said of India's young superstar, Irfan Pathan. Still only 22 years old, his derring-do at the top of both the batting and bowling orders has drawn comparison with the great Kapil Dev, although fears were raised about his form in South Africa before Christmas when he was sent home to cool off in domestic cricket. As a prodigious swinger of the new ball, all of India hopes that the break will have done him good come the start of their campaign against Bangladesh next Saturday.

Flippin' underrated: Shahid Afridi's leg-spin © Getty Images

Though his current form is unproven, at least Pathan is in the squad. Pakistan, on the other hand, have lost so many of their star players, including their most potent allround talent, Abdul Razzaq, to an untimely knee injury. Step forward Shahid Afridi, one of the most
natural talents the game of cricket has ever seen. His ballistic batting has to be seen to be believed - his most recent onslaught was an absurdly belligerent 77 not out from 35 balls at Durban. But it is his under-rated wrist-spin that is arguably his most consistent weapon. Brisk, accurate and fizzing, they leap disconcertingly from a good length, and will undoubtedly be a big asset as the tournament progresses.

Talking of under-rated legspinners, here's another. Sri Lanka's old stager, Sanath Jayasuriya, is embarking on his fifth World Cup, and at the age of 37, is arguably a more rounded cricketer than ever before. His pinch-hitting batting remains as explosive as it was in
1996, but his bowling has undergone a revival, seeing as he is now Sri Lanka's No. 1 spinning foil to the undisputed master, Muttiah Muralitharan. Sri Lankan cricketers have long been
jacks-of-all-trades, but at the other end of the age spectrum is their next big allround prospect, Farvez Maharoof - only 22 years old, but brisk enough to have taken 6 for 14 in the recent Champions Trophy against West Indies.

South Africa is another nation that grows allrounders as if on
trees, and the present crop is an enviable one, to say the least. Men
such as Andrew Hall and Justin Kemp would grace any side, but in Shaun
Pollock and Jacques Kallis, South Africa have two men who have been at
the top of their game for a decade and more. In Pollock's case, he is
back where he belongs after an 18-month slump that left several
pundits casting nervous glances towards the retirement home. He has
been revived by responsibility, pushed up the batting order to win two
Tests against India and Pakistan, and bowling his wicket-to-wicket
seamers with the waspishness of old. Kallis, meanwhile, recently
enjoyed a typically prolific home season, scoring 119 not out and
taking 3 for 3 in one remarkable win against India at Durban.

New Zealanders are used to being belittled by Australians, so
when Jacob Oram was recently dismissed as a "poor man's Chris Cairns"
he took it upon himself to shove those words straight back down the
nearest available Green-and-Gold throat. Standing at six-foot-plenty,
Oram bowls his lively medium-pacers from a cloud-snaggingly high arm,
and when batting he turns the midwicket boundary into his personal
fiefdom with a firm swing of his strong bottom hand. He walloped the
Aussies for 101 not out from 72 balls at Perth in the CB Series,
before a broken finger ruled him out of the subsequent triumph in the
Chappell-Hadlee Trophy. He vowed to have it amputated if needs be, but
his 88 against Bangladesh last week showed he'll be able to battle
through the pain.

Chris Gayle exhibits some of his usual flamboyance © Getty Images

Another tall left-handed strokeplayer with a high bowling action is set to be a star for the host nation, West Indies. Chris Gayle has inherited Curtly Ambrose's role as the Daddy Cool of the Caribbean team, but like Ambrose he has a competitive streak that belies his
languid demeanour. He was the star player at the last ICC event, the Champions Trophy in India before Christmas, where he thumped three centuries including a matchwinning 133 not out in the semi-final against South Africa, and took eight wickets with his deceptively
innocuous offbreaks. Scarcely less effective was his team-mate, Dwayne Bravo, the possessor of the best slower ball in the game today, who also chimed in with the first of what should be many ODI hundreds. He has it in him to be the star of the tournament.

Bangladesh's two-wicket win against New Zealand last week was
ample proof that they will be no pushover at this World Cup. Their
recent success has been based on a more traditional division of
labour, with batsmen such as Habibul Bashar and Mohammad Ashraful
making the runs, and bowlers such as Mashrafe Mortaza and Syed Rasel
taking the wickets, but one player with a foot in both camps is their
veteran left-armer, Mohammad Rafique. Predominantly a spinner, he does
however have an eye for the ball that is the preserve of few, and an
axeman's delight in wild and woolly strokeplay. On Bangladesh's last
trip to the Caribbean, this approach was good enough to score him an
astonishing Test century from No. 9. Don't be surprised to see more of
the same.

The best of the rest is Holland's Ryan ten Doeschate.
One of the rising stars in the Essex side that won the Pro40 League in
2006, his huge hitting and skiddy bowling has been making several
headlines in recent times. In the ICC Intercontinental Cup he smashed
an unbeaten 259 and finished with the extraordinary average of 228.66
including four successive centuries, while Holland's warm-up against
India last week was notable for his impressive haul of 5 for 57. "Ryan
is a world-class performer when he's playing well," said his coach,
Ian Pont. "He's a real contender as one of the stars of the
tournament."

Once Hussey is in, forget the score; just put your money on Australia © Getty Images

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

They're the bunch that thrives in the death, stepping up the accelerator, booming the sixes and applying the finishing touches. Unlike their colleagues at the top of the order, the finishers rarely have the luxury of getting set, having to pick up the pace from the tie they enter. Sometimes they can only survey the debris, entering after a top-order crumble and needing to pull off the minor miracles. They're either vilified for their recklessness or deified for their bravado but always remembered at the end of the day.

Australia are blessed. It took Michael Hussey 29 matches for his average to drop below 100 and he's not only replaced Michael Bevan as a finisher extraordinaire but actually bettered him. He can control the middle overs - maneuvering the spinners, scurrying between wickets, lofting aerial strokes, gliding cheekily - and possesses an enviable composure during the pivotal stages. Basically with Hussey at the crease forget the score; just put your money on Australia.

India have heavily relied on Yuvraj Singh and Mahendra Singh Dhoni during the final stages. When the mood catches him, Yuvraj doesn't just finish games, he kills them. Of the 16 half-centuries that Yuvraj has managed while chasing, India have won on 14 occasions (In 21 games between November 2005 and May 2006 he reeled off six half-centuries and three hundreds). In Dhoni, India possess a finisher imbued with the X-factor. His destructive qualities are well documented but he's recently shown that he can temper his approach, shepherding the tail during the tense stages.

South Africa's Mark Boucher has mastered the art of shifting gears over the years. His only one-day hundred was a 44-ball massacre and his matchwinning 98-ball 69 on a juicy trampoline at Mohali showed his versatility. Justin Kemp has been his partner in many a rescue act and teams will beware of his ability to clear the ropes, stands and even stadiums.

Brendon McCullum can be counted on to provide some tail-end dynamite for New Zealand © Getty Images

New Zealand's Brendon McCullum and Jacob Oram promise to be equally destructive. Their contrasting styles make them a combustible pair - one's a nuggety accumulator, who's well capable of the big shots, the other's a palm-tree hitter, who's adept at shifting gear. New Zealand, who enter the tournament on the back of a couple of sensational run-chases against Australia, often make up for their top-order failings through tail-end dynamite and can be counted to pull off the close chases.

England have banked on Paul Collingwood to provide them with the impetus towards the end. Though he was more of a playmaker during the recent CB Series, when he propelled England to the title, he's often been influential at the end, as five fifties and two hundreds in the last 25 games testify.

Sri Lanka may not have an accomplished finisher (Chamara Silva promises much but is only 14 ODIs old) but enjoy the aggressive talents of Chaminda Vaas and Farveez Maharoof lower down. Both have the ability to boost first-innings totals but it's in the second innings, with the tension mounting, that their talents will be tested.

The two major teams that might have a problem finishing are West Indies and Pakistan. Abdul Razzaq's absence leaves a big void and its now upto Shoaib Malik to steer the bottom half of the line-up. He's got the technique to move it around and is very capable of taking bowlers on. It may boil down to how much support he receives from the erratic but explosive Shahid Afridi and the tail.

Dwayne Bravo often carries the responsibility in the dying stages but West Indies' penchant for the collapse has left them vulnerable too many times. Dwayne Smith is more miss than hit while Denesh Ramdin has lost his cool more often than not. They'll hope to stay calm when it matters. A few million Caribbean cricket crazies will wish for the same.

Half-brothers Fidel Edwards and Pedro Collins with their mum outside their home in Boscobelle, Barbados © Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Most islands in the West Indies require you to shell out a departure tax, a fee of around US $30, usually paid after checking in for your flight. Waiting in a queue at