If this was the lesson of the England-Australia encounter, the other two matches provided a pointer or two about who might challenge Australia down the home straight. The South Africans are clearly the main contenders; the ICC rankings have that right. They killed India four times in a row and what they did to Pakistan yesterday was cruel. They’re a great fielding unit and they bat deep which helps but I can’t help thinking that their bowling is so bustlingly similar that anytime Shaun Pollock has an off day, they’re likely to get slaughtered. On the other hand, if there’s one team that’s on its knees giving thanks for Warne’s retirement, it’s this lot, so that’s another thing they have going for them.

But if I was a betting man I’d put my money on Sri Lanka. To beat India at home without Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan (ie nine-tenths of their bowling attack) after the game seemed lost, needed extraordinary poise and nerve and this Sri Lankan team has both. They fielded like demons and in Kumar Sangakkara they have one of the cleverest men in cricket, a modern-day Mike Brearley with a difference: this man can bat. So can Mahela Jayawardene and Marvan Atapattu and I have a happy feeling that Sanath Jayasuriya, that Martin Luther of modern cricket who offends against orthodoxy every time he swings his angled scythe, is saving himself up for one last spasm of berserker violence on the world stage. And Lasith Malinga is so weird he’s wonderful: Sri Lanka is a kind of cricketing Galapagos, breeding exotic bowling actions in its island isolation.

	'Kumar Sangakkara is one of the cleverest men in cricket, a modern-day Mike Brearley with a difference: this man can bat' © Getty Images

Pakistan are number three in the ICC’s rankings and anyone with eyes knows that as individuals they’re so prodigiously gifted that eleven of them on a good day could win anything. But, as with India (only more so) the Pakistani whole is often considerably less than the sum of its constituent parts. Yesterday they played like they were collectively in the depressive phase of a bi-polar disorder. They have the remarkable Mohammad Asif, all round depth, and a great middle order, so they’re contenders but after yesterday’s performance you’d have to be a patriot or a clairvoyant to bet on them.

From the Indian point of view, yesterday’s game followed a recent pattern. Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar did moderately well, Rahul Dravid failed, Mahendra Singh Dhoni contributed but not decisively and the tail collapsed. The worrying thing about the game was that everyone apart from Anil Kumble and Dravid played reasonably well and we still lost.

The seamers did as well as anyone could expect and the four selected for the West Indies are no surprise: they pick themselves. Irfan Pathan’s passage was booked on a wish and a prayer. Dinesh Karthik’s selection in the World Cup 15 is understandable because he is insurance in case Dhoni is injured. That Robin Uthappa, on the strength of seven ODIs and two fifties, made the cut ahead of, say, VVS Laxman (who will now never play a World Cup match) is hard to credit. He has been chosen, I suspect, to carry the standard of youth, a responsibility once borne by RP Singh and VRV Singh and Suresh Raina. Greg Chappell, Dravid and the selectors have so fetishized youthfulness that they couldn’t, without embarrassing themselves, have picked a batting line-up that, with the exception of Virender Sehwag, was Made in the Nineties. For India’s sake and his, I hope Uthappa does well, otherwise he’ll be the latest sacrifice at the gory altar of New Blood. I can’t see a neutral punter backing us to win. On the other hand the odds on an Indian win in ’83 were 60 to one and I’m not a neutral punter. We can win this one…

Australia are favourites
South Africa Second f
and any one of remaining six (Third f)can be in final or can win
will be best WC ever.

Very well said. Myself i am convincing people not to write off Sri Lanka as i have witnessed their ODI exploits against opposition. To be honest i think either Australia or SA might win and at the moment SA have a slight advantage. The problem with Australia is that they cannot defend large totals (New Wanderers etc.) and they usually suffer a middle order collapse if Hussey Clarke or Symonds do not play well. Matthew Hayden has had his time, he should not be picked just because he made a century in the CB series. He was lucky as he was dropped on many occasions with many misfields. This is hard to say but right now Australia's fielding looks dismal; even comparable to Pakistan. SA have a great fielding side which helps bowlers restrict runs. Cardinal rule of cricket which is taught from basics; CATCHES WIN MATCHES and to be fair Australia or any other side except SA dont hold on to many. I am a keen supporter of Pakistan but with honesty i dont think they will win. They are too inconsistent and this can be seen by their ODI performance in SA, however they have a knack of beating good teams on occasions that matter most. India have a good side and true they play well but the key thing is, they lose games. It shall be interesting to see who wins and who is in the final.

I see a big problem, with the Aussie bowling attack. Apart from Lee. Mcgrath is deadly, when the ball moves off the length which he bowls. If the ball does nothing off the seam, he might be slaughtered. Bracken, to quote Frost,(Robert Frost, the poet), has "miles to go", before he is thought of in the same terms as Mcgrath. Clarke gives Australia, a 'reasonable' bowling option, though.
I see no problems with the Indian Team selected. We had to go with five fast bowlers, and these bowlers differ from one another, giving the pace attack a varied look. The batting line-up looks good, though, I wish VVS was also selected, keeping in mind, Inzamam is captaining Pakistan. However, only fifteen team members can be chosen for the World Cup.
England has a good team, provided they can keep their spirits up. They are a professional outfit.
The Pakistan bowlers must learn to vary their pace, line and length, otherwise, they will be like meat and drink, to the batsmen, who face them. I feel Razzaq may be effective in the Caribbean isles. Mohammed Yusuf, and Younis Khan, are in form. However, a loss of form, or confidence, in the middle of the world cup, and the Pakistani batsmen will have a problem with the moving ball.

its looking more and more open isnt it?

this is a wonderful build up. Although at the last matchm, i thought the indians Gifted us the win.

The worrying thing for you guys is batting. ok, whine about injuries in the bowling, but that wasn't what cost you the match. Dhoni should have finished it when he had the chance, oh well - its easy for us to say.

People here (Sri Lanka) are becoming more and more excited on the propsects of a yet another world cup win, i'd say everyone is quietly confident. but then so was the English during the Football WC.

btw, Mukul its good to cross paths again. i donno if u remember.

Cheers
Deane J

For that beautiful description of the Sri Lankan cricket team, much thanks.

I still think Australia can win the world cup. Why? In 2003, just before their first match, Shane Warne was sent home after the drugs scandal. Now you tell me: what other team can lose it's most influential cricketer and then still go on to win the world cup convincingly? Heck, they didn't lose a single match in the last world cup.

This time, things maybe different: McGrath isn't as great as he used to be; Hayden is seemingly struggling in that he doesn't seem to be able to impose himself like he used to; Gilchrist is slightly inconsistent with the bat; and, most importantly, Symmonds is missing (still). We saw what his absence did in the last three matches. Shane Watson better establish himself fast.

South Africa probably can win it, if they can go through this world cup without screwing up in the most important matches.

Pakistan - even with their injuries, drug scandals, anger management problems, and general volatility is still dangerous.

Sri Lanka - for the first time since that glorius day in March 1996, I can honestly point to this team and say, "We can with these guys". There are still a few loose ends in my point of view - the middle order isn't the most consistent and the fast bowling (minus Vaas and Malinga) is dodgy - but yesterday's match showed that the young 'uns have the mettle for this level. Sri Lanka maybe the most dangerous yet most unpredictable team this year.

INDIA:
If you look at India's roller coaster ride in their last series wins against Sri Lanka and Pakistan the man of the series on both occassions was Yuvraj Singh. He carried the side on his shoulders and always provided the finishing touch particularly in chasing. Of course Dravid and Dhoni were also in magnificent form but you would find that on more than few occassions it was Yuvraj who steered India home. The Indian team's decline has coincided with Yuvraj's fitness problems. I believe for India to do well in WC Yuvraj's form would be critical. Consistent as they may be Ganguly and Tendulkar cannot do the job on their own now. Dravid, even if he finds some form would not cause sleepless nights for too many opposition captains. It is guys like Yuvraj, Dhoni and Sehwag that really take the game away form the opposition. With Sehwag a shadow of his former self the bulk of the work must be done by the other two. The problem is that by the time you get down to Dhoni the pressure is really on. I don't think India can afford to play him up the order due to lack of fire power in the lower middle order. Pathan at number three may be the answer, though he is a liability with the ball.

2. Pakistan
Nothing can be said about the most unpredictable side in the world. I think they would be spectacular at times but I really can't see them going all the way.Due to a fragile top order Shoaib's presence is extremely important as in partnership with Asif he can defend low totals that Pakistan cannot defend otherwise.

3. Sri Lanka
Clearly the most stable and in form side from the Subcontinet. They should reach semis comfortably (I would be surprised if they don't). Jaysuria and Tharanga provide the most explosive openning pair in the world today. Jaywerdene, Sangakara and Dilshan are solid in the middle order. But the man to watch is Lasith Malinga. Also Sri Lanka would do well to select Bandara in their final eleven particularly agaianst sides like NZ, AUS, ENG and WI that struggle against quality spin.

In my opinion, australia are still firm favourites to win the world cup again. Having said that, their recent form in the last 3 games suggest that they can be beaten. They are a side that comes back hard when beaten, as we saw in the recently concluded Ashes series.
I'd consider South Africa and Sri Lanka as the strongest challengers to the mighty Aussies. South Africa are perhaps the best fielding side, coached by the legendary Jonty Rhodes. They have a good blend of attacking and containing bowlers in the fast bowling department with Shaun Pollock, Ntini and Nel. They are backed up by a decent, although a slightly inconsistent (in recent times) batting line up with Kallis, Gibbs and Smith.
To me Sri Lanka are the side to watch out for. They've got some exciting players in the line up. We've watched how devastating Sanath Jayasuriya has been over the last year, here in England and also in New Zealand. He's well supported by the Upul Tharanga, another exciting prospect. Then the two classy batsmen in Jayawardene and Sangakkara. These 4 batsmen are among the top 5 rune getters in one day cricket in the last year. All four of them achieved world record breaking patnerships through the year. Sri Lanka are by far the best fielding unit in the subcontinent. Their bowling has grown in leaps and bounds over the last couple of years with the experienced and consistent Chaminda Vaas, followed by one of the best bowlers in the world in Murali and then fast and exciting Malinga the slinger. Jayasuriya is also a very effective bowler in one day cricket with close to 300 wickets to his credit.

India possess a classy and illustrious batting line up, which is capable of batting a side out of a game. Their batting is led by one of the best batsmen i've ever witnessed in Sachin Tendulkar, who holds many records in one day cricket and is the most successfull batsman in world cup history. Dravid, the wall, is one of the most consistent players in modern day cricket. Ganguly, Sehwag, Yuvraj and the exciting Dhoni making up the remainder of the strong batting line up, with each one of them capable of winning a game on their own. They have a decent bowling line up in Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth, Kumble and Harbajan, but the fielding is their weakest link. Most of them, save for 2 or 3, do not attack the cricket ball on the field.

Pakistan are one of the most talented, but extremely inconsistent sides in world cricket. They have plenty of individual talents, but do not perform collectively as a team.

As for england, we have a decent side on paper, but havent really performed well as a team until the last 4 games in Australia. Our batting will be bolstered by the return of Kevin Pieterson, one of the most exciting players in the world. Paul Collingwood is an excellent performer in one day cricket and Andrew Flintoff is one of the best, if not the best all rounders in the world. Our fast bowling unit, if injury free, can be very effective with Anderson and Lewis, backed up by Monty Panesar.

Of course the home side - West Indies - have performed reasonably well in the recent past and with home advantage cannot be written off.

All in all this world cup is setup for an exciting and closely fought competition!!

Aussies the favourites they are. But as for the others, India may yet spring a surpise. The world cup is a long event and usually the team that starts with the best form need not be the one that wins it. That said, it was not too brilliant to go ahead with Kartik ' as an insurance against injury to Dhoni'. In case such a thing would have occurred, the team would be allowed to make a change later on. Kartik would have to make the grade purely as a batsman- which he does not. Comparing Utappa against Laxman was not enough. Utappa and laxman should also be compared against Kartik, Kaif and Raina. And of the lot, I would tend to think of Kartik as the weakest bat of the lot.

Excellent thoughts put-up teamwise, i only hope all of the team managements, if not the players, get to read this analysis. As for predictions (read it favoring if you may) I wouldnt be surprised if the same English squad turns tables on everyone else, as I do believe anything is possible on your own day! I do favor India and SA. Nobody would have predicted India to reach the finals last time, and only the Luck-Gods deceive SA everytime (mostly in the form of D/L).. so anyone of you guys can do it.. as Nike says, Just Do It!! Cheers to all of you and looking fwd to a true display of sportsmanspirit!

Australia lost three games in a row against England in Australia, I believe this is good for Australia, being now they will have their legs on ground and will get very best out of them. Australia is definitely the best team in the fray. I believe Pakistan comes next with their fighting attitude. But also WI is in good form off late. If Chris Gayle clicks I believe you can see big scores on board for WI. I believe four out of the below five countries will make it to Semis
Australia, Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa and India.

I do believe that this World Cup is fairly open. However I would advise people not to write Australia off. I find it hard to believe that people would do so. It is also a little annoying to hear about McGrath all the time...The man is still bowling brilliantly. Whenever he has one or 2 bad games the sharks seem to start circling. If my memory is correct he is one of the top (if not the top) wicket taker in the recently concluded CB series. Also, Australia is a team that comes back hard from defeats, as was said in a post above. Look at the Ashes. It also must be noted that Australia persevered through trouble before '03 yet managed to dominate the tournament like no other has.

I feel that they have too much talent and too many 'big game' players. They have an excellent pace bowling lineup and a good spinner as well as a superb batting lineup (even without Symonds). Their fielding is still brilliant and they are under pressure and in big games (CB series notwithstanding). I back them to win.

Obviously the closest team to the Aussies is South Africa. On their day they have a brilliant pace attack and are a very good fielding side. Their batting worries me a bit despite the big totals they score at home as they seem to go a bit 'invisible' away from home and on the big occassions. Finalists.

Sri Lanka also looks good but Mahela needs to find his form. Their bowling is good and batting usually is too however their fielding and inconsistency let them down. Usually quite patchy away from home. Super 8.

Pakistan are, talent wise, the closest to Australia however they just don't seem to be able to put it all together consistently enough. However if they do, watch out. Possible finalists (most likely to beat out SA to play against Aust.) once again but I believe Semi-Finalists.

India have a wonderful batting lineup however they cannot seem to get their order or some of their personnel right (that's what happens when G. Chappell is in charge). Their bowling is a bit of a worry at times, though Sreesanth looks the goods from what I have (admittedly little) seen. Super 8.

England I believe have done their journey. They have shown they are capable and not to be taken lightly. Their bowling attack can be a handful if conditions are condusive to swing and their bowlers bowl to their potential. Fielding is not great outside of C'Wood and batting is still patchy at best. Super 8.

New Zealand are a side I thought would be dark horses. Of late they have been quite poor though. Their batting is inconsistent at best. As is their bowling and their once reliable fielding has been terrible of late. Super 8. (Canada and Kenya I think it is get a good group though right?)

The hosts I believe are the new New Zealand. They are inconsistent, but the West Indies have talent. A good attack when it fires and some real talent in the batting department. I do worry that they feel the pressure in the big games though. Semi Finalists (home ground advantage may actually help in this World Cup).

sri lanka v india in the ifnal staright off. these 2 teamz have the most number of mactch winners in the world. even more than australia.

india-sachin,dravid,sehwag,dhoni,yuvraj,harbajhan.
sri lanka-murali,jayasuriya,sangkarra,jayawardene,vaas,malinga
austarlia-ponting,gilchrist,lee,mcgrath,hussey.

if the indians and sri lankans have a good day, i assure you, they could rip australia apart.

Anything besides an OZ win would be an upset, that we all agree on. So lets see who can potentially be the first paper champion in 8years.
1. South Africa- Very over-rated, all thier wins have come at home. Look what happened to them in the ICC trophy?
2.India- they would define the word paper champion, hardly championship material!
3.Newzealand-One trick pony and he seems to get injured more often than not.
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Now the fact remains that most teams would lose to Australia in ODI's atleast 7 out of 10 times, that we all agree on, therefore who are the teams most likely to beat them in a semi-final or a Final encounter
1. West Indies- Yes, everyone sems to write them off, but dont look into the series BCCI oraganised to make thier selection easier. They were the joint finalist the last time all 8 teams played in a tournment.
2.England- the only team to beat Australia 3 times in a row in a million years, specially beating them in finals. Secondly, from the beating they have taken they have become a very very tough unit mentally. Very opposite of South Africa.
Pakistan- This team will get more dangerous as the number of matches reduce. What they lack is consistency, if they dont get Knocked out in the 2nd round, then they will be the preimier contender to overthrow the Ozies. The best team on paper in the tournament, when fitness is disregarded
Sri Lanka- Well, They are peaking at the right time, and thats what any champion team needs.

Verdict- Australia should win every match of the tournament, they will make sure no flukes occur. If any team can beat them in the last 2 games are:
1. West Indies 2. England 3. Pakistan 4. Sri Lanka
Although, these 4 teams have to fight hard to get into the final fours, and if they do Australia better be prepared.

Predicting form in ODI's is a mugs game so I won't even try to guess who is better than who.

The key thing in the WC will be how the pitches play - we saw in the Champions Trophy when India prepared seam friendly pitches that the subcontinent teams still can't cope with genuine pace and movement, so if the ball zips about any on the new pitches it will be SA, Oz or even England (with a lot of 'ifs' as well). But there are a lot of people saying the new pitches will be spin friendly - if thats the case Australia and South Africa don't have a hope, India and Sri Lanka will start favourites, and I could even see New Zealand surprising a few people.

If the Ind-WI series was anything to go by, the pitches for the cup are going to be on the lower and slower side. The express pace bowlers are going to have limited success. The best bowlers are going to be the likes of Vaas, Mcgrath, Pollock, Asif, and spinners such as Harbhajan, Vettori, Murali, Hogg and Gayle. Given the Windies have been performing very well recently, I would rate them as amongst the four teams to make it to the semis. My four teams for the semifinals are going to be Aus, WI, SA and Srilanka/NZ.

I more or less agree with Mukul's analysis, except that with the last week's performance, I will give Sri Lanka a much better chance of winning the World Cup than I previously did.
Now that they have shown that they can beat India in India in a ODI without Murali and Vaas speaks volumes about the team and its depth. For me, they are the favourites to lift the Cup. This team, plus Murali and Vaas, will be the Aussies worst nightmare.

Obviously Australia will be the team to beat, but as for the others, SA's bowling attack is too boringly similar and can be taken apart too easily on a batting track. Besides Kallis and Smith, their batting doesn't seem to strong. Strong contenders, but will carry the albatross of being chokers.

West Indies will enjoy home advantage, and their recent defeats notwithstanding, are the only team till England, to have troubled Australia (beaten them two out of five IIRC). Chanderpaul, Gayle, Lara, backed by a fine mix of bowling will be tough to beat on home ground. Of course there is always their tendency to lose their heads on occasion, but I think they are at least Semis contenders, if not finalists.

These three (plus Australia) are the other potential finalists. The others (India included) are at best possible Semi-finalists, but unlikely to go further.

According to me, the team that has most inspiring captain wins the world cup. If you look at all past winners, they prove my point. Based on that, I would give best chances to South Africa (with Graeme Smith) or England (with Flintoff)...though the that may sound weird, England have proved that they can achieve unbelievable results if inspired. I will give india the least chances with Rahul Dravid's mechanical leadership. Ricky Ponting doesnt have it in him to inspire his team any more as was proved by Australia's recent defeats.

Yes more or less well said.
I'm pretty certain that India will not make it to Semis although as an Indian I would love them to.
Yes they made a big blunder in team selection.
VVS should have been very useful in WI.
Selectors have given fielding as excuse for his exclusion while we all know how good the others are(exclude yuvraj and karthik).The obsession (for whatever reasons)with pathan,sehwag,youth (read uthappa, seesanth) meant that the team selection was not based on merit. They pick the side that would please some zones and sponsors and pray and hope that these players would come good through luck and bring the cup to India.
But when justice is not done, luck is something God will never pass to them!Neither the batting nor the bowling look threatening.

Reg Pak: Although they played poor cricket yesterday there are a real threat as the batting is solid and attacking down till no.10. Their bowling would be very good if Akhtar comes back.
They are very talented and are likely to make it to semis.

AUSt, SA and SL would definitely make it to semis.
Fourth slot could go to WI or Pak.

SA are the likely winners although they lack a genuine spinner which is the only weaknees I can foe see in their lineup.

For Eng: Bowling is the real worry although they have won the cup in aust. They will be placed 6th.
NZ and India would be placed 7th and 8th.

One team that Kesavan forgot to higlight was the host'WestIndies'.They carry the home advantage with them and if the four main players,ChanderPaul,Brian Lara,Gayle and Samuels got going, then they have the match in their hand. Brian Lara himself can single handedly turn the match around. I hope this time it will be Lara's world cup.

No longer a one horse race, and the aussies are really vulnerable. But whom does one pick to go beyond the super 8 stage. I would pick Australia, new zealand, west Indies and South Africa as the four semi finalists, and a final between south africa and the west indies in the final, for which I would be tempted to back the South Africans. The Indians and the english men could yet spring a surprise. However, the wiles of the Lankas (despite their array of javelin throwers)and the talent of the pakitanis seem to be over rated.

One way to look at the lineups is to see the quality of five bowling options. Here is my ratings: AUS 29.85, SA 27.32, SL 26.33, PAK 22.23, ENG 21.25, IND 19.35, WI 19.16. (Pollock/Mcgrath/ Murali - 40; Shoiab, Vaas, Bradshaw, Lee, Flintoff - 28 to 32; Gayle, Malik, Kallis, Watson - 15)

Australia would have a clear advantage if they have Watson (who is much better bowling option than Clake or Symonds). Their batting depth is great as well but just a bit weaker.

South Africa has two great allrounders and that makes their batting depth strong, albiet with some brittleness in the middle. I would include Hall in the likeup as the fourth pacer and forget about spin.

SriLanka would play Maharoof and Vass as two of the five bowling options. Then they have Jayasuriya. So their batting is deep as well with some quality in the top four. A good fielding team.

Pakistan would be weaker in bowling as I have included Shoaib and Umar Gul and both are injured. Without them, I think their best bet would be to pack their batting and hope for a spin-orientated pitches. They have some good spin options, like Afridi, Malik and Hafeez. Fielding is a problem.

England is on the up due to some incisive bowling lead by Flintoff. Lewis is also in excellent form. Plunkett and Mahmood are hot and cold. They have depth in batting but this depends heavily on Colligwood, Pieterson and Flintoff- that is still good enough. Fielding is not first-class.

West Indies has again packed their team with allrounders. They have a very stong top four or five. Their bowling depends on Taylor and Bradshaw, but Gayle and Samuels are really smart operators. Fielding is very good with Bravo, D Smith and co.

India will be rely on the new ball bowlers like Zaheer, Agarkar and the under-rated Manuf to get early wickets. Harbhajan can keep things quiet and their part-timers can do a reasonable job. The bowling at death tends to come under pressure. Also they will be one of the worst fielding teams. Whilst they can pack their batting with seven batsmen, some of them are fair weather merchants; and they can fall in a heap. They will need a good start from Ganguly and Tendulkar and a good finish from Dhoni and Yuvraj.

People are quick to write off Australia and South Africa.All the major finals that Aus were featured in,they have completely destroyed the opposition(2003 anyone?).SA on the other hand have recently trounced WI 5-0,at WI for good measure.If SA make the finals and D/L doesn't come to effect,then they'll take the cup,if Aus plays in the final against anybody but SA,then they will take it!

Just to reinforce the point that several people have made: the West Indies are very much in with a shout, they have been together as a team with a proven game-plan for longer than any of the other teams.

There are two possible upsets on the cards in my opinion: Kenya might nip through, probably at the expense of New Zealand, who look by far the weakest of the major nations. Also, Bangladesh are well capable of beating India or Sri Lanka and getting through.

"INDIA WINS WC 2007" It is proved fiction after the team selection on 12.2.2007 itself. The team has 5 30+ non fielders. No really good bowler. No strategist as team captain and above all (based on current form) no backbone to make a fight of chasing or leading from the get go. How can one with pride in India say India will win with this team. Each for himself and his contract.........
The form books says - Australia, Sri Lanka, S.A and England will whip the best of the rest .....
So my vote is [1] Australia [2] Sri lanka [3] SA.
Rest you are no competition.....

Well the world cup for me depends on two factors: 1) the nature of the newly laid pitches 2) form of the teams. If the pitches are seamer friendly, i dont see the subcontinental teams and west indies doing well. in that case i would put my semi finalists as england, australia, sa and nz. In case of it being slow and flat, i would def back the subcontinental teams, australia or west indies to make it. I must admit England have given the rest of the teams more than a ray of hope with regards to beating the aussies. Setting aside the factors mentioned above, Australia, sa and sri lanka are the favourites. dark horses are england and the kiwis. As for pak, wi and india , a lot depends on the form of their major players. for the windies its gayle, lara and sarwan. pak its the pace bowlers and yousuf. india the top order i.e. ganguly, sachin, dravid. All in all, it would be a fascinating wc.Bring it on!

i reckon you shouldnt leave out the Windies. They have proven that they can beat quality teams. Also they are playing on home soil,which might be a contributing factor.

I don't understand why teams shouldn't have harboured hopes of beating Australia before the CB Series.We have followed cricket long enough to know anything is possible once the tournament reaches the knock-out stage.

Coming back to the Indian team,I don't understand the obsession with VVS Laxman.He averages a meagre 20 runs an innings while chasing and his record against most sides is abysmal.

Robin Uthappa has had a Ranji Season one cannot even dream of.To score 834 runs at a strike rate of over 80 in what has essentially been a bowlers' season should count for something.

This world cup is more open than what we thought a month ago. The Aussies are favorites but certainly beatable. They will depend a lot on their batting and the X factor because I don't think their bowling will be that good. We will see how Mcgrath does. Lee is hit or miss and can be very expensive. The support cast is good but not exceptional.

I believe SA are overrated. They will depend on their pace attack. Their batting lineup has holes although the lower order can bat well. Kallis, Prince and Boucher will have to come good.

If Mahela and/or Atapattu can strike form, I believe SL has the best team in this world cup. They have a solid experienced line-up with proven match-winners.

The Kiwis can surprise a few and are capable of making the last four. Although I doubt they will go that far.

Pakistan is obviously very inconsistent. They can go all the way or thay can crash out in the second round. As always they are a streaky team but have enough talent to go deep.

England still does not strike any fear. They won in Australia but they are a notch below the top teams in terms of talent.

Now to India. They like Pakistan have the talent to go all the way. But they have stirred and shaken a lot over last couple of years. Lack of vision and poor planning over last few months have led us to this shaky lineup at the start of this world cup. But it only takes a couple of players to strike form and that can lift the whole team. India certainly have players capable of winning games. Lets hope some of them heat up under the bright sun of the caribbeans.

good article... i am of the belief that the team to win the world cup would be the team with greatest depth of adaptability.
teams from the sub continent in particular find it very difficult to adjust (quickly enough) to foreign conditions. how they respond to the caribbean conditions remains to be seen regardless to the recent "exploits" of team india.
in terms of team chances on paper, austrailia are still heavy favourites. england have shown that they can be beaten and other teams would do well to take a page out of their book.
i think that india's chances are fair. a semifinal spot definitely. i think uthappa is a good choice and that laxman may or may not have done well in the caribbean...and it seems now we will never know for sure the impact laxman would have on a world cup outing.
karthik is a far better choice than both raina and kaif based on current form, and current form is what matters in world cup selection... there is no point in selecting a player who performed well 5 yrs ago or a year ago for that matter.. let us base our cricket in reality and not in some fantasy of a pipe dream-team sweeping us off our feet; it has no relevance to the here and now..
sri-lanka have a gr8 team but it seems as though they depend on gr8 starts to carry the rest of the batting order. incisive bowling first up may show some cracks beneath the front of bruatally explosive openers.
the west indies and south africa have very realistic chances.. provided that the west indies can keep the heads together for long enough and that south africa develop a killer instinct.
new zealand would have to fight like a bat out of hell to get out of the super 6's
pakistan need to concentrate on cricket.. not scandals... not the price of rice in china... just cricket... they are in with a chance if they do...
england have what it takes to win.. and his name is paul collingwood..he plays for 5 men.. i think any team would see a player like him as an asset. if he does well.. england are in the semis.
being a fervent india supporter, i would have to say that i hope team india wins this one... this is my very own pipe dream... i will never lose faith in sachin tendulkar and when he fires india will have endless possibilities...if india win the world cup it would be in large part due to him...
best regards

Well-written blog. I would tip SA and Sri Lanka to be strong contenders for the title, along with Australia. Though I am a keen India supporter, they don't have any fielding legs and are very inconsistent anyhow. Their fielding alone costs them 30-40 runs in each innings. Add to that the fact that at least one of their bowlers inevitably has an off day and goes for 50 runs in 5 or 6 overs, you have a leaky sieve instead of a tightly knit team.

Pakistan are an inconsistent lot too. Whereas India tends to be inconsistent in cycles, Pakistan are utterly inconsistent in that they can win big one day and crash to a huge defeat the next. Hopefully, if India meet with them, Pakistan will maintain their record of being beaten in World Cup matches by India! : )

You can't write off West Indies either. They are a talented bunch, and they are playing at home.

I have got to say one thing "England will win this world cup."

If India's performances against WI in their last one-day series in the Carribbean is anything to go by, then they do not stand much of a chance in the WC. They have hardly improved on their obvious weaknesses during that tour - inability to force the pace in the middle overs and death overs' bowling. It was funny that the "best players of spin" couldn't tame part-time spinners like Gayle and Samuels, even with Dhoni and a fully fit Yuvraj playing in the middle-order! And there is no immediate solution in sight. The only way forward is to be flexible with the batting order and shuffle players like Sehwag, Dhoni and Pathan around to make the best use of the middle-overs. As things stand, it's hard to fathom India going past the semi-finals unless some of the so called "match-winners" like Sachin, Sehwag, Ganguly, Dravid et al come up with something special, in possibly their last WC.

I wonder why there is such a hue and cry about Powar when his performances in the WI series was mediocre, at best. In fact, he was outdone by even Sehwag, who was the suprise package as a spinner on that tour. Sehwag did perform reasonably well as an "all-rounder" in that series and deserves his chance. As for Kaif, it was his slow batting that let India down terribly in the series in question. His inability to up the ante in the middle overs cost India dear and they can ill-afford to have too many players in the "Dravid mould", now that Tendulkar is a shadow of his former self and playing well within himself.

I believe India will take the world cup this time. My reasons are more psychological than anything, as that is where usually it is lost with the Indian Team.

1. This is the last world cup for Sachin Tendulkar (who has always been desperate for one), Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and most importantly I feel Zaheer Khan. This is the same set that saw the cup slip out of their fingers last time around. I think they are ready now.

2. People are not doing too many things wrong, the motivation of the world cup will bring the hunger that is needed.

3. Rahul has been too focused on the captaincy. The break between now and the world cup will bring him back to form. You can almost see the 3 of them (Rahul, Sachin and Ganguly) getting ready to take this one. I think it will be their final moment of glory.

~ Sree

I think India has made the same mistakes that Pakistan has in the last couple of years... that is not having a settled batting order. The quality of batsmen India has is enough to do really well in the WC, but too many experiments have led to inconsistency. I think India would have at least made it to the semis if they had a settled batting order (they still might, but its going to be harder), just like pakistan would have made it with a settled opening pair.
My top four would be:
1. Australia,
2. SA,
3. SL, and
4. India (Pakistan, if they can overcome some injuries).
As far as England, WI, and NZ are concerned, they can all win matches, but will be unable to do so with consistency.

I think Aus have to go down as the clear favourites. They've got a monster batting line-up, very good bowlers, a winning mentality and an excellent record.

After Aus I'd say the competition is fairly open.

In second is SA-great bowlers, brittle but deep and potentially destructive batsmen, excellent fielders. If the pitches aren't to their liking though, there will be trouble- playing Robin Peterson will spell the end of their cup. If Aus get knocked out, their chances increase a lot.

West Indies, Pak and India I'd put in the same category- batsmen that can win them a match against any team on the right day, but weakish bowlers. I'm assuming some degree of Pak injury here. They're all inconsistent. England gets a similar description, but are weaker.

Sri Lanka are fairly balanced and are probably my 3rd most likely. 3 good bowlers and a strong batting line up.

NZ are generally fairly weak.

I'd put Aus down as about 3 times more likely to win than any other team, despite the recent England show.

To find the World Cup Winnners, i believe you need to look for one crucial element......mental toughness.

We all know from recent results that all of the likely Super 8 contenders have enough talented players to beat any of the other sides......also each team has the odd weakness in their armour.

Therefore it will be crucial, imo, as to which team hads the big match performers who can hold it togther on the big occasion.

People like Ponting for the aussie, pietersen for england, Chanderpaul for WI, Yousuf for Pakistan, Tendulkar for India, Kallis for SA,......and then the Sri Lankans - i just feel perhaps they have more big game batsmen than any other team in jayasuriya, sangakarra and jayawardene.

Last time Australia showed that you ytake away the best bowler and still win......but most teams couldn't afford to lose their no. 1 batsmen, so I think it's the batsmen who are the key players.

Anyway, a quality article from mukul and some well thought out comments from other cricket fans on here........let's all hope for a superb sporting spectacle for the World Cup!

I can't believe everyone believes Sth Africa can go all the way. This team has nothing compared to the 1999 side. De Villiers and Smith struggle against quality fast bowling, Gibbs is past it, Peterson is not up to it as a spin bowler and if Pollock or Ntini or Boucher are injured there are no proven replacements.

Pakistan need Shoaib to play and fire and if he does the middle order will always set a decent enough total to defend

Australia are still the best side in the world and are struggling due to their constant rotation of bowlers. Lee, McGrath, Bracken and Hogg is the best attack and Tait should be the back up. I still cant see them being beaten even without Symonds. Hodge can tear any attack apart once set, is in form and is an underrated off spinner.

Sri Lanka are their biggest threat. Murali and Vaas are still guns, Malinga can do anything and their top order is explosive. Jayasuriya is my tip for player of the tournament.

India need Yuvraj and Pathan to fire to have a chance. We all know Ganguly and Tendulkar will make runs but if Pathan can return to his old bowling form, and Yuvraj get some touch, they can beat anyone.

The West Indies need Gayle and Lara to play out of their skins to just get to the semis. The Middle Order is brittle, and they lack genuine wicket takers other than Jerome Taylor.

England will be solid but shouldnt be troubled. They will always beat struggling teams because they do the simple things well but lack the brilliance (other than Pietersen) to win the big matches

New Zealand will struggle on the low pitches. Dont expect any runs from Vincent, Fulton, Oram or McMillan but will be tough with the ball as long as Styris and Oram can still bowl ten over spells.

All in all a most compelling world cup. Lets hope that this time more than two teams play to their potential because cricket is at its most even stage since the 1999 world Cup.

I've always said what makes McGrath the best test match bowler going around (his ability to ball six balls in the same challenging spot each over and out think and out patience the batsman) is, so long as batsmen have the courage to go after him, his liability in one day cricket, as to a fair extent they can predict where the ball will be. This is while being lesser, and often more expensive, bowlers, Lee, Bracken and Johnson may be more useful in the Carribbean. Not all of the Aus batsmen are in great form, but it has to be remembered that the WC grounds are smaller than in Aus, and as we saw with Gilchrist in the 3rd Ashes test, when in bad form the Aussies hit out, and once they start clearing the boundaries they quickly regain form. For that reason they are still the favourites, even without Symonds. The problem is particularly with their top 3, as England's win's show, you can't contain Australia at all, you must take wickets all the time, and with the exception of Pollock and Ntini i don't see any other pace bowlers with the skill, mindset and experience to do that.

On what will be spinners tracks, therefore Sri Lanka loom as the most dangerous opposition-i'm sure we all remember the 2nd last CT where Gilchrist and Hayden smashed everything everywhere in the first 10 overs and then the spinners choked the runs so much they were praactically coming from an IV drip.

Looking forward to the world cup.

I think that Australia's losses to england may actually end up being beneficial to the Australian side for the World Cup. The results were a kick up the backside for a team that has admitted they were complacent, and look how Australia responded last time they lost a series.

Admittedly, I'm comparing Test series with one day series, but Australians hate to lose and they are more than capable of bouncing back if they focus hard on addressing the lessons learnt from their losses to England. I believe Australia will be a lot sharper having lost 0-2, whereas they may have got ahead of themselves had they smashed Engalnd 2-0.

However, the loss of Symonds (and the selectors stubborn insistence that Watson must be in the side) have opened the World Cup up. The lottery like nature of one day cricket means that any team can win on the day. A merucurial team like Pakistan can be very dangerous if it makes the final, and South Africa, India, WI, NZ, and Sri Lanka all have players who can almost win games themselves with a big performance.

But for all the English fans thinking they're a chance after one weeks decent cricket ... keep dreaming!

well who is the winner of the world cup Australia is a very good team but if you saw australia's record of the last 10 months although they maintain the no1 position but they lost so many matches after bating first and it shows that they dont have a very good bowling attack that they have two years ago. The second secrete of their win is the bad planing of the other teams against the australia, If we analize the australia we come on a very good conclusion that if any team conserve first 15 overs with out loosing too many wickets they can make a good total against them its not only my openion the statistics show clearly that in any match if team is able to keep wickets against australia in the during the first fifteen overs they let australia in bother so many times so to say that australia is unbeatable team even before this lost against the england is totally wrong, they are the strong contesters of the world cup becuse of their past record but they are beatable, but no doubt they have realy superstars like ponting, Gillchrist, Hussay, Clark, and brettlee,
South africa i believe that South Africa is very good team but they lack of the Superstars in the team and this is the main reason that they failed to win the world cup yet, there record in the world cup is not too good, So in my openion south africa can not win the world cup, they may be may be reache the semi final but they can not be the world champions,
England well before winning the cb series final england was going through the very tough faces of but even at that time i have a great believe on this english team, because this english team have a big superstars in the form of, Pietersen, Flintoff, Collingwood, Harmisson, Tresscothic, So this england team is very dangerous team, and very strong contenders of the world cup,
Srilanka well srilanka is another very strong contender of the worldcup because they have very good combination of bating and bowling in batting they have Jaysuria the great disructive batsmen, they have Kumar sangakara a real genius in modern day cricket, Maheala very atractive batsman, And Attapatu, So they have very good bating line up and also good veriety of bowling they have very good spinners, and pace attack so Srilanks ia also one of the favourite
India well my good wishes are with indian team but I cant say any thing about them, because they have the superstars but not the real match winners, as their past record shows tendulker made 42 oneday hunders but only few times he abled to gave the victory to india, same with other batsmens, Only Sachin is a great batsmen in the indian team other wise its looking dark for them,
Newzeland is a very good team playing as a team and always capaple of doing any thing but to win the worldcup its very difficult for them,
Westindies, west indies can make upset because of the advantage of home ground and home crowed but this team now dont have so much potential accept few players, Brain Lara, and Gayl, actually they dont have the depth in the bowling,
Pakistan, the most unpredictable team in the world, Pakistan can do any thing they can win the world cup they can lost by the bangladesh, But no doubt Pakistan is the most dangerous team in the world and Pakistan has real match winners, Inzi, Yousaf, Shohaib, Razzak, Afridi, Aasif, if they would play like the professionals they have a great chance to win the world cup but only if they will play as a team not individuals.

West Indies the Host might just upset the whole equation.. dont forget the champions trophy. Yes they are now with an unnecessary Samuels controversy. But they have it in them to run upto the Semi's and then get it all the way.
Sri Lanka: The next favorites. Jaysuriya alone can just blast the game away for the opposition. Murali, Vaas and Lasinga great attack
South Africa: Easily the best bet alternative for Australia
England: yet another contender... who knows finally they might have the last laugh....

INDIA INDIA INDIA: combine the years and the averages of the three most experienced batsman.. combined with the explosive Dhoni, Sehwag, Uthappa and Yuvraj.. they might just bat this world cup away....

Auzzies they will go all the way to just blow this whole equation

im sorry fedelius...javelin throwers???? i beg to differ . i thought everybody was past this rubbish. obviously we have a few petty minded people about.

well i think its extremely dangerous to write off any home team in a competition,as recently witnessed in india ,WI does have the capability to chase down big scores.(though they just fell short chasing 340 the ability is there)

as for Aus i think generally when they fall, they get up stronger than they were (i.e. england been thrashed 5-0 in the ashes)

SA i think is rather overrated. i dont think they can deliver when it matters. Kallis is a fabulous player but rarely delivers in ODI's when he absolutely has to.and thier bowling i dontthink is going to be much of a threat in WI. in sri lanka recently they got mauled so bad they couldnt even defend 350 on a fifth day pitch.and they ran off like pussycats from the one day series.

all the subcontinent teams should a have a good chance.SL has a better chance than either india or pak. mainly check out the SL record for last year playing away from home. even in england where they had to play on seaming tracks. albeit against england .

england and new zealand may pull a few suprises but can england win when the ball doesnt swing, and does NZ have the variety???

It would be nice if some of the people on this blog, and indeed Mukul Kesavan, would check the latest stats. and facts first before making sweeping statements about some players and teams. For instance, many people are questioning McGrath's place in the Australian team based on his CB performance, yet the stats. show that he was still the biggest wicket-taker and the equal most economical, DESPITE his poor showing in the MCG final. Never write off great players - they can come back with a vengence the way younger, more bushy-tailed players can'tand have the mental toughness and persona that only age and experience bring. Why do you think Lara and Tendulkar are still forces in their teams?

And Mr.Kesavan, the South Africans ODI team will not be on their knees giving thanks for Warne finally retiring, since they haven't had to for more than 4 years. He hasn't played ODIs since before the last World Cup! And AAMIR JADOON,I think you are a little out of date, too, as Harmisson amd Trescothic aren't in the England team any more, Akhtar and Afridi look like they will miss some of the Cup, Gilchrist is on maternity leave and do you know that England only have one bowler and one batsman in the top 20 ODI rankings, compared to Sth Africa, Sri Lanka and Australia who have four or five? That Pollock is now the no.1 ODI bowler? And Australia didn't lose so many matches in the last 12 months, they lost one to the Africans, one to the WI and then two to the English in the recent CB series but still finished with better overall stats than the English, which is why Ponting got the man of the series award, not Flintoff or Collingwood.

And the latest odds place the Sth. Africans as equal favourites to win, as they in top form, the best of any team at this moment, a bare month before the Cup. I think it is them that may be called, if any, the most dangerous team at the moment.

I'm an Aussie but i seriousrly think that were not gonna win this world cup. South Africa are an awesome team.Sri Lanka are in my books as well.The only team who comes close to those three are India.But the only way they can win it is consitance from there best players.India have the players, they just need the consitance.Sachin Tendulkar is looking like he's getting some form back towards the world cup, already hitting a hundred and a fifty in his 2 innings this year.Ganguly he is also begining to get some form. Yuvraj and Dravid are the key.When they come in at No.3 and No.4 they need to set tone the innings up for India.If India have lost there first wicket for 100+ runs then Dhoni and Rania have to go in if India wants to get past 300.These are my favourites for the world cup:

1.South Africa-Good in all aspects
2.Australia-Great Batting order
3.Sri Lanka-Good Bowling attack
4.India-Best Batting line-up,poor bowling line-up
5.Pakistan-Competetors
6.West Indies-Great at chasing totals
7.England-FIGHTERS
8.New Zealand-Good run chasers
9.Zimwabwe-Allright batting line-up
10.Bangladesh-Well, they did beat the AUSSIES

If India's bowling attack becomes better then India would probably win the world cup.If Sri Lanka starts up, no one can stop them. South Africa are having a amazing run at the momment and Australia the best team in the world, is slowly losing momentum and form.

AUS,SA,WI,NZ in the Semis. SA beats WI in the final.

India should have picked Powar over Kumble and VVS in place of Sehwag.

Instead of focusing on the would-be semi finalists of the coming World Cup I would take this opportunity to elaborate on the fact which might be a very heartening thing for teams like India and Pakistan as far as their chances in the tournament are concerned.

My point; what drives and thrives modern cricket (especially one-day)? Certainly no the ardent fans like you and me. Instead its the giant corporations which invest tones of money in tournaments as such. Hence, they would hate to see pitches where one team barely manages to cross 200 while the chasing team plays out of its skin just to get to that total. The conclusion? The pitches will be made a real feather-bed so that a score in excess of 300 is achieved more often than not and this is where I feel that teams like India and Pakistan would feel as if they are playing in their own backyard instead of West Indies.

This in all likelihood increases the chances of these two teams and gives them as much chance of going all the way as it does to any other team in the World Cup. Lastly, if we are to believe what Wasim Akram recently said on Sports Center India program on ESPN than we are looking at a situation where all is not lost for these two teams.

He had this opinion that whatever India & Pakistan have done in South Africa, will have little or no bearing as to how they perform in the Caribbean as the pitches in West Indies are more sub-continental in nature whereas South African tracks are bouncy. He further cited the example of India as to how well they have performed once they have started playing on home pitches.

So folks, keep your fingers crossed and give your respective teams your 100% backing for the upcoming event. At-least I haven’t lost hope for my Team Pakistan.

Don't write Kenya off for a place somewhere in the top spots!
I think that however much individual talent there is in the team, the teams that will do well in the World Cup are those with the WILL TO WIN AS A TEAM.
Those that will dissapoint, are the teams with individuals who have big egos and are more concerned about contracts etc...
From the teams who are top ranked, SL,and WIs are probably the teams who are 'playing as a team'right now. The others are depending on individuals performing and if those guys don't fire, then the whole teams slumps.
On a positive note, i think that this will be the most exciting world cup to date.We will be watching some of the worlds greatest cricketers in action and wow!! what a cricketing feast it will be!!I expect nailbiting finishes even if scores of 300+ are made.
My predictions are :5.Kenya 4. England 3. India 2. West Indies 1. Sri Lanka
Whatever it may be,may the most consistent,diligent and worthy team win.Enjoy

Mukul your recent article is food for thought. The recent win by England over Australia in CB series confirms that no team is invincible in the game of limited overs. The mighty Aussies included. However the Aussies are still the favorites with S.Africa a close second and Srilanka with the hosts W.indies not far behind.

Pakistan and India are very god teams. But to a greater extent Pakistan thrives on individual skills, while this also applies to India to a lesser extent. However, if both teams perform consistently both Pakistan and India can be counted on to win against the best teams in the World Cup.

South Africa is a fine side. They have recently beaten India at home. Pakistan has not fared well recently in S.Africa. The truth is that South Africa faced a depleted Pakistan pace with Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Shabbir Ahmad nursing injuries and Rana in poor form. Sami unfit and lacking wicket taking skills. South Africa taking advantage of their home court and big fast bowlers hurling missiles on bouncy wickets harrassed the Indian and Pakistan batsmen. Their batsmen never really had to chase big totals. The World Cup will be a different ball game with flatter wickets and the possibility of chasing big scores from Srilanka, India, West Indies and even Pakistan.

England has rebounded and with a healthy Kevin Peterson, in form Collingwood and focused Flintoff, they can go all the way to the top and beat the best of teams on their day.

I feel the World Cup will be interesting and after the Super Eight round not a single team can with some confidence claim in advance to win the World Cup.

Why don't you guys understand. Don't write about Rahul Dravids alleged lack of leadership skills (though we all know how miserable he is) . He will simlply open the who's - who of World Cricket and declare that your name does not figure there...

All the past champions have had either very calm/respected captains who can think under pressure without losing his nerves or captains who have led from the front in crunch situations lifting their own personal performances and inspiring others. Lloyd, Border, Imran, Ranatunga, and Waugh were mostly of the first kind. Though they also performed some miraculous rescue acts during their cup campaigns, these captains were clearly the senior most players - almost a father figure to the rest of the team. They were never the most valuable batsmen or bowlers in the tournament.

Kapil and Ponting were of the second kind. Kapil was younger than many of his team-mates in 1983. Veterans such as Gavaskar, Amarnath, Kirmani, were in the team but Kapil was the engine for India's bowling and to some extent its batting as well, until Amarnath took over in the later matches. Similarly, Ponting led a team that had Warne, McGrath, Martyn, Bevan, who were all senior to Ponting. But he was the engine of the Aussie juggernaut in 2003.

The problem with Ganguly in 2003 was that he was neither a Kapil/Ponting with his performance nor a Ranatunga/Border with unquestionable authority.

Based on this analysis, let us look at the current crop of captains.

Fleming, Lara and Imzy will play the Lloyd/Ranatunga roles. Unfortunately, the support cast for Fleming and Lara are not that strong. As a result, they will need to lift their performance as well. However, Imzy has a talented bunch of youngters - if they only click simultaneously and consistently.

Flintoff is clearly in the Kapil mould. Though his support cast is relatively weak, he is a battle-horse and likes the big stage. He may inspire an underdog team like Kapil did in 1983. England has nothing to lose in the world cup - after the mauling they received in Australia. I think that is the best thing that can happen to a team that wants to prove a point on the big stage.

Unfortunately (for me), Mahela may suffer the same fate that Ganguly faced in 2003. He is neither a Ranatunga (too many other senior players in the team) nor in his best form to pull a Ponting or Kapil! However, if he gets back his form, he will certainly be able to pull a ponting since the support cast seems to be doing well as well.

Dravid is also in a similar situation. He is not a Border. Ganguly, Sachin, Kumble are all there. And I can't imagine him as a Kapil or a Ponting either. He may also fall through the cracks.

Smith is like Mahela. He has senior players in the team and may need to pull a ponting or Kapil but he needs to get his form back more consistently. If he does, SA may win the cup.

Last but not the least, Ponting may not have the energy to pull another "ponting of 2003". So, I think he would like to play the role that Waugh or Border played when they led their teams to the championship. However, Ponting doesn't have the support cast that Waugh had. So, he may try to do both and fall through the cracks as well.

Based on this, it will be a toss up between Pakistan, England, South Africa and Sri Lanka, in that order.

World cup is not about who is best or the most talented but about who is best equipped to handle the pressure of the big stage. Time and time again, teams with less pressure ( or less favored) are the ones that have gone to the top, except Lloyd's men in 1979 and ponting's men in 2003 were favourites.

After reading through all these comments, I've noticed that no-one has really touched on any of the teams' approaches to the game. Mostly it's been about the capabilities of the individuals making up those teams.

When Sri Lanka won the WC in 1996, they did so with a completely different approach, i.e. making use of pinch-hitters and really going after the bowling in the first 15 overs. It took everyone else by surprise, and after that WC everyone else followed suit.

Since then, the use of pinch-hitters has fallen by the way-side, and been replaced with a slightly more conservative approach, with the exception of players like Sehwag, Gayle, Jayasuriya and Gilchrist. The major difference of course being that these guys aren't simply throwing their bats and hoping they get lucky. They're playing proper cricket shots, albeit quite aggressively.

Now, to get to my point, I'm just wondering if this will be another WC where the team with the most aggressive approach will be the eventual winners? The advent of 20-20 cricket, as well as the new power-play system, has shown that teams can score at 8/over for prolonged periods, and I believe that those approaches are now being used in 50 over cricket too. If you look at the list of highest ODI totals, 7 of the top 8 scores, all over 390, were scored within the past 2 years. Coincidentally, the only exception being Sri Lanka's hammering of Kenya at said 1996 WC.

Thanks to the Aussies and the 438 game, South Africa's approach has also been turned on its head. We all know that had SA batted first in that game, they would have been content to score 320 at the most, and think that was a great score. Ricky Ponting's approach in that game forced Graeme Smith & Co to re-evaluate what's a good score, and their successful run-chase proved to themselves what they were truly capable of.

Since then, SA, and in particular Graeme Smith, really try to dominate the bowling from the off, and keep it going throughout the innings.

Of all the other teams in the competition, I can think of only Australia and Sri Lanka who have consistently adopted such an approach, and it's for this reason that I feel the eventual winners will come from these three.

This WC will no doubt be one of the highest scoring ever, and I can guarantee you that 400 will be surpassed more than once.

Now if only SA can get some luck for a change...

While prima facie the favourites look right, one needs to take into account the changed anture of the wickets in the Carribeans. What we saw during India's last tour there were verrry slow and low wickets. So much so that Indians struggled to get Gayle and Samuels away in the middle overs and lost crucial wickets to them. I am not sure many teams have the batting to handle it effectively. The performances in the champions Trophy where wickets were even slower point to the same fact. It could well be that the team which handles middle overs well while batting could be a winner. I do get a feeling that it might well be a team from the sub-continent. On the current form looks like Sri Lanka.

The ODI rankings are a pretty good illustration of who has what chances to take the cup.
1-Australia, 2- South Africa, 3 - Pakistan,
4 - SriLanka and so forth. 5, 6 and 7 are vitually fighting for the same number 5 spot.

Shane: Indian team has been declared. Still dreaming of Raina? India's blunder is not 2 pick laxman for WI.
Your team seedings look nice except that your confidence in Indian batting may be proced wrong.
They would be placed 8th below KIWIS!

The beauty of the game is the unpredictability.So why are we wasting our time on predictions.Any one team who is in the semis can win the game.I believe Australia,Sri Lanka ,West Indies & India will reach the finals.Write off South Africa .They don't have a balanced team with out a good spinner.WC will be dominated by slow bowlers and India &Sri Lanka have great chance to be in the finals.

Thanks everybody for writing your thoughts. As a Sri Lankan, I am a bit worried about our middle order, and Sanath Jayasuriya will boom if he could survive five overs against Shaun Pollock or Brett Lee.

Fear not, Mukul...remember the series we played in before the last world cup? It was in New Zealand...and on the worst pitches available to mankind to boot. Our batsmen suffered, but our bowling went up by leaps and bounds. The batting still recovered in time during the world cup. Hopefully something of that sort will happen to get rid of this inconsistency that is plaguing us right now.

Personally I don't want to make any predictions: look what happened in the Champions Trophy. No subcontinent team made it to the semis. Now, I can't wait for the tournament to start. I'm glad it's in the West Indies, meaning we here in the US don't have to stay up late. As for those in India, well...not so lucky, although they would probably catch repeat telecasts on tens of channels.

Considering the sub-continent like pitches in Carribean I think the following four teams will make it to semi finals:
1. West Indies
2. South Africa
3. India
4. Srilanka

Australia is a great team but they dont have a spinner that will be their biggest disadvantage and their batsmen are stroke-makers who often fails when pitch plays slow and Carribean pitches will play slow. So I am not betting on Aussies

60 to 1 might have been the case but I think the odds on Pakistan to win were at least double that when they were bowled out for 70 odd against England in 92 in the round robin.....so on that basis I do not think you can really write us off!! We might be Moet one day and Vinegar the next but to write us totally would be a little silly this early on!! As for Mr. Shahbaz Faheem comment about AUS not making the last 4 because they have no spinner........and then choosing SA to be in the last 4 is a little naive. Hogg is as good as any spinner SA have and also the fact that SA will be going in with an all seam attack I think this will be the last 4 AUS, WI, NZ and Pak/SA. As for your boys........I am afraid you have a rather long tail and SL might run out of steam!! Good luck though!! I am there for the super 8's and the Semi's and hopefully will enjoy seeing however does actually makes it to the last 4!!!

Well I think the Aussies still should start off as clear favourites.they mey have lost the CB trophy but as history says one should always becareful of a wounded Aussie team. However I do feel that Symonds has to be fit and fire if they do win (Lets hope this is not the case!)

Think South Africa are probably second favourites in my book - good all round balance and plenty of all rounders makes them a serious threat to the Aussies.

As for Sri Lanka(Im a passionate Lankan supporter), im not too optimistic about our chances unlike most peopele here who rate them as favourites until their batting gets into full throttle. Batsman like Tharanga Mahela Marvan Arnold are seriously out of form and need to get into the runs if the Lankans are to be serious contenders as they cannot rely on Sanath or Sanga to fire in everygame. I also believe we will be better off playing Malinga the leggie along with Murali instead of Dilhara as it provides a more well rounded attack on any type of conditions.
However I do believe this is the best bowling attack we have ever had, which should be able to bowl sides out on any type of surface and Lasith Slinger Malinga adds an X factor to it!
However one can never write off the other big guns - India, Pakistan, Windies all talented nations especially in the batting department.

Also England has shown tremendous improvement and will take to heart the CB trophy win and play with a lot of confidence. NZ, are probably the weakest link in the top 8, however they are always a competitive side and could well make the semis if they click as a unit.

Therefore in conclusion think this could be one of the most open world cups with any of the big 8 capable of winning it although Aussies are clearly still favourites.

I think Pakistan has a lot of chance winning the World Cup as we can see their record n the West Indies.The pitches are less bouncy than the South African ones,honestly,South Africa,Australia,Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the REAL contenders of the World Cup

All this talk about who will win the world cup basis cricketing merit will become a joke if ICC's umpires make their regular, large volume of pro Austalia / WI / SA "Human Errors"....Remember India Vs SA at Durban, 4 human errors all favouring SA, India Vs Australia a few years ago at Bangalore again 4 human errors all favouring Australia.

just a little dampener on the fact of the pitches being slow favouring the spinners from the sub-continent. The pitches will be slow but they will also be slow turners and this will certainly take away the advantage of the slow bowlers who would have been looking to exploit 'sharp-turning' conditions. This is where the accurate, 'utility' bowler (slow to slow medium) will take front stage in the middle overs. Bowlers like Afridi, Bravo, Symonds, and New Zealand has quite a few of them as well.

I'll put my money on West Indies - they have the flexibility by having Gayle, Samuels, Bravo and Dwayne Smith - guys perfect for the type of pitches and grounds they have. Add in the control of Bradshaw and Colleymore and the pace of Taylor, and it's a seriously good bowling unit.

India will do well if the team gets its balance right - imperative that Pathan bats and bowls well.

It is no doubt going to be an awesome world cup!
its a pity really to see so many teams going through the motions first, with (sorry) minnows and then playing super eights!
i would say...8 teams...Aus,Eng,SA,NZ,Pak,Ind,WI,SriL,Zim and Bang play a round robin...just like 1992
oh but what the heck...I would put my money safely in my pocket really! any team can win this cup...dont write of NZ...Oram,Vincent,Bond and Macullum can win it on their day...and dey still have Fleming and vettori!
This world cup is going to be amazin...Go KENYA for the semi's?!?!?!?!?

I pretty much agree with this article but at the same time I cannot explain the fact why the South Africans are without fear of Australia just because Shane Warne has retired. He has played no ODI for a few years now. Could anyone make that clear please? What is behind that point from Mr.
Mukul Kesavan? Are Indians just so worried about Shane Warne? I cannot undertand that point raised.

I personally think that Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka will make it clearly make it to the semi-final stage. As a Pakistan supporter I hope the 4th seat will be Pakistan´s but it can easily be India, too. Let´s watch, hope and see.

hey guys, your analysis is useless for the last time i checked the who's - who of world cricket i didn't find your names there. maybe i need to check again.

1AFRIDI 2RAZZAK 3YOUNIS 4YOUSUF 5INZI 6MALIK 7KAMRAN AKMAL 8RANA NAVEED 9SHOAIB AKHTAR 10ASIF 11UMAR GUL

ALLAH U AKBAR WATT ELSEE DO U WANT IN DA WORLDD!!

ONLY IF DESE OPNERS SMASH IT OUT OF DA GRNDSS AND DA MIDDLE ORDER CAN BE DEPENDENT!!THNN THERE IS NOTHING THT CAN STOP THESE FIERCIM FOUR PAKI BOWLERZ IN DA WORLD!! THIS IS MA ADVISEE AND I AM 10000000000% SUREE!!!

Despite (and besides) the Australia factor, this seems set to be quite an open World Cup, particularly because of WI and Sri Lanka's recent upswing in form.

So whats with the Warne reference? The man retired from ODIs 4 years ago! Also, whats with the VVS reference? leave aside for a moment the merits of him deserving or not, of being in the team. he hasn't really been part of the one-day setup for some time now, (as hasn't Mohd Kaif). Lamenting his omission at this stage seems a tad irrelevant, no? If, hypothetically, he had made it into the 15, most of us would have been up in arms about bringing back from what is quite the wild.

To me SA are clear favourites. If Smith fires that gives all the other batsmen confidence. Australia are on the their way down they have been on top for a while winning back to back world cups. it is now for other teams to show who can take over from the Aussies, I think it is SA remembering the heartaches of 99 and 2003 world cups

I am shocked that anyone is considering Pakistan a serious contender right now, even for a semi finals birth. Pakistan basically start a match at 0 for 2 (their openers are virtually non-existent), and the much vaunted middle order is not as solid as some make it out to be. Pak strength is in their bowling and big hitting down the order. But all 3 of their best pace bowlers are doubtful for the cup for one reason or another. If, by some minor miracle, Pakistan is able to field a healthy Asif, Shoaib and Gul in the same team, then watch out. They could win the cup, especially on west indian wickets. But that is a huge IF.

On the other hand, if they are missing 2 out of 3 of those bowlers and have to rely on Rana or Sami to open the bowling, I would rank their chances lower than NZ and maybe even England.

Does anyone really disagree with this analysis?

I'm going to be a bit form blind and let patriotism blind me for a moment, and say the return of injured bowlers permitting, Pakistan may win the cup.

In my rational moments I'll regret that, but my stance stands. :D

For me:
1)Australia - clear favorites.
2)South Africa - the other serious contender.
3)Westindies - will qualify for the semis.
4)Srilanka / Newzeland - can get the 4th spot for the semis.
5)Pakistan - Their recent record in caribbean has been good however due to injuries to key bowlers they might not go beyond super 8.
6)India - May not be able to go beyond super 8.
7)Engalnd - the underdogs

semis:
aust vs sl
sa vs wi/pak

finals:
sa vs sl
winner: sa
=================
india will surprise many if they get beaten by Bermuda. Also I expect 2 centuries in that match by Ganguly and Sehwag.
I will be surprised if they go beyong super 8!

Its good that all who posted here watches the updates of cricket. But if u see Trinidad group, Ind,SL, Bang and Bermuda. If Bangladesh will make one surprise, either India or SL have to book their tickets earlier back home, and in Group C if Kenya erupts with a surprise then either England or NZ should watch Super 8's in TV. Look back all world cups,
In 1983, Underdog INDIA won the title,

In 1987, Australia was not a serious contender also won,

1992, SA after 21yrs of exile, they made the semis, Pakistan won the cup with a surprise, NZ who were dead and buried before world cup , buried everyone on its road till semis.

1996, again Underdog SRILANKA won the tournament.

1999, Zimbabwe eliminated SRILANKA and ENGLAND out of tournament to advance to super 6

2003, Kenya made their surprises till semis

All our champions can compete, but also luck is needed to get the glory.

I wish England or NZ to win the CUP as they missed many opportunities. But we must watch out KENYA and BANGLADESH because they can surpise some big teams and make them watch the World Cup in TV. :))

Good Luck for all contenders, I wish WC2007 will have more excitements and produce more closer games and reduce umpiring errors. (Umpiring Errors proved crucial in many crunch games especially SL v/s SA in 2003 & WI v/s SL in 2003 as well NZ v/s SL in 2003, where SL came till semis with a very very bright luck and umpiring errors. Hope umpires will avoid them, the recent umpiring error is WI v/s ENG in Champions Trophy which costed the match for WI

In the last world cup no one give the indians a chance after the drubbing they receive at the hands of the kiwis just before the world cup assuming that the pitches will be similar to that of the typical South african pitches. but they make it to the fianls in the process they beat each team eventually lost to Australians. Now thaat make me think. We know that Indians are good at flat type of pitches so the pitches was laid suitably for the Indian type of batting. Now the recent drubbing at the hands of south africa confirmed my belliefs. Now why wuld anyone do it. Because most of the money comes from India. India looses out Indian fans lost interest and in the process MNC loose money. So folks dont get so worked up. India will each the finals and once the finals is reached and then it is anybodys game. So based on this reasoning India is going to play either south africa or sri lanka. Then every body is happy, MNC make the money and the West Indies can make the claim that the games is the best organised game as the spectator interest is there to the last game.

Lets look at this positively, shall we?

Instead of looking at relative strengths and weaknesses lets assume every player gets a sudden kick of inspiration and plays the best he can, except the Australians, who need to carry the handicap of reality to keep things level. While were at it, lets assume all coaches and selectors drink the elixir of common sense while picking teams (which means monty plays!!)

This would make things undoubtedly better for Pakistan, with their awesome pace attack firing on all cylinders. On the strength of that attack alone they could make it to the semi final, and those three gentlemen sitting in the middle order, with some able assistance from Shoaib Malik (who in this current scenario opens instead of batting at the same position that Agarkar does), would easily compensate for the rest, whose heads are probably spinning from being shunted in and out of the team at lightning speed.

For England this would mean four things – strauss sets a base, Collingwood bats through, and pietersen and flintoff flay everything in sight. Unfortunately this will not be enough, especially since both pietersen and flintoff will be eaten for lunch (or an evening snack if they bat second) if they run into an in-form murali. Needless to say, they will lose an enthralling quarterfinal to australia. (sorry monty… maybe next time)

Jayasuriya and Tharanga will create havoc in the first 20 overs, and the solid middle order will keep things going, but the lack of firepower down the order will mean that large totals are always out of reach. Even murali wont be able to make up the deficit, and sri lanka will once again have to don the mantle of "dark horses", the curse put on every side which everyone likes but doesn’t really think has a chance of winning

South Africa, of course, gets into the semis. Kallis will make a hundred in every game, Boucher will always provide the lower order impetus, Pollock and ntini will regularly take five-fers, and the fitness maniacs in the inner ring will do the rest.

Lara, Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul will take the west indies within striking distance, at which point they will realize they need some bowling as well, and lose to south Africa in the quarter finals because kallis will make another hundred. (On the bright side the crowds will not diminish since most of them will be Indians anyway)

For India this means that Sehwag will start plundering again, Tendulkar will realize with a start that this will be his last world cup, ganguly will continue to play well since he wouldn’t have finished making his point to greg chappell, dravid will, well, continue being machine like, and dhoni will get his chance to prove that he is really the long lost half-brother of Viv Richards. India's batting firepower will catapult them straight into the semis before anyone back home thinks of stoning greg chappell's house.

Needless to say, Australia will make the semi-final.

Semi Final line up:

India v Australia

India will win the toss, and having learnt a costly lesson from the last world cup final, will BAT first. Sehwag will get off to a flier, and make 35 from 16 balls before falling to mcgrath in his 3rd over (if you look at the history, sehwag will always nick one after having to leave five perfect line and length deliveries). Tendulkar will decide he has to play a mature innings, and will hit a short ball from bracken to clark at point (since he was waiting for the bad ball to hit instead of charging bracken and hitting him for boundaries). It will be left to ganguly and dravid to build the innings, with dhoni massacring mcgarth in the final overs (that perfect length wont work against the topsin forehand!!). India will end up with a good score of 280.

Zaheer will then get hayden early, but gilly will get a reprieve because munaf will drop him at third man. After blasting a half century, glichrist will get out to harbhajan trying to hit him for a second successive six over midwicket. Ponting will build an innings, and will keep Australia on course by setting up a big partnership with clark. But then zaheer will come back to trap clark lbw, and agarkar will shock everyone by getting ponting out. India, startled by ponting's wicket, will become complacent and fulfill their dharma of letting things slip. That annoying hussey will then guide Australia home.

South Africa v Pakistan

South Africa will win the toss first and will want to exploit the moisture that will be there in the first ten minutes of play, so will choose to bowl. In those ten minutes they will dismiss malik and whoever else's name woolmer picked out of his hat to open that day. Afridi will discover he has been promoted to number three, and get so excited that he will swipe across the line for everything. Surprisingly, this will work, since Pollock will suddenly discover that he is so used to hitting the perfect length that he can't alter it even if he wants to. Ntini will get aggressive in response to getting swiped and bowl bouncers, at which point afridi's accumalated luck will get him to top edge the bouncers for four until he finally gets bowled. Younis Khan and Yousuf will then make hundreds. Nel will get frustrated because they wont understand what he says, and will bowl short balls, which they will calmly pull for boundaries. Pakistan end up with 300.

Asif will take early wickets (of course), but then kallis will make a hundred. He will get support from prince and de Villiers, until they are both removed by Kaneria. Boucher, having come in and hit several boundaries, will then get nervous about his mathematics and will miscalculate the length of an akhtar delivery instead of the score. Kallis will eventually get out since he must at some point, and Pakistan will win by 20 runs.

Final: Australia v Pakistan

Aah, its anybody's game. My bet on Pakistan, just so that inzi can end his career the way he began it.

For India that means sehwag is back to his best and

Mark my words by jove, SRI LNAKA is gonna win!! and watch out for Dilshan!!! I want my country to win , but thanks to teh problems galore, we don't have an outside chance to win, unless u see teh risen phoenix, which has a percentage of 20 to happen. Australia will be ebaten in the semis....
Good Lord, i can't believe this myself!!!

Ok let me put out my neck and say this
Australia are not going to win the World Cup this time. Why
1) Only thrice in 1975,1979 and 2003 did the best team win the World Cup.
In 1983 it was rank outsiders India. In 1987 it was another rank outsiders Australia. In 1992 Pakistan was on the verge of being knocked out of the tournament. Hansie Cronje's S.Africa was the best team in 1996 and 1999. But Brian Lara's brilliant innings in 1996, and that unfortunate run out of Allan Donald in 1999,put paid to their plans. Again in 1999, Australia were on the verge of being knocked out. Had Gibbs held on to Steve Waugh's catch, they could have as well gone home.
2) Australia are the best team period, but they can be beaten. Sri lanka,West Indies and England have shown it. The key to beating them is not to get bogged down by mentally. The Aussies are masters at mind games.They seek to dominate the opponent mentally. Sri Lanka dont have half the talent as India or Pakistan, but they refuse to get cowed down by Aussie tactics. India used to do it under Ganguly, but now we seem to get ourselves mentally bullied by them. The Aussies must not be allowed to mentally dominate you, else you can kiss the match goodbye.
3) There are lot of chinks in the Aussie armor, take out McGrath and their bowling is not that good. Their batting depends too much on Symonds,Ponting, Hussey and Clarke. Take em out, and they struggle. Even in the recent CB series, they were stretched by Kiwis and english in league matches also.

South Africa is the only side that can match australia on a regular basis in the 1 day format. I beleive that south africa will easily make the final 4 to join west indies, sri lanka and new zealand. australia have shown that they can be beaten,when under pressure, by relatively weak opposition. south africa have a very well balanced balanced team (although no spinner) and even if their bowlers are pounded they have the batsmen to cahse anything!

Good work Uday Khare.
I enjoyed reading your commentry. Too good.

SF are the favs. They are peaking well. Be aware of england...they cant be counted out. we have seen that teams which after a lull start peaking just before world cup come to do well in WC.

People say Australina and SA are the favorites to win the world cup as of now. But I hope things will change after first round of the world cup. I believe Sri Lanka and India would be the other two teams which will reach semi-finals. If Indian bowling clicks well they might win the world cup as well.

From sub-continent, India and Sri Lanka look equally strong. Pakistan is a good team with individual talents but they fail collectively as a team. They might spring a surprise by defeating Australia or South Africa. There's no consistency in Pakistan's one day streak.

I wouldn't say someone as favorites to win the world cup. The following four teams will reach semi-finals.
1. Australia
2. South Africa
3. Sri Lanka
4. India.

England and West Indies may pose some threat but the India and Sri Lanka have slow bowlers for whom the Caribbean pitches suit more.

If my semi-finals line works it almost looks like last world cup semi-finals except South Africa.

A resurgent England to take the World Cup. Definitely higher than their no8 ranking. Strong middle order (Bell, Strauss, Collingwood, Pieterson) and lower order hitters, Flintoff, Plunkett, Dalrymple. Also Monty should play. Now if only they would take their ODI cricket a bit more seriously!

I think that these will be the top 4 South Africa, Srilanka, West Indies and Australia.

I hope the triumphalist Australian fans are suitable ashamed after their side's recent run of very poor performances, including being beaten 3 times in succession by England followed by a record-breaking 10 wicket humiliation by New Zealand. If you dish it out, you gotta take it, folks, and you were a real shambles.

the selection of sehwag has been subject to much debate.. sehwag is in the worst form of his life.. but batsmen of his nature usually dont go into a prolonged slump.. someone like gayle too.. so it usually doesnt take long for them to come up with a big innings.. but yeah, this slump has been an unusually long one.. i guess we shud just hope he fires.. and i also think his bowling cud be of much use.. since i think india wont be playing 2 spinners.. it will either be bhajji or kumble.. so sachin and sehwag will be important with the ball.. remember the last world cup final where all the fast bowlers got clobbered and dinesh mongia was the only bloke who got ponting to slow down a bit.. so yeah.. i think sehwag's experience is crucial to india..

see, i think the only other replacement for sehwag was raina since kaif was completely out of the picture.. and i think even if raina played, karthik wud have edged him out of the eleven on current form.. i guess sehwag was definitely a better choice cuz of his bowling and experience.

the selection of sehwag has been subject to much debate.. i agree sehwag is in the worst form of his life.. but batsmen of his nature usually dont go into a prolonged slump.. someone like gayle too.. so it usually doesnt take long for them to come up with a big innings.. but yeah, this slump has been a long one.. i guess we shud just hope he fires.. and i also think his bowling cud be of much use.. since i think india wont be playing 2 spinners.. it will either be bhajji or kumble.. so sachin and sehwag will be important with the ball.. remember the last world cup final where all the fast bowlers got clobbered and dinesh mongia was the only bloke who got ponting to slow down a bit.. so yeah.. i think sehwag's experience is crucial to india..

see, i think the only other replacement for sehwag was raina since kaif was completely out of the picture.. and i think even if raina played, karthik wud have edged him out of the eleven on current form.. i guess sehwag was definitely a better choice cuz of his bowling and experience.

The phase of the bad form takes the route of complacency and the Australian performance is the epitome of the same.Most of the people attribute the bad show to the absence of Shane Warne and Glenn Mcgrath which is not all wet.But this is not the first time Aussies have played without the elite duo.More pertinently when you have good pool of talent in Brad Hogg and some others.Nathan has got a sharp bowling dexterity who is understandably the next to take the baton from "Pigeon".The cautions seem to be have thrown to wind and Aussies got a good lesson.Aussies have of course been the ruler on the zenith which is inevitable.However there is a phase for a team or the other.When the prestigious clash is about to transpire in a few weeks that works as an eye-opener for the Kangaroos.Of course they have got that fortitude which reasonably makes them the ruler of the roost.However there is always a particular phase of something. Even tide has its ebb! A cliche which all of us have grown up on.There is no exception to this rule and Aussies are no exception either.The way cricket has changed in the past four years,cricket has become so competitive that you cannot take a breather even when you have 300 odd runs on the board.The SA and Australia match is suffice to show the picture.We cannot deny how big 300 used to be 5 years ago and when it comes to Australia 250 is enough for them to win. However when SA leaped on th emountain alike score and achieved the milestone of breaking the highest score record the very same day.It was obvious that a lot more is about to come....It is very sure that the arena is not goona be the sovereignity of the Kangaroos alone and if they still have to they have to prove it, every second, ball by ball.The reputation is not enough anymore coz in the cut throat competition no team has got time to get intimidated.

just thinking abt the world cup there is something that came to my mind that got me excited.. see, only 2 teams have been on a world cup hat-rick so far.. west indies having won in 75 and 79 and then being on a hatrick for the 83 world cup, untill india upset the applecart.. and now we have australia who are only the second team ever to be on a world cup hatrick after winning the trophy in 99 and '03.. and after india won in 83, the following world cup was hosted by india in 87.. this time too its similar, cuz we are hosting the 2011 WC, so who knows, we may be going into the '11 trophy as hosts who are world champions, like we did in '87.. so this time round we have reason to hope history repeats itself and india beats the aussies or who ever in the finals and go into '11 and hosts who are reigning champions.. and prospects or hopes just seems seem to have brightened for all teams competing after england beat the aussies in the just concluded one day series down under..
so 3 things
1) australia is only the second team to be on a world cup hatrick after the west indies
2) in the first time, the team who broke the broke the winning cycle (india'83) hosted the following WC (1987)
3) india is hosting the WC in 2011, so if we win here, we'll be going into the trophy in '11 for the second time as hosts who are reigning world champions. can history repeat itself? i've tried to put it as simple as i can..
also, if india manage to win this time, the hype and the craze and the whole excitement, going into the next edition in '11 will be so much more.. ofcourse there will be the greater pressure going into a major tournament as hosts and defending champions.. but the gain i think will be way more for all parties involved.. it will increase the brand value of players (not that they need any more money), will mean a big increase in broadcast money for the BCCI which is good for cricket in the country, good for businesses in terms of more sales and stuff.. and you know with the indian economy booming and all that its all just gonna add to the excitement.. and above all, for us as audiences, viewers, supporters and fans it would be the thrill of a WC at home and india as the title defenders.. mostly, greater levels of interest and excitement on the whole.. so this would be a great time for india to crown themselves as world champions.. will somebody go tell dravid & co.?

I am petty pleased with Indi's exit. 2nd. there is no luck, talent, fitness and skill dominate. 3rd. It is now time that India started looking at her lopsided sporting arena. Riding high with IT and much foreign exchange in her banks she must "DIVERSIFY". Please make your focus the OLYMPICS. What a dismal record. Not a single GOLD from the time she lost in Field Hockey. The OLYMPICS provides so many people with a lot more opportunities for success, national pride and employment. Your balancefor endorsements too will reflect the true nature of things in India. Again, look at Australia. She has performed exceedingly well in all arenas of sport. I am aware that when presents this kind of perspective, one gets no takers or acceptors from the media. Why will they want to 'bite the cricket media hand' that feeds them. Man does not live on bread alone. It is obvious that India lives by cricket (stupidly) alone.