Chasing the Cup

A week from now, 14 teams will begin an exciting journey that will end with one of them holding the World Cup. Will the batsmen score on the flat pitches of the subcontinent? Or will spinners turn the tide? Aabhas Sharma gives a lowdown on the top teams

AUSTRALIA
Strength: A great World Cup record. Haven’t lost a match in the last two World Cups and even though Ricky Ponting’s captaincy has been much condemned, his ODI record is impeccable. Having played at the IPL, players are familiar with Indian conditions.

Weakness: Lost their fear factor. The Aussie aura of invincibility is gone and opponents aren’t scared of taking them on anymore. Lack of star names. Though a good team, they lack the presence of big names like Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath.

X-factor: Cameron White. One of the most exciting young players in the Australian side. Good with both bat and ball, White could make a difference to Australia’s fortunes.

Key players: Shane Watson is an all-rounder and will be a handful with both bat and ball. Brett Lee and Ricky Ponting, both are on the wrong side of 30 but are proven match-winners.

ENGLAND
Strength: Hardworking and have a great team spirit. Unlike English teams of the past, they are mentally strong and not afraid of taking the opposition on. They are the reigning T20 champs and have been the in-form team over the last 12 months.

Weakness: Not too much experience in their ranks. The likes of Chris Tremlett, Jonathan Trott and Andres Bresnan lack the big-match experience. Alien conditions are another challenge. English players haven’t played much in the subcontinent, so they might find the conditions a bit difficult.

X-factor: Graeme Swann: Arguably the best spinner in the world at the moment and the conditions would be ideal for his off-breaks.

Key players: Kevin Pietersen, Jimmy Anderson

INDIA
Strength: Opening batsmen. In Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, India boasts of two of the best openers of all time. Home support will be a big factor and India have a very good home record.

Weakness: Not much depth in the middle order. The likes of Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli are relatively inexperienced and haven’t proven their mettle at the highest level of cricket. Also, top players like Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Sehwag and Zaheer Khan have been suffering from niggles and their fitness issues could hurt India’s chances.

X-factor: Home crowd and Tendulkar.

Key players: Sehwag, Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, MS Dhoni

NEW ZEALAND
Strength: Daniel Vettori: The only world class player in the New Zealand ranks, Vettori has developed into a formidable all-rounder and is one of the most economical bowlers around.

Weakness: Lack of proven match winners: Their ODI form hasn’t been that great and the team lacks world class players. Not much quality in bowling. After Vettori, there isn’t much quality in their bowling line up.

X-Factor: Brendon McCullum’s explosive batting style.

Key players: Vettori and Brendon Mcullum

PAKISTAN
Strength: Strong batting line-up. The likes of Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq will be formidable on flat batting tracks.

Weakness: Unpredictable side. You never know which side of Pakistan dominates — the good or the bad. They can beat India convincingly or can manage to lose even against Ireland.

Haven’t played much cricket in the subcontinent off late.

X-factor: Shahid Afridi. On his day, he can turn any game on its head, both with the bat and the ball.

Key players: Umar Gul and Umar Akmal

SOUTH AFRICA
Strength: A great fielding side. Agile and quick on the field, they save at least 15-20 runs with to their superior fielding abilities.

Depth in batting and bowling. Graeme Smith, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy are all good batsmen. Dale Steyn, Mornie Morkel and Tsotsobe are a formidable pace attack.

Weakness: The tag of chokers weighs heavily on their shoulders. Mentally not strong enough.

X-factor: Steyn. The best fast bowler in the world, he can make batsman hop around even on flat and slow subcontinent pitches.

Key Players: Johan Botha, de Villiers and Duminy

SRI LANKA
Strength: Home conditions: They play all their matches in Sri Lanka and know the conditions pretty well. A very good batting side. Tillekeratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara are all quality batsmen.

Quality spinners in Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.

Weakness: Average fast bowling attack. Absence of Chaminda Vaas means they have to rely on the erratic Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara. Not enough match winners.

X-factor: Murali’s spin and Dilshan’s explosive batting style.

Key players: Dilshan, Muralitharan and Sangakkara

WEST INDIES:
Strength: It’s tough to find a strong point in this West Indies team which managed to lose 10 of their 14 ODIs in 2010. They even lost a match to a woeful Zimbabwe team. So far, Chris Gayle appears to be their only strong point.

Weakness: No match winners. Apart from Gayle, the team lacks proven match winners. Inexperienced team. Barring Gayle, no player has played more than 100 ODIs.

X-factor: The emergence of a relatively unknown Kevin Roach as fast bowler might help West Indies do well.

Key Players: Darren Sammy, Gayle and Roach