Last year I wrote about soccer world cup and its time for me to write about cricket world cup 2007. This is the first time the tournament is being played in West Indies. There are 16 teams participating and they are divided in 4 groups. The inaugural ceremony is on March 11th and the first match starts on March 12th.
Australia:
The defending champion Australia is set to win their 3rd straight title and a record 4th world cup and as expected they are the tournament favourites. However recent slump in form and injury woes will make their task difficult. The Australians are backed by a strong batting line up with captain Ricky Ponting leading from the front. Wicket Keeper Adam Gilchrist will be a key player and he along with Mathew Hayden can take the game away from the opposition in a matter of 10 overs. Then they have the in form Mike Hussey who has been in a splendid form in recent times. The bowling department is not too bad with Glen McGrath playing his last world cup along with Shaun Tait, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clarke can go through the opposition’s batting line up. One area where the Aussies score over the opponents is their fielding. They are perhaps the best fielding side in the tournament.
South Africa:
The current world number 1 will be riding high in their confidence after their performance against India and Pakistan. They will look to win their first world cup after 4 unsuccessful attempts. They have a good batting line up with Opener and captain Graeme Smith along with A.B.DeVillers will look to continue their good form. Then they have the class Jacques Kallis and the dangerous Herchelle Gibbs. Following them will be the dashing wicket keeper batsman Mark Boucher and wily Shaun Pollock. Their bowling department is packed with fast bowlers and given the fact that West Indies wicket have slowed down they will find difficult to tighten the grips in the middle overs in the absence of a spinner. Makhaya Ntini and Shaun Pollock will try to run through the top order and they have Jacques Kallis, Charl Langeveldt and Andrew Hall in the middle overs. They are probably the best fielding side after Australia and I am sure they will be one of the team to be watched for.
India:
The current slump in the form and injuries are the major areas of concern for the team. However the two series win against the West Indies and Sri Lanka would have been a morale booster for the men in blue. They are looking for their second world cup after a gap of 24 years. They have got a good balanced side and if the players play up to their potential there is no doubt that they can be the champions. Their batting line up looks strong with the come back of Saurav Ganguly and the form of Robin Uthappa. Dravid, Tendulkar and Yuvraj will look to play down the middle overs and they have got the dashing wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The bowling department looks fine with Zaheer Khan in great form and in the company of Ajit Agarkar, India’s successful bowler during the tour of West Indies and Munaf Patel. One area where India holds the edge is their spin department. Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, two of the world’s best spinners in the side will be looking to contain in the middle overs. However the side’s poor fielding is a major concern. Except for Yuvraj, the fielding looks pretty weak and its high time that the team management works on it.
Pakistan:
The most unpredictable side in cricket. On one day they can be world beater and on the other day they can be chokers. They will be looking for their 2nd world cup after 1992 edition. The side looks good and with the presence of Inzamam in the middle and taking the fact of Mohamed Yousuf’s current form, the side has got a well balanced batting line up in the middle overs. However it is their openers who would like to take the bowling attack during the power plays and if they come good, Pakistan ahs got a very good chance of winning the cup. Then they have the dashing Abdul Razzaq to take attack during the slog overs. However with the absence of Shoib Akthar and Mohd Asif, their bowling department looks bleak. One more area of concern is their fielding. On the whole if the players play to their potential they win the cup.
Sri Lanka:
1996 champions will look to erase their bad run they had against India last year and this year. However after Jayawardene took charge as captain they have performed well in the one dayers. They have a good line up with Jayasuriya will be looking to continue his form he showed in New Zealand late last year. In the middle they have former captain Marvan Atapatu and captain Jayawardene. The form of Sangakara will be really helpful for them as he can take the game away from the opposition single handedly. The bowling department looks good with Vaas and Muralitharan will be looking to run through the oppsition.
West Indies:
The only team that beat Australia in the champions trophy along with its current form against India makes them as one of the favourites. Brian Lara playing his last world cup will look to end on a high note. The dashing opener Chris Gayle and wily Chanderpaul holds the key for the West Indies and Lara and Sarwan will look to play down the middle overs. Their bowling department looks good and the form of Dwayne Bravo is very important as he will be a useful bowler during the middle overs. On the whole if they play the way they played during the champions trophy they can be successful in winning their 3rd world cup.
New Zealand:
After their poor show in Australia they bounced back well to beat Australia 3-0 in the Chappel-Hadlee series in New Zealand. Their success both with the bat and ball would have improved their confidence. The man to look out for is Shane Bond and wicket keeper Brendon McCullum. These two players can take the game away from the opposition in a matter of minutes. Then they have Daniel Vettori to slow down the run rate during the middle overs. If they continue their good form they have a very good chance of winning their first world cup.
England:
Following a disaster in the Ashes, they had a poor show in the league matches of the CB Series. However they bounced back well to win the last league match to qualify for the finals and thereby winning the cup. The man to look out for is Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood. They are the key players and are in prime form of their career. The bowling looks good with the likes of Plunkett, Anderson, Panesar, Sajid Mahmood. The fielding looks ok and I don’t think they have chance of winning the cup. Who knows, cricket is a funny game where no one knows what will happen.
Australia:
The defending champion Australia is set to win their 3rd straight title and a record 4th world cup and as expected they are the tournament favourites. However recent slump in form and injury woes will make their task difficult. The Australians are backed by a strong batting line up with captain Ricky Ponting leading from the front. Wicket Keeper Adam Gilchrist will be a key player and he along with Mathew Hayden can take the game away from the opposition in a matter of 10 overs. Then they have the in form Mike Hussey who has been in a splendid form in recent times. The bowling department is not too bad with Glen McGrath playing his last world cup along with Shaun Tait, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clarke can go through the opposition’s batting line up. One area where the Aussies score over the opponents is their fielding. They are perhaps the best fielding side in the tournament.
South Africa:
The current world number 1 will be riding high in their confidence after their performance against India and Pakistan. They will look to win their first world cup after 4 unsuccessful attempts. They have a good batting line up with Opener and captain Graeme Smith along with A.B.DeVillers will look to continue their good form. Then they have the class Jacques Kallis and the dangerous Herchelle Gibbs. Following them will be the dashing wicket keeper batsman Mark Boucher and wily Shaun Pollock. Their bowling department is packed with fast bowlers and given the fact that West Indies wicket have slowed down they will find difficult to tighten the grips in the middle overs in the absence of a spinner. Makhaya Ntini and Shaun Pollock will try to run through the top order and they have Jacques Kallis, Charl Langeveldt and Andrew Hall in the middle overs. They are probably the best fielding side after Australia and I am sure they will be one of the team to be watched for.
India:
The current slump in the form and injuries are the major areas of concern for the team. However the two series win against the West Indies and Sri Lanka would have been a morale booster for the men in blue. They are looking for their second world cup after a gap of 24 years. They have got a good balanced side and if the players play up to their potential there is no doubt that they can be the champions. Their batting line up looks strong with the come back of Saurav Ganguly and the form of Robin Uthappa. Dravid, Tendulkar and Yuvraj will look to play down the middle overs and they have got the dashing wicket keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The bowling department looks fine with Zaheer Khan in great form and in the company of Ajit Agarkar, India’s successful bowler during the tour of West Indies and Munaf Patel. One area where India holds the edge is their spin department. Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble, two of the world’s best spinners in the side will be looking to contain in the middle overs. However the side’s poor fielding is a major concern. Except for Yuvraj, the fielding looks pretty weak and its high time that the team management works on it.
Pakistan:
The most unpredictable side in cricket. On one day they can be world beater and on the other day they can be chokers. They will be looking for their 2nd world cup after 1992 edition. The side looks good and with the presence of Inzamam in the middle and taking the fact of Mohamed Yousuf’s current form, the side has got a well balanced batting line up in the middle overs. However it is their openers who would like to take the bowling attack during the power plays and if they come good, Pakistan ahs got a very good chance of winning the cup. Then they have the dashing Abdul Razzaq to take attack during the slog overs. However with the absence of Shoib Akthar and Mohd Asif, their bowling department looks bleak. One more area of concern is their fielding. On the whole if the players play to their potential they win the cup.
Sri Lanka:
1996 champions will look to erase their bad run they had against India last year and this year. However after Jayawardene took charge as captain they have performed well in the one dayers. They have a good line up with Jayasuriya will be looking to continue his form he showed in New Zealand late last year. In the middle they have former captain Marvan Atapatu and captain Jayawardene. The form of Sangakara will be really helpful for them as he can take the game away from the opposition single handedly. The bowling department looks good with Vaas and Muralitharan will be looking to run through the oppsition.
West Indies:
The only team that beat Australia in the champions trophy along with its current form against India makes them as one of the favourites. Brian Lara playing his last world cup will look to end on a high note. The dashing opener Chris Gayle and wily Chanderpaul holds the key for the West Indies and Lara and Sarwan will look to play down the middle overs. Their bowling department looks good and the form of Dwayne Bravo is very important as he will be a useful bowler during the middle overs. On the whole if they play the way they played during the champions trophy they can be successful in winning their 3rd world cup.
New Zealand:
After their poor show in Australia they bounced back well to beat Australia 3-0 in the Chappel-Hadlee series in New Zealand. Their success both with the bat and ball would have improved their confidence. The man to look out for is Shane Bond and wicket keeper Brendon McCullum. These two players can take the game away from the opposition in a matter of minutes. Then they have Daniel Vettori to slow down the run rate during the middle overs. If they continue their good form they have a very good chance of winning their first world cup.
England:
Following a disaster in the Ashes, they had a poor show in the league matches of the CB Series. However they bounced back well to win the last league match to qualify for the finals and thereby winning the cup. The man to look out for is Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood. They are the key players and are in prime form of their career. The bowling looks good with the likes of Plunkett, Anderson, Panesar, Sajid Mahmood. The fielding looks ok and I don’t think they have chance of winning the cup. Who knows, cricket is a funny game where no one knows what will happen.
4 comments:
Greetings,
This is an excellent article on the Cricket World Cup and I would like to speak with you about publishing it.
Cheers,
michelle@sportingo.com
@sportingo
Thanks for your comment..
Good job da!!! Now that u ve got a television set at home u can catch the live action and keep others updated thro ur posts.
i think entha vati west indies will lift the cup home soil advantage.... and good depth bowling.. strong opening pair and a decent middle order with lara strengthening it... opening bowlers r average but gayle and samules can pin the batsmen down...
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