The Pakis

Yes, its Pakistan.
Unpredicatable, talented, attractive....these are various terms which have been used over the years to describe this team. A team which is capable of playing like champions one day and like minnows the very next day. Consistency is something you seldom associate with this team which is why they never have a very long streak of winning matches.

Assessing the current form of the team that is traveling to the Caribbean, you do not get a sense of confidence about the team. There is still a cloud over Shoaib and Asif and I believe the latter rather than the former holds the key to Pakistan's bowling in this world cup. Asif can set the tone at the start of the innings and knock a few over then the others like Gul, Rana, Razzaq and Kaneria become effective. The batting revolves completely around the big three - Younis, Yousuf, and Inzy. Inzy these days bats way down the order and is rendering himself completely ineffective as he cannot impose himself on the game batting at 5 and 6. The openers are eternally young and inexperienced with the same bunch being rotated around all the time. Kamran Akmal, the all important wicket keeper has suddenly lost his way and is struggling for form.
Then there is always the mercurial Shahid Afridi who can come up with a match winning knock any day but then it is also a 'maybe' just like a lot of other things with this team. Inzy as captain is not likely to inspire the boys as Imran so effectively did in 1992.
Expect a few sparks from this team but not a huge fire.

Final Word: Inconsistent performances will not see them through.

The Men from down under - Australia

As promised I start with the team I least favor to win this world cup which also happens to be the team which is going into the world cup with the worst form possible. Yes as the title of this post says I am talking about Australia, the 2 time defending champions.

Till a few months people were raving about how good a team Australia is and how easily they will win a 3rd world cup. But then things have changed, defeat in the CB series to a toothless English team and then the blackwash at the hands of the Kiwis has caused a complete turnaround in their fortunes and they have even lost their No.1 ranking to the Proteas. Injuries to Andrew Symonds,and Brett Lee was cited as the reason for their pathetic performance, but hey wasn't Australia the team which did not depend on individuals, or did I hear wrongly?

Be as it may the truth is that Australia is no longer invincible and their weaknesses have been ruthlessly exposed in recent months. Being anti-aussie myself, this comes as something to rejoice about.

Why I think Australia will not win the world cup:
Number 1: Too many frequent changes to the team has caused a lack of stability within the team.
Number 2: Inexperienced and ineffective bowling attack further setback by the injury to Lee. McGrath is no longer the bowler he was, the rookies in Tait and Johnson are way too inconsistent and unreliable, Bracken,Watson, and Clark are inconsistent performers, Hogg is the only spin option and he is not at his best. All in all an attack which is likely to concede a lot of big scores.
Number 3: Batting is dependent on Ponting and Hussey who are the two consistent batsmen. Pressure is on Ponting to deliver and he is just returning from injury which does not help his cause.
Number 4: Ponting is a poor captain under pressure, anybody can lead a team when they are doing well but it is when the team is doing badly that a good captain makes the difference. Ponting is definitely not a captain of that quality.
Number 5: The format of this world cup does not allow easy routes into the super 8, so Australia cannot take time to peak like in 1999.

Last Word: If Australia loses the cup then Cricket will be the winner.

ICC World Cup 2007

The countdown has begun, the teams have been announced, and millions around the world are getting ready for the Cricket world cup 2007. As a true cricket fan I just have to write about it and here we go.....

The most beautiful thing about this world cup which makes it stand apart from its predecessors is that it is being held for the very first time in the beautiful Caribbean islands. The place, the people, the beaches truly create an atmosphere unlike any other in the world. The World Cup has taken long enough to reach these shores and I am sure the wait is definitely going to be worth it.

The other point of note in this version is the format. It is designed to eliminate the minnows in the first round and the super 8 is going to be the best, all the teams play each other and the winner will definitely be better than the rest.

So friends, a truly spectacular event awaits us in the Caribbean and I wish the event grand success!!!

I shall start a series of posts wherein I shall review each team and assess their chances from my view point.
I shall start with the team I least favour to win and end with my favourite.

Watch out for those...