The Cricket World Cup, which opens in February, just reached its 100-day countdown mark last week, so I thought I would review the teams and give my predictions for the cup.
The World Cup will be held on the Indian subcontinent, co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The kick-off match is between India and Bangladesh on Feb. 19 in Bangladesh. The game has been dubbed a "grudge match," as Bangladesh shocked India in the last World Cup, sparking the pretournament-favorite's ignominious exit in the first round.
The format in this World Cup is slightly different from 2007's, however. There will be two groups of eight teams, and four teams from every group will qualify for the next round. This is to ensure that the quality of the teams remains high during the later stages of the tournament and that one shock defeat will not result in elimination for a participating team.
Group A consists of Australia, Canada, Kenya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe. Group B includes Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa and the West Indies.
Upon looking at the two groups, picking four teams from them seems relatively straightforward, as the groups have been evened out pretty fairly. I concur with that observation and do not see any upsets arising out of the group stages.
I predict that from Group A, the top finishers will be Sri Lanka, Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand in that order, and from Group B, South Africa, India, England and Bangladesh.
Now here is where the fun starts, and I will give a more detailed analysis of the above-mentioned eight teams over the next two weeks.
Sri Lanka: The key for Sri Lanka lies in the team's bowling attack. It has one of the most diverse bowling options and is bound to use its home advantage to the fullest. In Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sri Lankans have the most successful bowler the world has ever seen and one who can spin the ball practically anywhere, regardless of the conditions.
Lasith Malinga is the best bowler to have in the final few overs when the opposing batsmen are having a real go at you thanks to his deadly fast, toe-crushing yorkers — a delivery bowled by a fast bowler that is aimed right at the feet, not allowing the batsman to free his arms and hit the ball.
In Kumar Sangakarra, Sri Lanka has an astute captain and a very reliable middle order batsman providing some much-needed spine to the batting line up, along with Mahela Jayawardane. With the dynamic batting of Dilshan and its athletic fielding, Sri Lanka has to be one of the favorites for the cup.
The team's weak point is probably its inconsistency, a lack of a back-up crew to help the main players of the team and a lack of a winning mentality. Prediction: finalists.
Australia: Despite being a team in a crippling rebuilding stage and in apparent chaos, Australia is not to be underestimated. Having won the cup the past four times, Australia knows how to slug it out when the going gets tough.
It also has a powerful middle-order in the form of the big-hitting Cameron White and David Hussey. Mike Hussey is one of the most able finishers in the game, and one can never discount Ricky Ponting, one of the best players to ever come out of Australia.
Australia's weakness is in its bowling, and the biggest question is whether it can make a big enough impact on the Indian sub-continental pitches, which lack pace and bounce. Their lack of a main spinner is also a cause of grave concern. Prediction: semifinalists.
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Avinash Asthana is a junior majoring in computer science. He can be reached at Avinash.Asthana@tufts.edu.
