Aranya Syed :
The 11th Cricket World Cup (ICC Cricket World Cup 2015) rolled on Saturday with a compel of high profile matches This is the first time that an ICC tournament is being hosted in Australasia since 1992. It is, indeed, rather surprising that Australia did not host any mega cricket event for over two decades considering the fact that they are one of the biggest cricket nations in the world and their national team has more or less dominated the cricket world in recent years, especially in One Day International (ODI) World Cups. Australia and New Zealand are two of the most naturally beautiful nations in the world, and coupled with the fact that both their cricket teams are going into the tournament highly fancied to lift the coveted trophy by the time this one-and-a-half month long gig is over, cricket enthusiasts travelling Down Under to witness this spectacle (including this writer) are definitely in for a treat.
Australia, co-hosts and the current # 1 team in the ICC ODI Rankings, will enter their own party as favourites just ahead of South Africa. Although India are the current World Cup and Champions Trophy winners – the undisputed ODI kings – they have been written off in some quarters after failing to win a single match during their recent tour in Australia (either during the Test or ODI series). New Zealand, the perennial over-achievers, go in the tournament as almost everyone’s ‘dark horses’ after some outstanding performances recently at home as well as the fact that they have always performed admirably in ICC tournaments over the years.
Australia must be considered one of the strong favourites at the World Cup and despite being in a tougher group (Group A looks considerably more difficult on paper than B) I expect them to finish as Group Champions. They have an extremely powerful batting line-up but it’s the bowling that will most likely take them all the way to the Final. Although, they lack a high quality spinner their pace attack is menacing to say the least. There is no doubt that pitches in Australia and New Zealand suit fast bowlers more than spinners and I reckon the two Mitchells – Johnson (the current ICC Cricketer of the Year) and Starc – will be right up there amongst the highest wicket-takers by the end of the tournament. The fitness of captain Michael Clarke is a worry but they can cope without him especially with the way S Smith, the Australian Cricketer of the Year, has been performing across all formats of late, but the bigger worry is the injury to all-rounder J Faulkner, who is a brilliant ‘finisher’ and one who I tipped to end up as the Man of the Series before his recent injury. He will definitely miss the first match and most likely the entire group stage and if Shane Watson, who has not been at his best over the last couple of years, does not step up then Faulkner’s injury may well be the reason why the Aussies do not land their 5th ODI World Cup. Watson’s record in ICC tournaments is of the highest order and I feel he will have a great tournament which will carry Australia to the showpiece finale at the ‘G’. South Africa are many people’s tip for the top, as they have been for the last two decades, and they certainly boast some world class players including captain De Villiers. I think they will not only finish as Group Champions but also be undefeated during the Group stage. Their problem always arises at knockout stage as they have remarkably – and embarrassingly – failed to win even a single knockout game at an ICC World Cup. Their reputation as ‘chokers’ is therefore much warranted and although they will probably break that duck by winning the Quarter Final, I expect them to get knocked out in the Semi Final and keep their dismal record of not playing a single World Cup Final despite being favourites for several tournaments over the years.
World Cup Champions India, under the leadership of the legendary M S Dhoni, the Man of the Match during the 2011 WC Final, will defend their crown and start their tournament with the biggest match of them all against arch-rivals Pakistan on 15th February in Adelaide. India’s record under MSD in ICC tournaments speaks for itself and it is foolish to write off their chances despite their recent poor form. Several of their greatest legends who were part of the team that spectacularly won the World Cup in 2011 have retired, such as the greatest batsman in the history of cricket Sachin Tendulkar, while others such as Man of the Series Yuvraj Singh and highest wicket-taker Zaheer were deemed to be not good enough to be selected anymore. India’s pace attack is most certainly not the best in the world, and the Men in Blue are likely to play either two or three front line spinners in the line-up, while other teams such as Australia will play none. However, the same issues were highlighted during the Champions Trophy in 2013 (in England) and yet they took the trophy back home despite conditions not suiting them – as well as at the T20 World Cup last year where they advanced to the Final undefeated on the back of a bad Asia Cup and some poor performances away from home throughout the season. Under Dhoni, India won two World Cups (T20 WC in South Africa & ODI WC in India/Asia), Champions Trophy (in England) and Runners-Up at another T20 WC (in Bangladesh). They have an incredible record in ICC tournaments around the world and teams must be judged on how many global tournaments they win and turning up on the big stage rather than being ‘consistent’ and winning meaningless bilateral series (like the Proteas). If India manages to win the 10th Indo-Pak World Cup encounter (they are yet to be beaten by their neighbours in World Cup history) this will give them a huge lift. Unlike in 2011, India are reliant on very few match winners this time but they do boast undoubtedly the biggest star of this year’s World Cup – vice-captain Virat Kohli. Virat is the best limited-overs batsman in the world at the moment and if India are to go all the way it is imperative that he scores the bulk of the runs like he did at the T20 World Cup last year. The other player who I expect to have a decent tournament is Rohit, the only cricketer to score 2 double centuries in ODI cricket history. India’s lower order batting is a worry and not selecting Yuvraj Singh, a proven big tournament cricketer and one of the greatest World Cup legends ever, may prove to be a huge mistake. The other team well capable of lifting the trophy is Asia Cup and T20 World Cup Champions Sri Lanka. The Lankans have one of the most experienced batting line-ups of the tournament and this will also be the swansong for the cricketer who will go down as the greatest wicket-keeper batsman to have ever played the game – K Sangakkara. ‘Sanga’, as he is affectionately known by his mates and fans, is one of the most intelligent and well-respected cricketers of his generation and if any one deserves to end their career on a high it has to be him. Sri Lanka’s main worry is their over-dependence on the ‘slinger’ L Malinga, who will compete under a massive fitness cloud after being injured recently, but the cricketer who I expect to be one of the greatest young stars of this World Cup is their captain and all-rounder Angelo Matthews. If Sri Lanka goes all the way, I expect Matthews to be amongst the contenders for Man of the Series.
Co-hosts New Zealand are going into the tournament as most pundits’ and bookmakers’ ‘dark horses’. The Kiwis, despite boasting neither the financial prowess nor the resources that some other countries have to their disposal, have been a huge success story in world cricket. They have been Semi Finalists in 6 out of the 10 ODI World Cups and won the ICC Champions Trophy. The fact that they were the only non-Asian representative at the 2011 World Cup Semi Final stage in the Indian subcontinent over other much fancied nations who have more superstars within their ranks gives you another indication that they have always punched way above their weight. They are a tight-knit unit with no big egos and always play for the team which always makes extremely competitive. They are playing some brilliant cricket under the leadership of Brendan McCullum, and although they are currently ranked 6th in the ODI rankings, I am tipping the Kiwis to go all the way to the Final and winning the World Cup for the first time in their history. This will, indeed, be a huge achievement but I feel they have a very well-balanced side who are committed to the core and know their conditions very well, which may well propel them over the line. McCullum aside, they have a very attacking batting line-up and the player to look out for and one of the biggest emerging talents in world cricket today is K Williamson. He is in red-hot form and will most likely finish as one of the highest run scorers of the tournament. Their late-order batting is devastating with the likes of Ronchi and C Anderson while their fielding is right up there with the best in the world. The Kiwis also have several wicket-taking fast bowlers and economical spinners in their armoury with T Southee being one of the best death-over specialists going. However, the bowler who I reckon will end up as the highest wicket-taker and best bowler of the World Cup is left-arm seamer Mitchell McClenaghan (there is a strong likelihood that the top three bowlers in the World Cup will all be left-arm seamers called Mitchell, which will be rather confusing!) if he can cement his position in the starting XI.
The biggest upset will most likely involve West Indies as they are in an absolute shambles with player disputes and rows with the cricket board, and I feel they will get knocked out in the Group Stage after losing against Zimbabwe or Ireland (or both!) with one of those two nations advancing to the knockout stage. The usual suspects should advance from the other group even though I think Bangladesh are capable of causing an upset against a very inexperienced England side but that will probably not be enough to take them to the knockouts as I feel England will defeat Sri Lanka, while Bangladesh may well come unstuck against ‘minnows’ and Associate nation Afghanistan, for whom seamer Zadran is a player to look out for. Bangladesh had a torrid 2014 with an abysmal T20 World Cup and Asia Cup on their own backyard, where they lost against Hong Kong and Afghanistan, but they have recovered of late especially since Shakib Al Hasan, the undisputed no 1 all-rounder in world cricket and the greatest Bangladeshi cricketer in history, was brought back in the fold after being suspended due to various ‘disciplinary’ issues. Shakib is the world’s best all-rounder across all formats and had a superb campaign at the Big Bash League (BBL), Australia’s domestic T20 league, which will give him huge confidence going into this tournament (although he does not necessarily lack in that department in any case!). Bangladesh’s seamers need to turn up if they are to have a decent tournament and maybe challenge England for the 4th position in the Group, and all eyes will be on how new skipper and experienced campaigner Mashrafe performs. I expect Australia and South Africa to finish as Group Champions from their respective groups and these two teams along with New Zealand and India to contest the Semi Finals. I am predicting a Final between co-hosts Australia and New Zealand at the 100,000-seated MCG on 29th March with the Kiwis upsetting their Tasman rivals and being crowned as the new World Cup Champions. Watson is my tip for the Man of the Series award with Virat and McCleneghan ending up as the highest run-scorer and wicket-taker respectively.
Not long for one of the world’s biggest sporting event to start Down Under. One and a half month of pure bliss for every cricket enthusiast across the globe. Let the battle commence!
G’day and Kia Ora!
(Aranya Syed writes from London, England)
