The manner in which Australia staved off the stiff challenge by Pakistan in a friendly game the day before India played England at Lord’s showed that even though they will be coming in to the event from their off-season, they are still a force to contend with and so should be the favorites to win a trophy which has eluded them since its inception a few years ago.
That match was billed as a replay of the finals of the 1999 World Cup only to ensure that it got the crowds in and with that also got ODI status. One is not too sure if other such friendly matches between Test-playing countries will get such status, but hopefully there will be no double standards in this regard.
This game was not on the original schedule for cricket in England and was added during the season and nothing wrong with that, but again there should not be double standards in according recognition to similar games by other countries.
Like the Indians at the Asia Cup, the Aussies also looked a bit out of touch though some of their players have been playing county cricket, but such is their confidence level at this stage that they believe they can get out of any problems and most times they do.
With McGrath back in their team, they will not be easy to score off, for though the lanky speedster cannot be termed as quick anymore, he hasn’t lost his famed accuracy. The other plus for the Australians is the way Michael Kasprowicz has been bowling since his comeback to the Australian side. Brett Lee can be expensive and so Australia may well look at an attack of McGrath, Kasprowicz and Gillespie, which will make life hard for the most adventurous of batsmen.
Added to that is their fielding and life is not going to be a walk in the park for batsmen playing the Aussies in this tournament.
The other form team is England who have shown a rare spark this season and will be strong contenders for the cup. The progress made by Flintoff and Harmison in particular has been stupendous and though there are those who will want to see them perform against tougher sides like South Africa and Australia, the fact is that they too are form players and capable of turning the fortunes of the game.
Pakistan too have shown they are coming along nicely and if they can get Shoaib to bowl a bit more on target, then they will not only get wickets but also save a lot of runs. Their fielding is a worry and its an area that Woolmer will have to work closely if they are to be a serious threat.
Sri Lanka have been most impressive too, what with beating South Africa in all the 5 ODIs played recently. They will be handicapped by Murali’s absence, for he is a class apart, but with Chaminda Vaas being recognized in both the Test and ODI teams of the ICC, it will lift the team to perform away from home, which they haven’t been doing recently.
South Africa have also been feeling the effects of not playing in recent times and they will be grateful for the cricket they got in Lanka even though the results were not what they wanted.
It would have been harder to play this event where the margin for error is really limited to one game in the group. In spite of their performances in Lanka, they too are a team to reckon with as they have two top all-rounders in Kallis and Pollock and their fielding has always been top-class.
New Zealand won the Tri-series in England earlier this year beating England quite comfortably and they have always been a threat in limited-overs internationals. They have the kind of players that coaches love to have in their teams, players who can bat and bowl and who are brilliant fielders. They won the trophy in Kenya and will be contenders this time as well.
Finally India. They are a side that love to give pleasant surprises to their fans. Just when they are being written off, they produce something special and make their fans excited. It won’t be easy without Tendulkar and with the lack of runs for their top order in the events they have played in recently, but as the captain Ganguly keeps saying, form is just one innings away.
When their batsmen get going, there are no better sights in cricket and all they need to do is to lift their fielding a couple of notches to give their bowling the edge that it needs.
Rahul Dravid winning the Player of the Year Award and Irfan Pathan beating Michael Clarke to the Emerging Player of the Year Award will be a great morale-lifter for a team that has had some tough times in the last few weeks. That should not only uplift but also inspire them and want to emulate their teammates and take the first steps to next year’s awards.
It’s hard to pick out a winner, for the one-day game is such that a surprise is round the corner and particularly in countries where the ball does do something more. It’s the team that shows the greater desire that will win a tournament that really should have been played earlier than at this time of the year in England.
