Looking ahead to WC 2007...
With the World Cup in the WI about a year away, things around the world are shaping up quite nicely. All things considered, it should be one of the best WC's to date.
Australia, as always, will start out as the front runners, and rightly so, being the defending champions and most of the core group still intact. But, the gap between them and the rest of the world has narrowed down considerably. There isn't any ONE country threatning their run of supremacy since the mid '90s. Unlike the previous two WC's (SA in '99 and India in '03), there are several nations poised to give the Aussies a run for their money.
India, Pakistan and South Africa are at the top of this list. Sri Lanka, as proving in the VB series right now, isn't too far behind with a number of match winners still in the team. England is a very interesting team. They will be fielding their strongest side in the WC in a decade and a half (since the Gooch and Gatting days of the Reliance Cup in '87).
ODI's is all about batting and fielding and India are stronger than ever in both facets of the game. It is also about adaptability and India has shown in recent past that it is no more a one-dimentional, predictable team. They should be the favorites to topple the Aussies in this showcase event.
Pakistan is a very, very underrated team. On their day, they can be as dangerous as any team. The thing that should concern them is the bowling line-up, once considered their strength with Akram, Waqar, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Akhtar (with bowlers of the calibre of Aaqib Javed and Mushtaq Ahmed on the sideline). But, the glory days of their bowling dominance seem to be behind them. Akhar's volatile nature and injury-prone body should be the biggest concern for the team. But, whatever class they might have lost in the bowling department, they have more than made in the batting. Their batting line-up is as good as India's, if not better. The only thing that separates them from India is the fielding. There is no mistaking that both sides have improved in fielding but India's has improved dramatically over the past 5 years.
South Africa is always dangerous. They might not have the batting line up to compete against the likes of Aust, India, and Pak, but boy, their bowling and fielding impresses me. They are true fighters in every sense of the word.
And finally, it brings me to the host country(ies): the West Indies. Quite frankly, on paper, they don't stand a chance. But, last time I checked, the WC isn't played on paper, which is rather unfortunate for the Indians. The world would be making a mistake if they underestimate the brilliance of Brian Charles Lara. In all likelyhood, this is going to be his last hurrah, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he single handedly takes the Island nations to a victory of epic proportions.
Well, those are my thoughts...bring on the comments. I'd love to hear people's take on this.
Australia, as always, will start out as the front runners, and rightly so, being the defending champions and most of the core group still intact. But, the gap between them and the rest of the world has narrowed down considerably. There isn't any ONE country threatning their run of supremacy since the mid '90s. Unlike the previous two WC's (SA in '99 and India in '03), there are several nations poised to give the Aussies a run for their money.
India, Pakistan and South Africa are at the top of this list. Sri Lanka, as proving in the VB series right now, isn't too far behind with a number of match winners still in the team. England is a very interesting team. They will be fielding their strongest side in the WC in a decade and a half (since the Gooch and Gatting days of the Reliance Cup in '87).
ODI's is all about batting and fielding and India are stronger than ever in both facets of the game. It is also about adaptability and India has shown in recent past that it is no more a one-dimentional, predictable team. They should be the favorites to topple the Aussies in this showcase event.
Pakistan is a very, very underrated team. On their day, they can be as dangerous as any team. The thing that should concern them is the bowling line-up, once considered their strength with Akram, Waqar, Saqlain Mushtaq, and Akhtar (with bowlers of the calibre of Aaqib Javed and Mushtaq Ahmed on the sideline). But, the glory days of their bowling dominance seem to be behind them. Akhar's volatile nature and injury-prone body should be the biggest concern for the team. But, whatever class they might have lost in the bowling department, they have more than made in the batting. Their batting line-up is as good as India's, if not better. The only thing that separates them from India is the fielding. There is no mistaking that both sides have improved in fielding but India's has improved dramatically over the past 5 years.
South Africa is always dangerous. They might not have the batting line up to compete against the likes of Aust, India, and Pak, but boy, their bowling and fielding impresses me. They are true fighters in every sense of the word.
And finally, it brings me to the host country(ies): the West Indies. Quite frankly, on paper, they don't stand a chance. But, last time I checked, the WC isn't played on paper, which is rather unfortunate for the Indians. The world would be making a mistake if they underestimate the brilliance of Brian Charles Lara. In all likelyhood, this is going to be his last hurrah, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he single handedly takes the Island nations to a victory of epic proportions.
Well, those are my thoughts...bring on the comments. I'd love to hear people's take on this.
posted by Amar at 3:17 PM
2 Comments:
I think ODIs are as much about bowling as about batting and fielding. Having good bowlers is just as important, even though all and sundry will probably get tonked towards the end. A good start is crucial, and do not underestimate the importance of a few early wickets.
Yeah, true, bowling makes a lot of difference. That goes without saying.
The point I was trying to make is a team can still win ODIs with mediocre bowling (of course, not consistently) but it's next to impossible to win test matches without a good bowling performance.
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