2015 World Cup - Ranking the title contenders

This is it then. The long, seemingly never-ending 48 month wait is almost over as we now enter the home straight. Today marks the exact 4 month date to the biggest stage of them all – The Cricket World Cup 2015.The last 5 months generally do not include many surprises when it comes to the World Cup squad or even the playing XI. Though the final XI may still be uncertain, selectors from all over the globe have almost finalized the squad they are going to send to Australia and New Zealand. Hence, there is enough certainty to make a preliminary assessment as to what we might expect to see in the gala event.The World Cup groups were drawn in accordance with the ICC ODI rankings as on 31st Dec 2012. Let us have a look at these:Pool APool BEngland (1)South Africa (2)Australia (4)India (3)Sri Lanka (5)Pakistan (6)Bangladesh (8)West Indies (7)New Zealand (9)Zimbabwe (10)AfghanistanIrelandScotlandUAEOne look at the table is enough to understand how they are placed. Seed (1) Starts with Pool A, Seeds (2) & (3) get into Pool B, (4) & (5) into Pool A again and so on. The table, which surprisingly shows Bangladesh above New Zealand, would have almost been ripped apart wide open had Bangladesh been at (7) and New Zealand at (8) for it would have meant 5 teams from the ‘Top 8’ in the same group.Thankfully, (8) and (9) made sure this was not the case and we expect to see the ‘Top 8’ in the knockouts without any hullaballoo. Whether this is the correct format or not to establish a world champion remains in question, the standings after the group stages would most likely resemble this:(There have been upsets in World Cup over the years, but Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Scotland, Zimbabwe, Ireland and UAE don't seem possess the firepower required to upset the big guns Down Under)Pool APool BAustraliaSouth AfricaNew ZealandIndiaSri LankaPakistanEnglandWest IndiesThe quarter finals hence should look this way: – Australia vs West Indies at Adelaide – New Zealand vs Pakistan at Wellington – Sri Lanka vs India at the SCG/MCG – England vs South Africa at the SCG/MCG.The way the current format stands, if New Zealand qualify for the Quarter Finals, they play their match in Wellington. If the Australians do so, they get to play at Adelaide. If both of them qualify for the semis, New Zealand get to play at Auckland and Australia at the SCG. If both are pitted against each other (not as per the predictions), and the team who finished higher in Pool A will get the option of playing at home. This effectively means if New Zealand make it to semifinals, all teams not facing the Kiwis will have all their matches in Australia.Let us take a look at the aforementioned teams, analyze what they have in store and rank them in order of their chances to win the World Cup.

#8 England

Snowball’s chance in hell for the old guard

Strengths

Pace attack. No doubt about it. Even though the English bowlers are better suited for the swinging pitches back home and in New Zealand, the fast bouncy Australian tracks won’t bother them much either. An attack that would most probably consist of Anderson, Broad and one or two of Jordan, Finn and Bresnan is quite threatening to say the least. Whatever little chance the Englishmen have rests on these shoulders.

Weaknesses

Lack of power hitters. Absolutely no prizes for guessing this one. If Alex Hales does not play, it would mean the onus of power hitting is down to the duo of Morgan and Buttler only, players who come at 5 and 6 respectively. The English team consists of two many ‘traditionalists’ who are unable to step on the gas when required.

Defensive captaincy: Certainly not the first nor last criticism that has been directed at Alastair Cook. Unless the English selectors decide on something drastic, Cook is expected to lead England’s charge at the event. And his ultra-defensive mindset really doesn’t help his bowlers or his team as a whole. Even his own place in the ODI squad remains in question.

Opportunities

In all likelihood they are going to come up head-to-head against the South Africans. And what better an opportunity to play with the mindset of the African nation. It is a well known fact that South Africa have never won a single knock-out match at the ODI World Cup. If England can get under their skins early and evoke fear in their minds, the strength of the squad, potential and game plan of the Proteas becomes null and void.

If they manage to pull off this upset, it would mean playing their next match against either New Zealand (whom they are stronger against on paper) or Pakistan (a team not particularly known for their record outside the subcontinent) and have every chance of sneaking into the finals.

The potential presence of two decent all-rounders (Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali) may encourage them to tweak the current balance of the team.

Threats

The mindset. England simply have to realize this is not the 1980s anymore. The idea of playing out 30-35 overs before launching an attack has become outdated since the turn of this decade, or even milliennium for that matter. Every other team has evolved, but the Brits simply refuse to do so. If they keep playing this way next year, they might as well kiss their chances good-bye.

Probable XI: Cook (c), Hales, Bell/Ballance/Ali, Root, Morgan, Buttler (wk), Stokes/Woakes, Broad, Jordan/Finn/Bresnan, Tredwell, Anderson

Predictions: One-sided quarterfinal defeat against South Africa.

#7 West Indies

The unpredictables

Strengths

Versatility and unpredictability: One look at the West Indian team and you marvel at the versatility in their squad. From Dwayne Smith to Gayle to Dwayne Bravo to Sammy, almost all their players can turn their arm over.

In fact, apart from their wicket-keeper and Darren Bravo, each and every player who played against India in the 2nd ODI last week, are more than decent bowlers, with all of them having at least 75 List A wickets to their name! With such depth also comes extreme unpredictability. (Yo West Indians so unpredictable, their unpredictability level’s too unpredictable!)

The team consists of 11 players who can simply win each and every match on their own on any given day and this gives them an edge over every other team in the tournament, on the basis of potential alone.

Weaknesses

Jack of all trades, master of none: As we stated earlier, their unpredictability can also lead to their downfall. And unfortunantely for the caribbean squad, they more often than not fail to fire collectively. This is probably why they are best at T20 and worst at Tests, for the longest format requires the team to step up as a unit the most and T20 the least.

They hardly have a batsman with consistency akin to maybe Virat Kohli or Michael Clarke and as the format stands, one implosion means you are out of the tournament. Even their fast bowlers are not even anywhere near as good as the other teams.

Opportunities

To cause a few upsets with their flair, class and potential and bust the World Cup wide open, render all predictions moot and predictors stupid. The best thing that works in their favour is that in the current format, three good games win the World Cup and if they bring their A game in these three matches, the scales can tip to their side in a matter of seconds.

Threats

The ‘enjoy-the-game’ attitude. We all know how the men from the Caribbean like to play their cricket. And needless to say, in a tournament like this, players who keep their cool stand out among the pack very easily. But the moment you are ‘over-cool’ and play ‘just for fun’, you lose the competitive edge. Though this attitude served them well in their T20 triumph, expecting to win the 50-over cup this way is a grave mistake.

The aggression we saw in that stunning victory against Australia in the T20 WC earlier this year needs to come to the party for the Windies to stand a chance of regaining glory days.

Probable XI (assuming Narine plays): Gayle, Simmons/ Dyawne Smith, Darren Bravo, Samuels, Ramdin (wk), Dyawne Bravo (c), two of Russell/Sammy/Dyawne Smith, Narine, Rampaul, Roach/Taylor/Santokie

The way this line up is, it means West Indies can play both Simmons and Smith at the expense of either Russell and Sammy given their bowling depth or they could play one of Simmons and Smith and both the all-rounders.

Predictions: Should lose to the Australians in the quarters after giving them a major scare.

#6 Pakistan

The dark horses – now and forever

Strengths

Even a fan newly introduced to cricket can answer this question: bowling. Pakistan have an attack capable of bowling on even the most flat pitches in the world. Spinning tracks? Dial A for Ajmal, or even now with the ace spinner out due to suspect action, Shahid Afridi or Mohammad Hafeez, Zulfiqar Babar or the young Raza Hasan can do the job well. Pace, bounce and swing? You have Umar Gul, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Anwar Ali and Bilawal Bhatti. They are basically suited to bowl on any surface on the face of this earth, even glass.

Weaknesses

Again, no rocket science required to answer this one – Fielding and batting. At times, it seems like the Pakistanis feel they are taking an undue advantage against the opponent by having such a good bowling attack that they just allow a few balls to pass through to compensate for the same! If Pakistan were to have a decent fielding unit, they would save at least 20 runs in a match on average. If they had a brilliant fielding unit, expect the numbers to shoot to 30-35. And generally the matches involving Pakistan have targets in the range of 200-245, and in such matches, a few crucial runs almost always may make or break the game.

Not much can be said about their batting, even more so with their messiah Misbah woefully out of form currently. Though their bowling makes sure the batsmen do not have much to do, their inability to do even that is quite a concern.

Opportunities

With Ajmal almost certain not to play the World Cup, it gives a chance to the plethora of spinners in the Pakistan camp to cement a permanent place in the side and go on to be one of the top spinners in the world. In Ahmed Shehzad and Maqsood, they have two extremely talented batsmen and the team should focus on utilizing their limited batting resources to the maximum possible effect.

Threats

The Team Spirit. With Pakistan having a history of infighting since the beginning of cricket, time has proved that when Pakistan play as a collective team, they go on to achieve great things, may that be Imran Khan’s World Cup triumph in 1992 or the more recent T20 one. If Pakistan don’t manage to play as a team, we might see them blow away faster than a pack of cards.

Another threat that looms over their head is their inexplicable ability to implode; collapse when all seems to be going well. Time and again we have seen Pakistan lose from impossible positions. If Pakistan can plug that hole, they would automatically see more than just one leakage being stopped with it.

Probable XI: Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammed Hafeez, Asad Shafiq/Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Fawad Alam, Misbah-ul-Haq(c), Shoaib Maqsood, Umar Akmal(wk), Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan/Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar/Raza Hasan/Sohail Tanveer, Mohammed Irfan.

It remains to be seen what combination Pakistan opt for considering the pace-friendly conditions of Australia and having two spinning all-rounders in their armoury already.

Predictions: A rather bold one this. Expect New Zealand to play the home condition card to perfection and defeat the team from Asia in a thrilling encounter which will see Pakistan implode again.

#5 Sri Lanka

Chances of winning the World Cup: 11%

Strengths

The big stage team. The saying there are no prizes for second place must be experienced by the Sri Lankan cricket team more than any other team playing any other sport on the face of the Earth. The Sri Lankans have made it to the finals of 5 world cups in the last 7 years, showing consistency similar to the Australian Juggernaut that rolled from 1996 to 2007, only difference being the Lankans faltered 4 times out of 5 in the last hurdle. But, 5 final appearances out of a possible 7 (71%) is inhuman and one sided to say the least. To not expect them to do the same once more will be a foolish to say the least. Indeed, ot is safe to assume the person who discovered the law of averages must have not considered a team like Sri Lanka in his formulation of the law.

Weakness

Lack of depth in the squad: There is a yawning gap in experience beyond the trio of Dilshan, Sanga and Mahela and the next generation of Thirimanne and Chandimal. With Senanayake off the radar for chucking, Herath and Mendis remain their only world class spinning options and Kulasekara and Malinga take the batting department. But here is the problem – In Malinga, Kulasekara, Herath, Matthews, Sanga, Jaya and Dilshan they have 7 world class players. But the fringe ones like Chandimal, Thirimanne, Mendis, Perera, Prasanna et al are nowhere near the class these 7 possess. We have seen the Lankans win countless matches on the back of these 7, but a little more depth and decent players would have made this side all the more formidable.

Opportunities

This is in all likelihood the last world cup Sangakkara, Dilshan and Jayawardene feature in and as mentioned about the depth of the Island nation, it is unlikely that they achieve the same success they have in the last 7 years after the current World Cup. The atmosphere will undoubtedly be pumped up, and the players will be even more motivated as compared to some of the other teams.

Threats

The location of the World Cup. Their strength, the spinners will not account for as much as they would in other conditions, and among their main pacers, Kulasekara relies more on swing than bounce and Malinga basically does not require a pitch at all. Even among the batsmen, barring Sangakkara, the other batsmen have faltered badly when playing in Australia and New Zealand.

Probable XI: Dilshan, Kushal Perera/Tharanga, Sangakkara (wk), Jayawardene, two among Dinesh Chandimal/Thirimanne/Priyanjan/Prasanna, Matthews (c), Thisara Perera, Kulasekara, Herath, Lasith Malinga

Prediction: With bowling being their strength, the prospect of playing in Australia makes them relatively toothless. Expect the Indians to come out on top in the only All-Asian quarter-final.

#4 New Zealand

Is it the year of the Kiwis?

Strengths

Same as the Lankans, they are the big tournament specialists, but they almost always falter one step behind the Asians – the Semi Finals. It might perhaps surprise you that the Kiwis have reached the Semi’s 6 times, a record number for any team in the world. Such consistency makes them strong contenders anywhere in the world.

A player for every occasion. Need world class openers? You have Guptill and Ryder. Need to consolidate? You have Williamson. In fact, more on Williamson a bit later. Need to step up the scoring rate? You have Baz and Ross Taylor. Need to swing it up front? Look no further than Southee and Boult, two of the best exponents of swing the world sees currently (they don’t need to play on the pace and bounce of Australian pitches till the final). Southee then comes back towards the end to bowl some mean yorkers as well, ably supported by McClenaghan. And in James Neesham and Corey Anderson, you have your all-rounder slots filled up as well.

Weaknesses

The inability to play spin. Though the ball does not spin as much down under, their footwork against spin still goes nowhere. Apart from the child prodigy Williamson, none of the other Kiwis look absolutely assured against spin. This might really hamper their chances when (and if) they play against Pakistan in the quarterfinals. Had Ajmal been present, the prediction would have been radically different, but as it stands now, the nation looks set to end the Pakistani dream.

Opportunities

One cannot, simply cannot explain this without quoting the analogy of the superhit movie Se7en. Like the movie, to solve the ‘case’ of winning the World Cup, it requires two main protagonists. One is an old veteran who comes out of semi-retirement and another is a young zealous officer. The roles are obviously played by Dan the man and young Williamson.

Indeed, Daniel Vettori might as well be featuring in the World Cup for the last few international appearances he is ever going to make, while Kane Williamson is one young man capable of achieving dizzying heights in the coming decade. The talking point in the next few weeks will be Vettori’s return to international cricket against Scotland.

It is obvious to expect the former captain to seal his place in the team soon. The presence of Vettori indeed insures 10 miserly overs studded with a wicket or two. Williamson is spotted by pundits and fans alike as one person who will have a great future ahead in all formats of the game. If New Zealand are to stand any chance of making history, a lot hinges on this pair to perform to their billing.

The other obvious opportunity they have is the home conditions. The way the format stands, New Zealand do not have to take the plane to Australia if and until they make the finals. Knowing New Zealand’s stunning record at home and the not-so-good record of the Asian countries there, they seem destined to go deep into the tournament.

Threats

Lack of self belief. The world is looking at New Zealand as possible contenders for the title for the first time, but the more pertinent question is, do they back themselves to be world beaters? Do they believe they can be crowned champions for the first time? As stated earlier, no team has made it to more semifinals than New Zealand. Here’s the thing though – They have lost all 6 of them! Can they remove this mental block and look at the road ahead with an open mind?

Another threat that looms on their head is the fact that they haven't played an ODI since 1st February. It is indeed surprising that they have played so much cricket since then, a series against the Windies, the T20 world cup, but not a single ODI! To not play a match for so long so close to the World Cup is indeed not the most wise thing to do.

Probable XI: This is indeed difficult as New Zealand has not played an ODI for 8 months. Nonetheless, the XI may look something like this:

Ryder, Guptill, Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (c), Corey Anderson, BJ Watling/Ronchi (wk), Neesham/McClenaghan/Milne/, Vettori/McCullum, Southee, Boult

Predictions: Unfortunately, a 7th semifinal loss for New Zealand against the Proteas seems likely.

#3 India

A different story away from home for defending champions

Strengths

Batting. That has been, is and will be India’s forte for the foreseeable future. If you ask any two teams in the world to play an all out 50-over game, if the Indians do not lose wickets, they can score and chase down anything and everything. On paper, based on form, potential, whatever way you put it, even after the retirement of Sachin Tendulkar, India’s batting, in ODI’s has still been right up there.

Fielding: This is close to, if not India’s best fielding unit since their first international match. In Raina, Jadeja, Kohli, Rohit, Rahane and Dhawan, India have got not ony 6 brilliant fielders but also versatile ones. Raina, for example, catches anything and everything in the slips, a rare since the safe pair of Dravid and Laxman bid adieu to cricket, patrols the offside ring like a brave policeman in the powerplay and then positions himself at long off or long on at the fag end of the game to make sure the ones don’t turn into twos and the catches are held safe as houses.

Weaknesses

Bowling: This can be divided into two categories – spin and seam. In Jadeja, Ashwin and Mishra, India do have formidable spin options. The only problem here is that how potent they will be in Australian (continent) conditions and with the new 4 fielders outside the ring rule.

Recent history suggests the Indian spinners have not been at their best abroad, especially Ashwin who will go into the tournament as India’s main tweaker. A lot of work needs to be done if India are to make it their strength in Australia and New Zealand. As for seam, India do have a potent attack, but it is relatively inexperienced. And though Shami and Bhuvi complement each other like Butch and Sundance, the third seamer needs to step up too. We still see our bowlers get bashed up at the fag end of the innings time and again. A lot of work needs to be done to rectify the same.

Lack of experience: India are likely to go into the tournament without as many as four stalwarts – Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj and Harbhajan – available for selection who have played as much as 920 ODIs between them! To put this into perspective, in the first ODI between West Indies and India, the collective experience of the playing XI was 903, 13 lesser than the quartet. It remains to be seen whether the selection of form and potential rather than on past heroics haunts the men in blue or acts as a boon.

Opportunities

The Indian batting camp will be buzzing more than ever. From Dhawan at the top to Jadeja at 7, each player will be itching to write their names into history books. More so, Virat Kohli showed brilliant signs in 2011, and knows fully well this is the World Cup where all eyes will be on him. Can Kohli make this World Cup his own? In tours to both New Zealand and Australia, he has been the standout performer by far, and how deep the Indians go into the tournament depends a lot on how this lad from Delhi goes about with his business.

MS Dhoni knows this is the last 50-over World Cup he plays as captain. Dhoni has won every single tournament there is to win and has already made it into an elite club of captains. But that distinction has come with its share of criticisms. In the sub-continent they said, Dhoni has a great team they said, but a World Cup win here and critics will be silenced for good. This is the carrot. The stick is that if he doesn’t win this, he’s most likely to be stripped from captaincy. Even if the loss comes in the finals. Speculations are rife that Dhoni might quit captaincy as well if India go on to win, but as of now, these are just words in the air.

In Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, India have more potential in the seam department than has ever been since Prasad and Srinath. If they step up, not only will it do their personal careers a world of good, but also make sure India go deep, really deep into the tournament.

Threats

The World Cup is that place where one bad call can cost you the tournament. Hence, getting the team combinations and line-ups right is of utmost importance, more so with the Pandora's box of batsmen. One wrong move like Rohit opening instead of Rahane or vice-versa, playing or not playing two spinners, misreading the pitch might cost the talented Indian bunch a chance to retain the trophy.

The not-so-favourable conditions complete the list. India could not pull off a single win when they toured New Zealand earlier this year nor could they make the finals of the CB series in Australia the last time they set foot there. Barring Kohli, almost all batsmen floundered, the pacers were awry, not being used to the swing and the spin department was not on top either. India really need to get their A-game into it to defend the title.

Probable XI: The top six looks complete with Dhawan, Rahane, Kohli, Rohit, Raina and MS Dhoni. Shami and Bhuvi make 8 certain spots. The remaining three spots will either see two spinners and a pacer, or a lone spinner and two pacers. The contenders for these spots are Jadeja, Ashwin, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav and Varun Aaron. One of Jadeja or Ashwin is 100% certain to play.

Prediction: It has been the heart all the way here. But at one point, the head has to rule the heart. And with a heavy heart, India lose to the Australians in the semi-finals. Kohli is the man of the tournament till then, he gets out early to the Australians. India still give a tough fight, but the Aussies better the Indians and move ahead.

#2 Australia

Final hurdle too big to cross?

Strengths

Where does one begin? They are easily the strongest team on paper and the pundits and bookmakers’ choice for the cup. At the top you have Finch and Warner, easily the most destructive pair in the world. At one drop you have Watson, who needs no introduction. Then comes in Pup, the Aussie captain who just refuses to give his wicket away until it’s time to accelerate.

Speaking of acceleration, who better to do so than Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh and George Bailey? Maxwell, on potential as well as strike rate is easily the most dangerous player in the world at present, and consistency is starting to seep in. Ditto for the younger Marsh. As for Bailey, he makes it to the list of the best players ever as per the ICC rating points, and that is as much as needs to be said.

What if all of them misfire? Oh, no worries, we got Haddin who will take care of any possible collapses, ably supported by Mr. Faulkner who, with a career batting average of over 40 today, might come as low as 8 or 9, speaking volumes about the depth in the Aussie team.

Once the Aussies come to bowl, one bowler will make every opener in the world have a sleepless night – Mitch the menacing. And if the match is at the WACA, there will be nightmares to go with it too. In either Starc or Cummins, they have another fiery quick bowler, both of whom have a bag of variations thanks to T20s. Faulkner, Marsh and Watson complete the pace bowling attack, players who are excellent batsmen but can make the team with their bowling alone. And if it is time for spin, you got the choices of going either left arm with Clarke or right arm with Glenn Maxwell, who, for the record, defended two in the final over by bowling a double-wicket maiden.

In short, the men from down under have the best opening pair, the best all-rounder on potential in the world presently (Watto), one the best middle overs players (Clarke), the best lower order hitter (Maxwell) and most intimidating fast bowler currently in Mitchell Johnson. Enough said.

Weaknesses

None. Nada. Zip. Kuch nai. Try as hard as you can and you still won’t find a chink in this team’s armour. One might argue that they don’t have a world class spinner, but they really don’t need one, not in Australian conditions. If at all a bit of spin is needed, Clarke and Maxi are more than just capable part timers. Nathan Lyon’s recent perforamance in UAE too will do them a world of good.

Opportunities

The home conditions, of course. They never have to make a trip to New Zealand throughout the tournament. From their lowest ebb in India and England, the Aussies have come a long, long way, breaking everything in their path, from the England reverse to beating the South Africans in Africa. But slowly and steadily, loss after loss, a team was being built. A team with no baggage.

It is an open secret that the team was not enjoying the game under Mickey Arthur. But when Boof (Darren Lehmann) took over the reins of the Australian side, we saw a turnaround not only mind blowing but as quick as a flash. The atmosphere was brilliant, the Australians were all over their opponents and the glory days slowly but surely were on their way back. For many, Boof is the coach of the tournament. How he goes about with his business will be the cynosure of all eyes in the days ahead.

Threats

The pressure of playing at home. There are two sides of this coin – Either you make the most of the advantage of playing at home, or buckle up under pressure. The current Australian team is relatively inexperienced and must be wary of this happening at a crucial moment.

As stated earlier, the Australians have no obvious weakness. But the moment they are overconfident of themselves and their abilities, something similar to the lines of the great West Indian downfall of ‘83 will not be too far away. As long as they have their feet firmly on the ground, they will be an incredibly tough proposition.

Another threat they face is the possibility of not fielding their best XI on accouny of injury. As many as 4 players – Watson, Clarke, Marsh and Cummins are not fully fit as of today. But this is not a temporary phenomenon. Marsh has never been fully fit an entire year ever, Watson gets injured more times he is not, Cummins has had a long, long layoff too and Clarke’s back problems did not begin yesterday. It is of utmost importance that this quartet is handled with care as any one of them missing out will severely hamper the team chances.

Probable XI: Warner, Finch, Watson, Clarke (c), Bailey, Maxwell, Haddin (wk), Marsh, Faulkner, Johnson, Starc/Cummins/Richardson.

If Steve Smith performs well in the coming days, the Aussies will be presented with one helluva selection headache. And they could even go for two of Starc, Cummins and Richardson at the expense of Marsh if the situation demands. But the way Marsh is being treated by the Australian team recently, like having him at No.3 in Zimbabwe, it is all but certain he is going to play the World Cup.

#1 South Africa

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Chances of winning the World Cup: 22%

Strengths

The ultimate team spirit. Teammates from all over the world claim they enjoy each other’s success. None of them seem as convincing in doing so as much as the South Africans though. When players like AB de Villiers or Dale Steyn who are not only are widely accepted to be the best in the world at what they do, but also have a huge fan following are so polite, down to earth and thorough team players, one can understand how pleasant the atmosphere is inside the dressing room.

De Villiers scored at a brisk pace to deny Faf a record 4th century in the recently concluded Zimbabwe series. Faf was least bothered and stressed how important the victory was for the team as a whole. And rightly so, the Africans had the chance to a final after a decade, something that would do their confidence as a team a world of good. It would have errupted as a huge controversy in a country like India, but the South African papers did not even mention it, let alone whine about it.

When Dale Steyn plays a prank on a player who is barely of voting age yet, you get the feeling of a team who enjoy being around each other, a team that is filled with superstars but act like mortals.

The two of the best: Even if we brush aside Amla for a second, the men from Africa have in their team the best bowler of this era – Dale Steyn. Yes, Steyn is not only the best fast bowler in the world currently, he is also the best bowler, pace or spin to play in the current generation. And then you have Ab de Villiers, by far the most complete batsman in the history of the game. These are two players who are capable of winning you a world cup on their own, and if they are anywhere near their best, no team can manage to come close. And in Amla they have the patience and cool head badly needed by a team known to ‘choke’ at crucial moments.

Weaknesses

The mental block: Chokers, chokers, chokers. The word South African players have heard so much, they must hate it more than anything else. But what is this all about? Is it the inability to play well in pressure situations? Or experience? Or maybe just a mental block? The Africans have never won a knockout match in the World Cup. To win a cup, they need to win three consecutive ones. But the most difficult of those will be the first one. Can they do it once? Twice? Thrice?

The lack of a genuine all-rounder: Duminy cannot assume the role of an all-rounder in the current world cup conditions. This means the team has to look at either Wayne Parnell or Ryan Mclaren for the all-rounder spot, both no where near their predecessor, Jacques Kallis. For years, the Africans are playing cricket with 12 players against 11, they no longer have that luxury now. At times, the South African batting line up does not look too deep, and one top order collapse may spell doom for their dreams.

Opportunities

There is no better time to quote Ab de Villiers, “I think it's gotten a little bit better over there (Zimbabwe) and it's not the basics, it's turning games around, doing special stuff that I see other teams do. I don't believe we are in the top two fielding teams in the world and you need that in a World Cup." That is quite a lot, coming from one of the best fielder in the world. But the statement shows a never-say-die attitude, one they desperately need in the World Cup.

They have a fairly favorable draw coming to the finals. They will most probably face England and New Zealand (or Pakistan at most), teams they will beat more often than not in general conditions.

The fact that they have their first knockout game agaainst a weak English team will certainly help to instill the confidence to further. Once they win their first, the second and third should be a lot easier.

Needless to add, these conditions and surfaces suit them far more than the sub-continent ones. Also adding to their advantage is the tour to New Zealand and Australia in the coming months, which would provide them with invaluable match practice in WC conditions.

Threats

The Proteas simply have to make sure they don’t hand matches on a platter to their opponents. But that is not all, the Africans should also strive to win from those seemigly lost positions as well. Simply not choking is not the solution, but to make other teams choke is. Once you turn your weakness into your strengths, no target is out of bounds.

Probable XI: Amla, De Kock (wk), Faf du Plesis, Ab de Villiers (c), JP Duminy, David Miller, McLaren/Parnell, Dale Steyn, Morkel, Tsosobe, Philander/Tahir/Phangiso/Peterson.

Whether they play a spinner or an extra pacer remains to be seen.

Prediction: Lift the world cup in sensational fashion, AB de Villiers is the man of the tournament, and the Africans finally get rid of the 15 year old tag by beating the team that started it all way back in 1999 – The Aussies.