5 World Cup Matches to look forward to in the week of 23 Feb-1 March

We are just over a week into the Cricket World Cup, and things are heating up. The coming week sees a number of tight contests which could be crucial in determining which teams advance out of the group stages. Things could go either way with a couple of lucky bounces, and some of these are too close to call. As the group stages progress, we can get a better idea of which of these teams have the best shot at taking the trophy home. Here is a look at 5 matches to look forward to in the coming week.

#1 Australia vs New Zealand - 28th February

Australia vs New Zealand: Pool A, 28 February – 6:30 AM IST

Of the ten World Cups thus far, New Zealand has advanced to the semi finals six times. They have a history of prolific performances. But Australia has been the most prolific team in the Cricket World Cup over the years, having won the trophy 4 times (1987, 1999, 2003 and 2007). They will be looking to add another to their mantle in 2015.

New Zealand stands as the only team to have played and won all 3 games in the group stages in the 2015 World Cup. They have defeated Sri Lanka by 98 runs, Scotland by 3 wickets with 151 balls remaining, and England by 8 wickets with 226 balls remaining. They are riding on a wave of confidence and will be looking to blow past Australia but it will be no easy task.

Australia have won against England by 111 runs and had their match vs Bangladesh abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain. As of 21st February, Australia is leading Group A with New Zealand being 2nd.

Brendon McCullum, New Zealand captain said, “On paper, I think it's without doubt the strongest team I've certainly been involved with going into a World Cup. But World Cups aren't won on paper. It will be interesting to see how we go, but we've got a very level bunch of people within the group. We've got a lot of guys who are very humble and level on their emotions and that helps you to be able to deal with some of the pressures which come on.”

It will be interesting to see which team comes out on top in this contest featuring two of the best teams in the World Cup.

#2 England vs Sri Lanka - 1st March

England vs Sri Lanka: Pool A, 1st March – 3:30 AM IST

England find themselves in a precarious position. They have played 2 matches and have lost both. Along with Pakistan, they are the only team to have played 2 matches and having lost both. They lost by 8 wickets to New Zealand and by 111 runs to Australia.

Sri Lanka have just played one match in the group stages thus far, vs New Zealand which they lost by 98 runs. Since 1996 Sri Lanka have had 3 finals appearances. Currently, they boast of Mathews and Sangakkara who have both finished as the best ODI batsmen of 2014. They will be looking to bury England further.

#3 England vs Scotland - 23rd February

England vs Scotland: Pool A, 23rd February – 3:30 AM IST

Scotland have lost their first match vs New Zealand by 3 wickets. Going by the record of Ian Wardlaw having climbed Mt. Everest, maybe they can call that loss a win. “When he first played for Scotland he did a little Q&A and put it there as a joke and our media manager was guilty of putting it online. The ICC have taken a liking to that and it has been published all over the world,” said Scotland captain Preston Mommsen.

Whether Scotland can call having decided against independence from the United Kingdom a win or not remains to be seen. There will surely be some remnants of that decision coming into play when Scotland plays England.

Scotland assistant coach Paul Collingwood has said of this upcoming contest, “There's real confidence and belief we can get a win. The guys are getting closer and closer against international opposition. We fought all the way to the end against New Zealand and it was only a three-wicket margin and we should have won against the West Indies the week before so we're getting there. That's going to be an amazing feeling if we can get that first-ever World Cup win under our belt, there's no better time than against England. That would mean so much to Scottish cricket.”

#4 South Africa vs West Indies - 27th February

South Africa vs West Indies: Pool B, 27th February – 9:00 AM IST

South Africa defeated Zimbabwe by 62 runs and West Indies have won one and lost one match in their group stages. They won against Pakistan by 150 runs and they lost to Ireland by 4 wickets. West Indies so thoroughly defeated Pakistan that it prompted Shoaib Akhtar to proclaim that Misbah-Ul-Haq is “irresponsible” and “selfish”.

AB De Villiers will be looking forward to this particular contest. It was against West Indies that he scored the fastest One Day International Century off of just 31 balls. He hit 16 sixes.

Graeme Smith, Former South Africa captain, said, “I know that the current squad are good enough to win this year’s tournament and I expect that they will go deep. I am hoping that come 29 March 2015, this team will have a new tag of ‘the history-makers’.” That may well be the case here.

#5 West Indies vs Zimbabwe - 24th February

West Indies vs Zimbabwe: Pool B, 24th February – 9:00 AM

Zimbabwe has won against UAE by 4 wickets and they lost to South Africa by 62 runs. “Our team is well capable of making the Super Eights at this World Cup which is our objective. We can achieve that by winning at least three of our group stage games and that’s exactly what we are going to try and do,” said Dav Whatmore. Having dropped one match they will be eager to get this one under their belt.

Both West Indies and Zimbabwe have played 2 matches, and both have won one and lost one match. This match can prove to be crucial in deciding which team moves on from the final stages.

Zimbabwe will look for a strong performance from Solomon Mire. “Those conditions (in Australia and New Zealand) will favour him,” Hamilton Masakadza said of Mire “He has been away playing in Australia, he has only come back now to play with us again so that's another big positive for us. He has had a very good start in his international career, looking forward to him."