World cup 07 is just days away and I have got myself into writing something on each team and how it might fare..An essay on the topic that every newspaper is sure to ration within the next few days.. The worldcup 07 edition is the first one to be played through the isles of the country with which one can closely associate the history of world cup cricket. The first time, the carribean isles is going to host any competition involving more than 2 cricketing nations.This itself makes it an interesting world cup to watch out for..And all tourists must have a hectic time because their wallets must carry separateVisas for each atoll . And now let me get into the cricket part fo it..

Of the teams that are going to compete, Aussies have had the feel of champions thrice(1987,99,2003), West indies twice(1975,79), Asian trio of India(1983),Pakistan(1992) and Srilanka(1996) once each. Now let me get into each of these teams:

Australia:
To avoid any bias, I thought of choosing alphabetic order.. alas!..Even in that case oz’ come first. They are an able outfit and have a bright chance of taking their third straight wc if pundits who say ‘pitches and playing conditions are not that important factors’ are to be believed. The aussies, in the recent past have struggled even against a mediocre WI lineup for snatching victories here.Also their hottest humiliations against England and Newzealand in 2007 have reduced the monotony that surrounded around the view of the world on who the champions are going to be.Chances – STRONG..

England:
They are the heroes of the anti Australia faction after their spectacular clinch of the commonwealth bank series against Australia. England has Freddie Flintoff, and the latest hero Collingwood in their favour. But someone like Harmison will not like to bowl in conditions such as in WI. Also, the batting looks a bit weak with the absence of nostalgic Trescothick and the terribly out of form Strauss. The shadow of the Viv,Kevin pietersen s return will cheer the poms to some extent. Their confidence is on a high. CHANCES – MODERATE.

India:
As expected, Indians thwarted West indies and Srilanka in its warm up series’ leading to the wc. With this, they ve reiterated the fact that Indians are Heroes inside their den. Now they have a daunting task in proving the saying “Indians struggle when they have their passports in their dressing rooms!!” wrong. The positive for India is the resemblance of the carribean conditions to the native conditions. Also, the batting lineup for India is rock solid. Now with the return of Sourav Ganguly, the batting looks even more stronger. For such an inexperienced bowling lineup , this tour will surely give a lot of knowledge and exposure to international cricket. The whole MASS of India will look forward to the trio of Sourav, Sachin and Dravid to explode with some last moment whirlpool from Dhoni s club..sorry Bat?.. CHANCES – STRONG.

New Zealand:


They were unlucky to have got out of the Commonwealth series,for, they played some absorbing cricket there.Then they had their can of beer after kicking the butt of the touring Aussies. With a 3-0 whitewash against their trans tasman rivals, their confidence would have rocketed. But the problem that was/is/will be for NZ has been the fact that they don’t have legends in their side. One can expect Bond, Vettori,Fleming and the latest Taylor and Fulton to deliver. CHANCES – MODERATE.

Pakistan:


The Pakistanis are the unpredictable bunch. They played like a sinusoid in the recent series at SA. And they always ve been playing cricket that way. With abundant talent and run machines in the form of Inzy and Yousuf , this side has a lot to prove. They ve batted very well recently in WI. If the injury worries are out of place , Asif is a promising youngster to watch out for. CHANCES – MODERATE.

South Africa:


If Gods have sentiment, this wc is going to be theirs!. They suffered the worst of D/L method when they were blatantly defeated by stupidity in 92 edition. Then there was the famous tie that sent them out of wc 1999 after zulu s heroics. In the 2003 edition it was D/L again that sent them out..But this time instead of d/l s’ it was Boucher’s stupidity and lethargy in crossing ends for a single. The positive for SA has been their good solid performances in their home series’. Now they are the official No. 1 ODI team. And going by statistics and law of probability,they have a good chance. CHANCES- STRONG.

SriLanka:


The team has the right combination of 15 for playing in the conditions of the land of coconuts. Utility players are the key for srilanka. They can tackle and restrict the opposition in the middle overs with one end held by Mutthiah the bamboozler. Jayasuriya seems to be at his best after his comeback will be an important factor.Sangakkara, dilshan are fellows to watch out for. Vaas will be handy as well. The major worry is the batting form of Captain mahela and former skipper Atapattu. CHANCES – STRONG.

West Indies:


Brian lara s host team has its best chance into the world cup because of the very reason that it is HOSTING the event. All factors that can aid any nation at home will be positives for WI and would be negative for the other sides. The talents like Bravo , Samuels will aid the experienced Prince lara, Passionate chndrpaul and Sarwan. The bowling department is not as penetrating as the ones that WI have had in the past. But it is n t bad either. CHANCES – MODERATE.