Time for the big show

Since 1975, the World Cup cricket has entertained, disappointed and shocked us. What its latest edition in the Antipodeans will offer? Madhu Jawali takes a look. 

When Australia and New Zealand jointly hosted the World Cup in 1992, nine teams participated in an all-play-all format before the semifinalists were spotted. The small number of teams allowed that luxury for the organisers. As the quadrennial event returns to the trans-Tasman nations after a long gap of 23 years, the number of teams has swelled to 14. The 1992 event was the first World Cup for South Africa after their return to international cricket while the war-stricken Afghanistan make their debut this time after qualifying for the Cup.     

The 1992 carnival revolutionised cricket in more ways than one. Coloured clothing, white balls, black sightscreen, among many other things, were introduced for the first time in the World Cup that was to change the image of one-day cricket. The latest version has not much innovation to offer but cricket promises to be exciting. The Pakistan-England final at the MCG in 1992 was witnessed by a full-house audience. These days even matches involving Australia don’t fill half the stadium. One-day cricket has lost its sheen over the years in this part of the world and hopefully the World Cup will revive the 50-over format as it did four years ago in India where even matches played between minnows attracted big crowds.       

That India won the title after playing some exciting cricket was the perfect icing on the cake. Egged on by the home support India strived and thrived. Four years on, however, things don’t look that rosy. Two new balls, faster pitches, high bounce, longer boundaries, spinners becoming ineffective… Australia have always been a tough country to tour for the Indian cricket team. Save the odd Test wins, a memorable victory in the World Championship of Cricket in the distant 1985 and a tri-series triumph in 2009, India don’t have too many fond memories of travelling Down Under.

After a gruelling Test and tri-series, where they didn’t manage a single win, India have shown few glimpses of successfully defending the title they won in Mumbai in front of their adoring fans. India’s bowlers inspire little confidence while their batting, their main strength, hasn’t come along on expected lines; except of course against Afghanistan in a warm-up match. Shikhar Dhawan appears to be suffering from lack of confidence while Virat Kohli’s sequence of runs -- 9, 4, 3 n.o., 8, 18 and 5 – in the last six innings after a stupendous Test series has become a major headache. With the middle-order a bit wobbly, skipper MS Dhoni doesn’t know how to approach his innings. He is caught between anchoring and accelerating the innings and in the process he hasn’t done either of the jobs in a convincing manner.

All these issues don’t bode well for a team which is just two days away from kicking off its campaign. India’s position isn’t too dissimilar to that of Australia’s when they came to India in 2011 for the defence of their title. With Ricky Ponting not in the best of his batting form, Australia wore an uncertain look to them and it wasn’t long before they were sent packing by India in the quarterfinals in Ahmedabad. Australia, this time, are one of the strong favourites to win the trophy though and not in the last least because the conditions favour them more than anyone else.

Australia’s build up to the tournament has been impressive despite the uncertainty over skipper Michael Clarke’s availability and the controversy surrounding it. Though the middle order looks a bit suspect with stand-in skipper George Bailey struggling for form, they have enough firepower at the top and great depth lower down the order which was in full show during their triumphant tri-series campaign. Australia also possess one of the best bowling attacks in the competition while their fielding is top class.

Having failed to make it beyond the group stage in 1992 under Allan Border, Australia will be hoping to go all the way at their home bash as would be their co-hosts New Zealand. With the Kiwis playing at home, possibly till the semifinals, they are expected to create history. Under Martin Crowe, New Zealand had crashed out in the semifinals against the run of play to eventual champions Pakistan and there will be few eyebrows raised if they end up holding aloft the trophy at the MCG on March 29. Brendon McCullum and company have enjoyed perhaps the best year in their cricketing history winning in all climes and conditions and they will be keen to extend their dream run for another one and half months.

If New Zealand are the perennial dark horses, South Africa are the permanent favourites and this time it’s no different. The AB de Villiers-led side is functioning like a well-oiled machine with all the bases covered. With the best winning record for a visiting team in the trans-Tasman nations in the last few years, the Proteas will be hoping to shed their chokers’ tag. Boasting arguably the best bowling attack and the most explosive batting line-up, South Africa’s biggest challenge will be to conquer their own inner demons. No amount of experience has seemed enough for them to overcome that mental block in the past and it will be interesting to see if de Villiers brings forth that change.

While there’s certain predictability to South Africa’s performances in major ICC events, there appears no pattern as to how Pakistan go about their job. Seemingly out for the count, the Imran Khan-led side rose like the proverbial phoenix to annex their maiden and only World Cup by beating England in the final in 1992. Pakistan are not among the strong favourites to do an encore but it will come as hardly anything surprising if they join the West Indies, Australia and India as repeat winners. There is also a small matter of ending their losing streak – which stands at five now – to India when the sub-continental rivals clash on February 15 in Adelaide in front of a sell-out crowd.           
                    
Another sub-continental team, Sri Lanka, can also be considered strong contenders given the wealth of experience and young talent at their possession. With this World Cup going to be a swansong for two of their finest batsmen – Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene – there is an extra incentive for the Lankans to give it their all. Lasith Malinga’s fitness will be crucial for the islanders on these wickets.

The extra zip in the squares pitchforks England also to the fore. With perhaps the most versatile pace attack at their disposal and some genuine match-winners with the bat, England can fancy their chances of slaying final jinx having lost on three previous occasions – 1979, 1987 and 1992. Since their 1983 final humbling at the hands of India, West Indies’ fortunes have seen steady decline in World Cup and with the current pay turmoil that has seen two of their key one-day players dropped – Dwayne Bravo, Keiran Pollar – it remains to be seen how they summon their best under new captain Jason Holder.  

The format, where 14 teams are divided into two groups, more or less ensures the passage of big teams to the knockouts but the event would do with a surprise here by an Ireland and a shock there by a Bangladesh.

11th WORLD CUP, 11 LITTLE KNOWN FACTS

1. After having played three World T20 tournaments, the war-torned Afghanistan will make their 50-over World Cup debut in this edition.

2. When the MCG hosts the grand final on March 29, it will become the second venue after Lord’s (London) to host more than one final.

3. Hamilton Masakadza, at the age of 31, will be the oldest debutant in this World Cup.

4. Hosts New Zealand have the second worst win-loss ratio (1.38-40 wins and 29 loss) among the top eight Test playing World Cup teams.

5. The matches will be played across time zones spanning six hours. New Zealand's matches will be played three hours ahead of parts of the east coast of Australia. Sydney is three hours ahead of Perth in Western Australia at that time of year.

6. UAE’s Khurram Khan is the only player to have scored a century for his country (132). At 43, he also became the oldest player ever to score a ton.

7. Mahela Jayawardene and Shahid Afridi hold the record of playing in most number of World Cups (five) among players of this edition.

8. Kumar Sangakkara (13693) and Mahela Jayawardene (12525) – the Sri Lankan duo enter the World Cup as the leading run-getters in ODIs among the current players.

9. Australia, who have won the World Cup for the most number of times (4), have never won it on their home soil.

10. The global television viewership for the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand is expected to be one billion.

11. The Indian-origin Yodhin Punja of United Arab Emirates, who is 15, is the youngest player of this edition.