The most open of World Cups

The most open of World Cups

It is being described as the most open World Cup in the competition’s short history. While the last four tournaments always began with the fair speculation on who would face Australia in the final, this year’s tournament has no clear favourite.

The current edition of the tournament is really a three-way throng of a race between South Africa, India and Australia.

Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka are the dark horses of the tournament.

Of course, if you had to put money on one team – as in – if you were hung upside down, a gun placed to your head and forced to make a bet – Team India would probably be your best option.  

Boasting the most powerful batting order in world cricket today, stretching luxuriously from the experience of Sachin Tendulkar at the top, to the brutal hitting of Yusuf Pathan protecting the tail, India could quite literally bat any team out of the tournament.

Unlike Test cricket, bowling a side out in one day internationals (ODI) is inconsequential, but having the expert bowling skills of Zaheer Khan and Harbajan Singh certainly can help the cause.

Add the legions of fans shouting, dancing and screaming India to victory and you realise that it will take a monstrous performance to defeat them, arguably, the most balanced team at this year's tournament.

Despite being much vaunted as the most disciplined team and the biggest threat to Australia’s crown over the past decade, South Africa have been perennial under-achievers at the World Cup.

A tryst with destiny is what the previous squads announced, but there has been little talk from the Proteas this time round.

There is a quiet confidence about the South African team that opponents would understand to be a statement of purpose.

They are tired of the choker label, even more tired with their inability to perform on the big stage. With Dale Steyn leading the attack, Hashim Amla and the AB de Villiers forming the nucleus of the middle order, and with a fielding unit most teams can only dream off, South Africa do make a good case for this year's tourny.

But don’t hold your breath.

Meanwhile, Australia, without the spectacular talents that defined them in past competitions, will still shine, especially as they attempt to exert their winning habit on a tournament they have become well accustomed to winning.

When you consider that the Aussies have featured at the finals of the past four tournaments, of which they have won the three - that too consecutively - ruling them out would be delusional. 

That brings us then to Pakistan, England and Sri Lanka.

Little is known of Shahid Afridi’s men; a mix of youth and experience with only a handful of big names is unlikely to send shivers down a seasoned cricketer’s spine.

But then, this unpredictability is what has always made Pakistan dangerous. They might lose every game, even catch a thrashing to Canada along the way. On the other hand, they might just outclass the likes of Australia. In fact, Pakistani cricket's inconsistency is known to have turned decent cricket lovers into quivering crack addicts.

England, on the other hand, make peculiar dark horses. As the recent thrashing they experienced at the hands of Australia Down Under suggests, the English team cannot be regarded as serious contenders for the crown. They depend far too much on cloudy days and James Anderson’s swing bowling to work in sync with their powerful but rather brittle middle order. Though they are the World Twenty20 holders, you get the feeling they haven’t quite figured out the right game plan, nor have they struck the right player combination for this format of the game. It is safe to say that a win over India, South Africa or Australia would be considered an upset.

Similar ideas rotate around the destiny of Sri Lanka at this tournament. Though adored by their own, cricket fans across the globe seem to have forgotten that it was Romesh Kaluwitharana and Sanath Jayasuriya who changed the face of ODI batting, some 15 years ago, with their antics at the top of the order. Back then, batsmen used to scratch around at the top of the innings, and hit the pedal only after the 35th over. The pair came out guns blazing at the 1996 tournament and ignited a new style of stroke play in ODI cricket.

It is also probably worth remembering that the last time the tournament was played in South Asia, the islanders completed a series of upsets, including thumping India out of the semis and then Australia in the final. The current team may not be the team of the nineties, but Kumar Sangakkara and his merry men remember all too well what the victory meant to the Sri Lankan people. You can expect a lot of heart from these lads.

That the tournament is open for any one of the big teams to make their mark is only one part of the story. The other, more remarkable story to watch develop is the extent to which this tournament brings sexy back to ODI cricket.

The last tournament in the West Indies was probably among the most forgettable in the history of the sport.

The games were clumsy, the teams lethargic, and the competition itself culminated together into a boring charade that turned even the most loyal fans into disinclined cynics.  Many were concerned that the tournament's inability to capture the imagination of cricket lovers signalled an untimely death to the ODI cricket. 

But with interest in the Indian Premier League (IPL) approaching new levels of formulaic boredom itself - even if the red-bull injected cocktail continues to lure new viewers, short-skirts and television revenues, all it will it take is one good tournament in South Asia - the heart of the modern game - to keep the more slower burning appetite for the game alive. Or not?

Only time will tell.