WORLD CUP 2011

AUSTRALIA SQUAD

o Ricky Ponting (c)
o Michael Clarke (vc)
o Doug Bollinger
o Brad Haddin (wk)
o John Hastings
o Nathan Hauritz
o David Hussey
o Michael Hussey
o Mitchell Johnson
o Brett Lee
o Tim Paine (wk)
o Steven Smith
o Shaun Tait
o Shane Watson
o Cameron White

Many would believe that Aussies, after thrashing England 6-1 in the recently concluded one day series, are once again back to their winning ways and are strong contenders for the World cup. Well, the absence of Ricky Ponting from the dressing room, a fresh captain and comeback of the once, world's best fast bowler are a few factors that played a very significant role in Australia winning the series.The fact that the Australian selectors have stuck with Ponting as the captain for this tournament might augur well for the other teams!

Brett Lee is the key member of this squad and Australia have raised their chances a notch by bringing him back in the scheme of things. Australia have a chance of making it to the semi finals if Lee fires on all cylinders. Hussey brothers form a dangerous pair in the middle order well supported by the perilous White, whose match winning abilities are no secret.
The emergence of Shane Watson as a run scoring machine in the opener's role is due to give all bowlers some headache.A couple of major weak links present themselves though.The first has to be their spin bowling as in sub continent conditions, two good spinners are a must in a side.In Lee,Tait,Bollinger and Johnson, they have one of the best fast bowling line up but to stand the test of sub continental conditions will be a knotty task without quality spin bowling. The other weak link is the captain himself! Out of form with the bat and out of mind since ages, he is one man who ensures an Australian defeat like no other!


BANGLADESH SQUAD

o Shakib Al Hasan (c)
o Tamim Iqbal (vc)
o Abdur Razzak
o Imrul Kayes
o Junaid Siddique
o Mahmudullah
o Mohammad Ashraful
o Mushfiqur Rahim (wk)
o Naeem Islam
o Nazmul Hossain
o Raqibul Hasan
o Rubel Hossain
o Shafiul Islam
o Shahriar Nafees
o Suhrawadi Shuvo

Given the sub continental conditions, much is anticipated off Bangladesh than merely filling up the group space! But for them to come good, they would have to perform well as a team instead of relying on individual performances.

In Shakib Al Hasan, they have a very good all rounder and undoubtedly, he is the key member for Bangladesh. Tamim Iqbal is a dangerous top order batsman and the onus to provide Bangladesh with a quick start shall be on him along with Shahriar Nafees, a solid opening batsman, expected to play the anchor role.On his day, Mohammad Ashraful may prove to be more than a handful for bowlers especially in friendly conditions but his discrepant exploits have meant that he has failed to deliver as much as he promised.

Bangladesh will depend on Shafiful Islam to give them early breakthroughs and on Abdur Razzak, their lead spinner, to keep up the pressure on the opposition batsmen.


ENGLAND SQUAD

o Andrew Strauss (c)
o James Anderson
o Ian Bell
o Tim Bresnan
o Stuart Broad
o Paul Collingwood
o Eoin Morgan
o Kevin Pietersen
o Matt Prior (wk)
o Ajmal Shahzad
o Graeme Swann
o James Tredwell
o Jonathan Trott
o Luke Wright
o Michael Yardy

Thrashed by the Aussies in the recent one day series, the current Ashes winners shall start as no more than under dogs for the tournament.Irrespective of their recent one day record, England have not managed to do exceedingly well in the sub continental conditions.

Kevin Pieterson and Eoin Morgan are the key men for the English team.In Strauss, they have a stable opener backed by the technically sound Trott.But its the way KP dictates terms in the middle overs and Eoin Morgan stupors the finishing touches that shall determine the fate of the English side. The weak link of this team is their fast bowling attack comprising of Anderson, Bresnan and Broad as it is sure to face an acid test in the trying sub continental conditions.
The performances of spin attack (Swann and Shahzad) shall go a long way in ascertaining the impact of this side on the tournament.


INDIA SQUAD

o MS Dhoni (c/wk)
o Virender Sehwag (vc)
o Ravichandran Ashwin
o Piyush Chawla
o Gautam Gambhir
o Harbhajan Singh
o Zaheer Khan
o Virat Kohli
o Praveen Kumar
o Ashish Nehra
o Munaf Patel
o Yusuf Pathan
o Suresh Raina
o Sachin Tendulkar
o Yuvraj Singh

The strong favorites to win the tournament, India go in with a forward-looking and imperturbable leader in Dhoni and a batting line up, envy of every other team in the competition.The fact that conditions are expected to suit the Indian bowlers makes them the leading contendor for the World Cup.

The key member is, as always has been, Sachin Tendulkar. Perhaps his last World Cup, Sachin is expected to come all guns blazing. 21 years of international experience means that he knows more than anyone else when to keep the head down and accumulate and then, shift the gears and take the bowling apart.In Virendra Sehwag, he has a devastating opener to accompany him to the crease followed by the like of Raina, Kohli, Yuvraj and Dhoni.In Praveen, Zaheer and Nehra, India have a "medium pace" attack well suited to the conditions aptly backed up by Harbhajan.

The weakest link of the team is the lack of a fast bowling all rounder, though it may not present itself in the tournament given the advantage the home team enjoys in these conditions.
Watch out for Sachin Tendulkar, as no ball shall ever be played in the same manner again! :)


NEW ZELAND SQUAD

o Daniel Vettori (c)
o Hamish Bennett
o James Franklin
o Martin Guptill
o Jamie How
o Brendon McCullum (wk)
o Nathan McCullum
o Kyle Mills
o Jacob Oram
o Jesse Ryder
o Tim Southee
o Scott Styris
o Ross Taylor
o Kane Williamson
o Luke Woodcock

New Zeland shall consider themselves lucky enough even if they make the cut to the semi finals. A team comprising mainly of tit-bit players, New Zeland is heavily dependent on their captain in almost all the departments of cricket!

Jesse Ryder has to be the key member and the player to watch out for! His phenomenal record in the sub continent means New Zeland shall rely on him to provide them with unswerving starts at the top order.Ross Taylor and Scott Styris for a good pair for the middle order followed by Jacob Oram. Lack of consistent performances and the penchant of delivering lesser than potential is the weakest link of this team.

Also, absence of a quality bowling attack makes things exceedingly difficult as not much is expected from the likes of Southee, Franklin and Nathan in these conditions.


SOUTH AFRICA SQUAD

o Graeme Smith (c)
o Hashim Amla
o Johan Botha
o AB de Villiers (wk)
o Jean-Paul Duminy
o Faf du Plessis
o Imran Tahir
o Colin Ingram
o Jacques Kallis
o Morne Morkel
o Wayne Parnell
o Robin Peterson
o Dale Steyn
o Lonwabo Tsotsobe
o Morne van Wyk (wk)

Perhaps the strongest challenger for the World cup outside the sub continent, South Africa boast of a formidable line up consisting of top batsmen, great all rounders and a fiery pace attack.
In Smith and Amla, they have one of the most delivering opening combination backed up by the world's best all rounder, Kallis. AB De Villiers proves more than a handful on his day and South Africa will count on him and Duminy to soldier in the middle overs.

The key members for this team are Kallis and Amla.If these two get going, it shall be very hard to stop South Africa from surging forward. Morne Morkel and Dale steyn are sure to keep opposition batsmen sleepless though will they deliver consistently in the sub continental conditions remains to be seen. The weakest link is the lack of a finshing all rounder and the absence of Albie Morkel is bound to deter their chances of winning the conpetition.
Also, their spin attack may not be able to keep up the pressure built up by the fast bowlers early on and thus, they may loose the initiative in the middle overs.


SRI LANKA SQUAD

o Kumar Sangakkara (c/wk)
o Mahela Jayawardene (vc)
o Tillakaratne Dilshan
o Dilhara Fernando
o Rangana Herath
o Chamara Kapugedera
o Nuwan Kulasekara
o Lasith Malinga
o Angelo Mathews
o Ajantha Mendis
o Muttiah Muralitharan
o Thisara Perera
o Thilan Samaraweera
o Chamara Silva
o Upul Tharanga

A very strong contender of winning the world cup, Sri Lanka is a team to watch out for. They have perhaps the most arguable legal bowling attack, comprising of Muralitharan and Malinga, also their key members.Jayawardene has to open the innings to provide Sri Lanka with a better chance. A fine all rounder in Angelo Mathews provides a stable look to the side.The weakest link is the lack of a hard hitting finisher. Also, the persistence of the selectors with Kapugedera and the stubborn decision to keep Chandimal out of the squad may very well backfire.

Finally, lack of a thinking and innovative captain might see Sri Lanka struggle in the last leg of the competition.


WEST INDIES SQUAD

o Darren Sammy (c)
o Adrian Barath
o Carlton Baugh (wk)
o Sulieman Benn
o Dwayne Bravo
o Darren Bravo
o Shivnarine Chanderpaul
o Chris Gayle
o Nikita Miller
o Kieron Pollard
o Ravi Rampaul
o Kemar Roach
o Andre Russell
o Ramnaresh Sarwan
o Devon Smith

Perhaps the most fragile and enervate team in the tournament, the current West Indian side and the state of their cricket is best represented by their captain himself who is, by no means, a captaincy material! One of the worst fielding side of the competition, West Indies lack a quality spinner as well.

Gayle is the key member. Pollard may turn it around for them but he may be expecting to find himself in a defensive role more often than not owing to quick fall of wickets at the top!!
Chanderpaul provides stability to the batting. They hardly have any bowler to talk off! The decision of selectors to ignore the likes of Jerome Taylor, Tino Best,Darren Ganga, Lindel Simmons and Fidel Edwards means West Indies shall be fighting for survival right from the word go!


ZIMBABWE SQUAD

o Elton Chigumbura (c)
o Regis Chakabva
o Charles Coventry
o Graeme Cremer
o Craig Ervine
o Greg Lamb
o Shingirai Masakadza
o Tino Mawoyo
o Chris Mpofu
o Ray Price
o Ed Rainsford
o Tatenda Taibu (wk)
o Brendan Taylor
o Prosper Utseya
o Sean Williams

A team that could pull up an upset or two in the initial stages of the competition, Zimbabwe may do well to make the competition more interesting in the group stages!
On their day, match winners like Coventry et al can make a punch and raise a few surprised eye brows. In Utseya and Price, they have a good spin attack while Taylor looks after the all round department.Something as dramatic as reaching the semi final of the competition is not what is associated with this team.

Other than these, Ireland is a team to watch out for their shear commitment and passion towards the game.