Frantic Betting Kicks Off World Cup Of Cricket

Bookies expected heavy betting at the start of the World Cup of Cricket but they weren't ready for one of the biggest bets in the history of this tournament, when a punter from the North of England wagered a staggering £82K that India will win.

Ladbrokes reported that the single bet come in on Thursday night. What makes it even more surprising is that the wager was made so early in the competition.

"This is one of the largest single bets in one-day cricket we've taken," said Alex Donohue of Ladbrokes. "One of the largest in any sport, outside of football and horse racing."

Traditionally, bets of around £10 - £20 are made on the outcome of the tournament, although higher bets are not unusual. However, for a single player to wager such a high amount is almost unheard of.

Should India win, the mysterious bettor stands to make himself a cool £246,000!

Betting action is high on the World Cup of Cricket, and bookies say that there is support for most teams.

Strangely, the English team is being shunned, despite its recent Ashes victory.

India are the current favourites to win the World Cup with odds of 3/1, followed by Sri Lanka, South Africa and Australia.

Bookies hope to take in around £10 million worth of bets by the end of the tournament.

"In games like the World Cup, you tend to get more bets as the matches progress," explained Rupert Adams, speaking for William Hill.

In praise of the Cricket World Cup's nine-to-five heroes

STICKING UP FOR THE LITTLE GUY

When the winning runs had been hit Peter Borren fell to his knees, disconsolate. He looked like a man who had lost something much more precious than a game of cricket. Ravi Bopara allowed himself a quick grin, then simply tucked his bat under his arm and trotted briskly from the pitch, pausing only to exchange a perfunctory fist-thump with Paul Collingwood. As embarrassed as they would have been had they lost, England's players felt that win far less than the Dutch did their defeat. It was only a group match after all, the first of many. For England it was just another game. For the Netherlands it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, as the respective reactions of Borren and Bopara showed.

In 2015 the ICC will sling the Associate nations out of the World Cup, or at least, that is their plan. The competition will be pared down to 10 teams. While the horrendously one-sided turkey shoots like the shocker between New Zealand and Kenya last Sunday will not be missed, the World Cup will still lose more than it gains from that cut-back. It is the length of this competition that needs to be trimmed, not the breadth.

While the best of the Associate players are able to earn a living through the playing the game, a lot of them are still amateurs, men who have to take time off from their nine-to-five lives to play in this World Cup. Watching these guys play is half the fun of the thing.

Take Seren Waters, who, as I type this, is walking out to open the batting for Kenya against Shoaib Akhtar. Waters is a decent player, on the books at Surrey, but he is also just a 20-year-old university student, trying to keep up with a degree course in human geography at Durham in between his innings. He missed so many lectures while he has been training with Kenya this winter that he got in all sorts of trouble with his tutors, who insisted that he took a week off to return to his studies.

Or Ashish Bagai, the captain of Canada. Until his national board gave him a full-time contract in 2009, Bagai was working 14-hour days as an investment banker for UBS in the city of London. Mudassar Bukhari, who opened the bowling for the Netherlands against England, manages a branch of Burger King in The Hague. Bernard Loots, who finished that innings off, is an accountant for a mining firm.

Fans can empathise with people like these. They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things, not well-paid professionals going through the motions of another day's work, a throw-back to the amateur age. That was the difference between the emotions shown by Borren and Bopara.

The Associates provide all the cult heroes. I don't know about you, but the only time the earth really moved for me in the 2007 tournament was when Dwayne 'Sluggo' Leverock took that slip catch to dismiss Robin Uthappa. Partly that was because the reverberations from his fall rumbled right across the Atlantic to my front room in London, but it was also because he was a 20-stone club cricketer who lived above a curry house doing something truly spectacular on a world stage. His catch gave hope to the very worst of us. And for all the crowing about the longevity of the likes of Muttiah Muralitharan, Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar, what about the indestructible Steve Tikolo? He was persuaded to come out of retirement at the age of 40 to play in this, his fifth World Cup. Tikolo looked "too old for this shit" way back in 2007. His is the most creaky-kneed comeback since Danny Glover did Lethal Weapon 4.

And unlike a lot of the cricketers who have actually brought out autobiographies, a lot of the Associate players actually have life stories worth reading about. Look at Rizwan Cheema, who thumped 93 from 70 balls in Canada's warm-up against England. He played a bit of cricket as a teenager in Pakistan, but then gave the game up when he moved to the USA because his family, who were Shia Muslims, were being persecuted. For six years he did not pick up a bat at all, but was busy earning a living as a taxi driver in Toronto. Then he went to watch a club practice in a public park and asked if he could have a go. He duly started slogging the ball all over. Six years and a string of blistering innings later, he found himself on the shortlist for the 2011 IPL auction. He didn't get picked up, but if he plays many more knocks like that one against England in the next few weeks then he surely will do next year.

My favourite character in this competition may just be the leg-spinner Balaji Rao, Cheema's Canadian team-mate. He unleashed such a vicious torrent of invective on England's close fielders when they appealed against him for an LBW during that same warm-up match that umpire Asad Rauf had to step in and tell him to cool off. That despite the fact he was batting at No11. One of the England team told Lawrence Booth that Rao "had a strange look in his eye". If the England players were wondering why he wasn't showing them more respect, they should have looked up his history. He made his first class debut back when Stuart Broad was still watching Blue Peter in 1994, turning out for Tamil Nadu when he was just 16.

Rao had an outstanding record for India U-19s, playing for them for three full seasons. In his time he has dismissed a miniature who's who of international cricketers: Michael Vaughan, Marcus Trescothick, Mark Ramprakash, Mark Boucher, Ashwell Prince, Kumar Sangakkara, Steve Waugh, VVS Laxman, Virender Sehwag. He has dismissed better batsmen than many he will face in the next few weeks. Somehow, his career never quite worked out at the top level, largely because he was so, well, large. He had what you could politely call 'commitment issues', put on a lot of weight and drifted out of first class cricket, playing his last match in 2001. He moved to Canada in the middle of the last decade. And if he is still a bit tubby, he also has a mean googly.

If you're a cricket fan, how can you not love a story like that? The World Cup will be a duller competition if it can't find room for men like Cheema, Rao, Waters and Tikolo.

Source: guardian.co.uk

Ed Joyce's Cricket World Cup Diary

This morning we landed in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and with the start of the World Cup just a few days away the excitement is really starting to build amongst the squad.

Having been out to India several times in my career on training camps and with various county and representative sides, I've had a taste of the Indian people's love of the game but if anything, the Bangladeshi's revere the game even more.

The government and people here are extremely proud that they're co-hosting this World Cup and that the opening ceremony is taking place in Dhaka and the welcome we've received has been almost presidential! They even went to the incredible length of clearing the roads of traffic for the various team buses to make their way from the airport to the hotel. The roads here are notorious for traffic jams so this measure turned what is usually a nightmare hour and a half journey into a pleasant 20 minute drive. This, and all the manic waving from people on the streets, shows just how important cricket is in this part of the world.

Our time here in Dhaka is actually the fourth leg of a journey that began on the 28th January in freezing Dublin. The first part of the trip was spent in Dubai where, thanks largely to the generosity of our main sponsors RSA, we were able to spend a couple of weeks training at the ICC's High Performance Centre.

Among the high tech gizmo's designed to make indoor net practise more realistic was a machine called Pro-Batter. It was developed for baseball and has now been adapted for cricket as well. Basically, it involves a projector beaming a recorded video of a specific bowler on to a white screen. You actually see the bowler running in and at the point of delivery, the ball is propelled out a hole by a machine behind it exactly where the bowler's hand is. It was great fun to play around with facing different deliveries from various bowlers and it is comfortably the best batting tool I've ever used. Hopefully the way the boys were whacking around Tim Bresnan and Mitchell Johnson on Pro-Batter can be replicated in the actual tournament but something tells me it won't be as easy as that!

As well as training in Dubai, we also played a couple of practise matches against Zimbabwe and Kenya who were also using the facilities out there. Unfortunately we lost both of these games but there were some encouraging performances most notably in the Zim game from our captain William Porterfield who made a breezy 66 and over the two games from Alex Cusack, Nigel Jones and Andre Botha who all took a few wickets and bowled tidily.

It was also nice to get a few runs in both games myself as I'm obviously desperate to do well after coming into such a successful side after a long absence. We weren't too down-hearted after these losses however as they were our first competitive games in several months and we knew we had so much more in the tank.

So we moved from Dubai on to Nagpur right in the centre of India which was to be our base for a week or so, and also the venue for our final two warm-up games. We knew that the most important thing from here on in was to make sure we peak going into that first game against Bangladesh on the 25th.

With this in mind it was vital that we continue trying to improve our batting against spin, an area Bangladesh are extremely strong in, and fine tune the rest of our game so that we could put in some better performances against New Zealand and Zimbabwe for the second time on the trip.

As it turned out, we really should have won both games instead of just the one against Zim. Although New Zealand made 311, the wicket was exceptionally good and we were very confident of getting close. Mid innings, our coach Phil Simmons reminded us that 50 overs is a long time and that we didn't have to go all guns blazing at the start. Stirling and Porterfield clearly weren't listening and both proceeded to flay the ball to all parts and after 10 overs, we were 80 for 0!

This is the first time I've seen Stirlo in full swing and by the looks of things, Ireland has a gem of a player for the foreseeable future. One straight six off Kyle Mills in particular will live long in the memory. After our rollicking start, the middle order all got going without making a really telling contribution and this explains why we ended up 32 runs short of our target at the end. But this was a much improved performance against a very good New Zealand side and we could look forward to our game against Zimbabwe knowing that with a few tweaks, a win was just around the corner.

Trent Johnston and Boyd Rankin gave us the perfect start to that final warm-up game reducing Zimbabwe to 12 for three at one stage and although Elton Chigumbura made an excellent century to bring them up to 244, we certainly would have taken that total at the start of the day.

Our successful chase was especially pleasing because of the three of the lads who hadn't been in the runs so far on the tour; Kevin O'Brien, Alex Cusack and Andre Botha, got going and won the game for us. This means that virtually everyone in the squad has had at least one good performance with either bat or ball going into the competition proper which is certainly a nice situation to be in.

And so to that first game here in Dhaka in eight days time. There's no doubting we'll be underdogs for it, as we will for most of our games out here, and the last time we played Bangladesh away they beat us 3-0. But they are a side Ireland has had a lot of success against in the recent past.

The most notable of those victories was in the Super 8's stage of the last 50-over World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007 but there have also been wins in the 20-over World Cup in 2009 in England, and in 2010 back home in Belfast that all suggest that we can certainly beat them again this time if we get our performance right on the day.

And while all is not lost if we don't get off to a winning start, a win would certainly give us great momentum and hopefully provide us with a springboard to recreate the atmosphere and support that the Ireland cricket team received four years ago.

Cricket World Cup final venue fails safety inspection

Wankhede Stadium, venue for the Cricket World Cup final on April 2, has not met fire safety standards, the chief fire officer for Mumbai said on Friday.

"We will soon write a letter to the MCA (Mumbai Cricket Association) stating there is a need to comply with fire safety norms at the stadium. Once they abide by the terms we would again conduct an inspection," chief fire officer Uday Tatkare was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India.

"The team has found that the newly renovated stadium has many loopholes in its fire safety mechanism. The stadium must be in compliance with the fire safety conditions," Tatkare said.

The stadium also failed an inspection by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in December but earlier this week was given the go-ahead for its three World Cup matches starting on March 13.

"Among the mandatory fire apparatus are ... water hydrants, internal riser system for the stands, no-smoking indicators, fire alarms and extinguishers have to be installed," a Mumbai fire officer told PTI on condition of anonymity.

"There are some lapses which they need to look into."

The MCA, responsible for the stadium, was confident it could comfortably meet the fire brigade's demands.

"The fire brigade officials had come for a visit few days back and they had suggested a few safety norms after their visit," Association secretary Lalchand Rajput told Reuters on Friday.

"We are working on those and we will be ready. There is absolutely no worry. There has been no formal letter from the fire department yet."

The ICC's tournament director Ratnakar Shetty told Reuters: "I am not aware of this. I am not in Mumbai."

The World Cup starts in Dhaka on Saturday with a match between co-hosts Bangladesh and India.

An ICC spokesman declined to comment.

Punter bets $132,300 on Indian World Cup triumph

An anonymous gambler has struck an 82,000 pounds ($132,300) bet with a London bookmaker on India winning the Cricket World Cup, one of the biggest ever laid in the one-day game. If the co-hosts and 3-1 favourites triumph in the April 2 final in Mumbai, the punter will collect 246,000 pounds ($396,9
00), Ladbrokes said.

"It's one of the biggest bets we've ever laid in the one day format and we've even more reason now to fear an India win," said a spokesman for the company.

The tournament starts on Saturday when India, who lost in the first round four years ago in the Caribbean, play Bangladesh in Dhaka.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: The CIOs-Employees Productivity Match Begins

It’s the time of the year when a large majority of employees will fall sick. And it isn’t malaria or the flu that is to blame. The sojourn of the Men in Blue, which starts tomorrow with the kick-off of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 at Bangladesh, is about to set many hearts racing and have as many employees not turning up at office.

At a time like this, when even the managers are itching to get back home to catch a glimpse of that match defining catch, maintaining productivity becomes a cause for concern. So, with the cricket fever set to run high amongst the employees, some CIOs have decided to tackle the issue head-on.

“We have blocked all websites that post live scores or offer live video streaming of the matches and other news channels. Unlike football, cricket matches continue for many hours and happen during office hours, and has serious bearing on employee productivity,” says Sanjay Chowdhry, Country Head-IT, General Cables.

This might be the traditional approach but there are CIOs out there who believe that controlling employees is not a good idea. Taking a more lenient approach Haresh Mandhayan, VP-IT, ING Investment Management India says, “We haven’t blocked any sites. Every employee knows his responsibility- if he is capable of enjoying cricket during work hours and yet do his work on time, we do not object.”

In order to avoid absenteeism and ease the strain on the networks, which is seen to peak especially during tournaments like the World Cup and the IPL, providing the employees a platform to stay updated with the game might just be the right tactic to keep them productive. “To counter the strain on bandwidth, we have introduced live score updates on our intranet, so that employees do not have to log on to the web to check scores,” says Amarendra Kumar Singh, VP-IT, Comviva. “We have also put up TV sets in the cafeteria where employees can go and watch the important moments of the match,” he adds.

Satyajit Sarker, AGM-IT, DTDC Couriers believes in having checks and balances along with the permissions. “We will be exercising a controlled democracy in terms of allowing the employees to get cricket scores,” he says. They will block the access to the websites providing cricket scores and live streaming and would instead send an internal mailer every half hour with a score update. “We have also placed a TV in the lobby which is under admin surveillance. So while people can go there and check the live scores, they will also know that they are being watched,” he adds.

So, while the employees would be ready with their plans of action for this World Cup; are you prepared with an approach to keep them happy at their desks?

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011: The Men Who Mattered

From the iSport Cricket Pavilion: iSporter Aditya Vaidyanathan pen a piece on the Men who made a difference to the World Cup. Do not miss this one!

 

Change they say is the only constant! Its no different in Cricket than it is elsewhere. Legends must retire for new legends to be born. Most successful international players dream of a World Cup swansong. Some are fortunate to hang their boots with a successful World Cup campaign and some leave after a disappointing first round exits like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Inzamam Ul Haq after the 2007 World Cup. This tournament will see some of the modern day legends of the game playing their last World Cup. Each of these players have played a major role in their team's progress over the last ten years. They have mentored newcomers

Ricky Ponting

Who would have expected the diminutive middle order batsman to go on to be a part of three wWorld Cup winning teams and lead Australia to wins in two of them. A batsman par excellence and a never say die captain. Ricky is the second highest century maker in ODIs and tests next only to Tendulkar. He was made the ODI captain in 2002 and lead Australia to an undefeated World Cup win in 2003. He played a major part in the win as he demolished the Indian bowling in the finals along with Damien Martyn. He scored a masterful 140* which remains one of the best knocks to have been played in a WC final. He lost most of his important personnel after the 2007 WC. He has had to rebuild the team and that has been no mean an achievement. He remains the lynchpin of the Aussie batting line up and will play a crucial role if Australia were to defend the Cup successfully. Veteran of four World Cups, Ricky starts this World Cup second on the overall run-list behind Tendulkar with 1537 runs. He had a terrific 2007 World Cup scoring 539 runs leading Australia to another spectacular World Cup win.

Jacques Kallis

No less a talent than Ponting or Tendulkar. Kallis, for me, might even be a notch higher than Ponting in terms of contribution to his team. He, in my list, would be counted amongst the two best all rounders ever only behind Sir Garfield Sobers himself. Kallis is almost as effective with the ball as he is with the bat. Made his debut in 1997, Kallis made his presence felt in the World Cup 1999 with his swing bowling and consistent batting. He, for a while, even opened the attack with Pollock to allow Donald to bowl first change. As a batsman, his contribution to the team has been enormous. Playing along with Gary Kirsten, Gibbs, Smith, Cullinan; Kallis made his own mark being the batsman with impeccable technique and someone who relied more on timing and placement than power. Over the years, he may have lost some pace but still is as handy with the ball.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Made his debut in 1994 and was a part of the West Indian team that made to the semi finals of the World Cup 1996 and almost made it to the finals at the expense of Australia, but for a lower order collapse. Chanderpaul started off being an understudy to Brian Lara but took over and came on his own in 2001/02 where he performed admirably well against the visiting Indians. He is considered one of the best players of spin amongst players outside of the subcontinent. His free stance allows him to use his feet conveniently. Going by his built and thinking he can't attack would be a mistake. He is capable of accumulating runs at strike rate above 100. He currently is the senior most batsman in the WI team. Him retiring would be a big loss to the already dooming West Indian cricket. He is the last trace of 1990s in West Indian cricket.

Shoaib Akhtar

He clocked the fastest ball to be bowled in World Cups in the 1999 edition. He got Steve Waugh out to one of the most amazing yorkers seen in cricket annals in the same tournament. He was in his mettle in 1999. Troubled batsmen with his pace and brilliant variations. Shoaib Akhtar is one of the senior most members in the Pakistani team. He, Razzaq and Afridi are the only survivors from the 1999 Cup finalist team. Mentored by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in his early days, Shoaib today is leading the bowling attack with Umar Gul, Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz to be mentored and supported by him. A successful campaign this World Cup could be a huge boost for him after a more or less controversy shrouded career he has had. He has shown a lot of character in coming back to play the game after injuries and disciplinary suspensions. He still has the pace and the accuracy to rattle the best in business. He mustn't be taken lightly at all.

Muttiah Muralitharan

 

It could be said, Murali had a huge role to play in Sri Lanka winning the 1996 World Cup. Him being called for chucking was taken so personally by Ranatunga, that he motivated his players and rallied them around to form a team that shocked one and all. Murali played a crucial role in the World Cup too. Amongst the best spinners and the greatest characters to have played the game, Murali must be wishing to end his career on a high after a successful retirement from tests last year. He was hugely instrumental in his team reaching the finals of the 2007 edition picking 23 wickets out of his 53 total World Cup wickets. Sri Lanka have Ajantha Mendis and Suraj Randiv replace when Murali's hangs his boots, but no one can fill the void for the great sportsman and ambassador for the game he has been. His detractors will continue to call him a chucker and discredit him for the wickets he has earned. Chucker or not, Murali has changed the meaning of spin bowling since his debut in 1993.

Sachin Tendulkar

He sure needs no introduction. He would walk into every World XI, ODI or Tests. Tendulkar had a phenomenal 1996 and 2003 World Cups. India got to the semi finals in both editions and went upto the finals in the latter. His aggregate 1796 World Cup runs will be hard to match. He has been the backbone of Indian batting for over 20 years now. Debuted in 1989, when some of his current team members were still in their diapers, he has broken every possible record in ODI batting. Most recently came the ODI double hundred at Gwalior last year. Winning the World Cup will be the perfect swansong for him like all others, but the patriot that he is and the passion he has he would want to win it for India than for his own benefit. He found his bearings under the supervision of seniors like Azhar, Srikkanth and Vengsarkar, blossomed playing together with contemporaries like Dravid, Ganguly, Jadeja, Kambli and now is the teacher and role model to new comers such as Kohli, Vijay, Raina and even Sehwag.

Cricket World Cup v IPL: Sponsors jostle for eyeballs

The ICC Cricket World Cup v Indian Premier League. That is the battle being fought on the sidelines as the world gets ready for two of cricket's biggest events. At stake is $330m (£204m) of potential advertising revenue. On one side is a tournament that is returning to Asia after a gap of 14 years. On the other, a snappy league that has captured new audiences and redefined the sport.

The two are now jostling for attention. The Indian Premier League (IPL) begins just six days after the World Cup. That has got the sponsors thinking about who to hedge their bets on. "The sponsors are having to make a call," says Saurabh Saksena, executive business director at JWT. Had these events been six months apart, each would have got more sponsors. From a marketer's point of view, what they are looking for is eyeballs. They don't want to spread themselves thin on either event," he adds.

The fact that both the events garner high viewership is not making the choice easy for advertisers. The Cricket World Cup will be broadcast to more than two billion viewers across the globe. For its part, the 2010 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), was the most watched sports event in India, according to TAM Media Research.
Eyes on India Despite its being a global event, the financial success of the World Cup is hugely dependent on the progress of the Indian team.

According to TAM Media research, viewership of the 2007 World Cup fell by almost 45% once India crashed out at the early stages. That can severely hit the earning potential of the broadcasters. The rights holders generally keep some slots in their kitty, hoping to cash in at a later stage. Ad spots in a World Cup final would fetch far higher rates if India was playing and vice versa. Even the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC) admits this.

"If the host nation goes through till the end, there is a sustained interest. All I can hope for is that the host nations remain engaged as deep into the competition as possible," ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat told Reuters earlier this week. The IPL, on the other hand, despite becoming a global event, remains an Indian league. All the teams are based in Indian cities and all of them have big name Indian players on their roll. So no matter which team progresses to the final stages, the viewers remain interested. This in turn keeps the sponsors' interest alive as well. Format wars

Its just not about the World Cup v the IPL. The ever-increasing popularity of the Twenty20 format has seen some question the very future of one-day cricket. The World Cup will provide a health check for the 50-over game and whether interest from sponsors is dwindling. "Twenty20 is catching everyone's imagination. It is like a Bollywood blockbuster, an entertaining, shorter-duration event for the entire family. It manages to garner eyeballs of women and much younger audiences as well," says JWT's Mr Saksena. "However, it is not wise to compare the World Cup to any other 50-over series. At this point of time, the World Cup is the most exciting thing that is around the corner."

World Cup 2011: Spinners are trump card

The mega cricket event, ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, is just few hours away from its start when India and Bangladesh will play the opening match on Saturday.

The 2011 World Cup is being co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The tracks in the sub-continent are believed to be slower one in comparison to England, Australia and South Africa.

In such circumstances, the role of spinners will be vital to check the run flow and win the matches.

The wickets are very slow in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

All the participating teams are aware of this condition, where tracks become slow and low in as the game progresses. Spinners like veteran Muttaiah Muralitharan, Harbhajan Singh, Daniel Vettori, Saeed Ajmal, Graeme Swann and Shakib-al-Hassan will be proved vital for their team’s success at the World Cup.

Some of the teams have the quality spinners but few will have to rely on their pace battery. The defending champions Australia will definitely miss the services of Nauthan Hauritz, who was ruled out of the tournament due to injury. Hauritz had the experience of playing in India. But in the absence of Hauritz, Jason Krejza will have to spearhead the Aussies spin department.

On the other hand, South Africa’s spin department will be led by Johan Botha.South Africa is also capable of beating anyone on their day. South Africa is a well-balanced unit, with five capable spinners and five quick’s in their squad. They have plenty of talent but a lot of their squad lack experience of playing on the subcontinent.

Johan Botha who is the experienced spinners in the side can turn the game.  The team also had Peterson who bowls left arm orthodox will also the key bowler on these slow and turning tracks.

England who had a cocky, confident, and attacking off spinner, Graeme Swann who approached his game on his own, has an art of finger spin.

On the other hand, New Zealand who is not expected to be the strong contenders of the trophy lacks the quality batsman. Their recent  performance in the one day matches were very poor but the team can do better.

They have the world class spinner; Captain Daniel Vettori can use his own bowling as an attacking option on the sub continent pitches. The team has another option as Woodcock who played well against the Pakistan, will be the spinner to watch.

However, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh and Pakistan have the most dangerous spinners. It is expected that Asian teams will play with the tow spinners and two pacers.

Spin wizard Muttaiah Muralitharan, who is appearing in his last World Cup 2011, can wreck havoc in slow and low tracks.
Mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis will be another bowler to watch. Mendis’s carom delivery can be proved worrisome for the opponents in Asian  pitches.

The Indian team had the world class spinners like Harbhajan Singh. He can change the game on his own. He has various deliveries and his “Doosra” can trouble any batsman.

Piyush chawla and R Ashwin are likely to be included in the playing XI. However, both are playing their first World Cup.

Other than the services of the specialist Harbhajan, part-timers like Yuvraj Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Suresh Raina, Virender Sehwag can chip in with useful contributions.

Bangladesh’s talented left-arm spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Abdur Razzak’s recent performance against New Zealand and Zimbabwe at the home soil was enough indication of slow track in the sub-continent.The duo may force batsmen to dance on their tune.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, the team is believed to be dark horse. Shaid Afridi and Saeed Ajmal are world class spinner. Ajmal has become a dangerous spinner in the limited overs, adept at strangling run-rates and picking up key wickets; he was instrumental in Pakistan's 2009 World T20 triumph.

Ajmal had an option of Doosra with his wrist is difficult for the batsman, who approached him in front of the wickets.

ICC World Cup 2011 opens up with glitzy opening ceremony

BANGLADESHI PRIME Minister Sheikh Hasina declared open the 43-day long extravaganza ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in a glitzy opening ceremony at Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday, February 17. The ceremony was attended by around 25,000 spectators.

International Cricket Council (ICC) President Sharad Pawar, ICC chief executive, Haroon Lorgat were also present at the stadium. The opening ceremony was jointly organised by the ICC and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

The 135-minute long opening ceremony began at Bangabandhu Stadium with the Bangladesh national anthem "Amar Sonar Bangla" composed by famous poet and nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. Captains of all the fourteen participating nations entered the stadium in colourful rickshaws during the grand opening ceremony of the tenth edition of ICC World Cup 2011.

The opening ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 featured a laser show, fireworks display and cultural performances.

Canadian singer and Grammy award winner Bryan Adams rocked the show with his hits including "Lets make it a night to remember", "Summer of 69" and "18 till I die" among others. Indian music director trio Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy performed on the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011official song, "De Ghumaa Ke" in three languages viz Hindi, Sinhalese and Bangla.

Indian playback singer Sonu Nigam, Bangladeshi singer Runa Laila, Sabina Yasmin, Momtaz Begum and Sri Lankan singers also enthralled the spectators at Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka as well as millions of viewers on television screens. More then  2,000 school and college students of Bangladesh also performed during the grand opening ceremony of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Pak Vs England World Cup warm-up match today, live score card

IN THE last warm-up match before the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, Pakistan will take on England at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah in Bangladesh this afternoon. In their first warm-up matches, both Pakistan and England won their ties against Bangladesh and Canada respectively.

In the first warm-up match against Bangladesh, Pakistan won by a huge margin of 89 runs on Tuesday, February 15. With the help of brilliant hundreds by opener Ahmed Shehzad and middle-order batsman Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan scored 285 runs for the loss of nine wickets. In reply Bangladesh were all out for 196 runs in 41.4 overs. Pak all-rounder Abdul Razzaq claimed three wickets, just for 31 runs.

In another warm-up match between England and Canada at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah, England won the match by 16 runs. The English team was all-out for 243 runs against one of the weakest teams in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. In reply, after the top-order collapse, Canada's Rizwan Cheema gave a massive scare to the English team as he scored 93 runs in 71 balls with 10 fours and five sixes. England's pacer Stuart Broad picked five Canadian wickets at the cost of 37 runs in 8.1 overs.

Live score of the last warm-up match between Pakistan and England will be available here.

World Cup Cricket fever to bowl out B-wood, TV

The ICC World Cup 2011 (February 19-April 2) promises to be bigger and better this time, especially because it's happening in India. However, the cricket tournament looks set to send many other businesses for a toss.

According to a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), the event will certainly hit India Inc's productivity. And if you don't get to watch any good films, or fresh episodes of your favourite shows, blame it all on the World Cup.

Mind Your Business
According to the survey, with approximately 10-12 million people watching the matches, there will be a productivity loss of 768 million man hours. With 35% of the respondents planning to use their annual leave, 23% planning to call in sick and 32% working shorter days, bosses may have a tough time keeping employees focused on their workstations.

"Although some of the good matches will be during weekends, three of the quarterfinal matches are scheduled for weekdays. If any of these happen to be between good teams, I'll definitely take leave. Thankfully, India is playing twice in Bangalore, and both matches are on Sundays," says Sanket Ahuja, working with an investment firm in Bangalore.

Bosses concur that this is not the first time they'll face this situation. "This happens during IPL and the FIFA World Cup too. Suddenly, more than half the male employees try and call in sick. Those who come to work itch to get back home. During IPL's last season, on popular demand, we had to have a television installed in the canteen. And all this happens despite the fact that we follow a flexible timings system," says Santosh Sharma, executive vice president of a Delhi-based IT firm.

Box Office Bomb
Apart from " Saat Khoon Maaf", releasing on Feb 18, and "Game" on April 1, there are no big releases during the two months the Cup will be on. Says Pramod Arora, group president, PVR, "Producers shy away from releasing films during big sporting events. This year too, the World Cup was taken into consideration. Except for "Saat Khoon Maaf", "Tanu Weds Manu" and "Game", we don't have any big Bollywood films releasing these two months. But we have very good regional (Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam) and Hollywood content. All cineplex chains knew this was going to be the leanest quarter." Jayendra Banerjee, VP (operations), Satyam Cinemas, says that this is the time when only good content can bring masses to cinema halls. "Unlike other quarters when we register footfalls for even not-so-great films, this is the quarter when WC and exams are going to badly hit the BO. Since people already have a lot on their agenda, only films that click really well will do business," he says.

Idiot Box Rules
This is also the time when the 'TV vs biwi' wars will start. General entertainment channels (GECs) are anticipating a fall in TRPs for even their best shows. "This time the frenzy is higher as most of the matches will be played in India itself. TRPs for shows will be hit especially on the days India is playing. Interestingly, IPL has starting affecting TRPs a lot, since no matter who's playing, Indian players are always there," says Danish Khan, business head, Sony Entertainment Television.

And if they can't cure it, GECs have plans to endure the event. "On weekends, we may have marathon reruns of some of our most popular shows. No new shows will be launched during this period," says a source at Colors.

Gala opening of World Cup Cricket tomorrow

A colourful opening ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 awaits cricket fans on Thursday at the country's premier sports venue, Bangabandhu National Stadium (BNS), in the capital Dhaka, reports UNB.

The 135-minute opening ceremony of the mega sports event will start at 6pm local time soon after Magrib prayers. Star singer Bryan Adams and India's celebrated singer Sonu Nigam will be the main attraction of the ceremony.

However, the pre-show segment of the ceremony will start at about 4:30 pm, where eight leading local singers -- four men and four women - will perform during the 50-minute presentation before the main event, reports UNB.

Bangladesh music legends Runa Laila and Sabina Yasmin, and a folk singer Momtaz Begum will also render songs at the event.

The theme song of the ceremony - Dey Ghumake - will be presented in Bangla, Hindi and Sri Lankan language by Shankar-Ehsan-Loy, a team of three Indian music directors.

Country's sports loving Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will officially declare the 14-team, 42-day mega event open at a colourful ceremony in the evening after a welcome song - Welcome the World.

Apart from the Prime Minister, Finance Minister AMA Muhith and State

Minister for Youth and Sports Ahad Ali Sarkar will also speak at the opening ceremony. President of ICC and President of BCB will also make speeches.

After the speech session, captains of all the 14 participating teams will enter the stadium on board a well-decorated and specially-made traditional vehicle - rickshaw.

In presence of the captains, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the show by pressing the switch-on button to unveil the portrait of father of the nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman on a giant screen set up on the wall of the Bangladesh Development Bank Limited adjoining the eastern gallery of the stadium.

The opening ceremony will feature fireworks display, laser and holographic shows, LED kites and massive coordinated fireworks. The whole programme has been divided into five segments.

Famous artistes, both legendary and contemporary from the region and beyond will also attend the event which is being organised by Indian event management firm Wizcraft. Asiatic is its local partner.

Each country is assigned a specific time-slot to showcase their culture, heritage and heroes. Bangladesh's stint will be of 20 minutes while India and Sri Lanka will perform for 12 minutes each.

The Bangladeshi segment will highlight all aspects of the country's culture, heritage and history including the Language Movement of 1952, the Liberation War in 1971 and the historic 7th March speech of Bangabandhu.

Some 2,500 students from city schools and colleges and 3,500 members of Bangladesh Armed Forces will perform at the opening ceremony under the guidance of famous Indian choreographer Santosh Shetji.

The ceremony will be concluded with massive fireworks.

A good number of leading Bangladeshi personalities are involved in the planning and execution of the event. A number of new generation Bangladeshi musicians will perform in the ceremony.

ICC Cricket World Cup : Dada tips India, considers Pakistan dark horse

Under his leadership, Team India came within a whisker of winning the World Cup in South Africa eight years ago. Two years into his international retirement, SOURAV GANGULY still remains a big draw in Indian cricket. The former India captain, who has been roped in as a TV expert, feels it will be a very open World Cup and tips India, Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa to make the last-four stage, favouring MS Dhoni's boys to clinch the crown with Pakistan being his dark horse. Sourav analyses the teams in a chat with SUMIT MUKHERJEE

INDIA

Strength

A powerful batting line-up, stacked with match-winners, and plenty of variation in bowling. Lot of part-time bowlers means skipper Dhoni will have plenty of choices to fall back on if one of the frontline bowlers has a bad day in office. Overall, the team has good balance.

Weakness

There is no one who can bowl genuinely quick, so Indian bowlers will have to mainly rely on clever variation to prevent rival batsmen from hitting through the line. Ground fielding is an area of concern as other teams would be a step ahead in this department. No second wicketkeeper means the team will be keeping fingers crossed on Dhoni's fitness.

Opportunity

It's India's last big chance to win the Cup before the rebuilding process starts. I expect the team to play around Sachin Tendulkar and make it a memorable event for the maestro. There dressing-room atmosphere is excellent and players are well aware of their roles. Low and slow wickets should suit our batters and bowlers alike. Also there is enough time in-between matches for minor injuries to heal.

Threat

Much will depend on how individual players, and the team as a whole, handle the pressure of expectations of a billion fans. On the field, the main threat would come from Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.


AUSTRALIA

Strength

Good and robust batting side a potent pace attack with two genuine quick bowlers in Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. The team has the right mix of youth and experience and looks very balanced on paper. With someone like Michael Johnson or Steven Smith likely to bat at No 8, the Aussies have enough depth in their batting to chase down big totals, or set them up.

Weakness

Lack of a quality spin bowler is sure to hurt them at some stage of the tournament. Jason Krejza is a decent bowler, but, against quality players of spin bowling, he may struggle. Their attack lacks balance. Also after the warm-up game against India, questions have to be asked about their batsmen's ability to handle top-class spinners.

Opportunity

They have a golden opportunity to make it four-in-a-row. Skipper Ricky Ponting, having led Australia to two successive World Cup titles, now has a chance to record a hat-trick. Having lost the Ashes to England and their No 1 ranking in Tests, the Aussies would be more than keen to hold on to their numero uno status in ODIs.

Threat

The threat to Aussies comes mainly from the sub-continental teams like India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan as these teams not only have better spinners, but also players who revel in 'home' conditions.


SOUTH AFRICA

Strength

A great pace bowling unit and a strong batting line-up. They also have three spinners which means skipper Graeme Smith has sought to cover all the bases. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are genuinely quick and are capable to extracting good bounce from deadest of tracks. And the have players like Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis who always look to bat right through the 50 overs, making it easier for the others to bat around them.

Weakness

They have too long a tail. With Du Plessis at No 7 and Johan Botha at No 8 their lower order lacks a finisher. Also, apart from Botha, their other spinners are too inexperienced. They are strong in certain departments but do not look to be a good team.


Opportunity:
The Proteas have always been a very competitive side. They haven't gone beyond the semis in World Cup so it gives Smith's side an added desire to take those final two steps to glory. Smith himself must look to shed his over-attacking style in ODIs and look to bat through the innings.

Threat

The Proteas have always been extremely vulnerable to quality spin bowling and would be wary of teams like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.


SRI LANKA

Strength

Top-order batting and a quality attack with lots of variety in both, pace and spin departments. With Tharanga, Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene at the top of the order and the likes of Murali, Mendis, Malinga and Perera forming the core of their bowling attack, Sri Lanka look really strong on paper.

Weakness

An untested middle-order. Should Sri Lanka lose early wickets, it will expose a middle-order comprising Samaraweera, Kapugedera, Chamara Silva and Angelo Mathews.

Opportunity

Touring teams have always found it hard to beat Sri Lanka on their home pitches. As the team from the island nation are scheduled to play all their matches (barring the final) at home, they would look to make it count. They were undone by Gilchrist's brilliance in the 2007 final, but have the arsenal to go all the way.


Threat

The main threat to their campaign comes from teams which have depth and variety like Australia, India or unpredictable sides like Pakistan or the West Indies.


ENGLAND

Strength

Good, in-form team that gels well. In Strauss and Bell they have two classical batsmen, while Swann and Anderson are classical Test bowlers, who can make it count on their day. In Pietersen, Collingwood, Bresnan and Yardy, England have ODI specialists who can turn a match on their own.

Weakness

First and foremost, they have to convince themselves that they can be as good in limited-overs cricket as they are in Tests. Pietersen must look to bat through the innings and not over-attack like Smith. Their other concern is lack of firepower in the lower order which comprises mainly of bits and pieces players.

Opportunity

Having won the World T20 championship last year, England have an excellent chance to register a 'double' in limited overs cricket. It will also enhance their reputation as a truly great all-round side.

Threat

Historically, English batsmen have struggled on the low and slow pitches of the sub-continent, particularly against quality spin bowling, and this time it will be no different.


PAKISTAN

Strength

A slew of big-hitters and a potent pace attack make Pakistan a dangerous side, which is known to play fearless cricket. They bat deep with someone like Razzaq at No 8. In Gul and Akhtar they have two fast bowlers who can devastate any line-up and Ajmal and Rehman they have two crafty spinners who can be pretty effective on sub-continental wickets.

Weakness

Pakistan teams over the years have a tendency to blow hot and cold. Consistency is the name of the game and Afridi's side must look to fire in every game. They are sure to miss the banned Asif and Aamer in bowling and Butt in batting.

Threat

They have the tendency to self-destruct, so the threat perception for Pakistan comes from within this extremely talented bunch of individuals.

Opportunity

It's a great chance for Pakistan to show the world what they are capable of. If they make the knock-out stage they will be a dangerous side. The tag of dark horses suits them.


NEW ZEALAND

After being blown away by Bangladesh and India in recent times, the Black Caps are under pressure. They remain a good fielding side and have plenty of utility cricketers, but lack both depth and finesse to make a big impact on the big stage. Unless they show a bull-headed approach, they could just get blown away. Their first task would be to get into the quarterfinals from Group A which in itself is a tall task.


WEST INDIES

They have proven match-winners like Gayle and Pollard who are capable of turning any match on its head with their power-hitting, but ODIs call for mixing caution with aggression. Batting in top gear for 10-15 overs may not be enough for Caribbean batsmen, who must take a leaf out of Sachin or Gambhir's book and try and build their innings. They have a decent bowling unit, but it lacks the cutting edge.

BANGLADESH

The surprise packet of 2007 World Cup have a young side which has been performing pretty consistently in recent times. Playing at home, in familiar conditions will certainly suit them, but their real test will come against the big teams. A quarterfinal berth is not beyond the realms of possibility for the Bangla Tigers, who will certainly miss the all-round skills of Mashrafe Mortaza. I don't see India slipping up again against Bangladesh, but it would be foolhardy for any team to underestimate Shakib's team in the tournament.


ZIMBABWE, KENYA, NETHERLANDS, CANADA & IRELAND

These teams are potential banana skin for the big teams as Ireland showed us in 2007. However, under the new format, an odd win will not be enough to earn them a passage to the knock-out stage. They can nevertheless embarrass the big guns and earn some brownie points in cricket's quadrennial showpiece event.

ICC Cricket World Cup : Dada tips India, considers Pakistan dark horse

Under his leadership, Team India came within a whisker of winning the World Cup in South Africa eight years ago. Two years into his international retirement, SOURAV GANGULY still remains a big draw in Indian cricket. The former India captain, who has been roped in as a TV expert, feels it will be a very open World Cup and tips India, Australia, Sri Lanka and South Africa to make the last-four stage, favouring MS Dhoni's boys to clinch the crown with Pakistan being his dark horse. Sourav analyses the teams in a chat with SUMIT MUKHERJEE

INDIA

Strength

A powerful batting line-up, stacked with match-winners, and plenty of variation in bowling. Lot of part-time bowlers means skipper Dhoni will have plenty of choices to fall back on if one of the frontline bowlers has a bad day in office. Overall, the team has good balance.

Weakness

There is no one who can bowl genuinely quick, so Indian bowlers will have to mainly rely on clever variation to prevent rival batsmen from hitting through the line. Ground fielding is an area of concern as other teams would be a step ahead in this department. No second wicketkeeper means the team will be keeping fingers crossed on Dhoni's fitness.

Opportunity

It's India's last big chance to win the Cup before the rebuilding process starts. I expect the team to play around Sachin Tendulkar and make it a memorable event for the maestro. There dressing-room atmosphere is excellent and players are well aware of their roles. Low and slow wickets should suit our batters and bowlers alike. Also there is enough time in-between matches for minor injuries to heal.

Threat

Much will depend on how individual players, and the team as a whole, handle the pressure of expectations of a billion fans. On the field, the main threat would come from Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.


AUSTRALIA

Strength

Good and robust batting side a potent pace attack with two genuine quick bowlers in Brett Lee and Shaun Tait. The team has the right mix of youth and experience and looks very balanced on paper. With someone like Michael Johnson or Steven Smith likely to bat at No 8, the Aussies have enough depth in their batting to chase down big totals, or set them up.

Weakness

Lack of a quality spin bowler is sure to hurt them at some stage of the tournament. Jason Krejza is a decent bowler, but, against quality players of spin bowling, he may struggle. Their attack lacks balance. Also after the warm-up game against India, questions have to be asked about their batsmen's ability to handle top-class spinners.

Opportunity

They have a golden opportunity to make it four-in-a-row. Skipper Ricky Ponting, having led Australia to two successive World Cup titles, now has a chance to record a hat-trick. Having lost the Ashes to England and their No 1 ranking in Tests, the Aussies would be more than keen to hold on to their numero uno status in ODIs.

Threat

The threat to Aussies comes mainly from the sub-continental teams like India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan as these teams not only have better spinners, but also players who revel in 'home' conditions.


SOUTH AFRICA

Strength

A great pace bowling unit and a strong batting line-up. They also have three spinners which means skipper Graeme Smith has sought to cover all the bases. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are genuinely quick and are capable to extracting good bounce from deadest of tracks. And the have players like Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis who always look to bat right through the 50 overs, making it easier for the others to bat around them.

Weakness

They have too long a tail. With Du Plessis at No 7 and Johan Botha at No 8 their lower order lacks a finisher. Also, apart from Botha, their other spinners are too inexperienced. They are strong in certain departments but do not look to be a good team.


Opportunity:
The Proteas have always been a very competitive side. They haven't gone beyond the semis in World Cup so it gives Smith's side an added desire to take those final two steps to glory. Smith himself must look to shed his over-attacking style in ODIs and look to bat through the innings.

Threat

The Proteas have always been extremely vulnerable to quality spin bowling and would be wary of teams like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.


SRI LANKA

Strength

Top-order batting and a quality attack with lots of variety in both, pace and spin departments. With Tharanga, Dilshan, Sangakkara and Jayawardene at the top of the order and the likes of Murali, Mendis, Malinga and Perera forming the core of their bowling attack, Sri Lanka look really strong on paper.

Weakness

An untested middle-order. Should Sri Lanka lose early wickets, it will expose a middle-order comprising Samaraweera, Kapugedera, Chamara Silva and Angelo Mathews.

Opportunity

Touring teams have always found it hard to beat Sri Lanka on their home pitches. As the team from the island nation are scheduled to play all their matches (barring the final) at home, they would look to make it count. They were undone by Gilchrist's brilliance in the 2007 final, but have the arsenal to go all the way.


Threat

The main threat to their campaign comes from teams which have depth and variety like Australia, India or unpredictable sides like Pakistan or the West Indies.


ENGLAND

Strength

Good, in-form team that gels well. In Strauss and Bell they have two classical batsmen, while Swann and Anderson are classical Test bowlers, who can make it count on their day. In Pietersen, Collingwood, Bresnan and Yardy, England have ODI specialists who can turn a match on their own.

Weakness

First and foremost, they have to convince themselves that they can be as good in limited-overs cricket as they are in Tests. Pietersen must look to bat through the innings and not over-attack like Smith. Their other concern is lack of firepower in the lower order which comprises mainly of bits and pieces players.

Opportunity

Having won the World T20 championship last year, England have an excellent chance to register a 'double' in limited overs cricket. It will also enhance their reputation as a truly great all-round side.

Threat

Historically, English batsmen have struggled on the low and slow pitches of the sub-continent, particularly against quality spin bowling, and this time it will be no different.


PAKISTAN

Strength

A slew of big-hitters and a potent pace attack make Pakistan a dangerous side, which is known to play fearless cricket. They bat deep with someone like Razzaq at No 8. In Gul and Akhtar they have two fast bowlers who can devastate any line-up and Ajmal and Rehman they have two crafty spinners who can be pretty effective on sub-continental wickets.

Weakness

Pakistan teams over the years have a tendency to blow hot and cold. Consistency is the name of the game and Afridi's side must look to fire in every game. They are sure to miss the banned Asif and Aamer in bowling and Butt in batting.

Threat

They have the tendency to self-destruct, so the threat perception for Pakistan comes from within this extremely talented bunch of individuals.

Opportunity

It's a great chance for Pakistan to show the world what they are capable of. If they make the knock-out stage they will be a dangerous side. The tag of dark horses suits them.


NEW ZEALAND

After being blown away by Bangladesh and India in recent times, the Black Caps are under pressure. They remain a good fielding side and have plenty of utility cricketers, but lack both depth and finesse to make a big impact on the big stage. Unless they show a bull-headed approach, they could just get blown away. Their first task would be to get into the quarterfinals from Group A which in itself is a tall task.


WEST INDIES

They have proven match-winners like Gayle and Pollard who are capable of turning any match on its head with their power-hitting, but ODIs call for mixing caution with aggression. Batting in top gear for 10-15 overs may not be enough for Caribbean batsmen, who must take a leaf out of Sachin or Gambhir's book and try and build their innings. They have a decent bowling unit, but it lacks the cutting edge.

BANGLADESH

The surprise packet of 2007 World Cup have a young side which has been performing pretty consistently in recent times. Playing at home, in familiar conditions will certainly suit them, but their real test will come against the big teams. A quarterfinal berth is not beyond the realms of possibility for the Bangla Tigers, who will certainly miss the all-round skills of Mashrafe Mortaza. I don't see India slipping up again against Bangladesh, but it would be foolhardy for any team to underestimate Shakib's team in the tournament.


ZIMBABWE, KENYA, NETHERLANDS, CANADA & IRELAND

These teams are potential banana skin for the big teams as Ireland showed us in 2007. However, under the new format, an odd win will not be enough to earn them a passage to the knock-out stage. They can nevertheless embarrass the big guns and earn some brownie points in cricket's quadrennial showpiece event.

Cricket World Cup: Sri Lanka hoping to repeat triumph

Sri Lanka are co-hosting the tournament with India and Bangladesh. Roy Dias, a former vice-captain and national selector, said: "If you compare the 1996 and 2011 teams, both are very well balanced." "I think Kumar Sangakkara's team is focussed very much to win the World Cup," Dias told BBC Sinhala service. "There are plenty of bowling varieties with Rangana Herath coming to the team as a left-arm spinner.

"So with Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, the spinning department has three different types of bowlers with Tillakaratne Dilshan as the extra off-spinner. We also have five fast bowlers who are very good."

Dias has some concerns about the batting and added: "In 1996 we had Sanath Jayasuriya, Asanka Gurusinghe, Arjuna Ranathunga and Hashan Thilakrathne as left-handers.

"Now we have only Upul Tharanga, Sangakakara and Thisara Perera, who is more of a bowling all-rounder, so I would have preferred Thilina Kandamby as a left-handed batsman.

"Out of Kandamby, Chamara Kapugedara and Chamara Silva we could have had a left-handed batsman in the middle to give some strength and variety to batting as well or someone like Jeevan Mendis."

He also sees many similarities and differences between Ranatunga and Sangakkara's captaincy.

"I feel that Kumar is a very strong captain, very hard person, similar to Arjuna," Dias continued.

"But of course they are two different styles of players. We can also see similarities between Arjuna-Aravinda de Silva combination and Sangakkara-Jayawardene combination. It definitely goes in pairs."

Marvan Atapattu, a former captain and another member of the 1996 team, believes that the combination of a team which is in good from, home advantage and crowd support will be the crucial factors if Sri Lanka are to be successful.

"With all these factors in place, the team that keeps up the concentration level will be the winner at the end of the day," Atapattu told BBC Sinhala service.

"The most important thing I think, is that the players should enjoy the fact that they are playing in a World Cup. That is what coach Dav Whatmore always told us during the 1996 tournament," he added.

Atapattu said fans high expectations over Sri Lanka's chances might be an added pressure to the team but it will be difficult to avoid.

"The team should not take it as a pressure, they should focus on their game and enjoy instead," stated the former Sri Lanka skipper, who lost the opportunity to lead the country in the 2007 World Cup because of injuries.

He, however, believes that there are huge differences between the team in 1996 and 2011.

Kumar Sangakkara first captained Sri Lanka at the 2009 World Twenty20

"I think there was not a single professional player in the team in 1996," he said.

"We all were doing our jobs in different places when we were not playing cricket. But that situation has completely changed, all the players are professionals now and whole world knows Sri Lanka as a cricketing nation."

Therefore, added Atapattu, there would not be a big difference in terms of Sri Lanka's game irrespective of the outcome of the tournament.

"We can only control the way we play. If another team plays better than Sri Lanka on the day, they will obviously be the winners," he continued.

"So we should be able to accept whatever the outcome."

Meanwhile, a veteran astrologer has predicted that Sri Lanka and England will qualify for the World Cup final, in accordance with present planetary positions in the horoscope of Sri Lanka.

Piyasena Rathuwithana, the eminent astrologer who has been advising Sri Lanka's many heads of state, including President Mahinda Rajapaksa, has told Sunday Times (Sri Lanka) that England, Australia and India will be the front-runners of the tournament.

England and India will enter the semi-finals, according to the planetary positions, but Rathuwithana has predicted that England will get a chance to play in the finals against Sri Lanka.

The prediction is the best example of fans expectations over the team's success at the World Cup.

Kevin Pietersen To Retire From Odis After Icc World Cup 2011

Kevin Pietersen to retire from ODIs after ICC World Cup 2011

England’s prolific middle-order batsman Kevin Pietersen is planning to bid farewell to the 50-over format of the game after the ICC World Cup 2011, which is set to begin from the 19th of February, jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

According to reports, the batsman wants to concentrate on Test and Twenty20 cricket, which includes the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Pietersen was with the team during the hectic Australian tour that spanned over nearly three months. The English team then returned home only for three days and flew out to Bangladesh to begin preparing for the World Cup on 12th February.

Pietersen wants to spend more time with his nine-month-old son and wife but has realised that this will not be possible unless he quits the fifty-over game.  It will however, have a significant impact on his pay because of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) clauses of loyalty and pension provision.

Pietersen has become a significant part of the English outfit and the board will not be pleased with his decision. He is believed to be a specialist One-Day player and finding his replacement will not be easy for England.

Pietersen was part of the English team that defeated the Aussies in Australia after 24 years in the Ashes series. Pietersen played a vital role in the middle order during the Ashes which helped the tourists retain the urn.

However, he will be making the decision final after thoroughly considering all options. With the presence of a lucrative league like the IPL and the growing number of Twenty20 tournaments, it is likely that he will find enough financial avenues to decide to quit ODIs.

He has had an impressive record in the subcontinent and his input will be pivotal for England if they are to win the World Cup in the subcontinent. With Paul Collingwood still struggling to find form, it will be Pietersen’s responsibility to carry the middle-order batting line-up for England. He may also come in handy with the ball, should the skipper Andrew Strauss choose to give him a couple of overs to bowl during the World Cup.

Cricket World Cup 2011: Team-by-team guide

GROUP A

AUSTRALIA

They have won four of the nine World Cups, including the last three. They have been in two other finals. They are ranked the No 1 one-day international team in the world. They have just beaten England 6-1. What can go wrong? Well, you need a spinner in Asia and they only have Jason Krejza, a late replacement for the the injured Nathan Hauritz. Krejza is not even a regular for Tasmania.

Key man

Skipper Ricky Ponting. Just like the Ashes: if he scores runs, his team can win. If he doesn’t, they won’t.

Wild card

Steve Smith. His leg-spinners could cause a surprise.

World Cup record

P69, W51, L17, T1.

Winners 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007. 

Squad

Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Brad Haddin, Cameron White, Callum Ferguson, David Hussey, Tim Paine, Steven Smith, John Hastings, Mitchell Johnson, Jason Krejza, Brett Lee, Doug Bollinger, Shaun Tait.

PAKISTAN

Have had a problem or two. Will it matter? Will it heck. Pakistan thrive on such controversy and chaos. They’ve just beaten New Zealand 3-2, after all. Shahid Afridi is back as captain, Shoaib Akhtar is there too, as well as Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Saeed Ajmal and Abdul Razzaq. All the old protagonists. It’s never dull with this lot around.

Key man

Umar Gul. A remarkable one-day swing bowler. Will surely be lethal under the dew of lights – 37 of the 49 matches are floodlit.

Wild card

Ahmed Shehzad. Only 19 and scored a century against the Kiwis at Hamilton only 10 days ago.

World Cup record

P56, W30, L24, N/R2.

Winners 1992.

Squad

Shahid Afridi (capt), Misbah-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Junaid Khan, Younus Khan, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Ahmed Shehzad.

NEW ZEALAND

They’re in a mess. They have won only two from their past 16 ODIs, and have recently had more coaches than a bus station. They have chopped and changed their side to no obvious advantage. But you just never know with the Kiwis. They are always dangerous in one-off encounters.

Key man

Daniel Vettori. A wonderful all-round one-day cricketer. Only one spinner in a world one-day eleven? I might go for Vettori over Graeme Swann.

Wild card

Kane Williamson. The likes of Jesse Ryder, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor may be able to bat around this composed 20 year-old, who made a century against Bangladesh last year.

World Cup record

P62, W35, L26, N/R1.

Squad

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

SRI LANKA

Finalists last time, delightfully popular winners in 1996 and winner of every one-day series they played in 2010 bar the Asia Cup. They will be formidable on home soil. Their only wish might be that Muttiah Muralitharan were a couple of years younger, especially as Ajantha Mendis’s magic has been rumbled a little. Much could depend on the considerable all-round skills of Angelo Matthews.

Key man

Kumar Sangakkara. Captain, wicketkeeper and No 3 batsman. No pressure then.

Wild card

Chamara Kapugedera. Truly capable of middle-order violence if the platform can be laid by Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan.

World Cup record

P57, W25, L30, T1, N/R1.

Winners 1996.

Squad

Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Chamara Silva, Chamara Kapugedera, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekara, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Muttiah Muralitharan, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath.

ZIMBABWE

The winding road to re-acceptance continues, but Sean Ervine’s last-minute decision to spurn his country for the more leisurely surroundings of Hampshire has not helped image problems. Zimbabwe’s main problem is that their seam bowling is embarrassingly weak, so spin – through Ray Price, Greg Lamb and Graeme Cremer – must compensate.

Key man

Brendan Taylor. Has scored centuries against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and South Africa in the past 18 months. Always worth watching.

Wild card

Regis Chakabva. At 23, he is the youngest member of Zimbabwe’s squad, and a wicketkeeper who will probably play as a specialist batsman. Yet to make a half-century but top-scored with 45 when Bangladesh were defeated in Dhaka in December.

World Cup record

P45, W8, L33, T1, N/R3.

Squad

Elton Chigumbura (capt), Regis Chakabva, Charles Coventry, Graeme Cremer, Craig Ervine, Gregory Lamb, Shingirai Masakadza, Tino Mawoyo, Christopher Mpofu, Raymond Price, Edward Rainsford, Tatenda Taibu, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams.

CANADA

Their fourth World Cup having taken part in 1979, 2003 and 2007. They have won only one match – against Bangladesh in Durban – in 2003. Seven of the squad have come through their national youth programmes, but they still have only three Canadian-born players and one of them is the veteran John Davison, who was brought up in Australia. They did beat Hampshire recently in the Caribbean T20 competition, but have no chance here.

Key man

Davison. Now 40 and doubtful he can repeat his 67-ball century against the West Indies in 2003.

Wild card

Jimmy Hansra. Mainly a batsman but his off-spinners are becoming more effective. Might even open the bowling.

World Cup record

P12, W1, L11.

Squad

Ashish Bagai (capt), Rizwan Cheema, Harvir Baidwan, Nitish Kumar, Hiral Patel, Tyson Gordon, Henry Osinde, John Davison, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Parth Desai, Karl Whatham, Khurram Chohan, Jimmy Hansra, Zubin Surkari, Balaji Rao.

KENYA

Since remarkably making the semi-finals in South Africa in 2003, Kenyan cricket has become something of a basket-case, dogged by match-fixing and corruption scandals and with playing standards slipping alarmingly. Last month they toured India and lost all their five matches against provincial opposition. Head coach Eldine Baptiste and newly appointed assistant Jonty Rhodes have much to do.

Key man

Steve Tikolo. Now 39 and at his fifth World Cup, but will doubtless be prime run-scorer. Made a century in a warm-up match against Afghanistan last week.

Wild card

Classy opening batsman Seren Waters. On Surrey’s staff and educated at Cranleigh School.

World Cup record

P23, W6, L16, N/R1.

Squad

Jimmy Kamande (capt), Seren Waters, Alex Obanda, David Obuya, Collins Obuya, Steve Tikolo, Tanmay Mishra, Rakep Patel, Maurice Ouma, Thomas Odoyo, Nehemiah Odhiambo, Elijah Otieno, Peter Ongondo, Shem Ngoche, James Ngoche.

GROUP B

INDIA

Their sole triumph was in 1983. On home soil they appear favourites, but with that comes inordinate expectation. Can they handle that? They have everything; destructive batsmen, versatile swing bowlers and classy spin options. They also possess plenty of batsmen including Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh and Yusuf Pathan, who can bowl spin.

Key man

Sachin Tendulkar. Who else?

Wild card

Virat Kohli. Hardly a new face given he scored 995 ODI runs in 2010, second in the world only to South Africa’s Hashim Amla. But the 22 year-old has never played against England. You are in for a treat.

World Cup record

P58, W32, L25, N/R1.

Winners 1983.

Squad

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Yusuf Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Munaf Patel, Piyush Chawla, Ravichandran Ashwin.

SOUTH AFRICA

More choke than a Morris Minor. Or that is the reputation at least. This is now a very different team. There are only four players – Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers and Robin Peterson – with World Cup experience. Expectation might be reduced. But omitting Mark Boucher (De Villiers will keep) may be a mistake.

Key man

Kallis. A truly great cricketer who must find the correct batting tempo early in the tournament.

Wild card

Imran Tahir. Pakistan-born journeyman leg-spinner of many counties and other teams around the world now qualified for South Africa.

World Cup record

P40, W25, L13, T2.

Squad

Graeme Smith (capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk.

ENGLAND

Preparation could hardly have been worse. A year’s work in one-day cricket since the Champions Trophy in South Africa appears to have been unpicked in a few weeks of injury and fatigue-induced sloppiness in Australia. But don’t forget that England won last year’s World Twenty20 with very little preparation – having played only four T20s in the previous year. And they did not once field their strongest ODI bowling line-up in Australia.

Key man

Kevin Pietersen. The only England batsman who can destroy an attack on slow pitches.

Wild card

Ravi Bopara. Can hit sixes late on. Big chance to come again.

World Cup record

P59, W36, L22, N/R1.

Squad

Andrew Strauss (capt), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Ajmal Shahzad, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Jonathan Trott, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy.

WEST INDIES

Vulnerable, very vulnerable. Bangladesh are right to sniff them as potential breakfast. The only three sides the West Indies have beaten in ODIs since June 2009 are Zimbabwe, Ireland and Canada. It is a miserable record. And Darren Sammy does not appear the most obvious of leaders.

Key man

Chris Gayle. He needs to click if the West Indies are to. Has not made a ODI century since January 2009. Little wonder there have been so many losses.

Wild card

Darren Bravo, brother of Dwayne. Already likened to Brian Lara, which is a little unkind, but just check out the audacity of this 22 year-old left-hander’s play.

World Cup record

P57, W35, L21, N/R1.

Winners 1975, 1979.

Squad

Darren Sammy (capt), Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith, Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller, Carlton Baugh, Andre Rusell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Adrian Barath.

BANGLADESH

Much improved. Their spin-based attack will be tricky on home pitches. Have just beaten New Zealand 4-0 and Zimbabwe 3-1 in their past two ODI series. Also beat England at Bristol last summer, so March 11 in Chittagong will not be easy for Andrew Strauss’s team. The match against the West Indies at Mirpur on March 4 could determine the fourth qualifier from Group B, though.

Key man

Tamim Iqbal. England know all about the pyrotechnic left-hander. Time for the World to see.

Wild card Mohammad Ashraful. So much talent so scandalously wasted. Might be a last opportunity to realise it.

World Cup record

P20, W5, L14, N/R1.

Squad

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

IRELAND

To think four years ago they stunned the world, with victory over Pakistan and a tie with Zimbabwe to reach the Super Eights, where they overcame Bangladesh. Then they had only three full-time professionals. Now they have 13, including seven with county contracts. They were even been able to spend a preparatory month in India late last year and undertake a training camp in Dubai in January.

Key man

Ed Joyce. Played against Ireland for England in 2007. Plays for Ireland against England this time. Will hope to score more than one, as he did then.

Wild card

Paul Stirling. Chubby 20 year-old on Middlesex’s books. Gives the ball an almighty clout.

World Cup record

P9, W2, L6, T1.

Squad

William Porterfield (capt), Andre Botha, Alex Cusack, Niall O’Brien, Kevin O’Brien, George Dockrell, Trent Johnston, Nigel Jones, John Mooney, Boyd Rankin, Paul Stirling, Albert van der Merwe, Gary Wilson, Andrew White, Ed Joyce.

HOLLAND

Their fourth World Cup but they have won only two matches, and those were against Namibia and Scotland. But, of course, their first match here is against England in Nagpur and memories of their famous victory in the opening match of the World Twenty20 at Lord’s in 2009 will come flooding back.

Key man

Ryan ten Doeschate. The Essex all-rounder is a giant among the associate members of the International Cricket Council.

Wild card

They do have a Tommy Cooper in their ranks. Yes, just like that, he is no longer an Australian. Will form a powerful middle-order with Alexei Kervezee and Ten Doeschate.

World Cup record

P14, W2, L12.

Squad

Peter Borren (capt), Wesley Baresi, Mudassar Bukhari, Atse Buurman, Tom Cooper, Tom de Grooth, Alexei Kervezee, Bradley Kruger, Bernard Loots, Adeel Raja, Pieter Seelaar, Eric Szwarczynski, Ryan ten Doeschate, Berend Westdijk, Bas Zuiderent.