With the cricket world cup just around the corner it is time to see how each team is shaping up what are their prospects.
Australia:
Defending champions and successive cup holders are theoretically in to win it for a third time in a row. But lately, they have been troubled by pangs of guilty consciousness which has arisen from winning a huge number of matches, disproportionately greater than the wins of other teams. It is a worldwide phenomenon known as the Warren Buffet syndrome. To reach a balance, the team has been losing matches on quite a generous basis, recent examples being the CB series against England and the Chappell-Hadlee series against NZ. This has been achieved through a series of implementations. Some players have voluntarily retired (unlike the Indian team, where nobody leaves until he is kicked out by a mule), others decided not to play a few matches and where as a few have reset benefactor standards by picking up injuries. All these factors lead to believe that this will not be Australia’s world cup to win; rather, it will be theirs to give away. In a recent interview, their captain Ricky Ponting, inadvertently confirmed this.
Bangladesh:
Bangladesh’s goal for every world cup is to beat a test playing nation. In 1999, they beat Pakistan and in 2003, they were on course to beat West Indies but even the best laid plans in cricket can be thwarted by the ominous weather gods. So this year, their goal is to make up for lost time and beat both India and Sri Lanka in the group stages. Whether they do it or not is another question, since the other supposedly “minnows” in the group Bermuda learned of their plans and the Governor of Bermuda made a special request to the Bangladesh Cricket Board to lose to the Indians in their first match. The reasoning behind this is that, if the Indians lose their first match to Bangladesh, a billion souls in India will go on a rampage, which will then force the Indians, if they ever wish to back home, to win their second match against the Bermudans. Rumor has it that the Bangladesh Cricket Board and the players have been offered a packaged vacation in Bermuda two years running upon the completion of this deal.
Bermuda:
Bermuda’s entry into the world cup for the first time provides the fans a possibility to view one of the greatest matches of all time: Bermuda vs. India, Saturday March 17th 2007. Don’t you dare to miss it! No, and not because it is going to be lop sided (Come on, give the Indian side some credit here), but only because it is going to be the most keenly contested match in the whole tournament. A humdinger, if you must know. Besides their side deal with Bangladesh, Bermuda has another little secret up its sleeve. Actually, calling it a little secret would be an outright lie. Have a look for yourself, at the earth shaking equipment, if there ever was one.
Canada:
Contenders for the runner up spot. Don’t ask how or don’t ask why but mark my words and mark them well, even though they might eventually turn out untrue, this team will be one of the finalists of the tournament!
England:
Oh the English! What is there to say? The English preparations for the world are going on just fine. Their excuse list is almost finalized. The Barmy Army has already booked their tickets. The team is making up their injury list (you know, the one where they decide who needs to be conveniently injured before which match), so that the blame is spread around evenly. Did I mention about that excuse list. And then, there are lists for players from opponents team on the lines of that infamous list used in the Ashes series. All in all, everything is fine and dandy.
India:
Winning or losing is not in the hands of the Indian cricket team. Everything rests on the public. If the public are complacent, the team is complacent. In view of what happened at the last world cup, the public are already gearing up for this year’s world cup by stocking up on paint, effigies of all the 15 players, coach and selectors, ample supply of kerosene, match sticks and lighters. A motivating factor for the public has been the recent interview given by Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly wherein they all chided the Indian so called “fans” for not being concerned enough after they lost a single match against Sri Lanka. “Where were the protest marches?” asked Dravid while Ganguly concern was why no one had painted his house?
Ireland:
The Irish plans for a successful world cup campaign do not include either winning the tournament, advancing to the next stage, winning at least one match or even playing half decently. Quite frankly, the only reason they are even here is because they are bored stiff drinking Guinness day after day, night after night. For a change of scene, they are coming down to Jamaica to party on Rum. They even threatened to pull out of the tour when they realized that there was a possibility that their league matches were going to be scheduled in St. Lucia. It was only after the organizers allayed their fears that they committed to touring. Expect them to party before, after and even during the match. This way, they say, there are no losers.
Kenya:
Remember the statement, “Expecting the unexpected makes the unexpected become expected”. The Kenyan team’s motto to the tee. Back in 1996 when they debuted no one expected them to go anywhere, but they beat the Windies and, as they would like to believe, started the downward trend in West Indian cricket. In the 1999 edition, they did not even win a single match when they were expected to ruffle a few feathers. Then came the killer punch, in 2003, they made it to the semi finals when no one expected them to even reach the super six stage. So what this time around, you ask? Well, if you expect them to win a few matches, they will lose. On the other hand if you expect them to lose, they are bound to win. Tricky, especially for Mohammad Azaruddin and those interested in horse racing.
And coming shortly, in the sequel, the rest of the teams, including favorites to win... Scotland
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