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| February 3, 2003 | Monday | Zilhaj 1,1423 |
England’s factbox
Group A (with Australia, Pakistan, India, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Holland)
Strengths: England have a useful batting line-up, with the quick-scoring Marcus Trescothick, the audacious Nick Knight and the classical Michael Vaughan topping the order. Nasser Hussain and Alec Stewart should provide further stability while acting as a foil to such big-hitting all rounders as Andrew Flintoff and Ian Blackwell.
Weaknesses: England’s bowling attack looks suspect. Andrew Caddick and Matthew Hoggard apart, there is little experience to count on, with fast bowlers Steve Harmison and James Anderson totalling 14 games between them. Left-arm spinner Ashley Giles is useful rather than frightening, with one Man-of-the-Match award in 22 outings.
Key man: Hussain — he has managed to turn around England’s fortunes in the Test arena despite a small pool of top talent but will need all his ability to inspire the one-day team to similar success.
One-day form: Have not won a tournament since 1999, when seeing off West Indies and Zimbabwe at home.
While their recent record is good against Zimbabwe — they ended an 11-match losing streak by going there in 2001 and winning 5-0 — they have struggled against group opponents Australia, Pakistan and India.
Hosting Australia and Pakistan in 2001, they lost all six games. They also lost the just-concluded tri-series final in Australia, taking their losing run against them to 13.
Lost to India in the final of a 2002 home triangular competition when making 325 only for India to win by two wickets, their total the second highest by a team batting second to win a game in one-day history. Also crashed to India in the ICC Champions Trophy in September.
Past World Cups: After reaching the semi-finals in the inaugural 1975 tournament, England have featured in three finals — in 1979 (lost to West Indies), 1987 (lost to Australia) and 1992 (lost to Pakistan). Their uninspired performances in 1996 and 1999, though, led to first-round exits.
Prediction: A third first-round exit in a row.—Reuters
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