March 12, 2007	Monday	Safar 22, 1428

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TRELAWNY (Jamaica), March 11: The ICC World Cup opens here on Sunday with a grand ceremony, with champions Australia and runners-up India determined to clinch the honours in a competition seen as the most open till date.

The 25,000-capacity multi-purpose stadium, some 40 km from Montego Bay, will bring together 16 teams — the most that have contested a World Cup — accompanied by razzmatazz unleashed by about 1,500 performers at the opening.

It is also the first time the game's prized tournament, comprising 51 matches and lasting 49 days, is being held in the Caribbean.

And when the final is played at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on April 28, the world would probably have new champions — and the Caribbean would have carved a niche amongst its peer with its organising capabilities.

The Ricky Ponting-led Australia, despite missing injured pace spearhead Brett Lee, again start as the favourites for the title, though Rahul Dravid's India is not far behind with the form the team has shown lately.

Australia are on the verge of making history, having won successive World Cup titles in 1999 and 2003, when Ponting's side defeated India in a one-sided final in Johannesburg.

If Australia win again, they will become the first team since the World Cup's inception in 1975 to win three successive titles. At the moment they are tied with West Indies (1975 and 1979) as both have won two World Cups successively.

If Kapil Dev's Indian team spoiled West Indies' hat-trick in 1983, this time there is more than one team that will challenge the might of Australia, who are looking a wee bit beatable.

South Africa, one of the strong contenders along with India, England, Sri Lanka and the West Indies, have snatched Australia's No 1 rank recently, and have also defeated them in high scoring matches.

Even England have beaten Australia, the most notable being in the Commonwealth Bank triangular series in Australia late last year. Australia then also lost all three away matches to New Zealand.

In fact, Australia have lost their last five One-day Internationals — two to England in the CB Series and three in New Zealand — before they open their World Cup with a Group ‘A’ game against qualifiers Scotland at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts & Nevis on Wednesday.

India are also high on confidence, having won two successive one-day series at home, against the West Indies and Sri Lanka, and also the two warm-up matches here with huge margins.

Almost all the Indian players are in form and look set to top Group ‘B’, which also has 1996 winners Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, who stunned New Zealand on Tuesday, and first timers Bermuda.

The top two teams from each of the four pools will progress to the Super Eights, where they will play against each other. The top four sides then advance to the semi-finals and eventually the final.

Besides throwing a few new talents on the global firmament, the World Cup is expected to open new avenues for the Caribbean to do business with the rest of the world. After all, CARICOM, or the Caribbean Community, has backed the tournament 100 percent, right from its bidding in 1998 till today.

The political leaders of the various Caribbean islands have thrown their weight behind the cricket organisers despite many impediments.

“We have overcome the early challenges and Jamaica is ready for the world,” said Jamaica Prime Minister Simpson Miller recently.

“I am very pleased to see the enthusiasm being displayed by so many persons — ranging from young children to corporate citizens. Our CARICOM brothers and sisters have been a tower of strength and our global neighbours have given us their support.”

The relentlessly hard working organising committee, headed by CEO Chris Dehring, have absorbed many setbacks on the way, like the damage caused by Hurricane Ivan in Grenada and other islands, and overcome a shortage of cement in the construction of some stadiums.

The organisers also had to deal with cynics who had “predicted” that the infrastructure would not be ready in time and that the tournament would be a “disaster”.

They may be waiting to eat their words soon. We shall know the true picture as the tournament concludes April 28.—Agencies