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COVER STORY: Who will rule the world?
Will it be Australia again? Will Waqar Younis lift the Cup for unpredictable Pakistan? Will South Africa defy odds and become the first host to win the Cup? Or will Sourav Ganguly and his men continue their pre-Kiwi tour one-day success and take the Cup? It is not known yet and will not be clear until the World Cup final is played at Johannesburg in late March between the two sides that will outplay others in the league matches and the semifinals of the tourney.
But you can always make a guess and in order to make your guess clear and to the point, we have analyzed the seemingly better sides of the World Cup 2003. We have also gone a step ahead and named the handful of players who we believe will feature in their side’s success and may even take them close to the Cup. We believe that you will agree with our compilation which is based purely on merit and on current form.
The format of this year’s tournament is different from that of its predecessors. This year, a total of 54 matches will be played between February 9 and March 23 and an estimated 1.3 billion viewers will watch 210 men trying to achieve a common goal — the World Cup Trophy. A record number of 14 teams will take part in two pools of seven teams each. The pools are compiled according to a seeding system devised by the Executive Board of the International Cricket Council (ICC). The seedings are based on international rankings calculated according to the results of all limited overs internationals between the end of the last Cricket World Cup in June 1999 until the cutoff date of September 30, 2001.
A gigantic opening ceremony in Cape Town on Saturday, 8th February will mark the beginning of the 44-day long tournament while Johannesburg will have the honour of holding the final on Sunday, March 23. The 14 participating teams will play each other in the preliminary round where 42 matches will be played over a span of 24 days. After these matches, the top three teams from each pool will proceed to the next stage of the tournament known as the Super Six. The three teams from each group will carry with them the points scored in matches against the other qualifying teams in their pool. The Super Six will be played over a period of nine days and will be followed by the semifinals which will be played among the four best teams of the World Cup.
The semis will be played at Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, March 18, and at Durban on Thursday, March 20. While the first semifinal, played between the first and the fourth side, will be a day encounter, the second one will be a day and night affair where the second and the third team will play each other for a place in the final. The two better teams will qualify for the grand finale that will be played in Johannesburg on March 23, 2003.
The World Cup is not being played in South Africa only as it is generally believed. Apart from South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe will also be hosting a handful of matches. Games in South Africa will be staged in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Centurion, Bloemfontein, Paarl, Potchefstroom, East London, Benoni, Kimberley and Pietermaritzburg while Kenya will host two matches at Nairobi. If all goes well and no team boycotts its matches in Zimbabwe, then Zimbabwe will stage its six matches at Harare and Bulawayo.
After a look at the tournament, let’s cast an eye over the teams. While defending champions Australia are the favourites, teams like South Africa, Pakistan, India, West Indies and New Zealand are also strong contenders for the title.
A quick look at these sides, their track record in the World Cup and their best players will clear the matters for us.
Australia: They are the defending champions and professionals to the core. No team has been able to outclass them since their win at Lord’s. They are the world champions in both forms of the game and are the true favourites to win the Cup.
Track Record: Runners-up in 1975 and 1996. Winners in 1987 and 1999.
Players to look out for: Hard-hitting opening pair of Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden, middle-order batsman Ricky Ponting (Captain), leg-spinner Shane Warne and pace trio of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett lee.
South Africa: The South Africans have the advantage of playing at home. They have never reached the final of the World Cup in their three attempts but will try for the ultimate glory this year at home.
Track Record: Reached the semifinal in 1992, 1999.
Players to look out for: Bowling all-rounder Shaun Pollock (Captain), brilliant fieldsman Jonty Rhodes, all-rounder Jacques Kallis, opening pair of Herschelle Gibbs and Gary Kirsten and the fast bowling great Allan Donald.
Pakistan: Pakistan is a fantastic team and has an excellent bowling attack that, on its day, can rip through any batting lineup. The batting is also experienced but the unpredictability of both the departments not only cost Pakistan the World Cup in 1999 but also let them down in the latter half of 2002.
Track Record: Reached the semifinals in 1983, 1987, Winners in 1992, Runners-up in 1999.
Players to look out for: The pace trio of Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis, off-spin prodigy Saqlain Mushtaq, bowling all-rounders Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood and the batting trio of Inzamam-ul-Haq, Saeed Anwar and Yousuf Youhana.
India: The Indian team, before their New Zealand tour, was in full mood to win the World Cup. But their track record abroad remains shaky and might stop them from performing at their best this year. Nevertheless, the Indians have emerged as a superb one-day outfit in recent times and have good spinners, medium pacers and the best one-day batsmen in their ranks.
Track record: Winners in 1983, reached the semis in 1987 and 1996.
Players to look out for: Hard-hitting opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Sourav Ganguly (Captain), batting genius Sachin Tendulkar, batting all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid and Zaheer Khan.
West Indies: They are not as strong as they once were, but they have the ability to win matches at the right time. With Brian Lara back, the West Indians can tear any bowling attack.
Track record: Winners in 1975 and 1979, runners-up in 1983, reached the semis in 1996.
Players to look out for: Left-handed batsmen Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, fast bowler Pedro Collins and Mervyn Dillon and batting all-rounders Carl Hooper (Captain) and Marlon Samuels.
Sri Lanka: They shocked the world by winning the World Cup in 1996 but haven’t fared well since their historic triumph. Might win if Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan strike form.
Track record: Winners in 1996.
Players to look out for: Off-spinning sensation Muttiah Muralitharan, bowling all-rounders Sanath Jayasuriya (Captain) and Aravinda De Silva and fast bowler Dilhara Fernando.
England: Led by Nasser Hussain, they remain the only World Cup finalists who have never won the trophy. They have a good top order but with Darren Gough and Craig White unfit, their bowling might lack penetration.
Track record: Reached the semis in 1975, 1983, runners-up in 1979, 1987 and 1992.
Players to look out for: Openers Marcus Trescothick and Nick Knight, In-form batsman Michael Vaughn, wicket-keeper-batsman Alec Stewart, Nasser Hussain (captain) and Andrew Caddick.
New Zealand: By convincingly beating India in the seven-match series, Stephen Fleming sounded the Kiwi alarm at a time when the World Cup was just round the corner. With world-class all-rounders, New Zealand might stun the world with a win in the final.
Track record: Reached the semis in 1975, 1979, 1992 and 1999.
Players to look out for: Fast bowlers Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey, all-rounders Jacob Oram, Scott Styris and Chris Cairns.
This World Cup would mark the end of the cricketing careers of many great players. The list is headed by the all-time great left-arm quickie Wasim Akram while features Saeed Anwar, world record holder for the most runs (194) in an innings, Jonty Rhodes, the best fielder the game has witnessed and Gary Kirsten, who holds the record of most runs (188) in a World Cup innings. The famed players who will be bidding farewell to the game after this World Cup are: Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif and Saeed Anwar (Pakistan), Javagal Srinath (India), Alec Stewart (England), Allan Donald, Jonty Rhodes and Gary Kirsten (South Africa), Aravinda de Silva, Hashan Tillekaratne (Sri Lanka), Carl Hooper (West Indies) and Shane Warne.
The World Cup 2003 fever is at its height. While waiting anxiously to see who lifts the cup, all one can do is wait, let the 210 men fight for the Cup and may the best team rule the world!
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