ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 Could be Anybody’s Game

As the latest edition of the ICC World Cup opened officially on the 17th February to a spectacular ceremony in Bangladesh, expert reviews suggest that many teams could fancy their chances to 2011 World Cup glory.

Australia, winner of the last three World Cups, finds them in an unfamiliar situation, as they enter the tournament as one of the contenders for the 2011 Cup along with England, India, and Sri Lanka. There are other teams too capable of winning, South Africa, capable of proving that the chokers tag no longer apply to them, and Pakistan, who could very well rise to the big occasion despite their internal issues. So it looks anybody’s game, and for a World Cup this is something not usual as the history would suggest.

World Cup history shows that most of the past cups were dominated by stronger team that were fancied to win even before the first ball was bowled. When things never went as predicted – a tribute to this game of uncertainties – the cup went to a team that slayed the Goliath. The only real exception was the 1992 final which featured Pakistan and England, won by the former under the charismatic leadership of Imran Khan.

Most of Cup’s history could be split into two eras, the early World Cups commencing 1975 when West Windies ruled the game, and then the later era where the Australians dominated the rest. In between these two phases were glittering performances by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in different Cups . The West Indies reign from 1975 onwards was ended in 1983 World Cup Finals by an Indian team under the captaincy Kapil Dev who believed in the impossible. Australia then emulated the same type of supremacy Windies had over their opponents, and barring 1992 and 1996 World Cups, were unstoppable and won predictably. In the 1996 World Cup, Sri Lanka shocked Australia in the finals. Although this was not so much of an upset as the one India created over the Windies in 1983, the manner in which Sri Lanka executed the overall World Cup campaign proved that with the right approach and mind set, any good team could clinch the Cup. However, unlike Windies, Australia were back in business as they went on to win the following three World Cups, last being 2007.

The 2011 edition sans legendary swashbucklers in the mould of Sir Viv Richards and Adam Gilchrist who could take the opposition by the scruff of the neck, nor are there all rounders in the calibre of Sir Ian Botham, Kapil Dev, Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, capable of blowing opposition away by sheer individual brilliance, be it in batting or bowling. But the 2011 Cup may see some of the cricketing legends in the twilight of their career, legends in the making, and many talented young cricketers, make this World up their own. Two of modern day greats, the Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, and the Sri Lankan spin wizard Muralidharan, may be playing in their final World Cup. All major Cup aspirants have world class players with past World Cup experience, Dhoni, Sangakkara, Pieterson, and Kallis, to name a few.

Minnows such as Canada and Kenya are not expected to make any significant impact, although they are capable of springing a surprise win or two against major teams, on their day. Bangladesh, with the home advantage are expected to do better than a typical minnow, but not fancied to progress far in the tournament. New Zealand, currently on a low, may not be able to come with any heroics.

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Posted by Crazymcnick81@yahoo.com on Feb 20 2011. Filed under New, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.