World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

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and how would you rank them?here is what i think:

1.Australia:Strengths:Batting,fielding easily the best in the world.Weaknesses:Bowling in recent times has leaked a lot of runs and is more vulnerable than ever before especially with no brett lee.

2.South Africa:**Strengths:**Good batting side,good hitters coming down the order can be a handful on small grounds in west indies.Weaknesses:have a reputation of choking in big match situations however that was proven wrong when they chased down 400 plus against australia.no good spinner in the side on slow wickets that can hurt them.

3.**India:Strengths:**Batting order is one of the best in the world you just have to look at the avgs.**Weaknesses:**The big names don’t always deliver on big occasions ,the likes of tendulkar,dravid etc have been falining in big tournaments and especially overseas.Also fast bowling line up although improving is not one of the best in the world.

4.**Srilanka:Strengths:**easily the best fielding side in asia, also has the best captain in asia and are extremely well coached by moody. and ofcourse murali jaysurya and vaas are one of the best in the world.Weaknesses:no big hitters coming down the order thats where they suffer the most in the last 10.. also their bowling looks a bit thin apart from murali and vaas,maharoof and fenrnando leak too many runs.

5.NewZealand:Strengths:good all rounders,good hitters coming down the order which can be a key on small grounds in west indies.Weaknesses:Top order is inconsistent also the bowling looks a bit thin apart from bond and vettori.

6.Pakistan:**Strengths:**middle order batting, good hitters coming down the order although with razzaq not there that is bit of a problem now.Weaknesses:a lot of big names are missing,team is just not gonna be the same without them.Fast bowling often pakistan’s strength is probably bit of a weakness now with asif and shoaib out although its still superior to some teams.Fielding and running between the wickets needs to improve.Inzimam is a poor captain one of the worst in the world in my judgement.Openers are not the most talented,but I don’t think they would have too much of a problem if wickets are flat as they are expected to be in west indies.

7.West Indies:Strengths:They do well at home.Top 4 batsmen are one of the best in the world but thats about it Weaknesses:If their top 4 don’t fire the rest of their batting can collapse easily as we have seen so many times.Also they don’t have any great names in the bowling department

8.:England:Strengths:Flintoff and K.P Weaknesses:although they won recently I still think they don’t focus enough on one day cricket ..to them cricket is just about winning the ashes and the rest they can keep losing.

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

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I agree with above rating...except England..though they have been a disaster..they deserve to be somewhere above West Indies.

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

Could n't agree more. To them Ashes is the real deal and every other series a preparation for the next Ashes.

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

No. West Indies has a better chance with homne ground advantage. They've got Lara, Gayle and Chanderpaul. If one of them scores big, they win. If they don't, they lose. Simple as that. Sarwan is a wasted talent.

West Indies' bowling is not *that *bad. Stats show that they have a pretty decent economy rate in last 10 overs. But no real match winners.

England, however, really need KP back. This may be the tournament where he showcases his ability. Again, I don't think the pitches will be that great an asset to them due to lack of swing. With so many injuries and such a fallible batting line-up, I think we can count them below WI.

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

west indies is a bit over rated .i think pakistan should be able to beat them in the first game.but anything can happen in the world cup it comes down to who handles the pressure better.south africa could'nt handle the pressure last time around and lost badly eventhough they were a pretty good team

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

England may be better than WI.
Let's consider if Vaughan is fit enough to play, it's not necessary whether he contributes with his bat, but the very presence of him as an experienced captain will surely relieve all the pressure from Flintoff, who at the moment is overstretched by captaincy, bowling and batting.
Flintoff and K.P. can do it for England.
It's also a good opportunity for new bowlers like Plunkett-Panesar-Mahmood to give their best when there is less pressure of expectations!!

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

Australia

Strength: Best and the most consistent side in the world. Mental edge and still hungry for more. Aggressive and will always trounce you if you make a mistake. Captain, openers and a vetern bowler who can still get it done.

Weakness: No Brett Lee, age and other teams catching up. There was a time when no.1 spot was unreachable and the competation was between the lower order, not any more. For over 8 years now, they are the target, its just a matter of time teams will catch up.

South Africa

Strength: Openers, middle order and strike bowlers. Fitness, momentum and the no.1 spot. Great fielding and focus on the World Cup.

Weakness: Jinx of loosing big games, in ablity to play spin and never been put as the favourites to win World Cup, which means that loosing World Cup even in the finals will be considered a failure for them.

India

Strength: Batting order that is long, effective and able to chase down runs. Dravid, Yuvraj and Tendulkar. Good fielding side.

Weakness: One-dimensional team, has to rely mostly on their batsmen for wins and inconsistency of Dhoni and Sehwag.

Pakistan

Strength: Middle order, vetern squad, varity and great all rounders. Players that can take away the game when in flow, the underdog mentality.

Weakness: Openers that define their unpredictablity. Momentum that defines their confidence and fielding. Pace attack lacks the bite.

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

good analysis. Totally agreed

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

Has anyone looked @ Ireland team :eek: mujhe to sachi mein daar lag raha hai for men in green :bummer: kahin 99 ka dejavu na ho jaye. :konfused:

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

Good analysis from both.

The absence of Brett Lee will not be factored in as much. This theory could be completely off-balance, but Shaun Tait as his replacement is more than able to fill in the role of his predecessor. He has an exceptional pace. In a handful of matches, few have witnessed his warm-up deliveries clocking at 96 mph. Quite wayward, given, but ferocious.

A minor addition in the bowling department would be a mere economical James Franklin.

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

Of course, with Pak team anything and everything is possible (Asif/Shoaib or No Asif/Shoaib). They can lose to Bermuda(or Ireland) one day and defeat Australia the next day. So your fears are not really unfounded.

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Re: World Cup:Strengths and weaknesses of teams

1999 main toi phir bhi theeh Khele the until that shambolic performance in the Final, dar to yeh hai ke iss baar kahin 2003 se bhi bara gul na khila ke aiyen