Imran Khan and Kapil Dev are two gentlemen who know a thing or two or three about cricket. So when they say that Australia is the favourite to win despite their recent poor run, it needs to be taken seriously. Okay, so we will. But just a few questions and answers and points…
The pitches in the West Indies are going to be batsman friendly (based on all reports coming out so far) and the closing overs of each inning would be crucial. So to actually do well, a team needs a good batsman lower down the order and a good bowler at the death. Australia has Hussey and Hodge with the bat and McGrath with the ball. But just McGrath may not be enough. So there’s a problem.
Most teams that have won the tournament so far have come off a run of good finishes. Sure there are exceptions and momentum can be built through the tournament as Imran would know but this is modern day cricket where surprises are few and far in between. Any self-doubts Australia may be nursing could well be their downfall. This holds true for all teams, mind you. The point of this is to emphasise that Australia is not the favourite at the start of the tournament at least. A loss to South Africa (which is possible) may dent their confidence further and cost points going into the Super Eight stage.
Some of the other teams who have what Australia doesn’t are India, England and on recent form, New Zealand. They have the finishers and the bowlers at the death (maybe New Zealand doesn’t!). But South Africa seems best equipped and unless they have another case of ‘choking’, they would be the favourites at this moment.
Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan hold much promise but will be let down by their bowling and to some extent, fielding. Infighting and lack of form will further hamper preparation. Sorry this sounds like a tarot card reading, but one wishes former players would not go about making statements that demoralise their own teams. Even if their intentions were to spur the home team on. Which we seriously doubt, but you never know how the genius mind works!