There is growing uneasiness among all teams gathered in the Caribbean and understandably so. The World Cup officially kicks off next week, but for two weeks after that, there’s just one key match per team. For the fans, there are just four important matches. Here are the dates to remember and the matches that will be worth following in round 1:

March 13: West Indies v Pakistan (Jamaica)
March 16: England v New Zealand (St. Lucia)
March 23: India v Sri Lanka (Trinidad)
March 24: Australia v South Africa (St. Kitts)

Of all these teams, Pakistan would consider themselves unluckiest. They start their campaign with the most important match in the first round and they stand to lose momentum by the time they play next in the Super Eight stage. Their chances of winning are also not the best with the West Indies enjoying the home advantage and having had a better time of it lately. In the 12 days or so between their first match and the first Super Eight match (assuming they finish second in Group D), the will play Zimbabwe and Ireland. Bob Woolmer has a task on his hands.

For the betting inclined, here are the current odds as published by Ladbrokes: Australia 9/4, South Africa 4/1, Sri Lanka 7/1, West Indies 7/1, England 8/1, India 8/1, New Zealand 8/1, Pakistan 12/1. Australia is obvious favourites despite their recent form. South Africa is a close second, Sri Lanka and West Indies third followed by England, India and New Zealand and finally, Pakistan. For Pakistan to really make an impact, they would need an Imran Khan to lead them. Inzamam doesn’t quite fit the bill there.

Among the minnows, Zimbabwe has fallen below Bangladesh. What this means is matches involving Bangladesh may have better cricket than those involving Zimbabwe. May be true! Bermuda has very long shot at the cup and to be honest, I don’t know why we should even consider these teams! Well, here are the odds in any case: Bangladesh 200/1, Zimbabwe 250/1, Kenya 500/1, Scotland 500/1, Canada 1000/1, Holland 1000/1, Ireland 1000/1, Bermuda 2000/1.

These odds would have changed a bit by the time the Super Eight starts and there is little doubt that any of the minnows would be involved in those matches. For one, there are no games that are being forfeited and no walkovers to give free points to the minnows. As Ian Chappell rightly said, this is the most open World Cup in a long time (perhaps since 1992) where more than four teams have a real chance of winning.

It’s just that there’s a two-week wait after the start for the real action!