Every World Cup brings to the fore a new set of stars who one expects will replace some of the outgoing ones. On current evidence, there are a whole of lot of outgoing ones, but not nearly as many new ones on the horizon. Or are there?

Lasith Malinga is undoubtedly the latest bowling sensation to hit the cricketing world. His unusual action with some pretty good control and a heroic effort against South Africa have ensured he is in the news. And the Sri Lankans know that in Malinga, they have a future star and performer. They need to protect him against burnout and ensure he can play as long as possible.

The West Indies may have argued that Jerome Taylor is a new rising phenom but the team’s results are just not good enough. Nonetheless, he is a talent and something of a rarity in the West Indies: fast, accurate and wicket-taking! Another asset that needs to be managed well lest he also go the route some other promising talent did (remember Franklin Rose?).

Of course, more stars are born out of a situation more than choice. By that argument, players like Paul Collingwood, Shaun Tait, Andrew Flintoff, Shane Bond, Monty Panesar, Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith and many others still have a chance to make an impact. They have already done their bit but as we get closer to the part where nerves start to jangle, a player’s character would be tested. Even for someone like Malinga, could he repeat half his 4-in-4 in the semis against Australia? That would be the true test of his character.

It’s not all about the young stars, though. Old hands like Jacques Kallis, Sanath Jayasuriya, Matt Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Glenn McGrath, Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shaun Pollock have already tasted success. With almost all the above playing in their last World Cup, the scramble to finish on a high is going to be tremendous! Which is where a little help from the younger stars in the team won’t hurt! A couple of exceptional performances from some of the younger players would go a long way and the experience of the seniors could well win the day!

So who has the best combination of the young and the old stars? We would think Sri Lanka!