While many people have dedicated the 14th of February to spend with their significant other, cricket enthusiasts around the world will only have one thing on their mind. Yet again, it is time for the spectacle that is the Cricket World Cup to take over our lives for one and a half months.
The previous 10 editions have seen five different nations crowned as the winners of the coveted trophy with Australia winning the tournament a record 4 times. This year too it seems that team Australia is a major contender. As one of the hosting nations, Australia will have the advantage of home conditions, and if recent history is anything to go by – victories against formidable opponents India and England – the team is in devastating form.
The Australian pace attack will be led by ICC Cricketer of the Year Mitchell Johnson who is undoubtedly one of the most lethal pace bowlers in the modern game, and he will be supported by young Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc. Steve Smith is in the form of his life and his string of consistent performances gives confidence to the likes of Dave Warner and Glenn Maxwell to cause havoc at the top of the innings.
The Australian team will be without the services of captain Michael Clarke for the first few games and his fitness will be tested throughout the competition. His deputy George Bailey is expected to take over his duties although many believe that Steve Smith is a better candidate.
With Xavier Doherty the only frontline spinner in the squad, Australia will have a tough time managing the run-rate during the middle part of the innings. Even then, it would take a massive effort from the opposing team to put off a confident and well-drilled Aussie outfit.
The other hosts of the tournament, New Zealand, are also in fantastic form after comfortably defeating Sri Lanka at home. The Blackcaps have never reached a World Cup final and have a golden opportunity to improve on that record in front their home fans.
The Kiwis will be led by Brendon McCullum who is in good nick and can be very explosive at the top of the order. Another player who has come to his own in recent years is 24-year-old Kane Williamson. Williamson struggled at the early stages of his career but a string of valuable performances now sees him with an impressive average of 46.26. Should McCullum emulate one of his trademark innings, the likes of Williamson and Taylor could ensure that New Zealand rack up mammoth totals.
The selectors will have a welcome headache when it comes to the pace bowling attack with Trent Boult, Mitchell McClenaghan, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne and Tim Southee all vying for a place in the team. Former skippers Dan Vettori and Ross Taylor will provide valuable experience to a squad brimming with confidence and hungry to stamp their claim as a serious contender.
South Africa will be trying desperately to shake off their “chokers” tag, and their star-studded line up is definitely not to be counted out just yet. The likes of AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn and Hashim Amla are sure to light the World Cup on fire with their performances.
Although India failed to qualify for the tri-series final against Australia and England, the defending champions are still a force to be reckoned with. Many fingers were pointed at Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni for lack of performances but given the temperament of both these players and the squad around them, we can expect India to do well in this tournament.
Runners-up in two consecutive World Cup finals, Sri Lanka is coming off a disappointing 4-2 series loss to New Zealand. With this being the last World Cup for Sri Lankan cricket icons Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, the team led by ‘Captain Marvel’ Mathews will be looking to give the stalwarts the perfect send-off.
Many cricket pundits do not expect Sri Lanka to go all the way in this competition but they seem to dig that extra inch deeper when it comes to multinational tournaments. The return of death-overs specialist Lasith Malinga will give the team an added boost, and spin twins Rangana Herath and Sachithra Senanayake will have a lot of responsibility placed on to stem the run flow and control the middle overs.
49 matches will take place from the 14th of February to the 29th of March across 14 venues. Australia will host 26 games in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney while New Zealand will host 23 games in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington. The final will take place in the prestigious Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Whatever the outcome, 44 days of action are bound to keep cricket fans on the edge of their seats. Whether it be an upset by an associate nation, a last-ball finish, or a spectacular individual performance, all of us just cannot wait for the history-making moments of Cricket World Cup 2015.
SQUADS
AFGHANISTAN
Afsar Zazai (wk), Aftab Alam, Asghar Stanekzai, Dawlat Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Javed Ahmadi, Merwais Ashraf, Mohammad Nabi (capt), Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Nawroz Mangal, Samiullah Shinwari, Shapoor Zadran, Usman Ghani.
AUSTRALIA
George Bailey, Michael Clarke (capt), Patrick Cummins, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner, Shane Watson.
BANGLADESH
Al-Amin Hossain, Anamul Haque, Arafat Sunny, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Taijul Islam, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
ENGLAND
Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Gary Ballance, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler (wk), Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan (capt), Joe Root, James Taylor, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes.
INDIA
Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Akshar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.
IRELAND
Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, Alex Cusack, George Dockrell, Ed Joyce, Andrew McBrine, John Mooney, Kevin O’Brien, Niall O’Brien (wk), William Porterfield (capt), *Max Sorensen, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson, Gary Wilson (wk), Craig Young.
*replaced the injured Tim Murtagh on 18 January
NEW ZEALAND
Brendon McCullum (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Grant Elliott, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Luke Ronchi (wkt), Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, Kane Williamson.
PAKISTAN
Ahmed Shehzad, Ehsan Adil, Haris Sohail, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), *Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Irfan, *Rahat Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Khan, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Younus Khan.
*replaced the injured Junaid Khan on 6 February
*replaced the injured Mohammad Hafeez on 8 February
SCOTLAND
Richie Berrington, Kyle Coetzer (vice-capt), Freddie Coleman, Matthew Cross (wk), Josh Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Majid Haq, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Preston Mommsen (capt), Safyaan Sharif, Rob Taylor, Iain Wardlaw.
SOUTH AFRICA
Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wk), AB de Villiers (capt & wk), JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir.
SRI LANKA
Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Dimuth Karunaratne, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga (subject to fitness), Angelo Mathews (capt), Jeevan Mendis, Thisara Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Kumar Sangakkara (wk), Sachithra Senanayake, Lahiru Thirimanne.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Mohammed Tauqir (Captain), Khurram Khan (Vice Captain), Swapnil Patil, Saqlain Haider, Amjad Javed, Shaiman Anwar, Amjad Ali, Nasir Aziz, Rohan Mustafa, Manjula Guruge, Andri Berenger, Fahad Al Hashmi, Muhammad Naveed, Kamran Shahzad, K Karate.
WEST INDIES
Sulieman Benn, Darren Bravo, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder (capt), *Nikita Miller, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Smith, Jerome Taylor.
*replaced the withdrawn Sunil Narine on 29 January
ZIMBABWE
Regis Chakabva (wk), Tendai Chatara, Chamu Chibhabha, Elton Chigumbura (capt), Craig Ervine, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Solomon Mire, Tawanda Mupariwa, Tinashe Panyangara, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor (wk), Prosper Utseya, Sean Williams.
| ICC Cricket World Cup Fixtures – FEBRUARY 2015 |
| 14 SAT New Zealand v Sri Lanka at Christchurch, 1st Match, Pool A Australia v England at Melbourne, 2nd Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 15 SUN South Africa v Zimbabwe at Hamilton, 3rd Match, Pool B (day/night) India v Pakistan at Adelaide, 4th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 16 MON Ireland v West Indies at Nelson, 5th Match, Pool B |
| 17 TUE New Zealand v Scotland at Dunedin, 6th Match, Pool A |
| 18 WED Afghanistan v Bangladesh at Canberra, 7th Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 19 THU United Arab Emirates v Zimbabwe at Nelson, 8th Match, Pool B |
| 20 FRI New Zealand v England at Wellington, 9th Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 21 SAT Pakistan v West Indies at Christchurch, 10th Match, Pool B Australia v Bangladesh at Brisbane, 11th Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 22 SUN Afghanistan v Sri Lanka at Dunedin, 12th Match, Pool A India v South Africa at Melbourne, 13th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 23 MON England v Scotland at Christchurch, 14th Match, Pool A |
| 24 TUE West Indies v Zimbabwe at Canberra, 15th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 25 WED Ireland v United Arab Emirates at Brisbane, 16th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 26 THU Afghanistan v Scotland at Dunedin, 17th Match, Pool A Bangladesh v Sri Lanka at Melbourne, 18th Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 27 FRI South Africa v West Indies at Sydney, 19th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 28 SAT New Zealand v Australia at Auckland, 20th Match, Pool A (day/night) India v United Arab Emirates at Perth, 21st Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| MARCH 2015 |
| 1 SUN England v Sri Lanka at Wellington, 22nd Match, Pool A Pakistan v Zimbabwe at Brisbane, 23rd Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 3 TUE Ireland v South Africa at Canberra, 24th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 4 WED Pakistan v United Arab Emirates at Napier, 25th Match, Pool B (day/night) Australia v Afghanistan at Perth, 26th Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 5 THU Bangladesh v Scotland at Nelson, 27th Match, Pool A |
| 6 FRI India v West Indies at Perth, 28th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 7 SAT Pakistan v South Africa at Auckland, 29th Match, Pool B (day/night) Ireland v Zimbabwe at Hobart, 30th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 8 SUN New Zealand v Afghanistan at Napier, 31st Match, Pool A Australia v Sri Lanka at Sydney, 32nd Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 9 MON Bangladesh v England at Adelaide, 33rd Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 10 TUE India v Ireland at Hamilton, 34th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 11 WED Scotland v Sri Lanka at Hobart, 35th Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 12 THU South Africa v United Arab Emirates at Wellington, 36th Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 13 FRI New Zealand v Bangladesh at Hamilton, 37th Match, Pool A (day/night) Afghanistan v England at Sydney, 38th Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 14 SAT India v Zimbabwe at Auckland, 39th Match, Pool B (day/night) Australia v Scotland at Hobart, 40th Match, Pool A (day/night) |
| 15 SUN United Arab Emirates v West Indies at Napier, 41st Match, Pool B Ireland v Pakistan at Adelaide, 42nd Match, Pool B (day/night) |
| 18 WED TBD v TBD at Sydney, 1st Quarter-Final (day/night) |
| 19 THU TBD v TBD at Melbourne, 2nd Quarter-Final (day/night) |
| 20 FRI TBD v TBD at Adelaide, 3rd Quarter-Final (day/night) |
| 21 SAT TBD v TBD at Wellington, 4th Quarter-Final (day/night) |
| 24 TUE TBD v TBD at Auckland, 1st Semi-Final (day/night) |
| 26 THU TBD v TBD at Sydney, 2nd Semi-Final (day/night) |
| 29 SUN TBD v TBD at Melbourne, Final (day/night) |
