Sneak preview: England

Won't even make the super eights; how can we bring back Darren Gough; are there any more 40 year olds left to debut; can't bowl, can't bat and can't field. These were some of the comments going around as England just could not find a way to even compete in an ODI in Australia, let alone winning one. However, all that changed as they came back in an astounding manner to win 4 games in a row to win the tournament in Australia, surprising everyone. And now they are claimed to be the favorites for winning the World Cup by many and I think thats just high hopes. And through this post, I hope to convince why.

The first main reason is England's inability to deal with Vaughan. I agree that Vaughan is a necessity in the test team, but in an ODI team, his performances are there for everyone to see and he is clearly not indispensable as seen from England's victories in Australia. Granted that he is an inspirational leader and he was partly responsible for the turnaround in Gabba before breaking down again, but I still think its not worth risking a non-performing captain in such a big tournament. He has had no match practice whatsoever except for a few games in Australia and he failed with the bat in almost all of them. And I am sure it must be frustrating for Flintoff to be thrown the captaincy everytime Vaughan is injured and have it unfairly taken away as soon as he returns. I think a team needs a stable leader and this is where I think Sri Lanka got it right with Jayawardene despite the return of Atapattu.

England's second big problem is a lack of decent opening pair. I think Strauss should be restored to the top of the order, as I am sure he will hit form in the World cup. Also with Pieterson returning, there is no place in the middle order. And presumably Vaughan will be the other opener when he returns with Joyce being his backup. I really don't see either making an impact. Bell could be a useful #3 on the slow pitches but he tends to get bogged down a lot and hence could create added pressure on Pieterson and Flintoff. The middle order of Peterson, Collingwood and Flintoff is really England's strength and their progress in the tournament really depends on how quickly Pieterson can hit the straps again after recovering from injury. Collingwood once again showed how valuable he is to the team and is someone who can keep the scoreboard ticking and score a 25(30) with no one even noticing. Paul Nixon will be #7 and although he scored a few useful knocks, the jury is still out on him. That leaves Ravi Bopara as the other batting backup and he is largely untested too.

England's real big problem is their bowling attack consisting of Anderson (assuming he recovers), Plunkett, Mahmood and Panesar. I just don't see them creating a big impact by taking wickets nor are they capable of restricting teams to small totals. Nor does the backup of Jon Lewis or Dalrymple seem any better. England are probably better off playing Bopara or Dalrymple at #7 and going in with only 3 specialist bowlers and Flintoff with Collingwood and Bopara/Dalrymple sharing the 5th bowlers quota. Atleast this gives them a better chance of chasing down targets or setting large targets when batting first.

Prediction: For all reasons mentioned above, England will not definitely make the semi finals in this World cup.