Despite widespread forecasting of it's demise, 50-over cricket re-enters the spotlight as the 10th ICC World Cup gets underway in Asia this weekend.
Three countries - India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, will jointly host the event which sees 14 nations competing for a title won on the last three occasions by Australia. The teams will be split into two groups of seven, with the top four from each group all qualifying for the quarter-final stage. It is hoped that this format for the second phase, replacing the complex and seemingly endless 'Super Eight' group stage used in past tournaments will give the competition some much-need unpredictability and excitement.
Yet a quick look at the structure of the groups is all the cynic needs to label the outcome of the first phase predictable. In group A it is hard to look past Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand while over in Group B you might expect England to emerge alongside India, South Africa and the West Indies.
One possible exception to that might be Bangladesh, who as joint hosts for the first time have had their chances talked up more than in any previous tournament. The cricket-mad Bangladesh public is gripped by the event, raising expectations even higher for a team who, it must be remembered, have consistently failed to establish themselves as a genuine force in any form of the international game. Joining them in Group B will be Ireland and the Netherlands, who shocked England at the 2009 T20 World Cup, while in Group A Canada, Kenya and the returning Zimbabwe will be hoping to spring a surprise.
When looking for an overall winner things become less predictable. You can make a case for and against almost all of the major cricket playing nations before a ball is bowled. The extra knockout phase complicates things still further, and many ties may very well come down to who holds their nerve and performs on the day. The Australians are nowhere near the force of old (despite looking impressive in thrashing England 6-1 in the recent ODI series). With stars like Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne long gone they will also suffer from the loss though injury of Mike Hussey and the continued absence of the once formidable Andrew Simonds. Brett Lee leads a bowling attack which looks brittle elswhere, though John Hastings showed much promise in the one-sided romp over the English.
Home advantage could either help or hinder the Indians' bid for a first world title since 1983. The batting still looks powerful with the evergreen run machine that is Sachin Tendulkar ably assisted by the likes of Gautam Gambhir, Youvraj Singh and the explosive Virender Sehwag. Alongside them, India's X-factor could be the talented, big-hitting Yusuf Pathan.
South Africa are noted for crumbling in big games (witness the farcial run-out between Lance Klusener and Alan Donald with only one-run needed in the 1999 semi-final against Australia) and have had more than their fair share of bad luck with the weather down the years. Yet they retain a strong looking squad and will be a major threat. Graeme Smith has played countless destructive ODI innings for his country, while Hashim Amla, AB De Villiers and Lonwabo Tsotsobo add further batting depth. Dale Steyn is among the best fast bowlers in the world, and with Jacques Kallis still going strong the Proteas are a match for anyone on their day. It's just hard to know whether or not it is going to be their day.
England's Aussie humbling and a series of injuries have caused pessimism about their chances of adding the World Cup to the T20 title they won last year. Greame Swann has been a major factor in their success in recent times but has been battling injury of late, as have Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan. The loss of Eoin Morgan from the batting department looks key, with the enigma that is Ravi Bopara called in to replace the Middlesex man. Moving Kevin Pietersen to the top of the order may be seen as a gamble by some but could provide the early impetus to an innings that was so successful for the Australians during the pomp of Hayden and Gilchrist. Pietersen's move also sees Matt Prior looking more comfortable down the order, but there must still be concerns over the form of Paul Collingwood and even Andrew Strauss going into their opener against the Dutch on February 22.
James Anderson has matured into one of the world's premier bowlers and he, alongide a fit-again Swann could be the difference for England with the ball. Yet Michael Yardy and Luke Wright are still to convince at this level, and James Tredwell and Ajmal Shahzad lack experience.
Muttiah Muralitharan will play his last international cricket in a Sri Lankan team which looks still to be in a development phase. Much will depend on his brilliance and that of Lasith 'the slinger' Malinga if the third host nation are going to get near to repeating their heroics of 1996. New Zealand have big game players like Jesse Ryder and Brenan McCullum, aswell as one of the shrewdest captains and most effective one-day spin bowlers in Daniel Vettori but it is highly questionable whether they have the depth to sustain a genuine challenge. West Indies seem to have been in transition forever, though if Chris Gayle can consistently find his best form they could set and chase down some big totals. Pakistan seem to rumble from one off-field disaster to another and wil need skipper Shaheed 'Boom Boom' Afridi to unite them and to produce his best form with both bat and ball if they are to be genuine contenders.
It all begins with two hosts, India and Bangladesh facing off in Mirpur on Saturday (February 19). Six weeks and 48 matches later, the remaining two teams will fight it out for the title in Mumbai on April 2.
