The World of World Cup Cricket 2015: A Sneak Peak
The most awaited tournament of the year the ICC World Cup 2015 is starting from Saturday 14 February 2015. The world cup matches are to be held in Australia and New Zealand. Some of the iconic grounds will be part of cricketing history as it is written in the next forty-four days.
Australia
- Team Members: Michael Clarke, George Bailey, Pat Cummins, Xavier Doherty, James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Brad Haddin, Josh Hazlewood,Mitchell Johnson,Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Mitchell Starc,David Warner, Shane Watson.
- Captain: Michael Clarke
- Coach: Darren Lehmann
- ICC Ranking: 1
- Champions: 1987, 1999, 2003, 2007
- Final year: 1975, 1987, 1996,1999,2003,2007
- Strength: The team has a strong middle order and a master blaster opening pair.
- Weakness: A Mammoth pressure on the team will be there as they need to perform on the fields of home country
- Bright stars to watch in 2015: Mitchell Johnson is a genuine pace bowler and a decent batsman. He posses the talent of turning the match single handedly. David Warner is a belligerent, aggressive and a destructive opener. His ODI average is 33, and he can provide an explosive start.
- Prediction by Indiacafe24 Team: Indiacafe24 experts believe that chances are high for this team to be in the finals
India
- Team Members: MS Dhoni,Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny,Shikhar Dhawan,Ravindra Jadeja,Virat Kohli,Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Mohammed Shami,Axar PatelAjinkya Rahane,Suresh Raina,Ambati Rayudu,Mohit Sharma,Rohit Sharma,Umesh Yadav,Ishant Sharma.
- Captain: Mahindra Singh Dhoni
- Coach: Duncan Fletcher
- ICC Ranking: 2
- Champions: 1983, 2011
- Final year: 1983, 2003, 2011
- Strength: The batting line-up for Team India is very strong. The captain is well experienced, and team India too is well experienced about the cricket grounds of the hosting countries
- Weakness: Considering the bowling side, and specially pace attack- Team India stands weakest in the team list
- Bright stars to watch in 2015: Virat Kohli is an amazing stroke player and has been consistently performing. R Ashwin has many shades, one among them includes the carom ball for troubling the opponent team.
- Prediction by Indiacafe24 Team: In spite of a weak bowling line Indiacafe24 team experts believe to see this team in top 4 teams of this season
South Africa
- Team Members: AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Kyle Abbott,Farhaan Behardien,Quinton de Kock,Jean-Paul Duminy,Faf du Plessis,Imran Tahir,David Miller,Morne Morkel,Wayne Parnell,Aaron Phangiso,Vernon Philander,Rilee Rossouw,Dale Steyn
- Captain: AB De Villiers
- Coach: Russell Domingo
- ICC Ranking: 3
- Champions: 0
- Final year: 0
- Strength: AB and Amla available to offer batting strength to the team. Miller and De Kock all set to set the field on fire
- Weakness: Batting lineup is weak against spin. The performance so far in any world Cup was miserable
- Bright stars to watch in 2015: Hashim Amla is the most consistent batsmen who is in top order and so expectations are pretty high. Faf Du Plessis is a regular performer, can bat anywhere, and is a valuable asset for the team.
- Prediction by Indiacafe24 Team: In spite of several weaknesses experts believe that for the first time this team may be a part of final 2 teams group
Sri Lanka
- Team Members: Angelo Mathews,Lahiru Thirimanne,Dushmantha Chameera,Dinesh Chandimal,Tillakaratne Dilshan,Rangana Herath,Dimuth Karunaratne,Nuwan Kulasekara,Suranga Lakmal,Lasith Malinga,Jeevan Mendis,Thisara Perera,Kumar Sangakkara,Sachithra Senanayake,Dhammika Prasad, Mahela Jayawardene
- Captain: Angelo Mathews
- Coach: Marvan Atapattu
- ICC Ranking: 4
- Champions: 1996
- Final year: 1996, 2007, 2011
- Strength: The energetic generation of Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Malinga, and Dilshan would want to win the world cup at the fag end of their career.
- Weakness: Bowling end is highly depended on Malinga. The form of the team is been scratchy.
- Bright stars to watch in 2015: Sangakkara he is one of the dependable players of Sri Lanka’s batting. The left-hander’s form in his last world cup will decide his team’s fate largely. Lasith Malinga is all set to trouble batsmen and ruin the opposition.
- Prediction by Indiacafe24 Team: Experts of Indiacafe24 believe that on a sure shot note this team will be in the quarterfinals
England
- Team Members: Eoin Morgan,Jos Buttler,Moeen Ali,James Anderson,Gary Ballance,Ian Bell,Ravi Bopara,Stuart Broad,Steven Finn,Alex Hales,Chris Jordan,Joe Root,James Taylor,James Tredwell,Chris Woakes
- Captain: Eoin Morgan
- Coach: Peter Moores
- ICC Ranking: 5
- Champions:
- Final year:1979,1987,1992
- Strength: The team has efficient batsman who can contribute efficiently to building significant totals
- Weakness: The absence of Alastair Cook and J Kevin Pietersen will create huge pressure on the mental strength of the team
- Bright stars to watch in 2015: IAN Bell’s high voltage experience will play a vital role and will be the main favorite towards building the batting attack for the team. Steven Finn is a deadly player who can create pressure on the opponent team. Jos Butler is a trust worthy player which an exceptional power of giving super finish.
- Prediction by Indiacafe24 Team: The team is predicted to be a part of the 8 teams group in quarter finals
New Zealand
- Team Members: BRENDON MCCULLUM,TRENT BOULT,GRANT ELLIOT,TOM LATHAM,MARTIN GUPTILL,MITCHELL MCCLENAGHAN,NATHAN MCCULLUM,KYLE MILLS,ADAM MILNE,DANIEL VETTORI,KANE WILLIAMSON,COREY ANDERSON,TIM SOUTHEE,LUKE RONCHI,ROSS TAYLOR
- Captain: Brendon Mccullum
- Coach: Mike Hesson
- ICC Ranking: 6
- Champions: 0
- Final year: 0
- Strength: A strong batting and bowling line up. The team has been in excellent form in the buildup
- Weakness: The team will have to cope with the mental pressures of being a host and a dark horse as per many pundits
- Bright stars to watch in 2015: MITCHELL MCCLENAGHAN is one of the stars to watch for. Helpful conditions will aid his efforts to provide constant breakthroughs for the team. KANE WILLIAMSON is a batsman who will be looked up to steady the ship and accelerate at the right time. LUKE RONCHI is enjoying the best period of his career. He will be a crucial lynchpin in the end stages of the match.
- Prediction by Indiacafe24 Team: The team is expected to reach at least the semi-final stage of the tournament.
Pakistan
- Team Members: MISBAH-UL-HAQ,AHMED SHEHZAD,SARFRAZ AHMED,YOUNIS KHAN,HARIS SOHAIL,UMAR AKMAL,SOHAIB MAQSOOD,SHAHID AFRIDI,YASIR SHAH,MOHAMMAD IRFAN,EHSAN ADIL,SOHAIL KHAN,WAHAB RIAZ, RAHAT ALI,NASIR JAMSHED
- Captain: MISBAH-UL-HAQ.
- Coach: Waqar Younis.
- ICC Ranking: 7
- Champions: 1992
- Final year: 1992, 1999
- Strength: They are an extremely unpredictable side. They have players who can win matches on their own.In short we can say Pakistan is a team which can create miracle at any point of the time
- Weakness: The ability to self-destruct is something that will follow this side. In addition, the absence of Saeed Ajmal will be a huge handicap.
- Bright stars to watch in 2015: The seven-foot fast bowler, MOHAMMAD IRFAN can cause problems for any teams given the seaming conditions and pitches. Among the batsmen, SHAHID AFRIDI until date remains the biggest match-winner in the team.
- Prediction by Indiacafe24 Team: Quarter Finals place can be easily achieved by the team as predicted by experts
West Indies
- Team Members: JASON HOLDER, MARLON SAMUELS, SULIEMAN BENN,DARREN BRAVO,JONATHAN CARTER,SHELDON COTTRELL,CHRIS GAYLE,DENESH RAMDIN,KEMAR ROACH,ANDRE RUSSELL,DARREN SAMMY,LENDL SIMMONS,DWAYNE SMITH,JEROME TAYLOR,NIKITA MILLER
- Captain: JASON HOLDER
- Coach: Stuart Williams
- ICC Ranking: 8
- Champions: 1975, 1979,
- Final year: 1975, 1979, 1983
- Strength: The team has a number of unknown players. They are a bunch of wildcards who can stun any opposition with ease.
- Weakness: The inexperience of the lineup, a young, inexperienced captain, and dependence on three or four players will be a huge clink in their armor.
- Bright stars to watch in 2015: Chris Gayle continues to be the mainstay of the team. Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy continue to be the players who can help them move forward in the competition.
- Prediction by Indiacafe24 Team: In spite of being a team with new members experts believe that this team may be a part of Quarter Finals group.
There are six other teams in the competition.
Bangladesh
- Captain: Mashrafe Mortaza
Zimbabwe
- Captain: Elton Chigumbura
Ireland
- Captain: William Porterfield
Afghanistan
- Captain: Mohammad Nabi
Scotland
- Captain: Preston Mommsen
United Arab Emirates
- Captain: Mohammad Tauqir
Of these Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Ireland will be hoping to cause some jitters. Other like Afghanistan and Scotland, will also be hoping to win at least one match in their group. The United Arab Emirates are too weak a team to cause any upset or register a win.
Leave a Reply