It’s quite fair and lovely!

South Africa players celebrate during their match against Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Saturday. Pic/AFP

The ideal finish for an elite tournament is to have the two best teams reach the final. The best result then is to have those two teams embroiled in a stirring finish.

If that occurred in the 2023 men's 50-over cricket World Cup it would probably entail a great game between India and - despite their spluttering start - England. However, it's not often we have a breathtaking 2019-style finish to a World Cup, where a determined England just overcame a gritty New Zealand on a contentious count back system.

Also Read: ICC World Cup 2023: Devon Conway could come in England's way

Versatile India

The 2023 World Cup is the fairest format where the 10 competing teams all play each other. That way a winner can't be accused of not meeting one of the formidable teams.

India will start favourites as the most versatile squad in the competition but they also play in home conditions. The second aspect could be either a blessing or a burden as there will be enormous expectation from an excitable fan base.

How India copes with that burden will determine their length of stay in the tournament.

Apart from the home team and the defending champion, other sides likely to feature in semi-final contention are Australia, a feisty New Zealand and the unpredictable but dangerous Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

The uppermost thought of the groundsmen in this tournament should be that cricket is at it is best when the bowlers have a chance of taking a wicket. The pitches will play their part; as the tournament develops the wear and tear on the playing surfaces will determine the likely influence of talented spinners.

It's to be hoped that the semi-final and final pitches avoid any pitfalls and provide a true test of talent for the teams good enough to make it to the knockout stage.

Captains' dilemma

The skilled and brave captains will have a big influence on their team's fortunes but they must be prepared to make some important decisions.

Even though bats have improved and boundaries are shorter, captains need to pick bowlers who a likely wicket taker. The gap between thinking wickets or just relying on containment is wide and reliance purely on the latter can hand a big advantage to good batsmen. Captains must also give attacking bowlers field placings that encourage taking wickets in ways other than bowled or leg before wicket.

Captains must realise talented batsmen are hard to contain. However they can't score runs while sitting in the pavilion after being dismissed - wickets do matter.

Therefore, taking wickets in the middle overs is crucial and good spinners have a huge role to play. If the batting side are reduced to their tail in the final overs, you have a far greater chance of restricting a chase. If however the best batsmen are in and set during the final charge then the fielding side is generally in trouble.

This places an important emphasis on the decision at the toss - is it best to bat or bowl first? Obviously dew concerns play a part in that decision, but batting first and posting a large total must be a consideration. Scoreboard pressure can be worth a couple of wickets to the fielding side if they bowl well after posting a sizeable total.

This also emphasises the importance of first-class fielding. The teams that hang on to difficult, important chances and effect tough run outs will give themselves a chance of victory.

Despite all the ramifications and difficult decisions its crucial teams remember a succinct but effective Richie Benaud philosophy, "The simpler you keep the game the better off you'll be."

Based on form and financial clout the big three - India, England and Australia should all make the semi-finals. The team that takes fourth place will probably come from New Zealand, Pakistan or Sri Lanka.

A big concern for bilateral cricket is that finance is directly influencing form on the field. Nevertheless, cricket also provides an arena for upset and New Zealand, playing with their usual spirited determination, provided the first one in the opening fixture.