Clayton Murzello's guide to the biggest extravaganza in cricket
Clayton Murzello's guide to the biggest extravaganza in cricket
1: Sachin TendulkarMost cricket fans expect Sachin Tendulkar to call it a day after this World Cup. Others reckon that irrespective of how India fares in the World Cup, he will quit only when he is ready for life without cricket. It's extraordinary that a batsman goes into a World Cup with four ODIs in 12 months. But then, that's how Tendulkar has decided to preserve himself for one-day cricket's biggest stage. In one of those four games, he scored a double century ufffd ODI cricket's one and only! Now, just watch and enjoy!
2: Shahid AfridiCaptaincy does not make a difference to Shahid Afridi's cricket. That's what makes him one of the most destructive men with willow in hand. The ball is not going to swing and bounce a lot in the sub-continent and Afridi will thrive on this advantage. His leg-spin bowling can be exciting to watch too although he can come under the microscope of match referees looking for suspect bowling actions.
3: Sri Lanka Apart from being the only host team to win a World Cup (they won the 1996 World Cup jointly hosted by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), Sri Lanka have all the ammo to be counted as serious contenders. They play all their Group games at home except the one against New Zealand in Mumbai. Skipper Sangakkara can grind an attack and T Dilshan can turn off the party lights for the opposition with his scintillating strokeplay, while veteran Mahela Jayawardene can be a colossus when it comes to counter attacking. And there's no good reason to
believe that Muttiah Muralitharan's brilliance has been dulled by Test retirement.
4: UDRS"I am not going to buy a life jacket that doesn't come with a warranty," is how India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni chose to describe his reluctance to embrace the Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS) because he is unsure about the technology used.
But he can't help toeing the line now since this is an International Cricket Council event. All the same, UDRS is an attempt to negate umpiring errors which have attracted the approval of a majority of players. Don't miss the
suspense before a verdict.
5: Hot headsEvery team has them, but no one with a greater reputation than Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar. The Indians too can turn on the aggression. Guys like Gautam Gambhir and S Sreesanth can cross the line and so can Harbhajan Singh. In Dhoni, Sreesanth has a skipper, who brooks no indiscipline, and has gone on record to slam the paceman. Hopefully, the role of match referees will be restricted to the air-conditioned box they sit in and not at disciplinary hearings.
6: Part-time spinnersYuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Michael Clarke ufffdthese men can be classified as batting all-rounders, who can make an impact in the crucial middle overs on slow, sub-continental pitches with low bounce.
Captains have the option of introducing these bowlers at a stage when batting teams are strengthening the platform laid down by the openers. If India plays Australia in the knockout stage of the tournament, don't rule out Ponting throwing the ball to Clarke. As for Yuvraj, his recent bowling form can help him retain his place in the playing XI.
7: Big shotsNo, we are not referring to the cash-heavy IPL players, but strokes of adventure by innovative batsmen. England's Kevin Pietersen is the biggest exponent of the switch hit, which he first employed in the English summer of 2008. Sri Lanka's T Dilshan will employ his trademark scoop shot ufffd now christened the Dilscoop. New Zealand's Brendon McCullum is no slouch with the scoop too.
8: FansWhat is one-day cricket without packed houses? And what are packed houses without groups who sing, dance and make merry all day. Indian cricket lovers will be all over banging away with whatever is permitted at the ground while the Sri Lankans will be 'dancing in the aisles' as commentator Tony Greig will remind you on air.
9: CommentatorsCricket lovers, who like their television coverage layered with more meat than salad dressing, this is the World Cup for you. Commentators like Ian Chappell, Sanjay Manjrekar, Mike Atherton will please the one-day purists and will also take to the funny, yet in-depth, David Lloyd from England. Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri will continue to be steady, but let's see how Sourav Ganguly does in his 50-50 World Cup commentary debut.
10: MiD DAYDon't let your cricketing day end without reading MiD DAY. Apart from our touring correspondents and photographers, we have Ian Chappell and Ayaz Memon as experts. Our pastime page has a daily crossword and quiz. Don't miss the daily spoof and our third man, who goes by the
initials of M S.
