Yipee!!Its Cricket fever

Whooray!! Guess what, its World Cup again .. OMG, the fact has not sunk in as yet and i am sure it wont be long for me to get into the addtictive fever. Watch out guys, its going to be one from the sub-continent I feel!.

My money is either on India or SL.

India I feel have a nice balance going in into the competition. The opening is sorta settled with the comeback man "Dada" doing a splendid work. I think its time that we celebrate the fact that we have people like him in the team doing some excellent work. I think Dravid, Sachin and Saurav will go down as one of the best ambassadors for the nation. They are truly youth icons for the nation.
Ahem - not youth anymore but then hey, so it might be their last WC after all.. So why not give it our best show in terms of support and voice for our nation. After all, there is nothing wrong in supporting your own team in competitions like WC when country pride comes before your preference. As i write this, I know people who follow my google nicks would feel like shooting me down. Yea folks, I know i am an Aussie by heart but then lo!they are the best as a team when in song.

And in song has been on for some time with the Aussies. The team was glorious under Taylor and then Waugh took it into a different level. And now, its Punter who is at the helm of the ship and sterring the team into its third straight WC victory seems not so obvious but then did anyone of us expect them to win in 1999. WC can spring surprises like India losing to Zimbabwe (oh that wasnt a surprise was it?) and ofcourse Pakistan against Bangaldesh and the latest one being Bangladesh vs NZ. So the uncertain period has started and its the best form of entertainment for all of us - its this uncertainity that makes the game brilliant!!

Coming back to the probables for the WC semi's, my money is on India, SL, Australia and NZ/SA. NZ have always been the underdogs and they continue to wear the tag as they come into WC '07. And ofcourse SA have a wretched history with the games biggest tourney and esp with no spinners in their proper playing XI, its going to be a tough one for them this time too.
The Pakistani's have a toothless attack due to the absence of Shoaib and Asif. Asif could have been the hero this WC - may be helped them to win but then its not to be. Its sad that these guys are not playing and considering the circumstances with their exit, its sad that the tan on the nation remains. Nevertheless, Pakistani's can spring surprises especially when they are counted out - so lets not totally count them out.

Coming back to India, there are a couple of issues that are to be looked at. Shewag is one major concern. He is a player who can dent attacks and can give the bowlers a run for their money but then its been ages since that part of Shewag came on the field. He has been lax with his bowling too and 2005 saw some worst attitude on and off field. No wonder, the tag has remained on in 2006 and its 07 alredy. Just hope that he comes to party soon as it not only elevates India's chances but also makes sure that a talent like Dinesh Karthik or Uthappa is not wasted on the bench. Anil Kumble is India's trump card and he can spin wonders in the Carribean with the tracks tailor made like the sub-continent ones. Zaheer ought to reverse the debacle of WC 2003 and Munaf and Sreeshant can make their first outing memorable. Irfan remains the second concern for the men in blue and as with Shewag, he needs to improve on his bowling. His swing part has lost some bit of shine and he needs to make sure that he does what he does best - put the ball in the right places and swing it both ways. Bhaji and Yuvi along with Sachin can do a decent job.

Dravid and Sachin - the biggest gentlemen the game has ever seen can make this final WC of theirs a winning one. These two greatest players the country has ever produced have never had the chance to lift the WC and so is the case with players like Kumble and Ganguly. Its time the yougsters stand up, get counted and do something for the players that have changed the complexity of the game. Sachin has a wonderful bond with the WC's starting from 1996 and he can remove the tag of underperformer in crunch matches with a couple of centuries in the super 8 and semi's against the good teams.

Overall, it promises to be some awesome action on SOPCAST (LOL) and stay tuned folks. This WC could make or break it. I say that as there is some uncertainity over the 50 over format being not so thrilling like the 20-20 format. This could determine the destiny of the ODI's.
"Carribean is an awesome place to be in especially for the atmosphere and the biki-clad babes"
(from Sunny days - Sunil Gavaskar's autobiography). Lets look forward for some electrifying grounds and drumming for Lara and Co. They can after all be the first team to win being the hosts.

To finish this long write, I am confused to make a prediction as for the winner but then my heart says that it is going to be one from the sub-continent. Just hope that its our nation that makes it after 24 long years.

HAIL CRICKET!!!