The 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup will feature fourteen teams and some 200 cricketers from around the world. It is the most in any world cup to date. However, the favorites this time are India, Sri Lanka, Australia and South Africa, which are also expected to be the final semi-finalists. England are also a likely semi-final team, but the dates on which their games will be played are a bit unfavorable for their plans and can be considered a bit of bad luck for the team. There is still a good opportunity for them and we expect it to happen, but there are still good signs here so let’s hope for the best.
New Zealand and Pakistan are the teams that will clear the first round and enter the quarterfinal matches in this 2011 ICC Cup. There is also this young up and coming team from Bangladesh who we hope will do a great job and can cause some surprises in the process. If Bangladesh performs correctly on their chosen field and picks the best playing eleven, then there is no surprise if the team enters the quarterfinals. West Indies need to do a lot of hard work if they are to clear the first round.
The most notable batsman to play in this cup is undoubtedly Sachin Tendulkar who is at the top of every cricket fan’s ranking and is the most experienced player in this World Cup. The second would be the captain of the four-time champion Australia, Ricky Ponting. His team is in pretty bad shape lately though. They lost to the Ashes but are on a roll having won the recent ODI series against England in which they beat the visitors 6-1. The third major player of the 2011 World Cup would be from the subcontinent and that is Kumar Sangakara, whose team won the thrilling 1996 World Cup and is looking forward to repeating the feat under the same favorable conditions.
An important player for South Africa would be Dale Steyn, whose fast bowling has been remarkable of late. Other notable players in this World Cup would be Zaheer Khan, Morne Morkel, Jonathan Trott, Shoaib Akhtar, Shane Watson, Chris Gayle, Shakib Hussain, Kevin Pieterson, Yusuf Pathan, Cameron White and Daniel Vittori.
You can also check out the recently released ICC Reliance World Rankings for ODI teams and players on the official website.
