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Aussies favourites, India dark horses

Posted on Feb 28, 2007 at 10:10 | Updated Feb 28, 2007 at 12:02 Comment Comments Email Email Print Print
Tags: cricket, world cup, analysis

TIME FOR ACTION: Rahul Dravid's men are not among the top three favourites.

The air is rife with speculation as the countdown to the World Cup begins. Team combinations, likely upsets and probable semi-finalists have become the daily staple of conversations.

We have decided to fan the debate by assessing the top eight teams on a scale of 1 – 10.

The purpose of this exercise is to arrive at the four potential semi-finalists based on their recent form and prowess in batting, bowling, fielding, captaincy, balance, mental toughness, adaptability, recent record and support staff.

We are not unmindful that cricket is a funny game and, eventually, all our analysis could go for a high toss. But our regular readers will agree that Cricketnext has never held back from taking a call. It will be no different this World Cup.

Of course, we may well have missed a trick or a few names, but this is where you readers can fill the gaps. What better way to premier the grand opera?

Sanjay Jha, V Veera Kumar and Deba Prasad Dhar lapse into thinking mode:

SWOT ANALYSIS
Teams	BT*	BL*	FL*	C*	BAL*	MT*	AD*	RC*	SS*	T*
Australia	9	7	8	9	9	8	8	6	6	70
England	6	5	7	6	5	3	5	6	6	49
SA	7	8	9	6	7	6	7	8	6	64
India	7	6	5	8	7	6	5	7	7	58
WI	7	6	6	6	6	5	7	5	5	53
NZ	8	8	8	8	7	8	6	7	7	67
SL	6	7	7	6	6	6	7	6	7	58
Pakistan	7	6	5	6	6	6	6	6	5	53
* BT= Batting, BL= Bowling, FL= Fielding, C= Captaincy, Bal= Balance, MT= Mental Toughness, AD= Adaptability, RC= Recent Record, SS= Support Staff, T= Total