Aussies favourites, India dark horses

New Zealand

Prior to the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy, if someone said that the Black Cats would cudgel the Baggy Greens 3-0, he would have been prescribed stress pills. New Zealand’s renaissance is the most volatile topic in cricket.

Like South Africa, their form has hit boom time. So much so that even the unassuming Brendon McCullum has donned the avatar of a supremo.

By locking horns with Australia, the Kiwis have celebrated the highest level of cricket. Certainly they could not have braced themselves better to face the arc lights.

A line-up that bats deep down, it has un-curtained a stupendous talent: Ross Taylor. A potpourri of both pace (Shane Bond, James Franklin and the like) and spin (Daniel Vettori, Jeetan Patel) completes a dream bowling card. If all-rounders Jacob Oram and Scott Styris do not host anymore injuries, New Zealand will showcase a well-packaged unit in the World Cup.

However, their record in the World Cup (apart from the golden run in 1992) has been nothing to rave about. On wickets as flat as pancakes they occasionally finish up as doddering wrecks.

But in Stephen Fleming the side owns the most innovative mind – that not only borrows ideas from sports like rugby but also plans well and thinks ahead of the game. Back it up with the astute John Bracewell and you feel this is a side that can go the distance. No itchy tag of ‘dark-horses’ this time.

Based on their current form, we back them to cruise onto the semis.