Of course there have been some anxious moments, some hiccups, especially for a team like South Africa, trying hard to undo their chokers’ reputation. Hope simmered for both the West Indies and England, a faint chance to sneak into the semis. Otherwise, it was almost certain that Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and South Africa would be the chosen ones.

That was expected, after India’s unceremonious exit, West Indies’ immature display and with Pakistan in disarray, and with Australia going gung-ho, crushing all in the way. Unlike Sri Lanka, Australia seem to be taking each and every game very seriously. That’s the way they have been brought up.

England put up no fight against the South Africans. It seemed the Englishmen were bored with their long stay. Their body language suggested that.

It is difficult to guess why Sri Lanka decided not to field Chaminda Vaas and Muttiah Muralitharan, perhaps the best wicket-taking duo in the World Cup, against the Aussies who are virtually on a hunting expedition. It is ideal to judge your full strength against the best team, so you can seal the loopholes before the next important encounter. Chances are, this lapse could boomerang on them.

Now that only three games remain before the world champions are announced, crucial will be holding on to true form, and not yielding to the pressures and tensions around.

It looks like it has to be Australia, again. Before it all began, experts predicted this was going to be the most open World Cup. But Ricky Ponting and his men have proved them wrong with their ruthless and fiery display so far. They seem to be itching to perform the hat-trick!

They possess the entire range of an armoury, even the cricket nukes. Their batting is on a roll, with Matthew Hayden — who hardly played one-day cricket last year — leading a most aggressive line-up. There is Gilchrist — though struggling a bit with form at the moment — Ponting, Clark, Symonds and now Watson and Hussey.

And look at their bowling, spearheaded by that accurate and menacing McGrath, with superlative fielding to back it up. Who can stop them?

And what about the thrashing the Black Caps got at the hands of the Aussies? Such a defeat can have a tremendous demoralising effect on any team, especially on the threshold of the semi-finals. But that seems to be the trend for the Kiwis ever since they started playing one-dayers or, rather, international cricket in general. They have enough experience now, a shrewd and intelligent captain in Fleming, perhaps the best fielding side, the attack spearheaded by the real quick, young and sensible Shane Bond with the most experienced left-arm spinner in Vettori and most of the batting stalwarts in good form. Yet, the past reputation of theirs may not change their destiny.

Same applies to the Proteas. Till the last match against the Poms, they carried the tag of chokers. Now they can be termed as unpredictable on the same lines as India and Pakistan. They can score as high as 438 runs in 50 overs against Australia and also struggle to lose to Bangladesh by a margin of 67 runs.

Their batting line-up hardly clicks in tandem. However, their frontline bowlers like Pollock and Ntini aren’t that effective on the tracks in the West Indies, despite the fact that they get tremendous backing from the outstanding fielders in the side. Their only bowler Hall with his devastating bowling against England is the only player who has realised the importance of reverse swing on such wickets. And only the South Africans have the reputation of fighting Aussies tooth and nail.

Yes, the real threat appears to be from that small island in the sub-continent called Sri Lanka. India were big brothers to them just two decades ago. It’s typical Sri Lankan culture — they follow their own game instead of copying Australia or England blindly. Their top three batsmen are in good nick and if Jayasuriya gets going, then the Cup for them is as good as assured. Down the line, they can rely on Silva, Tillakaratne and Arnold adding weight to the total whenever needed.

And they have a real, varied, all-purpose attack. It starts with the most experienced and accurate Vaas and the freakish Malinga and ending with most wily spinner in Murlitharan. And when it comes to fielding, they match any team in the world if not more.

• On the home front, we don’t know who is fooling who, and at what cost. The teams for the tour to Bangladesh in ODI and Test series have been announced. If the selection committee has to go by the Board’s directive, there appears to be more comebacks than the fresh faces — only two to be precise.

This is all the abundant reserve and surplus talent we have been hunting all along?

While the Board allows the likes of Sachin and Sourav to burn in Twenty20 in the scorching sun, the selection committee wants these two stalwarts to ‘rest’ a while against their wishes.

This column can’t take more. So, more in the next issue on the same subject and the great prospects of India’s tour to Bangladesh.