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.

... contd.