Guess?? who is going to win the world cup?

[directorwc]

My vote goes to India & South Africa.

[Henners]

Don't you think this poll belongs on the One-day international threaD? Also, what about England, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and West Indies? Do you think they might stand a chance? considering that it was England and west indies who got to the ICC champions trophy final and they are the weakest ODI teams...

[EllN]

surely all teams must be put on ikt slightly bias, all teams have a chance of winning especially the top 8 please could you change it

[directorwc]

No, I think that in world cup 2007 competetion lies between these teams- India, South Africa, New Zealand & Australia. Though I agree with your point that west indies & England are also good teams. But I think they r quite weak in comparision with these four teams. What do you think?

[Uham]

I WONDER WHY PAKISTAN ISNT IN THAT LIST??? Thats just wrong they all have a chance. If I made a poll it would be fair

[Rachael]

Whilst any team has a theoretical chance of winning... I think it's fair to say that Australia, South Africa and New Zealand are the favourites: anyone picking a likely winner from outside of that trio is backing a long-shot.

These polls should be answered honestly, without favouring a side out of alliegence or faith: on that basis... I see no problem with restricting the options to just three. My only issue is with India being included: they have a chance... but their recent form in SA suggests they are not significantly more likely to win than Sri Lanka, England and the West Indies - all strike me as second-tier teams right now.

Until Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammed Asif and Abdul Razzaq were ruled out I'd have had Pakistan in the four options: they struck me as serious contenders for the title... but with that trio gone I can't see ANY point in adding them to the list - Pakistan without that trio strikes me as vulnerable to the minnows!

[Nostromo]

Originally Posted by Rachael

These polls should be answered honestly, without favouring a side out of alliegence or faith: on that basis... I see no problem with restricting the options to just three.

For once Rachael, I totally agree. I'm Indian and by living in the UK horribly fail Norman Tebbitt's 'cricket test'. But for all the patriotic support I give the Indian Team, I do not believe that they have any chance of winning this World Cup. The batting is strong, which is fine. But the bowling is just above average and with the exception of the in-form Zaheer Khan and maybe the occasional inspiration from Agarkar, I do not expect anyone else to really threaten the other strong teams. Kumble is now little more than mediocre at ODI level, the Caribbean wickets will not suit Harbhajan Singh and the likes of Sreesanth and Pathan will get thrashed silly. But the real problem will be Dravid's totally uninspiring and unimaginative captaincy; he will not have a clue as to how to handle the already suspect bowling attack.

[Karthik]

India's fielding in the recent hasn't been too good.They will need to improve in that area.Batting and bowling alone are not responsible for winning a match.

[Nostromo]

Originally Posted by Karthik

India's fielding in the recent hasn't been too good.They will need to improve in that area.Batting and bowling alone are not responsible for winning a match.

Agreed. Kaif's absence will be felt in that area. Yuvraj Singh is the only Indian fielder who can match the athleticism of some of the other teams.

Another terrible weakness for a very long time has been Inida's apalling running between the wickets. I have forgotten the number of times that I have been shocked to find that the batsmen have run just a single when I was certain that 2 runs were possible. Apart from Dhoni and the absent Kaif, just about everyone else seems to be guilty in this respect. I am sure that India miss out on 30 to 40 runs in an average ODI because of this handicap.

[Nostromo]

Originally Posted by Nostromo

But the bowling is just above average and with the exception of the in-form Zaheer Khan and maybe the occasional inspiration from Agarkar, I do not expect anyone else to really threaten the other strong teams. Kumble is now little more than mediocre at ODI level, the Caribbean wickets will not suit Harbhajan Singh and the likes of Sreesanth and Pathan will get thrashed silly.

Before some other smart alec does so, I'll say it myself: I was wrong. Indian bowling did rather well in dismissing the Windies for 85....but then I had forgotten about Munaf Patel.