Their most recent form shows victories against Austraila,twice.They may not be able to beat New Zealand but they'll surely beat Canada and Kenya.In the second round,they might be able to beat a few teams like Sri Lanka,India and also the West Indies.

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Karthik Venkatesan

I wonder what the odds are for Kenya getting ahead in ahead of England...its a medium-long shot.
But I have great faith in England ... depending on your interpretation of faith...and I have great faith that English bookies will give me good odds.

Unlikely, but not impossible. Kenya are not pushovers at ODI level and they have upset fancied teams like West Indies & Sri Lanka in the past. And Bangladesh beat mighty Australia not too long ago. I don't think either NZ or England can underestimate the Kenyans. After all it only takes one thoughtless stroke...a hoick by Pietersen or slash by Flintoff to get them out early on and if that happens, the pressure could be on.

Nostromo... you have convinced me... there goes my wage...

I guess Pietersen on his day can take apart any bowling attack...and Collingwood looked good ...But let me bet that perhaps in the Carribbean they have won't have one of those days.

In fact, if a minnow had to win it...I would like Kenya to win it.

The problem with this World Cup draw format is that with 4 groups it is less forgiving to losses in the early rounds than the previous tournaments. Thus, the losers of the NZ vs England clash simply cannot afford to lose to Kenya, cos they'll be out of the tournament if they do. I think all those 3 teams will beat Canada and so we can leave them out of the equation. NZ play Kenya before the Canada match while it is the other way around for England; I am not sure which is better, but rest assured that Kenya will go all out to against both the big teams. The possible problem that England might face is that a Kenyan team losing to NZ in their second match might adopt a 'nothing to lose' attitude agaist England.

Yeah I agree, its certainely a big problem for the more major teams, as in every World Cup there are inevitably always one or two giant killing performances by the minnows. Of course they fizzle out during the latter stages of the Cup, but they can really cause a headache or two if the top eight aren't careful.

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- VVVRulz..

Razzak injured and will miss the World Cup. Mahmood called up. Injured his knee in practice.

You might want to remember that Kenya got to the semi-finals in the last World Cup.That might be a fact which they will want to remember and be careful.

But there is tension for India and Sri Lanka as well.The India-Sri Lanka encounter will be a 50-50 one.And Bangladesh is not so bad.They might be able to beat of those 2 teams.India's first match is against Bangladesh.I think they will be a bit safe if they win that game.

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Karthik Venkatesan

Normally, this would have been a major loss for Pakistan because Razzaq has served his country well with ball and bat at ODI level. I recall a couple of matches where his batting helped to chase down biggish totals. But he has been very off-colour lately and while his absence will still be felt, it probably won't be as much as if he was in form.

Its quite wierd that SA and Aus are in the same group...surely that goes against the sports tournament management textbook??