A challenging title defence

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World Cup Cricket

It is amid grim expectations that India embarks on its defence of the cricket World Cup. The team has been in Australia since November and failed
to win a single competitive game of cricket; the batting, on bouncy pitches, has wobbled; and the less said about the bowling the better. It is fair to
say that the publics confidence in the side will not be particularly massive when the campaign begins with a high-voltage fixture against Pakistan
in Adelaide on Sunday. Yet, India under M.S. Dhoni has proven itself adept at limited-overs cricket. The team that first came together at the ICC
Champions Trophy in 2013 and won it against expectations is not ranked second in the world without reason. In the likes of Dhoni, Virat
Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina, India has a set of genuine match-winners, capable of influencing the outcome on their own. Pitches in
Australia and New Zealand may not be conducive to Indias style of cricket, but then no team, except the hosts, can claim to be truly comfortable
with local conditions. The tournament returns to Australasia after 23 years; it was in 1992 that cricket became a wonderful televisual spectacle
with floodlights, white balls and coloured clothing.
The curtain goes up on Saturday, when New Zealand meets Sri Lanka in Christchurch. The Black Caps have made at least the semi-finals in 10
major ICC tournaments, but have only one trophy to show for it. Later on Valentines Day, the games oldest rivals meet at the Melbourne Cricket
Ground. Australia should consider itself among the favourites, although the pressure of playing at home can have an adverse effect on
performances. In contrast, even Englands most optimistic supporters carry little hope of success. South Africa, a team that has somehow lost in
the most inexplicable of ways time after time at the World Cup, appears overwhelmingly strong on this occasion. The ghosts of tournaments past
can be banished if A.B. de Villiers and his lot play to their potential. Pakistan and Sri Lanka, teams of contrasting character, cannot be written off
either. The format of the World Cup 14 teams in two groups means it will be a month before the first quarter-final match is played, with the
eight major nations all but guaranteed a berth in the last eight. It has left the tournament obscenely bloated at 44 days it lasts almost two weeks
longer than the FIFA World Cup and more than twice as long as the Olympics. The ICC has announced that the 2019 edition will be limited to 10
teams; it is a welcome development.