'Home Conditions Favour The Proteas'

Any team among the 14 teams that wins the World Cup on March 23 at Johannesburg need not necessarily be the best teamon the planet. But it will prove to be the strongest in terms of commitment and the will to win at the end of the six-weektournament which will bring out the best and the worst in players.

As for Pool B, I feel South Africa, playing in home conditions and also having selected the venues where theycould perform better, would be the team to qualify on top of the pool.

On paper South Africa's batting seems to be rather thin. They would definitely depend on players like Herschelle Gibbs,Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes and Gary Kirsten. In my opinion, they have done a mistake in dropping Graeme Smith.

Among the batsmen, Rhodes could make a lot of difference. He is not a great hitter of the ball but he is the best inrunning between the wickets. He can also urge his partner to convert singles into twos. Plus he is an enthusiasticcricketer who motivates his mates by his sharp fielding. He can make a lot of difference to the side in the middle.

The bowling is dependent a lot on Allan Donald. He is not getting younger these days and is also to a great extentinjury prone. Given the occasion, playing before his home crowd, he can be a thorn to any team. South Africa also have auseful pinch hitter in Nicky Boje, who has proved his worth on many occasions.

The way the South Africans approach their fielding is phenomenal and it is akin to the Australians. Consideringthese, South Africa should comfortably head the pool and qualify for the Super Six.

As for the Sri Lankans, it augurs well for the team that Sanath Jayasuriya has found back his golden touch in batting.Despite their disastrous outing in the tri-series in Australia, Jayasuriya was back to his old ways -- scoringruns at will.

The manner in which he scored back-to-back centuries recently was an indication that he was getting backto top form ahead of the World Cup. With Kumar Sangakkara also showing lot of promise alongwith Marvan Atapattu, theyhave a decent batting line-up.

Apart from their impressive opening batsmen, Muttiah Muralitharan is the best in the business when it comesto off-spin and most of the sides are scared to face him. In one-day games, Murali is much more effective than ShaneWarne. He always comes on to bowl at the death and usually makes a mockery of the tailenders' defence and technique.

At present, Sri Lanka have found their feet though they failed to make the final of the tri-series. Since they havebeen playing well these days, Sri Lanka have a genuine chance to progress to the second round in World Cup.

If you look at New Zealand's record in the Cup it has been phenomenal. They have made it to the semi-finals in fourout of the seven World Cups. Apart from 1983, the only time they could not make it to the semis was when the tournament wasplayed in the Indian sub-continent -- perhaps, the conditions did not suit them.

But they have a few injury problems. Their key player is Chris Cairns, a brilliant all-rounder and he is expected to befully fit by the time World Cup gets rolling. One cannot forget his superb century in the ICC Knockout final in Nairobiwhich helped his team win the Cup pipping India.

They also have another dependable all-rounder in Scott Styris. Though they have no big names, they are capable ofsurprising other teams with bowlers like Shane Bond, Andre Adams, Daryl Tuffey and offie Daniel Vettori. They have givenevery side a run for their money and the wickets in South Africa should suit them better.

The West Indians are seemingly finding their moorings after a prolonged lean patch. Particularly, the sevenmatch one-day series in India, which they won 4-3, must have given them tremendous confidence.

Chris Gayle, for that matter, can be as hard hitting as anyone in the business today. If he is on song, he can bea bowler's nightmare. Mind you, the team has found success even without Brian Lara.

Now that Lara is also back, the 'Calypso Kings' have a strong batting line-up. The opening pair of Gayle and WavellHinds could pose problems to their rivals by providing the team a good start. Next in to the middle are batsmen of the calibreof Lara followed by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels and skipper Carl Hooper. 

I doubt whether the same could be said of their bowling, which is inexperienced. Their best bet is Mervyn Dillon and Idoubt whether they would be able to trouble the rival batsmen.

To offset this weakness, the team from the Caribbean have to use their batting strength to post a sizeable total makingit difficult for the rivals to chase.

The fielding is also not top notch barring a few, who could be considered brilliant. Most of them are lethargic.Fielding is one area, they have to attend to. But at the same time, one cannot rule out West Indies.

It will be a contest between, New Zealand and Sri Lanka or West Indies, with two of them joining South Africa in theSuper Six.

PTI