We must know ICC ODI rankings in 2015 before proceeding:
Australia 117
India 117
South Africa 112
Sri Lanka 110
England 104
New Zealand 97
Pakistan 97
West Indies 96
Bangladesh 75
Zimbabwe 53
Afghanistan 42
Ireland 33
Team Wise Details:
Ireland.
Nil. No Chance. Sadly they're not even in the same pool as England so can't pull off the upset that everyone wants to see (hopefully Scotland will pull that off).
Afghanistan.
No chance but a popular team. You have to love it when a nation plays cricket against countries who invaded it in recent memory. What a shame Russia isn't in the competition.
Zimbabwe
The perennial also rans. They keep showing up to world cups and keep trying. Expect them to try again this year and turn up again next time.
Bangladesh
They'll struggle in the conditions but might manage to put together a surprise win against one of the biggest teams. Or at least give them a scare. The only way Ireland are going to scare anyone is by hiding in their kit-bag, but the Bangladesh side might just pull off a big win. True story: I was in India when the boxing day Tsunami hit. India's loss to Bangladesh in a ODI was much bigger news in the north where I was.
West Indies
Like anyone who grew up watching cricket in the eighties, it saddens me to see the Windies down among the minnows. The structure of the competition means they should scrape through fourth in their pool to reach the quarter finals. But I can't see them beating whoever tops the other pool to progress to the semis.
Pakistan
Pakistan don't tour especially well and will suffer from a lack of experience in the conditions. They haven't been to Australia in five years and in their last tour they only played 5 ODI's and a T20. They will take too long to get used to the conditions and will struggle against the big teams.
New Zealand
The Kiwis will enjoy a partial home ground advantage but they don't have a strong enough side to trouble the big names. And they don't have the depth to cover injuries to their few match winners. Expect them to lose in a Quarter Final to South Africa in front of a disappointed home crowd.
England
A once great team sliding and trying to find itself. KP will be sorely missed and the selectors have made some baffling choices (why the hell has Stokes been left out?). They'll also struggle to cope with a recent leadership change which was necessary but came too late. The team won't gel enough but will benefit from a practice tour of Australia before the competition begins. I think they'll make the semis.
Sri Lanka
Who knows? They could fall in an embarrassing heap. They could make everyone else in the competition look like amateurs. You never know which Sri Lankan team is going to show up.
South Africa
A few years ago I would have said they were favorites. But they're on the way down now. They've got definite superstars in their side but their bowling lacks depth. If Steyn or Morkel is injured, I don't think they will be able to contain some of the better batting sides. A 4-1 defeat in Australia in November doesn't auger well.
India
If the tournament was being held in India I'd say they were in with a great chance. But sadly their players don't tour well and they don't adjust to conditions at all. Sharma looks like a great bowler but he's come to Australia three times already and hasn't learned how to bowl here yet. I expect the fans will turn out in force to cheer them on but will ultimately be disappointed.
Australia
Aussie have good chances going into the competition. Smith and Warner are both in amazing form and we have good depth in the bowling ranks. We can rotate bowlers around without a significant loss in the quality of our attack. We also bat very deep and we could pick a side which has explosive hitting power all the way down to number 10. If another nation was hosting I'd put us down as a definite chance. So I'd rank us as the favorites.
ICC World Cup 2015 Schedule
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