Let’s begin with Group A and the Australians, after they dismantled England 6-1 in the recent one day series the names ought to be fresh in the fans minds, but nevertheless I am still picking out 26 year old Cameron White.
White is an aggressive batsman who provides something with the ball too, now that Andrew Symonds is out of the picture there is space for a player of this mould and White provides a similar quality. In truth, Andrew Symonds would replace him instantly but that does not mean White cannot take his chance. Others to watch (if selected) are Ferguson and Siddle.
On to India and there is a huge number of young cricketers in the squad. Under 25 year olds include Raina, Ishant Sharma and RP Singh. These are young players who are already on the radar so I will take a look at two players who will be looking to make an impression.
Firstly we have 26 year old Amit Mishra, who has 3 ODIs under his belt and is starting to make a name for himself as a leg spinner. The fact that he is a leg spinner has obvious importance since the departure of Anil Kumble and Mishra has impressed with his similar control. It will be a tough task to break into that Indian ODI team as a spinner with Harbhajan Singh and others such as Yusuf Pathan, Tendulkar, Raina, Yuvraj Singh who can all provide a spin option. If the opportunity should arise, watch out for Mishra’s accuracy which will make him hard to get away in those middle overs.
The second player to look out for is 22 year old Praveen Kumar. He has the ability to do what Bracken does for the Australians with his strangely difficult bowling. He throws it down at a moderate pace and uses the pitch. Simple cricket and he does it well. He is also an underrated batsman who can provide important late runs. Others to watch (if selected) are Abhishek Nayar and Ashish Nehra, the latter is back in the fold after a 4 year absence.
We move on to Pakistan, and perhaps the most exciting prospect appears in this side. The Pakistanis are an unappreciated outfit as they were before their T20 World Cup victory. They are getting the names back together such as Yousuf and Asif but there are also a few new names to get everyone excited.
The most exciting of which is 17 year old Mohammad Aamer. He is a left-arm fast bowler who can swing the ball with ease and control. At his age he has plenty to learn but at the moment he is playing on talent and when he learns how to play cricket from the likes of Younis and Akram then Pakistan will have a world-beating cricketer. The bowling attack of Pakistan is starting to look very good with Umar Gul, Mohammad Asif and now Aamer. Others to watch (if selected) are Umar Akmal, Fawad Alam and Saeed Ajmal.
The fourth team in Group A is the West Indies. The West Indies squad does not boast the big names, such as Chanderpaul, Gayle, Sarwan and Bravo, and the squad is similar to the team that was shown up by Bangladesh. There are no real prospects that shine out as consistency with this team will be a huge problem. Nevertheless it is a chance for the fringe players and younger players.
Ones to watch (if selected) are Kemar Roach, Andre Fletcher, Kevin McClean, Nikita Miller, Kieran Powell, Royston Crandon, Travis Dowlin, Darren Sammy and a special mention for 37 year old captain Floyd Reifer (who has just 5 ODIs).
