The Binocular

We start with tournament favourites South Africa. They are England’s next test match opponents and so we take an ever more eager look at what is on show. They have a great mix of youth and experience in the team, with Gibbs, Kallis, Boucher and Ntini, mixed with Smith, Botha, Amla, Steyn and de Villiers. You can see why they are labelled favourites.

Although Hashim Amla has worked his way into the forefront of cricket he is still relatively inexperienced at the one day level with just 16 games. He doesn’t always appear in the line up despite his solid mentality and surprisingly good strike rate. So I am backing Amla to seal his place in the team and show himself to be one of the players of the tournament.

If we are looking towards a younger contender, then look no further than Wayne Parnell. The 20 year old introduced himself against Australia and again performed well at the T20 World Cup, it is an exciting time for South African cricket and players like Parnell will be critical if they want a prolonged spell at the top. There are other players in contention by none are likely to break into the side with much success.

We know about the spin sensations Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis, but there are other players in this team which make them a potent force. Lasith Malinga often gets the praise in this bowling attack, but Nuwan Kulasekara has been just as effective. With exactly the same number of games played as Malinga, Kulasekara boasts a better bowling average and a significantly better batting average. In fact the only area in which Malinga trumps Kulasekara is the wickets column and for this Malinga will always be considered the man for the job when in need.

There is also a young all-rounder looking to fill a slight void in the side, and he is 22 year old Angelo Mathews. With a name to match that of a Pop Singer, Angelo Mathews is a popular, youthful, enthusiastic cricketer not too dissimilar to Dwayne Bravo for the West Indies. Expect him to make big strides and with the space open for an all-rounder he could hold the key. Others to watch (if selected) are Tharanga, Thushara and Kandamby.

Moving on to the “dark horses” of world cricket, New Zealand. I do not wish to speak for New Zealanders but it strikes me as an insult to some of the talented cricketers that they have for New Zealand to continually be discounted. Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Shane Bond are all world-beaters.

I’d like to take a minute to talk about Shane Bond and his return to the international scene. He is a fantastic cricketer who has been ruined by injuries, he won’t get many more chances to show his talent on a World stage so I wish him the very best as he deserves to be seen on parallel with Donald, McGrath, Pollock and Co.

The player who I am most looking forward to seeing this tournament is Ross Taylor. In full flow, he is an absolute dream to watch with every shot hit with authority and swagger. He is 25 years old and he now needs to push on to the next level, he’ll have at least three shots in this tournament to show his immense talent and I back him to do it. Others to watch (if selected) are Broom, Butler, Guptill and Ryder.

So that leaves us with England who, after an embarrassment against Australia, have been given no chance. The England side does, however, have plenty of young names in the squad. We know all about Stuart Broad, and the under-pressure Ravi Bopara, but the player who I would like to see play is Graham Onions. The most in-form bowler in English cricket deserves to play and if he does he will instantly add an element of control to the bowling attack. He has done nothing wrong with the chances he’s been given so far at international level.

Others to watch (if selected) are Denly, Morgan and Rashid. I would also like to give a special mention to Swann. He has had a great year in Test cricket and has the tools to succeed in the one day format. He is far too good a batsman to have not made a fifty in ODIs, this will need to change if he wants to elevate himself to someone England can depend on time after time.