The lowdown on Pool A


One-day ranking: 7
Tournament record: Close but no cigar... three times in the final, but three galling defeats (1979 to West Indies, 1987 to Australia and 1992 to Pakistan).
Finest hour: Graham Gooch winning three man-of-the-match awards in a row in 1987.

Who's the captain? Nasser Hussain. Tactically adventurous - some say he tinkers too much - and a fierce competitor. Doubts persist over his ability to bat at three (although don't tell him that).

Who's the coach? Duncan Fletcher. A hard taskmaster, Fletcher's media shyness means much of his hard work goes unnoticed. Very well respected by his players.

What do they do well? If Steve Harmison fixes his radar and young James Anderson fulfils his promise, then England's pace attack begins to look genuinely threatening. The pair will relish the fast pitches in South Africa.

What is their Achilles heel? England's squad contains just four specialist batsmen: Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain and Nick Knight. A worryingly thin batting line-up.

Would love to beat? Australia, naturally. Revenge for this winter's Ashes defeat would be sweet indeed.

Most likely to win the match? Nick Knight. Statistically, he is one of England's best ever one-day batsmen. An in-form Knight is a destructive force.

Most likely to lose the match? Is Andrew Flintoff hugely talented or just huge? When fit, Freddie is England's best all-rounder - and he's a great character to have in the dressing room. But his fitness, or lack of it, remains a huge issue.

Secret weapon? The Barmy Army - whose noisy, alcohol-fuelled support is unstinting - act as a virtual 12th man.

Sledging tactics? Focus on Nick Knight, whose middle name is Verity. If the Aussies find that out it's game over.

OSM prediction Will not qualify unless...
a) their middle order starts to come up with some runs; and
b) they sharpen up their sloppy fielding. Don't write then off completely, though. A slim chance of making the Super Six stage.

Best XI Marcus Trescothick, Nick Knight, Michael Vaughan, Nasser Hussain (c), Paul Collingwood, Alec Stewart (wk), Andrew Flintoff, Ian Blackwell, Andy Caddick, James Anderson, Steve Harmison.


One-day ranking: Unranked
Tournament record: Making their debut in a World Cup.
Finest hour: Beating top seeds Scotland in the ICC Trophy, en route to qualifying for the finals.

Who is the captain? Deon Kotze. A tidy off-spinner who also picks up useful runs.

Who is the coach? Lennie Louw. The only player-coach at the World Cup.

What do they do well? The basics. They've played a lot of cricket in the last two years, so at least they will be match-hardened.

What is their Achilles heel? Inexperience. Almost half their squad is aged under 23.

Would love to beat? Holland, avenging a defeat in the ICC Trophy final two years ago.

Most likely to win the match? 19-year-old all-rounder Burton van Rooi is a hero in Namibia. A huge talent and definitely one to watch in this World Cup.

Secret weapon? Will be used to the pitch conditions in South Africa.

A Namibian view on Namibia 'It's madness to think we can qualify.' (Corry Ihuhua, The Namibian)

OSM prediction Competitive enough to avoid the wooden spoon.

Best XI Riaan Walters, Daniel Keulder, JB Burger, Bryan Murgatroyd, Deon Kotze (c), Melt van Schoor (wk), Louis Burger, Lennie Louw, Bjorn Kotze, Burton van Rooi, Gerrie Snyman


One-day ranking: 5
Tournament record: More downs than ups. Winners in 1983, but disappointing in almost every other tournament.
Finest hour: Beating West Indies in the 1983 final at Lord's.

Who's the captain? Sourav Ganguly. Nicknamed the 'Prince of Calcutta' (he hails from a wealthy Bengali family), Ganguly has proved he is a master motivator, defying those who thought his aloofness would make him an unsuitable captain.

Who's the coach? Former New Zealand opener John Wright. The first foreign coach of India has brought stability to a volatile team.

What do they do well? Bat. If Sachin Tendulkar doesn't get you, then Virender Sehwag (see Pool A Contender) or Rahul Dravid will. They twice chased down 300-plus totals in 2001.

What is their Achilles heel? Their bowling, which is tame by international standards. Seamer Javagal Srinath and leg-spinner Anil Kumble have certainly had their moments, but this could be a tournament too far for the veterans.

Would love to beat? Pakistan.

Most likely to win the match? Tendulkar. On his day no bowler can contain him. He is the highest run-scorer in one-day internationals.

Most likely to lose the match? Wicketkeeping is a weak link with youngster Parthiv Patel too raw and Dravid an unconvincing back-up.

An Indian view on India 'We will win, I have no doubt. Sachin will inspire us.' (Amrit Mathur, the Hindustan Times)

OSM prediction Wonderful batsmen but their bowling will let them down. Might struggle to even get out of this pool.

Best XI Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly (c), Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Parthiv Patel (wk), Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Javagal Srinath, Harbhajan Singh

Pool a contender: Virender Sehwag India, right-handed batsman, 24
Sehwag looks and plays like his hero Sachin Tendulkar, who he learnt from by watching India's games on television. 'The Little Tendulkar' showed his potential at last year's ICC tournament in Sri Lanka, top-scoring with 271 runs at an average of 90.33. His timing is sublime but he also hits the ball with ferocious power. He's not short of confidence either. When asked who was the best bowler he has faced, he answered: 'I don't think I have faced any great bowler.'


One-day ranking: Unranked
Tournament record: Qualified just once, in 1996. Had a poor tournament - even beaten by fellow minnows United Arab Emirates.
Finest hour: When teenage batsman Bas Zuiderent hit 54 against England in '96.

Who's the captain? Roland Lefebvre. The veteran bowler was voted player of the tournament at last year's ICC Trophy.

Who's the coach? Emmerson Trotman. The former West Indies batsman has helped improve standards in Dutch cricket by taking youngsters to South Africa each year for intensive coaching.

What do they do well? It's harsh but true - they won't beat anyone in this group. What is their Achilles heel? Inexperience at the highest level.

Most likely to win the match? Tim de Leede is an experienced all-rounder. At 34, he won't be overawed by the competition.

Secret weapon? Their orange kit is potentially hazardous to opposing bowlers.

A Dutch view on Holland 'We will just try to have fun. If we can beat Namibia that will be a success. It's crazy to think bigger than that.' (Edgar van Troost, De Telegraaf)

OSM prediction A winless campaign. Best XI Feiko Kloppenburg, Daan van Bunge, Bas Zuiderent, Tim de Leede, Hendrik-Jan Mol, Luuk van Troost, Reinout Scholte (wk), Jacob-Jan Esmeijer, Adeel Raja, Roland Lefebvre (c), Edgar Schiferli.


One-day ranking: 1
Tournament record: Up and down. Winners in 1987 and 1999, but suffered a shock defeat to Sri Lanka in the 1996 final. Knocked out in the first round three times.
Finest hour Demolishing Pakistan in the 1999 final at Lord's.

Who's the captain? Ricky Ponting. A dynamic batsman and a brilliant fielder, but his path to his country's one-day captaincy has been rocky, with the confession that he had an alcohol problem seeing him dropped from the side in 1999. Now a fixture though.

Who's the coach? John Buchanan. He is the archetypal modern coach, never without a laptop. His approach is more hands-off than hands-on, but it works.

What do they do well? Pretty much everything. Their bowlers, spearheaded by the relentless Glenn McGrath, are disciplined and menacing; their batsmen, led by Matthew Hayden, are all solid, world-class performers; and then there's Adam Gilchrist, already as the best wicketkeeper-batsman of all time.

What is their Achilles heel? They lack a world-class all-rounder.

Would love to beat? Everyone. An Australian never tires of winning.

Most likely to win the match? Michael Bevan. The left-hander is a master at closing out a run chase.

Most likely to lose the match? Brett Lee is the fastest bowler around but he can be expensive in the limited-overs game.

Secret weapon? Aussies are masters of the well-timed sledge: remember Steve Waugh's cruel 'You've just dropped the World Cup, son...' to South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs in 1999.

An Aussie view on Australia 'I reckon we're nailed on to win.' (Bob Symonds, Sydney Observer)

OSM prediction No side channels aggression more productively than Australia. Their mental strength, allied to their natural talent, will take them all the way. Winners.

Best XI Adam Gilchrist (wk), Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting (c), Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Michael Bevan, Shane Watson, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath


One-day ranking: 3
Tournament record: Patchy. Winners in 1992, but awful in the 1999 final.
Finest hour: Imran Khan leading his country to victory against England's best ever one-day team in 1992.

Who's the captain Waqar Younis. Lost a yard of pace but still a world-class bowler.

Who's the coach? English-born Mark Pybus. Originally a fielding coach and one of the few coaches never to have played international cricket.

What do they do well? Their bowling attack is varied and inventive - from Saqlain Mushtaq's devilish spin to Shoaib Akhtar's express pace.

What is their Achilles heel? Their batsmen have struggled in South Africa in the past.

Would love to beat? India. The intensity of their rivalry is unmatched in cricket.

Most likely to win the match? Shoaib Akhtar. The Rawalpindi Express could be the tournament's hero. He possesses more natural pace than Brett Lee and is a fierce, passionate competitor.

Most likely to lose the match? Inzamam-ul-Haq is a regal batsman, but when he waddles between wickets, you have to watch through your hands. Usually he tries to avoid running by hitting only boundaries.

A Pakistan view on Pakistan 'We can reach the semi-finals, no more.' (Tasneem Khan, Pakistan News Service )

OSM prediction Gloriously unpredictable. Capable of losing to Holland and beating Australia. Should qualify for the Super Six at least.

Best XI Saeed Anwar, Shahid Afridi, Yousuf Youhana, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Abdur Razzaq, Rashid Latif (wk), Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis (c), Shoaib Akhtar.


One-day ranking: 9
Tournament record: Haven't troubled the scorers since their first appearance in 1983.
Finest hour: Qualifying from the group stages in 1999, beating India and South Africa on the way.

Who's the captain? Heath Streak. His powers as a bowler are on the wane, but he remains a classy performer.

Who's the coach? Geoff Marsh. He coached the victorious Aussies in 1999.

What do they do well? The Flower brothers, Andy and Grant, who are still potent batsmen, though not the force of old.

What is their Achilles heel? The Mugabe regime has hardly helped to boost the flagging morale of Zimbabwe's cricketers.

Most likely to win the match? Andy Flower is the one Zimbabwe player capable of winning a match on his own. At his best when his back is up.

A Zimbabwean view on Zimbabwe 'It will take a miracle to qualify.' (Augustine Mukaro, the Zimbabwe Independent)

OSM prediction They were making real progress a few years ago, but are now in decline. Will beat Holland and possibly Namibia - but that's it.

Best XI Dion Ebrahim, Craig Wishart, Andy Flower, Grant Flower (wk), Travis Friend, Guy Whittall, Heath Streak (c), Douglas Marillier, Douglas Hondo, Brian Murphy, Henry Olonga.

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