World Cup who's who - from Australia to Zimbabwe

Pool A

Australia

Prospects: One or two cracks have appeared – McGrath, Warne and Gillespie may not all last the pace, no Waugh to stride to the rescue – but they remain one heck of a side. Put yourself in the opposition's shoes. You've got to bowl at two threshing machines in Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, then Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn and Michael Bevan (groin permitting). That's a lot of runs. And you've got to get them off the big three, Brett Lee and one of the best fielding sides ever. Enjoy.

Achilles heel: Two actually. Most obviously the age (and injury-prone nature) of their leading bowlers. And they don't have a genuine bowling all-rounder.

Key player: Ricky Ponting. Australia will get off to flyers, but responsibility for converting those into impregnable totals rests with the No 3, something he didn't manage against England's inexperienced attack. His spectacular talent says this should be his time – or someone else will replace him as Australia's heir apparent.

Squad: Ricky Ponting, Michael Bevan, Andy Bichel, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Ian Harvey, Matthew Hayden, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Darren Lehmann, Jimmy Maher, Damien Martyn, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Symonds, Shane Warne.

Coach: John Buchanan.

Captain: Ricky Ponting.

Cup record: 1975: Runners-up. 1979: Group stage. 1983: Group stage. 1987: Winners. 1992: Group stage. 1996: Runners-up. 1999: Winners.

Pakistan

Prospects: Two bowlers with more than 400 ODI wickets, the fastest man on the planet and batting that can make any bowler look like Ian Salisbury – Pakistan should be heavyweight contenders. And yet... The bowling, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Abdul Razzaq and Waqar Younis, looks strong enough. And yet... Wasim and Waqar are old, Shoaib unpredictable, Saqlain prone to ineffectiveness and Razzaq unproven. The batting has Inzamam, Yousuf Youhana, Shahid Afridi and the returning Saeed Anwar. And yet...

Achilles heel: Their consistent inconsistency. Can they avoid the self-destruct button for 43 days? Nor do they have happy recent memories of the grounds, having just been thumped all round South Africa.

Key player: Shoaib Akhtar. Out-and-out pace will have a big and thrilling part to play on South African pitches – and no one is faster or more thrilling than Shoaib, if (an extremely big if) he has got out of bed on the right side.

Squad: Waqar Younis, Saeed Anwar, Saleem Elahi, Shahid Afridi, Taufeeq Umar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Yousuf Youhana, Younis Khan, Wasim Akram, Rashid Latif, Saqlain Mushtaq, Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami, Azhar Mahmood.

Coach: Richard Pybus.

Captain: Waqar Younis.

Cup record: 1975: Group Stage. 1979: Semi-final. 1983: Semi-final. 1987: Semi-final. 1992: Winners. 1996: Quarter-final. 1999: Runners-up.

India

Prospects: If HE has a good month, then they can cause an awful lot of damage. The little master is still not yet 30, it's worth remembering, and could be good for a record or several over the next six weeks. Of course, it's not just Sachin Tendulkar who will prompt bowlers to start limping and casting agonised looks at their skippers. Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and the devastating youngsters Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif threaten all sorts of mayhem, so long as their confidence has recovered after their pitiful performances on the substandard pitches of New Zealand. Shame about the rest of their game.

Achilles heel: Weak bowling, uninspired fielding and a fudge at keeper, which may cost vital chances.

Key player: Zaheer Khan. The brisk left-armer impressed on their last tour to England – his opening spell in the Lord's Test was mesmerising – but with Javagal Srinath the wrong side of venerable he is Ganguly's only seriously proficient seam bowler.

Squad: Sourav Ganguly, Ajit Agarkar, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Anil Kumble, Dinesh Mongia, Ashish Nehra, Parthiv Patel, Virender Sehwag, Javagal Srinath, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Zaheer Khan.

Coach: John Wright.

Captain: Sourav Ganguly.

Cup record: 1975: Group stage. 1979: Group stage. 1983: Winners. 1987: Semi-final. 1992: Group stage. 1996: Semi-final. 1999: Super Six.

England

Prospects: Don't expect too much, and you may end up with a mildly pleasant surprise – in other words, things cannot, they simply cannot, be as bad as 1999. For a start, Nick Knight is in the team this time, and his opening partnership with Marcus Trescothick, with Michael Vaughan at three, promises much. Just don't look too closely beyond that. Finishing remains a big problem, with only Paul Collingwood looking the part. Andrew Flintoff might be the Klusener of 1999, but England will settle for some brisk 40s. Andrew Caddick will carry the bowling – and he is very much an opening weapon rather than a miser at the death.

Achilles heel: Too many for comfort. The lack of a settled gameplan or team. The tendency to middle-order collapses. Injuries. Indisciplined bowling. Middle-aged fielding. Inexperience. Take your pick.

Key player: Michael Vaughan. World-class Test batsman, one-day novice. But needs to be the focal point of the innings after the two dervishes.

Squad: Nasser Hussain, James Anderson, Ian Blackwell, Andrew Caddick, Paul Collingwood, Andy Flintoff, Ashley Giles, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Ronnie Irani, Nick Knight, Alec Stewart, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan, Craig White.

Coach: Duncan Fletcher.

Captain: Nasser Hussain.

Cup record: 1975: Semi-final. 1979: Runners-up. 1983: Semi-final. 1987: Runners-up. 1992: Runners-up. 1996: Quarter-final. 1999: Group stage.

Zimbabwe

Prospects: Cry, their beloved country. The innocent bystanders while the arguments have raged about whether their land should host games or not. Wherever they play, though, they will be nothing like the force they were in 1999, when Neil Johnson (now in South Africa) and Murray Goodwin (Australia) blew all number of holes in some fairly sizeable reputations. The ageing Heath Streak now leads – the Flowers apart – a ragged army of mainly club-standard players who have been on a long losing run. The captain will have to stoke his own fires into a last blaze and hope that Andy Flower has the wonderful series he is absolutely capable of with the bat to avoid a torrid month.

Achilles heel: Tempting to say Robert Mugabe – the pressures on the home front are intolerable. Also, lack of back-up to the great Andy Flower.

Key player: Andy Flower. The glue as well as the gem of the batting line-up. If he doesn't get runs, no one else will.

Squad: Heath Streak, Andy Blignaut, Dion Ebrahim, Sean Ervine, Andy Flower, Grant Flower, Travis Friend, Douglas Hondo, Doug Marillier, Brian Murphy, Henry Olonga, Tatenda Taibu, Mark Vermeulen, Guy Whittall, Craig Wishart.

Coach: Geoff Marsh.

Captain: Heath Streak.

Cup record: 1983: Group stage. 1987: Group stage. 1992: Group stage. 1996: Group stage. 1999: Super Six.

Holland

Prospects: About what you would expect for a team with no sponsor, drawn from a pool of 5,000 players, with just one full-time pro and representing a country with no tradition in the sport. But they are the ICC Trophy champions – they beat Namibia off the last ball in the final in Toronto – and they play in the C & G Trophy (they beat Durham in 1999), which gives them some experience. Half the squad have spent the winter preparing in Cape Town and they won all their five matches in the South African Universities' Week. Expect them to try for respectability with the bat against the top teams – to get as near to surviving 50 overs as they can with a total of 150 to 200. Their bowling is less strong. Two of their players, skipper Roland Lefebvre and Bas Zuiderent, have county experience.

Achilles heel: Sadly, just not enough good players.

Key player: Jacob Jan Esmeijer. Hit a match-winning 58 to beat Namibia in 2001 ICC Trophy final in Toronto. Gave up his job for this World Cup chance, so deserves at least 15 minutes in the sun.

Squad: Roland Lefebvre, Tim de Leede, Jacob Jan Esmeijer, Feiko Kloppenburg, Henk Jan Mol, Ruud Nijman, Adeel Raja, Edgar Schiferli, Reinout Scholte, Jeroen Smits, Nick Statham, Daan van Bunge, Klaas Jan van Noortwijk, Luuk van Troost, Bas Zuiderent.

Coach: Emerson Trotman.

Captain: Roland Lefebvre.

Cup record: 1996: Group stage.

Namibia

Prospects: Just being here is a triumph in itself, really. After all, it was only in 1998 that a group got together and put in place a 10-year plan to set up a structure for cricket in the country and possibly qualify for the World Cup – in 2007 in the West Indies. But they made it four years ahead of schedule and their mainly young side will gain a huge amount from the experience. As they won eight of nine matches in the ICC Trophy before losing to the Dutch in the final, they are not hopeless duffers either. But their preparation – they played in South Africa's domestic one-day competition – has been a harsh reality check. They lost all five games and passed 150 only once. They will want to beat Holland and at least give Zimbabwe the hurry-up.

Achilles heel: Batting – they struggled to chase totals in South Africa, with only Gavin Murgatroyd looking at all consistent.

Key player: Gerrie Snyman. Namibia's strike bowler, who was brought up in South Africa and came through the provincial academy system there. His form will shape the totals his side have to face.

Squad: Deon Kotze, Jan-Berry Burger, Louis Burger, Sarel Burger, Morne Karg, Danie Keulder, Bjorn Kotze, Lennie Louw, Gavin Murgatroyd, Gerrie Snyman, Stefan Swanepoel, Burton van Rooi, Melt van Scoor, Rudi van Vuuren, Riaan Walters.

Coach: Dougie Brown.

Captain: Deon Kotze.

Cup record: Debut.

Pool B

South Africa

Prospects: If not now, when? The only side in the world who can look the Australians in the eye. Long and talented batting, deep and experienced bowling – Allan Donald may be 36 but on his home pitches he will be a serious handful in the middle overs – lots of all-rounders, of whom Jacques Kallis is simply the best, and a wonderful unit in the field. Their self-destruction in 1999 was cited by many as evidence of a tendency to choke, but with home advantage they are the obvious challengers to Australia and this time may well overturn them.

Achilles heel: Expectation. But that didn't seem to hamper the rugby boys too much in 1995.

Key player: Herschelle Gibbs. Exuberantly talented opening batsman who can flay attacks for seriously painful scores. Had a spectacular time against Pakistan recently – a fabulous double-century in the Cape Town Test being the highlight – and could be one of THE sights of the tournament.

Squad: Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Nicky Boje, Boeta Dippenaar, Allan Donald, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Gary Kirsten, Lance Klusener, Charl Langeveldt, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Jonty Rhodes, Monde Zondeki.

Coach: Eric Simons.

Captain: Shaun Pollock.

Cup record: 1992: Semi-final. 1996: Quarter-final. 1999: Semi-final.

Sri Lanka

Prospects: Uncertain. Which is absurd, given a batting line-up of their talent. Sanath Jayasuriya proved yet again in Australia that he remains as good a flayer as there is, while Atapattu, Jayawardene, De Silva and to a lesser extent Sangakkara and Arnold can all make big, quick contributions. But they are definitely less happy on pitches with bounce, so if this is a fast-bowlers' Cup they may not cut quite so loose. Of the bowling, Dilhara Fernando can be brisk and Chaminda Vaas clever, but they really are a one-man attack.

Achilles heel: Muttiah Muralitharan – without him they lose more often than not, so they had better pray he lasts the distance.

Key player: Muttiah Muralitharan – with him they win more often than not.

Squad: Sanath Jayasuriya, Russel Arnold, Marvan Atapattu, Charitha Buddhika, Aravinda de Silva, Dilhara Fernando, Pulasthi Gunaratne, Avishka Gunawardene, Mahela Jayawardene, Jehan Mubarak, Muttiah Muralitharan, Prabath Nissanka, Kumar Sangakkara, Hashan Tillekaratne, Chaminda Vaas.

Coach: Dav Whatmore.

Captain: Sanath Jayasuriya.

Cup record: 1975: Group stage. 1979: Group stage. 1983: Group stage. 1987: Group stage. 1992: Group stage. 1996: Winners. 1999: Group stage.

West Indies

Prospects: Are they really back? Does one reasonable tour to India a revival make? Anyone with an ounce of feeling for cricket will be hoping so. And any batting line-up with the talents of the emerging Gayle, Chanderpaul, Hooper, Sarwan, Samuels, and now the returning Lara has to be taken seriously. At least they can approach the World Cup with some confidence, which is a better start than last time. The veteran Vasbert Drakes has been summoned from purdah to shore up the bowling, where much will depend on the resurgent Merv Dillon.

Achilles heel: Bowling and fielding. Neither are up to the highest class.

Key player: Chris Gayle – the star of India when he made three centuries on their tour there recently. Can he keep doing the same with the overpowering presence of Brian Lara back in the squad?

Squad: Carl Hooper, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Pedro Collins, Corey Collymore, Mervyn Dillon, Vasbert Drakes, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ridley Jacobs, Brian Lara, Jermaine Lawson, Nixon McLean, Ricardo Powell, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan.

Coach: Roger Harper.

Captain: Carl Hooper.

Cup record: 1975: Winners. 1979: Winners. 1983: Runners-up. 1987: Group stage. 1992: Group stage. 1996: Semi-finalists. 1999: Group stage.

New Zealand

Prospects: The one certainty in cricket World Cups is that the Kiwis will punch above their weight. Individually their players might not measure up, but as a team they always, always do. In Stephen Fleming they have the most influential and innovative captain in the game. If they can muster enough runs and get off to a quick start against Sri Lanka and West Indies – both eminently winnable games – their momentum could carry them through to yet another semi-final place.

Achilles heel: The pitches. Their bowlers, Shane Bond apart, need a bit of help to unsettle the best, but are unlikely to get it. And injuries: Cairns, Astle and Vettori – vital players all – are frequent crocks.

Key player: Chris Cairns. Thoroughbred all-rounder. When fit and fired up, he is a walk-in to any team, and capable of adorning the tournament. But will his body let him?

Squad: Stephen Fleming, Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Chris Harris, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Mathew Sinclair, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.

Coach: Denis Aberhart.

Captain: Stephen Fleming.

Cup record: 1975: Semi-final. 1979: Semi-final. 1983: Group stage. 1987: Group stage. 1992: Semi-final. 1996: Quarter-final. 1999: Semi-final.

Bangladesh

Prospects: Plenty to prove for the latest and least of the Test-playing nations – a status which has not been an unqualified success. They should, though, still be the best prepared of the minnows, and must beat both Canada on Tuesday and Kenya on 1 March to justify their place in the world game. But will they? They lost both matches heavily to West Indies in their recent series at home, but at least they have been playing at that level. The bowling, coached by Mohsin Kamal, should at least be better than the Canadians and Kenyans are used to, and the batting should enjoy the lesser challenge.

Achilles heel: Mental. So many beatings – they have won just three of 61 one-day internationals – make losing a habit, and the batsmen particularly look scarred, if not scared, at the top level.

Key player: Mohammad Ashraful. Only 18, but already has a Test century. Classy batsman in the making, and a leg-spin bowler to boot.

Squad: Khaled Mashud, Hannan Sarkar, Al-Sahariar, Mohammad Ashraful, Habibul Bashar, Sanwar Hossain, Alok Kapali, Tapash Baisya, Mohammad Rafique, Manjurul Islam, Talha Jubair, Mashrafe Mortaza, Tushar Imran, Ehsanul Hoque, Khaled Mahmud.

Coach: Mohsin Kamal.

Captain: Khaled Mashud.

Cup record: 1999: Group stage.

Kenya

Prospects: Remember the 1996 World Cup? Quite a few of this squad do, because they were there – and they beat West Indies. But that remains the illuminating moment of Kenyan cricket, and the progress promised then has failed to materialise. They lost all their games in the 1999 Cup, and were beaten comfortably by Zimbabwe and struggled against Namibia in their warm-ups for this tournament. They are coached by Sandeep Patil, so it is no surprise that batting is their strength.

Achilles heel: At first sight, their inability to chase totals against good bowling attacks. In fact, that is largely because their bowling is so lacking in the nous to restrict decent batting line-ups on good pitches.

Key player: Steve Tikolo. Still. At 31 and with nearly 1,500 runs in 51 matches (remember a wonderful 71 against England at Canterbury in 1999?) he remains one of the world's best batsmen outside the Test arena.

Squad: Steve Tikolo, Joseph Angara, Asif Karim, Hitesh Modi, Collins Obuya, David Obuya, Kennedy Obuya, Thomas Odoyo, Maurice Odumbe, Peter Ongondo, Brijal Patel, Ravindu Shah, Martin Suji, Tony Suji, Alpesh Vadher.

Coach: Sandeep Patil.

Captain: Steve Tikolo.

Cup record: 1996: Group stage. 1999: Group stage.

Canada

Prospects: Welcome back. It's a long time since they were last involved. Back in 1979 they struggled against England, Australia and Pakistan, scoring 45, 105 and 139 – and their batting is likely to be a problem again. Mind you, the bowling and fielding will not be crash-hot either. And coming out of the Canadian winter is not the best way to prepare for a South African summer. Success will be a close battle with Kenya, respectability against Bangladesh and the avoidance of humiliation everywhere else.

Achilles heel: Apart from the obvious – talent – internal politics do not help. They sacked Australian coach Jeff Thomas and replaced him with Gus Logie in mysterious circumstances just two months ago.

Key player: John Davison. The only full-time first-class player. Off-spinning all-rounder who plays for South Australia.

Squad: Joseph Harris, Ashish Bagai, Ian Billcliff, Desmond Chumney, Austin Codrington, John Davison, Nicholas Degroot, Nicholas Ifill, Davis Joseph, Ishwar Maraj, Ashish Patel, Abdool Samad, Fazil Samad, Barry Seebaran, Sanjayan Thuraisingam.

Coach: Gus Logie.

Captain: Joseph Harris.

Cup record: 1979: Group stage.