You can still bet on Aussies

By John Cheeran
World Cup has begun, though one was to wait till Tuesday evening to see the first ball and first boundary.
Despite the recent flutters, I pick Australia as the team to watch. I will be really surprised if Australia do no defend their title.
They have the bowling, they have the batting and they have the experience of having won the last two World Cups. (not forgetting the 1987 success) Yes, and they have been forewarned by England and New Zealand so they should be watching their steps.
And what about India?
India should be ripe for the semifinals. The general outlook is that pitches in the West Indies should India’s way of playing and with some explosive batsmen like Robin Uthappa and Mahendra Singh Dhoni should give them an edge over their opponents. The warmup matches should not be a real pointer to what could happen in the World Cup. I think Indian skipper Rahul Dravid has made that point already.
The pitch and toss should play crucial roles in the tournament. New stadiums and fresh pitches may add intrigue to sex up the Caribbean carnival. Normally, new pitches need years to bed in and tend to offer irregular bounce and pace early in their development. It has been pointed out that the Caribbean with its different soils, hotter climate and strong breezes, may prove different.
But already the uneven nature of the wickets is a source for concern. The warm-up match between Pakistan and South Africa was on the verge of being abandoned.
By the way, The Independent, London, has projected a final between Australia and Sri Lanka. India and the hosts West Indies are the other semifinalists.