Capsule look at the 14 teams contesting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

Capsule look at the 14 teams contesting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011

NEW DELHI — A capsule look at the 14 teams contesting the 2011 cricket World Cup:

Best World Cup performance: Champions (1987, '99, 2003, '07).

Last World Cup: Winner.

Captain: Ricky Ponting.

Coach: Tim Nielsen.

World Cup win-loss record: 51-17, 1 tie.

Key Players: Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Cameron White.

Strengths: Australia is ranked No. 1 in the ODI standings, went through the 2007 World Cup undefeated, and has the best win-loss ratio in the quadrennial tournament; Ricky Ponting, who has played in the last four World Cup finals, is back at the helm after overcoming a broken finger which has sidelined him since late December; Australia beat England 6-1 in an ODI series leading into the World Cup, to rebound after a disappointing Ashes test series loss.

Weaknesses: Many of the stars of the last World Cup — including Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden — have retired and their replacements aren't in the same league in terms of skill or experience; If the frontline pacemen are wayward, Australia could concede some big totals; Lack of an experienced, specialist spinner — Jason Krejza only made his ODI debut earlier this month and was a late addition to the squad because of injuries to Nathan Hauritz and Xavier Doherty.

Best World Cup performance: Group Stage (1979, 2003, '07).

Last World Cup: Group Stage.

Captain: Ashish Bagai.

Coach: Pubudu Dassanayake (Sri Lanka).

World Cup win-loss record: 1-11.

Key Players: John Davison.

Strengths: Reached its fourth World Cup by finishing runner-up to Ireland in the qualifying tournament and has a talented top-order contributor in Davison, who made headlines at the 2003 edition with what was then the fastest century in the tournament.

Weaknesses: Lack of depth and experience; Canada left out some seasoned veterans in a gamble to promote a handful of younger players into the international arena, compounding the pressure on the likes of Davison and skipper Ashish Bagai to perform in every match.

Best World Cup performance: Semifinals (2003).

Last World Cup: Group Stage.

Captain: Jimmy Kamande.

Coach: Eldine Baptiste (West Indies).

World Cup win-loss record: 6-16, 1 tie.

Key Players: Thomas Odoyo, Collins Obuya.

Strengths: Has some vastly experienced leaders in Steve Tikolo and Thomas Odoyo, playing in their fifth World Cups; Will benefit in the field from hiring energetic former South Africa international Jonty Rhodes to enliven its fielding performance.

Weaknesses: An aging squad well past its prime and not expected to repeats its surprising run to the semifinals in 2003; Squad contains nine World Cup rookies and lacks depth in the bowling department, a deficiency exposed in a series of losses to domestic teams in India during a recent tour to acclimatize to local conditions.

Best World Cup performance: Semifinals (1975, '79, 1992, '99, 2007).

Last World Cup: Semifinals.

Captain: Daniel Vettori.

Coach: John Wright.

World Cup win-loss record: 35-26, 1 No Result.

Key Players: Vettori, Brendon McCullum.

Strengths: Recruiting former New Zealand test player and India coach John Wright to oversee preparations will help skipper Daniel Vettori focus primarily on what happens on the field; New Zealand generally lifts for the World Cup and has a team of solid allrounders capable of producing an upset result if they all click at the same time.

Weaknesses: Is coming into the tournament with only two wins in its last 14 ODIs, including an 11-match losing streak in which it went down 4-0 in Bangladesh and 5-0 in India before winning in the first and last matches of a 3-2 home series loss to Pakistan; Vettori is the only star in the squad and until Wright's appointment was overburdened by additional selection and preparation responsibilities.

Best World Cup performance: Champions (1992).

Last World Cup: Group Stage.

Captain: Shahid Afridi.

Coach: Waqar Younis.

World Cup win-loss record: 30-24, 2 NR.

Key Players: Afridi, Abdul Razzaq.

Strengths: In allrounders Afridi and Razzaq, Pakistan possesses two batsmen who can turn an innings quickly and are well suited to the subcontinental conditions.

Weaknesses: No team has had a more tumultuous preparation — senior batsman Salman Butt and frontline pacemen Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir were recently banned by the ICC for a minimum of five years after being found guilty in a spot-fixing scandal; Pakistan was supposed to be a World Cup co-host but was stripped of those rights after gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka team bus en route to a test match at Lahore almost two years ago; Pakistan is relying on Shoiab Akhtar to lead the pace attack, with much riding on the injury-prone fast bowler.

Best World Cup performance: Champions (1996).

Last World Cup: Finalist.

Captain: Kumar Sangakkara

Coach: Trevor Bayliss (Australia).

World Cup win-loss record: 25-30, 1 tie, 1 NR .

Key Players: Sangakkara, Muttiah Muralitharan.

Strengths: Won the World Cup the last time it was held in Asia and reached the finals in 2007; Record-holding bowler Muttiah Muralitharan will be playing his last tournament and is aiming to deliver a second World Cup title to Sri Lanka; A well-rounded squad with the only question mark being over the middle-order.

Weaknesses: Expectations — Sri Lankans are expecting Sangakkara and Muralitharan to win the tournament which their country is co-hosting, despite little practice on the relatively new surfaces prepared for the World Cup.

ZIMBABWE

Best World Cup performance: Super 6 (1999, 2003)

Last World Cup: Group Stage.

Captain: Elton Chigumbura.

Coach: Alan Butcher (England).

World Cup win-loss record: 8-33 1 tie, 3 NR.

Key Players: Chigumbura, Tatenda Taibu.

Strengths: The squad has played reasonably frequently in Bangladesh and has experience in the subcontinental conditions, which suit its spin-oriented bowling attack led by Ray Price and Prosper Utseya; Isn't burdened by any expectations and is growing in confidence after a restructure of the domestic competition and some coaching assistance from Brian Lara.

Weaknesses: Zimbabwe hasn't returned to the form of 1999, when it beat India and South Africa in the World Cup; Lacks depth in batting and bowling departments and doesn't have a stand-out match winner.

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Best World Cup performance: Super 8s (2007).

Last World Cup: Super 8s.

Captain: Shakib Al Hasan.

Coach: Jamie Siddons (Australia).

World Cup win-loss record: Bangladesh 5-14 1 NR.

Key Players: Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Ashraful.

Strengths: Has had some stunning victories, including its first in the World Cup over Pakistan in 1999, and wins over India and South Africa in 2007; That success, coupled with a win over England in 2010 which meant that Bangladesh has now beaten every full ICC member in the one-day format, should give the players confidence; Add the fact that Bangladesh are in the top eight of the ODI rankings and are at home in the group stage and it's easy to see why captain Shakib Al Hasan thinks his side can reach the quarterfinals.

Weaknesses: Bangladesh will still be among the three teams observers expect to depart from Group B as Al Hasan's men will need to add at least another win to the two achieved in 2007 to stand a chance of progress; They face a demanding start at home to fellow host India and will miss fast bowling allrounder Mashrafe Mortaza, who was left out because of a knee complaint.

Best World Cup performance: Finalist (1979, 1987, 1992).

Last World Cup: Super 8s.

Captain: Andrew Strauss

Coach: Andy Flower (Zimbabwe).

World Cup win-loss record: 36-22 1 NR.

Key Players: Andrew Strauss, Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann.

Strengths: A good side with a potential match-winner in Pietersen, coupled with solid batting support from Strauss and Paul Collingwood, and an able off-spinner in Swann who will relish the slower pitches; Proved it has finally cracked limited-over cricket by winning the World Twenty20 title in the Caribbean last year and reeled off five consecutive ODI series wins against South African, Bangladesh (twice), Australia and Pakistan from late 2009 to late 2010.

Weaknesses: Hasn't reached the knockout rounds at the World Cup since 1996 and was hammered 6-1 by Australia in its most recent ODI series, following a euphoric Ashes triumph; Top batsman Eoin Morgan has been lost to injury, while Swann, paceman Ajmal Shahzad and allrounder Tim Bresnan have all been temporarily sidelined; In terms of track record, England has often struggled in the limited-overs game in the subcontinent.

Best World Cup performance: Champions (1983).

Last World Cup: Group Stage.

Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Coach: Gary Kirsten (South Africa).

World Cup win-loss record: 32-25, 1 NR.

Key Players: Sachin Tendulkar, Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh.

Strengths: Being a tournament host, with passionate support and an intimate knowledge of the pitches, are just the first of India's advantages — closely followed by having the world's best batsman in Tendulkar. Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and unflappable captain Dhoni add further batting strength to what is India's strongest suit, while Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh offer a mix of pace and spin with the ball which can prove devastating.

Weaknesses: Home advantage also brings pressure and expectations, particularly after losing semifinals in India in 1987 and 1996; Form has meanwhile been patchy, with a 3-2 defeat in its most recent ODI series against South Africa; Impressive though the batting lineup is on paper, they do not all deliver consistently — a fact that was underlined when the spinners had to save their side in Sunday's warm-up win over Australia — Gambir, Dhoni and Yuvraj could only muster 18 runs between them in a worrying display.

Best World Cup performance: Super 8s (2007)

Last World Cup: Super 8s.

Captain: William Porterfield.

Coach: Phil Simmons (West Indies).

World Cup win-loss record: 2-6 1 NR.

Key Players: Porterfield, Ed Joyce.

Strengths: Ireland captain Porterfield reckons he has a better overall squad than the one which caused a major upset in 2007, beating Pakistan in the group stage to reach the Super Eights; This time, 13 of the 15-man squad are playing professionally, compared with the largely amateur side of four years ago; Seam bowler Boyd Rankin, Ireland's leading wicket-taker at the 2007 event, has recovered from a stress fracture in his foot that has sidelined him since July.

Weaknesses: As an affiliate member of the ICC, the odds are clearly stacked against the Irish, who have lost their inspirational batsman from 2007 to the England camp — although luckless Eoin Morgan has been ruled out of the tournament by injury; The size of the task was made clear by three defeats in as many warm-up games in February against New Zealand, Kenya and Zimbabwe, along with a 2-1 loss to Zimbabwe in an ODI series in September at Harare.

Best World Cup performance: Group Stage (1996, 2003, '07).

Last World Cup: Group Stage.

Captain: Peter Borren.

Coach: Peter Drinnen (Australia).

World Cup win-loss record: 2-12.

Key Players: Ryan ten Doeschate, Pieter Seelaar.

Strengths: The batting will be the strongpoint, albeit for probably the weakest side at the tournament; If Ten Doeschate can get into his stride, the Essex batsman could cause opposing teams a few problems and the same is also true for Tom Cooper, who plays for South Australia, and Worcestershire's Alexi Kervezee; A third World Cup match victory, after beating Namibia and Scotland in previous editions, could yet be a possibility in 2011.

Weaknesses: The bowling is unlikely to stand the test of the major nations and memories of the six sixes which Herschelle Gibbs clobbered in one over by Daan van Bunge in 2007 will be fresh in the memory; A crushing 156-run defeat by Sri Lanka in a warm-up on Saturday, along with a punishing 115-run loss to Zimbabwe last week, suggest things have not improved on the bowling front in the intervening four years.

Best World Cup performance: Semifinals (1992, '99, 2007).

Last World Cup: Semifinals.

Captain: Graeme Smith.

Coach: Corrie van Zyl.

World Cup win-loss record: 25-13, 2 ties.

Key Players: Smith, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn.

Strengths: South Africa has outstanding individual performers with Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers leading the ODI batting rankings, Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel considered the best fast bowling combination in the world and Jacques Kallis probably the top allrounder in international cricket; Smith has captained the Proteas in more one-dayers than any other player and is experienced and hugely respected by his team; South Africa came back from 2-1 down to beat India in a five-match home series at the beginning of the year to hit form ahead of the tournament.

Weaknesses: In many ways, World Cups; South Africa has a miserable record at the tournament where it has regularly underperformed and could again be troubled by famous failures on the big stage and the pressure to win one; Likely to be the last chance at World Cup success for Smith and Kallis, two of South Africa's greats, possibly adding an extra burden; A fast bowler-heavy attack led by Steyn, Morkel, Kallis and Lonwabo Tsotsobe may not be as effective as the Proteas are used to on the slower pitches of the subcontinent.

Best World Cup performance: Champions (1975, '79).

Last World Cup: Super 8s.

Captain: Darren Sammy.

Coach: Ottis Gibson.

World Cup win-loss record: 35-21, 1 NR.

Key Players: Chris Gayle, Darren Bravo.

Strengths: Individual efforts from the likes of Gayle, who has huge experience to draw on as well as an unquestioned ability with the bat, represent the best hopes for a West Indies side which has struggled over the past year; The same prospects can be said for Bravo and Ramnaresh Sarwan with the bat, captain and all-rounder Darren Sammy, while promising pace bowler Kemar Roach could provide a real help if the pitch suited. A comfortable victory over Kenya in a warm-up game will have done no harm but the glory days of Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards are long gone.

Weaknesses: A lack of form continues to hinder the winners of the first two tournaments, and it's been particularly true in the one-day format. A 2-0 series defeat by Sri Lanka in January and February followed last year's 5-0 whitewash by South Africa and a 4-0 drubbing in Australia over 2009-2010, albeit punctuated by a 4-1 win over Zimbabwe; Harmony in the ranks has meanwhile not been a strong point in West Indies cricket in recent years.