HOW THEY LINE UP
AUSTRALIA Few, if any, weaknesses. Best fast bowling crop in the world, batting giants Steve Smith and David Warner, powerhouse allrounders and the Chris Lynn x-factor. Reigning world champions and will believe they’re the best team in the tournament. Predicted finish: Champions Squad: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Pat Cummins, Aaron Finch, John Hastings, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Pattinson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, Adam Zampa. TAB odds: $4 Last time: Group stage exit. Best finish: Champions in 2006 and 2009. BANGLADESH Very capable of the odd upset and coming off a win over an understrength New Zealand. Still, they have a horror group and remain too loose and inconsistent away from home to be a serious semifinal threat. Predicted finish: Group stage exit. Squad: Mashrafe Mortaza (captain), Imrul Kayes, Mahmudullah, Mehedi Hasan Miraj, Mosaddek Hossain, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mustafizur Rahman, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shafiul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Sunzamul Islam, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed. TAB odds: $31 Last time: Didn’t play. Best finish: Never progressed beyond group stage. ENGLAND Stuart Broad, Ben Stokes and others have boldly declared themselves favourites which should be music to their opponents’ ears. Very hard to beat at home which is a big leg-up, but yet to win this tournament and have a history of not finishing the job. Predicted finish: Beaten semifinalists. Squad: Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood. TAB odds: $3.60 Last time: Beaten finalists. Best finish: Beaten finalists in 2004 and 2013. NEW ZEALAND Know they can beat any team on their day but still carry questionmarks away from home. Plenty riding on Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor who need big tournaments in a batting lineup prone to collapse as seen against South Africa. If they can score big totals they’re a chance. Predicted finish: Group stage exit. Squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Corey Anderson, Trent Boult, Neil Broom, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Adam Milne, Jimmy Neesham, Jeetan Patel, Luke Ronchi, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor. TAB odds: $7.50 Last time: Group stage exit. Best finish: Champions in 2000. GROUP B INDIA Quality side, like Australia with very few weaknesses. Bossed the tournament on the same grounds four years ago and are probably stronger this time. They depend heavily on Virat Kohli who hasn’t been his dominant self with the bat of late, and struggled in England before. Predicted finish: Beaten semifinalists. Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammad Shami, Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, Umesh Yadav. TAB odds: $5.50 Last time: Champions. Best finish: Co-champions in 2002, champions in 2013. PAKISTAN It’s been a while since Pakistan were genuine contenders at a world tournament, and hard to see that changing. Cannot be taken lightly by anyone and their match with India will be its usual blockbuster, but would surprise if they toppled their rivals or South Africa to progress. Predicted finish: Group stage exit. Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Hasan Ali, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz. TAB odds: $15 Last time: Group stage exit. Best finish: Beaten semifinalists in 2000, 2004 and 2009. SOUTH AFRICA It’s been said a few times about South Africa, but this should be their trophy to win. Showed in New Zealand how they can ruthlessly dispatch teams and AB de Villiers could be the most influential player on show. Would be a cracking final against Australia but, whisper it quietly, there’s that small matter of big tournament yips. Predicted finish: Beaten finalists. Squad: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, JP Duminy, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir. TAB odds: $4.50 Last time: Beaten semifinalists. Best finish: Champions in 1998. SRI LANKA Used to be everyone’s second favourite team but very few names leap off the team list these days. On recent form outside Sri Lanka very hard to make a case for them, with so few world class performers. A shame, as a strong Sri Lanka always made things interesting. Predicted finish: Group stage exit. Squad: Angelo Mathews (captain), Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Asela Gunaratne, Chamara Kapugedera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Malinga, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Seekkuge Prasanna, Lakshan Sandakan, Upul Tharanga. TAB odds: $21 Last time: Beaten semifinalists. Best finish: Co-champions in 2002.