ICC World Cup 2011: Captains say title race wide open
Fourteen captains, who will be representing their teams during the ICC World Cup 2011, gathered in Dhaka for a press conference ahead of the opening ceremony of the mega event.
The unanimous statement from all captains was that any team can win the mega event in the Subcontinent.
Australian skipper Ricky Ponting stated, “On behalf of the 13 other captains, I welcome the cricket fraternity to the World Cup. It is the pinnacle of our sport and we will make sure it is a spectacle to remember.”
The Kangaroos have won the tournament four times in the past, with the last three times consecutively in 1999, 2003 and 2007. Ponting has not lost a single match since he represented his team as captain in the mega event.
However, the Australian team has struggled for consistency recently which will make it harder for them to defend their title.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 will be looking forward to win the mega event for the first time in their history. Although the Proteas are rated as one of the favourites of the tournament, their captain Graeme Smith said that it will be hard to predict a winner.
England struggled for form in their warm-up game against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Canada-c748 but their skipper Andrew Strauss was confident that his team would get used to the Subcontinent conditions very soon. He admitted that England played relatively badly, but stressed that the
conditions in the match against Canada were difficult.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mahendra-Singh-Dhoni-c73820 and Kumar Sangakkara welcomed all the teams saying that they will have a memorable tournament.
Dhoni said that the World Cup was all about playing consistent cricket through a period of one month and any team doing that will be the winner at the end of the tournament.
Although India and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 will be enjoying home advantage, they will have added pressure on them. Former experts have claimed that India will wilt under pressure and it will be hard for the Men in Blue to reach the final of the tournament.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 will also be eyeing a good tournament and definitely have the players to win them the coveted trophy.
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