Cricket World Cup 2007 Preview: The Minnows

[This is the eight in a series of collaborative articles assessing the merits and demerits of the teams competing for cricket's World Cup in March/April in the West Indies.]

Sibin Mohan

Some people consider having these teams in the World Cup a waste of time. C'mon, they say, they're going to fail miserably and everyone will be taking them apart and piling on the high scores and records. It will distract from the remaining test teams.

I completely disagree. I think it's great that the ICC is promoting the lesser known teams. Giving them a chance to perform on the biggest stage will hopefully instil a sense of pride and make them want to perform better. It will also bode well for the national teams of the future and for the future of cricket in these countries. For anyone who disagrees, consider the case of Sri Lanka - they were the 'whipping boys' of India in the eighties and everyone wondered why they were given international status. They went on to win the World Cup in '96! Then Kenya - they were also considered to be a joke, but everyone stopped laughing when they took down the mighty West Indies, and then reached the semi-finals in 2003! Bangladesh has come far too.

The ICC is right in wanting to increase the coverage of cricket across the globe. Having less than dozen international teams means the revenue, the interest and the television coverage is severely limited.

Hopefully we'll see some tough competition and surprises from these teams in this edition of the World Cup. Maybe Scotland or Netherlands might take down the mighty Australians - who knows?

I want at least one or two of them to reach the super eights, but I find it unlikely.

Zainub Razvi

If there’s one aspect of the World Cup very few people want to talk about it’s the World Cup minnows. People like Michael Holding off late, have lambasted the ICC for allowing as many as six associate nations a chance to participate, his argument was that there presence makes the tournament too long, and more abruptly, he implied, that these sides don’t learn anything from getting thrashed. But at a time, when cricket in some of these minnow countries have taken their biggest ever leaps, Holding’s comments are very disappointing. There is no denying the likes of Scotland, Holland, Ireland, Canada and Bermuda may produce fairly one-sided matches, and that their presence too, lengthens the World Cup to just about two months, but it extremely unfair to suggest they don’t learn anything from being there. World Cup history after all, as Michael Holding will know all too well is full of upsets. His own West Indian team, lost to Kenya in 1996. And the Kenyan camp, perhaps buoyed by Holding’s comments, did recent talking of recalling the ghost of 1996, ahead of the two sides' warm up game this time around.

And it's not like these sides will just turn up and dig a white flag either. Players like John Davision, who notched up the fastest ever World Cup ton, again against Holding’s West Indies, for Canada in the 2003, could provide some entertaining resistance. Canada can also boast of something of an 'inside man' in Andy Pick, who they recruited as a coach from England's Under-19 World Cup outfit on a short-term deal in 2006. Their group C tie against Kenya could be a very well fought out contest. Bermuda too, in the form of their coach Gus Logie, a former West Indies player and coach, have a man with big-time international exposure and that will be very useful for an inexperienced side like theirs. Ireland, likewise, may have lost Ed Joyce to England, but still posses the likes of Eoin Morgan and opener Will Porterfield who averages 78.20 in ODIs. Netherlands, might not win a game against their group members South Africa and Australia, but Essex's Ryan ten Doeschate will be key for them, having scored four centuries in the 2006 ICC Intercontinental Cup, including a career-best 259 not out. Scotland too, in Dougie Brown and Gavin Hamilton, have two players who have international experience for England. All in all, these minnow sides might not conjure up out and out wins, but they certainly do possess some exciting players, that should making watching them a worthwhile experience.

Prediction: Will cause no upsets

Angshuman Hazra

These countries can approach their visit to this World Cup like a group of students visiting an industry / office functioning in the trade they are studying. If the students are just looking for a joyous outing they can do so and return with a few fun memories. No one's going to teach them by force here. On the other hand if they come determined to ask their professional seniors a few hard questions, they will do a lot of credit to their profession and the institute they represent. Best of all they go back with expanded horizons and a vision taking shape in their mind.

Irrespective of the lack of infrastructure/following/player pool back home, each of these countries should crave to be taken seriously. They can analyse their strengths and weaknesses, pick a 'target' in their group that can be best ambushed by their skill set and try to push through a surprise result in at least one of their encounters with the big brothers. If even a few of these teams can bring themselves to think of wins instead of good shows, they will have deserved their trip to the showcase event.

Huzaifa

He scored the fastest century in the 2003 edition of the World Cup. And he wasn't an Australian, South African, or a desi. He was…hold your breath…playing for Canada. Yes, Jim Davison's blazing 111 off 76 balls got everyone's attention. The kiddies knew how to play.

This will be Canada's third World Cup after 1979 and 2003. Their four ODI wins have come against former minnow teams like Bangladesh and Kenya. And with players like Jim Davison, it's just a matter of time before Canada makes their mark on the cricketing world.

Scotland and Ireland might prove to be a pleasant surprise this time. Winners and runners up respectively of the 2005 ICC Trophy, both teams have played some good cricket recently. They have talent, but lack experience.

Bermuda and Netherlands bring up the rear. The last memorable match played by Holland was against India in 2003, when the Indian bowlers managed to undo the fine work of the Dutch bowlers to prevent an embarrassing defeat.

Will any of these teams cause an upset this time round? Probably not.

Which is a pity. Of all the teams, the minnow players are the ones to be admired. It's easy to play cricket when it's the mainstream sport in your country. But in places where players need to struggle to find sponsors, struggle to create awareness and have only a handful of supporters, it takes great effort, determination and a deep love of the game to reach the World Cup. It's tough to juggle your passion with your day job.

And that's why you should support these teams. Because these guys still play for the love of the game, not the endorsements.

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Like what you read? The read some more:
India
Pakistan
West Indies
South Africa
Sri Lanka
New Zealand
England
Zimbabwe
Bangladesh, Kenya