West Indies beat Netherland by 215 runs

West Indies defeated the Netherlands by 215 runs in their group B World Cup match at Feroz Shah Kotla ground here today.
Brief Scores:
West Indies: 330 for eight in 50 overs. (Chris Gayle 80, Kieron Pollard 60, Devon Smith 53; Pieter Seelaar 3/45).
The Netherlands: 115 all out in 31.3 overs, (Tom Kooper 55 not out; Kemar Roach 6/27).

Zimbabwe beat Canada by 175 runs

Nagpur, Feb 28 (PTI) Zimbabwe beat Canada by 175 runs in their Group A match of the cricket World Cup here today.
Brief Score:
Zimbabwe: 298 for nine in 50 overs (Tatenda Taibu 98, Craig Ervine 85; Balaji Rao 4/57).
Canada: 123 all out in 42.1 overs (Zubin Surkari 26; Ray Price 3/16).

England vs India Thrilling match on TIE

India 338 (Tendulkar 120, Bresnan 5-48) tied with England 338 for 8 (Strauss 158, Bell 69, Zaheer 3-64)

On an evening that simply beggared belief, England tied

with India in an incredible finale in Bangalore. Andrew Strauss was England's inspiration, producing an extraordinary 158 from 145 balls, the highest score by an English batsman in World Cup history, as England set off in pursuit of a vast 339 for victory, following a brilliant 120 from India's legend Sachin Tendulkar.

After 99 overs where the game went one way then the other it came down to England needing 14 off the last six balls with Graeme Swann and Ajmal Shahzad at the crease. Swann got three from the first two deliveries, then Shahzad stunned the stadium into silence with a thumping straight drive for six which made England favourites. He then ran a bye before Swann swatted a couple to midwicket leaving two needed off the last ball. Swann middled his drive but found cover to leave the match tied.

Pakistan Beat Srilanka by 11 runs - Afridi rocks

Group A match: A big match between the subcontinent teams like Pakistan and Srilanka. The thirlling game was won by pakistan by 11 runs. The Pakistan Batsmans gives good total on the board 277(50). Misbah ul aq scored 83 & Younus khan 72 make a strong score.
Afridi strikes quickly and he got 4 wickets in crusial time and he reached 300 wickets mark in ODI records.

he damages sangakara and dishan to sink srilanka lost this thirlling game. Pakistan have 4 points and secured Quater finals. Srilanka must be win in next games...

Australia Beats New Zealand by 7 wickets

Mitchell Johnson got his second straight four-wicket haul as defending champion Australia beat New Zealand by seven wickets at the Cricket World Cup.
Australia, posting its record-extending 25th straight victory at the tournament dating back to 1999, dismissed the Black Caps for 206, with Johnson claiming 4-33. Openers Shane Watson (62) and Brad Haddin (55) then eased Australia’s path to victory by putting on 133 for the first wicket in Nagpur, India.

Bangladesh beat Ireland by 27 runs

Bangladesh — Pace bowler Shafiul Islam claimed four wickets while skipper Shakib Al Hasan and Mohammad Ashraful took two apiece to steer Bangladesh to a 27-run win over Ireland in their World Cup match in Group B on Friday.
Batting first, Bangladesh reached 205 all out in 49.2 overs after a 44 from Tamim Iqbal, along with two useful innings from Raqibul Hassan (38) and Mushfiqur Rahim (36).
Ireland started steadily in reply but was dismissed for 178 with five overs to spare in its first match of the tournament.
Niall O'Brien topscored for the Irish with 38, while Shafiul led the Bangladesh bowling with 4-21 as his side got points on the board after opening with a defeat by fellow co-host last Saturday.

SA beat West Indies by 7 wkts

South Africa beat West Indies by seven wickets in their opening match of the cricket World Cup here today.
Brief Scores:
West Indies: 222 all out in 47.3 overs (Darren Bravo 73; Imran Tahir 4/41).
South Africa: 223 for 3 in 42.5 overs (A B de Villiers 107 not out; Kieron Pollard 1/37).

Shahid Afridi Fold Kenya & won by 205 runs

Pakistani captain Shahid Afridi is on a song here. Her has already scalped five wickets against Kenya and has helped restrict the African team at 112 runs giving a great win to his team.

I am sure judges will have a tough time in selecting the man of the match today. Four fifties with Umar Akmal top scoring with 71 runs off a mere 52 balls. Misbah scoring 65 runs, and now Shahid Afridi scalping five wickets.

So the two persons one of whom would be man of the match is Shahid Afridi, the talented Pakistani captain. Despite the fact that the win came against minnows, nevertheless the huge margin of victory 205 runs is going to give  a big boost to Pakistani assertions that it is also in contention for the coveted world cup trophy.

After Pakistan’s win Umar Gul who scalped two wickets said, “Early on we lost couple of quick wickets but later the batsmen had good partnerships. We were confident. The score was too much for the Kenyans. We have been enjoying Sri Lanka so far. I would like to thank the crowd for supporting us. There are lot of Pakistani fans and we hope that they will continue to support us”.

So Kenya have failed to prove themselves that they were rightly selected for the world cup.

England Beat Netherland by 6 wickets

Andrew Strass led the English team to a victory against The Netherlands at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur on Tuesday 22-Feb-2011 in the 5th match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Netherlands had set a decent target of 292 for the opponents for the loss of 6 wickets. The highlight of the Dutch batting was century by Ryan ten Doeschate.

Ryan ten Doeschate was declared the Man of the Match. He scored 119 runs in 110 balls after hitting 9 fours and 3 sixes.

England was able to achieve the target in the 49th over. It scored 296 at the loss of 4 wickets in 48.4.

Andrew Strass played a captain's innings to score 88 runs in 83 balls. His comfortable start allowed his team to seal a close victory in the 49th over.

Australian pace too much for Zimbabwe

Smart Stats

• Australia scored just 28 runs in the first ten overs of their innings. Their lowest ever aggregate in the first ten overs since 2000 is 7 for 4 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2006.
• Shane Watson, during the course of his 79, scored his 20th half-century in ODIs. In 28 matches since the beginning of 2010, he has scored one century and ten fifties at an average of 42.81.
• Ricky Ponting was run out for the 30th time in ODIs, which is second only to Mark Waugh's 32 run-out dismissals among Australian batsmen. Ponting also holds the record for most run-out dismissals in Tests (14).
• Ray Price, who picked up 1 for 43 off his ten overs, has a career economy rate of 3.87, which is the best among spinners who have bowled in at least 50 innings.
• With their 91-run victory, Australia extended their undefeated streak in World Cups to 30 matches. Their last defeat in World Cups came against Pakistan in May 1999.
• Mitchell Johnson finished with figures of 4 for 19 in 9.2 overs at an economy rate of 2.03. Among Australian bowlers who have bowled at least eight overs in an innings in a World Cup match, Shane Warne has the best economy rate of 1.10 against West Indies in 1999.
• Ricky Ponting has now played in the most World Cup matches (40), going past Glenn Mcgrath, with whom he shared the previous record of 39 matches.

New Zealand win against Kenya by 10 wickets

Match Number 02 : Kenya vs New Zealand at Chennai on 20.02.11 : New Zealand won by ten wickets

Kenya were led by JK Kamande while New Zealand were led by DL Vettori – both new captains for their respective sides. JK Kamande became the fourth captain to lead Kenya in world cup. Others are – SO Tikolo {12} : MO Odumbe {06} and AY Karim {05}. DL Vettori became the eighth captain to lead New Zealand in world cup. Others are – SP Fleming {27} : MD Crowe {09} : LK Germon {06} : GP Howarth {06} : MG Burgess {04} : JJ Crowe {06} and GM Turner {04}

Kenya was dismissed for 69 in this game providing the 15^th occasion of a team dismissed for less than 100 runs in world cup. The other fourteen occasions are – 36 by Canada vs Sri Lanka at Paarl on 19.02.03 : 45 by Canada vs England at Manchester on 13.06.79 : 45 by Namibia vs Australia at Potchefstroom on 27.02.03 : 68 by Scotland vs West Indies at Leicester on 27.05.99 : 74 by Pakistan vs England at Adelaide on 01.03.92 : 77 by Ireland vs Sri Lanka at St George’s on 18.04.07 : 78 by Bermuda vs Sri Lanka at Port of Spain on 15.03.07 : 84 by Namibia vs Pakistan at Kimberley on 16.02.03 : 86 by Sri Lanka vs West Indies at Manchester on 07.06.75 : 91 by Ireland vs Australia at Bridgetown on 13.04.07 : 93 by England vs Australia at Leeds on 18.06.75 : 93 by West Indies vs Kenya at Pune on 29.02.96 : 94 by East Africa vs England at Birmingham on 14.06.75 and 99 by Zimbabwe vs Pakistan at Kingston on 21.03.07

Kenya’s total of 69 in this game represent fifth lowest total in a completed innings in the world cup.

New Zealand’s win by ten wickets in this game provide the ninth occasion of a team winning a world cup game without losing a wicket. The other six occasions are – India won by ten wickets against East Africa at Leeds on 11.06.75 : West Indies won by ten wickets against Zimbabwe at Birmingham on 20.06.83 : West Indies won by ten wickets against Pakistan at Melbourne on 23.02.03 : South Africa won by ten wickets against Kenya at Potchefstroom on 12.02.03 : Sri Lanka won by ten wickets against Bangladesh at Pietermaritzburg on 14.02.03 : South Africa won by ten wickets against Bangladesh at Bloemfontein on 22.02.03 and Australia won by ten wickets against Bangladesh at North Sound on 31.03.07

New Zealand’s win by ten wickets against Kenya in this game provide the second occasion of Kenya losing a world cup game by ten wickets. The other occasion was South Africa winning by ten wickets against Kenya at Potchefstroom on 12.02.03.

NN Odhimabo, SO Ngoche and E Otieno scored zeroes in this game providing the 36^th occasion of three or more batsmen scoring zeroes in an innings in the world cup. It is the second such occasion for Kenya in world cup. The other occasion was at Patna against Zimbabwe on 27.02.96 when SO Tikolo, TM Odoyo and AY Karim failed to open their account.

Two brothers – in the Kenya team NN Odhiambo and SO Ngoche – failed to score in this game.

HK Bennett captured 4 for 16 in this game providing the 130^th occasion of a bowler capturing four or more wickets in the world cup. His feat provides the tenth occasion of a New Zealand bowler capturing four or more wickets in the world cup.

HK Bennett earned the distinction of becoming the 18^th bowler to capture four or more wickets on world cup debut. He is the first New Zealand bowler to achieve the feat. Other occasions are – DK Lillee – 5-34 of Aus vs Pak at Leeds on 07 Jun 1975 : GJ Gilmour – 6-14 of Aus vs Eng at Leeds on 18 Jun 1975 : MA Holding – 4-33 of Win vs Ind at Birmingham on 09 Jun 1979 : DAG Fletcher – 4-42 of Zim vs Aus at Nottingham on 09 Jun 1983 : Abdul Qadir – 4-21 of Pak vs NZl at Birmingham on 11 Jun 1983 : WW Davis – 7-51 of Win vs Aus at Leeds on 11 Jun 1983 : CJ McDermott – 4-56 of Aus vs Ind at Chennai on 13 Dec 1987 : UC Hathurasinghe – 4-57 of Srl vs Win at Berri on 17 Mar 1992 : PA Strang – 4-46 of Zim vs Win at Hyd-LBS on 16 Feb 1996 : DW Fleming – 5-36 of Aus vs Ind at Mumbai on 27 Feb 1996 : AD Mullaly – 4-37 of Eng vs Srl at Lord’s on 14 Mar 1999 : NC Johnson – 4-42 of Zim vs Ken at Taunton on 15 May 1999 : DS Mohanthy – 4-56 of Ind vs Ken at Bristol on 23 May 1999 : A Codrington – 5-27 of Can vs Ban at Durban on 11 Feb 2003 : IJ Harvey – 4-58 of Aus vs dPak at Johannesburg on 11 Feb 2003 : JM Anderson – 4-25 of Eng vs Aus at East London on 16 Feb 2003  and MF Mahroof – 4-27 of Srl vs Ber at Port of Spain on 15 Mar 2007

New Zealand’s win by ten wickets in this game provide the 300^th occasion of a team winning a game in world cup.

New Zealand won this game by ten wickets with 252 balls to spare providing the tenth occasion of a team winning a world cup game with 200 plus balls to spare.

New Zealand won this game by ten wickets with 252 balls to spare providing the third occasion of a team winning a world cup game with 250 plus balls to spare. The other two occasions are – England won by eight wickets with 277 balls to spare vs Canada at Manchester on 13.06.09 and Sri Lanka won by nine wickets with 272 balls to spare vs Canada at Paarl on 19.02.03

Sri Lanka beat Canada by 210 runs

Hambanthota: Sri Lanka beat Canada by 210 runs today to win their opener of the World Cup 2011 at the Hambanthota Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium.
Hambanthota district parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa presented the Man of the Match award to Mahela Jayawardena.
After winning the toss and deciding to bat the Sri Lanka led by Kumar Sangakkara amassed a huge total of 332 for 7 with a 92 from Sangakkara and a century from Mahela Jayawardena.
In reply Canada made 122 for all out in 36.5 overs with Nuwan Kulasekara and Thisara Perera taking 3 wickets each and Muralitharan claiming 2 wickets. Ajantha Mendis and Thilan Samaraweera took one each. Sri Lanka rested Lasith Malinga today.

Blistering Sehwag scores 14th ODI century !!!

India's Virender Sehwag hit the first century of the 2011 World Cup on Saturday in the opening match against Bangladesh.
Sehwag, 32, reached his 14th one-day international century off 94 balls to set the platform for a big total after the Indians were put in to bat in the day-night game at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka.
The dashing opener played a typically attacking innings, racing to his half-century with a six that sailed over the long-on boundary into the packed stands.
He reached the three-figure mark with a single to the mid-wicket against off spinner Mohammad Mahmudullah. It was his first century against Bangladesh and second in World Cups.
Sehwag's attacking knock made light of the dismissal of his more accomplished opening partner Sachin Tendulkar, who was run-out after a crazy mix-up in the middle, for 28.
Sehwag is one of the most devastating openers in the world with more than 7,000 runs in one-day internationals scored at a strike rate of over 100.
His record in Tests is no less impressive, having aggregated 7,694 runs from 87 matches at an average of 53.43.
Before the start of the World Cup, Sehwag had revealed his secret desire to bat out the entire 50 overs.
"I think I have never played 50 overs in one-day cricket. The maximum I have played is 43 or 44 overs.
"But this time, I will try to bat 50 overs and give a good start to the team. I have been unsuccessfully trying this for the past 10 years, but the effort is still on."

Batting long is Sehwag's aim

As if Virender Sehwag's batting strike-rate of 102 over a decade in one-day cricket wasn't enough to frighten bowlers, he has now set his sights on batting long during the World Cup. During his astonishing double-century against Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan in the Galle Test in 2008, Sehwag carried his bat but he is yet to bat out the full quota of overs in one-dayers, something he hopes to achieve.

"I think I never played 50 overs in one-day cricket, maximum I faced is 42-44 overs," a relaxed Sehwag said in Bangalore. "This time I'll try to bat 50 overs if I can. I have been trying for 10 years, I'm still trying." Emulating Sachin Tendulkar, who made the first and only double-century so far in the format when he played out 50 overs against South Africa last year, wasn't a target for Sehwag though. "Sachin has played 50 overs many times, not just once, but he could make 200 only once because it is not easy to make 200 in a one-dayer."

Nearly a third of Sehwag's innings have been single-digit efforts, a proportion he aims to reduce with a more measured approach early in the innings. "I have Yuvraj [Singh], MS Dhoni, [Suresh] Raina, [Virat] Kohli and Yusuf [Pathan] in the middle order, so I can go after the bowling straight from the first ball, but nowadays I'm a giving a little bit of respect for first 4-5 overs," he said. "Then I can take on the bowlers to make sure I give a good start so even if I get out the middle order can take their time and then go after the bowling."

This will be the first World Cup since Twenty20 become a big-money phenomenon, and Sehwag says the rise of cricket's newest format will mean teams batting first will have to set bigger targets to feel safe. "If you get a good batting track, 320 or 300 will be a par score in the World Cup," he said. "IPL changed a lot of batsmen's mindsets, because batsmen now think we can chase 10 run an over anytime. Before teams thought you have lost the game if they needed to chase 10 an over, but now with the power-hitters in the team, they will chase it and that will be very exciting to see in the World Cup"

Injuries and the team management's decision to rest him from some recent series has meant Sehwag goes into the World Cup not having played a one-dayer in more than five months. He missed the recent series against South Africa due to a shoulder problem, and though he is satisfied with his recovery, he is yet to start bowling. "I'm taking regular treatment, so hopefully it will be fine when the match comes," he said. "I don't want to bowl in the nets and get injured again, so when I feel my shoulder is better I can start bowling."

Shoulder trouble ruled Sehwag out of the past three global ICC tournaments - the Champions Trophy in 2009, and the previous two World Twenty20s - and India have had early exits in each of those, despite entering as title contenders. This World Cup, too, India are one of the front-runners. What lessons has the team learnt from past failures? "The only thing we learnt is that we are not favourites."

S.Lanka legend Murali to help Aussie spinners: report

Legendary Sri Lankan bowler Muttiah Muralitharan is to take a guest coaching role at Australia's top cricket academy in a bid to revamp the nation's spin hopes, according to reports.
Muralitharan, the world's leading wicket-taker in both Tests and one-dayers, would spend several weeks at Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence for intensive training with the nation's rising spinners, the Daily Telegraph said.
"This is a wonderful opportunity ... Murali has probably forgotten more about spin bowling than most people will know in a lifetime," Australian selector Greg Chappell told the Sydney newspaper.
"It is not just Murali's obvious physical skill that will be a huge benefit for our young spinners, it is also his physical toughness, his cleverness, his cunning and his ability to be able to set a batsman up and bowl 10-15 overs to a plan," he added.
The off-spinner's technique would also be recorded and downloaded into the academy's "virtual bowler" machine, allowing batsmen to square off against a cyber-Murali in the nets.
It would be an important coup for despondent Australia, languishing with few spin options after its crushing Ashes defeat by England.
The kingpin of the Sri Lankan attack for 18 years with a record 800 Test wickets to his name, Muralitharan, 38, is one of world cricket's most revered and controversial figures.
He was famously no balled in Australia's 1995 Boxing Day Test for chucking before outraged fans, and his bowling action was called into question numerous times by the International Cricket Council.
Muralitharan has said he will bow out of international cricket after this month's 2011 World Cup, following his retirement from the Test circuit in July last year.

City welcomes ICC World Cup Trophy 2011

 Cricket buffs welcomed the ICC Cricket World Cup Trophy 2011 with loud cheers and thrill here on Sunday. The coveted trophy was kept for preview in the city by Reliance Communications, who are global partner for the event that will kick off from February 19. The trophy was taken through different areas of the city that has been producing a number of international cricketers over decades.

Former India player and coach Anshuman Gaekwad unveiled the trophy at Welcome Hotel and he was very thrilled about it. Interestingly, it was decided to keep the trophy on preview only in Vadodara. "If I could, I would have kept the trophy here and not let it go out of the city. It is cricketing world's most coveted trophy and I was thrilled to hold it," said Gaekwad, who had played in 1975 and 1979 World Cup tournaments.

"India has quality players and I hope our team wins it for Sachin Tendulkar, who may be playing his last World Cup. Sachin has been craving to win the WC and it is like an emotional appeal to other players to give their best. Also, to win the WC, team efforts matter more than reputation," Gaekwad added.

Reliance Communications hub head, Vinay Chandhok said, "We will be taking the trophy to six cities across the country as part of promotional event. We kept the preview in the city as there will be no WC matches here."

Shahid Afridi named World Cup captain

Shahid Afridi has been named captain of Pakistan's World Cup squad, a decision that ends weeks of uncertainty over who will lead the side in the global tournament starting later this month.

Pakistan were the only side of the 14 participating teams not to have named their captain when the World Cup squads were announced in January, fuelling debate over whether Misbah-ul-Haq, the Test captain, could take over from limited-overs leader Afridi. Misbah was named vice-captain of the World Cup squad.

Afridi has been Pakistan's ODI captain over the last year but, just before the ongoing New Zealand tour, a number of key players and team management officials raised concerns with the board over his captaincy. The development placed the board in a quandary, caught between players and the captain, ultimately compelling them to delay the announcement of a leader.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt travelled earlier this week to New Zealand, where the team has just recorded its first one-day series win in more than two years, to hold discussions with Afridi, senior players and management officials over who should lead the side.

"I had detailed discussions with team management and players in New Zealand regarding captain and vice captain," Butt said, "and am pleased to state that everyone fully endorsed these decisions."

Pakistan play the final match of their six-ODI series against New Zealand on Saturday in Auckland.

South Africa better prepared this time - Graeme Smith

South Africa captain Graeme Smith has said that his team is better prepared for the 2011 World Cup, than the side he led to the tournament's 2007 edition. This World Cup will be Smith's third as a player, and second as a captain, following the semi-final exit last time around.

"In 2007 we went there with the expectation of winning the tournament, and put ourselves under so much pressure," Smith told the IOL Sport website. "Yes, you have to want to win the World Cup and that has to be your mindset, otherwise, what's the point of going there. But we are much more relaxed in terms of the way we want to do things, and we want to take it step by step. Reaching the final is the goal, obviously, but we won't be approaching every game and every day looking too far ahead. We are certainly more relaxed about it than we have been in the past.

Smith also believed his team was better prepared in terms of the personnel at his disposal, than the more experienced 2007 side. "When I look back on the 2007 team, I think we were a little bit too rigid in terms of players and the squad. We are a lot more open-minded now, we have a lot more options. We had a lot of the same type of players in 2007. We had a lot of experience back then. We don't have a lot of World Cup experience in this team, but we have a lot of variety, a lot of energy. We have got pace, we have got spin and we have a lot of options, which is what I think we maybe lacked in 2007.

"We stuck to a similar style of play in 2007, and now we can change the way we play. We can be more innovative and more off the cuff, and be a lot more unpredictable, while still having that solid base."

South Africa have geared up for the World Cup with a hard-fought 3-2 win against India, in a series where both teams were without some top players. On more than one occasion in that series, South Africa lost steam in the batting Powerplay, an area that Smith said could be crucial in the World Cup.

"For me, Powerplay three is not so much about when you take it, but how you play it, the execution of it," Smith said. "I personally would like to take it when guys are in and there's a good partnership going, rather than when guys are just starting out at the crease. We have tried a few things through some of the games and we have decided to make a gut decision on the day. What the guys in the middle need to discuss is their execution; what they need to do to get eight or nine runs an over.

"From a bowling point of view, an aggressive mindset is always crucial. So often when you're bowling in the Powerplay, you back off because you think the team is going to be attacking you. So we want to be aggressive and look to pick up wickets, which is one way of using it to your advantage. That's something Australia did very well in 2007, they attacked that Powerplay whereas everyone else stood back."

South Africa play the first of their two warm-up games on February 12, before kicking off their tournament on the 24, against West Indies in Delhi.

Sangakkara lack of practice at World Cup

 

Kumar Sangakkara has said Sri Lanka's lack of practice at the country's World Cup venues, which are yet to be completed, will rob them of some home advantage during the tournament. Construction delays have prevented Sri Lanka from training at the new stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele.

"We would love to train at all the grounds [in Sri Lanka], but we need to have the proper facilities to train," Sangakkara told AFP after beating West Indies on Sunday, in Sri Lanka's last international fixture
before the World Cup. "We need to have side [practice] wickets and gyms at the venues, otherwise it is difficult.

"We've accepted the fact that we'll have to play World Cup matches on those grounds without knowing the conditions too well." Sri Lanka have, however, played a rain-marred Test against West Indies recently at Pallekele.

Hambantota and Pallekele will host five Group A matches in all, with Sri Lanka featuring in two of them, one at each of the grounds. After the ICC delegation's final inspection of the stadiums on January 22, Sri lanka's World Cup director Suraj Dandeniya had said the stadium at Pallekele was 99.9% complete, while the "finishing touches at Hambantota, the roofs and the roads leading to the stadium" were pending.

Sangakkara said the players were happy with the facilities at Sri Lanka's third World Cup venue - the renovated R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo - where the squad has played a few domestic matches recently. "We've got to prepare as well as we can in the two weeks [before the tournament begins] with the best facilities and those facilities are here in Colombo." Sri Lanka play their first match at Hambantota on February 20 against Canada.

Australia wait on World Cup injured

 

	Michael Hussey is one of Australia's more serious injury concerns © Getty Images Enlarge

Australia's World Cup squad will get on a plane on Wednesday with injuries a concern, but the coach Tim Nielsen hopes the selectors don't risk sending too many unfit men to defend the title. Ricky Ponting (finger), Michael Hussey (hamstring) and Nathan Hauritz (shoulder) have all been racing to prove their fitness for the tournament, while some of their potential replacements are also struggling, including Xavier Doherty (back) and Shaun Marsh (hamstring).

The squad heads to India this week and their first practice match is on Sunday against India in Bangalore, eight days before their opening game of the tournament proper, against Zimbabwe. Hussey said on the weekend that he would find it difficult to be fully fit for the first couple of outings, while Hauritz, who dislocated his shoulder during the recent ODIs against England, was bowling in the nets last week and said he had no doubt he would be fit for the World Cup.

But while Australia might be able to carry one injured player at the start of the tournament, it's risky to allow too many men to board the plane at less than 100% fitness. Nielsen said he believed the squad could not take such a chance with the World Cup on the line.

"I can't afford to have two, three or four guys that we're uncertain about," Nielsen said. "It means we've only got 11 fit ready to go at the start. That's the quandary we face. What is the role the players who are injured play? Do we have back-up for that position? If we have an injury to somebody in the team at the moment is the injured person the next cab off the rank or the only possible replacement or do we have other options? All those things will be thrown into the mix."

One positive is the progress being made by Ponting, who missed the Sydney Test after aggravating his broken finger during the Boxing Day Test. Ponting had surgery on the little finger on his left hand after the Melbourne game, and by the time the World Cup opener arrives it will have had nearly seven weeks of recovery time. He hasn't returned to fielding yet, but believes he could play if the Australians had an important match tomorrow.

"I'm a lot better now than I was last week," Ponting said on Monday night at the Allan Border Medal ceremony in Melbourne. "I've been back in the nets this week, I've had three good hits and a bit of time out there. It's probably a bit more advanced than I thought it would be."

The spin position shapes up as one of the more serious issues, with Steven Smith also battling a hip muscle injury, along with the problems that are troubling Hauritz and Doherty. Smith's injury shouldn't be a major concern, though the more serious situation with Hauritz, added to the likelihood that Hussey won't be fit for the start of the World Cup, leaves the selectors with some headaches.

"We've got our fingers crossed for both those guys," Ponting said. "Their injuries couldn't have come at a worse time for us, looking forward to the World Cup. They're both very senior members of our side. We've got our fingers crossed for both those guys and I know the physios and doctors have been doing a lot of talking today about those two. Hopefully they come up."

The coach Nielsen said it was a delicate balancing act: "If we're going to replace them we're going to have to rule them out of the tournament full stop. That's the first question we're going to have to answer. Are they going to take any part in the tournament in a timeframe that's going to work for us?

"Once we make that decision then it's, okay, if we are going to replace them, is the replacement ready to go straight away or are we better off taking the named player and they might be ready at the same time? All those different things that come into the equation."

Australia have two warm-up games before the World Cup begins in earnest, and they have six pool matches before finding out if they have progressed to the next round. Australia are in a group with Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Canada and Kenya.