Well were less than a week away from the start of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup, so in anticipation, we’re going to look into each and every teams chances come game day. Group A will definitely be an eventful group as there are teams in the group that can shine on their day but can also capitulate in shocking fashion. Out of the seven teams the four expected to go through are Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, whilst Zimbabwe, Kenya and Canada are expected to fall at the first hurdle.

Today we look at the punter’s nightmare, the underdogs.

Zimbabwe

World Rank: 11^th

TAB: $101

We Think: Quarter Finalists

Look out for: Elton Chigumbura

The man to get the Zimbabweans across the line has to be the skipper. He is the leader and probably the best batsman in the outfit. Will need to perform consistently for Zimbabwe to have any chance of getting through.

Chances?

Zimbabwe is seen as one of the minnows and although are not talked about as contenders they have nothing to lose and have the license to cause upsets. Word Cups always have surprises and this should inspire Zimbabwe. Last World Cup Ireland knocked out Pakistan and Bangladesh ended India’s run early. Zimbabwe have no expectations put on them and should not be taken lightly, as they have shown that they are no easy beats by winning all of their warm up matches so far against Netherlands and Ireland. The Africans have the potential to cause upsets, and this was made clear by the wily off-spinner Prosper Utseya saying, “we are now playing with the belief that we can beat those guys [big teams].” With New Zealand’s horrible form in general cricket, we like Zimbabwe’s chances of scraping into the Super 8′s!

Kenya

World Rank: 13^th

TAB: $201

We Think: Group Stage

Look out for: Alex Obanda

The player to watch out for from the Kenyan side is  young, talented batsman Alex Obanda, who has been performing well for his team and has the best batting average of the team of 34.18. He is said to be a stroke maker and prefers the offside, one too look out for.

Chances?

The Kenyans are a similar case to Zimbabwe and have no pressure on them. They’ve had convincing victories in their warm up matches over Ireland and Canada. Guys, don’t forget the 2003 World Cup, Kenya were semi-finalists. Yes. SEMI-FINALISTS. Kenya are one side that must not be underestimated. Although not picked as a favourite and seen as one of the ‘weaker’ teams, they will always remind you of their 2003 heroics when they gained respect from the cricketing World. This is not to say they will make the latter stages, but strange things occur in World Cups, any team can win on their day.

Canada

World Rank: No official rank

TAB: $251

We Think: Group Stage

Look out for: John Davison

If the Canadians are to have any hope, the responsibility is with the experienced members of the side, and like many times it once again comes down to the performance of John Davison’s batting.

Chances?

Canada has only played in three world cup matches ever. They are not very experienced in the world cup arena but can only gain through experiences such as this one. They have shown determination in recent times and won their warm up match against Netherlands.  Canada, just like other lower ranked teams all deserve to be in this World Cup and are here to prove a point. They have nothing to lose and other teams should not take them lightly, in fact to qualify they lost to Ireland in the final of the 2009 qualification tournament. They are here to play. “The first thing that comes to my mind is Ireland reaching the Super 8’s [at the] last World Cup, so I think we have to at least repeat that,” said young 18-year old Canadian, Ruvindu Gunasekera.

Overview

So those are the underdogs of Group A, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Canada. Zimbabwe and possibly Kenya should provide a little challenge to the favourites, but Canada are unfortunately shaping up as potential whipping boys.

Stay tuned as we bring you the big boys of Group A!