Australia remain favourites to retain their crown

Between 6.00am and 6.00pm, strikes are the most popular form of demonstration in this country, and generally, all the shops and businesses remain closed. Hardly any motorised vehicles dare to venture out on the roads in fear of getting damaged or burnt beyond recognition by the activists enforcing the strike. So it's the paddled three-wheelers or rickshaws that become the only mode of transport in case of emergencies, and cricket can become an emergency to some.

A colleague at the Bengali daily was narrating how he took a one-hour rickshaw ride to the Fatullah Stadium, which is barely a 20-minute drive from his place. But as it was a hartal (general strike) day, he had no other option. Besides, he just had to see the Bangladesh U-19s in the practice match.

That kind of passion is common here and cricket seems to be the magic word. Although the happenings on the streets were pretty volatile on Thursday, not a single warm-up match among the 14 scattered all around the country were interrupted in any way. Cricket was enjoying its privilege.

On Saturday, there will be another strike and rest assured all the eight practice fixtures will end safely. That's the power of the game that even forces politics to take a back seat once in a while. What an irony, though, that Saber Hossain Chowdhury, the former Bangladesh Cricket Board president, now an opposition leader, had to be hospitalised. He got on the wrong side of a police onslaught while agitating with fellow anti-government protesters yards away from the Bangabandhu National Stadium that same day.

Despite political unease, the fact isn't getting lost that there's some serious cricket to be played and no one is feeling the pressure to perform more than Richard McInnes, the Australian coach of the Bangladesh team.

During his three-month stay in this country, McInnes has made more enemies than friends. His authoritarian style hasn't gone down well with too many people and his sweeping remark a couple of weeks ago that, "there were just three qualified coaches in Bangladesh", outraged many of his local peers.

Under him, the youth team suffered the ignominy of getting bundled out for 34 against India in a four-nation competition last year, and his critics say that his boys spent more time playing rugby than cricket.

McInnes knows that a strong showing in the World Cup would be enough to turn the tide in his favour. But he has his work cut out for qualifying for the Super League as one of the top two teams from Group C which includes India, New Zealand and Scotland. While Scotland won't pose a problem, they must beat at least one of the big boys.

They received the perfect boost when the trainees of BKSP, the country's premier sports academy, knocked off New Zealand by four wickets in a warm-up game. Bangladesh kick off their campaign against New Zealand at the BNS on Sunday. India start a day later. Robin Singh's charges have really impressed in lead up games and boast a number of Ranji Trophy regulars.

Group A is based at Rajshahi and Bogra, and is possibly the toughest one. Australia are firm favourites to defend their crown, but won't have things easy with Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in the group. Canada are destined to be every team's favourite punch bag. Australia already made their intentions clear by thumping 306 in a warm-up, with the eloquently named Theo Doroploulus hammering 106.

England's captain, Alastair Cook, (what a lovely surname to have!) and his merry bunch are having a ball at Chittagong. They sailed past their warm-up opponents with ease and are set to give Nepal a hiding on the opening day. England and South Africa are sure to qualify for the super league phase provided that there are no earth-shattering upsets against Nepal and Uganda.

At the southern-western city of Khulna, West Indies' practice game against a local side unveiled a 19-year-old hero in Assad Badyn Fudadin, who flashed the bat like a samurai sword to crack a 71-ball 106. Their main rivals in Group D, Pakistan, also warmed up well thanks to a Fawad Alam blitzkrieg. He blazed his way to 169 of 108 balls in his side's second warm-up. Ireland and Papua New Guinea are there to make the numbers.

It is difficult to predict what kind of crowds will be there to watch the matches. Tickets have been sold out a week in advance at Bogra, where the newly built Shaheed Chandu Stadium will host three matches. Local organisers in Narayanganj had to introduce tickets for practice games even at Fatullah Stadium. Rajshahi is also expected to see a good turnout. However, fans at Chittagong and Khulna are appearing a bit indifferent to the World Cup. Counters at the BNS also haven't seen the usual queues for tickets, but a full-house is guaranteed for the February 20 clash against India.