Be prepared for a batsman's World Cup

So the teams are announced, heartbreak and elation have been experienced, the World Cup trophy is on a tour of its commercial home, contests stare down at us from billboards, hard fought one-dayers have the air of warm-up games around them... Now all we need is for our stadiums to be ready.

They will, eventually, in a mad scramble to the finish line and amid much back-slapping and pride at working till the last minute. Maybe somebody somewhere will realise that this need to work till the last minute is a strong indicator of inefficiency, and that it is a pretty unnecessary ability to possess. Meanwhile Kolkata has asked for another deadline; they must like those, since they collect so many.

In spite of all that, I expect this to be a World Cup full of fervour and exuberance. There is a national team to support before everyone drifts away into a melee of uncertain identities and emotions. The IPL too has its place, but for the moment the World Cup stands alone in our consciousness, and that is how it should be. After all it only comes once in four years and it has been 15 years since a team other than Australia claimed it.

Now it returns to a subcontinent that doesn't quite hold the mysteries it did even as late as 1996. Teams have toured here very often. Players from some have even come to sing songs and to cut ribbons. They know the conditions, the people and the diets better than ever before. Economic prospects and outstanding hotels have meant that there are no longer complaints of heat and dust, Delhi belly and the perpetual sightings of fakirs and cows. Corruption is a bigger issue, but since the teams will not be particularly interested in bagging a telecom licence or staging sporting events, and since they are more aware than ever before of the perils of bowling intentional no-balls, it should pass them by.

Teams, meanwhile, are shedding their traditional DNA and trusting bowlers who toss the ball up rather than pound it down. South Africa, who hitherto had no more than a nodding acquaintance with spin bowling, courtesy Paul Adams and Pat Symcox, have picked three spinners in Johan Botha, Robin Peterson and Imran Tahir, and doubtless will expect Jean-Paul Duminy to bowl too. England have Graeme Swann, Michael Yardy and James Tredwell, while New Zealand are turning up with Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum and Luke Woodcock. Why, even West Indies are armed with Sulieman Benn, Nikita Miller and an angry Chris Gayle, who between them run in half of what Michael Holding once did. And we in India are debating whether we have picked one too many.

So is this going to be the World Cup of the slow bowler? I would pause a while before endorsing that. With our love for batting, and drama, I expect pitches to be as flat as ever. Boundaries have rarely been too distant, and in any case with modern bats even mishits clear the ropes. Much would depend, too, on how quickly winter retreats, especially in the north, where people have been huddling in corners and staying indoors. A friend of mine recently in from Chicago discovered that his bravado quickly gave way to sweaters. If the nights have a bit of a nip to them and dew becomes a factor, spinners may not have much to do bowling second.

That is why I expect this to be a batting World Cup. I won't be surprised if average scores are higher than ever before, though that is not necessarily good cricket. The IPL has expanded the vision of how many can be got in the last few overs, and so teams will want to keep wickets in hand for the end assault. It means wicket-taking bowlers, especially early on, will be as valuable as ever. Remember, too, that with the ball changed after 34 overs, reverse swing is not as big a factor as it used to be.

Watch out too for Bangladesh, who have turned in some impressive results in home conditions. Opponents will take them lightly at their own peril, for they will discover a left-arm spinner bowling at all times in the innings.

Sri Lanka might be a bit of a mystery, with a couple of new grounds, and West Indies are doing well to play three games there in the hope, doubtlessly, that they have seen the last of the rain.

Bookended by West Indies in the seventies and by Australia in the decade just gone by, the World Cup has produced unlikely winners. And it is an interesting thought that, in the eyes of many, if Australia win it for the fourth time in a row, they too will be considered unlikely winners.