The Surfer

Hatteea’s cricketing saga is fascinating. He studied at St Mary’s here before completing his schooling in London. He played for the English schoolboys in the late 1960s. In 1969, he returned to India and discovered that Vijay Merchant, then chairman of national selectors, was looking for him.

In the absence of Kevin Pietersen, Flintoff is the only world-class player England have at one-day level and the ideal scenario would have him agreeing to continue without the responsibility of leadership and Strauss, who made a strong impression in the second half of the English season, taking over at the helm.

After leading the team throughout last summer's Test series against Pakistan, Strauss had to deal with the disappointment of being returned to the ranks for the Ashes Test series. In the long run, however, this may work to his advantage. Such was the ferocity of Australia's cricket during the Ashes that the job represented something of a poisoned chalice.

A top order of Arthur Morris, Bob Simpson and Don Bradman. A middle-order of Victor Trumper, Charlie Macartney, Steve Waugh and Billy Murdoch. A pace attack of Charles Turner, Ray Lindwall and Alan Davidson. And, in a move that may surprise the current panel of national selectors, a pair of leggies in Richie Benaud and Bill O'Reilly.

I always look at it as being in Australia's biggest loungeroom. If you don't want to be hassled with a bit of noise and a few weird characters, and the chance of having a little bit of beer spilt over you, then watch the game at home in front of your own TV in your own loungeroom.

Two months before a ball has even been bowled, I'm saying the Aussies will make the final … and I don't know how anyone could argue the point. In the four years since Ricky Ponting guided Australia to victory in South Africa, they have grown stronger while the rest of the world has stagnated or been left behind.

Ponting already may have found his most intimidating outfit, but he may need to be flexible. His spinners' inability to check an onslaught on a turning track offered some hope to opponents. Thank goodness, though, the unbeatable side has not yet taken to the field. Captains make choices. Ponting is playing to his strengths.

What purpose does it fill in the international arena other than providing the ICC with another dedicated event it can call its own?

Nielsen, now head coach at CA's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane, is popular with most Australian players after serving under Buchanan. But after preliminary interviews, it is believed Moody has become the leading candidate owing to the fact he has greater top-level coaching experience.

It is believed the former Australia allrounder wants to return home when his contract expires after the World Cup. But England could also seek his services if it decides to replace current coach Duncan Fletcher. CA is keen to secure its new man before the team leaves for the World Cup on February 27, ensuring a smooth transition once the tournament is over.

Though it may sound dramatic in the warm afterglow of a magnificent, against-all-odds triumph, it is worth remembering that the line between triumph and disaster has probably never been finer in South Africa's cricketing history.