The squads have been named and 30 days are left before the start of the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Here are five storylines we're watching as we count down to Feb. 14.

1. Will West Indies overcome their recent turmoil?

One of the big questions floating around since November was whether or not the West Indies would implode or explode come tournament time. The squad had just abandoned its tour of India due to a payment dispute with the West Indies Players' Association and West Indies Cricket Board. Now, it looks like the former has a far better chance of happening at the World Cup.

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Star batsman Chris Gayle didn't hold back with his bat, or voice, this past weekend. The Jamaican smashed 77 off 31 balls and then another 90 off 41 in a pair of man of the match performances during the Twenty20 series against South Africa. He then followed that by calling out the WICB selection panel for leaving former captain Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard off the World Cup squad, calling the decision "ridiculous."

The big-hitting Pollard and Gayle led West Indies to a World T20 triumph in 2012, while Bravo was named to the ICC's ODI Team of the Year in 2014. Despite a "no victimization" agreement as part of the truce negotiations between the players, WIPA and WICB, Bravo appears to be paying the price for leading the West Indies ODI team out of India in November. His absence, along with Pollard's, may lead to an early World Cup exit.

2. Does Kane Williamson's recent success now make New Zealand a Cup favorite?

The 24-year-old appears on the cusp of superstardom in New Zealand. Williamson was far and away his side's leading scorer during the five-match ODI series against Pakistan in December with 346 runs, including two fifties and a high score of 123. He followed it up with a Test career-best 242 not out against Sri Lanka in Wellington, New Zealand, to start off the New Year.

He also made worldwide headlines for his outrageous juggling catch in the gully to dismiss Angelo Mathews in the same Test match, and his phenomenal fielding continued with another sharp catch in the first match of the one-day series.

Just when it looked like nothing could go wrong for the technically astute right-handed batsman, Williamson was struck down with a shoulder injury while diving in the field, which will keep him out for at least a week in the current pre-World Cup home ODI series against Sri Lanka. New Zealand fans will be keeping fingers crossed that it doesn't turn into a long-term issue and that the player who captain Brendon McCullum said could become New Zealand's best ever batsman will fulfill much of that promise during February and March.

3. Can Steven Smith's emergence bring Australia back to World Cup glory on home soil?

Smith was on the fringes of the Australia ODI setup when captain Michael Clarke's fragile back and hamstring gave way on the United Arab Emirates tour in October. Three months later, it would be unfathomable to see an Australia lineup without Smith in it. Not only is he now an automatic selection, but his stock has also skyrocketed to the point where he's arguably the first name on the team sheet.

In the UAE, Smith seized his chance to nail down a starting spot by scoring his first ODI century, 101 off 118 balls in a win over Pakistan. He then backed it up with three fifties and another century in the following six ODIs he played against Pakistan and at home against South Africa.

He carried that sizzling form into the recently completed Test series against India, striking a century in each match, highlighting his importance to Australia's batting unit while leading in the absence of Clarke. After his recent surge, Smith's middle name has become a social media rallying cry -- #Devereux -- for Aussie supporters worldwide.

4. Can Captain Morgan lead England to success?

Although Kevin Pietersen's absence may have been England's biggest distraction of 2014, Alastair Cook's inability to get out of a scoring rut wasn't too far behind. England management finally took action on the second elephant in the room in December by removing Cook from the captaincy and dropping him from the World Cup squad, appointing Eoin Morgan in his place.

Morgan gives England just the spice they need in the middle order with an entertaining spirit at the crease. The Irish import has excelled in limited leadership opportunities at the international level. His batting flair might also encourage newcomers like Alex Hales, and established veterans like Ian Bell, to play with more energy and freedom without having to worry about making up for the bad starts from Cook that weighed the team down last year.

5. Will this be MS Dhoni's last stand for India?

Sachin Tendulkar was 37 when he helped lead India to a World Cup win four years ago. Sri Lanka stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene will be the same age this year as they look to sign off like Tendulkar. And MS Dhoni? At 33, he could conceivably stick around another four years, form permitting, for the 2019 World Cup in England, but since he already captained India to the title in 2011, the desperation might not linger for that long.

Dhoni's retirement from Test cricket at the end of 2014 was a bit of a surprise, but it could be a sign of things to come. With the ever-increasing shift toward players generating the bulk of their income in the lucrative world of Twenty20 franchise cricket, the odds are that this may be Dhoni's last World Cup before exclusively committing to his megabucks role as captain of Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League.