Race for cricket's greatest prize gets under way today

Will South Africa become the first host country to win the World Cup. Can Australia clinch an unprecedented third title? Or will Pakistan put behind all their troubles of recent months and unite in their bid to repeat the glorious feat of 11 years ago?

Over the next 43 days, the destiny of the most lucrative World Cup will be decided with a record 14 teams competing for the biggest prize. Although 54 matches are scheduled, there is the distinct possibility of two games never getting off because of political and security reasons (Zimbabwe v England in Harare and Kenya v New Zealand).

These unfortunate calamities aside, Dr Ali Bacher, chief of the World Cup organising committee, has promised the greatest, and probably the best, World Cup ever staged.

A whopping sum of US$5 million is on offer as prize money - put jointly by International Cricket Council and the United Cricket Board of South Africa - which is five times more than dished out at the 1999 World Cup in England.

On March 23, the luckiest skipper will appear on the podium at the Wanderers in Johannesburg to receive a cheque of $2 million and the coveted World Cup trophy. The runners-up team will earn $800,000.

This time minnows like Namibia and Canada, for instance, will not go home as paupers even if they lose all their matches. The losers in group ties stand to pocket $5,000. So there is everything to play for.

The big guns, meanwhile, are all prepared to fight it out in 15 venues spread over three countries in southern African. For the next seven weeks cricket will be the hottest topic for discussion across the globe where this game is followed or played.

Everyone is entitled to form his or her opinion regarding the champions this time. Australia, the holders, rightly so have been installed as red-hot favourites to retain the trophy which they won on June 20, 1999.

South Africa are the mostly likely pretenders to the title. But as the major hosts, they will be under tremendous pressure from an expectant nation of people for whom this is arguably the biggest sporting gala in their history.

Not for the first time, Pakistanis expect their cricketers to run away with World Cup on this occasion.

March 25, 1992 is a never-to-be-forgotten day in the history of Pakistan cricket when Imran Khan-inspired team came from behind to lift the World Cup on that balmy night at Melbourne Cricket Ground, with 87,182 fans watching the action yards away while millions of ardent supporters were virtually glued to their television sets.

More than seven years later, the same nation was in grief when Steve Waugh led Australia to their second triumph in what proved to be the shortest ever World Cup final, lasting a mere 59.1 overs all told.

Wasim Akram, who led the 1999 squad, was vilified in his country as he was three years earlier when Pakistan lost to India in the quarterfinal clash in Bangalore.

Wasim, now preparing for a final hurrah, also came in for more flak in the last World Cup for his brotherly post-match comments after Bangladesh achieved their sole win over a Test country when he retorted: "We are glad that we lost to our brothers."

At least for now, there is no time to reflect on how and why the current Pakistan side planned their World Cup campaign in this or that way. Nobody gave Pakistan any hopes of winning in 1992 after a better part of the tournament had finished with the team languishing in bottom half of the standings. But that motivational speech by Imran Khan - on eve of their crunch game against Allan Border's then world champions - in Perth changed Pakistan's fortunes and the rest is now history.

One prominent feature of Pakistan winning World Cup comes to mind is that they had just three frontline bowlers to call upon in Wasim, Aaqib Javed and leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed.

Now Pakistan possess, at least on paper, the most lethal pace attack but to win the World Cup they need luck, inspiration and a huge improvement in all three departments, that is batting, bowling and more importantly, fielding.

Usually the team that plays better than their opponents on the day end up winning. Pakistan need to do this 10 times, a task not beyond the most unpredictable cricketing nation.