South Africa's power-packed top order

With the World Cup only a little more than a month away, the team whose top-order batting is looking in better shape than any other is South Africa. One opening slot used to be a worry, but Hashim Amla has adapted his game quite superbly to the ODI format and achieved stunning results at the top of the order. Jacques Kallis hasn't always been available for the ODIs, but in the games he has played he's been a rock at No. 3, able to steady the innings after an early wicket or to continue the momentum after a good start. And at No. 4, AB de Villiers has been a powerhouse, taking the attack to the spinners in the middle overs with his nifty footwork and his aggressive strokes. Following him at No. 5 is usually JP Duminy, who, as the Indians found out in the first ODI in Durban, is no slouch either. Duminy has had a bit of a struggle in Tests, but his ODI form has been terrific - in the last three years he averages 50.24 at a strike rate of 86.

That means four of South Africa's top five have averaged more than 50 in ODIs in the last three years, and two of them have been striking at more than 90 runs per 100 balls. In fact, the lowest strike rate among those four is Kallis' 84.14.

This means the batting average for the top five positions for South Africa is easily the best among all teams since the beginning of 2008. India is the only other team whose top order averages more than 40. Most of their regular top-order batsmen average more than 40, but Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni are the only ones with 50-plus averages. Australia are next on the list with an average of 38, but one of the areas in which they've been poorer than South Africa and India is in converting half-centuries into hundreds - out of 119 scores of 50-plus, only 18 have been centuries.

The list of top ODI batsmen during this period confirms the domination of South Africa and India. The first six batsmen - calculated after multiplying batting average by strike rate - are all from those two teams. Virender Sehwag leads the way due his extraordinary strike rate, which compensates for the fact that several batsmen have a higher average than his 45.72. Amla and de Villiers have very similar numbers, but Duminy misses out since his aggregate during this period is 1457, which is marginally less than the cut-off of 1500 runs. That's also partly because of the number of matches South Africa have played during this period - only 52, compared to 88 for India and 82 for Australia.

South Africa's partnerships for the first four wickets have usually given them excellent launching pads for the later overs. With four of their top five batsmen averaging more than 50, it's hardly surprising that their average partnership for the first four wickets is 52.65, easily the best among all teams in the last three years. India and Australia are the only other sides with 40-plus average stands.

The list of pairs with the best partnership average - with a cut-off of 750 runs - is also led by a couple of South African pairs. Amla and de Villiers are on top, with an average of 75.66, and four century partnerships in 13 innings, while de Villiers and Duminy have combined well too, averaging almost 68 in 18 partnerships. Among the other pairs, Gautam Gambhir and Virat Kohli have been the best, with an average partnerhip of 67.30 from 14 innings.

A look at ball-by-ball data over the last three years reveals that Amla has been by far the most successful batsman in the first 15 overs, averaging nearly 77 runs per dismissals and scoring at close to a run a ball. The difference between his average and that of the second-best, Tillakaratne Dilshan, is more than 22 runs, which shows that Amla has been managing the risks of scoring quickly pretty well in the first 15 overs.

Sehwag scores at 7.22 runs per over in the first 15, which is easily the highest among batsmen with 750 runs, but his average drops to 44.42. Given his strike rate, though, that average is still mighty impressive, for it gives India's powerful middle order an opportunity to capitalise on the frenetic pace he sets.

In the middle overs, though, the top three averages are far more closely bunched together, with Michael Hussey, MS Dhoni and de Villiers all in the 70s range. De Villiers' numbers stand out for a couple of reasons - his strike rate and his incredibly low dot-ball percentage. Both are the best among the top eight in the list below, though Suresh Raina is very close with a run rate of 5.69. In terms of dot-ball percentages, the difference is more prominent: while for most batsmen it hovers in the mid-40s, for de Villiers it's only 39.05. A couple of other batsmen further down the averages list have sub-40 dot-ball percentages - Younis Khan's is 39.77, while it's 38.95 for Kallis - but both average less than 51.

India have three batsmen in the top eight in the table below, which indicates their strength in the middle overs. Home conditions will only add to the confidence levels of their batsmen in the World Cup - no matter what happens on the pacier pitches in South Africa - but the South Africans themselves will be a formidable line-up for any bowling line-up to contain in conditions that are likely to be excellent for batting.