We need a breakthrough World Cup

And yet this year's Cup does have a few things going for it. Bangladesh will relish the opportunity to stage such a significant event, and might be inspired to great deeds on and off the field. India's greatest players might seize this last chance to win a World Cup. Heck, the final is to be played in Mumbai, Sachin Tendulkar's home town. It's a mouth-watering prospect. Or the trophy might be taken by a new team. England might prove their recent surge is no mere flash in the pan cooked up by African coaches. Or South Africa might slay their albatross.

That's the beauty of sport. The past is an open book - the future is an empty page.

Some new names will surface as the tournament proceeds but this is a time to consider the old giants who will be aiming for one last hurrah. Tendulkar will be feted all around India as he has been for most of the past two decades. It is just possible that he will become the first man to score 100 international centuries during this World Cup. He needs three more. We have long since run out of superlatives for Tendulkar but here is a relatively rare one: he must be the hungriest cricketer of his generation. His appetite for the game appears to be relentless. After 20 years, during which he has been unable to step out of his front door without being swamped by adorers, he still seems excited by the prospect of his next innings.