Shaping up for the big bash!

As teams enter the home straight in preparation for next years World Cup it seems that three of the big names are in an advanced state of readiness and a fourth is primed for an early exitLeading from the front Despite MS Dhonis obvious flaws as a Test captain hes an excellent leader in the shorter forms of the game PicGetty ImagesAlistair Cook may well believe that Graemes Swanns assertion England doesnt have a cat in hells chance of winning the World Cup is not helpful but that doesnt mean the comment isnt as accurate as one of his probing offbreaksWhile India Australia and South Africa are at an advanced stage of preparation just tinkering with lineups England is in disarray Firstly they seem unsure of their strongest lineup and secondly they stubbornly adhere to an outdated approach to ODI batting Against India the style they produced revolved around avoiding eating a late dinnerExercise in futilityFar from being unhelpful Swanns comments could result in the shakeup England needs if the selectors are prepared to takeheed However one of Swanns proposed changes was Alistair Cook and its rare that a leader is demoted at this late stage in proceedingsNot noted for their adventurous exploits the England selectors are unlikely to make drastic alterations and as long as Cook remains captain the team is stuck with their current batting approach In other words Swanns prediction is unlikely to be proved wrongMeanwhile two of the leading teams mdash India and Australia mdash are in good shape partly because of strong leadership Despite M S Dhonis obvious flaws as a Test captain hes an excellent leader in the shorter forms of the game Nevertheless hell have to overcome some of the teams perceived shortcomings to win backtoback World CupsUnanswered questionsDespite being the defending champions there are lingering doubts about Indias ability on bouncy pitches Is the batting up to it and do they have the pace bowling firepower to utilise these conditionsThe seam bowling will suffice in New Zealands more friendly conditions but in Australia they may be found out If India can survive long enough they might be rewarded with a semifinal against Australia at the SCG that would be their best chance of consecutive final appearancesMichael ClarkeAustralia will be desperately hoping Michael Clarke can remain fit for the competition His dodgy back is now causing him regular problems and coming at the end of a tough season the World Cup will stretch his resilience as well as his hamstringsAustralia has an explosive batting lineup but a weakness on turning pitches that was exposed by lowly ZimbabweIf Australias fearless stroke makers in David Warner Aaron Finch Shane Watson Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell fire then three hundred will be standard fare Theres no other team in the competition with that amount of firepower especially up front and Australia shouldnt have to worry about pitches that are spin friendly during a home World CupSA missing KallisSouth Africa is a good side although not surprisingly theyre missing the monumental dual contributions of premier allrounder Jacques Kallis His absence has tilted the balance slightly and there is now an unwieldy reliance on AB de Villiers Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis to score heavily and Dale Steyn to strike regularlyBowlers like Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell can be wildly inconsistent and a bad day in a knockout match can spell doom And its in the knockout stages where South Africa still has a lot to prove in big tournamentsUnder the more relaxed leadership of de Villiers this may yet happen but it didnt eventuate at the last World T 20 The winner is likely to come from the trio of Australia India and South Africa with captaincy playing a role in any success whilst the West Indies is the dark horseAs for England captaincy is likely to play a part in the dark days ahead as the outstanding feature of their World Cup trophy cabinet will remain a thirtynine yearold piece of velvet carpet