The World Cup begins today

Being sick and on enforced rest has its advantages. We had hoped to go down to Wellington today to watch the opening ODI between New Zealand and Pakistan. We've flagged that away, but we've already been told that it's ok to prop ourselves up on the sofa this afternoon and watch the cricket while normal business goes on around us!

This is a very important match and series for the Black Caps. The 15-man squad for the ICC World Cup has been selected, and John Wright now has six dress rehearsals left in which to fine-tune his team. The XI picked to play today offers the prospect of a whole lot of runs. There is plenty of experience in the batting line-up, and we are far more comfortable with Brendon McCullum batting at #6 than opening. Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder will open, followed by Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, James Franklin, McCullum, Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori. On their day, any of those can prosper, and if the top order fails, there is a solid look to the middle and lower order. We have little doubt too that Tim Southee's batting will improve further under Wright's tuition; he is a devastating hitter, and with a little more maturity in his choice of shots could be a real asset at the World Cup.

The bowling attack worries us a little, although the pitch at Wellington today will not be fast and bouncey. Much will depend on the ability of Vettori and Nathan McCullum to contain and frustrate the Pakistani batsmen who are prone to brain explosions when they get tied down. Hamish Bennett has potential; this series will be important for him especially as he returns from an injury break. And the acid will be on Jacob Oram to play to his potential. In top form, he is as good as any all-rounder in the game; sadly we have seen far too little of Oram in top form over the last few years. This will surely be his last World Cup; let's hope that the big guy can leave his mark on it for the right reasons.

Form is against the Black Caps going into today's match. A run of 11 successive defeats must end soon, and preferably today. More importantly though, John Wright's team must play the kind of cricket that we all know that they are capable of playing, and they must do it match after match. Only then will we be able to get a heads-up on New Zealand's prospects at an event in which they have been perrennial underachievers.

New Zealand's first World Cup match is on 20th February, when they take on Kenya. New Zealand's World Cup campaign however begins in Wellington this afternoon.